Vikings

Vikings, Scandinavian adventurers, subsequently known as Ostmen (Old Norse ‘men of the east’) or Lochlannaigh (Irish ‘people from the land of loughs’). They first appear in Irish sources as plunderers and this remains their dominant image in popular memory. In reality their involvement with Ireland lasted almost 400 years, during which time the Scandinavians were transformed into farmers, traders, colonists, and urban developers.

The first Viking raid on Ireland occurred in 795 when Reachrainn, probably Rathlin Island (but Lambay Island has also been suggested), was attacked. During the next 25 years there was, on average, one Viking attack per year. The raids were hit‐and‐run affairs. Monasteries were the prime target, not only because they possessed treasuries of precious objects but also because they were densely populated centres with substantial stores of provisions and potential slaves. Archaeologically this phase of activity has left no trace in Ireland, but about 60 metalwork objects of Irish manufacture have been discovered in graves of 9th‐century date in western Norway. These artefacts are normally interpreted as the result of plundering raids, but it should be noted that most of the objects are domestic in function and may have been the result of trade or exchange.

The pattern of hit‐and‐run raids ceased during the 830s with the arrival of large Viking fleets on the rivers Liffey, Boyne, Shannon, and Erne. The forces transported by these fleets were substantial and, commonly, they terrorized an area for some weeks or months before returning to Scandinavia for winter. The success of these campaigns clearly gave rise to the next development, the foundation of longphorts at Dublin and Annagassan, Co. Louth, in 841. These were the first permanent Viking settlements in Ireland and were originally envisaged as defended bases in which the Scandinavian forces could overwinter and plan the renewal of campaigning in the spring. In the course of the 9th century Dublin developed into an important slaving centre and some of Dublin's rulers, notably Olaf the White (d. 871) and Ivar the Boneless (d. 873), campaigned extensively in Scotland and Northumbria, from where they brought valuables and slaves to the Dublin markets. While the longphorts provided the Vikings with a permanent base, they also gave the Irish kings a fixed objective to attack. In 848 the longphort at Cork was captured, while the assault on Dublin in 902 was so successful that the Vikings abandoned the settlement and moved to northern Britain and the Isle of Man. Archaeologically little is known about the nature of these longphorts. The cemetery of the 9th‐century Dublin Vikings has been uncovered and shows, not surprisingly, that warriors formed a prominent element of the population. There are some hints of rural settlement in the immediate vicinity of Dublin at this time and there are slight indications of rural colonization in underpopulated areas such as western Connemara.

In 914 a great Scandinavian fleet, originating in northern France, landed at Waterford, initiating a new phase of plundering activity. Munster was devastated in 915 and Dublin was re‐established two years later. The Viking position was consolidated in 919 when they defeated the king of Tara, Niall Glúndub, in battle. Other fleets also descended on Ireland. Limerick was founded in 922 by the leader of one such fleet and Wexford (c.921) by another. The kings of Dublin played an important role in Irish political life for much of the 10th century, although most of their attention was expended on controlling Northumbria and in obtaining authority over the other Viking centres in Ireland. Dublin and York were closely connected and were ruled by members of the same family until 952 when Olaf Cuarán (d. 981) was forced out of York and returned to Dublin. After their defeat at the battle of Tara (980) the role of the Scandinavians diminished and their territories were gradually integrated into the Irish political framework.

The significance of the battle of Clontarf (1014) has been much overestimated largely due to the literary skills of the compiler of the Cogadh Gáedhel re Gallaibh, a 12th‐century work eulogizing the Uí Briain. In more recent centuries the battle acquired mythic status in nationalist historiography as a synonym for the defeat and expulsion of invaders. In fact Limerick had been captured by the Dál Cais in 967 and it was to be ruled by their descendants until 1197. Dublin maintained a semblance of independence until 1052 when the king of Leinster, Diarmait mac Máel na mBó, forced the Dubliners to accept his son Murchad as their ruler. Paradoxically, however, as Dublin's political power declined its economic importance increased and from 1049 onwards any king with pretensions to the high kingship of Ireland had to control Dublin.

It has been argued that the Vikings had a negative impact on Irish society, promoting violence, accelerating church abuses, and terminating the ‘golden age’ of Irish art. Modern historiography, however, has largely discredited these views and the port towns of Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, and Limerick are generally regarded as the Scandinavians' most enduring legacy. Archaeological excavations have yielded good evidence of the urban layout and building fabric of these 10th–12th‐century towns but less is known about rural settlement in their vicinity. Each port had a rural hinterland (that of Dublin is referred to as Dyflinarskíri), and the archaeological evidence suggests that they were settled by a mixed community that was heavily Hibernicized. Scandinavian settlement in Ireland is unusual in its urban bias and motives more complex than the provision of pirate bases may have influenced the foundation of these towns. They were all well placed, for instance, to take advantage of trade with the interior. The colonization of large tracts of territory does not seem to have been a primary objective of the Scandinavians in Ireland and it cannot be without significance that they put so much of their resources into the development of towns. an influencing factor in this regard may have been the view that Britain, rather than Ireland, was the principal area in which to achieve conquest and colonization.

Bibliography

Bradley, J. , ‘The Interpretation of Scandinavian Settlement in Ireland’, in J. Bradley (ed.), Settlement and Society in Medieval Ireland (1988)
Ó Corráin, D. , Ireland before the Normans (1972)
Smyth, A. P. , Scandinavian York and Dublin (2 vols., 1975–9)

John Bradley