Medieval Trekking - Camping Kit
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Take a look at some of the gear I use when I go camping in medieval clothing! Some pieces are appropriate for my 14th century persona; some are, as Joseph Ruckman puts it, "aesthetically-inoffensive-but-incorrect-for-the-period"; all are functional.
Apologies for the audio oddities - turns out that iPhone mics have a bit of a mind of their own! I did my best to clean things up with Audacity and the Levelator after the fact, but I was only partially successful.
I mentioned the Kingdom of Atlantia Royal Forestry Guild ( / atlantiaroyalforestryg... ) in the video. I am a member of the guild, but all opinions voiced in the video are solely my own and are not intended to be taken as representative of the guild.
For more information about my packframe, see this write-up - richmondfantas...
A couple of craftspersons to mention (not a paid promotion, I just like their work!):
- My striker is from Ichthean Forge ( / ichtheanforge , / @ichtheanforge6468 )
- My seax is from Hammer Heart Forge and Woodworks
- My bean boiler is from Backwoods Tin and Copper (www.backwoodst...)
Music:
Deep Woods3 by PeriTune | peritune.com
Music promoted by www.free-stock...
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
creativecommon...
i am totally into historical camping. i just realized that while watching this video.
Same bro
I’d love to try this.
If I saw you walking in the woods I would have to question my reality at the moment.
Yeah. My grasp of reality is tenuous at best right now, too.
I caused an old man to freak out, in a similar way lol
The camera would seem out of place lol
His dedication to build a time machine just so we can see past times in full hd
I loved this. Your humility comes through loud and clear and makes me want to keep watching. And I learned something, too: That not all modern gear is necessarily the best choice,. I saw some pretty neat options for me to consider. Thanks!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! While there are some specific needs or situations that call for modern gear, I really do like slowing down and simplifying when I'm out in the woods (even if I'm just going out "modern" style), and I find old-fashioned gear helps me get into that mindset.
As if u would ! Not many of us r carved out to follow his footsteps
Informative and inspirational. Interested in the 14th century perspective. I'd better get my Viking kit together. Yeghes da.
I made some charcloth, and it works like a charm. I use a modern firesteel (and am not a reenactor). I even made some "campfire bombs":
- slice of birch bark rolled up into a tube
- fill it with dry hay and some small shavings of fatwood
- strike the sparks.
- add charcloth for even better ignition.
I believe it was used in Europe from 15th or 16th century onwards.
Damn. That’s awesome _and_ really clever.
Thanks for sharing! 🔥🔥🔥
I love your safety bag! That is something unique I haven't seen or heard from other Anachronists or Bushcrafters.
Amen brother
I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I particularly respect your honest notation of the items that are not era-correct. It seems unlikely that there exists detailed lists of items, and it’s also unlikely that anyone of that period felt any need to compile such a list. I’m sure that camping at that time was definitely not a recreational activity, but rather a necessity for those who were required to travel.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, and I definitely agree with you on all of those points! I think any sort of kit like this for a medieval European impression is going to be, at best, made up of gear that is mostly plausible, assembled in a way that is possible for the period of interest.
Most Medieval travellers in England and Europe went from place to place and stayed at Inns, monasteries even in barns and stables with permission, "camping" was not often needed except in emergencies. Remember that most were on foot and roads were mostly just tracks so "places" were mostly just a day apart.
Thanks, I enjoyed your video and found it really informational. I'm inspired to go do a trek this summer. I'll have even less in the way in authentic kit. But I figure better to get started than wait until I'm all the way there. As a fellow SCA member I greatly appreciated how you carefully delineated what was period for you and what wasn't. Known in the SCA as Ealdred of Malmesbury, OL, OP
I'm glad you enjoyed it and that you are planning to give it a go! If you are interested, there is an Unofficial Forestry Guild in Northshield where you might find some local folks who might also be interested (I Googled your SCA name; I'm sorry if that causes offence or discomfort) - facebook.com/groups/1247898808582127/
I absolutely agree that you should get started, rather than wait. As in all aspects of this hobby, you can spend a lot of money on kit in a hurry, and then you might find what you bought isn't quite right for you. I've gone on treks with folks who wore garb but used modern gear, or who made a tarp out of a dropcloth from the hardware store but used a modern sleeping bag/pad. It's always better to experiment and try things piece by piece, tweaking as you go, than to try to wait until your kit is finished. If you're anything like me, your kit will never really be finished!
@@elliotburton4289 :) Yep, I belong to the group, at least on Facebook. But living at least 5 1/2 hours away from the closest member not able to do much.
