It is a sad but unavoidable fact that we all grow older. Someone once said to me ”At least it’s better than the alternative.” Well, I am now of an age that it is very unlikely that many Vikings ever lived to see. As a craftsman that also means I now require visual support in the form of glasses when doing close work such as silver work.
In 2015 I wrote about how Debs and I had rejoined ”The Vikings” society after a break of a few years. Well, my failing eyesight is now forcing us to leave again because, unlike most of the European and Scandinavian groups, the two largest Viking Age re-enactment groups in the UK refuse to allow their older members to wear glasses when required.
Their argument is that the Vikings did not wear glasses so we should not wear them when recreating their lifestyle. I would have some sympathy with that point of view if they were actually accurate about every other thing they did but that is far from the truth.
For a start, most clients require a battle to attract the public and a living history display to keep them on the premises long enough to eat in the cafe and visit the shop to spend lots of their money.
A battle requires a huge amount of compromises to authenticity of course to reduce the risks of injury. This includes an amount of armour and helmets that is completely unrealistic. Armour was expensive and fairly rare in the Viking Age, certainly not worn by the majority of warriors on the battlefield as we see in typical re-enactment battles.
Armoured gloves are a complete fabrication that there is no evidence for at all and yet they are worn by every warrior in “The Vikings” for “health and safety” reasons.
I would argue that not being able to see properly while moving around a camp or working with sharp tools is also a health and safety issue.
As for the Living History display. This is normally set up in a tented encampment next to the arena. That requires dozens of cotton canvas tents filled with people cooking on raised fires, demonstrating crafts and acting out little scenarios as if they were either Vikings or Saxons living on the edge of a battlefield.
How many things can you see wrong with that? For a start they did not use cotton but it’s cheap and the attitude is that public will never know. The fires are raised so that they will not damage the clients grass and people lived in houses and ran away from battles.
Demonstrating crafts is great of course but make sure it is something you can do without glasses on. That is why you will often only see leather work, woodwork or static displays where very little is actually happening.
Re-enactment is a relatively new pastime. It started to become popular in the 1970s and most of the founders are either old now or they have embraced the alternative.
People like me that started in the 80s are now of an age where they want to share the experience and skills they have developed over those years but are hindered by visual or hearing difficulties that are easily overcome with modern aids. For some people contact lenses are a solution but they do not suit everyone and I am one of those that cannot use them.
Unfortunately this is leading to a ”brain drain“, where experienced craftspeople are moving from early re-enactment groups and joining later ones that allow glasses or leaving living history altogether which is a great shame.
As for myself, I am fortunately able to be independent. I have my own insurance through my business and I can work as a guest with other, smaller groups who take the more progressive continental approach that interesting displays presented by experienced craftspeople are far more important than inflexible authenticity standards that are unevenly applied at best.
There are a few UK groups out there and many on the continent, that are keen for me to bring the skills I have to their shows so for the foreseeable future those will be the types of event that I support.
The school work carries on very successfully of course, I don’t require glasses for the work I am doing there, but I have come now to a parting of the ways from “The Vikings” society which is sad because it serves nobody well really.