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. Where does Thorhall end up?

2. What do Karlsefni and his natives do with the natives the second time they get visited?

3. Who gives Gudrid the prophecy about her future?

4. Why does Thorbjorn decide to travel to Greenland with Eirik the Red?

5. Who is Thorgunna?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does a fight break out between Karlsefni's men and the natives? Describe the sequence of events leading up to Karlsefni and his men fleeing.

2. What prophecy does Gudrid hear about her future? Who tells her this future?

3. What happens with the whale? Why do people refuse to eat it?

4. What happens when a native finds an axe near one of the fallen Vikings?

5. Explain the interchange between Bjarni and the young Icelander. What are the circumstances and what is the result?

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

7. How do Haki and Hekja come to be on the expedition to Vinland? Where are they from?

8. Explain why the small boat on Bjarni's ship would not sink while the large one was about to.

9. Describe the first two encounters that Karlsefni and his men have with the natives.

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

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 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 3

Write an essay on the runic alphabets.

Part 1. When were the runic alphabets used?

Part 2. What different runic alphabets are there? How do they differ from each other?

Part 3. What runic alphabet did the Vikings use? Give particulars of this alphabet.

Part 4. Give an example of how to translate something into runes.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,219 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample