Lesson Plan: Eve of the Viking Age Date: 27.09.

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Length of Session: 50 minutes
Seminar Aims To introduce ourselves to the module & some of the people we’ll be
studying

To think about our perceptions of the Vikings & the Viking Age: who are
they? What do they do? How can we study them?

To look at the different ways we can study them? Do non-literate societies

present problems for historians?
Supporting Power-point.
Materials / A3 paper, pens.
Handouts
Room Equipment / Projector.
Arrangement

Timing Subject/Heading Activity/Notes PP slides

0-5 Introduction & - Introduce module 1-2
minutes housekeeping - Introduce what seminars are about/for, (set ground rules)
- Talk through handbook: assessment dates, where to find
things etc
5-15 Icebreaker & - Show of hands how many have done a medieval topic 3-4
minutes seminar aims before.
- Introduce self & what I do.
- 10 mins to talk to each other in groups. Want to find out who
they are, where they’re from, & what they’re hoping to get
from/learn in this module. Go round each group individually
to chat to them.
- Introduce Seminar Aims.
15-30 Perceptions about - 15 minutes in groups: discuss what springs to mind when you 5-9
minutes the Vikings. think of Vikings & what we know about them. Who are they?
Where do they come from? What do they do? What is a
‘Viking’?
- Bring in big sheets of paper and marker pens & ask them to
do spider diagrams.
- Quick 5 minute roundup at the end. If there’s a whiteboard
do your own spider diagram & ask them to pop up when
they want to write stuff on. If not, just ask them what their
thoughts were. Go through slides 6-9 to highlight the other
stuff and some of the sources available.
30-40 How do we study 10 minutes in same groups: Ask them to think about what 10
minutes them? sources we have available. What are the
strengths/limitations of these?
- Then also about the other ways we can study them.
(Archaeology, histories, sagas, poems etc etc)
- Ask them to flip over their sheets and do a spider diagram on
the other side for how to study them. Same format as above.
40-50 Ohthere 10 minutes in same groups: Ask them to read the passage 11

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minutes and think about what it says about Viking society. What are
it’s strengths? Limitations?
- Ask them to flip over their sheets and do a spider diagram on
the other side for how to study them. Same format as above.

Issues to cover
Slide 1: Introduce module: welcome everyone to it, and say you’ll be the seminar tutor.
What are seminars about? Less about me lecturing & designed more to to get everyone
talking about the subject. Obviously the more you read and the more you attend, the more
you’ll get out of it.
Slide 2: Talk through the key handbook bits. Assessments which will be on the board. Also
contact details & office hours. Talk through where to find sources (from P.32 in the
handbook), and essay questions (from p.38 in the handbook).
Slide 5-9: What do we think of when we think of the ‘Vikings’? Who are they? Where do
they come from? What do they do?
- Main thing here is to get them understanding that, yes, they raided, but they also
traded, explored, and later on were fervent Christians. Give them an insight into
the culture.
- Also that they’re a very diverse group. Decentralised, no overall ‘Viking’ political
structure.
Slide 10: What does the source tell us about the Vikings? Are there any limitations with it?
What other sources can we use to study them?
- Decentralised politically (petty kingdoms). Gift giving/barter economy. Hierarchical
society. Maritime society. Non Christian.
- But: only 2 people’s perspective. Transmitted to us through an unknown person.
Note too what the text is copied in to: an old English copy of Orosius’ history
against the pagans – clearly the writer decided to put these two people in the
‘pagan’ box, which tells you something about them.
- How else can we study them? Archaeology, other historical sources, later Old
Norse sources (Sagas etc).

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Reflections: