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In this lesson, we will learn about where the Vikings came from, who they were and what they believed in.

Who were the Vikings?

﻿Hello everyone, and welcome to your first lesson on Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. My name is Mrs. Tipping, and in this lesson we're going to tackle the question, who were the Vikings? In this lesson, we'll look at where the Vikings came from, who they were, and what they believed in. Now for this lesson it's a good idea to make sure that you are sat somewhere comfortable without any distractions so you can capture all of the knowledge. All you need are three things, some paper or an exercise book, a pencil or pen, and your fantastic brains. Now, if you haven't got those, go and quickly grab them now. Good job. Okay. So let's have a look at the lesson structure. First, I'll share some key words. Then we're going to talk about where the Vikings came from. The next question looks at why they decided to invade Britain. And finally, we'll talk about what the Vikings believed in and how those beliefs changed. And we'll finish with our end of lesson quiz which we'll do at the end of every lesson. So let's start with some keywords. The first word is Scandinavia. My turn, your turn. Scandinavia. Scandinavia refers to the group of countries Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. The next word is Danes. My turn, your turn, Danes. The people of Britain called the Vikings Danes. So it's another name for Vikings. The next word is longship. My turn, your turn, longship. A longship is a long slender boat Vikings would use to travel. And the final word is Valhalla. My turn, your turn, Valhalla. Valhalla is the great hall Viking warriors believed they would go to after death. So these words are going to appear in our lesson and they're going to be important words to remember them. Okay, let's start with the first question. Where did the Vikings come from? So let's begin by looking at a timeline. The Anglo-Saxons arrived in Britain in 450 AD and they stayed until around 1066. The Vikings arrived from around 790 AD and they also stayed until 1066. During this period, many Vikings left their homelands in Scandinavia, just like the Anglo-Saxons did 400 years earlier. During the same period of history, Baghdad in the Middle East was flourishing as a centre of learning, making many advancements in science, mathematics, and medicine up until 1258. So let's pause now and let's think about this question. When did the Vikings arrive in Britain? Was it A, 700 AD, B, 730 AD, C, 760 AD or D, 790 AD. Have a think, point to the screen or write down your answer, or even say it out loud. When did they arrive in Britain? Have a think. The answer is, 790 AD. Good job if you remembered that. Here is a map that shows Europe. The Vikings were great travellers and sailed to other parts of Europe where they traded, raided, and often settled. The people of Britain called the invaders Danes because they came from Denmark. But they also came from Norway and Sweden as well. Vikings were also known as Norsemen. Norsemen means people from the North. So let's have a look at the map now. Watch the arrows as they come up. So we have Denmark, the Vikings came from Denmark, they came from Norway and they came from Sweden. You see those places on the map there? They are in the North, above the United Kingdom. So let's take a quick pause, which countries did the Vikings come from? So there may be more than one answer here that you need to remember. Did they come from A, Denmark, B, Norway, C, Greece, D, Sweden. So you don't have to write down more than one answer here. So write them down or say them out loud. What do you think? Which countries did the Vikings come from? Good job if you said A, B and D, they came from Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Okay. So now let's look at why the Vikings decided to invade Britain. The Vikings travelled thousands of miles across the sea from their homeland of Scandinavia where they were farmers, fishermen, seafarers, and traders. Most Vikings were simply searching for better land for their farms when they came to Britain. Their land was not very good for growing crops or weaving animals. Norway was very hilly, Sweden was covered in forests, and Denmark had a lot of sandy soil Some historians however, believe the Vikings left their homes because of overcrowding. There was not enough good land for everyone to share. In a Viking family, only the eldest son inherited the family farm. So younger brothers had to make their living elsewhere. Another reason was that the Viking searched for treasures to make them rich. Britain was a particularly good place to raid as there was much there to steal. The Vikings were attracted to the wealth of the monasteries and the easy treasure to be found within. Okay. So in a moment, I'd like you to pause your video, to have a go at this task. What were the three reasons the Vikings invaded Britain? So here's a way to start your answer. There are three reasons why Vikings may have invaded Britain. The first reason is, and then give your reason. The second reason is, and the third reason is. Okay? So have a think. What were the three reasons why did the Vikings come to Britain? Restart the video once you're finished. Okay. So here are some answers that you could have. There are three reasons why Vikings may have invaded Britain. The first reason is that they were in search of better land. The second reason is there was not enough land to share. And the third reason is Britain was wealthy and this attracted Vikings. So you don't have to have the answers in that order exactly, you might've said that Britain was wealthy and it had lots of treasure first and then talked about the land, it doesn't matter the order you put them in as long as you've got those three reasons. So good job if you got those correct. Now, let's learn about how the Vikings travelled to Britain. Many Vikings were great travellers and sailed all over Europe and the Atlantic Ocean in their longships. Their longships could sail in shallow water which meant they could travel up rivers as well as across the sea. It is said that Viking sailors would sometimes release ravens, which are a type of black bird, to find out which direction to travel. The birds flew towards the land and the longships followed them. So let's take a look at this statement. The longships could sail in shallow water as well as deep water. Is this true or is it false? Have a think, point to your screen, or say it out loud or write your answer down. True or false? The answer is true. The Viking longships were able to travel up rivers, which were often shallow, as well as across the deep waters of the sea. Viking longships were used in battle and were long, light, and slender. So they could move around quickly. They were built from wooden planks held together with iron nails. Any gaps were sealed with animal hair to make sure they were waterproof. They had a square sail and a mast but the ship could also be rode if there was no wind. Depending on its size, a longship had 24 to 50 oars. The prow at the front of the ship would often be a dragon or a snake's head. Vikings hoped it would keep evil spirits away. So take a look at this picture here. This is a picture of a model Viking longship. You can see that it's long and light and slender, and we've also got the sail which is the square bit and the mast, which is the stick in the middle, which would have held the sail up. And at the end, the prow is where we can see the head of a dragon or a snake. The oars are the bits of wood sticking out. They would have helped to row the ship if there was no wind. So I'd like you to pause the video now, and I'd like you to have a go at drawing your own longship. So have a go at being a bit arty, drawing that long ship, and then labelling it with the four keywords you can see on screen. Where are the oars, the prow, the sail and the mast? Okay? So think about where those things are, what parts of the ship they were, and then restart the video once you're finished. Okay, good job if you gave that your best go. So here's an image of a longship here. So we've got the sail, which is the square bit that would help the boat move, the mast, that would be behind the sail to keep it in place, the oars that we would row the longship with if there was no wind, and then the prow is the front of the ship there that would keep those evil spirits away. Good job if you had a go at drawing that and labelling it correctly. For the final part of our lesson, we're going to explore what the Vikings believed in. Similar to the Anglo-Saxon Pagan beliefs and those of ancient Greece, the Vikings worshipped many different gods and goddesses. Their gods and goddesses were an important part of everyday life. The Vikings told many stories about gods, giants, trolls, and dragons. These stories are also known as Norse myths. So let's have a look at the statement. The Vikings believed in many gods and goddesses. Is this true or false? Have a think, point to your screen, say out loud, or write it down. Which one is it? The answer is, true. The Vikings worshipped many different gods and goddesses and they were an important part of everyday life. The three most important Viking gods were Odin, Thor, and Freyr. Vikings believed Odin created Midgard also known as Middle Earth, the home of the humans, and Asgard, the home of the gods and goddesses. Odin was the leader of the gods. He represented war, courage, and wisdom among many other things. Thor is one of the great heroes in Norse mythology. He was the god of thunder and he carried a hammer which possessed mythical magical powers. He was also a god of protection from cold, hunger, giants, and other dangers Freyr was worshipped on a regular basis as throughout the year Vikings believed he would bring wealth. He was God of peace, fertility, rain, and sunshine. However, by the 11th century, most Viking lands had converted to Christianity and the old gods were all forgotten. Okay. Now I'd like you to pause the video in a moment and I'd like you to create a fact file for each of the gods, Odin, Thor, and Freyr. So you could draw a table a bit like this, you could write their name, what would they god of? And what was their role? What did they do whilst they were god of that thing? And you can also, if you want to, draw an image of what you think those gods might have looked like. Because we're not really sure exactly what they would have looked like or what the Vikings thought they looked like. So have a go at creating those fact files for those three gods and then restart once you're finished. Okay. So this is what your fact files could look like. So the name of the first god was Odin. He was the god of war and his role, he created Midgard and Asgard and he also led all the other gods. He was the leader of the gods. Now my image is just of the image of what it might've looked like to create as god, as Odin. I haven't drawn what Odin would have looked like but I'm sure your drawing is fantastic. The next fact file you would have had was on Thor. So his name was Thor. He was the God of thunder and protection, and his role was to provide protection from cold, hunger, giants, and other dangers, using his magical hammer. So here's that image of the thunder there. And the third fact file was on Freyr. He was a god of peace, fertility, sun, and rain. And his role was to bring wealth to those who worshipped him. So this wealth might have been in the form of crops. Maybe Vikings wanted to have good crops to feed them and to also sell. So here's a picture of the sunshine with those crops. Okay. So what did the Vikings believe in? What other beliefs did they have other than the gods and goddesses? Well, another important belief the Vikings had was that they feared they would wander the world as ghosts if they were not given the right type of funeral. Ordinary Vikings were buried with their sword or favourite brooch while the wealthiest men and women were buried in ships to carry them to the next world. So huge ships like this one that's being built in this picture would have been buried. The ship would have been crammed full of their belongings first. So they would have had clothes and weapons and furniture anything they wanted to take to the next world. Now, whole season dogs and even slaves were killed and laid to rest with the dead Viking in their ships. The ships were then covered with mounds of earth and buried underground, or they would be put onto the water and they would be set alight ready to move on to the next world. Let's take a look at this question. Which items were ordinary Vikings buried with? So you need to select two answers here. Were they buried with A, a sword, B, a brooch, C, a ship or D, clothes. Which items were ordinary Vikings buried with? Have a think, point to the screen, say your answers out loud or write them down. What do you think? What two things were ordinary Vikings buried with? If you said A and B, a sword and a brooch, then you are correct. Good job. Remember only the wealthiest Vikings were buried in a ship. Okay. So when a warrior died bravely on the battlefield, they believed they would be carried to Valhalla, the Viking heaven, by warrior women called Valkyries. Now it was a great hall where dead heroes would be greeted by Odin and they would feast every night. So, I'd like you to pause the video to do your final task. I'd like you to design a ship for burial. Remember the ship would be long and slender and made out of wood, a bit like the picture of a ship being made here. And you have a challenge. Your challenge is to write a short story about a Viking that would be buried in your ship. Okay. So draw and design your ship. You might want to put beautiful designs on the outside. Think about what would go inside that ship in the burial and then have a go at the challenge if you want. And when you're finished, restart the video. Okay. So that is the end of our lesson. We have covered a lot so well done for working so hard. Thank you for joining me and I hope to see you in the next lesson on Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. Goodbye everyone, and take care.

