![]() He was about to knock again when Orm called for him to enter. He paused, let his breath come back, then crossed to Orm’s door and knocked. He hurried up to the fortress, passed by the guards at the gate without even acknowledging them, hurried across the inner yard. Orm would find out about them one way or another, and if it was from someone other than Asbjorn, then Orm would think his port reeve either conniving or incompetent. Could he derive some benefit from keeping them a secret? His mind followed along that path. He thought of those Norwegians, stupid sons of bitches, sailing right into a Danish longphort with a hold full of plundered Danish goods. His thoughts followed along each of the paths until he could see where it led to danger, to opportunity, to nowhere. He stopped, gasped, cradled his aching finger in his left hand.Īsbjorn envisioned problems as if they were one of those intricate carvings beloved of Norse artists - long, snake-like creatures all tangled around one another. Sbjorn the Fat ran up the plank road until his heaving breath would not allow him to run a foot more. We have trouble, and now I’ve made it worse. “Where are we going, Thorgrim?” Sigurd Sow ventured. “The rest of you keep a bright watch while we’re gone.” And you five.” With a sweep of his arm he indicated half the men left on board. “Sigurd Sow,” Thorgrim called as he walked forward again. But even without it, they were in a precarious situation. The dream had told him not to bring it to Dubh-linn and now he saw why. Danes and Norwegians often fought side by side, but just as often they fought one another, in the same way that the English and the Irish were generally so busy fighting amongst themselves that they had nothing left to fight off the Norsemen. He could hear the sound of the revelry, like a soft land breeze blowing down to the river.ĭanish? Dubh-Linn is Danish now? How could that have happened? There were lights burning here and there, and the windows of the mead hall glowed from the fire and lanterns inside. He leaned against the sweeping sternpost and looked up the rise at the longphort of Dubh-linn. He could still see that offensive fat finger wagging at him. He knew that he had made a grave error, but he had been unable to fight the spirits that possessed him. The black mood didn’t strip him of his senses, at least not after the blind fury had passed. Thorgrim struggled against the men who held him but they knew better than to let go, even if it meant a thrashing after the port reeve was gone.Īsbjorn hurried off and when he was lost in the dark Thorgrim shook off the men and stamped aft. Overall, the longphort settlements were essential in establishing the presence of the Vikings in Ireland during the ninth and tenth centuries.“I’ll be back in the morning,” Asbjorn said as he backed off the ship, his tone a threat. During this time, the Vikings were able to begin a period of extremely profitable trade. ![]() Archeological evidence shows that imports and exports included textiles, animal skins, amber, and glass from England. For example, it is clear that the earliest settlements became major trading centers throughout Ireland. Longphorts were essential to the economic prosperity of the Vikings. ![]() It can be assumed that the purpose of these sites was to ease travel and trade within the region. These camps would be of great importance to the Vikings during their raids of Ireland, which included attacks on many churches and monasteries located on the coast. The sites were easily defended, sheltered, and gave immediate access to the sea. These camps were fortified areas along rivers, usually at a tributary where both sides were protected such that the Vikings could port ships. The reason it cannot be assumed that longphorts were solely for military purposes as that would assume that there were always large numbers of Vikings at these settlements, which is not true. Although it can be assumed that the longphorts were used as bases for Viking raids, it is clear that the term had multiple meanings and that these sites had multiple purposes. longphuirt) is a term used in Ireland for a Viking ship enclosure or shore fortress. Wikipedia Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votesĪ longphort (Ir.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |