A British academic projecting “trans theory” onto the past has claimed that the graves of Anglo-Saxon warriors indicate that some among their ranks were transgender.
James Davison, a University of Liverpool PhD candidate and tutor of medieval history, has asserted that examining the graves of Anglo-Saxon warriors through the “lens of transness” suggests that there may have been trans warriors 1,500 years ago and that so-called transgender women may have been exalted in their society.
“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 wrote according to The Telegraph.
Davison claimed that deploying “the lens of trans theory and the 21st-century language of ‘transness’ has the potential to improve historians’ understanding of early Anglo-Saxon gender”.
Although the researcher admitted that his work was merely “speculative”, he has claimed that a burial site at the Buckland cemetery contains one grave which could be interpreted as belonging to a transgender individual. The site, which was excavated between 1951 and 1953, classified one of the deeply degraded remains as being “possibly female” despite being buried with artefacts typically associated with male warriors, such as a sword, a shield, and a spearhead.
Due to this apparent discrepancy, — unverifiable due to the state of the remains — Davison argued 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.”
Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in London has announced that it will portray famed French woman warrior and Catholic saint, Joan of Arc, as a gender-neutral character with “they/them” pronouns in an upcoming play.
The research comes amid a growing trend within academia and the arts to use modern gender theories and apply them to historical figures.
For example, in November, the North Hertfordshire Museum, which is currently under the control of the left-wing local council government, branded third-century Roman Emperor Elagabalus as transgender. The museum went on to refer to the Roman ruler by “she/her” pronouns to make their displays more “inclusive”.
Previously, thespians at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London decided to cast Joan of Arc, famed French female teenage warrior and Catholic saint, as a “gender neutral” character with “they/them” pronouns in a production on her life. This comes despite there being no historical evidence that the deeply religious figure considered herself anything other than a woman.
The research about supposed transgender Anglo-Saxon warriors does not go as far as other proponents of woke history, with the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic (ASNC) studies at Cambridge University claiming last year that the Ango-Saxons didn’t even exist as a distinct ethnic group and that they were merely a myth used to promote British nationalism.