First Medieval Re-enactment Tips and Tricks!
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Everyone was a n00b in their hobby once! Even me! But after surviving over a decade of living history and reenactment incidents from sunburn to freezing rain to mud to hurricane force winds to collapsed tents to broken spears, I've picked up a little experience to share.
Join me as we look at a few of the sights, sounds, and weirdos you might encounter when you turn up to your first ever historical re-enactment show. Whether it's Vikings, Revolutionary War, Civil War, Medieval or Roman, hopefully you'll get the chance to play with us soon, if COVID-19 can be beaten!
Pack your SPF 50! No seriously.
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"sweaty people in plastic clothes" is now my favorite way to refer to non-reenactors at events like this
Come for the garb, stay for the spicy tips on avoiding racists.
I used to know a guy who was in a WW2 German Mountain Division enactment group; which was Nazi-adjacent enough for us to look askance. He said he was thinking of joining a group "re-enacting" the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (about as Nazi as you can get); however, he lost his enthusiasm when we told him "Adolf Hitler Love Banner" sounded like a really hot and raunchy sausage party. Apparently homophobia and racism are natural bedfellows... no... not bedfellows... no no no 😋😂
@@euansmith3699 Reenactors usually throw sexual innuendo around like custard pies at the clown house. I'm unsurprised why he acted that way though, most SS groups act there the Dog's Knackers hence why most re-enactors (including other WW2 German reenactors such as myself) tend to approach them with equal parts caution and content.
@@euansmith3699 if he was an actual national socialist he wouldn't have just lost his enthusiasm because he invented a gay sounding society name. Dude had propably read something about world bankers being evil and understood partly why Hitler went berserker on jews and he wanted to larp something edgy.
True, although I've found much less-malignant racists among reenactors than I've had to deal with in the regular world.
I'm racially ambiguous but clearly not Anglo-Saxon or Scandinavian; so I've heard some weird comments from racist reenactors; but at least they've never called the cops to falsely arrest me in handcuffs just because I was the only non-white person in a particular area -- which is what happened at the Hyatt.
(I later filed an official complaint, and on-site security cameras could PROVE I wasn't the thief who'd stolen something; but it's both infuriating and frightening to be suddenly arrested when you have no clue why.)
On a personal note, to the reenactor that tell me my glasses are not historicaly correct, expect me to ignore you unless you say it in historical correct danish/similar ;)
Use it as an excuse to Trip over them occasionally. You were historically correctly confusing them with a tree stump x
Well said! I really don't like the selective mentality of those kinds of people.
Yes! We are indeed attempting to recreate a period in history as accurately as possible! BUT, not at the expense of people's health, well-being, or just basic safety precautions.
Oh, did you cut yourself chopping wood? Well let's drain that excess blood and bring out my trusty bag of runes, see if that fixes things Ragnar! No? You're gonna go to the hospital? Yeah, thought so...
@@bugsymcgee3310 For early modern era, just get out the scarifactor and deploy the row of spring loaded blades in front of them a few times and see how long it takes them to have second thoughts
@@neoaliphant I can see your point, I on the other hand am of the belief that we are not able to get it truly right anyway. So making compromised for safety is accepteble.
I know my original statement is abit tongue in cheek but it is pretty close to what I believe. You will have a hard time finding reenactors that speak the language correct, the gear is rarely perfect and the collection of people present is 100% incorrect. Not to mention all the things where we just dont know how close we get.
All that said, I personally think that as long as we make it clear what is "correct" and what is "modern" then that is the main point.
@@neoaliphant I guess it is simply a difference in opinion. Personally I find leather coverings for glowes to be worse. Since some people might actually think thats how they looked and that it is authentic. In that case I prefer clearly modern protection glover that leave no doubt.
Removing earings/noserings/covering tattoos, sure. Glasses on the other hand. well I guess its simply a difference in opinion.
As an introvert who has been involved off and on in reenactment since 79, one of the best ways to survive an event is the volunteer to help. There is nothing better for a shy person then to have a "script" and a reason to talk to people. I was usually helping in the kitchens, that way I wasn't holding up the tent pretending I wasn't there.
And HYDRATE. Drink lots of water. Did you drink water? That is another way to meet everyone, help out as a water carrier.
Don't touch people's armour or weapons without asking first.
This sounds like what I need to do, didn't think about it.....thanks for the tip Lena
My biggest problem is that they don't let me cook. Simply because the ladies in the group take over it because men are not supposed to do it . Now after wards or before we start play.They are very happy to let me cook the dinners and breakfasts and lunch and do the washing up. But when with the public they don't let me cook.
@@thebelfastvikingmartinbrow3603 insist. Plenty of people in the past cooked, especially lower classes like serfs and slaves. Hunt up some documentation if you can, but remember "absence of evidence does not mean evidence of absence ".
Kitchen is always a fun way to play!
