First Posting...

Welcome,

This is the first post on our Knattleikr blog. Since Knattleikr is not widely known, allow me to provide a quick primer - which will be filled out as we go along.

From the Facebook group description:

"Knattleikr is a Viking sport that was recreated from old Viking sagas. Each player has a stick, and can essentially do whatever they wish to an opponent. Each stick must be able to be broken and then fixed on the spot. Points are scored by carrying a ball across the other team's "goal line." Score isn't too important to us now, nor was it to the vikings of old. The game is played, sometimes for days, until the last man standing or until the ale is gone. Each round is started by one team throwing the ball in the air, which the other team has to hit with one of their sticks. If the ball is not struck down, the the other team has to throw it. The team throwing switches every round."

Although, the above indicates that it is played for very long periods of time, we often play for an afternoon. We start around 12pm(ish) and play until 4pm(ish). It all really depends on the group and the day. One important thing to note is that every player is responsible for his or her own safety and is allowed to leave and enter the game at any point with out getting flak from the other players. Simply put, if it is to much for a person, they can stop.

The Knattleikr of the Vikings is hard to reproduce with any guaranteed accuracy due to the fact that the old sagas are unclear and have different information depending on the translations but, we feel that we have a hold on some of the essentials and adapt the game a little every time we play. If you are interested in more information, there is a decent Wikipedia entry and there are a number of websites available via a Google search. Also, one website that I would recommend (one because it is good, and two because there are some photos and video of some of us playing) is Hurstiwic: Knattleikr.

Please come by this blog when you get a chance. We will be posting information about our Knattleikr experiences: text, photos, upcoming matches, etc. We are based mostly in New England but still welcome readers and comments from all over.