Axes and Identities: Rethinking Gender in the Viking Age

About this Taster Session

In 2017, Viking scholars received a surprise when DNA analysis showed that the archetypal Viking warrior buried in Birka chamber grave Bj.581 was biologically female. This discovery cast familiar stories of Valkyries and shield maidens from the sagas in a new light. Does this evidence suggest that women went raiding, raping and pillaging alongside men? Shield maidens, if they existed, took their place within a complex society that displayed often ambivalent attitudes towards gender norms. Transgression could be a way to power – Thor once wore a dress and Odin practiced female sorcery – but failing to live up to masculine or feminine ideals could also lead to ridicule and social exclusion. In this interactive workshop, we will first investigate how Viking gender is represented in pop culture today - film, tv, music and literature. After a brief scene-setting lecture, we will then break into groups to analyse different primary sources that can be used as evidence for the Vikings’ own ideas. We will end with a group discussion about how historians’ perspectives can influence their interpretation of historical sources. Should we seek to update those interpretations in light of modern sensibilities?

Key topics covered:

• Vikings
• Gender
• Primary-source interpretation
• Myths
• Archaeology

How do I book?

If you would like to book a session, please email SCL@hull.ac.uk

Also available for pre-16 students

This session can also be adapted for pre-16 students