The role of women in Anglo-Saxon England

As discussed in the text and class, the Anglo-Saxon women of England performed active supportive roles during times of battle. As the men engaged in hand to hand combat, the women performed as the cheerleaders of the battle, screaming and crying for their husbands, sons, and families. While the role of this performance served multiple functions, including acting as a support system for the men and as a distraction for the opposing warriors, I'd like to focus on the interpersonal effects of this performative system.
As Tacitus said, "Close by them, too, are those dearest to them, so that they hear the shrieks of women, the cries of infants..." When reading this statement I wonder what it must have been like for the men....facing your opponent, poised and ready to fight in a barbaric battle for which you may or may not survive, and then additionally to know your wife, your daughter, your infant child is standing close by watching your every move and screaming hollering in support. I imagine it must have been difficult for a man, whose primary familial instinct is to protect, to allow his wife to watch him fight and perhaps watch him die. Moreover, I wonder if at times this performative action might have served as a distraction for the Anglo-Saxon man. One certainly would need to be completely focused on the battle at hand, yet knowing ones family was in the direct proximity to danger must have served as a distraction.
While I agree with the class as a whole in that the contributions of men and women were equally valued regarding performative roles in battle, I wonder which had the more difficult role. The man, who served as the warrior and possible sacrifice for the sake of his family and beliefs, or the woman who served as the "witnesses, as reflecting and projecting mirrors which confirmed and incited the actions of men," all while subject to the brutality of rape and murder for which they themselves as well as daughters, mothers, sisters, and friends were also subject to.