Meet
The Vikings
by
Sue Russell
Meet The Vikings
by Sue Russell
Readers’ Theatre (Guided Reading) Plays to support the English National Curriculum Key Stage 2,
Topic 6C, British Invaders and Settlers: The Vikings
Play 1 - Introduction. Lindisfarne
Characters:
Viking 1
Viking 2
Viking 3
Monk 1
Monk 2
Monk 3
Play 2 - Kings
Characters:
Viking King 1
Viking King 2
Viking King 3
Ethelred
King Harold
King Alfred
Play 3 - Viking Family – at home.
Characters:
Mum
Dad
Son
Daughter
Chieftain
Slave
Play 4 - Valhalla. Gods
Characters:
Odin
Berserker
Thor
Freya
Frey
Loki
Play 5 - Explorers.
Characters:
Erik the Red
Leif Eriksson (Leif the Lucky)
Bjarni Herjolfsson
Settler
Merchant
Sailor
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Meet The Vikings
Copyright 2008 by Sue Russell
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© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Meet The Vikings
Play 1 – Introduction, Lindisfarne
Characters:
Viking 1
Viking 2
Viking 3
Monk 1
Monk 2
Monk 3
Viking 1:
Raiders!
Viking 2:
Robbers!
Viking 3:
Pillagers!
Viking 1:
Pirates!
Viking 2:
Vicious!
Viking 3:
Violent!
Viking 1:
That’s us, Vikings! ‘Vik’ being Norse word for ‘a bay’ – we were good at laying in
wait, springing out on passing ships!
Viking 2:
Then there’s ‘vikja’ meaning to move away from home.
Viking 3:
Or ‘vikingr’ just meaning pirate!
Viking 1:
Well, wherever our name came from, we certainly spent most of our lives close to the
sea.
Viking 2:
So we became some of the world’s best and bravest sailors and explorers.
Monk 1:
Sailors and explorers indeed! More like greedy plunderers!
Viking 3:
Oops! We forgot that one! But you lot didn’t half make it easy for us!
Monk 2:
Well, that first raid on our monastery, at Lindisfarne, in 793 AD – that did come as a
bit of a shock to us.
Monk 3:
It sure was a rude wake up call to our lives of quiet prayer and study.
Monk 1:
Yes, I remember that morning of 8th June as if it was yesterday.
Monk 2:
A miracle any of us could remember anything after that mead we’d had, that morning,
with our breakfast cereal.
Monk 3:
Speak for yourself. I, brother, never touched a drop of the stuff. Quite cloudy enough
in the North East without making it worse with barley wine!
Viking 1:
And there we were, thinking you lot had no such pleasures in your lives! Sounds like
you needed a bit of shaking up!
Monk 1:
Not quite like the sort you gave us!
Monk 2:
Bird spotters, indeed! I’ll never forget your words, brother, as this lot piled off their
longboats! “Ooh! They’re a little off course for the Farne Islands! They’ll not find many puffins
round here! Let’s help these good folk back on their way”!
Monk 3:
And did they listen?
Viking 2:
Oh we listened all right! To you shouting and screaming when we took all your
riches!
Viking 3:
What a lotta loot there was, too! Gold and silver crosses
Viking 1:
Silken embroideries and decorated books and cloth
Viking 2:
And not forgetting the good folks themselves. Came in very handy as our slaves.
Monk 1:
Not that we had any choice.
Viking 3:
No, but you’d have thought your people, living along that length of coast, would learn
a few lessons – after the first, second, third raid we carried out afterwards.
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Viking 1:
Yeah! Such easy pickings! We went back again and again, filling our boats every
time! It couldn’t have been easier!
Viking 2:
You remember King Svein Forkbeard of Denmark? He was a great Viking pirate who
said each time he landed “Give us your gold and we will sail away”.
Viking 3:
And no sooner had he sailed away, than he came back demanding more! And these
people fell for it every time!
Viking 1:
‘Til there came a time we thought, why not stick around a bit longer? Instead of
raiding and looting in the spring and summer, and then sailing home for winter, we decided to stay.
Monk 1:
So, what was so wonderful about our land compared with where you came from?
Viking 2:
Oh, didn’t we say? We came from
Viking 1:
Norway!
Viking 2:
Sweden!
Viking 3:
And Denmark, which is why you’ll hear us sometimes called ‘those Danes’!
Monk 2:
But why leave your own country?
Viking 1:
Well, we have plenty of forests and fjords, which are very beautiful but are not great
for farming. To grow crops you need lots of low, flat land for fields.
Monk 3:
I thought you just said you had plenty of fields.
Viking 2:
No, he said fjords! They are like long narrow bays
Monk 1:
Like your boats.
