Women in the Roman Legions???

[Crispvs]

The presence of women in Germanic warbands, as well as the presence of weapons in what appear to be female Anglo-Saxon graves, may be directly related to who was the head of the family in Germanic society. Male and female roles were not absolutely fixed. We know, for example that in Anglo-Saxon society, if a woman's husband died and her father was already dead and she did not have a son old enough to act in his own right, then she assumed the status of a man in her own society. It might be feasable to think that this might have extended to the carrying of weapons. A similar situation existed in Scandanavian society. In a similar way, an old and enfeebled man was no longer counted among the men and could be classed instead with the women.

Crispvs