The Vikings Quiz

Question 1

Where did the Vikings originally come from?

Accepted Answer

Scandinavia — modern Denmark, Norway, and Sweden

Answer

Germany and Poland

Answer

Iceland and Greenland

Answer

The British Isles

Question 2

The Viking Age is traditionally said to have begun with the raid on which English monastery in 793 AD?

Accepted Answer

Lindisfarne

Answer

Canterbury

Answer

Westminster

Answer

Iona

Question 3

Who was Leif Erikson?

Accepted Answer

A Norwegian explorer who reached North America centuries before Columbus

Answer

A Danish king who conquered England

Answer

The founder of Iceland

Answer

A famous Viking warrior king

Question 4

What was the Viking parliament called?

Accepted Answer

The Althing

Answer

The Witan

Answer

The Senate

Answer

The Folketing

Question 5

What material were Viking longships famously made from?

Accepted Answer

Oak primarily

Answer

Pine and birch

Answer

Cedar

Answer

Elm and ash

Question 6

What is a 'berserker' in Viking culture?

Accepted Answer

A ferocious warrior who fought in a trance-like rage

Answer

A skilled trader

Answer

A type of Viking ship

Answer

A Viking chieftain

Question 7

Which city did the Vikings found in Ireland around 841 AD?

Accepted Answer

Dublin

Answer

Cork

Answer

Galway

Answer

Waterford

Question 8

What was 'Danegeld'?

Accepted Answer

A tribute paid by Anglo-Saxon England to Vikings to prevent raids

Answer

Viking treasure buried underground

Answer

The Viking monetary system

Answer

A Viking legal code

Question 9

Who was the Viking king who ruled a 'North Sea Empire' including England, Denmark, and Norway?

Accepted Answer

Cnut (Canute)

Answer

Rollo

Answer

Eric Bloodaxe

Answer

Harald Hardrada

Question 10

Erik the Red founded a Norse settlement on which island?

Accepted Answer

Greenland

Answer

Iceland

Answer

Newfoundland

Answer

Faroe Islands

Question 11

In Norse mythology, what is Valhalla?

Accepted Answer

The hall of Odin where warriors who die in battle feasted

Answer

The Viking underworld

Answer

The home of the gods

Answer

A magical forest

Question 12

What is the name of the Viking runic alphabet?

Accepted Answer

Futhark

Answer

Ogham

Answer

Cuneiform

Answer

Uncial

Question 13

The Norman Conquest of England (1066) was led by descendants of which people?

Accepted Answer

Vikings (Normans)

Answer

Anglo-Saxons

Answer

Franks

Answer

Danes

Question 14

What were female Viking warriors possibly called?

Accepted Answer

Shieldmaidens

Answer

Valkyries

Answer

Nornir

Answer

Drengrs

Question 15

The city of Kyiv (Kiev) was founded partly by which Scandinavian group?

Accepted Answer

Swedish Vikings (the Varangians/Rus')

Answer

Norwegian Vikings

Answer

Danish Vikings

Answer

Icelandic settlers

Question 16

What were Viking sagas?

Accepted Answer

Heroic prose narratives of Viking history, adventures, and legends

Answer

Religious hymns to Norse gods

Answer

Battle plans written on vellum

Answer

Lists of Viking laws

Question 17

The days of the week Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are named after which Norse gods?

Accepted Answer

All of the above are correct versions

Answer

Tyr, Woden, Thor, Frigg

Answer

Tyr, Odin, Thor, Freya

Answer

Tyr, Woden, Thor, Freya

Question 18

What was the traditional Viking funeral for important figures?

Accepted Answer

Ship burial or burning

Answer

Burial in a stone cairn

Answer

Mummification

Answer

Burial at sea with no marker

Question 19

The Viking Age is generally considered to have ended with which event in 1066?

Accepted Answer

The Battle of Stamford Bridge

Answer

The Norman Conquest of England

Answer

The death of Cnut the Great

Answer

The Christianisation of Norway

Question 20

What does the word 'Viking' most likely mean?

Accepted Answer

One who goes on a raid/expedition (from Old Norse 'víkingr')

Answer

Warrior from the North

Answer

Sea raider or pirate

Answer

Norse chieftain