Studyfin
✨ Sign up free
Hi! I'm Studyfin, your history tutor. Today, we will explore the amazing world of the Vikings!
The Vikings were people from Northern Europe. They lived in a region called Scandinavia. Today, we know this area as Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
The Vikings are famous for their amazing wooden longships. These ships were long, light, and very fast. They could sail on deep oceans and also travel up shallow rivers.
Vikings used these ships to travel far. Some went to trade goods like furs and honey. Others went to raid towns, while many moved to new places to farm.
Imagine a Viking named Halvar. He wants to travel from Norway to trade with a village that has a very shallow river. Explain why his Viking longship is the perfect tool for this task, and how he uses it.
- Halvar looks at his ship's design. The bottom of the ship is very flat, which means it does not sit deep in the water.
- He packs his trade goods, like animal furs and amber, into the middle of the ship.
- Halvar and his crew sail across the deep, windy sea using their large, square sail.
- When they reach the shallow river, the wind stops. The crew quickly lowers the sail.
- They pull out their wooden oars and row easily up the shallow river because the flat ship does not get stuck on the river bottom.
- Halvar reaches the village safely and trades his goods successfully!
