Vikings facts homework

Top 10 facts 1 The Vikings are also called Norsemen, and came from Scandinavia. 2 They spoke Norse, which had an alphabet made up of characters called runes. 3 They travelled over the sea in longships, which are long, narrow wooden boats that could be sailed in both deep and shallow water. More items...

Viking means “pirate raid” The word comes from the Old Norse language that was spoken in Scandinavia during the Viking Age. 3. But they weren’t all pirates Wayne Bartlett comes on the podcast to answer the central questions of the Viking Age.

The Vikings wrote down stories known as sagas. Based on oral traditions, these tales – which were mostly written in Iceland – were usually realistic and based on true events and figures. They were, however, sometimes romanticised or fantastical and the accuracy of the stories is often hotly disputed.

Like the Ancient Greeks, the Vikings believed in the afterlife. Dead bodies were usually cremated. Wealthy and influential people were even cremated in burial ships along with goods they might need in the afterlife. Some believed that slaves were also sacrificed along with the death of their master.