York, UK - JORVIK Viking Centre Coppergate Woman

The Viking era tends to be popularly known for strong, hairy, and burly men who sailed on ships and pillaged every chance they could. But what about the women? During this time period, women are often commonly perceived as home bodies, and weak, ones who have to obey their “menfolk.” But recent studies have determined that this was indeed very false. Separatey, feminity and disabilities tend to have negative perceptions, together the perception is even more problematic. However, life for women did not stop because of their gender or any pre-existing conditions.

Archeologists discovered a series of women’s skeletons in a shallow pit as they were digging up a site near the River Foss in Coppergate, York, a central location for Viking settlements. Of the four other women’s remains found, some were missing legs due to wear and tear of their bodies during the decaying process, and others were fully intact, but with further research, one particularly stood out from the rest. Due to her round hips, and the way her skeleton was shaped, it was determined that she was only 5’2” and wide. But what makes this so special was the idea that, after examination of the body, it was determined that the woman most likely have had a limp due to a genetic disorder (Tuckley).

Archaeologists grew particularly interested in the remains of this woman compared the others due to her unusual burial. She was found with no shroud, which is a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial, or grave goods around her, which was typical in Viking culture. Due to the deterioration of the grave, and the fact that there were no cemeteries near the woman’s body, it is determined that she must have been from just after or around the Viking Era.

With today’s modern misconceptions, a number of people assume that disability during this time was simply nonexistent. However, evidence in the remains of the Coppergate woman proves that this is very untrue. The woman is believed to have had a mild form of hip dysplasia, a genetic disorder where a crutch is needed in order to remain mobile especially as the woman ages and bears children (“Adult Hip Dysplasia").

Hip dysplasia, according to the International Hip Dysplasia Institute, is when the hip socket is too shallow to support the hip bone. This causes wear to the normal shape of the bone and the cartilage that supports the hip and prevents the socket and the bone from rubbing against each other. However, once this cartilage is gone or worn down, it cannot be repaired or replaced. It is designed to last a lifetime, however hip dysplasia causes quick deterioration of the cartilage making the condition worse as the person with this condition gets older (“Adult Hip Dysplasia”). In connection to the Coppergate woman, since the bones and DNA revealed the information that this woman was older and the wear to her hip bone, the hip dysplasia progressively got worse, possibly making daily life harder, however not impossible for her (Tuckley).

Although different, the crutches we have today do bear some resemblance to the one she may have used in her daily life. In a recreation of what the woman might have looked like, you can see a long, hand-whittled wooden cane. Because of her need for assistance by using a cane, she by today’s standards would be considered disabled. Many might assume this made her life incredibly difficult, assuming she was unable to do the daily tasks expected of her. However, further research shows otherwise. It is believed that since she had lived to be a relatively older age for that time period, she was able to bear children and maintain the household, raising cattle and livestock along with her own children without too many complications. 

As further research moves on, more about the woman and her life aside from her disability has been discovered. It is believed that she traveled long and far from her origins. Her socioeconomic status, however unknown, is believed to be low due to the fact that her grave was found unfurnished, which was unusual during the Viking era (Tuckley). However, one question that remains is: can we tell what her duties were, and as time progressed did her disability get worse? 

The photos presented display the remains of the woman and what she is believed to have looked like. With a closer look at the picture, it is obvious that she stands slightly off-balance, with a hunch. Using a whittled wooden cane in the right hand that stretches up through her underarms acting as a crutch, she has a belt around her waist that carries things for her, which we can assume is for carrying more objects due to the occupancy of her right hand from the cane (Tuckley).

This, however, according to further research did not hinder her much in her daily life, like most would assume. She still was able to bear children as she normally would have been expected to. Due to the difference in her burial compared to others, it is clear that she received no special or lesser equal treatment. Many assume that those with disabilities in earlier eras are for lack of a better term “left to the wolves” because they are seen as much lesser than and incapable of doing what they were put on this earth to do, especially from a woman's standpoint. The Coppergate woman defies all of those myths with physical proof of wear and tear to her anatomy proven that she worked hard like so-called “normal” women of that time. The woman who had a confirmed disability went about her daily life despite it, living equal to others.  

This particular artifact debunks the theory that everyone who has a disability could not complete daily tasks without modern technology as well as the idea that disability was not a part of history, that this concept of disability is a modern-made idea. People had always had disabilities, and people lived productive lives with them, which is important to note in order to progressively normalize the idea of disability.

“Adult Hip Dysplasia.” International Hip Dysplasia Institute, hipdysplasia.org/adult-hip-dysplasia/.

Tuckley, Chris. "Re: Medieval Disability in Museums." Received by Kisha G. Tracy, 6 Nov. 2017.