Mayo Theme -
9
Vikings
The arrival of the Scandinavian warriors to
Irish shores marked not only the immediate well
documented dangers; it also marked the beginnings
of a socio-economic restructuring that resonates to
the present day. A rural society devoid of urban
settlement would, before the arrival of the Normans
in 1069, see the emergence of towns and the
shifting of power from west to east.
According to the Annals of Ulster, the first
Viking raid occurred with the burning of Rechru
(Rathlin Island) over 1200 years ago. This event,
one of many documented has given the Scandinavians
a reputation that would be akin to that of members
of the Al Quaeda today. The reports of bloody
slaughter, plundering and laying waste to several
island monastic communities continue even to this
day to give the Vikings a bad press. There can be
no doubt that the initial raiding and probing
expeditions were indeed fierce as the Vikings
perhaps came up against equally stiff opposition
from the native population. Before the Vikings had
first arrived in Ireland, the Irish themselves were
well practised in the art of raiding the
territories of their rivals. The Vikings merely
added to the intensity of this well-established
practice. Many monasteries were attacked repeatedly
but recovered quickly and usually continued to
flourish. At first sight it seems that the target
of these raids was the wealth of ornate gilt-bronze
shrines, altar plate, halidoms and personal
artefacts now sometimes discovered in the Viking
age graves of the Norse. These trinkets although
prestigious in their own right may not have been
the principal reason for the early incursions.
It may be that the larger monasteries
had become by the late pre Viking Age proto-towns,
and whilst it would be wrong to convey the
impression that their primary function was similar
to the urban centres of the later periods,
nevertheless, they would have been hubs for
development.
The monasteries with their continental
connections could initiate and stimulate new
technologies. The wealth of the monasteries would
have given stimulus to craftsmanship and population
growth.
This relatively concentrated population would
have afforded the Vikings a source for a valuable
commodity: slaves. Although slave taking was part
of the early raids it reached significant
proportions later when in 869 AD Amlaib captured
over a thousand people in Armagh. Many of these
found their way to Scandanavia and Iceland. In many
of the Icelandic sagas Irish slave women are
mentioned along with the genealogies of the
Icelandic heroes. The initial Viking method of hit
and run raids then returning to the homeland with
the booty was followed in the 840s with the raiding
parties beginning to over-winter in specially
constructed camps. These bases known from the
annals as longphort were designed to protect the
ships in defended enclosures.
Although Mayo has to date, very little evidence
of Viking activity this situation is by no means
static. At Cushalogurt in the east of Clew Bay a
large Viking silver hoard containing fine examples
of broad-band armrings was found. The name
Cushalogurt may
have derived from the name for the fortified
enclosure longphurt.
Much of the Viking-style material found in the
countryside seems to have fallen into Irish hands
by way of trade, booty or tribute. Indeed the
Vikings were defeated in many battles and at
Cushalogurt the Umhall defeated them in 812. The
following year the Norse took revenge and
slaughtered the local chieftain.
In time Vikings and natives, for their mutual
benefit, entered into alliances to participate in
the never-ending dynastic feuds on the island.
Viking technologies, ship building and trade were
all attractive attributes that the Irish adopted.
The Vikings opened up their eastern trade routes
via Scandinavia to the Irish. Silver from the east
sometimes in the form of coins with Islamic
inscriptions was brought to Ireland to further
enhance the wealth of the strong Irish rulers. The
silver hoard found at Cushalogurt is one of many
tenth century hoards that attests to the wealth
that trade and possibly tribute brought to these
strong Irish kings. The Irish adopted the ounce
weight measurement that was in use in Europe over
the native system of weights, thus signalling their
participation in international commerce. By 995 AD
the first Irish coins had been struck by the
Hiberno-Norse king, Sitric, emphasising the
commercial importance of Viking settlements.
On the political front it seems that
intermarriage was an important part of the
integration process. One example of this is where
Gormlaith the daughter of Murchad mac Finn, King of
Leinster, was married to Amlaíb
Cúarán (Olafr kváran) bearing
him a son, Sitriuc Silkbeard (Sigtryggr
silkiskegg). Gormlaith was also married to Brian
Boruma and later after he had regained the
high-kingship to Máel Sechnaill mac
Domnaill. Máel Maire the daughter of
Amlaíb Cúarán was married to
Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill until her death
in 1021. Sitriuc Silkbeard married Sláine, a
daughter of Brian Boruma. These unions show clearly
that the Norse were very much a part of the
fractured polity of early Ireland. Indeed, they
were at the very heart of the power struggles of
this period. The nickname of Amlaíb
Cúarán 'Olaf the Sandal' brings us
into contact with the international motif for
kingship, the ritual wearing of a single sandal.
This is an appropriate part of the reintergrating
techniques in terms of initiation,
healing and inaugaration.
It's interesting to note also that Amlaíb
Cúarán retired to Iona
after his defeat at Tara in 980, where he died the
following year. The abbot of Iona, Fiachra Ua
hArtacáin had the same surname as the chief
poet of Ireland, Cináed who in poetry had
praised the strengths of Amlaíb.
There can be no doubt that by the late eleventh
century the Norse had influenced the Irish in many
ways but were equally exposed to and stimulated by
the Irish.
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