this document contains the key info for every subtopic within the Viking expansion topic - including all the key dates, events and people and their impacts - which if revised effectively will surely help you get a grade 7+
Viking world:
Scandinavia: made up of Sweden, Denmark, Norway - Sweden is a vast country of rolling hills, lakes,
and thick forests of pine trees – Denmark is a small country of islands with direct trade routes
connections to Europe – Norway is a country of fjords (sea valleys), mountains, islands along its coast
The Volga Vikings + Kievan Rus: in the 8th cent. AD (700s) Vikings from the Sweden began exploring
their ships down the river Volga – this river is the Europe’s longest + widest river flowing from north
Moscow to the Caspian Sea – the Viking expansion in the Volga was mainly to trade – overtime they
settled onto the riverbanks and expanded inland – created vast network of territories which became
modern day Russia and Ukraine – Vikings continued further down the river into Baghdad + capital of
the byzantine empire (Constantinople)
Trade with the Byzantines + Arabs: evidence of the Vikings reaching the capital of the Abbasid
Caliphate (Baghdad) – see it in archaeological artefacts like a ring with the name of Allah found at
Birka, Sweden – dirhams (coins) from the caliphate found in Scandinavia – hear about Vikings from
Arab scholars – other Vikings reached Constantinople – they called it ‘Miklagard’, the great city –
they served as the emperors’ personal bodyguards (Varangian guards), traded + raided
Trade, settlement + conflict in Francia: Vikings reached the Frankish empire in the 700s - raided the
land along the wide rivers, e.g. river Seine – even reaching Paris – 814 AD Franks most powerful
leader died, Charlemagne – empire weakened and Vikings launched more attacks – raids continued
until 911 AD – but then King Charles the simple defeated Rollo the Viking in battle – Rollo converted
to Christianity and stayed loyal to the king – given lands along the northern coast – this land was
Normandy (land of the north men)
Trade, settlement, conflict with Britain and Ireland: began raiding the British isles – most famous is
sacking the monastery at Lindisfarne in Northumberland in 739 AD – taking its riches and monks back
to Scandinavia as slaves (thralls) – more raids took place in the Shetland + Orkney islands + the outer
and inner Hebrides + down the Irish seas – further invasion of England led to the creation of York
(Danelaw and the kingdom of Jorvik) – Viking influence can be seen everywhere in placenames,
culture, accents in the north of Britain
Trade, settlement, conflict in Greenland, Iceland, America: arrived in Iceland around 870 AD
attracted by high number of walrus on the island – the tusks of walruses were valued commodities in
Europe – Erik the red a criminal exiled from Iceland later pushed further westward to settle on
Greenland – Erik’s son, Leif Eriksson, went to settle in north America (‘Vinland’)
Scandinavian homelands:
Houses: called long houses – built of wood as timber was plentiful in Scandinavia – divided into 2 –
one area for family and the other for cattle and other animals – in the middle was the hearth – centre
of the home with wide benches along the edged for sitting and sleeping
Food + farming: communities had to be self-sufficient due to isolation – especially Norwegian Fjords
and Danish islands – Vikings were excellent seafarers – ate a lot of fish – farm animals were crucial
for working the land + meat and for milk
Tools + equipment: blacksmiths were hugely respected – iron ores were plentiful in Scandinavia –
used antler ands tusks for hunting -also these were valued commodities around Europe and to the
, Arabs and Byzantines – clothes and jewellery was highly decorated implying they had time to hone
their skills
Viking society: thralls were slaves captured in war, due to debts or being the child of slave they did
all the hard work – Bondi were freemen, owned their own land, usually owned 3 or 4 thralls – jarls
were important landowners or warriors who the Bondi promised to fight for in return for protection
– women were separate but played crucial roles, running the home and society whilst the men were
on raids, they were highly-respected in society
Viking art: runestones with the Viking alphabet (futhark) found all over Scandinavia – created even
after the Christian conversion
Importance of ships: water was incredibly important to the Vikings – geography of Scandinavia
meant it was necessary for them to be excellent seafarers to survive like get enough food and to
become successful like trading – in the early centuries AD the Vikings had started to use ships to
trade – 1920s archaeologists discovered a ship at Kvalsund, Norway – the ship dated back to 690 AD
– also had a sail – earliest evidence of a ship in Scandinavia to use one – thanks to the sail could
travel over large distances n trade further too – 1960s, in Denmark archaeologists discovered 5 ships
at Skuldelev – showing ships came in various sizes – a cargo vessel, a small cargo ship, a small fishing
boat, a small warship (snekkja) , a large warship (skeid) – different uses of boats in Viking life
Trading towns: set up key trading towns in Scandinavia to take in goods from the trading routes they
were establishing – in Denmark, at a place called Hedeby, king of Denmark set up a key trading port
surrounded by a 5 metre wall – many precious and decorated artifacts have been found there –
estimated population of 1500 people – largest community in Scandinavia in the Viking age – at Birka
in Sweden the Vikings established a town with a small fort, many houses and workshops for a variety
of different trades – in Norway, merchants gathered to trade up a narrow Fjord at Kaupang which
had a large longhouse for the Jarl – known as ‘Skiringsslar’ ( the shining hall) – demonstrating the
wealth of the town
Stories about the universe: Viking religion was very different to any other religion – no holy book –
most of the evidence comes from the eddas (folk stories) – believed universe were the branches of
an ash tree called Yggdrasil – on one level was Asgard the lands of the Gods – another was Midgard
the earth and humans – the 3rd level was Hel, the land of trolls, giants, elves and other horrible
fantastical creatures – world would end in the final battle of Ragnarök – where great fire would
destroy Yggdrasil along with the other realms and gods – this gave the Vikings a fatalistic attitude to
life – if humankind was to die anyway might as well live adventurously and die fighting – if a Viking
died in battle heroically he would enter Valhalla (Odin’s hall) and dine + drink with there forever
Viking gods: believed in many gods who all had their own unique characteristics but also weaknesses
like humans – there were 3 main gods: Odin, Thor, Frey – Odin the all father was the supreme god,
god of war, the dead, poetry and wisdom – he had 1 eye – other traded so he could drink from the
well of knowledge – had 2 ravens who flew all over Midgard telling him what’s happening – those
who died bravely in battle would be collected by his female helpers (the Valkyries) and taken to
Valhalla to feast forever – Thor was a very popular God, many Vikings wore his emblem, a hammer
called Mjolnir (thousands found all over Scandinavia) – he was the god of thunder, lightning, crops,
plague, law and order – Frey was the god of favourable weather – needed for a good harvest – so
associated with wealth – his twin sister (Freya) was the goddess of love, fertility, spells and magic – 3
god where we get days of the week – Odin = Wednesday – Thor = Thursday – Frey = Friday
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