Abstract
Dismissed as fiction, vilified, or relegated to a footnote, warrior women appear in ancient through medieval literature and folklore as accessories to men’s stories. However, archaeological discoveries of recent decades validated the existence of real warrior women among the Scythians, a collective of Bronze- and Iron-Age nomadic tribes from the Eurasian steppes, who inspired the earliest myths about the Amazons. These ancient narratives then influenced literary accounts of real as well as fictional warrior women from Eastern Europe over the ensuing centuries. This dissertation seeks to recenter women in their own narratives by exploring evidence from multiple disciplines and analyzing fourteen literary case studies, including ancient Amazons and Scythians, Viking Age Slavic queens, and warrior women known as polianitsy who figure in Russian folklore. Many of the male warriors in these same narratives are widely believed to be based on real men, but most of the female warriors are disregarded as fictitious and sensational additions. Over the course of my research, several trends arose regarding portrayals of historical versus literary warrior women. Authors present historically attested accounts as exceptions and marvels, while fictionalized narratives stand as warnings for women who would transgress gender norms. Yet, authors consistently characterize both historical and literary warrior women as foreigners. Authors also downplay the military contributions of historical women, accentuating traditionally feminine qualities instead. Through the prevalence of the bride-taking motif combined with real social hierarchies, marital status likewise affects their agency; widowed warriors possess the most power, and married women, the least. My research demonstrates how, despite two millennia’s worth of suppression and distortion, the narratives of extraordinary women endure, as will the narratives of present-day female veterans and military members, whose accomplishments are undergoing similar suppression and distortion.
