ipl-logo

Contributions Of Vikings To Ireland Essay

779 Words4 Pages

The Vikings first came to Ireland in 795 AD, when it was recorded in the Annals that they arrived at Lambay Island, they were of Scandinavian origin. While the Vikings are best known for being raiders, their name Viking comes from an Old Norse word meaning ‘sea-robber’, it is also known that the Vikings were successful merchants and ship builders. On their arrival they raided and plundered but later they began to settle and contributed to the urban development of Ireland by establishing towns and cities and establishing trading networks. Thus the Vikings had a significant role in urban development in Ireland. Hurley discusses their contribution to urban development in Ireland, he notes that, “All the port cities, Dublin, Waterford, Cork …show more content…

The Vikings first raided and then settled in the city of Waterford around 914 AD. They gave the name Waterford to the city, which derives from the Old Norse word, “Vedrarfjordr meaning 'windy fjorde' or 'fjorde of the ram' (a type of Viking ship)”. (Hurley, M. (2002). P. 97) Archaeological evidence from excavations carried out around the city of Waterford between the years 1986 to 1991 showed little evidence of Viking settlement in the city during the 9th and 10th centuries. Instead the evidence suggested a later Viking settlement. Due to little evidence of an earlier settlement it can be suggested that the Vikings had temporary settlements here, known as Longphorts, “a fortified ship harbour.” By the time the Vikings made a more permanent settlement, as Hurley mentions in his article, ‘Waterford’s Viking footprint’, the Vikings and the Irish had merged together by the conversion of many Vikings to Christianity and their integration into Irish society which was aided by inter-marriage between the Vikings and the native Irish, resulting in a culture that was influenced by the Vikings. While there is little archaeological evidence of the type of settlement the Vikings had or when such a settlement dated from, the name of the city, its strategic and convenient location near water so the Vikings could travel easily to and from establishing trading links, all these factors suggest Waterford was most likely discovered

Show More
Related

  • How Did The Vikings Shaped American Culture

    987 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 8000 B.C. to 1000 A.D. the Vikings were the most powerful empire in ancient Europe. The Vikings were created and seen as Scandinavian people who were fierce and violent warriors. Also the Vikings daily life was adapting culture and utilizing their techniques. People thought the Vikings originated from raids and attacking other Europeans, but actually originated as Scandinavian fishers and Farmers.

    Read More

  • How Did The Vikings Barbaric Raiders?

    1043 Words  | 5 Pages

    The first documented Viking raid occurred in 793 when they attacked. Lindisfarne Monastery. The raid was highly successful due to valuable metals and jewels in the church and the lack of protection. Upon the discovery of defenseless Monasteries Vikings began to increase their raids, especially along the Western European Seaboard and British isles. They were able to to invade extremely efficiently along the coast due to their long, shallow bottomed boats which could both cross rough waters like The North and Baltic Seas and float on top of shallow inlets.

    Read More

  • Scotch-Irish Research Paper

    415 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scotch-Irish people were one of the numerous immigrants who looked for shelter and alleviation in America. The Scotch-Irish appeared in the mid-seventeenth century when the English government, on edge to dominate Ireland, removed Lowland Scots as pilgrims to the province of Ulster in northern Ireland. For around a century the Scotch-Irish squeezed out a living in Ireland, yet in the early piece of the eighteenth century their monetary condition endured a progression of grievous inversions. As a result, a flood of maybe five thousand Scotch-Irish moved to America in 1717. Before the end of the eighteenth century, four more influxes of Scotch-Irish withdrew Ireland for America and a few hundred thousand Ulstermen settled in about each area of the English provinces.

    Read More

  • Dbq Vikings

    917 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Vikings were a group of Germanic sea dwellers who traded with and raided towns all across Europe out of their Scandinavian homeland. During the late 8th to 11th centuries they ruled all of Europe through their barbaric ways. Even other cultures outside of Europe saw the barbaric ways in which the Vikings acted towards the villages that they encountered. One such case of this was a Muslim Chronicler, Ibn Fadlan, recounting of the Vikings as “[T]he filthiest of God’s creatures.” While they were very savage in their actions, this very trait gave them the ability to be able to roam through and ravage an entire town fully unopposed and within a very miniscule timeframe.

    Read More

  • The Great Irish Famine

    1306 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Great Famine devastated Ireland in the mid 1800’s. At least one million people died and many more suffered due to poverty and sickness. The main factor that contributed to this event was the potato blight, which infected the potato crop and the Irish who heavily depended on it as their staple food. But what about the other factors? The blight was not the only factor that contributed to Ireland’s poor state at the time.

    Read More

  • Scots-Irish Research Paper

    564 Words  | 3 Pages

    The oppressive past that the Scots-Irish faced in their home country optimalized the isolated geography of the Greater Appalachian region, as they were able to construct a society that was rooted in individual liberty as opposed to materialism. When living in Great Britain, the Scots-Irish were forced out due to a large increase in rent put upon by the landlords. As noted by a Scot-Irish in American Nations, “We having been, before we came here, so much oppressed and harassed by under landlords in our country, from which we with great losses, dangers, and difficulties came [to]... this foreign world to be freed from such oppression” (Woodard 104). Thus, as evidenced, the Borderlanders travelled to the New World in search of a life free of oppression.

