7.4 SkillBuilder activity USING HISTORICAL SOURCES, HISTORICAL QUESTIONS The Lay of Rig (extract in SOURCE2 ) is an old Norse poem, originally from an oral storytelling tradition. It has been hypothesised that it is from between the tenth and thirteenth century CE, but was around in oral form for much longer. The poem tells the story of the birth of the Viking humankind from the god Rig. It describes the creation of the different classes, from earls to karls (or churls), to the lowest group, the thralls. Its greatest value is in what it allows historians to infer about the different social classes and attitudes towards them. 1. In dot-point form, construct a series of questions that you could ask about this source to determine its historical significance. There are two listed for you already: • Is it a primary or secondary source? • What words are used to describe the baby Thrall? What do these imply? 2. When you have listed your historical investigation questions, swap with another student or group and compare your answers. These will give you an insight into the writer’s views of the thralls. 3. If you are interested, you can investigate more and find many versions of this poem on the internet. You can ask and answer questions about the karls and earls as well.
7.4
Exercise
Learning pathways LEVEL1 1, 2, 5, 8
LEVEL2
LEVEL3
3, 6, 9
4, 7, 10
REMEMBER AND UNDERSTAND 1. Viking society was structured into three main layers. Identify the three main classes of Viking society. A. Jarls (or earls) B. Karls
C. Fjords D. Thralls E. Monarchs F. Rigs 2. From the following statements, select all that describe the limits faced by a thrall. A. The thralls were slaves and therefore their owners’ property. B. Thralls could not own land. C. Thralls could not move freely from place to place or choose their own work. D. Thralls could buy their freedom, but usually could not afford it. E. Thralls’ owners could kill them without consequences.
3. Recall what type of work the karls did. 4. Consider the places where Vikings lived. a. Explain why Vikings had to be self-sufficient. b. Explain what they needed to be able to do to survive. 5. Complete the following sentences. Viking farmers kept a range of animals including sheep and _______________ for food and products such as dairy and leather. They grew _______________ such as barley, rye and oats as well as plenty of _______________ to make sure that they did not starve. They also grew crops such as _______________ to make the linen and ropes for their boats. ANALYSE AND APPLY 6. Examine the tapestry in SOURCE5 . a. State where it was discovered. b. Identify four things we are able to find out from this source about how the Vikings lived.
TOPIC7 The Vikings 165
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