Yule- the Winter Solstice Norse Style

Introduction

Merry Christmas, Good Yule, and Happy Holidays to all!
I am hoping everyone has had a good winter season so far, and that it only gets better as we go into the New Year. In today’s blog post, we are going to be talking about Yule, the celebration of the Winter Solstice as we currently practice it, and the research into how it was celebrated by our ancestors.

I’ll be splitting this blog post into two sections along those lines: first, I will go into what we know of the old ways, and then I will get into how we do things inside our clan.

Ancient Norse Yule

From what I have read and been able to decipher in the Viking Age, Yule was celebrated as the longest night of the year, the ending of the previous year, and that Fenris hadn’t swallowed the sun.

The Wild Hunt which appears in both Norse and
Celtic mythologies is a precursor to Santa. As is Odin himself.

The celebration itself would last until the sun rose, and the time was spent feasting and drinking. Specifics on how the ancestors celebrated are scarce, as with many things. All we can do is count on secondary sources to get an idea of what may have been. We do know from historical sources that many of what are now Christian traditions have their start in the way the Norse used to celebrate Yule: things like the Christmas Tree, holly as a decoration, Santa’s ride around the world, and even stockings all have a start in the Norse traditions.

By looking at these traditions, we can sort of build what a Yule celebration might have looked like, but mostly it has a lot to do with celebrating the meaning of the Blot as best we can, in a way that -to us- honours the gods and our ancestors.

Our Yule

For our clan’s celebration of Yule, we mix traditions created by us with others taken from historical records, combining the two to create something that means family and winter holidays to us. The worry on Yule has always been that the Ragnarok has come, that with the setting of the sun Fenris has risen and Fimbulwinter has at last begun, so we gather the clan and prepare for what may be. While we wait for the sun to return we feast, drink, and game the night away!

It is now time to choose our champions! We create challenges of Strength, Skill, and Wisdom. Each

Norse children would leave snacks for Sleipnir in their boots
and in exchange Odin would leave them sweets. This
became the stocking tradition.

year, a new challenge is chosen by the previous year’s champion to represent what games have always been: playing to have fun, while also training and preparing for anything life throws at you.

Our Test of Strength is almost always as much about endurance as actual strength, a way to display our prowess as a clan, and to cheer on our kin as they compete to be the best. Since the previous year’s champion picks the challenge, we have had a really wide variety of tests throughout the decade: everything from planks to wrestling to shot put, each one adding to the atmosphere of festivities while also giving us the chance to show off and brag. I can’t think of anything more Norse than that!

The Test of Skill is a little bit more finicky, since skill can be highly subjective: for one champion it may be a test of agility; for another, a test of aim; and for another still, juggling. These are often the most entertaining to watch, as people are essentially learning a new thing to try and win! This last year we did Nerf gun duels, and in the past we’ve had knife throwing, darts, juggling, and even parrying Nerf darts with lightsabers! The physical tests give us something to gather around and watch while we wait for the food to be served, and it gets everyone talking and laughing.

The final test is the Test of Wisdom, which is almost always some sort of puzzle or riddle challenge that people can submit their answers to the Goði. The first person to submit the correct answer is declared the winner. In the past we have also done a riddle contest in the style of Odin and Vafthrudnir, with questions being passed around until a person can no longer answer and then they are removed from the game, until only one is left standing. I favour this kind of contest or chess riddles because they give everyone the opportunity to learn and grow.

After the challenges are won, it’s time to feast. We like to do a potluck so that the clan comes together as a whole to feed everyone. To me, this also plays into that idea of family and hospitality, that we are all in this together and here for each other. As the hosts, my wife and I usually provide a roast pork shoulder or similar, as well as breads and salad. Each of the other guests bring things that they enjoy, or that show off a special recipe or dish. This leads us to a very international feast with a huge variety of foods, and there’s always more than enough to eat. When the feasting is done, everyone helps to clear the table and we all prepare for the next activities.

After feast, we gather in a circle and each tell tales of our wins and losses of the previous year. We also review the boasts that we made to allow the clan to decide if we had succeeded or not. These are a big portion of the night, and they happen after the tale-telling, representing improvements that we want to make to ourselves or adventures we wish to embark upon before next Yule… sort of a bucket

Christmas trees come from the tradition
of decorating wild trees during the winter time. This
practice is even spoken against in the Bible.

list before the world might end, and a New Year’s Resolution all combined into one. Once we have gone over the boasts and tales of the previous year, the Goði stands and blesses the horn. Our tradition is to sing the Song of Odin by Karl Donaldsson, but we have also taken this time to read a passage from the Eddas or Hávamál that might be meaningful in the coming year.

The horn itself represents an oath to the clan and to the people who share the blot with us. It says “I am here and you are my chosen kin.” When you are part of the clan and the circle, it means that you don’t have to go it alone, whether that means help moving, an extra push to complete your boast, or a couch to sleep on because life has become hard, we are all in it together. Family was one of the cornerstones of Ancient Norse life, and it's just as important to us.

When the horn is blessed, we pass it around, each person making their boast for the coming year. A boast should be a specific task that you will complete before the next Yule, and to make sure you do, you also state before the clan what the consequences will be if you don’t. Our Goði is fond of suggesting people shave their heads as a consequence, but oftentimes people choose things that give back to the clan as a whole. One person offered, should they fail their boast, to give a certain amount of rides uber-style to members of the clan. Things like this reinforce the idea of us all being in it together, and gives you the motivation to push through and complete your boast.

A sample boast:
I, Rurik Ulfhamar, boast that by next Yule I will have gathered enough savings to cover three months of my bills. If I fail to do so, I will sell off two of my collector’s edition books to add to my savings.


This isn’t the most exciting boast… it involves making responsible choices and working hard. It is, however, an important boast to me and to my family after the last couple of years of financial hardship. It creates accountability towards the goal that I want to achieve, and produces hard consequences should I fail.

Another example:
Before next Yule, I will run a marathon. If I fail, I will take the clan out to dinner at Flannigans.

Clear goal, clear consequence. These types of direct boasts are best because they give you a defined end point.

Now, you don’t need to boast to drink from the horn; it’s a good thing to do but not a requirement. Drinking from the horn is creating a bond to the clan; making an oath is making a promise to yourself. Once you have made your oath and drunk from the horn, you pass it to the next person in the circle until everyone has had their turn. Then the Goði pours out some of the horn for our ancestors and those who could not be there, and then finishes it himself, sealing the pact.

