FAVORITE PERIOD (REPLICA) ARTEFACTS I
Ask the average reenactor wat his favorite reenacting tools are, the chances are that the reenactor—even the female reenactors in many case—will roll out a list of weapons, both sharp and rebated, shiney armor, fancy shiny bling and silk clothing. Fine, but I am more intrigued by the quiet and rather dull aspects of life…
Scissors/Shears
Several styles of shears or scissors weree available, and they had several purposes, including cutting fabric, trimming human hair and shearing wool from sheep.
Slavery Manacles
Slavery manacles and other ironwork were probably used only in transporting an holding slaves. Ironically, the styles have not changed in millennia and were still being used in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Bone Ice Skates
Ice skates were made of bone, and they were used for transportion in the snow and on ice, not dor modern figure skating with razor-thin blades. Skaters—and skiiers—used poles to help propulsion.
Jorvik Padlock
The padlocks used by the Vikings and Englis just shows that people of any age had possessions they considered valuable and that were secured in chests. The locks were powered by springs, and the keys pressed the spring down to so that padlock could be removed.
Hnefatafl and Board
Hnefatafl—a translation of King’s Table—was the most popular board game played in northern Europe until chess was introduced in the eleventh century and was still being played in the fifteenth century. Many different playing men were used, and many were circular an attached by pegs to the playing board.
Minster Lovell Æstel
Æstels are generally considered pointers and were probably used instead of fingers by preachers for keeping track of the letters. The so-called Alfred Jewel is probably the bext-known æstel, though there are many others. I got the less-posh Minster Lovell Æstel, probably ninth century. It was found in Minster Lovell in Oxfordshire and is held at the Ashmolean Museum.
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The Anglo-Scandinavian Chronicles 