Medieval Living

While searching for more Medieval circa 14th Century tid bits, I came upon a very delightful site, advertising Sir Justyn of . . . Australia! It seems that Sir Justyn travels about Australia putting on demonstrations and performances on life in 14th Century England. Hmmm – just one more example of the international level of interest in Medieval times. Sir Justyn makes his way to a variety of Medieval festivals, children’s gatherings, and even a birthday party or two! The site has some nice information on 14th Century England, and there is a forum and kid’s page were people can post questions and comments. By all means, pay Sir Justyn a visit!!!

During my morning browse of the internet, I came upon the website for another Medieval village/community themed organization. This just adds more support to the notion that people are interested in Medieval life and that they will support Medieval villages and educational organizations. The site I found is for a Medieval hsitory theme park, with an emphasis on sustainability of the environment. The Realms of Legend appears to be in the formative stages, as witnessed by the in-development stages of their website. ( I have no room to talk . . .my website is still quite lacking in substance!) The organization is located in Scio, Ohio – close to my home stomping grounds! As the region just across the state line and north of Pittsburgh is the site of the largest SCA encampment (something like 12,000 in attendance) in existance, I would speculate that there is substantial interest in Medieval history among residents there. I wish The Realms of Legend great success!

I like reading about recreation groups other than the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). Not that there is anything wrong with the SCA – I’m a member and as a matter of fact will be going to “fighter practice” later this morning. My point is, I really enjoy the perspectives that these other groups have to offer. One group that I learned of recently is the Dark Ages Re-Creation Company (DARC). Out of Ontario, Canada, DARC is focused on Viking civilizations from around 800 to 1000 AD with an emphasis on Northern Europe.
A quote from their website reads: “DARC seeks to create an environment that stresses historic re-creation of the Viking Age through the use of strict interpretation at a ‘role playing’ level and authenticity guidelines regulated by peer review. The primary activity of our events is centered on the ‘camp’, and as such we stress reproducing lifestyle and artefact use. The Company intends to provide a resource of skilled and experienced historic interpreters and physical demonstrators to museums and educational programs.”

Actually, several of its founding members have a background in the SCA. Having some Viking friends in the SCA, I know they will be interested reading about this group, with its emphasis on historical accuracy in the development of their encampments. I borrowed this picture from their site – they are involved in a variety of educational activities, such as museum work and school visits. They are also doing some very interessting iron work, experimenting with a variety of “smelts”. They are also doing alot of research and experimentation on glass beads, which were apparently common Viking artifacts.