The Vikings
Who the Vikings were: seafaring warriors and traders from Scandinavia; longships; Viking raids on Britain; that Vikings also settled and farmed
What a learner can do afterwards
- Describe who the Vikings were and where they came from
- Explain how longships used sails and oars and could travel in shallow water; describe the carved animal heads on some ships
- State that Vikings were not just raiders but also farmers, traders, and settlers
1 · Read
Vikings came from Scandinavia, the lands we now call Norway, Sweden and Denmark. They travelled by sea to places including Britain. People in Scandinavia also grew crops and kept animals. Farming was part of their lives.
Vikings built long wooden boats called longships. Wind pushed their sails, and crews rowed with oars. Longships could move fast. Their bottoms did not reach far below the water, so they could travel up shallow rivers. Some had carved animal heads, such as dragons, at the front. These may have been meant to frighten enemies.
A raid was an attack to take things from other people. Some Viking crews raided places in Britain. They took goods and harmed people. Raiding was one part of Viking life.
Many Vikings were farmers who grew crops and kept animals. Traders bought and sold goods. Settlers made homes in new places and stayed there. A person could farm at home and also go on a sea journey.
Vikings came from Scandinavia, sailed fast longships, and were raiders, farmers, traders, and settlers.
Readings and flashcards written for this learning dataset.
More to read
What can a shield tell us?
A Viking shield could protect the person carrying it. Round shields often had a metal boss in the centre. This covered the hand holding the shield.
Historians study surviving pieces to learn about shields. Wood and metal do not always survive equally well. A metal piece alone cannot tell us every detail of the whole shield.
A pretend shield can have colours you choose. That does not make its pattern a copy of a real Viking shield. Ask a grown-up to do any cutting. Never hit anyone with a shield.
Goods on a sea journey
A trader could take goods to a market far from home. Furs were among the goods Viking traders carried. Silver coins and silk could travel back along trading routes.
Ships linked places with different goods. A voyage could help people buy something they could not get near home.
Trading was one reason for travelling. Other journeys were raids or moves to new homes. Meanwhile, many people in Scandinavia kept farming and caring for animals.
Messages in runes
Vikings used letters called runes. People carved them into wood and stone. Runes could spell names and messages.
To read a message, historians study the letters and the words they form. A carved name can be a clue about a person from long ago.
Objects also carried animal pictures and other designs. A picture is not always a letter. We do not know what every design meant to its maker.
2 · Watch
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