@@thebelfastvikingmartinbrow3603 If you can find historical documentation of someone like YOUR specific character cooking, that might win you the right. I remember when a friend wanted to wear something that is period appropriate, but until she produced evidence that a character of her social status would indeed wear such a thing, they wouldn't allow her to do so. But when you can provide proof, it's not only a way to increase the general knowledge, but you can even use it as a teaching tool for the public -- "why is that man cooking?" now has an authentic historical answer behind it.
I joined my local longsword club because I wanted to learn to hit people with a big metal stick. I am now seriously contemplating weaving my own wool fabric to make kit with.
The crafting, it gets you.
Started as a landsknecht, now im a blacksmith
It really does. I've fallen in love with drop-spindle spinning, and one year, when a friend's Great Pyrenees "blew" her fur (which they do every spring -- they shed huge swaths and bundles of fur) I carded it and started using it to spin with, and now I've been incorporating dog fur into all different kinds of yarn, like with Icelandic goat fur and of course sheep's wool. That's something I never thought about doing before, but crafting just inspires creativity. . .
True, got dragged into a early-medieval group mainly to teach them a bit of archery for fun.
Now i am creating my second hauberk, this time out of authentic riveted steel rings. Things just happen at these camps
Importance of the letter 'e' vs 'When she was dying I said "Hmm, that looks like fun'".
I was a Renaissance actor for 13 years and you can remember everything if you write down! Make a list and check things off as they go in your bag or whatever you use, Tape or affix the list on your bag or container and keep another copy on your person.
Big big-brother/fun-uncle Jimmy energy ❤😁
^^
All excellent advice. I'm pretty introverted myself, but meeting other re-enactors, especially at an event is much less stressful than meeting random strangers.
Just two things I wanted to add; Please make sure your tetanus jabs are up to date, the woman who taught me to spin was very insistent on this, a tiny scratch from a little bit of vegetable matter might be all it takes. Sure, very unlikely to matter, but a bloody horrible way to die.
And, although Jimmy strongly implied it, to be explicit, do what you reasonably can to keep blatantly modern stuff out of sight. Nobody sensible will bat an eye if you're wearing glasses or have to use an inhaler, but put your watch in your belt pouch, don't drink Coke out of a can, and keep your Morrison's bags hidden under a cloak :-). I don't know why, but it's the modern stuff that draws the eye. Help maintain the fantasy.
Yeah, I've worn my glasses at every event. About the only other modern thing you'd regularly see me with is my water bottle.
Excellent point about tetanus shots. Mine are always up to date for work, but I've seen people get a small cut whose shots AREN'T up to date, and tetanus is one shot which can give you a sore arm for about two days, which definitely isn't what you want during a reenactment.
Honestly when I first started the hobby I was extremely introverted, the group helped me come out of my shell a lot.
When I went to my first show, I hadn't really met anyone from the *other* groups in my society, but first meeting them I felt right at home and could banter with them without anyone from my own group being there. Reenactors are often very friendly. I even got to to the point where I could go to multi-group shows and just start chatting with other reenactors I'd never met before and had no connection to.
As for hiding modern stuff, absolutely. A lot of my group have some kind of medical requirement or other, its why we often wear pouches, to keep our modern requirements out of the way. Its also good at big shows with lots of vendors to keep your wallet in them so you can buy stuff if you want but not have to openly carry it.
I'm a larper rather than a reenacter but most of what you said still applies: someone will take of you if you are new, people love to see your new kit and to know how you made it and we will feed and give you drinks at every chance e have.
I did however have an absolutely retched time at a larp and never went back. That was mostly my “friends” too interested in their own fun to show me how to have my own.
@@angelcollina If you are ever looking for a larp, there is one called Hynafol the grand gathering. It's in Texas and there are plenty of people to help you have fun and would love to show you around 😊
@@freyafox5079 Oh! That's so kind, but I live in Seattle, so that might be a little far to get to.
Going to Finlands only viking museum next week :O
I wonder if Jimmy knows the Finnish for Viking is viikinki. My subconscious keeps trying to imagine it in his voice 😅
I'd love to do a reenactment, but I'm poor and don't have a car 😆
@@nikkia9506 I dont get it how in the viking age finnish people called vikings "rusi"
@@nitrokameli Maybe they thought everyone who wasn't Finnish were Rusi, or allied to the Rus. I don't know enough history lol (And I've only been learning Finnish since early this year 😉)
@@nikkia9506 Thats nice
@@nikkia9506 they thought they all came from Roslagen ... or Roslagen is named after "Rus", nobody really knows.
I am an historical enthusiast with a deep love of archeology, I am also a Norse pagan in the great plains of Kansas...rural U.S.A. I frankly find your videos to be quite informative and I love your direct honest explanations. You have been an invaluable source of clarity in a small and insular community that, all too often, emulates what they see on television or pick up from poorly researched pop culture. As a man who has studied the cultures of my Germanic and Scandinavian ancestors for 30 years, I am sorry to say the history is poorly represented in America. I am a huge fan. Keep up the good work. And good on you.
