I have the go-ahead to put in the down payment on a custom bow by Saluki...the foremost maker of 'horse bows' out there. It is a three hundred dollar investment and non-refundable so certainty is a must. Total cost...likely to be right around the eight hundred mark. Not including anything like extra strings or what have you. I can pay a bit along as we go thankfully; each bow is hand crafted.
I'm after the Scythian style, probably the fifty eight inch tall version with a sixty..or maybe sixty five..pound draw at thirty inches draw length. Why Scythian? I like the looks, and the shape of the bow..and I have a thing for Scythian culture. The bow is the essential 'cupid' shape, when strung, that one finds in Roman artwork, although these replicas are not quite that stylized. Enough though, certainly enough.
It would be my most powerful bow..and the highest quality bow I own. Have ever owned. Fiberglass is used instead of sinew in the construction..this makes the bow far more weather resistant than the traditional materials..and far, far cheaper. About a third the cost.
The more I go about Rangering, the more comfortable I feel as a woman carrying an eastern style bow...they are smaller, better in brush, lighter, just as powerful, and far easier to carry being suited to a bow case for the purpose. They are easily used mounted...although really, any bow can be used mounted; look at the bows of the Samurai after all. Perhaps not so gracefully in full flight but I have seen Japanese horse archers do amazingly graceful things with those long, elegant bows.
For me, the eastern bow is a better style for my needs. I've been eyeballing quivers and bags too. Over the shoulder is definitely recorded in Tolkien's works...but as a practical matter while hunting, not the best solution...movement is exaggerated by the need to reach over the shoulder, and game is generally geared to watching for movements out of the ordinary. The arrow bag allows a very nice and practical draw....as does a belt quiver with the heads upright...but the bag is out of the way on the back, it does not get snagged so easily by brush, and with a bottom opening, the one is again drawing by the head onto the bow. This is grand for hunting...but if you are going to war and need many more arrows the bag begins to show its limitations. So perhaps a compromise between the two...similar to...oh, some of the eastern quiver designs perhaps? I do believe they ran into these same situations and came up with some rather elegant designs.
Either way, I can incorporate Elven and Númenorean influences easily enough. After all, both races 'awoke' in the East; Elves on the shores of Cúivenen and Men somewhere unknown, but their traditions and records show a westward migration from their earliest memories. The Easterlings are still there as of the Third Age of the world, still there here in the Fourth.
Did Rangers ever use such bows? Probably not since the Dúnedain Rangers of the Third Age were the remnants of the people of Arnor, Elendil's kingdom in Endor and from around the western area of Eriador. The old Númenorean steel bows of such legend and strength had long been lost along with the secret of their making. Elven bows are more akin to a reflex-deflex style..or even recurve..than 'horse bow'...although a case could probably be made...weakly.
Still, I am not here dealing with Tolkien reenactment, not entirely. I am also dealing with real needs and considerations..and for that the horse-bow is much the better choice in my mind.
In the Second Age, the 'age' of Númenor, we are informed that their legions..and they were called legions...used axe, spear, bow primarily..with a shortsword as a backup. By the time of the ending of the Second Age, longer swords were in common use but the shortsword and the need wallet were still present. The spear as well..although apparently they were not as well known for archery as they once had been. Of the axe there is little mention beyond the earlier comments. However, a hand axe is a useful thing so I keep that in my kit.
I have spears, but nothing like the ones used in the histories. I have a shortsword...and that I *will* use as it makes far more sense in the forests and brushlands and for an archer than some big hand and a half sword. These are more the product of PJs mind in making the films than anything described in print.....HOWEVER....Elves were rather taller than Men...and Númenoreans taller than most other Men...so a 'long sword' for any of them could be construed to be equivalent to a hand and a half sword for us normal folk. So those who adore that whole knightly thing can rest easy. ;)
Me, I am a Ranger...Forandir...and I live in Rándiromar Anduina, a pretty quiet and somewhat rustic place with lots of brush and a bit of forest to with it...forested hills. The simpler form works for me. Eastern style bow and probably quiver, shortsword, long knife, belt axe, and of course clothing...which I already touched on before.
As I experiment and gain experience I will, naturally, adjust and modify things. Records of that will be posted here now and again.
Vendui!
Siani
The Ranger-Harper of Minhiriath
Friday, December 30, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Explore
I am still not entirely convinced that skirts are completely impractical....IF they are no more than about knee length. One might wear long hosen with them of course but that would be dependent on the person and the season.
