SOURCE4 Sognefjord, Norway. This fjord is 160 kilometres long.
7.3.2 Beyond Scandinavia Many historians have questioned why the Vikings left their homelands to go on raids and establish colonies in other regions. A range of perspectives have emerged: • There was not enough farmland to support a growing population. Vikings had to raid, trade and explore just to survive. • The Vikings left their homelands because they were searching for more arable land. This led them to migrate to places like Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland, and conquer places like Normandy and modern-day Russia. • Some Vikings fought against their own kings and chieftains and fled overseas as a result. With their kings owning most of what little land was available, some Viking people might have desired to search for their own land. • Vikings noticed and took advantage of the bickering among the states of Europe, raiding them and eventually seizing land that the states could not defend. • There was great wealth in many of the places that the Vikings raided. When they took these goods, they gained the wealth and associated higher social status. With few written records from the Vikings’ perspective, it is difficult to say which of the many theories is the most accurate. It could even be a combination of many of the reasons. 7.3 SkillBuilder activity QUESTIONING AND RESEARCHING, USING HISTORICAL SOURCES In many medieval societies, the places they lived in shaped the way people lived as they adapted to surviving and thriving there. Think about what you have learnt about the factors that shaped Viking life and how you can represent this visually. 1. Use SOURCE2 , the internet and your library to construct a map that shows geographical features of Scandinavia. Your map should include mountain ranges, key bodies of water and significant forests. 2. a. Below your map, draw symbols or images that represent how different geographical factors influenced the Viking way of life. b. Explain what each of your symbols or images demonstrates about how the geography and climate patterns of the Viking homelands influenced their way of life.
TOPIC7 The Vikings 159
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