We then spend the rest of the night playing games and spending time with our kin who we don’t get to see nearly often enough given how hectic life can get. We don’t usually stay until sunrise, but it's a pretty close thing. Usually the Godhi, the wife,  and I stay hanging out with the last stragglers until 4-5 in the morning.

In our house, a sort of odd morning-after tradition has begun to take shape over the last 3-4 years. As many of you know, we have three daughters, and the morning after Yule they wake up extra early and make it a point to clean up the entire house and do the dishes so that we don’t have to worry about it.

Leaping over the Yule log is a test of bravery, and
is supposed to bring good luck in the coming year.

It was a huge surprise to my wife and I when they did it the first time, and the fact that they have continued makes it even more impressive, especially since the older two are hitting the teen years pretty hard and often don’t even want to clean their room!

There are a couple of traditions I am wanting to add in future years, one I can’t do until have a backyard of my own, and another from Iceland I intend to start this coming year. The first is the leaping over the Yule log. I currently don't have anywhere to make a proper and decent sized bonfire of a log for people to jump over! During the Viking Age, jumping over the Yule log was supposed to give you good luck for the coming year, but for now we will make do with a Yule log on the TV while the boasts are happening.

The second tradition I’d like to start is based on the jolabokaflod, the Yule Book Flood! This is a tradition in Iceland where books are exchanged on Christmas Eve and then the evening is spent reading them. For the Clan Book Flood, my idea is to do a Secret Santa style event where each person gives one other person a book of their choosing. This way we can share books that are meaningful to us, and everyone gets more books, which everybody knows is really the reason for the season!

Conclusion

I hope you all enjoyed this glimpse into how we celebrate Yule, and an example of how you can build your own Yule traditions. Let me know how you celebrate it in the comments below, and if there are any traditions you think I should look into, share that too!

References

http://paganpoet.com/library/an-asatru-viewpoint-of-yule-customs-and-traditions/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule
http://www.asatru.org/holidays.php
https://9gag.com/gag/aeN4Qjb/irrefutable-proof-that-santa-is-odin  (pretty funny and partially true)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1fy3d3HhKg Odin's Song by Karl Donaldsson

Hearth

Introduction

This post is going to be a little different than some of my others. I want to talk about something that, while important to being Asatru and a Norseman, it doesn’t really tie into my research or my journey in the SCA. Instead, it sort of ties in with the camping posts I have been making, because it is about home. Home
is something that is incredibly personal, not just in what it physically is, but also in what
it represents. To some cultures, home is the extended family all living in a single building; to others, it is just a little apartment that you have gotten on your own. In the 10c, home was a homestead, a small farm with several buildings where an extended (possibly, but not confirmed multigenerational) family lived and worked.  To me, my home is a place where my nuclear family lives, but the extended clan that I am a part of can gather for holy days. As a family of 5, finding an ideal space that doesn’t break the bank in Miami is heartbreaking. Too often you find yourself priced out of any home that makes sense for your family, and this is just talking about rentals, we aren’t even attempting to buy at this time.

I provide this as a bit of background information to give an idea of where I am and why I am writing this. Regular readers may remember that for about three years I owned a game store and it took a lot out of me. My wife and I sacrificed a ton to try and keep it open, including our home. We were never without shelter; I am very fortunate that my mother was able to take us all in and give us a place to live while we kept at the store. Eventually, the store closed despite our best efforts, but we remained living at my mother’s as we figured out our next step. We lived there for just under 14 months, which gave me a ton of time to think and ponder the meaning of home. This past weekend, we finally
moved into a townhouse, and while it wasn’t a storybook move, it already feels like home.

Home vs Shelter

We are all raised with sayings like “a man’s home is his castle”, “home is where the heart rests’ etc. These things all speak of this feeling of safety and belonging that not everyone gets: for so many people, the place where they live is under threat or so far from ideal that they never feel like they have a home. I spent the last 14 months homeless, but I was not without somewhere to live. I was incredibly lucky that I had a roof and a warm bed. That's a lot more than many people have, but I didn’t have a home. Oddly enough, this is a distinction I might not have noticed a decade ago, when I was younger and in my first marriage. I had never really had that sense of safety: we moved around a lot and never really set down roots. It wasn’t until I moved in with Beatrice that I realized how much a home means… to have a place that you can come home to and rest and feel safe.

Shelter is a place that protects you from the outside; it’s one of the first things that survival manuals tell you to focus on, and one of the base Maslow needs. It keeps you safe, but it doesn’t nourish you and it doesn’t allow you to recharge and grow. A shelter might be an apartment you rent that was all you can find, but it's in a bad neighborhood or maybe the price is just out of your range so you are always in danger of losing it. In my case, my shelter for the last 14 months was actually my childhood home, a beautiful house that my mother still lives in. The problem was that it couldn’t be “our home” due to differences in opinion and the crowding of space. My mother was welcoming in every way she could be, but in the end neither of us were really raised to have a multigenerational home and the house wasn’t suited to it. This caused clashes in the raising of the girls, the use of common areas, and so much more. Add to that the simple idea of having known your own space and privacy and now not having it, and it became a strain to bear.

Our Journey

The last time my little family really had a home that wasn’t under threat was before the store opened, nearly four years ago. We had just moved into a small townhouse, but everyone was excited about it. We made that place our home, and you could feel it.  We had started to buy our furniture for it, and overall it felt like we had gained some stability, or as Maslow would put it security. We weren’t totally there but it felt like we were on our way. When we felt like we were doing well, we made the choice to take the risk of opening our own business, and that security was the first thing we sacrificed.

Along the way, we had to move two more times before we ended up at mom’s, and each place felt like a stopping point. They didn’t feel like home, each for their own reasons, but the main cause of the lack of security was the lack of solid stable income. We were always scared we were going to lose everything.

Over the three years of all this instability, it has caused us as a family some spiritual damage. We are all scared now of losing the things we have, we are all worried about every bump in the road. Our girls, who are still too young for such things, understand entirely too intimately that money is finite and that we as a family don’t have as much as some others. We do try and teach them that while there are always people who have more, there are also people who have less, and that we should be grateful for all the things we do have. This is a tough lesson to learn for a preteen who wants to have the newest clothes or accessories to fit in.