I have worn dresses in the forest...full length medieval style dresses...although when I say full length I do not mean dragging on the floor..I mean about ankle height. While this can be done, especially along the edges of meadows and along roads and paths, once into thick brush the full length dress becomes absolutely impractical and a massive hindrance. Yes, we see pictures of women hunting fully dressed as everyday habit would dictate...but I am not entirely certain we can rely on this as an absolute depiction of the activity.
Sarmatian, Persian, and Scythian women all hunted and fought and led units with men historically. They are, when depicted, NOT depicted wearing dresses normally worn by women about daily chores of the time. They are, when depicted, wearing pants...or something like them, under either a skirt or long tunic...it is sometimes hard to tell. I suspect pants under a long tunic personally as that is the most practical arrangement. Celtic women and German women also fought along with the men...dressed 'in manly fashion' sometimes, but other times wearing traditional clothing if the records of their enemies are to be trusted.
It has been increasingly obvious that women did a great deal more than the traditional roles that went unrecorded...to large extent, I suspect, because men were writing the histories...in essence writing women out of the 'manly' pursuits. Scythian women could not marry or bear children unless first they had killed an enemy male in combat. We find increasing numbers of barrows with women warriors buried in them, and even in Britain Viking burials are being retested as it has turned out that many heretofore thought to be male due to warrior gear were in fact women.
So. Women are not stupid. They will wear what is practical. Tunic and trousers...which we already know was worn by Norse women as proven by burial finds recently. Skirts perhaps..but really, trousers make for the most practical wear when doing the kinds of things warriors, hunters, and trappers do.
I belong to several lists and it never fails that eventually some fellow will take issue with women doing things that men do and dressing that way saying there is no proof of the habit and that all historical writing says women were not allowed to do 'x' activity. Horse puckey.
This woman wears pants. I might experiment with shorter skirts, but for now it is pants. Chemise top instead of a tunic, but I find them more comfortable and better for me personally. A corselet, perhaps over a jerkin, or under one. Maybe a duster of some kind. Then there are the hooded cloaks and even some hats that I like. Shoes can be the classic fantasy high boot or more historically correct shoes...or even 'shoe-packs' worn by early colonial woodsfolk. Even moccasins...the Scythian's footwear is nearly identical to many Native American footwear, separated by thousands of miles and hundreds of years.
I use forearm guards...aka vambraces too..and I'm tinkering with some leather pauldrons but we'll see. Perhaps a kind of blateus belt or skirt would be a nice addendum..those still have to be experimented with. Fantasy stuff? Sure...but not entirely. Just in the way it is dealt with. Then again, being a Ranger in and of itself is an exercise in fantasy...to one degree or another.
I have a back quiver; I am experimenting with another design that will allow me to draw the arrows from the bottom rather than over the shoulder. If I minimize movement I stand a better chance of not spooking game...or giving myself away. If the arrows lie along my back and not jutting upward I slide through the bush more easily. I get, and have gotten, flak for these notions from a number of directions. Too bad.
I am still experimenting with a number of things. I doubt I shall ever be done doing so; only through this do we learn and improve. This is why I often get into making my own stuff....once I have those skills I can make things to suit my own needs and methods...and my methods are well proven through experience.
There is a tendency in many people to dismiss out of hand anything that goes against the 'factually known'. This is an error, in my opinion, because we are human and we do not know everything..and as increasing numbers of finds are showing, we often get things wrong. Being dismissive out of hand is self-limiting on the person doing so. Yes, it prevents cherished notions from being challenged...but challenge causes growth. I like growing my knowledge, my wisdom, and my experience. I like challenges.
Explore. Living History or Experimental Archaeology if you like are useful. They have their issues, no mistake, but they do have uses. They have shown, pretty well in many cases, that the artists and sculptors are not to be entirely trusted....as trying to make and use things as depicted often proves how impossible it is to do and therefore how much artistic license was taken by the recorder.
Be inquisitive. Question. Experiment. Learn.
Eledhwen
I have worn dresses in the forest...full length medieval style dresses...although when I say full length I do not mean dragging on the floor..I mean about ankle height. While this can be done, especially along the edges of meadows and along roads and paths, once into thick brush the full length dress becomes absolutely impractical and a massive hindrance. Yes, we see pictures of women hunting fully dressed as everyday habit would dictate...but I am not entirely certain we can rely on this as an absolute depiction of the activity.
Sarmatian, Persian, and Scythian women all hunted and fought and led units with men historically. They are, when depicted, NOT depicted wearing dresses normally worn by women about daily chores of the time. They are, when depicted, wearing pants...or something like them, under either a skirt or long tunic...it is sometimes hard to tell. I suspect pants under a long tunic personally as that is the most practical arrangement. Celtic women and German women also fought along with the men...dressed 'in manly fashion' sometimes, but other times wearing traditional clothing if the records of their enemies are to be trusted.
