Vikings: Ulfhednar

A wonderfully painted miniature of an Ulfhednar, or Wolfshirt, warrior.  These are semi-legendary fighters similar to Berserkers who wore wolfskin rather than bear.

The Hammer of Thor!

Mjolnir is Thor's Hammer.  And while many jave tried to duplicate this awesome weapon of myth, few match the stark and terrible simplicity of Baltimore Knife & Sword's version.



Warriors: Viking Terror! Part 5

The conclusion to the Warriors seriesViking Episode.

I should post their Samurai episode some time too...

Warriors: Viking Terror! Part 4

Part Four of the Warriors: Viking Terror! episode.

Warriors: Viking Terror! Part 3

Part three of the Warriors series Viking Terror episode.

Warriors: Viking Terror! Part 2

Former Green Beret Terry Schappert brings us the second part of the Viking episode from the series Warriors!

Hank Reinhardt on Viking Sword & Shield

The late swordsman Hank Reinhardt demos some of his research into fighting with the sword and round shield.

Warriors: Viking Terror! Part 1

The first part of a series examining the Viking Warrior culture.

The Muppet Show: In the Navy

The Muppet Show had a unique twist on Vikings.  I wonder how the Swedish Chef felt about it?

Pegaso's Berserker

Okay, technically he's an Ulfhednar, not a Berserker, but it's still an awesome model!

Tradition

This is a miniature vignette by Andrea Miniatures of a Viking father making a model of a longship for his son.

Countdown to the Avengers: Thor's Day!

The Secret of Kells

Recently my wife came home with the DVD The Secret of Kells.  This was a joint French-Irish production of an animated film that came out a couple of years ago.  It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Film.

The movie is a highly fictionalized account of the creation of the celebrated illuminated manuscript known today as The Book of Kells after the Irish monastery with which it is associated.  The Book of Kells is an awe-inspiring work of art that shows the full, glorious powers of both medieval illuminators and centuries of artistic development in Celtic culture.

Our story centers on a young man living at the monastery of Kells who becomes apprenticed to the master illuminator.  At the same time, he lives under a constant threat of Viking invasion.  He also begins a strange friendship with a mysterious girl who lives in the forest.  There are competing forces at work in the boy's life.  Kells represents the promise of civilization -- these are the Dark Ages, and civilization is a rather precarious notion, but it exists.  The work of illumination and art is presented as the crowning achievement of civilization.  The Vikings represent an existential threat to civilization.  They can tear it all down in a night and destroy everything.  The girl and her forest represent a more innocent time in civilization's past that is now fading.  The three forces are in competition, but at the same time, they balance one another.  Nature proves to be brutal.  Civilization proves that it has the potential to ignore art as easily as the nihilistic forces.  In the end, the relationships are interdependent -- but man chooses to move forward, conquer the darker urges, and produce art.

The movie is gorgeous.  Although the animation style seems simple, each frame is a complex work of art and design.

Some of the online reviewers at Amazon.com ding the movie for a slow pace.  It unfolds much like a dream, so it is somewhat languid.  But moments of action are suitably speedy.  Others remark on the fact that the Book of Kells is a bible and the religious aspects are played down in favor of fairy magic.  True, but I think this is intended to enhance the universality of art.  It transcends religion.  Art is a common and universal human expression that, like religion, brings forth our better natures and lights the world.

I recommend The Secret of Kells.  If you appreciate great art, you don't want to miss this movie.

"Siegfried", or, "Holy Crap! Why Isn't This a Movie?"

This truly gorgeous, animated trailer set to music from Wagner's Ring Cycle is for a French graphic novel.  It is not a movie trailer.

Why not?  This is fantastic, amazing, stupifying!

Wagner's intention with the Ring Cycle was to create a complete work of art within the media of his day -- hence an Opera, in which all the arts of the theater and orchestral music combined.  But surely animated films fit this bill also?  Perhaps even more so, as they bring in elements of the fine arts that fade more into the background of the theater.

Even if we streamline the Operatic version of the story back to the original Germanic epic, we probably lose nothing, and gain one heck of a Barbarian-Conquers-All tale complete with Grim Gods, Dragons, Magic Swords, Barbarian Princes, Valkyries, dwarfs...  Set it to old school, Disney style animation and we're truly talking a modern epic work of art!

Why isn't this being made?

Well, enjoy what we've got.

The Viking Ships Part 4

The Conclusion to the Viking Ships documentary.

Tunic Patterns

So I recently completed my first attempt at a Viking tunic.  Unfortunately, despite following the pattern, it is at least a size too small.  I'll get some photos of the tunic up later.

But if you're wondering how I came up with a pattern in the first place the answer is...

Lots of different places.

Here's a blog from a man who has opened a business devoted to reproducing Viking fashion for the Renn Fest, SCA, and Re-Enactors: http://vikingtunics.wordpress.com/  He's very informative about what it takes to get started.

