"Viking reenactment." Topic

So I have for years tried to get into living histroy and battle reenactment, but there is always stuff in the way, laws that make it anoying to do, price, local ect.

But I've nosed around viking age reenactment, and for the first time the price seems ok, I tried to make a standard viking kit, shoes, trosueer, padded jacket, belt, spear, and small axe, with shield and helmet, I don't know the quality this store provied, but the price was about £450.00 GBP

Another £450.00 GBP for mail, but you don't need mail for a start, so there would be no problem getting the kit together, then buy the mail later.

The problem is that to my suprise, I havn't found any norwegian livng history groups doing vikings, which is weird, becasue each year dozens of not hundreds gather for the stiklestad reenactment.

But I find no groups for it. I find sevral british, but no norwegian.

The British did see quite a lot of the business end of the Viking era, while in Scandinavia it was just a way to get the restless men out of their wives hair for a few weeks.

I got into "Viking" reenactment only so that I could do the battle of Hastings in 2006 when they did the "big one", i.e. when it was internationally participated in. There were over 2K fighters involved, including c. 150 cavalry and a similar number of archers. Getting the kit together was, in retrospect, a large part of the fun (at the time, I was too worried about not being able to put together what I wanted; I ended up making my own kite-shaped shields, because I could not find decent ones, much less affordable ones for what you get).

That much for mail seems too high be at least half. I bought my riveted shirt for less than $270. USD And that was including shipping costs. I found it on eBay. I had to strip the zinc coating off, to make it look natural steel; and that was a big adventure in itself; a series of misadventures, really, which frustrated but also brought eventual success and satisfaction. I put the mail shirt on most of the days in a week, for my core body exercise routine. But, other than that, and using an over-heavy broadsword to do arm exercises with, I haven't put on my full kit since October 2006. The "next big one" was cancelled this year; and that means at least another five years before there is a chance for the next big Hastings event.

There are no "Viking" groups anywhere near where I live either. But that is weird, Gun, that in Norway of all places there are no Viking reenactment groups at all….

Perhaps the modern Scandinavian has 'evolved' beyond wishing to 'celebrate' rapine and looting?

Actually, with the Varangians and the various internal episodes of large scale bloodshed occurring at home during the period, I would have expected quite a few different groups.

I thought I had actually seen reference to some on History Channel or in some documentary.

Years ago I met some Danes who had their own take on re-enactment. They had a replica longship which they would row out to a beach, pull it ashore and party for a couple of nights. Very Danish.

That seems a good place to start, with the replica ship crews…

Hi Gunfreak

Did some searching for you and found a couple of links for you in Norway.

Karmy Viking Club
vikingklubben.no

Link to Viking Festivals etc
jelldragon.com/links.htm

Have fun

Gunfreak,

Another option is to contact some of the British Groups and see if they have suitable contacts in your country.

Regia Anglorum or the Dark Age Society may be good starts.

They also explored.

A bit late to this but I know a number of Norwegian Viking-age re-enactors.

It's true that most of Scandanavia prefers the Living History side of things, but some groups go into the combat stuff as well.

Drop me a PM if you want some contacts.