It's A Viking World Out There! 
The Vikings ruled the world for 300 years. During this time, the Vikings were one of the most feared group. When the Vikings did attack a town or village, they would destroy everything from churches to women, not caring what they did as long as they received that land.
The Vikings were great explorers. In the year 870, they discovered Iceland. In the year 985, they sailed to western Greenland setting up new colonies along the way. As you may know, Christopher Columbus discovered North America. NOT! The Vikings were the first non Americans to discover North America. They first landed in Canada in the year 1101. As you can plainly see, Christopher Columbus wasn't the first to land in North America!
The Vikings had many different tools that they used for fighting. They had everything from spears to iron swords to the bow and arrow. As stated above, viking warfare was very brutal. When someone says the word Viking, what comes to mind? Does a man that is wearing a helmet with horns come to mind? The truth is that the Vikings didn't wear horns in their helmet, they used the horns for other things. The Vikings were big on metal and iron. A few of the many things that they made out of iron are axes, double-edged swords, and shields that were made of wood but were lined along the outside with metal.
The Vikings were great with clothing. The women made their clothing out of raw flax or wool. The main fabric that the Vikings used though was wool. The wool came from the local sheep. They would then spin the yarn and dye it to the color that they needed. From there the Vikings could weave the yarn into clothing and cut it to the right size of the family member. The Vikings were even able to make fine silks and other fine materials. The Vikings could make socks and gloves using bones and/or bronze needles.
As you can plainly see, the Vikings were not just big brutes that came in and destroyed everything. They were people that had families and were just like everyone else in the Middle Ages!
Questions
1. Why do you think the Vikings were such great explorers?
2. Why do you think the women are not often referred to in Viking history?
3. Why do you think the way that the Viking women made their clothing was so important?
Special thanks to the following websites for our use of their clipart:
ClipartConnection
and for the two very handsome guys at the top:
Gander Academy's Viking Weapons and Warfare page.
