FOOTNOTES

FOOTNOTES[40]Annals of Ulster,A.D.855, 856;Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.856.[41]Three Fragments of Annals, pp. 128, 129, 138, 139.[42]Airec Menmam Uraird Maic Coisse, sec. 29 (Marstrander:Bidrag til det Norske Sprogs Historie i Irland, p. 10).[43]With the Gaill-Gaedhil are often identified a body of plunderers, members of Meath and Cavan clans, who in the year 845 devastated large tracts of territory “after the manner of the Gentiles” (Annals of Ulster,A.D.845). The Annalists call them “sons of death” (maic báis), possibly a term applied by the monastic chroniclers to a people who had abandoned their Christian baptism, and who had profaned churches and religious houses. (Cf. Marstrander,op. cit., p. 7, n.)[44]Cf.Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.854.Three Fragments of Annals,A.D.852, referring to the same event, mention the “fleet of the Gaill-Gaedhil.”[45]Annals of Ulster,A.D.855.[46]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.856.[47]Fragments of Annals,A.D.858.[48]There was also a mixed Norse and Gaelic population in Galloway (the word is a corruption ofGall-Gaedhil, Welsh Galwydel) as well as in the Hebrides (Ir.Innse Gall.,i.e., the “Islands of the Foreigners or Norsemen”) and other parts of Scotland. There is a reference to these Gaill-Gaedhil in theFour Masters(A.D.1154): “The Cinél Eoghain and Muirchertach, son of Niall, sent persons over the sea to hire the fleets of the Gaill-Gaedhil of Aran, Cantire and the Isle of Man and the borders of Scotland in general, over which Mac Sgelling was in command…” (For other references see Marstrander,op. cit., p. 9.)ByGaddgethlarthe Norsemen understood “the place… where Scotland and England meet” (cf.Orkneyinga Saga, ch. 28). It is also interesting to note that in Norse sources the inhabitants of Galloway are calledVikinga-Skotar, a direct translation of Gaill-Gaedhil.O’Flaherty (Ogygia, p. 360) thought that the Gaill-Gaedhil mentioned in the Annals of the mid-ninth century came to Ireland from Scotland, but the ancientThree Fragments of Annals, which contain the fullest accounts of the Gaill-Gaedhil (pp. 138-141) speak of them asScuit(i.e., an Irish form of the LatinScoti, a word which is always used with reference to the Irish before the tenth century). Moreover, the impression received from reading theFragments of Annalsis that the Annalist had in his mind the Norse-Gaelic population of Ireland, not of Scotland.[49]Ann. Cambriae,A.D.902; (Steenstrup:Normannerne, III., pp. 37-41).[50]Three Fragments of Annals, p. 230 ff.[51]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.845, 852;Annals of Ulster,A.D.846.Three Fragments of Annals,A.D.862.[52]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.848.[53]The plundering of these burial-mounds—“a thing that had never been done before”—made a deep impression on the Irish Annalists; it was thought that the Vikings discovered the existence of the treasure by magic, “through paganism and idol worship” (War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 115). The same source (p. 25) records the plundering of Kerry by Baraid (O.N. Barthr) and Olaf the White’s son “who left not a cave there underground that they did not explore.”Several references to this practice of the Vikings occur also in Icelandic literature. It is interesting to compare the Irish accounts with the following passage from Landnámabók (I., ch. 5): “Leifr (one of the earliest settlers in Iceland) went on a Viking raid to the West. He plundered Ireland and found there a large underground house (Icel.jarth-hus). It was dark within until he made his way to a place where he saw a light shining from a sword which a man held in his hand. Leifr slew the man and took the sword and much treasure besides.”[54]Three Fragments of Annals, p. 135.[55]Ib., p. 137.[56]Heimskringla: Óláfs Saga Tryggvasonar, ch. 35.[57]Cf. The story of Samr, (i.e., probably Ir. sam, “happy” or “peaceful”) the Irish hound which Olaf Pai gave to Gunnarr. Samr was killed while defending his master’s homestead. (Njáls Saga, chs. 69, 75.)[58]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.820;Fragments of Annals, p. 166;War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 79;The Victorious Career of Callachan of Cashel, p. 9.[59]Landnámabók, V., ch. 8.[60]Ib., V., ch. 13.[61]Ib., III., ch. 9.[62]Ib., III., ch. 12. Rafarta was the wife of Eyvindr the Easterner, “who settled down in Ireland and had charge of Kjarval’s defences” (cf.Grettis Saga, ch. 3).Orkneyinga Saga(ch. 11.) makes Edna (Ir.Eithne) another of Kjarval’s daughters to be the mother of Sigurthr, Earl of Orkney (killed in the battle of Clontarf, 1014); but owing to the chronological difficulty this is hardly likely.[63]Landnámabók, I., ch. 1.[64]Ib., II., ch. 15.[65]Three Fragments of Annals, p. 151. The same source (p. 173) mentions still another wife of Olaf, “the daughter of Cinaedh,”i.e., in all probability Cinaedh Mac Ailpin, King of the Picts (d. 858).[66]Laxdaela Saga(translated by M.A.C. Press), chs. 12, 13, 20, 21.[67]TheAnnals of the Four Mastersrecord his death under the year 941: “Muirchertach of the Leather Cloaks, lord of Aileach, the Hector of the West of Europe in his time, was slain at Ardee by Blacaire, son of Godfrey, lord of the Foreigners.”Muirchertach’s grandson was killed by Olaf Cuaran. (Ib.,A.D.975).[68]Ib.,A.D.981.[69]Ib.,A.D.1021.[70]War of the Gaedhit with the Gaill, p. 142 ff.;Njáls Saga, chs. 153, 154.[71]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.851.[72]Three Fragments of Annals, pp. 119, 123.Annals of Ulster,A.D.852.[73]Chronicon Scotorum,A.D.883.[74]Ib., 886;Annals of Ulster,A.D.885.[75]See A. Bugge:Nordisk Sprog og Nordisk Nationalitet, i Irland, pp. 284, 285. Professor Marstrander (op. cit., pp. 45, 46) takesGluntradnato be an Irish adaptation of an O.N. nicknameTrönu-Kné, to which he comparesTrönubeina, the daughter of Thraell, in the Rígsthula, 9.[76]Cf. the name Grímr Kamban (Landnámabók, Hauksbók MS., ch. 19) which seems to be a Norse form of the IrishCamman.[77]According to A. Bugge,Dubhcennis a translation of the O.N.Svarthöfthi, but Marstrander (op. cit., p. 45) holds that the name was known in Ireland before the Viking age. It may be suggested that it was a nickname given to Ivarr’s son by the Irish. Cf. OlafCuaran(Ir.cuaran, a shoe made of skin); OlafCenncairech(i.e., “Scabby-head.”)[78]Their mother was an Irishwoman, sister of Donnabhan, King of Ui Fidgenti. Donnabhan himself was married to a daughter of Ivarr, King of Limerick. (War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 207).[79]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.931;Annals of Ulster,A.D.960, 1036, 1042, etc. See also Whitley Stokes:On the Gaelic Names in the Landnámabók(Revue Celtique, III., pp. 186-191).[80]From the contemporary Irish poems theBook of RightsandThe Curcuit of Muirchertach Mac Neillit may be inferred that in ancient Ireland all payments were made in kind. With the extension of trade, however, it is probable that many Anglo-Saxon and other foreign coins—including those of the Scandinavian Kings of Northumbria, several of whom also reigned in Ireland—came to be circulated in Ireland. The Vikings in England struck coins there during the reign of Halfdanr (d. 877). (Cf. C. F. Keary:Catalogue of Coins in the British Museum, I., p. 202).[81]One of these fugitives wrote the following lines on the margin of Priscian’s Latin Grammar in the monastery of St. Gall, Switzerland:“Is acher ingaith innocht fufuasna fairge findfolt,Ni agor reimm mora minn dond laechraid lainn na lothlind.”(Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus. Ed. Stokes and Strachan, II., 290.)i.e.,Bitter is the wind to-night,It tosses the ocean’s white hair;To-night I fear not the fierce warriors of NorwayCoursing on the Irish Sea.(Translation by Kuno Meyer:Ancient Irish Poetry, p. 101.)[82]See Margaret Stokes:Early Christian Architecture in Ireland, p. 127.[83]G. Coffey:A Guide to the Celtic Antiquities of the Christian Period(National Museum, Dublin) pp. 29, 49 and 62.[84]Ib., p. 17.

