Practices makes perfect

I found a lovely cup on a viking related blog (Bjornthisway) and thought it was the perfect thing to aim for to continue developing my skills. This cup resides in the Sydvstjyske Museum in Ribe. The main features of this item are straight sides with even walls, a lip and probably, a tight square internal corner.

I'm getting there.

Linen coif experiment

Playing around with scraps of white linen to make a cute little viking hat. Needs ties and hemming. I have very tolerant friends.

Item 30 - Stormhold Fidchel board

 I decided to make a Fidchell / Fitchell set for my latest project. The idea came from Don Gregory Tortouse one day when he was proudly showing me the recent additions to his games collection. We got into a discussion about games at events and feasts. I quite like the idea of starting a feast earlier and leaving time for people to enjoy gaming and relaxing rather than eating-court-lights on. I started investigating what sorts of games were available and came across a couple of potential boards. I was originally thinking about painting a round board onto a plate, so you could eat and then play. Or play with your food.

Eventually I settled on Fidchel as it was a beautiful square board - perfect for a tile! I don't know how to play this game but it looks reasonably simple (famous last words). As the Stomhold Baronial Investiture / Winterfeast was coming, I decided to give the game a Stomhold feel. I did my best to replicate the details of the original Balinderry board (above) and used Stormholds drakar as the center motif. I'm pretty impressed with how circular my freehand circles are in the yellow decorative bits.

The game was gifted to their Excellencies at their invest / Stormhold Winterfeast. I added some glass tokens (blue and clear) and a castle/king piece. I hope they, or who ever they pass it to, gets many hours of enjoyment out of it.

The Viking World - Review

 (above) A swedish pendant featuring a viking woman wearing a trailing dress and shawl. Beads hang from what is probably a brooch on each shoulder. Her hair is knotted behind her head. (page 114)


The Viking World by James Graham-Campbell, the 1980 version.

This book contains alot of good reference images, both photographs of artifacts and line drawings of the same. There are some schematic drawings of villages and women at work at bring all the information together in one image. A variety of topics are covered, from boat building to hoards and jewellery making. A large variety of primary sources are presented in this book. Well worth the read even if some of the conclusions are no longer up to date.

(above) Impressed gold foil from Norway of a couple embracing. The female on the right wears a long cloak. The males cloak appears to be held in a brooch over his right shoulder leaving his sword arm free. Page 114.  (below) 10th Century equal armed brooch from Birka. Page 116.

Strings of beads from Birka. page 118  Inner string of beads are made of imported crystal and carnelian.

4.5/5

Viking Designs - review

 

ISBN 13: 9780486404691 ISBN 10: 0486404692

Like most design books published by Dover, Viking Designs by A.G. Smith contains pages upon pages of black and white viking clip art. The publisher has also included an additional note which gives a enough of a background so as to furnish the lay reader with appropriate terminology to research later. "Borre-style pieces often show creatures with bulging eyes, triangular forward facing heads and large ears whereas Jellinge-style pieces the heads are slender, shown in profile and nearly always sport pigtails."

The book has 44 pages of images which range from interpretations of carved stone and wooden implements such as bedposts to tapestry and sword hilts. The clipart is clear and well drawn but due to their nature they cannot communicate placement and use of stones or enamel. Captions are frustratingly brief. Some objects are titled such as the Sutton Hoo items, however there is no list of extant sources. I would LOVE to see this book reprinted with the interpretation side by side with the original artificat. The scientist in me also wants these diagrams to come with a scale.

A good book for those wanting inspiration for Viking themed craft-work or someone just starting to research the Viking period. A mediocre book for someone wanting a good reference book for historical research.

3/5