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Menu – for all parts of the presentation. Key questions Part one Who were the Irish Vikings? The first Viking attack The first phase – raiding, 795 – c. 830 Ireland – an easy target 1? - rich monasteries Ireland – an easy target 2? - political divisions Pagans versus Christians
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Menu – for all parts of the presentation Key questions Part one Who were the Irish Vikings? The first Viking attack The first phase – raiding, 795 – c. 830 Ireland – an easy target 1? - rich monasteries Ireland – an easy target 2? - political divisions Pagans versus Christians The second phase – settlementThis part Viking Dublin The first Dublin The second Dublin Linking British & Irish history The end of Viking power in Ireland ? Part 3 Notes, etc. Timeline Part one Historical novels Part one
The second phase – settlement After 840 the Vikings began to settle in Ireland. At first, they occupied winter bases. Then they settled permanently, establishing towns at Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Limerick joining in the life of the country taking part in internal Irish wars making Ireland a centre of European trade introducing the use of money influencing art, language, folklore and placenames.
The first Dublin The Vikings established Dublin twice. In 841 they set up a permanent trading cum pirate based, called longphort by the native Irish writers. This lasted until about 902, when the Irish kings formed an alliance and expelled the Viking inhabitants. The exiles went to the North-West and North-East of England and to Scotland.
The second Dublin In or about 917 the descendants of the earlier Dublin established are real town. It was described as dún according to native writers. Dublin became an enclosed town, with streets, plots, pathways, houses and trades. We know a lot about this second Dublin because of a series of archaeological excavations.
Five different types of buildings The houses had, however, some characteristics in common: rectangular in plan (all) post-and-wattle walls (nearly all) hipped rather than gabled endwalls (most) thatched with straw (nearly all).
How Viking Age Dubliners looked note the shoes and personal ornaments Man’s gold finger ring Child’s leather boot
Fragments Fragments of finely woven woollen garments, possibly made in Dublin Fragment of an edging consisting of gold thread on a silk backing imported from the East
The heads of three ringed-pins (top) and a miniature kite-shaped brooch, all in bronze. Both types of dress fasteners are examples of native Irish fashions which became very popular in Viking Dublin.
Sketch of ship scratched on plank in 11th century context Trial bone piece Model or toy wooden boat
Trades & crafts Sketch showing the variety of crafts archaeologically documented in Viking Dublin: Wood-workers – builders, carpenters, coopers, turners Workers in antler and bone Blacksmiths Non-ferrous metalsmiths Spinners and weavers Amber-workers Stone-workers Leather workers.
This selection of objects was found in Dublin in the 1850s. It includes bronze and bone pins, iron knives, pieces of cut bone and antler and a portion of a decorated bone plaque. The circumstances of the find were meticulously recorded on labels attached to the objects. The label on the wooden seat in the top right-hand corner reads: ‘Found in Bog stuff 12ft below present surface of Werburgh St Dublin on sinking for Main Sewer. May 1856’
Burials The burials in the Viking cemetery at Islandbridge-Kilmainham included those of warriors, distinguished by the weapons which accompanied them - right. Women were sometimes buried with bronze oval brooches - below. These brooches were worn in pairs and connected by silver chains or strings of glass or amber beads.
Trading 1 – with the rest of Ireland This picture shows how Dublin depended on the hinterland for foodstuffs and the supply of its building and industrial needs. Imports Cattle, sheep, cereals, fruits, berries, nuts Shed antler – the inset shows a range of antler waste in the comb-making area of the town Lead, copper Exports Silver, combs, brooches Exotic foodstuffs, wine and beer Clothes, shoes Weapons and other implements.
Commercial tools Lead weights used to weight silver and coins which are themselves units of silver weight.
Trading 2 - centre of international trade ‘Filled with the wealth of barbarians’ ‘The richest port in the whole Irish Sea area’ ‘One of the richest in Western Europe’ When a Dublin woman arrived in Iceland, she had fine bed linen, English sheets, a silk blanket, drapery and other items ‘so costly that nothing like it had been seen before’. Bracelets made from imported lignite Silver brooches
Imports & exports Imports Exports Britain Europe Chester – pottery, salt, Cornwall – tin London – weapons, disc brooches Norwich - pottery South-east - plums South-west - pottery Yorkshire – lignite Scotland – soapstone vessels Wales - horses Artic – walrus ivory Baltic – amber Central Europe - cornelian Near East – silver, silk Normandy - walnuts NW Europe – weapons, glass Rome – pilgrims’ souvenirs Rhineland – walnuts Grain, other provisions Hire of ships Jewellery Leather, hides, pelts Slaves Woollens, cloth Rejects of imported amber
Linking British & Irish history The histories of Vikings Ireland and Viking Britain are very closely linked. First, there are the trade links. Secondly, there was the movement of people. Vikings moved regularly between Ireland and Britain. In the early 10th century Viking settlers who had been living in Dublin crossed the Irish Sea and settled in Wirral. The same Viking leaders crop up sometimes ruling parts of Ireland and at other times ruling parts of Britain. Imports from Britain Chester – pottery, salt, Cornwall – tin London – weapons, disc brooches Norwich - pottery South-east - plums South-west - pottery Yorkshire – lignite Scotland – soapstone vessels Wales - horses
Olaf of the Shoes One of the most famous these roving kings was Olaf Curran, ‘Olaf of the Shoes’. He was very fond of leather goods of the highest quality. Beautifully tanned Irish leathers were an important part of Dublin’s export business. A Christian, he was at one time King of both Dublin and Northumbria. He was twice expelled from Northumbria and lost Dublin in 980 at the Battle of Tara. He died a penitent at the monastery of Iona in 981.
