• The Controlled Decline of Viking-Ruled Dorestad

    Author(s):
    Christian Cooijmans (see profile)
    Date:
    2015
    Subject(s):
    Carolingians, Commerce
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    Dorestad, Medieval Low Countries, Trade, Viking age
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/nq2e-bk29
    Abstract:
    The emporium of Dorestad rose to prominence as a primary hub for goods arriving from the Rhenish heartlands during the eighth and early ninth centuries. Enticed by its growing wealth and prestige, Viking raiders sacked the settlement multiple times during the 830s and subsequent decades before politically attaching themselves to the rulers of the divided Carolingian kingdoms. Scandinavian hostility has mainly, sometimes exclusively, been blamed for the gradual economic downturn and eventual disappearance of Dorestad towards the turn of the century. Reconsidering the dominant hypotheses on the economic decline of ninth-century Dorestad, this paper proposes an alternative interpretation of the evidence, which places these events within a larger Frankish design to actively retain control of commercial interests throughout the region, utilising the newly established Scandinavian benefice to secure upstream centres of political, commercial, and ecclesiastical power.
    Metadata:
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    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Publisher:
    Scottish Society for Northern Studies
    Pub. Date:
    2015
    Journal:
    Northern Studies
    Volume:
    47
    Page Range:
    32 - 46
    ISSN:
    0305-506X
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    4 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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