Best of the Best: Vikings Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eric the Red

Erik Thorvaldsson, also known as Eric the Red, is believed to have had a red hair and beard, which earned him the famous nickname. Perhaps the "red hair temper" ran in his family; his father, Thorvald Asvaldsson, was banished from Norway for the crime of manslaughter. Thorvald then settled his family in Iceland, which is where Eric was living at the time of his first banishment.

He had retaliated in an incident where his neighbor killed some of his slaves, after which he went to the island of Öxney.

After another incident where several were killed in an argument over "setstokkr", house beams that had belonged to his father, Eric's sentence was three years of exile by the Thing, the Icelandic Assembly; he used this time to explore the coast of the island he named Greenland. Clever man! Eric called this land Greenland hoping to attract settlers who would move there with him, and when he returned, there were enough people for two settlements, the Eastern Settlement and the Western Settlement.

He ruled Greenland as the "paramount chieftain" until his death, and it is believed that Viking people continued to live in Greenland until the late 1400s.

Answer: Rollo

The leader of many Viking raids along the coast of modern-day France, Rollo is described in sagas as being "so big that no horse could carry him". Dudo of Saint-Quentin, a monk commissioned to write a biography of Rollo by his grandson, Richard I of Normandy, stated that Rollo seized Rouen in 876; in the chronicles of Richer of Reims, a Frankish monk, he is listed as one of the Viking leaders who laid siege to Paris in 885-86. Finally in 918, Charles III, King of Francia, who was also known as Charles the Simple, agreed to give the land between the mouth of the Seine and what is now the city of Rouen to Rollo in exchange for the future protection of the kingdom from Viking raiders. Of course, Rollo also had to agree to cease his raiding; in addition, he was baptized as a Christian, and was given Gisla, Charles III's daughter, to marry. Rollo agreed to the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, divided the land between his men, and ruled from Rouen until his death, sometime between 928-933.

Their descendants blended Viking culture with the Frankish culture in the area, and became known as Normans.

Answer: Ragnor Lothbrok

Okay! Enough of the sources that claim that Ragnor was a legendary king! A legendary king cannot father numerous sons (there are at least six historical sons) or lead the Siege of Paris. Ragnor was the subject of numerous sagas, and his Siege of Paris was chronicled in the "Annales Bertiniani", an account of Frankish history from 830-82 that was found in the Abbey of Saint Bertin that was partially written by contemporaries of Ragnar. Apparently before Ragnor laid siege to Paris, he had been granted land by Charles the Bald in Frisia; the grant, however, was rescinded for reasons unknown before the Siege of Paris. Unable to defend the city against the Viking attack, said to have been comprised of 120 ships which carrying thousands of men, the king was forced to pay a ransom of 7,000 livres.

While Ragnor agreed to leave Paris unharmed, he did continue attacks on coastal areas during his withdrawal, including the Abbey of Saint Bertin. The Vikings would return to Paris in 885-86, but without the leadership of Ragnor Lothbrok.

Answer: Canute

One of only two kings of England who are known as "the Great", Canute, or Cnut, became King of England in 1016, after defeating Edmund II. He became King of Denmark in 1019, and King of Norway in 1028, creating what is called his North Sea Empire; after he became King of Norway he issued a letter to his subjects while he was on his way to his coronation in Rome, stating that he was "King of all England and Denmark and the Norwegians and of some of the Swedes".

Although he had been converted to Christianity, he did reign with an iron fist and brutality if his kingdom or authority were questioned; he promised his subjects, however, that he would rule them fairly with mercy and justice.

He did rule primarily using the laws of Edgar the Peaceful, who had standardized laws throughout England, after making some of his own amendments.

As far as England was concerned, being ruled by a Viking king did give protection from Viking raids. Canute collected enough Danegeld to pay his men to return home, and maintain his own standing army in England.

Answer: Eric Haraldsson

It is uncertain what exactly Eric Haraldsson did to earn the soubriquet "Bloodaxe". Some sources say that he was quite a Viking marauder in his youth and did some nasty raiding later on in Scotland; other sources say that it was because he murdered all but one of his many brothers - sagas claim he had 20.

