Beech-woods 1993

Beech-woods 1993 ­ Report by Pippin Took (Kim Hansen) translated by Martin Hardgrave.

From Athelas in English 1994. Copyright Imladris - Danmarks Tolkienforening

Prologue ­ on the Swedish Tolkien Societies

The Swedish Tolkien Societies are a group of local societies which arrange banquets and other events, where the members dress up as various people from the books There and Back Again and The Lord of the Rings by Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.

Among the members of these societies there are, of course, many Tolkien fans, but there are also many people who "only" like to dress up in mediæval fashion and hit each other with rubber swords.

Me, at another banquet

On the Doorstep

Friday 23 July 1993 (after the Big Folk's Reckoning) I stood on the doorstep to Malmö's central railway station. I had decided to join Angmar's (uh oh) outing, called Bokskogen.

I stood there, afraid that foul Orcs and Black Riders would descend on me. Instead there came a group of young people who, on the outside, resembled perfectly normal young people; but after a brief chat I noticed swords sticking out of a bag, and that the long pole they had with them looked exactly like the sort of staff a wizard wouldn't be ashamed to be seen with. During the journey to our destination I talked to Radagast the Brown himself, from Forodrim, and it was naturally his staff I noticed earlier.

After leaving the car and walking for a while, we turned a corner and were suddenly in Middle-earth. At one end of a clearing there was a camp of terrible Orcs and Uruk-hai, and at the other the place where we would sleep.

After putting up the tents and writing our names on a parchment the opening ceremony was held. The ceremony consisted of, among other things, going up and bowing to the Lord and Lady of Angmar after the program was announced.

In the evening we had sausages and bread, which we had to cook over an open fire, and later there was a bar with spirits and homebrew (brewed by Bilbo Baggins himself). After that there were entertainment’s. Two minstrels sang and told the Tale of the Ring, during which Sam spoke Danish and sang an adaptation of Kim Larsen's "Hvad gør vi nu lille du?" (What do we do now, little one?). After this performance another minstrel sang, and finally someone brandished torches as if it was a passion. This finished with a girl breathing fire, of which even Smaug the Golden would have been jealous. Finally there were some girls who sang a Same (Lapp) song to ensure good weather for the following day.

A Long Expected Party

On the Saturday there was a market where one could buy jewellery, rubber swords, pottery etc., and one had to find gold coins for the lunch and dinner. This was done by running errands, getting a job as a guard or executioner, or by finding gold in the woods. At the same time there were various activities one could participate.

Orienteering race. One had to follow a trail through the forest and answer fourteen questions each of which had one of three answers (1, x, or 2). I took part in this in a team of five people from Midgårds Fylking, and having no mistakes we won.

Sword-fighting: people had to fights with rubber swords. I didn't fancy joining in at that time.

Amon Sûl: a sort of chess with living pieces. I din't take part in this either, as I didn't know the rules and was a little tired.

Five-a-side: a competition compri-sing archery, horse-shoe throwing and the javelin. I didn't take part in this as I was singing with some other people.

After all of this we had dinner, consisting of roast suckling pig and potato salad, whilst various minstrels entertained (and very well too, I thought). After that we had some time to do whatever we wanted, and I read in the book I had brought along, chatted to some Swedes and took part in some mediæval dancing. After dark we met for some ceremonies in the forest. We held a torch-lit procession to the place where they were to be held, and entered to sombre music.

The place was an oblong glade, surrounded by torches, and along a path could be seen an illuminated castle, outside of which stood two guards, each with a torch. We took our places around the edge of the glade, and to the accompaniment of the music people came out of the castle; it was a guard with the banner of Angmar and various of the Angmar folk. The banner-bearer stood at the end of the path and the others stood between us. Then the Lord and Lady came out of the castle and stood at the end of the glade with a group of guards.

Then it was told that someone from Angmar was to be ennobled, and this was done by the giving of an attractive necklace. After that was a Godfather-inspired exchange of vows between one of the Angmar folk and the Lord and Lady. Afterwards gifts were given to the Mordor Uruks, including two Bokskoga party boxes containing sausages for the next Bokskogen. Then presents were given to Angmar, with considerable pomp ­ for example, the giving of the Forodrim present took place to a firework display, where amongst other things Radagast's staff blazed forth fire. Finally there was the bar.

Me, at another banquet

Many Partings

The third day was the last at the camp. We used it for cleaning the camp whilst it rained like it only can in Sweden! After we had said goodbye to most of those present, I went home with Bilbo and Mirabella Took. I was supposed to sleep there, because the plan was for Angmar to hold a trip to Copenhagen the day after, and I could just as well go with them.

After eating we went to an aquatic leisure centre, where we ran into several of the Bokskogen participants. After the centre we went home to Mirabella and Bilbo's and talked.

The Way Home

Early Monday morning we took the hydrofoil to Copenhagen, where we were to visit the science fiction book store "Fantask", and maybe the Viking Ship Centre in Roskilde. After visiting the book store I and another went to Roskilde to visit the Viking Ship Centre and the Roskilde Museum, which was a pleasant trip for both of us.

Postscript

After going on this trip I am fascinated by the Swedish style of Tolkien societies and I am going to join the Malmö society of Angmar, and certainly take part in more of their activities. I would also like to be involved with something similar in Denmark under the auspices of the Danish Tolkien Society.

Updated 8/11 2001