The Northmen of Avalon is my name for those individuals who are of a mixed Norse / Gaelic ancestry *or* have embraced a mixed Norse / Gaelic spiritual path.

When I traced my ancestry, I learned I have the blood of the Norse, British, Scottish and Welsh within me.

But one line that always caught me and always spoke to me is a strand of that lineage that traces back to a Viking chief named Sweyn, whose grandson, Sir Walter Ruthven, was the first to use the Ruthven surname.

Sweyn is recorded in early histories for donating land to the Monks of Scone, and his descendants eventually took the name from the lands of Ruthven in Perthshire.

So, one line of my ancestry are Northmen who settled in Scotland and founded the Scottish Clan of Ruthven.

It was a merging of Norse and Gaelic heritage which is a huge part of who I am as a person today.

Of course, it’s not as simple as all of that, but it gives a rough foundation on which to draw strength from and build upon.

So I like to say I’m from House Rutlh’ven … giving it a Klingon twist which is uniquely me.

Always felt I had had a Klingon / Romulan soul.

But that is family roots … not the People I am from.

I’ve always wanted to feel a connection with regards to what “People” … what “Tribe … am I from.

What are my roots? Where do I come from.

Well, with my heritage being mixed as it is and with my walking a mixed Norse / Gaelic path, the term Northman came to mind as did Avalon.

One from either side of my mixed heritage, drawing from both.

So … I am a Northman of Avalon.

I am a person who draws strength from Norse beliefs but am grounded in a Gaelic druidic path.

And so THAT is what a Norseman of Avalon is … a person who is of mixed Norse/Gaelic culture and beliefs.

We are a People who proudly embrace that dual heritage and the richness that stems from both to create something unique that stands on its own.