There are any number of links out there for you to get instructions.  The UK Re-Enactment group, The Vikings has a ton of resources available on its website.  Even the North American branch re-directs you to the UK website.  http://www.vikingsonline.org.uk/resources/authenticity/basickit/index.htm

Another UK group with excellent information is Regia Anglorum: http://www.regia.org/main.htm

You can find many more links through this directory of Viking Websites: http://www.dilettante.info/vikinglinks.htm

There are, of course, links to sites that will sell you completed clothing.  To each his own.  Personally I am very interested in the artistic aspects of re-creating a Viking costume.  I would prefer to make as much as I can.  In theory, I could make everything.  This is what many people did 1000 years ago: make every article of clothing and ornament.  However, I recognize that my ability to sew is already ahead of my ability to do leatherwork or cast jewelry.  So I have bought, and will buy, various bits as necessary.  But eventually I should be able to do it all and make it look pretty.  At least, that's the plan.

However, the ultimate answer for which pattern I chose to use for my first attempt at a tunic is this:
http://www.amazon.com/McCalls-Patterns-Childrens-Costumes-SML-MED-LRG-XLG/dp/B004OA79A6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_ac_15  I used the pattern for the lower right corner tunic.  Although I did make some initial adjustments to the sleeves so they would taper toward the wrist rather than billow, and I left out the belt.  When I get the size right, it should make an excellent undertunic of linen.  It isn't right for the wool outer tunic, although a correct undertunic pattern should give me something to judge the proper size for the outer tunic.

I'm also using the trouser pattern, so we'll see how that turns out.

The Viking Ships Part 3

The third installment of the Viking Ships documentary.

Viking Ships Part 2

More on those amazing Viking ships!

The Viking Ships Part 1

A documentary on Viking Ships.

River Whitham Sword

Whew!

Well, it took about two months, but my River Whitham Viking Sword by Generation 2 finally arrived from Arms of Valor, Ltd. (http://www.armsofvalour.com/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AOVL&Product_Code=IP-702-2&Category_Code=ICIB)

This is a reproduction of a Viking Era sword recovered from the River Whitham in England. The original, in excavated condition, can be seen in the Osprey Book Anglo-Saxon Thegn: 449 - 1066 AD. (http://www.amazon.com/Anglo-Saxon-Thegn-AD-449-1066-Warrior/dp/1855323494/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332099620&sr=8-1). The photo is credited as belonging to the British Museum, so I assume they have the actual artifact in their collection.

There are a couple of excellent reviews of the sword already on the web. This one, from the Sword Buyer's Guide website, influenced my decision to purchase this sword: http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/witham.html

Although also factored into the decision was the fact I own a couple of other Gen2 weapons and I've been very pleased with the high quality of the work. My only complaint is that the high carbon steel can rust very quickly if not treated right. But that indicates the steel is good, and is more a comment on my sometimes lax maintenance standards. (Bad, JRF!!!)

The sword came with a scabbard made of wood sandwiched between leather, with carbon steel chape and throat. It is a very serviceable scabbard, but not period accurate. This is going to require some work on my part to build an accurate scabbard. That went onto the project list, and I've already done the necessary research and purchased some initial supplies. When the project is complete, I'll post photos of the finished product with details.

I did price having the scabbard redone by a specialist (http://www.tritonworks.com/home or http://www.dbkcustomswords.com/index.html) but there's a long waiting list just for them to start the project, and then it seems the scabbard will cost marginally less than buying the materials and doing it myself. It is more expensive for me to do it myself, but in the end, I'll have the scabbard, and a few new tools to use on future projects, plus some additional expertise.

Another incorrect detail is the suede-covered grip. That's going to have to come off, and I'll be looking to replace this with a more accurate cord-wrapped leather grip. Again, I've looked into this process and got the materials on order. I plan to rewrap the grip in a brown-dyed leather.

As I said, I have a couple of Gen 2 products in my arsenal, including the Viking Sax. The Sax was intended to be a matched companion to the River Whitham sword. You can see the two weapons share the copper diamond inlays on the hilt furniture. Also note how the Sax sports a brown wood handle which sharply contrasts with the black suede. One more reason to replace the sword grip.

I don't think there is much evidence for matching swords and saxes during this period, but it wouldn't have been impossible. That was not the deciding factor on purchasing the River Whitham sword. I really like the shape and style of the sword. And it fell into my price range. I'd really like to have an Albion sword someday, but this has been favorably compared to them at roughly a third of the price point. My one complaint is that my hilt crosspiece has been stamped with the letters "LA" in an unobtrusive place. I have no idea why. Fortunately, the stamp isn't visible unless you're facing the business end of the sword, so it's not a bother. I doubt Albion allows stray stamp marks on their swords.

So that's my new River Whitham sword as it arrived and paired with the Sax I already own. It's going to take a little work to bring the sword fully up to specs, but I'm very pleased with it. And we're another step closer to my 2012 goal.