The Vikings develop the fast and narrow longships with which they raid across the North Sea

The monks of Lindisfarne become the first known overseas victims of a Viking raid

Viking tribes known as the Rus are established as traders in the region of Novgorod

Vikings from Norway capture Dublin and establish a Norse kingdom in Ireland

Vikings are by now securely established in the Orkneys, Shetlands and Hebrides, and in much of the Scottish mainlaid down to Loch Ness

Vikings arrive in Iceland and form a settlement on the site of modern Rejkjavik

The Vikings settle in France, as Normans, when Rollo the Ganger is granted feudal rights over the region round Rouen

After years of raiding up the Shannon, the Vikings capture Limerick

Harald Bluetooth is baptized a Christian and unites the whole of Denmark as a single kingdom.

Brian Boru becomes king of Munster and leader of the Irish campaign against the Vikings

Brian Boru, aged 73, achieves a major victory over the Vikings at Clontarf but is killed in his tent after the battle

The Normans, as seen in the Bayeux tapestry, invade England in Viking longships with fortified platforms for archers

Haakon IV is the first ruler to build up a strong Norway, some two centuries after the region becomes a single kingdom

Birger Jarl establishes a dynasty which brings all Sweden under a single rule

The Norwegian king, Haakon IV, annexes Iceland as his personal fief, bringing to an end the commonwealth established in AD 930

With a victory near Falköping, Margaret becomes regent of Sweden as well as Denmark and Norway

With the coronation of the 16-year-old Eric of Pomerania, the crowns of Denmark, Norway and Sweden are formally united for the first time

The Viking settlement in Greenland ends, after 400 years, when the last ship leaves the colony and sails for Norway

The Vasa dynasty in Sweden begins with the seizing of the throne by Gustavus I

Gustavus I of Sweden fills his coffers by appropriating the property of Catholic churches and monasteries

Christian III seizes the wealth of Danish churches and monasteries, before turning his attention to those of Norway

The Swedish army wins another convincing victory at Lützen, but Gustavus II dies leading a cavalry charge

Queen Christina, a secret convert to Catholicism, abdicates in Sweden and travels to Rome

A new Danish constitution (the Kongeloven or King's Law) makes the monarchy hereditary and grants the king absolute power

Gustavus III achieves a coup d'état which brings executive power in Sweden back into royal hands