maintenance were carved out. The kings also needed loyal warriors. A considerable part
of this personnel (and we are here talking of whole families) was recruited, kidnapped or
bought as slaves from the Slav lands on the southern side of the Baltic. The most
convincing evidence for this cultural and demographic process is the broad introduction
of a standard pottery in Insular Denmark, Skåne, Bornholm and adjoining parts,
which strikingly imitates west Slavic pottery (Roslund 2001 ). Very significant is the
occurrence of genuine west Slavic pottery on the Danish side in the last two decades of
the tenth century and the beginning of the secondary, local pottery production in the
eleventh century. The beginnings are connected with certain important places and from
there the innovation is diffused throughout society. Sunken-featured buildings have
been discussed in connection with Slav cultural influence. There is probably no reason to
presuppose a Slavic connection for this house form, not even for variants with corner
stone ovens. The type is well known from Lower Saxony and surrounding areas. In the
cultural development of the eleventh century a notable convergence between west Slavic
and Scandinavian material culture can be noted. Unfortunately a broad analysis of this
cultural phenomenon for southern Scandinavia as a whole has not yet been carried out
(see Andersen 1982 ). We can, however, maintain that the close dynastic ties at the top
level of society between southern Scandinavia and the west Slav lands corresponded to
considerable interaction and cultural transfer also at lower levels of society.
CONCLUSIONThe cultural development of Scandinavia is not conceivable without a thorough and
positive evaluation of the importance of Continental influence. Although Viking
warbands and armies for certain short periods could wield considerable political power
in Continental Europe, their cultural impact, that is, the transfer of Scandinavian
cultural elements to Continental milieus, was virtually nil. Much more significant is the
rather steady development of Continental cultural influence on Scandinavia throughout
the Viking Age. From the present viewpoint of archaeological research, the trend seems
to be strong in the eighth and early ninth centuries, followed by a certain decrease. A
century later the cultural impact of the Continent is again very strong. We can here only
repeat what has been stated above: in the eleventh century Scandinavian culture is well
on the way to the common west and central European culture of the twelfth and later
centuries of the Middle Ages. Continental influence often first reached the upper levels
of Scandinavian society and only later was generally adopted. In some cases the process
of change is so rapid that this difference is difficult to document. So perhaps it was not
there at all.
BIBLIOGRAPHYÅkerström-Hougen, G. ( 1981 ) ‘Falconry as a motif in early Swedish art: its historical and art
historical significance’, in R. Zeitler (ed.) Les Pays du Nord et Byzance. Actes du colloque nordique
et internationale de byzantinologie tenu à Upsal 20 – 22 avril 1979 , Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell
International.
Andersen, M. ( 1982 ) ‘De dansk-vendiske forbindelser ca. 950 – 1225. En karakteristik af arten og
omfanget især med henblick på disse forbindelsers betydning for Danmark’. (Unpubl. MA
diss., University of Aarhus.)
–– Johan Callmer––