We're getting ready to dip our toes back into SCA waters, my husband and I. It's been a few years. There have been changes and upheavals and not much in the way of resources for playtime, but things are settling down, and we miss our friends.
At a fundamental level, I miss
making. I miss participating in the world made by hand that is the SCA. I miss the many opportunities to learn new things. My husband misses the social time and the fighting and the chances to help out. After a certain amount of gentle social pressure (
looking right at you, Lawrence), we're giving things another go.
I wanted to see if my husband and I could find a way to bring our disparate personas closer together. His was a 13th century welshman, mine was early period Scandinavian. Jorvik, if pressed. He wanted to stay Welsh, I wanted to stay early period. I started looking at Norse settlements closer to Wales, and found the Isle of Man. Oh, right down the research rabbit hole...
I have to admit to being just a bit hipsterish about the idea of becoming a Manx Viking. I've never heard anyone say that their Norse persona was on the Isle. Jorvik, Birka, Oseberg, Hedeby, Dublin, but not Man. Gotta admit, I just really like the idea of having something new to research that seems like not a lot of people have focused on. That's ok, having lived in Portland, I can embrace my hipsterness. And laugh at it. We're not going to take things terribly seriously.
So, we're going to be based on the Isle of Man with additional lands in Wales, early 10th century CE. Gwyn ap Llewellyn is still going to be Welsh, Rafny Garansdottir is still going to be Scandihoovian. We've got a prosperous farm (I'm tempted to add, with a sheep and a cow and we're going to breed horses - not really, but total bonus points if you get the reference!). I'm going to use this blog to blather on about our adventures in the Current Middle Ages, persona building, and to share research into Norse culture on the Isle of Man and what it was influenced by.
It's going to be awesome.
