View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What do the settlers end up trading to the natives?

2. What is Aud's full title?

3. Who does Bjarni travel to see "some time later" after sighting the land to the west?

4. Which of the following most accurately describes the descendants of Karlsefni and Gudrid?

5. What do Leif and his crew decide to do regarding their discovery of this land?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Bjarni away when his father emigrates to Greenland?

2. What do we know about the emigration from Iceland to Greenland?

3. Where do Karlsefni and Gudrid travel? What becomes of them?

4. Describe the circumstances of Bjarni's discovery of new lands to the west.

5. How did Eirik know to look for Greenland? What did he do when he found it?

6. How do Leif and his men find grapes? Describe the incident.

7. What happens between the natives and Thorvald and his crew? Describe the encounter.

8. What response does Bjarni receive when he shares his sighting of the new land?

9. What does Eirik do when he reaches Greenland? How long?

10. Explain why Eirik chose the name Greenland.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Vinland Sagas are part of the history of Iceland. Write an essay about Iceland.

Part 1. Describe Iceland physically - where is it and what is the nature like there?

Part 2. What role does Iceland play in the Vinland Sagas? Why are the Vinland Sagas important to Iceland?

Part 3. Cover the history of Iceland. Who discovered it? When? What has happened to Iceland since then?

Part 4. What is modern Iceland like? Who lives there? What kind of government do they have? What has happened to them recently?

Essay Topic 2

Eirik the Red and his sons explored a considerable amount of new land. Write an essay about the family that may have been the first Europeans to discover America.

Part 1. What lands were Eirik the Red and his sons the first Europeans to discover and explore?

Part 2. Each of the four of the explorers had a different motivation for their exploration. What was the motivation of each and how did they differ from one another?

Part 3. There are descriptions of Eirik, Leif, Thorvald, and Thorstein in the sagas. What were they like? Is there evidence to suggest how they get along together?

Essay Topic 3

How did the Vikings compare as shipbuilders, seamen and explorers to their contemporaries?

Part 1. As explorers and sea voyagers, how did the vikings compare to others of their time?

Part 2. What kind of ships did the Vikings use? What were the advantages and disadvantages of these ships? How were they made?

Part 3. What influence did the Viking ships have on other nautical customs of the time? What legacy have they left behind?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,071 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample