1047-1340 CE
From 1047 to 1340 CE, the Danes transformed from Viking raiders into Christian kings who built cathedrals where longship keels had once been laid. Under rulers like Valdemar the Great and Valdemar the Victorious, they conquered the Baltic coast, founded Tallinn, and created a North Sea empire — until civil wars and the rise of the Hanseatic League slowly eroded their dominion.