Medieval Masculinities and Bodies: Studies of gender relations based on the analysis of human skeletal remains from the monastic burial grounds at Skriðuklaustur, Iceland, and Västerås, Sweden

Abstract

This compilation thesis is situated at the intersection of the scholarly fields of medieval masculinities and the bioarchaeology of identities. The aim is to explore bodily aspects of medieval masculinities through the analysis of human skeletal remains from two medieval monastic sites, the Augustinian monastery Skriðuklaustur in Iceland (1493-1554), and the Dominican priory in Västerås, Sweden (1244-1528). A total of 461 individuals were analysed, using standard osteological methods (Buikstra and Ubelaker, 1994).

Theories of masculinities have been developed with reference to modern gender relations, but scholars have found them relevant to medieval contexts (e.g. Beattie and Fenton, 2011; Hadley, 1999; Hodgson et al., 2019; Karras, 2003; Kiefer, 2009; Lees et al., 1994; Murray, 1999; Thibodeaux, 2010). They have to be applied with caution, however, as medieval society and gender relations differ in many ways from their contemporary equivalents (Fletcher, 2011; Karras, 2003:9-10). Connell’s (2005) definition of masculinity as a configuration of gender practices has been used in the thesis. Defining masculinity as a form of practice enables a bioarchaeological approach. The skeleton is plastic, and so enactments of masculinity can leave identifiable marks (Sofaer, 2006), such as specific patterns of entheseal changes, joint disease or trauma.

The four case studies in the thesis address the topics of diet, physical violence, performance in battle, and ability and appearance. The results indicate similarities and mutual influence between different masculinities, but also differences that could be detected through osteological analysis. The carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of a sample of sixteen males and six females buried in Västerås revealed no significant differences in diet between the sexes, between adults and children (represented by dentin samples from the second molar), or between males of higher and lower status. The results suggest that fresh water fish were an important part of the diet, and that both clerics and laity took part in religious fasting (Paper I). There was a significant difference in patterns of weapon-related trauma, however. Lay males were more exposed to trauma than clergy and females. This particularly applied to males of high social standing, and those with battle experience (Paper II). There were also individual differences in gender performance, and some individuals may have transgressed the norms of ideal behaviour, such as ignoring rules of fasting or attacking defenceless victims.

At the same time as the body is shaped by enactments of gender, the way gender can be enacted is conditioned by the skills and abilities of the body. Changes in the body can result in changed gender practices, and a loss of ability could lead to a crisis of masculinity (Shilling, 2004). This is exemplified in Paper III, on warrior masculinity, by weapon-related trauma and the risk of losing the ability to perform in battle, and in Paper IV, on clerical masculinity, through antemortem tooth loss and the risk of becoming irregular due to altered appearance and speech impairments.