Yet mighty as Charlemagne was, and as far as his imperium extended, the Carolingian Franks were not the only great power to come to prominence in this period. From the eighth century onward, vigorous bands of pagan explorers, traders, and killers from Scandinavia were also on the march. Today we know these people collectively as the Vikings. Inevitably, the Franks and Vikings clashed as much as they cooperated while they jockeyed for resources and power within the same regions of northern and western Europe. And in the end, in a process resembling nuclear fusion, the white heat of their
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