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Why they came
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As in all great migrations of history, the impetus for the sudden
ex-migration of the people of Scandinavia was a population grown larger
than the ability of its available land resources to produce its food
requirements. Long intercourse with the sea had bridged the food gap with
fish from as far away as the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The abundance of
the sea not only supplemented the land-based food supply but fueled even more population growth in these hardy
northerly people. A break-out was only a matter of time.
Their first landings at Iona
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The first blow fell on the Irish people in 795 AD when fierce and
murderous men from the fjords of western Norway, far to the north, ran
their long low ships up on the beach of the Irish religious colony of
Iona, off the coast of Scotland, in the summer of 795 AD.
They returned again and again until finally, in 806 AD, Cellach, the abbot
of Iona was forced to flee in order to save what was left of his monks,
their precious books and religious objects. They found refuge back in
Ireland among the family of their founder, Colum Cille, noble born of the
royal Ui Neill, an ancient Celtic clan.
On Ui Neill land at Kells, Cellach and his surviving band of monks,
continued the work of their founder from whom we received our national
treasure, the Books of Kells, perhaps some or all of itself saved from the
Vikings at Iona.
How they got their
name
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The Scandinavian word for a bay is "vik". Vikings were "men of the bay",
perhaps because they colonized a choice bay at the mouth of a navigable
river, defended it and used as their base for inland raiding.
Such a bay
was Dublin bay, at the mouth of the Liffey where they built and defended
their most important colony in Ireland. Another was the bay and the river
Seine from where they dominated a wide area which would become their most
powerful and successful colony, known as Normandy, the land of the North
Men.
They built
the first Irish towns
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While they wrought much destruction they did build towns, imparted skills
of carpentry and seamanship and developed new trade routes to the
continent. Scandinavian archaeology has produced a vast treasure trove of
Irish enamel and gilt ornaments, the loot of countless Viking expeditions.
While they carried off our gilt and enameled sacred vessels, the Vikings,
being pagans, had little use or appreciation of our valuable manuscripts.
Most were burnt or thrown in the lakes by the raiders. Some survived for a
while in the newly developed defensive round towers, until the Vikings
invariable managed to burn the people and their belongings inside in what
really proved to be less a fortress and more of an efficient chimney. The
shells of these round towers endured to become a national signature item.
They left
Ireland bereft of its
cultural treasures
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The Irish, however, somehow managed to save a precious few treasures, like
the Book of Kells. But sadly, alongside the loss of Irish valuables
carried away as loot, the carrying away of many more, for safe keeping on
the continent left Ireland bereft of its ancient material and artistic
wealth by the end of the 9th century.
Throughout the tenth century the Irish struggled with the hordes of
northern invaders. They turned to monumental works in more enduring and
less portable stone. From this period we get another signature item, the
high crosses.
The
Irish fight back - Brian Boru
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They gradually became hardened like their foe and learned to use the
weapons and martial arts of the Norsemen. Irish Kings became more
aggressive themselves. Encouraged by successes against the foreigners,
when they resisted in unison, they started to see the need for more unity.
But unity meant struggle to determine who they were going to be united
under. From a small southern dynasty called Dal Cais, on the banks of the
Shannon, near Limerick, there emerged Brian Boru the ultimate champion of
this struggle to become the first effective High King of all Ireland.
The Battle of
Clontarf
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The final trial of strength to determine whether Ireland would become
another Normandy or re-establish her ancient Irishness took place on Good
Friday, 1014 AD at Clontarf outside the walls of the Viking city of
Dublin.
The Irish had learned a lot from the men from the north countries. Both
sides now fought with similar weapons. On this day the student defeated
the master. Though Brian Boru died, this battle marked the end of Norse
power in Ireland.
The Viking Legacy
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They too learned a lot from the Irish. They had become
largely Christian. They left us a legacy of trade and commerce, our first
cities and coinage, many place names, and a continuing struggle for High
Kingly supremacy. The great seats of monastic learning were no more but
Ireland was no longer a simple rural economy, it was now free again and
opened up to the outside world for trade and culture exchange, which
resulted in an age of progress and renaissance for Ireland in the 11th and
12th centuries.
The Irish and the Vikings were to meet again. The Normans were the Vikings
who had decided to stay in the Seine Valley, Normandy. Having first
conquered England in 1066 they arrived back in Ireland in 1169. Perhaps
their previous prolonged stay had something to do with them becoming "more
Irish than the Irish themselves".
© Pat Flannery 1996
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