University of York scholar Julian D. Richards supplies this concise description of the rather limited usable lands available to the Vikings of Norway:
Norway took its name from the sheltered sea route down its western coast, the Norvegur, or "North Way." The coastline is indented by countless fjords [long, narrow channels, often lined with cliffs]. Measured in a direct line it is 3,000 kilometers [1,860 miles], but its real length is 20,000 kilometers [12,400 miles]. Mountains arise directly from the western coast and the Viking age population was confined to narrow ledges and small plains at the heads of the fjords, where communities developed in relative isolation, each with its own traditions and culture. More than half of the country lies at altitudes above 600 meters [1,968 feet], but there are just a few fertile areas of gentle slopes where population is concentrated.... Even today, agricultural land accounts for only 3 percent of the surface area [of Norway].
Julian D. Richards, The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 15.
Able richness in the necessaries of life. This latter island, being by far the most delightful of all the provinces of our country, is held to occupy the heart of Denmark, being divided by equal distances from the extreme frontier; on its eastern side the [Baltic] sea breaks through and cuts off the western side of Skaane [Scania, or southern Sweden, then a part of Denmark]; and this sea commonly yields each year an abundant haul to the nets of the fishers. Indeed, the whole sound is apt to be so thronged with fish that any craft which strikes on them is with difficulty got off by hard rowing, and the prize is captured no longer by tackle, but by simple use of the hands.17
World History