[40]Annals of Ulster,A.D.855, 856;Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.856.

[41]Three Fragments of Annals, pp. 128, 129, 138, 139.

[42]Airec Menmam Uraird Maic Coisse, sec. 29 (Marstrander:Bidrag til det Norske Sprogs Historie i Irland, p. 10).

[43]With the Gaill-Gaedhil are often identified a body of plunderers, members of Meath and Cavan clans, who in the year 845 devastated large tracts of territory “after the manner of the Gentiles” (Annals of Ulster,A.D.845). The Annalists call them “sons of death” (maic báis), possibly a term applied by the monastic chroniclers to a people who had abandoned their Christian baptism, and who had profaned churches and religious houses. (Cf. Marstrander,op. cit., p. 7, n.)

[44]Cf.Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.854.Three Fragments of Annals,A.D.852, referring to the same event, mention the “fleet of the Gaill-Gaedhil.”

[45]Annals of Ulster,A.D.855.

[46]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.856.

[47]Fragments of Annals,A.D.858.

[48]There was also a mixed Norse and Gaelic population in Galloway (the word is a corruption ofGall-Gaedhil, Welsh Galwydel) as well as in the Hebrides (Ir.Innse Gall.,i.e., the “Islands of the Foreigners or Norsemen”) and other parts of Scotland. There is a reference to these Gaill-Gaedhil in theFour Masters(A.D.1154): “The Cinél Eoghain and Muirchertach, son of Niall, sent persons over the sea to hire the fleets of the Gaill-Gaedhil of Aran, Cantire and the Isle of Man and the borders of Scotland in general, over which Mac Sgelling was in command…” (For other references see Marstrander,op. cit., p. 9.)ByGaddgethlarthe Norsemen understood “the place… where Scotland and England meet” (cf.Orkneyinga Saga, ch. 28). It is also interesting to note that in Norse sources the inhabitants of Galloway are calledVikinga-Skotar, a direct translation of Gaill-Gaedhil.O’Flaherty (Ogygia, p. 360) thought that the Gaill-Gaedhil mentioned in the Annals of the mid-ninth century came to Ireland from Scotland, but the ancientThree Fragments of Annals, which contain the fullest accounts of the Gaill-Gaedhil (pp. 138-141) speak of them asScuit(i.e., an Irish form of the LatinScoti, a word which is always used with reference to the Irish before the tenth century). Moreover, the impression received from reading theFragments of Annalsis that the Annalist had in his mind the Norse-Gaelic population of Ireland, not of Scotland.

ByGaddgethlarthe Norsemen understood “the place… where Scotland and England meet” (cf.Orkneyinga Saga, ch. 28). It is also interesting to note that in Norse sources the inhabitants of Galloway are calledVikinga-Skotar, a direct translation of Gaill-Gaedhil.

O’Flaherty (Ogygia, p. 360) thought that the Gaill-Gaedhil mentioned in the Annals of the mid-ninth century came to Ireland from Scotland, but the ancientThree Fragments of Annals, which contain the fullest accounts of the Gaill-Gaedhil (pp. 138-141) speak of them asScuit(i.e., an Irish form of the LatinScoti, a word which is always used with reference to the Irish before the tenth century). Moreover, the impression received from reading theFragments of Annalsis that the Annalist had in his mind the Norse-Gaelic population of Ireland, not of Scotland.

[49]Ann. Cambriae,A.D.902; (Steenstrup:Normannerne, III., pp. 37-41).

[50]Three Fragments of Annals, p. 230 ff.

[51]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.845, 852;Annals of Ulster,A.D.846.Three Fragments of Annals,A.D.862.

