The Vikings are coming!

That History Bloke presents a new activity, all about the most bloodthirsty, violent, paganistic thugs that ever landed on the shores of North-East England. Or so we've been led to believe by the Anglo Saxon monks they pillaged...

We begin with Viking greetings and costume to find out how important Jarls were dressed - their materials, colours and designs, and what each said about your status in Viking society. 

Your children will be enthralled (a 'thrall' was a Viking slave!) by the saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, a Viking King, and how he saved the fair maiden Thora from the Lingworm.

Before you know it, you will be looking at replica Viking weapons, armour and shields - the best way to find out about the raiders!

After a handling session, we will move onto Viking communication by carving runes into real beeswax tablets. Why were the Futhark letters all in straight lines?

Learn how Vikings buried their dead, and what death artefacts tell us about the person they were buried with - can you tell the fisherman from the housewife?

Other activities will fill the morning - Viking games of Tafl, knucklebones or dice; perhaps the 'Game of Afterlife', which will test your class' knowledge of the Gods and warriors to decide if they will reach Asgard (or be pulled down into Niflheim...)

If you want a full day in That History Bloke's company, then we can spend the afternoon learning how the invasions affected the local monks who were the first to record the terrifying might of the Vikings. We will use drama, pens and quill feathers to record our own reactions, just as the monks did.