It has been increasingly obvious that women did a great deal more than the traditional roles that went unrecorded...to large extent, I suspect, because men were writing the histories...in essence writing women out of the 'manly' pursuits. Scythian women could not marry or bear children unless first they had killed an enemy male in combat. We find increasing numbers of barrows with women warriors buried in them, and even in Britain Viking burials are being retested as it has turned out that many heretofore thought to be male due to warrior gear were in fact women.
So. Women are not stupid. They will wear what is practical. Tunic and trousers...which we already know was worn by Norse women as proven by burial finds recently. Skirts perhaps..but really, trousers make for the most practical wear when doing the kinds of things warriors, hunters, and trappers do.
I belong to several lists and it never fails that eventually some fellow will take issue with women doing things that men do and dressing that way saying there is no proof of the habit and that all historical writing says women were not allowed to do 'x' activity. Horse puckey.
This woman wears pants. I might experiment with shorter skirts, but for now it is pants. Chemise top instead of a tunic, but I find them more comfortable and better for me personally. A corselet, perhaps over a jerkin, or under one. Maybe a duster of some kind. Then there are the hooded cloaks and even some hats that I like. Shoes can be the classic fantasy high boot or more historically correct shoes...or even 'shoe-packs' worn by early colonial woodsfolk. Even moccasins...the Scythian's footwear is nearly identical to many Native American footwear, separated by thousands of miles and hundreds of years.
I use forearm guards...aka vambraces too..and I'm tinkering with some leather pauldrons but we'll see. Perhaps a kind of blateus belt or skirt would be a nice addendum..those still have to be experimented with. Fantasy stuff? Sure...but not entirely. Just in the way it is dealt with. Then again, being a Ranger in and of itself is an exercise in fantasy...to one degree or another.
I have a back quiver; I am experimenting with another design that will allow me to draw the arrows from the bottom rather than over the shoulder. If I minimize movement I stand a better chance of not spooking game...or giving myself away. If the arrows lie along my back and not jutting upward I slide through the bush more easily. I get, and have gotten, flak for these notions from a number of directions. Too bad.
I am still experimenting with a number of things. I doubt I shall ever be done doing so; only through this do we learn and improve. This is why I often get into making my own stuff....once I have those skills I can make things to suit my own needs and methods...and my methods are well proven through experience.
There is a tendency in many people to dismiss out of hand anything that goes against the 'factually known'. This is an error, in my opinion, because we are human and we do not know everything..and as increasing numbers of finds are showing, we often get things wrong. Being dismissive out of hand is self-limiting on the person doing so. Yes, it prevents cherished notions from being challenged...but challenge causes growth. I like growing my knowledge, my wisdom, and my experience. I like challenges.
Explore. Living History or Experimental Archaeology if you like are useful. They have their issues, no mistake, but they do have uses. They have shown, pretty well in many cases, that the artists and sculptors are not to be entirely trusted....as trying to make and use things as depicted often proves how impossible it is to do and therefore how much artistic license was taken by the recorder.
Be inquisitive. Question. Experiment. Learn.
Eledhwen
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Update
Yesterday I worked on arrows; something delayed due to getting caught up with my firearms.
Mostly I glued arrowheads to shafts although I did straighten a few and sorted out some fletch binding that needed it.
I will be doing a lot of fletching on some of these shafts this coming week. I will also be making myself a new, custom quiver..with a good bow holder to go with it. There will also be a bow quiver for my Magyar. Once done with the arrow quiver the old one will be given to Taliesin with a few modifications made to it.
Upcoming also are some boots..I've been nattering around about boots and shoes for a time now and I think I have a design I am pleased with. Similar, in some ways, to Faramir's boots in the movies, they will have laces *and* a buckled cuff at the top. However, I will be incorporating custom arches and sole treatments as well as adding boot straps for help in getting them....the which will be hidden under the cuffs when all is settled. They will be as watertight as leather can be...that is, no open seams. Treating them with a mix of tallow and beeswax will help them stay water resistant and wool socks will do the rest.
The former design is for tall boots I might add. I am tinkering with the idea of low boots...a bit above the ankle but short of mid-calf. These would be used in conjunction with some leggings I am working on. Why? It is a flexible design and shorter boots are more forgiving with changes in musculature and whatnot. Also less resource intensive to make. Leggings have been worn since Imperial Roman times so I have no qualms about introducing them into a Tolkienesque Ranger impression.
