Viking Basics
This word originally referred to the act of raiding, not an ethnicity.
What is “Viking”?
This feature of Viking longships allowed them to travel in shallow rivers and land on beaches.
What is a shallow draft?
This 793 raid shocked Christian Europe and is often used to mark the start of the Viking Age.
What is the raid on Lindisfarne?
Vikings who traveled east through Russia were known by this name.
Who are the Varangians?
What is viking art best know for?
Viking art is best known for its use of interlacing animal forms rather than realistic human figures.
Vikings practiced this belief system before Christianity spread.
What is Norse paganism?
True or False? Most Scandinavians during the Viking Age were farmers, traders, or craftsmen rather than raiders.
What is true?
Viking ships were known for being fast, flexible, and highly maneuverable.
What is true of longship design?
“Sail, sack, sell, celebrate” describes this Viking economic pattern.
What is raiding and trade?
This early Viking-founded state helped shape modern Russia and Ukraine.
This early Viking-founded state helped shape modern Russia and Ukraine.
This decorative style features gripping beasts with intertwined bodies.
What is the gripping beast style?
Christianity spread first among Viking elites largely for this reason.
What is political advantage or legitimacy?
Viking society was organized around these small, kin-based communities rather than centralized kingdoms.
What are clans?
This innovation allowed Vikings to raid far inland using river systems.
What is advanced shipbuilding?
This trade expanded rapidly, with captives sold to Byzantium and Muslim Spain.
What is the slave trade?
In 911, this Viking leader was granted land that became Normandy.
Who is Rollo?
Viking art often appeared on everyday objects like weapons, jewelry, and ships rather than paintings.
What is applied or functional art?
This mixing of Christian and Norse beliefs occurred over generations.
What is syncretism?
These natural features served as Viking “highways,” connecting settlements and trade routes.
What are rivers, fjords, and coastlines?
The Oseberg ship was built around this year.
What is c. 800 CE?
This Viking-founded settlement became a major slave market in Ireland.
What is Dublin?
This English region came under Viking control and influence.
What is the Danelaw?
Viking artists emphasized this design style over naturalistic realism.
What is abstraction?
These Icelandic texts preserve Viking history, law, and daily life.
What are the Icelandic sagas?
The lack of a unified written language means most Viking records come from this group.
Who are their enemies (especially Christian monks)?
Viking ships often featured decorative carvings focused on these subjects rather than flowers.
What are animals and fighting figures?
These goods were commonly traded by Vikings before large-scale raiding began.
What are furs, amber, and walrus ivory?
This system of fortified towns was used by King Alfred the Great to resist Viking attacks.
What is the burh system?
Viking art styles are often identified and dated using archaeological finds rather than written records.
What is archaeology?
The failed invasion of England by Harald Hardrada in this year symbolically marks the end of the Viking Age.
What is 1066?