Collision and Cohesion: (re)negotiations of mortuary identities in England and Denmark (c. 800-1100 CE)

The overall objective of this project is to evaluate the transformative effects of migration and changing religions upon mortuary identities in Denmark and Anglo-Scandinavian regions of England from 800 to 1100 CE. It will determine how Scandinavian migrants navigated encounters with new peoples, places, and ideas, and how these influenced pre-existing burial practices.

As England had converted to Christianity by this period, while Denmark was transitioning, it is crucial to assess the different negotiations of identity required by Scandinavians in an already Christianised region compared with "native" Danes responding to incoming belief systems.

Evidence from burials is highly relevant to current debates on cultural identities, migration, and religion. Graves give us a unique insight into how the mourners choose to bury the deceased, constructing a mortuary identity potentially separate from lived experiences (Parker Pearson 1993). Subsequently, these staged vignettes provide crucial insight into the tensions associated with identity formation (Tarlow and Stutz 2013).

Public discourse frequently co-opts "Anglo-Saxon" or "Viking" identities without evidential grounding, and these concepts are in dire need of nuance.

This project will draw on the theory of intersectional identities initially coined by Crenshaw (1989). It defines people through multiple sources of identity, rather than just one, which carry privileges or oppressions. Our identities are never static but are reinforced through daily action (e.g.

Stig Sorensen 2019). There is significant interaction (e.g. raids, migration, trade, religion) between Denmark and England in this period, making it an exciting case study. These individuals navigated various changing contexts and would likely evolve with these or reassert existing identities.

Building upon a theoretical framework of 'conditional identity interfaces' proposed by my master's thesis, I will answer three critical questions: 1. How did different facets of identity interact in the burials under scrutiny? 2. Do these facets interact similarly between Danish and Anglo-Scandinavian regions?

3. Which contextual factors contribute to the differences in mortuary identities?

To answer these, I will produce substantial databases, building upon my MRes catalogue of 735 burials across 139 Danish sites. I can read Danish, and there is suitable literature for England, ensuring I can complete both databases to schedule. To explore these mortuary identities, I will conduct multivariate statistical analyses.

I will holistically assess staged (e.g. constructed by mourners) and lived (e.g. biological age, sex, health) data, and choose specific burials for qualitative analysis. These comparisons are vital to identify tensions, (re)negotiations, and contradictions. For example, the famous Birka burial (Bj.581, Sweden), previously interpreted as male based on weapons in the grave, prompted important debates in academic and public discourse when it was genetically sexed as female (Hedenstierna-Jonsson et al. 2017).

My research will substantially improve our interpretations of intersectional mortuary identities. It is a crucial interrogation of the complex network of interactions between these two regions. Recent projects have nuanced perceptions of singular areas (e.g. Moen 2019; Sayer 2020; Slotten 2021), but can be disconnected. This project will produce a more dynamic and articulated picture of the widely-influential relationship between England and Denmark in this period.