Time for Battle

The Festival of History that I recently graced with my presence was a massive event covering history in the Britain from the Roman invasion up to World War II. There were live re-enactment groups there which spanned this period and I watched Romans marching around the site, planes from WWI have a dog fight (see the post below), people from every age acting out 'living history' and practising traditional skills, including weaving, woodwork, armoury and cooking. There were also a number of battles and I captured one between the Vikings and Normans.

Now for the history bit so pay attention! The Vikings, also called Norsemen or Northmen were Scandinavian seafaring traders and warriors who raided and colonised wide areas of Europe from the 9th to the 11th century including Britain. It is known from the old Sagas that Leif Eriksson, who was a descendant from a line of Viking chieftains and established the first European settlement in Greenland in about 985, was most likely the European discoverer of America around the year 1000. The name Viking meant a man from the area that was known as the Vik, which was a bay between Norway and Sweden. However, the term Viking was not recorded until 1840 and only came into use in modern historical writings.

The Normans were a people from medieval northern France, who originated from Scandinavia and the name is adapted from the name 'Northmen'. They played a major political, military and cultural role in the northern and Mediterranean parts of medieval Europe and the Near East, with the colonisation of Normandy (in France) which they gave their name to, the Norman Conquest of England and the establishment of states in Sicily and Southern Italy and the Crusades.

I have always been quite drawn to this period in history and I have since discovered that my heritage is from Norhtern Europe and that my lineage can be traced back to the Vikings. It might expalin my interest in historical martial arts too, LOL!

These two sides met on the battlefield and fought valiantly but in the end the Vikings won this battle. I enjoyed watching them and there were so many people taking part that it really did look like armies meeting to fight each other. As you cna see form the photos there were even mounted nobles to command the troops. I took many shots during the action and have put together a little slideshow for you to watch. I hope you enjoy it and let me know if you prefer this approach or simply posting the pictures.