Viking 3:
Yes, our ‘drakkars’ or dragon ships. Our forests were useful to grow the trees needed
for the wood – oak, ash and birch to make the hull; and pine trees, very tall and straight, to make
the mast.
Viking 2:
But not so useful when it came to ploughing! Ploughing up steep slopes, along the
sides of the fjords, would have been (pauses and laughs) ‘ard’ work!
Monk 2:
Why are you all laughing?
Viking 3:
Sorry, a weak joke. Our word for plough is ard! Too many years at sea – perhaps our
brains are going a bit soggy!
Viking 2:
I’ll say! Our wives might have thought we were just off cruisin’ every summer, but
with 40 oarsmen all packed together in one boat
Viking 3:
And just having the stars to steer by
Viking 1:
Or flights of birds
Viking 2:
Or stinky sheep!
Monk 3:
What?
Viking 2:
Yes, if you could smell sheep, then you knew you were near land.
Viking 3:
Great, as long as ewe didn’t ram into any rocks, on landing!
Monk 1:
And we thought the mead was addling our brains!
Monk 2:
Hmm. Nothing to what the salt water did to this lot!
Viking 1:
So that’s why we came and settled in your fair land. To feed our families from the
crops we grew and to live on our own land – things were becoming a bit squashed back home, what
with the population increasing, whilst the land stayed the same size.
Monk 3:
And very welcome you were too … not!
Viking 2:
Yes, it took us a little time to get on as neighbours. I guess we hadn’t introduced
ourselves very graciously!
Monk 1:
That’s got to be the understatement of the year!
Monk 2:
Hmm. Robbing, raiding, pillaging
Viking 3:
And plundering! See, I remembered!
Monk 3:
None of that was going to win us over big time!
Viking 1:
But like it or not, you were stuck with us for the next 200 years or so.
Monk 1:
} (Together)
Monk 2:
}
Monk 3:
} Lucky us!
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Quiz 1 - Introduction. Lindisfarne
1. What names were given to describe the Vikings?
2. What was the name of the monastery, raided in 793 AD?
3. What ‘treasures’ did the Vikings take?
4. Why did they take prisoners?
5. What time of the year did the Vikings not come?
6. Where did they come from?
7. What word was used to describe a ‘long narrow bay’?
8. What were their boats called?
9. What trees were used to make the tall, straight masts?
10. How did they steer?
11. What was the main reason the Vikings settled in Britain?
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Play 2 - Kings
Characters:
Viking King 1
Viking King 2
Viking King 3
Ethelred
King Harold
King Alfred
Ethelred:
You Vikings came with something of a reputation.
King Harold: Or your warriors did.
King Alfred: Vicious, violent, plundering, pillaging, robbing, raiding pirates!
Viking King 1: Yes, we sure were proud of them! Our lads learnt to be tough from an early age.
Viking King 2: A boy under 12 could kill someone and not be punished! Start ‘em young, that was
our motto!
Viking King 3: Yes, fighting was a way of life! The noblest and best!
Viking King 1: So much so that us Viking warlords actually became kings! And with names like
ours, nobody was going to forget us in a hurry!
Viking King 2: Indeed. There was Svein Forkbeard – bit of a trendsetter! Ruled Denmark for 16
years but England for just 5 weeks!
Viking King 3: Harald Bluetooth – should have gone to the dentists sooner!
Viking King 1: Harald Fairhair. He had 20 sons including Erik Bloodaxe who made sure he’d be king
after his dad by killing his brothers. (Pauses) I wonder how he killed them?!
Viking King 2: With an axe, perhaps?
Ethelred:
Wow! He’s quick! And I bet that Harald Fairhair had a few grey hairs by the end of
his reign! It’s what we’ll be getting if we have to sit through many more of these weird Viking
names!
Viking King 3: Manners! Then there was Magnus Barelegs – not for long in our winters!
Viking King 1: Thorfinn Skullsplitter – a real gentleman, I’ve heard!
Viking King 2: Einar Falsemouth – famous for his honesty, no doubt!
Viking King 3: Sigurd the Stout
Viking King 1: Should have joined, Olaf the Stout, on his diet! Poor old Olaf died at the battle where
his cousin, Harald Hardrada was wounded.
Viking King 2: That Hardrada! Definitely not a soft touch! He was a real fierce Viking – fought his
first battle for a laugh
Viking King 3: What?!
Viking King 2: Oh sorry. I meant to say, for Olaf! He was only 15. That battle was against Svein
Forkbeard, son of Canute.
