I am still here. I have not given up on my Norse/Irish interests I have just refocused and moved onto my Pentathlon entries. Pentathlon is an Arts and Science Competition that is held every 2 years in the SCA. The next pentathlon is set for Spring 2021. The goal of the competition is to create 5 items in 4 different categories. The categories include: Visual, Functional, Armor & Weaponry, Fiber & Clothing, Culinary, Performance, Composition. I have completed 2 of my five entries and am excited to continue working on the rest.
The First category is Fiber & Clothing.
The First category is Fiber & Clothing.
- I have made a set of Rabbit skin mittens. These were fun and there was a lot of trial and error. The second item for this category is a Greenland Dress. The dress is completely hand sewn and completed in the manner that was discussed in the book "Woven into the Earth." I am very pleased with both of these items.
- For this piece I am creating Glasswork beads that are similar to the ones found on the Isle of Peel with the "Pagan Lady." The grave is dated to 980 and the some of the beads were dated 300 years prior to her death. In the find, there were 71 beads and I have currently made about 30. I am going to do my best to match as many as possible but there might be a few that are made with skills that I do not currently have and may not have time to master before the event.
- In this category I am working on a Person Presentation of a Seid practitioner. The idea for this presentation comes from the inspiration for this project, Chapter 4 of the Eirik the Red Saga. She is an important person in the Viking era and I find her to be very interesting. This persona lives in Greenland and was very important to Eirik who remained pagan even after his wife and their son Leiv converted to Christianity.
- In this category I am writing a research paper on who a Seid practitioner was and what role she plays in the Viking Society. This is very interesting because the Seid practitioner was important and carried the respect of the society. While she lived on the "fringes" she was respected and looked to for advice.