Exercises about the Vikings

This social class present in the Nordic peoples had great wealth and numerous armies and, in certain regions of Scandinavia, their power rivaled the power of kings. We're talking about:

a) Konungr

b) Karls

c) Thrall

d) Jarls

e) Thing

The Viking peoples had their own religious belief that, over time, was replaced by the process of Christianization of the region, intensified from the 10th century onwards. Regarding the soldiers killed in battle, what was the the vision conceived by the religion of the Norse?

a) Those killed in battle were viewed with inferiority and, therefore, would be relegated to the Niflheim , a cold and misty world.

b) Death in battle was viewed with great rejoicing by the Vikings, as they believed there was a hall in Asgard called Valhalla, where they would feast with the gods for eons until the final battle.

c) In Norse cosmogony, there was no specific belief to determine the fate of those who died in battle.

d) They believed that those who died in battle would be judged by Týr, Norse god of justice, who would determine whether the warrior's actions in battle were just or not.

e) They believed that the dead in battle would be reborn later as light elves or dark elves, and that would be an assignment that only the norns (seers) would define at the right time.

Regarding the term “viking”, we can say that:

a) the term was used by the Norwegians to refer to the Swedes in a derogatory way and was appropriated and used by the Saxons to refer to all Scandinavians in a generic way.

b) the term viking was used by the Finnish tribe of the Lapps to refer to the Norse, and in Lapp it means “outsider”.

c) the term viking in Old Norse was used by the Norse people to refer to pirates and mercenaries, but not used by them to refer to themselves as a people.

d) the term was first used by the Franks in the 8th century and means “pagan”.

e) the term viking was the way the Norse were called by the Inuit during the expedition of Erik the red-haired, which reached North America in the year 1000.

The main god of Norse mythology was known as the “father of all” and was considered to possess all the knowledge in the world. He had two crows that informed him of everything that happened in the world, and during Ragnarök he faced (and was defeated by) Fenrir, the direwolf. This is a reference to the god:

a) Thor

b) Loki

c) Njord

d) Heimdall

e) Odin

Letter D

The jarls were the aristocracy of Norse society. They had great wealth from the fact that they owned numerous properties. The jarls, due to their great military power, had a great influence in the local assemblies and, often, their military and financial power allowed them to rival and/or challenge the power of the kings.

Letter B

The Vikings believed that soldiers killed in battle were chosen by the Valkyries, mythical figures who would lead warriors to Valhalla. In this hall, warriors were named Einherjar and they would live for ages in this room, feasting with plenty of food and drink. They would be summoned to fight alongside Odin during the final battle of Ragnarök .

Letter C

The term viking comes from the Old Norse “víkingr ” and was used by Norsemen of the Viking Age to refer to mercenaries and pirates. Thus, this expression was not used by them in reference to themselves as a people, and its use, to refer to the Scandinavians of the period, was only popularized from the 18th century onwards.

Letter E

Odin was the main god in the Norse pantheon of belief. He was called the father of all and was considered the wisest god, for he had traded an eye for the chance to drink from the well of Mímir. In addition, Odin had two crows that traveled through Midgard and told him the events. This god also had the fastest horse in the world, called Slepnir, which walked on eight legs.