Description
Book SynopsisVikings plagued the coasts of Ireland and Britain in the 790s. 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 Ivarr 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. This book provides a political analysis of the deeds of Ivarr's 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. In line with these developments Clare Downham provides a reconsideration of events based on contemporary written accounts.
Trade Review"[Downham] gives us the history of the dynasty from contemporary and near contemporary sources and brings to bear the fruits of thirty years intense scholarship that has emerged since Smyth wrote, a period in which the study of Early Insular History has been revolutionised. In addition to the blow by blow account of the dynasty's deeds, which forms the bulk of the narrative, Downham has also appended a prosopography of 121 Scandinavian leaders active in the Insular World in the period, citing all the primary sources which mention each. This appendix will doubtless be a godsend to scholar and student alike." Early Medieval Europe
Table of ContentsPrefatory Note: Ethnicity and Viking-Age Politics; 1. Ivarr and his Dynasty; 2 Ireland; 3 England: from the Conquest of York to the Battle of Brunanburh, 866-937; 4 England: from the Battle of Brunanburh to the Danish Conquest, 937-1013; 5 North Britain; 6 The Kingdom of the Isles; 7 Wales; 8 Conclusion. Appendix: Prosopography of Viking-leaders named in Irish Chronicles to AD 1014. Bibliography. Index.
