The Lost Diary

What do you know about the Vikings? Who were they? Where did they go? How did they get there? When was the Viking Age? Discuss these questions with a partner or in small groups.

Remember! You don’t have to understand all the words in a story to enjoy it.

During the Viking Age (793–1066 AD) many people left Scandinavia. They were looking for adventure and riches. We call these people Vikings. The Vikings were master shipbuilders. They could travel long distances in their ! longships. They explored and settled many different places in Europe, the Middle East and the islands of the North Atlantic. They even made it to Canada. The Vikings hunted, traded and raided. Sometimes they took people and used them as slaves. People feared the sight of Viking ships. STEVE BARLOW AND STEVE SKIDMORE The Lost Diary of Eric Bloodaxe, Viking Warrior Vurderingseksemplar

Harald Finehair

Harald Hårfagre AD (Anno Domini) e.Kr. (etter Kristus) crowned kronet court poet skald Harald Finehair was the first King of Norway. When he died in 930 AD, his son, Erik Bloodaxe, was crowned king. A few years later, Erik’s younger brother, Hakon, became king. Hakon made Erik leave Norway. There are many stories about Erik Bloodaxe. Nobody knows if they are true. Some people think he was the last Viking king of Jorvik (York) in England. A court poet called Gorblime is telling the story here.

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composed komponerte sorrowful trist song of parting avskjedssang faithful trofaste supporters støttespillere turned up dukket opp see us off ta avskjed raiding plyndring feasting festing mind you vær oppmerksom på with Hakon in charge når Håkon bestemmer Christian kristen that lot den gjengen monks munker bless velsigne the willies den store skjelven

bare her: naken windswept forblåst bay bukt stream liten elv farming jordbruk the pits grusomt sted turf gress, torv earth jord reciting deklamere praise poems lovprisingsdikt, hyllingsdikt barn låve were complaining klaget stores lagre, forråd thralls treller, slaver bossing everyone about kommandere alle rundt 936 AD, Oslofjord We sailed away from Norway forever this morning. I composed a sorrowful song of parting: We are sailing, we are sailing Down the fjord, to the sea. We are sailing stormy waters To where Vikings can be free.

We’re a pretty small party; just Erik and Gunnhild, a few faithful supporters ... oh, and me of course. Not many people turned up to see us off. Vikings don’t care who’s on the throne as long as there’s lots of raiding and feasting. Mind you, there may not be much of that with Hakon in charge. From what I hear, he became a Christian at Athelstan’s court, and we all know what that lot are like. Monks are the worst. I remember one of them still trying to bless me even after I’d chopped his arms and legs off. Gives you the willies, that sort of thing.

The Orkney Islands We have reached a group of bare and windswept islands to the north of Scotland, called the Orkneys. Erik chose a bay with a stream and some flat fields for farming, and here we are. The land is brown, the sea is brown, even the sky is brown. Everything else is even less interesting to look at. These islands are the pits. Back in Norway we make our houses out of wood, but there aren’t any trees here. We’ve had to use turf laid on top of earth and stones. Once we’d landed, Erik got us building a long hall so everyone has somewhere to go in the evenings to eat and listen to me reciting praise poems for Erik. Even the pigs, sheep and goats have ended up in the hall until we can build a barn for them.

We’ve finally got the barn built, thank Odin. With lots of Vikings and animals living in one room, the smell was terrible. All the animals were complaining. Everybody has been busy building stores and houses. When I say everyone has been busy I don’t mean Erik, of course. Or Gunnhild. They’ve got thralls working for them. Erik just sits in his special chair in the longhouse bossing everyone about, and Gunnhild sits there bossing Erik.

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Crops have been planted as well: barley, rye, oats, peas, beans and turnips. More importantly, ale and mead are being brewed. We might even manage a half-way decent feast one of these days. Gunnhild is still moaning about missing the Norwegian weather. I don’t see why. It’s just as foggy, cold and wet here in the Orkneys as it was back home.

A lot of Vikings have joined Erik’s settlement here in Orkney, and with the raiding season just starting, we’re off to have a crack at the Scots. I reckon it’s just Erik’s excuse to get away from Gunnhild for a bit. She’s been moaning about having to look after the farm whilst Erik’s away, but the work has to be done and it’s the woman’s place to do it. Anyway, she’s got plenty of thralls to help her out. We had to buy some more ships from the local boat builder especially for the raid. We’ve been busy loading supplies on board: weapons, tools, cooking items, chests, furs, water, more weapons, and some food (although we’ll try and nick as much food as we can when we get raiding).

