User:Jeppe/drafts/Viking male, basic

Basic Viking Male Kit (Fri-hals)

Firstly please note that this is not intended to be a definitive Viking kit guide.

The core constituents of the standard Viking male dress remained roughly the same from the ninth to the eleventh centuries. The outfit described in the following points would give you a set of kit suitable for use at any show set during the Vikings Society’s core period (793-1066). This should be sufficient to pass a basic (Fri-hals) kit check.

The basic items of costume required for a Viking warrior are as follows:

Undertunic made from linen or wool, Overtunic made of wool. both approximately knee length and tight on the lower arms. Neck holes should be either oval/round or keyhole type, and may be closed with bead & loop, or ties, there is no evidence for the use of brooches for male tunics. Some sort of closing must be used as showing the chest is not authentic.

Trousers quite tight fitting from wool (preferred) or linen.

Fabrics should be in light colours, ideally faded or washed out. All edges are properly finished, with no visible machine stitching. Tear and wear must be repaired or patched to prolong its life.

Decoration is optional and where present should be modest and simple, such as decorative hem stitches, or decorative stitches (not embroidery). We discourage the use of coarse wool braids as this is not evidenced by the finds.

Turn shoes ankle high shoes (fastened with leather toggles NOT bone/glass/antler etc)

Plain leather belt with bone, iron (preferred) or bronze buckle, worn with a small personal knife. strap end is optional.

Accessories (optional): some or all of the following may be of use in a set of basic kit: a woolen cloak with a simple bone or metal pin or brooch; a woolen hat or a wool or linen hood; a small draw-string pouch (for money, car keys etc); a wool or linen satchel for carrying things.

Arms and armour (for combatants): gloves, round shield, and helmet - should be a simple conical helmet or spangenhelm, or else concealed under a hat or hood. Since ‘spectacle’ helmets may only be used up to 950, they are not recommended as part of a basic kit. Primary weapon a hand axe or spear. Optionally as a secondary, a knife with a 6”-10” blade of Scandinavian design vertical suspended may be used. Broken back seaxes should not be used as these are distinctly Anglo-Saxon. Swords are not recommended for basic kits.

The member pictured here has a good basic costume. He is wearing a woollen overtunic edged with tablet weave fastened at the neck by a hook and eye, and a pair of trousers. He is armed with a short spear, a sheathed seax and a suitably rimmed round shield. He has a plain leather belt with a suitable strap end and a pair of simple turn shoes and on his head he is wearing a steel conical helmet with nose guard. Instead of the conical helm he could instead have either a fur-trimmed hat concealing a steel liner or even a helmet made entirely of hard leather. A metal helmet may not be archeologically correct for this class of warrior but they are compulsory for all combatants. The same applies to the gloves with hard leather backing that he is wearing. For non-combatant men the same costume would be worn but without the weapons or armour protection