How to begin with this hobby
We receive a lot of questions about how to become a member of our group. First of all, it needs to be said that no group just accepts members without further ado. Some groups, like Ulfrun, have further set a maximum to their number of members.
Membership
In Ulfrun, we mostly start with a couple of emails to see what someone expects of the hobby and if he or she realizes what it requires. If the person is still interested, he/she could be directed to meet at a group member's home to get acquainted.
If this goes off agreeably for all parties involved, an invitation could follow to come along as a guest on a somewhat smaller event. This way both the members of the group and the guest have the chance to see if the hobby is indeed what the person involved expected it to be, if the demands are feasible and if the people get along. Especially in a hobby with little privacy and where close cooperation is needed, this is very important.
After having joined in during several events, often with one of the members as a mentor, and the basic kit being all right, a membership could eventually follow. Ulfrun follows the rule that admittance of a new member has to be approved of by all current full members unanimously.
For minors, they will be under the guardianship of an adult mentor and can only become member once they are eighteen (an exception can be made for minors whose parents are already full members).
Starting with living history
What can be expected of this hobby? It is much more than just walk around a bit all dressed up, sharing a mug of mead in the evening with friends around the campfire and sway a sword a bit. It certainly is no carnival and kumbaya. And most certainly no stage-play. For re-enactors it's about bringing back to life their chosen historical period as correctly as possible in all its aspects.
There is quite a bit involved in doing this well, whether choosing for the early Middle Ages or another period. First of all it costs a lot of money. The equipment or kit is expensive and the hobby requires quite a bit of travelling. Of course, you can make it as expensive as you wish, but cheap it will never be.
It also costs a lot of time. Many groups demand a member to partake in a minimum amount of shows each year, you need to do research to amass knowledge and to improve, and if you're also a fighter, it demands training on a regular basis. For groups spread out over the entire country, this means once again a lot of travelling.
Another aspect a newbie should thoroughly realize, is that we work with public. The public can be genuinely interested, but also blatantly rude. During well-visited days the throngs of people can get too much at times. Still, you have to cope with it. It is absolutely required to remain polite at all times. We can, after all, only keep practicing our hobby if visitors keep coming. Their entrance fee often pays for our firewood and straw.
And then there is comfort. Every show offers another package of 'luxury', but very regularly we have to satisfy ourselves with mobile toilet cabins. Often there are no showers or the participants can only shower with cold water. Straw to sleep on is rarely delivered. There is always firewood, but in some cases the re-enactors have to pay for it. It is certainly not so that in the evening the camping cookers are brought out and the jogging suits put on.
Further authenticity is expected. In some groups, the rules for authenticity go farther than in other groups. But, for example, publicly smoking when audience is around is not allowed by medieval groups. To smoke you have to withdraw to a designated corner where the public can't witness it. Visible piercings have to be removed. Mobile phoning also happens outside view of the audience.
Not every person expects the same of a hobby. One is mainly interested in the feeling of times gone by, another wishes to do a handcraft and yet another is attracted to fighting techniques. Some groups consist mainly of warriors, others of craftsmen and yet others are mixed companies. So it is important to find the group that suits you best and in which you would fit in well.
Partaking in the show fights should not be taken for granted. In Ulfrun training can commence from the age of sixteen with a so-called training officer. If training happens on a regular basis and the trainer gives his permission, partaking in the shows is possible from the age of eighteen. The organizer of the show fight always has the last say concerning permission for participation.
Every group demands that a member does something. You can participate in the show fights, or you are busy with a handcraft in view of the audience, or you're an oracle with a lot of knowledge, or you're at the disposal of the public in another way. It is certainly not appreciated if you're invisible for the most part of the day, for whatever reason.
Finally we need to say something here about the reason why someone should want to become a member of a group like Ulfrun. Re-enactment stands apart from any political or religious current and it is not appreciated if a member fanatically propagates his or her opinions about it. Every individual has a right to his own opinion, but an early medieval re-enactment group is not a political party or a religious society.
