1. The Vikings

2. Who were the vikings? They were Norwegian, Danish and Swedish people.
The viking era was between AD 800 to 1050
They were great seafarers and travelled widely in their Longships
However, most vikings were peacefull farmers, fishermen and traders

3. Kings and chiefs
The viking society had three classes: Nobels, freemen and thralls
There were lots of kings ruling small kingoms
Harald the Shaggy united all of Norway in AD 860

4. Famous Viking rulers
Eric Bloodaxe – son of Harald the Shaggy. Rumour has it that he murdered his seven brothers and that he was a cruel ruler
Olaf Haraldson –Made Norway a Christian country and died at Stiklestad in Ad 1030

5. Runes All vikings spoke a language called Old Norse
They wrote in Runes
Rune-writing was well suited for carving the letters into wood or rock

6. Life at the Viking farm A viking home was a longhouse
The longhouse had no windows and little furniture
The family, thralls, guests and animals all lived together in the house

7. A Viking longhouse

8. Tasks Write five sentences describing a viking longhouse
What kind of food and drink did they produce on the farm?
Write 5 sentences describing womens role in the viking society ( Read ”Norse Women” first)

9. The Viking beliefs

10. Norse gods Odin, the god of war and wisdom Thor, the god of thunder
Frey, the god of nature and fertility
Freya, the godess of love and marriage

11. Asgard and Midgard
The vikings believed that the gods lived in Asgard, a place somewhere over the rainbow.
People lived in Midgard.
The rainbow is a bridge between Midgard and Asgard

12. Yggdrasil The tree of life

13. Viking routs

14. The comming of Christianity
The Vikings learned about the christian beliefs as they traveled across Europe
Vikings that settled in christian countries often adopted the religions of their surroundings

15. Thor and Jesus
Gradually, the Vikings brought Christianity to Scandinavia
However, many Vikings kept their old fate in adition to their new christian beliefs.
In 1024 Christianity becomes as the official faith in Norway.