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A Walk through the Village
It's a misty morning with the glistening dew still lingering on the grass, and a few people are up and about in the village. Before long, other sleepy bodies emerge from their tents and soon there is a smell of woodsmoke and bacon cooking over the fire. Traders are busy setting up their stalls and we hear the clatter of wooden platters being washed, ready for the meal. Children appear, running about with wooden swords, and fleece or leather balls. A woman shouts, telling a child to go play away from the fire.
O
pposite the weaving tent sits Elswith.She is busy assembling her fine, hand-crafted neclaces and bracelets. Nearby, her husband Sven sits heating up her small kiln ready to melt the glass for her beads. Soon he will move to the campfire to polish his weapons and consider new training strategies for the settlement's company of mercenaries. He is responsible for the safety of the Jarl, and the valuable goods produced by the craftsmen of the village.
F
urther along we meet Hrolf.
This highly-skilled leatherworker is already tapping away at the tooled leather for a fine belt pouch ordered by an English noble, friend to the Jarl. Hrolf's shoes, belts and weapon scabbards are well-regarded throughout Mercia, and even sought after among the five boroughs north of the border with the Danelaw.
R
owena, his wife, was up at dawn in the nearby woods, hunting the herbs, fungi and other plant material for her medicines and ointments, and the dyes she employs to colour handspun wool and linen, before it is woven into the cloth for which the settlement is renowned.
T
horfinn Gunnarsson, merchant sea captain, occupies the next tent. The Icelander is always on the lookout for someone to tell a story to. These tales tell of trips, trading, adventures and the Old gods, and are made fascinating by the many curious artifacts that Thorfinn has to hand.Often Hrolf and Thorfinn will sit chatting while Thorfinn prepares the trading manifest for the next trip of the knarr Thorr's Lady and Hrolf puts the finishing touches to some fine piece of leatherwork which will fetch a pretty penny amongst the nobles of England and Scandanavia.
Don't be surprised if you hear Thorfinn relate his unusual use for monks, as he stubbornly remains a staunch pagan in the face of the new religion!
S
igurd and his wife Fearn greet you as you pass by their home.Fearn has just been sitting by their tent sewing, but rises to say hello in the best tradition of dark-age hospitality. Sigurd holds Dahrg's Raven Banner, finely embroidered by his wife at Jarl Olaf's request. Their son Bjorn is looking smartly dressed and well-behaved, but he has just seen off several children twice his age, and two dogs with a fine hazel broom! Rumour has it that Sven has his eyes on Bjorn as a future berserk!
Sigurd is preparing to make some fine pottery to sell on the next trade run of Thorr's Lady, but before he sets to work he has business with Sven, something to do with a horn of mead and a basket of mushrooms…
The hammering you can hear is Erik Valhellison.
If you watch quietly, you will see him fashion broaches, bracelets and other ornaments with his clever fingers from the bright metal at his side. Many of the adornments worn by the more prosperous villagers are examples of his work. He is always ready to pass the time of day with a passer-by, but it will take more than one horn of ale to persuade him to tell the secrets of his past!
S
eamus here, is thinking of buying some of Erik's work.
Originally from the island of Hibernia, this fierce warrior, man at arms to Jarl Olaf as well as a fine craftsman in bone and antler, is well able to afford the asking price for the bronze torc he is admiring. This will not prevent some brisk bargaining, though. For these folk, there is as much satisfaction in the haggling as the ownership!
L
ady Ragnhild is busy instructing her personal thrall Lech the Breekless.It is his task this morning to prepare breakfast for the entire encampment, no mean feat as there are some real trenchermen in the company of Dahrg de Belne!
Once assured that he has his instructions for the day, Lady Ragnhild Sigmundsdottir, wife to Jarl Olaf Haroldson, will tour the village to see that all is running smoothly before returning to her loom, where she will continue to weave the fine cloth for which Dahrg de Belne is justly famous.
The Jarl himself is being elusive this morning… But as we wander past the magnificent tent which serves him and his lady as their home from home, we hear a deafening snore from behind the pavilion, and there lies Olaf Haroldson, sleeping off the effects of last night's banquet. There was a brawl last night at the Raven and Entrail, and everyone wondered where the Jarl had gone afterwards. Now we know!
Leader of the settlement, clothier to Eadred's court and licensed monier, devout supporter of the Church and wily trader, Olaf is hospitable to visitors in his encampment, and can be relied upon to tell one or two tall tales himself!
Thank you
gentle reader, for joining us in a walk through our village…With all the noise and the smells, it is very easy to get into the atmospheric feel of our encampment. Sudden outbursts from the people in the street make it sometimes difficult to remember that you are in a field, on a castle site, or even in a park with a fairground at the other end.
But if suddenly a bunch of burly, bewhiskered marauders run past you and head off to slay a few foemen, don't forget - it is all just re-enacted living history. Or is it…?
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