The sagas give him credit for unifying Norway and becoming king. It is interesting to note, however, that the one brother (Hakon) who wasn't murdered, was allowed to take over Eric's position as King of Norway without a fight. Eric simply moved on to Britain and became the King of Northumbria, after being invited by King Athelstan, who needed help protecting his land from the Danes and Scots.

He held that position twice for only short periods of time, apparently driven out by his rivals, and eventually killed in battle by them.

Answer: Leif Ericsson

Leif Ericsson was apparently converted to Christianity while in the court of King Olaf I Tryggvason of Norway, and was asked to spread the new religion. According to the "Saga of Erik the Red", Leif's ship was blown off course while on a voyage to bring Christianity to his father, Eric, who had founded a settlement in Greenland. Leif's discovery of Vinland, the land of grapevines and wheat fields, has given him the distinction of being the first European to set foot in North America, although there is a continued debate as to whether or not the honor is deserved.

Many believe that his travels actually may have influenced Columbus in his notion that one could reach the East by sailing West! It is a well-known fact that Columbus visited Iceland in 1477; could it be possible that he may have heard about Leif's travels?

Answer: Bjorn Ironside

Said to be one of the sons of Ragnor Lothbrok, Bjorn Ironside followed in his father's footsteps. However, he continued the pillaging and raiding in a different location - around the Iberian Peninsula to the southern coast of France, and making his way to Italy.

After capturing Pisa, Bjorn's men moved to Luni, which they believed was actually Rome. Unable to penetrate the walls of the city, Bjorn and his brother, Hastein, devised a clever plan; Hastein sent a message to the bishop saying he was deathly ill, had converted to Christianity, and wished to be given Christian sacraments. Imagine the surprise when Hastein turned out to be alive and well enough to give Bjorn's men entrance into the city! Bjorn Ironside became King of Sweden when his father died; a barrow has been found on the island of Munsö, which is said to be his burial mound.

Answer: Harald Sigurdsson

Called Harald Hardrada after his death (the epiteth means "hard ruler"), Harald was known for his military prowess by the age of fifteen. He was the leader of an army of 600 men who fought at the Battle of Stiklestad, when his brother, Olaf, tried unsuccessfully to regain the throne of Norway.

A highly respected military leader, Harald also distinguished himself while in the service of Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise in Kiev, to whom he was distantly related, and became the head of the elite Varangian Guard in Constantinople.

His big mistake? He allied with Tostig Godwinson, the brother of Harold Godwinson, in an attempt to take the throne of England, and was killed by a arrow in the neck at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066.

Answer: Sweyn Forkbeard

The father of Cnut the Great, Sweyn Forkbeard was also the King of Denmark and parts of Norway. It appears that his invasion of England was precipitated by an event in 1002, known as the St. Brice's Day Massacre; all of the Danes in England were ordered to be killed by Ethelred the Unready. Viking retaliation, led by Sweyn Forkbeard, was said to have been especially brutal. Pronounced King of England on Christmas Day 1013, he ruled England for only five weeks before his death.

Interestingly, the Danish royal family can trace their lineage to one of Sweyn Forkbeards' daughters, Estrid, and the royal family of Britain, through the marriage of Margaret of Denmark to James III of Scotland and the eventual taking of the English throne by James VI.

Answer: Gunnar Hamudarson

Described as an exceptional warrior, it was written in the "Njáls Saga" that Gunnar Hamudarson could jump his own height while wearing full body armor. His weapon of choice was the atgeir, which was a Viking polearm, comparable to a halberd, said to have been taken from one of his victims while raiding in modern-day Estonia.

In addition, it was written that even though he was an excellent swimmer and archer, and could throw a stone to hit his victim between the eyes, he was also wise, polite, loyal and handsome; what more could a person want from a Viking warrior? Many consider him to be the quintessential Viking hero.

His downfall? His wife refused to give him hair to restring his bow during an attack. Apparently he had slapped her after finding she had stolen food from a nearby farm.

He was killed in a hand-to-hand battle.