Stamford Bridge

My kit for this weekend is darn near finished. With the progress that I have made, I should be able to fight in it at Crapaud tomorrow night. In the spirit of these two coming events, I am going to write about The Battle of Stamford Bridge, and the inspiration I found in reading the tale. These are the words that I will speak at the opening of Crapaud. For those who don't know, Stamford Bridge was where the Saxons beat the Vikings days before the Battle of Hastings between the Saxons and Normans.

"With the battle of Hastings upon us this weekend, I come prepared today as I will be this Saturday, in the semblance of a Norman persona (as best as I could with minimal time and resources). Many, if not all of you know the history of the battle, as well as the battle only days before. The battle at Stamford Bridge. As I did research to complete this kit I became inspired by a tale of this earlier battle.

So the story goes, a lone Norseman and his axe stood on the bridge to delay the Saxon army from crossing. The unnamed Norseman was said to have bested 40 Saxons before being cut down from beneath the bridge, by a spear. Weather this tale is true or not is unknown, but it is stories like this that draw me closer to this hobby of ours. Sacrificing his life, in a feat of heroics, so that his Viking brothers could organize, and have a possibility of defeating the Saxons.

Despite the outcome of the battle, I toast such heroics. May the coming battle bring us closer to our ancient brothers in arms, that we may have the chance to celebrate the heroes of history, that they may be remembered for all time."

Cheers!