Famous Men of the Middle Ages · Ch. XII, part 1 · Unit 5: Northmen, Danes and Saxons
18. The Vikings, Iceland and Vinland
Goal: Your child can describe the Vikings and their ships, and tell how Leif the Lucky reached Vinland long before Columbus.
You'll need
- The book, open to this chapter
- A map of Europe and the Mediterranean (a free online map or a globe)
- Paper and colored pencils
- Your timeline strip (see the tips at the top)
- A globe or a world map showing the North Atlantic
What's in the book
Chapter XII, section I: Northmen, or Vikings, sea-robbers from the north, attack Britain and the lands of the Franks in long, swift ships. They sail up the rivers of France and even stable their horses in Charlemagne's cathedral at Aix. They settle Iceland in 860 and Greenland, and Leif the Lucky sails to a land of wild grapes he calls Vinland. The book says the discovery was forgotten, so we owe the discovery of America to Columbus.
The lesson, step by step
Set the scene
Find Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Then trace the North Atlantic: Iceland, Greenland, then the coast of North America.
Read the chapter
Read section I aloud, up to the end of the part about Columbus. It begins:
For more than two hundred years during the Middle Ages the Christian countries of Europe were attacked on the southwest by the Saracens of Spain, and on the northwest by the Norsemen, or Northmen.
Tell it back
Prompts:
- What were the Viking ships like?
- What did the Vikings do at Aix?
- Why did Leif call the new land Vinland?
What we know now
The book says Vinland was perhaps the Rhode Island coast. Say: In the 1960s, archaeologists found the remains of a real Viking settlement at a place called L'Anse aux Meadows, in Newfoundland, Canada. So we know for certain that Vikings reached North America about a thousand years ago.
Talk it over
Read this:
These Vikings were the first discoverers of the continent on which we live.
Then the book says we owe the discovery of America to Columbus, because his voyage made it known to all Europe. Ask: Who do you think should get the credit? (Remember that people were already living in America when both arrived.)
Extra (optional)
Draw a Viking ship from the book's description: long and swift, one mast with one large sail, and up to twenty rowers.
Afterwards
Ask your child to point to Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland on the globe and tell the Vikings' route.
Tip
This is a short session. It pairs well with a library book of Viking pictures or a look at a museum website.
Answers to the book's problems
Long and swift, with a single mast and one large sail; mostly they were rowed, sometimes by twenty rowers. They took the place and stabled their horses in the cathedral Charlemagne had built. He found wild grapes there. Good answers mention the Native peoples who already lived in America, then the Vikings who came first from Europe, and Columbus, whose voyage made the land known to Europe for good.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.