About the Vikings & Their Coming To Ireland:
The Vikings were originally the inhabitants of Norse countries, such as where modern-day Denmark and Norway are now located. They became a seafaring explorer people due to the Scandinavian land pressures occurring in 700 C.E. Many of the first Vikings to set out were the younger sons of nobility who stood to inherit nothing from their father’s estates. They bonded with groups of warriors and went down the coasts pillaging settlements. They sold their booty for money and this became their lifestyle. They utilized longboats to sail across the North Sea to attack Britain, France, and Ireland. It is from these invasions that they were labelled the “Norsemen”. and then as “Vikings”. They called themselves “Ostmen”. The Vikings first landed in Ireland in 795 C.E., settling in Iona. Most of these original Vikings were Norwegian and very Pagan. When they ran into Christianity, they smited the religion, demolished Christian iconography, symbols, and sites. They were brutal to their prisoners and were known barbarians. This was one of the reasons they attacked the monastic settlement of Iona initially. They attacked the Rathlin Island Monastery in 795 C.E. as well as Hompatrick, Inishmurray, Inishbofin, and Sceilg Mhicil. That same year they attacked County Sligo, County Galway, seeking treasure, plunder, and slaves. The Norse raiders struck Iona again in 802 and 806 killing over 68 monks. They would hit-and-run raid these monasteries taking the riches and slaves that they brought back to sell in Scandinavia. The raids became more frequent and fleets of Viking ships would come down/up the Shannon, Boyne, Liffey, and the Erne setting up encampments along the shores set up as bases from which to conduct the raids. By 841 C.E. they founded a permanent settlement at the mouth of the River Liffey which became the foundation for the city of Dublin and was named after the “Black Pool” that the area represented. Dublin became a thriving slave trade center for the British Isles. They also set up major camps at Waterford and Wexford that also developed into towns. The base at Annagassan, County Louth however eventually faded. With monasteries as their primary targets since they were the largest centers of population and wealth in Ireland at the time. They forged contracts and alliances with Irish petty kings and through which the Vikings were drawn into getting involved with local disputes. They were responsible for in alliance with local Irish for plundering and burning many of the Irish monasteries. Dublin was defeated by the Irish in 902. From there The Vikings moved their power base to the Isle of Man. They established similar bases of wooden stockades built around beached longboats in Waterford (914) and Limerick (922). These quickly became prominent trading centers. Dublin was ruled by a Norse king from 853-1014. A second phase of raids took place in 914 where they re-captured territories recently taken back by the Irish. They retook Dublin in 917. The Native Irish resisted, while some formed ephemeral alliances with the Norse creating combinations of Irish against Norse, Norse agaist Norse, and Irish against Irish. The Vikings eventually settled the lands they conquered and became farmers or fishermen. By the 11th century, the Irish built a stronger opposition as they had adopted much of Viking military methodology until Brian Boru became the first King of all Ireland with a success over the Vikings by 1014. The Norse were pushed out and the Viking period only lasted 220 years.
Photos from the Dublinia Viking and Medieval History Museum:
“The Viking Impact: The first Viking raids on Ireland are recorded in the year 795, Rathlin Island on the northeast cost was attacked and in the same year Inishmurray, County Sligo and Inishbofin, County Galway were also plundered. Later the raids became moe frequent and fleets of Viking ships appeared on the major rivers such as the Shannon, Boyne, Liffey, and the Erne. Their first temporary encampments used a bases for more extensive raiding are mentioned from about 840. Some of these such as Dublin, Waterford, and Wexford were later to develop into towns but others such as the base at Annagassan, County Louth were to lapse into obscurity. In this early period the principal targets were the monasteries which in the absence of towns, were the only large centres of population and wealth and the main quest was for loot and slaves. From the mid-ninth century alliances were forged with Irish petty kings and the Viking settlers were drawn into local disputes. Although the Vikings were responsible for the plundering and burning of many Irish monasteries, the historical records show that such raids were carried out by the Irish. Much of the raiding of the ninth and tenth centuries was localized and very few monasteries were actually destroyed. ” ~ display at the Museum of Archaeology Ireland, Dublin, Eire.
Photos from the Museum of Archaeology Ireland: (December 8, 2013)
