The story behind Dublin is a fascinating tale of integration, conflict, politics, and economics. The coming of the Vikings and their settlement of Dublin changed the Irish political landscape dramatically. As this settlement grew, the kings of Ireland sought control over its wealth and prosperity. Many Irish and Scandinavian rulers fought over this settlement. To them, Dublin was a method for authority. Through this settlement, Ireland saw the rise of its first and only High King, Brian Boru. However, for the average settlers, it remained a place of integration and co-existence between Irish and Norse culture.
The Settlement of Dublin
The Vikings came for treasure at first, so that they might be able to establish a farmstead back in Scandinavia, but eventually some came to call Ireland their new home. They were called gaill (foreigners) or geinti (heathens) by the Irish and they were definitely seen as outsiders that did not belong. Ireland was heavily based on kinship and ties to these kin groups (túatha) in order to take part in society. The Vikings had none of these connections. Still, they formed a naval base (longphort) at Linn Dúachaill and at Duiblinn in the year AD 841 and began to call Ireland their home as well. It is told as such in the Annals of Ulster:
U841.4: “There was a naval camp at Linn Duachaill from which the peoples and churches of Tethba were plundered. There was a naval camp at Duiblinn from which the Laigin and the Uí Néill were plundered, both states and churches, as far as Sliab Bladma.”
From this longphort, the Vikings continued their raids into Ireland. Initially, Dublin acted as a military base for strictly Viking actions. However, they did not leave the following year. Scandinavian settlers and merchants came abroad as well, even some families and likely livestock. The Viking presence was no longer strictly for plunder and violence, but for a new, better life and an expansion of trade. The vikings were here to stay, for better or for worse.
U842.2: “The heathens still at Duiblinn.”
Irish Resurgence Against the Vikings
Not only did they stay, but they expanded their settlements and It did not take long for the Vikings to become intertwined in the political landscape of Ireland. By the year AD 842 they were already participating in Irish conflicts. Major kings rallied against the Vikings, some of which found success, such as the Uí Néill (a major family group in Ireland – the province of Ulster) in AD 845, followed by many more in AD 848. The Irish were not simply laying down in defeat.
U848.4: “Mael Sechnaill (of the Uí Néill) won a battle against the heathens at Forach in which seven hundred fell.”
U848.5: “Ólchobor, king of Mumu, and Lorcán son of Cellach, with the Laigin, won a battle against the heathens at Sciath Nechtain, in which fell the jarl Tomrair, tanist of the king of Lochlann, and two hundred about him.”
A Contested Settlement
Yet, even Dublin itself was contested. The original settlers of Dublin, Norwegians, were to be confronted by the Danes in the year AD 849 (although these nations had yet to be fully developed). They sought control over the settlement of Dublin, which held great potential for activity in the British Isles as a whole, not just Ireland alone. In the year AD 851, a conflict between the “dark heathens” (Danes) and the “fair-haired foreigners” (Norwegians) is depicted in the Annals of Ulster. This reveals the Irish interest in the situation surrounding the Vikings of Dublin as well as the potential behind Dublin as a seat of power and authority. Also, the different terminology used to distinguish the different Scandinavians shows some deal of integration of behalf of the original Norwegian settlers.
U849.6: “A naval expedition of seven score ships of adherents of the king of the foreigners came to exact obedience from the foreigners who were in Ireland before them, and afterwards they caused confusion in the whole country.”
U851.3: “The dark heathens came to Áth Cliath (Dublin), made a great slaughter of the fair-haired foreigners, and plundered the naval encampment, both people and property. The dark heathens made a raid at Linn Duachaill, and a great number of them were slaughtered.”
Dublin’s Significance
Prior to Dublin, Ireland had no towns and fairly little international trade networks that could compare to that seen in these towns. Although it had begun as a naval camp for raids, it had grown and integrated itself into the Irish landscape and economic system. The control over the wealth passing through Dublin would prove to be the key for the Irish to claim more power than ever before.
As the town swayed back and forth between the two forces of power, it is crucial to keep in mind that the people living in the town generally remained untouched. Dublin was then a pocket of Norse and Irish cultures that were living among one another, but they were also victims to constant change in ruling factions.
Amidst this confusing period of clashing identities, the Irish were able to acknowledge the Vikings as a more substantial issue as they began to impose themselves into the Irish realm. As this played out, the settling Norsemen became more familiar to the Irish, merging into the existing system and becoming a part of their social process. The Irish would soon catch on to this competition over Dublin, since it had grown into a prosperous center for production. The kings of Ireland began to recognize this development and would soon seek to control Dublin themselves and tap into these developments. In AD 902 this competition between the Vikings and Irish rulers began. In AD 917, the Vikings retake Dublin. This pattern continues on multiple accounts.