In this lesson, we will learn about the first Viking raid, the Anglo-Saxon reaction to the raids and why the Vikings were feared.

What were the Viking raids?

﻿Hello everyone, and welcome to your second lesson on Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. My name is Mrs. Tipping and in this lesson, we are going to tackle the following question. What were the Viking raids? In this lesson, we will learn about the first Viking raid, the Anglo-Saxon reaction to the raids and why the Vikings were so feared. Now, for this lesson, it's a good idea to make sure that you are sat somewhere comfortable without any distractions, so you can capture all the knowledge from this lesson. Now, all you need are three things. You need a exercise book or paper, you need a pencil or a pen and you need your fantastic brains so that you can soak up all of this learning. So if you haven't got any of those things, go and quickly get them now. Let's have a look at the lesson structure. So I'm going to share some keywords to begin with. And then we'll talk about the first Viking raid at Lindisfarne. The next question looks at how the Anglo-Saxons reacted to the Viking raids. Finally, we'll learn about why the Vikings were so feared. And we'll finish with our end of lesson quiz, which we'll do at the end of every lesson. Let's take a look at the keywords. The first keyword is invade. My turn, your turn, invade. To invade means to enter a country armed and capture it. The second word is raid. My turn, your turn, raid. A raid is a rapid surprise attack, usually involving stealing something. The third word is berserkers. My turn, your turn, berserkers. Berserkers were Viking warriors that charged confidently into battle without armour. And the final words are religious institutions. My turn, your turn, religious institutions. Religious institutions are churches, temples, mosques and other places of worship. So let's look at where the first Viking raid was. The Vikings first raided Britain in 793 AD. The first place the Vikings raided in Britain was the Lindisfarne priori, on a small holy island located off the Northeast coast of England. Here's a picture of Lindisfarne priori here. When the people of Britain first saw the Viking long ships coming, they came down to the shore to welcome them. However, the Vikings fought the local people, stealing treasures from churches and burning buildings to the ground. The first places the Vikings raided were all religious institutions. This was not purposeful but convenient as the abbeys and priories which first fell to the Vikings were located near the coast. So you can see there on the coastline here. Although the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gives a January date for the read on Lindisfarne, other sources made clear it was in June and this would make sense as the seas would have been calmer and would have made travelling easier. It would have been pointless to go further inland upon reaching Britain, when there were such easy targets along the edge of the coast, straight off the sea and Lindisfarne happened to be a very wealthy target. So let's stop for a quick question. What were all the places the Vikings raided? were they all A, banks, were they all B, religious institutions, C, farms or D, houses? What were all the places the Vikings raided? Have a think, point to the screen, say your answer out loud or write it down. What is the correct answer? The answer is B, they were all religious institutions. Lindisfarne was founded around 635 AD and became the most important place to visit in the area after reports of miracles linked with the bishop St Cuthbert, who led there. It is said that after St Cuthbert's death, when the monks opened his coffin, they found his body in a perfect state of preservation. And this raised him to sainthood. Following this event, people would regularly come to Lindisfarne to pray to the Saint, to ask him for their prayers for hope of protection for themselves and their communities. And in return for that protection from the Saint, they would give lots of gifts and that might be in money or in treasures, anything that they could give to the priory. So when the Vikings raided the priory, it was especially devastating as it meant that St Cuthbert had failed to protect his people. So, money and treasure were the main reasons the Vikings rated Lindisfarne, is this true or false? Have a think, point to the screen. Shout your answer out loud. What do you think, was it true or false? It was true, good job if you got that answer. Many people donated money to the primary in order for protection from St. Cuthbert, so there was lots of treasure that could be taken from the priory, and that's why the Vikings raided there. So let's take a look to see where else the Vikings raided and how the Anglo-Saxons responded to those raids. After the first invasion in Lindisfarne in 793 AD, the raids continued. In 794 AD, Viking ships ransacked the monastery of Jarrow in Northumbria. In 795 AD, Vikings then rated sites in Ireland. In the same year and again in 802, they struck the monastery of Iona in Scotland. In the third attack on Iona in 806 AD, 68 monks were killed. And most of the rest fled to safety in the monastery of Kells in Ireland. Soon, no area in the British Isles was safe from the Vikings. They continued their attacks on villages and towns in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and England. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in 851 AD, Anglo-Saxon King, Athelstan, fought a battle against the Vikings off a place called Sandwich, defeating the fleet and capturing nine ships. However, in the same year, his brother, Aethelwulf of Mercia was killed by a Viking raiding party. In 867 AD, Osberht and Aelle, two rivals for the Northumbrian throne were engaged in battle outside York, when a Viking force arrived. The Vikings who had assembled a great army for conquest, saw the opportunity to defeat and kill both kings. They also killed many people inside and outside of the city before moving South. The city became Jorvik, the Viking capital of England. In 869 AD, the Viking army that captured Jorvik, used the area as a stable base for deeper invasions into England. In 869, they moved from Mercia into East Anglia, where the King of the East Angles Edmund was killed in the fighting. He was beheaded and his head was thrown away to prevent proper burial. Much later though, his head was finally returned with his body and both were buried in the Royal Residence, which later became known as Bury St Edmunds. In 870 AD, Dumbarton, the fortress of the Britons, was captured by Viking forces, under Ivar the Boneless and Olaf the White. They took treasure and captives, including the king. So a lot happened between this time. The Anglo-Saxons tried to fight the Vikings, and the Vikings fought back. I'd like you to pause the video in a moment and complete this task. Summarise what happened between the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings between 793 AD to 870 AD. Who do you think had more power, the Vikings or the Anglo-Saxons? This is how you could start your answer. During the period of 793 AD to 870 AD, I think that, and fill the blank with Vikings or Anglo-Saxons, showed they had more power because what? What were they doing that showed that they had more power? And restart once you're finished. Okay, hopefully you've had a go at writing your answer. So you could have put, during the period of 793 AD to 870 AD, I think the Vikings showed they had more power because they were defeating the Anglo-Saxons on lots of different occasions, for example, and you could have explained that they raided Lindisfarne or you could have talked about how they captured Jorvik or the way that they killed numerous Anglo-Saxon kings and took over lots of different places in Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. So good job if you wrote down some examples and you understood that the Vikings at this moment, had more power than the Anglo-Saxons. Now we're into the final par of our lesson. Why were the Vikings feared? The Vikings were famously fierce warriors. They set sail from their homes and raided other societies across Europe, with sudden and daring attacks. Vikings did not wear much armour. Some chieftains wore chainmail coats but most relied on a round, wooden shield for protection. Unlike Roman soldiers, Viking fighters did not wear uniforms and had to supply their own clothes and weapons. They fought using long swords and axes. For protection, they had a round wooden shield and wore helmets made of leather or iron. A good sword was handed down from father to son, but Vikings were also buried with their weapons when they died. I'd like you to have a go now at this task. So I'd like you to draw an image of a Viking in his armour. Label the pieces he would wear and how they would be useful in battle. So what two things did the Vikings used for protection and what were the two main weapons Vikings used. So have a think, pause the video now and then restart when you're finished. Okay, here is an example of a couple of images that are not drawn by me, by somebody else, of what you could have drawn. So a Viking has a round wooden shield that he would use for protection against enemy weapons. He would also have an iron or leather helmet, which would be great protection for his head. And he would also have an axe or a sword, which was used to deliver deadly blows in battle. Well done if your drawing has got those things. Some Viking warriors went into battle wearing wolf or bear skins. These warriors were called berserkers because they went berserk, out of control, when they charged confidently into battle. Berserkers believed that Odin, the God of war, gave them superhuman powers and that they did not need to wear battle armour for protection. To a Viking warrior, honour and glory in battle were the only things that lasted forever. Warriors who died were believed to go to Valhalla. They weren't afraid to die and this belief made them fearless opponents. A man had to be ready to follow his chieftain or king into battle or on a raid and could be called up at any moment to fight. So I'd like you to pause your video in a moment, to have a go at answering these two questions. What made Vikings fearless opponents and why did the berserkers believe they did not need armour? So in a moment, pause your video and restart once you're finished. Okay, so if you've had a go at answering those questions your answers should be like this. What made Vikings fearless opponents? Well, they weren't afraid to die because they believe they would go to Valhalla and their honour and glory would last forever. And why did the berserkers believe they did not need armour? Well, they believed that Odin, the God of war, would give them superhuman powers. Well done if you got those two answers correct. Now that is the end of our lesson. We covered a lot so well done and for working so hard. Thank you for joining me, and I hope to see you in your next lesson on Vikings and Anglo-Saxon soon. Goodbye everyone and take care.

