Loading...
Hello, my name is Ms. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about the Vikings, and how the Viking settlement changed Britain.
So, shall we get started? Let's go! By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to describe the different ways in which Britain changed because of Viking invasion and settlement.
Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.
We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.
The keywords we'll be using today are settlement, generation, unite.
I'm going to say those again, and I would like you to repeat them after me.
settlement, generation, unite.
Good job.
Now let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.
Here are each of the definitions for our keywords.
A settlement is a place where people establish a community.
A generation refers to people born and living at the same time.
To unite means to bring together to form a whole.
Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.
These are the learning cycles that I'll be working through together in today's lesson.
Viking invasion and settlement, changes in Britain, the creation of England, the Viking and Anglo-Saxon kings of England.
In the first learning cycle, we will explore Viking invasion and settlement and how it made changes in Britain.
The Vikings first invaded Britain in 793 CE.
They raided the coasts of the British Isles and fought against the Anglo-Saxons for many years.
After years of successful raids and seeing the rich potential of Britain, the Vikings soon began to form settlements in Britain and showed no signs of leaving.
During this time, they attempted to invade and capture more and more Anglo-Saxon land.
This led to constant conflict between the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons.
It was not until 886 CE, nearly 100 years later, that the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons stopped fighting and drew up an agreement to divide Britain.
Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.
When did the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings draw up an agreement? 885 CE, 886 CE, or 887 CE? What do you think? If you said 886 CE, you're absolutely right.
Well done.
The Anglo-Saxon King of Wessex, Alfred, allowed the Danes to control certain areas of Britain called the Danelaw.
The Danelaw included East Anglia, Northumbria, and the east of Mercia.
King Alfred controlled the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex in the south and western Mercia.
Within this newly divided Britain, there were some changes.
One way in which Britain changed during this period of settlement was through trade.
The Viking trade brought valuable foreign goods to Britain, such as carnelian, which is a semi-precious stone, and silk a fine, strong material from as far as Russia and China.
Viking towns like York became a centre for trade because the rivers created successful trading routes that enabled Viking longboats to travel all around the world.
Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding here.
The Vikings changed Britain through trade.
Using what you've learned, can you add more detail to this statement? The Vikings changed Britain through trade.
So pause the video here, have a go using what you've learned, add more detail to this statement, and press play when you're ready to continue.
What did you think? Well, you could have written something like this.
The Vikings changed Britain through trade.
They brought valuable foreign goods to Britain and made towns like York centres of trade.
So, well done if you were able to add more detail to that statement.
Place names in Britain also began to change.
Vikings settled all across the country, but a large number settled in Yorkshire, where the capital city of York was.
When Vikings moved to a new area, they settled into communities alongside the previous inhabitants, likely Anglo-Saxons.
Then changed the names they found difficult to pronounce.
When the Vikings settled in York, they struggled to say the Saxon name of the city, so they decided to call it Jorvik.
Other places in Yorkshire have Viking meanings.
For example, Sheffield means field by the river Sheaf, and Whitby means white farm.
In these new areas of Viking settlement, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings often married each other.
And this created a new generation with a mixed identity.
This generation benefited from the Viking trade and the changes in Britain brought by Viking settlement.
Many of us that were born in Britain could trace our ancestry, our family tree, back to this time and would find that our ancestors were probably Anglo-Saxon, Viking, or maybe both.
Let's take a moment to pause here.
Place names changed in Britain because of Viking settlement.
Is that true or false? What do you think? If you said that's true, you're absolutely right.
Now, looking at these two statements, which would help to justify your answer? The Vikings changed the names they found difficult to pronounce.
The Anglo-Saxons changed the names they found difficult to pronounce.
Pause the video here.
Have a discussion with your partner.
Which of these two statements helps to justify your answer? Press play when you're ready to continue.
What did you think? If you said the Vikings changed the names they found difficult to pronounce, you're absolutely right.
