The Vikings in Britain and Ireland

The Vikings are notorious for their raids on coastal monasteries, but they made a lasting impact on the different kingdoms and peoples that came to make up modern Britain and Ireland. This course, which draws on archaeology, history, place-names and genetics, traces the Vikings' interaction with these islands from the early raids through conquest and settlement to the long-term integration of the Vikings with native peoples, and the establishment of both major towns and rural communities, as well as distinctive regional cultures. The course also explores the lasting legacy of the Vikings in language, customs and DNA. 

Aims

This course aims to:

• consider how and why the Vikings first raided, then settled, in many areas of Britain and Ireland in the period c. AD750-1100.
• explore how Scandinavian Vikings interacted with the existing populations in different parts of Britain and Ireland; how new hybrid societies developed; and the lasting impact and legacy that the Vikings left behind them.
• introduce you to the range of different types of evidence used to piece together our understanding of the history of a period sometimes known as the Dark Ages

Course content

The Vikings are best known for their raids on coastal monasteries, which are first recorded in the decades around AD 800, but over the next hundred years they moved from seasonal raiding to conquest and permanent settlement, mixing and interacting with the different kingdoms and peoples that made up Britain and Ireland in this period. Although the Vikings shared some elements of culture and language, they were not a single people, and neither were the inhabitants of the areas they conquered, resulting in very different experiences of Viking impact in different areas. Traditional historical sources provide very uneven coverage across different parts of Britain and Ireland in this period, and this course draws on archaeology, numismatics, place-names and genetics, as well as history.

The course traces the Vikings' interaction with these islands from the early raids through conquest and settlement to the long-term integration of the Vikings with native peoples. It explores why the character of Viking settlement was so different in different areas, both because of differences of language and culture between the pre-existing populations, and the way that different landscapes dictated different ways of life. Beyond the stereotypical – but important – emphasis on raiding and warfare, Viking settlement was characterised by the establishment of both major towns and rural communities, as well as distinctive regional cultures, all tied together with long-term trade routes to Scandinavia and beyond. The course also explores the lasting legacy of the Vikings over the last thousand years, in language, customs and DNA, as well as in material culture and popular imagination.

What to expect on this course

The course will be presented as a series of heavily illustrated lectures, with time for discussion in each lecture. No single source or academic discipline provides a comprehensive overview of the events and people of the Viking Age, and you will be introduced to a range of different disciplines that between them enable scholars to build up a more complete picture than any single approach. The course covers over three hundred years of history, and it is impossible to cover everything in detail, so the course begins with a general overview and then explores particular themes and trends that explain the character of Viking settlement and cultural interactions in Britain and Ireland. In addition to PowerPoint slides, the talks will also provide opportunities to handle a mixture of real and replica artefacts from the period.

Course sessions

1. Sources and Introduction
   This lecture provides an overview of the origins and definition of the Vikings, the political and cultural make-up of Britain and Ireland when the Viking raids began in the 8th century, and the chronology of the core events and developments that will be discussed throughout the course. The lecture also introduces the different types of evidence used by scholars studying this period, the strengths and limitations of different types of evidence, and the way that they can be combined to enhance our understanding. 
   
    
2. From Raiding to Settlement
   This lecture covers the transition from early seasonal raids to larger scale raiding, conquest and permanent settlement. In this lecture we will also consider why this development took place and whether it was a deliberate change in strategy, or something which grew more organically out of the Vikings’ success. The lecture will have a particular focus on the so-called ‘great armies’ of the late 9th century, drawing on recent archaeological research.
   
    
3. The Vikings in England
   This lecture looks in more detail at Viking settlement in England, and the character of the mixed society which developed. It will also explore the way in which the first phase of Anglo-Scandinavian society was absorbed into the newly emerging unified kingdom of England, only to face a second wave of invasion and conquest, drawing England into what has been labelled as a ‘North Sea Empire’ under King Cnut the Great.
   
    
4. The Viking Sea
   In the 19th and 20th centuries, reflecting contemporary society, historians largely viewed the seas as separating rather than joining different societies. Over the last fifty years, there has been an increasing emphasis on the importance of the sea as a route for movement and interactions of many sorts. Viking activity in many different areas of Britain and Ireland was linked by movement across the Irish Sea, and this lecture considers how these different areas of Viking settlement need to be interpreted together as well as separately.
    
5. Impact and Legacy
   The Vikings in Britain and Ireland encountered a variety of landscapes, cultures and languages. They interacted with these in different ways, creating a number of different hybrid societies, although there were often links between the different groups and regions, as well as with the wider Viking world, often now labelled the ‘Viking diaspora’. This lecture explores that process, before moving on to consider the long-term legacies of Viking settlement on society and culture, from the Viking Age to the present day.

Learning outcomes

As a result of the course, you will gain a greater understanding of the subject and you should be able to:

• explain how and why the Vikings were able to conquer and settle many areas of Britain and Ireland
• discuss the lasting impact of the Vikings in Britain and Ireland
• understand the range of different forms of evidence that together create our knowledge of the Viking Age

Required reading

There are no compulsory readings for this course, but the following is recommended as an introductory overview for the course:

Carroll, J, Harrison, SH and Williams, G, The Vikings in Britain and Ireland (London: British Museum Press, 2014)