Up to the 800's the regions that became Norway were not unified.  There must have been several reasons for this but both groups attempted to bring each other together.  One might have been the farmers need for the peace and continuity, particularly in the coastal areas, that were repeatedly troubled by robber bands and homecoming Vikings.  The coastal areas at this time possessed substantial riches in the shape of stolen and traded goods.  Safe on their " thrones " sat the petty kings, who thanks to the kingships created by intermarriage, were a tight knit group with considerable powers.  The year 1130 was a water-shed in Norwegian History.  A period of peace was disrupted by conflicts; the civil wars which lasted right up to 1227.  But the power of the monarchy increased in the 1100's and 1200's, ending in victory both over the Church and the nobles.  During this period the political center of gravity in Norway moved from the southwest to the districts surrounding the Oslofjord.  In the 1200's Oslo became Norway's capitol.  Right from 1319 to 1993 period Norway and Sweden had joint monarchy, an institution later expanded through the arrangement of inter-Scandinavian royal marriages in 1380's.