The Vikings

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The VikingsSkilled sailors

Homeland was Scandinavia in Northern Europe

Only wore horned

helmets in ceremonies.

Scandinavia is a region in Europe.

Wooden boats, powered only by sails and oars

Sailed as far east as Asia, as far south as North Africa, and as far west as North America.

Viking Ruins

Shields were placed on the side only when the sail was up, not when

they were oaring.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSSGenn?feature=mhee#p/c/D98E0E2AC48E5F76/4/78kpzwGmBxk

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSSGenn?feature=mhee#p/c/D98E0E2AC48E5F76/5/MTwq1_9VH68

Erik The Red

Had lots of enemies

Quick to anger and use his sword

In 965 the Vikings forced him to leave his homeland (exiled), so he took to the sea.

Erik’s rebuilt home

What problem was Eric trying to solve?

Northern Lights

An Iceland Bridge

Greenland

Sailed to Iceland and was soon thrown out of there too. Erik had committed many murders, the last one being his neighbor over an argument about a landslide on the neighbor’s land caused by Erik’s slaves.

Sailing west, he came to a place he called Greenland in 982.

Greenland is very cold, but he wanted it to sound good, so that other Icelanders would want to come settle there.

Leif Ericsson was Eric’s son. (Last names were given by family, hometown, or career such as “Carpenter.”)

He was interested in rumors of land further west. He set sail in 1000 to find it. He and his crew were probably the first Europeans to set foot upon North America.

He landed on Newfoundland, which is the east coast of what is today Canada.

They called the place Vinland or “Land of Wine” because they found grapes there.

Soon groups of Vikings came to settle.

Soon conflicts broke out with American Indians that were living there.

By 1015, the Viking settlers who survived returned home.

Vikings did not have a written language.

The told long tales that they told were called sagas.