Our New Home

Six months ago, after the store closed down, I was fortunate enough to have help finding a job by a good friend of mine. I was scared to go back into the workforce, especially into a corporate position of this nature, but it has done wonders for me. I have time off, I can be with my children and not just around them like when they were at the store with me. More than any of that, I have a stable paycheck. This has been the start of us rebuilding our lives, a stable job that allowed us to save enough money to finally begin the long search to find our new home.

Our family preparing for a hurricane. 

At first, the search was disheartening: everything was too small, too far, or too expensive. In Miami, the cost-of-living-to-wage ratio is among the worst in the nation, and even though we both work very hard to earn enough money, the last thing we wanted to do was live outside our means and have our home remain under threat.  Finally, after months of either searching on our own or with unreliable realtors, we were very lucky to meet Anthony Maiello (https://www.facebook.com/Anthony-Maiello-a-Real-Estate-Empire-Group-Realtor-101903754549059/), a realtor who genuinely cared about our needs and wanted to find us the perfect home for our family, not just a shelter for us and a commission for him. With his help we were able to find our new townhome. It isn’t the perfect place (I doubt we will find that until we buy our forever home), but it is certainly a great beautiful place for us to build a home and take the next steps in our lives.

The Move

I spent the weeks leading up to the move in a ball of nerves. I was worried we would get denied at the last moment by the landlords. I was worried that we wouldn’t have the money for the last of the down payment. I was terrified that the girls wouldn't like the house or we wouldn't be able to fit our needs in it. I was worried that things just wouldn't go the right way. The week of the move, I was so worried about not being able to move everything properly that I went to work everyday in jeans and a t-shirt (instead of my usual business attire) so that I could run out and head to storage to take another load of things to the house. My wife, while not understanding why this move had me so nervous, did everything she could to help ease my fears. She was also going to storage every day and grabbing things, but more importantly she and her mom set up our daughters’ rooms so they would move into their new space as if it was their old space and better. Anything to make the move smooth for everyone.

The day of the move, only a few of our friends were able to help. This led to more panic in me, but the truth is that the Stophers’ are some of the best people I know and with all their help we moved faster and more efficiently than ever before. By 4pm, everything was in the new house and we were all on the couch pondering our new aches and pains. It was done, at least the first step… now, to turn it from a shelter to a home. I imagine that will take a few weeks, but I already feel better.

The Girls

To me, the scariest part of the move was that even after everything was done and the girls were in the new house... they didn’t feel safe.You could see it in the way they reacted: it wasn’t the innocent joy of when we moved into that home all those years ago; it was a tentative and cautious thing, unsure yet if this was their home. That’s the hardest part to me. So now, it's time to give them that safe space, build it up again so they know they have stability. Our core needs are met, now we need to build security.

Conclusion

Too often we settle for shelter, or are forced to settle for it. We have lost sight of how important an actual home is. Home is where the heart rests, shelter is where the body rests. If you don’t have both, you will start to feel rundown and tired, and how will you continue to best the struggles of life when
you lose sight of what you are fighting for?

Remember that as long as we keep stepping forward, we will get to our goals. Christopher Reeve said it best “ So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”

SCA Camping 101: Our Home Away from Home

Introduction

In my last post, I went over the basics of SCA camping and provided a quick-start guide. For this one, I want to get into the specifics of what I have been using as well as share some of the advice and responses that I received from readers of the other post. A couple of things first: these images are a couple of years old and they are from before our canvas tent was destroyed. Our furnishings are essentially the same, but we have a modern tent again (something I will be remedying in the near future, ancestors willing). Secondly, it took us 3-4 years, during which the SCA was our primary hobby and where we were spending our extra money, to get our tent to this point. There isn’t a rush or a race to get to any step; take your time, build at your own pace, and have fun. Finally, this tent was less a period accurate encampment than either my wife or I wanted when we first started, but because of financial limitations and the differences in personas, this is the direction we were going. To follow Taka’s example, it’s neither one period nor the other, it’s an SCA camp.

Furnishings

As I said before and likely will say again, the details are what make things come together. In the case of your camp, it’s your furnishings and decorations. When picking furnishings, you also need to consider function as well as form. It is important to have things that you like the look of, but they need to serve a purpose, otherwise they are a lot of work to be transported without need. All that being said, sometimes looking good is its own purpose.

At the time of these pictures, we were still using a queen-sized air mattress of the extra thick variety. This worked great because it gave us enough height to sit on the bed and put on shoes, but sleeping on a giant cushion of air was murder for my wife on cold nights. To make up for this, we had a ton of blankets including a faux fur to try and stay warm. The changes in temperature also meant that no matter what we did, the bed would deflate somewhat through the night. We changed the mattress to a full-size futon, both to save space inside the tent and to keep us a little warmer. Getting an actual camp bed frame is now high on the list, since the futon is on the floor. These camp frames are also useful because, if planned right, you can store things underneath them.

A lovely friend of ours, Lady Sabine de Saintes, built us this amazing closet. It flat-packs and gives us shelvings. This was a huge step in organizing our space and having our clothing readily available. The closet also worked really well to split the space up, essentially giving us a front room and a bedroom.

In our front room, we used a plastic folding table as our main flat surface. Usually, this had snacks and drinks on it, but inevitably it also gathered baskets and purchases throughout war. The good thing
about these tables is that they are tall, so we could easily tuck our plastic drawers underneath. Our
plan had been to get a large table cloth to cover the table and drawers which would have helped the overall look somewhat. In the bedroom we have small folding tables, serving as valets to hold our accessories and what not when we were not wearing them. We also had two more of the same type of tables that acted as nightstands.

Seating is one of those things that, no matter what you do, it always feels like you do not have enough. At the time of the pictures, we were still using folding camp chairs; these chairs have served us well for years and we still take two with us to events. However, our big upgrade was that Southkeep’s own carpenter extraordinaire Cian Mac Cullough helped us out by making us each a chair accurate to our personas. For Bea, that was a very pretty Tudor-style chair (it folds for easy transport!), and for me it was a nice low three legged stool. These chairs are amazing, doing a great job of showing who we are and gussying up our living spaces nicely. Both chairs were built so they could pack easier, which is also really important when trying to get to events.

