Our image of the societies of Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Sweden and Norway) in the late Iron Age has been based predominantly on their economic character, involving aspects such as agriculture and settlement, economy and society, trade and urbanisation. Combined with studies of burial evidence, these topics have been the starting point for models of the social and political situation, including the earliest form of state-formation in Scandinavia. In more recent years, however, ideological aspects of late pre-Christian society have also started to come into focus. A number of new excavations have contributed to a keener interest in ‘cult sites’, while major new finds of gold hoards have encouraged interpretations using terms such as ‘ideology’, ‘kings’, ‘aristocracy’ and the like. This has provided a concrete counterpart to Old Norse literature, new directions in research into the history of religion, and in place-name studies. A new, interdisciplinary research movement is developing around these issues where religious, judicial and political conditions are seen as closely interwoven and where an alternative understanding of the connection between political authority, myths and memory, cult activity, skilled craft production and exercise of power has emerged. In the following outline, I have decided to concentrate mainly on this new approach. First, however, special attention will be paid to Scandinavia as part of early medieval Europe.