Oh, and I posted this video to the Facebook group
Man, this is like D and D in real life, except without the monsters. Enjoyed this video. Keep em coming.
Thanks. I'd like to see more from you along these lines. You are doing what now I can only dream of. - Master Aleyn Wykington OL., AnTir.
Great coverage of the five C's. Lovely historical gear. Fantastic knots!
Thanks for boosting my mood for serious hike. This winter has been too long.
We need more videos on this channel! I love watching videos of this kind of experiential archeology.
Greate video and awesome gear! I'm wearing glasses myself and must say yours fit just perfect!
I liked everything about this video. Especially Mr. Burton's notes about period-correctness. Very interesting.
I actually was curious about what my D&D players could have and be doing, during their 'medieval' wilderness peregrinations. Thanks and well done.
You’re a very likeable person. I’d love to watch more!!!
This was a great vid. Thanks for taking the time to go over your kit with us.
Greetings from the real Wirral. A place where you can have every weather type in one day. :) Keep having fun. Its all about experimenting. Our tarps are natural wools in the lanolin left in for water proofing, sleeping in the hedgerow edges.
We portray the Hiberno Norse of the Wirral or Wirhalh at the time.
Good day, m'lord. Fellow SCA'er Kelly here from Bard's Haven of the Midrealm. I appreciate your video. Thank you for making it & sharing. Since COVID 19, I really miss Pennsic. Your video was like a breath of fresh air from "home," Pennsic style. Merry meet & merry part, m'lord Elliot Burton.
Great presentation and message. Best way to learn what works best for you is to try it.
I was looking for someone like you!
Great video! I am commenting with respect from Japan.
This has been on my watch later playlist for months and I'm so glad I finally got around to watching. Fantastic video!
Having recently discovered organizations that exist like, SCA, LARP and other types of historical and period fantasy organizations, I'm rather intrigued by it all.
As for finding any drawings or paintings regarding commoners in presented in their "native" environments, garb or with their various tools and equipment, I would think that might be difficult.
I would think the artists in those periods would be more interested in trying to appease the upper classes to make money. Hence, why we seem to have much more art of great scenes like battle encampments or, warrior type kits or even peasants bringing in the crops. (crops = wealth)
I could be totally off that and there may be such drawings or paintings that don't make it to light in most museums.
I will be looking forward to watching more of your videos soon.
Cheers!
your PSK in red wool is an amazingly well thought out pouch, i will be appropriating the design. many thanks.
Amazing video. You have gained a subscriber. I cannot believe you don't have more subscribers, I'll share this video with everyone I know.
This just came up as a recommended video, shame to see you are no longer making videos I hope you are keeping well. One little hint when setting up a ridgeline when using Prussic knots, instead of moving the knot if you pull the tarp tight and then move the prussic you will get a tighter pitch.
You can use char materials from the woods like punk wood or tinder fungus for char, its easy to make and just as good as char cloth.
Loved it. Subbed mate
You should check out ship sails from the 14th century onward and even outward. There are accounts of Vikings using their sails from their Knarrs and long boats to make makeshift shelters. Vessels of the medieval times including the cogs, the hulks, carracks, caravels, picards and hoy all used sails of sorts. The sails were waterproofed by coating it with horse fat or fish oil and ochre. And in few cases even tarred. I am sure that someone camping at the time would have had a wool, linen, hemp and flax sheets and waterproofed as they did their sails. Or even maybe used left overs from sails pieces.
Thanks for the comment! I've read a little about sails, especially those of the early Middle Ages, which were made of made of wool and treated as you've described. Hands On History did an experiment with a wool sail tarp, and while they found it very effective for blocking wind and rain, it was also very heavy!
I think a sail would work very well for a nautical impression, especially if it didn't need to be packed in a ways, but I don't portray a sailor, so it's a stretch for my impression. I think if someone planned to sleep out-of-doors (which was very uncommon to begin with in my period-and-place or interest) it is possible that they might have brought along some sort of improvised shelter! I can't document it, though, so I avoid saying that it definitely was done. My personal goal for my kit (as much as it is possible) is "keep it common" :)
@@elliotburton4289 that is something that is true. A sail if used as a shelter would have been used for the whole crew and there was heavy but a crew of around 30 some men would have definitely been able to do something with that. My comment would have been more of a rhetorical idea rather a factual statement especially for one person. But yes, sails were heavy.
Hi eliot...i realy enjoyed watch this video..
hope you can keep going in this style for the newest videos to come.
Your videos are very helpful and informative. Please keep making more such content.
I wander about Alaska in my retirement dressed more or less as a late 19th century North American fur trapper. And aside frome carrying a firearm ...the basics are surprisingly simmilar ...well maybe not so surprising since the basic needs remain the same no matter the time.
