Trying new things: Rowesborg Farm Wars 2022

 

This past weekend I was given the opportunity to step outside of familiar territory and try a new martial activity.  A close friend of mine from the SCA, Alexander Van Ness, invited me to try out Viking reenactment/living history.  When I first started in the SCA my original kit was 10th century Norwegian, and was how the name, Torstein Hartviksson, was picked out for my persona.  So I pulled out my old garb (all of which was handsewn by me, a thing which I'm proud of) and through together some camping stuff.  My friend and knight in the SCA, Duke Cellach (AKA Jesse Weber), offered to give me a ride and stay in his medieval tent for the event, and just like that we were off to Cleveland, Ohio area. We arrived around 4:30pm on Friday, and were greeted by many new faces.  We pulled into a back pasture of the farm, where others had set up their tents and we got to work setting up our home for the next few days. 

Once set up we assisted a few others throw their tents up and then walked up to the house to grab some food and socialize.  People were introducing themselves left and right, and I'll admit I'm terrible at names.  I found that people didn't use nicknames or persona's in this group, and their was at least one other "Josh" so I switched to going by my last name, "Seymour".  We were give a brief tour, which included some quality time with some of the sweetest cows.  We grabbed some burgers and soon set to work making an axe for me to use for the weekend (provided by Jesse).  

This was a fun way to begin the event, very casual and allowed me to quietly adjust to the environment.  After making the axe, we wandering back to the camp as it continued to expand with new arrivals. We helped more people set up and I spent some quality time watching Alex's girls while he helped more people get situated. 

 It didn't take long that first night before I hit a wall and went to lay in my tent.  Alex soon snuck in and we ended up chatting until midnight when I finally couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.  Note**I apologize for my snoring all weekend, I don't currently have a battery pack for my CPAP and went without for the weekend. I am currently looking to remedy this, as my sleep was not great, as a result.

The next morning, Jesse was up early (as usual) and soon I was up as well.  This was the first day of full events, and required full garb, trying to eliminate modern things from view and create that immersive environment.  I got dressed and wandered around, feeling like I had woken up in an actual Viking encampment.

 

Breakfast was oatmeal, cooked over the fire in a large pot, served piping hot with raisins, some jam and hard boiled eggs. We had our safety briefing for the fighting, which was an entirely new style for me, and I soon found myself warming up.  The use of rebated steel weapons was exciting but also a bit daunting, so I announced my inexperience with the fighting style to each new opponent as we warmed and soon found my rhythm. 

"Western style combat is tailored to the safety regulations instituted at many of the large re-enactment events that take place in Western Europe, such as at Moesgård and Trelleborg. With hundreds of fighters on the field at once, safety is of the utmost concern at these types of events, and so valid targets are limited to those areas of the body least likely to cause serious injury. Under this ruleset, strikes to the head and neck area, hands, feet, and lower legs are not allowed, with valid target areas being above the knees (including the groin), torso (minus direct blows to the spine), shoulders, and—depending on the event—sometimes the upper arms. Strikes are expected to be clean and decisive, but not forceful. Fighters train proper body mechanics for pulling blows and applying the proper amount of force for the style—blows should be strong enough that they are felt in the heat of combat, but not so strong as to cause injury."  (Source: http://www.vikinginvasion.org/the-jomsviking-system/)

This style of fighting, while slower than SCA armored combat for safety reasons, really emphasized technique, footwork, and control.  Shield and weapon manipulations to create angles and openings, and the lightest touch necessary to win.  Like any martial sport, there is the potential for things to get heated or driven by ego, but I can say that any ego that existed in the minds of the fighters on the field was not shown.  

There was no unnecessary aggression, no posturing, just friendly competition with tons of laughter and sweat. After warming up and familiarizing with the style (we had many novice fighters), we lined up for our first melees or line battles. 

Even in these battles, the control is focused, safety is paramount.  Basic commands of step, hold, dress the line, are shouting and the fighters shuffle to follow orders.  The clang and clamor of steel and wood echoes across the field.  The sun continued to beat down on us and soon we were soaked in sweat.  The first fifteen minutes felt like an hour, as we took hits and respawned, rejoining the line in small units to fill the gaps and continue the press. 

We took a short break, pounding down water, and then we lined up again and began the clamor of battle for a second time. I count remember the order of things, but there were a couple more group battles, involving back and forth press of bodies vying for control of the field.  As the time wore on, my shield arm grew tired, my axe trembled with the exertion. When it was over, I collapsed down under the shade and drained my water bottle.  