Decorations

You will see that nearly every inch of floor in the pictures is covered with a rug. This is because the floor is plastic, and rugs are pretty. Having a fully appointed tent with rugs, to me at least, is immediately transportative. It's a small touch so different from modern camping, and in many cases
even modern homes. It's one of my favourite things that we were able to acquire, through luck at Goodwill and family gifts. The only other decorations we wanted to add were coverings for all the modern furniture as I said above, and some lanterns to hide modern lamps.

Tips from Readers

1. Make sure the stakes you have are for the ground you are going to be camping on. Tents usually don’t come with good stakes; in Trimaris with our sandy ground and windy weather, this is particularly important. Also be sure to drive the stakes deep enough.
2. Always lay down a ground tarp underneath your tent. Even if it doesn’t rain it helps keep down the wear on the tent itself. It's much easier to replace tarps than to replace a tent. This is actually something I do that I forgot to mention in the other article. The ground tarp also has the added benefit of being the tarp I use to cover the cargo in the bed of the pickup.
3. Here is a great source for more information on packing: http://caidwiki.org/index.php?title=Packing_for_Events
4. Extension cord. If you need electricity, never assume that it will be close to you. This is particularly true of people who need CPAP machines and similar. 
5. Take into consideration the incline of the area when choosing tent facing and bed placement. It sucks to get into your tent after the first day of an event and realize you have set your bed up at an angle. 
6. The SCA subreddit r/sca is a great resource with plenty of people happy to answer questions. Many of the tips on this list came from there.

Conclusion

By reader request, I’ll be going more in-depth in the near future on specific items for Norse campsites. Things like chairs, six board boxes, and even kitchen set-ups. If there are any topics you would like me to touch on in particular, let me know! I am always looking for requests.

SCA Camping 101

Introduction

Working with the SCA, especially as a Seneschal or Hospitaller, you will be asked many questions as people get situated and find their place within the group. One of the questions I get asked the most is: What do I need to bring camping? Veteran SCAdians will tell you it's not a straightforward question. What you bring entirely depends on what you do, who you are, and what you want to have with you at camp.

I know people who don't leave home without their keg and tap because their campsite is the site of many a late night party. There are others who bring only a hammock and a bag of clothes and toiletries. Neither person is wrong, they just have different needs. This is why the question is such a personal one. When I am asked this question I give a list of basic essentials that I have always found useful. I then tell them as they camp they will find things that they need which they should add to the kit, and things they don't need which they can leave at home. This article is both to address your basic needs and give newbies ideas on how to make their campsite have a little more period presence.

The Basics

This is the list of basic essentials that I tell people they should get together to make sure they don't have any nasty surprises on their first camping trip.

• Tent
• Garb (1-2 outfits for a weekend event)
• Toiletries
• Air Mattress or Cot
• Towel (Don't Forget Your Towel)
• Snacks
• A Small Cooler for your drinks
• Feast Gear
• Blankets and Bed Linens (amount and thickness depending on weather)
• First Aid Kit
• Change of clothes in a waterproof container

I also like to add a trenching tool and a hatchet to the basics, just in case. With these basics, you should be able to enjoy your even without worrying about minor inconveniences. From here, I suggest people add storage and minor furnishings to keep your tent organized and your possessions safe from leaks, and anything else that might happen. As a fighter you should add an extra change of clothes (that you fight in), your armour kit, and your basic repair kit. For more information about what I carry as my armour kit, check out my old blog post (https://ulfhedinnjourney.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-is-in-your-armour-bag.html). I went over some of the things you need for field repairs. For longer events like war you may want to take a more robust kit, because an armour malfunction can put you out for the week.

One of our first events, with Nikola and Augustine.

...And the Kitchen Sink

The next big question is: what is over preparation, or what is too much stuff? My rule of thumb is what you can comfortably carry and set up on your own. While the SCA is full of helpful people, I am a big fan of self reliance. What I mean by this is that your tent and your load should be something that you can handle on your own. This way, if you get help it’s a bonus and not a requirement.

The exception to this rule is if you are in a household or camping as a group and you  split the additional gear amongst the whole, or you are the camp cook or similar post. These things obviously will have you packing more than your needs, and your group should help you unpack.

Like your needs, ‘how much is too much’ is something that you will find organically, and it will vary wildly from person to person depending on their vehicle and capabilities.

My wife and I fill a full-size pickup truck up just for our things. It's a big part of why we have the truck in the first place. This is our comfort level, and truth be told if we could afford and store a trailer we would probably use one! I'll get more into our set up a little further down in the blog.

Home is where the heart rests

You'll notice the first thing on my list is the tent. While I know many people who only see the inside of their tent long enough to change into the next outfit and possibly catch a nap between activities, for most people the tent functions as your home away from home. In the Trimarian rain, there have been times we have spent a fair bit of time just wanting for a break. The wife and I tend to have a tent large enough that we can host company in the front area, making even the worst weather a chance to indulge in hanging out with friends. During Gulfnado a few years back, we actually ended up with a largeish group taking shelter in our tent while we waited for the worst to pass.

When picking the right tent there are three main factors to take into consideration: size, price, and weather. Size has to do with what you are comfortable setting up and what your space needs are. I always suggest that you pick a tent that you can stand up in or close to it. Getting dressed in a crouch, especially in some period clothing, is a pain in the butt. I am also going to remind you that the tent sizing guidelines (sleeps x people) are about maximum floor space, not necessarily actual space. We have had three different tents, the third was the same tent as the first bought again. In each case, we have bought a tent large enough where we can fit all of the furnishings we take as well as be able to split the space into various areas. In the case of our current tent, it's actually broken down into three 8x8 rooms. This is very convenient for us as far as comfort and how we set our things up. Essentially the first room is our main living area: armour, snacks, and seating all there. The second room is where we get dressed, and the third is our sleeping quarters. Set-up for modern tents tend to be easy enough that even larger ones can be set up by one or two people without much difficulty. This only really becomes a concern on large period tents.

The next two factors when it comes to tent are weather and price. Price is an easy enough one to understand. Buy a tent that you can afford, no need to go bankrupt. The only thing I will add to this is that if you are even moderately active in the SCA you will spend a lot of time every year in your tent. Before I opened my store and slowed down my activity, Bea and I were averaging about 30 nights a year in the tent. Keep that in mind when deciding your budget. I have a very good friend who went very cheap on her tent, and decided she hated the SCA because she tried camping in August in

One of my Dream projects is to make a tent like this one.

