Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe, characterized by common ethnocultural North Germanic heritage and mutually intelligible North Germanic languages. The term Scandinavia in local usage covers the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, but in English usage, it also sometimes refers to the Scandinavian Peninsula or to the broader region which includes Finland and Iceland.
Overview[]
Of all the nations in Europe, Scandinavia's countries have perhaps the most enlightened governments. Enormous amounts of money are spent on education, social welfare and programs for the elderly. However, few vampires choose to live here due to the fact they spend about half the year in torpor because of the "midnight sun" effect.
The earliest kindred settlers were Gangrel who joined with the migrating Scandinavian tribes. The early years of the Middle Ages saw the coming of the Ventrue, Brujah and Toreador. The princes worked well together and called informal meetings to discuss kindred matters on a regular basis. Whether they served as the preliminary model for the Low Countries' Consortium, or if the situation is reversed, is unclear. Both groups have similar ideas that are being used to good effect, however.
The major threat to this pleasant coexistence is the alarming insurgence of anarchs into Scandinavia. Fueled by frustrated Brujah from the European mainland and led by a fearsome group of ancient Gangrel who call themselves the Valkyries, mortals and Cainite alike have engaged in senseless acts of violence and destruction. The self-styled leader of the Valkyries, Brunhilde, is rumored to have committed the 1986 assassination of Sweden's Prime Minister Olof Palme. Rather than acknowledge the growing problem, the princes hide their heads in the snow, hoping the anarchs will just go away. All visitors are treated courteously and are made to feel like one of the family, even if bombs are exploding on the streets below. Soon, however, the princes will have to retaliate or else they will lose all they have worked to gain.
While Iceland is only populated by three vampires and ruled by Smilla Grimsson, Finland, on the other hand, has a larger and older kindred population than the other Scandinavian countries. There lies a mad and ancient Malkavian named Louhi, and rumors circulated for a time that she sought to create a vile ritual to blot out the sun. While no such magickal rite has occurred, kindred with knowledge of "The Land of Darkness" (as Finland is sometimes called) haven't forgotten about Louhi. As with the anarchs and the Valkyries, no one seems to have any idea what to do about the threat she poses.
Changeling: The Dreaming[]
The Isle of Snowflakes (Iceland), and the Kingdom of Dalarna (Sweden and Norway) and Jutland (Denmark) are peaceful and prosperous lands. Here, nobles and commoners live and work in great harmony, the latter far outnumbering the former. Not surprisingly, trolls are the most numerous kith, but thanks to the nations' agricultural, mineral, and sylvan riches, many boggans and nockers also enjoy the fruits of the far north. Kithain of the Seelie Court refer to themselves as the lios alfar, faeries of light, while their Unseelie cousins use the name svart alfar, faeries of darkness. Most Kithain of this region, noble and commoner alike, are staunch monarchists. On the other hand, commoners are treated as equals and not servants; some have titles and rule alongside the sidhe as landed huskarls, trusted bondsfae. No wonder things work out so well.
Timeline[]
Viking Era[]
- 793 - Raiders attack the monastery on the Holy Isle of Lindisfarne, between England and Scotland, on June 8. They sack the place and kill the monks, beginning the Viking era.
- 795 - The Irish monastery on Iona is sacked by Vikings.
- 801 - Iona is again sacked by Vikings.
- 806 - Viking raiders sack the monastery at Iona for a third time, slaughtering 68 monks; the survivors finally flee the area in what comes an all-too-familiar pattern.
- 836 - A Viking settlement is established in Dublin, Ireland.
- 839 - Turgeis, a Norseman, sets up in Armagh as "King of all Foreigners in the North."
- 841 - Vikings arrive in Rouen and sack the monastery at St.-Wandrille de Fontenelle.
- 842 - Vikings take over the Ile de Noirmoutier in the Bay of Biscay, using it as a winter base.
- 845 - Turgeis is captured by the Irish and drowned in Loch Owel.
- 850 - Norsemen settle in England, attempting to capture and colonize London, Rochester, Canterbury and Winchester.
- 852 - Vikings sack St.-Wandrille de Fontenelle again.