Well done.
Now this brings us to our first learning task.
I'd like you to describe two changes that occurred in Britain following the Viking invasion and settlement.
So describe two changes that occurred in Britain.
Pause the video here, give yourself enough time, and press play when you're ready to continue.
How did that go? Shall we take a look at an example? So your answer may have included Britain changed in two ways after the Viking invasion and settlement.
Firstly, the Vikings brought valuable foreign objects through trade to Britain, and they created centres of trade like York.
Secondly, they changed place names in Britain because they found them tricky to pronounce.
Well done if you were able to describe two changes.
Well done for completing that learning task.
This brings us to the second part of the lesson.
We're going to explore the creation of England.
Although the Danelaw separated the Anglo-Saxon and the Viking lands in Britain, this did not remove the threat of invasion.
The Anglo-Saxons fortified their towns with burhs, a tactic started by King Alfred the Great.
King Alfred's daughter, Aethelflaed, continued to establish burhs throughout the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia alongside her husband Aethelred.
A burh could be created with fences or big, steep banks, and deep ditches were dug all around the burhs.
Those living within the walls of the burhs were safe from Viking attacks.
Take a look at that illustration there, sharing an Anglo-Saxon burh.
You see the fences and the banks around, and those ditches all the way around that burh.
During the 900 CE, Aethelflaed worked alongside her brother Edward, who became the King of Wessex following King Alfred's death.
Let's take a moment to pause here.
How did the Anglo-Saxons protect their towns? They used large weapons.
They created burhs.
They gave them money.
Pause the video here, have a think, how did the Anglo-Saxons protect their towns? And press play when you're ready to continue.
If you said they created burhs to protect their towns, you're absolutely right.
Well done.
Now together, Aethelflaed and Edward led campaigns to recapture Viking lands in the Danelaw, Their combined force was large and powerful, and this gained Aethelflaed and Edward a lot of respect.
Over time, they changed Britain again as they were able to unite many of their kingdoms. The Danelaw had nearly been recaptured.
When Aethelflaed died in 918 CE, York was the last remaining Viking stronghold.
Let's take a moment to pause.
Can you continue Laura's sentence to explain how Aethelflaed and Edward changed Britain? Aethelflaed and Edward changed Britain by.
So pause the video here, have a discussion with your partner.
Can you continue Laura's sentence to explain how Aethelflaed and Edward changed Britain? Press play when you're ready to continue.
How did that go? Shall we take a look at an example? So Aethelflaed and Edward changed Britain by recapturing Viking lands in the Danelaw, and uniting many of their kingdoms. Well done if you were able to continue Laura's sentence.
It was not until King Edward's son, Athelstan, became king in 925 CE that another major change occurred in Britain.
After being king for just three years, in 927 CE, Athelstan marched into the last Viking stronghold of York and captured it.
Athelstan was able to unite all the kingdoms to form what we know today as England.
Because of this, some historians refer to Athelstan as the first King of England.
King Athelstan had created England by conquering any remaining Viking strongholds and by having all of the other kingdoms submit to his rule.
Let's take a moment to pause here, and check our understanding.
Why do some historians refer to Athelstan as the first king of England? Select all that apply.
He united all the kingdoms. He captured the last Viking stronghold.
Everyone liked him.
So pause the video here, have a discussion with your partner, and when you're ready to continue, press play.
What did you think? Why do some historians refer to Athelstan as the first king of England? Well, he united all the kingdoms, and he captured the last Viking stronghold.
Well done if you were able to select those.
This brings us to our second learning task.
I'd like you to complete the following sentences.
Aethelflaed and Edward changed Britain by.
Athelstan changed Britain by.
So what did these people do? What did Aethelflaed and Edward do to change Britain? What did Athelstan do to change Britain? To pause the video here, give yourself enough time to complete these sentences and press play when you're ready to continue.
