“Authenticity” is the term we use to describe the historical accuracy of the kit and equipment that we display at public events, and the verisimilitude – the truthiness – of our performances.
One of the main ways we do this is by representing the typical people of the Viking Age. The farmers, labourers, artisans and craftspeople. We have plenty of reproductions of extraordinary items of the Viking Age, but you won’t find a field of nobles and kings sitting around in our camp. Instead, you’ll see busy people making things and demonstrating important domestic crafts.
Research Active
We demand a very high standard from our participants, with clothing and items around our camp checked against the latest research and interpretations.
To facilitate this, we have a dedicated research team who, in an ongoing process, evaluate and re-evaluate all items of kit twice a year. For most items we have a 2-year turnaround to renew or replace reproductions made with out-of-date understanding.
Furthermore, members who want to create their own ‘impression’ of a Viking-Age person beyond our basic instruction are required to provide a dossier outlining and evidencing each item against original artefacts, which must also suite the status, geography and chronology of that character.
What you are getting with Vikings of Middle England is a truthful impression of history, to the best of our ability and knowledge, and nothing that is going to confuse an audience. We flat out ban fantasy items that might seem ‘Vikingy’ like those you might seen on TV shows like Vikings and The Last Kingdom.
Balancing Education and Entertainment
Some argue that if we are only entertaining the audience, and they don’t know the difference between (for example) a fantasy helmet and a Viking helmet, then it doesn’t matter if they are used together. To us, it does. Everything the audience sees is a tangential learning opportunity. Human beings have the extraordinary ability to make connections between what they see, hear, touch and smell, and things they have learned and forgot long ago.
That’s not to say there aren’t practical barriers to representing history as truthfully as possible. We use modern hygiene standards in food preparation, we camp in cotton canvas tents because they have to be waterproof to protect us from inclement weather over many years of use, and we take the safety of our members seriously. For example, combat safety equipment such as gloves are ‘in the style of’ Viking age things but aren’t themselves ‘authentic.’
Combat displays, beyond the costume and trappings of warfare, are completely for entertainment. However, even here, we can express historical narratives and tell stories that identify the cultural, economic and political struggles of our ancestors.
Our goal is always to be informative and entertaining, and to give an accurate impression of Viking-age life. We think we do it better than anyone else.
Learn more about what we do on our website.
