Ur. 1946 w Rotterdamie. Od dziecka żywo zaineresowany historią. By zobaczyć świat kilka lat spędził na morzu. W wieku 25 lat wstąpił do wojska jako instruktor. Uprawia jeździectwo, kajakarstwo i strzelectwo czarnoprochowe, historyczny survival, i odtwórsto historyczne wczesnego średniowiecza. Emerytowany z wojska, żyje z żoną w Veldhoven.
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I was born in 1946 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Ever since childhood I have had a keen interest in history. I spent some years at sea to see the world. At the age of 25 I joined the Dutch army as an instructor. My hobbies include shooting black powder muzzle-loaders, canoeing, horseback riding, primitive survival and early medieval re-enactment. Now I am retired from the military and live with my wife in Veldhoven, The Netherlands.
In 1987, when on holiday in Denmark, I met Phil Burthem who was doing Viking re-enactment there with some of his friends. Phil, nowadays better known as Ulf Eirik, Jarl of the Jomsvikings, showed me their gear and gave me some lessons in sword-fighting. A year later, I joined the warriors of Jomsborg Elag and Walhalla. In my own country, the Netherlands, the first re-enactors began to participate in shows together with the Elag and other European groups. We were all Vikings, simply because we knew about Vikings. But the re-enactment scene grew steadily; craftsmen joined us, ladies wanted to participate, and we became increasingly more interested in other European peoples such as Saxons, Frisians, Franks, Slavs etc.
Having always been deeply interested in history throughout my life, I began to make simple drawings so as to give re-enactors good examples to fashion their clothing and equipment after. In time, I had a large collection of drawings, which after having been used only once or twice ended up collecting dust on the bookshelf. When Phil recently asked me to publish them for the benefit of the early medieval re-enactment scene, I did not have to think twice. The drawings are in black and white, and they are very simple. They just show you how the garments were made and worn. All drawings, with only one or two exceptions (see sources), were made after historical finds and historical pictures, and based on some logical presumptions I added the jewelry and weapons that we can see in museums, so authenticity is guaranteed. I hope that many of you in the Army of Jomsborg and all the other modern Vikings will benefit from them.
Hrolf Ingvar,
Jomsviking