In this lesson, we will learn about how the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings co-existed, how King Alfred defeated the Vikings and how England was divided.

What was the Danelaw?

﻿Hello everyone and welcome to your third lesson on Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. My name is Mrs. Tipping, And in this lesson we're going to tackle the question, what was the Danelaw? In this lesson, we will learn about the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons and how they coexisted. How King Alfred defeated the Vikings, and how England was divided. Now for this lesson, it's a good idea to make sure that you're sat somewhere comfortable, without any distractions so that you can capture all the knowledge from this lesson. All you are going to need all three things; an exercise book or paper, a pencil or pen, and your fantastic brains. So if you haven't got any of those things now, go and get them. Good job. Okay. So, first of all I'm going to start by talking through some key words. And then we are going to talk about the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons and how they co-existed. Then, we're going to think about how King Alfred defeated the Vikings at the battle of Eddington and brought peace. Finally, we'll talk about how England was divided under the Danelaw. And we'll finish with our end of lesson quiz which we'll do at the end of every lesson. So let's take a look at the key words for this lesson. The first word is conquer, my turn your turn, conquer. To conquer means to take control of a place by military force. So by an army, or by people who are armed with weapons. The second word is fort, my turn your turn, fort. A fort is a series of defensive walls built to strengthen a place against an attack. And the next word is treaty, my turn your turn, treaty. A treaty is a formal agreement. So let's take a look at how the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons co-existed. The Anglo-Saxons and Vikings became neighbours in Britain, but they did not always get along peacefully. In 865 AD, the Vikings took on a new focus. They tried to conquer the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms instead of just raiding. The two formidable brothers, Halfdan Ragnarsson and Ivar the Boneless, as well as King Guthrum led the combined forces known as the Viking Great Army. So let's just take a quick pause. In 865 AD, the Vikings main focus was to raid. Is that true or false? Was that the Vikings main focus? So say your answer out loud, point to the screen or you can write it down. Is it true or false? Hmm... It is false. It's false because the Vikings decided to try and conquer the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and take over England instead of just raiding. Okay. So... In 871 AD, a series of bloody clashes between the armies of the Vikings and Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, under Ethelred and his brother Alfred, took place at Reading Ashdown in Berkshire. But none of these battles were decisive which means no particular side won. Ethelred died during the battle, and Alfred became King of Wessex. In the winter of 873 to 874 AD, the Vikings occupied the Royal Monastery of Repton on the river Trent. Their army then moved South from Repton into Mercia, where they were met by King Burhred. The King was driven overseas and died in Rome. By 874, the Vikings had conquered all of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms except for Wessex. In January 878 AD,the Vikings succeeded in taking Wessex. Alfred, King of Wessex and his family, were at Chippenham celebrating Christmas, when an attack was launched. Alfred and his family and a few followers fled and took refuge in the marshes of Athelney Somerset. Marshes are shown in this picture here and in the dark it would've been a great place for Alfred and his family to hide from the Vikings. You can see they could've hid in the reeds there, and it would have been a good place for them to not be found by the Vikings. Okay I'd like you to pause your video in a moment now to have a go at this task. Why was it important for the Vikings to gain control of Wessex? So you could start your answer with, 'it was important to gain control of Wessex because...' Why was that important? Have a think and we start when you're finished. Okay, hopefully you had a good go at that question. And here's an answer. It was important to gain control of Wessex because it was the last Anglo-Saxon kingdom and it was not Viking control. If the Vikings controlled Wessex they would control all of England. So is quite an important piece of the puzzle. If they had Wesssex then they had the majority control of England. Now let's explore how King Alfred defeated the Vikings and brought peace. In the marshes of Athelney, Alfred built a Fort, which he used as a base whilst building up his forces. In may 878 AD,he rode out to challenge the Danes under King Guthrum at Edington outside the now Danish held fortress of Chippenham. And here's a picture of what a fort might've looked like with those big, wooden walls. Alfred's warriors fighting on foot, confronted the Danes with a dense shield wall. King Alfred was victorious. The battle of Edington forced King Guthrum to withdraw from Wessex and agree to the division of England. Okay I'd like you to have a go at this task. I'd like you to complete this passage using the words below. So fill in the gaps using those words. At the battle of...King Alfred challenged... Alfred's warriors created a dense, two words. The baffle forced Guthrum to withdraw from... He agreed to the... of England. So lots of gaps there can you fill them incorrectly? And when you have, we start the video. Okay hopefully you've had a go at that here are the answers. At the battle of Edington, King Alfred challenged Guthrum. Alfred's warriors created a dense shield wall. The battle forced Guthrum to withdraw from Wessex. He agreed to the division of England. Good job if you got those correct. In 886 AD, Alfred drove the Vikings from London and secured it. And shortly afterwards he arranged the marriage between his eldest daughter Ethelfled, and the King of Mercier, Ethelred. The treaty that was drawn up between King Alfred of Wesssex, Guthrum And the Danes divided England. You can see on the map here that Alfred's Wessex is the pink and he controlled the South and the West. And the Viking Danelaw control the North and Northeast and East. So this is the blue section here. Guthrum and 30 of his chieftains were baptised as Christians as part of the treaty. And they swore not to raise arms against Wessex again. Guthrum took the name Athelstan and Alfred served as his godfather. So pause the video in a moment to have a go at this task, write out the sentence with the correct response. So here's the sentence and you have two options to finish the sentence off you need to choose the correct one. Alfred challenged Guthrum at Edington in... Was it 878 AD or 886 AD? The battle of Edington for Alfred was a success or was it a failure? Alfred control the South and West or the Northeast and East. Don't forget to put a full stop at the end of your sentence and restart when you're finished. Okay, here are the answers. So Alfred challenged Guthrum at Edington in 878AD. The battle of Edington for Alfred was a success. And Alfred controlled the South and West. Good job if you got those correct. So now let's look at how the Danelaw was split. Although Vikings kept their word and stayed clear of Wessex The treaty, was in no way demanding that the Vikings had to leave Britain. The Vikings settled in the Danelaw. It covered all of Eastern England between the River Tees and River Thames and part of Northeastern England. So you can see here on the map, the Danelaw is the pink section here and you can see that it was the kingdom of Guthrum there. Have a Look. Now, there were three main areas where the Vikings lived, Northumbria which included modern day Yorkshire, East Anglia and the five Boroughs. In the east ,The area of Danish Mercier was ruled by five Danish armies who settled in the area. Have a look on the map. Can you see there where Danish Mercier is ? Now those armies introduced their native laws and customs and holding onto the five boroughs which served as important territory and basis for power. A Borough was a town and the five towns where Leicester, Nottingham, Derby Stamford, and Lincoln. The towns were surrounded by walls which protected residents from attacks. Can you remember what they were called when something was surrounded by walls? Yeah. It was a fort. Well done if you've remembered that. Okay, so I'd like you to pause the video in a moment have a go at these questions. Which three main areas of England did the Vikings have control of? How were the Viking towns protected? Where did the Vikings have to stay clear of? Where were they not allowed to go? So when you're done restart the video. Okay, here's some answers . Which three areas did the Vikings have control of that was Northumbria, East Anglia, and the five Boroughs. How were the Viking towns protected? They were protected because there was surrounded by walls. And if you put forts, very well done. And where did the Vikings have to stay clear of? They had to stay clear of Wesssex. So let's take a look at the Danelaw in more detail. In total the Danelaw would expand to around fifteen shires. Some of those included Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Cambridge. And you can see that Cambridge and Leicester on the map. Now in the following years these areas would become parts of important parts of the country where its leaders held great influence. Each Borough Was ruled as a Danish Jarldom. With power to control the lands of the walled towns whilst answering to Overlords in the Viking kingdom of York, also known as Yorvik. Here's a picture of York modern day York today. The most important city in the Dane law was the city of York. Over 10,000 people live there and it was an important place to trade goods. Many towns in cities, in Britain were founded by the Vikings and they can be spotted today. Towns places that end in 'by', 'Thorpe' or 'I' were almost certainly Viking towns. So Let's do a quick pause now, what was the most important city in the Danelaw? Was it Leicester, Wessex, York or Norfolk. Have a think, point to the screen, say your answer out loud or write it down. Which one is the most important city? The answer is York or Yorvik as the Vikings called it. Okay I'd like you to have a go at this task now. So, what do you think ,should King Alfred have given land to the Vikings to achieve peace? So he gave the Vikings the Danelaw When he divided up England, he kept Wessex and the South and West, and he gave the Vikings the area in the Northeast of England and also the East. But should he have given the land to the Vikings? So think about drawing out a table or writing a reason for or a reason against. You could start your answers like this. So the for 'I think King Alfred should have given land to the Vikings because'. Why would that be a good thing? And your other reason 'I think King Alfred should not have given land to the Vikings because...' Why would it have been a bad reason a bad idea? When you'll finish restart the video. Okay answers you could've put could be like this. 'I think King Alfred should have given land to the Vikings because they could share England and live peacefully'. It would have been a good idea to live in peace. But a reason against might be 'I think King Alfred should not have given land to the Vikings because it was not his to give. Anglo-Saxons may have lived in the Danelaw` and they did not want it controlled by Vikings. And when it was given to the Vikings those Anglo-Saxons living there would have lost that control'. So well done if you wrote answers like that or maybe you had other ideas to justify your thoughts. Okay that's the end of our lesson today. We have covered a lot. So well-done for working so hard. Now thank you for joining me and I really hope to see you in the next lesson on Vikings and Anglo-Saxons, until then, goodbye and take care.

In this lesson, we will learn about Viking settlements, the roles of men and women and the Viking laws.

What was life like in Viking Britain?