At one of the first medieval events I went to a pair of saddlers held workshops for learning to work with leather, I still love the belt bag I made back then and try to use it whenever i can (it's 5 years ago now). It was super fun, and most of the participants of the workshop was teens that were just excited to get to make their own bags from scratch.
Learning how to safely handle the equipment from people that it's literary the tools of their trade was great, so if the event has workshops as an option I highly suggest checking them out (they usually cost money though, because material and the time of the person holding the workshop).
Those kind of collective tips videos are really helpful. I can't really attend events due to health, though. But I love "reenacting" in small ways, like crafts and cooking authenticly.
Maybe you can do a video about the range of possible crafts, like a list from naalbinding to blacksmithing? That would be helpful for some to find their craft or a new craft again, or just for orientation. Also, videos about resources would be great. Something about useful books with pictures of found jewellery or textiles (since most museums are closed or too far away), online collections, whatever there may be.. I have a degree in history but I somehow seem to struggle with finding viking age resources? (Especially searching for northern german stuff. I know it's not core viking land, but heavily influenced and well.. people existed there too, at the same time, with pretty similar culture. I grew up among burial mounds.)
Have a nice week!
Many good and important tips, thank you!! I'd like to add that there are always a lot of great, nice, friendly and helpful people but also the bad ones, those that look down on a newbie, comment on your not complete kit or clothes. critique about things like: 'your glasses are not corerrct. This is not a historical necklace!' etc. Don't get bumped out by them. I never understood the gate keeping of some people or their obvious need to tear some one down that they see as weaker. Go to those events with some one you know, or look for a mentor person.
Have fun and stay safe!
Pointing out a necklace as not being authentic is fine as long as it's meant to be constructive criticism instead of bullying. Helping newbies learn what should and should not be part of their kit is a good thing.
@@TocsTheWanderer true! helpful critique should always be welcome! just no condecending tone or finger pointing and anger over a newbies faulty waredrobe. thanks for adding!
It sounds both really interesting and really overwhelming. I think I will just stay with larping with my teeny tiny group where a big event is equal to more than 25 people and go to the medieval week in Visby once in a while.
But I really want to get into more historical crafts and would like to go to workshops and such. But I rather keep all the reenacting-ish parts I enjoy separate, to keep me un-overwhelmed.
Thank you for the video, it gave me good insight into what I personally want and don't want to do.
And yes, the sunscreen is very important. I actually managed to get a sunburn on an day long event in the beginning of October up here in the north because I though I wouldn't need sunscreen in october (as I usually don't need it then). But the sun will come and burn you even if you think you can escape it.
I am now pining for events again.. we're not yet opened up that much, but I have fingers crossed for this autumn! I can't wait to be amongst people to share my geek with again. Tedious textile tasks are so much less so amongst good company.
I am so enjoying this episode. My son & I are Viking re-enactors also. He's been doing it 20+ years. I joined the guild, Vesterfolk, in 2014 when I moved in with my son & family. I love it but due to Covid & my immune system, I haven't gone to any Fares or the Vista Viking Fest. I'm 74 and did a DNA test which said i'm 13% Scandanavian. Makes me proud to find that out. But, I like to teach the kids at Fare how to use the Lucet. They really enjoy that. I also make braid on a Inkel Loom. Just easy stuff to keep my hands busy while at Fare. We are a very close guild and get together all the time throughout the year. They are my extended family. My Viking name is Ylva.
Nice aerial shot of the siege of Grolle reenactment at 20 minutes in!
"Oh god, I'm falling apart! I need more tea!" Is pretty much the most British thing I've ever heard😂
I've somehow missed this video but I'm glad I found it today 😊
And too much chaos? Nah, my ADD brain thrives on your chaos! Please never change❤
I really appreciate this video for an odd reason - after thinking about it for a long time and going back to this as needed I have actually decided NOT to pursue reenactment until I get back into sheep. I think I needed such a frank look at for me to say "Yeeeeeeeeeeah - looks like fun but not for me".
Great video! I've been super interested for years but I've finally ordered up some simple fabric and supplies and marked my calendar and I'm gonna try and dive in. Thanks for the great content. It's done a lot to give me the confidence to actually join in and participate.
6:46 "When she was dyeing, I said, 'Hmm. That looks like fun!' "
Say no more. You talked me into it.
Love the flowy bits! And always enjoy your videos!
This was excellent! Thank you so very much for posting this!
Perfect timing, got my first multi-group event at the weekend, only hung out with a local group I'm not a member of so far.
i just love this channel
fun fact about the black sheep at the end: this sheep was used as an "alian" sheep in the starwars Andor series, on a planet who loked like the highlands. people thought it was cgi because "they coudn't be real"
i love the chaos! also, i'm getting my very first set of tablet cards delivered today and will be tablet weaving soon! all i've done so far is basic inkle loom weaving. i'm excited!!!! thanks for this video, very interesting and informative!
You forgot to mention that Visby's Medieval Week is a nice place to go! How could you forget? Oh, right... You forget to bring a spoon... :-D
Also, never been! So didn't forget- I'm not qualified to say!
I've also literally lost my usual spoon. Dang.