Central Florida in a tent that she couldn't stand up in and had no windows. Which brings me to weather: different areas have different needs when it comes to weather. Do you need a tent that will keep you warm? Something that will keep you cool? Is your area very windy? Keep all these in mind when you go to pick yours out, and don't be scared to ask questions, either of other local SCAdians or, hell, if nothing else shoot me a message on here. I’d much rather help out than you have a bad experience.

I am going to touch for a moment on period style tents vs modern tents. Period tents are prettier and they add to the Dream we are all working to build, but they are difficult to set up, difficult to store, and much more expensive. If given a choice, I will always pick the period tent, but that's because I have a pick up truck to transport the large poles and a partner and household willing to help set up. That being said, we spent $1300 on a period tent, and it served us amazingly well. No weather affected us, it wasn't hot, it wasn't even particularly bad to set up. It was, however, a huge headache to dry after events, and eventually because of storage issues during one of the rain storms here in Miami, water got into the tupper with the canvas and completely ruined it. We haven't had the money to buy a new canvas tent, but when we do, I am going to make an oilcloth bag for the canvas, even if it is in a tupper, in hopes of stopping this from happening again.

Where do we sit?

Drawings thought to be the original designs for the
Fields of Cloth of Gold Tent.

In period, especially the later periods, nobles camped essentially with an entire house worth of furniture and a wagon train of servants, the most over-the-top example being Henry VIII and his Fields of Cloth of Gold. In the SCA we don't quite go that far (although some campsites at war are amazing!), but we do expect a certain level of comfort from our homes away from home, which normally means at least some furniture. For some, this is as simple as some camp chairs and large tupper containers for their stuff. For others, it’s a chance to flex their woodworking skills and their research on what is accurate to their persona. The details are what really completes the picture, whether we are discussing garb or a campsite.

The SCA is a hobby where one builds upon their experience year to year, and it is no different when it comes to your camp. Figure out the things you need the most first and then work from there. Most of the time it will be seating first, and then storage. While it is easy to get a camp chair, and they can be comfortable, with just a little more effort you can get a chair that is period appropriate for you. A fauldstool for example is a quick build (or cheap option) that has existed throughout most of known history. This gives you an option that is easy to carry and adds to the overall look of the camp. Another option is to do things in the Viking way. A six-board box gives you storage space and doubles as a stool. This is easy enough that anyone can make it with a little bit of time. His Lordship Kelvin Alistair MacGowan in Trimaris often teaches his six-board class both in the Kingdom and at war. There are also a ton of good tutorials online, this one is based on an extant piece (http://www.angelfire.com/wy/svenskildbiter/Viking/vikchest.html). Six-board boxes also cover the next major piece of furniture most people need: storage. Simple chests work really well as a manner to carry your things to events and keep them organized when you are there, and they also have the added benefit of being stackable and as such easy to store!

Once you have gotten over these first two simple steps, the next one is completely based on your needs. I have seen amazing camp beds, closets, cabinets, and full camp kitchens. It's just a matter of what priorities are for you and what you have as a skill set.

Decorations

This is a topic that I am only going to touch on in brief detail because while the others have things that sort of stitch together many personas, decorations are as personal as it can get. A 10c Norseman and 16c courtesan would have very different ideas of what an appropriate camp decoration is. What I will suggest is some sort of heraldic display as appropriate to your persona to let people know whose camp it is. Not only will it give you a chance to display the heraldry you worked so hard on, but there is very little as inspiring in my mind as a campsite full of fluttering banners.

Conclusion

Hopefully this post gives you guys an idea of how to get started on your camping equipment, and how to expand it to enhance the Dream. When I get out to my next camping event, I will do a small follow-up on to show off Bea’s and my setup. While it isn't as period as I would like, I can make it about what I have now and the upgrades I am hoping to do in the future. Our campsite is particularly challenging because of the 600-year gap in our personas!

What does your campsite look like? What tricks do you have for camping events? Let me know in the comments below!

Tattoos in the style of the Norse

Introduction

Baldur from God of War

Odds are that when you picture a really bad ass viking person, they’re covered in runic and knotwork tattoos. This image has become ingrained in our heads as clearly as it was thought a couple of decades back that they had horned helmets. You can find tattooed vikings in almost every form of media, from video games to movies and tv shows. It’s an intrinsic part of how we view this culture, and how many people try and create a connection to the culture modernly. This means that they have become quite common on people trying to appear tough. They’re starting to become the new barbed wire tattoo. This is just my opinion, mind you, and I say this as a person with a Valknut tattoo and a few more planned.


My opinion on tattoos, regardless of inspiration or stye, is that they should mean something to the
wearer. I have never been a fan of picking something off the wall. That isn't to say that I don't understand the idea of just wanting to have a cool design on your body, just that it isn't my way of doing things.

In this article I am going to talk about two somewhat separate topics within the broader umbrella of tattoos: what do we know about tattoos historically? And what are some good sources for inspiration for Norse tattoos?

What we know, what we don't know, and what we don't know we don't know

Tattoo from Ukok Princess

Tattoos are drawn onto skin, not a medium designed to stand the test of time. When we have proof of tattoos in any culture it comes from two sources: being lucky that a body was preserved in such a way that the skin remained intact such as bog mummies or Otzi the Iceman, or secondary sources like writings and art. In both cases it is difficult to determine the reason for the tattoos, and sometimes even the image itself is lost to time. However, there are exceptions: the Ukok Princess and other bodies found in the same area all have their tattoos amazingly well preserved. They show us examples of the art used by those cultures, and placement of tattoos. I find it interesting that throughout all the intervening years, we still put tattoos more or less in the same places. Certain things don't change, even after 2500 years.

Now with the idea that proof of tattoos is difficult to find, what proof do we have that the ancient Norse used them? Hard proof: none, I have not managed to find a single reference to a Nordic Viking-age body with tattoos. While discouraging, it isn't the end of the search. We have to then move onto other source: artistic depictions and writings. In both these sources, it is difficult to know if the images on the body were tattoos or body paint. We know there is some evidence that the Norse used body paint, check out my blog post about that (https://ulfhedinnjourney.blogspot.com/2014/04/warpaint.html). This makes it quite a sticky wicket. The main source of writings about the Nordic peoples having tattoos is our old friend Ahmad Ibn Fadlan; his writings in regards to the interactions he had with the people of the North are a great source because so few written accounts exist. Ahmad had this to say about the Northmen when he met them:

Each man has an axe, a sword, and a knife and keeps each by him at all times. The swords are broad and grooved, of Frankish sort. Every man is tattooed from fingernails to neck with dark green (or green or blue-black) trees, figures, etc.

