The Barony of Stonemarche invites you to A Market Day at Birka XXXIV!
January 24-26, 2025 at the Doubletree Hotel in Manchester, NH.
It’s almost time!
Greetings Friends!
Come get out of the cold for the largest shopping event of the year! Merchants have come from near and far to tempt you with their wares. They will set out their enticing merchandise for you to peruse, and maybe lighten your purse a little. 😉
We’ll have our usual activities fencing, fighting, youth fighting and youth activities. Along with order and guild meetings, an A&S display, the famous Birka Fashion Show, Bardic Circle, a Ball and a Hafla.
Please join us as we ignore the cold, snow and ice outdoors, and have a fantastic time with our friends!
Words from Their Majesties:
Welcome to the glorious lands of Stonemarche, where all may enjoy the beauty of the mountains, the tang of salt air at the ocean, as well as our many wondrous lakes, rivers and babbling brooks. It is our fervent hope that the only weather you experience is the biting cold that is normally found this far north in the month of January, and any snow and storms have held off and not waylaid any plans.
We are blessed to have many visiting Royalty from several Kingdoms. We expect that this event will show you the brilliance of the East Kingdom!
Believe in the dream and it will come true.
King Matthew and Queen Fiamuin
Visiting Royalty
We have received word that the following Royalty will be joining us this year (in order of the founding of the Kingdom):
Princeps Wigthegn the Younger, Midrealm
Princepissa Neassa O’Cathasaigh, Midrealm
Queen Elizabeth Æthelwulf, Atenveldt
Prince Abran de la Barra, Atlantia
King Bjarki Rikarðarson, Aethelmearc
Prince Timothy of Arindale, Aethelmearc
Princess Gabrielle van Nijenrode, Aethelmearc
King Douglas II, Acre
Queen Una I, Acre
The Story of Birka
A Market Day at Birka is sponsored by the Barony of Stonemarche, the New Hampshire chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. (“SCA”), a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the historical study of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
The historical inspiration for this event is the town of Birka, which flourished in Sweden on Björkö Island in Lake Mälar during the 9th and 10th centuries. During its heyday it was a great trading center for the Vikings and travelers from the Nordic world, and goods could be purchased there from throughout Europe as well as much of Asia. It was also the location of the first Christian congregation in Sweden, founded in 831 by St. Ansgar, where Christians and pagans lived side by side in peace. Birka and the nearby town of Hovgården were added to the World Heritage List in 1993 as well preserved examples of the Vikings’ trading networks during the two centuries (700-900) when they expanded economically and politically in Europe. Birka is one of the most complete and untouched Viking Age trading sites from this period. We celebrate the heritage of Birka today in an SCA context with our own market day. Enjoy!