Nearly 1,400 years ago, a Langobard woman in what is now Italy suffered two severe head injuries—one a precise blade strike, the other a crushing blow—proving that interpersonal violence in early medieval Germanic societies was not limited to men. The discovery of her skeletal remains, published in the International Journal of Paleopathology (June 2026), challenges the long-held assumption that warfare and brawling were exclusively male domains among the Lombards, a Germanic people who ruled parts of Italy and Hungary from the 6th to 8th centuries.
Discovery of the First Langobard Woman with Trauma Evidence in Cividale del Friuli
The woman, identified as individual T46, was unearthed in 2012 during an emergency excavation at the Ferrovia cemetery in Cividale del Friuli, the site of the first Langobard duchy in Italy. Her remains, damaged by later graves, required protein analysis to confirm her sex—a rarity in Langobard archaeology, where skeletal records of violence had previously been male-only.
Her injuries tell a story of survival: a narrow gash on her left forehead, likely from a downward strike by a blade similar to a scramasax (a Germanic warrior’s knife), and a crushing fracture suggesting a blunt-force blow. Both wounds show signs of healing, meaning she lived for years after the attack.
“This is the first direct evidence of interpersonal violence in a Langobard woman,” said Valentina Martinoia, co-author of the study and researcher at the University of Udine. “Her injuries are consistent with those found on male Langobards, but the fact that she survived challenges the narrative that violence was a male-exclusive domain.”
Legal Codes Documenting Female Violence Contradicted by Archaeological Silence—Until Now
Historical sources, including the Edictum Rothari (the earliest Lombard law code, compiled in 643 AD), had long hinted at violence against women. The laws imposed penalties for husbands killing wives and even documented cases of women fighting in male disputes. One provision (Liutprand 141, from the 8th century) explicitly noted that women could commit “evil deeds more cruelly than men might do.”
Yet archaeology had failed to provide physical proof—until T46. “The legal records show that women were not spared from violence,” Martinoia explained. “But the skeletal record had remained silent. Now, we have confirmation.”
The discovery also contradicts the popular image of the Lombards as a warrior society where women were passive. While male graves often contained weapons, T46’s injuries suggest women were active participants—or victims—in conflicts.
Reevaluating Gender Dynamics in Early Medieval Lombard Warfare and Society
For centuries, historians and archaeologists assumed that violence in Germanic societies was a male preserve. The Lombards, in particular, were depicted as a fierce, militarized people, with archaeological evidence of blade wounds and battle scars almost exclusively on men.
T46’s case forces a reckoning. “If we only look at graves and battle sites, we miss half the story,” Martinoia said. “Women were not just bystanders—they were actors in violence, whether as victims, survivors, or even perpetrators.”
The find also raises questions about gender roles in early medieval Europe. While the Lombards eventually adopted Roman customs, their early society was still shaped by Germanic traditions. T46’s injuries suggest that even as the kingdom integrated with Roman culture, violence against women remained a persistent, if underdocumented, reality.
Broader Research Implications and the Search for Additional Female Trauma Cases
The study, published in International Journal of Paleopathology (DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2026.04.008), is part of a broader effort to re-examine Langobard skeletal records for signs of female trauma. Researchers are now analyzing other graves from Cividale del Friuli and nearby sites to see if T46’s case was an exception or part of a larger pattern.
“This changes how we interpret Langobard society,” Martinoia said. “It’s not just about kings and warriors. It’s about the people—men and women—who lived through conquest, conflict, and daily violence.”
For now, T46 remains the only known Langobard woman with confirmed injuries from interpersonal violence. But her story may soon have company—as more skeletons are studied, the full scope of early medieval gender dynamics could emerge from the earth itself.
