THE VIKINGS IN THE VIKINGS IN BRITAINBRITAIN

María Lozano y Andrea Millán

Origins

• The Vikings' homeland was Scandinavia.

• Around the year 800, Vikings began to attack the British coasts.

• The Viking Age in Britain started about 1,200 years ago.

Religion

• Their religion was an important part of everyday life and they believed in many different Gods and Goddesses, such as:

• Odin - the leader of the gods.• Thor - the god of thunder.• Freyr - god of agriculture.

Houses

• The Vikings built their houses from materials like wood or stone and they lived in long rectangular houses.

• They were often one-room homes with a cooking fire in the middle.

clothes

• Viking clothes were made from wool and animal skins and as they were very skilled, they made their own clothes.

• Men wore tunics and trousers and women wore long dresses.

LINDISFARNE MONASTERY• In the centre of Lindisfarne, outside the coast of Northumbria

lie the ruins of the ancient monastery, destroyed by the Vinkings.

RUINS OF LINDISFARNE PRIORY AND GRAVES

A priest grave

The ruins visible today date back to 12th century indicating that the attacks of the Vikings in the late 8th century didn’t obstruct the rebuilding of the monastery although this attack was ruthless.

Influence

• The Vikings have influenced a lot the British culture because after their period of reign, English has taken some basic words such as sky, leg, the pronoun ‘they’…

RUNESRUNES

kings

• Erik the Red: who founded Greenland’s first settlement.

• Cnut the Great: who ruled a vast empire in northern Europe.

• Rollo the first ruler: who began conducting attacks on France.

THE DEFEAT OF THE VIKINGS

• The defeat of the Vikings took place in the battle of Edington. On a date between 6 and 12 May 878.

THE DEFEAT OF THE VIKINGS

• The combat was between Alfred the Great and the king of Wessex and Guthrum, king of the vikings.

• The kingdom of Wessex was won thanks to a Roman technique. It consisted in making a defensive wall with shields, in the shape of a turtle.

THE DEFEAT OF THE VIKINGS

Here you can watch a short video about the Vikings:

Double click on the video to watch