Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Benes, Carrie

Area of Concentration

History

Abstract

In the most authoritative early works on Viking history, there is a notable lack of discussion about Vikings that were nonwhite, queer, or gender nonconforming. These texts, nineteenth and early twentieth century creations of European/American men, instead focused on the interests of their authors: other Anglo-European men. The erasure of marginalized groups from the literature ensured that these groups were not a part of the Viking revival that introduced physical stereotypes to the public consciousness, and as a result Victorian popular culture crystallized the image of Vikings as blonde-haired, blue- eyed, cisgender-heterosexual, and white. This same image remains in modern popular culture, and is used by white supremacists to assert a perceived Viking heritage they use to legitimize their hateful ideology. However, this thesis aims to unravel the popular characterization of Vikings, using recent scholarship and current archaeological research to prove the likely existence of nonwhite, gender nonconforming, and queer individuals in Viking society.

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