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

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Aud have erected at Kross Hills?

2. What were the characteristics of the first land that Leif and his crew land on?

3. Where do the brothers stay when they arrive in Vinland?

4. How is Tyrkir described?

5. Why does Eirik name the land he discovered "Greenland"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how Eirik the Red felt about the possibility of joining Leif's exploration crew and why he did not.

2. Explain the entire affair of Eirik and the bench-boards.

3. Describe the descendants of Karlsefni and Gudrid.

4. Describe what happens as Leif and his crew try to approach the shore of the mainland.

5. What does the saga of Gudrid's Ancestry tell us about Aud's faith and what she does to practice it?

6. Describe the land that Thorvald and his men reported seeing all up and down the coast.

7. How long does Thorvald spend in Vinland, and what are his primary activities while he is there? Give details.

8. What happens to Thorstein and his crew when they set sail for Vinland? Where do they end up spending the winter?

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

10. What circumstances caused Eirik the Red to leave Iceland?

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

Write an essay about many popular misconceptions about Vikings.

Part 1. What is the popular image of a Viking?

Part 2. What parts of the popular image of a Viking are wrong?

Part 3. Provide explanations or evidence that suggests that these popular misconceptions are not historical.

Part 4. What might historical Vikings have been like instead?

(see the answer keys)

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