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Our elite team of experts
from Iceland, North America, and Europe
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Jeff Pringle Jeff’s careful observation of historical swords allows him to make swords indistinguishable from the real thing. To prevent unscrupulous people from reselling them as genuine, Jeff has been known to put in intentional clues that the weapon is modern. |
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Dr. Lee Jones Lee is an expert in historical Viking-age weapons, and his knowledge in this field is so broad and deep that some wonder if perhaps he sold his soul to acquire it. Lee will be one of the featured speakers in the evening lecture series. |
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Dr. Mikko Moilanen Mikko is a rare combination of hands-on smith and academic researcher whose book is a milestone in understanding Viking swords. Mikko is one of our featured speakers in the evening lectures series. |
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James Austin Jim is the go-to man for making Viking axes, both tools and weapons. His deep research allows him to understand the ancient process, which he teaches in classes and instructional videos, and which he uses to make exquisite replica axes. |
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Bjarnheiður Jóhannsdóttir Without the help of Bjarnheiður, we would be sunk. She keeps our research on the path most likely to give successful results, thanks to her deep knowledge of high-temperature materials and clay for furnaces, and her experience using these materials. |
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Fanndís Huld Valdimarsdóttir Fanndís has long worked with glass and ceramic art made in high-temperature ovens, and her knowledge of Viking-age glass bead making has guided us in our thinking about our iron furnaces. Fanndís will be demonstrating her glass bead work at the festival. |
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Margrét Hrönn Hallmundardóttir Margrét is perhaps our favorite archaeologist, eager to understand and replicate the tools and processes she uncovers in her excavations. The data we collect at our festival will be the basis for her next thesis. |
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Snæbjörn Guðmundsson Snæbjörn has helped us understand what natural materials can be found in Iceland that are suitable for the high temperatures of our iron furnaces, and we are grateful for his advice. |
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Bjarki Sigurðsson Bjarki is our expert in wood, forestry, and charcoal, but also the man we turn to for doing things well and correctly in every way. Bjarki is the reigning champion of the Icelandic lumberjack competition for several years running. |
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Guðmundur Stefán Sigurðsson Guðmundur is our other favorite archaeologist. His detailed explanation of what he found at his excavation of the iron making site at Fnjóskadalur have guided us in our furnace designs for the festival. |
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Dr. William R. Short After earning a Doctor of Science degree from MIT and spending several decades in technical research, William gave it all up to become a full-time Viking at Hurstwic. While much of the focus is on Viking combat, he is interested in all things Viking. |
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Emiliano Carrillo Emiliano is not only an experienced smelter, but he is the smith who takes the bloomery iron created and turns it into beautiful tools and weapons. Some examples of Emiliano's work will be part of the show-and-tell at the festival. |
