Introduction: the Vendel Period

In the prehistory of Sweden, the Vendel Period; ca. 540–790 AD is part of the Migration Period and precedes the Viking Age. The name is derived from the rich ship burials in Vendel near the city of Uppsala, where around this time one of the most important religious centers of the region's was located. The Vendel Period is known for its rich art, with artifacts found both in Scandinavia and in the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo ship burial on the British Isles. Around this time, Germanic coin amulets, bracteates, were increasingly replaced by guldgubbar that served a similar role. The same technique was used to make silver pressblech, which served as helmet decorations for the well-known Valgarde helmets.

During the Vendel period, North Germanic peoples began expeditions to explore the waterways of areas that would later become Russia, Ukraine, and White-Russia. The Old Norse runic script, the Elder Futhark, was abandoned in favor of the Younger Futhark runic script. This happened almost simultaneously throughout Scandinavia. Some runestones have been preserved, notably those of Rök and Sparlösa, both around 800 AD. Other written sources are scarce and difficult to interpret: a few Icelandic sagas, the Beowulf epic, and accounts from some Southern European writers. Early Swedish historians attempted to use these sources to create a coherent narrative about the Vendel period, but this attempt has largely been abandoned. Today, the period is mainly studied by archaeologists.

The Germanic Iron Age is divided into the Early Germanic Iron Age (EGIA) and the Late Germanic Iron Age (LGIA). For Sweden, the Late Germanic Iron Age, which extends from 550 to 800 AD, is called the Vendel period. In Norway, this period is more often referred to as the Merovingian Period, while Danes call it the Younger Germanic Iron Age.

The late Germanic Iron Age begins with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of the Gothic kingdoms in Europe, which were later replaced by the Franks, the Lombards, and the Avar Khaganate . After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, gold became scarcer, and the Scandinavians began to make objects from gilded bronze, adorned with decorative figures of interwoven animals. During the early Germanic Iron Age, decorations were often representational, featuring animals in simpler forms. In the later Germanic Iron Age, the art styles became more abstract, symbolic, and complex, with figures displaying intertwined shapes and limbs.

The unrest in Europe seems to have subsided somewhat with the gradual conclusion of the Gothic Wars. The Eternal Peace (532) between Emperor Justinian and Shahanshah Khosrau I of Iran, as well as the Byzantine reconquest of the Italian peninsula with the surrender of the Goths south of the Po (555), and the completion of the Byzantine reconquest (562), can be seen as events occurring in the context of the Vendel period. The Merovingians had united the Gallic Romans and the Belgae. The Franks established the Merovingian dynasty as the "Kings of the Franks" (since 509).

In Uppland, in what is now the eastern central part of Sweden, Old Uppsala was likely the center of religious and political life. Here, a well-known tree sanctuary and large royal burial mounds were established.

In various areas, rich burial sites have been found, indicating high status or royalty, including well-preserved boat graves in Vendel and Valsgärde, and tumuli in Gamla Uppsala. These graves were used by multiple generations.

A portion of the wealth was likely amassed through the control of mining areas and the production of iron. The rulers had troops of elite horsemen with valuable armors. Burial gifts from these horsemen included stirrups and saddle decorations in the shape of birds of prey, made of gilded bronze and adorned with incised garnets.

In the western grave, chess pieces made of ivory were found in the Roman style. Also, three Middle Eastern cameos and gold buttons were found, along with Frankish clothing decorated with golden thread.

Games were popular, as evidenced by finds of tafl games, including pawns and dice.

The Sutton Hoo helmet closely resembles helmets found in Gamla Uppsala, Vendel, and Valsgärde, with elements such as boar images and press plate decorations, indicating that the Anglo-Saxon elite had extensive contacts with the Swedish elite.

In the works of the 6th-century Gothic scholar Jordanes, the knightly elite warriors are mentioned, where he wrote that the Swedes had the best horses, alongside the Thuringians. These riders also appear later in the sagas, in which King Adils is always described as fighting on horseback (both against Áli and against Hrólfr Kraki). Snorri Sturluson wrote that Adils had the best horses of his time. The epic of Beowulf also contains legendary stories about the Swedish Vendel period, including great wars: the Swedish-Geatish wars, between the Swedish Scylfing house and the Geatish Wulfling house.

That some of these legendary Swedish royal figures may be historical is supported by possibly independent references to them in Beowulf and the Norse sagas. The Geats may have been part of the Anglo-Saxon settlement in Great Britain. They probably did not play a major role but were perhaps described by English sources as Jutes. The Wulfling dynasty in Geatland might be related to the house of the Wuffingas.