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Vikings in Early Medieval Ireland
0 - Default Title
Description
This book offers the first comprehensive investigation of Viking raids on Irish churches from the late eighth to the early eleventh century, drawing on a wide range of sources, including Irish legal and literary material, archaeological and historical evidence and English and Frankish chronicles. Through a rigorous quantitative analysis of annalistic evidence, it sheds light on all aspects of this phenomenon: its chronological development, geographical distribution, immediate purpose and the broader context of Viking engagement with Gaelic Irish royal polities. Challenging the view that such raiding was merely a precursor to settlement and trade, it demonstrates that these attacks remained intrinsic to Viking activities throughout this period; it argues in particular that human captives-rather than metalwork or bullion-constituted the primary objective of church raids, with many held for ransom or sold into slavery. By tracing the evolution of random raids to strategically motivated attacks, it establishes church raiding as a deliberate instrument of political strategy, until the Battle of Clontarf (1014) marked a turning point in Viking-Irish relations.
Product details
Number of Pages:
562
Release Date:
2025-10-28
Publication Date:
2025-10-28
Publisher:
Boydell Press
Languages:
Original:
English
ISBN10:
183765235X
ISBN13:
9781837652358
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:
Weight:
1001 g
Height:
161 cm
Width:
240 cm
Thickness:
35 cm
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