DARC - Blog

DARC Blog Moving

2010-04-20T20:45:00.002-04:00

With google dropping support for our style of blog we had to move the blog. The old entries will stay here but the new entries can be found at http://darkcompanyca.blogspot.com.

Sping Pole Lathe

2010-04-18T09:43:00.003-04:00

In a Tent.

This is the set up used at the Ribe Viking Centre.

You see that the sapling is tied off to one of the tent frame beams (the side beam in this case). The mid section of the pole is supported on a forked branch. (I would think using two of these would be even more stable.

The lathe is set along the axis of the rear wall. This specific tent does open at both ends.

I'm not sure in demo if the worker just has his back to the public. They also might open BOTH ends of the tent.

DARC at Forward Into the Past

2010-03-21T09:18:00.003-04:00

Saturday March 27, Laurier University, Waterloo Ontario
FITP web site

If I have this correct from the schedule, these are the classes being taught by / or of special interest to, those studying the Viking Age.

* indicates those classes being taught by DARC folks who are going to L'Anse Aux Meadows in August 2010

9:00 AM
(Keynote) Out on the town in 10th century Reykajvik, a survey of jewelry dress and textiles in early Iceland

10:30 AM
Intermediate Glass Beads "The fancy stuff"

Pottery: An experimental early-period Pit Fire *

Introduction to Tablet Weaving *

Norse Sagas - the Bloody, Bawdy and Bizarre * (which right now is the single highest registration)

11:30 AM
Viking Navigation Techniques

Introduction to Fibre Prep for Spinning

Bead Production in Scandinavia: converting archaeological evidence to a practical method *

Feet firmly in the past – Shoes from the Viking Age 800 – 1050 *

Meaningful Scratches *

1:00 PM
Viking Combat Demonstration

Treasure Necklaces

Warp Weighted loom - a Hands-On Introduction *

Iron Smelting in Vinland: converting archaeological evidence to a practical method *

2:00 PM
Building the Coppergate Helm

Bone Carving *

Tablet Woven Artefacts *

3:00 PM
Iceland - Geography and Museums *

Introduction to Drop Spinning

Norse Music *

Flint and Steel Fire Striking

Classes on Interpretive method

11:30 AM
Not Just Costume - Reenactors as serious historians

2:00 PM
Habits of mind; How tools affect thinking

3:00 PM
The importance of excellence in material culture

4:00 PM
The Importance of Excellence in Material Culture

Setting the Scene: Interpretive Methods for Living History *

DARC does FITP, addendum

2010-03-19T11:08:00.002-04:00

DARC's sessions at Forward Into the Past - www.fitp.ca - March 27th, 2010

As you can see, some of our members have a wider diversity of interest then the Viking Culture that the group as a whole generally focuses on.

Setting the Scene: Interpretive Methods for Living History

Iron Smelting in Vinland: converting archaeological evidence to a practical method

Introduction to Tablet Weaving

Tablet Woven Artefacts

Iceland - Geography & Museums

Bead Production in Scandinavia: converting archaeological evidence to a practical method

Warp Weighted loom - a Hands-On Introduction

Pottery: An experimental early-period Pit Fire

Norse Music

Norse Sagas - the Bloody, Bawdy and Bizarre

Dances from Tudor England (Gresley Dances)

Feet firmly in the past – Shoes from the Viking Age 800 – 1050

Meaningful Scratches

Bone Carving

Gypsies in Portraiture: Truth or Fiction?

DARC does Forward Into the Past again!

2010-03-09T10:23:00.003-05:00

Forward Into the Past is a day long conference featuring the best of history!

www.fitp.ca

Hands on workshops, lectures, demonstrations of a wide variety of history - from learning how to warp a warp-weighted loom (and what it is!) to notes from experimental iron smelting, to pirates and so much more!

The Dark Ages Recreation Company will be there in full force again this year - we're contributing 18 different sessions in a wide variety of topics covering the Viking Age.

But this year, we're just one of 9 groups contributing to the conference, and it's moved on campus to Wilfrid Laurier University and is supported by the students of the Medieval Students Society, the Classics Society and the Archaeological Society.

All the details you could need (sessions, cost, how to register) are on the webpage above, but wait - there's more!

FITP also has a fan page on Facebook, which you can find here. Become a fan now!

Karen

Characters - Thorgrimr

2010-02-01T06:50:00.002-05:00

There was a man named Thorgrimr, the son of Gunnar, the son of Thorvald who had come from Hardangerfjord to take land in Iceland. When Thorgrimr heard of Ragnar's intention to sail for Greenland he said that it would be no loss, and possibly a good and worthy thing to go and settle there himself.

Thorgrimr at that time was living in his brother's house without wife or child. The land was poor, and each winter was leaner than the last. But Thorgrimr was known as a good carver, and had heard of the walrus and reindeer to be found in Greenland which would give him ivory and antler to work. He said that he planned to profit from this and so sold his share of the farm, packed his tools, and joined Ragnar's ship.

Characters - Ketill

2010-01-25T08:33:00.003-05:00

Note: This is the second in the series giving backgrounds of the characterizations DARC members are planning to use for the LAM 2010 presentation.

