The Baltic and North Seas are great seafaring regions with rich and varied histories, intricately linked by maritime trade for centuries. The lives and circumstances of the peoples who live on their shores have been profoundly affected by climatic change over time, which has shaped and reshaped the maritime environment. Exploring the themes of the human relationship with the marine environment and the ways in which the peoples of Northern Europe have experienced and exploited their seas, this book reveals how human perception of the northern seas has changed over time. Major aspects covered include the struggle to control the sea and keep it at bay; the ways in which the maritime worlds of Northern Europe have been imagined and portrayed; the vulnerability of the seas to human action; the seas as a vital source of livelihood - as tradeways; for the pursuit of great power politics and as sources of health, leisure and pleasure - and the peoples spiritual relationship with the seas.