Oh yes. Absolutely. But the Vikings had a culture that came out of hunter/gather roots rather than an agricultural society. They did farm, but a heck of a lot of their food still came from things like fishing or hunting as I remember. Same with the Celts who did farm but still did a fair among of food gathering. Where as the Latin culture in the Mediterranean that spread and came to dominate most of Europe seems to be more agriculturally centered. Thought perhaps I'm just seeing patterns where there aren't any.

As things get built up and things become less... tribal, women get pushed into the background. It seems. It's not fair, it's not right, but it seems like that is how history tended to go. Until the 19th and 20th centuries anyway.