100 Facts Vikings – Bitesized Facts & Awesome Images to Support KS2 Learning

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Although it is the most well-known epic poem about the Vikings, there only exists one original copy of Beowulf from the time period. [3]

The Viking Age came to an end during the 11th century, due both to the gradual conversion of their population to Christianity and the eventual melding of their many chiefdoms into the three nations of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. [1][7] Valkyrie were the choosers of the slain on the battlefield and then hand maidens to those that made it to Valhalla. They travelled as far as Turkey. Norsemen made up a lot of the Byzantine Empire's Varangian Guard in modern-day Turkey. It is believed that Harald Hardrada rose through the ranks to becomethe commander of the Guard in Constantinople. He would eventually return to become the King of Norway. Viking warriors were very good fighters. They’d wear helmets and carry shields to defend themselves, and they’d also have one of these weapons: Anglo-Saxon writers called them Danes, Norsemen, Northmen, the Great Army, sea rovers, sea wolves, or the heathen.Cnut the Great was one of the most powerful Viking kings. Originally from Denmark, he eventually ruled over Norway and England as well, creating what is often referred to as the North Sea Empire. He was known for his brutal methods, and while he dominated Scandinavia and the British Isles for a time, his legacy was almost completely erased within a few decades of his death, in large part because of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Five hundred years before Christopher Columbus, the Vikings sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to North America, making them the first Europeans to discover the New World. [1][7] Archaeologists have discovered the remnants of dozens of Viking halls throughout northern Europe, which attests to the existence of many different Viking rulers vying with each other for power in medieval times. [7]

They travelled over the sea in longships, which are long, narrow wooden boats that could be sailed in both deep and shallow water. The Icelandic Sagas. Much of what we ‘know’ about the Vikings was written down in Icelandic sagas. The problem is many of these stories were written down hundreds of years after they took place. If they took place at all! The Vikings were most prominent in Europe during the period between 793 and 1066 AD. During this time, they traveled throughout the continent, invading lands that stretched from Ireland to Russia to Turkey. This time was called the Viking Age, and it saw the spread of Norse culture, especially in the British Isles.The English names for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday come from references to three Viking gods: "Odin's Day," "Thor's Day," and "Frigga's Day." [4][5] The word Viking means ‘a pirate raid’, which is a fitting name as they were fearsome warriors and oftenraided monasteries for treasure. Most clothes that the Vikings had were made from wool, but they also had some clothes made from linen. They used dyes made from plants and minerals to make red, green, brown, yellow and blue, so their clothes were very colourful. The religion practiced by the Vikings is known as Norse Paganism. In old Norse Mythology, the Aesir are the principal gods of the pantheon including fan-favorites Odin and Thor. The Vikings were fierce warriors, and part of that was baked right into this religion—they believed if they died in battle, the might be selected to join Odin in the majestic halls of Valhalla to wait and prepare to join Odin for the events of Ragnarok.

A few weeks before the Anglo-Saxons were defeated in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, they defeated Viking warriors near York, led by Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. If a village, town or city has a name ending in “-by”, “-thorpe” or “-ay” then it was likely settled by the Vikings. Viking children did not go to school. Everything was learnt through stories. Long Viking stories are called sagas.During feasts, Viking warriors were seated around their chieftain's throne on benches called "mead-benches." [3] Excuse me. Yes, you… would you like to learn about the Vikings? Great! Well let’s start at the beginning…The Vikings lived over 1000 years ago, but they don’t look that old to me, what’s your secret?The Vikings were Norse people who came from an area called Scandinavia. You might know it better asNorway, Sweden and Denmark. There’s no denying Vikings loved their boats—so much that it was a great honor to be interred in one. In the Norse religion, valiant warriors entered festive and glorious realms after death, and it was thought that the vessels that served them well in life would help them reach their final destinations. Distinguished raiders and prominent women were often laid to rest in ships, surrounded by weapons, valuable goods and sometimes even sacrificed slaves. 5. Vikings were active in the slave trade. In the ninth century, Scandinavians (mainly Norwegians) began to colonize Iceland, an island in the North Atlantic where no one had yet settled in large numbers. By the late 10th century, some Vikings (including the famous Erik the Red) moved even further westward, to Greenland. According to later Icelandic histories, some of the early Viking settlers in Greenland (supposedly led by the Viking hero Leif Eriksson, son of Erik the Red) may have become the first Europeans to discover and explore North America. Calling their landing place Vinland (Wine-land), they built a temporary settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows in modern-day Newfoundland. Beyond that, there is little evidence of Viking presence in the New World, and they didn’t form permanent settlements. Danish Dominance

When important Vikings died, they would be placed with all their clothes, jewellery, even their animals, in a burial ship. This would either be covered with a huge mound of earth or set alight and pushed out to sea.They were clean, not dirty. The thought of men aboard a boat for weeks on end might conjure up images of filth, but archaeological finds suggest otherwise. Tweezers, razors and combs are among the items to have been found. The Vikings wrote in an alphabet called runor, and while not much runic writing remains on paper, there are thousands of large stones covered in runes that dot the Scandinavian landscape. These runestones were usually created to memorialize the dead (although they weren't necessarily placed above graves like modern tombstones), but sometimes they would tell stories of warfare, such as the Kjula runestone in Sweden.