King Erik sent for me this morning and told me that we were off in the Wrath of Odin. That’s the name of his ship. All Viking longships are called things like Wrath of Odin or Vengeance of Thor or Death Dragon. If you’re going to leap ashore in a battle fury and chop people to bits, you don’t want to be doing it from boats called The Skylark or Bluebell.

Scotland We sailed quietly up the river this morning, and there before us lay a small town. It looked very friendly and peaceful. Well, we couldn’t have that, could we? We ran the longships aground, and crept up to the town gates. Then we charged, chanting our terrifying Viking battle-cry. The men from the town rushed out to defend it, only to fall dying before us, as my praise song tells:

Scots scattered; wild wolves And eagles at evening feasted on corpses. Battle-cranes cried over fields of the slain; Bright blood bathed the beaks of ravens ...

crops avlinger barley bygg (korn) rye rug (korn) oats havre peas erter beans bønner turnips neper ale øl mead mjød brewed brygget half-way decent halvveis bra moaning klager, sutrer foggy tåkete settlement bosetting raiding season plyndresesongen have a crack at Vurderingseksemplar forsøke seg på reckon regner med whilst imens a woman’s place en kvinnes jobb loading laste supplies forsyninger tools redskaper chests kister furs skinn nick stjele we were off in vi skulle reise med Wrath of Odin Odins vrede Vengeance of Thor Thors hevn leap ashore hoppe i land fury raseri chop hakke to bits i stykker The Skylark Lerka Bluebell Blåklokka Before us foran oss aground på grunn charged angrep chanting sang terrifying fryktinngytende battle-cry kamprop defend forsvare scattered strødd feasted on corpses spiste likene battle-cranes krigstraner the slain de drepte beaks of ravens ravners nebb

Coastal cliffs, Orkney Islands Oh, yes, it was a great victory. The defenders were half asleep and not many were armed, which is usually what happens when you attack people before dawn. Most of the women and children got away – you have to let them go or there’d be nobody to raid next time. We pinched whatever we Vurderingseksemplar could carry, set fire to the town and legged it. Just routine, really, but I still had to write a praise song about it. 938 AD, Dublin, Ireland After raiding down the west coast of Scotland Erik decided to sail over to Ireland to pay a visit to old Olaf Guthfrithson. Olaf’s been King of Dublin for four years now. The Vikings in Ireland are a friendly bunch and we got on like a house not on fire. (Vikings only set fire to the houses of people they don’t get on with.) King Olaf was especially pleased to see us. We soon found out why. He wants to recapture the Viking Kingdom of Jorvik

dawn soloppgang pinched stjal legged it stakk av routine rutine

pay a visit besøke got on like a house not on fire trivdes godt sammen recapture gjenerobre

from the Saxons and he’s trying to raise an army. So it was agreed that when Olaf sets sail next year, Erik and the rest of us will be with him.

939 AD, Jorvik, England We sailed up the river to Jorvik this morning with not a Saxon in sight, and here we are. I’ll say one thing for it, Jorvik is big. There’s nothing like it in Norway. Olaf tells me it’s the biggest city in England, after London, and the richest. As we got nearer, the walls with their eight great towers rose out of the mist. It was like sailing into Valhalla. Until, that is, we got closer to the wharves. The Romans built the walls. They also built drains, but from the smell of the place, they’d stopped working long ago. The river that runs through Jorvik is called the Ouse. It certainly does. Phew! Most of the people who live in Jorvik are Danish Vikings, so when Olaf told them that he was going to be king, they all cheered like mad as it meant having a Viking in charge again.

941 AD, Jorvik Poor old King Olaf Guthfrithson, King of Dublin and Jorvik, died today. It’s not right for a Viking Chieftain to die in his bed. It means he will go to Niflheim, the land of eternal ice ruled by Hel, the Queen of the Dead. A Viking who dies in battle goes to the gods’ country, Asgard. Every day he fights again in the greatest of all battles, and every evening he goes to feast with Odin, the father of the gods, in Valhalla, the Hall of the Slain. Valhalla has walls made of golden spears and a roof made of golden shields. It has five hundred and forty doors, each wide enough to allow eight hundred men to pass through side by side. Every night, the hall is filled with Viking warriors, eating and drinking to their hearts’ content.

