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The Anglo-Saxons and Vikings Life in the UK Test Questions

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Question 1 Medium Often tested

______ first visited Britain in AD 789 to raid coastal towns and take away goods and slaves

The Norman Conquest

The Vikings

Vikings from Denmark and Norway first raided Britain in AD 789.

Correct answer

The Romans

Romans invaded much earlier, in 55 BC and AD 43 — not AD 789.

The Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxons had already settled in Britain by AD 600, before the Viking raids.

Explanation

The Vikings from Denmark and Norway first raided Britain in AD 789, targeting coastal towns for goods and slaves.

Question 2 Medium

Who was the first Archbishop of Canterbury?

St Augustine

Led missionaries from Rome and became first Archbishop of Canterbury

Correct answer

St Peter

Apostle and first Bishop of Rome, not associated with England

St Columba

Irish missionary who founded the monastery on Iona, Scotland

St Patrick

Patron saint of Ireland; spread Christianity in the north of Britain

Explanation

Missionaries from Ireland spread the religion in the north. The most famous of these were St Patrick, who would become the patron saint of Ireland, and St Columba, who founded a monastery on the island of Iona, off the coast of what is now Scotland. St Augustine led missionaries from Rome, who spread Christianity in the south. St Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

Question 3 Medium

Who invaded England after the Romans?

The Anglo-Saxons

After the Romans left in AD 410, Britain was invaded by tribes from northern Europe — the Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons — collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons.

Correct answer

The Normans

The Normans invaded in 1066, over 600 years after the Romans left; the Anglo-Saxons were the first to invade in the 5th century AD.

The Scots

The Scots did not invade England after the Romans; in fact, areas of Scotland were never conquered by Rome and remained independent of those changes.

The Vikings

The Vikings came to Britain from AD 789 onwards, but this was after the Anglo-Saxons had already established kingdoms in England in the 5th–6th centuries.

Explanation

After the Roman army left Britain in AD 410, tribes from northern Europe — the Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons (collectively called the Anglo-Saxons) — invaded and settled. By around AD 600 they had established kingdoms across much of what is now England.

Question 4 Easy

Under which king did the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England unite to defeat the Vikings?

King Alfred the Great

Alfred united the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and defeated the Vikings, earning the title 'the Great'.

Correct answer

Henry VIII

Henry VIII was a Tudor king of the 16th century, long after the Viking age.

Robert the Bruce

Robert the Bruce defeated the English at Bannockburn in 1314 — not the Vikings.

William of Orange

William of Orange became king in 1688, well after the Viking era had ended.

Explanation

The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England united under King Alfred the Great, who defeated the Vikings.

Question 5 Medium

Which of the following words comes from the Viking language?

Pencil

Pencil derives from the Latin 'penicillus'; it is not of Viking origin.

Rabbit

Rabbit comes from Old French; it is not a Viking-derived word.

Scunthorpe

Scunthorpe is a place name in the Danelaw area; it derives directly from the Viking language.

Correct answer

Table

Table comes from Latin via Old French; it is not a Viking word.

Explanation

Words such as Grimsby and Scunthorpe come from the Viking languages.

Question 6 Medium

Where in England was one of the Anglo-Saxon kings buried with treasure and armour?

Conwy Castle, Wales

Conwy Castle was built by Edward I to maintain English power in Wales, not a burial site.

The Tower of London

The Tower of London is a Norman fortress and later prison, not an Anglo-Saxon burial site.

Sutton Hoo, Suffolk

An Anglo-Saxon king was buried with treasure and armour in a ship mound at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk.

Correct answer

Maiden Castle, Dorset

Maiden Castle in Dorset is an impressive Iron Age hill fort, not an Anglo-Saxon burial ground.

Explanation

The burial place of one of the Anglo-Saxon kings was at Sutton Hoo in modern Suffolk.

Question 7 Medium

Who defeated the Vikings?

King Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great united the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and defeated the Viking invaders.

Correct answer

King Edward I

Edward I conquered Wales and fought Scotland — centuries after the Viking age.

King Harold

Harold was the last Anglo-Saxon king, killed at Hastings in 1066 — he did not defeat the Vikings.

King Kenneth

Kenneth MacAlpin united northern peoples against Viking threats in Scotland, but Alfred defeated them in England.

Explanation

The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England united under King Alfred the Great, who defeated the Vikings.

Question 8 Medium

When did the Vikings first visit Britain to raid coastal towns and take away goods and slaves?

AD 790

AD 790 is one year after the Vikings' first recorded visit to Britain.

AD 804

AD 804 is 15 years after the Vikings first raided Britain.

AD 789

The Vikings first visited Britain in AD 789 to raid coastal towns for goods and slaves.

Correct answer

AD 600

By AD 600, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were established in Britain; the Vikings came nearly two centuries later.

Explanation

The Vikings came from Denmark and Norway. They first visited Britain in AD 789 to raid coastal towns and take away goods and slaves.

Question 9 Medium

Where did the Vikings come from?

Norway and Sweden

Sweden was not a Viking homeland that raided Britain; Norway and Denmark were

Norway and Denmark

Vikings came from Norway and Denmark, first raiding Britain in AD 789

Correct answer

Spain and France

Spain and France launched different invasions; the Vikings came from Scandinavia

Austria and Germany

Austria and Germany are central European; the Vikings were from Scandinavia

Explanation

The Vikings came from Denmark and Norway. They first visited Britain in AD 789 to raid coastal towns and take away goods and slaves.

Question 10 Medium

After King Alfred the Great defeated the Vikings, many of the Viking invaders stayed in Britain, especially in the east and north of England in an area called:

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, not a Viking settlement area.

Canute

Canute (Cnut) was the first Danish king of England; the Danelaw is the region, not the king's name.

Danelaw

The Danelaw was the area of north and east England where Vikings settled and their laws prevailed.

Correct answer

Bayeux

Bayeux is the French town where the tapestry commemorating the 1066 conquest is kept.

Explanation

Many of the Viking invaders stayed in Britain – especially in the east and north of England in an area known as the Danelaw.

Question 11 Medium

When did the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms establish in Britain?

AD 789

AD 789 was when the Vikings first raided Britain, over a century after the Anglo-Saxons had settled.

AD 600

By about AD 600, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were established in Britain after the departure of the Romans in AD 410.

Correct answer

AD 410

AD 410 was when the Roman army left Britain — the Angles, Saxons and Jutes then began to arrive.

AD 698

This date has no specific historical significance in Anglo-Saxon history.

Explanation

Britain was invaded by tribes from northern Europe: the Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons. The languages they spoke are the basis of modern-day English. Battles were fought against these invaders but, by about AD 600, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were established in Britain.

Question 12 Medium

Names of places, such as Grimsby and Scunthorpe come from which language?

Saxon

Saxon place names tend to end in -ham, -ton or -wick — not -by or -thorpe.

Viking

Place names ending in -by (Grimsby) and -thorpe (Scunthorpe) come from Old Norse, the Viking language.

Correct answer

Norman

Norman French influenced English vocabulary after 1066 but did not give Britain the -by or -thorpe endings.

Celtic

Celtic languages survive in Welsh and Gaelic place names, using endings such as -aber, -inver or -llan.

Explanation

Many places names, such as Grimsby and Scunthorpe, come from the Viking languages

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