Vikings

Brainstorm:What do we already know about Vikings?

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Chances are, when I say Vikings, you think of…

no?

Fact or Fiction?

On your paper, guess Fact or Fiction?

1. Vikings were dirty, gross and never took a bath

2. Viking helmets had horns3. Vikings lived in towns4. Vikings came to North America5. Vikings were bloodthirsty barbarians6. Vikings were hated by everyone7. Vikings had lame, unsophisticated weapons8. Vikings had fast ships built for trading and

raiding

#1: Vikings were dirty, gross, and never took baths

{FICTION}- In the Viking world, Saturday was bath day (this basically made them “clean-freaks” as bathing that often in Viking times by other groups was unheard of

- Vikings made their own soap for cleaning AND to bleach their hair blonde (seen as desirable in Viking times)

- Vikings had many tools for grooming such as combs which they used for hair and beards

- Washed their faces and blew their noses each morning

#2 Vikings wore horned helmets{FICTION}

- The image of Vikings wearing horned helmets is a myth; their helmets never had horns.

- If worn at all, helmets were more like leather hats, and some times metal head protection (see below)

- Helmets or hats with wings were worn more for ceremonial purposes (sometimes)

#3 Most Vikings lived in towns{FICTION}

- Most Vikings lived on farms

- Viking houses were like long houses, and had just on large room for the entire family to share. Wealthier Viking homes sometimes had an entry hall, but that was rare

- Houses were built of wood, stones, and blocks of turf

#4 Vikings came to North America{FACT}Plot these 7 important Viking locations on your map

#5 The Vikings were unusually bloodthirsty and barbarian

{FICTION?}True, Vikings were pretty ruthless (and bloodthirsty, and barbaric) BUT not unusually so for this time period. This was a violent age.

#6 The Vikings were hated EVERYWHERE {FICTION}

Vikings were respected by many of their peers.

#7 The Vikings used crude, unsophisticated weapons

{FICTION}- Vikings were actually skilled weapon smiths

- Using a method called pattern welding, the Vikings could make swords that were both extremely sharp and flexible

#8 The Vikings built fast ships for raiding and war

{FACT}-These ships were “longships” and “dragonships”

- The Vikings also had slower passenger and cargo ships called knorrs. They built small boats for fishing or short trips.

Read & Write like a Viking

• The earliest Viking alphabet (or futhark), was made up of 24 runes

• The later Viking Futhark had between 26 and 33 runes

• The futhark matched to our modern English alphabet

Before you can write like a Viking, you need a Viking name

http://gorm.com/name/convert.htm

Miss B = Heather Fairhairin runes, that is:

H E A T H E R

F A I R H A I R

Plot these 7 important Viking locations on your map

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vikings/

• web quest

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/