Getting Started

Getting Started

It may seem like getting into Celtic Re-enacting is a daunting (or costly) task. In reality, you can start off slow (and relatively cheap) and work your way into a "collection". Listed below are the most basic items you need - a name and some clothes - and where you can find basic information on each. Additions such as weapons, armour, and domestic items can be added, but are not necessary to start re-enacting.

Choosing a Name

You don't want to change your name every two weeks, so you need to choose a Celtic name that is appropriate from the beginning. You should consider the time and place that you are portraying as well as what type of person you are portraying and you want to be called. There are several online sources to get you started.

http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Thread/449497

http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/otherearly.shtml#earlyceltic

http://tekeli.li/onomastikon/Celtic/index.html

http://www.kelticos.org/AncientCelticNames.pdf

For further discussions of choosing a name, you can also visit www.Kelticos.org.

Building a Soft Kit

The first thing that you need to make/buy/trade for is clothing (a soft kit). Some searching online or in texts can help you to get a good idea of what you need to include. Other groups have good basic information about how to make your own clothing. Two such sources are:

http://www.vicus.org.uk/kitguide

http://ironage-history.com/brigantia/kit_clothing.htm

The basic soft kit should include a shirt/tunic, either pants or a dress (for women), and a belt. Additions include leather sandals/shoes, cloaks,bags/pouches, jewelry, etc. There are several pictures of basic kits on the Member's Pages. Plaids and stripes in wool and linen are the most commonly used fabrics for clothing. These fabrics can be found online with some searching ad occasionally in local stores (depending on where you are located).

Weapons and Armour

After you have a soft kit, you may want to add weapons or armour to your kit. A spear and a shield would have been most common on the battlefield. There are several places to purchase spears - the member's pages list where their items were purchased. Shields are a little more difficult to purchase completed. This source is offering shield kits (no prices yet)http://www.kelticaironagevillage.com/Celtic.html. If you make your own shield, and want a shield boss, you might try http://www.rudis-kuenstlerwerkstatt.de/gallerie-helm-engl.htm - they also offer helms at what seems to be a reasonable price.

Maille, swords, helms, etc. are all also viable additions to your kit. They are not, however, mandatory. If you have questions about weapons or armour, you can ask members about the items in their kit, where they purchased it or how they made it. Answers are just an email away.

Domestic Items

There are many "other" items you may want to add to your "kit". As you may notice on some of the member's pages, pottery and cooking utensils, coins, pins, etc. are also part of our collections. Though these things are by no means necessary in order to portray an individual, they are items that interest us or that we enjoy collecting. They also allow us to share the lifestyle of the Iron Age Celts more clearly and vividly with the public.