This article is classified "Real"
Jomsborg the New is one of the more curious of speculative fiction
societies. Founded in Cambridge, England in January 1975 by disaffected
Cambridge University Science Fiction Society (CUSFS) members as a branch
of the American Mythopoeic Society, it quickly forged its own peculiar
identity.
Jomsborg the New is named after a (probably) legendary 10th Century Viking
settlement called Jomsborg and the warriors who lived there. The
Jomsvikings appear in minor sagas such as King Olaf's and the Jomsvikingar;
they were much-feared warriors and were renowned for their honour and their
courage. They finally met their downfall after vowing to "conquer Norway or
die trying" -- they were drunk at the time. They invaded Norway but were
repulsed and destroyed after Hakon of Norway invoked evil spirits to defeat
them. It is from the sagas that Jomsborg the New take their motto:
Eigi Eru Enn Allir Jomsvikingar daudhir
("Not Yet Are All the Jomsvikings Dead")
Present-day Jomsvikings are a more sedentary lot, their main activity being
the reading and discussion of fantastic literature at Thingar. However,
there are occasions when they have the opportunity to make merry and invoke
the spirit of their namesakes. The Veizla is the annual Jomsborg feast:
apart from eating and (much) drinking, the Reeve issues a challenge to all
attending Jomsvikings (previous challenges have included boasts, humourous
verse, and riddles) and the Reeve and the companions for the new year are
announced and inaugurated.
The Reeve and his companions are the controllers of Jomsborg. Jomsborg is
not democratic and never has been. There is no constitution and only one
rule: the Reeve is omnipotent. Despite the general alarm this tends to
cause amongst people outside Cambridge, it actually does work and allows
Jomsborg to run smoother than any rule-bound society could do. The Reeve
is the coordinator and the master (or mistress) of ceremonies, he chairs
Thingar, starts lunches, and is the linchpin of Jomsborg. His
second-in-command is the Geldjarl (literally "gold-earl") who is primarily
the money man. The Keeper of Odin's Mead of Poesy and Inspiration (or
Meadkeeper) is in charge of Jomsborg Writers' Workshop -- a subgroup
dedicated to the creation and criticism of speculative fiction -- which
has been an important part of Jomsborg since its foundation. The two
"junior" posts are Runecaster (whose job it is to chronicle the year and in
particular the Thingar) and Bard, a more recent post, for the organizer of
readings and storytellings.
Apart from the Veizla the most important meetings for all Jomsvikingar are
the Wake and the Jomsafmaelisdagr; the Wake is an all night vigil party to
celebrate the old year, and the Afmaelisdagr is a hilltop ceremony held the
following day at dawn, where the Reeve, surrounded by his Jomsvikingar,
invokes the new sun. The Afmaelisdagr is traditionally held on 31 January,
the official birthday of Jomsborg.
Spotting Jomsvikingar is easy: younger males tend to wear black t-shirts and
tasteless sweaters. As they grow older their hair tends to grow and they
allow facial hair to sprout; a large number wear glasses. Also, one common
item links all Jomsvikingar: the infamous bright orange scarf or "soul."
It is traditionally at least 9 feet long, though usually 12 feet (and known
to stretch to 24 feet) and is the repository for the Jomsviking soul.
Other points to note: punters on the Cam in Summer should be beware of the
Jomsborg brie which escaped a weekly Jomslunch many years ago and has since
evolved into a whole new life-form lurking in the murky waters of the Cam
and the Granta.
Jomsborg the New should not be confused with Jomsborg in Exile, which is a
splinter group formed by ex-Jomsborg the New people when they left
Cambridge. It holds monthly discussion meetings, but avoids the
eccentricity of the New.
NOTES: 1) Accents: Jomsborg and the prefix Joms- have acute accents
over the "o." Thingar and thing has an acute accent instead
of the dot on the "i"
2) Pronunciation: The "J" in Jomsborg is pronounced as a "Y,"
the initial "o" as in "bop," the second "o" as in "bored."
Veizla is pronounced as it looks, and Afmaelisdagr is
pronounced <af-MILE-iss-dag-r>. I won't attempt to explain
how to pronounce "Eigi Eru Enn Allir Jomsvikingar daudhir."