Interesting and informative video.
Enjoyed it, thank you.
now i can optimize my stuff. i got a basket overflowing with stuff i could need, thanks for showing what i realy need.
I'm glad this was useful to you! What every individual carries depends on who they are and where and when they are going, but you should always have the 5 Cs as the backbone of your kit, and then adjust from there!
Period trekking (medieval, long hunter, mountain man, bushcrafting) I was getting into before returning to SCA but the west doesn't do Forester like your doing...moving to an tir soon where I hope to follow up with it.
Did--did my man just drink from a purse? haha love the video!
This channel has potential to become like the Townsends channel which focuses on the 18th century.
Nice setup really enjoyed the video.
Very informative and entertaining video, thanks
love your video
there is a siege in the Schmalkaldischen Krieg (war) where the depiction shows individual tarp shelters made with pikes or lances.
the commander was a cavalry commander therefore they might have been lances.
So that is not 14th c either, but a but closer.
the other thing is lack of forests and the rights to be found in them due to poaching.
deforestation in Europe was huge in the 14th and 15th. After the plagues there was some regrowth, but it takes a while to regrow without large planting scemes.
hence a walking stick or staff might be a thing you'd use to hold up your shelter in stead if trees weren't available.
cotton is actually not as wrong as you might think.
people get very snobby about linnen tents, but the source for that is really the much later tent in Berne.
we have several tent cloths in mentions from the 15th c: gold brocade, silk and cotton. (yes cotton) (obviously the other two are exceptional tents)
bachent might also be used (linen cotton mix)
what is your recipe for oilcloth? (i am hoping to make a collapsible bucket.)
That's all very interesting!
Is this the siege depiction you are thinking of - art-in-space.blogspot.com/2016/09/lucas-cranach-ii-siege-of-wolfenbuttel.html ? To my eye, the small shelters look thatched, rather than like tarps, but I could be wrong, and I could have the wrong image!
And yes, forest law and deforestation were serious considerations! I have used a walking stick to pitch my shelter before, and it is a viable and practical solution! To be honest, forest law and deforestation really make the whole exercise an anachronism, though, so I'm not terribly worried about the inaccuracy created by tying a tarp to a tree.
Do you have a source that you could share for the cotton tent? I've read that cotton was adopted and manufactured relatively early in what became Italy (12th century) and Germany (13th century), but that it was much less common in England until much later, in part due to the economic importance of sheep's wool cloth. So it seems to me that a cotton tarp might be more appropriate for a more Mediterranean European impression than for an English one. I'd be happy to find I'm wrong on that one though - cotton is much cheaper than linen!
My oilcloth recipe is half boiled linseed oil and half mineral spirits (which thin the oil and speed up drying), with some pulverized limestone mixed in. Linseed oil is acidic and can rot cloth, and so my thought is adding basic limestone might help? I don't know that it does, but I don't think it hurt anything...
@@elliotburton4289
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_der_Stadt_Leipzig#/media/Datei:Illustrierte_Geschichte_d._s%C3%A4chs._Lande_Bd._II_Abt._1_-_041_-_Belagerung_Leipzigs_1547.jpg
bottom right corner you see the tarps with the tall uprights next to the pikeblock.
the source for the cotton tent cloth i need to check up.
the gold brocade is
-the tournament of the Arbre d'or by marechall where the grand basteard of burgundy rides forth from a gold brocade tent.
-the field of cloth of gold
silk:
the duke of burgundy had 400 tents and 350 sheds and 20 tent with two masts for the compagnies d'ordinnace, two wooden houses for himself and 20 tents of silk for his manege.
i hope to get back to you with the cotton refrence.
I appreciate your thoughts and necessary compromises, they make sense.
Nice load out my friend 🤠
Great video! Thanks for sharing
I enjoyed your video. I'm a member of the 2nd. Connecticut Regt. Of militia, a Revolutionary War group in Washington state. I was a member of the SCA a long time ago, my name was Terence Irondragon. I have wondered if people in the SCA did period field trekking. Even though our time periods are 400 years apart, there is little difference in our field kit. I notice you carry no weapons not even a spear which can double as a walking stick.
You are correct - I don’t carry any dedicated weapons (although my knife and axe would certainly do in a pinch)! I don’t hunt when I’m out, and I tend to camp at state parks (where they wouldn’t really care for weapons) and at wildlife management areas (where I don’t particularly want to explain myself to a game warden). So, very modern reasons, overall!