U902.2: “The heathens were driven from Ireland, i.e. from the fortress of Áth Cliath, by Mael Finnia son of Flannacán with the men of Brega and by Cerball son of Muiricán, with the Laigin; and they abandoned a good number of their ships, and escaped half dead after they had been wounded and broken.”
U917.4: “Sitriuc grandson of Ímar entered Áth Cliath.”
The significance of Dublin as a method for international activities can be seen from the following entry of the Battle of Brunanbruh. From their settlement of Dublin, the Vikings got tied up into the political landscapes of the British Isles as a whole. Their initial presence in Ireland was as foreigners who did not belong, yet now the Vikings had begun to become a more familiar aspect of life in the British Isles, and the Irish also recognized this.
U937.6: “A great, lamentable and horrible battle was cruelly fought between the Saxons and the Norsemen (that is, the Battle of Brunanburh), in which several thousands of Norsemen, who are uncounted, fell, but their king, Amlaíb (of Dublin), escaped with a few followers. A large number of Saxons fell on the other side, but Athelstan, king of the Saxons, enjoyed a great victory.”
The Irish take Charge
Dublin had grown to be a powerful place. It was not only a center of production and wealth at the time, but it was also a key political holding that could be used to gain further authority over Ireland itself. The Uí Néill, led by Mael Sechnaill, took Dublin by storm in AD980. The Uí Néill’s realization of Dublin’s potential is a prime example of the heavy Irish interest in the Viking settlement.
U980.1: “The battle of Temair was won by Mael Sechnaill son of Domnall against the foreigners of Áth Cliath and the Isles, and very great slaughter was inflicted on the foreigners therein, and foreign power ejected from Ireland as a result. There fell therein Ragnall son of Amlaíb, the son of the king of the foreigners, and Conamal, son of a tributary king of the foreigners, and many others.”
U999.8: “Brian, king of Caisel, led an army to Glenn Máma and the foreigners of Áth Cliath, accompanied by the Laigin, came to attack him. And they were defeated and a slaughter was inflicted on them, including Aralt son of Amlaíb and Cuilén son of Eitigén and other nobles of the foreigners. This happened on Thursday the third of the Kalends of January 30 Dec. Brian afterwards entered Áth Cliath, and Áth Cliath was plundered by him.”
However, there was a minor Irish king who was steadily rising in power. Not of the prominent dynastic line of the Uí Néill, Brian “Bórumha” mac Cennétig (Brian Boru) had claimed power in the traditional manner, first as king of his túath (people, in his case the Dál Cais) and eventually king of Munster. Most importantly, he set his eyes on Dublin after obtaining kingship over Munster, seeking higher ambitions upon noticing the potential in this Viking settlement. Once he obtained control over Dublin he managed to get the submission of the Uí Néill king of northern Ireland, Mael Sechnaill, and shortly thereafter he was granted the title “Imperatoris Scotorum” (Emperor of the Irish or High King) in AD 1005 by the Church of Ireland.
Conclusion
In taking advantage of Viking settlements like Dublin and their developments, Brain Boru was able to rise in power and lay claim to something unimaginable prior to this age: a true high kingship. Ireland was able to adapt to these invasions and the traditional system of power and the Irish took these changes and merged them into their own ways. The Viking invasions did not send Ireland into a decline, but rather changed its course of development into opening new opportunities moving forward, of which many later kings would take advantage of like Brian Boru had done.
The Vikings had little lasting political control over the Irish in the end, merely providing native powers with new methods of authority to exploit. Unlike many of the other victims to Viking raids, the Irish seem to have been better suited to handle such incursions, being aquatinted with fractured politics that the Vikings had come from themselves. The Viking storm had settled and a new light shone through battle-torn clouds, a dream of High Kingship was born and Ireland was now equipped with powerful settlements like Dublin.
Viking Age Dublin tells a story of how raids turned to development and integration. In the end, many of the aspects of Viking involvement in Ireland had been to the advantage of the native powers and population while demonstrating the power of two cultures coming together.
Sources:
- Dukes-Knight, Jennifer. “Vikings in Ireland”. Viking History, University of South Florida. Spring 2015.
- Unknown. The Annals of Ulster (AD 431-1201). CELT: The Corpus of Electronic Texts. <link>
- Haywood, John. “Vikings in Ireland I”. The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings. Penguin Books, 1995. pg 72.
- Cover image illustrated by Simon Dick, National Museum of Ireland – it can be found at this link.
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