No, no...Don't get me wrong! I like it! I found it to be ...unusual...that's all. But unusual in a good way. Your girlfriend did a fine job! Absolutely no disrespect intended!............McM

Hmm... Just got reminded of this excerpt from the Saga of King Sverre for some reason (leader of the 'Birch-legs', king of Norway in the late 12th century):

Quote:

"But [the Jemtlendings] had split in three packs and surrounded the king... ...Then said King Sverre to his men: 'Use the same war-cry and rallying-cry as you hear the Jemtlendings have, and get through their army and out onto the island as soon as you can'... ...There was a big battle and a hard fight. But there was so dark because of the night that no-one could recognize each other. Then the Birch-legs got out of the crowd of farmers and up onto the island. The farmers didn't notice this so soon, but continued to fight among themselves for a long time. Then it had almost become day. But when the farmers stopped fighting and noticed it was each other they killed, the Birch-legs attacked them so violently that they drew away... ...There fell almost a hundred men of the Jemtlendings, and a host of wounded. King Sverre had a hundred men and the Jemtlendings had twelve hundred."

I found the 'galloping off on the axe' at the end to be very surreal. Such is the touch of all artistic film-makers. :D Very well done.........Also...Define ''Birch-legs"...?.......That was a good strategic move!...............McM

Birch-legs, Norwegian name is Birkebeinene. A group that sprung up during the Norwegian civil war. Under king Sverre they rose to become the ruling power of Norway and eventually ended the civil war era under his grandson.

I thought it might imply some sort of wooden leg armor....maybe some sort of splinted wooden greaves? Yes? No?.....McM

No, a nickname they got because they early on were so poor they were said to have to use birch bark on their feet because they couldn't afford shoes.

Okay...I'll stop derailing the thread now and let you guys get on with your war games talk. :) .........McM

If no one has mentioned it, there's a wonderful documentary called To Go Viking, which deals with medieval reenactment. Also, there are some medieval combat organizations which are popping up. Here's a link to a story on them I found some time ago. http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/the-wild-...e-20140922

Like Baard I have been to quite a few of the Scandinavian events and this kind of "milsim" works really well. I have also been to a event called "Bexbach 1474 - Call to arms" where the milsim element is even more prominent. Several days, large scale deployment of armoured troops on a large area. Noone knows where the enemy is at, attacks can occur any time, also at night. Gun skirmishes in dense forest, large formations in fields, cavallery shocks. Of course the reason this works is that everyone have more or less the same idea of how this can be conducted in a safe and fun way. And strict rules. But as long as the goal is to have fun there is no problem with safety, even with steel weapons and black powder.