When the 2nd. Connecticut does a field exercise we have our boom-boom sticks and bayonets along with knives and axes. We are usually on private land but we have been on state and federal land as well. We've never had any trouble with rangers. They are usually very interested in our kit and flintlock muskets especially if we let them fire it a few times. 😁
That’s very cool! I think there may be a bit of a difference between what is obviously a Rev War unit, which most folks are familiar with, and a single backwoods camper (or small group). Could be I’m not giving folks enough credit, though! Eventually I’ll probably get the appropriate hunting licenses to carry my longbow, but it just hasn’t been very high on my priority list. Always more kit to make or repairs to do!
I don't see any coconuts in your kit, perhaps the european swallows didn't migrate yet?
I know it looks to be early spring but I'd be steaming like a medieval pudding in those clothes
So good instant subscription!
Such a cool video love the vibes
I know it would be not at all historically accurate for your time period (or any time period for that matter, as I have heard no provenance of this at all in history), but you could see to creating a DIY water filter by cutting out the top fourth of a period-accurate reproduction bottle, setting it inverted and filling it with alternating layers of gravel, sand, and activated charcoal (wood char should do nicely) with a period-appropriate cloth over it and optionally at the neck of the bottle. Run the water through your filter til clear, then boil to finish purifying it.
Thank you! Very inspirational, for both my medieval and my black powder era selves.
Looks like a lot of fun. Carry on good sir!
Awesome video!!! I am also a Scadian, and huge fan of Dave Cantebrerry! Not too long ago, i was talking to a fellow scadian of the horrid inaccuracy of SCA camping. Those Portable mansions, are just, NO. If things get back to normal, I may be aiming my gear more this direction.
I think if folks are going for a late period, super-wealthy, Field of the Cloth of Gold-type encampment, the pavilions can work, but that's a very particular situation! It wouldn't work for everyone, but I do encourage folks to give a little more minimalist set-up a try.
Thanks for the video! Great job!
This very interesting to watch, just what i was looking for. Thank you!
Based.
This is super cool.
I would love to see some of your cooking recipes!
Q hermosura es acampar en esos climas
This makes you really appreciate the ultralight tech fabrics many of us get to use nowadays.
This is great I hope to see more in the future
Would love some more videos of some of the individual pieces you carry.
already a couple month you not make a update video..
would like to see you make a traditional backpack frame and attached a couple leather on it..
when will we see more vids like this? great stuff. keep it coming!
I’m hoping I’ll be able to do a little filming this fall, now that things are starting to cool off. The heat, humidity, and mosquitoes are not historically accurate for my time period and place of interest! 😆
seems like you are definitely more true to the 18th century but very cool nonetheless! looks like fun to me!!
Not sure who told you that open finger gloves were not authentic. But the open finger glove sphere dates back to the Roman empire era. The closed finger knitted glove came later but still predates 50 AD.
Char cloth was common cary by Romsn Legions also. Copper pots date as far back as predynastic Egypt. Eye glasses date back to the 12th century.
I agree that objects that fit into those general categories pre-date my period of interest! The ones that I show in this video are not of an appropriate form for my 14th century English impression, though; I can’t document the construction method and shape and the like to that time period and place.
I’m always interested in information about historical fire making! Do you have documentation for Roman use of char cloth? I know Pliny the Elder wrote about a couple methods for making fire, but I didn’t see anything about preparing tinder in that way in Natural History.
@@elliotburton4289 Nearly every site along Hadrian's Wall have provided not only spherical glove jigs made of bronze but also charing boxes of tin, copper and bronze.
The Roman troops (who were predominately conscripts from Europe and southern U.K.) were issued a glove jig and a sock jig along with wool yarn.
The charcloth was made by the mid level leadership and doled as part of the troops salaries.
There are thousands of ledgers from the wall forts that clearly document this.
The glove jigs were considered a puzzle for years by archeology until a woman archeologist saw one and quickly identified it. As the design is still in use today. They look like a soccer ball with pins in each spot where the lines intersect.
So, since the jigs not only existed but were in continual use in the U.K. since 55A.D. it is foolish to think that in the 14th century they stopped only to save and resume their use again in the 15th century forward.
Charcloth can be produced from Cotton, Flax linen, Hemp ĺinen, or any other natural plant fiber cloth.
Infact, the Brittunculi Documentaries on the Wall and on farm life of the 14th century explicitly use a charcloth of flax ĺinen.
@@user-qx3lm4vw6e That’s an excellent argument for why my gloves are not appropriate - they certainly weren’t knitted using a dodecahedron, and they don’t look like ones that are 🙂
Thanks for the tip! I will look into funds from Hadrian’s wall and see what I can find re: char(red )cloth
Love the video! Historical camping is awesome. How warm does the kit keep you during the winter? I always wondered how medieval soldiers kept warm during the winter months.