It could be warpaint, it could be tattoos. The Viking Answer Lady made a good point that what he was describing as trees could simply have been art in the Nordic style, the lines and knots are often difficult to identify. This is the best secondary source we have. I am willing to use this as evidence that it happened in the cultures that I study.

Skarby Runestone

Next, I’d like to look at cultures that the Norse had contact with that also had tattoos, which would allow us to have a pretty solid idea that they were exposed to it even if not directly. We have direct evidence of Celts with tattoos; so much so, that Britannia comes from the Latin for Land of the Painted People, and the Picts were the Painted People. We also have evidence of Bronze Age tattoo needles throughout Europe including Byzantium, where we know the Norsemen spent a lot of time. Essentially, it’s very unlikely that the people of the Viking Age didn’t have exposure on many fronts to this process.

As an interesting aside, traditional tattooing methods remained more or less unchanged for millenia. It wasn't until the tattoo machine came about that the process was revolutionized. Even still in many places with long standing traditions, tattoos are done the old way: with patience and needles.

Designs

Now that we have determined the feasibility of tattoos for the Norse, let's discuss what we all want, which is getting tattoos modernly that show off the culture we are trying to emulate. I have said it many times on this blog when looking for designs for anything: the best source for Norse art styles are the Runestones. There are hundreds of them: look at them for inspiration, take them to the shop
you are getting your tattoo done, work with your artist to see what they can do.

Dwarf Ancestor Face

Another option that is very popular are bindrunes, both ancient ones and new ones that people create for themselves. I imagine that these would have been popular since the runes contain magic, and a bindrune is almost a prayer or ward for a certain affect. It is up to you how you combine runes to get the look and meaning that you want. I may do a future blog post on constructing bindrunes.

The next idea is one that is at least partially fantasy inspired even though it did exist in Norse art: ancestor faces. Similar to the Sutton Hoo mask or any of the idols we have seen of the gods, these ancestor faces can be images of the gods themselves or ancestors whose guidance you would find particularly helpful. You can find inspiration for the art style, and create your own with the help of an artist. In addition to ancestors, you can also use the tattoo to bring you closer to animal spirits that you want to get closer to.

Sutton Hoo Helmet

The last thing I am going to get into as far as design work is a touchy subject: religious symbols. These are things like the Valknut, Thor’s Hammer, Tyr's Rune, etc. These are likely good examples of things that the Norse would have gotten tattooed on themselves, but in many cases modernly they have been taken over by white supremacist groups. I am not saying don't get them, I have a Valknut tattoo. I am saying be prepared to clear up any misunderstandings that might happen. For inspiration in these designs, I again suggest looking at runestones and extant pendants. There are lots of good silver examples.

Conclusion

That about covers everything I have for tattoos. As always, these things are just my opinions based on what I have read and studied. If you want a tattoo off the wall, go for it! Your body is a temple, decorate it however you like! If you have any questions or comments please let me know down below! Also if you have any suggestions for future topics I could use them!

Sources

Smithisonian- Tattoos History- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tattoos-144038580/
Siberian Times- Siberian Princess Reveals her 2500 year old tatoos- https://siberiantimes.com/culture/others/features/siberian-princess-reveals-her-2500-year-old-tattoos/
Viking Answer Lady- Tattoos-http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/viktatoo.shtml
Hurstwic- Health and Medicine- http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/daily_living/text/health_and_medicine.htm

Every Day Carry

When away from home one should always keep their

weapons close at hand. You can never know what troubles

you might encounter on the open road

~Havamal Stanza 38

Introduction

Let’s do something different for the first blog post of October: a look at a modern habit through the lens of our ancestors and the Havamal, the Every Day Carry (EDC). You can find hundreds of articles online discussing everything from tactical to gentlemanly EDC. Each philosophy caters to its own set of needs and what the writer thinks is most important for what one should have on them at all times. I’ll be writing about three different EDCs: my personal one, SCA events, and what I believe might have been the likely EDC of a Norse traveller in period.

Before I get into the actual nitty gritty of what each of these sets of items are, I would like to touch a little on why this is so important to me. You guys have seen me discuss the Nine Noble Virtues in the past (https://ulfhedinnjourney.blogspot.com/2013/11/nine-noble-virtues.html); one of the most important to me is Self Reliance (https://ulfhedinnjourney.blogspot.com/2016/02/nine-noble-virtues-self-reliance.html). Without it, the rest become much more difficult: if you’re constantly asking for help or searching for the right tool, it is difficult to be industrious. If you lack the confidence that being prepared brings you, it can be difficult to be courageous. I very much feel like preparation and self reliance are a good place to start on any journey.

My EDC

I split what I carry on a day-to-day basis into two groups: what I have on my person and what I carry in my truck. The first are portable items that I might need on a moment’s notice, and the second are things that would be good to have without having to go to the store. Between the two, I’m prepared for a wide variety of emergencies and situations. This split reminds of Role Playing game character sheets, where you specify what's on your horse and what your character actually has on them.

On Me

• Pocket Knife- I carry a largeish pocket knife on me. This multi-function knife can be used for

  

  Many of my EDC items were gifts from my wife
  the Credit Card Knife was no exception

  opening boxes, cutting tape or rope, and more. I find myself using it several times a week, and have a hard time understanding how people get by without one. I am so much in favour of carrying a knife at all times that it is a common present from me.
• Wallet knife- In my wallet I carry a credit card knife. This is just in case something happens to my pocket knife, or someone needs a knife while I am using mine. 
• Pocket Ninja- This thing seems gimmicky as hell: it's essentially a credit-card-sized multi-tool. It's got a can opener, a saw, screwdriver, wrench, and a few more gadgets. I have actually gotten a fair bit of use out of this. Obviously having a real screwdriver is better, but this works great in a pinch.
• Hair ties- I have long hair, so I carry two hair ties on my key carabiner.
• Bandana- I keep one in my back pocket, as it works great to keep the sweat out of your eyes, or as a rag in a pinch.

