This hypothesis appears in the new book The Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by archaeologist Neil Price, who works at Uppsala University in Sweden.
I spoke to the Times about the possibility of trans Vikings, in light of Neil Price’s new book! I’m so excited!! https://t.co/A5TXSDPWK1
— Amy J F (@queertyyr) August 16, 2020
In our traditional ideas, Viking men were warriors and discoverers, women were concerned about the household or the economy. However, this picture was slightly shaken when it became clear in 2017 that a woman lay in a previously discovered grave, which was considered a resting place for a high-ranking warrior due to its equipment. It is a tomb from the middle of the 10th century from Birka, Sweden. Neil Price was among the scientists who proved that she was a woman thanks to DNA tests.
Experts have since debated whether the appearance of the grave is evidence of the high status of a buried woman, or whether there is a possibility that Viking women fought alongside men. However, there is a third explanation – the grave could belong to a warrior with a different gender identity. This hypothesis has emerged according to The Australian in professional circles before, now it is talked about mainly in connection with the new book.
“As the most logical explanation, it seems to us that the body belonged to a warrior. But we can look at it differently. It could have been someone who was – in the current language – a transman, someone who lived as a man,” Price said. “This person could also be non-binary or have a fluctuating gender identity,” the archaeologist added.
Price thinks there is further evidence that some Vikings did not separate the traits and behaviors attributed to men and women as strictly as we had previously thought. For example, Vikings had laws that forbade men and women from violating gender norms in dress or behavior. The need for such rules suggests that there were people in Viking society who did not respect these traditional roles.
In some medieval retellings of Viking sagas, there are women who have become warriors and have since been spoken of through masculine pronouns.
At the same time, Price refuses to project today’s values into the interpretation of Viking history. “I think it’s a weak argument. The Vikings probably had the same sophisticated sense of identity as we have today,” he said.
–