King Harold: Oh we know about him. Chap with the dripping trouser legs! Turning back the tide,
indeed! I wonder how wet he had to get, sitting on that chair as the sea came in, before his
courtiers realised he wasn’t that powerful! Huh! Claiming a king could turn back the tide! What
nonsense!
King Alfred: Yeah, he might have ruled over Denmark, Norway and England but even he couldn’t
rule the waves!
Viking King 3: And not forgetting Ethelwulf, and Egbert – bet he made a mean omelette!
King Alfred: Enough! I won’t stand by and let you take the mickey out of my granddad!
Viking King 3: Whoever said anything about Mickey? I think you need your ears testing!
King Alfred: And you’ve tested my patience long enough! These Vikings -they didn’t have it all
their own way. We did put up quite a fight! And they didn’t call me Alfred the Great for nothing!
Viking King 1: Something tells me this one’s second name wasn’t Modesty.
King Alfred: Let me tell you what I achieved!
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Viking King 2: Do we have a choice?
King Alfred: Well, we’ve listened to you lot for long enough! I ruled the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of
Wessex from 871 AD to 899 AD and although you lot got most of Eastern England, we got to keep
the rest.
Ethelred:
Wasn’t that following the Treaty of Wedmore?
King Harold: That’s right. The Danes got Danelaw.
King Alfred: And it might have stayed that way if it hadn’t been for Ethelred here.
Ethelred:
What was that? Did someone call?
King Harold: Yes, you can see how he got his nickname!
Ethelred:
What? Run that past me again!
King Harold: Oh Ethelred. Will you never be ready?
King Alfred: I fear not. After all my hard work building defensive towns called burhs and building
a really strong navy. Just when we thought we might be shot of the Vikings he goes and lets them
back in again!
King Harold: You are being a bit hard on him. He was only 12 when he became king in 978AD.
He did try ..
Ethelred:
I just didn’t catch on very quickly! I thought I could buy peace!
Viking King 1: What a fool!
Viking King 2: We just loved taking all that gold and silver off him .. in return for us sailing away
and leaving him in peace.
Viking King 3: Only we found we just couldn’t stay away!
Viking King 1: And each time we came back, and made our empty promises, Ethelred here just said
“Hi boys! Back for more? Here, take it! And please stay away this time.”
Viking King 2: Which of course we did … until the next time!
Ethelred:
OK. So I did follow some pretty bad advice. But nobody’s perfect!
King Harold: You can say that again!
Ethelred:
Well, I might have been ‘unready’ but at least I wasn’t careless! Who was it who lost
their eye, as well as his kingdom?
King Harold: A cheap shot, if ever I heard one!
Viking King 3: Not such a bad shot from that archer, though, eh?
King Harold: No, got me right in the eye! That Battle of Hastings put an end to my one year rule –
wasn’t much of an innings, was it?
Viking King 2: Maybe they should drop the cricket and practise archery instead! ‘Praps then they’d
get better results on the pitch!
King Harold: (Coughing) If we could return to my untimely death on the battlefield, for one
minute! Yes, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England! What a sad moment when those Norman
invaders came over from France, led by William the Conqueror.
Ethelred:
Yes, but take heart. It’s not everyone that gets stitched up – on a tapestry!
King Alfred: Or certainly not one as grand as the Bayeux Tapestry. Just spare a thought for those
poor Norman noblewomen who had to sew all 68 metres of it! Bet they felt they’d been stitched up
an’ all!
Viking King 3: So there we have it – the Vikings no longer victorious? Or weren’t they? You see,
that William was himself descended from the Vikings!
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Quiz 2 - Kings
1. Who had a beard shaped like a piece of cutlery?
2. Who should have gone to the dentists sooner?
3. Whose hair probably turned grey by the activities of his son, Erik Bloodaxe?
4. Who was probably fond of wearing shorts?
5. Who was happy to put an axe in your head?
6. Who wasn’t good with the truth?
7. Who needed to diet?
8. Who wasn’t a ‘soft touch’?
9. Who got his trousers wet in the sea?
10. Who made a mean omelette?
11. What did the ‘Danes’ get following the Treaty of Wedmore?
12. Why was Alfred great?
13. Who thought he could ‘buy peace’ and wasn’t very ‘sorted’?
14. At which battle did King Harold lose his eye?
15. Who led the Normans from France?
16. On what did they all get stitched up?
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Play 3 - Viking Family at Home
Characters:
Mum
Dad
Son
Daughter
Chieftain
Slave
Mum:
Welcome to our home! Rather simple – just the one room. You shouldn’t get lost!
Dad:
And you shouldn’t complain about housework! Though I suppose the animals can get
a bit messy!
Son:
} (Together)
Daughter:
} Us? Not house-trained?
