ABSTRACT
Using an interdisciplinary array of sources and methods, this chapter explores reciprocal interactions between Scandinavians and Western Slavs during the reign of King Harald Bluetooth. Since Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum, Old Norse sagas, and other texts provide relatively limited information about socio-political contacts and martial endeavours involving these two distinct cultural groups, this chapter turns to archaeological and toponymic data in order to broaden the perspective. It is argued that by critically collating several different strands of evidence, one may arrive at a more nuanced understanding of cross-cultural contacts between Scandinavian and Western Slavic worlds. As this chapter demonstrates, such a multidisciplinary methodology permits capturing the reflections of these contacts not only within the sphere of the elite but also within other and more mundane contexts.