How did that go? Shall we take a look at some example answers? So, Aethelflaed and Edward changed Britain by recapturing Viking lands in the Day War and uniting many of their kingdoms. Athelstan changed Britain by capturing the last Viking stronghold of York, and uniting all of the kingdoms. This created England.
Well done for completing that learning task.
This now brings us to the final part of our lesson.
We're going to explore the Viking and Anglo-Saxon kings of England.
A final period of change in Britain was during the mid-900 CE to the mid-1000 CE.
Following Athelstan's death in 939 CE, there were six Anglo-Saxon kings that succeeded him.
Ethelred was the sixth Anglo-Saxon king, and he reigned between 978 CE and 1013 CE.
His reign was not easy, and he made some poor decisions in reaction to new Viking raids.
Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.
When did Ethelred become king? 1002 CE, 978 CE, 939 CE.
Pause the video here, have a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.
If you said it was 978 CE when Ethelred became king, you're absolutely right.
Well done.
Now the Viking raids were not the major threats at first, but they soon increased, and in 991 CE, a battle began in Maldon between the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons.
The Anglo-Saxons were defeated.
In 1002, believing there was a threat to his life, King Ethelred ordered all of the Danes living in English territories to be killed, and this put the English throne at risk.
In 1013, the King of Denmark, Sweyn Forkbeard, invaded England, and this sparked the final change in Britain.
Sweyn became the first Viking King of England, but his reign only lasted a year.
Ethelred returned as the next Anglo-Saxon King of England before he died in 1016.
Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.
Who became the first Viking king of England? Canute, Ethelred, Sweyn Forkbeard? Pause the video here, have a moment to think, and press play when you're ready to continue.
If you said that Sven Forkbeard was the first Viking king of England, you're absolutely right.
Well done.
Between 1016 and 1042, there were a number of Anglo-Saxon and Viking kings that ruled England.
The Anglo-Saxon King Ethelred, the Viking King Sweynen Forkbeard, the Viking King Canute, and the Viking King Harthacnut.
Historians believe King Canute was the most successful Viking king, as he created a North Sea empire.
Canute changed Britain because he provided wealth, stability, and unity across his empire.
Canute's son, Harthacnut struggled to maintain his kingdom when he succeeded him, and Harthacnut became the last dame to rule England.
Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.
Between 1016 and 1042, there were only Anglo-Saxon kings that ruled England.
This statement is incorrect.
Using what you have learnt, rewrite this statement.
So pause the video here, make sure that you have a pen and some paper, and using what you've learnt, rewrite this statement.
Press play when you're ready to continue.
How did that go? Shall we take a look at an example? Your answer could have included between 1016 to 1042, there were a number of Anglo-Saxon and Viking kings that ruled England.
Well done if you were able to rewrite that.
This brings us to our final learning task.
Which Viking king was the most successful at changing Britain? Give reasons for your choice.
Viking King Sweyn Forkbeard, Viking King Canute, Viking King Harthacnut.
So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to think about which Viking King was the most successful at changing Britain and giving reasons for your choice.
And press play when you're ready to continue.
How did that go? Shall we take a look at an answer? So your answer may have included, King Canute was the most successful Viking king as he created a North Sea Empire.
Canute changed Britain because he provided wealth, stability, and unity across his empire.
Well done for completing that learning task.
Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learnt about how the Vikings changed Britain.
Britain experienced many changes because of Viking invasion and settlement.
Viking trade brought valuable foreign goods to Britain.
Viking settlement created new towns with Viking place names, and Anglo-Saxons and Vikings often married, creating new generations with a mixed identity.
The Anglo-Saxons fortified their towns and were able to unite their kingdoms in response to the threat of Viking invasion.
This eventually led to the creation of England, which was ruled by both Anglo-Saxon and Viking kings.
Thank you for joining me throughout this unit.
We've learnt so much about the Vikings, and how Viking settlement changed Britain.
I hope to see you for more learning soon.