Hey Sewcialists! I’m so excited that lots of people are excited about Sheilmaiden March!
Even though it is still a few months away, I thought I’d do my part to inspire you by linking to a few of my favourite documentaries about the Vikings. Since costumes are the sort of project that require lots of planning, it seems right to start the theme early by looking at cultural context. History and archaeology shows on Youtube are a bit of an obsession of mine… and even though I’ve always had a passion for history, these documentaries had a lot I didn’t know!
First is a 3 part series by Neil Oliver, who has the most mesmerizing Scottish accent… <3
The Vikings: Who Were They? (p1, 60 min)
The Vikings: Trading Empire (P2, 60 min)
The Vikings: End of the Viking Age (e3, 60 min)
Next are two documentaries by art historian Janina Ramirez:
Art of the Vikings (30min)
The Viking Sagas (60min)
That ought to keep you busy for a while! 🙂
I’ve also been watching the TV show The Vikings, which is an enjoyably trashy and romanticised look at Viking life… and maybe I’ll dig our some historical fantasy/fiction set in Viking times like Guy Gavriel Kay’s Last Light of the Sun or Juliet Marillier’s Wolfskin.
Are there any books, movies, TV shows or documentaries about Vikings (or LOTR-ish pseudo-Vikings) that you enjoy? I’d love to hear your recommendations in the comments!
ps. Turns out that someone in our Sewcialist midst actually works in the summer as a Viking costumed interpreter in Norway! So keep your eyes open for some upcoming posts on this blog from our own Delphinelise!
Oh, I’ve seen that Viking ship in Oslo, it’s pretty awesome in real life!
Really??? Wow. Now I”m jealous! The closest I’ve been in Jorvik, the VIking museum in York (England)… I remember being horrified by the scratch and sniff postcard with the scent of urine! 😉
Unfortunately I had no idea how awesome it was at the time – the museum didn’t seem to have a great deal of reading material to learn about viking history, which was a shame. Still, it was beautiful to see.
And seriously, someone came up with that as a postcard? WHO WOULD BUY THAT? Aside from 15 year old boys?
I’m not sure Game of Thrones qualifies, the costumes are exquisite
Game of Thrones DOES have gorgeous costumes, doesn’t it!? Drool…
I haven’t really got into the show, but I do love the sewing eye-candy!
I don’t have cable, so I haven’t watched the show either, but someone sent me a link the costumer’s blog…the embroidery alone is to die for.
http://www.michelecarragherembroidery.com/Game-of-Thrones-Gallery%282829575%29.htm
If you’re going more Tolkien-esque, I’m sure that many of the appendices in the extended editions of the movies would have some great costume features. It’s been awhile since I watched the special features, so I can’t remember off the top of my head.
I did do a ton of research into Eowyn’s costumes in particular back in the day, and am going through old files anyway, so I can see what I can dig up if people are interested!
Maybe not “Viking”, but Norwegian-ish there are the outfits from Frozen.
Oh, I was just thinking “The Thirteenth Warrior” would be an awesome movie.
Oh, I just found out about Sewcialists, what a great idea! I’m excited about this sew along because I’ve wanted to make something viking-ish for a while but never had a reason to!
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