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06 - Vikings by Allen Mawer · Vikings

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  Speaker 1: Chapter five of the Vikings by Ellenlauer. This LibriVox recording
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  Speaker 1: is in the public domain recording by Kevin Johnson, Chapter
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  Speaker 1: five The Vikings in Ireland to the Battle of Clontarf,
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  Speaker 1: Bracket ten fourteen and a bracket. In the History of
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  Speaker 1: the Vikings in Ireland, we have seen how the attempt
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  Speaker 1: made by Turges to bring all Ireland under one ruler
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  Speaker 1: came to naught by his death in eight forty five.
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  Speaker 1: At first this seems to have thrown the Norsemen into confusion,
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  Speaker 1: and we hear of a series of defeats. Then in
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  Speaker 1: eight forty nine the invasions developed a new phase. Hitherto,
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  Speaker 1: while the Irish had been weakened by much internicine warfare,
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  Speaker 1: their enemies had worked with one mind and heart. Now
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  Speaker 1: we read of a naval expedition of seven score of
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  Speaker 1: the foreigners coming to exercise power over the foreigners who
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  Speaker 1: were before them them, so that they disturbed all Ireland Afterwards.
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  Speaker 1: This means that the Danes were now taking an active
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  Speaker 1: part in the invasions of Ireland, and we soon find
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  Speaker 1: them disputing the supremacy with the earlier Norse settlers. A
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  Speaker 1: full and picturesque account of The struggle is preserved for
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  Speaker 1: us in the second of the three Fragments of Irish Annals,
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  Speaker 1: copied by Dugald Macpherbis. Unfortunately, the chronology of these annals
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  Speaker 1: is in a highly confused state, and it is often
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  Speaker 1: difficult to trace the exact sequence of events. When the
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  Speaker 1: Norsemen first saw the approaching fleet, they were much alarmed.
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  Speaker 1: Some said it was reinforcements from Norway, but others with
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  Speaker 1: keener insight said they were Danes who were coming to
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  Speaker 1: hurry and plunder. A swift vessel was despatched to find
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  Speaker 1: out who they were, and when the steers man called
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  Speaker 1: out to them, inquiring from what land they came and
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  Speaker 1: whether as friend or foe, the only answer was a
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  Speaker 1: shower of arrows. A fierce battle ensued, in which the
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  Speaker 1: Danes killed thrice their own number and carried off the
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  Speaker 1: woman folk and property of the Norsemen. In eight fifty
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  Speaker 1: one they plundered the Norse settlements at Dublin and Dundalk,
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  Speaker 1: but in the next year the Norsemen attacked them in
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  Speaker 1: Carlingford Louch. At first the Danes were defeated, but then
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  Speaker 1: their leader cunningly exhorted his men to secure by their
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  Speaker 1: prayers and alms the patronage of Saint Patrick, who was
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  Speaker 1: incensed against the Norsemen because of the many evil deeds
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  Speaker 1: they had wrought in Erin. The battle was renewed and
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  Speaker 1: the Danes were victorious. After the battle, they made rich
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  Speaker 1: gifts to Saint Patrick. For the Danes were a people
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  Speaker 1: with a kind of piety, they could for a time
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  Speaker 1: refrain from meat and from women. After the fight we
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  Speaker 1: learned that the Danes cooked their meat in cauldrons supported
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  Speaker 1: on the bodies of their dead foes. The Danes now
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  Speaker 1: helped Kerbal, king of Osari, against the Norsemen who were
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  Speaker 1: harrying Munster. And henceforward we hear again and again how
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  Speaker 1: the various Irish factions made use of the dissensions among
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  Speaker 1: the invaders to further their own ends. Matters were further
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  Speaker 1: complicated by the fact that many of the Irish forsook
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  Speaker 1: their Christian baptism and joined the Norsemen in their plundering.
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  Speaker 1: These recreant Irish were known as the Guile Guide Hill
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  Speaker 1: Bracket i e. The Foreign Irish and the Bracket, and
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  Speaker 1: played an important part in the wars of the next
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  Speaker 1: few years. The Guile a guide Hill were undoubtedly a
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  Speaker 1: race of mixed Norse and Gaelic stock, and we must
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  Speaker 1: not imagine that they sprung suddenly into existence at this time.
