A funny thing happened to me on the way to Bjornstad…
How do you get into a group like this - it’s a funny combination of personal experiences, personality traits, and an appreciation of history and Viking culture. The more involved I am the more I appreciate this period of history and the profound affect it had on modern culture. I think our members share some of these same passions which makes this a great group of like-minded folks.
The fun side –
As a kid I was fascinated by Vikings in Thor comic books and reading about Viking mythology and beliefs. How mind-blowing it was to learn about this wonderful mythical world and then to realize the Vikings really believed and lived in it. I would spend my weekly allowance at the Dime store in search of the latest Thor comic book. This passion continued and today I still search out books on Viking history and on new archaeological discoveries.
The fantasy side – The interest in mythology and ancient cultures later morphed into fun with D&D, then Advanced D&D, then WFRP (Warhammer) which I still play today. It’s all fun with role-playing but we base many of our games on medieval and older periods of history. This is where I met Jack. My wife sometimes asks “when will you ever grow up” ? I think the answer is never.
The fighting side – In college I fenced for several years which was a blast. It was great learning many techniques and a little appreciation of what it must have been like to fight up close and personal like that. Even with padding and gloves we’d get seriously bruised, banged up and exhausted. Some of my favorite memories were trying new techniques to disarm an opponent, being the last man standing in a college free for all, or when I would fence at the Renaissance Faire. Fantasy meets Fighting. However, I think it also left me with an appreciation of the role of close combat in history.
The history side - Our group leader Jack would tell me about Bjornstad for years. He would describe the role of Vikings in history, and in shaping cultures. He described how the group would lecture in college classes, go to schools, fight and perform, spend time in studying Viking history, and basically share all of this with the public. I was hooked. I loved history and now I had an excuse to continue to study and share what I learned.
Now older, many things are still the same…I continue to read and enjoy many sources on the Viking/Norse beliefs and their history, continue to fight when I can (but now with chain mail, sword, and shield) and get bruised up a little. Oh and yeah I still will pick up a Thor comic book every once in a while and never stop being a kid I guess.
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