Vikingology Podcast · The Art and Science of the Viking Age

Bro, you wanna be a Viking?...

·1 hr 16 min·5 clips

Devin describes a holmgang as an organized duel held under agreed rules, with blood used in a ritual demonstration.

1. Vikingology Podcast centers on modern Viking living history, with CJ Adrian and Terry Barnes hosting Kevin Alexandrovich and Devin Rawlings. 2. Kevin matters because he works for the Washington Department of Natural Resources and reenacts Viking-age life through Yarnborg Vikings. 3. Devin matters because Baseborn is her self-employed project sewing historically inspired clothing from early medieval styles to 18th century garments. 4. The episode asks what it means to be a modern Viking and how living history differs from cosplay. 5. Kevin describes his pandemic-era start after a friend invited him on a Viking hike when events were canceled. 6. He says his first kit was machine-sewn, synthetic-dyed, too short, and built around rubber-soled shoes. 7. He then explains that he upgraded to a longer tunic, hose, and turn shoes that fit a 10th-century man. 8. Devin says she sews clothing every day for work and then sews for herself and friends for reenactment. 9. She notes that historically inspired clothing can cost under a hundred dollars if someone keeps the outfit simple. 10. The guests discuss linen, wool, and nettle as materials, and Devin says nettle fabric may have been more widely used and easier to grow. 11. Kevin says he now wears a sheepskin mantle outside Viking context because it kept him warm around a campfire. 12. Devin says a hand-forged needle can take on the shape of the sewer through repeated use. 13. She also says finding an old garment can feel like touching sweat, blood, tears, and the physical trace of another person. 14. Kevin connects his day job restoring natural areas with animist ideas about close relationships to plants and ecosystems. 15. The conversation links Christianity and industrialization to the idea that humans are separate from the natural world. 16. CJ says that separation is something people have to unwind slowly, like losing 100 pounds. 17. Kevin and Devin describe events at Nordic Northwest, the National Nordic Museum in Seattle, and Cascadian Midsummer. 18. They say some events include fighting shows, trade blankets, poetry, cooking, archery, and full-immersion camp life. 19. People interested in Viking-age clothing, reenactment, and historical craft would likely enjoy this episode. 20. Listeners wanting tight narrative or light celebrity talk might skip it.

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