The Vikings
Celts
Romans
Saxons
Vikings
Normans
Tudors
Victorians
WW ll
500 BC
AD 43
450
793
1066
1485
1837
1939
Toward the end of the 8th century CE, Viking seafarers from what we now call Norway (A), Denmark
(B), and Sweden (C) embarked on a series of daring voyages for trade, colonization, and sometimes
even plunder. Over the next 250 years, they planted settlements in Europe — from the British Isles (D)
and France (E) to Italy (F) and Russia (G). Vikings from Norway, in particular, became the first
Europeans, ever, to establish a passage across the Atlantic to North America. They did it in stages,
setting up bases, as they went, in the Shetland Islands (H), Faroe Islands (I), Iceland (J), Greenland (K),
and — for just a few years — in the place they called Vinland (L).
berserker
draught
• Warrior gangs that attached themselves to courts as
bodyguards and shock troops
• The depth of water the longships needed to float
fjord
• Inlet of the sea
saga
• A long poem that tells of a hero and his adventures
Valhalla
• The hall of the warriors in heaven
Valkyrie
• Warrior goddesses
• the life force,
lightning, strength,
thunder & thunder
storms
Thor
• fertility, prophecy,
sex, sexuality
(feminine), war,
wealth & weather
Freya
• god of death,
knowledge, poetry,
rune magic, travel,
war, warriors, &
wisdom
Odin
Important Asar gods
• Odin (also called Woden) –
chief of gods, god of battle
who ruled Asgard, home of
the gods. He is shown as a
mysterious one-eyed god
• Tyr – god of war
• Balder – Odin’s son, god of
youth, beauty and goodness
• Loki – a troublemaker
(Balder and Loki were not
friends)
Important Vanir gods
• Mimir – wisest of the Asar,
sent as a hostage to the Vanir
but was killed
• Niord – ruler of wind and
god of seafaring
• Frey – son of Niord, god of
fertility who gave good crops
and ensured the survival of
the race
• Freyja – the daughter who
was always attended by cats
Tuesday
Wednesday
• Tyr’s day
• Named after Tyr, god of war
• Woden’s Day
• Named after Woden (Odin), chief of gods
Thursday
• Thor’s day
• Named after Thor, god of thunder
Friday
• Frey’s day
• Named after Frey, god of fertility
 The Vikings made sacrifices to the gods, especially
during the three main festivals:
Vertarblot
• Mid-October, when
sacrifices were made to
ensure a good Winter
Jolablot or
Midsvetrarblot
• Mid-January when
sacrifices were made to
ensure good crops
• Sacrifices were always
made to Frey
Sigrblot
• In April when sacrifices
were made for victories at
war
At these festivals people ate horsemeat and drank bowls of wine.
Sometimes animals given to the gods were not killed, but were
dedicated to the god and the owner could still use the animal.
• Constantinople (Istanbul),
Russia, Greenland, Baltic area
• Traded in silk, spices, slaves,
amber, weapons, glass
• Founded trading cities in
Scandinavia, Ireland and
England (York)
• Trade was peaceful
• France, England and
elsewhere
• Landed, raided, destroyed and
looted along the coastlines
• Established settlements in
Iceland and Greenland
• Discovered North America
(Vinland)
• Established some peaceful
settlements or colonies in
England, France and Finland.
Trade
Raids
Colonisation