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The Vikings – Savage Plunderers, or Conquers of the Environment?

Directions: Answer questions based on the following documents. Then answer the question that follows. Use the documents to support your argument.

DOCUMENT 1. The Viking alphabet, the Futhark, was made up of Runes, or letters. The Runes were mostly made up of straight lines, because they were carved into wood or stone, and it was easier to carve straight lines in hard surfaces. The Kylver Stone is a limestone slab that bears a 5th-century runic inscription, providing the oldest record of the Germanic runic series; it was found in a tomb in the province of Gotland in Sweden. The runes faced the inside of a coffin and probably were intended either to protect the grave or to bind the dead person to it by giving the person a magical protection.

Questions:

1. Why would the Vikings have created a written language?

2. What does this tell you about their religion?

DOCUMENT 2. Below is an excerpt from the Norse Creation Myth. In the beginning the land was an inhospitable place for humans. There were realms of extreme cold in the north and extreme heat and fire in the south. The only creatures that could live there was Ymir. From him sprang giant children who inhabited the wasteland. These off spring had three children, Odin, Vili and Ve. These brothers did not like the cruel giants that inhabited the world. Below is an excerpt detailing how they destroyed Ymir and created the earth.

Questions:

3. What does this creation myth tell you about the Vikings religion?

DOCUMENT 3. The Viking long ship was an impressive engineering master piece. It was constructed by first splitting wood and laying down one long central “keel.” Then bent timbers and cross beams were nailed to the keel. They overlapped wood pieces, connected to the beams to create the shell of the ship. These vessels needed only 3 feet of water to sail. Oarsmen could propel the ship, or the Vikings could use the wind. This made them pivotal for successful sneak attacks on unsuspecting villages.

Questions 4: What do these ships tell you about the skills of the Vikings?

DOCUMENT 4. When a Viking died they may have been cremated, or laid to rest out at sea. Below is a description of an archeological find of a “sea burial.”

Question:

4. What does this account tell you about Viking religion?

DOCUMENT 5: Vikings did not only use their ships for pillaging. They were also expert explorers. Viking’s originated from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; however, their villages can be found throughout England, Ireland, Greenland, and North America.

DOCUMENT 6: One of the most famous Viking explorers was Leif Erikson. Below is an excerpt from his biography.

Questions:

5. What does the map and Leif Erikson’s biography tell you about the culture of the Vikings?

DOCUMENT 7: The Viking homeland was a difficult place to live. Below is a description of a typical Viking Village.

Question:

6. What does the description above tell you about the Viking villages? Why would they need to explore and raid surrounding villages?

DOCUMENT 8: In 793 AD, Vikings sacked the Lindisfarne Monastery, off the coast of England. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a medieval manuscript has preserved an account of this attack.

DOCUMENT 9: Below are more descriptions of the attack of the monastery.

Question:

7. What happened at Lindisfarne?

Written Response:

You are a judge who has just been presented the above information I court. Now you must decide, are the Vikings guilty of being blood-thirsty pillagers, or were they just like any other civilization, overcoming a harsh environment?

In your answer be sure to explain what documents helped you come to your decision and why.

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… Here terrible portents came about over the land of Northumbria, and miserably frightened the people: these were immense flashes of lightning, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the air. A great famine immediately followed these signs; and a little after that in the same year on 8 January the raiding of heathen men miserably devastated God's church in Lindisfarne island by looting and slaughter…”

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A Viking Burial

In 1939, in Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England, archaeologists discovered a treasure that had been under the earth for thirteen hundred years. This enormous ship-grave contained the imprint of a huge wooden ship and a cast treasure trove- all of which bad been buried with a king or noble warrior. There was no trace left of the man, but his sword lay there, along with other meticulously decorated treasures of gold, silver and bronze – his purse, coin, helmet, buckle, serving vessels, and harp.

As these ship treasures show, the Vikings were not barbarians, though they are frequently depicted that way. However, they did not lead luxurious lives either, or lives dominated by learning or the arts. Warfare was the order of the day… law and order… was the responsibility of the leader, especially during war, and success was measured in gifts from the leader. ..

T his pattern of loyal dependency was basic to Viking life. Such loyalty grew out of the need to protect the group from the terrors of enemy-infested wildernesses…

- Leeming, David Adams. “Introduction to the Anglo-Saxons.” Elements of Literature. Eds. Kathleen Daniel, et al. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston; 2000.

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Leif Eriksson was a Norse explorer, son of Erik the Red. He was commissioned by a Norwegian king to spread Christianity to settlers in Greenland. While attempting to sail back to Norway, his ships were blown off course in a storm. They finally reached dry land in Nova Scotia, Canada, naming it Vinland (for the wild grades growing in the area). This makes him one of the first European explorers to find North America; over 400 years before Columbus.

- Biography of Leif Erikson, Encyclopedia Britannica

The three brothers waited until Ymir was asleep before they assaulted him. A horrifying battle began. Using all their strength they managed to kill Ymir... The World was Created from the remains of the giant Ymir. The three brothers dragged the dead body of Ymir towards the center of Ginnungagap. This is the place where they created the world from the remains of Ymir. The blood was transformed into oceans and water. The flesh became the land. The bones became the mountains. The teeth made into rocks. The hair became the grass and trees. The eyelashes became (Middle Earth). They threw the brain up in the air and it became the clouds. The skull became the sky. It was the lid that covered the new world. The brothers grabbed some of the sparks shooting out from Muspelheim, the land of fire. They threw the sparks up toward the inside of the skull. These sparks gleamed at night and was what we call the stars. On the plains of Idavoll, they built Asgard, which would be the home of the gods.

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