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  Speaker 1: Long before this, the Norsemen and the Guiles must have
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  Speaker 1: had considerable peaceful intercourse with one another in their very settlements,
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  Speaker 1: and in accordance with well established Scandinavian custom. It would
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  Speaker 1: seem that many of the Irish were brought up as
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  Speaker 1: foster children in Norse households, and must soon have learned
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  Speaker 1: to accept their religion and customs. There was also extensive
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  Speaker 1: intermarriage between Norsemen and Irish. The Annals speak of several
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  Speaker 1: such unions, the most famous being the marriage of Gormflith
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  Speaker 1: afterwards wife of Brian Boruma, to an laf Scythrichsen. While
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  Speaker 1: in the genealogies of the Norse settlers in Iceland at
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  Speaker 1: the end of this century, Gaelic names are of frequent occurrence,
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  Speaker 1: One of the most famous of the leaders of these
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  Speaker 1: foreign Irish was kettel Finn Bracket i e. The White
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  Speaker 1: and a Bracket, a Norseman with an Irish nickname. These
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  Speaker 1: foreign Irish fought either by the side of the foreigners
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  Speaker 1: or on their own account. And we have an interesting
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  Speaker 1: story telling how when vikings from Ireland made an invasion
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  Speaker 1: of Cheshi Bracket circa nine twelve and a brachet athol Flide,
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  Speaker 1: the Lady of the Mercians sent ambassadors to those Irish
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  Speaker 1: who were fighting on the side of the invaders, calling
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  Speaker 1: upon them to forsake the Pagans and remember the old
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  Speaker 1: kindness shown in England to Irish soldiers and clergy. The
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  Speaker 1: troubles between Norsemen and Danes were probably responsible for the
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  Speaker 1: arrival in Ireland in eight fifty three of Amhlib, son
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  Speaker 1: of the King of Norway, to receive the submission of
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  Speaker 1: the foreigners. This Amlib is Olaf, the White of Norse tradition,
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  Speaker 1: Bolof is represented as ruling together with his brother Imhar
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  Speaker 1: Bracket Old Norse Ivar and a Brachet. The Annals are
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  Speaker 1: not very good authority for the relationship of the Norse
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  Speaker 1: leaders to one another, and it is quite possible that
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  Speaker 1: Ivar Asribi Ivar, the boneless son of Ragnar lothbroke under
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  Speaker 1: the strong rule of Bolof and Ivar Dublin became the
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  Speaker 1: chiefs center of Scandinavian rule in Ireland, and the Danes
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  Speaker 1: and Norsemen were to some extent reconciled to one another.
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  Speaker 1: The Irish suffered great losses, but some brave leaders were
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  Speaker 1: found to face the Norsemen. Kennedig, King of Lakes, Bracket
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  Speaker 1: Queen's County, and a bracket came upon a party of
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  Speaker 1: them laden with booty. They abandoned the spoil and rushed
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  Speaker 1: upon Kennydig with angry, barbarous shouts, blowing their trumpets, and
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  Speaker 1: many of them crying nui nui brachet i e, probably
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  Speaker 1: in the old Norse speech Kanui kanui hasten on hasten
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  Speaker 1: on and a bracket. Many darts and spears were thrown,
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  Speaker 1: and at last they took to their heavy, powerful swords.
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  Speaker 1: All was, however, of no avail, and Kennydig won a
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  Speaker 1: great victory. Less fortunate was Malchihraine, champion of the East
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  Speaker 1: of Ireland and a hero plunderer of the foreigners. He
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  Speaker 1: was expelled from his kingdom by the leinster Men, who
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  Speaker 1: envied him in consequence of his many victories over the Norsemen.
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  Speaker 1: The activities of Olaf and Ivar were not confined to Ireland.
