It is likely that Proto-Norse emerged as a separate Germanic dialect around the 1st
century.[24] The ethnogenesis of the North Germanic peoples is thought to have occurred
in Sweden.[5] Sweden was the home of the earliest attestations of North Germanic culture, and the later
North Germanic tribes of Norway and Denmark originated in Sweden.[5] Archaeological evidence
suggests that the North Germanic tribes at the time constituted one of five main tribal groups among
the Germanic peoples, the others being North Sea Germanic tribes (Frisians, Saxons and Angles), Weser-
Rhine Germanic tribes (Hessians, Franks), Elbe Germanic tribes (Lombards, Alemanni, Bavarians)
and Oder-Vistula Germanic tribes (Goths, Vandals, Burgundians).[26]
The Royal Mounds at Gamla Uppsala contains hundreds (originally
thousands) of tumuli mainly from the Vendel and Viking period, but also with a few possible cairns
dating back to the Nordic Bronze Age.
The southward expansion of the East Germanic tribes pushed many other Germanic and Iranian peoples
towards the Roman Empire, spawning the Marcomannic Wars in the 2nd century AD.[42] Another East
Germanic tribe were the Herules, who according to 6th century historian Jordanes were driven from
modern-day Denmark by the Danes, who were an offshoot of the Swedes.[54] The migration of the
Herules is thought to have occurred around 250 AD.[55] The Danes would eventually settle all of
Denmark, with many its former inhabitants, including the Jutes and Angles, settling Britain, becoming
known as the Anglo-Saxons.[56] The Old English story Beowulf is a testimony to this
connection.[57] Meanwhile, Norway was inhabited by a large number of North Germanic tribes and
divided into a score of petty kingdoms.
The 5th century Golden Horns of Gallehus carry Proto-
Norse inscriptions in Elder Futhark
Among the early North Germanic peoples, kinship ties played an important role in social organization.
Society was divided into three classes, chieftains, free men and slaves (thralls). Free men were those
who owned and farmed the land. Religious leaders, merchants, craftsmen and armed retainers of
chieftains (housecarls) were not confined to any specific class. Women had considerable independence
compared to other parts of Europe. Legislative and judicial power lay in the hands of the free men at a
popular assembly known as the Thing.[43] Their legal system was closely related to those of other
Germanic peoples.[58] Dwellings were built according to methods that had changed little since
the neolithic. A chieftain typically had his seat of power in a mead hall, where lavish feasts for his