Yes, some folk who insist on making Ranger Reenactment a new version of Medieval reenactment will not care much for them, but that is not my problem. Mixing cultures as Tolkien did, and time frames, and drawing on a wide variety of background makes for something quite interesting. I always keep in mind that Victorian, Medieval, Viking, and Celtic styles all mixed together with dragons, dwarves, elves, hobbits, orcs, trolls, giants, nazgul and all manner of other things means that the peoples he created had their own cultures...they were not just a carryover from real historical times dropped into a magical world. Not in my opinion.
Anyway, a short boot, similar to boondockers from the WWII and the old late war German shoes, combined with over the knee leggings would make for a really nifty look and a damned useful combination.
I will be experimenting with a corselet as well...these were worn as outer garments during the Victorian age instead of a true corset, or sometimes in addition as a fashion statement. They could hook and eye or lace...or even buckle, from more common steampunk notions. I have not decided the exact appearance yet but it would brace the back and, less obviously, help support the girls.
I am still inclined to use a shortened chemise instead of a man's shirt, for the basic top; they look better and give a nod to femininity without losing anything practicability. As far as trousers go I have long used drawstring sorts. I am thinking now of using a kind of 17th century trouser called the French fly style...essentially a buttoning fly. For an active lass in the wilderness the use of sanitary funnels makes having to urinate a far easier and less..revealing.. chore. I may decide to replace the buttons with a lace up section there instead but we'll see. Dunedain, as far as we know, especially those of the North, appear to not have used buttons...but catches and some buttons were used by the men of Gondor..and of course Hobbits used buttons extensively. This situation is why I am thinking of replacing the buttons with a laced fly option instead.
I have several packs. I have been dissatisfied with most of them at point or another. I am strongly leaning towards a Revolutionary War pack called the Ranger's Knapsack. It is simple, and if I use a bedroll on a tumpline then light too. I need to experiment more in this regard.
I love my sword, the Del Tin 'Glamdring' of the 80's. High quality battle sword she is...yet here in this place illegal save as a decorative item. Therefore, I use bow, tomahawk, and long knife. I forged the knife myself.
Things are moving along now and will, I hope, be complete by Winter's end. If we ever really have a Winter that is.
Blessings
Eledhwen
Mostly I glued arrowheads to shafts although I did straighten a few and sorted out some fletch binding that needed it.
I will be doing a lot of fletching on some of these shafts this coming week. I will also be making myself a new, custom quiver..with a good bow holder to go with it. There will also be a bow quiver for my Magyar. Once done with the arrow quiver the old one will be given to Taliesin with a few modifications made to it.
Upcoming also are some boots..I've been nattering around about boots and shoes for a time now and I think I have a design I am pleased with. Similar, in some ways, to Faramir's boots in the movies, they will have laces *and* a buckled cuff at the top. However, I will be incorporating custom arches and sole treatments as well as adding boot straps for help in getting them....the which will be hidden under the cuffs when all is settled. They will be as watertight as leather can be...that is, no open seams. Treating them with a mix of tallow and beeswax will help them stay water resistant and wool socks will do the rest.
The former design is for tall boots I might add. I am tinkering with the idea of low boots...a bit above the ankle but short of mid-calf. These would be used in conjunction with some leggings I am working on. Why? It is a flexible design and shorter boots are more forgiving with changes in musculature and whatnot. Also less resource intensive to make. Leggings have been worn since Imperial Roman times so I have no qualms about introducing them into a Tolkienesque Ranger impression.
Yes, some folk who insist on making Ranger Reenactment a new version of Medieval reenactment will not care much for them, but that is not my problem. Mixing cultures as Tolkien did, and time frames, and drawing on a wide variety of background makes for something quite interesting. I always keep in mind that Victorian, Medieval, Viking, and Celtic styles all mixed together with dragons, dwarves, elves, hobbits, orcs, trolls, giants, nazgul and all manner of other things means that the peoples he created had their own cultures...they were not just a carryover from real historical times dropped into a magical world. Not in my opinion.
Anyway, a short boot, similar to boondockers from the WWII and the old late war German shoes, combined with over the knee leggings would make for a really nifty look and a damned useful combination.
I will be experimenting with a corselet as well...these were worn as outer garments during the Victorian age instead of a true corset, or sometimes in addition as a fashion statement. They could hook and eye or lace...or even buckle, from more common steampunk notions. I have not decided the exact appearance yet but it would brace the back and, less obviously, help support the girls.