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  Speaker 1: In eight sixty six, Olof paid a visit to Scotland,
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  Speaker 1: while in eight seventy both Olaf and Ivar were present
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  Speaker 1: at the Siege of Dumbarton. If Ivar is Ivar the Boneless,
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  Speaker 1: he must then have gone to England and taken part
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  Speaker 1: in the Martyrdom of Saint Edmund. In the next year,
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  Speaker 1: both leaders returned to Dublin with a large number of
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  Speaker 1: prisoners English, Britons and picts. In eight seventy three, Ivar,
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  Speaker 1: king of the Norsemen of all Ireland and Britain, died,
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  Speaker 1: and about the same time Olaf returned to Norway, possibly
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  Speaker 1: to take part in the Great Fight against Harold Fairhair
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  Speaker 1: at haffrs Fjord. The Danes seemed to have taken advantage
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  Speaker 1: of the removal of Olaf to attempt to throw off
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  Speaker 1: the Norse yoke. Fresh fighting took place in the Danes
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  Speaker 1: under Abdan I e Ha Donner, king of Northumbria, were
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  Speaker 1: defeated on Strangford Louch in eight seventy seven with the
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  Speaker 1: loss of their leader. After eight seventy seven, the War
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  Speaker 1: of the Guide Hill with the Guile notes a period
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  Speaker 1: of rest for Ireland lasting some forty years. This is
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  Speaker 1: true to the extent that no large fleets of fresh
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  Speaker 1: invaders seemed to have come to Ireland during this time.
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  Speaker 1: The Vikings were too busy elsewhere, both in England and
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  Speaker 1: the Frankish Empire, but there were occasional raids from Dublin, Cork, Limerick,
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  Speaker 1: Waterford and other towns into various districts of Ireland, and
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  Speaker 1: the Northmen were often at various amongst themselves. Dissensions in
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  Speaker 1: Dublin were particularly violent, and so much did they weaken
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  Speaker 1: North's rule there that in nine hundred and two Dublin
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  Speaker 1: fell into the hands of the Irish. The Vikings were
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  Speaker 1: driven abroad, some going to Scotland and others to England,
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  Speaker 1: where they besieged Chester. In the year nine fourteen, all
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  Speaker 1: the old troubles were renewed. Rogenwalder, a grandson of Ivar,
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  Speaker 1: fresh from a great victory off the Isle of Man,
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  Speaker 1: captured Waterford, and two years later Sigtrieger, another grandson of Ivar,
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  Speaker 1: regained Dublin. The Irish attempted resistance under the ardri Nial Glundube,
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  Speaker 1: but he fell with twelve other Kings in a fight
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  Speaker 1: at Kilmagshove near Dublin in nine nineteen. During the next
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  Speaker 1: fifty years, Ireland was a prey to ceaseless attacks by
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  Speaker 1: Norwegians and Danes alike. Towards the close of the ninth century,
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  Speaker 1: Limerick had become a stronghold of the Norsemen in the west,
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  Speaker 1: and from there they made their way up to Shannon
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  Speaker 1: into the heart of the country. Cork was settled in
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  Speaker 1: the early years of the tenth century, chiefly by Danes,
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  Speaker 1: and from there all Munster was opened to attack. Waterford
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  Speaker 1: and Wexford, which stood as a rule in close connection
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  Speaker 1: with Dublin, served as centers of attack against Leinster. The
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  Speaker 1: Irish made a stout resistance under the able leaders, and
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  Speaker 1: Dublin was destroyed more than once. First among these leaders
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  Speaker 1: stands Mr Chertach of the Leather Cloaks, son of Niol Glundub,
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  Speaker 1: a hero who came forward about the year nine twenty six.
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  Speaker 1: His activities were unceasing. He repeatedly attacked to Dublin, took
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  Speaker 1: a fleet to the Hebrides, where he defeated the Vikings,
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  Speaker 1: gaining much spoil, and finally, in nine forty one made
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  Speaker 1: a circuit of Ireland, from which he brought bacas hostages.
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  Speaker 1: Many provincial kings, including the North's ruler of Dublin. More
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  Speaker 1: famous still in Irish song and story was Kelachan of Caschal.