Dad:
Don’t tempt me! No, I was talking about our farm animals. They may be messy but
we couldn’t live without them.
Son:
} (Together)
Daughter:
} Or us!
Son:
I plough, hunt, fish and fight!
Daughter:
I cook, sew, skin animals and help run the house.
Mum:
I farm our land, make the meals, make our clothes and the sails for his ship! First I
spin the wool, then I weave the cloth on a loom. Do you want to see the new sail I’ve just made for
your long-ship?
Dad:
How kind. Not trying to get rid of me already, are you?
Mum:
Of course not! It’s not time for your summer raiding yet, is it?
Dad:
No, no. You’ve got me a bit longer. I’ll get a few more crops planted before I go.
Chieftain:
Not an easy life, being a farmer.
Slave:
But at least he’s a free man. Not like us thralls.
Dad:
No, being a slave wasn’t much fun. It wasn’t so bad for me, being a karl. But I
wouldn’t have minded being a jarl!
Son:
What’s the difference, Dad?
Dad:
Don’t they teach you anything at school?!
Daughter:
Er, aren’t you forgetting something? Us Viking children didn’t go to school! Too
much to do just keeping ourselves and our families alive.
Dad:
OK. So let me explain. The very poorest are the slaves or thralls. Then there are the
karls, who are farmers, craftsmen and fishermen. We might not have much money but
Slave:
At least you’re free!
Dad:
Quite. Then there are the jarls, who are very rich – they are noblemen and
landowners.
Chieftain:
And then there’s me. Right at the top of the social pyramid. And I suppose you’re
going to say my life, at the top, was the easiest of the lot?
Mum:
Well, wasn’t it?
Chieftain:
We did have our own army. We did get buried in the best boats. We did eat rather
well at those feasts.
Slave:
I’ll say. Sometimes for up to 2 weeks at a time!
Chieftain:
But it wasn’t always easy keeping you lot in order!
Mum:
Well, it’s a funny thing but …
Chieftain:
(Interrupting) Nothing funny about The Thing, Madam. A very serious business,
indeed.
Dad:
Yes, us free men could all go there, once a year. It was like an open air court. That
was when we punished criminals and made new laws.
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Mum:
More like a good excuse to enjoy a bit of horse fighting, wrestling and bareback
riding, if you ask me.
Dad:
Which we didn’t! Silence woman! Have you no respect for the law? It certainly
wasn’t any fun for those found guilty.
Slave:
No. Even slavery’s better than some of those punishments.
Chieftain:
Well, with no prisons, the penalty had to fit the crime.
Daughter:
What? Having your nose or hands cut off?
Son:
Or being burnt with bars of red hot iron?
Daughter:
Is it true you were found guilty if your wounds festered?
Son:
Or if you didn’t sink when thrown into the river?
Daughter:
Seems a bit unfair, that.
Chieftain:
Hush! These are not matters for you children! You will learn soon enough the ways
of your elders. ‘Til then, it is not for you to question.
Dad:
No, just be satisfied that you have enough food on the table. Fish, meat, bread, goat’s
cheese, beer plus the vegetables and fruit we grow.
Son:
And don’t forget that seagull we had the other night!
Daughter:
Or the seal!
Mum:
And that delicious boar stew? Or was it polar bear?
Slave:
I’d have thought you’d have noticed the difference!
Dad:
(Under his breath) Not the way she cooks them!
Slave:
But a lot more appetising than dried peas and pine bark. That’s what the very poor
ate.
Chieftain:
Yes, a sad life, that of the poor. Fancy having to drink out of pottery beakers! Us rich
drank from silver cups.
Dad:
And warriors from drinking horns.
Daughter:
So that’s why Daisy only has one horn!
Chieftain:
Hmm. We drank plenty of honey wine to keep out the cold.
Mum:
Though we still had to wear plenty of layers
Dad:
With furs, fleeces and feathers.
Slave:
To say nothing of their fine jewellery. Two brooches for the women – one on each
shoulder, to fasten their over-dresses.
Mum:
Plus one at my throat, to fasten my cloak, plus one with little hooks or chains to carry
my keys.
Slave:
It’s a wonder she could move!
Dad:
Well, take a look at my arm-rings! I got these for fighting bravely. Course, if I was
rich, I’d wear a load more to show off my wealth!
Mum:
Whoever said it was women who were vain! He spends twice as long on his hair,
each morning, as I do!
Daughter:
Oh but mum! You don’t look your age!
Mum:
You mean, I don’t look 40?
Daughter:
Well, I expect you did once!
Mum:
Thanks, dear daughter … for nothing! Now what’s that banging I hear at the door?
