The Mask(S) and Transformers of Historical Re-Enactment: Material Culture and Contemporary Vikings

The paper discusses the role of material culture for his- torical re-enactors of the Viking Age. Three issues are analysed: (a) the clothing and accessories worn by a typical contemporary warrior, craftsman and woman of the Viking times and the range of goods available for purchase at historical re-enactment markets, (b) the active and transformative aspect of material culture for present-day Vikings, (c) the paradox of how mirroring the material past by historical re-enactors is actually a deeply ahistorical category. The main con- clusion of this study is that historical re-enactment of the Viking Age is essentially about material culture. The paper is based on observations made during the Viking Week that took place at the Museum of Fote- viken (Sweden) on 24–30 June 2013.