There was a man named Ketill, son of Einar. He was from the west coast of
Norway, near to Trondheim. This was not the same Ketill who sailed for
Greenland with Eirik the Red, who had settled in the east and named it
Ketilsfjord.
Now as a young man Ketill Einarsson had voyaged to Ireland, to make his home at
Dubhlin. He became a blacksmith of some skill and married Bera, known as
the Quickfingered for her skill at the loom. Although Ketill did well
enough at his trade, his luck was poor. Some said of him that he should
dream and plan less, and should work at the forge more. His reputation
became as a man who was quick to spend money, but slow to finish the work.
Although no longer young, Ketill sold his house and traveled to Iceland.
There he hoped his years of experience would have more value, and his
poor reputation be less known. Soon after he went to the Althing to see
if a wealthy chieftain might have need of a skillful smith. But the work
that was offered was that he considered only fit for journeymen, the
making of nails and rivets or the forging of horse shoes.
So it was there he heard the ale-told tales of Eirik and his Greenland.
He met silver tongued Ragnarr Thorbergsson and heard of the voyage to
Greenland that was being planned. Ketill was sure that his skills would
be of high value to Eirik and Leif in such a new settlement. For that
reason, the last of his silver has gone to Ragnarr to pay for passage on
the ship.

Text by Darrell Markewitz - Image by Susan Gold (?)

Characters - Ragnarr & Ka∂lin

2010-01-22T09:29:00.004-05:00

Note: This is the first in what will be a series giving backgrounds of the characterizations DARC members are planning to use for the LAM 2010 presentation.

Ragnarr Thorbergsson and Kaðlín Jónsdottir were happy
in their life at Kaupang (Norway). Ragnarr produced wonderful glass
beads and had trading interests in various ships.
Kaðlín produced fabrics suited to the townfolk around
them. Then Olaf the king's friend settled into town
bringing in trade goods including beads and fabric cheaper
than Ragnarr and Kaðlín can make or get. The king made
it plain where his preference was and they saw their trade
drying up.

Unwilling to start a fight they would lose they decided to
pack up and head to that new land they had heard about -
Iceland. It sounded full of promise and the idea of owning
a nice farm with good tenants to do the hard work while they
settled down and worked on a family sounded good. Full of
enthusiasm they sold off their shop, and booked passage to
Iceland.

Unfortunately Iceland wasn't what they had been lead to
believe. No farms were available to be taken they were all
claimed by someone. Making friends with a local chieftain
they hoped that after his trip to the Althing to settle a
claim about a farm that in exchange for some of their trade
goods he might lease them the nice farm involved in the
claim. They went with him to the althing and gifted more
trade goods here and there to help gather support for his
case. Unfortunately the case did not go well and in
addition to losing the farm they wanted the chieftain lost
most of his available money. Now Ragnarr is seen as his
supporter and hence isn't welcome at other chieftain's
homes. Making the best of a bad situation they gathered
together some other disgruntled folks and booked passage to
the wonderful new land Eric found - Green land. Even the
name sounded better than Iceland. Eric would be a much
better chieftain to follow.

Text by Neil Peterson
Image by Darrell

LAM 2010 - The Senario

2010-01-20T09:52:00.003-05:00

The Althing in Iceland of 1000 AD was an important one. As always, many disputes were heard and settled, to the gain of some and loss of others. One of the significant decisions made at the Althing was to encourage all Icelanders to accept Christianity. This did not sit well with all. As always, many things were discussed, and deals made, away from the Speaker's Rock. Some came just to see and be seen. Traders and artisans came to display their wares, seeking customers and commissions at the gathering.
The days of the Landham were now long gone, so the good (even acceptable) farm land had pretty much all been settled. Knowing this, minor chieftains were becoming less and less likely to even oath to new bondi, and not very generous if they did. The famine years were now just a distant memory to only the oldest Icelanders, but still the land was not as bountiful as it once was. One exciting piece of news at the Althing was that of Eric the Red's new Green Land, and even mention of his son Lief's Vinland, both to the west.

There was a man named Ragnarr Thorbergsson, once from Kaupang in Norway. He had come to Iceland, hoping to improve his status and increase his trading. Now Ragnarr was well known for this weather luck, but not so envied for his luck in travel. His travels never were outright disasters, but certainly things just never turned out as he boasted they would.
Ragnarr's schemes at the Althing had not worked as he had planned. He was certainly not alone in this. There were recent immigrants to Iceland, and even young families and second sons, all of whom found that there was no chance of good farm land in their future. There were some who felt the conversion to the new religion was just not to their taste. As always, there were those who felt a fresh start in a new land would solve what ever problems that always seemed to plague them.

So Ragnarr, nothing if not shrewd, quickly hired a ship to sail to the new colony of Greenland. He gathered up a load of the hopeful and disgruntled who would pay him passage against the chance to settle on new farms of their own.
As it happened, things didn't go perfectly on the voyage, with the ship blown off course. Like Bjarni before them, they found themselves near Vinland. Knowing the tales freshly told, they made their way to Leif's buðir and found some Greenlanders already there. Most were not pleased to find that they would need to lay over the winter before continuing to Greenland in the spring.
This mixed group of farmers and craftsmen, of varied ages and original homelands, now finds themselves stuck together in close quarters in Vinland. They are settling in to this remote outpost best they can, and trying to help get ready for the winter soon to come. The ship and most of the crew has gone off down the coast to harvest valuable timber, hoping to improve their lot when they finally make it to Greenland.

LAM 2010 - Setting the Stage : ICELAND

2010-01-07T09:57:00.005-05:00

Geography 2 - This is a more focused look of Iceland itself:

The first is a modern view, loaded off the Geographic Guide web site. I had looked at a number of maps available (via Google) and thought this was best suited for our purposes.
Unlike many others, it combines both topography, town sites and roads. It did not use false colour (on many showing elevations, with sea level as green - which is problematic). It did include the locations of the major ice sheets, which along with elevation, is important to understand settlement patterns.

This second map is scanned from Vikings - NAS (Fitzhugh & Ward, pg 165). This is a map of the historic settlement patterns. I chose this one primarily because it shows occupation areas in general during expansion period. The key lists 'by 930' which is as close a reference as we are likely to get for were people are in our target period of 1000 AD.