Son:
Dad! There’s a man with a beard at the door.
Dad:
Tell him to go away. I’ve already got one!
Chieftain:
Is it just me? Or are these jokes getting a little naff?! I think maybe it’s time we
(looking at slave) were on our way. This life of fighting and feasting sure keeps you busy. We’ll
leave these good folk to get on with their lives. Be seeing you!
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Quiz 3 - Viking Family at Home
1. What was a Viking mum expected to do?
2. How did a Viking daughter help at home?
3. What did a Viking boy do?
4. What was the other name for a slave?
5. What were farmers, craftsmen and fishermen known as?
6. What was the name given to the very rich?
7. Who was at the top of the social pyramid?
8. What privileges did he have?
9. How long did their feasts sometimes last?
10. Where were new laws made?
11. What were the punishments for criminals?
12. What did they eat?
13. What did the very poor eat?
14. What did they drink?
15. What did the poor drink out of?
16. What did the rich drink out of?
17. What did warriors drink out of?
18. How did they keep warm?
19. What was a popular and useful kind of jewellery?
20. What jewellery did warriors wear to show their bravery?
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Play 4 - Valhalla
Characters:
Odin
Berserker
Thor
Freya
Frey
Loki
Odin:
Welcome to Valhalla!
Berserker:
To where?
Odin:
To the Hall of the Slain.
Berserker:
Does that mean I’m dead?
Frey:
‘Fraid so!
Berserker:
But I thought going berserk would keep me alive!
Thor:
Well, you thor’ wrong!
Berserker:
So I really am dead?
Frey:
‘Fraid so!
Thor:
Feeling a little thor, are we?
Berserker:
What is it with you lot? (Pointing to Frey) Why does he keep saying ‘Fraid so, and
(pointing to Thor) why does he keep saying ‘thor’? I thought I was meant to be the only crazy one
here!
Loki:
Yeah. And I’m meant to be the one with the funny lines!
Odin:
Oh dear. Still, I suppose this is where we’re meant to fight all day.
Freya:
And feast all night!
Odin:
(To Berserker) You’ve obviously just arrived. Let me introduce you to
Frey:
Frey – god of nature. I make sure the crops grow, the sun shines and all is peaceful.
Freya:
Some chance here! ‘Fraid he’s my brother – sorry, family joke.
Loki:
(Sarcastically) We’d never have guessed!
Freya:
OK Mister Funny Guy! Your turn in a minute! My name’s Freya, and I’m goddess of
love and beauty… and dead women.
Berserker:
So you shouldn’t really be here.
Freya:
(Smiling sweetly) No.. but aren’t you glad I am?
Loki:
(Aside) I’d take care if I were you. Her last husband ‘disappeared’. Very odd, if you
ask me!
Freya:
Enough of your jokes, Loki, God of Mischief. So my husband was called Od. And
you’re right - he must have been odd to go and desert beautiful me!
Odin:
Huh! These women! What vain creatures! Still, just as well, really.
Loki:
Yes, just one necklace was all it took to persuade her to become a goddess of battle.
Odin:
A beautiful piece of jewellery, made by 4 dwarves, the Brisings. Such great
craftsmen!
Freya:
So imagine how heart-broken I was when my Brisingamen, my beloved necklace, was
stolen away from me by you, Loki, you little low life!
Loki:
Don’t blame me! It was Odin who ordered me to do it!
Odin:
Ah, but in such a good cause! In return for the necklace, you agreed to look after half
those warriors killed in battle.
Freya:
Correct. Lucky lads! A lot more peaceful in my hall!
Odin:
But nothing like as much fun as here!
Berserker:
So (turning to Thor) who did you say you were? You haven’t been introduced yet.
Thor:
No, I thor’t not!
Loki:
Can I remind you again? I’m the joker around here.
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Thor:
Thorry, it’s just the way I speak. Anyway, I’m thor he’ll have guessed who I am by
now!
Berserker:
It wouldn’t be Thor, by any chance?
Thor:
You thor’t right! Yes, god of storms and fighting.
Odin:
Meet Thor, my eldest son. Very strong and very big.
Loki:
Though maybe not so big in the brain’s department! (Whispering) A bit thick,
between you and me. But don’t tell him, I said that. Look at his fiery red hair. He sure has a
flaming temper on him!
Odin:
No. You wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of his favourite weapon. What’s
that, Thor?
Thor:
Why, my magic hammer, Mjollnir. Always hits its target … and then comes straight
back to my hand!
Frey:
I’ve heard your hammer has quite caught on with them living down below. Poor
fools. Seem to think, if they wear little Thor hammers as jewellery, they’ll act as lucky charms!
