FOOTNOTES

FOOTNOTES[122]See the map of the Irish Trade Routes in Mrs. J. R. Green’sThe Old Irish World.[123]“Epscop fina” in the sea-laws,i.e., “a vessel for measuring wine used by the merchants of the Norsemen and the Franks.” SeeSanas Cormaic(Cormac’s Glossary) compiled c.A.D.900. (Anecdota from Irish ManuscriptsIV., ed. Kuno Meyer.)[124]Cf. O’Curry:Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, II., p. 125. For a transcript of the poem see A. Bugge:Vesterlandenes Indflydelse paa Nordboernes i Vikingetiden, p. 183.[125]Cf.Laxdaela Saga, ch. 21.[126]According to an ancient poem on the great fair of Carman (Co. Kildare) foreign merchants visited this fair and sold there “articles of gold and silver, ornaments and beautiful clothes.” For other references see Joyce:A Social History of Ancient Ireland, Vol. II., pp. 429-431; O’Curry:Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, III., p. 531.[127]War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 115.[128]Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar(Heimskringla), ch. 51.[129]Gunnlaugs Saga Ormstungu, ch. 8.[130]Eyrbyggia Saga, ch. 29.[131]Ib., ch. 64.[132]Ib., ch. 50.[133]Landnámabók, II., ch. 21, etc.[134]War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 79.[135]Kristni Saga, ch. 3.[136]War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 79.[137]The Book of Rights(Leabhar na gCeart), pp. 87, 181. Ed. J. O’Donovan.[138]Liber Eliensis, (ed. Gale) I., ch. XLII.[139]Keating: History of Ireland, III., p. 271. (Ed. Dinneen). Keating probably derived his information from Giraldus Cambrensis:Topographia Hibernica, D. III., ch. LIII.[140]Expugnatio Hibernica, I., ch. XVIII.[141]De Vita S. Wulstani, II., 20.(See Cunningham:Growth of English Industry and Commerce, I., p. 86.)[142]Giraldus Cambrensis:Topographia Hibernica, I., ch. VI.[143]A. Bugge:Contributions to the History of the Norsemen in Ireland, Part III.[144]Giraldus Cambrensis:Expugnatio Hibernica, I., ch. III.[145]A. Bugge:Vesterlandenes Indflydelse paa Nordboernes i Vikingetiden, pp. 300-304.[146]G. Coffey,op. cit., p. 91.[147]Ib., p. 89.[148]Duald Mac Firbis:On the Fomorians and the Norsemen(ed. A. Bugge), p. 11.

[122]See the map of the Irish Trade Routes in Mrs. J. R. Green’sThe Old Irish World.

[123]“Epscop fina” in the sea-laws,i.e., “a vessel for measuring wine used by the merchants of the Norsemen and the Franks.” SeeSanas Cormaic(Cormac’s Glossary) compiled c.A.D.900. (Anecdota from Irish ManuscriptsIV., ed. Kuno Meyer.)

[124]Cf. O’Curry:Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, II., p. 125. For a transcript of the poem see A. Bugge:Vesterlandenes Indflydelse paa Nordboernes i Vikingetiden, p. 183.

[125]Cf.Laxdaela Saga, ch. 21.

[126]According to an ancient poem on the great fair of Carman (Co. Kildare) foreign merchants visited this fair and sold there “articles of gold and silver, ornaments and beautiful clothes.” For other references see Joyce:A Social History of Ancient Ireland, Vol. II., pp. 429-431; O’Curry:Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish, III., p. 531.

[127]War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 115.

[128]Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar(Heimskringla), ch. 51.

[129]Gunnlaugs Saga Ormstungu, ch. 8.

[130]Eyrbyggia Saga, ch. 29.

[131]Ib., ch. 64.

[132]Ib., ch. 50.

[133]Landnámabók, II., ch. 21, etc.

[134]War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 79.

[135]Kristni Saga, ch. 3.

[136]War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, p. 79.

[137]The Book of Rights(Leabhar na gCeart), pp. 87, 181. Ed. J. O’Donovan.

