cial and marital relationships. Without written descriptions
of these roles, historians have to rely on whatever archaeo-
logical record is available, then make inferences about what
they fi nd. Th is record includes tombs, remains of homes, and
artwork, which can tell historians something about how men
and women were regarded. Sometimes archaeologists rely on
what they do not fi nd to make these kinds of inferences.
Complicating the matter is that for generations, histo-
rians and archaeologists have tended to make generaliza-
tions about gender roles in ancient Europe that might be only
partially true. Th e usual view is that men held all the power.
Th ey were the kings, priests, chieft ains, warlords, shamans,
craft smen, and warriors, fulfi lling functions largely outside
the home. Women were thought to be peaceful; they were in
charge of the domestic sphere, and their infl uence was lim-
ited almost entirely to this sphere. While this generalization
has a great deal of truth to it, it does not tell the entire story.
Some archaeological fi nds, along with new ways of thinking
about those fi nds, suggest that women were not always re-
stricted to the domestic sphere. In fact, many women held po-
sitions of power as priests, shamans, and warriors. Some took
part in public activities such as trade. Others were skilled at
craft work, particularly spinning, weaving, dyeing, and textile
production.
One type of written record that does exist and that has a
bearing on gender relationships includes legends, myths, and
tales. While these stories were not written down at the time
the ancients lived, they survived because they were passed
along orally throughout the generations. In many cases,
these stories provide insight into the gender relationships of
ancient peoples.
A good example is provided by Scandinavian mythol-
ogy, much of which emerged during the Nordic Bronze Age,
which extended from about 1800 to 600 b.c.e. Th is mythol-
ogy was intimately connected with Scandinavian religious
beliefs. At the center of Nordic mythology was a male sun
god, depicted as traveling the heavens in a chariot. Later, this
sun god evolved into a sun goddess, both in Scandinavia and
among the Germanic tribes, though historians are not sure
why. Also worshipped was a female mother goddess, Nerthus,
who evolved into various female mother goddesses in Scan-
dinavian and Germanic mythology. Most of the gods, such
as Th or, are represented in surviving artwork as carrying
swords and spears, suggesting that men were viewed as the
warrior and governing class.
Female goddesses, in contrast, were associated with
fertility and such events as the harvest. Nonetheless, Scan-
dinavian mythology is rife with female giants and warrior
maidens. Th e best example is the Valkyries. Th ese were nine
warrior maidens who served as attendants to Odin, the ruler
of the gods. Th eir principal role was to accompany warriors
to Valhalla, Odin’s great hall; that is, they were to accompany
slain soldiers into the aft erlife. In battle they wore elaborate
armor. Th eir leader was Brunhilda, who was the goddess not
only of fertility and love but also of death and battle. Histo-
rians believe that the warrior goddess of Celtic mythology,
Morrigan, was a parallel development, especially because
both Morrigan and the Valkyries were able to prophesy the
outcome of great battles.
Taken together, these and other mythological fi gures
suggest that the ancient Scandinavians and the Germanic
tribes of northern Europe took something of an equal view
of men and women. While men were still principally respon-
sible for war and governance, women played a prominent role
as well and were not limited to the domestic sphere.
Tomb excavations also provide insight into gender re-
lations and issues surrounding the power and infl uence of
women. Among the ancient Celts, for example, historians
know that women enjoyed a respectable amount of infl uence.
Th ey were able to own property and divorce their husbands,
and they took part in a wide range of occupations, including
those of merchant, warrior, and healer. In excavating Celtic
tombs, archaeologists have discovered that many Celtic
women enjoyed high social status. Th is can be determined
by the nature of the goods that were buried with the women
as well as by items of personal adornment that suggest high
social status. In some instances horses and horse tack were
buried with women, suggesting that these women may have
played an important role in what is traditionally regarded as
a male sphere. Along the same lines, archaeological sites of
homes throughout ancient Europe have yielded tools used in
craft production. In some cases men performed craft work in
the home, but in others it is believed that craft s production
was the province of women working the home.
Archaeologists are occasionally able to make generaliza-
tions about gender relationships on the basis of what seems to
be missing from the archaeological record. A good example
is provided by the British Isles, where historians were long
puzzled by their inability to fi nd Bronze Age homes that con-
tained artifacts typically considered domestic. Th ese would
include tools for food storage and preservation, cooking, and
the like. Recently some archaeologists have argued that noth-
ing is missing—that, in fact, these remains were never pres-
ent. Th eir argument is that during the Bronze Age in Britain,
no sharp distinction was made between the public and do-
mestic spheres. Items used for domestic activity are found in
many diff erent types of sites. Th eir conclusion is that there
was no domestic sphere presided over by women. Th ey be-
lieve that men and women played equal or nearly equal roles
in a public, community life.
Some historians have taken an interest in the nature and
ex tent of homosexua l relationships in a ncient Europe. In gen-
eral, it is believed that ancient Europeans were relatively tol-
erant of homosexuality, having absorbed this tolerance from
the ancient Greeks. Among the ancient Celts, for example,
poems and legends contain hints that homosexual relation-
ships between soldiers were not uncommon. Many historians,
too, point to the ambiguous sexuality of some of the region’s
mythological fi gures, suggesting that ancient Europeans were
not off ended by homosexuality.gender structures and roles: Europe 499