Truck

• Hatchet- I’ve had one in the truck for years now, and it has actually gotten used more than I really thought it would. It has been used to help clear brush at camping events, and to clear fallen tree limbs after a hurricane. 
• First Aid Kit- I keep a small first aid kit in the truck with basic supplies, which I’ve been lucky enough to never need. If there is an interest, I can do a post on survival supplies where I go more in depth into what I’ve put in the kit.
• Rope- I carry 50ft of rope in the truck at all times, with the full understanding that it will likely need to be cut and replaced when needed. 
• Cargo Net- I find this an ideal way to strap down large loads of cargo, better than fussing with a dozen tie-downs.
• Tie Downs- Of course, the above doesn't mean I don't carry tie downs. Some ratcheting and some bungee cords are always good to have on hand.
• Basic Tool Box- A couple of screwdrivers, a hammer, a pair of pliers, box cutter, and a small saw.
• Auto care necessities- Jumper Cables, Spare Tire, Cross Tire Iron, Jack, etc

With these items on me and my truck, I can handle a wide variety of emergencies. I don't expect myself to need the stuff in the truck often, but when I do, it has made all the difference in the world to have them available, and it has definitely saved a ton of time and made things easier on me. The carrying and maintenance of the kits is a small investment for the benefits they provide: I gathered my supplies and stored them, and feel ready for anything within the normal scope.

SCA 

In the SCA, you spend a ton of time wandering around and on the move. I won’t be going into our camping supplies here; instead, keep an eye out for a future post on what I bring to events. This will just be what I carry on my person during an SCA event, with the idea of being able to tackle a variety of issues that might arise while I am about.

• Small Knife- ALWAYS CARRY A KNIFE. Seriously, they don't take a ton of space. They
  
  were absurdly common in period, and there's always something (maybe even someone?) that needs to be cut. 
• Hair Ties- Still have long hair. Carry two. Murphy’s Law says one will break. 
• Wallet- This includes the pocket ninja and the wallet knife.

In the SCA, I am surrounded by people who are also prepared for a wide variety of emergencies. I also have my campsite close by, which is essentially a home away from home as far as supplies. This means that aside from the absolute basics, I don’t need to carry very much on my person to be ready for things.

A Traveller in Norse times

A person travelling during the Viking Age would’ve had to carry with them everything they needed to keep them going along the road. This would include weapons, camping supplies, food, clothing, and more. In previous blog posts, I have discussed the weapons and armour that were required to be considered a warrior in the later armies of the Nordic regions, I’ll leave that part out of this. Instead, I’ll discuss what we have found as grave goods, or seen discussed, that would count as your everyday travelling needs. As always, these are my theories based on what I have seen and read, and my basic understanding of what a person needs to camp.

To survive a distant journey, one would need to carry enough food, or be able to hunt or fish for your own food. We have evidence that shows that the Norse hunted using bows; in fact, that was the primary use for them at the time. It would also be a good idea to carry rope for setting snares when making camp for the night, as this would be a good passive way of getting more food.

On their person, a traveller might carry a small knife, and we have found many examples of utility

Extant Blades fromYork.

knives in grave goods (SEE? KNIFE!). We have also found firestarters and small grooming kits, which would make sense for people to carry. I’ve seen it discussed that the items that needed to stay dry would be carried in seal skin or some kind of treated fabric to ensure protection from the elements.

For camping, we know that the Norse liked to use A-frame tents. I have some difficulty seeing how that might be carried on a horse due to the large size of the ridge poles, but it would be quite easy to use the fabric from an A-frame to set up a lean-to, which would allow them to not carry so much bulky lumber.

Conclusion

EDC is not a new concept, even if the term as “trending” is pretty new. We have always had the idea, historically, that we need to have certain things with us at all times to be ready for whatever might come our way. Modernly, this has somewhat fallen by the wayside as the convenience of stores and cell phones makes us feel like any help we need is within easy reach. While this isn’t entirely wrong, it’s also very easy to find yourself in a situation where those modern conveniences no longer work. A dead zone of cell service with a car problem, or a power outage caused by a hurricane are situations that can happen even in “developed countries”. My family and I spent over a week without power in a recent hurricane, and after the hurricane passed, large portions of my EDC were put to use clearing roadways in our HOA. My pocket knife finds use several times a week: need to open a box? Got it. Need to mark lumber or cut rope? Done. Would it be life changing to have to go and find a tool to do these things? No, but it does slow me down. That limits my industriousness.

What’s your EDC? Is there something you never leave home without? Let me know in the comments below!

Heraldry for Vikings

Introduction

For many of us, the first images that come to mind when we think of tournaments and knights are brightly-coloured shields and devices on tents and banners. When the SCA was first founded, it was this high medieval ideal that inspired much of what was done. Each person wanted their own device, and for their shields to be recognized across the field. Towards that end, the SCA College of Heralds was formed and codified the rules which we use today for the registration of names, badges, and devices.

To go along with the Artuhrian high medieval ideals of chivalry and knights, the College decided upon the French rules of heraldry, which are the most common and widely used. This gave everyone a good basis to start with, and fit the needs of the majority of personas. With the passing of time, we have seen that sometimes the rules make it difficult for people to make a device that truly fits them. The good thing is that we allow a ton of artistic license for people who are creative enough to work within the rules to develop something that matches their persona. I have seen some really well done Japanese mon that were based on the blazon of European device. In this blog post, I’ll be discussing the best ways (in my opinion) to create a device that matches a Norse persona during the Viking Age.

Before getting into the nitty gritty of how to make a device, I would like to talk about the application process. As a Herald, I always tell applicants that a perfect application with no issues takes about nine months, but that a year is a reasonable timeline for one in which nothing is rejected. The reason for this long process is because every submission to the College of Heralds has to go through at least two different commentary stages, each of which is about a month long. The steps in your normal submission process are: application to your local or kingdom Herald, internal commentary (commentary from other Heralds within your Kingdom, which isn’t done every month, so it might take a little bit for yours to be commented on), external commentary (from all the Heralds in the Knowne World), and finally, if it has passed both of these steps, it will be placed to review by the College of Arms for final decision on the submission. Each of these steps can take 6-10 weeks.

You might ask why we go through so many steps and commentary periods. The answer is a short one: submissions can be very complicated, and no one Herald knows everything about everything. The commentary periods allows other Heralds to catch mistakes and conflicts that might otherwise have been missed. Each person’s device or name is important to them, and it is the job of the College to make sure that it is unique to them and follows the period patterns for the submission.

