Ifonnoth Thompson, age 11, of Sioux City, Iowa, for his question:

Who were the Vikings?

The word Viking means a‑roving and the Vikings were among the boldest and bravest of all rovers. They roamed the seas more than a thousand years ago. Their home was the Norse land of far northern Europe. Their Viking ships were made of wood. They carried oars and sails, for these early Norsemen knew how to take advantage of every breeze and current. Those proud, bold Vikings really understood the sea.

The Vikings went a‑roaming to find new lands. Sometimes they raided. Sometimes they settled, as in continental Europe and in England. Always they kept careful records of their adventures. At first the old tales were handed down verbally. Later they were recorded in writing. These tales are the Viking sagas.

One great Viking stands out from all the rest. He was Eric, the Red. Exiled from Iceland, Eric founded a colony in Greenland. His children loved to go a‑Viking, too. And one of them sailed clear across the stormy Atlantic to North America. Leif Ericson and his men visited the New World about a thousand years ago. They returned home to record the breathtaking adventure in the old Norse sagas.