Lesson video

Hello everyone, and welcome to your first lesson on Vikings and Anglo-Saxons.

My name is Mrs. Tipping, and in this lesson we're going to tackle the question, who were the Vikings? In this lesson, we'll look at where the Vikings came from, who they were, and what they believed in.

Now for this lesson it's a good idea to make sure that you are sat somewhere comfortable without any distractions so you can capture all of the knowledge.

All you need are three things, some paper or an exercise book, a pencil or pen, and your fantastic brains.

Now, if you haven't got those, go and quickly grab them now.

Good job.

Okay.

So let's have a look at the lesson structure.

First, I'll share some key words.

Then we're going to talk about where the Vikings came from.

The next question looks at why they decided to invade Britain.

And finally, we'll talk about what the Vikings believed in and how those beliefs changed.

And we'll finish with our end of lesson quiz which we'll do at the end of every lesson.

So let's start with some keywords.

The first word is Scandinavia.

My turn, your turn.

Scandinavia.

Scandinavia refers to the group of countries Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.

The next word is Danes.

My turn, your turn, Danes.

The people of Britain called the Vikings Danes.

So it's another name for Vikings.

The next word is longship.

My turn, your turn, longship.

A longship is a long slender boat Vikings would use to travel.

And the final word is Valhalla.

My turn, your turn, Valhalla.

Valhalla is the great hall Viking warriors believed they would go to after death.

So these words are going to appear in our lesson and they're going to be important words to remember them.

Okay, let's start with the first question.

Where did the Vikings come from? So let's begin by looking at a timeline.

The Anglo-Saxons arrived in Britain in 450 AD and they stayed until around 1066.

The Vikings arrived from around 790 AD and they also stayed until 1066.

During this period, many Vikings left their homelands in Scandinavia, just like the Anglo-Saxons did 400 years earlier.

During the same period of history, Baghdad in the Middle East was flourishing as a centre of learning, making many advancements in science, mathematics, and medicine up until 1258.

So let's pause now and let's think about this question.

When did the Vikings arrive in Britain? Was it A, 700 AD, B, 730 AD, C, 760 AD or D, 790 AD.

Have a think, point to the screen or write down your answer, or even say it out loud.

When did they arrive in Britain? Have a think.

The answer is, 790 AD.

Good job if you remembered that.

Here is a map that shows Europe.

The Vikings were great travellers and sailed to other parts of Europe where they traded, raided, and often settled.

The people of Britain called the invaders Danes because they came from Denmark.

But they also came from Norway and Sweden as well.

Vikings were also known as Norsemen.

Norsemen means people from the North.

So let's have a look at the map now.

Watch the arrows as they come up.

So we have Denmark, the Vikings came from Denmark, they came from Norway and they came from Sweden.

You see those places on the map there? They are in the North, above the United Kingdom.

So let's take a quick pause, which countries did the Vikings come from? So there may be more than one answer here that you need to remember.

Did they come from A, Denmark, B, Norway, C, Greece, D, Sweden.

So you don't have to write down more than one answer here.

So write them down or say them out loud.

What do you think? Which countries did the Vikings come from? Good job if you said A, B and D, they came from Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Okay.

So now let's look at why the Vikings decided to invade Britain.

The Vikings travelled thousands of miles across the sea from their homeland of Scandinavia where they were farmers, fishermen, seafarers, and traders.

Most Vikings were simply searching for better land for their farms when they came to Britain.

Their land was not very good for growing crops or weaving animals.

Norway was very hilly, Sweden was covered in forests, and Denmark had a lot of sandy soil Some historians however, believe the Vikings left their homes because of overcrowding.

There was not enough good land for everyone to share.

In a Viking family, only the eldest son inherited the family farm.

So younger brothers had to make their living elsewhere.

Another reason was that the Viking searched for treasures to make them rich.

Britain was a particularly good place to raid as there was much there to steal.

The Vikings were attracted to the wealth of the monasteries and the easy treasure to be found within.

Okay.

So in a moment, I'd like you to pause your video, to have a go at this task.

What were the three reasons the Vikings invaded Britain? So here's a way to start your answer.

There are three reasons why Vikings may have invaded Britain.

The first reason is, and then give your reason.

The second reason is, and the third reason is.

Okay? So have a think.

What were the three reasons why did the Vikings come to Britain? Restart the video once you're finished.

Okay.

So here are some answers that you could have.

There are three reasons why Vikings may have invaded Britain.

The first reason is that they were in search of better land.

The second reason is there was not enough land to share.

And the third reason is Britain was wealthy and this attracted Vikings.

So you don't have to have the answers in that order exactly, you might've said that Britain was wealthy and it had lots of treasure first and then talked about the land, it doesn't matter the order you put them in as long as you've got those three reasons.

So good job if you got those correct.

Now, let's learn about how the Vikings travelled to Britain.

Many Vikings were great travellers and sailed all over Europe and the Atlantic Ocean in their longships.

Their longships could sail in shallow water which meant they could travel up rivers as well as across the sea.

It is said that Viking sailors would sometimes release ravens, which are a type of black bird, to find out which direction to travel.

The birds flew towards the land and the longships followed them.

So let's take a look at this statement.

The longships could sail in shallow water as well as deep water.

Is this true or is it false? Have a think, point to your screen, or say it out loud or write your answer down.

True or false? The answer is true.

The Viking longships were able to travel up rivers, which were often shallow, as well as across the deep waters of the sea.

Viking longships were used in battle and were long, light, and slender.

So they could move around quickly.

They were built from wooden planks held together with iron nails.

Any gaps were sealed with animal hair to make sure they were waterproof.

They had a square sail and a mast but the ship could also be rode if there was no wind.

Depending on its size, a longship had 24 to 50 oars.

