The Listening Grove · Viking Tales
Chapter 11: King Harald Goes West-Over-Seas
A Charlotte Mason history read-aloud lesson. Press play, with the lesson.
What is Viking Tales Chapter 11, King Harald Goes West-Over-Seas, about?Parent review
Viking Tales Chapter 11, King Harald Goes West-Over-Seas, follows the Norsemen out across the ocean. Many men resent Harald's new order of oaths and taxes and leave Norway rather than kneel. Rolf-go-afoot and his men win land on a great French river, and the French king makes Rolf a duke, so Rolf calls his land Normandy, and his descendants become kings of England. Other Norsemen settle in Ireland, England, Scotland, and the treeless Orkney and Shetland islands, from which they raid Norway each summer. Unable to stop them at home, Harald sails west to fight the vikings in their island homes, and after many hard battles he wins, takes oaths, and leaves earls to rule, gaining a new kingdom west-over-seas. Looking back, people link his wide conquests to the queen's old dream of the great tree, whose spreading branches are his many descendants.
Say what you remember!
Tell what you remember from the last chapter.
What happened in Viking Tales Chapter 10, King Harald's Wedding?Have a look
In Chapter 10, King Harald's Wedding, Harald confirmed with his friends that his ten-year vow was fulfilled, for there was no king but him in all Norway. He bathed, had his long hair cut and combed, and was renamed Harald Hairfair. He sent Guthorm once more to Gyda, who now agreed to marry the king of all Norway. Harald rode to King Eric's home, feasted three nights, and wed Gyda with a holy hammer of Thor and a bunch of keys as the mistress-sign. In a gesture his men had never seen, he knelt to serve his bride, then took her home behind his saddle.
Read the previous lesson: King Harald's Wedding →Show what you know!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Fill in the vocabulary you know, then click to check your work and learn some new words today.
What are the difficult or advanced vocabulary words in Viking Tales Chapter 11, King Harald Goes West-Over-Seas?duke, crags, fiord, oathHave a look
- duke: a nobleman of the highest rank, below a king
- crags: steep, rugged rocks or cliffs
- fiord: a narrow inlet of the sea between steep cliffs
- oath: a solemn, serious promise
Locate it on the map!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Use an atlas and fill in the blank map if you can find the geographic location, then click to check your work.
What important geographic locations connect with Viking Tales Chapter 11, King Harald Goes West-Over-Seas?
- Find Normandy (France): A viking named Rolf won land in France and named it Normandy, "the land of the Northmen."
See these places on the mapHave a look
These match the map in your Lesson Guide.
The Books come Alive!
Read or listen to Chapter 11 of Viking Tales, the Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition, read by Faerie Book Mama.
Read by Faerie Book Mama for LibriVox (public domain), professionally adjusted and trimmed by Kindred Thicket.
What historical context goes with Chapter 11 of Viking Tales?Parent review
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Jennie Hall’s 1902 words are read exactly as she wrote them, and we add Teacher’s Notes with historical and cultural context.
- About the whole bookViking Tales is Jennie Hall’s 1902 retelling of old Norse stories drawn from the sagas, such as the Heimskringla and the Vinland sagas. These weave real history together with legend, so the tales are best enjoyed as saga tradition rather than exact history.
- This chapterThe story tells this as a conquest, but Rollo (the book's Rolf) gained Normandy mainly through a treaty with the French king in AD 911. The story's detail about marrying the king's daughter is later legend.
Memory becomes Action!
Use the Response Resource* to remember and spell tricky names. Choose one way to narrate.
*Materials in the Lesson Guide.
What is the list of names, people, characters, and places that are important in Chapter 11 of Viking Tales?King Harald, Rolf-go-afoot, Normandy, France, The Orkneys, The Shetlands, Norway, ValhallaHave a look
- King Harald: King of all Norway, who wins a new realm 'west-over-seas.'
- Rolf-go-afoot: A giant Norse chief, known in history as Rollo: first duke of Normandy and ancestor of England's kings.
- Normandy: The region of northern France that Rolf won and named for old Norway.
- France: The kingdom whose king granted Rolf land and his own daughter.
- The Orkneys: Rocky, treeless islands north of Scotland, settled by vikings.
- The Shetlands: Another bare island group north of Scotland, settled by Norsemen who also took Ireland and England.
- Norway: The homeland many chiefs fled to escape Harald's single rule.
- Valhalla: The Norse hall of the slain, journey's end for warriors fallen in the island wars.
Chapter 11 Q & A
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. We keep Jennie Hall’s 1902 words as written and add historical context. Here are common questions about this chapter.
What happens in Chapter 11 of Viking Tales?
In Chapter 11, King Harald Goes West-Over-Seas, many Norsemen leave rather than submit to Harald's rule. Rolf wins land in France and founds Normandy, and others settle in Ireland, England, Scotland, and the Orkney and Shetland islands, raiding Norway each summer. Harald sails west, defeats them in their island homes, and gains a kingdom across the sea, fulfilling the dream of the great tree.
Who is Rolf in Viking Tales, and how did he get Normandy?
Rolf, called Rolf-go-afoot, is the Norse leader who wins land in France in Chapter 11 and founds Normandy. The story tells it as conquest, but the historical figure known as Rollo gained Normandy mainly through a treaty with the French king in AD 911. The detail of marrying the king's daughter is later legend, points the Teacher's Notes help clarify.
Where did the Norsemen settle in Chapter 11 of Viking Tales?
In Chapter 11, Norsemen leaving Harald's Norway settle in France, where Rolf founds Normandy, and in Ireland, England, Scotland, and the treeless Orkney and Shetland islands. From these island homes they raid Norway each summer. This chapter maps the wide spread of Norse settlement across the western lands, a rich geography lesson for young readers.
How does Chapter 11 connect to the queen's dream in Viking Tales?
Chapter 11 returns to the great-tree dream from Chapter 1. People now read the dream as fulfilled: the tree is Harald, its red trunk the blood of battle, its green limbs peace, its white top old age, and its spreading branches his many descendants ruling far-off lands. The dream frames Harald's whole story from birth to empire.