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Here are some civilian, craft and military animations we can do in camp:

Civilian animations:

Our aim is to show the daily life of the men and women of this period. We explain the foundations of their society, their values, and also the religion they practised.

By playing authentic characters, we can explain to the audience some aspects, not always known, of the daily life of this period, either social, political or religious (imagine witnessing a völva casting Runes for a Jarl (chief), the meeting of a Thing (or assembly), a Scald telling old tales and sagas).

Visitors can also see competitions of Hnefatafl (a strategy game of the viking period), the cooking preparation, and other scenes from the common camp life.

Textile animations:

Wool spinning:

We explain the various steps in the preparation, processing and spinning of the wool. We prepare, comb, and spin wool with spindles. We show the visitors undyed raw wools of various natural colours, combed wool ready for spinning and washed wool yarn, ready for dyeing.

Dyeing:

We dye our raw wool with plants as was done in the Dark Ages. The visitors will be able to witness and understand the historical techniques of wool and linen dyeing. We are keen to show and explain how plants were used, what colours could be obtained from them and which colours were found in archaeological textile findings.

Weaving and tablet weaving:

Most women of the group are keen tablet weavers. We demonstrate tablet weaving on our own tablet weaving looms while explaining its history and technique. We like to illustrate our explanations with authentic examples of patterns found in archaeological excavations and with our own patterns recreated by the members of the group. We show models of authentic tablet weaving looms, based on historical models found in historical graves (like the one found in the Oseberg grave). We also explain the history and technique of vertical weaving on a warp weighted loom.

Sewing and embroidery:

Sewing was a vital craft in those days. Our aim is to show the visitors how people sewed or embroidered in the Dark Ages. We use the real McCoy: authentically recreated needles and historical sewing and embroidery stitches.

Woodwork:

A great deal of objects in those days was made out of wood. The visitors will discover the tools that were used for woodwork during the Dark Ages and witness the construction techniques of Viking furniture and boats. They will also see typical examples of Viking house furniture (chest, chair, etc...).

Leather goods:

We explain to the visitors the tanning techniques used during that period. They will see some animal skins tanned by members of the group. We also show leather objects from the daily life (s.a. belts, shoes, etc...) made by ourselves and explain how they were made.

Military animations:

The visitors will experience some aspects of the Dark Ages military life. Those were troubled and dangerous times and the people had to be able to defend themselves. We have keen archers and sword-fighters in the group and they will be more than happy to show their skills. We will show ancient weaponry and demonstrate some of the fighting techniques used.