[138]Liber Eliensis, (ed. Gale) I., ch. XLII.

[139]Keating: History of Ireland, III., p. 271. (Ed. Dinneen). Keating probably derived his information from Giraldus Cambrensis:Topographia Hibernica, D. III., ch. LIII.

[140]Expugnatio Hibernica, I., ch. XVIII.

[141]De Vita S. Wulstani, II., 20.(See Cunningham:Growth of English Industry and Commerce, I., p. 86.)

[141]De Vita S. Wulstani, II., 20.

(See Cunningham:Growth of English Industry and Commerce, I., p. 86.)

[142]Giraldus Cambrensis:Topographia Hibernica, I., ch. VI.

[143]A. Bugge:Contributions to the History of the Norsemen in Ireland, Part III.

[144]Giraldus Cambrensis:Expugnatio Hibernica, I., ch. III.

[145]A. Bugge:Vesterlandenes Indflydelse paa Nordboernes i Vikingetiden, pp. 300-304.

[146]G. Coffey,op. cit., p. 91.

[147]Ib., p. 89.

[148]Duald Mac Firbis:On the Fomorians and the Norsemen(ed. A. Bugge), p. 11.

The almost complete absence of any allusion to Irish ships[149]during the eighth and ninth centuries shows that at this time the Irish had no warships to drive back the powerful naval forces of the Vikings. Meeting with no opposition on sea the invaders were able to anchor their fleets in the large harbours, and afterwards to occupy certain important positions along the coasts. In this connection it is interesting to note that the Irish wordlongphort(a ‘shipstead’; later, ‘a camp’) is used for the first time in theAnnals of Ulsterwith reference to the Norse encampments at Dublin and Linn-Duachaill (840); hence it has been concluded that the early Norselong-phortswere not exactly fortified camps, but ‘ships drawn up and protected on the landside, probably by a stockaded earthwork.’[150]

The Annalists tell how, when the Vikings were expelled from Dublin in 902, they fled across the sea to England, leaving large numbers of their ships behind them. It was probably the capture of these vessels that impressed upon the Irish the advantages of this new method of warfare, for they now began to build ships and to prepare to meetthe Vikings in their own element.[151]In 913 a “new fleet,” manned by Ulstermen, attacked the Norsemen off the coast of Man but was defeated.[152]Another Ulster fleet commanded by Muirchertach mac Neill, King of Aileach, sailed to the Hebrides in 939 and carried off much spoil and booty.[153]Moreover, the Irish seem to have imitated the Scandinavian practice of “drawing” or carrying their light vessels over land to the lakes and rivers in the interior of the island. Mention is made of Domhnall, son of Muirchertach, who “took the boats from the river Bann on to Lough Neagh, and over the river Blackwater upon Lough Erne, and afterwards upon Lough Uachtair.”[154]

The men of Munster also had their navy, which they organised according to Norse methods[155]by compelling each district in the different counties to contribute ten ships to it. Thus by the middle of the tenth century they were able to put a formidable fleet to sea. When Cellachan of Cashel (d. 954) was captured by the Vikings and brought to Dublin,he sent messengers to the Munstermen bidding them to defend their territory: “and afterwards,” he said, “go to the chieftains of my fleet and bring them with you to Sruth na Maeile (Mull of Cantyre), and if I am carried away from Ireland, let the men of Munster take their ships and follow me.”[156]The chronicle goes on to give a vivid description of the great naval battle which followed: the Vikings under the leadership of Sihtric, a prince from Dublin, took up their position in the Bay of Dundalk, where the “barques and swift ships of the men of Munster” met them. The Irish ships were arranged according to the territories they represented: those of Corcolaigdi and Ui Echach (Co. Cork) were placed farthest south; next came the fleets of Corcoduibne and Ciarraige (Co. Kerry), and lastly those of Clare. When the Munstermen saw Cellachan, who had been bound and fettered to the mast by Sihtric’s orders, they made gallant attempts to release him; some of them leaped upon “the rowbenches and strong oars of the mighty ships” of the Norsemen, while others threw tough ropes of hemp across the prows to prevent them from escaping. Failbhe, King of Corcoduibne, brought his ship alongside Sihtric’s, and with his sword succeeded in cutting the ropes and fetters that were round the King, but was himself slain immediately afterwards. The battle ended in victory for the Irish: the Norsemen were forced to leave the harbour with all their ships, but “they carried neither King nor chieftain with them.”[157]

