Viking quiz: How much do you know about these seaborne raiders, traders and explorers?

Despite popular depictions, the Vikings most likely did not have horned helmets. (Image credit: Art Collection 2 via Alamy)

The Vikings loom large in European history thanks to their impressive seafaring skills and penchant for raiding. For around three centuries, Vikings pillaged and plundered their way around the North Atlantic Ocean, as well as parts of Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia. But historians are still not sure exactly why the Vikings voyaged so far and wide, offering explanations from innovations in sailing technology to trade, and even to lonely Viking men who wanted to secure brides and concubines.

If you think you know a lot about these pillaging people, can you crack our Norse code? Or will you go berserker trying?

Remember to log in to put your name on the leaderboard; hints are available if you click the yellow button. It's time to make like the Vikings and charge ahead!

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Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Killgrove holds postgraduate degrees in anthropology and classical archaeology and was formerly a university professor and researcher. She has received awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science writing.