The Viking King from Ladby

Guided tour for schooling and middle school at The Viking Museum Ladby

“The Harald who brought together the whole of Denmark”, writes Harald Bluetooth about himself on The Jelling Stone. 45 years before Harald Bluetooth wrote his name into Danish history with the Jelling Stone, a rich Viking king was buried in a Viking ship inside a burial mound on East Funen. We do not know what the king’s name was, but we call him The Ladby King.

Accompanied by our Viking teacher, we learn about who The Lady King was:

• We explore the museum’s exhibits, and get close to the original archeological finds.
• We find out how the 1000 year old discoveries from The Ship’s Grave can tell stories.
• We learn about the Viking Age, and how life back then resembles – and does not resemble – our own lives.
• We discover how The Ladby King is connected to Harald Bluetooth and Gorm the Old.

The course targets the individual grade level – from focus on concrete knowledge to reflection on the concept of power. The course is also particularly targeted at the history canon point about the Jelling Stone.

How does it take place?

Guided tour of the exhibition “The Death Ship” at the burial site and inside The Ladby King’s Ship’s Grave. Along the way, we see both a reconstruction of The Ladby King’s Funeral and visit The Ladby Ship, which stands exactly as the archaeologists left it after the excavation.

What method do we use?

The teaching is dialogue-based, and the purpose is for the students to learn to wonder and actively reflect on the Viking Age. We know a lot about the Viking Age, but there is also a lot we don’t know. Along the way, we therefore involve the students’ prior knowledge, questions, and imagination.

What tools do we use?

We use models and reconstructions actively during the tour, and students are encouraged to touch copies of The Ladby King’s burial gifts, which are used to make the Viking Age alive and understandable.

Shared Learning Goals:

• The students learn about the conditions of life before themselves, and gain insight into continuity and change.
• The students are trained to use archaeological and historical sources to learn about the past.
• The students become acquainted with their own place in history and experience their own democratic society reflected in a non-democratic period in Danish history – the Viking Age.