How the Vendel Period Forged the Viking Age—and How the Viking Age Reshaped the Middle Ages
By D.W. Roach
When most people think of the Viking Age, they imagine a sudden storm: dragon-prowed longships, coastal raids, pagan warriors crashing into a Christian world. But history is rarely so abrupt.
The Viking Age did not emerge from nothing, nor did it vanish without consequence. It was forged by the centuries that came before it—and in turn, it profoundly reshaped the Middle Ages that followed. To understand the Vikings properly, we must look both backward and forward: to the Vendel Period that formed their foundations, and to the Medieval world that bore their imprint long after the last raid.
The Vendel Period (c. 550–790 AD): The Viking Age Before the Vikings
Long before the first recorded Viking raid at Lindisfarne in 793, Scandinavia was already home to a warrior elite, a maritime culture, and a deeply symbolic worldview. This earlier era—known as the Vendel Period, named after rich burial finds in Vendel, Sweden—was not primitive or obscure. It was sophisticated, hierarchical, and martial.
Warrior Aristocracy and Kingship
The Vendel Period reveals a society ruled by powerful chieftains and proto-kings. Lavish burials included:
- Pattern-welded swords
- Gilded helmets with animal motifs
- Shields, mail, and ceremonial gear
These were not farmers pressed into battle—they were professional warriors, bound by loyalty, honor, and reputation. This elite warrior culture would later define Viking society, from huscarls to kings like Harald Fairhair.
Helmets, Symbols, and Myth
Many of the iconic elements later associated with Vikings—animal imagery, mythic symbolism, and warrior ornamentation—are Vendel innovations, not Viking ones.
Helmets from Vendel and Valsgärde feature scenes from mythology, heroic combat, and ritual sacrifice. These are the visual ancestors of Norse sagas and skaldic poetry. The Viking Age inherited a fully formed mythic imagination—it didn’t invent one.
Ships Before Longships
Perhaps most importantly, the Vendel people were already seafarers. While they had not yet perfected the iconic Viking longship, they possessed:
- Advanced clinker-built vessels
- River and coastal navigation expertise
- Maritime trade networks
The Viking Age would later weaponize this naval mastery—but the knowledge was already there.
In short: the Vendel Period built the warrior culture, the mythic worldview, and the social hierarchy that made the Viking Age inevitable.
The Viking Age (c. 790–1100 AD): Expansion, Adaptation, and Transformation
The Viking Age was not merely an age of raids—it was an age of expansion and contact.
What changed was not who the Scandinavians were, but where they went and how far they reached.
- West into Britain, Ireland, and Francia
- East along the rivers of Rus to Byzantium
- South into the Mediterranean
The Viking Age took Vendel-era traditions and projected them onto the wider world.
From Chieftains to Kings
Exposure to Christian kingdoms, Roman law, and centralized power accelerated political change. Viking leaders began to transition from chieftains to monarchs, laying the groundwork for medieval Scandinavian states.
From Pagan Isolation to Cultural Exchange
Trade, mercenary service, intermarriage, and settlement blurred the lines between “Viking” and “European.” By the end of the Viking Age, Scandinavia was no longer on the fringe of Europe—it was part of it.
The Middle Ages (c. 1100–1500 AD): A World Shaped by Vikings
The Viking Age may have ended, but its influence did not.
In fact, much of the Middle Ages—especially in Northern Europe—was built on Viking foundations.
England: From Raids to Rule
The Danelaw permanently altered England’s legal systems, language, and land division. Words like law, sky, knife, and husband are Norse in origin. Even English governance bears Viking fingerprints.
Normandy: Vikings Become Knights
The Normans—descended from Norse settlers—became one of the most powerful medieval forces in Europe. By 1066, Viking blood sat on the English throne, wielding feudal power and Christian legitimacy.
Trade, Cities, and the Hanseatic World
Viking trade routes evolved into medieval commercial networks. Scandinavian merchants became central players in Baltic trade, contributing to the rise of cities and guilds that defined the later Middle Ages.
Warfare and Culture
Viking approaches to mobility, combined arms, and naval warfare influenced medieval military doctrine—especially in coastal and riverine regions.
Not a Beginning or an End—But a Continuum
The Viking Age was not a historical anomaly. It was a bridge.
- The Vendel Period provided the culture, symbols, and warrior ethos.
- The Viking Age expanded that culture across continents.
- The Middle Ages absorbed, reshaped, and institutionalized it.
Understanding this continuum reveals a deeper truth: the Vikings were not destroyers of civilization, but contributors to it, standing at the crossroads between the ancient world and medieval Europe.
For writers, historians, and readers alike, this broader view transforms the Viking Age from a moment of chaos into a pivotal chapter in the making of the modern West.
D.W. Roach "Marauder" 