/vt/ - Virtual Youtubers

>>47515329
>>47514609
While they are not necessarily purely peaceful traders like some revisionists like to overcorrect, they also contributed to the regional economy as a whole. Yes their raids and plundering affected coastal settlements and dampened ecclesiastical learning but they also freed up precious metals that are hoarded in those monasteries so they can be reintroduced into the wider economy. From patterns in Western Europe they generally switched from seasonal raiding to mostly trade and settlement. You can also argue that they were "civilizers" in that the Varagians established the Kievan Rus' out of the Slavic tribes. Before the Christianization of Scandinavia the region isn't exactly a beacon of learning but they aren't simply savages either.