Did Europeans perceive themselves as living in a time of increased chaos and violence? Did Scandinavians perceive themselves as living in a time of increased prosperity, military superiority, and expansion?
Retroactively. The idea that we live in different eras of culture and technology is a modern concept, developed during the Renaissance. Most people at the time would have thought of themselves as living in the Christian era, if they had a notion that people had lived differently than them.