Scandanavians and Settlement in the Eastern Irish Sea Region
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SCANDANAVIANS AND SETTLEMENT IN THE EASTERN IRISH SEA REGION DURING THE VIKING AGE _______________________________________ A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy _____________________________________________________ by RUSSELL GOODRICH Dr. Lois Huneycutt, Dissertation Supervisor MAY 2010 © Copyright by Russell Goodrich 2010 All Rights Reserved The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled SCANDANAVIANS AND SETTLEMENT IN THE EASTERN IRISH SEA REGION DURING THE VIKING AGE presented by Russell Goodrich, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. ______________________________ Professor Lois Huneycutt ______________________________ Professor A. Mark Smith ______________________________ Professor Russ Zguta ______________________________ Professor Kerby Miller ______________________________ Professor Ralph Rowlett to Katie ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to acknowledge all who have been of help in the completion of this project. I must thank first my advisor, Lois Huneycutt, for her aid and advice over the years concerning this project and for her helpful suggestions. I would also like to thank Ralph Rowlett for the archaeological insights and for helping me to better understand the archaeological aspects of the Vikings and the North Germanic European Lowland culture. Besides Lois and Ralph, I would also like to acknowledge and thank the other members of my committee, Russ Zguta, Kerby Miller, and Mark Smith for their patience and for the helpful suggestions on my final draft. I would also like to acknowledge and thank numerous graduate students over the years with whom I have shared ideas and suggestions, and others with whom I have had the good fortune of studying. I must also thank Dolores Fisher and her staff at the Interlibrary Loan Office in Ellis Library here at the University of Missouri. Much of the research undertaken herein would scarcely have been possible without the help of this wonderful office. I must also acknowledge and thank the members of the SMELT project with whom I spent a summer working in the north of England, particularly Dr. Tom Brunton who generously allowed me to view his research concerning the finished excavation of Structure 26. I would also like to thank the staff of Michigan Technical University for allowing me to join the dig. I acknowledge also a debt of thanks to Adam Parsons for keeping me in the loop regarding the Low Birker Site and for driving me to visit Gosforth while I was in England. I must further acknowledge the library at University College, London, for allowing me the use of the archives. I would also like to acknowledge all who made fieldwork possible, and any colleagues to whom I may have not made specific reference. Finally, I would also like to thank my students at Moberly Area Community College and the University of Missouri-Columbia for the inspiration to teach and to see this project through to a successful conclusion. ii Special thanks go to my wife Katie, for encouragement, help and for putting up with me during the worst times of this process. I also would like to thank my mom and other family members for their continued support. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge my friend Richard Schmidt, who died too soon. He was very interested in the Vikings and would certainly have liked to have seen the completion of this project. Thanks go out as well to my other friends for their support and ideas. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ ii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ...............................................................................................v LIST OF MAPS ................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... .vii INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 Chapter 1. The Function and Role of Geography......................................................................17 2. Immigration and the Historical Setting....................................................................49 3. Place-Names and Scandinavian Settlement...........................................................136 4. Anglo-Scandinavian Archaeological Material.......................................................185 5. The Low Birker site, Cumbria...............................................................................277 CONCLUSION................................................................................................................328 BIBLIOGRAPY………………………………………………………………………...341 VITA…………………………………………………………………………………....393 iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Comparisons of Sculpture ......................................................................................168 2. The Aspatria Find ...................................................................................................212 3. Grave goods excavated from Hesket-in-the-Forest ................................................213 4. The Ormside Cup ...................................................................................................216 5. The Inskip Sword ...................................................................................................220 6. The Heysham Comb ...............................................................................................220 7. The Flusco Pike and the “near Penrith” Brooch ....................................................251 8. The Halton Cup ......................................................................................................255 9. Gosforth Cross photo .............................................................................................262 10. The Fishing Store, Gosforth ...................................................................................268 11. Gosforth Cross: Loki and Heimdall .......................................................................269 12. Viðarr slays the Midgard Serpent ...........................................................................270 13. Gosforth Crucifixion Scene ....................................................................................271 14. Hogbacks of Gosforth ............................................................................................273 15. Tall and Low Shaft Furnaces .................................................................................294 16. Excavation of Structure 26 .....................................................................................307 v LIST OF MAPS Figure Page 1. Iron-Age Denmark .................................................................................................19 2. Orkney Islands .......................................................................................................25 3. Inner and Outer Hebrides .......................................................................................26 4. Shetland .................................................................................................................30 5. Isle of Man .............................................................................................................36 6. Galloway and Dumfriesshire .................................................................................39 7. Cumberland and Westmorland with surrounding territory ....................................43 8. Ireby names in northwest Britain .........................................................................166 9. Approximate locations of grave finds in northwestern England .........................210 10. Location of the Cuerdale Hoard .........................................................................257 11. Low Birker Site ...................................................................................................302 vi LIST OF TABLES Figure Page 1. Push and Pull Factors of Migration .......................................................................55 2. Regular Patterns of Migration ...............................................................................61 3. Comparison of Major and Some Minor Graves in northwestern England ..........225 4. Comparison of Coin Hoards from northwest England ........................................259 vii Intoduction: The Importance of the Vikings for Cumbria Today The role of the Vikings in Britain is both one of great significance and great ambiguity. The written sources are frequently insufficient to provide answers to all questions that are asked of them, and in some cases, present historiographical issues that can lead researchers to still more questions.1 They are nonetheless the best starting point in recreating the history of even a realm as thinly documented as northern Europe. The sources, combined with archaeological and numismatic evidence, establish beyond a doubt that the Vikings were indeed settlers in northern England and in Scotland. This is a point that is vitally important in both English and Scottish history, because the Vikings left an indelible stamp upon the language,