﻿Hello everyone, and welcome to your fourth lesson on Vikings and Anglo-Saxons, my name is Mrs. Tipping. And in this lesson we're going to tackle the question, what was life like in Viking Britain? In this lesson, we will learn about Viking settlements, the roles of men and women, and the Viking laws. Now for this lesson, it's a good idea to be sat somewhere comfortable without any distractions so you can capture all the knowledge from this lesson. All you're going to need a three things, an exercise book or paper, a pencil or pen, and your fantastic brains to capture all of the knowledge from today. So, if you haven't got those things, go and quickly get them now. Good work, okay. So, first of all, I'm going to start with some key words, and then we are going to think about what Viking settlements were like. The next question looks at the roles of Viking women and Viking men in Viking society. And then we'll finally take a look at whether Vikings followed any laws and what those laws were. And we will finish with our end of lesson quiz like we will at the end of every lesson. So, let's have a look at the key words. The first key word is outlaw. My turn, your turn, outlaw. An outlaw is a person who has broken the law. The second word is holmgang. My turn, your turn, holmgang. Holmgang was a Viking duel used to settle arguments. The next word is duel. My turn, your turn, duel. A duel is a fight between two people usually to settle a point of honour. So as you can see, holmgang involved duel. So holmgang was a fight to settle arguments. And our final word is Thing. My turn, your turn, Thing. A Thing was a Viking community gathering where problems would be solved and decisions made. Okay, so let's look at what a Viking settlement was like. Viking home life was simple but comfortable. They often had long houses made of woven branches and clay with roofs of turf and tiles made from wood or stone. All the materials they used included logs, planks, stone and earth. Unless the family was very wealthy, a Viking longhouse just had one single room, but it was usually large enough for more than one generation of a family to live in. So it was a really big room. Animals would also live inside the longhouse, people and slept on raised platforms lining the walls which had cushions. And those cushions were stuffed with bird feathers. So that kept them really warm and also more comfortable. There was no bathroom inside the longhouse but the Viking's kept clean by washing in a wooden bucket or beside a stream. Instead of toilets, people used something called a cesspit which was basically a whole outside dug for toilet waste. And you see a picture here what a longhouse would have looked like. This is a reconstructed version of a longhouse, so quite a big house for one room. So, here's a quick question for us to pause through now. How many rooms were in a Viking longhouse? Just an ordinary Viking longhouse. Was it A, one. B, four, C, five or D, three? Have a thing, point to the screen, say your answer out loud or write it down. What do you think is the correct answer? It is in fact A, one, Viking longhouses just had one room that was shared by big generations of family and animals as well. The Viking family ate, drank and socialised around a stone fireplace on the stamped earth floor. Vikings ate two meals a day, one at mid morning and one in the evening. Meat was stewed in huge pops called cauldrons, which were made of iron or soapstone. There's a picture of one, what one would have looked like here. They were hung over the fire from a chain attached to the roof or supported by a tripod, which would have been those metal parts that would have hung the cauldrons in the middle. The fire was central to the family life and was used for warmth, cooking and light. The Vikings kept an open fire in the houses to provide heat and a place to cook. They hung meats and fish above the fire to preserve them with the smoke. They also preserved meat by curing it which meant they would dry it out with salt. So I'd like you to pause your video in a moment to have a go at this task. I'd like you to draw a table, I'd like you to think about how each were of these natural resources were important to Viking life. So how was fire important? How were branches important, bird feathers and iron? What did they use all four of those things for? And when you're finished, restart the video. Okay, so here's what they would have been used for. So fire, the fire provided heat and the Vikings cooked their meals over it. Branches, the longhouse was made of woven branches. Bird feathers, cushions in the longhouse were made of bird feathers, that kept them warm and comfortable. And iron, the pot, the cauldron the Vikings cooked with was made of iron. So good job if you remembered what those natural resources were important for. So let's take a look at what Viking society was like by first looking at what the different jobs were that the Vikings did. Many Vikings worked as farmers. Everything had to be done by hand on a Viking farm. So life was tough. Farmers grew oats, barley, and wheat. Then they ground the grain to make flour, porridge, and ale. They also planted vegetables and kept animals like cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens. All the Vikings were craft workers. Viking craftsmen made beautiful objects out of wood, metal, and bone. They also made things that people needed. Woodworkers and leather workers made plates, cups, belts and shoes. Jewellers made rings and brooches from precious metals. They also engraved abstract animal shapes and patterns of interlace, which is a type of crisscrossing like the picture on the screen onto the brooches and other items such as the handles of swords. So that to make beautiful swords and the handles would all be beautifully decorated. Bone and antler were commonly used by skilled craftsmen to make objects such as combs and handles for knives. Blacksmiths hammered and twisted iron into tools and knives and swords. Potters baked clay pots in the oven and over oven heated fire pits. People took these goods to market to sell. Here, a family could buy anything from amber beads and apples to walrus tusks and wolf skins. Viking traders sold their goods even further away. They sailed the seas to go and buy silver, silk spices and furs, and to bring them back home. So I'd like you to pause your video now to have a go at answering these questions. Give two examples of jobs the Vikings did, two examples. What did jewellers create? Why did the Viking sail with their goods to other places? And do you think one job would have been more important than another? Mmmh, it's an interesting question. So, when your finished, restart the video. Okay, so here's some answers that you could have had. So remember you just had to give two examples of the jobs they did. So you could had jeweller or leather worker or woodworker, blacksmith or potter any of those two. What did jewellers create? Well, they created brooches and sword handles. Why did the Viking sail with their goods to other places? Well, they did that to sell them and buy other things like silver, silk and spices. Now it's up to you which job you think could have been more important than another. You may have said a farmer for example because he would have grown crops for people to eat. And food is really important. Or maybe it would have been the woodworker because