Ravens Croft Events

22/07/2024

22/07/2024

19/07/2024

Pop down this Sunday 11am - 4pm
For Stanwick Lakes Boat show
Our amazing 22ft Viking boat called Njord will be there and the best viking wood work display you will ever see.

05/05/2024

She is the godess of the sea well The Battle of Middle Nene lol

30/04/2024

Was a good afternoon 🌞☺️

26/03/2024

THE CREATION OF THE COSMOS according to Norse mythology a brief introduction

The Norse creation myth or cosmogony (an account of the origins of the cosmos) is perhaps one of the richest in all of world literature.
The Origin of the Cosmos
Before there was soil, or sky, or any green thing, there was only the gaping abyss of Ginnungagap. This chaos of perfect silence and darkness lay between the homeland of elemental fire, Muspelheim, and the homeland of elemental ice, Niflheim.
Frost from Niflheim and billowing flames from Muspelheim crept toward each other until they met in Ginnungagap. Amid the hissing and sputtering, the fire melted the ice, and the drops formed themselves into Ymir the first of the godlike but destructive giants. Ymir was a hermaphrodite and could reproduce asexually; when he slept, more giants leapt forth from his legs and from the sweat of his armpits.
As the frost continued to melt, a cow, Audhumla emerged from it. She nourished Ymir with her milk, and she, in turn, was nourished by salt-licks in the ice. Her licks slowly uncovered Buri the first of the Aesir tribe of gods. Buri had a son named Bor , who married Bestla , the daughter of the giant Bolthorn . The half-god, half-giant children of Bor and Bestla were Odin, who became the chief of the Aesir gods, and his two brothers, Vili and Ve.
Odin and his brothers slew Ymir and set about constructing the world from his co**se. They fashioned the oceans from his blood, the soil from his skin and muscles, vegetation from his hair, clouds from his brains, and the sky from his skull. Four dwarves, corresponding to the four cardinal points, held Ymir’s skull aloft above the earth.
The gods eventually formed the first man and woman, Ask and Embla, from two tree trunks, and built a fence around their dwelling-place, Midgard, to protect them from the giants.
for more information and see the reference for this txt
https://norse-mythology.org/tales/norse-creation-myth/

25/03/2024

We are off to Christopher reeves primary school.

03/03/2024

Update on this year’s Gathering of kings event:

Unfortunately due to issues with East Carlton Countryside Park the event has had to be cancelled for this year, i know this is disappointing to many least of all us.
However it not all bad news, we are in final negotiations to hold the event next year at Stanwick Lakes which is a unique 750 acre nature reserve and countryside attraction located in the heart of Northamptonshire's Nene Valley, this is also to become the new training ground for our Viking group Jotunns Wrath and a permanent home for their long ship. we have also put forward plans to start building our Viking long house and other wonderful things are planned for the future.
Next years event will be worth the wait and were very excited to be able to stage it in a fantastic new location, there is more space and way better facility’s for the Viking groups / traders and of course the general public.
We will be posting lots more info on the event for 2025 as we get things finalised, and will keep you all posted with all and any news.
Huge thanks to everyone who is and has supported us so far, we aim to make the event next year an epic one and well worth the wait.

Remember always follow the Raven

Everyone

30/01/2024

Hi everyone I know there are a lot of you asking about this year's Gathering of Kings event, we are in the process of finalizing some details on it this week, sorry for the delay but the wait will be worth it, hopefully have some exciting news by end of next week. Thanks for your continued support and interest.

24/01/2024

18/11/2023

We had a great time as a group today at Arm and Torm markets, i was asked by a new member about tableware and in particular about Horn Tableware for living history displays.
Horns are perhaps THE item perceived as a big part of viking culture, so the public are usually very interested in any horns on show.
For table ware the use of a prepared horn for straight forward drinking horns is obvious but other uses such as bowls and tankards are more dubious.
horn is made of keratin, which is the same stuff that your finger and toes nails are made of. This does not survive well in the archaeological record as it rots very quickly. As such it could be argued that the number of horn finds are not entirely representative of the volume in actual use.

Shaping Horn
Horn becomes pliable when heated in oil and can be shaped over formers. Subsequently dishes and bowls can be formed, however, the technology to keep the horn within the required temperature range to do this without damaging it is a modern technique.

Small horn eating size spoons are similarly questionable on authenticity grounds.

So horn bowls can be fine to eat from but best avoided in living history displays

18/11/2023

Today we are off to the re enactors markets ARM and TORM so if you see any of us in one of these tee shirt make sure and say Hi and don't forget always follow the Raven

31/10/2023

How Ravens Came To Be Black truth or fairy tale?

Once upon a time and long ago, Odin was walking under the branches of Yggdrasil when two ravens swooped down and settled upon his shoulders. The raven on his left was white as the mists of Niflheim (for back then, all ravens were white), and his eyes mirrored the clouds. The raven on his right glistened in the sun like the snows of Jotunheim, and looked at him with bright clear eyes. And Odin called the raven to his right Hugin, which means Thought, and the other one he named Munin, which means Memory. As the days passed, Hugin and Munin matched the All-father's curiosity for everything in the Nine Worlds, flying around and watching and listening to whatever they could, and in the evenings, they returned to him to tell him all they had seen and heard in the long hours of the day. They told him about the slow thoughts of the mountains, the colorful and ever-changing memories of men, and the sound of the song in the heart of everything that lives.

And though Odin delighted in the knowledge they brought, he always felt they had missed something, and he said, “That was much, but not yet enough. Tomorrow you must fly again. Try to rest now.” And the ravens slept uneasily, not knowing what they had missed, and every morning, they flew out again.

There came one of many evenings after another long day when they had once again seen all that Sunna's shine could show, had listened to all men's bright thoughts in Midgard, and read their waking memories, when Hugin said to Munin, “We cannot return yet . It is not enough. We must go farther.” And they flew on into the night.

And Hugin flew through the dark dreams of mankind and heard their thoughts which they dared not think during the daytime, not even before themselves. He winged through the black void between the stars where there was nothing at all, and on to the twilight world of the future, where there is equally nothing and everything at once. And when he returned, his feathers, from tip to tip, were black as the night. And Munin flew through the minds of men into the shady corners and cellars where they had hidden all the things they did not like, and locked them away, saying “I do not remember.” He soared through the sightless void of Ginnungagap, and on and on until he arrived at the ashes of Ragnarok which obscured this age from the next. And when he returned, his feathers, from beak to tail, were as black as soot.

The ravens returned to Odin just before the break of morning, when the night is at its darkest, and when they settled back on his shoulders, he knew all that they had seen, and they did not need to tell. And he understood what had been missing, and nodded, and said, “It is much, and it is enough. For tonight. You may rest.” And the ravens blinked drowsily into the first rays of the rising sun which glinted on their now black feathers, tucked their beaks under their wings, and slept very well.

Since that time, all ravens have been seen to be as black as a shadow on a starless night. Very rarely it happens that somebody catches a glimpse of a white raven, and should you ever be lucky enough to see one, you’ll know that you have wandered far off and back into the land of memory, before ravens came to be black.
(By Michaela Mach-a wikipedia)

06/10/2023

Fantastic News, Ravens Croft Events is happy to anounce Gathering of Kings 2024 is confirmed with East Carlton park and the event will take place on 15th 16th June 2024.

For all traders and re-enactment groups that wish to take part, there will be a FB Group setup just for you wich will have all relavent information and booking forms ect, as soon as this is up and running we will post details.

Dont forget Ravens Croft Events moto, dont just watch history be part of it.
follow the Raven