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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 happens when Karlsefni and his men meet the natives?

2. What do Karlsefni and his men first see on the opposite side of a clearing?

3. What does Karlsefni offer Eirik to cheer him up?

4. Why does Leif travel to the Hebrides?

5. Who gives Gudrid the prophecy about her future?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Leif's parents, Eirik the Red and Thjodhild, take to Christianity?

2. Describe Thorhall and explain why he is on the expedition to Vinland.

3. Describe Thorbjorn's trip to Greenland. Include who he is with and what happens.

4. Summarize the part Thorhall plays in the expedition to Vinland, including how it ends for both him and Karlsefni.

5. How and why does Einar pursue Gudrid in marriage?

6. What does the corpse of Thorstein Eriksson say about the dead? What do the people do after hearing it?

7. How does Freydis drive away the natives giving chase?

8. What is the relationship between Thorbjorn and Orm? How does it change with events?

9. Explain Sigrid's vision, including where she was when she had it and the three individuals in her vision she identifies.

10. What kind of place to Karlsefni and his men settle in for their stay in Vinland?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Gudrid's father, Thorbjorn Vifilsson, is the son of a slave and is a respected well admired man, but is offended with another son of a slave proposes marriage to his daughter. Research and write an essay about the practice of slavery in Viking culture.

Part 1. How was the concept of slavery for the Vikings fundamentally different than the concept for slavery was for the United States? Which other cultures shared this practice?

Part 2. Where did the Vikings get their slaves?

Part 3. What were the likely and possible futures for a slave once taken by the Vikings?

Part 4. What were the social stigmas attached to slavery or having previously been a slave?

Essay Topic 2

The historical novel "The Thrall's Tale" takes place during the sagas. Read the novel and then analyze the novel's connections to the sagas.

Part 1. Introduce and summarize the novel.

Part 2. During which saga does the action of the novel take place? What events happen in both?

Part 3. Which characters from the novel are also characters from the sagas? Are they consistent with their portrayal in the sagas? Does the fiction created surrounding the characters seem likely or plausible? Why or why not?

Part 4. According to you, how well did the author of "The Thrall's Tale" weave her fiction into the sagas? What did she do well and what could she have done better?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about women in Viking culture.

Part 1. How did the rights of viking women compare with the rights of women in other areas of Europe?

Part 2. What traditions surrounded the processes of marriage and divorce?

Part 3. What were the roles and responsibilities of women in a marriage and society?

(see the answer keys)

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