The Viking age in Ireland: 795 – 11 th century

1. The Viking age in Ireland: 795 – 11th century From raiding to settlement

2. Menu – for all part of the presentation Key questionsThis part 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 – settlement Part two Viking Dublin The first Dublin The second Dublin Linking British & Irish history The end of Viking power in Ireland ? Part three Notes, etc. TimelineThis part Historical novelsThis part

3. Key questions Were the Vikings merely violent plunderers? (according to Irish written sources) Or Did the Vikings bring positive benefits to Ireland? (according to archaeological evidence) Click here for an appraisal of the Vikings in Ireland

4. Who were the Irish Vikings Names ‘Ostmen’ (‘men from the east’ – Old Norse) ‘Lochlannaigh (‘people from the land of the Loughs’ – Irish) Origins Some people say they came to Ireland directly from Norway Others think that they came to Ireland from Norwegian settlements in Scotland Two phases Raiding, 795-830s Settlement, 840 onwards Click here for two historical fantasies about Viking Ireland

5. The first Viking attack – monastery on Rathlin Island, 795 University brooch Ireland 'became filled with immense floods, and countless sea-vomiting of ships, and boats, and fleets'. Click here for simple timeline

6. The first phase The first phase – raiding, 795 – c. 830 At first the Vikings raided Irish monasteries and returned to Scandinavia with their booty. The Vikings attacked the monasteries because they were rich in land, stock and provisions. They also took valuable objects but this was not their primary concern. The Vikings inspired fear. One monk wrote: Since tonight the wind is high, The sea’s white mane a fury, I need not fear the hordes of Hell Coursing the Irish Channel.

7. Ireland – an easy target 1? Rich monasteries When they were first set up around 500 AD, Irish monasteries were not worth attacking. They were small communities living a religious life and perhaps also providing a ministry to their neighbours. Later many grew in size, forming small monastic towns, with agricultural dependants, craftsmen, and traders, forming. They also became very rich and produced beautiful and valuable metalwork. Link

8. Artist’s impression of an early Irish monastery Artist’s impression of an Irish monastery in Viking times

9. Leading Irish monasteries aerial views Clonmacnoise, Co. Limerick Glendalough, Co. Wicklow

10. Artist’s impression of Glendalough

11. The round tower Round towers in monasteries were first and foremost bell houses. They were five stories high. Each storey had a wooden floor, reached by a ladder The top storey had four to six windows, from which a small hand-bell would have been rung. Round towers were also used for defence against attack – a refuge for people and possessions. Their chimney-like form meant they were not ideal for such defence – fire could easily spread. In 1097, for example, the tower of Monasterboice was burned ‘with its books and many treasures’. Templeoran monastic site, Co. Westmeath

12. Treasures Ardagh chalice O’Donnell Battle Book Moylough Belt Shrine

13. Book of Kells

14. Ireland – an easy target 2? Political divisions When the Vikings came to Ireland, the country was not united. The were many kings who controlled different parts of the country and tried to take control of other parts. Cattle raiding and warring were part of daily life. In fact, the Irish chieftains were just as likely to attack as defend the monasteries. In the first quarter century of Viking attacks there were twenty-six plunderings by Vikings but eighty-seven raids by the Irish themselves. Over a century one monastery, Clonmacnoise, suffered six Viking attacks. However, the local Irish attacked it eleven times!

16. Link

17. Pagans versus Christians The Vikings were pagans. The Irish were Christians. Christians worshipped one God. The Vikings believed in several gods. The most powerful was Odin. Others included Thor, the God of Thunder, and Freya, goddess of love. Christians had a symbolic sacrifice in the mass. Vikings made sacrifices of animals and people. They believed that this kept their gods happy. Odin Thor Freya

18. Turgeis (pronounced Tur-gice) One of the Viking leaders, called Turgeis, hated Christianity. He wanted to make Ireland pagan again. He attacked the north of Ireland in 832 with a large fleet. His ships went up the River Bann to Lough Neagh. From there they made their way to Armagh – the headquarters, so to speak of the Christian Church in Ireland. In 1840 Turgeis and his followers attacked the great monastery of Armagh three times in one month. He chased the abbot and the monks out of the monastery. He founded the (first) town of Dublin and crowned himself king. Armagh Cathedral today

19. The Irish kings come to the rescue Turgeis’s plans were, however, foiled by the one of the most powerful Irish kings. In 845, Turgeis was taken prisoner and drowned by King Malachy in Lough Owel in Co. Westmeath as a punishment for all the trouble he caused. Some people think that Turgeis was not as evil as he has been painted. They think that Irish writers exaggerated his misdeeds to highlight Malachi’s achievement in ridding Ireland of numerous such invaders. One story says that Malachy challenged Turgeis to single combat on the shores of Lough Owel. Malachy won. He not only drowned Turgeis in the waters of the lake but also took his collar of gold. Another version says Turgeis developed a passion for Malachy’s daughter. One day Malachy said he would send fifteen girls with his daughter and asked Turgeis to choose one these and spare his daugther. Instead, he sent fifteen young men disguised as girls. They were all soldiers and captured Turgeis. Malachy kept the Viking for a few days and made him suffer. Then he threw him, tied in chains, into Lough Owel.