@@TheWelshViking Please come to Visby Medieval Week next year! I'd love it if I got to meet you there.
Early August 2022. That year you can also visit (or take part of) the 1361 reenactment battle and camp called Battle of Wisby.
I was at the first Visby medieval week in which the SCA ( Nordmark) participated. I had a wonderful time and have many stories. We lived in Germany then. Back in the mid1980’s. My husband won the SCA tournament .
Nice Binns in the background 👌
You just gave me some good old memories from when I punched myself a coin as a 5 year old in Ribe, thx🙏
A shameless plug
31st July and 1st August big Viking day market etc
Magnus Vikings group.
Ballydugan settlement.
Downpatrick.
Northern Ireland.
Well off to find a group near me. Being in Sussex I'm not surprised there's more saxon groups to be honest.
I remember doing the battle of Newbury with the sealed knit and trying as much as I could. Great fun. Can't emphasise water and sunscreen enough.
Yay, you said "Saskatchewan" correctly!
I've never understood how so many people can mispronounce it!
@@TheWelshViking Not a place name I was expecting to hear on a video from this channel. And it's mostly people from Ontario who insist on pronouncing it weirdly.
Hello from Saskatchewan!
❤❤❤❤❤ Jimmy is just the best and so passionate about reenactment. Just as a cosplayer a bunch of random pictures of me out there. It's always nice when people ask permission but that doesn't always happen.
6:45 subtitles "and when she was dying i said "hmm, that looks like fun. How does it work?""
“I always remember to forget” I love this lol thank you for sharing
Love the stinger at the end with the sheep. Was that a Last Podcast on the Left Reference?
People comment about glasses. How would they react to my electric wheelchair? Without which I could not move. At all.
Probably quite well! We have ways and means ;)
@@TheWelshViking thanks. I'll try.
Thanks for this
Have you watched FeintHeart? It's all about Viking Re-enactment called the Bloody Broadswords. Its Eddie Marsans early film.
Have you ever done reenactment stuff in Australia? If you forget to wear sunscreen here it is deeply unpleasant, and pretty much a mistake you only make once (the UV hits different here).
Never been south of the Equator, but I really want to get over there soon!
@@TheWelshViking If you ever find yourself in Tasmania, let us know. You've got several subscribers down here, and there is some nice beer and quite a few interesting graveyards.
The gas leak year!
Subscribed!
Definitely got me more excited going to one of their practises Friday to hopefully join I’m very excited also absolutely terrified been wanting to do this since I was 12
This is reenactment? I do this everyday just because... life! I'm moving to the UK and joining some groups!
Hubby thinks you're mad, but i like the craziness. I have wanted to go to events, but was always too busy, now i can't walk far....Like the fellow with glasses, what would be made of my power chair?
Thanks for the information. I like learning.
Thank you for the info, considering joining by local society
Join a group with their own tailor and armourer. As a 5XL guy, this saved me a fortune. Also taught myself a bit of leatherworking, this is for boots, belts, pouches etc., not randomly studded black leather armour. And yes, that sword at the reenactor market with the fake 'pattern welding' is very pretty, but you coukd buy four vaguely authentuc swords for the same price. One small point of disagreement, drink the damn mead, it's delicious and well worth the vicious hangover
Occasionally I would like to be neurotypical… like listening to your enthusiasm! In real life, at best I would be hiding in a dark corner and hoping nobody would notice me!
Bold of you to assume this isn’t just an elaborate act to hide the spice ;)
I'm learning Tablet Weaving... hope to go to an event with my loom some day!
Wait, vegan options?! This sounds more inviting than visiting my parents xD
Dang it, but I wish I had more time and could join in the historic fun with our local reenactment groups!!!!
My advice is not to expect to have, wish to have, even buy in one go (if you can afford it) absolutely every garment and piece of equipment you think you need, all at once . . .
Simple basic clothing, borrowed or made, bowl cup and spoon, yes . . . Water and sunscreen and your phone hidden in a linen bag, an old plain woollen blanket against the weather or to sit on . . .
Then treat yourself to one or two items each market (you will continue to remember where you got some things, who you were with, and where they were from - though if it is historical info, write it down, that you will forget!)
just joined Bleaddau Du in South Wales, Im originally from Bangor, really enjoying your videos, thank you :)
Eyyy, da iawn, boi! Lemme know if you're ever at York or a big event and we'll have a jangle :D
@@TheWelshViking I certainly will :)
Lace makers? History of knitting?
He has talked about early knitting in another video (I'm afraid I don't remember which one I believe it was a slight tangent rather than the point). Viking "knitting" is called nalbinding and you do it with a needle similar to a darning needle. There's some instruction videos online, basically you just keep making loops
Both are post-Viking Age, but definitely medieval and most definitely Renaissance. If you want a Viking Age yarn craft, try nalbinding! www.en.neulakintaat.fi/1
Don't carry drinking horn's on belt loops they wouldn't have done it.
And black leather larp sword holders lol.
