12 - Summary and Conclusions

Summary

After a brief introduction to the topic and its objectives (see Chapter 1), Towns and Commerce in Viking-Age Scandinavia opened with a general orientation on the debate about terminology and its associated concepts that have been proposed – distinct from the definitions formulated by historians – in order to try to capture the specific nature of Viking-age urbanisation on the eve of the rise of the classical medieval town (see Chapter 2). With this aim, to date two main research avenues have been pursued: on the one hand, through the initial attempt to find an appropriate definition for the phenomenon, along with a corresponding conceptual designation (the what – a focus on the result), and, on the other, through the later application of central place and network theory, focussing on the interconnectivity of Viking-age towns as ports for maritime trade and urban production (the how – a focus on the process). Since each concept or theory is associated with a number of different aspects of Viking-age urbanisation, urbanism and urbanity, this review simultaneously introduces the reader to the most distinctive features of Viking-age towns. This aim of this volume, however, is not merely an attempt to recapitulate the current debate but above all to address the hitherto unanswered core problem of why Viking-age towns emerged. In this way, the focus is shifted towards their distinct economic and societal purpose for Viking-age society at that particular point of development in European history.