Medieval Bushcraft: Introduction
In order to understand what I mean by medieval bushcraft, we
must first understand a general definition of bushcraft and then we can explore
how it applied in medieval times.
Bushcraft is the usage and practice of skills, acquiring and
developing knowledge and understanding, in order to survive and thrive in the
natural environment.
Bushcraft skills therefore provide for the basic
physiological necessities for human life; Food, (through foraging, tracking, hunting, trapping, fishing),
water sourcing and purification, shelter-building, and firecraft.
These may be supplemented with expertise in twine-making, knots and
lashings, wood-carving, campcraft, medicine/health, and natural navigation.
Learning bushcraft also gives you
the expertise needed to handle certain tools such as bushcraft knives and axes.
You’ll use these tools to create many different types of constructions,
from dugout canoes to a-frame shelters.
The term bushcraft was
popularized in the Southern Hemisphere by Les Hiddins (the
Bush Tucker Man) as well as in the Northern Hemisphere by Mors Kochanski and
more recently gained considerable currency in the United Kingdom due to the
popularity of Ray Mears and his bushcraft and survival
television programs.
While in modern times we practice bushcraft skills as a way to acquire and develop wilderness survival skills, these skills would have been seen as more common knowledge in medieval times as a way of day to day living. That isn’t to say that everyone was practiced in primitive skills or even educated in the skills used to survive in the wild, as we know there were cities and villages where people lived and not all people would venture into the “wilderness”. However, a larger number of people in medieval times would have been familiar with the basic skills associated with meeting their needs in the woods or wilds of their various climates.
As we explore these skills and try to apply some experimental archeology and history to bushcraft skills, I’m going to focus on the general area of Scandinavia (my historical interests have been focused on “viking” culture of Scandinavia in the 8th through 10th centuries, as well as 14th and 15th centuries Scandinavian and western European cultures) ranging from 7th to 15th centuries. While broad in time and scope, I feel this will allow me to explore my interests while also providing enough historical references to create the necessary connections to explore this topic.
To explore the various topics associated with both bushcraft
and the medieval times, we need to first identify what bushcraft skills exist. In Mors Kochanski’s book Northern Bush Craft,
he identifies several major topics associated with bushcraft:
1. Firecraft
2. Axecraft
3. Knifecraft
4. Sawcraft
5. Bindcraft
6. Sheltercraft
In addition to these major topics, he had sections on the
various resources found in Northern woods (Canada and the Northern United
States) including trees and animals. For
the purpose of our exploration, in addition to the above list, we will also
examine the following:
1. Water sources
2. Food sources
3. Clothing and Gear
As my previous exploration of bushcraft and survival skills
was firmly rooted in modern times, the vast majority of my equipment was also
modern with a few pieces of more primitive styles thrown in. So, as we progress through this series of
topics, I’ll be making and purchasing the various pieces of kit that are more
appropriate for the medieval times I’ve identified. I hope you'll follow along and explore with me as we venture into the woods and back in time!
Yours in Service,
Torstein
Sources:
1.
Wade Cox,
Stephen. "About Ray Mears". Ray Mears
Bushcraft. Ray Mears Bushcraft. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
2.
^ "Info". Springfields Bushcraft.
3.
^ An on-line edition of 'The 10 Bushcraft Books' by Richard
Graves
4.
^ Kochanski's webpage "Archived copy". Archived from the
original on 2012-12-23. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
5.
^ "Mors Kochanski Interview, Equip 2 Endure
Podcast". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
6.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6Swa8Pwy-0KN2Q5N2I0NTQtZjE1OS00ZTRiLWIxNDAtMzkxMzU0ODYwMmRk/view
7.
http://www.survivorlibrary.com/library/the-ten-bushcraft-books.pdf
8.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6GE42-kvADvMjAwNmY0OTctNDA4ZS00ZjI2LWE0MjgtZjhiMTc5NzU1ODFi/view
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