Louis the Pious sent Ansgar to convert this town, which was deserted by the 11th century, like Ribe (“REE-buh”), Kaupang (“KAO-pang”), and Hedeby (“HEH-thuh-pew”) in the Danish realm. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this town built on a lake island west of Stockholm in the 8th century, making it the earliest Viking Age urban center. This town’s so-called “female warrior” was buried with weapons and a tafl (“TAH-vull”) game set.
ANSWER: Birka [or Birca; accept Björkö; accept “Birka Female Warrior”] (It is located in Mälaren.)
[10m] Birka’s assemblages suggest a decline in these animals, which inspired Soay’s Norse-derived name. Ytre Moa (“YEW-truh MOH-uh”) and Kaupang exported products of these animals, which were regulated by Castile’s Mesta.
ANSWER: sheep [or ovines or domestic sheep; or Ovis or O. aries; accept rams, lambs, ewes, or tups; prompt on caprines or wethers] (While the Hebridean breed likely descends from Viking sheep, the feral sheep of Soay may predate the Vikings.)
[10e] Viking sheep enabled Fair Isle knitting in this archipelago. Old Norse evolved into Norn in Orkney and this other Scottish archipelago, whose namesake ponies derive from Viking horses.
ANSWER: Shetland [or Shetland Islands, Shetland Isles, Sealtainn, Zetland, or Hjaltland; accept Shetland pony or Shetland ponies; accept Shetland sheep; prompt on Northern Isles, Na h-Eileanan a Tuath, Nordøjar, or Northreyjar; reject “Zealand”]
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