SCA Rules 101

I am not going to delve very far into the specifics of the SCA rules; this is just a quick review of things that you should know as you start your design process. A great introduction to the rules can be found in this primer https://heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/h4f.shtml, and most local groups have a Herald as an officer that can help you with your questions. I am also happy to answer any questions you might have in the comments section below.

When creating a device, it is best to think of it as a photoshop project with multiple layers. This will help you understand some of the rules that we will discuss as we continue. For example your device can have a maximum of three layers. If you stack more than three things, it will automatically be

Alejandro de Leon
A great example of simple design that is recognizeable

returned to be redesigned.

Tinctures
Tinctures are the different colours that can be used in devices. We use the term ‘tincture” because we actually split the 7 that we use into 5 colours and 2 metals. The colours are Blue (Azure), Green (Vert), Purple (Purpure), Black (Sable), and Red (Gules). The Metals are White/Silver (Argent), and Yellow/Gold (Or). The reason for this split is to make it easy to create rules that will help create devices that have good contrast and visibility. Even modernly, these rules are followed in an unwritten sense by graphic designers and marketing gurus. Certain colours are just easier to see, or stand out more when paired with others.

This brings us to our next rule from what we call the instabounce list: when layering, you can not have a colour on a colour or a metal on a metal. This means that if the background of your device is a colour, then the charge you place upon it must be a metal and vice versa.

Charges
Charges can be best described as the objects you place upon the field of your device, which can be animals, shapes, or things. Usually when people think of a device, the first thing they picture is the charge. Whether it's the gold Fleur de Lis of France, the Lion of England, or the White Tree of Gondor, they tend to be the meat and potatoes of the device. Please check out the primer above for a good list of how charges can be placed on fields.

Alejandro's device above is a good example of charge groups. The primary charge is the red bar (called a bend sinister) and the white dots are the secondary charge (called plates).

Complexity
Devices, as they are used in the SCA and as they were used in the 14c and 15c, are meant to be easily identifiable at a distance. They need to let people know who you are at a glance. Towards that end,

Beatrice Whitcombe

they can not be overly complicated otherwise the details get muddied. To facilitate this, the College of Heralds has the rule of complexity: no device can have a complexity higher than eight. Complexity is calculated by counting each tincture and different charge.

For example, my wife’s device is 3 bees on a gold field with a black border. She has two charge types (the bees and the border) and two tinctures (gold and black), which gives her a complexity of four.

Conflict
One of the main things being searched for throughout all those commentary periods is conflict. The Heralds are looking to make sure that your device is unique, and doesn’t conflict with any of the other devices that have been registered. A device is considered to be free of conflict if it doesn’t come within two steps of difference from another similar device. Conflict can be a very difficult thing to understand, since certain types of charges are considered to be close enough to conflict even if they are different. A good example is hounds, wolves, and foxes. These are all different animals, but at a distance they can be easily confused. As a good rule of thumb, minor differences are things like positions of charges, secondary charges, and tinctures, which can be used to differentiate between devices that are similar.

Norse it Up!

All these rules are great if you are looking to do a 14c or 15c persona along the style of a crusader or an English knight. The real question here is how do us pre-heraldry personas get to join the heraldry fun so people know who we are!

First off, it's important to know that your device -no matter how you design it- will have to be submitted in a 14c art style. Don’t be discouraged! You are allowed to change the art style after it has passed, as long as it is still recognizable as what you have blazoned. That is to say any changes you make to the art style are not so drastic as to change what the description of the image would be.  At the end of this section,I will share my device both as submitted and how I display it now.

Tullstorp Runestone showing a wolf.

Second, let's talk charges! Like I said before, it’s the meat and potatoes of the device and as a culture
that believes in the spirits of things, charges could be almost like a totem. This lets you have a good reason for rallying under a certain banner. When it comes to choosing a charge for a Viking Age device, first consider things that actually existed during this time period, and were important to them. Another good starting point is to look at the rune stones and other surviving art from the period to see what possible charges were depicted. For animals, the easy ones to think of are wolves, ravens, bears, and dragons, but don’t forget that the Norse were known for using kennings (poetic phrases used to describe people or places), which means that a small person could easily take a rabbit or squirrel as their device, with squirrels having the bonus of representing Ratatoskr who lives in the world tree. Large or slow people could take an aurochs or turtle. These are just some examples for how a device can be used to represent either a part of you, or a trait you wish to embody. This is different from later heraldry, where it tended to be passed down, and as such was more about the lineage and family rather than the individual.

Next step, art styles! We are fortunate that the runestones depict so many different things, and allow us a good look into the art styles of the time period. With a little research and creativity, you can take any charge you can think of and redraw it in an art style that would fit in during the Viking Age. Word of warning: not all knotwork is the same; there are differences between the Book of Kells and Runestone art. Both are beautiful, but they come from different cultures.

At last, you have done your research, designed both your submission and the Norse version, and it has passed! What do you with your awesome new piece of heraldry? Why, display it of course! There are tons of ways to use your new heraldry on camp that go just beyond painting it on your shield. In period, the sails of a ship were thought to have been used as canvas for tents, and what’s more intimidating than a ship with the device of the person that is coming to raid you prominently displayed on the sails?! You could also craft yourself a banner in the Norse style. Both of these are good ways to let people know who’s camp they are seeing. These types of touches also go a long way towards improving the overall period appearance of a campsite, and allow us all to dive a little deeper into the Dream.

Conclusion

As always, it is important to note that this is just how I do/see things. Heraldry is a part of the game, but it is not required for most aspects of the game. In the SCA, you can always participate as much or as little as you want. This is also my opinion on how to take something that would be out of period for most Nordic folks and bring it somewhat in line with their styles and appearance. You can do your heraldry any way you want; the most important part is that you are having fun and it looks good to you!


If you have an example of an SCA-approved heraldry that has been converted to Norse, please share it in the comments!


Here are mine!

The original submission in a 14c style.
Yes, it is missing the roundel that was added later.

Edit: Two important things were pointed out to me.
1- The Viking Answer Lady has a great article where she goes very deep into the art and extant Viking Age shields. She also has a handy chart of charges. Check it out at: http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/vikheraldry.shtml

2- Many people want to put a shield boss on their device since their shield will have one. You make your device without the boss, and if you want design around the idea it will be there. However it makes no sense to try and add it to the actual art.

The design I currently use on my shields and banners.
Wolves based on the Tulstorp Runestone.