[52]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.848.

[53]The plundering of these burial-mounds—“a thing that had never been done before”—made a deep impression on the Irish Annalists; it was thought that the Vikings discovered the existence of the treasure by magic, “through paganism and idol worship” (War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 115). The same source (p. 25) records the plundering of Kerry by Baraid (O.N. Barthr) and Olaf the White’s son “who left not a cave there underground that they did not explore.”Several references to this practice of the Vikings occur also in Icelandic literature. It is interesting to compare the Irish accounts with the following passage from Landnámabók (I., ch. 5): “Leifr (one of the earliest settlers in Iceland) went on a Viking raid to the West. He plundered Ireland and found there a large underground house (Icel.jarth-hus). It was dark within until he made his way to a place where he saw a light shining from a sword which a man held in his hand. Leifr slew the man and took the sword and much treasure besides.”

Several references to this practice of the Vikings occur also in Icelandic literature. It is interesting to compare the Irish accounts with the following passage from Landnámabók (I., ch. 5): “Leifr (one of the earliest settlers in Iceland) went on a Viking raid to the West. He plundered Ireland and found there a large underground house (Icel.jarth-hus). It was dark within until he made his way to a place where he saw a light shining from a sword which a man held in his hand. Leifr slew the man and took the sword and much treasure besides.”

[54]Three Fragments of Annals, p. 135.

[55]Ib., p. 137.

[56]Heimskringla: Óláfs Saga Tryggvasonar, ch. 35.

[57]Cf. The story of Samr, (i.e., probably Ir. sam, “happy” or “peaceful”) the Irish hound which Olaf Pai gave to Gunnarr. Samr was killed while defending his master’s homestead. (Njáls Saga, chs. 69, 75.)

[58]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.820;Fragments of Annals, p. 166;War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 79;The Victorious Career of Callachan of Cashel, p. 9.

[59]Landnámabók, V., ch. 8.

[60]Ib., V., ch. 13.

[61]Ib., III., ch. 9.

[62]Ib., III., ch. 12. Rafarta was the wife of Eyvindr the Easterner, “who settled down in Ireland and had charge of Kjarval’s defences” (cf.Grettis Saga, ch. 3).Orkneyinga Saga(ch. 11.) makes Edna (Ir.Eithne) another of Kjarval’s daughters to be the mother of Sigurthr, Earl of Orkney (killed in the battle of Clontarf, 1014); but owing to the chronological difficulty this is hardly likely.

[63]Landnámabók, I., ch. 1.

[64]Ib., II., ch. 15.

[65]Three Fragments of Annals, p. 151. The same source (p. 173) mentions still another wife of Olaf, “the daughter of Cinaedh,”i.e., in all probability Cinaedh Mac Ailpin, King of the Picts (d. 858).

[66]Laxdaela Saga(translated by M.A.C. Press), chs. 12, 13, 20, 21.

[67]TheAnnals of the Four Mastersrecord his death under the year 941: “Muirchertach of the Leather Cloaks, lord of Aileach, the Hector of the West of Europe in his time, was slain at Ardee by Blacaire, son of Godfrey, lord of the Foreigners.”Muirchertach’s grandson was killed by Olaf Cuaran. (Ib.,A.D.975).

Muirchertach’s grandson was killed by Olaf Cuaran. (Ib.,A.D.975).

[68]Ib.,A.D.981.

[69]Ib.,A.D.1021.

[70]War of the Gaedhit with the Gaill, p. 142 ff.;Njáls Saga, chs. 153, 154.

[71]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.851.

[72]Three Fragments of Annals, pp. 119, 123.Annals of Ulster,A.D.852.

[73]Chronicon Scotorum,A.D.883.

[74]Ib., 886;Annals of Ulster,A.D.885.

[75]See A. Bugge:Nordisk Sprog og Nordisk Nationalitet, i Irland, pp. 284, 285. Professor Marstrander (op. cit., pp. 45, 46) takesGluntradnato be an Irish adaptation of an O.N. nicknameTrönu-Kné, to which he comparesTrönubeina, the daughter of Thraell, in the Rígsthula, 9.

[76]Cf. the name Grímr Kamban (Landnámabók, Hauksbók MS., ch. 19) which seems to be a Norse form of the IrishCamman.

[77]According to A. Bugge,Dubhcennis a translation of the O.N.Svarthöfthi, but Marstrander (op. cit., p. 45) holds that the name was known in Ireland before the Viking age. It may be suggested that it was a nickname given to Ivarr’s son by the Irish. Cf. OlafCuaran(Ir.cuaran, a shoe made of skin); OlafCenncairech(i.e., “Scabby-head.”)

[78]Their mother was an Irishwoman, sister of Donnabhan, King of Ui Fidgenti. Donnabhan himself was married to a daughter of Ivarr, King of Limerick. (War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 207).

[79]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.931;Annals of Ulster,A.D.960, 1036, 1042, etc. See also Whitley Stokes:On the Gaelic Names in the Landnámabók(Revue Celtique, III., pp. 186-191).

[80]From the contemporary Irish poems theBook of RightsandThe Curcuit of Muirchertach Mac Neillit may be inferred that in ancient Ireland all payments were made in kind. With the extension of trade, however, it is probable that many Anglo-Saxon and other foreign coins—including those of the Scandinavian Kings of Northumbria, several of whom also reigned in Ireland—came to be circulated in Ireland. The Vikings in England struck coins there during the reign of Halfdanr (d. 877). (Cf. C. F. Keary:Catalogue of Coins in the British Museum, I., p. 202).

[81]One of these fugitives wrote the following lines on the margin of Priscian’s Latin Grammar in the monastery of St. Gall, Switzerland:“Is acher ingaith innocht fufuasna fairge findfolt,Ni agor reimm mora minn dond laechraid lainn na lothlind.”(Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus. Ed. Stokes and Strachan, II., 290.)i.e.,Bitter is the wind to-night,It tosses the ocean’s white hair;To-night I fear not the fierce warriors of NorwayCoursing on the Irish Sea.(Translation by Kuno Meyer:Ancient Irish Poetry, p. 101.)

