SkillBuilder discussion Using historical sources 1. Read SOURCE4 .Where do you think the warriors were going? 2. Why did the king not accompany them? 3. How was the ship powered?
SOURCE4 From the saga Beowulf , translated into modern English
Under the sea-girt cliffs the shining ship was readied, laded with coats of mail, swords and gleaming war harness. Bidding farewell to their king, the sturdy warriors embarked... [leaning] to the oars. Like a bird, like a swallow, the glistening ship sped forward. She cut a path through the clear, green sea, her prow wreathed in bubbles and foam. Across unknown waters the light floater lunged and ploughed into the swells. The salt spray blew strong on the warriors’ foreheads.
What is even more amazing is that Viking ships could cross vast seas without any of the navigation instruments used today. Vikings knew enough about the weather patterns to know when to put to sea, and they navigated by the positions of the stars and by the height of the sun above the horizon.
7.6 SkillBuilder activity USING HISTORICAL SOURCES
SOURCE5 Viking ship replica, Pegwell Bay, Kent, United Kingdom
1. Using the information conveyed in the sources in this lesson, create a labelled image of a Viking longship. Label the following parts of the Viking longship, clearly identifying the innovations that were specifically Viking: keel, rudder, oars, hull, prow, sails. 2. a. After this, as a class, create the shape of the longest Viking ship found so far. It is 30 metres long and 3.2 metres wide. Do this outside using school bags. Students should sit in places where the rowers would have sat. One bag in the middle of the ship will represent the position of the mast. Don’t forget to have someone controlling the tiller. Vikings and their ancestors used rocks in an exercise similar to this to begin creating their ships. b. Discuss what you found interesting or surprising about the size and shape of the longship.
174 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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