Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index
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Record Number:
43707
Author(s)/Creator(s):
Hedenstierna-Jonson , Charlotte, Neil Price, and Torun Zachrisson,
Contributor(s):
Title:
Viking Warrior Women? Reassessing Birka Chamber Grave Bj.581
Source:
Antiquity 93, 267 ( 2019): Pages 181 - 198. Available open access from Cambridge Core:
https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2018.258
Description:
Article Type:
Journal Article
Subject
(See Also)
:
Archaeology
Birka, Sweden
Burials
Grave Goods
Vikings
Warfare and Warriors
Weapons
Award Note:
Geographic Area:
Scandinavia
Century:
10
Primary Evidence:
Illustrations:
Table:
Abstract:
The warrior woman has long been part of the Viking image, with a pedigree that extends from the Valkyries of Old Norse prose and poetry to modern media entertainment. Until recently, however, actual Viking Age evidence for such individuals has been sparse. This article addresses research showing that the individual buried at Birka in an ‘archetypal’ high-status warrior grave—always assumed to be male since its excavation in 1878—is, in fact, biologically female. Publication, in 2017, of the genomic data led to unprecedented public debate about this individual. Here, the authors address in detail the interpretation of the burial, discussing source-critical issues and parallels. [Reproduced from the journal page on the Cambridge Core website:
https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2018.258
]
Related Resources:
Author's Affiliation:
University of Uppsala [Price and Hedenstierna-Jonson] and Upplandsmuseet [Zachrisson]
Conference Info:
- , -
Year of Publication:
2019.
Language:
English
ISSN/ISBN:
0003598X (print); 17451744 (online)