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  Speaker 1: He made war against the Vikings in Munster and for
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  Speaker 1: a time had the Norse kingdom of Waterford under his control. Similarly,
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  Speaker 1: he conquered Limerick, and we find him fighting side by
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  Speaker 1: side with Norsemen from both these towns. During these fifty years,
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  Speaker 1: the Norse kingdom in Dublin stood in close relation with
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  Speaker 1: the Scandinavian Kingdom of Northumbria. Rogenwalder, who died in nine twelve,
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  Speaker 1: ruled there, and so did his brothers Segtriger Bracket died
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  Speaker 1: nine twenty seven and a Brachet and Gudruther Brackett or
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  Speaker 1: Godfrey and A Brackett Brackett died nine thirty four and
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  Speaker 1: a Brachet. The brothers left sons, known respectively as an
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  Speaker 1: Laf Scythrixen and Ann Laf Godfrisen. The latter took part
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  Speaker 1: in the Great Fight at Brunanburg and died in nine
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  Speaker 1: thirty nine. An Laf Sythrixen was destined to a longer career.
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  Speaker 1: He would seem to have spent his early years in Scotland,
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  Speaker 1: where he married King Constantine's daughter. It is uncertain whether
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  Speaker 1: he fought at Brunanburg, but he came to Northumbria in
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  Speaker 1: nine forty one and captured York. He was expelled from
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  Speaker 1: Northumbria in nine forty four or nine forty five and
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  Speaker 1: retired to Dublin, and the rest of his life was
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  Speaker 1: chiefly spent in fighting in Ireland. He was in close
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  Speaker 1: alliance with the Norsemen in Man and the Western Islands,
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  Speaker 1: and was for some thirty years the most powerful Norse
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  Speaker 1: ruler in Ireland. Then came the first great blow to
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  Speaker 1: North's rule in Ireland. In nine eighty milesitch Line second,
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  Speaker 1: the Ardri won a great victory at Tara over the
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  Speaker 1: foreigners of Dublin and the Islands, in which Anlaf's son
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  Speaker 1: was slain. The power of the Kingdom of Dublin was
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  Speaker 1: effectually broken. The Norsemen were compelled to liberate all the
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  Speaker 1: hostages in their custody, to pay a fine of two
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  Speaker 1: thousand oxen, and to remit the tribute which they had
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  Speaker 1: imposed on all Ireland from the Shannon eastward to the Sea.
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  Speaker 1: Anlaf abandoned his authority and retired on a pilgrimage to
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  Speaker 1: Iona where he died in the same year, an inmate
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  Speaker 1: of its monastery. In the meantime, events fraught with important
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  Speaker 1: consequences for Norse's rule in that country, were gradually developing
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  Speaker 1: in a distant quarter of Ireland, in the province of Munster.
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  Speaker 1: The Delcassian line of princes first comes into prominence about
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  Speaker 1: the middle of the tenth century, and the two most
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  Speaker 1: famous of these princes were the brothers math Gamhane and Bryan,
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  Speaker 1: commonly known as Brian Boruma. Together the brothers conquered Munster
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  Speaker 1: in spite of the support given to the Irish by
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  Speaker 1: the Viking settlers, and when their success aroused Ivar, the
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  Speaker 1: ruler of Limerick, they attacked him and won a great
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  Speaker 1: victory at Solkoit near Tipperary Bracket nine sixty eight, and
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  Speaker 1: a bracket Limerick was captured. Math Gamhane died in nine
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  Speaker 1: seventy six, and Brian was soon acknowledged king of all Munster.
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  Speaker 1: He next became Master of Leinster, but his rapid advance
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  Speaker 1: brought him into conflict with the Ardi, and by a
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  Speaker 1: compact made in nine nineteen, the eight Malesetchklain practically surrendered
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  Speaker 1: the southern half of Ireland to Bryan. The ruler of
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  Speaker 1: Dublin at this time was Siegtriger of the Silken Beard,
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  Speaker 1: son of Arnlof and Gormflith, sister of Malamoordha, king of Leinster.
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  Speaker 1: In one thousand, Leinster, with the support of the Norsemen
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  Speaker 1: in Dublin, revolted, but Brian defeated them and captured Dublin,
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  Speaker 1: giving his daughter in marriage to Sigtriger and himself marrying Gornflith.
