Leilani Matautia 8D
Viking project
Humanities
Hopefully I will display a more complete picture of Viking Raiders- Going Berserk for all those who enter!
What was the Danegeld? How did Viking Berserkers behave in battle? Why were the Viking
boats so effective as a transport for raiding parties? Write your answer in two paragraphs
to place on your poster.
Bribe. In one word that is what the Danegeld was. The
name was decided by the Norwans and is most
commonly used but it is also known as gafol by AngloSaxons. In actual fact it was a large sum of money raised
through a tax. These Danegeld taxes were paid by the
English in Anglo-Saxon silver pennies to the moneyhungry Vikings- more officially known as Danes. 991
AD was the year in which Ethelred II
decided that he no longer wanted
to think about Vikings invading Anglo-Saxon England wherever he went whenever he
was awake and of course even in his sleep. So because King Ethelred II wanted to
remain seated on his throne he created the special agreement and the Danes kept their
side of the bargain and everyone was safe and sound. However some 25 years later the Danegeld was no
longer in use. The same Norwans mentioned at the beginning also paid the Danegeld from time to time and
ceased in 1162. I guess the Vikings were tired of being pains in the neck!
DID YOU KNOW?
Ethelred II was also known as Ethelred the Unready
Berserkers were plainly coldwas to protect their king at all
blooded Viking fighters whose duty
costs and lead the army into war!
They fought anyone big or
small and in the duration of
the battle they’d be literally
going CRAZZZYYYY!! This
type of insanity was
identified as bärsärkar-gång;
translation- going bananas
(berserk really)! These
wacky Vikings were first
heard of in a poem entitled
Raven Song which dates
back to the 9th century
which describes a Berserker
as a “man wearing wolf
skins”. The genesis of the
title ‘berserker’ perhaps was
inspired by their bare chests-
serkr (shirt) or due to their
bears- Old Norse > ber (bear) +
that they worked up a frenzy
there are two mainly believed
Old Norse > berr (bare) +
coats made from the skin of
serkr (coat). Apart from the fact
prior to killing their first victim,
theories created by historians in
Leilani Matautia 8D
Viking project
Humanities
relations to why berserkers behaved like total lunatics-
Before waging war they may have eaten magic
mushrooms. This possessed the power to take over the consumer’s brain. So that they would have
feral wrath that they weren’t even conscious of!
But more credible, their mad acts could solely be the
harmful result of binge-drinking.
It is believed that no weaponry could hurt berserkers but because of their bloodcurdling condition of rage
anyone would not be aware of an axe slicing a toe off! Only until after the victory was celebrated, the loss
dealt with or the next morning, would they realize. Odin- a Scandinavian war-god was praised by berserkers
and following their deity’s footsteps they were presumed to be shape-shifters. An ex-berserker by the name
of Ulfr was nicknamed Kveld-Ulfr rendered as Evening Wolf. His temper would rise throughout the day and
at night he’d transform into a werewolf! Once merciless berserkers were under the spell of the strange
bärsärkar-gång their might and viciousness would be equivalent to that of a bear’s which is why they wore
bear-skins. So because majority of berserkers had Bjorn (bear) in their names it was very much deserved.
Bärsärkar-gång could wear off so when it did, berserker would be weak instead of unstoppable so from there
they would be an easy target for the enemy. When the Viking King had berserkers in his army they all were
looked upon as violent, unintelligent and a hazard to know. For some anonymous reason they would create
commotion. In their leisure time they would gang-rape and pillage their very own neighbours and folk. The
Vikings of high ranking were disgusted whenever a young berserker would show up at their town and
challenge someone because they had the better chance of winning and so legally take those you loved,
knew and owned. Hólmganga was the term for this unjust operation and this procedure resulted in the
berserker’s demise in 1015 when Erik of Norway outlawed these unwanted and notorious berserkers.
DID YOU KNOW?
Beorn is the Old English word for bear
Björn – Swedish
Bjørn- Norwegian
From bear it meant ‘man’ to ‘freeman’ to
’nobleman’ and lastly ‘baron.’
Leilani Matautia 8D
Viking project
Humanities
The variety of ships the Vikings owned allowed them to embark on expeditions, voyages of trading and the
main focus for this paragraph- raiding.
The Viking ships were a successful means of transport for raiding parties because-
Vikings could get to destinations quickly- fast in the ocean
Easily withstand storms or ocean crossings- were strong
You’d be scared if you saw the ship’s dragon head coming out of the mist- evoke fear on
witnesses
Enabled clean getaways, safety from attacks from enemies and surprise attacks in very
shallow water like rivers and no need for harbours- drafts as tiny as 50 cm
Extra defence from wind and waves- shields lined up along the gunwales in shield racks
Reasonable spaciousness- fit around 16 men
Fit through channels without difficulty and easy to manoeuvre - quite narrow
DID YOU KNOW?
In 1970 from the Skuldelev narrows
located in Denmark; 5 11th century ships
were discovered and they were put there
by Vikings on purpose, maybe to block
the channel throughout a raid close by.
