a raid is a rapid surprise attack, usually involving stealing something

a longboat is a long, light and slender boat that the Vikings used to travel

a priory is a building lived in by a community who follow religious vows

a manuscript is a book or document written by hand

a monk is a member of a religious community of men

Early Viking raids

History

Seafaring Vikings

The Great Heathen Army

Aethelred, Alfred the Great and Wessex

The Anglo-Saxon fightback

Why the Vikings came to Britain

In ‘The Vikings: why did they come to the British Isles?’ pupils learn about how and why the Vikings began to settle in Britain. In ‘The Great War: how did the Great War affect my local area?’ pupils momentarily leave their study of Viking Age Britain to consider the impact of the First World War on their local area at an appropriate time in the school year.

In 'The Anglo-Saxons: how do we know about life in Anglo-Saxon England?' pupils learnt about Anglo Saxon culture and society in more detail, and the evidence base for the claims that historians make about this period. In 'The Vikings: why did they come to the British Isles?' pupils learn about another wave of migration to Britain: the Vikings.

n this unit, pupils learn about the period in which Viking invaders first came to Britain. They learn about the Vikings themselves and the conflict that emerged between them and the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England. Pupils also learn about the roles of Aethelred and Alfred the Great in this period.

The Vikings: why did they come to the British Isles?

fortified means to provide a place with defenses, such as walls, to protect it against attack

expansion often means becoming more permanent and larger in size

seafaring means regularly travelling by sea

a saga is a story of achievements or events in the history in Old Norse or Old Icelandic

a heathen is a person who does not belong to a widely held religion

East Anglia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the east of England

Northumbria was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in northeastern England

Mercia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is the Midlands in England today

Wessex was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of England

when you defend something, you resist an attack made against it

to stall means to stop something making progress

a bribe means to give someone money or something else of value, often illegally, to persuade that person to do something you want

Chippenham is a town in southwestern England where the Vikings almost captured Alfred

Edington is a town in southwestern England where Alfred defeated Guthrum

the area that Alfred allowed the Vikings to rule was called the Danelaw

when someone changes to a new religion or belief they have converted

a monastery is a building lived in by a community of monks who follow religious vows

when you are settled you make a permanent home somewhere

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The Vikings: why did they come to the British Isles?

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