All About , livre ebook

Andrews UK - S Quick P

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

75 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

This book, filled with amazing facts and photographs, describes what life was like for the Vikings. It gives an in-depth account of all aspects of life and people of the time - including sections about Food, Farming, Clothes, Viking Voyages, Invasions, Viking Ships, Viking Religion and Gods as well as much more.The 'All About' series is an educational collection of books from P S Quick, and is targeted to interest 7 to 11 year olds - but will fascinate readers of all ages. At the end of each book there is a quiz section for the reader, featuring 150 questions and answers.

Informations

Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	05 mars 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781783337682
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0150€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Title Page
ALL ABOUT
VENTURESOME VIKINGS
P S Quick

Publisher Information
Published in 2014 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
The right of P S Quick to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998
Copyright © 2014 P S Quick
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Introduction
This book, filled with amazing facts and photographs, describes what life was like for the Vikings. It gives an in-depth account of all aspects of life and people of the time - including sections about food, farming, clothes, Viking voyages, invasions, Viking ships, Viking religion and gods as well as much more.
The All About series is an educational collection of books from P S Quick, and is targeted to interest seven to eleven year olds - but will fascinate readers of all ages. At the end of each book there is a quiz section for the reader, featuring 150 questions and answers.

Introduction
The Vikings, also known as Norsemen, lived over a thousand years ago and were originally farmers, fishermen, hunters and traders. They came from the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
There was little land in Scandinavia suitable for farming and crops could only be grown for a small part of the year due to the cold. The Scandinavian lands were covered by high mountains and thick forests with little flat land and a sandy soil that was not fertile. As the population in these countries grew they could not produce enough food to feed their people.
The Vikings were brave sailors who searched for better lands to farm. However, many of them were tempted by things they saw in other lands. Their ships were built in such a way that they could attack the people who lived there, steal their belongings and make a hasty escape.
Although some of the early journeys the Vikings made were to steal treasures and even take people as slaves there were many other Vikings who were peaceful traders. They colonized the lands they had once attacked and settled there. They traded their own furs, honey, whale oil and weapons for such things as spices, wine, silk, glass and silver.

Viking Voyages
The Vikings were the best shipbuilders of their time and sailed great distances. Because the eldest son was the only one who could inherit his father’s land the younger brothers began travelling to other countries, hoping to make their fortunes trading goods or finding new lands where they could settle and farm. Many were willing to risk their lives on these long dangerous journeys in the hope of making a better life.

Viking sailing routes
By the eighth century the Vikings had begun to invade countries across Europe. They attacked the Atlantic coast of southern France and eastern England as well as sailing south to the Mediterranean Sea and attacking Sicily and southern Italy.
Monks recorded the Vikings invading the monasteries along the coast of Britain in 793 AD. The monasteries were isolated and held silver, along with many other treasures, so were often attacked. A year later in 794 AD the Vikings raided Scotland and Ireland.
In 860 AD other Vikings travelled south into Russia with their leader Rurik. They were known as Varangians. They settled and together with the Slavs who were already living there founded the first Russian state.
In other countries the Vikings were also known as Norsemen, Northmen, Danes and Normans. They sailed their boats along the Dnieper River to the Black Sea where they were able to trade with people from further east. They also raided the land around Constantinople which is now known as Istanbul in 860 AD and 941 AD.
By the tenth Century the Vikings ruled parts of Britain, Russia and France. In 911 AD their leader Rollo was given land in Northern France where they settled in a part still known as Normandy today. Here they were called the Northmen or the Normans

The Vikings attack Constantinople
About this time other Vikings sailed west to the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland which they named Vinland. Some people also believe they may even have been the first Europeans to reach North America.
Although some Vikings married and settled in Iceland and Greenland they only stayed in Canada for a short time as it was too icy for their ships to travel freely and the Inuit people who lived there drove them out.

Viking Ships
Viking shipbuilders used skills well in advance of other Europeans. They built a range of ships for different purposes. They used small boats for fishing or local trips which were called Karves.
For long distance travel they built Knorrs, sometimes known as Knarrs. These were slow boats that carried both cargo and passengers. They were about sixteen meters long and carried a crew of twenty to thirty men.
The fastest and largest ships that the Vikings built for exploring, raiding and war were called longships. A longship was about twenty to thirty metres in length and could carry about sixty warriors, each with their own weapons and shield. The shields hung in rows on both sides of the ship.

A Faroe Island stamp showing Viking voyages
A longship had a shallow hull that was only about one meter deep. This made it more stable and because it was designed to sit high in the water it also allowed the Vikings to sail right up onto the beach, in shallow waters next to land or even along small rivers. Because they were able to use their longships in this way Vikings were able to make surprise attacks and quick escapes.
The longships were made from overlapping pine or oak planks that were nailed to a heavy central wooden spine along the bottom called a keel. Wooden pegs and iron rivets were used to fasten the planks together. The joints between the planks were sealed with wool or animal hair mixed with a waterproof tar that was made from pine trees. The ships were strongly made but light and shaped so they would sail quickly through the water.
The longship had a tall mast that was made from a tree trunk to which was attached a large square sail. The sail was brightly coloured and made from woven wool. During bad storms the sail would be lowered and folded or on some ships used as a tent under which to shelter.
When there was no wind the crewmen used long wooden oars to row the ship. One man, called the helmsman, used a big oar at the back of the ship to steer it in the right direction. Another man would be chosen as the lookout, watching for danger or land.
There was also a person whose job it was to scoop up the water that came into the ship. He was called a bailer. There were no cabins like those on our ships today so the men had to eat on deck and sleep there too in fur lined sleeping bags. Personal belongings were kept on deck in a sea-chest and the oarsmen sat on these to row.
Each ship had a high prow and stern (front and back) and was brightly painted and elaborately carved. At the top of the curved prow the Vikings carved a figure of a dragon or a sea serpent. These carvings were designed to frighten away the sea monsters, in which the Vikings believed, and also to terrify their enemies. Longships were also known as Dragonships.
The Vikings had no navigation aids such as compasses as we do today. Whenever they could Vikings sailed close to land and looked out for familiar landmarks such as islands or mountains.
On longer voyages Vikings relied upon the position of the sun in the sky as well as the moon and stars. They used their knowledge of the ocean currents, winds, weather conditions and animal behaviour to navigate.
Although they were skilled navigators they still sometimes got lost or were carried along by strong currents. In this way they discovered new lands. When they had no idea which direction to sail to reach land they released a raven and sailed in the direction that it flew.

The Oseberb Longship discovered in 1906 in Norway
Archaeologists have found evidence that Longships were buried with their leaders in Viking funerals. Two ships have been found in Norway and can now be seen in the museum in Oslo. It is also said that when an important warrior died he was placed upon the ship which was then set on fire before it was allowed to sail away.

Warriors and Weapons
Viking warriors invaded other countries hoping to become rich and acquire new lands. Courage and recognition in battle were very important. They were even prepared to die in battle because they believed that dead warriors went to the afterlife known as Valhalla.