The Viking Raid
The workshop fits approximately in to a single school day and is split in to four hour long sections.
I) The Homeland.
1) Introduction. (Approximately 25 minutes). Who were the Vikings? Where did they come from? This section introduces the children to
the character of Snorri. He is the Jarl (lord) of the village of Strandebarn on the west coast of Norway. We will talk about what life is like
in the village; how people live and the differences between Viking men and women.
2) The Village. (Approximately 20 minutes). The children will each be given a costume to put on. This is based upon a simple tunic which
can be worn over the top of school uniform. They will then be asked to make some simple scenes, to show what life is like in the village
of Strandebarn. Props will be provided.
3) Weapon practice. (Approximately 15 minutes). All Viking men must be good warriors. The children will each be given a shield and a
spear. They will be taught how to practise using their weapons like Vikings, to prepare them for trouble later on.
II) Journey to another land.
1) Introduction. (Approximately 15 minutes). We will talk about why the Vikings might have wanted to leave their homelands and their
relationship to the sea. The children will be told that they are about to set off upon a journey to the lands in the west. We will say a
prayer to the goddess Ran to ask that she grant us protection on our journey.
2) Making the ship. (Approximately 20 minutes). The children will be asked to participate in the “building” of a Viking ship. They will be
asked to think about the needs and requirements the Vikings would have had from their craft. They will then be given various roles to
perform and props to use in order for them to create their own Viking ship. The children will then be taught a rowing song to sing as
they set sail across the ocean. At the end of the journey the children will be told that we have sighted the coast and, nearby, an island.
3) Scouting the island. (Approximately 25 minutes). The children will be asked to think about the place where they have just landed. We
will do this via a guided meditation. The children will be asked to think about what they can see, hear, smell and taste on the island.
They will then be split in to small “scout parties”. Each group will be asked to make a tableau/ body picture to show what th ey have
seen on the island. We will mark what the different parties have found on a map of the island.
III) Attacking the monastery.
1) Staging the battle. (Approximately 35 minutes). Night has fallen and the time has come to attack the monastery. Obviously, we can’t
have a real battle within the confines of the school. However, we can have a DRAMATIC RECONSTRUCTION. The children will be split in
to small groups and will rehearse the different parts of the battle with the monks. We will then put the different parts together in order
to build up a picture of what the battle might have been like.
2) Tending the sick. (Approximately 25 minutes). Of course, some of our warriors will have been injured in the battle with the monks.
We will talk a little about Viking medicine and magic. The children will be asked to make some simple scenes showing how they might
have tended to the sick. We will then cast the runes to see which of the warriors will survive.
IV) The return home.
1) Funerals. (Approximately 30 minutes). We will make a funeral pyre for the bodies of the dead warriors. We will talk a little about
Viking funerals and what the Vikings believed about the afterlife. As the warriors died in battle, they will be assured of a place in
Valhalla, the hall of the gods. The children will be taught a funeral song to sing.
2) Storytelling/performance of Thor in the Land of the Giants . (Approximately thirty minutes). We will end the day by telling a story.
This is a piece of direct to audience storytelling which relates the Thor’s visit to Utgard, the land of the giants and the tricks played upon
him by the giant king.
The workshop can be ended with a question and answer session. There is a natural point to take a break between parts one and two.
Lunchtime should fall naturally between parts two and three.
Moveable Feast Productions
Registered office: 19 Bentcliffe Drive, Leeds LS17 6QX
Registered in England & Wales. Company number 5120810