Scandinavia
Culturally, Scandinavia at that time consisted of the three present-day kingdoms; Denmark, Sweden and Norway and a part of present-day Finland. The area was huge, extending from north of the Arctic Circle in the North to areas which now belong to Germany. The territory in Scandinavia ranged from flat, agriculturally rich lowlands, with rivers as a means of transportation, to deep fjords and isolated mountainous regions.

The majority of the population were farmers, hunters and fishermen. The wealth was controlled by landowners who had many sons and thus were able to extend their wealth by dowries brought into the families by marriage. Established places of trade and commerce were founded during the Viking Age at suitable geographical sites, and silver was the most frequently-used currency for commercial transactions.