Benjamin Hudson

Prologue: The Medieval Atlantic Ocean

The Greeks knew the Atlantic Ocean as an area of mystery littered with fantastic islands populated by incredible creatures. Romans were never really comfortable on it, although their military surveys were responsible for some of the most accurate information about it. Commerce conducted on the ocean made the Celts wealthy, and they believed that some of their deities lived on sacred islands. Vikings turned the sea into their private highway; by the eleventh century they had settlements on both the eastern and western shores. In the High Middle Ages the Atlantic assumed multiple roles from troop thoroughfare to economic freeway. Nations were fighting for control of it at the end of the medieval period, marking their areas of influence with claims ratified by the papacy.

Studies in the medieval Atlantic

PART I: TRANSNATIONALISM AND ENVIRONMENT Desert Islands: Europes Archipelago as Ascetic Landscape A.Siewers Subsistence Whaling and the Western North Atlantic: Norsemen, Basques, and Whale Use V.Szabo Greenland Norse Knowledge of the North Atlantic Environment T.Haine PART II: COLONIALISM The Manx Sea Kings and the Western Oceans:The Late Norse Isle of Man in its North Atlantic context, 1079-1265 A.McDonald More Savage than the Sword?: Logistics in the Medieval Atlantic Theatre of War D.Beougher Into the Atlantic or Into the Mediterranean: Spanish Military Choices in the Late Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Centuries K.DeVries

William the Conqueror and Ireland

The eulogy on King William I of England in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle includes the interesting assertion that William would have conquered Ireland without weapons had he lived another year or two. Some commentators, such as Sir Frank Stenton, considered it to be merely a testimony to the victorious reputation of the Conqueror. Others have suggested that the chronicler had erred with regard to direction, and Denis Bethell speculated that there was slightly more reason to believe William was contemplating an expedition to Galicia during the last years of his life. Marjorie Chibnall pointed out, however, that there must have been some reason for such a statement. A possible explanation does appear when examining the relations between England and Ireland during the reign of William, and a suggestion can be made that political affairs in Ireland influenced, to some extent, the planning of the Conqueror. There are reasons for believing that, in order to diminish the peril from the west, William deliberately promoted good relations with one particular Irish prince — Toirrdelbach ua Briain, king of Munster and claimant to the high-kingship of Ireland.

Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014. Clare Downham

Vikings plagued the coasts of Ireland and Britain in the 790s. Over time, their raids became more intense and by the mid-ninth century vikings had established a number of settlements in Ireland and Britain and had become heavily involved with local politics. A particularly successful viking leader named Aivarr campaigned on both sides of the Irish Sea in the 860s. His descendants dominated the major seaports of Ireland and challenged the power of kings in Britain during the later ninth and tenth centuries. In 1014, the battle of Clontarf marked a famous stage in the decline of viking power in Ireland whilst the conquest of England in 1013 by the Danish king Sveinn Forkbeard marked a watershed in the history of vikings in Britain.The descendants of Aivarr continued to play a significant role in the history of Dublin and the Hebrides until the twelfth century, but they did not threaten to overwhelm the major kingships of Britain or Ireland in this later period as they had done before. This book provides a political analysis of the deeds of Aivarrs family from their first appearance in Insular records down to the year 1014. Such an account is necessary in light of the flurry of new work that has been done in other areas of Viking Studies.Recent theoretical approaches to the subject have raised many interesting questions regarding identity, material culture and structures of authority. Archaeological finds and excavations have also offered potentially radical insights into viking settlement and society. In line with these developments Clare Downham provides a reconsideration of events based on contemporary written accounts. It will appeal to a wide range of people who are curious to know more about the history of vikings in Britain and Ireland.