Initial Response to the Viking Arrival in Ireland:

As described in the Annals of Ulster in 795CE, “heathens” was the original term linked to the Vikings by the Gaelic Natives as groups of Scandinavian visitors continued to partake in rapid hit-and-run raids on Irish settlements and monasteries (Annals of Ulster U795.3). Undoubtedly this unfavorable term is linked to the events of destruction caused by Vikings that included the burning of villages, collapsing of monasteries, plundering of silver and valuables, and the occasional capturing of Gaelic natives to serve as slaves. Such barbarous actions were only supplanted by the polytheistic nature of the Viking’s religion that appeared negatively to the predominately Roman Catholic Gaelic Natives, and thus feeds further into this initial title of “heathen.” As time progressed this title blurred and the Scandinavians evolved into something more than heathens attacking the houses of God, rather they situated themselves within Ireland in a multi-facetted manner as the cultures and religions of the Vikings and Gaelic clashed and merged. However, this page will specifically view and dissect the negative influence posed by the arrival and barbaric actions of the Vikings in Ireland.

Social, Economic, and Religious Tensions Rise:

 The Plundering of Monasteries and Fear of Barbarians:

Until roughly 840 AD the Vikings significantly plundered Irish monasteries, stole their wealth and goods, and even took Irish clerics and citizens as slaves to be sold overseas or to serve as ransom to further drain the monasteries of money (Downham 139). Due to their paganist backgrounds, the Vikings had no fear of the Christian God and went on many campaigns to desecrate Irish holy sites and rob them of their sacred relics for trade or metalworking (Downham 139). Monasteries such as Linn Duachaill in Annagassan and a series of Christian congregations in Limerick were run out of business and left in ruins after these initial brutal actions of the Vikings by 840 AD (Downham 139). These beginning years of the Vikings arrival and settlement in Ireland between 795 AD to 840 AD reflect elements of barbarity, blasphemy, and brutality that left the Gaelic natives in fear and anger. During this period violent clashes ensued between the Gaelic and Scandinavians and such brutality cannot be ignored within the historical timeline of Ireland. These initial actions combined with the predominant narrative surrounding the Vikings ultimately feed into their barbaric outline within Irish history. However, as one continues through this website it will become apparent that after the year 840, such a generalized overview of the Vikings in Ireland cannot be maintained as their position in the Irish world becomes more complex and muddled than simple reckless heathens.

Vikings Incite Destructive Secularism in Ireland: Creation of Religious Unrest

Long before the initial arrival and attacks of the Vikings there existed a secular battle between ecclesiastical centers in Ireland, but before the Vikings arrival such secularism was minimal and was contained between small groups (Downham 138). However, after the Vikings launched attacks against the Irish monasteries around 795 AD this secularism that lurked in the background of Irish religion was dredged to the surface as large-scale secular battles emerged between Irish monasteries (Downham 138). In fact, during this period of the Vikings attacks against Irish monasteries, there were native Irish attacking one another over secular issues, and during this period the Irish natives attacked monasteries as frequently as the Viking raiders (Downham 138). Thus, the actions of the Vikings inadvertently sparked religious unrest within Ireland as a direct result of their attacks against the Irish monasteries and in many ways incited bloody secularism in Ireland that remained prominent within Irish history to the current era.

Economic Decline Sparked by Viking Raids:

The Vikings attacks against Irish monasteries not only led to physical, social, and religious disaster but also economic decline as well. This was due to the Vikings central target being the ecclesiastical centers which remained as the central locations of commerce (Downham 139). All manners of inventions, manufacturing, arable production, and trade were contained within the religious centers of Ireland, and thus the repetitive attacks of the Vikings rapidly drained these centers of their wealth (Downham 139). Also, with certain Irish monasteries the Vikings purposefully refrained from completely destroying them, but rather allowed them to slightly rebuild before taking clerics and citizens hostage for bartering, and thus further draining the local economy (Sigurdsson and Bolton 2). Over time the Vikings developed this into a tribute system that required Irish monasteries to regularly pay “protection money” in order to prevent the plundering of their establishment and capturing of citizens (Sigurdsson and Bolton 2). These initial actions of the Vikings caused the local economy of Ireland to plummet between the years of 795 AD to 840 AD. However, as it will be expressed later in this website, this economic approach of the Vikings began to change around 840 AD when the Vikings took up permanent settlements in Ireland.