Use of English PRO

Ask almost anyone to draw a Viking, and they will (0) PROBABLY (PROBABLE) begin with a horned helmet and an axe. But the image of a 'fearsome' Scandinavian warrior looting the coastal (1) ............ (SETTLE) of Europe is as one-sided as it is (2) ............ (ENDURE). The Vikings were raiders, it is true, but also explorers, settlers, traders and mercenaries. The (3) ............ (EARLY) Viking raids occurred in the 9th century, possibly as a response to the aggressive growth of Christian Europe to the south. Coastal (4) ............ (COMMUNE) were easy prey and at the time there were few vessels able to combat a Viking longship. Initially, the (5) ............ (RAID) would return home after every conquest, but, gradually, they began to fortify and settle new lands, establishing territories in England, France, Iceland and Greenland. The Normans of northern France were a Viking community before (6) ............ (SUCCESS) invading England in the 11th century. There is ample evidence that Vikings reached as far as Baghdad to the East and Newfoundland to the West. Three hundred years of (7) ............ (EXPLORE) and trade brought about big changes in the culture of Scandinavia, and by the end of the 'Viking Age' the (8) ............ (NEW) Christianised kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden and Norway were ready to take their place amongst the established nations of Europe.