So carry it in a belt bag then? I’m new to this and I really appreciate the advise
Hold it or just pop it in a bag :)
@@eazy8579 belt bag for a drinking horn I really don't think so. Thing about walking distance in any age is you try to carry as little as possible. A simple wooden bowl was used to eat or drink out of . But if you was just going to a friend's house they would have cups horns whatever they drank out of. So there was no need to carry a cup or horn . When I show my camp gear I carry one small bowl and sometimes a small cup in my backpack. If am showing what a person could use at home. I show my plates bowls different types of cups. Wood clay even glass and horn. But at no time would I carry a horn on my belt .
@@TheWelshViking I was at group where someone tried to tell me my knife wasn't Viking. But she and her friend was walking around with black leather horn holders .
Coming from some one who reenactments multiple things/periods including vike, I don't think there's a thing I didn't agree with in this, great video mate 👍
okay... saskatchewan? why? and how do you even know about that (my) province?!?! I love it when it comes up... but what? :D
Just have to say especially in this video you look like you could be my husband's brother the features are so uncannily similar! Which is lucky for you as he is a quite handsome man 😄
I've been doing HEMA for almost a year now, however I have yet to venture into the viking side of combat. Does anyone have suggested as for sources, videos, treatises, etc.?
Ignore anything that claims to be a "Viking martial art", as it's almost certainly just based on later medoeval fencing manuals. Almost every group has its own idea of what constitutes "authentic" combat as well!
To the best of my knowledge, there are no treatises or manuals on how the viking age Scandinavians fought. There are accounts of fights in the sagas and such, but take those with a heavy grain of salt, as most of the sagas are at least a quarter mythology, plus being written down 100+ years after the end of the VA.
There is a UA-camr named Roland Warzecha that has put a fair amount of time into learning how they might have fought, and teaching it to others. Probably worth looking up some of his videos.
@@TheWelshViking thank you, I wasnt expecting to find an "authentic" source, more just a guideline to explore my horizons in combat sports
@@TocsTheWanderer thank you for the reference
At 4:38, the guy on the far right, what is he wearing? Is that just a weirdly wrapped Kaftan or some other robe like garment?
Just a cloak worn very strangely
I think if I begin Norse reenacting I would want to be the local coal biter. That sounds nice.
I watch a fair amount of sheep farming videos on UA-cam... did I expect Jimmy to show sheep, nope, am I excited 😆 yep... more drop spindle and tea for me tonight. 🐑🐏🐐🦙
As a former Irish/Scots Highlander re-enactor I found that clothing maintenance was a fun but occasionally comically "harmful" camp-craft...I owned two shirts so I could change clothes from one day to the next and not smell like ass, also giving me the ability to wear one look one day and the other the next, but also had the benefit of wearing one set while being able to fix up or improve the other (or make a new shirt if I needed one). There I'd be, loafing around while repairing a seam or adding some embroidery, and a couple in garb would approach. Sure enough, the woman would slug the man in the arm and exclaim "SEE? He's doing HIS own sewing!"
"Members of the public have cameras" omg yes. Working in museums I have no idea how many people have random photos of me. Just have to deal with it...
I walk around in a minotaur costume at midieval festivals....I feel you
God, I feel that. As a tour guide, I often see people filming my ramblings. I have no idea how many of my unfunny jokes just linger on someone's computer...
Imagine if in 2700 picture of you will be used as historical document to demonstrate how humans fancied reenactment in the early 2000s.
@@ReasonAboveEverything
Digital Pictures dont tend to survive very long if special steps arent taken to preserve them.
Usually like 10 or 20 years at most.
Omg they're the bane of everything! 😫🤦🏾♀️
My favorite events are where we're all PART of the event, out in the middle of nowhere, where tourists wouldn't be bothered to try to get to. Whole days with zero technology. . . Like a vacation for my soul.
Honestly. . . How do some people even enjoy being somewhere, when they're only ever "seeing" it through their camera lens, or on their phone? It seems like they're missing the whole point of experiencing their life. . .
And yes I know this is an ironic complaint to be whining about on UA-cam, lol. But I'm not living as a medieval person at the moment. When I am, I don't want to be dragged back into the 21st century, and nothing does that faster than a camera jammed in my face.
PLEASE don’t stop being a little chaotic that’s one of my favorite things about your videos!
seconded
Seventy-fifthed.
Bringing sunscreen and *applying* sunscreen are different activities :P
This is so very true! I'm great at bringing it, not so great at the other...
@@lornaferguson80 haha! No that’s Harry!,😜
Good point. Also remind each other every morning. One of my friends has red-gold hair and that moonlight-white skin that literally can't tan, so I've made myself her "sunscreen reminder". . . and she reminds me to stay hydrated, because that's one thing I can forget. It's funny how we can each have different blind spots.
And apply sunscreen after changing into kit . . . Or you will have a very sore crescent shaped 'Viking smile' on your shoulder blades which is the difference between the t-shirt neckline and a Scoop neck sark . . .
Q: How many camping re-enactors does it take to change a lampwick?
