no one tagged me, but i wanted to post six selfies…
that hair… HOW YOU DO THAT HAIR PLZ TEACH
😀
Buckle in, because this is going to be a LONG post. And I’m going to talk about BOG MUMMIES.
For reference, the hair in question:
This updo was actually what convinced me to grow my hair long in the first place (back in ye old 2008), and it has been strongly influential in my personal aesthetic ever since.
The story starts in 1938. Actually, it starts even earlier than that. In ~280 B.C., a woman died, and her body was placed in a bog, where it stayed until it was discovered in 1938, so well-preserved that the hair was still there.
This bog mummy is referred to as the Elling Woman. Here’s a bit about her.
The article talks a bit about her hair, but it’s kind of an unsatisfactory description. I found out about it when the article reached the Long Hair Community Forum in 2008, resulting in a 40-page (and counting!) thread wherein a bunch of long-haired women figured out how to recreate the hairstyle.
The ladies of LHC looked at the images of the hair, and were like: “Yep, that’s a rope braid.” “Here’s how you could do a 7-strand braid with 2-3-2 sections.” Etc. And basically, they tested out different versions, and came up with something that was cool-looking, comfortable, and practical.
Here’s the ~official~ reconstruction on the Tollund Man website:
And here’s a (very confusing) diagram of how the style is supposedly constructed:
There are several different recreations of the style floating around the LHC and youtube and the wider internet. The style also looks and works differently with different types of hair. I had to grow mine out until I could make a waist-length braid before I could really successfully do it with my hair, but my hair is medium-thick and fairly fine, so YMMV. Some people on the LHC did it with much shorter and thicker hair.
The LHC thread about it is a fun read, but it’s a bit long and meandering, and there are several conflicting sets of instructions there, so I’ll just talk about the method that I use. If you want a video aid, what I do is basically this, except I do rope braids for the bottom 2/3s instead of English braids, and I finish it by wrapping the thick braid around the middle braid, like this (I’ve never actually tried that particular method for forming the big braid, but finishing up the bun is the same).
Here’s a written description:
Take the top 1/3 of your hair and braid it in a basic 3-strand braid (a.k.a. an English braid) down to a little past your neck. Tie it off so that it stays braided while you braid the rest of your hair.
Separate your remaining hair into two sections (each about 1/3 of your total hair), one on the left side, and one on the right.
Braid each section into a rope braid (a two-strand braid that’s made by twisting both sections in the same direction, then twisting them together in the opposite direction). Tie them off so that they stay braided. Also, I’ve found that it’s better to make the rope braids so that they’re coiled in opposite directions.
Take the two rope braids, and braid them with the top/middle section of your hair that you’d braided into an English braid. You’re basically making one big English braid. After I’ve started braiding it, I slip off the elastic tie that I’d used to hold the middle braid together temporarily.
Braid it as a 3-strand (that’s made up of two 2-strand rope braids, and one one-strand section that started as a 3-strand braid, so it’s sort of a 7-strand braid!) English braid all the way to the end of your hair. Take out the elastic ties around the two rope braids when you get to them.
Tie the whole thing off with a single elastic tie at the end.
To make the bun, you lift up the simple English braid (the one you made in step one), and you wrap the thick, complicated braid around it in a spiral.
Tuck the end in as best as you can, and then secure it with whatever you want. I’ve used everything from a hair stick, a hair comb, a few bobby pins, and even a single barrette before.
You’re done!
There wasn’t any evidence of any hair pins or anything like that to secure the hair found with the Elling Woman’s body. If your hair is very oiled and/or very unwashed, it might be able to hold itself in place without needing to be tied or secured. As it is, this style does work better if your hair has been oiled, or hasn’t been washed for several days.
This hairstyle is really cool for a lot of reasons, but it’s also extremely comfortable! The middle braid essentially holds the whole thing up, so you don’t experience any of the pulling you feel with some buns.
Basically, if I had to wear the same hairstyle for thousands of years, I’d definitely pick this one. It’s beautiful, versatile, comfortable, and has a really cool backstory.
Being the die-hard classical fencer that I am (er….was) I always turned up my nose at the historical fencers in college who were all avid D&Ders with a lot of enthusiasm and no finesse. SO I HAVE MY BIASES but obviously there are more and less authentic ways of going about recreating historical combat.
Not having the convenient circle of SCA buddies on hand that I used to, I have turned to the blessed font of Youtube to get me familiar with long swords.
I always need to have visual references for my art and writing. I need to see a thing in action before I can describe it or imagine its use, so this stuff is basically priceless to me.
Anyway, here’s some good fodder for imagining your favorite first-age elves beating the holy living snot out of each other.
Intermediate SCA Greatsword Technique – The first one shows some of the basic parries and thrusts for longsword, which was a great refresher for my fencer’s brain. All the same basic principles of parrying and getting inside the opponent’s guard are there, just adapted for a wide swinging, heavier weapon. It’s surprisingly precise! Also the instruction is very slow and clear so it’s easy to follow.
Claymore vs. Longsword – The second one shows the same moves in action, with the additional bonus of hotties in black body armor.
Longsword Techniques–Another great longsword parry and thrust video, slightly more advanced than the first one.
Two-Handers / Blade “Horns”/ Sword Guard Proportions– The history and development of your big fuckoff two-handed great swords, followed by an explanation and theory about those iconic “horns” on the blades of great swords, and an explanation about the proportions of these swords.
Two-hander vs Six Rapiers–In the above videos, a technique was mentioned of using the momentum of the two-handed sword to achieve a defensive windmill effect. Here’s that in action against six opponents. Rad as heck.
Monante vs… – In a similar vein, an interesting playlist of a great sword user whittling down a group of opponents. This one is quicker paced.
I’m pretty in love with half-swording. The idea behind half-swording is basically that, when faced with an opponent in full armor, it’s useful to use Every Part of The Sword; including the pommel and cross-guard. With half-swording you grab the blade mid-way in order to get better leverage and precision in a stab. The technique’s purpose is basically to dent armor, stun your opponent, and then deliver precision stabs to weak points in their armor with extra leverage– essentially turning your sword into a makeshift percussive weapon like a war-hammer or mace.
Unfortunately I’m having trouble finding good videos of this technique in use. Most of them are a bit…. flail-y?
Half-swording demo – Same fellow as before, giving a thorough demonstration of how one can effectively use half-sword techniques without hurting one’s self. –He does not mention that many swords were only sharpened at the tip specifically to facilitate this technique, sometimes adding a ricasso or sub-hilt for the same purpose. (Though to really get the right leverage on a stabbing blow, you’d have to hold your sword a lot closer to tip).
Armor and Halfswording Lessons– This is part of a series of parrying and grappling half-sword technique instruction. Slow and easy to follow; shiny armor; sexy accent.
Bashing vs. Halfswording– This is the best demo I can find of this technique in use. Doesn’t this look fucking vicious? I love this. Kudos to these guys!!
Armored Longsword Demo– Another great demo, this time in full armor with live steel. These guys go in and out of half-swording throughout the duel.
Armor Mobility and Grappling– A quick series of demonstrations concerning maneuverability in full plate, with some bonus take-down methods for messing up other people in full plate.
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