he created lots of different things that people would use on a daily basis. Good job if you've got those correct. At the top of Viking society was the king. He was the most powerful person in all the land and everyone looked up to him. Being a king cost a lot of money because they had to make sure their kingdom was safe and that their followers were loyal to them. Below the king where the nobles, or wealthy Vikings known as jarls. They were rich land owners or traders and they employed men to work for them. So they had quite a nice life. Then there were the karls. They were the everyday people and did jobs like farming and craftwork. Karls were not as rich or important as the jarls, but they weren't poor either. At the bottom of society were the thralls or slaves. They did the hardest, filthiest jobs. And if they tried to run away, they could be killed. However, if thralls could earn enough money, they could buy their freedom. So, I'd like the to pause the video in a moment to have a go at this task. I'd like you to draw a pyramid, like the one on the screen. I'd like you to complete the pyramid, to show Viking society, who was at the top of society and what were the groups below that top group, okay. And then restart when you're finished. Okay, so here's an example of what you could have drawn. This is what I've drawn. So the king was at the top, then the jarl's, then the karls and then the thralls, and you could have drawn so much more exciting pictures than what I've done, and you could have added some colour if you wanted. But that shows what Viking society was like. Viking women were independent. While men were way exploring new lands, women looked after the farms and the households. They could become wealthy landowners and while there had no public say in politics, they had a lot of influence at home. While a woman's parents would usually choose her husband, she could divorce him if he was unfaithful or violent. Viking women took a lot of pride in their work. And praise was given to them for their skills in housekeeping and handiwork such as embroidery. Viking women were skillful weavers and they produced fine warm textiles like clothing and rooks. They did most of the cooking and they were responsible for making clothes for their family. Women's respected status is shown by the lavish ship burials for female Vikings that have been discovered by archaeologists. So I'd like you to have a go now at creating a fact file outlining the role of Viking women. So in a moment, I'd like you to pause the video and think about answering these questions. It doesn't matter how you draw out your fact file as long as you answer these questions here. What did women look after? What were women skilled at? And how do we know women were well-respected. And when you're finished, restart the video. Okay, so here's mine that I've drawn. So I've put Viking women in the middle and then I've answered each of the questions. So women looked after the farms and households. Women were skilled weavers making fine warm textiles. And women were well-respected and we know this because ship burials for women have been discovered. So I've drawn a few pictures to go with mine. You could have done the same. So while done if yours look similar to mine. For the final part of our lesson, let's explore whether the Vikings followed any laws. The north people had their own laws and government. The community would gather at a meeting called a Thing. Here, they would settle problems and make decisions. People could vote on what should happen. For example, the Thing might decide who owned a piece of land or how to punish a criminal. All this was overseen by chieftain or a judge known as a law-speaker. Viking laws were not written down, so laws were passed from person to person by word of mouth. People who broke the law were known as outlaws. They were forced to live in the wilderness and anyone was allowed to hunt them down and kill them. So let's do a quick pause. What was the name of a person who broke the law? Was it A, a chieftain. B, a jarl, C, a judge, or D, an outlaw. Have a think, point to the screen, say your answer out loud or write it down. What is the name of a person who broke the law? Good job if you said D, an outlaw. Now, Vikings could also settle arguments with a fight. They held a type of duel known as holmgang. Whoever won the duel was seen as being favoured by the gods. Now I'd like you to pause the video in a moment, and like you to match the sentence with the correct term. So you could write the sentence out and write the terms and draw lines to show which one is the correct one. So, a duel to settle arguments, which is that? Is it a Thing, a holmgang or chieftain? The law speaker who oversees the decisions and the community gathering where problems would be solved and decisions made. So match up the sentence to the correct term, which one is which, and when you're finished, restart you're video. So here are the answers. Holmgang is a duel to settle arguments. Chieftain is the law speaker who oversees the decisions. And Thing is a community gathering where problems will be solved and decisions made. So well done if you've matched those up correctly. Any member of society, regardless of their standing could challenge another to holmgang if they wanted to. A person could be challenged to holmgang because of money, property, or honour. A holmgang was typically full within three to seven days after the challenge was given. So it was quite soon after. If one side didn't attend, the other would have their claim proved right, or they could be banished or killed. Usually the two individuals involved in the challenge would fight. However, on some rare occasions, particularly if there was a considerable age or physical disadvantage, someone else might be used in their place to ensure a fair contest. Due to the nature of holmgang, the system was regularly mistreated as a form of legalised robbery. The busy workers in particular recorded it as being used as a means to claim rights to land or property from less skilled warriors. As a result of the misuse, the practise was outlawed. So people were using it to get property because they were good fighters and they knew that they could defeat the other person. So, I'd like you to pause the video in a moment for your final task of this lesson. Do you think holmgang was a good way of solving arguments? So here's where a way you could start your answer. I think holmgang and you got to choose, was or was not a good way of solving arguments because, and give your reason. And when you're finished, restart the video. It's up to you what you put as your answer to this question. However, I think holmgang was not really a good way of solving arguments because it involved fighting and fighting is not a great way to solve arguments. Now, not only this, it seemed as though lots of warriors challenged people to holmgang when they knew that the opposition was a weaker warrior, which meant that they were going to be able to take something from them for no reason. And it was a bit of a cheat's way. So well done for everyone answer you popped down. Now, that's the end of our lesson today. We covered a lot so well done for working so hard. Thank you for joining me and I really hope to see you in the next lesson on Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. Until then, goodbye everyone and take care.

