Viking Re-enactment is a hobby where we use grave finds and evidence to recreate what the viking age persons daily life was. For alot of people that draw is the fighting. The most common form of fighting in re-enactment I’ve seen is Western Steel Combat. Western Steel Combat is a modern fencing system that allows us to safely fight while dressed like we are in the viking period. We fight with blunted steel weapons that resemble those from the era. The western style allows for there to be less armor worn which is more historically accurate for skirmishes and most fights that would have happened. 

Why do we do it?

The hobby of reenactment, can be just that. Dressing up and trying to experience the everyday life of a Viking. Put on your linen or wool shirt and pants, roll out of your pup tent or mud hut, and start a fire to get your water boiling for breakfast. The raiders we think of as Viking were only a portion of society yes but they were thought of highly for being skilled in combat. A fighting system allows us to help give life to this more violent side of their culture as well as how they made their bread and traded with each other. Just as they did in the Viking age you can be both warrior and farmer.