The answer to that depends on a few different things, but if I build a good debris bed and I have a fire that I can sleep next to, I can go down to around freezing without too much discomfort (but I do have to get up every few hours to put more wood on). If I can't build a fire (due to local burn bans or site restrictions or the like) I can get by at around freezing, but I'm quite unhappy about it 😆
for a more period accurate char cloth you could use horseshoe fungus in much the same way
You are absolutely correct! I haven't found any in my neck of the woods, but I did get some off Etsy to try to process into touchwood (following the
Le Ménagier de Paris instructions for tinder making). I haven't gotten around to it yet, though!
@@elliotburton4289 Oh fabulous! that process might make a good video. I recently harvested some horseshoe fungus but I'm not entirely sure what to do with it, lol. Is it the same as making regular char cloth?
@@HerosMuse horseshoe fungus tinder (also known as amadou) is processed by cutting open the hard outer layer of the fungus, scraping out the spongy tissue inside, then cutting the tissue into layer strips, much like strips of tree bark. Once processed as such, it will take to flame much like punkwood, without any additional char work.
@@andydaniels3029 That would explain why I couldn't find anything on how to pre-char it lol! thank you!
@@HerosMuse you're very welcome.
Cool gear mate
Love history, love camping, combining the tool just seems like a very cool way to step into the past and experience life from a totally different perspective. Thanks for sharing! What is the SCA might I ask?
The SCA is the Society for Creative Anachronisms (www.sca.org/). It's an organization for recreation/reenactment of pre-seventeenth century history, with a focus on participation and hands-on education. You can find an overview of the organization in the newcomer's guide linked here - www.sca.org/sca-newcomers-guide-updates/
I think, if you're unhappy with your glasses not being really correct for period, you could replace the earpieces with loops of cord or leather to go around your ears. I know that's correct for the 16th century, that would at least get you closer! My persona is 16th century, and I'm going to take my old round glasses from the 90s that I never happened to get rid of and put loops on them. They won't be very accurate, but they'll at least have the appearance of being so.
Jon, that’s a creative approach to that! When the world is a little less crazy, I plan on getting a wooden pair from this Etsy shop - www.etsy.com/shop/ZanozaWorkshop?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=675242715 . They have a couple styles that are similar to this pair a German monk dropped down the privy in the 14th century (I’ll add laces to not suffer the same fate!) - erikkwakkel.tumblr.com/post/53971081051/medieval-glasses-1-dropped-in-the-toilet-over
thank you very much for this
Nice kit! Well done!
great video !
Nice video, thank you.
Nice job.....I’ll follow
Greetings from England.
Im curently using chart cloth but ive seen it done with chart wood. But like the white rotten wood ( brown rotten is damp butwhite seems to be perfect)
So I would love t try that as a more accurate way
Learning to work with charred punkwood (aka punky wood aka rotted wood) is a good goal! It's always nice to be able to refill your char on the go without resorting to cutting up your clothes :)
Can I ask how heavy this whole set-up is? Excluding the ceramic cook-pot, if it really is that heavy haha
Also at what degrees would you consider this set-up warm enough?
I love the idea of making a tent by just tiying a cloth to a string and string to two trees, seems so minimalistic and raw, but I wonder what could medival person do in a colder weather (like 6 degree Celcius at night).
Oh and what about the rain? It seems like the water would sneak through the opening underneath a tart, but I guess there's no way to avoid it is there?
I want to say that it's about 35 - 40 pounds (16 - 18 kg), but it's been a little while since I weighed everything! There are things I can do to lighten things (small pot, leave the stakes and make some at camp, remove any non-essentials from my haversack, etc.), but it's definitely not ultralight, that's for darn sure XD
There's a lot of pieces to the "how cold" question. A medieval person would likely stay in an inn, unless they were an outlaw, in which case they had a lot of other problems! I sleep warm, so I can use this setup with a solid debris bed and my woolen tunics at around 6 degrees C, especially if I have a fire in front. Some folks sleep cold, though, so they may have a tougher time of it. Wind and wet also make a big difference, too, of course!
I haven't had too much issue with water coming under the tarp, but picking a site to set up is a big part of that - you don't want to lay down in a low spot! The debris bed also gets me up off the ground a bit, and you can even throw down a could of big branches to outline the bed and put down a layer of twigs under the leaves for more height. If I pick a good site and build up good bedding, the groundcloth should keep most rising damp off. I have slept with just a wool blanket in the rain when it wasn't terribly cold, and that is doable (since wool is a little water-resistant and maintains a lot of it's insulative ability when wet), but it's really not pleasant XD
Amazing!