Berserker:
Didn’t bring me much luck! I want my money back!
Odin:
Now! Now! You’re in the best possible hands up here. Let me find you some
Valkyries – lovely ladies. After you’ve fought all day, they’ll make sure you have plenty of wine to
feast all night!
Loki:
(To Berserker) Yes, if running berserk is your speciality, you’re in good company
here. Odin might be best known as All-father, chief of the gods. But he’s also god of madness – so
you two should get on like a house on fire!
Berserker:
I did think he might be a bit ‘raving’..
Freya:
Ah, you noticed the two ravens, Thought and Memory, which fly by his side?
Frey:
And the 8 legged horse called Sleipnir?
Berserker:
Oh I just thought I was seeing double!
Loki:
(Angrily) Do you dare to make fun of my gift to Odin? Take care, Berserker! I have
also been known to lose control!
Freya:
(Sadly) Such a shame. He (pointing to Loki) started off as such a fun fellow. He
was always doing fun things like turning himself into fish, birds, flies, horses.
Frey:
But maybe he just went that little bit too far when he (pauses) mothered that 8 legged
foal!
Berserker:
You mean, Loki is the mum of Odin’s horse? What a family!
Thor:
And you thor’t you were mad!
Odin:
Enough! Enough! Anyone would think we had all the time in the world! Has nobody
mentioned Ragnarok? The end of the universe? Well, I don’t know about you lot, but I’m going to
fit in a lot more fun before then! So come on, let’s get on with the feasting!
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Quiz 4 - Valhalla
1. What was The Hall of the Slain more commonly known as?
2. Who went there
3. What could they do all day?
4. What could they do all night?
5. Who was god of nature?
6. What was his job?
7. What was his sister called?
8. What was she goddess of?
9. Who was the god of mischief?
10. What was the name of Freya’s husband?
11. What happened to him?
12. Who made Freya’s favourite necklace, called Brisingamen?
13. Who stole it from her?
14. Who ordered him to steal it?
15. What did Freya have to do in order to have it returned to her?
16. Freya then became the goddess of what?
17. Who was the god of storms and fighting?
18. Who was his dad?
19. What was Thor’s favourite weapon?
20. What was special about it?
21. Why were Thor hammers popular as jewellery with the Vikings?
22. What did the berserker and Odin have in common?
23. What flew by Odin’s side?
24. How many legs did Odin’s horse, Sleipnir have?
25. Who was Sleignir’s ‘mum’?
26. What was the name given to the end of the universe?
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Play 5 - The Explorers
Characters:
Erik the Red
Leif Eriksson (Leif the Lucky)
Bjarni Herjolfsson
Settler
Merchant
Sailor
Settler:
And who, out of you lot, told us Greenland would be green?
Erik The Red: No, that’s what we named it.
Settler:
And your name is?
Erik The Red: Erik the Red!
Settler:
Well, if your Mum could get it right – you do have bright red hair
Leif:
(Aside) And matching temper!
Settler:
Why did you call this icy place Greenland?
Erik The Red: Well, would you have come all the way out here to settle, if I had been wholly
truthful?
Settler:
No!
Erik The Red: Well, there you are then! You need people to start a settlement, and they will only
come if you tell them what they want to hear!
Merchant:
It’s called selling!
Sailor:
And you’d know all about that, being a merchant!
Merchant:
Yes, once these explorer chappies had actually found these new lands, and set up
colonies of people to live there - that’s when we came into business!
Sailor:
With a little help from us sailor lads! You wouldn’t have got the goods far without
us!
Merchant:
And your boats!
Sailor:
True. Vikings might have been best known for their long-boats, with fancy dragon
heads at the front. But it was our cargo ships that were big enough to carry the food and other
things them settlers needed.
Merchant:
And it wasn’t just food we traded in. We swapped slaves and fur for silver in Russia.
Sailor:
Then there was walrus ivory, bearskins and seal-hide ropes from the north. Not
forgetting the soapstone. Some of me mates kept a bar with them just in case a storm struck – then
it might help ‘wash them ashore’!
Merchant:
Then there were luxuries such as silk, wine and glass from the south.
Erik The Red: Not forgetting food for settlers in Greenland and Iceland.
Leif:
And I hope you’re not going to leif me out of all of this!
Erik The Red: Ah, my son Leif! As if!
Bjarni:
And what about me? Without my boat he’d still be living in Norway or Greenland!
Leif:
That’s true.
Bjarni:
And if I hadn’t got blown off course, on one of my voyages, and spotted America,
you’d never have gone there either!
Leif:
True again! I had begun my travels – joining my Dad, Erik the Red in Greenland.
