Glossary of Terms

1^st Person

Here the interpreter makes references to the period by saying, "I did that," and communicates an understanding of the individual in society. The costume reflects an individual character. Now it is possible to introduce commentary that reflects the personal history of an individual (usually fictitious). This method can be seen at a site such as Louisburg, Cape Bretton (1745 AD).

Aunt Martha

A term coined by Ketill to explain why some objects are found in graves. Its short for "Aunt Martha gave us this. We don't know what it is but we can't thow it out -- lets give it to Sven after all he's dead and we have to give something....". See also "Damn Thing"

Bondi

A freeborn person in sworn service to someone.

DARC

Acronym for Dark Ages Re-creation Company

Damn Thing

A term coined by Ketill to explain why some objects are found in graves. Its short for "the damn thing doesn't work -- lets give it to Sven after all he's dead and we have to give something....". A good example of this is the Oseberg Tripod. It looks pretty but it just isn't that useful for actually cooking anything. See also "Aunt Martha"

Dark Ages

Often considered the time between the fall of Rome and the Norman Conquest. We tend to use this term interchangably with "Viking Era"

Role Playing

The interpreter now speaks as a direct voice from the past, stating "I did that today," and portrays a detailed personal history. Here costume reflects not only a specific individual, but also that person's specific situation. An example of this approach is The Viking Adventure, Dublin. (988 AD)

SCA

The Society for Creative Anachronism. The SCA is another re-enactment group that we sometimes play with. The SCA does "general medieval" with no effort spent on accuracy and little on role-playing. It does, however, try to be very inclusive.

Thrall

Slave. But not really the way you think of one in the modern world. You could wind up a thrall from bad luck (captured in battle, sold for your debts) and you could buy your freedom. There isn't the stigma attached to this role that the modern world seems to apply.

Viking

A profession a Norseman might have taken up. This is the profession of "armed raider". Not all norsemen became vikings but the vast majority of Vikings were norsemen.

Viking Era

793 CE (the first recorded Viking Raid) to 1066 CE (the Norman Conquest). Different people use a wide variety of dates to comment on the vikings but we like this one the best. Besides most of the others are just these dates +- 50 years.