Asatru Sword Team
Greetings all.
Ásatrúar Félagið is proud to announce the joining of Iceland's international
swordfight team, Rimmugygur (War-Troll) to itself at sacred Thingvellir on Saturday,
June 7, 1997 CE making it the world's first and only all-heathen swordfight team.
Rimmugygur is named after the infamous ax of the legendary Viking, Egil
Skallagrimsson and consists of nine members whom are all descendants of Egil.
Fighting as an informal collection of swordsmen since 1992, the group was officially
organized and named one year ago to date by Hafsteinn Petursson and equipped through
generous donations from Johanes Vidar, owner of the famous Viking restaurant,
Fjordukrain.
Since it's founding, the team has already fought it's way into the European
semi-finals and appeared in two BBC documentaries along with a short feature on
American cable channel VH-1 last April. A joint British-Icelandic venture is
currently underway producing it's own documentary exclusively on the rise of the
group and the history of it's members. This will include footage from the early days
with Alsherjargodi Sveinbjorn Beinteinsson and include interviews with the current
Alsherjargodi Jormundur Ingi, founder Hafsteinn Petursson, graphic-novel publisher
Modi Thorsson and three-time world strongman champion Magnus Ver Magnusson, (Magnus
appeared on the American talk show, Late Night With David Letterman last month).
Current plans are to begin editing after the summer when the European finals have
run their course.
Though the nation has high hopes for Rimmugygur, whether or not they win the finals
in Europe is of little importance compared to the great victory won tomorrow by all
Asatruar around the world in the struggle to reclaim our heritage.
Birgitta Jónsdóttir