The last image was scanned from 'Viking Expansion Westwards' (Magnusson, pg 86). It is a nice compliment to the map above. It shows the major town and archaeological sites. I suspect this map will prove the most useful when it comes time to start looking at artifact prototypes.

Darrell

Author's Note: This part of a series of shorter descriptions that will add together to paint a picture of the background to DARC's upcoming presentation at L'Anse aux Meadows NHSC in August of 2010. Taken together, these articles will deal with a number of specific interpretive elements, using Vinland in the Viking Age as the concrete example. These are most likely to presented here very much in a random order. Hope is to tie them together into a coherent package to be delivered at Forward Into the Past in late March.

LAM 2010 - Setting the Stage : GEOGRAPHY

2010-01-05T09:15:00.004-05:00

After DATE, the next most important consideration in characterization may be PLACE.

The physical location for a character creates a framework that determines what they could know, what they might do, how they might look, and what objects they might have available to them. A town dweller in the home country is sure to be quite different than a farmer in a colony. For most historic periods, the stress should be placed on locally available resources. A good example of this can be found in building construction, where rough form may be cultural, but local materials determine the actual details. This is not always the case, as cultural factors might prevent local materials from being adopted. A nice example here would be early Canadian English freezing to death in cloth coats, because wearing Native style furs was 'just not British'. Access to imported goods has always been restricted, usually thus expensive. What might be easily available in a local area may become high status luxury in a distant place.

The re-enactor is always constrained by the mechanisms of artifact preservation and recovery, a topic that will be dealt with separately. Even when hoping to keep centered to a specific location, lack of artifact prototypes may force you to expand your circle.

As a direct application to DARC at Vinland, take a look at this map of the Norse North Atlantic:

The general immigration patterns during the Viking Age are this:
Danes to England
Swedes to Russia
Norwegians to the North Atlantic
So concentrating on the Norwegians the general pattern is:
Norway to the Shetlands and Scotland
Norway to Ireland (but there are plenty of Danes there too!)
Norse Scotland and Norway to the Faeroes
Norse Ireland and Norway to Iceland
Iceland to Greenland
Greenland and Iceland to Vinland

The pattern is clearly a series of individual stepping stones, both as they moved westward, and as time progressed.

Using our determined time line at 1000 AD, within a normal life time, the primary focus for our characterizations should be Iceland. It is possible to expand slightly to Norway, Norse Scotland and Ireland.

Iceland as a focus presents special problems in terms of artifact selection. Although not marginal, it still had limited resources in terms of raw materials. There will be a considerable impact on the availability and quality of many 'commercial' goods, which primarily had to be imported from the outside. This overall tends to push objects upwards in status level.

Darrell

Author's Note: This part of a series of shorter descriptions that will add together to paint a picture of the background to DARC's upcoming presentation at L'Anse aux Meadows NHSC in August of 2010. Taken together, these articles will deal with a number of specific interpretive elements, using Vinland in the Viking Age as the concrete example. These are most likely to presented here very much in a random order. Hope is to tie them together into a coherent package to be delivered at Forward Into the Past in late March.

LAM 2010 - Setting the Stage : EVENTS

2010-01-04T10:03:00.004-05:00

Number Two - Historical Events

This is a generalized time line taken from the Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings.

I have cut a slice here, which reflects the possibilities for any of DARC's historic characters. I have used a framework starting at 950, and running through to 1005 (as presented in the source table. This obviously lists the only the largest events.

Key to this is fixing the year date of the presentation. Staff interpreters at LAM do not refer to a specific date in their presentation. If pressed, they will vaguely reference 'about 1000 AD'.

A short background to theory here:
There are a couple of differing ways a living history program could deal with this statement of dates.
1) Refer only to some general historic era (Viking Age). As you might guess, this generally supports only the lowest level of characterization for the individual interpreter (commentary or 3rd person).
2) Relate to a general event (Norse at Vinland). This appears to be the approach being taken at LAM by the staff. Again this supports 2nd person, maybe 1st person characterizations. This would narrow the focus down to roughly 1000 - 1020 AD. The year 1000 is most likely to be given as the general round number.
3) Pick a specific year. Often this target year is researched in great detail, then repeated annually (an example would be Plimoth Plantation) This becomes most useful when delivering full role playing characterizations.
4) A specific, but shifting, year. In the past this has been the normal approach used by DARC, typically we have simply subtracted 1000 from the current year.

Now, one potential problem with the use of a single (repeating) target year is that it does not have provision for the natural ageing of interpreters. DARC has attempted to deal with that by using the shifting date. This is only a problem when you are considering the deep details of a characterization - which is 'what do I know'. Obviously, some of us have characters that have been presented, sometimes with little modification, for over 15 years. Obviously, 'we are not the (wo)men we once were'.
(There is a further consideration of characters and physical ageing to be discussed, but I will leave that for a future posting.)

So the slice of time seen above brackets the potential life of our oldest character (certainly Kettil), but does not extend much past the Vinland presentation date.

Obviously there needs to be a regional aspect added. If Ragnarr is originally from Denmark, what he knows about events is most certainly different from what Kettil knows (Norway born). The next posting will look at geography.

Darrell

Author's Note: This part of a series of shorter descriptions that will add together to paint a picture of the background to DARC's upcoming presentation at L'Anse aux Meadows NHSC in August of 2010. Taken together, these articles will deal with a number of specific interpretive elements, using Vinland in the Viking Age as the concrete example. These are most likely to presented here very much in a random order. Hope is to tie them together into a coherent package to be delivered at Forward Into the Past in late March.

LAM 2010 - Setting the Stage : ART

2010-01-03T17:48:00.003-05:00

Author's Note: Hopefully this will be the first in a series of shorter descriptions that will add together to paint a picture of the background to DARC's upcoming presentation at L'Anse aux Meadows NHSC in August of 2010. These are most likely to presented here very much in a random order. Hope is to tie them together into a coherent package to be delivered at Forward Into the Past in late March.