I am still inclined to use a shortened chemise instead of a man's shirt, for the basic top; they look better and give a nod to femininity without losing anything practicability. As far as trousers go I have long used drawstring sorts. I am thinking now of using a kind of 17th century trouser called the French fly style...essentially a buttoning fly. For an active lass in the wilderness the use of sanitary funnels makes having to urinate a far easier and less..revealing.. chore. I may decide to replace the buttons with a lace up section there instead but we'll see. Dunedain, as far as we know, especially those of the North, appear to not have used buttons...but catches and some buttons were used by the men of Gondor..and of course Hobbits used buttons extensively. This situation is why I am thinking of replacing the buttons with a laced fly option instead.
I have several packs. I have been dissatisfied with most of them at point or another. I am strongly leaning towards a Revolutionary War pack called the Ranger's Knapsack. It is simple, and if I use a bedroll on a tumpline then light too. I need to experiment more in this regard.
I love my sword, the Del Tin 'Glamdring' of the 80's. High quality battle sword she is...yet here in this place illegal save as a decorative item. Therefore, I use bow, tomahawk, and long knife. I forged the knife myself.
Things are moving along now and will, I hope, be complete by Winter's end. If we ever really have a Winter that is.
Blessings
Eledhwen
Friday, December 23, 2011
What is this?
What is this? This is...something new. Something made up of old, older, and sudden inspirations. Something I do not yet know the full nature of.
Mmmm, for nattering on about Rangering...that odd activity a few folk indulge in. No, not the army Rangers, and not the old Colonial Rangers..although there are elements of similarity. More of a Fantasy Ranger type of thing.
Blended from the Rangers of Araluen, from the Dunedain Rangers, and from various and sundry other books and whatnot. Minus the magic that lets humans live to several hundred years of age of course. There was a time when what I did was most similar to these things, yes there was. Then it was a profession..now I rather play at it. But it is more real than not, truth be told. I am older now, less capable, not as strong, but still as sharp as ever and as skilled. Adapt, Improvise, Overcome.
I prefer a longknife and tomahawk personally...swords are neat..and yes I have appropriate sorts..but operating from a stealth standpoint in the forests and brush makes them rather less than practical...and the bow will do a nice job at range. If one has any skill, avoidance of the need for a sword may be achieved. Still, things go wrong...that's what the longknife and tomahawk are for after all.
Clothing and kit...hunting and survival...navigation and leisure, canoeing, hiking, snowshoeing and even skiing...all are likely to be here in some measure or other. Fire making and all sorts of nifty things.
How often will I post? No idea. Play it by ear is the rule. No, I will not divulge the locations of food sources or caches if any. I will talk about bow making and arrow making. :)
Forandir...a combination of For and Randir....'North' and 'Wander' respectively. Forandir is then North Wander...or Northern Wanderer...or, in effect, Northern Ranger. That's what the image at the top is for; what I designed and made it for, and that's who I am, really. A Northern Ranger.
Oak leaf and six pointed star. Not a bad combination I should say, although they are separate; I have a bronze oak leaf clasp...and two bronze six pointed stars...which will be silvered. Rangers do not wear a lot of glitz.
Siani
Mmmm, for nattering on about Rangering...that odd activity a few folk indulge in. No, not the army Rangers, and not the old Colonial Rangers..although there are elements of similarity. More of a Fantasy Ranger type of thing.
Blended from the Rangers of Araluen, from the Dunedain Rangers, and from various and sundry other books and whatnot. Minus the magic that lets humans live to several hundred years of age of course. There was a time when what I did was most similar to these things, yes there was. Then it was a profession..now I rather play at it. But it is more real than not, truth be told. I am older now, less capable, not as strong, but still as sharp as ever and as skilled. Adapt, Improvise, Overcome.
I prefer a longknife and tomahawk personally...swords are neat..and yes I have appropriate sorts..but operating from a stealth standpoint in the forests and brush makes them rather less than practical...and the bow will do a nice job at range. If one has any skill, avoidance of the need for a sword may be achieved. Still, things go wrong...that's what the longknife and tomahawk are for after all.
Clothing and kit...hunting and survival...navigation and leisure, canoeing, hiking, snowshoeing and even skiing...all are likely to be here in some measure or other. Fire making and all sorts of nifty things.
How often will I post? No idea. Play it by ear is the rule. No, I will not divulge the locations of food sources or caches if any. I will talk about bow making and arrow making. :)
Forandir...a combination of For and Randir....'North' and 'Wander' respectively. Forandir is then North Wander...or Northern Wanderer...or, in effect, Northern Ranger. That's what the image at the top is for; what I designed and made it for, and that's who I am, really. A Northern Ranger.
Oak leaf and six pointed star. Not a bad combination I should say, although they are separate; I have a bronze oak leaf clasp...and two bronze six pointed stars...which will be silvered. Rangers do not wear a lot of glitz.
Siani
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)