JigsawViking Quiz: Questions and Answers
A free Viking quiz with answers for kids (KS2) and adults: Viking trivia questions on Norse gods like Odin and Thor, Leif Erikson, longships, how Bluetooth got its name and Viking sites on the map.
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About this quiz
Each round of this Viking quiz has ten questions about the Vikings: some of their best-known sites light up on the map or appear in a photo, and you pick the right name from four; the others are quick questions about who they were, where they sailed and what they left behind, from their longships and the gods of Norse mythology to the words we still use.
After every answer you see a short fact and, for the places, a photo from our Viking puzzles: tap it to play the same place as a jigsaw puzzle, or follow the whole route in the journey In the Footsteps of the Vikings, from Scandinavia to Iceland, Greenland and North America.
It is a free history and geography quiz for anyone: the Easy level suits kids and students who are learning about the Vikings at school (KS2 history in the UK), while All is a real test for adults, with Viking trivia questions and answers to read through after each round. Play it on your own, against a friend with the challenge link, or in class on a big screen.
Maps: Natural Earth (public domain). The photos are credited under each picture and on their puzzle pages.
Sample questions and answers
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The Bluetooth wireless technology is named after which Viking king?
Answer: Harald Bluetooth. Harald Bluetooth united Denmark and Norway in the 900s, as Bluetooth was meant to unite devices; its logo joins his initials in runes, ᚼ and ᛒ.
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Who is believed to have reached North America about 500 years before Columbus?
Answer: Leif Erikson. Around the year 1000, Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, sailed west from Greenland to a land he called Vinland.
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Did Viking warriors wear horned helmets?
Answer: No, that idea is from the 1800s. No horned Viking helmet has ever been found. The horns came from costumes for Wagner’s operas in 1876, and the picture stuck.
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In English, which day of the week is named after the god Thor?
Answer: Thursday. Thursday is “Thor’s day”. Wednesday is named after Odin (Woden) and Friday after the goddess Frigg.
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Who was the chief of the Norse gods, with one eye and two ravens?
Answer: Odin. Odin gave an eye for wisdom, and his ravens Huginn and Muninn flew around the world each day to bring him news.
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What was the name of Thor’s hammer?
Answer: Mjölnir. Mjölnir always flew back to Thor’s hand. Many Vikings wore small hammer pendants for luck; Gungnir was Odin’s spear.
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Where, in Norse myth, did warriors who died in battle feast with Odin?
Answer: Valhalla. Valhalla, the hall of the slain, had a roof of shields; the warriors feasted there until the last battle, Ragnarök.
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Where did the Vikings come from?
Answer: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The Vikings came from Scandinavia and sailed out from the late 700s to the mid-1000s; Iceland and Greenland were settled by them later.
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What were the Vikings’ famous long, narrow ships called?
Answer: Longships. Longships had a shallow hull, so they could cross the open sea and also row far up rivers and land right on a beach.
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What did the Vikings use to write on stone?
Answer: Runes. The Viking-Age runic alphabet, the Younger Futhark, had only 16 letters; thousands of rune stones still stand in Scandinavia.