Rules.

Age of Blood 2nd Edition: Viking skirmish rules and campaign system for miniature wargaming, including mythic elements, by Tom Hinshelwood. It's a FREE PDF download.

Free Wargame Rules: This site hosts and links to free sets of miniature wargames rules from around the world. It's where I found One Page Fantasy Skirmish.

One Page Fantasy Skirmish by John David Slor: It's a complete fantasy miniatures skirmish game that prints out on one page. Includes a points system, magic, magic items, campaign rules and six scenarios, and is also a FREE PDF download. Warning: If you get hot and heavy about command radius ratings, personal initiative points and morale clocks, this is NOT the game for you!

Pig Wars: Skirmish and looting rules for miniature wargaming warbands of the Dark Ages by Tod Kershner. It's a great set of rules that rewards pillaging! For those who rather use dice than playing cards, here's an option: Pig Wars D10 & D6 Chart. I've also played with substituting the D10 for a D12.

Song of Blades and Heroes by Andrea Sfiligoi. Fast Play Fantasy Skirmish Rules. For 15mm or 28mm. First in a series! And here is a link to the online unit calculator - Song of Blades and Heroes Warband Tools.

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Groups about Fantasy & Dark Ages gaming.

Arthur War List: miniature wargaming in Arthurian Britain (AD 400-800), both historic and mythic.

Blood Feud: role playing, skirmish games or larger scale battlegames in the so-called 'Dark Ages'.

Pig Warriors: for players of Tod Kershner's Pig Wars miniature rules. Homebrew troops & house rules abound.

Song of Blades: for players of Andrea Sfiligoi's fantasy skirmish rules maintained by the author. New & playtest stuff showing up all the time. Doesn't that man sleep?

Strandhogg_Rules: Odin's Press has set up a Yahoo group to discuss Strandhogg Viking Age Skirmish Rules.

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Historical Links.

Ancient Arts Fellowship: Dark Ages re-enactment group based in Canberra which provides historical and educational displays. Their main area of interest is Britain, circa 800AD - 1200AD.

Dark Ages Society: "a dedicated group of enthusiasts who recreate life in Britain in the late ninth century, a time when Vikings and Anglo-Saxons competed for control of the land."

Combrogi: recreates the society of Britain during the period between the end of the Roman era and the Norman Invasion, 350 to 1066 AD.

The Heroic Age: A journal of early northwestern Europe.

Regia Anglorum: Anglo-Saxon, Viking, Norman and British Living History.

Wychwood Warriors: The Oxford University Historical Re-enactment Society

Anglo-Saxon!

The Anglo-Saxon Webring Hub: "A web-ring for sites of interest pertaining to the history and archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England from 400-1066CE, and the Old English language and its literature."

Arthurian!

The Camelot Project is designed to make available in electronic format a database of Arthurian texts, images, bibliographies, and basic information.

Irish!

Gael Agus Gall Irish Living History. 

Scandinavian, going a Viking or otherwise!

Fröjel Gotlandica Viking Re-Enactment Society: Fröjel (Pronounced Fro-yel) is a family based Viking Re-enactment society depicting the Vikings from Fröjel harbor on Gotland, one of the richest Viking trading centers in the Viking world.

The Museum of Foteviken with The Viking Reserve: The Museum of Foteviken is the centre of all the different historical activities and re-enactment taking place at Foteviken.

The Vikings: "Our aim is to provide an accurate and educational portrayal of the Viking period, with an equal emphasis on the daily life of the period, and on the more warlike aspects of life in what was a formative period in European history."

Viking Heritage: website for the organization of the same name.

Wales!

English and Wales are Races Apart: it's in the genes.

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Bernard Cornwell

One of my favorite authors of both Arthurian & Alfred the Great novels. Visit his website!

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Sources for 28mm Scale Miniatures.

ARTIZAN DESIGNS Some very nice historical figures including: The Moors, The Vikings & Carolingians.

BLACK TREE DESIGN LTD. All sorts of historical & fantasy miniatures.

CRUSADER MINIATURES Many different periods and a smattering of Black Powder/Pirate Fantasy. If in the USA or Canada, they can be ordered from OLD GLORY MINIATURES/CRUSADER MINIATURES USA

GRIPPING BEAST Excellent historical miniatures! Some pieces inspired by Cornwell's Arthur Trilogy.

MUSKETEER MINIATURES Amongst other offerings, the Early Saxons range of figures is to cover the Saxon, Angle and Jutes raiders that invaded Post-Roman/Arthurian Britain from 4th to the 9th Century.

OLD GLORY MINIATURES Historical & fantasy miniatures.

OLD GLORY 15'S U.S. source for Gripping Beast!

VENDLE MINIATURES Some of my favorite fantasy & dark ages figures! Needs to do more Viking types, though. Hint-hint.