Number One - Artistic Styles :

The table above is taken from 'Vikings - North Atlantic Saga' by Fitzhugh & Ward.

Our time point is roughly 1000 AD. That puts things with MAMMEN as the primary style.
RINGERIKE is still relatively new, and may not be seen outside the homelands.
JELLING has just faded, but is likely to make up many of our 'older' objects.
BORRE may exist in some heirloom objects.

Most importantly, both OSEBURG (too old) and URNES (not started) style objects should not be included on decorative objects.

There will likely more to be said about all this in upcoming posts.

Darrell

(The most obvious starting point would have been geography, but I am having a bit of trouble finding a single map that ties the entire westward expansion over the North Atlantic to the homelands.)

Objects - Authenticity Levels?

2009-12-12T10:29:00.003-05:00

(This piece duplicated from 'Hammered Out Bits')

One of the things that all of us in DARC are struggling with right now is gathering the collection of objects we will need for our presentation at L'Anse aux Meadows in August of 2010. This is a major undertaking for the group, and we all want all aspects of our presentation to be at the highest standard possible.

Picking 'what they carried' is key to the image of the Viking Age that we will create. Objects define the characters and shape the activities undertaken. By serving as jumping off points for conversation, objects help mold possible discussions.

To avoid some confusion, often there is a differentiation made between 'reproductions' and 'replicas'. Reproductions are generally held to be duplicates of the artifacts as they now exist (partial or corroded for example). Replicas are generally considered to be a duplicate of an object when it was 'new'. Our interest here is primarily on replicas, be it duplicates of a specific objects, or something within a known type of object.

There are a number of criteria under which any specific replica object might be evaluated. This can get a bit confusing, as there is considerable overlap in the qualities expected, especially at the higher levels of detailing.
One set of considerations involves the general historical authenticity of a purpose made object. This primarily as assessment of the specific artifact prototype chosen :

Level One : Historic / Not Modern

This is perhaps so obvious that sometimes as a separate level it is disregarded. Here, obviously modern era objects are avoided and replaced with a sample from past history. An axe is used instead of a chain saw, a flame for lighting over electricity, clothing has the feel of 'costume'. Generally the combined effect of a collection of such objects is to leave the viewer with the impression of the scene being 'not modern day' but the exact historic period being represented may not be immediately obvious.

Level Two : Time Period

The object now will fit into the general types known from artifact samples from over the spread of the historic period of interest. A elements from a number of specific sources may be combined into one replica. An axe has a specific shape to head and handle, an oil lamp may replace a candle, clothing now has the feel of 'ethnic costume'.

Level Three - Cultural Set

At this point objects begin to draw on quite specific cultural prototypes. (Danish rather than Saxon for example.) There may be a narrowing of selection to reflect individual geographical locations. There will start to be a narrowing of focus to match the artifacts chosen against their specific functions. A combat axe as distinguished from a felling axe for example.

Level Four - Specifics

The last level is a bit harder to define, as it relates to quite specific narrowing of the artifact prototypes under consideration. Ideally, the choice would be all of A/B/C. In actual fact, it is often not possible to find an existing artifact that can fit all three characteristics. At this point, the detail of the persona characterization may become an important factor in determining the specifics chosen:

Level Four A - Date
Which may be extended backwards by 'heirloom objects'. The turtle brooches in Iceland a perfect example.

Level Four B - Location
Which may be extended by trade networks. Birka having a wider assortment than the backwoods of Iceland for example. Care needs to taken to avoid the obviously 'one of a kind' samples (See the 'Golden Buddha Rule')

Level Four C - Social Status
Which is often something that restricts the range UP - not as much DOWN. Even a king might use a wooden spoon! Most often this restricts overall quality and choice of materials, a brooch of simple iron rather than one of engraved silver.

A second evaluation can be made by looking purely from the standpoint of experimental archaeology. This is an assessment of the production methods used to create the replica. Potential historic accuracy of any object inside a living history presentation can be made on the following four point scale:

Level one is 'Form':

Here the rough appearance of an artifact is duplicated. This produces an object which is essentially decorative only ( a stage prop), and where the both the physical materials and production techniques used may be modern. Such an item will be acceptable when viewed from a distance of several feet. For example, most clothing used in historical presentations falls into this category - the cut may be loosely based on period types, but usually the fabrics are modern and sewing machines are used in the construction. Generally only the simplest of information may be gathered through the use of objects of this level.

Level two is 'Function':

Here the utility of an artifact is duplicated. Some care has been used to match materials and processes to match an existing artifact type. This item would be acceptable when held in the hand and would match the general performance in use of an original. A good example would be a hand forged axe properly heat treated and balanced. Although made using modern materials, there would not be a large difference in handling between these items and an original artifacts. Basic information about the characteristics of an object can be gained at this level.

Level three is 'Materials':

Here the original materials and production methods are duplicated, with special care made to duplicate the exact measurements of an individual artifact. A reproduction shawl made of wool and hand woven; with careful choice of colour and thread textures would be an example. Although it would not be required that the fleece to have been naturally dyed or hand spun, there would be no observable difference to indicate modern steps in the chain. The process of creating the object is now a source of information as well as that supplied by its actual use.

Level four is 'Processing':

At this point the raw materials themselves are created using period techniques, followed by using period production methods to produce an exact replica of a specific object. The item will be acceptable even using detailed analysis. At this level, the chain of production often becomes quite involved. For example, the production of an iron boat rivet (such as found at L'Anse aux Meadows) could involve recreating a charcoal kiln, processing bog iron in a bowl furnace to produce the iron rods, then finally the manufacture of the rivet itself using period styled forge and tools. Because of the complexity and scope of such experiments, the amount of data gathered is large and can often result in unexpected findings.

