Despite Magnus Barefoot’s best efforts, the Viking Age eventually ended and turned into the Middle Ages. At the time, Scandinavia was divided politically into three kingdoms: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. This is an overview of their physical and political landscapes, as well as the financial and military resources at the medieval king’s disposal.

Harald Hardrada’s son Olav returned to Norway with his father’s body and proceeded to rule in peace for a quarter of a century, shunning war and glory in favor of law, commerce and religion. But his son, Magnus, resembled his martial grandfather Harald and wanted to reignite the Viking Age. Magnus fought wars in England, Sweden and Ireland. In the end, he resembled grandpa Harald a little too much and got himself killed while on campaign in the British Isles.

Just as Magnus the Good was getting comfortable as king, his uncle showed up from nowhere demanding to share the kingdom. Since uncle Harald was rich and powerful, Magnus had little choice but to agree. The arrangement was awkward and brief, ending with Magnus' death. Harald went on to try and conquer both Denmark and England, but the only thing he managed to accomplish was to put an end to the Viking Age.

After more than a century of Danes fighting to rule Norway, the crown of Denmark unexpectedly fell into the lap of a Norwegian teenager. But even though Magnus the Good was recognized as king of Denmark, not everyone was willing to accept being ruled by a Norwegian.

In the late 10th century, a guy called Erik became the first king of Sweden. He started out ruling together with his brother, but he soon died. Erik’s orphaned nephew tried to usurp the throne, but the fact that Erik is known as “the Victorious” should give you a clue about how it all ended.

Olav Haraldsson was an ambitious man who wanted two things more than anything else: to be king of Norway and to Christianize the Norwegians. In life, he was a divisive character and was killed after a brief stint on the throne. But in death, he became a unifying national symbol and king forever.

Sven Forkbeard established a vast empire, covering Denmark, England and (sometimes) Norway. Even though it fell apart when Sven died, his son Knut the Great eventually managed to reclaim his father’s possession of Denmark, England and (sometimes) Norway.

Olav Tryggvason was a zealous Christian, but it didn’t stop him from leading violent Viking raids. He became king of Norway thanks to impeccable timing and by spending copious amounts of silver that he had acquired on his raids. Once Olav became king, he spent his reign killing pagans and making powerful enemies.

When Harald Greycloak became king of Norway, Harald Bluetooth of Denmark expected his nephew to be thankful and obedient. After all, it was the Danish king who had paid for the three invasion fleets needed to put Harald Greycloak on the throne. But the new Norwegian king had other plans. Plans that didn’t include his overbearing uncle.

Under Harald Bluetooth, Denmark became a powerful unified kingdom. But not powerful enough to take on the Germans. Harald strengthened the southern border defenses and erected the trelleborg fortresses all over his realm. This shows not only that the Danes had impressive engineering know-how and considerable political, financial and military resources--but also that Harald was scared enough of the Germans to pay for it all. In the end, though, his downfall would come from much closer to home.