LESSON 7.14 Review 7.14.1
Key knowledge summary Use this dotpoint summary to review the content covered in this topic. 7.2 How do we know about the Vikings? • The Viking civilisation that we study existed over one thousand years ago.
• Although a written language called runes existed, these were mainly for stone or bone inscriptions. It was not until the Vikings became Christian later in the Viking Age that written language was used to record things. • Historians discover information from this period through the examination of artefacts and other archaeological discoveries. • There have been significant discoveries of burial sites such as the King’s Mound in Gokstad in Norway and many archaeological sites where there were settlements. • The Vikings had a great oral storytelling culture. • Late in the Viking Age, the stories of heroes and gods were written down and are known as the sagas. There was also much written about the Vikings by monks and others like the Anglo-Saxons who were their enemies, such as the Old English story, Beowulf . 7.3 How did the geography and climate of Scandinavia influence the Viking way of life? • Much of the land in the Viking areas was rocky and mountainous and only a small percentage was suitable for farming. Because of this, the Vikings lived mainly around the coastal areas of their lands, where the climate was milder and land more fertile. • Although the winters were very cold, the water around the Viking homelands was prevented from freezing by warm currents, like the Gulf Stream. This was important for a seafaring people. • From around the eighth century, the Vikings started to raid and later settle other areas. • There are a number of theories about why the Vikings started to move away from home. For example, it is possible that they needed more farming land because the population was growing. Another theory is that the Vikings fought among themselves and some fled overseas. There is also the hypothesis that they took advantage of weaknesses among the rulers of European countries to conquer and settle. It is likely to be a combination of a number of these theories. 7.4 Who were the Vikings and how did they live? • Although Vikings are known as pirates and raiders, for the most part they were farmers. Viking society was stratified; there were kings or lords known as jarls, freemen called karls and slaves known as thralls. The slaves were usually people who had been brought back after raids and battles. They were needed for labour on the farms. • Viking farms were a series of buildings huddled around a longhouse and were often quite isolated, meaning the people relied only on themselves and the farms were often self-sufficient. • Vikings kept livestock and crops of grains, such as barley and rye, as well as flax and hemp for linen sailcloths. • Viking women ran the farms as the men tended to be away for long periods on raids. • Children would most likely have helped out on the farm. 7.5 What was the early Viking religion and how did it change? • Early Vikings followed a pagan religion. • Viking myths are full of giants and of their gods who lived in a place called Asgard, which is high up in the sky. • They worshipped many gods, the most significant of whom were Odin, Freya and Thor. • Odin features in many of the sagas as the god who ruled from Valhöll, the Hall of the Slain, where the warriors who died in battle were welcomed by the Valkyries, or war-maidens.
TOPIC7 The Vikings 199
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