Applications :

When considering the objects to be included in DARC''s presentation at L'Anse aux Meadows in 2010:

Considering Historical Authenticity (Prototypes):

Every attempt should be to include as many objects as possible that exist at the full range of Level 4 (Specifics). Ideally all of date / location / status should be matched to individual characterizations.
(The original set of objects for LAM were detailed between Level 2 and Level 3, this primarily in an attempt to portray the wider range of Norse material culture.)

Considering Historical Accuracy (Production):

Ideally the majority of our objects will confirm to Level Three (Materials). Those demonstrating individual crafts specialties should endeavor to include some objects at Level Four (Production).
(The original set of objects for LAM were detailed between Level 1 and Level 2, with a selected few at Level 3. This primarily due to a quite restrictive budget.)

A possible third set of qualifications can be to sort objects by their effective contact distances. That is the distance where any differences from historic prototypes become obvious.

Across the room - 10 feet
During conversation - 3 feet
In the hand - 1 foot
Detailed look - 6 inches
Scientific observation - a magnifying glass

Steve Strang made an important observation, based on his experience working a number of different historic periods :

'Any object should have a level of authenticity which matches its normal observation distance.'

What he is getting at here is that differing objects are intended for different 'contact distances'. At a minimum there should be no easily observable modern aspects at that distance. A piece of clothing should have hand sewn seams on the outside edges, but any seams underneath are not observed, and can thus be modern machine stitching. A knife blade could be made of roughly polished stainless steel, as normally it is never placed in the hands of visitor. A drop spindle, which might often be placed in the hands of a visitor, needs to have a high level of detailing.

Generally this means that all our objects must pass observation at a distance of at least three feet (conversation distance) as a bare minimum. A very good number need to pass observation at one foot (in the hand). There may be some rare few that need to withstand observation at six inches (close to the face).

One last general guideline is from Bruce Blackistone - 'Uncle Atli's Bronze Buddha Rule' :

'No more than one really weird/exotic/semi-improbable item in the camp at an event; and it must have a logical, historical explanation.*'
* Such as: "This odd statue came from my uncle who traded for it in
Miklagard" NOT "When I ventured through China and Japan after being
kidnapped by Gypsy pirates, I became a Buddhist."

(Note: This is an expansion of a segment I wrote for 'Interpreting the Viking Age' in 2000. It should be considered to be FULLY COPYRIGHT material. )

Darrell Markewitz

New Reconstruction at LAM

2009-12-12T07:54:00.003-05:00

I recently had some images of the new repairs to the main hall at L'Anse aux Meadows provided to me .

The first is an interior shot. This is a promotional image, shot during the recent Olympic Torch Relay, which started one leg at LAM. Even the larger image (click) does not have a lot of detail. It also suffers from use of a wide angle lens. Two major modifications stand out. The interior walls have all been planked. It also appears they have raised the clearance between the side walls and the angle of the roof.

The second image shows the restoration work on the exterior of the hall. The smoke holes have been converted entirely. Compare these with that seen on the 'small dwelling house' in the fore-ground, with its original smoke hole cover.

Art Imitates - well, US !

2009-11-28T12:59:00.002-05:00

Neil was the one who spotted this. Its just way too weird not to share!

Taken from the comics page of the Houston Chronicle, 11/28/09
the direct link

I really can NOT for the life of me imagine this reference points to anyone else in North American than DARC!

Vinland 3 on YouTube

2009-11-16T08:51:00.000-05:00

Re-Creating the iron smelt by the Norse in Vinland, circa 1000 AD. Members of the Dark Ages Re-Creation Company (http://www.darkcompany.ca) undertake their third smelt in this specific series on November 7, 2009. The result was a 2.9 kg bloom produced from 18 kg of bog iron ore analog. This smelt used all human powered air, supplied via a Norse style double bag bellows.

Footage shot by D. Markewitz & K. Thompson

Iron Masters : Darrell Markewitz & Ken Cook
Charcoal : Sam Fallezone
Ore : Neil Peterson
Records : Steve Strang
Bellows operators : Dave Cox, Marcus Burnham, Sam, Ken, Darrell
Consolidation: Ken, Darrell, Dave, Sam

(duplicates post on Hammered Out Bits)

Vinland 2 Smelt - On YouTube

2009-10-14T11:03:00.002-04:00

This short sequence shows the mechanical piston bellows in operation (dubbed the 'FrankenBellows'). A sequence about 3/4 the way through the smelt, showing the effect of cracking from the clay slab construction used. Last is the extraction and first consolidation sequence, featuring Ken, Neil and Sam.

Cross posted from 'Hammered Out Bits'
Darrell

So you want to join DARC?

2009-10-01T12:54:00.006-04:00

We get this question from time to time so we thought we would post the response here in addition to on our FAQ page.

The Dark Ages Recreation Company was formally founded in 2000, primarily to provide high quality living history presentations centred on the Viking Age to museums. The Company's core principles are the result of discussions going back to the early 1990's. Many of these concepts were derived (if not outright raided) from existing museum interpretive programs, other living history groups, and considerable personal experience on the part of the initial founders. Another key aspect to the activities of DARC is the use of experimental archaeology to re-discover ancient working methods. Although the members of DARC are always keen to meet, and perhaps adopt, other 'kindred spirits', expansion into a wide based 'official' organization is not our intent.

DARC is a fairly tight knit group centred in Ontario, Canada that works as a single organized unit and does not support 'branch clubs' outside of our local area. As a result we grow very slowly.