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  Speaker 1: In a thousand and two, Malsetchklin submitted to Brian and
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  Speaker 1: the latter became Ardri. There followed twelve years of peace,
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  Speaker 1: but Brian's marriage with Gornflyth was his undoing. Quarreling with
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  Speaker 1: her husband, she stirred up Malmourta of Leinster against him.
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  Speaker 1: An alliance was formed between Malmourda and Siegtrieger, and Gornfleith
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  Speaker 1: dispatched embassies to all the Viking settlements in the West,
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  Speaker 1: summoning them to the aid of Siegtriger in a great
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  Speaker 1: fight against Bryan. Sig Trigutu secured the help of Earl
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  Speaker 1: Sigurd of the Orkneys and North Scotland by promise of
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  Speaker 1: the kingship of Dublin. Ships came from all parts of
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  Speaker 1: the Viking world, from Northumbria, from Man and the Western Islands,
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  Speaker 1: from Scotland and the Orkneys, and even from Iceland. Dublin
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  Speaker 1: was fixed as the trysting place and Palm Sunday one
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  Speaker 1: thousand fourteen was to be the time of meeting. Brian
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  Speaker 1: mustered all the forces of Munster and Connacht and was
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  Speaker 1: joined in half hearted fashion by Mausetklain, who was really
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  Speaker 1: waiting to see which way the fortunes of war would turn.
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  Speaker 1: Bryan advanced into the plain of Fingal, north of Dublin,
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  Speaker 1: and the two armies faced one another at Clontarf all
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  Speaker 1: Passion week. The Norsemen had learned by magic incantations that
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  Speaker 1: if the fight took place before Good Friday, their chiefs
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  Speaker 1: would perish and their forces be red, while if the
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  Speaker 1: fight took place on Good Friday, Bryan himself would perish,
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  Speaker 1: but the Irish would win the day. So they waited
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  Speaker 1: until the Friday and then made their attack. The fight
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  Speaker 1: was long and the slaughter was terrible. Bryan and Sigurd
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  Speaker 1: were themselves numbered among the slain. In the end, the
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  Speaker 1: Norsemen were defeated and Malseklain completed their discomfiture when he
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  Speaker 1: cut down the fugitives as they tried to cross the
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  Speaker 1: bridge leading to Dublin, and so reached their ships. No
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  Speaker 1: fight was more famous in Irish history, and it seems
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  Speaker 1: to have appealed with equally strong force to Scandinavian imagination.
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  Speaker 1: Clontarf and Runanburgh are the two great Viking battles which
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  Speaker 1: find record in Scandinavian saga, and in the story of
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  Speaker 1: burnt Yal we have a vivid account both of the
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  Speaker 1: actual battle and of the events leading up to it.
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  Speaker 1: Yet more interesting, perhaps, is the old lay preserved to
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  Speaker 1: us the song of the Alchyries, who that same day
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  Speaker 1: were seen in Caithness riding twelve together to a bower,
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  Speaker 1: where they set up a loom, of which men's heads
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  Speaker 1: were the wits, men's entrails the warp and woof, while
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  Speaker 1: the sword was the shuttle and the reels were arrows.
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  Speaker 1: They wove the web of war and foretold the fate
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  Speaker 1: of King Sigtreger and Earl Sigurd, as well as the
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  Speaker 1: sharp sorrow which would befall the Irish. The Norse world
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  Speaker 1: was full of this, and like portense, and there can
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  Speaker 1: be no question that the Vikings were themselves conscious that
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  Speaker 1: the Battle of Clontarf marked a very definite epoch in
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  Speaker 1: the history of the Vikings in the West and in Ireland.
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  Speaker 1: More particularly, the Norsemen remained in possession of their cities.
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  Speaker 1: Sigtriger continued as King of Dublin, but gradually the fortunes
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  Speaker 1: of the Norse settlers tended to become merged in the
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  Speaker 1: history of the nation as a whole, and there was
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  Speaker 1: no further question of Scandinavian supremacy in Ireland. End of
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  Speaker 1: Chapter five