Men's SCA Garb for an Anglo-Saxon Persona.

Before I begin I want to make one thing clear. I rarely make garb. I know how, and have made period tunics, but it is not something readily in my skill set. That said, I have done a bit of research on what the clothing of my persona would look like. Perhaps the best source on how the Anglo-Saxons dressed is Gale Owen-Crocker's Dress in Anglo-Saxon England.  There is also Penelope Walton Rogers' Cloth and Clothing in Early Anglo-Saxon England (best obtained through inter-library loan unless one has a spare $300 lying around).

Anglo-Saxon fashion changed over the period from 450 AD to 1066 AD. Tunics became longer, sleeves shorter, and accessories such as belts, clasps, and brooches changed. The period of my persona is the early 8th century not long after the Conversion. His clothes therefore are in that period when Anglo-Saxon clothing was changing from pagan to Christian. Furs were being used less, and soft fabrics like linen more. Pagan motifs like intertwined snakes and ravens used on jewelry and other objects was shifting over to more Christian imagery. Wool was still a mainstay. My persona is Christian, but his grandfather was pagan, and his father was raised pagan. I therefore use a mixture of pagan items appearing a few years earlier as well as Christian items appearing a little later than 720 AD.

The basic everyday wear of an Anglo-Saxon of this period was a tunic, a type of shirt common in the Middle Ages. A tunic of this period was generally long sleeved. and hip to knee length, and worn with a belt about the midriffs to a little above. The sleeves in some cases could be folded back to form a cuff, or pushed up to create folds. Among the residents of the kingdoms of Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria the sleeves sometimes had slits at the wrists that were then held together with clasps. The tunic was often pulled up and over the belt so it created a fold over the belt. The borders of the tunic was sometimes adorned with tablet woven trim. Those of higher social standing would wear an under tunic of a soft material such as cloth made from flax, hemp, or nettle under the tunic of heavier wool. The tunic was sometimes worn alone with the wearer going bare legged. Generally though trousers were worn.

Anglo-Saxon trousers or breeches of this period were worn with or without leggings or garters and held up with a belt. Trousers could be anywhere from a fairly tight fit to a loose fit. Some trousers had belt loops so that a belt could hold them up more easily. If the breeches did not have belt loops the upper cloth was pulled up and over the belt to hold them in place. If leggings were worn these consisted of strips of cloth wrapped and tied with another piece of cloth around the leg to form a tight fit. Leggings were generally only worn with tight fitting pants, and not the looser fits. The leggings could be made of cloth or leather strips of three to four inches in width.

In cooler weather a variety of over garments would be worn. Very common was a simple rectangular cloak or mentel (not unlike a blanket) held at the right shoulder with a pin or broach that was in the range of 60" by 90". Wealthier individuals had cloaks that were larger. The larger of these cloaks were folded in half worn, and could serve as a spare blanket. The border of this kind of cloak could be adorned with a tablet woven trim. The loose folds of the cloak could be thrown over the left shoulder to leave both hands free. Another kind of over garment was a hooded cloak, not unlike the hooded cloaks of later periods. There was also a jacket not unlike modern jackets that opened in the front. With some of these the right side was made to wrap over the left. The jacket was held in place with a belt.

As for headgear, skull caps were worn as were hoods. Skull caps were generally made of leather and only covered the very top of the head. Your basic Anglo-Saxon hood is not much different from the hood on a modern hoodie except that it only covered the upper part of the body, generally only the head and shoulders.

There were accessories worn with tunics, breeches, and over garments. Two belts were often worn. One about the midriffs or a little above over the tunic while another would be worn to hold the breeches up. Belts were most often held in place with a buckle and the more elaborate had belt tips. Such belts would have been worn over the tunic while the belt used to hold trousers up would have been plain. Belts were not as long as in the later Middle Ages as they were not held in place with a belt ring though those of higher status would tend to have longer belts. Pouches, scabbards, and other things were thought to be hung from the belt used to hold up the trousers. However, I generally hang these from the belt about the tunic as it seems more practical. Cloaks and other pieces of clothing were held in place by brooches. These came in a number of varieties differing in shape and style.

Footwear was very simple involving a kind of socks and a simple turnshoes. They also wore a sort of ankle boot similar to the variety worn later by the Vikings existed. Shoes tended to be made of pen piece of leather with perhaps a separate piece for the sole. They were fastened with toggles or leather straps.

