Viking Resources for the Re-enactor

Welcome to my filing cabinet! Here you will find links to several articles I have written on subjects of interest to Viking Age re-enactors. I am a member of the recently established North American subset of Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.. (I was also a member of The Free Viking Households of Norseland, an upstate New York Viking group, for five years.) Some of these articles were originally printed in publications of the various groups to which I belong(ed); others have been composed specifically for web publication. Still others are pamphlets from classes I have taught, papers I wrote for conventions or competitions, or materials my husband and I have produced together. Each document cites its original source and specific copyright information.

In the SCA I am known as Þóra Sharptooth, a tenth-century steader from the area near Jorvík in the Danelaw.

Documents Available Here

New or Updated Since Last Time:

• Þóra's Basic Viking Hat, a simple pattern for a basic man's hat; posted 24 February 2004

Introductory Materials:

• "But That's How They Look in the Book!": Viking Women's Garb in Art and Archaeology, a critique of depictions of Viking women's clothing, with a short list of trustworthy depictions
• Sources on Vikings for the Non-Viking, a short annotated bibliography
• A brief critique of the clothing information in the popular book The Viking

Clothing:

• An Archaeological Guide to Viking Men's Clothing, describing evidence for each of the various layers of men's clothing
• Bibliography of Sources for the Construction of Viking Garments, with annotations, extensively updated in July 2000
• A Quick and Dirty Look at Viking Women's Garb in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries, a work with no footnotes but with links to other footnoted documents on related subjects
• Viking Tunic Construction, with graphics
• A sketch of the apron-dress (Trägerrock) pattern I use

Textiles:

• Annotated Bibliography of Tablet-Weaving Sources, a list of sources for tablet weaving before the seventeenth century; updated 29 November 2001
• Anglo-Saxon and Viking Works of the Needle: Some Artistic Currents in Cross-Cultural Exchange, a consideration of embroidery and sewing stitches used in the Anglo-Saxon and Viking milieux
• Colors, Mordants, and Dyestuffs of the Viking Age: An Introduction, basically a list of things we know they dyed with
• Just What Exactly is 'Whyt Samyt' Anyway?, being a handweaver's bibliography of sources for technical information on divers weaves and setts of the Roman Empire, Middle Ages, and Renaissance; updated 29 November 2001
• Medieval North European Spindles and Whorls, a collection of information on handspindles; includes many Viking Age finds
• Metallic Trims for Some Early Period Personae, with graphics
• Nålebinding Techniques in the Viking Age, a list of known examples of Viking Age nålebinding, arranged by stitch type with cross-references to competing nomenclatures; includes an annotated bibliography of sources
• NESAT Tables of Contents, a list of the tables of contents for the six published books of proceedings from the North European Symposium on Archaeological Textiles, to aid researchers in historic textiles
• Old World Sprang through the Early Middle Ages: A Brief Bibliography, an annotated bibliography of sources on sprang ("plaiting on stretched threads"), including historic examples
• A Tenth Century Linen Weave Sample, with weaving draft
• Viking Embroidery Stitches and Motifs, with motif graphics
• Viking-Style Tablet Weaving: Birka Strapwork Motif, a recipe to create a brocaded motif in a simpler technique
• The Warp-Weighted Loom: Some Sources, an annotated bibliography and some links for people interested in learning how to weave on the warp- weighted loom; updated 17 June 2002, including a link to a better photo of my loom

Cooking and Foodstuffs:

• Archaeological Finds of Ninth- and Tenth-Century Viking Foodstuffs
• Hearths in the Viking World, a brief compilation of archaeological finds of hearths
• Making a Medieval-Style Brick Oven, a description of how we do it, with an associated photo gallery plus On the Making of an Oven by Goodwife Marian of Edwinstowe
• Viking Barley Bagels, a recipe for an unleavened wheat-barley bread

Physical Culture:

• The Anglo-Saxon Lyre: History, Construction, and Playing Techniques, with information on historic tuning
• Making and Using Waxed Tablets, the medieval scratch pad that smells good!

Wordfame: SCA Display and Ceremony

• Personal Display for Viking Age Personae: A Primer for Use in the SCA, or, how to tweak some of the concepts of SCA heraldry so they fit a Viking Age persona; revised September 2000
• A Tenth-Century Viking Peerage Ceremony, an annotated description of an SCA peerage ceremony based on Icelandic law

Documents Coming Real Soon Now:

• Dof and Þóra Build a Geteld, about our new tent (not available yet)
• Bibliography of sources for early period woodwork (not available yet)

This page was created on 5 October 1996 and last updated on 1 October 2001.

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