The prow at the front of the ship would often be a dragon or a snake's head.

Vikings hoped it would keep evil spirits away.

So take a look at this picture here.

This is a picture of a model Viking longship.

You can see that it's long and light and slender, and we've also got the sail which is the square bit and the mast, which is the stick in the middle, which would have held the sail up.

And at the end, the prow is where we can see the head of a dragon or a snake.

The oars are the bits of wood sticking out.

They would have helped to row the ship if there was no wind.

So I'd like you to pause the video now, and I'd like you to have a go at drawing your own longship.

So have a go at being a bit arty, drawing that long ship, and then labelling it with the four keywords you can see on screen.

Where are the oars, the prow, the sail and the mast? Okay? So think about where those things are, what parts of the ship they were, and then restart the video once you're finished.

Okay, good job if you gave that your best go.

So here's an image of a longship here.

So we've got the sail, which is the square bit that would help the boat move, the mast, that would be behind the sail to keep it in place, the oars that we would row the longship with if there was no wind, and then the prow is the front of the ship there that would keep those evil spirits away.

Good job if you had a go at drawing that and labelling it correctly.

For the final part of our lesson, we're going to explore what the Vikings believed in.

Similar to the Anglo-Saxon Pagan beliefs and those of ancient Greece, the Vikings worshipped many different gods and goddesses.

Their gods and goddesses were an important part of everyday life.

The Vikings told many stories about gods, giants, trolls, and dragons.

These stories are also known as Norse myths.

So let's have a look at the statement.

The Vikings believed in many gods and goddesses.

Is this true or false? Have a think, point to your screen, say out loud, or write it down.

Which one is it? The answer is, true.

The Vikings worshipped many different gods and goddesses and they were an important part of everyday life.

The three most important Viking gods were Odin, Thor, and Freyr.

Vikings believed Odin created Midgard also known as Middle Earth, the home of the humans, and Asgard, the home of the gods and goddesses.

Odin was the leader of the gods.

He represented war, courage, and wisdom among many other things.

Thor is one of the great heroes in Norse mythology.

He was the god of thunder and he carried a hammer which possessed mythical magical powers.

He was also a god of protection from cold, hunger, giants, and other dangers Freyr was worshipped on a regular basis as throughout the year Vikings believed he would bring wealth.

He was God of peace, fertility, rain, and sunshine.

However, by the 11th century, most Viking lands had converted to Christianity and the old gods were all forgotten.

Okay.

Now I'd like you to pause the video in a moment and I'd like you to create a fact file for each of the gods, Odin, Thor, and Freyr.

So you could draw a table a bit like this, you could write their name, what would they god of? And what was their role? What did they do whilst they were god of that thing? And you can also, if you want to, draw an image of what you think those gods might have looked like.

Because we're not really sure exactly what they would have looked like or what the Vikings thought they looked like.

So have a go at creating those fact files for those three gods and then restart once you're finished.

Okay.

So this is what your fact files could look like.

So the name of the first god was Odin.

He was the god of war and his role, he created Midgard and Asgard and he also led all the other gods.

He was the leader of the gods.

Now my image is just of the image of what it might've looked like to create as god, as Odin.

I haven't drawn what Odin would have looked like but I'm sure your drawing is fantastic.

The next fact file you would have had was on Thor.

So his name was Thor.

He was the God of thunder and protection, and his role was to provide protection from cold, hunger, giants, and other dangers, using his magical hammer.

So here's that image of the thunder there.

And the third fact file was on Freyr.

He was a god of peace, fertility, sun, and rain.

And his role was to bring wealth to those who worshipped him.

So this wealth might have been in the form of crops.

Maybe Vikings wanted to have good crops to feed them and to also sell.

So here's a picture of the sunshine with those crops.

Okay.

So what did the Vikings believe in? What other beliefs did they have other than the gods and goddesses? Well, another important belief the Vikings had was that they feared they would wander the world as ghosts if they were not given the right type of funeral.

Ordinary Vikings were buried with their sword or favourite brooch while the wealthiest men and women were buried in ships to carry them to the next world.

So huge ships like this one that's being built in this picture would have been buried.

The ship would have been crammed full of their belongings first.

So they would have had clothes and weapons and furniture anything they wanted to take to the next world.

Now, whole season dogs and even slaves were killed and laid to rest with the dead Viking in their ships.

The ships were then covered with mounds of earth and buried underground, or they would be put onto the water and they would be set alight ready to move on to the next world.

Let's take a look at this question.

Which items were ordinary Vikings buried with? So you need to select two answers here.

Were they buried with A, a sword, B, a brooch, C, a ship or D, clothes.

Which items were ordinary Vikings buried with? Have a think, point to the screen, say your answers out loud or write them down.

What do you think? What two things were ordinary Vikings buried with? If you said A and B, a sword and a brooch, then you are correct.

Good job.

Remember only the wealthiest Vikings were buried in a ship.

Okay.

So when a warrior died bravely on the battlefield, they believed they would be carried to Valhalla, the Viking heaven, by warrior women called Valkyries.

Now it was a great hall where dead heroes would be greeted by Odin and they would feast every night.

So, I'd like you to pause the video to do your final task.

I'd like you to design a ship for burial.

Remember the ship would be long and slender and made out of wood, a bit like the picture of a ship being made here.

And you have a challenge.

Your challenge is to write a short story about a Viking that would be buried in your ship.

Okay.

So draw and design your ship.

You might want to put beautiful designs on the outside.

Think about what would go inside that ship in the burial and then have a go at the challenge if you want.

And when you're finished, restart the video.

Okay.

So that is the end of our lesson.

We have covered a lot so well done for working so hard.

Thank you for joining me and I hope to see you in the next lesson on Vikings and Anglo-Saxons.

Goodbye everyone, and take care.