SOURCE2 A map of Scandinavia at the time of the Vikings
NORWEGIAN
0 250
500 750
SEA
kilometres
NORWAY
SWEDEN
Birka
PICTLAND
NORTH
DENMARK
Roskilde
SEA
Hedeby
IRELAND
ANGLO- SAXON ENGLAND
Dublin
Only three per cent of Norway’s land was good for farming. Vikings lived where they could grow food. In Sweden, they lived in the south and centre, where the best farmland was found. In Denmark, they farmed the eastern part because the west was too sandy. Water was very important too. The Norse Vikings lived by the fjords , deep canyons protected by many small islands. This gave them a lot of seafood. Water also kept Vikings separated from the rest of Europe, so they developed their own, distinct culture. They became great boatbuilders and sailors. This helped them raid distant lands. The climate in Scandinavia was better than the geography. Summers had up to 20 hours of sunlight. The Gulf Stream kept the waters warm and stopped harbours from freezing in winter, which was very important for the Vikings.
SOURCE3 Translated extract from the Orkneyinga Saga , an Icelandic saga written in the 1100s
Winter he would spend at home on Gairsay; where he entertained some 80 men at his own expense... In spring he had... a great deal of seed to sow... Then when his job was done he would go off plundering in the Hebrides and in Ireland on what he called his ‘spring-trip’, then get back home just after mid-summer where he stayed until the cornfields had been reaped and the grain was safely in. After that he would go off raiding again and never come back until the first month of winter had ended.
SkillBuilder discussion Using historical sources 1. Read SOURCE3 . How does the extract from the Orkneyinga Saga provide insight into the seasonal activities and lifestyle of the Vikings? 2. What does the passage reveal about the Vikings’ agricultural practices and their dependence on seasonal cycles? 3. In what ways does the translated extract reflect the Vikings’ adaptation to their geographical and climatic conditions?
158 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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