Europe in 1300

Norway

The 13th century was a period of expansion and consolidation for Norway, which brought both Iceland and Greenland under its control. The orientation of Norway was historically toward the North Sea, in contrast with Denmark and Sweden, which focused on the Baltic.

The Norwegians were not, however, great merchants. They did not get into rivalries either with England or with Denmark, and already by 1300 German merchants were starting to move into Bergen. Even so, Norway was a strong and reasonably stable kingdom in 1300.