Stories & Soliloquies

When Norse legends include mentions of Vinland, the magical land where Leif Eiriksson found grapes and berries growing freely across the land and iron bubbled up from the bogs, it’s likely that they’re talking about the 11th-century Viking Settlement, L’anse Aux Meadows in Newfoundland. Lots of Northern Atlantic islands claim to be Vinland, but the northern tip of Newfoundland is the only place archaeologists have found the remains of Northern European style buildings and artifacts. If you take a trip to Newfoundland, this is a must see.

This is Ragnar Redbeard, one of the friendly Viking reenactors on site, and the settlement’s blacksmith. He performs demonstrations of his work and makes replicas of the iron artifacts that visitors can pick up and experience. He also chooses a child from the audience to act as his apprentice, running the bellows while he works.

Naturally, my husband and I were keen to participate, so after the demonstration, we asked if we could perhaps, if it wasn’t too much trouble, take a turn at the bellows and ask him a few more questions. We wanted to know more about how the settlers harvested the iron ore and processed it, and then turned it into tools. We were ready for Ragnar to answer our questions but laugh off our request to help, but amazingly, he was thrilled that we wanted to join in the fun.

Because we were on our honeymoon, Ragnar let us help make two items that fit together – a nail and a hook. It’s our favorite souvenir from the trip, and is now proudly on display in our home.

It was a lot of fun, but I have to say – running the bellows is a lot of work, and it’s not easy to do. You can’t have any pauses in the airflow, and so you need to develop a musical rhythm to keep each bellow slightly offset from the other. You can’t just switch back and forth, or else you risk a gap in the airflow. To brag a little, I was almost a little too zealous – my bellow skills were so good and so pause-less that Ragnar had to ask me to slow down. It’s a delicate balance.

In thinking about that work, and the real apprentices who would have to keep that delicate rhythm for hours and hours, waiting for a chance to learn another skill, gain a little responsibility, and get the chance to make something from start to finish, I came up with a little poem. The smith in this poem is far less friendly than Ragnar, who I’m sure would never treat his apprentice this way, and the rhythm is more like a song than a poem. I hope you enjoy it, nonetheless.

The Blacksmith’s Apprentice
by Michelle Joelle

Keep the rhythm of the bellows
Keep the fire glowing red
Never forget your place, good fellow
Never you let the coals go dead.

Watch the blacksmith stoke the fire
Watch him making nails and tools
Never shall you work the iron
Never shape it as it cools.

Hold the rhythm of the bellows
Hold your tongue and earn your keep
Never you boast among your fellows
Never sow what you cannot reap.

Make no promise past the fire
Make no deals with any one
Never shall your work the iron
Never while you’re under thumb.

Keep the rhythm of the bellows
Keep your master’s fire red
Never forget your place, good fellow
Never you’ll rise ’til your master is dead.