Very interesting.
Very cool, Elliot. Do you make any of your own gear or have any plans to?
Great video , I’d love to see how that game is played
Very informative. Thank you! One question. What if it rains? Would you use your waxed tarp as a cloak of sorts?
Yes, if it's really pouring and I can't stop to make camp yet, I can throw the tarp around me and over my pack! That's why I tie it by itself to the bottom of the packframe, so I don't have to shuffle too much stuff around if I need to use it that way.
@@elliotburton4289 Thank you for your reply. Happy camping!
Very cool
We're do you find people reenacting midevil camping in America. Seems unusual but kinda cool. I would think most people would have carried animal skins for bedding. We sure know in 1700 America trappers were all over Indian country. They were mostly French. I'm sure people did the same thing in Europe when not caught by Royals who thought they owned everything.
Hi Elliot! I'm in the SCA, and my persona is Mongolian. I have been thinking about doing something like this, but I'm at a loss on where to start researching what a gear load-out would look like. I don't have a horse, so I won't be pony-trekking, I'd be on foot. Any ideas? Thanks, and one hell of a video, Great work!
I don't have really any sort of knowledge about Mongolia, but I did some quick searching.
Realm of History's article "Mongols: The Armies, Organization, Armor, And Tactics" (www.realmofhistory.com/2019/01/25/mongols-nomads-largest-land-empire/) states "The meticulous preparation for campaigns on the part of the Mongols was rather mirrored by the bevy of items each of them was expected to carry. These objects included a small ax for cutting wood, a file for sharpening arrowheads, a lasso (usually made of horsehair), rope, needle and thread, a stitching awl, leather bottles, a small cooking pot, and a waterproof ration bag. A group of ten men (known as arban) also carried a tent." The Ancient History Encyclopedia article "Mongol Warfare" (www.ancient.eu/Mongol_Warfare/) provides an almost identical load out, listing "standard equipment included a horsehair lasso, a coil of rope, an axe, a file for making arrowheads, a sewing repair kit, a leather bag for food and to use as a float when crossing rivers, two leather bottles for liquids, and a cooking pot. Men slept in light versions of the classic yurt tent, one carried for every ten riders."
Unfortunately, I suspect that both of these lists come from the Osprey Book "Mongol Warrior 1200-1350" by Stephen Turnbull, likely in part from the description that accompanies part 5 of Plate H (which I think is this image - i.pinimg.com/564x/5a/91/af/5a91afeec18dcac3e3480f87bb0b471d.jpg), which states, "The smaller items of field equipment of a Mongol warrior are grouped together and consist of a file, an axe, a coil of rope, a lasso, an iron cooking pot, two leather bottles and a leather bag closed by a thong to keep clothes and equipment dry when crossing rivers." I personally have a love/hate relationship with the Osprey books, because I find them to be good primers, but they don't include citations and I have found a lot of their illustrations to be not as accurate as I would want, especially as I have done more digging on subjects that I'm interested in. I pretty much always advise folks to take them with a grain of salt.
So, I'm not sure where that list comes from, but to be honest, it's not a bad place to start. It includes a cutting tool (the axe), cordage, and containers (leather bottles as canteens and a cookpot), as well as a mention of cover (the ger shared by ten individuals). Add a firemaking kit for combustion, and you've got your 5 Cs, but I think you'll want a knife and a bedroll, as well! All that would need to be altered to take into account the fact that you'd be travelling on foot instead of on horseback, let alone with multiple mounts. A tarp would certainly be more packable than a 10 person ger, but if the weight was manageable, you could potentially make it out of a tightly woven, lightweight wool treated with lanolin as a nod to the wool gers. It would still be inaccurate, which you would need to be honest with yourself about, but might fit the culture better than a tarp made from plant fibers (that's just a guess on my part, though!). It'd likely be heavier, though.
Since you're in the SCA, you might want to connect with the Known World Foresters on Facebook - facebook.com/groups/204654773027118/ . There might be some other folks with Mongolian personas that could give you much more specific advise than I can, or might know someone who knows someone, etc., etc.
Yikes, sorry about the wall of text! I hope something in there is helpful, and I hope that you're able to get started on exploring this very odd take on the hobby!
