48hour STRETCH-GOAL!:

So... in 48 hours you guys sponsored us with 15%, that's about €1000.

I'll make everyone a promise: if we reach 110% in the next 48 hours we will do a complete 20min long remake of the Pilot-episode!
That means we will film everything again, but with a complete team, revised script with more scenes and better equipment!

Let's go for it everyone! You're the best and let's make this happen!

Waw!! Today we reached 94%. Thank you all so much!

Like every tuesday, we have another story insight for you.

Story-insight 5.0: Eckehardt, played by ...

As the son of Lufian and Cyst, and the grandson of Kendryek, Eckehardt is the heir of wealth and fame. Unfortunately, he is also the heir of a bitter blood-feud. He is obliged by honor to avenge his father by killing his grandfather, the most respected and famous member of his family. Torn between love and hate, honor and disgrace, his life is a whirlwind of mixed emotions, and every day a struggle.

The concepts of Honor and reputation were very important in early medieval society. In many ways they were the glue that kept society together.
As there were no written laws, and no police to enforce them, social behavior was based on the code of honor. To be an honorable man was all-important, to lose your honor is the worst thing you could do. An honorable man was supposed to be moderate, generous, hospitable and helpful to his friends.
Honor was not only an individual thing; every man was a member of a greater entity: his Sibbe (extended family). His honor was part of his sibbe’s, his disgrace disgraced the community, including his forefathers. Someone who got himself disgraced would have no status and even his family would turn their back to him.
A man could be disgraced by his own behavior, for example by acting cowardly in a fight, or by the actions of others showing him disrespect.

A person could not live long in disgrace and would do whatever it took to reclaim his good name. If he was disgraced, revenge against the person(s) who had disgraced him was expected of him. In our eyes the revenge was often not in proportion to the original misdeed, for example murdering someone for slander or offensive words, but for a person in those days it was a normal, and even required, behavior.
Retrieving your honor when it was your own fault was almost impossible and would cost your life.

"Cattle die and kinsmen die
Thyself too soon must die
But one thing never, I ween, will die
fair fame of one who has earned."
- Havamal, stanza 75 -

(Picture below: a holmgang, a fight for honor between two men)

Kendryek, the father of Cyst is an older, successful man. A veteran of many battles, a leader of men, wealthy and with a very good reputation. He is close to what you would call the ideal man of the 6th century.
He is very much at home in his world. Living by the code of honor and inside the laws and rules of his time he is capable to turn them to his and his families advantage. However, the disastrous result of his duel with Lufian forces him on a path where every action seems to lead to ruin or dishonor.

Early medieval European army's were probably quite small compared to earlier or later periods. Although the actual size is not really mentioned anywhere, The law code of king Ine of Wessex, issued in 694 A.D. defines a “Here” (army) as a group containing more then 35 men.

There are a number of reasons why this was the case: With the fall of the Roman empire the whole organised network broke down and population numbers all over Europe dwindled, leaving some areas completely empty.

Also in 536-537 there was a severe short-term period of cooling temperatures, thought to have been caused by volcanic eruptions. This led to widespread famine and a further decline in population.

A few years later, followed by the plague of Justinian (541-542), population numbers really were crashing even further. With only a few people, small kingdoms and very primitive orginasation it was not possible to field a large army. An army is a luxury, requiring a large population to feed, clothe and arm. That was almost impossible.

(picture below: Lord of the Rings ;) )

The leader of symphonic-folk band Sowulo marches with us to enhance our project with the beautiful sounds of his instruments.

You can already hear Faber's mesmerizing tunes in our Prologue, but for the sequels he has many great other melodies in mind! Next to the background music, every character will get it's own song.

Faber combines old instruments with new ones to create his music. To make this happen he plays for example the Kravik lyre, bouzouki, piano. He also works together with a great deal of other musicians to have a wide scale of acoustic instruments in his pieces.

Want to know more about Faber and his other projects? Check out Sowulo's website: www.sowulo.nl

People in the early middle ages considered healthy white teeth as a sign of beauty, and nice- smelling breath was much appreciated. Even more so, there were a lot of powders, toothpastes and even mouthwash.

Due to the lack of sugar in the medieval diet teeth were much healthier, compared to nowadays; tooth decay barely existed, although tooth wear was common because of the rough bread which contained a lot of grit.

In stead of a toothbrush it was common to rub the teeth and gums with a rough linen cloth, with a variety of toothpastes. One toothpaste for example was a mixture of salt and sage, which works quite well.
Most people kept their teeth healthy till old age, which was very important for them, as medical care was very primitive, existing only as extraction without anesthetic.

So think twice next time you see all those rotten teeth in ‘historical’ movies.

The untimely death of her brother Lufian was to much for Odilia; she could not cope with it and her mind shattered. Although she sometimes remembers who she is and what has happened, most of the time she lives in a dreamworld filled with visions and ghosts.
An intense hatred for Cyst and Kendriek is the only constant factor in her floating life. As someone who is touched by the gods she is feared and revered by her fellow men, who sometimes visit her to ask visionary advice. She now lives outside the farm, in a little shack in the wilderness with her ghosts as only companions.

Contrary to common belief, the people in the early middle ages were not dirty, neither their clothes nor their bodies.

_“Prodest etsapo, Galliarum hoc inventum rutilandis capillis. Fit ex sebo et cinere, optimus fagino et caprino, duobus modis, spissus ac liquidus, uterque apudGermanos maiore in usu viris quam feminis.”
- Plini the elder, Historia naturalis -

“Soap is the invention of the Gauls and it’s used make their hair shiny. It is made from fat and ashes. The best is beech wood ash and goat fat, the two combined, thick and clear. Many among the Germans use it, men more then women.

It is also known that bathing was done regularly. We can even hear the importance in the Scandinavian name for Saturday:laurdag, meaning: washing day. This could be done in open water or in bathhouses, a common feature on Germanic farms. For your imagination, these bathhouses looked a lot like modern Finnish saunas.

Next to these interpretations: combs, ear spoons, toothpicks and nail-cleaners are among the most found objects in archaeological digs. (Image: beauty materials from the Merovingian period)

For their clothes they used soapwort, a herb known for its cleaning ability.
With the coming of Christianity, people stopped taking care of personal hygiene. It was even associated with sin and pagan customs.
This is what the English cleric John of Wallingford, prior of St Fridwides, has to say about the pagan Danes:

“It is reportedin the chronicle attributed to John of Wallingford that the Danes, thanks totheir habit of combing their hair every day, of bathing every Saturday andregularly changing their clothes, were able to undermine the virtue of marriedwomen and even seduce the daughters of nobles to be their mistresses.”
- John of Wallingford, prior of St Fridwides -

I will end with a quote from the Reginsmal, a poem found in the Codex Regius manuscript:

Kemðr ok þveginn skal kœnna hverr
ok at morni mettr;
þvíat ósýnt er, hvarat apni kømr;
illt er fyr heill at hrapa.

Combedand washed every thoughtful man should be
andfed in the morning;
forone cannot foresee where one will be by evening;
itis bad to rush headlong before one’s fate.

Stay tuned for our next Historical FUN-fact!!

The widow of Lufian is a powerful but tormented woman. She is the cause of her husband's death and now obliged by honor to avenge him on her much beloved father. For her there is no way out, no good decisions; only grim necessity. Egged on by Lufian's sister and her household she works towards her own destruction.

The first episode will be about the history of Lufian, the deceased husband of Cyst. We go back to his youth wherein he builds a strong bond with his sister Odilia and we witness the tragic death of his parents. We see how he manages to save his farm and family from utter ruin.