History

For many of us living in modern Ireland and Scotland, the world of Peddlers & Plunderers: Vikings can seem completely alien to us.

Fore ease of reading this has been broken up into concise sections.

1. Gaelic Society

2. The Norse

3. The Hiberno-Norse

4. Downfall of the Vikings and the rise of Brian Boru

5. Specifics of Gaelic warfare

6. Books, documentaries and other sources where you can read more

Before English colonisation, the island of Ireland was divided into thousands of familial clans, subject to petty kings who ruled over their kingdoms or ríochtaí. These petty kings were, in turn, vassals of the High King or Ard Rí. The Ard Rí’s seat of power was located in Tara, Co. Meath, Ireland.

The majority of the people of Ireland and the west coast of Scotland found themselves under the rule of Ard Rí Brian Ború. Many Norse peoples also made their homes in settlements such as Dublin and Limerick, living as subjects of the Ard Rí. However, Norse communities often rebelled in an attempt to exert greater control over the island.

Although the Ard Rí acted as the ruler of the land, this title was nominal as Gaelic society was decentralised in comparison to that of the English or Franks. It was this decentralisation that defeated the Norse yet led others to establish a firm foothold in Ireland during the Norman and Tudor conquests of Ireland. Native populations did not consolidate power and form a central government, thus weakening them to localised attacks and rebellions.

This however did help the Gaelic people fight back against the Vikings. Unlike in England where they defeated 2 or 3 kings and took over large swathes of the country, the Gaels had been used to fighting and raiding for millennia. The arrival of the Vikings just meant another group of men who’ll come to raid in the night which they were well used to as before the Vikings, the Gaels were the scourge of Britain raiding and kidnapping people.

Eventually through intermarriage, Hiberno-Norse ancestry was highly prized among Nordic royal families of this period. By the time of Brian Boru, many of the Gaelic and Norse figures were actually related through a web of complex political marriages.

Gaelic Society

Gaelic society differed greatly to our modern conception of the term. The land surrounding Gaelic settlements belonged largely to clans, rather than individual chieftains. Chieftains acted as representatives of clans and thus were required to be physically robust and without blemish.

Farming lands were provided to those clan members deemed competent to support the clan. Material goods produced by clan members contributed to the collective wealth of the clan. Items such as cattle, grain, wool and crops were extremely important to the material success and wealth of the clan.

This is loosely referred to as the Roinndáil system, also known as the “Rundale” system or “Booleying” in English. In a nutshell clan settlements would be clustered in a number of locations and the clan would move to these different locations throughout the year to alleviate pressure on the land in each one of these locations. Moving their cattle to their spring grounds, then to summer grounds and all around while leaving some fields to fallow. By skipping a season and not over intensely farming crops in one location they allowed nitrogen to return to the soil naturally through the growth of wild clover etc.

According to Brehon laws, of which earlier on and especially before Christianisation women could be Brehon judges, there was a Tanistry. As Gaeilge Taoiseach refers to the chieftain and Tánaiste refers to their appointed successor. Many of the males of the clan were related, marrying women from outside of the clan. Of these decedents of the Taoiseach a Righdamhna or assembly of kingly people was formed to choose the most capable one to become Tánaiste. After the Tudor Conquest of Ireland in the 17th century Tanistry was replaced with Primogeniture and English Common Law.

The Norse

789AD marked the beginning of the Viking Age, with the Lindisfarne raid taking place in this year. For many years prior to the raid, the monastery at Lindisfarne in England had become familiar with Scandinavian traders and relations were peaceful. However, the 789AD raid marked a turning point in this relationship, marking it as adversarial.

Viking ships allowed the Norse to cross the North Sea from Norway and Denmark in record time. Oak timber ships were expertly made by experienced shipbuilders. Curved planks were used to build a variety of different ships, including knarrs, snekkjas and drekkars - all of which are featured in Peddlers & Plunderers: Vikings. Constructing the hull of long beams of unbroken timber allowed ships to twist and turn in the water without snapping. A clinker-built hull created watertight sides and its shallow draft helped it to sail up rivers quickly. By avoiding the drag of the water, Vikings ships were able to reach speeds of 15 knots, or 28km/h.

