This short study was written during my tenure of a Travelling Studentship from the National University of Ireland, and in March, 1920, was accepted for the Research Degree Certificate of Cambridge University. A glance at the bibliography shows that comparatively little has been written in English on this interesting period of our history. On the other hand modern Scandinavian scholars—Alexander Bugge, Marstrander, and Vogt—have thrown a good deal of light on the subject, but unfortunately very f

The Vikings made their first appearance [1] on the Irish coasts in 795 A.D. , when they plundered and burned the church on Recru, or Lambay Island, near Dublin. During the next ten or twelve years Ireland seems to have been almost free from further attacks, but in 807 they descended on Inis Murray, off the Sligo coast, and from there made their way inland to Roscommon. [2] After that the raids ceased for a few years, then began again with renewed vigour on Connacht and Munster, on some of the in

The almost complete absence of any allusion to Irish ships [149] during the eighth and ninth centuries shows that at this time the Irish had no warships to drive back the powerful naval forces of the Vikings. Meeting with no opposition on sea the invaders were able to anchor their fleets in the large harbours, and afterwards to occupy certain important positions along the coasts. In this connection it is interesting to note that the Irish word longphort (a ‘shipstead’; later, ‘a camp’) is used f

The large number of loan-words from Old Norse which occur in Old and Middle Irish indicate clearly the extent and character of Scandinavian influence in Ireland. They are therefore interesting from an historical point of view, for they confirm, and sometimes supplement, the evidence of Irish and Icelandic sources, that the relations existing between the two peoples were largely of a friendly character. As the subject has already been fully dealt with by Celtic scholars, [163] only the more impor

Considering the close connection between Ireland and Iceland, especially in the tenth and eleventh centuries, it is surprising that so few Gaelic words found their way into Old Norse literature. The only Norse words that can be said, with any certainty, to be derived from Irish, are the following:—...

A number of the place-names mentioned in the Landnámabók [175] contain a Gaelic element which, with one or two exceptions, is present in the form of a personal name. Among these Icelandic place-names we may note the following:— Beyond a few meagre allusions the Irish Annals throw no light on the progress of Christianity among the “foreigners” in Ireland during the ninth century. Fortunately, however, the Icelandic Sagas and the Landnámabók have preserved some interesting details concerning a sma

The most interesting branch of early Norse literature is the saga or prose story. Of these there are many varieties but the most distinctive are the following: (1) the Íslendinga Sögur , or stories relating to prominent Icelanders, (2) Konunga Sögur , or stories of Kings, chiefly of Norway; (3) Fornaldar Sögur , or stories about early times. All these are essentially Icelandic in origin; sagas having their origin in Norway are by no means unknown, but they are, as a rule, translated or derived f

Yet the remarkable fact that this faculty of story-telling was peculiar to the Icelanders alone among the Teutonic peoples still remains to be explained. It can hardly be without significance that the only parallel in Europe for such a form of literature is to be found in Ireland. From the allusions to this type of composition in old Irish literature it would seem to have existed at a very early period; so early, that its very origin is obscure. There is, for example, mention of a king’s “compan

The resemblance which we have noted between Icelandic and Irish customs seem to justify us in suggesting that they may be due in part to some influence exercised by the one people upon the other. There is in fact a certain amount of evidence which renders such influence probable. We know that Irish poets and story-tellers were welcome guests at the court of the Scandinavian kings in Ireland. In an elegy on Mathgamain, Brian’s brother, [243] one of the Munster bards, says he finds it difficult to

Annals of Clonmacnois , ed. by Rev. D. J. Murphy. Dublin, 1896. Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters (Vols. I. and II.), ed. by J. O’Donovan, Dublin, 1856. Three Fragments of Irish Annals , ed. by J. O’Donovan. Dublin, 1860. Annals of Tigernach , ed. by Whitley Stokes (Revue Celtique, XVI.; XVII.). Paris, 1895. Annals of Ulster (Vol. I.), ed. by W. M. Hennessy. Dublin, 1887. Black Book of Limerick , ed. by J. MacCaffrey. Dublin, 1907. Book of Rights (Leabhar na gceart), ed. by J.

Reference has also been made to the following articles:—...