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Y302: The Viking Age c.790–1066

Culture and religion: old religion and new religion

  • 2 things to know
  • Unit group 3

Overview

Recall questions on old religion, the gods, including Odin, Thor, Frey and the Norns, outdoor worship, including ship-settings, sacrificial sites, burial customs.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Who and when

What new rituals and rules did conversion bring?

Key term

How was Norway converted?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Describe the character of Odin.

    Model answer

    He was the god of war, wisdom, poetry and magic, lord of the hall of the slain to which warriors killed in battle were carried, and a shifting, treacherous figure worshipped above all by kings and poets.

  2. 2

    Why was Thor apparently the most popular god?

    Model answer

    As the hammer-wielding god of thunder who defended gods and men against giants, he was the protector of ordinary farmers and sailors, which is reflected in the huge numbers of hammer amulets and personal names built on his name.

  3. 3

    What did Frey represent?

    Model answer

    He was a god of fertility, prosperity, peace and good harvests, worshipped for the increase of crops, livestock and family.

  4. 4

    Who are the Norns?

    Model answer

    They are the three female powers who determine fate at the roots of the world tree, expressing the belief that a person's destiny is fixed and cannot be escaped.

  5. 5

    Where and how did Scandinavians worship before conversion?

    Model answer

    There was no scripture, creed or professional priesthood: chieftains and heads of households led worship, mostly outdoors at sacred groves, springs, mounds and stone ship-settings, and sacrificed animals and sometimes people before feasting on the offering.

  6. 6

    Describe the range of Viking burial customs.

    Model answer

    Both cremation and inhumation were used, from simple graves to mound burials, chamber graves and ship burials, with grave goods reflecting the status, gender and occupation of the dead.

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