After another short break, the fighters reformed and went to do a chaos battle, which I sat out while I continued to rest and hydrate. The fought across the span of the field, shifting to new opponents after vanquishing their current foe. A few more tournaments were fought, pitting skill against skill, and I watched with rapt attention as these fighters gave their all to win.  

It was an incredible display of prowess, different from what I'm used to in the SCA, it wasn't slow, but also not as aggressive as SCA armored combat.  It was a game of footwork and control very different yet similar in the goal.  The different forms of combat, while having the same goal of overcoming your opponent through whatever ruleset is established, still ultimately come down to some basic principles of timing, measure, footwork, and technique.  Using steel weapons as opposed to rattan creates unique challenges, such as a difference in rebound off of shields, edge alignment, varying grips, etc. 

Again, while both are martial sports/arts, they approach is vastly different even if the goals seem similar, and as transferring from one style to the other takes practice and work. Stance and footwork in Western fighting is different than that used in the SCA, as head's and lower arms aren't targeted in Western fighting, so shields don't come up high, and blocks are down strikes to prevent a blocked shot from angling into the faces of fighters. Key differences that are safety related.  The strikes come in with definitive touch, but are not hard strikes, as there is little to no armor used in Western style fighting. Beyond padded gloves, some people wore knee and elbow pads or some form of vambrace, but that is about the extent of protection used in Western fighting.  After a day of fighting, I ended up with only a handful of bruises, 3 of which were from a dane axe to my left shoulder and two from spear shots to my stomach.  

At the end of the fighting for the day, people gathered and hung out, as a rain storm moved in and while those who had worked tirelessly all day in preparing a feast finished their tasks.  The rain lasted for a while but soon the food was ready, a roasted hog, bread, and a risotto that was to die for!  It was enough to feed a small army, and we all ate well. An auction was held for the benefit of the local group to support this event and future events.  Many fine items were sold, from helmets, art, clothes, and many other incredible donated items.  I was unable to participate as my recent move left my budget too tight to afford anything.  

There were a few participants at the event that were also vending some incredible things, from yarn and threads done in period colors, to hoods, hats, swords and jewelry.  Jesse found some amazing hats for us with a blue and white diamond twill that reminded us of our blue and white lozengy heraldry so he purchased them for us (have I told you how amazing my friend and mentor is?)!  

The second night, the socializing continued well into the wee hours, while I retired to bed early.  I woke up on Sunday to another beautiful day, another bowl of warm oatmeal.  Jesse and I took down our wet tent, trying to get ahead of any potential rain that was supposed to happen later in the day. We then wandered the camp for a bit as others woke and got ready for the day.  Sunday was dedicated to their "Hearth" which is the educational/crafting side of things, similar to SCA Arts and Sciences.  There were class taught on many different subjects.  I attended a fire making and culinary history course taught by April Van Ness that was incredible.  You can really tell the passion that people have for the history.  I also caught the tail end of a basket making class and a sewing class, and I sat and worked on my embroidery project during Jesse's embroidery class. After his class, we said our goodbyes before traveling home.

This event was an incredible opportunity, that allowed me to experience an immersive environment that felt like I had stepped back in time. The people were knowledgeable, extremely friendly, and really helped enrich the environment through their efforts.  We had people from all over the United States travel to Ohio to participate, and this made it all the more special.  Our hosts, Sarah and Ray and the rest of their family were gracious and hospitable.  The made me feel like family, even having just met them.  I learned a lot over the course of the weekend, mainly a new fighting style, and then some different aspects of Scandinavian history. I made many new friends, and look forward to more opportunities in the future to camp and fight alongside them.  Coming home from the event, I realize that I need to add a few things to my camping setup, make a few more bits of clothing, and save up for a sword and shield for fighting.  I was a little bummed that the rain prevented me from having the opportunity to at least view the Eastern style of fighting, which involves more armor and is a bit more like SCA armored combat than Western Style. 

Due to my family's schedule, I can't run up to the weekly meetings in Cleveland to make this more of a regular thing (I can't even make weekly SCA meetings due to it), but I am going to try to get out to events a few times a year at least.  I'm going to continue to develop more kit for "Viking" events, while maintaining my 14th Century Norwegian stuff for the SCA.    

Photo credits to Lacy Clagg Photography, Jesse Weber, and my crappy selfies!