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The Vikings of Bjornstad

The Death of Åsa Haraldsdóttir
A Viking Murder Mystery

Petaluma, California
17 September, 2023
 
The Vikings of Bjornstad as a reenactment organization is committed to the education of our members and the public about the Vikings and the Norse culture of the 8th through the 11th century. We're also committed to having fun. We recently came up with a new way to combine the two objectives. We decided to stage a murder mystery set in the Viking age. It was easy finding a perfect historical moment in time for our event. There are several mysteries surrounding the death in 834 AD of the woman known as Åsa, the stepmother of Olaf, king of Jutland and Westfold. Her burial in the Oseberg longship in Norway left a number of questions about the circumstances of her death and entombment that still evade understanding. We couldn't ask for a better background for our day of mystery and detective work.

Our Jarl, Jack Garrett, wrote the storyline - and the 64 clues - that our members would be given to deal with. Each of the initial group of 15 participants came up with a draft biography for the characters they would bring to the situation. Jack then embellished the biographies slightly to weave them into the murder's setting. Our Vikings were then given their clues in four phases. How much they shared from their clues - and how closely they stayed to the "facts" they gained from them - was entirely up to the player. Just to add a little jeopardy to their deliberations, they had been informed by the King that one of them would be buried as a sacrifice if they were unable to identify the actual murderer.

Captured below are a few photos and excerpts from our murder mystery. Did it work? Apparently well enough that it probably won't be our last...

What was the mystery really about? None of our players knew. It was a mystery. Unsettling things had happened, though... After all, the village of Bjornstad's Þing had been interrupted by the murder of King Olaf's stepmother, the Queen Mother Åsa Haraldsdóttir...


This message from King Olaf, known as Geirstad-Alf, sets the stage for the day's task. The question is: who killed the Queen Mother? And of more concern today, who will pay for it?


Ottar Leiðarstjarna, the Jarl of Bjornstad, sets the scene as the murder mystery begins.

It's a grim business, asking your shipmates to decide who is to die...


To ensure a firm basis in history, this is the family tree showing Åsa's place in the Viking age. We invented names where history hasn't provided them.

The Oseberg burial provides some bizarre and perfect details for a murder mystery.


Each of the members wrote a biography for their Viking character. And then Jack tweaked them to add a little drama and detail immersing them in the murder mystery plot.

Even the Jarl has a biography.


The Bjornstad crew ponders the task at hand.



It's a sobering thought: somebody here gets buried...


Cian and Will approach the problem from different perspectives. Consider other options or throw fuel on the fire.

Rick and Robin adopt their own strategies: The trader tries to buy his way out of the problem and Robin the Vǫlva stands firm behind an inscrutable persona.


This is an example of the clues provided to the members in each phase. Some had a direct linkage to the murder. And some didn't. Just as in life, we never know what will be crucial to know on any given day.

Note that the clues' language is a little stiff. Each of them was originally drafted not knowing whether they would be given to a male or female Bjornstad member. So...only a few gendered pronouns were used. The characters' names were used instead. A little awkward, but not a big deal.



We tried to inject into the mystery the kinds of beliefs and experiences Vikings would actually have had as part of their lives.


The scene of the crime has evidence to reveal.


PJ, Melinda and Ed enjoy dodging potential suspicion.

Yoko agonizes over who will be buried as a result of their deliberations.


PJ considers the direction the clues are heading.

Will, the innocent farmer and trapper, ultimately becomes the jury's choice to be buried with Queen Mother Åsa in the Bjornstad (Oseberg) longship.


The clues were carefully designed to connect to other clues - when appropriate - and keep everyone involved.

The murder mystery design board. The clues were tracked by the phase they'd appear in.
For our Viking characters, this was the unavoidable conclusion of the murder mystery. Each character had to choose which of their shipmates would become a sacrifice, whether they were the murderer or not. The person with the most votes would be buried with Åsa in what is now known as the Oseberg longship. History doesn't provide us a name for the actual burial companion.


 
 
And now for the awards portion of our show...
  • Some serious recognition is due to the members of The Vikings of Bjornstad for making the day a truly rewarding one for me. I'd like to thank Cian, PJ, Ed, Melinda, Yoko, Henrik, Robin, Rick and Will for their flexibility, patience, persistence, and willingness to try something new - and making the murder mystery work.

  • I can't forget to confer the Sherlock Holmes Award on Cian for the two astute observations he made in our first Viking Murder Mystery. The first was when he asked, "What if there were TWO murderers?" And there were! Both Vidrik the Trader and Rannveig the Ale Maker attempted - and finally achieved - murder. The second of Cian's observations was when he asked, "What if the 'H' (in the runic carving) was for 'Hrefna' (the attendant)?" In point of fact, I gave the name 'Hrefna' to the attendant so she WOULD have a name that started with 'H', since she instigated the first attempt at Åsa's murder. It was her name that Åsa had started to carve in runes on the wood scrap. Nicely done, Cian!

  • There were other insights being offered, but I couldn't listen to everything, since I was busy doing stuff.

  • Our Baker Street Irregulars Award (look it up :-) goes to PJ and Cian for scouring the "creekside" for clues - and finding the runic carving, Åsa's knife and Rannveig's bloodied axe. Good job, gentlemen.

  • Special thanks go to Rick for slyly proving that human nature hasn't changed much in 1200 years, and that Viking "juries" could probably have been bought then, too.

  • Thanks also to Will for talking his way into being a soon-to-be-buried sacrifice. :-) Not bad for someone who was not involved in the least! Well, maybe except for a motive... We'll miss you!

  • It should be noted that the excellent facility we used for our day was the result of an arrangement with the Danish Soldiers Club of Petaluma. Both of our groups benefit from helping each other.

  • And finally, the Missed Opportunity Award goes to me for hauling the runestone up to Petaluma, setting it up, then managing NOT to tease a clue-based reason for the group's detectives to investigate around it to find the necklace hidden at its base. Oh well, I was busy doing stuff.

  © For information contact Jack Garrett at info@vikingsofbjornstad.com