ArcheologyDenmarkNorwayvikings

The growth of central authority — including those that use violence in an official capacity — reduces violence, a new study of skeletal remains found in Norway and Denmark suggests. Remains from Viking-Age Norway were notably more likely to show signs of trauma, and weapons were far more likely to be found in Norway than in Denmark.

Denmark had a far more stratified society compared to Norway during the Viking Age, with more centralised authority, according to the researchers. Official executions were among the most common forms of violence in Denmark, while these were rare in Norway. “Where present, robust centres of authority helped contain violence in Scandinavia,” the researchers found. Has Keir Starmer been taking notes?