The Listening Grove · Viking Tales
Chapter 7: Harald's Battle
A Charlotte Mason history read-aloud lesson. Press play, with the lesson.
What is Viking Tales Chapter 7, Harald's Battle, about?Parent review
Viking Tales Chapter 7, Harald's Battle, is the young king's first war. Halfdan's old foes, thinking a boy-king weak, gather to attack. Harald calls his men by sending war-arrows across the land under penalty of outlawry, and his army musters, each man in his own gear with no uniform. Harald rides at the front with his self-made brass shield and gold dragon helmet. After two days they meet King Haki's army, and by Norse custom a battlefield is staked out with hazel poles. The battle is joined with horns and shields, and Harald's forces win. King Haki falls dead under the spear Foes'-Fear, and the enemy flees. Harald buries his dead in a mound with hell-shoes and runes, then divides the spoils, a share to Thor, to himself, to his chiefs, and to his men. He wins more battles and takes his foes' lands, keeping his vow.
Say what you remember!
Tell what you remember from the last chapter.
What happened in Viking Tales Chapter 6, Harald is King?Have a look
In Chapter 6, Harald is King, ten-year-old Harald became king after his father King Halfdan died. First he held a great funeral ale, sending messengers to bid kinsmen and friends from three months away. The many-day feast filled the hall with food, mead poured by the queen's women, and the skald Audun's song of Halfdan. Harald drank the horn of memory, vowed to grind his father's foes under his heel, and took the king's high seat as all shouted "King Harald!" He gave such rich gifts that no guest left empty-handed, and men called it the richest funeral feast ever held.
Read the previous lesson: Harald is King →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 7, Harald's Battle?outlawed, standard, provisions, moundHave a look
- outlawed: put outside the law's protection
- standard: a flag or banner carried by a leader or army
- provisions: a stock of food and supplies
- mound: a heap or hill of earth or stones
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 7, Harald's Battle?
- Find Oslofjord (near Oslo, Norway): Harald fought to defend his father's kingdom, which lay around the Oslofjord.
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 7 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 7 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 7 of Viking Tales?King Harald, King Haki, Foes'-fear, Thorstein, Audun, Thor, Valhalla, NorwayHave a look
- King Harald: The young king of this part of Norway, riding to war under his standard, 'War-lover.'
- King Haki: A rival king and Harald's enemy in this battle.
- Foes'-fear: Harald's named spear, the weapon that kills King Haki.
- Thorstein: Harald's man and messenger, bearer of the white shield of parley.
- Audun: Harald's skald, kept near to make a song of the battle.
- Thor: The Norse war-god, given a share of the battle-spoils.
- Valhalla: The Norse hall of the slain, the hard road Harald's fallen men must travel.
- Norway: The land Harald is winning, kingdom by kingdom.
Chapter 7 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 7 of Viking Tales?
In Chapter 7, Harald's Battle, the young king fights his first war. Halfdan's old foes attack, thinking a boy-king weak. Harald musters his army with war-arrows, marches to meet King Haki, and fights on a hazel-staked battlefield. Harald wins, Haki falls dead under the spear Foes'-Fear, and Harald buries his dead, divides the spoils, and takes his foes' lands.
What are war-arrows in Viking Tales?
War-arrows were a summons to battle in the Norse world, and in Chapter 7 Harald sends them across the country to call his men to muster. Any man who ignored the call faced outlawry, the loss of protection under the law. The war-arrow was a fast way to raise an army, a custom the Teacher's Notes help parents understand.
Who is King Haki in Viking Tales?
King Haki is the enemy king Harald defeats in Chapter 7. Haki's army meets Harald's on a staked battlefield, and Haki is killed under Harald's spear Foes'-Fear before his men flee. Haki is one of the many rival kings Harald overcomes, part of the larger story of how Harald rose to rule over a divided Norway.
How were vikings buried in Viking Tales?
In Chapter 7, Harald buries his fallen warriors in a mound topped with a stone and marked with runes, and gives them hell-shoes for the journey after death. Norse burial customs, including ship-burials seen later in the book, reflected beliefs about the afterlife. Kindred Thicket keeps Jennie Hall's account as written and adds Teacher's Notes with historical context.