[81]One of these fugitives wrote the following lines on the margin of Priscian’s Latin Grammar in the monastery of St. Gall, Switzerland:

“Is acher ingaith innocht fufuasna fairge findfolt,Ni agor reimm mora minn dond laechraid lainn na lothlind.”(Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus. Ed. Stokes and Strachan, II., 290.)

“Is acher ingaith innocht fufuasna fairge findfolt,

Ni agor reimm mora minn dond laechraid lainn na lothlind.”

(Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus. Ed. Stokes and Strachan, II., 290.)

i.e.,

Bitter is the wind to-night,It tosses the ocean’s white hair;To-night I fear not the fierce warriors of NorwayCoursing on the Irish Sea.(Translation by Kuno Meyer:Ancient Irish Poetry, p. 101.)

Bitter is the wind to-night,

It tosses the ocean’s white hair;

To-night I fear not the fierce warriors of Norway

Coursing on the Irish Sea.

(Translation by Kuno Meyer:Ancient Irish Poetry, p. 101.)

[82]See Margaret Stokes:Early Christian Architecture in Ireland, p. 127.

[83]G. Coffey:A Guide to the Celtic Antiquities of the Christian Period(National Museum, Dublin) pp. 29, 49 and 62.

[84]Ib., p. 17.

The foundation of the seaport towns was the most important, and at the same time the most permanent effect of the Viking invasion of Ireland. Before this the only towns were the larger monastic centres[85]at Armagh, Clonmacnois, Durrow and Clonfert, which, besides the monastery itself, consisted of numerous beehive-shaped houses of stone, or small huts of clay and wattles built for the accommodation of the students attending the schools. During the first half of the ninth century these monasteries suffered sorely from the attacks of Viking raiders. After a stubborn resistance on the part of the Irish, Armagh fell into the hands of Turgeis, who drove out the abbot Farannan and “usurped the abbacy” (c.A.D.839). Some years later Armagh was abandoned when the Vikings captured Dublin, at this time a small “town by the hurdle ford,”[86]but they were quick to realise its possibilities as the seat of their monarchy and the chief centre of their trade. As a result of the struggle for ecclesiastical supremacy, which took place at a later period[87]between Armagh and Dublin, the Bishops of Dublin were obliged to acknowledge the Primate of Armagh;but the latter town never recovered its former prestige as the capital of Ireland.[88]

That Dublin owes its importance, if not its origin, to the Norsemen may be inferred from the almost total silence of the historians and annalists regarding it in the years preceding the Scandinavian inroads. It is probable that there was a fort to guard the hurdle-ford where the great road from Tara to Wicklow, Arklow and Wexford crossed the Liffey, but it seems to have played no great part in history before the Norsemen fortified it in 840. Between Church Lane and Suffolk Street they had theirThing[89]or meeting-place, which was still to be seen in the seventeenth century; while all along College Green, called Le Hogges[90]and later Hoggen Green by the English, lay their barrows (O.N.haugar). During the ninth and tenth centuries the Kingdom of Dublin—known to the Scandinavians asDyflinarski—became one of the most powerful in the west. Its sway extended north to its colonies[91]at the Strangford andCarlingford Loughs, west to Leixlip, south to Wicklow, Wexford[92]and even as far as Waterford. The Dublin kings intermarried with royal families in Ireland, England and Scotland, and between the years 919 and 950 ruled, though in somewhat broken succession, as Kings of York.

Limerick (O.N. Hlymrek)[93], the great stronghold on the west coast, had no existence as a city before the ninth century. It was first occupied during the reign of Turgeis by Vikings, who used the harbour as a base for their ships.[94]The only chieftains mentioned in connection with this kingdom during the ninth century are Hona and Tomrir Torra (O.N. Thórarr Thórri), who were slain about the year 860 in attempting to capture Waterford.[95]A few years later Barith (O.N. Barthr) and Haimar (O.N. Heimarr) when marching through Connacht on their way to Limerick, were attacked by the Connachtmen and forced to retreat.[96]The real importance of Limerick, however, dates from the early part of the tenth century when it was colonised by Vikings under Tomar (Thórir) son of Elgi (O.N. Helgi). To secure the fort against attack an earthen mound was built all round, and gates were placed at certain distancesleading into the streets and the houses.[97]As a kingdom it was independent, having subject colonies at Cashel, Thurles, Lough Ree and Lough Corrib.[98]It had no connection with Dublin during the tenth century; in fact, there is evidence to show that both royal houses were bitterly hostile towards each another. On one occasion Guthfrith, King of Dublin, led an army to Limerick, but was repulsed with heavy losses by the Vikings there.[99]A few years later (A.D.929) he expelled Tomar’s successor, King Ivarr of Limerick, and his followers from Magh Roighne (a plain in Ossory), where they had encamped for a whole year. Olaf Godfreyson was equally active. After defeating Olaf Cenncairech and the Limerick Vikings at Lough Ree in 937, he carried them off to Dublin,[100]and that same year probably forced them to fight on his side in the battle of Brunnanburh.

This hostility would seem to have been due to rivalry between two powerful kingdoms, rather than, as has been suggested,[101]to difference of nationality. It is not at all certain that the Limerick Vikings were purely Danes. One Irish chronicler speaks of the Scandinavians in Munster asGaillandDanairand calls their fleetsloingeas Danmarcach ocus allmurach(“fleets of Danes and foreigners”).[102]Elsewhere[103]we find the word Lochlannaigh (i.e., Norsemen) used with reference to the Limerick settlers;and Colla (O.N. Kolli), Prince of Limerick (d. 931) was certainly a Norseman, for he was son of Barthr, a leader of the Finn-Gennti in the ninth century. There would seem to have been a mixture of both Danes and Norsemen in Limerick, and since there is no proof that struggles for mastery took place between them, we may take it that they acted in harmony.

