Birgit Sawyer (1945 – 2016) was a Swedish historian specializing in medieval Scandinavia, particularly runestones and medieval Scandinavian women.
[1] She married fellow historian Peter Sawyer in 1981.
[2] She earned her PhD in History from the University of Gothenburg in 1981, where she then became associate professor.
[4] In 2000 she published The Viking-age Rune-stones: Custom and Commemoration in Early Medieval Scandinavia after encountering runic inscriptions carved by women, Gerlög and Inga, and becoming intrigued by how women could commission rune stones and use them to stake territorial claims.
[5] She was the co-founder of a biennial conference on women in medieval Scandinavia.