But I might have stayed there if I hadn’t heard about this mysterious land Bjarni had sighted.
Bjarni:
I couldn’t stop to explore because it was far too foggy and I’d promised to join my
mum and dad waiting for me in Greenland, where I was sailing to, from Iceland.
Leif:
So I was the first to land in North America in 1001 – the first European to set foot
there, 500 years before Christopher Columbus!
Bjarni:
But don’t forget I was the first European to actually see America in 986 – despite the
fog!
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Sailor:
My! You explorers! So competitive! Let’s not forget us sailor boys who got you
there! We had no maps or compasses. We just had to rely on the stars and the Sun to guide us.
Bjarni:
Plus the flight of birds, and shoals of fish.
Sailor:
And if your eyesight wasn’t up to picking out landmarks, such as islands or
mountains, then there was always your nose.
Settler:
Your nose?
Sailor:
Yes. You’d be surprised how many times a smelly sheep has come to our rescue. If
ewe can sniff a smelly ram, ewe know you are not far from land!
Merchant:
And then there were us merchants. We were pretty important in keeping you supplied
with what you needed to survive in a new sometimes hostile land! Even one called Vinland, after
all the grapes you found there!
Leif:
Yes, those grapes certainly helped ease any homesickness we might have had.
Erik The Red: Hmph! Certainly forgot your Dad easily enough!
Leif:
Not as easily as you might think! Oh didn’t I mention you got banished, not just once
but twice! For murder! From first Norway, then Iceland! A fine example you set me!
Erik The Red: Tough times, son!
Leif:
Well, I hear you got a saga written about yourself. Let’s hope your skald left out a
few of the nastier details about your life!
Erik The Red: With a bit of luck! P’raps I can borrow some of yours, son?
Leif:
So that’s why I was called Leif the Lucky!
Bjarni:
And I guess the rest of us Viking explorers were pretty lucky. Such discoveries!
Sailor:
Such excitement!
Merchant:
Such wealth!
Settler:
Such hope for a new life! Happy travelling to you all, wherever you may be!
© 2008 by Sue Russell
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Quiz 5 - The Explorers
1. Who gave Greenland its name?
2. Why was this name a little misleading?
3. Why did he ‘lie’?
4. Who sold food and goods to the settlers?
5. What were the boats called that carried the goods?
6. What was taken from Russia in exchange for slaves and fur?
7. What animals in the north lost their ivory, their skins and their hide?
8. How might sailors ‘keep clean’?
9. What luxuries came from the south?
10. What was the name of Erik the Red’s son?
11. Who got caught in the fog?
12. What ‘mysterious land’ did he catch a glimpse of?
13. Who was the first to land there?
14. What other famous explorer landed there 500 years later?
15. What did sailors look out for to help them navigate?
16. What other ‘sense’ did they use?
17. What was the land, named after grapes, called?
18. What 2 countries was Erik the Red banished from?
19. What crime did he commit there?
20. What was Leif’s nickname?
© 2008 by Sue Russell
Page 17
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Production Notes:
Quiz Answers:
Play 1 - Introduction:
1
2
3
What names were given to describe the Vikings? (raiders, robbers, pillagers, and plunderers)
What was the name of the monastery, raided in 793 AD? (Lindisfarne)
What ‘treasures’ did the Vikings take? (Gold and silver crosses, silken embroideries and decorated
books and cloth)
4 Why did they take prisoners? (To be slaves)
5 What time of the year did the Vikings not come? (Winter)
6 Where did they come from? (Norway, Sweden, Denmark)
7 What word was used to describe a ‘long narrow bay’? (fjord)
8 What were their boats called? (Long boats or drakkars or dragon ships)
9 What trees were used to make the tall, straight masts? (Pine trees)
10 How did they steer? (By stars, flights of birds and smell of sheep)
11 What was the main reason the Vikings settled in Britain? (Not enough land at home)
Play 2 - Kings:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Who had a beard shaped like a piece of cutlery? (Svein Forkbeard)
Who should have gone to the dentists sooner? (Harald Bluetooth)
Whose hair probably turned grey by the activities of his son, Erik Bloodaxe? (Harald Fairhair)
Who was probably fond of wearing shorts? (Magnus Barelegs)
Who was happy to put an axe in your head? (Thorfinn Skullsplitter)
Who wasn’t good with the truth? (Einar Falsemouth)
Who needed to diet? (Sigurd the Stout, or Olaf the Stout)
Who wasn’t a ‘soft touch’? (Harald Hardrada)
Who got his trousers wet in the sea? (Canute)
Who made a mean omelette? (Egbert)
What did the ‘Danes’ get following the Treaty of Wedmore? (Danelaw)
Why was Alfred great? (Built defensive towns called burhs, built a strong navy)
