7.v The Impact of the Scandinavian Diaspora

As we have just discussed, Scandinavian settlement had different cultural and political impacts on different regions. In some regions, Scandinavians had a huge cultural impact but were not the ruling elite. Other regions were ruled by Scandinavian migrants who quickly adjusted to local cultures. These impacts can be represented, in a very simplified way, on a graph like this, with Scandinavian cultural impact on one axis and political impact on another.

To review, consider where each of the following regions would fall on that chart:

• Orkney
• Ireland
• Eastern parts of England
• Normandy