Friday 2nd July 2021

LC: To begin to evaluate the usefulness of different sources. 

The Vikings began to raid England in the late 8th century. They mainly attacked Christian places of worship like monasteries. 

The first monastery to be raided was in 793 AD at Lindisfarne, off the northeast coast of England. 

Holy Island

Here are some sources of information showing the Lindisfarne attack that we need to evaluate.

How good are they at helping historians understand the events that took place at Lindisfarne in 793 AD?

Source A

The Lindisfarne Stone which shows the bloody Viking raid on the island created in the 9th century.

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Source B

Viking ships arriving in Britain created around 1130 AD.

Source C

The importance of Lindisfarne for the Vikings

Source D

Alcuin’s letter to the Bishop of Lindisfarne

Alcuin was a priest and scholar (highly educated) born in Yorkshire. He was deeply upset by the Viking raid on Lindisfarne. Here is part of his letter to the Bishop of Lindisfarne in 793 AD.  

"the distress of your suffering fills me daily with deep grief, when heathens desecrated God’s sanctuaries, and poured the blood of saints within the compass of the altar, destroyed the house of our hope, trampled the bodies of saints in God’s temple like animal dung in the street …"

heathens - the name Anglo-Saxons gave the Vikings

desecrated - treat with violent disrespect

Create a table and evaluate the sources of information.