The new King of Jorvik is Cuaran. I don’t like him. A proper Viking will spear you through the chest (that’s fair play) but Cuaran will stab you in the back and then claim it was some other bloke.

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Saxons angelsakserne (engelskmennene) I’ll say one thing for it en ting skal den ha rose (rise) steg mist dis wharves kaiene drains avløpsgrøfter Ouse (ooze) stinke, ose

chieftain høvding eternal evig spears spyd shields skjold allow tillate to their hearts’ content av hjertens lyst spear spidde stab stikke bloke fyr

crowded folksomt muddy gjørmete trade handel citadel borg wattle and daub flettverk med påklint leire thatched roofs halmtak walkways gangsti civilized sivilisert mouthful salve, skjennepreken that’s Vikings for you sånn er vikinger raged raste cow-poo kubæsj as cities go til by å være

I’m getting used to living in Jorvik. It felt very crowded to begin with. There are more than 30,000 people living here. Most of them live inside the city walls but there’s not enough room for everyone, so there are houses built along some of the roads leading out of the city. The roads are very muddy a lot of the time, so most trade is carried by boats. The Vikings all live in one part, to the south of the old Roman citadel. The houses are longhouses made of wattle and daub with thatched roofs, just like the ones back home only smaller. But instead of one longhouse there are lots, all built facing fed up with lei av each other across wooden walkways. It’s all very civilized. I said this to Gunnhild (who arrived from the Orkneys last week) and she gave me a right mouthful. “That’s Vikings for you,” she raged. “A thousand years ago the Romans were building cities of stone and you think it’s really sophisticated to live in a hut with a grass roof and walls made out of sticks, mud and cow-poo!” Gunnhild can say what she likes, Jorvik’s not a bad place, as cities go. 944 AD, Jorvik Erik’s fed up with Jorvik. There’s far too much Christianity for his liking and not enough blood and guts and feasting. We can’t stop him, so it’s back to the Orkneys for Erik. 948 AD, Jorvik Erik Bloodaxe is back in Jorvik and this time he’s back as KING! After years of being pushed about by the Saxons, Christianity kristendom liking smak guts innvoller pushed about herset medVurderingseksemplar Archbishop Wulfstan and Earl Orm sent a message to Erik: “Come and be King and bring back the great days of Olaf Guthfrithson!” Asked if he had a message for the Saxons, Erik replied: “Watch out, you no good Sax, ’cos I’m after you with my Blood axe!”

(Adapted from The Lost Diary of Erik Bloodaxe, Viking Warrior)

UNDERSTANDING

1 Answer the questions. a Who tells the story of Erik Bloodaxe? b Why was Erik forced to leave Norway? c What do they make their houses out of in the Orkneys? d What supplies do they take with them on raids? e After raiding, what do Erik and his followers do to the

Scottish town? f Why does the writer feel sorry for Olaf Guthfrithson? g Why does Erik decide to leave Jorvik? h What year does Erik Bloodaxe become King of Jorvik? i This text is humorous at times. Can you find examples of humour? j What did you learn about the Vikings from this text? LANGUAGE LAB 2 Spelling words with ie and ei Find the missing letters – ie or ei. a Erik chose a bay with a stream and some flat fields for farming. b We sailed qu__tly up the river this morning c It looked very fr__ndly and peaceful. d It’s not right for a Viking Chieftain to d__ in his bed. e The walls with th__r great towers rose out of the mist. f Valhalla has walls made of golden spears and a roof made of golden sh__lds. g The doors are wide enough to allow __ght hundred men to pass through side by side. Vurderingseksemplar

VOCABULARY

3 Idioms There are many idioms in the text about Erik Bloodaxe. Replace the underlined words in each sentence with an idiom from the text. Choose from the list below.

the willies turned up like mad the pits pinched a crack like a house on fire to their hearts’ content legged it

a Not many people came. turned up b That sort of thing gives you a feeling of fear. c The islands are the worst. d We’re off to have a try at the Scots. e We stole whatever we could carry. f We set fire to the town and ran away. g We got on with the Vikings in Ireland really well. h They all cheered with enthusiasm. i The hall is filled with Viking warriors eating and drinking as much as they want.

EXPLORE MORE Vurderingseksemplar

4 Your teacher will give you a map of the British Isles. Plot Erik Bloodaxe’s journeys on the map, including place names and approximate dates. Remember that Jorvik = York.