I follow archeology closely. I find the common reference to “common sense” interpretations to be pretty off base.

There probably were queer Vikings, borders probably were diffuse, conquest was complicated and probably didn’t affect the lives of most people most of the time. The archeology of that is really clear.

I think academias job is to find accurate answers and that requires challenging “common sense”. If that means asking if there were queer Vikings seems like the type of consensus defying questions worth asking!

This person sounds like a revanchist, looking to go back to a past that no longer exists.