Medieval Bushcraft: Introduction

January 07, 2021

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 8^ththrough 10^th centuries, as well as 14^th and 15^th centuries Scandinavian and western European cultures) ranging from 7^th to 15^th 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 While broad in time and scope, I feel this will allow me to explore my interests while also providing enough historical references to create the necessary connections to explore this topic.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