A: LAMPWICKS! I forgot the lampwicks!
Yes but if you use a wee clay lamp with fish oil. You get away with using string and bees wax. And you make your own wick's.
And Yes: In any situation, don't push someone to drink! Don't do it.
Always feel that you can say no to drink. I wish everyone always felt comfortable and safe to say no, but the world can make it hard, so reach out to someone, just tap a metophorical shoulder, and say "can you please help me ask this person to stop pushing this on me"
Like, don't let your friends be pushy with drink! (or other activities)
That's just something that would definitively happen to me. Everytime I go somewhere two things always happen: 1. some guy just senses my gay aura and wants to buy me a drink and I say no and try to be nice. Because I know the moment I say yes the guy will think I owe him something. And 2. I will have at least one sad moment and some person with good intentions tries to cheer me up in a really bad way like "C'mon just have a drink or are you a coward. And try to smile" and because I'm not that cheerful in that moment and nobody knows me I will just appear like a general killjoy to everybody around me, so nobody wants to help and I will regret for half an hour that I left my home, but after that it will be fine again.
Anyone tries when we're at an event let me know and we'll escape and tell them off
I always try to have non-alcoholic options for those who don't imbibe, and offer them all so people can pick what they're comfortable with: "Would you like something to drink? I have water, Sprite, beer, and rum." I've also been a "designated drinker", whose job it was to relieve non-drinkers of the alcohol that overly-enthusiastic eventgoers have given them, or to take shots on their behalf when people pour too many. It's not a role for the faint of liver.
@@bridgetthewench Exactly! If you want everyone around you holding a glass that’s fine, but non-alcoholic, un-caffeinated, non-carbonated, non-allergenic water will need to be on offer.
@@lynn858 And I've seen enough people drop from not getting enough water, I'm going to be pushing that over anything else at an event, especially to new people I haven't seen before. I've stopped performers who were walking by my shop, visibly wilting, and made them drink some water and splash a bit on their face and neck to cool down.
Encourage all of the enthusiasts to enthuse!
Enthusiasm is beautiful, Everyone should find something they can be enthusiastic about, everyone should take a moment to enjoy seeing someone shine as they talk and the enthusiam just radiates from their face and hands and words.
This is an excellent comment!
Too much control can be dangerous, so EMBRACE CHAOS!
I love tablet weaving and learned how to so I could weave belts and trimmings for my tunic. I also learned blacksmithing with the hope of making my own Long Axe.
I love smithing and can’t wait until I can put more time into really learning tablet weaving.
@@kitdubhran2968 Tablet weaving itself isn't too hard to learn or get started in. You just need to learn how the thread the cards and even some more complex patterns are just memorizing a few movements and repeating them. The real challenge is how tedious and time consuming it is threading the cards.
@@CollinMcLean I get that. It’s just complicated enough that it couldn’t become a mindless adhd task.
I don’t mind endless tasks. I’m currently stitching together, and then felling down the seams of 40 42 inch strips of cotton to make a skirt. Repetitive things aren’t so bad. I like them a lot.
For my neurodivergent friends out there: Don't feel pressured to eat foods that you aren't comfortable with, even if the event organisers cooked period food for everyone. The most important thing is that you eat something. Sneak off to the nearest store and get yourself something you actually like.
I'm thinking about joining a group but I'm a little scared I'd be overwhelmed with the people and not able to go to all of the events. :( But it seems like so much fun!
@@snazzypazzy I feel you! I'm going to be part of a performing crew at an event this summer, and I'm really nervous about it 😳 But I think it's important to remember that there are ways to work around things. (My current plan is to sew a lot between performances and rest in my tent with noise cancelling headphones to calm myself down and save energy.) Maybe you could go to an event and only stay for an hour/whatever you can handle? Or find some "quiet" space wher there's not a lot of people and make it yours. Start small and se if you enjoy it and how much of it you can handle 😊
I'm neurodivergent too and this thread is good advice.
Absolutely. My group are great but I have so many dietary limits I just bow out of most shared dinners, as id rather not inconvenience them! Lunches are fine as you can just pick and choose from all the authentic foods laid out. Just do you, it's all good!
I was part of a pretty major national society and we'd have a pitch-in group food situation at most shows. People would put money forward and the group leader would bulk-buy stuff for making stews/chili/etc for dinner as well as more historic kinds of meals for lunch during show hours. Was a nice situation but you always had the option of either bringing your own food, and nobody would question it if you did leave the show to go to a local shop... hell sometimes you'd have groups of people all going together. Some shows I recall also had food vendors who'd happily sell to reenactors.
This video is oddly applicable to multiple hobbies. Antique cars. Small scale steam trains (particularly the children attempting to launch themselves under the rope towards something very hot).
I was a child though, so I tended to work as a ticket taker, with an adult bouncer who was staff from the property we were on.
Kids would ask questions, in that general way they do, to anyone who’s listening. And I’d start explaining, only to be talked over by their parent who’d start BSing about stuff they know nothing about. It’s really a pity, because having been doing this with my family for YEARS I was a human encyclopedia on the subject, and unlike some of the adults I could explain things at a few different levels of complexity.
