[MilesTeg]

I think every medieval historian thinks that their subject is the root cause of the renaissance. I have read that modern world exists thanks to

… the Arabs who preserved Roman learning and reintroduced it to the west … the Mongols who fostered world wide trade routes … the Turks whose conquests of the Eastern Roman Empire caused wealthy and educated Greeks to flee to the Italian city states and kick start the renaissance ….etc

This time it’s the North Sea Vikings. I don’t think I buy this one. Yes trading was easier by water. But that was true everywhere and not just in the North Sea. Others have already mentioned the problems the currency claims.