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Thread : Northlander Cultural Question
Started at 01-26-05 08:56 PM by Hugin
Visit at http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=369992
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[Post 1]
Author : Hugin
Date : 01-26-05 08:56 PM
Thread Title : Northlander Cultural Question

Last session we had two PC deaths (and one NPC). One of the PCs was actually my DMPC that went back to the very start of our current campaign when it was just my brother and me. Since then we have had another four players join the game, but they were fond of Dyzek and didn't really want me to just retire him so I continued playing him. The other PC is a Northman from Vestland who was played by the first player to join me and my brother. This PC was named Rainulph; yep, the same skull-collecting Rainulph from my signature (the quote btw is from actual IC play).

The group happens to be in Vestland, not very far from Rainulph's clan holdings. So my question is, "How do Vestlanders perform their funerals?" Do they use burial mounds and tombs or do they cremate on pyres? Do they hold "wakes" or do they do next to no mourning? I can't recall reading anything on this subject so if someone could help me make this event a memoral one (and well it should be!)

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[Post 2]
Author : Thorf
Date : 01-26-05 10:42 PM
Thread Title : Viking funerals

Well, I don't know for sure about Vestland, but with the Vikings the tradition, for important men at least, was to place them in a boat, push it out to sea and set it on fire.  This seems appropriate for any PCs, although of course if they have no link with the sea it might not be so good.

Of course, this funeral style may all be a modern myth.  No one really knows for sure.  Take a look at the following link:

http://www.runestone.org/vkgfuner.html

Up Helly Aa, a festival held in January in the Shetland Isles, is mentioned on that page too.  The festival involves a procession of many "squads", led by the "Jarl's squad", who all dress in Viking attire.  The Jarl's squad takes with them a lovingly crafted full-size replica of a longship, and at the end of the procession everyone throws their torches onto the ship, burning it.

Why do I know so much about this?  I come from the Orkney Isles, and Shetland is right next door (so to speak ;)).  Check out my father's web page (he's a photographer) at the following link to get a short description and lots of photos.

http://www.charles-tait.co.uk/library/shetland/uphellyaal.html

Hope that helps you.  You might like to show your players some of those photos of burning boats!  :cool:

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[Post 3]
Author : Hugin
Date : 01-26-05 11:28 PM

Thanks for the links, Thorf. They gave my some good descriptive thoughts. They *are* on the coast so the sea is important to them, including religiously.

However, it is still late winter/early spring and the fjord is still frozen over, so I think I'll go with the boat burning on land (pyre-style). I sure hope I can pull this off well enough to invoke a little emotion; I know there was some a the time of death(s), but that was two weeks ago.

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