TheWar of the Gaedhil with the Gaillrecords still more victories for the Munster fleet during the reign of Brian Borumha. In 984 he assembled “a great marine fleet” on Lough Derg and took three hundred boats up theShannon to Lough Ree[158]and again in 1001 sailed with his fleet to Athlone.[159]But the greatest triumph of all was in 1005, when Brian, then at the height of his power, “sent forth a naval expedition composed of the foreigners of Dublin and Waterford and the Ui Ceinnselaigh (i.e., the men of Wexford) and almost all the men of Erin, such of them as were fit to go to sea; and they levied royal tribute from the Saxons and the Britons and from the men of Lennox in Scotland and the inhabitants of Argyle.”[160]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the names of a number of Frisian sailors who fought with the English in a naval battle against the Vikings (A. an. 897). In the same way the Irish ships must have been manned to a large extent by Norse mercenaries or by the Gaill-Gaedhil, for practically all the shipping terms introduced into Irish in the tenth and eleventh centuries are of Norse origin.[161]This is evident from the following list:—

The large number of loan-words from Old Norse which occur in Old and Middle Irish indicate clearly the extent and character of Scandinavian influence in Ireland. They are therefore interesting from an historical point of view, for they confirm, and sometimes supplement, the evidence of Irish and Icelandic sources, that the relations existing between the two peoples were largely of a friendly character.

As the subject has already been fully dealt with by Celtic scholars,[163]only the more important loan words are given here:—

Other interesting loan words are:—

Certain old Norse words and phrases which are to be found in Irish texts also go to show the familiarity of the Irish with the Norse language. They may be mentioned here, although they are not loan-words, but rather attempts on the part of the Irish authors to reproduce the speech of the foreigners:—

Considering the close connection between Ireland and Iceland, especially in the tenth and eleventh centuries, it is surprising that so few Gaelic words found their way into Old Norse literature. The only Norse words that can be said, with any certainty, to be derived from Irish, are the following:—

A number of the place-names mentioned in theLandnámabók[175]contain a Gaelic element which, with one or two exceptions, is present in the form of a personal name. Among these Icelandic place-names we may note the following:—

Beyond a few meagre allusions the Irish Annals throw no light on the progress of Christianity among the “foreigners” in Ireland during the ninth century. Fortunately, however, the Icelandic Sagas and theLandnámabókhave preserved some interesting details concerning a small number of the Norse settlers in Iceland, who had previously come under the influence of Christianity in Ireland and in the Western Islands of Scotland. As far as we can gather from these sources the new faith seems at first to have made but little headway; heathenism retained a strong hold on the majority of the Norse people, and there can be little doubt that this form of religion was extensively practised in Ireland during the Viking age. Evidence of this is to be found inThe War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill, which describes how Authr, wife of Turgéis, sat on the high altar of the church in Clonmacnois, and gave audiences as a prophetess.[176]In this instance the high altar would seem to have corresponded to theseithr hjallror platform which it was customary to erect in Icelandic houses when avölvaor prophetess was called in to foretell the future.[177]Some writers[178]also pointto the numerous raids on churches and religious houses as a proof of the Vikings’ hostility to Christianity, but these attacks were much more likely to have originated in the amount of treasure which the raiders knew to be stored in these places. It is rather in this light, too, that we must regard Turgéis’ expulsion of the abbot Farannan from Armagh (in 839), and his subsequent usurpation of the abbacy,[179]than as an attempt to stamp out Christianity and establish heathenism in its stead.

