Anglo-Saxon warriors were transgender, says academic

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.

His work comes amid a trend for re-examining historical figures using modern gender categories, which The Telegraph recently revealed had led one museum to label the Roman emperor Elagabalus as trans.

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.

These variations are usually recorded as “discrepancies”, but Mr Davison has suggested that Dark Age transgenderism could provide a more convincing explanation.

He wrote: “Using approaches from trans studies – which acknowledge the potential for genders beyond a male-female binary in historical cultures – allows researchers to approach these burials more critically.”

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”.

The Buckland cemetery was excavated by Prof Vera Evison between 1951 and 1953, and is the site of about 170 graves.

One burial contains the remains of a person designated as “possibly female” who died aged 35 and was buried with a number of typically masculine artefacts. These include a sword, a spearhead, fragments of a decorated shield and fragments of a belt buckle, which suggest it was a warrior’s grave, it has been claimed.

As there is a discrepancy between the sex of the person and their grave goods, Mr Davison argues that “this could be interpreted as the grave of a trans man who enjoyed a position of respect in his community, displaying his wealth, masculinity – and perhaps warrior status – through his shield, sword and spear”.