This means the first question we ask is "where are you"? If you are outside of Ontario, the fit will be very poor. If that is the case we would suggest you join a local chapter of the SCA, Regia, or The Vikings. If none of those appeal you can always start your own group (just don't call it DARC). In rare cases people in remote locations are invited to participate in DARC via e-mail discussions but generally we recommend the Norsefolk email group.

If you are in Ontario then we would suggest that you begin by reading over our website. This explains our interpretive stance, general operation approaches, something about our current work, and even a general description of who is involved. This is quite important, as each of the available re-enactment groups, even in the same time period, have often quite different approaches. For example, DARC does not engage in any combat activities. Note that we have decided not to repeat a lot of basic information on the Viking Age - other web sites cover a lot of that. We do include an extensive bibliography and web links for basic research.

Assuming that what you read still makes you think you would like to join us then the next step is to come out and talk to us. Watch for our upcoming public presentations, or one of our camps inside the framework of the SCA. This gives you a chance to come see us in action. Yes we always look busy, and yes there are always a lot of people asking questions. Do take the time to hang around and talk to us. We are rarely so busy that we don't want to meet new people.

This step is important, because we want to 'check you out' as much as you should be checking on us. Dates should be on our calendar and you can always feel free to email us at info@darkcompany.ca We'll pass your email to the person best suited to answer any (specific) questions you have. We do get a lot of questions sent to us and we can't answer them all. Questions that show that you have put some of your own time into the topic are more likely to get an answer than "tell me everything you know about how the Vikings did this".

Normally, if there appears to be a good fit in attitudes and approaches, an individual may be invited up to one of our general workshop / experiment weekends. These are held at private residences, centred on a specific activity (and mostly not living history re-enactments). There will often be a blend of DARC and other interested individuals, but this allows someone to interact with the group on both a practical and social level.

In the past DARC has run two different types of workshop activities.

Special Sessions involve hiring an instructor and renting a suitable facility. The assigned workshop coordinator remains in control of each event. Costs are born equally by participants, with spaces limited as determined by the instructor.

Open Workshops are held at private homes with limited space and facilities. In this case the host has full control over the access and conduct of the event.

Any active member of DARC can hold a workshop or event at the time and place of their choosing, inviting the whole group or specific subsets of people as they wish. Members of DARC attend or don't as their schedules and interests dictate.

Typically, if there appears to be a good fit in personalities, we will invite people to participate on our closed e-mail discussion group. This gives new folks a chance to come up to speed on what the group is doing, and a better idea of just who knows about what area of research and skills.

An 'active' member of DARC is one who posts on the list and shows up for workshops and non-museum presentations that interest them. There are no group membership fees.

As most of our public face is related to museum presentations, we use a different system internally than most other living history groups. Each public presentation is specifically designed for the institution, and individuals from the pool of active members are selected based on skills, abilities, and experience. This is different from most other groups who use the 'who can show up' method. It is important for members of DARC to understand that they may not be recruited as individuals to participate in specific museum or educational programs. Numbers of participants, skills, or equipment required, may vary considerably depending on each museum or school's requirements. Participation in DARC thus does not ensure inclusion in these programs.

So if you have read this far and you still want to talk, many of us will be at an SCA Arts and Sciences Competition in November, come out and chat!

Neil

Pit Fire Pottery 1

2009-09-29T09:38:00.004-04:00

Icelandic Althing Event, September 2009

Kary's project, with contributed pots by the group.

Some images of the extraction and the results.
All shot by Jo - on my camera.

Glass drinking vessels

2009-09-20T08:23:00.002-04:00

Horn-shaped glasses show up in Sweden and Denmark from the 3rd C and were made by the Franks a little later (particularly the Lombards). They were rare after the 7th C, though they occasionally show up in Carolingian manuscripts. Sometimes, these were actually for holding ink (find from 9-10 C France).

Conical or funnel shaped beakers appear to have been more common, as were fatter cone beakers. I have seen one image of a palm cup or bag beaker (almost like a bowl) from Oslo, and one stubby mold-blown dark green rhenish glass beaker that looks suspiciously like a flower vase from the 1960s. The glass beaker and a conical beaker, both from Birka, can be found at www.regia.org/glass.htm

(Image at right ported from the Regia web site)

Glass cups or beakers of the 9th or 10th C might well be vivid blue, bluish-green, or red, decorated with fine canes (either one colour or more often colourless and opaque white or yellow glass twisted together). The canes could be placed horizontally or vertically on the body, but some cups have them on the rim. This is a design feature found almost exclusively at coastal sites in Britain, Northern Europe and Scandinavia.

From about the mid 10th C, continental glass houses produced only a few
types of poor quality utilitarian ware, using a new composition of glass made with local potash produced from bracken and other plants (instead of importing from Egypt). Nevertheless, eastern glass continued to reach Britain and Sweden until as late as possibly the 11th C. Examples include a Persian glazed cup found in Sweden that looks like a small, rounded coffee cup with a handle large enough for one finger, and at least one nice example of an Arabic glass from Sweden that looks perfect for an old-fashioned or a whiskey sour.

All glass drinking vessels were rare, and were probably costly imported luxury goods.

Diane

DARC at Bonfield

2009-09-14T10:07:00.002-04:00

Some images from 'Viking Hill' at Bonfield over Labour Day, 2009. Most of these images were taken Monday morning, after a couple of days of late nights and reduced sleep (!)

Washing Up	What time is it?
Þórgrímr & visitor (Aelswitha)	Auðr and Kaðlín
Rig	Ragnarr
Bera	Æsa

Images by Darrell Markewitz

Norse Camp in Panorama

2009-09-08T13:32:00.004-04:00

All taken at Bonfield, September 7, 2009 - A few modern elements (outside our camp !) were cropped out. In this case I don't think anyone really shows clearly enough to really identify (without knowing them anyway).
Images by Darrell Markewitz

Trade Like the Norse - Coins and Currency at the Althing

2009-09-03T10:04:00.001-04:00

The following will be of most interest to those attending the 'Icelanding Althing' event being held September 26 near Orono ON.

