> The Heortlings are not modern Westerners who believe men and women are
> largely interchangeable.
Exactly! One concern I have is precisely that there seems to be too great an effort made sometimes to make the Heortlings fit modern expectations about their egalitarianism, inclusivity and rationality. Thus, we have the present 'how can a man be a good potter/weaver/etc' debates, or the old ones about why there aren't leadership subcults for Vinga, etc, to maximise the strength of clans led by the like.
OK, this is just my own take, but I prefer my Heortlings to be rough-edged barbarians, cattle-raiding, unkempt, prejudiced and all! A man who wants to weave _ought_ to be derided and persecuted by his Heortling peers -- men and women alike -- and even a Vingan, however theologically correct her choice to be a fighting woman may be, would be regarded with considerable suspicion from many quarters...
All the best
Mark
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