Living History: Let’s be a Viking!

This summer I have had the pleasure of not once, but twice, making a trip back to the 8th century (or thereabouts) and living for a weekend as a Norse Viking lady. Thanks to the encouragement (and excitement) of my boyfriend, Peter (Jarl Seamus), I have been sucked into the world of living history and I am loving every minute of it. It was a little nerve-wracking at first, because I felt terribly inadequate next to seasoned veterans at the hobby; but everyone was extremely gracious, welcoming, and wonderful. At no point did I feel like I was a burden or a bother, and they were all happy to answer my questions and teach me right along the way. I couldn’t ask for better mentors, and now friends.

The first event we attended were as the allies and guests of Jarl Ingvar and his group called Draugar Vinlands. It was at the first Renaissance Faire being held in Stowe, VT, and they wanted a Viking theme. Draugar Vinlands has quite a bit of notoriety from what I can tell, and as such I imagine that’s how they were invited to be a main part of this event. Jarl Ingvar contacted Jarl Seamus though to ask if he and his people would join him and his people, because the bigger the group, the better the display; and he really wanted to knock it out of the park. So myself, Jarl Seamus, and friends all headed off to Stowe to join

them. There I met Alfie, Ragnar, Rørik, Bjorn, and others (I’m still working on memorizing names). These fine people are definitely people I now aspire to be like in terms of knowledge, dedication, and skills. They clearly know their stuff, and are fantastic people when it comes to sharing it with the public. With a heavy focus on the martial arts of the period, they also put on an amazing demo for fighting style in the era, and it’s certainly a sight to behold. I was in awe the entire time. At the same time, I worked to be a sponge and soak up as much knowledge as I could, and to not be the social introvert my heart wanted to be because I wanted to make friends, not be a wall flower. I think I did that well enough.

So while at Stowe, I received an introduction to tablet weaving from Bjorn, which I am dying to

try for myself (I’m just working on gathering the necessary tools at this point). He was going to let me try my hand at it right then and there, but all he has to work with is wool, and I have a sensitivity to it. Kind of a bummer, but I was at least able to watch, and he explained what he was doing and why very well. Jarl Seamus and I are going to look into the wool thing though, because I’m wondering if it’s the wool I have issue with, or if it’s the chemicals that the wool is treated with. Jarl Seamus also thinks that it could just be particular wools I have issue with, and so we’re going to test things out. Thankfully, I’m not deathly allergic to the stuff, so I’m not worried about having a bad reaction. I just know that if I’m in contact with it for too long I get red, itchy patches from the irritation and I don’t want that. If I really cannot work with wool at all, I’ll find a substitute that mimics wool successfully to use for myself, and then while I’m working with it at home at least, I can wear cotton gloves to protect me from the wool so I can make stuff for others.

The only downside to Stowe was that it was so bloody hot. Oh my goodness, we were positively melting from the heat. I was not the only one

who had to lay down in as little clothing as possible in the middle of the day and take a nap from the heat exhaustion. It was brutal. And unlike the gentlemen, I was not able to just take my top off and cool off that way. Other than the heat though, what a spectacular weekend.

Even I was able to teach something, too. Jarl Seamus had taught me how to wire weave prior to attending Stowe; so at one point in the day, while trying to keep cool, I was hiding in our tent in its shade working on a piece of weaving. In case you don’t know, wire weaving is a form of essentially knitting wire to create a jewelry chain. So I was sitting doing that, and all these kids kept coming in to see what I was up to, very curious about the whole thing. Jarl Seamus was there too, also trying to get out of the heat, but he was basically just watching (and monitoring, since I’m new at this), as I answered their questions as to what I was doing. Eventually I had a dozen or so kids and their parents seated or standing around me, watching me work, waiting patiently while asking questions in anticipation of watching me pull the piece through the draw block to turn it into a finished piece. They sat there for a good thirty minutes for this. Their excitement as I drew the wire weaving through the draw block really was priceless, and they all got quite the show because I broke my pull wire trying to do it! Had to actually break out the pliers so I could hold onto it (which I had to explain were not period correct, but for the sake of not amputating a finger they were necessary), and Jarl Seamus had to help pull against me to make it work. But I did finish the project, and the kids and parents were all impressed. The kids thanked me for my time, the parents thanked both Jarl Seamus and I for what we taught, and let us know this is what their homeschooled children look forward to. Let me also state that these kids were no older than 10y/o, and there were definitely a couple as young as probably 6y/o, and they were so well behaved I thought I was in the twilight zone.

The second event I attended was one where Jarl Seamus invited Jarl Ingvar’s people to join us, called Timeline in West Dover, VT. Jarl Ingvar was not able to join us as well, as he was off with some of his people (who could afford to go) in Chicago to see the Draken Harald Hårfagre while it was docked there. So Alfie, Ragnar, and Rørik joined us, and we spent the weekend talking to the public at that event as well. I also met more of our group, and we brought in a new member. It was a really great time, though aside from the epic party on Saturday night, I think I had more fun at Stowe. For sure the crowd was a lot better at Stowe, but despite that we were busy all day at Timeline. I think one of the big differences though was that at Timeline, we had a parade and a fashion show of the ages to attend to as well. Not everyone participated in these events (someone had to stay behind to watch the camp), but we all kept busy regardless.

It wasn’t until Timeline that I broke out my camera, either. I didn’t bring it with me to Stowe, fearing people

would be upset with the modern object in the camp (some people are touchy), and I didn’t want to step on toes that way (despite Jarl Seamus assuring me otherwise). At Stowe I realized I didn’t have to worry, so it came with me to Timeline and I got some really nice photos. Unfortunately, I was starting to go down from the heat again, and ended up taking a nap to cool down maybe twenty minutes after I picked the camera up, but at least I got some photos this time. Alfie did a really nice job of leading a sparring session, and in training our newcomer, and I was really excited to photograph them. The hardest part was getting a good angle that didn’t have cars and modern stuff in it, so that the photos had a better look and feel to them. I am that anal photographer.

As I said, we had one hell of a party on Saturday night. Everyone ended up in the Viking Camp (Timeline is full of many different eras being represented), and we went through so much booze. We had a big 8ft table, and the whole thing was covered in empty bottles. There were probably 30 people drinking though, and we were all crowded under one sun shade to avoid the rain. We were loud, obnoxious, and having a great time.

The rain was the only downfall of Timeline. It rained all of Saturday night and into Sunday morning, so tearing down was not a pleasant activity. Jarl Seamus unfortunately broke our tent getting it apart because the wood had swollen so much. He had to sledgehammer part of it to break it free, and then after everything dried out he discovered other parts had cracked right down along the grain. So on our agenda is making a new tent frame, and this time doing something to seal it so the weather doesn’t affect it so badly.

Overall though, both events I felt went extremely well, and I am completely enamored with the

era. I’m doing everything I can to research it more and more, so that I can be an asset to the group. Growing up I just looked at the Vikings as kind of a barbaric rag-tag bunch of thieves and murderers. Now I know that they had some culture, too. Haha. Really though, they are a fascinating people, and they were very advanced for their time. After all, they crossed the Atlantic long before Christopher Columbus did, and in that day it was a feat for sure.

This weekend I’m going camping with some of these same Viking friends, but in modern stuff, so that we can discuss crafts and techniques and just generally hang out. I’m going to try my hand cooking over a fire (fire makes me pretty nervous in general, so this is a stepping stone for me), and relax with my books on the era. Fun stuff!