Who thought he could ‘buy peace’ and wasn’t very ‘sorted’? (Ethelred the Unready)
At which battle did King Harold lose his eye? (The Battle of Hastings)
Who led the Normans from France? (William the Conqueror)
On what did they all get stitched up? (The Bayeaux Tapestry)
© 2008 by Sue Russell
Page 18
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Play 3 - Viking Family at Home:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
What was a Viking mum expected to do? (Farm the land, make the meals, make clothes, and sails
– spinning and weaving)
How did a Viking daughter help at home? (By cooking, sewing, skinning animals and helping
about the house)
What did a Viking boy do? (He ploughed, hunted, fished and fought)
What was the other name for a slave? (A thrall)
What were farmers, craftsmen and fishermen known as? (karls)
What was the name given to the very rich? (jarls)
Who was at the top of the social pyramid? (The Chieftain)
What privileges did he have? (Had his own army, got buried in the best boats and ate very well)
How long did their feasts sometimes last? (2 weeks)
Where were new laws made? (At The Thing)
What were the punishments for criminals? (Nose and hands cut off, burnt with bars of red hot iron,
thrown in the river)
What did they eat? (Fish, meat - seagull, seal, boar, polar bear; bread, goat’s cheese, fruit and
vegetables)
What did the very poor eat? (Dried peas and pine bark)
What did they drink? (Beer and honey wine)
What did the poor drink out of? (Pottery beakers)
What did the rich drink out of? (Silver cups)
What did warriors drink out of? (Drinking horns)
How did they keep warm? (With layers of furs, fleeces and feathers)
What was a popular and useful kind of jewellery? (Brooches)
What jewellery did warriors wear to show their bravery? (Arm-rings)
© 2008 by Sue Russell
Page 19
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Play 4 - Valhalla:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
What was The Hall of the Slain more commonly known as? (Valhalla)
Who went there? (Dead warriors)
What could they do all day? (Fight)
What could they do all night? (Feast)
Who was god of nature? (Frey)
What was his job? (To make sure the crops grew, the sun shone and all was peaceful)
What was his sister called? (Freya)
What was she goddess of? (love, beauty and dead women)
Who was the god of mischief? (Loki)
What was the name of Freya’s husband? (Od)
What happened to him? (He disappeared)
Who made Freya’s favourite necklace, called Brisingamen? (4 dwarves, the Brisings)
Who stole it from her? (Loki)
Who ordered him to steal it? (Odin)
What did Freya have to do in order to have it returned to her? (She had to look after half the
warriors killed in battle)
Freya then became the goddess of what? (Battle)
Who was the god of storms and fighting? (Thor)
Who was his dad? (Odin)
What was Thor’s favourite weapon? (Magic Hammer, Mjollnir)
What was special about it? (It always hit the target and came straight back to his hand)
Why were Thor hammers popular as jewellery with the Vikings? (Worn as lucky charms)
What did the berserker and Odin have in common? (Madness – Odin god of madness and berserker
known to go mad in battle)
What flew by Odin’s side? (2 ravens, Thought and Memory)
How many legs did Odin’s horse, Sleipnir have? (8)
Who was Sleignir’s ‘mum’? (Loki)
What was the name given to the end of the universe? (Ragnarok)
Play 5 - The Explorers:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Who gave Greenland its name? (Erik the Red)
Why was this name a little misleading? (The land was more grey and icy than green)
Why did he ‘lie’? (To get people to go and settle there)
Who sold food and goods to the settlers? (Merchants)
What were the boats called that carried the goods? (cargo ships)
What was taken from Russia in exchange for slaves and fur? (Silver)
What animals in the north lost their ivory, their skins and their hide? (Walrus, bear and seal)
How might sailors ‘keep clean’? (With bars of soapstone!)
What luxuries came from the south? (Silk, wine and glass)
What was the name of Erik the Red’s son? (Leif Eriksson)
Who got caught in the fog? (Bjarni Herjolfsson)
What ‘mysterious land’ did he catch a glimpse of? (North America)
Who was the first to land there? (Leif Eriksson)
What other famous explorer landed there 500 years later? (Christopher Columbus)
What did sailors look out for to help them navigate? (position of the stars and sun, flights of birds,
shoals of fish)
What other ‘sense’ did they use? (Smell)
What was the land, named after grapes, called? (Vinland)
What 2 countries was Erik the Red banished from? (Norway and Iceland)
What crime did he commit there? (Murder)
What was Leif’s nickname? (Leif the Lucky)
© 2008 by Sue Russell
Page 20
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