Friendly Neighbourhood Vikings

Fun Fact -- Vikings LOVE a good buffet!

What Viking babies eat --

The lesser known sequel

to the Poetic Edda: 

Sagas of Everyday Viking Life --

No, no -- there's no need to thank me.

Your GROANS are enough!

And finally, for the educational part of this post --

Harald Bluetooth was a 

great communicator apparently.

Huh, who knew?

P.S. Speaking of communication,

Vikings can help with your dating life too --

Time To Go A-Viking!

Norse News: Date for Norse activity in North America confirmed as 1021 CE!

After analyzing 14C concentrations in tree rings from wooden objects found at L'Anse aux Meadows, researchers have been able to conclude that the Norse were active in North America exactly 1000 years ago, in 1021 CE.

Article | Thread (by Dr. Cat Jarman)

I've never been to 

L'Anse aux Meadows 

in Newfoundland, 

but one of my travel goals 

is to get there someday!

In the meantime, let's

celebrate our favourite

historical pagan ruffians!

And now, to conclude,

a public service announcement 

from the Danish Road Safety Council --

And Now, In Nordic News

Hail, Sister Valkyries and Brother Berserkers!

Earlier this month, My Rare One and I had occasion to dress in our best Viking finery for a photo shoot. 

Despite appearances, we are not bedecked in red feather boas. That's the blood of our enemies. FEAR US.

But the photo shoot wasn't the only Scandihoovian excitement this month!

One of My Rare One's neighbours is a wonderful artist and crafter. She very generously gifted each of us with a Nordic Gnome that she made this Christmas!

When a Gnome enters your home, it is critical to give them an important, useful job to do or else they'll simply run amok making mischief.

So My Rare One's Gnome is busy guarding Ukrainian Easter eggs that My Rare One has made over the years.

Meanwhile, my Gnome is wrangling Christmas cards, keeping them neat, tidy and orderly.

Aren't they adorable?

Squeeeeeee!

Vikings Then and Now

Those old timey Vikings

were one tough bunch.

They learned how to pillage and kill at a young age.

And man, did Vikings ever get around!

Vikings had their softer side too, I suppose.

Yes, kittens.

Bloodthirsty berserker Viking kittens.

When not away killing and pillaging,

Vikings were farmers like everyone else. 

Kind of.

Thanks to the pandemic, however, 

Vikings are making a big comeback today.

But modern Vikings are a much 

more socially responsible bunch.

For example, they willingly 

observe social distancing rules.

They eat by themselves in restaurants, 

not in big groups anymore.

Many just stay home and self-isolate.

They've cut way, WAY down on the pillaging and killing.

Now they're the ones most likely to be picked on.

Viking attitudes to traveling have 

dramatically changed as well.

Now they're just tourists, 

like everyone else.

The Vikings Are Here

The Royal Alberta Museum here in Edmonton currently has a wonderful exhibition called Vikings: Beyond the Legend. It's the largest touring show of Viking artifacts in the world and is on loan from various Danish museums. The exhibition is a mixture of original historical items like weapons, coins, jewelry, etc. and some replicas like this full-size, six-metre funeral ship shown above, built with Viking Age techniques and materials.

The originals are all safely out of reach in display cases, of course, but the freely accessible replicas are also protected, LOL --

A couple of weeks ago, My Rare One and I made a point of going to a special "Vikings Day" at the museum because, in addition to the exhibition, an Alberta group of Viking re-enactors were there, displaying how Vikings lived, played and fought. Displays included weaponry, runes, jewelry making, gaming, carpentry, agriculture, herbal lore, etc.

One of my favourite displays concerned how the Vikings engaged in bee-keeping as part of their agriculture. After all, they did love their mead!

But my most favourite display was about Viking musical instruments. These included stringed instruments made of wood with gut strings, which were plucked like lyres or played with horsehair bows. Beautifully clear and melodious flutes were made of animal horns and bones. The re-enactor at this display could play them all!

This big and extremely loud wooden Viking horn struck me as being very similar to a Swiss alpenhorn. Those Vikings did get around, you know.

The re-enactors also staged some fights to demonstrate shield wall techniques and the use of common Viking weapons (axes, spears, swords). Then they gave foam rubber swords to all the little kids in the audience, who viciously ambushed and defeated the unarmed Vikings in a mighty battle.

It goes without saying, of course, that the fiercest Viking couple was this threatening, fist-shaking pair in their helmets and warrior garb --

And no, that is not a floral motif on My Rare One's blouse. It is the freshly shed blood of her enemies.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[All photos were taken by My Rare One, except for the last one which was taken by our buddies the Valhalla Valkyries.]

An Epic Battle

I came across this funny story last week while idly surfing the net. At a recent medieval re-enactors event, one helmeted warrior impulsively knocked a photography drone out of the sky with his spear. Maybe he was pissed off because it was a modern anachronism and not historically accurate? Who knows? But here's how it looked from the drone's point of view!

Anyway, the warrior felt bad and offered to pay for the damage to the drone. But the drone's owner was so impressed by the warrior's feat of arms that he suggested organizing a competition next year for spear warriors to compete at bringing down drones disguised as flying dragons. Plans are currently underway.

The original daring act of skill and bravery has now been memorialized in a runestone as well. Who says history is dead?

Let the mead flow as the bards recount this mighty tale across our lands!

The Beverage of the Gods

Accompanying the resurgent popularity of paganism, heathenry, vikings and craft beer-and-wine making is a newfound interest in mead. Mead is made from honey, can be produced as beer or wine, and is the traditional beverage of the Germanic-Norse gods. Apparently it's all they drink in Valhalla.

So while My Rare One and I were in Water Valley last weekend, we took the opportunity to go to Alberta's finest commercial maker and purveyor of mead -- the Fallentimber Meadery!

We enjoyed a lovely tasting of various types of mead while browsing around the sales centre. I came home with a bottle of traditional mead wine and a couple of small bottles of their latest product -- meadjito -- like a regular mojito but with mead instead of rum. It's carbonated, has a minty citrus taste, and will be very refreshing on a hot summer's night, we figure.

[All images from the internet except photos #4 and #6 by Debra She Who Seeks, May 2017]