@@elliotburton4289 Thank you!!!
maybe next time you can build a viking log wood camp.would like to see that happen
Sehr interessant
I like the fact that you don't necessarily have everything be exactly period correct tho I expect you'd like to. I've been involved in 18th century historical events and some are so completely anal about historical correctness to the point of if a blanket had the right colors or a rifle had the correct stock architecture. I believe it's correct in spirit, that is close but maybe not exact then relax and have fun. Does anybody really believe that if an enemy took your ax or blanket he'd throw it away because it didn't look right?
Thanks for your video, very interesting. I appreciate you sharing your gear with us, and I found the use of "cups" as measurement stranger than your glasses! I understand that's an American thing. You bundled your lovely sheepskin out of the way, where do you use that? closest to your body for comfort, or under your blanket for cushioning?
Yes, measuring in cups (1 cup = about 240 mL) is an American thing! We're a bit... behind when it comes to our measurement systems.
I typically put the sheepskin under my blanket - I've rubbed the flesh side with a mix of oil and wax to help with water resistance. Putting inside the blanket is an interesting idea, though! I'll have to try that and see if it more effectively insulates that way!
@@elliotburton4289 We use sheepskins just for comfort, and we used them just around the shoulders... on the other hand, a blanket is a lot easier to wash than a sheepskin if it gets smelly...
thanks for replying!
I wonder what a (poor/on foot!!) pilgrim would wear and carry? I am going to walk the Via Francigena, Canterbury to Rome, along the route Archbishop Sigeric walked on his return journey in 990. I biked about half in 2018, but want to go back and walk the entire way, with my big coonhound "Chaucer" for company
That's very cool!
My understanding of it is that pilgrims would carry very little, in part because they were to rely on the charity of others as part of their spiritual journey, and in part because they would take shelter in inns, churches, monasteries, or private homes along the way, so they didn't need to carry shelter with them. Most depictions that I've seen of pilgrims in the late Middle Ages have them in a sort-of uniform - wearing a wide brimmed hat and a surcoat and/or cloak and carrying a staff, scrip/satchel, and a drinking gourd. It's hard to say if this is really how pilgrims commonly dressed or if it became a convenient artistic shorthand to convey to the audience that these were pilgrims, though!
A really excellent resource is the article "Peregrinus preparatus - the prepared pilgrim" by Kongshirden 1308 Akershus (an group focused on recreating Norway during the reign of King Håkon V Magnusson) - 1308.no/2019/09/08/peregrinus-preparatus-wandering-with-a-purpose/
Love from Israel
Something to sharpen the knives and axe?
File or a stone?
Dude, those spectacle frames look great with the kit! I'd like to get some just like them. Could you post a link to a site where I could score some? ~Morien
Thanks! I got them from Townsends and got my optometrist to put lenses in them (so they are medical-grade frames) - www.townsends.us/collections/eyewear/products/1740-1800-reproduction-glasses-frames-gl-784
@@elliotburton4289 Outstanding! Thanks very much indeed. Buen Camino!
This is awesome! I am curious as to what you mean when you say "modern charcloth." Did they use chaga normally or somehow use resin?
In Europe, the type of tinder that I've seen referenced most often in the Middle Ages (and that's not terribly often, since folks just didn't seem to write about tinder a lot) is touchwood, or processed Fomes fomentarius, sometimes called amadou nowadays.
There is a 16th century document on artillery that describes making charred cloth (specifically for a gunner's tinder box), but the method is different from the modern way of putting cloth in a tin and then throwing the tin in the fire. Instead, the instructions say to set the cloth on fire, let it burn a bit, and then smother the fire. That's why I call my charcloth "modern charcloth" - I made it using the throw-a-tin-in-the-fire way.
I actually made another video going through the two methods, if you'd like to take a look! ua-cam.com/video/Tx1xyu29bSU/v-deo.html
Elliot good day. I enjoyed the video very much. I'm currently doing a lot of DIY projects to create "period" equipment to do a bucket list solo medieval Scottish/Viking heritage "camping" adventure. I too am interested in living history and not just reading about it. In one part of your vid you are talking about the oilskin you use not being period. I believe it would have been knowledge that seafaring peoples would have known. I recently came across a few blurbs of info and thought it would be of interest to you. The question is in regards to how Vikings stayed protected while at sea. It seems that a few of those that responded have done research or written on the topic. I thought at minimum those names might be a resource to dive a little deeper on the use of oilskin during the medieval time period. www.quora.com/While-at-the-sea-what-did-Vikings-do-for-protection-from-the-weather#:~:text=They%20would%20pitch%20large%20tents,making%20them%20waterproof%20as%20well.