In this lesson, we will learn about the actions significant Anglo-Saxons such as Aethelflaed, Edward the Elder and Athelstan took to try and unify England.

How did England become a unified country?

﻿Hello everyone and welcome to your fifth lesson on Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. My name is Mrs. Tipping and in this lesson we are going to tackle the question how did England become a unified country? In this lesson, we will learn about the actions of significant Anglo-Saxons such as Aethelflaed, Edward the Elder and Athelstan and what they did to try and unify England. Now for this lesson, it's a good idea to be sat somewhere comfortable without any distractions. So you can capture all the knowledge from this lesson. All you're going to need a three things, an exercise book or paper, a pencil or pen, and your fantastic brains. So if you haven't got any of those things, quickly go and grab them now. So I'll start with some key words and then we're going to talk about the actions of the Anglo-Saxons Edward the Elder, and Aethelflaed as they tried to unify England. The next question looks at the first actions of Athelstan. Then we'll talk about Athelstan's victory at Brunanburh and how he unified England and we'll finish with our end of lesson quiz, which we will do at the end of the lesson. Okay, so keywords. The first keyword is territory. My turn, your turn, territory. Territory is an area of land under the control of a ruler or state. The second word is reign. My turn, your turn, reign. To reign means to hold royal office, such as being a king or queen. The third word is fortification. My turn, your turn, fortification. A fortification is a defensive wall built to strengthen a place against an attack. So those are our key words. So let's keep an eye out for them throughout our lesson. So let's start with the first question and looking at the actions of the Anglo-Saxons Edward the Elder and Aethelflaed when they tried to unify England. In 899 AD, Alfred the Great of Wessex died. At the time of his death, his kingdom was the only English kingdom that had preserved its independence from the Vikings. Under his son, Edward the Elder, the armies of Wessex began the conquest of the rest of England from the Vikings. Edward fought for control of the Danelaw. After defeating the Northumbrian Danes at Tettenhall, he set out in August 912 AD to conquer the Danes of the Eastern Midlands and East Anglia. From 910, AD to 916 AD, he built a series of around his kingdom of Wessex. So let's pause and think about this statement. After his father's death, Edward aimed to conquer the Danelaw. Is that true or false? Have a think, point to the screen, or say your answer out loud. Is it true or false? The answer is true! Good job if you got that. Edward fought for control of the Danelaw. He defeated the Northumbrian Danes and built fortifications to protect his kingdom of Wessex. So remember fortifications are those big tall walls around a place. At the same time, his sister, the Mercian ruler, Aethelflaed, built a series of fortifications in the Northwest Midlands. For seven years, the Mercian Army was led by Aethelflaed. She was described as Lady of the Mercians. She pushed into the territory of the Danes and Leicester submitted to her without a fight. So she did quite a great job of leading her army and pushing the Vikings back. She was able to make them submit, to make them admit that they will go to stop and she was in charge. In 917 AD, Edward and Aethelflaed launched a massive attack, quickly overwhelming the entire Danish army of East Anglia, but in 918 AD, Aethelflaed died at the height of her power and Edward took control of Mercia. She died just after receiving a formal offer of allegiance from the men of Yorkshire. By the end of the year, the last Danish armies in the Midlands had submitted. So here's a quick question, who worked together to defeat the Danes? Was it A, Alfred and Edward, B, Edward and Aethelflaed, or C, Alfred and Aethelflaed. So, which is the correct answer there? Who worked together to defeat the Danes? Say your answer out loud, point to the screen, or write it down. The correct answer is Edward and Aethelflaed. They were brother and sister who helped defeat the Danes. Now Aethelflaed's reign was so effective that she would overshadow other rulers, such as her brother, Edward the Elder in Wessex. She had arranged the policies and practises, which resulted in reducing the power of the Danes in Britain. And it allowed for unification of the land under Edward and then later Athelstan. So Aethelflaed had a lot to do with the defeat of the Vikings. She put in lots of policies and agreements and lots of the Vikings, the Danes, had already agreed to submit to Aethelflaed but she unfortunately died earlier than expected. So I'd like you to pause the video in a moment. I would like you to answer this question. Do you think Edward would have been as successful in defeating the Vikings without Aethelflaed? So think about how did she help him? Did she do enough? What he have been able to do it on his own? Have a think and then restart the video once you're finished. Okay, so your answer could maybe have said something like this. So there is evidence to suggest that Edward would not have been as successful without Aethelflaed. Aethelflaed had already defeated the Vikings in lots of different places. So she had already pushed into the territory of the Danes in Leicester, and she had already made allegiances with the men of Yorkshire. So the Danes were already submitting to her. They were already backing down. So that only helped in defeat the rest of the Viking kingdoms. So that helped Edward massively. So I'm not sure whether Edward would have been as successful without Aethelflaed, but I suppose we will never know. So now let's now look at who Athelstan was. On the death of his father, Edward the Elder, Athelstan became king of Wessex and Mercia in 924 AD. In 928 AD the Anglo-Saxons, led by Athelstan, attempted to prevent further Viking invasion by striking against the Viking kingdom of York. The battle was a victory in York for the Anglo-Saxons. However, this did lead to the nearby Celtic king, Constantine, to become increasingly concerned, worried, over his monarchy. He worried the Athelstan could continue north and challenge his Celtic territory. King Constantine immediately reacted and began forging links with neighbouring kingdoms. Constantine married his daughter to Olaf Guthfrithson, the King of Dublin and also a Dane. Both the Irish and Northumbrian Norseman came under his alliance after the marriage. In 937 AD, the newly formed Celtic-Norse army began marching south into England, seeking battle against Athelstan. So I'd like you to pause the video now to have a go at this task. So answer these questions, who was Athelstan? Which Viking kingdom did he capture? And why was the Celtic king, Constantine, worried about Athelstan? And when you're finished, restart the video. So here's some answers here. Who was Athelstan? Well, he was the Anglo-Saxon king of Wessex. Which kingdom did he capture? Well, he captured York. And why was King Constantine worried, well he was worried about Athelstan's success in defeating the Vikings. And he thought that he would also take his kingdom. So that's why he joined forces with the Danes to fight back. At the same time as King Constantine was bringing together his army with the Vikings, Athelstan was able to bring together the Anglo-Saxon noblemen and armies with relative ease. It was in the summer of 937 that the two armies met at Brunanburh for what was to be one of the bloodiest battles ever held on British soil at this point. As detailed in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicles," no slaughter yet was greater made in this island of people slain before the same, with the edge of the sword. So a very nasty battle indeed it was. No one knows where Brunanburh actually is in history. It's been unknown where that location is, but the sources all agree that Athelstan of Wessex with an army of West Saxons and Mercians caused a crushing defeat on the invaders. Athelstan is recognised by later historians as an important, crucial figure in British history for his achievements in defeating the last of the Viking fortresses and the whole of England. Some say it is unlikely, however, that he wouldn't have been able to achieve what he did if it was not for the influence of Aethelflaed of Mercia and what she did previously as well as his father, Edward the Elder. So I'd like you to pause the video in a moment and think about this statement. Athelstan was an important figure in British history. Do you agree or disagree? And can you give at least one reason for your thoughts? So was he an important figure? Have a think and when you're ready, restart the video. So it's up to you how you answer this question. You could have agreed or disagreed. I would say that you could agree and say that Athelstan was an important figure in British history because he did defeat the last of the Viking fortresses. Even if Aethelflaed and Edward had done some work beforehand, he was still the one that united the armies against the Vikings in those last battles. So let's now look at how Athelstan managed to unite England. Athelstan became the first king of all England. He reigned between 924 and 939 AD. He was recognised as a courageous soldier who was able to push the boundaries of the kingdom than they'd ever reached yet. After the defeat of the Danes in York and of Constantine, King of England, all five of the Welsh Kings agree to paid a huge annual tribute. He also made the peace in Cornwall. So in all aspects of England, everybody now respected Athelstan as their king and also paid him tributes to show their respect. Athelstan's laws strengthened royal control over his large kingdom. Money was regulated to control silver's weight and to punish fraudsters. Buying and selling was largely restricted to the boroughs, which helped towns become wealthy. Both his charters and the silver coinage he issued through strictly controlled regional mints, showed the proud title of Rex Totius Brittania, which meant king of all Britain. So here can see the coins on the screen here. He would have got the coins made to say king of all Britain on them. Areas of settlement in the Midlands and Danish towns were merged into the rest of the kingdom. So it all became Anglo-Saxon Overseas, Athelstan built alliances by marrying off four of his half sisters to various rulers in Western Europe. He was also a great collector of works of art and religious relics, which he gave to many of his followers and churches to gain their support. He died in 939 AD and he was buried in Malmesbury Abbey. This was a fit burial place for him as he had been a passionate supporter of the abbey and provided them with lots of money. Okay, I'd like you to pause your video in a moment to complete your last task of this lesson. Which ruler played the most significant role in the defeat of the Vikings? Justify your thoughts. So out of the three Anglo-Saxons we've learned about, Edward the Elder, Aethelflaed, and Athelstan, which one do you think had the most significant role? So have a real think, use your notes, and think about what each of them did to try and defeat the Vikings and unite England. Who do you think did the most, could they have done it on their own or did they need each other's help? So write your answer, write down a paragraph on your paper and then restart the video once you're finished It's up to you which you thought played the more significant role in the defeat of the Vikings. Edward the Elders started to conquer the Vikings. He wanted to take over the Danelaw and he set up fortifications around his kingdom so that he could try and do that. Aethelflaed then supported Edward and they defeated them in numerous battles. And she also created policies and allegiances with the Vikings, which made them submit to her. And Athelstan defeated them at the Battle of Brunanburh and he took the kingdom of York and he ultimately defeated the last of the Viking fortresses. So they all played their part and you might have thought one was more impressive or significant than the other, or you may have thought they were all equally so. And that's the end of our lesson today. Thank you so much for joining me. You've worked really hard and I hope to see you in the next lesson soon. Until then goodbye everyone and take care.