During the tenth century Limerick stood in close connection with the Scandinavian Kingdom in the Hebrides.[104]Mention is made of one chieftain “Morann, son of the Sea King of Lewis,”[105]who fought and fell in Limerick against the Irish. Moreover, the occurrence of the names Manus, Maccus (O.N. Magnus) and Somarlidh (O.N. Sumarlithi) in both royal families points at least to relationship by marriage. Indeed, the same family seems to have reigned in both kingdoms. “Godfrey, son of Harold, King of the Hebrides,” who was slain by the Dal Riada in 989[106]was in all probability a son of that “Harold, lord of the foreigners of Limerick,” whose death is recorded by the Four Masters in 940.

Practically nothing is known of the Scandinavian settlement in Waterford[107](O.N.Vethrafjörthr) before the year 919, when Vikings under Raghnall (O.N. Rögnvaldr), “King of the Danes,” concentrated their forces there before attacking Dublin. These invaders, sometimes called Nortmannai (‘Norsemen’), but generally alludedto asGaill(‘foreigners’) must have also included Danes, as Raghnall’s army was composed of both Danes and Norsemen;[108]and moreover, both parties are represented as fighting side by side against the Irish in Waterford.[109]

Waterford had not at first a dynasty of its own, but was dependent on the Dublin Kingdom. Olaf Godfreyson seems to have been in command there while his father was King of Dublin;[110]and we hear also that when the town was attacked by the Irish under Cellachan of Cashel, Sihtric, a prince from Dublin, came with a fleet to relieve it.[111]Later in the same century, the kingdom of Waterford stood quite distinct, and was governed by Ivarr (d. 1000), who was probably a member of the Dublin royal family. He came forward as a claimant to the Dublin throne after the murder of Gluniarainn, son of Olaf Cuaran (989) but was driven out after a three years’ reign by Sihtric Silken-Beard. Ivarr’s successors in Waterford, Amond (O.N.Amundr) and Goistilin Gall were killed in the battle of Clontarf.

In the tenth and eleventh centuries Waterford was strongly fortified, and, like Limerick, had gates leading into the town.[112]The town itself was built in the form of a triangle with a tower at each angle,[113]only one of which, the famous Reginald’s Tower, built in 1003, is still standing. Gualtier (? Ir.Gall tír, ‘land of the foreigners’), a barony lying on the west side of the harbour, is supposed to have been connected with the ‘Ostmen,’ who were obliged to settle there after the arrival of the English in 1169.

Cork, the seat of a famous school founded by St. Finbar, fell an easy prey to the Vikings in the first half of the ninth century. They built forts there and at Youghal,[114]but in endeavouring to push their way inland to Fermoy were checked by the Irish (866), and their chief, Gnimcinnsiolla (or Gnimbeolu)[115]was slain. We hear no more of Scandinavians here until early in the tenth century when new invaders, part of the large army which came to Waterford with Raghnall and Earl Ottarr in 919, gained possession of the town. The new settlers seem to have been chiefly, if not entirely, Danes (DanairandDuibhgeinnti),[116]and it would seem that with the Danish colonies at Thurles and Cashel they subsequently came under the authority of Ivarr of Limerick, “the high-king of the foreigners of Munster.”

Traces of the Scandinavian occupation still remain in the place-names on the coast, especially in the districts surrounding the seaport towns. Near Dublin we find Howth (O.N.höfuth, ‘a head’) and Skerries (O.N.skjær, ‘a rock’); also Lambey, Dalkey and Ireland’s Eye, all three containing the O.N. formey, an ‘island.’ The name Leixlip is probably a form of O.N.laxhleypa[117](‘salmon-leap’) not, as is generally supposed, of O.N.lax-hlaup. The O.N.fjörthroccurs in Wexford, Strangford and Carlingford(O.N. Kerlingafjörthr).[118]Other Scandinavian names on the east coast are Copeland Islands (i.e.,Kaupmannaeyjar, ‘the merchants’ islands’) near Belfast Lough; Arklow, Wicklow (O.N.lo, a low, flat meadow by the water’s edge.); Carnsore and Greenore (O.N.eyrr, ‘a small tongue of land running into the sea’).

The number of names on the south and west coasts is limited; besides Waterford, we find only Helvick(O.N.vík, ‘a bay’), Dursey Island, south-west of Cork, and Swerwick Harbour, in Kerry. At least three well-authenticated place-names have dropped out of use; Dún na Trapcharla, in Co. Limerick (O.N. (1)torf-karl, ‘a turf-cutter’ or (2)thorp-karl, a ‘small farmer’);[119]Jolduhlaup,[120]a cape in the north of Ireland; and Ulfreksfjörthr,[121]the Norse name for Lough Larne.

It is also interesting to note that the second element in the names of the three provinces, Ulster, Leinster and Munster is derived from the O.N.stathir(plural ofstathr, ‘a place’), while the name Ireland (O.N. Iraland) is Scandinavian in form and replaced the old Irish word Eríu during the Viking period.

