The Topic:  Vikings

Easier - Vikings were a Scandinavian people from the Northeastern coast of Europe. This region includes what are now Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. From the ninth to the eleventh centuries, Vikings sailed along the coasts of Europe raiding and ransacking the villages. They settled in Iceland, Greenland, and the North America.

 

Harder - Vikings were fierce warriors who terrorized Europe from the late 700's to about 1100 AD. Early in this period, Vikings conquered or looted parts of England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Russia, and Spain. Later, they established trading centers and trade routes in those regions.

 

Viking sailors explored much of the North Atlantic Ocean. Their ships carried settlers to Iceland and Greenland. Viking explorer, Leif Ericson, landed in North America about 500 years before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. Vikings established at least one settlement in North America, but it lasted only a few years.

 

Landscapes of Imagination

http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/2/16/h16-4222-e.html

Here is the story of early voyages to North America.

Related sites:

1) Leif Erikson by Kevin A. Weitemier

2) The Vikings: They Got Here First, But Why Didn't They Stay?

 

The Vikings 

http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/vikings.htm

Here you find a well-organized index to sites containing all kinds of information about Vikings (from Gander Academy, Gander, Newfoundland, Canada).

 

The Viking Millennium (Smithsonian Institution) 

http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/features/viking/

Learn about the Norse wave that swept across the North Atlantic and reached northeastern North America in AD 1000....the wave of the Vikings.

 

Viking Network Web 

http://viking.no/index.html

This site is a collaboration between schools in different countries aimed at providing an electronic, interactive resource for teachers and students learning about the Vikings. 

Heimskringla or The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway (c. 1179 - 1241) by Snorri Sturluson 

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/Heimskringla/

Here you can explore a collection of sagas about the kings of Norway.

 

Medieval And Renaissance Wedding 

http://www.drizzle.com/~celyn/mrwp/mrwp.html

Scroll down to the 'Information on Viking Weddings' to get information about love, courtship, poetry, weddings, marriage, and divorce in the Viking cultures.

 

Norse Mythology 

http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~cherryne/mythology.html

Here you can discover the gods and myths of Norse mythology and learn how it influenced contemporary writers.

 

Our Viking Projects 

http://ireland.iol.ie/~ballyduf/ryan.html

Here you can explore Viking projects completed by Ms. Ryan's fifth-grade class at Ballyduff National School in Waterford, Ireland.

 

Viking Answer Lady 

http://www.vikinganswerlady.org/

Here you can find links to several Viking sites plus articles by the 'Viking Answer Lady.

 

Viking Explorers (The Mariner's Museum) 

http://www.mariner.org./age/vikingexp.html

Here you can find information about famous Vikings and their discoveries.

 

Viking Project Pages 

http://www.best.com/~swanson/viking/eg_viking_intro.html

This site includes resources on ancient Viking culture assembled by 6th grade students.

 

The Vikings by Arne Emil Christensen 

http://odin.dep.no/ud/nornytt/uda-302.html

This article summarizes Viking exploits in the period from 800 to 1050 AD. Nordic peoples stormed forth, terrorizing well established societies which were accustomed to war, but not to the startling tactics of the Vikings.

 

Vikings 

http://www.midcoast.com.au/~ttc/viking.html

Learn about ancient Viking culture, including religion, food, music, clothes, housing, law, money, everyday life, and more.

 

The World Of The Vikings 

http://www.pastforward.co.uk/Vikings/index.html

This site has several links for Viking and Norse information including sagas, mythology, runes, and lots more.