Socializing The Viking Age : An approach to notions of social role, gender and prestige in the Scandinavian societies

Sammanfattning

This essay analyzes cases of individuals from the Viking Age who display social, symbolic, or material characteristics that do not conform to the gender norms traditionally associated with their biological sex, examining their interpretation from a gender and social perspective. The objective is to identify which factors are relevant and how works the construction of notions such as gender, role, and social status within this historical context. To this end, a qualitative analysis is carried out of three archaeological sites, mainly funerary contexts in which the transgression of gender norms is evident, complemented by examples from the Norse sagas. The theoretical framework is based mainly on gender performativity theory and social field theory, together with other concepts associated with these currents. The analysis leads to the conclusion that Viking society allowed for a degree of social fluidity that was not governed exclusively by binary gender norms, which enabled diverse forms of gender perception and expression within the social structure. This approach contributes to questioning traditional historiographical interpretations and promoting more complex readings of the Viking past.