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Honoring the Vikings

| 24 Oct 2012 | 04:01
    Evan Casaleggio, 8, of Stockholm, thinks about his next move during a game of Hnefatafl with his father, John.
    Evan Casaleggio, 8, of Stockholm, thinks about his next move during a game of Hnefatafl with his father, John.
    Vernon's first runestone was constructed at the Nordic House to honor the goddess Freya, who is depicted on the stone.
    Vernon's first runestone was constructed at the Nordic House to honor the goddess Freya, who is depicted on the stone.
    Norsewind's singer and main songwriter Danjul Norse.
    Norsewind's singer and main songwriter Danjul Norse.
    Photos by Scott Baker Lafayette resident Barry Vaughan attempts to knock down an opponent's pawns in a game of kubb, a kind of Viking lawn chess.
    Photos by Scott Baker Lafayette resident Barry Vaughan attempts to knock down an opponent's pawns in a game of kubb, a kind of Viking lawn chess.

By Scott Baker

VERNON — Vernon’s Nordic House celebrated their 2nd Annual Winter Nights Festival on Oct. 21.

In between cooking Swedish meatballs and baking Kringle, half-Swedish/half-Norwegian owner Gary Martinsen unveiled Vernon Township’s first runestone at the event.

Runestones — raised stones carved with characters of the Old Norse alphabet, or "runes" — often included carved drawings commemorating a person or event. Martinsen’s stone, still unfinished, depicts an image of Freya, the Norse Goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, war, death and the harvest. Due to the recent rains, Martinsen was unable to complete the lettering of the stone, which stands in the front lawn of the bakery and coffeehouse, before the event.

The image of Freya as harvester most closely relates to the Winter Nights Festival, which was originally celebrated to give thanks to the gods for a successful harvest and ask for protection from the harsh, northern winter. “As she is the goddess of the harvest,” Martinsen said, “dedicating our first runestone to Freya seemed most appropriate.”

Martinsen said he thinks it would be fitting to have runes all over town as Vernon is the home of the vikings. “I think it would make another reason for tourists to come to Vernon,” he said. Regardless of where they end up, Martinsen hopes to build and carve one runestone per year.

Fun and games

Norsewind, a Scandinavian/Celtic folk band from Berks County, Pa., returned to Vernon for this year’s event. Danjul Norse, singer, guitarist and songwriter for the band, said that he met Martinsen at the Budd Lake Scandinavian Festival last year and they became fast friends. Norse says he taps into his Nordic and Irish roots when he writes the music, hoping to “revitalize the culture of old Scandinavia.” Norsewind has played at each of Martinsen’s two festivals. Norse says “We’ll be back next year, if [Martinsen] will have us," said Norse.

Martinsen also set up areas to play two authentic Scandinavian games. Kubb, sometimes described as “Viking lawn chess,” is a mix of horseshoes and bowling and requires players to throw batons at opposing players’ pawns, or kubbs, before toppling the king.

Hnefatafl, literally translated as table game, is an ancient predecessor of chess. One player starts with pieces in the center of the board and the other surrounds the middle player. The object for the center team is to escape the playing field with their king (the centermost piece) while the outside team’s objective is to capture the king. Martinsen says the game “stresses strategy like no other,” as the outside team’s pieces outnumber the inside by a 2-1 ratio.

Martinsen hopes these festivals will help local residents clear some common misconceptions about Nordic culture, which he said is often misconstrued by stereotypes. “The Vikings had an agrarian society not unlike ours,” Martinsen said, which is one of the reasons he began holding the festival last year.

While the media often depicts Vikings as a warmongering society, Martinsen explained, “the nine virtues of the Viking are courage, truth, honor, fidelity, discipline, hospitality, self-reliance, industriousness and perseverance,” which he said are universally sound traits.