The Vikings originated from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. They raided monasteries in England and Ireland for gold and treasures because their homeland had poor soil for growing crops. The Vikings used longships, which were wooden boats powered by sails or oars, to invade other lands and establish settlements elsewhere in places like Iceland, Greenland, and North America. They told stories called sagas to pass down history, geography, and other lessons to younger generations.

2. The Vikings came from Norway,
Sweden and Denmark.
Their land was not fertile. It was
rocky. They found it hard to grow
crops.
They found that both England and
Ireland were rich with plentiful lands
and treasures.
The climate was much warmer than
where they came from, they preferred
it and wanted to settle here.

3. Vikings were known as Genti (pagan warriors) Gael
(Foreigners) or Normandi (Men from the North).
When they arrived on the coast they raided monasteries for gold
and precious goods.
These raids went on for many years as the Vikings stole from
various monasteries around Ireland. The word ‘Viking’ means
pirate, and these pirates were about to get even greedier….

4. Lindisfarne ruins
Lindisfarne Gospel

5. St.Bede’s Monastery in Jarrow

6. The Vikings used
longships to raid
and steal from
other lands.
The Longships
were powered by
sails or by rowing
with oars.
The Viking longships were crafted out of wood. The used their
boats for transporting cargo, trading and for exploring. The
Vikings even travelled to America, which they called
Vineland, because grapes grew there.

7. The Oseberg longship in the Vikingskiphuset,
Oslo.

8. A real Viking longship. The
‘Gokstad’ ship was built
between AD 850 and AD
900. It was excavated by
archaeologists, and is now in
a museum in Oslo, Norway.
A replica Viking ship. Vikings used oars on
rivers, or whenever there was not enough
wind for the sail.

9. The Vikings seemed to get everywhere...
Constantinople
was the main
city of the
Byzantine
empire. The
Vikings traded
there.
Eric the
Red
founded a
new
settlement
in
Greenland.
The Vikings
were the
first
Europeans
to reach
America.
The
Vikings had
settlements
in Iceland
in the ninth
century.
The French king
gave the province
of Normandy to a
Viking duke named
Rollo to stop him
attacking.
The Vikings
settled in an
area called
Rus. The name
Russia comes
from this word.

11. Sagas and Runes
Sagas
Viking children did not go to school so instead, lessons came in
the form of Sagas or long stories. They described the adventures
of great Viking warriors or gods. The Sagas were an important
way to teach History, Geography and navigation. The Vikings
often decorated buildings with pictures from famous sagas.
Runes
The Viking alphabet was called the Futhark. The letters or runes
were carved into wood or stone. The runes are made of straight
lines so it is easier to carve them.

14. A few questions….
1. Why did the Vikings invade?
2. What was a longship made of and how was it powered?
3. Where did the Vikings come from?
4. What does the word Viking mean?
5. What is Rus called today?
6. Where else did the Vikings settle?
7. What did the Vikings call long stories?
8. What were these stories supposed to teach?

15. Words you must know
• TO INVADE, AN INVASION
• TO RAID, A RAID
• OAR
• TO SAIL, A SAIL
• TRADE
• TO SETTLE, A SETTLEMENT
• TO WRESTLE
• TO SACK
• A GOSPEL
• SAGA, RUNES