Scandinavia Before the Vikings (opens in new tab)

In the Merovingian period, Scandinavia was only just emerging from its prehistoric Iron Age. A process of political centralization that had begun in the Migration Period led to the emergence of the first Scandinavian kingdoms and a warlike society with a tradition of piracy. During the late Roman period, the Scandinavians were still divided into tribes, each dominated by a warrior aristocracy that maintained its status with raiding.