Starter's kit
When you start with this hobby and join a group, no one expects you to immediately possess a full kit or to be an expert in all ways. But a certain basic kit is demanded, both where clothing and such, as knowledge are concerned.
But what then consists this basic kit of? What is exactly demanded? Where to get the right information?
It is good to start with reading a couple of books about the era or theme you want to portray. Unfortunately there are a lot of books on the market giving wrong or out of date information, and there is a stunning multitude of websites that maintain all sorts of things without decent foundation. We offer here a list of literature about the early Middle Ages that can stand the test.
For our guests we have a synopsis with basic knowledge available.
Having read some and still begin interested, you can start putting together the equipment.
In the beginning it is practical to keep your clothing as neutral as possible. If you immediately start with showy colours or loads of jewellery, there is not only the danger of mixing the wrong times or styles, but you also bind yourself to high expenses to make the other equipment suitable to the specific area or status you're portraying.
So what do you need when starting with this hobby? The basic kit of an early medievalist consists of shoes, a pair of trousers and one or two tunics or two dresses, a knife, a spoon, a plate and a mug, a belt, a stool to sit on and of course a (modern) sleeping bag.
The very next thing we advise every one to acquire as soon as possible is a chest, a mantle and hood or other head covering, a weapon if you want to fight, "tools" to portray a trait, and a kettle and tripod to cook. Owning one's own tent is advisable if you do not want to be constantly dependant on other people's favours. But such large and costly things are better off being purchased after having joined in for a while, in order to be certain you want to continue with the hobby.
Of course, what you buy in the beginning is all depending on your own needs, the money you are willing and capable of spending on it and your possibilities to transportation (of your own).
Shoes are a difficult article. They are hard to come by, it's even harder to make them yourself and they are very expensive. Therefore most groups accept that beginners wear the so-called Iron Age shoes. These are a kind of oval pieces of leather cut in strips around the forefoot, which are then folded around the foot with a leather throng running through. They look like simple sandals, are quick, easy and cheap to make and will help you through the first period. Sometimes wooden clogs are accepted as well, but we still advise against them. So-called Spanish slippers (with sheep skin inside) are used a lot by newbies, but are rarely excepted.
No entire pieces of clothing from the early Middle Ages have been found, so all patterns are based on possible reconstructions from found fragments and pictures.
Underneath a guide follows, but no complete patterns. It seems to me that it's better to suffice with a reference to one or more of the websites that sport complete patterns and working instructions. For instance:
On the internet (see for example Vikinganswerlady in our links) one can find patterns and instructions to make your own early medieval clothing. The most used materials were linen and wool. Silk was only obtainable for the very rich and even then only as strips and ribbons. Make sure to always buy 100% pure cloth. To sew everything by hand is most authentic. You could, or course, also put a garment together on the machine, but finish the seams visible on the outside always by hand.
You can make your clothing yourself or have it made, but for all kinds of attributes it's more practical to buy them on a re-enactor market.
You need a knife to carry your food and for everyday actions. There are, of course, modern steel blades for sale, which you can attach a bone, horn or wooden handle to yourself, but it's better to buy a hand-forged iron blade on a re-enactment market. Keep it simple and just ask advice when in doubt. Better to postpone a purchase and make sure one is buying the right thing straight away, than regret a hasty decision later and have an expensive item lying unused at the attic.
To eat you need a plate, mug and spoon. Wood is always good and often easily obtainable. Stone mugs are ok too and because early medieval pottery is not easy to come by, high medieval cups and jars are often overlooked.
You need a belt to keep your clothes together and to hang a knife sheath and possible other utensils from, since clothing back then did not possess pockets. A male can wear a leather belt. Those are easy to make yourself from a strip of leather and a brass buckle. Females we advice to use a woven woollen band. With a weaving comb or even on a board with nails this is easy to manufacture yourself.
Finally it is appreciated if you bring along something to sit upon. Easy to carry is a wooden disk with three removable legs, making a stool.
Finally
If having read this you still think this hobby is exactly what you are looking for, you can always contact us. We will answer your questions and try to help you along.
