Studies Weekly 18 - The Germanic Tribes

Runes

Letters of the Viking alphabet.

Volksthing

A gathering of free Germanic men to make decisions.

Vikings

A group of seafaring Scandinavian people who raided the coasts of northern and western Europe from the eighth through the tenth century.

Mercenary

A professional soldier hired by a foreign army.

Angles

A tribe that moved from continental Europe to England after being attacked by the Huns.

Scandinavia

An area in northern Europe, home of the Viking people.

Istanbul

Capital of the Ottoman Empire; named this after 1453 and the conquering of Constantinople.

Charlemagne

King of the Franks who conquered much of Western Europe, including the Saxons.

Odin

King of the Norse gods

Constantine

Roman Emperor who adopted the Christian faith and stopped the persecution of Christians. He established the city that later became Istanbul

Diocletian

Roman emperor who divided the empire into a West and an East section.

Atilla the Hun

The general that united the Huns and destroyed much of Rome.

Plunder

To rob by force, especially during wartime.

Huns

Warlike people who migrated from Eastern Europe into territory controlled by Germanic tribes, forcing them to move into areas controlled by Rome

Barbarians

Word originally meaning 'foreigners' but it evolved into meaning warriors that use violence.