I was only playing ticket taker because I couldn’t drive a train on the track on public days. Same as I bet there are renenactor families with kids who are quite adept at combat, or blacksmithing but can’t participate at events when there’s private property and insurance involved. Yeah, it’s dangerous. But if kids are taught carefully, they’re often more aware and reliable than some of the adults. And historically, children were shovelling coal into steam engines, and blacksmith forges, operating the bellows, and dying in combat as water carriers and drummers.
This was great fun to watch despite not being a re-enactor. In non-covid times I go to SF&F conventions (mainly Discworld, because selfies with the famous are not my thing, but laughing and having fun with like-minded friends is). Much of the advice in this video works for conventions too :-)
Discworld conventions??? Oh, my dream. I imagine you're not located in the U.S. Alas, there are too few of us here. (But if I'm wrong, someone please correct me and tell me where to find the events!)
"Stay Hydrated" YES! I have been the hydration person at a battle event. After every engagement, I was up and out among the fighters, making them drink water. Because they're high on the battles, and need the reminder.
Also, my favorite part of eventing is just sitting around talking, and having a hand craft is awesome for that. I also always have a little area behind my tent that is where I can go to be left alone if I need to decompress. Even if I don't use it, it's good to have.
that bit "oh god im falling apart" as you bump a knuckle made me laugh and walk into a table. Body parts are betrayers....loved this video
Needs more tea!
Exactly, right now my right knee has chosen violence. 😖
My first event I came very close to taking a Dane axe to the face because one of the veterans let a child hold it by himself, and turn shoes plus wooden crutches (I’m disabled) mean I move a little slower than normal 😂😂
I wear glasses and am a bit blind without them. So giving me a big pointy thing and telling me to try to hit someone without killing him can be a bit dangerous. But it doesn't stop me having lots of fun sharp and blunt long and short play things. Just to stand for the I have a big toy photo 🤣
@@thebelfastvikingmartinbrow3603 oh I’m right there with you brother, though I’m beyond taking part in any battles, I just hobble around playing the old wounded fighter haha
Jesus...
(Sitting around “in my linens” did make me giggle). I’ve done some mail making and engraving as a demonstrator, and was terrified when I was first asked what I was doing, but seeing the curious public getting involved was so much fun in the end!
I had to show kids how to cook rabbits and skinning them last Sunday. And am a trained chef of over 35 years. And I took a lump out of my finger to busy talking not enough looking at a very sharp knife.
With people crossing safety ropes, i've been doing midieval fairs for 6 years now, and we have a shooting range with sharp arrows. On either side there's a rope with a beautyfull sign saying "Shooting range, do NOT cross this rope" and yet somehow, people still just hop right over the rope and right into line of fire....
My group does a mixture of medieval and more age of sail kind of stuff, so we have a lot of experience with people trying to get way too close to our cannons. At times it has gotten to the point where we've had to draw weapons on people because some jackass decided he wanted a photo next to the cannon *while smoking*.
I work in a pharmacy as a technician. People do not read. We have a system that sends a text message or phone call when there is an item to pick up, insurance info needed, price confirmation, and other things. So. Many. People. Walk up and say “I have something to pick up. I have no idea what it is. I got a text.” So I will go into their account and look all around and ask about refills. Then I ask to see the text and it says something like “It’s time for your yearly flu shot!” And I read it out and their like “oh okay” and leave. And I facepalm.
Too chaotic? That's part of the reason we watch you! You do weave in and out of the script as you recall something that didn't make it into the original outline, but is still worth mentioning. It shows you're adaptable and on the ball. If people don't want chaotic, they ought to steer clear of a lot of archaeologists and history enthusiasts 😆
Well said.
And you have an awesome dog! (I can't resist, I love dogs)
@@zxyatiywariii8 She was the best girl. Half Bulldog, half Staffy, all daft.
I'm just getting started on historical reenactment (having previously done fantasy type reenactment) and as I watched your video it occurred to me why it all appeals so much - the sincerity. It feels like half the world is embarrassed to genuinely like something - everything has to be Ironic Liking in case it's cringy and all that stuff. It's so nice to find people who are genuinely enthusiastic about something and and environment that thrives on the expression of that enthusiasm.
Da fuck was that in the end, Jimmy?! 😂😂
Two things:
1) This video is as usual excellent. Thank you.
2) To all kind of different reenactors that might see this comment, please don't shit-talk other groups for beginners. SCA not your cup of tea? Reenactment in other groups than SCA not your thing? Good that you have figured that out! Excellent. Do what you love. But let's all agree on that different groups does things different and let the beginners find what suits THEM. 😉
I've done SCA on and off for a couple of decades. I mostly avoid doing public events, unless I was being part of a dance group, and I can hide once my bit is done. I don't like the pressure of the public asking me questions, which is why I always appreciate that most SCA events in my kingdom, An Tir, are private.
