Abstract
The paper discusses the role of material culture for his- torical re-enactors of the Viking Age. Three issues are analysed: (a) the clothing and accessories worn by a typical contemporary warrior, craftsman and woman of the Viking times and the range of goods available for purchase at historical re-enactment markets, (b) the active and transformative aspect of material culture for present-day Vikings, (c) the paradox of how mirroring the material past by historical re-enactors is actually a deeply ahistorical category. The main con- clusion of this study is that historical re-enactment of the Viking Age is essentially about material culture. The paper is based on observations made during the Viking Week that took place at the Museum of Fote- viken (Sweden) on 24–30 June 2013.
Highlights
It may be said that, paradoxically, the greater contemporary man’s fascination with the present and the future, the deeper his interest in the past (e.g. Lowenthal 1985:chapter 1, 1996)
The main conclusion of this study is that historical re-enactment of the Viking Age is essentially about material culture
The subject of this paper, is the historical re-enactment milieu that practises its way of life during historical re-enactment events, often at archaeological open-air museums (Goodacre & Baldwin 2002)
Summary
It may be said that, paradoxically, the greater contemporary man’s fascination with the present and the future, the deeper his interest in the past (e.g. Lowenthal 1985:chapter 1, 1996). The main conclusion of this study is that historical re-enactment of the Viking Age is essentially about material culture. The popularity of both archaeological open-air museums and historical re-enactment is a quite recent phenomenon (Rentzhog 2007).
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