viking ringsThe Viking Age was a time of intense change in Europe. At the dawn of this era, Europe was a disorganized place of fragmented small kingdoms and weak rulers. Charlemagne was an exception here. But when he died, his empire also became unstable and vulnerable.
At the end of the Viking Age (mid 11th century) Europe was a very different country.The kingdoms consolidated. Leaders have become more powerful, institutions are better organized, and they are no longer easy targets. The methods of warfare changed and the shield wall gradually lost importance against the knights and mounted archers. Scandinavia has evolved from a country of small warlords into mighty kingdoms like the rest of Europe. In the east, the Viking-hybrid Rus culture established dominance over the trade routes to Byzantium and the Caliphate.In the south, the hybrid culture of the Norman Vikings turned out to be those to be observed in the late Middle Ages.
The Vikings were the catalysts for many of these changes. Their activities brought wealth and power to their rulers in the land, who fought against each other to become true kings. They founded new empires and alliances, like those of the Normans and the Rus. They helped create England, first through their activism and then through their participation.Wherever the Vikings settled, they contributed to the socio-political image and mixed with other population groups.
It is perhaps ironic that the very changes that led to the end rendered the Viking way of life impractical and antiquated. Europe moved in a different direction and the Vikings moved with it.
