Stories from reenactors

For this blog post I pulled some strings and asked some questions to see what people had to say. I asked them how they got here, what they liked most and if they had some fun anecdotes. So lets get into it!

-Jernej Kališnik

''I am an early (and also late) medieval reenactor from Slovenia. When I first discovered reenactment, I wasn’t particularly interested in history, crafts, or anything like that. Six years ago, I was just a young metalhead attending my second metal festival when a friend invited me to a “special camp.” That camp turned out to be a Viking reenactment camp.

On the ship called Saga Oseberg during Midgardsblot.

The first thing that amazed me was the tents—not small plastic ones, but towering wooden and linen A-frame tents, over two meters tall, where you could comfortably stand. The entire camp felt like stepping into another world. No plastic chairs or tables, just a massive wooden long table surrounded by benches. No LED lights, only the warm glow of candles and a crackling campfire. No blaring speakers—just incredible company and an atmosphere that felt both ancient and alive.

But what truly made me stay were the people. They were open, welcoming, and carried a spark of chaos that was absolutely thrilling. From that moment on, I became more and more fascinated by this strange yet wonderful world of reenactment. I joined the group Maistri Marpurgi and started learning about history, reenactment, and how people actually lived back then. In the process, I fell in love with everything that came with it—crafts, music, and the art of bringing history to life.

A drum circle.

Over the years, I’ve traveled to reenactment events all across Europe and discovered that this community is one of the most welcoming and passionate out there.

Many memorable memories were made.

One of them was at a Sletten festival, fighting alongside 700+ fighters. Another was listening to Skaldic poetry at the Norwegian Midgardsblot festival.

Educational weekends with our group are always fun; each member prepares a presentation on the topic they like, that can be about cooking, mythology and beliefs, Viking conquests, clothing back then, day in a life of a 900AD person, jewelry, food, smithing, herbs and medicine.''

Here's a link to Maistri Marpurgi (@maistri.marpurgi)

-Alex

"My name is Alex, I'm 30 years old and from the Netherlands. Since I was little I have been fascinated by history. As a child I went to the shipping museum in Amsterdam all the time, this is where I got enchanted by the reenactors on the replica VOC ship ''The Amsterdam". I saw them at other places too, like at the Muiderslot and the National vesting museum in Naarden. But it was Archeon that took the cake: here history really came alive.

Training with VAEV.

About four years ago I stared sword fighting with Vechten Als een Viking: VAEV. During one of our trainings, our trainer Theo, asked if we wanted to join a session with a reenactment group. This training session with the Bloodaxes was amazing! Not also did I learn even more about sword fighting, but I also saw how deep the Viking reenactment goes. From making clothing, having the right materials to historically reliving the daily life of the Vikings. A year later I became an official member of the Bloodaxes, and now, 1,5 years later I feel right at home.

Within the group I keep busy with sword fighting and leather work but also interactions with guests and visitors. I show people how it feels like to wear a helmet or shield, organize Viking-games and make sure the public gets immersed into the past. And I do the member administration for the Bloodaxes.

You can find me on a lot of different events, like the international Viking festival at Archeon, the Vikingdagen in Den Oever and Annotopia in Germany.

Two shield walls.

One of fondest memories is from the Vikingdagen; last year when I was leading games in which children would provoke their parents and the enthusiasm grew wild! Within minutes a group of about fifty people was cheering and joining in. At that moment I felt it, why reenactment is so special: it's way more than fighting or cooking, it's a way to let people relive history."

Want to know more about the Viking fighting groep Vechten Als een Viking? Here is the link: Over Vechten Als Een Viking Maybe you will get inspired to join the ranks as well.

-Jurrian van den Berg

"My carrière in living history or reenactment started around 1997 when I was 4 years old. Per change I came in contact with the compagnie of Brederode and quickly after I started my adventure in late medieval reenactment. My mom was also interested and could not stay behind. (Yes, my mom is doing reenactment because of me, and not the other way around which usually happens.)

A couple of years later I came in contact with the early medieval time period and this immediately peaked my interest!

Standing in the middle is Jurrian himself.

Now, about 28 years later I'm still a active practitioner of the hobby, mostly as fighter. Since 2018 I'm Jarl of Vilsvin, and a year later we became a part of the Bloodaxe Sibbe. There I am captain of the troops, leading them fearlessly into every battle!

Recently I started another part of my reenactment journey: making bronze and silver replicas of early medieval jewelry and selling them in our shop! It's called Vilsvin shop."

Here are some links, if you are interested in the replicas.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Eu6Aj6mNY/

https://www.instagram.com/vilsvinshop?igsh=NGk2MTR6NjJ2bXZk

Another picture from Jernej: waiting for battle in the rain.

Well there we have it, the first three stories from reenactors! I want to make this into a series, partly because it takes a long time to make, and because there's so many stories! And, if you want to share YOUR story, let me know! There is a contact form on the site!