I was asked by the staff at Raglan castle to do a public guided walk on the topic of bats this weekend just gone. This I did on Saturday night, and it went very well. Being bats, I didn't turn up until 7pm, so I was surprised to find a bunch of vikings in residence. On learning that they were going to be there on the Sunday as well, I went back the following day. Raglan castle is worth a visit in its own right anyway.
It turned out that the castle staff had invited some Tudor reenactors to have stalls for the weekend, but they only brought two stalls, so there was lots of room to spare. Therefore the vikings were invited at short notice, and in true Norse fashion they brought 8 stalls worth of gear and completely took over
I was greeting on arrival with cries of "Hello batman!" and was made to feel very welcome. Sufficiently theat I spent all afternoon with them, and they asked me to take some pictures for them for future publicity, which I was happy to oblige.
First things first, make friends with the people who have control of the food. I was of course fascinated with the fire kit, and the spoons and bowls, and ingratiated myself with the kitchen women by flirting (though they started it), and by donating some of my surplus wooden spoons to them. They responded by feeding me a wonderful bacon and veg stew.
[/url]Viking kitchen by Michael Kilner, on Flickr[/IMG]
[/url]Kitchenware by Michael Kilner, on Flickr[/IMG]
Being vikings there was some deadly combat. Viking women are of course notoriously fierce, but in this instance the warrior maiden was overcome by the superior prowess of her doughty opponent.
[/url]Deadly combat! by Michael Kilner, on Flickr[/IMG]
Viking archery was on show as well, with fire arrows as well as ordinary ones, and an impressive array of tools.
[/url]Viking archery by Michael Kilner, on Flickr[/IMG]
The fishing kit was fascinating even to a non fisherman like me. Bone and iron hooks, and nets and traps. Check out those gorgeous birch bark floats left of shot.
[/url]Viking fisherman by Michael Kilner, on Flickr[/IMG]
Other fierce battles were fought over the board in games of Hnefatafl. I have played it before, and it is not easy despite the apparently simple rules.
[/url]The viking game by Michael Kilner, on Flickr[/IMG]
There was a tent of fabric and furs, and the comely wenches here persuaded me out of my normal clothes and into some viking garb.
[/url]Viking seamstresses by Michael Kilner, on Flickr[/IMG]
I'm not sure that the result was an improvement
[/url]World's least scary viking by Michael Kilner, on Flickr[/IMG]
I put the axe back with the other weapons on show.
[/url]Viking weaponry by Michael Kilner, on Flickr[/IMG]
I would like to thank the Svartland Viking Age Living History group for their hospitality, and heartily recommend them to anyone who gets a chance to meet them. I'm now tempted by the viking reenactment thing myself, and apparently, my wife is quite keen on the idea too
[/url]The Svartland Vikings by Michael Kilner, on Flickr[/IMG]
Further information here: http://svartland.webs.com
It turned out that the castle staff had invited some Tudor reenactors to have stalls for the weekend, but they only brought two stalls, so there was lots of room to spare. Therefore the vikings were invited at short notice, and in true Norse fashion they brought 8 stalls worth of gear and completely took over
I was greeting on arrival with cries of "Hello batman!" and was made to feel very welcome. Sufficiently theat I spent all afternoon with them, and they asked me to take some pictures for them for future publicity, which I was happy to oblige.
First things first, make friends with the people who have control of the food. I was of course fascinated with the fire kit, and the spoons and bowls, and ingratiated myself with the kitchen women by flirting (though they started it), and by donating some of my surplus wooden spoons to them. They responded by feeding me a wonderful bacon and veg stew.
Being vikings there was some deadly combat. Viking women are of course notoriously fierce, but in this instance the warrior maiden was overcome by the superior prowess of her doughty opponent.
Viking archery was on show as well, with fire arrows as well as ordinary ones, and an impressive array of tools.
The fishing kit was fascinating even to a non fisherman like me. Bone and iron hooks, and nets and traps. Check out those gorgeous birch bark floats left of shot.
Other fierce battles were fought over the board in games of Hnefatafl. I have played it before, and it is not easy despite the apparently simple rules.
There was a tent of fabric and furs, and the comely wenches here persuaded me out of my normal clothes and into some viking garb.
I'm not sure that the result was an improvement
I put the axe back with the other weapons on show.
I would like to thank the Svartland Viking Age Living History group for their hospitality, and heartily recommend them to anyone who gets a chance to meet them. I'm now tempted by the viking reenactment thing myself, and apparently, my wife is quite keen on the idea too
Further information here: http://svartland.webs.com
