The quick answer
The Vikings were people from Scandinavia who lived about 1,200 to 1,000 years ago. Most were farmers, but many were also sailors, traders and explorers. Some raided other lands, and some sailed all the way to North America.
RankiTanki, were the Vikings really fierce warriors with horns on their helmets?
TankiHold on to your helmet, because I have some surprises for you. Did you know that most Vikings were farmers?
Farmers from the north
The Vikings came from . That is the part of northern Europe where Norway, Denmark and Sweden are today. The Viking Age lasted from about the year 793 to 1066. That was roughly 1,200 to 1,000 years ago.
Most Vikings lived on farms. They grew oats and barley, kept cows, sheep and pigs, and caught fish. Many were also skilled sailors, traders and craftspeople.
Raiders and traders
Some Vikings sailed to other lands to raid. A raid is a sudden attack to grab treasure. In 793, Vikings raided a on the island of Lindisfarne, in north-east England. A monastery is a place where monks live and pray. Many historians see this raid as the start of the Viking Age.
But Vikings also travelled to trade. They swapped furs, amber and walrus tusks for silver, silk and spices. Their journeys took them from Ireland to Russia. Some went as far as Baghdad, a city in what is now Iraq. Some Vikings settled in new lands, such as parts of Britain, Ireland and Iceland.
Fast longships
Vikings were brilliant boat builders. Their were long, narrow wooden boats with one big square sail. When there was no wind, the crew rowed with oars.
- Longships were light and fast.
- They could cross rough, stormy seas.
- They floated in shallow water, so they could sail up rivers.
- They could land right on a beach, without a harbour.
All the way to America
Vikings sailed west to Iceland and then to Greenland. Old Viking stories called tell of a man named Leif Erikson. He sailed even further west, to a land the Vikings called Vinland.
In Canada, found the remains of a Viking camp at a place called L’Anse aux Meadows. Tree rings in wood from the camp show it was cut in the year 1021. So Vikings reached North America about 1,000 years ago. That was more than 450 years before Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic.
RankiWait. Vikings got to America first? Why don’t more people know that?
TankiTheir camp was only found about 65 years ago. Before that, many people thought the old stories were just legends.
No horns, but runes
Here is the big surprise. Vikings did not wear helmets with horns. That idea became popular in the 1800s, partly through costumes for an opera in 1876. The only nearly complete Viking helmet ever found is a round iron cap with a guard around the eyes.
Vikings wrote with letters called . Runes are made of straight lines, because straight lines are easy to carve into wood, bone or stone. Their rune alphabet had only 16 runes.
Some English weekdays are named after gods the Vikings believed in. The Anglo-Saxons in England had the same gods. Wednesday comes from Woden, also called Odin. Thursday is Thor’s day.
Try it
Make your own runes
You need
What to do
- Write your name in big capital letters.
- Invent a rune for each letter. Use only straight lines, just like Viking carvers.
- Write your name again in your new runes.
- Flatten the play dough and carve your runes into it with the lolly stick.
- Ask a friend to crack your secret code!
RankiSo Vikings were farmers, traders and amazing sailors. And not a single horned helmet in sight.
TankiExactly. Now every Thursday, you can give a little wave to Thor.
Big words
- Scandinavia
- The part of northern Europe with Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
- monastery
- A place where monks live, work and pray.
- longships
- Long, narrow Viking boats with a square sail and oars.
- sagas
- Old stories from Iceland about Viking heroes and journeys.
- archaeologists
- Scientists who study the past by digging up old things.
- runes
- Letters made of straight lines that Vikings carved into wood or stone.
Quick quiz
1. Where did the Vikings come from?
The Vikings came from the lands that are now Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
2. Where did archaeologists find a Viking camp about 1,000 years old?
The Viking camp at L’Anse aux Meadows is in Canada.
3. Did Vikings wear helmets with horns?
Horned helmets came from costumes and paintings in the 1800s, not from real Vikings.
For parents and teachers
The Viking Age is usually dated from the raid on Lindisfarne in 793 to the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. Tree ring research published in 2021 showed that wood at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland was cut in 1021. Comparing English weekday names with French ones (mercredi, jeudi, vendredi) is a fun way to see how Norse and Roman gods shaped our calendar.
Pictures marked “AI generated” were made with AI tools. Ranki and Tanki are AI generated characters. Found a mistake? Write to info@pr-geo.com and we will fix it.