    Read More

  • How Did The Vikings Build Trade Routes

    117 Words  | 1 Pages

    Trade played a major role in the Viking expansion as many trades ended up as raids. However, the Vikings established many trade routes throughout Europe. They also set up many trade centers.   As well as this, craftsmen and merchants went to England, Germany and other countries to barter their goods. These trades were usually only performed once or twice every year.

    Read More

  • Norse Paganism Essay

    1661 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Old Norse Religion or Norse Paganism were practised traditions by the Norsemen prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, dating as far back to roughly 793-1066 CE. This religion was separated, and categorized into three different families; the Æsir, Vanir and Jotnar; these were all polytheistic groups. The Æsir tribe contained some of the best-known Norse Gods and goddesses such as Odin, Thor, Frigg, Tyr, Loki, Baldur, Heimdall, Idun, and Bragi1. These Gods represented kingship, order, craft, etc. The Vanir were Gods and Goddesses such as Freya, Freyr, Njord and the Germanic Goddess Nerthus.

    Read More

  • Medieval Masculinity In The Middle Ages

    4701 Words  | 19 Pages

    “Tongue-Odd had an aunt called Kjolvor, who lived at Kjolvararstead.” “A woman named Arinbjorg lived at Arinbjorg Brook. … A woman called Thorunn lived at Thorunnarholt. She owned land down as far as Vidi Brook and up to the part belonging to Thurid the Prophetess… Thorunnar Pool in Thver River takes its name after her….” The appearance of woman settlers, the record of mothers with no matching records of a husband, and the supernatural power of women recorded in Landnám all indicate a Germanic and Icelandic appreciation for their female ancestors.

    Read More

  • British English Imperialism In Ireland Essay

    717 Words  | 3 Pages

    A) During the British conquering of Ireland in the 1570s and 1580s, “many English soldiers developed in Ireland a sneering contempt for the ‘savage’ natives, an attitude that they brought with them to the New World.” Such an attitude materialized in the use of “Irish tactics” by the British where “Elizabeth’s troops crushed the Irish uprising with terrible ferocity, inflicting unspeakable atrocities upon the native Irish people.” Indeed, one of such English soldiers included Captain De La Warr, who, unlike his predecessor, Captain John Smith, treated the Native Americans terribly just as he did the Irish, “raid(ing) Indian villages, burn(ing) houses, confiscat(ing) provisions, and torch(ing) cornfields.” Such a Native American policy led to

    Read More

  • Discrimination In The Late 1800s And Early 1900s

    656 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the late 1800s and early 1900s of America, discrimination based on race, gender, and ethnicity in immigrants groups like Native American, Chinese, Irish, and African American is justified through personal and social beliefs, customs, and culture in the growing social structure for a bigger and better America. Native White Americans feared beliefs, customs, and cultures of the Native American, Chinese, Irish, and African American related to lack of understanding and communication problems. The lack of understanding and communication efforts add fire to an already discriminated social structure creating conflict rather than resolving issues. The culture of Irish was typically very poor, unskilled, and illiterate driven to America by

    Read More

  • Christianity To The Vikings Essay

    831 Words  | 4 Pages

    As we have seen, the introduction of Christianity to the Vikings had significantly contributed to the end of the Viking Age in mid 11th Century, not only due to the persuasive Christian missionaries, and the realization of the benefits of Christianity, but also the forcible nature of Scandinavia king’s conversion of their subjects (which will be looked into in more detailed in due course). One must bear in mind that most of the evidence we have on the conversion of the Vikings is through archaeological excavations, as Gareth Williams explains that “we can see it in the archaeological evidences [that] Pagans buried their dead with grave goods, but Christians normally didn't, and this makes it relatively easy to spot the change in religion.”

    Read More

  • Vikings Long Ship Essay

    946 Words  | 4 Pages

    Viking long-ships were lean, speedy, lightweight ships that could easily cut through the most vicious waves that the ocean could throw at them. At the time, no other civilization had been able to achieve such an amazing naval feat, so this gave the Vikings a great advantage over medieval combat, political affairs, and even the trading industry. Since the ships were so fast, the ships were great for transportation of soldiers, or merchandise. “The Viking longboat was the key to the Vikings success in traveling.” (Legends and Chronicles, Paragraph 14).

    Read More

  • Advantages And Disadvantages Of Viking

    1488 Words  | 6 Pages

    As stated earlier, sailing expeditions became popular during the Viking Age as the Vikings searched for new lands to conquer and settle in. This led to the discovery of the uninhabitable lands Iceland and Greenland. Iceland was discovered by Naddodd, a Norwegian who was one of the first settlers in the Faroe Islands. Naddodd had set a course back to Norway from the Faroes, but a storm knocked him off course, and he landed in present-day Iceland.

    Read More

  • Essay On Viking Expansion

    3874 Words  | 16 Pages

    The Viking expansion started in 793 with the first raid and ended around 1050. The division of the geographical core area is important, because this division also separates Vikings in the way took part in the expansion Norwegians travelled west- and southwest to colonise. The Danes went southwest for their conquests and the Swedes proceeded east- and south-eastward for their raiding and trading. Raiding and trading routes Raiding and trading

    Read More

More about Contributions Of Vikings To Ireland Essay

Open Document