Ancient Viking runestones carved with runic inscriptions showing Old Norse writing
πŸ“œViking LanguageπŸ“œ

Viking Language for Kids

Discover the ancient words of the Vikings! Learn about Old Norse, the magical runes they carved, and the amazing stories they told.

Ancient Tongue!

πŸ—£οΈ What Language Did Vikings Speak?

The Vikings spoke a language called Old Norse. It was a North Germanic language spoken in Scandinavia from the seventh to the fifteenth centuries.

Old Norse was the common tongue of the Viking people who lived in what we now call Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. As Vikings travelled, traded, and settled in new lands, they took their language with them. Over many centuries, Old Norse slowly changed and eventually became the modern languages we know today: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, and even Icelandic!

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Epic Stories!

πŸ“š Viking Sagas: Stories Passed Down

The Vikings loved telling stories! Their amazing tales of gods, heroes, and adventures were passed down through generations, shared around fires on cold winter nights.

These stories, called sagas, were written in Old Norse and have survived from the tenth through twelfth centuries. Viking sagas tell us about incredible adventures, fierce battles, magical creatures, and brave explorers who crossed the seas to discover new lands. The most famous sagas include stories about legendary heroes like Egil Skallagrimsson and the voyages to North America led by Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red.

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Word Detectives!

πŸ’¬ English Words with Viking Roots

Did you know that you already speak some Viking words? When Vikings settled in England over 1,000 years ago, they brought their language with them. Many words stuck around and are still used in English today!

Click on the cards below to discover the Viking roots of common English words!

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Magical Symbols!

ᚠ Viking Runes: The Alphabet of Magic

The Vikings did not use the ABC letters we know today. Instead, they wrote using special symbols called runes! The Viking runic alphabet was known as the futhark, named after the first six runes: F, U, Þ, A, R, and K.

Ancient Viking runestones standing in a field, carved with mysterious runic symbols and inscriptions

Viking runestones have survived for over 1,000 years!

Runes were made of straight lines because Vikings carved them into hard materials like stone, bone or wood. Curved letters would be much harder to carve! You can still see Viking runestones standing today in Scandinavia, some over a thousand years old.

ᚠFehuWealth
ᚒUruzStrength
ᚦThurisazProtection
ᚨAnsuzWisdom
ᚱRaidoJourney
ᚲKenazKnowledge
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