This book discusses the 3rd–11th century developments that led to the formation of the three Scandinavian kingdoms in the Viking Age. Wide-ranging studies of communication routes, regional identities, judicial territories, and royal sites and graves trace a complex trajectory of rulership in these pagan Germanic societies. In the final section, new light is shed on the pinnacle and demise of the Norwegian kingdom in the 13th–14th centuries.

• Preface 6
• Contents 10
• Abbreviations 16
• 1. The History of the Norvegr 2000 BC–1000 AD 20
• Section A: The West-Scandinavian Coast 20
• 2. Intraregional Diversity. Approaching Changes in Political Topographies in South-western Norway through Burials with Brooches, 84
• 3. Rulership and Ruler’s Sites in 1st–10th-century Scandinavia 210
• Section B: Rulership in First-Millennium Scandinavia 210
• 4. Between Tribe and Kingdom – People, Land, and Law in Scandza AD 500–1350 262
• 5. The Ship Graves on Kormt – and Beyond 322
• Section C: The High-Medieval Royal Manor 412
• 6. The High-Medieval Royal Manor Complex 412
• 7. The Royal Edifice at Avaldsnes: A Palatium for the King or a Residence for his Canons? 482
• 8. Avaldsnes’ Position in Norway in the 14th Century 534