Viking by John Haywood

Author:John Haywood
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Norwegian Vikings conquered and settled the Orkney and Shetland Islands and the Sudreys between about 825 and 850. Sigurd the Stout, the earl of Orkney, now rules all these islands, as well as Caithness and Sutherland. Forced out of their west coast districts by Viking raids, the Scots pushed east and, under their king Kenneth MacAlpin, they conquered the Picts in 843. The Picts have not been heard of for a long time now and the Scots tell some strange stories about them, that they were blue, for example, or were dwarves who lived underground.

How hard to raid?

The Scots are more willing to give battle than other Irish. They have already dumped the Picts on the dung-heap of history, and have recently captured the English town of Edinburgh and made the Welsh of Strathclyde their vassals, so you’d be a fool to underestimate them. The Scots’ military organization is based loosely on the English system: the core of the army is provided by the king’s household warriors. The rest of the army is provided by the regional jarls, who in turn rely on local lords to raise levies from the districts they control. Like the rest of the Irish, they have adopted Viking-style weapons and are particularly fond of the two-handed war axe. Small forts are very common: many of them are built on artificial islands in lakes for extra security.

WALES

Rating

The Welsh people are light and agile. They are fierce rather than strong, and totally dedicated to the practice of arms. Not only the leaders but the entire nation are trained in war.

GERALD OF WALES, THE DESCRIPTION OF WALES

Location A mountainous land bordering England in the west.

Inhabitants The Welsh, who also call themselves Britons.

Key resources Rich pickings from monasteries are your best bet.

Wales has only recently become a major target for Viking raids. This sudden popularity has nothing really to do with the attractions of Wales itself – it is not a rich land – but because raiding in Ireland has become more difficult. Fortunately, what wealth there is in Wales is concentrated in the more fertile coastal parts. The large and fertile island of Anglesey is the most prosperous and well-populated part of Wales and it is easy to raid because it is so near to Dublin and the Viking settlements in the Isle of Man. Four years ago Guthfrith Haraldsson of Man carried away 2,000 captives from the island. The interior of Wales is mountainous and poor and not worth the trouble of raiding.

Because it has not been raided as frequently as other countries, Wales still has monasteries near to the coast. The most important, the church of St David at Menevia in the south, was sacked in 967 and 988, but it has already recovered and is ripe to be plundered again. If you’re looking for a quick return, Maredudd, king of Deheubarth, pays a silver penny a head to ransom any of his people who are captured by Vikings. For a bishop, the Welsh will pay 40 pounds of silver.

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