Norse Kingdom Of Dublin Was Founded By The Vikings In 839 A.D.

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Dublin, the capital of Ireland was founded by the Vikings. Vikings were first spotted off the coast of Ireland in AD 792. In the 9^th century, the Vikings invaded the region around Dublin and established the Norse Kingdom of Dublin. They founded a new town on the south bank of the Liffey was called Dubh Linn, which means black pool.

To the Vikings, the area around Dublin was in many ways an ideal place. It offered access to the deep waters and shelter from the often stormy Northern seas. The Irish climate was relatively mild and there was access to vast forests- a valuable resource with which to repair their sturdy ships. The Kingdom of Dublin was established in 839, and Viking Chief Turgesius was its first king.

The new town of Dublin was fortified with a ditch and an earth rampart with a wooden palisade on top. Dublin became the earliest, largest and most enduring Norse kingdom in all of Europe. The huge number of Viking artifacts and burials discovered in Dublin attest to this.

In the late 11th stone walls were built around Dublin. The Vikings also erected an artificial hill where the men of Dublin met to make laws and discuss policy.

The Scandinavian came to Ireland not only as savage Viking raiders; but as settlers, founding towns and trade centers along the coast and inland waterways.

Despite stone fortifications, Dublin town was sacked many times over the next two centuries but the town always recovered. There were many wars between the Vikings and Irishmen and the living conditions in Dublin were poor.

1014: Dublin 1,000 years ago, based on research by Dr Patrick Wallace

In time, Dublin grew to be the largest and most important town in Ireland. By the 11th Century, Dublin prospered, mainly due to close trading links with the English towns of Chester and Bristol. It may have had a population of 4,000 and in those days was considered a large city. The languages spoken in Dublin were Old Norse and Middle Irish.

The Kingdom of Dublin came to an end in 1171 when the Normans arrived. The Normans faced these Hiberno-Norse kingdoms in Ireland and gradually society began to evolve into what is now known as Norman Ireland.

Written By Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com