20. The Vikings in Ireland adapted from The Oxford Companion to Irish History edited by S.J. Connolly, OUP, 1998, 0-19866-240-8, 579-81 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 6o 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 dearly gave rise to the next development, the foundation of longphorts (a defended enclosure designed originally to protect ships) 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. Continued on next page … Click here to return to original page

21. 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.92 1) 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. Click here to return to original page

22. Click here for a more detailed timeline Click here to return to original page

23. Timeline of the Viking Age in Ireland • 700 Around this time there was a gradual transition from tribalism to dynastic politics, resulting in 500 years of inter-kingdom battles, too numerous to mention, there were also inter-monastery battles. • 709 Plague, believed to have been polio, also dysentery. • 772 Twelve years of famine and plague, Bloody flux, smallpox, rabies and cattle murrain. • 773 Drought and famine. • 777 Bad summer - wind and rain. • 795 First Viking raids on Ireland. • 799 Inter-kingdom battles, too numerous to mention, took place during this century. • 807 Large Viking raid on western coast. • 837 Vikings carry out intensive raids on Ireland, and set up bases. • 841 Viking establish base in Dublin. • 848 Norse occupy Cork. • 876 Relative respite from Viking raids for next forty years. • 892 Great wind, forests destroyed and wooden churches and houses blown away. • 899 More inter-kingdom battles, too numerous to mention, took place during this century. • 900 English coins begin to circulate in Ireland. • 902 Dublin evacuated by the Norse. • 914 Large Viking fleet arrives in Waterford. • 917 Vikings establish the proper town of Dublin • 920 to 950 Dublin Kings strike coins at York in England. • 922 Foundation of the Norse town of Limerick. • 951 Outbreak of Small pox and bloody flux among the Norse in Dublin. • 965 Famine. • Battle of Belach Lechta - in Ballyhoura mountains in north Cork. Brian Boruma mac Cennetig (Brian Boru) defeats and kills Mael Muad mac Brain and becomes king of Munster. • 980 Battle of Tara – defeat of Olaf Curran, King of Dublin, by Malachi of the O’Neill tribe. • 999 Battle of Glenn Mama near Dublin, Mael Morda, king of Leinster, and Sitric Silkbeard king of Dublin defeated by Brian Boru. Other inter-kingdom battles, too numerous to mention, took place during this century. • 1000 Brian Boru captures Dublin. • 1002 Reign of Brian Boru as High King commences twelve years of reasonable peace apart from odd out breaks of inter dynasty fights in Ulster. • 1014 Mael Morda, king of Leinster, invites Jarl Sigurd of Orkney to help him fight Brian Boru. In the battle of Clontarf on Good Friday Apr. 23. They are defeated and both killed. Brian Boru is killed after the battle. Inter-kingdom feuds and battles recommence. • 1047 Famine in Ulster causing a lot of people to settle in Leinster. • 1062 Colic in Leinster, spreads to rest of country. • 1066 Battle of Hastings, Norman's conquer England. Click here to return to original page

24. Irish kingdoms St. Patrick found the population of Ireland divided into as many as 150 tuatha, a word most nearly translated ‘tribes’ or ‘clans’. These were kin groups with a recognized leader and having collective claims to the wealth of, and authority over, specified territories. Pre-Viking Ireland (mid-8th century) was divided into perhaps 100 small kingdoms, of varying size and importance, each ruled by a chief or king. There were three grades of kingship: king of one tuath; king of three or four tuatha; and the third rank, overking or high king. Royal succession was determined during the lifetime of a reigning king, from amongst eligible members of kindred. The almost constant warfare between these groupings included the burning of churches, while the wars and battles between monasteries were just as bloody. On once occasion, Clonmacnoise engaged Durrow in a major pitched battle, slaying two hundred of the latter's fighting men. The death toll was exceeded in 817 in the battle between the monastery of Taghmon, assisted by Cathal mac Dunlainge, king of Ui Chennselaig, and the monastery of Ferns, in which four hundred were killed. There was a long-term tendency for these political divisions to grow larger and by 1100 the number of tribal units in Ireland was about 30. Some Irish leaders claimed the title of ‘High King’, but their power was always limited and temporary. The process of unification was carried on much faster on the Continent and in Anglo-Saxon England. The whole of the southern part of Britain had been unified, first under the Anglo-Saxons, and after 1066, under the Normans. No such unification had occurred within Ireland despite various aborted tendencies in that direction. Click here to return to original page

