In this episode we explore the politics of Western Norway at the Dawn of The Viking Age.

Our aim is to discover the nature conflict, cooperation and competition between the chiefdoms and petty kingdoms of the area which would later become Norway. To do this we look at the nature of power as expressed by Western Norwegians themselves, in the form of Skaldic poetry.

Along the way we look at battles, ravens and lavish gifts. We will explore a Viking Age battle field as well as a chieftain's longhouse.

By the end of it, we will have a good idea why aristocratic Norwegians decided to go a Viking around 800 CE.