Welcome to Year 6
Vikings
Our Topic this half term
Read below some of the facts we will be learning about the Vikings.
The Vikings known, as the Norse men, came from the three countries of Scandinavia: Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The name Viking means ‘a pirate raider’, people who went off raiding in ships were said to be going Viking”. Vikings travelled the sea on longboats and pillaged lands. 
The Viking age in Britain began around 1200 years ago and lasted for just over 200 years. Around the year AD 800 Vikings first started to raid Britain. They started out as short trips to steal treasure and slaves. In time, Vikings made Britain their home. They drove the Saxons out of parts of Britain and took it for themselves. The Saxon King( King Alfred the Wessex) fought them in a great battle but he could not stop them at first so had to let them have part of the country.
Here is some our Viking vocabulary:
| Anglo-Saxons | The main group of people living in Britain when the Vikings arrives. |
| Danegold | Money paid to Vikings to stop them from raiding. |
| Danelaw | The area of Britain that the Danish Vikings ruled over. |
| Knarr | A Viking ship used for long voyages and trading because it had lots of storage space. |
| Longship | A Viking ship used for fighting and carrying out raids. |
| Monastery | A place where people who have dedicated their lives to religions, such as monks or nuns live. |
| Norsemen | The name given to people living in Scandinavia at the time of the Vikings. It means ‘men of the north’. |
| Pagan | A person who believes in many gods. |
| Plunder | Take loot during a raid, often causing damage at the same time. |
| Raid | A surprise attack. |
| Rune | A letter from the alphabet used by the Vikings. |
| Runestone | A standing stone engraved with writing and sometimes a picture |
| Saga | A long Viking poem which tells the stories of warriors and heroes. |
| Scandinavia | The countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. This is aha area Vikings came from. |
| Trade | Sell items fro money, or swap them for other items. |
| Treaty | An agreement made between to or more people, groups or countries. |
| Valhalla | The place Vikings believed they would go to after death if they died fighting bravely in battle. |
| Wergild | The money a person or piece of property was thought to be worth. If a person was killed, their family would be paid wergild by the killer. |
Some Famous people from Viking times:
King Alfred the Great: (AD 849-899) Alfred did a lot of great things for England including defeating the Vikings in several battles and keeping parts of England under Anglo-Saxon rule.
King Canute: (AD 995-1035) Viking King of England, Denmark and Norway.
William the Conquer: (AD 1028-1087) Became King of England in 1066 after winning the Battle of Hastings.