Married women had a very strong position during Viking times. Keys helped express this. When a couple was married, the wife was given a set of keys to symbolize her new status. The bronze keys hung in full sight on her clothing and opened the strongboxes and padlocks of the household.
When the god Thor had his Thor’s hammer stolen by the giants, the disguise he used to steal it back was a woman's costume – with a bunch of rattling keys.

There are a large number of keys from Viking times both in female graves and as individual findings. Bronze keys were often small works of art worn on a Viking woman's costume.  Often the designs used intertwined animal figures.  The day she got married, she got the keys to the farm doors and treasure chests as a visible sign of her position and power.