Vikings Quiz
Longships, Lindisfarne, Thor, Leif Erikson and Cnut: 15 questions on the Norse raiders who shook Europe.
What was the long, narrow vessel with a shallow draft that carried Viking raiders up rivers and across open seas?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
The longship
The longship's shallow keel let Vikings beach it on open shores and row far up rivers, while its combination of sail and oars gave a speed and flexibility that Europe's defenders could not match.
The best-preserved example, the Gokstad ship found in Norway in 1880, is about 24 m (78 ft) long and had positions for 32 oarsmen.
The raid on which Northumbrian monastery in 793 is traditionally taken as the start of the Viking Age?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Lindisfarne
Norse raiders sacked the monastery on Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, off the Northumbrian coast in June 793, shocking Christian Europe and opening more than two centuries of Viking attacks.
The scholar Alcuin, writing from Charlemagne's court, called the attack a terror never before seen in Britain.
In Norse mythology, which god wields the hammer Mjölnir?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Thor
Thor, the god of thunder, carried the hammer Mjölnir, which always returned to his hand, and small hammer amulets were popular among Vikings as a sign of the old faith.
Thursday takes its name from Thor, just as Wednesday comes from Woden, the Old English name for Odin.
What was the name of Odin's great hall, where warriors who died in battle were said to feast?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Valhalla
Valhalla was the hall of the slain in Asgard, where half of those killed in battle, chosen by the valkyries, feasted and fought each day while waiting for Ragnarök.
The other half of the battle dead were said to go to Fólkvangr, the field ruled by the goddess Freyja.
Which alphabet did the Vikings carve on memorial stones, weapons and wood?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Runes
Vikings used the Younger Futhark, a runic alphabet of just 16 characters whose straight lines were easy to cut into stone, bone and wood with a knife.
Sweden has by far the most surviving rune stones, most of them raised in the 11th century as memorials by the families of the dead.
Which Norse outlaw founded the first lasting settlement in Greenland around 985?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Erik the Red
Erik the Red, exiled from Iceland for killings, explored Greenland around 982 and returned about 985 with a fleet of settlers to found the Norse colonies on its southwest coast.
The sagas say Erik deliberately chose the inviting name Greenland to lure colonists to a mostly ice-covered island.
Which Norse explorer reached the coast of North America around the year 1000 and named part of it Vinland?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Leif Erikson
Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, sailed west from Greenland around the year 1000 and landed in regions the sagas call Helluland, Markland and Vinland, almost 500 years before Columbus.
The United States has marked Leif Erikson Day on 9 October every year since 1964.
A Norse site excavated in the 1960s at which location in Newfoundland confirmed that Vikings reached North America?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
L'Anse aux Meadows
Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad found the remains of Norse turf buildings at L'Anse aux Meadows in 1960, and excavations uncovered iron rivets and a bronze cloak pin that proved a Viking presence.
The site became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, and tree-ring dating has since pinned Norse activity there to the year 1021.
Which king of Wessex defeated the Viking leader Guthrum at the Battle of Edington in 878?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Alfred the Great
Alfred rallied his forces from the Somerset marshes to crush Guthrum's army at Edington in 878, after which Guthrum accepted baptism and withdrew to East Anglia.
Alfred later built a network of fortified towns called burhs and encouraged the translation of Latin works into English.
What was the region of northern and eastern England under Viking control and custom called?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
The Danelaw
The Danelaw was the area where Danish law prevailed after Alfred and Guthrum divided England in the 880s, covering roughly everything north and east of a line from London to Chester.
Hundreds of English place names ending in -by and -thorpe, such as Grimsby and Scunthorpe, are a legacy of Danish settlement.
Which Viking chieftain was granted land around Rouen in 911, founding the duchy that became Normandy?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Rollo
Under the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte in 911, King Charles the Simple granted Rollo territory around Rouen in exchange for baptism and defending the Seine against other raiders.
