Sweyn Forkbeard

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/sweyn-forkbeard

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Sweyn Forkbeard born?Circa 960 AD
2. When did Sweyn Forkbeard die?February 3, 1014, in Gainsborough, England
3. What is the successor?His son, Cnut the Great, who expanded the empire
4. Who was Sweyn Forkbeard?Sweyn Forkbeard was a Viking king from Denmark who lived around 960 AD. He later became king of Denmark, Norway, and briefly England.
5. Why did Sweyn want to conquer England?England was divided and weak, so Sweyn saw an opportunity to take control and gain tribute from its people.

Witan: An Anglo-Saxon council of leading men, advising the king and involved in succession.
North Sea Empire: A vast kingdom created by Cnut the Great, uniting England, Denmark, and Norway.
Anglo-Saxon: Referring to the Germanic peoples who settled in Britain from the 5th century onwards, and their culture.