Primary School Display

We have a display package which is especially designed for primary school age kids. It does not focus as much on the events and politics of the period, instead presenting the three main groups and demonstrating who they were and how they fought. We end with an opportunity for the kids to get some hands-on experience under supervision with the armour, weapons, games and crafts from the Dark Ages period.

The Vikings

We begin with the Vikings and explain that there was more to them than raiding and pillaging. We dress a teacher up in Viking clothes, weapons and armour, explaining how popular myths such as horned helmets arose. We also show the Viking female costume, and very briefly demonstrate the role of women in Viking society, explaining how the Vikings demonstrated their wealth in jewellry.

As an illustration of Viking society and laws, we perform a Holmgang - a Norse trial-by-combat with axes, swords and shields.

The Saxons

We move then to the Saxons, and show how a Saxon warrior is armed - again with a volunteer from the audience. We explain how the Saxons arrived in England, and cover at a basic level the social structure of oaths of allegiance. The Saxon female costume is presented, and we show how the Saxons demonstrated their wealth in decoration.

The second fight is between two Saxon warriors, using spears, seaxes and shields.

The Normans

Finally we introduce the Normans, and explain how the Norman state was formed by Vikings settling in northern France. We show the equipment and outfitting of a Norman Knight, and the Norman female costume, explaining how the Normans demonstrated their wealth in waste. The Norman adoption of Christianity is also explained.

A fight between two Norman knights is shown, using kite shields, swords and daggers.

Challenge Fight

Lastly, just for a bit of fun, we end with the Challenge Fight. Volunteers are picked from the audience, and members of our display fighting team engage in single combat on behalf of the volunteers. Audience members are encouraged to cheer for their favourite fighter.

Conclusion

The display ends with Questions and Answers, then we split the audience into several groups, depending on the number of kids. We rotate them between two and four separate stations. At one station, the kids get the opportunity to try on the armour and hold the weapons (under close supervision). At the others we present a variety of Dark Ages topics such as Home Life, Games, or Art and Craft. This is a chance for the kids to get some real hands-on experience with Dark Ages life.