Yet, at the same time, the Norsemen must have come into close contact with the religion of the “White Christ” through their intercourse with the Irish. Indeed, an entry in theAnnals of Ulster(A.D.872), referring to the death of Ivárr the Boneless, implies that this famous Viking died a Christian.[180]The records are silent on this point with regard to Olaf the White, although he was related by marriage to Ketill Flatnose, a famous chief in the Hebrides, all of whose family, with the exception of his son, Björn the Easterner, adopted Christianity. Olaf’s wife, Authr, daughter of Ketill, was one of the most zealous of these early Norse converts: “She used to pray at Crossknolls, where she had crosses erected, because she was baptized, and was a good Christian.” Before her death she gave orders that she was to be buried on the seashore, between high and low water-mark, because she did not wish to lie in unconsecrated ground. TheLandnámabókalso says that for some time after her death her kinsfolk reverenced these knolls, but in course of time their faith became corrupt, and in the sameplace they built a temple and offered up sacrifices.[181]We hear, too, of Orlygr the Old, who had been fostered by Bishop Patrick in the Hebrides. When he was setting out for Iceland the Bishop gave him “wood for building a church, a plenarium, an iron penny and some consecrated earth to be put under the corner pillars,” and asked him to dedicate the church to St. Columba. On the voyage a great storm arose. Orlygr prayed to St. Patrick that he might reach Iceland in safety, promising, as a thanksgiving, to call the place in which he should land by the saint’s name.[182]Mention is also made of several other Christians from the British Isles: Jörundr, Helgi Bjóla;[183]Thorkell—son of Svarkell from Caithness—“who prayed before the cross, ever good to old men, ever good to young men;”[184]Ásólf,[185]Ketill—grandson of Ketill Flatnose—who was surnamedhinn fiflski(‘the foolish’) because he adhered to Christianity.[186]A long time after (c.A.D.997) Thangbrandr the Priest found descendants of Ketill’s in Iceland, “all of whom had been Christians from father to son.”[187]Considering the missionary ardour of the Irish at this period it is curious that no priests accompanied these early settlers to Iceland. This may have been due to scepticism as to the sincerity of these converts; such, at least, is the impression received from the Irish annals and chronicles, in which the Norsemen are almost invariably referred to as ‘heathens’ and ‘pagans.’ The result was that the influence of Christianity declined in Iceland;“some of those who came from west-the-sea remained Christians until the day of their death” says theLandnámabók, “but their families did not always retain the faith, for some of their sons erected temples and offered sacrifices, and the land was wholly heathen for nearly one hundred and twenty years.”[188]

In the transition from heathenism to Christianity opposing beliefs were sometimes held at the same time; the Viking continued to have recourse to Thor even after he had been baptized. Helgi the Lean, son of Eyvindr the Easterner, and Rafarta, daughter of King Cearbhall of Ossory, “was very mixed in his faith; he believed in Christ, but he invoked Thor for seafaring and brave deeds. When he came in sight of Iceland he asked Thor where he should settle down;” and when he had built his house, “he made a large fire near every lake and river, thus sanctifying all the land between… Helgi believed in Christ, and therefore named his house after Him.”[189]We also read that “Örlygr the Old and his family trusted in Columba,”[190]but whether they abandoned all other belief in the Christian faith and fell into Paganism is not quite clear. Again, in the account of the naval battle between Danes and Norsemen in Carlingford Lough (A.D.852) the annalist describes how “Lord Horm,” leader of the Danish forces, advised his men to “pray fervently” to St. Patrick, “the archbishop and head of the saints of Erin,” whose churches and monasteries the Norsemen had plundered and burned. So the Danes put themselves under the protection of the saint: “Let our protector,” they cried, “be the holy Patrick and the God who is lord over him also, and let our spoils and our wealth be given to his church.” After the battle ambassadors from theárd-rífound the Danes seated round a great fire, cooking their food in cauldrons—whichwere supported on the dead bodies of the Norsemen, while near by was “a trench full of gold and silver to give to Patrick; for the Danes,” adds the chronicler, “were a people with a kind of piety; they could for a while refrain from meat and from women.”[191]