In this lesson, we will learn about how the Danes conquered Britain for a short period, before learning about the Battle of Hastings.

How was Britain conquered between 950 AD-1066?

﻿Hello, everyone, and welcome to your final lesson on Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. My name is Mrs. Tipping, and in this lesson today we are going to tackle the following question, how was Britain conquered between 950 AD to 1066? In this lesson, we'll learn about how the Danes conquered Britain for a short period before learning about the Battle of Hastings. So let's get started. Now, for this lesson, it's a good idea to make sure that you're set somewhere comfortable without any distractions so that you can capture all the knowledge from this lesson. And you're just going to need three things: an exercise book or paper, a pencil or pen, and your fantastic brains. So if you haven't got those things, go and quickly get them now. Okay. Good job. So we're going to start off by talking through some key words. Then, we're going to talk about how the Danes conquered Britain for a short period of time. And then we'll talk about what happened at the Battle of Hastings. And we will finish our lesson with an end of lesson quiz. So the key words. The first word is rival. My turn, your turn. Rival. A rival is a person competing with another for the same object or goal. So if two people went for the same job, they would be rivals. They'd be going against each other. The next word is heir. My turn, your turn. Heir. An heir is someone who takes on the roles and responsibilities of the person who died. And that would usually be after a king or queen that died. Someone would be their heir, taking on the roles and responsibilities afterwards. And the third word is retreat. My turn, your turn. Retreat. Retreat means to move back or away from something. So how did the Danes conquered Britain? Okay, so we've got a timeline on the screen here. Now, during the 10th century, which is from 900 AD to 1000. Now, during this time, the Anglo-Saxons continued to fight back against the Danes, and by 954 AD, the Danes had lost all control of their English territories, and they retreated back to Denmark. Now, you can see Denmark here on the map. Have a little look. Can you see it? Point to it. There's Denmark. And we've got an arrow on there. The Danes returned to England towards the end of the 10th century. And the English King Ethelred the Unready, he paid the Danes large sums of money to not attack his kingdom. However, in 1002, Ethelred ordered all Danes living in English territories to be murdered. And this day became known as the St. Brice's Day Massacre. So Ethelred was not a very nice king, and he clearly feared the Danes. So, I'd like you to pause the video in a moment to answer these questions. What did King Ethelred the Unready do to keep the Danes from attacking his kingdom? Ethelred ordered all the Danes to be murdered. What was this day called? And when you're done, restart the video. Here are the answers. So he gave the Danes large sums of money to keep them from attacking his kingdom. And the day where he ordered all Danes to be murdered was called St. Brice's Day Massacre. So here's that timeline again that shows how long the Anglo-Saxons were around fighting the Danes, and when the Danes left in 954 AD. Now, they did come back, and they came back for revenge. In 1003, Sweyn Forkbeard came to England. And for 20 years, the son of the Danish King Harald Bluetooth had taken part in raids on England. And finally he led a large scale invasion, and the men of the Danelow and then at the south surrendered to Sweyn. Now, when London submitted to Sweyn, Ethelred fled to Normandy, which is in France. And he left the whole country under Danish control. Sweyn became King of England, but he died in 1014, giving Ethelred a chance to return back to England. So let's pause for a quick question now. When did Sweyn Forkbeard come back for revenge? Was it A, in 1014, B, 1015, C, 1003, or D 1004? Have a think, point to the screen, say your answer out loud or write it down. When did he come back for revenge? The answer is C, 1003. Good job if you remembered that. So the Danes finally secured the throne of England in 1016 under Sweyn's son King Cnut, also known as Canute, or Cnut the Great. In 1016, Ethelred King of England died. King Cnut then married Emma of Normandy, Ethelred's widow. Ethelred's son, Edmund Ironside, made a truce with Cnut, in which they agreed to divide the kingdom between them. However, Edmund died shortly afterwards. So Cnut became the king of the whole country. And three years later, he also became King of Denmark and Norway. So I'd like you to pause the video in a moment now to answer these questions. Who led the Danes when they came back for revenge? When did the Danes secure the throne? And which countries was Cnut king of? And restart the video when you're done. And here are some answers. So who led the Danes when they came back for revenge? Well, that was Sweyn Forkbeard. When did the Danes secure the throne? That was in 1016. And which countries was Cnut king of? He was King of England, Denmark and Norway. So good job if you got those correct. So now let's take a look at what happened at the Battle of Hastings. On the 6th of January, 1066, King Edward the Confessor died. Edward died without an heir to the throne, but on his death bed, he instructed that Harold should succeed him. Now, Harold and Edward were both Anglo-Saxons. There were three main rivals for the throne, however. People didn't agree that Harold should be king. The three rivals were Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, and William, Duke of Normandy. When Harold was named king, he expected trouble from Harold and William. He gathered his troops on the south coast and waited for William's attack, but no one came. So, as we go through the Battle of Hastings, I would like you to pause and start building a timeline on a piece of paper. So to start our timeline, I want you to write down some key information. So a date and the key information about what happened, and some drawings if you want. So from the bit that I've just read to you, what can you remember? How did this start? How has the Battle of Hastings started? So a date, key information and drawings. Here are some key words here: heir, three rivals and throne, and that should help you remember what needs to go down. And when you're done, restart the video. Okay, so here's the start of my time on my piece of paper. So the beginning of the timeline is the 6th of January, 1066. The Anglo-Saxon King Edward died without an heir. And the three rivals were here. Harold Godwinson, the Anglo-Saxon, Harald Hardrada, the Viking, and William, the Norman. So if you've got something like that, good job. And you might have done something a bit more with your drawings. I just drawn a little crown to remind me of what's going on. So on the 25th of September, 1066, the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada and his Viking army landed in the north. And he joined Harold's brother, Tostig Godwinson. Now, to defend his crown Harold Godwinson gathered his men and raced north. Harold's quick response surprised the Vikings. And he defeated them at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire. Both, Harald Hardrada and Tostig Godwinson, were killed. So let's pause again now and add to our timelines. You remember a key date, information and some drawings if you want. And remember, here's some key words for you, Stamford Bridge, battle, brother. So restart the video once you're done. Here is a picture of mine. So it's the 25th of September, 1066. Harald Hardrada and his Viking army landed in the north. And he was joined by Harold's brother, Tostig Godwinson. But Harold Godwinson defeated them both at the Battle of Stanford Bridge, and they were both killed. So I've drawn a little axe there. On the 27th of September, William of Normandy and his forces landed at Pevensey on the Sussex coast. So that was in the south. Harold had already lost lots of men in defeating the Vikings at Stamford Bridge. He then had to rush south, gathering reinforcements, extra men on the way to defend his throne. Although Harold's men were tired, he chose to fight William straight away. So let's add to our timeline again. Remember, a date, some key information and some drawings if you