Vikings Final Actual Questions and CORRECT Answers
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Course
Vikings
Institution
Vikings
Vikings Final Actual Questions and
CORRECT Answers
In Scandinavia, Kings like Olaf Haraldsson of Norway and Harald Bluetooth of Denmark,
played a critical role in the conversion of those countries. TRUE OR FALSE? - CORRECT
ANSWER- TRUE
both kings made direct efforts to spread and enforce Ch...
Vikings Final Actual Questions and
CORRECT Answers
In Scandinavia, Kings like Olaf Haraldsson of Norway and Harald Bluetooth of Denmark,
played a critical role in the conversion of those countries. TRUE OR FALSE? - CORRECT
ANSWER✔✔- TRUE
both kings made direct efforts to spread and enforce Christianity
Iceland had no king in the Viking Age so when it came to the Christian conversion there was
no single person who could impose Christianity on the people as a whole. Instead the
Icelanders decided as a group to adopt Christianity at the annual meeting of the althing.
TRUE OR FALSE? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- TRUE
According to Njal's Saga and other sources, some Icelanders had converted to Christianity,
which lead to a rift between the pagan and Christian communities. This conflict came to a
head at the annual meeting of the althing in AD 1000. According to the story, the community
agreed to let the lawspeaker decide what they should do. He decided they should all adopt
Christianity and apparently pretty much everyone went along with this.
Early in the saga, Njal is asked if he knows how he will die. He replies that he does and that it
will be in a way that people least expect. This ends up being true when the otherwise peaceful
Njal defends his house with a giant axe, killing many of his attackers. TRUE OR FALSE? -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- FALSE
While Njal may die in a way that people do not expect he does not attack his attackers.
Instead he gets in bed with his wife and grandson and has them all covered with an ox hide as
his house is burnt.
After the burning of Njal, his son-in-law, Kari hunts down many of the attackers. Eventually
he finds the leader of the burners, Flosi, in Wales and kills him, ending the saga. TRUE OR
FALSE? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- FALSE
I know that I said everyone dies but this is the one real exception in saga literature. Kari does
hunt down the attackers but he doesn't kill Flosi. Clearly there's some sort of moral less to be
learned about Christian forgiveness in the story.
It was the custom between Gunnar and Njal, because of their close friendship, that every
winter one of them would invite the other to his home for a winter feast. TRUE OR FALSE? -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- TRUE
, The friendship between Gunnar and Njal is one of the strongest in saga literature. It is at this
feast, when Hallgerd is asked to give up her seat in favor of Thorhalla, the daughter-in-law of
Njal and Bergthora, that conflict first arises between the two families although Gunnar and
Njal never allow it to become an open feud.
The theft of cheese and butter (and burning of a storage shed in an attempt to cover up the
crime) is one of the main things that precipitates the conflict and resulting feud between
Gunnar and Otkel, which ultimately results in the death of Gunnar. TRUE OR FALSE? -
CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- TRUE
After Otkel refuses to sell or give hay to Gunnar during a famine, Hallgerd orders one of her
household laborers to go to Otkel's farm and steal "enough butter and cheese for two horses
to carry" and "then set fire to the storage shed." The theft is discovered and while Gunnar
offers restitution to Otkel, the conflict gradually develops into a full blood feud.
In the first chapter of Njal's Saga, Hallgerd is described as "tall and beautiful, with hair as
fine as silk and so abundant that it came down to her waist." Much later in the book,
Hallgerd's hair is mentioned again. This time it plays a critical role in the death of Gunnar
when she refuses to give him two locks of her hair so that he may replace his broken
bowstring. TRUE OR FALSE? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- TRUE
When Gunnar is attacked at his home he manages to hold his attackers at bay with his bow
but the bowstring is cut by one of his assailants. Gunnar asks for two locks of Hallgerd's hair
so that his mother may twist them into a new bowstring thus allowing him to continue his
defense. Hallgerd refuses reminding Gunnar of "the slap you gave me, and I don't care
whether you hold out for a long or a short time." Unable to repel his attackers with his bow,
Gunnar is finally killed.
After the death of his friend Gunnar, the normally peaceful Njal is driven into a fury and he
goes on a quest of blood revenge methodically hunting down and killing Gunnar's attackers.
TRUE OR FALSE? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- FALSE
Njal does no such thing. Despite being "distressed over the death of Gunnar" he instead starts
a legal case against the attacker and plays a role in bring about the reconciliation between the
families. (Later we will see that Kari, Njal's son-in-law actually does go on a quest of blood
revenge as a result of the killing of Njal.)
The relationship between the half-brothers, Hrut and Hoskuld, is remarkable in that they
never disagreed with one another: as the saga notes, 'they were never at odds about anything.
TRUE OR FALSE? - CORRECT ANSWER✔✔- FALSE
While Hrut and Hoskuld are generally supportive of one another, they do not always agree
with one another. The book opens with one such disagreement in which Hrut expresses his
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