Although the Icelandic Althing was centred on legal maters, any time a lot of people gather together is a chance for other activities - trade among them. Although a certain amount of barter was still taking place, one of the aspects of the Viking Age was the increased use of sliver based coinage as the means of exchange. Although the Anglo Saxon Silver Penny was closer to 1.5 gm total weight, the years of 'Danegeld' had lowered their silver content to closer to 50%.

The Norse system of measures is based on the following, (the values are converted to grams of pure silver):

1 peningar = about .78 gms silver

1 eyrir = 30 peningar
about 24 gms silver = cost of 6 ells (yards) of wadmal (wool cloth)

1 mark = 240 peningar or 8 eyrir
about 200 gms silver

Although the Anglo Saxon Silver Penny is closer to 1.5 gm total weight, the years of 'Danegeld' had lowered their silver content to closer to 50%.

In the spirit of the Althing, a set of trade tokens will be available as exchange at the Althing. These are backed by Master Sylard (and the Wareham Forge).

LEFT to RIGHT (life size)

Pewter Ingot - trade amount $10 ( 45 gm)

Silver Pennies - trade amount $5 (.75 gm = 1 penningar)

Pewter Token Bar - trade amount $1 (15 gm = 1/2 eyrir)

The INGOT shows 'Wolves and Cattle' on a thick oval surrounded by line and dot pattern. It was intended to be used as a guard for a knife (cut a slot to fit the blade). No specific historic prototype, never released to the public.

The PENNIES are the two replica coins issued by the Wareham Forge, artifact sizes and weights, made of 99 % fine silver. Sometimes called 'Silver Sylards' - a detailed description at:
http://www.warehamforge.ca/NORSE-REPRO/npenny.html

The TOKEN is slightly modified from the event token used at the original Althing, years ago. It's shape is taken from a small whetstone, and has the figure of a Norseman - and original design.

HOW THIS WORKS

Modern currency can be converted into any of these trade tokens either at the Admittance Troll or at my demonstration of coin minting inside the DARC market encampment. You will in effect be PURCHASING these tokens.

At the end of the day I will happily REFUND the full purchase amount against any of the tokens returned to me for exchange.

Merchants may also 'buy in' by purchasing extra token to act as 'change'. These may also be exchanged for full refund at the end of the event.*

Rules:

1) I will make myself available for refund exchanges :
Saturday September 26 - until * 10 PM * (after that I'm likely to be in bed)
Sunday September 27 - from 9 AM to 12 Noon

2) The pewter INGOT and TOKEN have no refund value AFTER Sunday September 27.

3) The silver PENNIES remain the standard 'gift certificate' for the Wareham Forge. They may be returned against goods in to the future at their $5 trade value.

4) Only full, unaltered tokens are ellidgable for refunds. (If you cut a token to make 'small change', the pieces can not be refunded.)

* 5) Merchants ONLY can make special arrangements to exchange collected tokens for a LIMITED PERIOD (two weeks) after the event. Please contact me directly (info@warehamforge.ca) to make arrangements.

(Cross Posted from Hammered Out Bits - Darrell)

On : "Viking garb accessories..belt and pouch?"

2009-08-29T11:11:00.002-04:00

(Cross Posted from 'Hammered Out Bits')

This post is edited from my comments relating to a topic under consideration right now on NORSEFOLK . The following came in from those indicated (first names only) that bears on the topic at hand:

Is it standard to wear a belt w/pouch over a woman's apron dress? ... Proper styles? I'm putting together my first viking garb outfit.

Svana

A nice article on the pouch controversy comes from a Regia group,
Guerin y Gwyr: http://www.gwerin.org.uk/articles/pouches.htm

Folo

As one of the main authors of the article on pouches within Regia that
Guerin y Gwyer have posted on their website.
I would like to point out this was a bit of research done when the
Authenticity officer was planning a total ban on pouches within the society
( due to the large number of painted hard leather "cartridge box" style
pouches).
Myself and Andy and Gary ( surnames removed) were acting as Devils advocates and pointing to evidence of some types of pouches in period in the UK. Including evidence pointing towards fabric pouches being use in the UK.

Allan

On this :
Note that there is an underlying philosophy to re-creating past eras at the core of this quite excellent overview (which I suggest anyone interested here reads). To paraphrase from the introduction to the article above :

' ... the Code of Law is organised so the argument for (the use of any object) bears the burden of proof. We must prove our case (for the inclusion of the object) rather than the Authenticity Officer proving his (reasons for removing it). Since its inception it has been accepted by the authenticity department that three provenances are regarded as sufficient proof for the use of a period item in a Regia context. '

So this is the core principle adopted by Regia to regulate what objects might be included for use in any of their presentations. On the face of it, very good - seems clear and easy to understand. Notice that it specifically relates to the individual historic focus of Reiga Anglorum itself. They describe themselves : "Regia Anglorum attempts to recreate a cross section of English life around the turn of the first millennium. Our actual self imposed brief is AD950 - 1066..."

Now, if you refer back to Allan's comment, you catch something else. Its a reference to a specific practical problem, what I will refer to here as a 'requirement' :

"... the Authenticity officer was planning a total ban on pouches within the society ( due to the large number of painted hard leather "cartridge box" style
pouches)."

So two things are pointed up here.
1) The structure of this group is such that there is a specific individual who serves as the arbitrator for such decisions.
2) In this specific case, a generalized ruling was under consideration. This because a specific style of object (hard leather box pouch) had grown to be used by participants, well outside what was considered suitable from the artifact record.

