A Fragmentary Archive: Migratory Feelings in Early Anglo-Saxon Women's Letters

Area of Science:

• Medieval Studies
• Gender Studies
• Digital Humanities

Background:

• The Boniface correspondence offers insights into the lives of Anglo-Saxon women.
• These letters reveal cultural practices and emotions tied to the conversion mission.
• Maintaining connections within the Anglo-Saxon diaspora was a key function of these letters.

Observation:

• A recurring theme in the letters is the experience of loss and isolation.
• Writers describe traumatic experiences due to the death or absence of kin.
• Women faced displacement, both in leaving their homeland and in adapting to new environments.

Findings:

• The letters explore unique temporalities, emotions, and kinship structures.
• These elements are analyzed through a queer theoretical lens.
• The women's letters are interpreted as early fragments of a queer archive of migratory feelings.

Implications:

• This research highlights the underrepresented experiences of women in early medieval history.
• It expands our understanding of queer identities and archives beyond modern contexts.
• The study contributes to the analysis of personal correspondence as historical and emotional records.