ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the study of Viking-Age economic transformations. In Scandinavia, the Viking Age – in this context c. ad 750-1100 – is a period of transformations. Towns were founded and became numerous, three kingdoms were established, Christianity became the dominant religion, production thrived, and long-distance contacts, peaceful and hostile, brought Scandinavian societies into closer and more regular contact with each other and the rest of Europe. By 1100 the Iron Age communities, polities, and cultures of Scandinavia had been transformed profoundly and irrevocably. Prior to the Viking period, the only known large-scale commodity production directed at long-distance trade was that of iron in the Early Iron Age. Several types of artisans bought their raw materials, some from regional, and others from long-distance trade networks. Turning to rural production, Iron Age farms were never fully self-sufficient. Viking-Age rural commodity production for long-distance trade was based on mineral, botanical, and zoological resources of the woodlands and alpine regions.
