Crafts
Vikings (and Anglo-Scandinavians
respectivly) were not only blood-thirsty pirates and plunderers, they
were also gifted traders and craftsmen. There are a few crafts, that
we can do ourselves, so that we can show, what craftsmanship was like
in the dark-ages. These are sofar:
- Sewing
- Silver-Braiding
- Dying
- Wood - and Leatherworking
Padded
gloves for "free-style fighting"
You need some protection for "free-style fighting",
at least gloves (and a helmet). The model described is the one, that
worked best for us sofar.
You'll need approxymately 0.1 squaremeters of leather (not too soft),
about 4-5 mm thick. 1-2 cheap mousepads (or felt, wool...)as padding
and a glove, wich is a little too big for you, so that you have enough
space for the stitches and a really strong thread.
< The big part covers your fingers, the half-round part resembles
a "collar" to protekt the wrist. For the thumb you'll need
two rather round palates, which cover the gloves thumb and one muffin-like
piece, which connects the thumb-part with the rest of the glove.
< Transcript the outlines of the model on to the leather and cut
it out. Do the same with the mousepad (or what else you want to use
for the padding) but a little smaller then the leather one (yes, this
is a bit tricky).
< Use an awl to pinch holes into the leather and sew it together,
untill it looks like this.
After this, sew on the fingerplates. 3 stitches per
finger are usually enough. The fingertips should be covered as well,
but not completely, because this would be a handicap when gripping your
weapon tight. Shove the padding under the leather and make it fit. Now
you can sew the side of your pinkie.
At last, the thumb. Attach the three scales and start at the hand working
to the fingertip. Make sure you have enough space to still move your
thumb.
In
the end, close the collar at the wrist and use some leather-wax to keep
the glove smooth.
¡ Muchas gracias a Quer !
Knife-sheath
10th century:
This knife-sheath (Type2A) was made after Find 15892
from Hungate/York. No beltloop or similar attachment was found, but the
sheath has a crafted hole in the flap, so I just tied a plain leather
strap through there. A drawing of the original sheath can be found in:
Mould et.al. "The Archeology of York; The Small Finds 17/16 Leather
and Leatherworking in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York".
The two sheath (the 2nd from the same type, but with
a slightly different form, a little pointier at the Orth) were done for
two reenactors we know. The knives were made by Keitel Blacksmith after
originals from the 10th century.
Leather Balls:
Games have alwasy and to all times
been part of human life.
Following are 2 reconstruction ideas listed.
1.:
Ball of 2 part construction
(after Small Find No.: 15750/York from: Mould et.al., 2003. „The
Archeology of York, The Small Finds 17/16 Leather and Leatherworking in
Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York“)
2.:
Ball of 3 part construction
(after Small Find No.: 15751–3 /York from: Mould et.al., 2003.
„The Archeology of York, The Small Finds 17/16 Leather and Leatherworking
in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York“)
