Please note that although I've been involved in
the SCA for nearly 25 years, I am still working on aspects of my Persona.
Some are relatively fixed in my mind, but others are in a state of flux
as I learn more and and my interests change. I am considering changing
the name of my persona to more accurately fit with the period and locations
my persona would have fit into. For more information on that see my page
on my involvement in the SCA.
Wade Anderson of Many Places was born June 19, 1158 in Frisia to his Norwegian Father and Frisian Mother. Wade's Father was a wealthy Norwegian Merchant and Ship owner, his Mother the Daughter of a Frisian nobleman. While Wade was born in Frisia, his youth was spent in a number of places in Norway, and around the North and Baltic Seas.
Possible Locations (Hálogaland, Bjarkey, Hinn, Omth, Thrándarness, Vágar, Bode)
Wade's Father Ander Torilson originally came from Thrándarness (near modern Hardstad) on the Island Hinn in the area south of Finnmark and off the Norwegian coast of Hálogaland. Wade spent many of the years of his youth there and wonders if its location in the "Land of the Midnight Sun" is the root of his frequent insomnia.
Possible Locations (Frísia, Hollingstedt, Hedeby, Rüstringen, Dorstad/Dorestad, Leeuwarden, Stavoren, Utrecht, Bremen, Hamburg, Rhine, Elbe, Saxony/Saxland)
Wade's Mother, Amabilia's (Vande Wagghe) family lived in Frísia/Fríesland, in Dorstad. Wade spent his infancy in Dorstad, later moving to Thrándarness. Amabilia's family were strongly involved in shipping.
As Wade approached adulthood he would accompany his Father Ander on missions of trade. Often this involved travelling to potential new trading partners in far away ports. For a part of this time Wade lived in York and London.
Later in his life Wade travelled to the Holy Land. (still working on coordinating time lines with the crusades) On this or a later journey east on the silk trade routes, Wade headed East perhaps following a Northern route as far as China and Japan. He would have followed a Southern route back with stops in India and Africa.
It is in Africa that Wade is captured and made slave. He does not have much memory for a time due to a head injury until he finds himself as a thrall in Thule (Iceland) (or perhaps one of the Greenland settlements) where he is recognised by a relative or friend of his family and set free.
It is from here that Wade actyually makes it to the New World. Perhaps he makes it as far south as Central America and perhaps even the West Coast. (Still pondering the ramifications, though the studies of pre-Columbian North America has its drawing. In a sense the persona could be a snapshot of the World in this time period. Though unrecorded I wonder how many, if any, individual travellers may have travelled to odd corners of the globe leaving no record of their passing. I figure Wade would have had to try blend in as much as possible in order to have travelled so broadly)
His coat is of a dark blue silky material with a royal blue pattern. The fabric is reverseable.
Wade's trousers are of the balloony turkish style worn by some Norsemen.
Wade is also wearing knitted stockings
Wade's belt is worn in more of a Norman style than Viking.
I have thoughts on redoing my persona in different ages. I have toyed with the idea of a 16th Century version of Wade. What was Norway like at this time? What would the ships of the North look like? How would other lands influence the Culture of Norway? What sorts of connections to the New World and Iceland would exist. Things to think about.
Eventually, one day, Wade would like to take up SCA
Heavy Armoured Fighting. Of course it won't be with a real sword as depicted
here and it will have to be with a closed helm which protects the face
better than the "nasal" on the helmet above. Chainmail might work out,
though it is very labour intensive and you essentially need a suit of leather
armour underneath it to protect from the crushing blows SCA tourney swords
make.