Greetings! I've recently started looking into SCA and found that I live in An Tir. Someday I hope life opens enough and my family can dive in, in person.
Being a member of the sk for 30+ years, this is by far the best introduction video to our hobby i have ever seen, fantastic job will share with fellow members and new members, i think its just as vital that us veterans remember what its like to be new
Thanks mate, I really appreciate your saying that!
Here in Central Florida they hold Highland Games every February, and they have a lot of people doing things like weaving or mail making, and everyone is extremely happy to let anyone who's interested have a go. My firstborn got into making mail one year, and kept it up for over a decade.
My son in law is active with the Highland Games here in the Orlando area! I tell people he gets to play games like throwing telephone poles while wearing a kilt! (He’s a big, brawny guy!) His wife, my daughter, gets into the spirit by dressing in costume, too. One time another of our daughters ordered a period costume just to fit in while she walked around the games! Small world! Two Central FloridIans watching a Welsh Viking in Scotland! 😊
The Highland Games are one of the best, most welcoming events I've ever been to as a member of the public instead of a reenactor. Awesome people!
God I want to be part of a living history society so bad 😩 but trying to find any pre-20th century reenactment here in Greece is impossible, all I get is Ancient Greek events in other countries, and Viking reenactment doesn't seem to exist here 😭
Omg! I have been sitting and binge watching your videos all day long once again, while doing embroderie! Im so hyped for this video!
Btw your thumbnail work is getting real good!
I was really panicky over today's one so thank you!
Dude seriously?!?!
Those “flowy bits” are my favorite part.
I might even rediscover my historical reenactment passion if I keep watching you!!
When I used to do Viking "Re-enactment" it was mainly about drinking, singing, hang-overs and bacon sandwiches.
17:29 That photo reminds me of the kit we used to wear back in the 1980s 😂
17:49 A talk on "Articulated Knees" sounds great
You are a great advert for the hobby.
My Pirate group says we are a Drinking Club with a Pirate Problem!
"A handful of soup..".this man is important!
My 1st event a new friend basically took his trousers of and put his best on so I could wear his old pair lol.As for a long ship less then a month from joining the group. And as an ex army chef I thought it was easy to cook for an army.😇
Army Chef? You sound like the perfect member of any group.
@@euansmith3699 you would think so.? But I been trying to join the group that's only 5 minutes from me in Larne. Because my old group is 50 miles there and 50 miles home. So two hours a night or 10mins. And I still keep in touch with some of the old group.But they keep saying we will get in touch.
It's not like I don't know how to cook Viking age food. Have more camp gear then a single person needs. Plus my very own blunt and Sharp toys etc
😂 I am responsible for two people who would forget their heads if they weren't attached, which makes me then overlook something that I need to take! I've made a packing list for day trips and weekend events now so that we can just work from the list.
And now I am the chatelaine for our group so I get to pack gear for newcomers to borrow as well!
There are also those people interested in the mead. Tasting mead, buying mead, drinking mead...you can't spell mead without me.
me.
Or mad!
Love this vid! Hubby and I are SCA (USA) for 20+years, and you gave the best advice. I loved the "expect it to be wet/dry, freezing/boiling, noisy/quiet, organized/chaotic" (every SCA event I have ever been to). You hit every point, exactly right. Thank you!
I used to be a member of the SCA.. IT was Like a whole bunch of mini-vacations.. until the year we went to something 48 of 52 weekends.
Still in in 42 years in. yikes :)
@@blktauna I’m sure you have a lot of amazing memories!
@@DawnOldham I do and its been a wonderful ride 😃
I've only been in 4 years!! I feel so new
@@brookecarney-hahn9313 Welcome and I hope you have a wonderful time!
@27:12 And why does that guy only have one shoe?
"Well, he is a Welshman you see, and they are an odd lot", is what Mike will reply with.
Catherine, what are you doing there?... um, watching your video, Mr. Jimmy the Viking. Though earlier on I was sewing a gore to a new wool tunic (it's winter in NZ and I have an event coming up in a month, must have warm garb!!!). Two more gores to go, then facings&seams&DONE, oh my!
Any advice for we members of the great unwashed going to public events? For example, would it be ok for me to turn up in my kirtle, or would that confuse people? Can I take my (seriously starter level) tablet weaving & buttonhole an expert for advice?
Perhaps another video for those of us interested in the topic/era/history in general but not involved in re-enactment so we can get the most out of events without overstepping the bounds....
YES PLEASE COME IN YOUR MEDIEVAL CLOTHES AND BRING YOUR WORK!!! (from the SCA perspective)
It very much depends on who's there and where it is. If it's someome like the SCA they're usually very flexible, but some groups and sites might bristle slightly if non-members arrive at an LHE in kit, especially if they're not recognised. Again, that's more on the insurance side of things though, I'd love to say hello!
@@blktauna Thank you! I shall look out for events now they're becoming a thing again...
@@TheWelshViking Thank you - think I shall have to embroider a "Don't ask me, I'm just a tourist" badge to make things clear. And I shall definitely say hello, given a chance!