WEST WIND PRODUCTIONS A fantasy line with some very nice humans "Nordvolk" (Norse), that would (with a bit of effort - removing the horns from the helmets) work quite well as "heroic" historicals. **UPDATE**: Still no pictures of  DW-509 - Unarmed Nordvolk Villagers on their site! I love a running gag, but it's been YEARS! Almost as long since my last update!

Frothers Unite has a useful list of Viking miniatures all in one place for your perusal.

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1066 - THE MOVIE

And here's their website - LINK
Looks like a good venue for re-enactor as extras.

Beowulf

There are three - THREE!! - movies based on this poem.

Beowulf and Grendel - Filmed in Iceland!
AMAZON.COM has the DVD!

Really liked this version. Not perfect, but quite good.

Beowulf - a Robert Zemeckis film.
Performance capture animation.
In the old days, we called this "rotoscope".
They even have their own video game! *shakes head, walks away*

*UPDATE* Saw this movie. It was in color and in focus.
And those working on the film DID did read their source material.
However, I felt like I was watching the cut-scenes from a
video game edited together to make a movie.

I'm hoping that this movie will get folks to read a translation of the original work.

Then there's Beowulf: Prince of the Geats - Live Action.
Also due out in 2007. Checked the official site. Does not bode well.
 

Beowulf: the Game. Video game, that is.
No relation to the other video game above.
 

Beowulf - In the Mud!
NOT a Robert Zemeckis film.

And, of course, you could always just read the book: AMAZON.COM.

Saga of the volsungs

The movie: DARK KINGDOM: THE DRAGON KING.
 
Here is the original wesite: RING OF THE NIBELUNGS.

If you are going to buy the DVD, get the GERMAN edition! It's uncut and already in English.

And, of course, you could always just read the book: AMAZON.COM.
 
I know, I know; 'tis madness I speak. But give it a try. You just might like it.

Pathfinder

A Norse boy is shipwrecked on the shores of North America 1000 years ago and is raised by the local Native Americans. After he grows into a man, the Viking raiders return to -wait for it!- slaughter his foster village. Wow. How many time can Hollywood use THIS plot?  I hold very little hope for this one as there are far too many horned helmets or helms with skull faceplates. Not eye-loops; SKULLS! They look more like Orcs than Vikings! AND WHAT'S WITH ALL THE VIKING SUPER-HEAVY CAVALRY?! Sigh. Anyway, this one comes out in September of 2006. Here's the YAHOO MOVIES info.

The OFFICIAL PATHFINDER MOVIE SITE has launched! Go watch the trailer! Cringe at the flagrant historical inaccuracies! Gape in stupefied awe at Hollywood recycling yet another tired, old plot! Oh, the release has been pushed back to January 12, 2007. Note: this movie is purportedly based on a 1987 film from Finland called Ofelas and released in the United States as - you guessed it - PATHFINDER.

Saw the "UNRATED" version.
Tripe.
Don't Bother.
Though the "vikings" look just like classic GW Chaos Warriors.

Outlander

Viking-age scifi-alien/monster movie.
 
Meine. Götter.

A man from another planet crash-lands near a Norse town, unwittingly bringing a monstrous alien bent on killing EVERYBODY.

IMBD has a listing, now. Release date is some time between
the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008.

TWITCH has some information on it.

Another article from CHUD.COM.

CONAN the Barbarian

Flex your mighty thews, you dog!

Conan CROM! It's the official website of all that's Conan! 

Dark Horse Comics has an ongoing series of Conan comics that started in February of 2004! Reprints of the original Marvel conics have been released as anthologies!

King Conan: Crown of Iron Yahoo!Movies article about the third -yes, THIRD- Conan movie, still in development after 4 years.  Couldn't be worse than the D&D movie. Could it? *shudder*

Conan: Red Nails Yep, an ANIMATED Conan movie. Website was last updated on June 18, 2007. It seems that the voice actors have done their part - including RON PERLMAN AS CONAN! - so now it's up to the post-production folks. According to the writer/producer's blog, it should be released some time in 2008, and in PG-13, R, and UNRATED versions. This could - could, mind you - be very cool.

Conan the Barbarian Webring Hub! Links to Conan fan sites of various quality.

RED SONJA

The Return of the Scale-Mail Bikini!

RED SONYA: SHE-DEVIL WITH A SWORD comic is back! Published by Dynamite Entertainment. My only complaint is the silly collector/addict marketing device of multiple covers for the same item. They are also reprinting the Marvel Features Red Sonya comics in a Trade Paperback.

Aaaaaaaand there's a Red Sonja Movie in the works - also involving Dynamite Entertainment - due out in 2008, though it's "in development". Red's hot, Conan's not. Go figure.