want. So Normandy is a key word, tired and reinforcements. Can you remember what happened there? And restart when you're finished. And here's mine. On the 27th of September, 1066, William, Duke of Normandy and his army landed in the south. Harold and his men rushed to fight, even though they were tired. So I've drawn a shield and sword to go with my timeline. On the 14th of October, 1066, the Normans arrived in Hastings by boat sailing across the English Channel. Now, at the Battle of Hastings. On the 14th of October, 1066, the Normans arrived in Hastings by boat sailing across the English Channel. The battle took place on a steep hill with the Anglo-Saxons at the top and the Normans attacking from down below. William's army totaled 15,000 men, soldiers, archers and knights on horseback. Harold had only 5,000 men, and Harold's men were all on foot, armed with slings and spears and battle axes. So again, let's add to our timeline. So remember, what was the date just then? What was the key information? And can you add any drawings if you want? So here's our key words, Hastings, hill, Normans. And restart the video when you're finished. And here's mine. So on the 14th of October, 1066, the Normans arrived in Hastings by boat. The Battle of Hastings began on a steep hill. Harold had 5,000 men, but William had 15,000. So you can see I've drawn a little hill here with Harold and his Anglo-Saxons at the top and William and the Normans at the bottom. Now, the Anglo-Saxons were totally outnumbered. At the Battle of Hastings, the two armies fought and they were putting up a strong defence against the well-organized Normans. However, Harold's army were tired, they just marched over 190 miles. During the battle, the Normans believed that William had been killed. But to prove that he was alive, William pushed back his helmet to show his face, and reportedly, apparently he said to his men, "Look, I am here! And with the grace of God, I will win the day." This encouraged his men to fight on. Later in the battle, the Normans pretended to retreat. So they pretended to move back. And this was a wise move. Some Anglo-Saxons left the hill to follow them, and that meant that the shield wall was broken and the Normans then turned around and attacked them again. Now, once the Normans had broken through Harold's ranks, they overcame his men easily. Most of the English army were killed where they stood, and King Harold was killed by the Norman soldiers and died on the battle field. So you see, when the Anglo-Saxons were on the top of the hill and holding their shields, they had a protective stance up on the hill. But as soon as they moved away, then the amount of men that William had was able to overcome the amount that Harold had. So in a moment, I'd like you to pause the video to have a go at this task. So, first of all, I want you to pause the video to draw this table. But make sure you've got plenty of space where the strengths and weaknesses, the empty parts of the boxes are. Because we're going to sort some strengths and weaknesses from Harold and William into this table. So pause the video now just to draw the table, and I'll give you more instructions in a moment. Okay, hopefully you pause the video to draw that table. Now, what I'd like you to do is to write each of these things into the correct spaces. So read through these statements, who do you think they refer to and was it a strength or weakness? So for example, his men were tired. Whose men was that? Was it Harold's men or was it William's men? And was that if the men were tired, was that a strength or was that a weakness? What do you think? So sort through all of these and put them into your table and then restart once you're finished. And here are the answers. So for Harold, his strengths, the battle took place on a steep hill with his army on top. So Harold and his army on top, so that was a strength. But his weaknesses were that his men were tired and they were outnumbered and defeated easily when their shield wall was broken. And then for William, his strengths, his army thought he was dead, and he encouraged his army to fight on by showing his face. And his other strength was that they pretended to retreat, and it was a wise move as that meant that the Anglo-Saxons, the opposition, moved away and they were able to attack. But his weakness was that he was attacking from the bottom of the hill. So that was a weakness. So well done if you filled this table in correctly. So Harold was defeated, and some say he was killed by a sword, others say he died when an arrow struck him in the eye. Now, Harold's exhausted troops were left without their leader, and soon William had won the battle outright. William was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day in 1066. It marked the end of the Anglo-Saxon rule. And a new period of British history had begun. After William became King of England, French became the language of the King's court. This blended with Anglo-Saxon English, and over many centuries became the English language we use today. So let's add the final part to our timeline now. Remember, what's the key dates, the information and maybe some drawings to help remind you what happened. So William, defeat and Christmas Day are some key words there. And then restart the video once you're done. And here's a picture of my complete timeline. So we've got from the 6th of January, 25th of September, 27th of September, up to the 14th of October, and finally ending with the 25th of December down here. No one knows exactly how Harold died, but William defeated the Anglo-Saxons. And that was the end of the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings in England. And he was crowned king at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day. So let's take a look at something called the Bayeux Tapestry. The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered linen cloth that tells the story of the Battle of Hastings. Now, although the end of the embroidery is missing, the story ends with the Anglo-Saxons fleeing at the end of the battle. The Tapestry is 50 centimetres wide and an amazing 70 metres long. No one knows for sure who created the Bayeux Tapestry. The scenes are embroidered in wool thread. So you can see a picture of what it looks like here. Onto woollen cloth, there are around 10 colours of threads used on nine panels of linen that were joined together. It was created to be displayed in the cathedral in Bayeux in Normandy in France. Other countries have asked to loan the Tapestry, but it is yet to be moved. So here's a picture of it, but it's actually a huge long piece of cloth. And it's in a museum now for people to see, and you could visit it if you wanted to go to France. So for your last task of today, what I would like you to do is select one of these moments from the Battle of Hastings and draw an image for the Bayeux Tapestry. So imagine that you were attaching your scene to the Bayeux tapestry with that woollen coloured thread. So you can choose one, two or three. You can either draw the battle that took place on the steep hill, with the Anglo-Saxons at the top and the Normans attacking from down below. So from what you've learned, what would that look like? Or during the battle, the Normans believed that William had been killed. To prove that he was alive William pushed back his helmet to show his face. So what would that have looked like? What would that scene have looked like? Or the third one, William was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day in 1066. What would that have looked like? So take some time drawing your Bayeux Tapestry section and add those colours. But don't use any more than 10 colours, because that's how many colours they would have had for the woollen thread. And then restart the video once you're done. Okay. Great work. That is the end of our unit on Vikings and Anglo-Saxons and you have worked so hard, and it has been amazing to share this learning with you. Now, I would love to see some of your learning that you've done, any of your drawings, your timelines or from anything from the previous lessons. So if you'd like to, please ask your parent or carer to share your work on Twitter, tagging @OakNational and #LearnwithOak. Thank you so much for joining me, and I hope that you all take care, and we'll see you soon. Goodbye.

Unit Overview: Vikings and Anglo-Saxons

Lessons: