The Overview
Wychwood may be the start of your time as a re-enactor but it certainly doesn't have to be the end! The UK is home to thousands of re-enactors from pre-historic to the Gulf War. Different periods tend to be different in their organisation, how events are run, and in numbers. The whole lot is represented, at least nominally, by the National Association of Re-Enactment Societies (NAReS).
Our period (re-enactors call it "Dark Ages" usually, but generally covering the years 800-1066 AD) is dominated by two large societies - Regia Anglorum and The Vikings!. These groups have memberships in the hundreds, across the country (and even further beyond). There are also slightly smaller groups, though still very large, which may be more regional in nature.
These larger groups are often divided into regional chapters, that organise and support local members. You'll also find at this level local groups independent of big national societies. These are vastly varied, from student societies (like us!) to specialised groups.
Major Dark Ages Societies
As said before there are two major national societies for Dark Age Re-enactment:
- The Vikings! are the oldest and largest Dark Age re-enactment society in the UK, founded in the ancient year of 1971. It is also perhaps the society you'll find the most former Wychwooders in, as a number have joined over the years. They have chapters all across the country. The closest one to Wychwood would be Ulfhrafnar, based in and around Oxfordshire.
- Regia Anglorum are the second largest society in the UK, they split off from The Vikings! in 1986 in an attempt to be more authentic (this was back in the days where The Vikings! were called the Norse Film and Pageant Society, which as the name might imply were not necessarily keen on accuracy). Like The Vikings they have chapters across the country, the nearest one to Wychwood being Hwitmearum. The Regia documents page does have a great trove of guides about authentic kit and gear, which are well worth looking at.
Medium and Smaller Societies
As also said there are many smaller independent groups across the country, a few that might be worth taking a look at are:
- The Dark Ages Society are a friendly and dedicated bunch of re-enactors who meet up to recreate Anglo-Saxon and Viking society in Britain before the Norman Conquest. You'll find a couple of Wychwooders among them as well. They do a number of events across the year.
- Holmbury 2007 was a DAS event a few Wychwooders attended.
Other Societies
Note: These are societies which were added here a long time ago and we can't today vouch for them. They often have good resources but be mindful.
- Anglecynn is an Anglo-Saxon Living History group primarily concerned with the period 400 to 900AD. The site has some interesting information on early Anglo-Saxon history.
- Bran They specialise in Irish re-enactment from the 9th to the 11th century. The site is available in English as well as Russian.
- Conquest is a society dedicated to recreating the Anglo-Norman period of English history from the Battle of Hastings up until the signing of the Magna Carta (1066 to 1215AD).
- Drużyna Grodu Trzygłowa are a Slavic reenactment group from Poland.
- Hurstwic are a Viking group from New England who have an excellent website for kit and combat resources. One of them has written a book about Viking weapons and combat.
- Jorvikingi are a small group based at Murton Park, Snorri is a member and it is in many respects thanks to their building efforts that Hauksby looks so nice.
- Re-enactment Societies Summary is a list of links to other re-enactment societies hosted by the University of Atlantia, a subgroup of the SCA. Most of the societies listed are UK based.
- Ða Engliscan Gesiþas are not re-enactors as such, but a society for those interested in all aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture, society, language and history.
- The Viking Age Club & Society - Sons of Norway are a group of North Americans who not only fight and quaff but also aim to educate people about Viking history and culture
- Vicus is a Roman and Britain re-enactment society with some nice kit resources for the period.
Please report dead links to the webmaster on the discord or by emailing the society account
