The Listening Grove · Viking Tales
Chapter 4: Olaf's Fight with Havard
A Charlotte Mason history read-aloud lesson. Press play, with the lesson.
What is Viking Tales Chapter 4, Olaf's Fight with Havard, about?Parent review
Viking Tales Chapter 4, Olaf's Fight with Havard, is another of Olaf's stories for Harald, this time a tale of a narrow escape. Olaf's thirty men had raided a farm when King Havard came against them in the dark with two hundred fighters, beating at the barred doors. Bracing for a last stand, one of the men, Thorkel, fell through a cupboard panel and by chance discovered a hidden passage. While ten men held the doors in the smothered dark, most of the crew slipped away through the passage, and Havard's men, unable to see, struck one another in the confusion. Olaf and a few others fought their way out to the ship, having already disabled Havard's boats so no one could follow. They pulled away by sea, though brave Hakon was killed by a spear as they escaped.
Say what you remember!
Tell what you remember from the last chapter.
What happened in Viking Tales Chapter 3, Olaf's Farm?Have a look
In Chapter 3, Olaf's Farm, Olaf told Harald his own story. As a young man across the water, he built a twenty-oar dragon ship called Waverunner and vowed to raid Norway, win a farm, and winter there. With thirty men he harried the coast and seized a farmer's house for the winter, though the household came to no harm and they parted as friends. Sailing on, Olaf's ship met King Halfdan's three ships and was beaten. Olaf was captured, spared by the queen's mercy, and made a thrall with an iron collar welded around his neck.
Read the previous lesson: Olaf's Farm →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 4, Olaf's Fight with Havard?smothered, barred, whizzed, plungedHave a look
- smothered: put out a fire by covering it
- barred: fastened shut with a bar
- whizzed: moved fast through the air with a hiss
- plunged: pushed in quickly and deeply
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 4, Olaf's Fight with Havard?
- Find the North Sea: The North Sea, between Norway, Britain, and Europe, was the water vikings crossed to raid.
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 4 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 4 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.
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 4 of Viking Tales?Harald, Olaf, King Havard, Waverunner, Thorkel, Hakon, Grim, ValhallaHave a look
- Harald: Halfdan's young son, asking Olaf for a tale of battle.
- Olaf: Harald's tooth thrall, telling of a desperate fight from his viking days.
- King Havard: A king whose farm Olaf raided, and Olaf's enemy in this fight.
- Waverunner: Olaf's dragon-ship, his means of escape from the trap.
- Thorkel: One of Olaf's men, here called Thorkel the Thirsty.
- Hakon: One of Olaf's men and a leader in the fight.
- Grim: One of Olaf's men, known for his mocking battle-song.
- Valhalla: The Norse hall of the battle-dead, ruled by Odin, where Olaf's men expect to feast.
Chapter 4 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 4 of Viking Tales?
In Chapter 4, Olaf's Fight with Havard, Olaf tells Harald how his crew was trapped in a farmhouse by King Havard and two hundred fighters. A secret passage was discovered behind a cupboard, and most of the men escaped in the dark while ten held the doors. Olaf fought his way to the ship and escaped by sea, though his man Hakon was killed.
Who is King Havard in Viking Tales?
King Havard is the leader who attacks Olaf's raiding party in Chapter 4, bringing two hundred fighters against the vikings barred inside a farmhouse. Olaf escapes through a hidden passage and by disabling Havard's boats beforehand. Havard is one of many local kings in the story world, a reminder that Norway held many small rulers before it was united.
How do Olaf's men escape in Chapter 4 of Viking Tales?
Olaf's men escape in Chapter 4 by using a secret passage that Thorkel discovers by accident behind a cupboard panel. They smother the fire for darkness, and most slip away through the passage while ten men hold the doors. Olaf had also wrecked Havard's boats beforehand, so the vikings reached their own ship and pulled away to sea.
Is Chapter 4 of Viking Tales too intense for children?
Chapter 4 tells of a night battle in which the farmer is killed and Olaf's man Hakon dies during the escape. The events are told directly but without graphic detail, in Jennie Hall's storytelling style. Kindred Thicket keeps the 1902 text as written, and the Teacher's Notes help parents offer context on raids, battles, and viking life.