Rollo's great-great-great-grandson was William the Conqueror, so the Normans who took England in 1066 were themselves descendants of Vikings.
Which Norwegian king was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, in what is often called the last great Viking invasion of England?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Harald Hardrada
Harald Hardrada invaded Northumbria with a fleet of around 300 ships in September 1066 but was killed by Harold Godwinson's army at Stamford Bridge near York on 25 September.
Before becoming king, Harald spent years as a commander in the Varangian Guard, the Byzantine emperor's elite bodyguard in Constantinople.
Which Danish king ruled England, Denmark and Norway together in a North Sea empire in the early 11th century?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Cnut the Great
Cnut, son of Sweyn Forkbeard, conquered England in 1016 and later added Denmark and Norway, ruling a North Sea empire until his death in 1035.
The famous story of Cnut commanding the tide to stop was told to show his humility: he wanted courtiers to see that even a king cannot rule the sea.
Bluetooth technology is named after Harald Bluetooth, a 10th-century king who united which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Denmark
Harald Bluetooth united the Danish tribes under one crown and brought Christianity to Denmark, and Intel engineer Jim Kardach proposed his name in 1997 because the technology unites devices.
The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune combining the runes for H and B, Harald's initials.
Norse settlers founded the Althing, one of the world's oldest parliaments, in 930 in which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Iceland
Norse chieftains who had settled Iceland established the Althing at Þingvellir around 930, an open-air assembly that made laws and judged disputes for the whole island.
Þingvellir sits on the rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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All History quizzes →About the Vikings Quiz
In 793 Norse raiders sacked the monastery of Lindisfarne, and for the next 250 years Viking fleets struck everywhere from Ireland to Constantinople. They were traders and settlers as much as pirates: they founded Dublin and Normandy, colonized Iceland and Greenland, and reached North America five centuries before Columbus.
These 15 questions cover longships and runes, Thor and Valhalla, the explorers Erik the Red and Leif Erikson, Alfred the Great's fight against the Danes, and the kings Rollo, Cnut and Harald Hardrada. There is even a question on why your phone's wireless connection is named after a Viking king. Good for fans of Norse sagas, TV Vikings and real medieval history alike.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
When was the Viking Age?
It is usually dated from the raid on Lindisfarne in 793 to the death of Harald Hardrada at Stamford Bridge in 1066, roughly 270 years.
Did Vikings really reach America?
Yes. Norse buildings excavated at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland prove they were there, and tree-ring dating places Norse activity at the site in 1021.
Does this quiz cover Norse mythology?
A few questions do, including Thor's hammer and Valhalla, but most focus on real Viking raids, explorers, settlements and kings.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- What was the long, narrow vessel with a shallow draft that carried Viking raiders up rivers and across open seas?
The longship The longship's shallow keel let Vikings beach it on open shores and row far up rivers, while its combination of sail and oars gave a speed and flexibility that Europe's defenders could not match. The best-preserved example, the Gokstad ship found in Norway in 1880, is about 24 m (78 ft) long and had positions for 32 oarsmen. - The raid on which Northumbrian monastery in 793 is traditionally taken as the start of the Viking Age?
Lindisfarne Norse raiders sacked the monastery on Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, off the Northumbrian coast in June 793, shocking Christian Europe and opening more than two centuries of Viking attacks. The scholar Alcuin, writing from Charlemagne's court, called the attack a terror never before seen in Britain. - In Norse mythology, which god wields the hammer Mjölnir?
Thor Thor, the god of thunder, carried the hammer Mjölnir, which always returned to his hand, and small hammer amulets were popular among Vikings as a sign of the old faith. Thursday takes its name from Thor, just as Wednesday comes from Woden, the Old English name for Odin. - What was the name of Odin's great hall, where warriors who died in battle were said to feast?