We have evidence of this expert shipbuilding from the accounts of the Roman historian Tacitus when he described the “Suones” in 98AD. The Suones were a Germanic tribe who were called the Svear in their own language eventually moving North from Germany to Sweden. 200 years before this the Cimbri from modern day Denmark migrated south due to famines caused by a shift in the climate, by allying with another Germanic tribe called the Tuetones they together threatened Rome inflicting great defeats upon them. The Roman general Gaius Marius eventually defeated this coalition and enacted the famous “Marian Reforms” as a result. The Norse of the early medieval period are descended from these Germanic tribes among others.

In sharp contrast to the Gaels, Norse society was very individualistic. Personal glory was of the utmost importance and their pagan faith placed a strong emphasis on glorious death in battle. Where the Gaels preferred asymmetric warfare, opting for ambushes, the Norse preferred pitched battles with complex manoeuvres. However, like the Gaels, the rule of Law was very important and hefty fines were often paid for transgressions.

The Hiberno-Norse

The nimble barefoot Gaels were inspired by the heavily armed Vikings. In some cases they adopted the heavy arms of Norse settlers and many Norse settlers who settled in the isles and Ireland became what was known as the Hiberno-Norse. The Norse, being unable to overwhelm the Gaelic peoples decided to settle in key locations such as Limerick, Dublin, Cork along with Hebrides, the isle of Man, the Orkney and Shetland isles.

From there many individuals built vast trade empires, intermarrying into the Native Gaelic populations for protection and access to the lucrative trade of goods and slaves. Many Gaelic warriors in Scotland adopted heavy chainmail, large axes and strong helmets to become the Gallóglaigh or Gallowglasses. Gallowglass from the Irish “Gall Gaeil” which means “Foreign Gael” due to the extensive intermarriage of Gaels in Scotland with Norse settlers from Scandinavia.

Downfall of the Vikings and rise of Brian Boru

During Brian Boru’s lifetime the population of early medieval Europe was a fraction of what it would grow to 1000 years later. Europe wasn’t as densely populated at this time in the same way as Song dynasty China, the Indian subcontinent or even the empires of Meso-America.

Ireland at this time had a population of around 500,000, with the land divided between almost 150 petty kings. This is why the Tudor conquest of Ireland, with its systemic killings of around 200,000 people, was so devasting that its implications reverberates throughout Irish history even to the modern day. This in part was caused by the decentralised nature of Gaelic society which Brian Boru tried hard to alter throughout his long life.

Being recognised as High King in 1002, Brian Boru set out to consolidate control of Ireland from foreign influence of the Viking sea kings based in Dublin and other parts of Ireland, the Isles and the Highlands of Scotland. in the annals of Ulster he is the only Irish king in history to be described as “Ardrí Gaidhel Erenn & Gall & Bretan, August iartair tuaiscirt Eorpa uile/High King of the Gaels of Ireland and the Norse foreigners and the Celtic Britons, Augustus of all north-western Europe”. He also adopted the Latin title of “Imperator Scotorum/ Emperor of the Scots/Gaels”.

His mission ultimately failed during the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. With the battle Brian Boru’s forces successfully drove the Norse/Gaelic army of Dublin into the sea while in the process his sons were slain in the battle with himself being cut down by a stray Viking who found him praying in his tent. After Brian Borus death High Kingship returned to the Uí Néill king Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill putting an end to Brian Boru’s imperial ambitions. Eventually Viking incursions would cease entirely after the killing of Norwegian king Magnus Barefoot in Armagh in 1103 yet no other king of the Gaels would reach the heights of power that Brian Boru had at the start of the previous millennium.