I have found the following sites helpful with putting together garb. Some sites have patterns one can use:

Making Early Period Anglo-Saxon Garb
http://www.midrealm.org/starleafgate/pdf/Making_Anglo_Saxon_Garb.pdf

Angelcynn: Clothing and Appearance of the Pagan Anglo-Saxons
http://mahan.wonkwang.ac.kr/link/med/england/anglo-saxon/culture/dress.html

Cunnan: Anglo-Saxon Clothing
http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_clothing

How to Make a Late Period Anglo-Saxon Costume
http://www.rosieandglenn.co.uk/TheLibrary/Costume/CnTGuides/HowtoMake/LateASCostume.htm

Anglo-Saxon Cloaks
http://www.aeans.org/articles/ascloak.shtml

'T-tunic' - the period way
http://www.forest.gen.nz/Medieval/articles/Tunics/TUNICS.HTML

A Beautifully Carved Horn: Horn Carving in the Dark Ages

Usually this blog is about heraldry, but I thought I would depart from that and post a paper I wrote many, many years ago for an Arts and Sciences competition when I went by Oswald of Mercia in Ansteorra. It is about horn carving, something I have done off and on for fourteen years.

A Beautifully Carved Horn: Horn Carving in the Dark Ages

By Oswald of Mercia

The Germanic peoples (the Danes, Franks, Anglo-Saxons, Swedes, and other tribes speaking Germanic languages) were amongst the last of Europe to give up the use of horns for drinking vessels. The use of drinking horns, are attested to from archaeological finds in Anglo-Saxon and Viking graves, and throughout the Eddas, and such Icelandic Sagas such as the Orkneyinga Saga:

After they had carried on drinking for some time they went out for Nones, then came back and drank toasts from horns. Next, Svein Breast-rope wanted to exchange horns with his namesake, believing that Svein Asleifarson's was smaller. Eyvind thrust a large horn into the hand of Svein Asleifarson who offered it to the other Svein. (Orkneyinga Saga, Palsson and Edwards translation)

Carved horns are mentioned in the Elder Edda (compiled about 1000 CE):

On the horn’s face were there All the kin of letters Cut aright and reddened, How should I rede them rightly? The ling-fish long Of the land of Hadding, Wheat-ears unshorn, And wild things inwards. (“The Second Lay of Gudrun”, Morris and Magnusson translation)

And the Prose Edda as well:

Next I see a finely inscribed serpent on the splendid yeast-flood tunic (a kenning for a drinking horn).

From this verse we know that motifs similar to those used in wood carving and metal working of the period were used on horns. Serpents were a favorite topic of metal and wood workers as witnessed by the artifacts that have survived such as those from Oseberg and Sutton Hoo. The use of serpents or dragons was part of what is known as animal ornamentation. From about 100 BCE onwards to 1200 CE, often highly abstract representations of birds, horses, dragons, dogs and other animals appeared on Germanic goods of all kinds. The Oseberg finds included a ship that contained a bed and cart both intricately carved with representations of faces, people, and various beasts. Similar carvings are found throughout Northern Europe on objects made of bone and antler. Combs, sword mounts, bracelets, knife handles, and weaving tools, found in archaeological digs, all made of bone or antler show carvings similar to those of the metal and wood work.

Unfortunately, few intact drinking or blowing horns from the Viking or Anglo-Saxon ages have survived. Horn (being softer than either bone or antler), decays rather rapidly in nearly any type of soil.

However, while few drinking horns have survived from the Dark Ages, two gold representations of drinking horns did. The Gallehus Horns found in Jutland, Denmark in 1639 were gold drinking vessels in the shape of aurochs horns. One bore a runic inscription and both had carvings of animals and people arranged in bands around them. Both horns were unfortunately stolen and melted down, but replicas were made from a study of the horns. Both were dated to around the 5th century. Glass horns from the 4th century onwards, on the other hand, do not seem to use animal and human forms, but geometric designs. While no Viking or Anglo-Saxon horns have survived for the most part their metal mounts have. The tips and rims of horns buried at Sutton Hoo are decorated with geometric designs. Unfortunately, the horns themselves did not survive. Six horn rims found at Taplow show similar designs. Many rims and tips found throughout Scandinavia and England are close to these in design.

The precise way horns were carved in the Viking and Anglo-Saxon ages is lost to us. Many of the wood working skills of the era however, would have translated into the polishing and carving of horns. They probably used chisels, files, awls, and saws similar to those they used for wood, only finer. The first step in making a drinking horn involves removing the core from the horn. One method of removing the core is by soaking the horn in water for several weeks, and then boiling for an hour or two. This method produces a clean, sterile horn. The drawback is that boiling can warp the walls of the horn if the heat is too intense, or if the horn is boiled too long. Another method of removing the core is to place the horn in a warm, dry area. The core gradually shrinks, and after a few weeks can be removed. This method leaves a lot of material in the horn that must be cleaned out, but will not warp the walls of the horn. Dark Age horners could have used either method or both to remove horn cores. Once the core is removed, the horn is polished. Dark Age horners did not have access to modern sand paper. Polishing of the horn is likely then to have been done by scraping the rough horn with a fine blade, and then polishing using any variety of methods. One that was most likely used was a leather strap soaked in water. This method can give as good a polish to a horn as modern steel wool, and was in use by horners up to one hundred years ago. Charcoal, ash, or powered pumice may also have been used with a wool cloth, and produces similar results. Wet sandstone could also have been used to smooth and polish horns, however, this method is likely to produce scratches.