It is entirely possible that oilcloth was known earlier - I just haven’t seen any documentation! There are definitely examples of cloth that has been treated with fats or waxes. Vikings treated their sails with ochre and horse mane fat ( www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/the-boat-collection/ottar ). Cerecloth (waxed linen) was used to wrap corpses, and the Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale mentions “cered pokkets”, or waxed pouches ( www.librarius.com/canttran/yeotrfs.htm ).
So, folks prior to the 18th century absolutely had ways of treating cloth with fats and waxes to waterproof them, but I haven’t seen linseed oil-treated cloth (what I call oilcloth) specifically documented, and I haven’t seen evidence that the sorts of treatments that have been documented were used on shelters specifically. Definitely possible, maybe even plausible, but I just haven’t seen documentation (yet - always looking)!
@@elliotburton4289 Noted thanks. The two links came up as not found but certainly a couple more resources, thanks. I ran by another article a few months back (which I didn't bookmark) that stated use of ground up white chalk like rock that was mixed with 'seed oil' and brushed on canvas. I assume the chalk powder does the same as the red iron oxide I used to fill in spaces between the canvas threads. Again, probably very expensive to the commoner of the time and something only used by the wealthy. I figure that the 'period' intent is to DIY your own waterproof tarp. Absolutely, using tallow would be much more period but also much more friendly smelling to the local predatory wildlife. In this case, I'll go vegan oil...HA, ha, chortle, chortle!
@@christophercox5566 Ack, it looks like the parentheses got interpreted as part of the URLs - I've fixed that now, so you should be able to take a look!
Yes, that is absolutely the intent, and when the goal is to create a functional trekking kit, I've found that you have to make some choices where you weigh authenticity with practicality! My general practice is to try to make things as accurate as my research and budget allow, and fill in the gaps with gear that I can't document, but that I think won't be too harmful to immersion (my own or others). I also don't want folks to just copy me because I gave them the impression that everything is 100% incorrect, though, so I tend to try to be very clear about what I can't document, to the point that I downplay possibility/plausibility. That's just my personal take, though; other folks strike a different balance!
@@elliotburton4289 True Dat!! Thanks for the URL fix and it has been a pleasure chatting with you. I hope you can do more vids on this in the future. Stay safe!
without the glasses it would only be half as good
How about your boots? Very important for long hikes and rainy days...
I wear turnshoes by Boots by Bohemond. They have leather soles, so I have to mind where I put my feet (especially when it’s wet!) and I wear modern minimalist shoes all the time. Going from rigid, thick-soled shoes to turnshoes does not make for a good time!
I wanna start in the hobby but still hesitate with getting the “soft kit”, most importantly how to get a kit since last time I did sewing was in the 4th grade and most “period” garments on the market are made of cotton, which is completely off high middle ages central Europe.
You're completely right that a lot of commercially available clothing is cotton, and that cotton is not really appropriate for most western Europeans in the Middle Ages.
I made almost everything I'm wearing in this video (not the shoes, but it's only a matter of time before I try my hand at shoemaking...), and while I felt like that was the best option for me, it isn't for everyone.
If you are able to connect with other folks who participate in this hobby locally, you can often borrow basic tunics and the like to get started. That's a great way to figure out what you like before making a big investment. Most groups will also usually have members that DO like to sew, and they may take commissions.
If that doesn't work, there are a few online vendors that sell linen and wool clothing. They tend to be expensive, though. Historic Enterprises and Revival Clothing carry wool and linen garments, and have some package deals available. I tend to recommend Linen Garb for, well, linen garb. Simple but well made garments that tend to be a little bit less expensive than HE or RC - www.linengarb.com/collections . If you are willing to purchase garments that are a made high wool content blend (74% wool), you can check out some of the Burgschneider garments (read carefully, some are cotton!) offered by Kult of Athena - www.kultofathena.com/burgschneider.asp
. Just as a note, I have seen Linen Garb clothing in person, so I can vouch for its quality, but I have not seen Burgschneider garments in person.
Sorry about the wall of text! Hope that helps, and I hope you are able to get into the hobby!
Elliot Burton thanks for the inspirational and really helpful response, I’ll definetly find some reenacting groups in my region to get in touch with.
Where's the sword for highway men?
At home, unfortunately!
This is one of those period kit/modern reality-balancing areas for me. I think some sort of dedicated weapon would be a good addition, especially for a forester hunting bandits! I generally don't carry one, though, just because I'm aware that I'm already doing something a bit strange, and I don't want to give park rangers/game wardens more reason to pay me mind. If I had the opportunity to trek on private land and the landowner didn't mind, I would definitely want to bring weapons!
While I carry knives and axes as tools, they would help if I were in a practical self-defense situation. They're pretty standard for backwoods camping, though, so I don't worry about causing too much alarm by carrying them.