Direction:- Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

Vikings were the seafaring Norse people from southern Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) who from the late 8th to late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe, and explored westward to Iceland, Greenland, and Vinland. In the countries they raided and settled, the period is known as the Viking Age, and the term ‘Viking’ also commonly includes the inhabitants of the Norse homelands. The Vikings had a profound impact on the early medieval history of Scandinavia, the British Isles, France, Estonia, Kievan Rus', and Sicily. Expert sailors and Navigators aboard their characteristic longships, Vikings voyaged as far as the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East and were the first Europeans to reach North America. While spreading Norse culture to foreign lands, they simultaneously brought home foreign cultural influences to Scandinavia, profoundly influencing the historical development of both. During the Viking Age, the Norse homelands were gradually consolidated from smaller kingdoms into three larger kingdoms: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The Vikings spoke Old Norse and made inscriptions in runes. For most of the period, they followed the Old Norse religion but later became Christians. The Vikings had their own laws, art, and architecture: Most Vikings were also farmers, fishermen, Craftsmen, and traders.