So the general implementation of the ruling of 'no belt pouches' was based as much on reaction to an over use of a specific type, than a general lack of artifact evidence. In the article, there is a summery of a number of available artifact prototypes, but also a quick discussion of the problems related to the preservation of certain kind of objects in the artifact record at all.

Ok - to continue:

Then there was a lot of back on forth after this, primarily directed to larger shoulder style bags, simple rectangular haversacks or 'scripts', mostly suggested made out of various fabrics. The raw volume of 'needed' objects seemed to keep growing, and thus the size of the bags ever increasing.
I'm afraid I start feeling like a 'Russian Judge' listening to this talk. More fool me, I keep wanting to direct people back to basic principles (usually followed up with some practical advice):

The simple solution is to do what they did in the Viking Age.

Have less stuff
Carry less stuff

Lock all your modern personal valuables in the car - then all you need
to have available is a single car key. That does not need to be on your
person most likely, so it can stay in your sea chest.

Modern Wallet? Like - why? You don't need your ID on you, credit cards
are useless at the event. Cash does not take up too much space. Norse
with a cell phone - you are kidding, right?

I have a real small pouch for the belt. Its maybe 3 x 4 inches. It holds
my asthma inhaler (always) eye glasses (sometimes), watch (very rarely)
and sometimes that single car key. There would be room for folding money (as if I ever had any anyways.) What else do you REALLY need?

If I might suggest : Shedding modern gadgets is part of integrating into
a historic characterization....

(round two)

First - A common solution observed from Settlement Era events (both men and women) :
Remember those old hippy bic lighter 'pouch on a thong' things? I've seen women wear a small asthma inhaler size pouch (like about 1 1/2 x 2 inch) pouch around
their necks - which (for many) just fits down the cleavage. This is big enough for an inhaler, that key, some folded paper money.

Second - No reason not to steal ideas from other time periods :
In the early 1800's (at least in Upper Canada) women could wear a flat fabric 'pocket' on a flat ribbon of cloth that tied around the waist and under the apron. Take two pieces of cloth and sew them around the edges. (The prototypes are oval, with a slit at the top for access) This allowed them to hold and carry some personal items.

Third - I do NOT want to get into a bitch slap with the costume people.
There are a number of underlaying core assumptions being made by many people on this topic - maybe without them realizing it:

1) Are the limited historic evidence of (women's) clothing in any way accurate to 'real' life?
2) Are those evidences only relevant to specific class / wealth / situation?

These two are of primary significance to this whole conversation.
- The illustrations are by their very nature cartoon like. They are almost always A) physically small and B) rendered in media that do not allow detail. I defy anyone looking at a one inch high silver token of a woman to make out anything more than the most general outlines. Much less if there is a small flat pouch under an apron.
- Burials are NOT representational of daily life. Do modern people get buried with their driver's licences and medications stuffed in pockets? Does anyone really carry a cell phone in their wedding dress?

Fourth (key) - What depth of re-creation is any individual able / willing / intending to maintain?

A number of people mentioned (thank you) that there is a balance to be made between a modern reality and a historic accuracy. If you REALLY are trying to duplicate the 1000 AD Norse - you just DO NOT have a cell phone! I'm afraid the whole conversation was degrading into an argument about 'having your cake and wanting to eat it too' ... but at the same time 'not having anyone see you carry it around with you in the mean time'.

Now, anyone who has been following this Blog (or check the links please) , I primarily operate at a fairly professional level in terms of historic interpretation. Please remember that this informs my point of view and comments.

Some more advice, from (considerable) experience in designing museum interpretive programs, which often have to deal with the same root problems:
- Staff are modern people who live in the 21st Century (they just work in the 'past')
- Some modern objects are required on hand for security, safety, etc
- The general public often has considerable access to the presentation area (if only when someone's back is turned).

There are a number of ways to create 'passive security' for equipment.
- Use of simple fabric / leather bags or closed baskets to hold and cover modern objects that need to be close to hand / be highly portable (this discussed recently at some length)
- Use of smaller wooden chests (small sea chest from Oseberg the ideal prototype) The easiest way to secure this is simply to use it as a seat.
- Obstruct entry ways to tents etc by placing chests / shields / buckets, etc across entrances. In practice, most people will not actually enter a space they have to 'crawl over' to get into.
- Away from camp? Slide the sea chest so its under the edge of a bed. Or place something heavy on top of it (say a shield). Or put a lot of simple smaller stuff on top. You'd be surprised how the remains of a lunch (crust of bread on a wooden trencher) set on a sea chest will keep people from trying to open a box.
- Away from your spot at the fire? A loop of rope tied around the sea chest will act as a simple restriction to access.

Yes, I KNOW we can all supply stories of nervy people who will poke into almost anything. I KNOW there is little you can do to stop someone seriously intending to steal things.
Truth is - anything so valuable that its theft represents serious loss - is just plain best left at home, or locked in the car. (If its not secure locked in the car, then you OBVIOUSLY should have left it at home!) If you decide to bring it and then carry it with you, just put up with the fact that you will just NOT resemble someone from 1000 AD at the market (who never had a camcorder in the first place).

If someone moves my sea chest to get it open, then complains about my modern first aid kit inside?
It says a heck more about THEM than it does about ME.

"Re-creating History is the Art of the Possible"

Those who are interested in this whole aspect of historic re-creation, might want to read my 1998 paper :
Lessons from the Viking Age - Development of an Interpretive Program for L' Anse aux Meadows NHS

(I once worked with just one other interpreter inside a camp presentation which was visited by 8,000 people over six hours)

Vandy as 'Bera Quickfinger' at the 'Norse Encampment'.
The Orangeville Medieval Festival, 1995

Darrell