Viking helmets don't have horns
Picture: Odin's Guard
Heart pumping in my throat, I feel the rush of adrenalin. My opponent strikes! I expect that, and parry with my shield. His swords slides to the side, leaving him undefended. I quickly step forward and slash across his waist. I hear a cry of pain, I step back, and watch him fall to the ground.
“Oh dear, I hope I didn’t hit him too hard” is all I can think of. But, thank heavens, after a theatrical pause, he gets up, smiling.
I look at our trainer for a sign of approval. I can see on his face that my performance was far from convincing. After all, this is only my first fight! And I hadn’t even held a sword in my hand until about an hour before. It’s only a wooden one, and I’m getting used to it, but the thought of accidentally hitting someone with it still scares me half to death.
We retake the starting positions to give the move another try, but commotion interrupts. In the other end of the hall, four vikings are about to clash. Swords and spears rebound from shields and helmets. Sounds of struggle fill the air; and after a quick battle, only one warrior is left standing. He raises his spear, looks at the fallen and lets out a victory cry. For a moment, there’s silence. Then the dead get back on their feet, the victor turns around, and reaches for the first aid kit.
“Dammit. I hit my finger on his helmet again. Let me put some ice on it!”
New school vikings
Odin’s Guard www.odinsguard.fi is Vaasa’s historical re-enactment society. Their interest is in viking times – the period between the 9th and 12th centuries AD. They prepare historically accurate (or at least historically accurate looking) clothes, weapons, pieces of armour and other equipment, and perform at festivals, medieval fairs and whatever other occasion they are invited to (including elementary schools’ history classes). Their performances consist of pre-planned fight choreographies as well as of unplanned “free fight” scenes, archery shows and, occasionally, talks about history.
“It’s applied archeology,” sums up Mikko Hiltunen, university student and a longtime member of the group. “Few people realize it, but this is actually quite a widespread hobby of enthusiasts. Of course, not everyone focuses on the viking period; but all sorts of re-enactment societies exist all over the world.”
Odin’s Guard was officially founded in 2007 – that’s when the organization was registered as a separate legal entity, with regular meetings, a board, and all the bureaucratic paperwork that would probably make a real viking warrior go berserk.
“It simplifies things,” explains economics student Jonas Fagerlund, founder and lead trainer of the group. “The organization can have its own bank account, and it can enter into contracts which we need, for example when renting the practice premises.”
But the moment of conception for the group came in 2006, when history enthusiast, ex-soldier and historical combat expert David Holman organized a beginners’ course in viking style close combat fighting in Vaasa. Jonas was among the first students, and later took over training duties.
The first rule of fight club
Jonas and Mikko are very touchy about confusing historical re-enactment with medieval style live role-playing (“larppaus”).“We perform for an audience, and so we strive for historical accuracy. Our ground rule is that at our shows, everything has to look authentic. Live role players don’t care about historical accuracy – if they play in a fantasy setting, of course they couldn’t even do so –, and they play for themselves. As I see it, they put nowhere near as much effort into it as we do,” says Jonas.
I’ve yet to meet live role players, but I can confirm the dedication of Odin’s guards. There’s no shortage of jokes and teases at the training session, but everybody is taking it dead seriously – and for good reason. The first rule of this club – even more important than historical accuracy – is “safety first.” Which means that every single move, from the eight basic attack and parry moves to how you’re supposed to hold your shield, must be carefully practised for months before a new member can participate in choreographies, let alone in free fight scenes.
Of course the weapons are blunt, and the Guard makes good use of protective equipment that was unavailable in viking times. But the chance of injury is still quite high – after all, this is fighting we’re talking about.
“Bruises and small cuts are frequent, but so far nothing more serious has happened, thankfully,” says Jonas. “At all times, we play by the rules, especially during free fight, when you don’t know what to expect from your opponent.”
With safety as the main concern, fights still have to look convincing for the audience – and that’s where the “act” is put into “re-enactment.” Not that performances would include complicated storylines – or even speaking parts. But everyone is supposed to stay in character at the shows all the time, and the fights themselves are meant to look like spectacular scenes from a movie, with passionate war cries and theatrical combat moves.
Kids love it too
Predictably, kids are some of the group’s best audience.“You hardly have to do anything for them,” smiles Jonas. “You just show up with a sword in the hand, wearing period clothes, and they get carried away instantly. But the effect is similar on everyone: people do get excited when they see what we are doing. At the shows, the fights act as the ice breaker, and after the performances, people approach us and ask about the weapons, the equipment, vikings, or history in general. And if we can do a bit of education on the side, that’s all the better!”
After my training session and the interviews, I’m beginning to see how much there is to this hobby. Sure, to the untrained eye it might look like a bunch of grown up children in costumes poking at each other with swords and axes; but if you scratch the surface, what you’ll find is deep enthusiasm and vast knowledge of history, a bit of playful showmanship, and a penchant for the physical exercise. (Oh yes, those shields are quite heavy indeed!)
“It’s hard to pick out a single reason why I started,” muses Jonas. “But it grew on me, and so it grows on everyone who gives it a try. It’s not only the fighting. If you’re into arts and crafts, you can just prepare period clothes and equipment. There’s also the acting, or the enthusiasm for history... there is something in it for everyone.”
Maybe so. Still, while admiring their passion, I realized that I didn’t have the dedication to become a weekend viking myself. But I can’t help wondering if vikings, in their days, would have thought that they would be conquering people – or at least their minds – even a thousand years later.
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