25. Viking gods - Odin Odin was the mighty god to the Norsemen. He was called All-Father. He is pictured as a middle-aged man with long curly hair and a beard. His weapon, called Gungnir, was a spear made by dwarfs. He was often accompanied by two ravens named Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory). In his thirst for knowledge, Odin sacrificed one of his eyes so he could drink from the roots of the World Tree, Yggdrasil. To discover the secret of the runes (magic spells), Odin hanged himself from the World Tree for nine days. His special attendants were female warriors, called the Valkyrie. The Valkyries took the bodies of the warriors killed in battle to Valhalla, which was located in the city of Heaven. Around the eighth and ninth centuries, Odin took over the role of the Sky god from Tyr. Together with his brothers Vili and Ve, Odin created the world from the body of the giant, Ymir. Click here to return to original page

26. Viking gods - Thor In Norse mythology, Thor was the god of thunder. He produces thunder with his hammer, called Mjolnir, which means ‘The Destroyer’. This hammer was made by dwarfs, and would magically return to Thor's hand whenever he needed it. Thor is depicted as a tall, muscular man with red hair and a beard. His magic belt could double his incredible strength, while his iron gloves protected his hands. His greatest enemy was the World Serpent, which lived in the ocean surrounding Midgard, the Earth. There are only a few stories remaining about this mighty champion of the gods. One tells of a quest to destroy the dreaded World Serpent. Disguised as a young fisherman, Thor joins the giant Hymir in his boat. Using the head of an ox, Thor got the beast on his line. He attempted to kill the serpent with one giant swing with his sword. However, a scared Hymir cut the line, sending the serpent back into the ocean, just before Thor could finish the job. Thor was also challenged to a duel by the giant Hrungnir, who had a stone head and heart. Thor's companion, Thjalfi, tricked the giant into standing on his shield. This allowed Thor to swoop down from above and shatter his head. Click here to return to original page

27. Viking gods - Freya In Norse mythology, Freya is a goddess of love and fertility, and the most beautiful and propitious of the goddesses. She is the patron goddess of crops and birth, the symbol of sensuality and was called upon in matters of love. She loves music, spring and flowers, and is particularly fond of the elves (fairies). Freya is one of the foremost goddesses of the Vanir. She is the daughter of the god Njord, and the sister of Freyr. Later she married the mysterious god Od (probably another form of Odin), who disappeared. When she mourned for her lost husband, her tears changed into gold. Her attributes are the precious necklace of the Brisings, which she obtained by sleeping with four dwarfs, a cloak (or skin) of bird feathers, which allows its wearer to change into a falcon, and a chariot pulled by two cats. She owns Hildesvini (‘battle boar’) which is actually her human lover Ottar in disguise. Her chambermaid is Fulla. Freya lives in the beautiful palace Folkvang (‘field of folk’), a place where love songs are always played, and her hall is Sessrumnir. She divides the slain warriors with Odin: one half goes to her palace, while the other half goes to Valhalla. Women also go to her hall. Click here to return to original page

28. Distant Voices by Friel, Maeve, Poolbeg Press, 1-85371-410-0 Set in the north-west of Ireland, this is a powerful and unusual evocation of the Viking era. This voice, this Harald, was haunting Ellie’s dreams, speaking to her in his strange accent, drawing her into another life. He spins stories of sea voyages, exile and death, while she sleeps. His appeal to Ellie, ‘Only you will know where to find me’, leads her across the border from Derry into Donegal where she makes a startling discovery on a lonely headland. Baldur’s Bones by Arrigan, Mary Collins, 0-00711-154-1 ‘I think I am going to keep this Viking,’ said Finn, wiping away the soil and lifting the skull. ‘Imagine, all those centuries ago there was someone just like me … a buck-toothed warrior.’ When Finn and Tara discover a skull on the site of an ancient Viking burial ground, Finn is determined to take it home. However, this ghoulish find drags Finn and Tara into a nightmarish adventure – a race against time – one that become a matter of life or death. Click here to return to original page