Lesson Y7-U01-L04

Y7-U01-L04 The Vikings and the Struggle for England Quiz: KS3 History, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y7-U01-L04, The Vikings and the Struggle for England: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 History (National Curriculum), Unit 1: Year 7: England pre-1066, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Where was the monastery of Lindisfarne, raided by the Vikings in 793?

    • Off the coast of Northumbria in the north-east of England
    • On the south-west coast in the kingdom of Wessex
    • Inland in the Midlands, far from any sea coast
    • On the coast of Kent in the south-east corner of England

  2. In which year did Vikings raid the monastery of Lindisfarne?

    • 793
    • 410
    • 865
    • 597

  3. Where did the Vikings mainly come from?

    • Northern Italy, close to the Alps mountains and the Roman roads of the south
    • Eastern Europe, beyond the Russian forests and the great rivers of the east
    • Scandinavia, which is modern Denmark, Norway and Sweden
    • Southern Spain, near the Mediterranean sea and the old Moorish kingdoms of the south

  4. Why were monasteries such easy targets for Viking raiders?

    • They were built in mountains that were too steep for ships to reach
    • They were guarded by huge armies of Roman soldiers who had stayed behind
    • They were protected by strong walls built by the Viking kings
    • They were rich in treasure, on the coast, and had no soldiers to defend them

  5. What is a raid?

    • A fast, surprise attack to steal goods, followed by a quick escape
    • A long siege that lasts for many years around a fortified town
    • A slow move of families to a new land to farm and settle permanently
    • A peaceful trade agreement signed by two rival kings in a monastery

  6. What was the Danelaw?

    • The large area of north-east England where Viking law and customs ruled
    • A Roman road that linked the towns of the north to London
    • A church in Wessex where Anglo-Saxon kings were buried
    • A council of Anglo-Saxon thegns who advised the king on war

  7. In which year did the Great Heathen Army land in England and stay through the winter?

    • 865
    • 878
    • 793
    • 937

  8. In which year did Alfred become King of Wessex?

    • 878
    • 865
    • 871
    • 1066

  9. Where did Alfred hide after a surprise Viking attack in 878?

    • In a royal palace in the city of London
    • Inside the walls of the city of York
    • In the marshes at Athelney
    • In the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne

  10. What were burhs?

    • Monasteries where monks copied and kept important books
    • Viking longships used to carry raiders across the North Sea
    • Fortified towns built by Alfred to defend Wessex
    • Councils of thegns who advised the king on laws and taxes

  11. Which battle in 878 did Alfred win against the Vikings?

    • The Battle of Lindisfarne
    • The Battle of Edington
    • The Battle of Brunanburh
    • The Battle of Hastings

  12. In which year did Aethelstan win the Battle of Brunanburh, becoming king of all England?

    • 1066
    • 793
    • 937
    • 878

  13. Which Anglo-Saxon king ruled England in 1066?

    • Alfred the Great
    • William the Conqueror
    • Edward the Confessor
    • Aethelstan the Strong

  14. What does a raid involve, compared with a settlement?

    • A raid is a church service while a settlement is a tax on the monasteries
    • A raid is a long trade deal while a settlement is a short attack on a town
    • A raid is a royal wedding while a settlement is a peace treaty with a king
    • A raid is a short attack to take goods, while a settlement means staying to farm and live

  15. Which fact best shows that the Vikings settled in England rather than only raiding it?

    • York became a busy Viking trading city and Vikings farmed the land around it
    • Vikings killed monks and stole gold and silver from the monasteries
    • Vikings sailed away with treasure from the monastery at Lindisfarne
    • Vikings attacked the coast in fast longships and then escaped again

  16. A village in the Danelaw has a name ending in -by. What does this suggest?

    • It was a Viking settlement, because -by means a farm or village
    • It was a Roman fort that guarded the road to London
    • It was a Christian monastery that held holy books and treasure
    • It was a royal burial site for Anglo-Saxon kings of Wessex

  17. Why was Alfred's victory at Edington so important for Wessex?

    • It saved Wessex from conquest and showed the Vikings could be beaten
    • It gave the Church control of the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria
    • It made Wessex a Viking kingdom under a new Danish king
    • It ended the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and began the rule of the Normans

  18. What did Alfred agree with the Viking leader Guthrum?

    • Wessex would hand over its kingdom to the Vikings and leave England
    • Wessex would pay Guthrum gold every year and lose its army completely
    • A boundary for the Danelaw, which brought peace and time for Wessex to recover
    • Guthrum would become a monk and give up his army and his lands

  19. How did Alfred's family help to unite England?

    • They moved the capital from Wessex to Lindisfarne in the north of England
    • They reconquered the Danelaw, so that by 1066 England was one kingdom
    • They allowed each Anglo-Saxon kingdom to keep its own separate laws and kings
    • They gave the Danelaw back to the Vikings so England could make peace

  20. Why did the Viking threat in the 800s and 900s help create one England?

    • It allowed the Vikings to rule every English kingdom from one palace
    • It forced the separate English kingdoms to unite behind Wessex to resist the Vikings
    • It made each English kingdom separate and independent of the others
    • It made the Heptarchy grow into a larger empire ruled from Rome

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