FOOTNOTES[85]In theAnnals of Tighernach(A.D.716), theAnnals of Ulster(A.D.715), and theBook of Hymns(ed. Todd, p. 156) the Latincivitas(Ir.Cathair) is the word used for a monastery.[86]The old name for Dublin wasBaile-atha-Cliath, “the town of the hurdle ford.” It was afterwards calledDubh-linn(“black pool”), of which the O.N.Dyflinis a corruption.[87]See p. 55.[88]Armagh is the only place in Ireland which is marked on a tenth century map of the world preserved in the British Museum. See R. A. S. Macalister:Muiredach:Abbot of Monasterboice, p. 13.[89]It is calledTengmonthandTeggemutain medieval documents (Chartularies of St. Mary’s Abbey, I., 15, 461, 463, 465) and from it the surrounding parish of St. Andrew—“Parochia Sancti Andreae de Thengmote”—took its name. In 1647 it is referred to as “the fortified hill near the College,” but about thirty years later it was levelled to the ground and the earth was used for building Nassau Street (J. T. Gilbert:History of Dublin, II, p. 258).[90]The name survived until the 18th century inHog Hill, but it was afterwards changed to St. Andrew’s Street.[91]Annals of Ulster,A.D.839, 840, 925, 928, 934.These colonies were governed by earls, not kings, and their dependency on the kingdom of Dublin is clearly shown by certain entries in the Annals. In 926 a Viking fleet at Linn Duachaill (on the coast of Louth) was commanded by Albdann (O.N.Halfdanr), son of Guthfrith (King of Dublin, 920-933). Later, when part of Albdann’s army was besieged at Ath Cruithne (near Newry), Guthfrith went with his forces to relieve it. In 927 the “foreigners of Linn Duachaill” accompanied Guthfrith when he marched on York. See Steenstrup,op. cit., III., p. 115.[92]Wexford was also governed by earls. One of them, Accolb, is mentioned in theAnnals of the Four Masters,A.D.928.[93]The Irish nameLuimnech(hence O.N.Hlymrek) was originally applied to the estuary of the Shannon, but was afterwards confined to the town itself when it had risen to importance under Scandinavian rule.[94]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.843;War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 8.[95]Three Fragments of Annals, pp. 167, 144-6.War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, ch. 23.[96]Three Fragments of Annals, pp. 173-175;Chronicon Scotorum,A.D.887.[97]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, pp. 9, 66;War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 56.[98]Annals of Ulster,A.D.845, 922, 929;The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, p. 10;War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 10;Three Fragments of Annals, p. 197.[99]Annals of Ulster,A.D.924.[100]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.935;Chronicon Scotorum,A.D.936.[101]A. Bugge:Sidste Afsnit af Nordboernes Historie i Irland, pp. 254, 255.[102]War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 41.[103]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, p. 64.[104]Steenstrup:op. cit., III., p. 213.[105]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, p. 65.[106]Annals of Ulster,A.D.988.[107]Three Fragments of Annals(A.D.860) record that “two fleets of the Norsemen came into the land of Cearbhall, son of Dunlaing (King of Ossory) to plunder it.” These fleets probably sailed up the Barrow from Waterford harbour. The same annals also mention (p. 129) a Norse chieftain called Rodolbh, who may have been connected with the colony at Waterford. See alsoAnnals of the Four Masters,A.D.888 [891].[108]Annals of Ulster,A.D.921.[109]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, p. 71.[110]The Four Masters record “the plundering of Kildare by the son of Gothfrith (i.e., Olaf) from Waterford” (A.D.926).[111]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, p. 70.[112]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, pp. 13, 70.[113]Smith:History of Waterford, p. 165.[114]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.846, 864.[115]Ib., 865.Fragments of Annals, p. 169.Gnimbeoluis the O.N.Grímr Bióla. The Irish “Cinnsiolla” (Nom. Cenn Selach) is probably a translation of O.N.Selshofuth, a word which does not occur as a nickname in Old Norse literature. It was, however, known in Ireland as may be seen from the runic inscription—domnal Selshofoth a soerth (th) eta—on a bronze sword-plate found in Greenmount (Co. Louth). Cf. Marstrander,op. cit.p. 49.[116]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, pp. 10, 67.[117]Cf. Marstrander,op. cit., p. 149.[118]Cf. Marstrander,op. cit., p. 154. According to him, the O.N.Kerling, “an old woman” in this instance, is a folk-etymological form of Carlinn, the old name for the ford.[119]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.1062. Cf.Co dunad na Piscarcarla in Cath Ruis na Rig(ed. Hogan) wherePiscarcarlacorresponds to the O.N.fiskikari, “a fisherman.”The wordTrapcharla(“naTrapcharla”) also occurs in theBook of Ballymoteas the name of a people who fought at Troy. It has been suggested that the term was generally used during the ninth and tenth centuries of a Norse colony in Co. Limerick, which colony would acquire a legendary character after the Norsemen had been driven out of Ireland, and would figure, like the Lochlannaigh or Norsemen, in Middle-Irish stories and poems.SeeMiscellany presented to Kuno Meyer, pp. 293, 370.[120]LandnámabókI. ch. 1.[121]Heimskringla: Saga Óláfs hins helga, chs. 88, 10.

[85]In theAnnals of Tighernach(A.D.716), theAnnals of Ulster(A.D.715), and theBook of Hymns(ed. Todd, p. 156) the Latincivitas(Ir.Cathair) is the word used for a monastery.

[86]The old name for Dublin wasBaile-atha-Cliath, “the town of the hurdle ford.” It was afterwards calledDubh-linn(“black pool”), of which the O.N.Dyflinis a corruption.

[87]See p. 55.

[88]Armagh is the only place in Ireland which is marked on a tenth century map of the world preserved in the British Museum. See R. A. S. Macalister:Muiredach:Abbot of Monasterboice, p. 13.

[89]It is calledTengmonthandTeggemutain medieval documents (Chartularies of St. Mary’s Abbey, I., 15, 461, 463, 465) and from it the surrounding parish of St. Andrew—“Parochia Sancti Andreae de Thengmote”—took its name. In 1647 it is referred to as “the fortified hill near the College,” but about thirty years later it was levelled to the ground and the earth was used for building Nassau Street (J. T. Gilbert:History of Dublin, II, p. 258).

[90]The name survived until the 18th century inHog Hill, but it was afterwards changed to St. Andrew’s Street.

[91]Annals of Ulster,A.D.839, 840, 925, 928, 934.These colonies were governed by earls, not kings, and their dependency on the kingdom of Dublin is clearly shown by certain entries in the Annals. In 926 a Viking fleet at Linn Duachaill (on the coast of Louth) was commanded by Albdann (O.N.Halfdanr), son of Guthfrith (King of Dublin, 920-933). Later, when part of Albdann’s army was besieged at Ath Cruithne (near Newry), Guthfrith went with his forces to relieve it. In 927 the “foreigners of Linn Duachaill” accompanied Guthfrith when he marched on York. See Steenstrup,op. cit., III., p. 115.

[91]Annals of Ulster,A.D.839, 840, 925, 928, 934.