This confusion of the two religions is also illustrated in the crosses, symbols of Christianity, which the Vikings erected in the north of England and in the Isle of Man to the memory of their kinsfolk. On the Gosforth cross in Cumberland a representation of the Crucifixion—obviously influenced by Celtic designs—is found side by side with a figure of the god Vitharr slaying the Wolf, a scene described in Vafthrúthnismál; while on the western side of the cross is portrayed the punishment of Loki.[192]A fragment of a cross in the same locality shows Thor fishing for the Mithgarthsormr,[193]a subject which is also treated on a cross slab in Kirk Bride Parish Church, Isle of Man.[194]Among the many other Celtic crosses in Man are four upon which are carved pictures from the story of Sigurthr Fáfnisbani: Sigurthr roasting the dragon’s heart on the fire and cooling his fingers in his mouth, his steed Grani and the tree with the talking birds; another figure has been identified with Loki throwing stones at the Otter.[195]There are besides twenty-six crosses with Runic inscriptions, six of which bring out the Viking connection with the Celtic Church. On one the Ogam alphabet is scratched, and the same monument bears a Runic inscription which tells us that“Mal Lumkun (Ir. Mael Lomchon) raised this cross to his foster (mother) Malmuru (Ir. Maelmuire), daughter of Tufgal (Ir. Dubhgall), whom Athisl had to wife.” To this the rune writer adds: “It is better to leave a good foster-son than a bad son.”[196]Crosses were also erected by Mail Brikti (Ir. Mael Brigde), son of Athakan (Ir. Aedhacan) the smith;[197]by Thorleifr Hnakki in remembrance of his son Fiak (Ir. Fiacca);[198]and by an unknown Norseman to the memory of his wife Murkialu (Ir. Muirgheal).[199]Another cross-slab commemorates Athmiul (? Ir. Cathmaoil), wife of Truian (i.e., the Pictish nameDruian), son of Tufkal,[200]while still another stone contains a fragment of a prayer to Christ, and the Irish saints, Malaki (Malachy), Bathrik (Patrick), and Athanman (Adamnan).[201]

The advance of Christianity during the tenth century may be attributed to a large extent to the prevalence of the practice known asprime-signingor marking with the sign of the cross. According toEyrbyggja Saga(ch. 50), this was “a common custom among merchants and mercenary soldiers in Christian armies, because those men who were ‘prime-signed’ could associate with Christians as well as heathens, while retaining that faith which they liked best.” Nearly all the Norse kings who reigned in Dublin during this century seem to have accepted Christianity. When Gothfrith plundered Armagh in 919 “he spared the church and the houses of prayer, with their company of culdees (ceile-de) and the sick.”[202]We may assumethat Sihtric Gale, Gothfrith’s brother (or cousin) was also a Christian, since he formed a friendly alliance with Aethelstan, who gave him his sister in marriage.[203]In 943 Olaf Cuaran was baptized, and in the same year Rögnvaldr, another Norse prince, was confirmed.[204]After the battle of Tara (980) Olaf went on pilgrimage to Iona, where he died “after penance and a good life.”[205]His daughter and grandson were called by distinctively Irish Christian names—Maelmuire[206](servant of Mary), and Gilla Ciarain[207](servant of St. Ciaran). We may also note the name Gilla-Padraig which occurs in the royal family of Waterford[208]and the half-Irish name of a priest in Clonmacnois, Connmhach Ua Tomrair, who must have been of Norse extraction.[209]

