The Prince Consort, the Princeling and I went to the Ashville Viking Festivalfor the day on Sunday, which was a first for me. The PC, on the other hand, is a long time reenactor of the War of the Roses (Medieval) and French & Indian War. (He’s kind of a history buff, which is just one of the many things I adore about him. )

I’m not entirely sure how the Vikings came to have their own festival (Ohio isn’t a particularly Nordic area of the country!) but it was a good time nonetheless, with Vikings, Medieval Knights, Landsknechts, peasants, and even a couple of Elizabethan reenactors.

There was a very interesting Q&A with a Landsknecht soldier. (See left). I’d never even heard of them prior to this event (don’t tell my sister, the history teacher <g>) but they were single-handedly responsible for starting an entire fashion movement. (The puff and slash clothing made famous later by Henry VIII and his court.)

In an effort (I believe) not to completely scare me off, the PC just took us up for the day and dressed in civvies. (His friends were there for the whole weekend, in costume AT ALL TIMES–very dedicated they are.) We did manage to make it in time to witness Tom getting into gear (with the help of the PC, as a matter of fact).

I learned lots of stuff by watching this process. A) I am very glad that I am not a medieval knight. B) The gear weighs a TON. Tom handed me his arming doublet (the padded jacket that goes under his armor, with chain mail attached) and it was about 20 pounds heavier than I was expecting. C) It takes a LONG time to get a knight into his armor–there’s lots of individual pieces. D) Knights are more mobile than you might expect–They can do cartwheels, running body rolls and somersaults. (which is at least twice as funny to watch as you’d imagine.) I’d kind of imagined some sort of horrible turtle-on-his-back situation if a knight left his feet. But it makes a lot of sense that a knight who couldn’t get on his own horse, or get himself back to his feet would be a dead knight very quickly.

Tom’s daughter dresses as an archer. (And she’s pretty handy with a sword as well.) Dad and daughter had a fun little sword fight in the field in front of the tents. She’s not bad for a 5th grader! (I mean, she could seriously kick my can!)

Tom did a very lively demo/presentation (along with his daughter and another archer) for the assembled visitors. It was a little incongruous to see a medieval knight in front of a microphone, but otherwise, it was very informative and a lot of fun!

Ever been to a reenactment festival? Ever gone in dress? What was your favorite part?