Why did some monasteries like Lindisfarne have ‘treasure for Vikings to steal’? What kind
of treasure was it? Find pictures of Lindisfarne monastery, then try drawing a monastery
to show the different
buildings it had and the jobs
the monks did.
Monasteries were an easy target to
loot and do whatever was done due
to numerous reasons.
Leilani Matautia 8D
Viking project
Humanities
These monks and the rest held up Christianity while Vikings were pretty much the opposite
following after their pagan gods who didn’t teach about “loving your neighbour”.
Valuables were everywhere you looked in a monastery! Giving you a range to choose from.
Monasteries had treasures for Vikings to steal because monks had no weapons to defend themselves
and if anyone was in the way of the Vikings they’d end up dead!
No fortification of any kind was ever encompassing monasteries so they could be broken into
without requiring much effort.
They had all the essentials that would keep a person alive and content.
It was uncomplicated to retrieve expensive items because they were just sitting there and it wasn’t
like the tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh designed like a maze to keep raiders out.
Majority of monasteries
were on the edge of a
coast and so the escapes
were always clean and
quick!
Lindisfarne (aka Holy Island) was
near the coast of northeast
England and where Lindisfarne
monastery was established by St
Aiden in 635 AD. Subsequently
the monastery flourished and
evangelicals and missionaries did
their work in its premises. St
Cuthbert was its most illustrious
abbot who later was
Lindisfarne Gospels
ordained bishop of Lindisfarne. It became widely known for the
and the Old English version of the Gospels they also
produced. Suddenly
in 793 AD without warning, Lindisfarne
monastery was
ransacked by Norsemen, beginning a new
age of trepidation
monks heard the
vaguely seen in
willpower to
to greedy
monks
could fit
burning
pleasure!
the district of
retrieving the plunder. This
for all the English. That year as soon as the
alarming news that a dragon boat could be
the distance, they attempted with all their
hide all the ornaments that would look like spoils
Vikings, only for some to die trying. Once the
were out of the picture they’d steal booty that they
into their vast ships and even went to the extent of
various parts of the large monastery just for mere
Heartless and unfathomable! It is said that they scouted
Lindisfarne prior to the raid to plan a successful way of
was one of the first raids ever to be recorded on the pages
Leilani Matautia 8D
Viking project
Humanities
of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. From then on those 5 steps were repeated >
The Vikings would launch a surprise attack on a helpless island- including Lindisfarne
Kill anyone blocking their path-e.g. monks
Steal anything costly- even innocent villagers so they could be sold as slaves
Burn anything they wanted to- like monasteries
Retreat at the same rate they arrived in their dragon boats
They only continued at Lindisfarne until 875 AD when the monks had had enough and fled to Durham
to create a new church. To make it easier, as the years flew by, the Vikings decided to settle areas in a
handful of places (near to the island they’d raid) to
store, operate and trade all the stolen loot to use
time more efficiently. Situated in Dublin, Ireland
was the most famous base of all. These ill-timed
raids
existed for 11 centuries- occurring at France, Ireland
and Russia too- halting when Europe was liberated.
DID YOU KNOW?
When the Lindisfarne monks ran
away they also took the bones of
their precious St. Cuthbert!
Here’s a list of treasure that Vikings would steal
from monasteries on one of their raids >
manuscripts
food
drink
cattle
Leilani Matautia 8D
Viking project
Humanities
tools
church bells to melt down
silver chalices
holy books that were usually encrusted with precious jewels
shrines which were decked in gold and silver
crosses
tapestries
clothes
In a monastery each monk had a different aspect of work to take care of and a unique name.
Abbot - The monk in charge
Almoner - The monk who distributed food and clothes to the poor
Cantor or Precentor - The monk in charge of singing
Cellarer - The monk in charge of provisions and
goods
Chamberlain - The monk in charge of attire and
bedding
Choir or Cloister Monks - Everyday monks
Cook - The chef monk
Guest Master - The monk who looked after
abbey guests
Herbalist - The monk who created medicines
DID YOU
KNOW?
Monks spent
most of their
time praying!
Leilani Matautia 8D
Viking project
Humanities
Infirmarer - The physician monk
Illuminators - Monks who paint cute images in manuscripts
Lay Brothers - Non-monks who worked at the abbey
Lay Servants - Hired aid
Master of the Novices - The educator monk
Novices - Boy monks
Prior - The Abbot's assistant
Sacrist - The monk in charge of the abbey's riches
Sub-Prior - The Prior's partner
As you can see below, these are an example of the times they prayed on a daily basis and additional prayers
were said too!
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2.00am - 'Matins' Church Service, then back to Bed
4.00am - 'Lauds' Church Service, then back to Bed
6.00am - 'Prime' Church Service
9.00am - 'Terce' Church Service
11.00am - High Mass Church Service
12.00pm - 'Sext' Church Service
3.00pm - 'Nones' Church Service
5.00pm - 'Vespers' Church Service
8.00pm - 'Compline' Church Service
A monastery was a gigantic place and there were different sections assigned for those different jobs listed
above.
Leilani Matautia 8D
Viking project
Humanities
Check out my PowerPoint now!