The Vikings Samples.pdf

Name: ____________________________

The Vikings 5

Viking Raids

Although Vikings had raided parts of the

English coast early in the eighth century,

it was a raid on Lindisfarne in 793 AD

which made people realise the danger

the Vikings presented.

in a well-planned raid and stole their

treasure. Many people were killed.

Lindisfarne was one of the most well-

known Christian monasteries in the

world at this time. The raid showed the

ability of the Vikings to attack quickly

and efﬁciently. It also showed that

they were not afraid to attack anyone,

anywhere!

Lindisfarne which is now called Holy

Island is found off the north east coast of

England. It is a small island and had a

wealthy monastery . The Vikings attacked

THINGS TO DO!

Imagine you are a young monk who managed to

escape from the Viking raid on Lindisfarne. Write a

paragraph about what happened and how you feel.

Imagine you are a young Viking raider who took part

in the raid at Lindisfarne. Explain why you attacked

the monastery and how you feel now that you have

returned home.

This sheet may be printed from a personal computer and/or photocopied for educational use within the purchasing establishment

Name: ____________________________

The Vikings 6

Viking Warriors

The Vikings were

very determined

warriors. They

fought hard and

were well-armed.

The main weapons

used by the Vikings

were the sword ,

knife and axe .

Viking swords were

decorated with carvings which they

believed helped them in battle. The

Vikings liked to ﬁght at close range

and so, although they also used spears

and bows and arrows , these were not as

popular.

be very practical! Instead Viking helmets

were close ﬁtting with a nose guard . Rich

Vikings also wore chain mail armour .

The armourer or weaponsmith made Viking

weapons. These were often decorated

with silver wire and a black metal alloy

called niello .

W ooden shields helped to protect the

Vikings from being attacked. The

shields were trimmed with leather and

metal and were often painted with

bright colours which helped the Vikings

to scare their enemies. People often

imagine the Vikings wearing horned

helmets in their raids but this is not

what they really wore. Horns wouldn’t

THINGS TO DO!

Using the shield on the right as a guide draw your

own Viking shield on a separate piece of paper or

card. Make it brightly coloured with some Viking

images and shapes to help you to scare your

enemies!

Visit http://www.valhs.org/history/text/history.htm

for some images of traditional Viking shields and

details of Viking life.

This sheet may be printed from a personal computer and/or photocopied for educational use within the purchasing establishment

Name: ____________________________

The Vikings 7

Runic writing

f u th o r k h n i a s t b m l R

Runes were letters which used to be used for writing throughout Europe. The runic

letters above show a simple version of the sixteen sign alphabet used in Denmark

during the Viking era. This alphabet is usually called the futhork alphabet . This might

make it sound hard, but it is just based on the ﬁrst six letters of the alphabet.

Runic writing was made up of straight lines as this was easy to carve. Most ordinary

Vikings could read when at this time, in many cultures, only the rich could read.

It can be hard to read runic carvings as sometimes they were written left to right, or

right to left or even up and down! The letters also had regional variations and were

sometimes used for whole words as well as parts of words. If the word had a sound

that didn’t have a runic letter the Vikings just used the nearest sounding letter! They

did develop a more complete alphabet but the one above was the most common.

THINGS TO DO!

Visit: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vikings/runes.html and you will be able to type in

your name and see it the runic alphabet.

Using the guide at the top of the page write out

the words below using the runic alphabet.

hut

sat

storm

mast

boat

star

This sheet may be printed from a personal computer and/or photocopied for educational use within the purchasing establishment

Name: ____________________________

The Vikings 10

Clothing

Vikings were fond of bright colours and

clothes were often dyed using die made

from vegetables and plants. The style of

dress was similar whether you were rich

or poor. The quality of the clothes and

the materials used was much better if

you were wealthy though! Viking raiders

brought back ﬁne wool and silk from

other countries. These were expensive

and could only be bought by the rich.

Very little has survived of the clothes

worn by the Vikings. Their clothes were

made of natural materials such as wool

and cotton and these rot quite quickly.

We know about the kind of clothes that

the Vikings wore from historical evidence.

Every household would have had its own

loom for weaving . Linen and wool were

woven into big sections of fabric and then

cut into the clothes. It took a long time to

weave and sew the cloth into clothes so

the patterns were quite simple.

THINGS TO DO!

The Vikings didn’t have buttons

or zips to fasten their clothes,

instead they used brooches.

Viking brooches were decorated

with elaborate patterns.

Design your own Viking brooch for

a Viking chieftain to wear.

This sheet may be printed from a personal computer and/or photocopied for educational use within the purchasing establishment

life in a viking village

Most Vikings lived and worked on the land. They kept animals

for food and grew what they could. In Scandinavia life could

be hard in the winter with temperatures dropping very low.

It was important to grow as much as you could in the warmer

months to feed you in the cold months.

Viking houses are called longhouses because they were long

in shape. They usually just had one room and everyone in

the family lived together! The loor was just dirt and food

was cooked on an open ire with no chimney so it could

get quite smoky and smelly inside!

Sitting round the camp ire

in a mock Viking Village.

Household items were

hung around the walls.

Farmhouses were long with just one

loor. Fences kept the animals in.

A later Viking house and stamps from

the Faroe Islands showing Viking life.

A fenced pen and

shelter for animals.

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