The Viking Age: History Of Denmark And Scandinavia

The Viking Age was a period embedded in the history of Denmark and Scandinavia. Scandinavian Norsemen explored Europe for trade, plundered, colonised the North Atlantic and established settlements. As such, the origins of Denmark’s culture are tied in with the rest of Scandinavia with their unique Viking tradition in contrast to the rest of southern Europe. Nonetheless, Denmark’s cultural individuality has developed from the Viking Age. As compared to the rest of Scandinavia, Denmark was considered the most pivotal Viking country with its extensive power and influence. For example, the Danish king, Sweyn Forkbeard increased raids on England, and in 1013 became the first Viking king to conquer all of England. He created the North Sea Empire with England, Norway and Denmark under his rule. This also highlights the power Denmark had over the rest of Europe making the country unique.

This showed that maritime voyages to Ribe had occurred long before the Viking age officially began. These were commercial trips between Norway and Denmark to hone maritime skills and geographical knowledge needed for future raids . Hence, this study provides further evidence of Denmark’s power where trade networks created a connection between the biggest Nordic commercial centre of the day and the beginning of the Viking voyages. Thus, despite the shared Scandinavian Viking history, Denmark was the heart and centre of the Viking trade in Scandinavia creating the foundations of future developments and shaping societies in the region