The carving of the horn was likely done by an awl, probably specially made for the purpose. The horner would have scratched in the designs with a fine tipped awl and then deepened them with a larger awl. Knives and chisels may also have been used. Regardless of the tools, the carving is likely to have been a gradual process of scratching in the design and then deepening and widening the grooves until the desired affect was achieved. While I have tried using Dark Age methods in horn carving, I rely on the most part on a Dremel tool using a fine engraving bit to carve, and try to obtain horns that have already been cored. When I do get horns that still have the core, I rely on the second method described above (after several bad experiences with boiling). Once the core is removed, I judge what sandpaper grade to start the sanding process with. For very rough horns, I start sanding with a very rough grade sand paper (usually 60), and then proceed to a medium grade sandpaper. If the horn is already relatively smooth, I start with a medium grade sandpaper (usually 120) to remove any deep scratches. I then continue to step down to finer grade sandpapers, finishing the sanding process with medium or fine grade emery cloth, and very fine steel wool. One could alternately finish the sanding process by stepping down to a very fine grade sandpaper such as 360 and then 1000. By using a finer grade sand paper each sanding, one makes the polishing process much easier. When sanding, one must always go against the grain of the horn. If one sands with the grain of the horn, deep scratches can be the result. Once the horn had been sanded smooth, I begin the polishing process. In the past, I have used jeweller’s rogue or polishing compounds to achieve a nice shine. In recent years though, I have been using nylon stockings to shine the horn after buffing it with a cotton buffing pad and Dremel tool. This results in a beautiful shine, almost a mirror finish in some cases at a cheaper cost than using jeweler’s rogue or polishing compounds.

Once the horn is polished I carve the horn. For my designs I use a paper template glued to the horn (using a non-toxic glue stick). Horn is difficult to draw on, and both pencil and ink will smear. I then use an engraving cutter bit (Dremel bit #107) and Dremel tool to carve through the paper and into the horn. Once the design is carved into the horn, I then deepen it, alternating between carving and engraving bits. The engraving cutter bit #108 manufactured by Dremel is excellent for fine work while bit #107 is best for general carving. I occasionally use the #7103 Diamond Ball Point by Dremel to get a smoother cut than the other bits. There are really no tricks to carving a horn. Every horn is different, and only experience can really tell anyone which bit to use at what time. The main concern when carving a horn, be it with a Dremel tool, awl, or knife is to keep the hand steady (with a Dremel using a pencil grip on the rotary tool) and with a rotary tool making sure the bits are locked tightly into the collet. When using a Dremel, higher speeds (10,000 RPM and above) seem to work best when carving a horn, but slower speeds are safer for detailed work. Once the carving is complete, all rough areas left from the carving, can be smoothed down by buffing and polishing. I have found one can smooth the grooves of a carving using a bit of steel wool or emery cloth on the tip of a matchstick or toothpick.

It is likely Dark Age horns were painted. Paint colors available to the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings were generally blacks, browns, greens, blues, yellows, and reds. All of these colors have been noted on both Anglo-Saxon and Viking artifacts. I generally use Testors enamel modeling paints as these do not seem to peel off or crack after long periods of use. It is not unlikely that horns may have been inlaid with gold or silver. Horns can also be dyed by soaking them in water with dyes or chemicals. A horn soaked with Black Walnut husks will yield a brown or blackish horn. A more modern method is to use Kool Aid as a dying agent, but this works with rather unpredictable results.

To make the horn fit for drinking from, one must first cure it. This can be done after the horn is cored and cleaned out, or after carving. In order to cure a horn, one must make sure that the horn is clean. This can be done by filling the horn with water, and then adding a teaspoon of bleach, and allowing the horn to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. One should then rinse the horn thoroughly. Alternately, denture cleaner can be used, a tablet or two in a horn filled with water. Once the horn is clean, one can then cure it by allowing ale, mead, beer, or wine to set in it overnight. This should get rid of the horn taste, although it may have to be done more than once to totally eliminate the taste. Some folks use beeswax to coat the inside of the horn or some form of chemical sealant. Neither method seems to work as well as curing in my opinion however. Beeswax will melt in the hot sun as well as attract dirt. Chemical sealants may leach into any drink placed into the horn.

