Viking Crafts

This past weekend was Regia Anglorum national training weekend for the re enactment group we belong too.  It is a time for the members to get together to share knowledge and practice battle techniques.  My husband usually spends the day fighting, while the kids and I wonder about looking for things to do.  This time however there were several new Viking era crafts to try so Princess and I decided to give them a try.

First we tried our hand at making viking glass beads.  We did use modern equipment for this

Princess did great and wasn't at all afraid of the flame

Here she is molding a glass bead using a graphite paddle (forgot what it is really called)

In between waiting to have her turn she read her book and Little Man played his DS.  He didn't want to try and I was a bit nervous having him around flames as he tends to be a tad impulsive 

I had a go and really enjoyed it.

Here are our finished beads (the two green beads and the 2 blue and white beads.)  not bad for our first time

Next I took a workshop to learn a little about Pewter Casting...Princess deserted me at this time as she found some kids to play with:)

During our period most mold would have been made of wax and then encased in clay.  Once the pewter was pours into the mold the wax would melt and the clay would need to be broken in order to reach the pewter casting.  Which means only one casting could be done at any time.

This mold is using cuttle fish bone; a shape would be carved into the bone and then hot pewter would be added..  Several pewter castings could be done before the mold would no longer hold shape.  

Another method was to use soap stone which would be carved into a shape.  Pewter casting on this method could be reused many times.

Lastly and the modern way of  of pewter casting is using silicone  molds

Here is my casting efforts, I just need to clean it up a bit!

Next Princess and I signed up for Repousse which is metal work.    Which basically consists of using hammers and different shape medal pins to score into copper or other metal to make designs.  This was used on helmets, shields and other metal items to add decoration

After you hammer in a design the metal becomes inflexible and no longer takes the shape of the tools so the metal needs to be resoftened.  We do this by adding it to the fire for a few minutes.

and cool it down in water

then you can continue to hammer in your shape.  I did RA for the name of our group Regia Anglorum 

We also worked on our archery skills using the long bow.  Princess was getting pretty good hitting the target and even a couple of bull eyes:)

Hubby had a turn

and so did I

Little Man pretty much stayed in the hall playing his electronic games during this trip.  He is the only one of the family who finds this whole re enactment thing a bit overwhelming to his senses:).

Viking Festival

This is our third year participating in the Jorvik Viking Festival.  York is one of our favorite places and we always have so much fun there.  This year only my husband and daughter decided to dress up and actively participate in the festivities while my son and I decided to stay warm and wear regular clothes:)

Through the town there are lots of activities for the children to do.

Fighting the Vikings is always a fun one:)

The Fulford tapestry.  Last year we watch while some of the ladies worked on this...and this year we got to see the finish work.  

One evening we attended a Viking Heimkomma, which is a homecoming.  It was such a wonderful atmosphere inside the York minister

Father and Daughter having a walk about town in their saxon outfits and getting their photos taken by lots of tourist:)

All the re enactors march thru the town beginning at the York Minister and ending at the battle field.  There about 300 re-enactors present for this event.

During the afternoon battle I caught this scene of the Bishop blessing one of the soldiers before battle

The battle ending, my hubby is lying down in that field somewhere:)

The Evening battle this year was done beside Clifford's Tower and work much better than in Year's past when it was held at the York Race course

The end is always filled with fireworks and it was beautiful!!

This is one activity we will greatly miss when we return to the states this year.

12th night celebration with Regia

Our family again participated in the the Regia 12th night feast at the Viking hall in Wychurst.  This is with my husband's re-enactment group.  I wanted us to arrive a bit early so I could get some pictures before it got dark.  I did a post about the hall last year and you can find it here and here

When we drove up we were greeted by this stag 

and his herd of does

In front of the newly hung front door to the hall
A Family picture outside the hall--I am thinking of getting this enlarged and framed for my husband

Last time we were here they were just starting to paint the inside of the hall.  This year it is almost completed

Details are fantastic

Tables getting set up and ready for the evening

Right above this window is the hall's mascot--a tawny owl-- This little bird has been a thorn in the sides of the building crew for several months as he has managed to break into the building despite chicken wire on the windows and make a big mess:(  For this night he stayed outside the building.

There is no electricity in the building so the atmosphere is wonderful

We had entertainment of music, songs, and games

The kids brought some old games with them to play as well.  9 Man Morris and Tafl are among the kids favorites.

The evening consisted of a 5 course meal with entertainment between each course.

Such a pleasant evening giving us a taste of what it might have been like in those times

We have been fortunate to attend this for the past 2 years.  Due to us returning to the States this summer it means we will miss next years's celebration but we will look back on this experience fondly:)!

Re-enactment Market Fair

This past weekend we went on our annual trek to the the Re enactors Market Fair held near Coventry.   It is always fun to go to these things cause you can met some very interesting people:).  Since my family are re enactors I can't call them strange as we might fit into that category;)!   Anyway, every time we go we see some new and interesting things.

One of the stalls had the game of UR and since we are studying Mesopotamia we stop to ask them to show us the rules of the game. 

Princess fell in love with this puppet dragon so much so she decided to spend her allowance on it:)

Watched a man construction arm sleeves for body armour

the full size version

My husband bought a leather belt and want the buckles switched so the kids and I got to see leather work

This was a new booth this year.  The stall boosts of wines from the medieval period.  They said they used documented recipes.  We tried a sample and it tasted very much like mull wine.  We bought a bottle for the up coming holidays:)  We also bought a bottle of mead.

This was a new item for me to see which is a navigation tool used by sailors to determine direction and speed of their sailing ships.

Lots of clothing booths

Showed the kids the history of women's clothing:)

Buying fabric

Looking at patterns for how to make anglo-saxons tunics.  Because I am going to attempt to make one for my husband and son...since buying pre-made one are so expensive.

Clothing accessories of every era could be found

As well as pottery and glassware for every era

Roman era costume

It is fun to look around and see all the different things, it was nice to see my kids showing their knowledge as they looked at different booths.  If you ever get a chance to attend one of these shows I highly recommend it as it really does allow kids to see up close and handle items they may only see in a museum.