But all traces of heathenism in Ireland had not disappeared by the end of the tenth century. An interesting relic was Thor’s ring (Ir.fail Tomhair) which was carried off from Dublin by King Maelsechnaill II. in 994.[210]This must have been thedóm-hringr, so frequently alluded to in Icelandic literature. It was a ring of silver or gold, about twenty ounces in weight, which lay upon an altar in the temple, except during ceremonies, when it was worn on the priest’s arm.[211]Upon this ring oaths were usually sworn.[212]That it was connected with the worship of Thor is clear from a passage in theLandnámabókdescribing a place calledThorsnes in Iceland: “there still stands Thor’s stone, on which were broken the backs of those men who were about to be sacrificed, and close by is thedómhringrwhere the men were condemned to death.”[213]Even as late as the yearA.D.1000 we hear of Thor’s wood (caill Tomair) north of Dublin, which was laid waste by Brian Borumha after the battle of Gleann Mama.[214]

The battle of Clontarf (A.D.1014) is frequently represented as a great fight between Pagan and Christian, but this point of view is hardly confirmed by the historical facts. It is true that the Norsemen numbered among their supporters such prominent upholders of heathenism as Sigurthr, earl of Orkney, and Broder—who had been a mass-deacon, but “now worshipped fiends, and was of all men most skilled in sorcery,” yet it must be remembered that the Leinstermen, under their king Maelmordha, also formed part of the Norse army on the same occasion. Moreover, both the Norse and Irish accounts of the battle agree that Gormflaith, who had been the wife of Brian Borumha, inspired by hatred of Brian, was mainly responsible for the renewal of hostilities between the two peoples. Her son, Sihtric Silken Beard, who was most active in mobilising the Norse troops, must have been a Christian, since the coins which were minted in Dublin during his reign are stamped with the sign of the cross. In 1028 he visited Rome, and there is record of another visit some years later.[215]His death is entered in the Annals under the year 1042, in which same year his daughter, a nun in an Irish convent, also died.[216]

It was probably on his return to Dublin from Rome in1036 that Sihtric gave “a place on which to build a church of the Blessed Trinity,” afterwards known as Christchurch Cathedral, and “contributed gold and silver wherewith to build it.”[217]

The Norsemen would seem to have regarded the Irish Church with no friendly feelings. The first Norse bishop, Dunan or Donatus, was on intimate terms with Lanfranc, and when the next bishop, Patrick, was chosen by the clergy and people of Dublin, he was sent, with a letter professing their “bounden obedience” to Lanfranc for consecration (A.D.1074).[218]His successors, Donatus (d. 1095), Samuel (d. 1121), and Gregory (d. 1162) were also consecrated at Canterbury, and acknowledged the supremacy of the archbishop. An interesting letter addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury by the priests and citizens of Dublin in 1121 is still extant: “You know,” the letter runs, “that the bishops of Ireland, more especially the Bishop of Armagh, is extremely angry with us because we will not submit to his decrees, and because we always wish to remain under your authority.”[219]

Bishoprics were founded at Waterford and Wexford later than in Dublin. Malcus, the first Bishop of Waterford, was consecrated at Canterbury, and on his arrival in Waterford in 1096, he began to build a church, dedicated, like that of Dublin, to the Holy Trinity.[220]

Some years later we hear of a Bishop of Limerick, Gilla or Gilbert, who does not seem to have been consecrated in England, but who was in close touch with the Archbishopof Canterbury.[221]He it was who convoked the synod at Rathbresail, at which it was decided to divide Ireland into dioceses: “there,” says Keating, “the sees and dioceses of the bishops of Ireland were regulated; Dublin was excluded, because it was not customary for its bishop to receive consecration except from the Archbishop of Canterbury.”[222]Limerick and Waterford were placed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Cashel, but this decree seems to have been ignored by the people of Limerick, for they elected their next bishop, Patrick, in the ordinary way and sent him to England for consecration.[223]It is uncertain whether the Waterford people obeyed, as the records merely mention the names of the succeeding bishops.

A still more important synod was held at Kells in 1132. There the decision of the previous synod regarding the division of the country into dioceses was ratified, and archbishoprics were established at Dublin, Armagh, Cashel, and Tuam. Henceforth the bishops of Dublin, Limerick, and Waterford were consecrated in Ireland, and this marked the close of the connection between Canterbury and the Celtic Church.

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