Were The Dark Ages Enlightened?

According the right-wing fanatics, we are a modern phenomenal, that the internet caused trans people… well…

Some Anglo-Saxon warriors may have been transgender, says academic
Modern gender norms may not have applied in the Dark Ages, a study of seventh-century burials in Kent suggests
The Telegraph
By Craig Simpson
3 February 2024

Anglo-Saxons may have been transgender, new research has claimed.

By applying “trans theory” to Dark Age graves, a University of Liverpool researcher has concluded that modern gender norms may not have applied 1,500 years ago.

Some Anglo-Saxon warriors may have been transgender men, it has been argued.

From studying burials in Kent through the “lens of transness”, it has also been suggested that transgender women may have enjoyed high status in Anglo-Saxon society.

The theory has been put forward by James Davison, a PhD candidate and tutor of medieval history at the University of Liverpool, who also convenes the Trans*Historical Conference.

Gee, I didn’t know that they had the internet back then!

I do not like to put labels on history because we don’t know the rest of the story. Maybe that was the only way a woman could live without getting married.

Mr Davison’s work relates to seventh-century AD burials in Buckland, Dover, some of which contain either feminine or masculine grave goods, such as swords, which appear to be at odds with the sex of the person buried.

[…]

He has argued that using “the lens of trans theory and the 21st-century language of ‘transness’ has the potential to improve historians’ understanding of early Anglo-Saxon gender”.

We don’t really know why this so and labeling them with today’s norms is highly iffy. But it is interesting.

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Update 3:30PM

Somebody asked "What about Viking women, didn't they also fight?

So I asked Perplexity.ai

Answer

Viking women are believed to have participated in warfare, although the extent of their involvement is a topic of ongoing research and discussion. While some historical accounts and archaeological evidence suggest that some Viking women may have taken up arms in battles, it is not clear whether this was a widespread practice. For example, there are records of women dressed like men learning to use swords and fighting, and some Viking women were found buried with weapons. However, the exact role of women in warfare during the Viking Age remains a subject of scholarly debate. Therefore, it is accurate to say that there is evidence to suggest that some Viking women may have fought in battles, but it is not definitively proven whether they did so on a large scale.

There are some who believe they were call Shieldmaidens.