These colonies were governed by earls, not kings, and their dependency on the kingdom of Dublin is clearly shown by certain entries in the Annals. In 926 a Viking fleet at Linn Duachaill (on the coast of Louth) was commanded by Albdann (O.N.Halfdanr), son of Guthfrith (King of Dublin, 920-933). Later, when part of Albdann’s army was besieged at Ath Cruithne (near Newry), Guthfrith went with his forces to relieve it. In 927 the “foreigners of Linn Duachaill” accompanied Guthfrith when he marched on York. See Steenstrup,op. cit., III., p. 115.

[92]Wexford was also governed by earls. One of them, Accolb, is mentioned in theAnnals of the Four Masters,A.D.928.

[93]The Irish nameLuimnech(hence O.N.Hlymrek) was originally applied to the estuary of the Shannon, but was afterwards confined to the town itself when it had risen to importance under Scandinavian rule.

[94]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.843;War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 8.

[95]Three Fragments of Annals, pp. 167, 144-6.War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, ch. 23.

[96]Three Fragments of Annals, pp. 173-175;Chronicon Scotorum,A.D.887.

[97]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, pp. 9, 66;War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 56.

[98]Annals of Ulster,A.D.845, 922, 929;The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, p. 10;War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 10;Three Fragments of Annals, p. 197.

[99]Annals of Ulster,A.D.924.

[100]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.935;Chronicon Scotorum,A.D.936.

[101]A. Bugge:Sidste Afsnit af Nordboernes Historie i Irland, pp. 254, 255.

[102]War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 41.

[103]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, p. 64.

[104]Steenstrup:op. cit., III., p. 213.

[105]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, p. 65.

[106]Annals of Ulster,A.D.988.

[107]Three Fragments of Annals(A.D.860) record that “two fleets of the Norsemen came into the land of Cearbhall, son of Dunlaing (King of Ossory) to plunder it.” These fleets probably sailed up the Barrow from Waterford harbour. The same annals also mention (p. 129) a Norse chieftain called Rodolbh, who may have been connected with the colony at Waterford. See alsoAnnals of the Four Masters,A.D.888 [891].

[108]Annals of Ulster,A.D.921.

[109]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, p. 71.

[110]The Four Masters record “the plundering of Kildare by the son of Gothfrith (i.e., Olaf) from Waterford” (A.D.926).

[111]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, p. 70.

[112]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, pp. 13, 70.

[113]Smith:History of Waterford, p. 165.

[114]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.846, 864.

[115]Ib., 865.Fragments of Annals, p. 169.Gnimbeoluis the O.N.Grímr Bióla. The Irish “Cinnsiolla” (Nom. Cenn Selach) is probably a translation of O.N.Selshofuth, a word which does not occur as a nickname in Old Norse literature. It was, however, known in Ireland as may be seen from the runic inscription—domnal Selshofoth a soerth (th) eta—on a bronze sword-plate found in Greenmount (Co. Louth). Cf. Marstrander,op. cit.p. 49.

[115]Ib., 865.Fragments of Annals, p. 169.

Gnimbeoluis the O.N.Grímr Bióla. The Irish “Cinnsiolla” (Nom. Cenn Selach) is probably a translation of O.N.Selshofuth, a word which does not occur as a nickname in Old Norse literature. It was, however, known in Ireland as may be seen from the runic inscription—domnal Selshofoth a soerth (th) eta—on a bronze sword-plate found in Greenmount (Co. Louth). Cf. Marstrander,op. cit.p. 49.

[116]The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel, pp. 10, 67.

[117]Cf. Marstrander,op. cit., p. 149.

[118]Cf. Marstrander,op. cit., p. 154. According to him, the O.N.Kerling, “an old woman” in this instance, is a folk-etymological form of Carlinn, the old name for the ford.

[119]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.1062. Cf.Co dunad na Piscarcarla in Cath Ruis na Rig(ed. Hogan) wherePiscarcarlacorresponds to the O.N.fiskikari, “a fisherman.”The wordTrapcharla(“naTrapcharla”) also occurs in theBook of Ballymoteas the name of a people who fought at Troy. It has been suggested that the term was generally used during the ninth and tenth centuries of a Norse colony in Co. Limerick, which colony would acquire a legendary character after the Norsemen had been driven out of Ireland, and would figure, like the Lochlannaigh or Norsemen, in Middle-Irish stories and poems.SeeMiscellany presented to Kuno Meyer, pp. 293, 370.

[119]Annals of the Four Masters,A.D.1062. Cf.Co dunad na Piscarcarla in Cath Ruis na Rig(ed. Hogan) wherePiscarcarlacorresponds to the O.N.fiskikari, “a fisherman.”

The wordTrapcharla(“naTrapcharla”) also occurs in theBook of Ballymoteas the name of a people who fought at Troy. It has been suggested that the term was generally used during the ninth and tenth centuries of a Norse colony in Co. Limerick, which colony would acquire a legendary character after the Norsemen had been driven out of Ireland, and would figure, like the Lochlannaigh or Norsemen, in Middle-Irish stories and poems.

SeeMiscellany presented to Kuno Meyer, pp. 293, 370.

[120]LandnámabókI. ch. 1.

[121]Heimskringla: Saga Óláfs hins helga, chs. 88, 10.

When the Scandinavians had firmly established themselves on the Irish coasts they developed trade to a considerable extent, not only by bringing Ireland into communication with their new settlements in England, but also by opening up commerce with Iceland and Scandinavia, and even with Russia and the East.[122]BeforeA.D.900 at all events, they had been accustomed to visit France from Ireland, and had trafficked with merchants there, using a certain vessel called the ‘Epscop’[123]for measuring their wine. That this branch of their trade was in a flourishing condition in the latter half of the tenth century may be inferred from a contemporary poem in which Brian Borumha is said to have exacted as tribute one hundred and fifty vats of wine from the Norsemen of Dublin, and a barrel of red wine every day from the Limerick settlers.[124]

