Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Scandinavia

  • Women’s equality in the Viking era: The tooth tells the truth

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden Women had “relatively free status” in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark during the Viking Era (700–1000 AD), based on the criteria of economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.1,2 For instance, paternal aunts, nieces, and granddaughters had the right to inherit property. In the absence of male relatives,…

  • Christian Sibelius: Finland’s first professor of psychiatry

    Jonathan DavidsonDurham, North Carolina, United States When the name Sibelius is mentioned, most people will think of the famous Finnish composer, Jean. Outside of Scandinavia, few will know that Jean’s younger brother, Christian, achieved distinction in a very different field: psychiatry. Even less well-known is the multi-generational presence of physicians in Christian’s family, starting with…