If one wishes to make a blowing horn, the same steps can be taken to sand, polish, and clean the horn. However, before one begins carving designs in the horn, they will want to carve the mouth piece. The first step is to saw off the tip of the horn at the point where it becomes solid. Take a dowel, and place in the horn until it hits the solid tip. Mark the dowel at the horn’s mouth. Then use the dowel to measure on the outside of the horn, and make a pencil mark about 1/8 to 1/4 inch beyond end of the dowel towards the tip. This is where you will want to saw the tip off. A hacksaw or bone saw works best to saw horn. Once the tip is off you will need to drill a small hole through the solid end into the open section of the horn. A brace or a hand drill can be used to do this. The bit should be no larger than 1/8 inch. If one wishes to be authentic, they would use a gimlet (a miniature auger with a cross handle and bit) to drill the hole. Once the hole is drilled, you can begin carving the mouth piece. You do this by carving a "V" shaped mouth piece leading into the horn. This is easiest done by inserting the blade of a small but sturdy knife into the horn at an angle, blade tip pointing inward and slowly carving around the entire circumference of the horn tip in a circular pattern. Be careful not to widen the hole nearest the mouth of the horn too greatly. Once you have a slight "V" shape started, and after clearing away any splinters, stop and sound the horn. If the horn sounds as you wish, you can stop carving, and begin smoothing and rounding the edges around the mouthpiece.

Bibliography

Evison, V. I. ‘Germanic glass drinking horns,’ Journal of Glass Studies, 17 (1975), p. 87, no.51

MacGregor, Arthur M. “Bone, Antler, Ivory, and Horn, the technology of skeletal materials since the Roman Period.” Croom Helm, Totawa NJ: 1985

Morris, William and Magnusson, Eirikr (translators), “The Story of the Volsungs,” Walter Scott Press, London: 1988

Palsson, Hermann and Edwards, Paul (translators), “Orkneyinga Saga,” Penguin Books, 1978 Ritchie, Carson, “Bone and Horn Carving A Pictorial History,” A..S. Barnes and Co., Inc., Cranbury, NJ: 1975

Salzman, L.F. “Building in England Down to 1540,” Oxford University Press, Oxford: 1952 Scurlock, William (editor), “The Book of Buckskinning,” Rebel Publishing Co., Texarkana, TX: 1981

Walton, Penelope, ‘Dyes of the Viking Age: A Summary of Recent Work,’ “Dyes in History and Archaeology” (1988), pp 14-19

Or, three water bougets gules.

Expanding Your Horizons with Charges

I am on three Society for Creative Anachronism heraldry groups on Facebook, as well as my kingdom heralds mailing list, and I have access to OSCAR (the online system heralds use to discuss devices, badges, and names in the process of being registered in the SCA). One of the very few things that disappoints me with SCA heraldry is the fact you see the same charges (the images on a device) over and over again. I cannot tell you the number of rabbits, paw prints, birds, domestic cats, and trees I have seen. Even the fleur-de-lis is in my opinion overly used in the SCA. Now it is not that most of these charges were not used in period. Trees and different kinds of birds were very common, and rabbits and cats were not unheard of on period arms. I have yet though to see period arms that use paw prints. And the fleur-de-lis is very, very common on period arms (and no doubt appeals to those with French and Norman French personas). They are though, in my opinion along with many other charges over used. Of course, that is merely my opinion and I do not slight anyone if they want a domestic cat sejant with three sparrows on their device (no offence if I am describing your device here). It is an appealing design. I merely think people do not realize just how many different charges they can use that would make their device or badge very unique, and not just one of many with a fleur-de-lis on it.

Many of these charges could be just as meaningful to a person as say a cat or a paw print. There is a list of rarely used charges in the Society for Creative Anachronism at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0As1Y_2QwCSKBcC00RFBFUjA0OWNISkxWSy1hTTVzV2c#gid=0 Some of these charges are rarely seen in period heraldry which is probably why they are not common in the SCA, but others such as buckles were very common on period arms. Other common period charges on the list include spindles, padlocks, and various plants like garlic. If you want something unique, more easily registered, and something personal I seriously suggest looking over this list. Myself personally I was shocked at how rarely buckles were used in the SCA considering how common they were on period arms. Another charge that is not on the list, but that I have not commonly seen used in the SCA is the water bouget. Water bougets in the period arms rolls I have seen were as common as the fleur-de-lis, and to me a beautiful charge. In total there are only 56 devices and badges registered in the SCA that use water bougets.So if you are considering registering a device, or are considering releasing your registered device and registering a new one think things over and explore your options before you settle on yet another oak tree or cat statant. You may find something that is very unique and at the same time very "you."

Or, a strawberry gules, and on a chief sable three bells Or.

I have not seen strawberries used much in SCA heraldry so in my quest to use rarely used charges I came up with this design. I find it surprising strawberries are not more common as everyone likes strawberries don't they?