The Scandinavians also made marked advances on the old methods of trading by building their forts near the large harbours and carrying on from there a continuousoverseas commerce.[125]Previous to this foreign merchants[126]who visited Ireland used to exchange their goods for home produce at the numerousoenachsor fairs held at certain intervals all over the country. Theseoenachscontinued to be celebrated during the Viking period, but it was in the seaport towns, Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Wexford, and Waterford, that the most important trade was centred. Dublin, owing to its splendid position, half way between the Continent and the Scandinavian settlements in Scotland and Iceland, and within easy distance of England, became one of the wealthiest towns in the West. One Irish chronicler gives a glowing account of the treasures carried off from there by the Irish after the battle of Gleann Máma (A.D.1000):

“In that one place were found the greatest quantities of gold, silver, bronze, and precious stones: carbuncle-gems, buffalo horns, and beautiful goblets… much also of various vestures of all colours were found there likewise.”[127]

Dublin is frequently mentioned in the sagas and seems to have been very well known to Icelandic dealers. InOlaf Tryggvason’s Saga(Heimskringla) we read that during the reign of Olaf Cuaran a merchant called Thórir Klakka, who had been on many a Viking expedition, went on a trading voyage to Dublin, “as was usual in those days.”[128]WhenOlaf’sson, Sihtric Silken Beard, was King of Dublin (c. 994) the Icelandic poet Gunnlaug Ormstungu sailed from England to Ireland with merchants who were bound for Dublin.[129]

Eyrbyggia Sagatells[130]of both Thórodd, the owner of a large ship of burden, and Guthleif,[131]who went with other traders on voyages “west to Dublin.” Still more interesting is the account in the same saga of a merchant-ship that came from Dublin in the year 1000 to Snaefellsness in Iceland and anchored there for the summer. There were on board some Irishmen and men from the Sudreyar (Hebrides) but only a few Norsemen. One of the passengers, a woman named Thorgunna, had a large chest containing “bed-clothes beautifully embroidered, English sheets, a silken quilt, and other valuable wares, the like of which were rare in Iceland.”[132]

Limerick is heard of only once in Icelandic sources; a trader named Hrafn was surnamed “the Limerick-farer” (Hlymreks fari)[133]because he had lived for a long time there. TheWar of the Gaedhil with the Gaillgives a detailed description of the spoils gained by the Irish after the battle of Sulcoit (968) whence it would seem that the Limerick Vikings had been engaged in trade with France, Spain and the East.

“They carried away their (i.e., ‘The Vikings’) jewels and their best property, their saddles, beautiful and foreign, their gold and their silver; their beautifully woven cloth of all colours and of all kinds; their satins and their silken cloths, pleasing and variegated, both scarlet and green, and all sorts of cloth in like manner.”[134]

Reference has already been made to the numbers of Irish women captured by Viking raiders; many of these captives were afterwards sold as slaves in Norway and Iceland. InLaxdaela Sagawe hear of Melkorka, an Irish princess, whowas exposed for sale with eleven other women at a market in Norway. The slave-dealer, a man known as Gilli (Ir. Giolla) “the Russian” was in all probability a Scandinavian merchant from Ireland who had carried on trade with Russia. The extent of the slave traffic is further illustrated inKristni Saga(ch. 3) where mention is made of “a fair Irish maid” whom Thangbrandr the priest bought; “and when he came home with her a certain man whom the emperor Otto the Young had put as steward there, wished to take her from him,” but Thangbrandr would not let her go![135]On the other hand, the Irish frequently descended on the Viking strongholds in Ireland and carried off the Norse women and children, “the soft, youthful, bright, matchless girls; blooming, silk-clad young women, and active, large well-formed boys.”[136]Therefore it is not unlikely that the “slaves ignorant of Gaelic” who are stated to have been given as tribute to the Irish kings in the ninth and tenth centuries[137]were really Scandinavian prisoners of war.

An interesting passage in theBook of Elygives an idea of the activity of the Irish merchants at this period: “Certain merchants from Ireland, with merchandise of different kinds and some coarse woollen blankets, arrived at the little town called Grantebrycge (Cambridge) and exposed their wares there.”[138]It is not surprising then that the wealth of Ireland increased rapidly, so much so that Brian Borumha, realising that this was largely due to Viking enterprise, allowed the invaders to remain in their forts on the coast“for the purpose of attracting commerce from other countries to Ireland.”[139]And even after their defeat at Clontarf, the Vikings remained in the coast towns, whence they continued to engage in trade with England and the Continent. Both Giraldus Cambrensis[140]and William of Malmesbury[141]mention the extensive slave-trade carried on between Ireland and England in the twelfth century, Bristol being the chief centre. In addition to the slave traffic, large supplies of wine were imported from France, while the Irish ‘out of gratitude’ (non ingrata) gave hides and skins in exchange.[142]That there was commercial intercourse with Chester and also with the towns round the Bristol Channel may be seen from the names of the citizens of Dublin in the year 1200: Thorkaill, Swein Ivor from Cardiff; Turstinus and Ulf from Bristol; Godafridus and Ricardus from Swansea; Thurgot from Haverfordwest and Harold from Monmouth.[143]About 1170 two ships sailing from England “laden with English cloths and a great store of goods” were attacked and plundered near Dublin by a Norseman, Swein, son of Asleif; and some years later vessels from Britain carrying corn and wine were seized in Wexford harbour by the English invaders.[144]

The historical evidence is amply borne out by the existence of such old Norse loan-words in Irish asmangaire(O.N. mangari, a ‘trader’),marg(O.N. mörk, a ‘mark’), margadh,(O.N. markathr, a ‘market’), andpenning(O.N. penningr, a ‘penny’), and also by certain archæological discoveries. In Scandinavia coins of King Sithric Silken-Beard have been found,[145]while four sets of bronze scales and some weights richly decorated in enamel and gold have been dug up in Ireland (Bangor, Co. Down).[146]To the same period (early ninth century) also belong the scales and weights which were discovered in the great hoard at Islandbridge, near Kilmainham in 1866.[147]With such strong evidence of the influence exerted by the Vikings on the expansion of Irish trade it is not surprising to find that even as late as the seventeenth century the greater part of the merchants of Dublin traced their descent to Olaf Cuaran and the Dublin Norsemen.[148]

Back to Index Next