Valhalla Valhalla was the hall of the slain in Asgard, where half of those killed in battle, chosen by the valkyries, feasted and fought each day while waiting for Ragnarök. The other half of the battle dead were said to go to Fólkvangr, the field ruled by the goddess Freyja. - Which alphabet did the Vikings carve on memorial stones, weapons and wood?
Runes Vikings used the Younger Futhark, a runic alphabet of just 16 characters whose straight lines were easy to cut into stone, bone and wood with a knife. Sweden has by far the most surviving rune stones, most of them raised in the 11th century as memorials by the families of the dead. - Which Norse outlaw founded the first lasting settlement in Greenland around 985?
Erik the Red Erik the Red, exiled from Iceland for killings, explored Greenland around 982 and returned about 985 with a fleet of settlers to found the Norse colonies on its southwest coast. The sagas say Erik deliberately chose the inviting name Greenland to lure colonists to a mostly ice-covered island. - Which Norse explorer reached the coast of North America around the year 1000 and named part of it Vinland?
Leif Erikson Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, sailed west from Greenland around the year 1000 and landed in regions the sagas call Helluland, Markland and Vinland, almost 500 years before Columbus. The United States has marked Leif Erikson Day on 9 October every year since 1964. - A Norse site excavated in the 1960s at which location in Newfoundland confirmed that Vikings reached North America?
L'Anse aux Meadows Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad found the remains of Norse turf buildings at L'Anse aux Meadows in 1960, and excavations uncovered iron rivets and a bronze cloak pin that proved a Viking presence. The site became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, and tree-ring dating has since pinned Norse activity there to the year 1021. - Which king of Wessex defeated the Viking leader Guthrum at the Battle of Edington in 878?
Alfred the Great Alfred rallied his forces from the Somerset marshes to crush Guthrum's army at Edington in 878, after which Guthrum accepted baptism and withdrew to East Anglia. Alfred later built a network of fortified towns called burhs and encouraged the translation of Latin works into English. - What was the region of northern and eastern England under Viking control and custom called?
The Danelaw The Danelaw was the area where Danish law prevailed after Alfred and Guthrum divided England in the 880s, covering roughly everything north and east of a line from London to Chester. Hundreds of English place names ending in -by and -thorpe, such as Grimsby and Scunthorpe, are a legacy of Danish settlement. - Which Viking chieftain was granted land around Rouen in 911, founding the duchy that became Normandy?
Rollo Under the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte in 911, King Charles the Simple granted Rollo territory around Rouen in exchange for baptism and defending the Seine against other raiders. Rollo's great-great-great-grandson was William the Conqueror, so the Normans who took England in 1066 were themselves descendants of Vikings. - Which Norwegian king was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, in what is often called the last great Viking invasion of England?
Harald Hardrada Harald Hardrada invaded Northumbria with a fleet of around 300 ships in September 1066 but was killed by Harold Godwinson's army at Stamford Bridge near York on 25 September. Before becoming king, Harald spent years as a commander in the Varangian Guard, the Byzantine emperor's elite bodyguard in Constantinople. - Which Danish king ruled England, Denmark and Norway together in a North Sea empire in the early 11th century?
Cnut the Great Cnut, son of Sweyn Forkbeard, conquered England in 1016 and later added Denmark and Norway, ruling a North Sea empire until his death in 1035. The famous story of Cnut commanding the tide to stop was told to show his humility: he wanted courtiers to see that even a king cannot rule the sea. - Bluetooth technology is named after Harald Bluetooth, a 10th-century king who united which country?
Denmark Harald Bluetooth united the Danish tribes under one crown and brought Christianity to Denmark, and Intel engineer Jim Kardach proposed his name in 1997 because the technology unites devices. The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune combining the runes for H and B, Harald's initials. - Norse settlers founded the Althing, one of the world's oldest parliaments, in 930 in which country?
Iceland Norse chieftains who had settled Iceland established the Althing at Þingvellir around 930, an open-air assembly that made laws and judged disputes for the whole island. Þingvellir sits on the rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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