ISU club invites public to dress as a viking and join them for ‘Þorrablót’

POCATELLO — A Viking celebration at Idaho State University promises a fun time for history buffs, cosplay enthusiasts and the everyday person.

The public is invited to an event on Saturday called “Þorrablót,” an Icelandic mid-winter festival that celebrates Thor, the god of thunder in Norse mythology. The ISU Medieval Club and The Shire of Stonegate society host it. Those who attend the celebration are invited to wear their best Viking-related garb, eat a period-accurate stew, play games, and learn about the Viking way of life.

“Know that it’s hands-on. We want people to come and play with us,” said Ann Thomson, advisor to the club. “It’s not just people sitting back and watching. You get to touch things, you get to play the games, it’s all about diving in.”

The celebration will be held in the Wood River Room of the Pond Student Union Building and last most of the day, starting at 10 a.m. and continuing into the evening until 6 p.m. Admission to the event is free.

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This is the first school year the Medieval Club has been official and the first time they’ve held Þorrablót, which Thomson said literally translates to “Feast of Thor.” The Shire of Stonegate is the southeast Idaho branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), an international nonprofit organization dedicated to research and re-creation of pre-17th century history, with which the club is partnered.

Thomson explained that historical accuracy is important to the club and the SCA and is also part of the fun. People at the event will wear period-accurate clothing, immersing themselves in the history.

“You just get to dress up and be somebody else for a little bit and just pretend to be somewhere else. I think a little bit of escapism can be good for people, so kind of think of it as like a historically accurate (Renaissance) faire,” Thomson said.

But people who want to attend don’t have to wear a full costume.

“You do whatever is within your means, so you don’t have to come looking like you walked off of a Hollywood set or out of a living history village,” Thomson said.

Another aspect of historical accuracy will be the food attendees will feast on. Some may be surprised to find that the traditional Viking stew being served at the celebration lacks potatoes.

“They didn’t have potatoes at that time,” Thomson said. “Potatoes are a new world crop.”

Despite not having potatoes, Thomson said the stew “is still very, very flavorful.”

Between bowls of stew, people will also get to play Viking games, like various board games and a game Thomson called Cube, which she describes as “Viking croquet.”

Attendees will also hear from various experts about what life was like for the Vikings, including ISU’s Dr. Meghan Woolley, who specializes in Medieval Europe, Anglo-Norman, and Angevin England history.

“The people that we call Vikings, they would have adhered to Danelaw,” Thomson said.

Woolley will give a speech on Danelaw, allowing attendees to learn more about the governing system the real Vikings from history followed.

Thomson and the rest of the club are excited to have people attend the event and get a picture of what the Vikings were actually like.

“Everybody loves Vikings, and nobody really knows who or what they are,” Thomson said. “We thought this would be really fun to make it an educational event where we’re like, ‘Okay, here’s what Hollywood says, here’s what it actually was.’”