- 853 - The brothers Olaf and Ivar establish Dublin on the bank of the Liffey in Ireland.
- 858 - Vikings sack St.-Wandrille de Fontenelle yet again. This time, the monks flee with their relics, unwilling to suffer the constant attacks.
- 859 - Hasteinn and Bjorn lead 62 ships from France through Spain, the Iberian coast, along North Africa, and into Italy. After sacking half a dozen cities, the ships make their way home to France in 862. Two-thirds of the fleet is lost, but Hasteinn and Bjorn return home fabulously wealthy and famous.
- 870 - King Edmund of East Anglia is captured by Vikings. Refusing to renounce his fath, he is tied to a tree and shot to death with arrows.
- 874 - The brothers Ingolf and Lief, based on reports from other sailors blown off course, set out for Iceland and begin colonization.
- 876 - Members of the Lasombra clan set in motion a plan to Christianize the Vikings in order to mitigate their threat to Europe. This later leads to the formation of the Varangian Guard, as the Vikings become mercenaries for the Christian armies.
- 885 - Danes offer to leave Paris unharmed in exchange for passage up the Seine. The French refuse, and the Danes attack Paris.
- 890 - Concerned by the spread of Viking savagery, the Ventrue of England apply their influence to strengthen the local military for defense.
- 892 - King Alfred the Great, of Wessex, builds a series of defenses throughout Europe. Forts and organized militia are raised to ward off the Vikings.
- 896 - King Alfred designs a new fleet of ships and, for the first time, regularly defeats the Norse in sea combat.
- 898 - A hasty convocation of Ventrue decides to undermine the Vikings by assimilating them. Vikings are offered the opportunity to take positions of power and responsibility, contingent upon their defense of the established order.
- 910 - King Edward, son of Alfred the Great, kills the Danish King Halfdan and brings a halt to Viking power in England.
- 910 - King Charles the Simple cedes the Duchy of Neustria to Hrolf the Walker, provided that Hrolf pledges fealty and converts to Christianity. Hrolf agrees one year later.
- 930 - The Icelandic Althing is assembled, providing a central government without a king.
- 937 - Vikings in Dublin ally with Celts in Scotland and invade England, but are defeat at Brunanburh by Athelstan and Edmund, sons of former King Edward.
- 976 - Brujah manipulation in Ventrue courts assures dissension among mortal rulers, and Ethelred, heir to the English crown, becomes intractable, refusing any advisors or counselors.
- 978 - Etherlred Unraed assumes kingship of England, setting up a reign of disaster later ended by the Vikings.
- 982 - Erik the Red, exiled from his home, sets sail westward and discovers Greenland.
- 986 - Several hundred Scandinavians set out to colonize Greenland with Erik the Red.
- 991 - Olaf Tryggvason strikes England, and extracts a ransom (danegeld) from Ethelred, totaling 16,500 pounds of silver.
- 994 - Olaf Tryggvason and Svein Forkbeard extract another ransom of 12,000 pounds of silver from Etherlred.
- 996 - Olaf Tryggvason is elected King of Norway, and sets about converting the populace of Christianity.
- 1002 - The Danes gather 18,000 pounds of silver in ransom from England.
- 1003 - Sailing west with directions from the merchant Bjarni, Leif Eriksson, a Christianized Viking and son of Erik the Red, arrives in Vinland -- the Americas -- over four hundred years before Columbus.
- 1007 - Ransom in England reaches 27,000 pounds of silver.
- 1012 - Ethelred pays a ransom of 36,000 pounds of silver.
- 1013 - Svein Forkbeard attacks England; Etherlred flees and Svein and his son Knut capture the country. Svein falls from his horse and dies shortly thereafter, but his son carries on his work.
- 1014 - Sigtyrgg Silkbeard attacks Ireland at Clontarf, near Dublin, but loses badly.
- 1016 - Knut, son of Svein Forkbeard, is acknowledged as King of England.
- 1018 - Knut the Great sends his Vikings home. By this time, the rise of kingships spells the end of much of the old democratic ways of the Vikings, and their culture is subsumed by the Christianized military structure of Europe. The Viking era ends.
