Viking Incursion

The purpose for the Medieval incursion is to teach Year 8s about the past and how they lived and evolved new skills. This incursion had activities and facts with lots of games. The most interesting experience in my opinion was the armour and weapons because we got to try on the armour and learn about the time it took to train knights and long bow men and the different weapons for different jobs. We also got to dress up in the Armour and hold the swords and axes also doing a little story with them and the teacher. The way they explained it through games and stories was engaging and interesting which made the experience easier to remember. 

In conclusion the medieval day was engaging and exciting, with activities and games that helped us learn and remember more about the past and how it was in the past for different people, also the roles of society and helped us see what had changed and evolved over time. 

Aeryn O

On the 31st of August all the Year 8s participated in a fun-filled Viking Incursion! We did archery and trying on armour as well as examining the role of women.

Chloe A

We weren’t just taught about ancient history, but we were brought into it to experience it firsthand… We could wear real armour all the way from the year 800 and got shown the timeline of the upgraded armour. It wasn’t all fun though; we learned some cool facts that we wouldn’t have learnt otherwise, like it takes 12 years to fully train a knight and by that stage they were so used to their equipment that they could do cartwheels in it. I was surprised to learn that villages would pay knights to protect them and there were so many different types of arrow heads that we don’t know what some of them were for.

Noah A

Lorenzo showed us some games that they played in Medieval times. In one, the goal was to hold the end of a rope (that you can’t let go of), and someone else would hold on to the other end. You would each be armed with daggers (for safety reasons we used small sticks) and you would have to hit the other persons arms. He told us that one contrast with medieval games, and that is that they don’t use much stuff. The Industrial Revolution hadn’t happened yet so (in Lorenzo’s words) “stuff was more expensive”. They would also play these games in front of the king. But it was not only for entertainment, but also so that the king could see what different people could and couldn’t do, so that he knew which people to appoint to what.

Reuben B

In the armour and weapons session we learned that steel is lighter than iron but as strong as iron, that knights wear armour to protect themselves and the richer the people are the bigger they were. In medieval times the women’s role was to look after the kids and the house. If women complained too much they could get killed by drowning. I think women in medieval times were not treated well.

Haily C

When I tried archery, I was surprised to see it’s a lot simpler than it looks, even if I missed the target a lot. To be able to do it well, you need a good eye and good shoulders, which is exactly what the Vikings had. Archery was very important for Vikings back in the Medieval ages, if you weren’t good at face-to-face combat, this was a good option to be deadly but also stealthy. If you were on a horse in battle, you could easily take out a few disadvantaged people on the ground, and women usually learnt archery to be able to defend the house, the children and the cattle in case of intrusion. Overall, the Medieval Incursion was an engaging and memorable way to learn about life during the Middle Ages.

Matilda G

A highlight for me was wearing the barbarian armour. With the boiled leather, the huge shield, metal axe and the heavy metal helmet. I could barely see out of it. I learnt all about different armours, like how the barbarian’s armour could stop a slash but not a stab, the first knights’ armour could resist a stab but not a crushing blow and used a steel mace. The second version of a knight armour could withstand both. I also learnt that peasants would often be taught how to use a crossbow to protect their Master’s land, and it would only take around a day to train them. All of the armour felt so heavy especially the chainmail.

Milo W

We got to experience the evolution of Armour and Weaponry over the Middle Ages, as they evolved to the constant change of war. Tam, who was running the session, gave a very detailed view of the transition between each set of armour. Some of us got to wear the armour, but I don’t think any of us would survive a day in the helmets. I don’t understand how one can have that on all day! The chest plate was heavy too, and sharp. Overall, the Medieval Incursion was an engaging and memorable way to learn about life during the Middle Ages and gave tons of memories for us to look back on.

Adah H

Lorenzo explained to us that it took years of training to be able to be able to use a long bow properly. He also informed us on how young men and women used to train every Sunday for a few hours for about 12 years to become a long bowmen. Lorenzo taught us a few games as well, games that rely on trust, teamwork, strategy, directional and listening skills to achieve the goal. Interestingly he told us that these games were used in the medieval times to see which men were fit for certain jobs, they were tested on smarts, strength, strategy and ability to take orders. We all had a lot of fun learning to be an archer, and Lorenzo kept everyone’s attention with his interesting topic and engaging speech and activities.

Layla K

When we were learning about Armor with the teacher Tam, we learnt how armour has evolved over the years and all the different types of armour and protection that knights and Medieval people used to use. It was interesting to learn about how heavy armour was and how knights and others in the medieval times would ride horses. Horses were ridden into battle because it would be very hard to try and run with 30kg of armour weighing you down which warriors had to deal with. I think the incursion was really fun and a great learning opportunity for the Year 8s to learn about the medieval times and how things worked.

Jemima S

Recently, I had the privilege to experience the Year 8 Viking Incursion and learn the history of the Norsemen. There were many things the awesome teachers taught about the history of archery, armoury and the role of women. One game tested my patience and self-control, but firing the arrow at the target felt overwhelmingly good. I am thankful and hope that my peers were also grateful for the opportunity Medieval Education have given. I hope the future students have as much fun as I did.

Mung S