GENETIC JOYCE STUDIES – Issue 20 (Spring 2020)
Norsemen in Ireland in Spree, Notebook VI.B.37
Viviana-Mirela Braslasu and Ian MacArthur
Joyce’s prowess in giving Earwicker a Scandinavian ancestry is well-known to the Joyce scholars. So much more to the genetic critic. The more we dive into the notebooks, the more we are amazed by the vast array of authors that Joyce consulted sometimes twice or more, on the subject of the Viking and the Norse rule in Ireland: Halliday, Mawer, Worsaae, D’Alton or Gwynn, to name just these. When identifying a ‘second time read’, one would hope that Joyce had filled in more pages in the new notebook than in his first foray, but this is not always the case. However, disappointing it might be to discover that even fewer notes are identified, the joy of finding another ‘double’ remains the same.
Contributions to the History of the Norsemen in Ireland1 by Alexander Bugge adds to the number of sources that fit this bill. It details the Norse rule in Ireland from the 9th century on and its important role in the development of trade and industry. Joyce read and annotated the book—as far as we know—twice. The first time was in Ripples (VI.B.17), a notebook that Joyce compiled in 1926. The index was identified and documented by Daniel Ferrer in a two- part article: “VI.B.17: a Reconstruction (Part I)” and ‘VI.B.17: A Reconstruction and Some Sources’ that he published in two consecutive issues of the Genetic Joyce Studies2. According to Ferrer’s published transcription, Joyce jotted down notes from all the three parts of Bugge’s book: Part I: The Royal Race of Dublin, Part II: Norse Elements in Gaelic Tradition of Modern Times and Part III: Norse Settlements Round the Bristol Channel.
It took Joyce ten years to return to Bugge’s history. In search for new material to enrich HCE’s Norse traits and his connection to the Royal Race of Dublin, together with Worsaae’s An Account of the Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland and Ireland3, in September- December 1936, Joyce harvested Contributions to the History of the Norsemen in Ireland again. Entered between pages 054 to 058 of notebook VI.B.37, the new index is much shorter and it covers only the first fifteen pages of ‘The Royal Race of Dublin: The Norse Race of Kings in Dublin’. From the twenty-five new notes of important names of people or places in the Irish history, Joyce crossed out only two: Danelagh and Oliver White. These were used for the revisions of Book II, chapter 3, draft §2.1 making Earwicker both ‘the defender of defeater of defaulter of deformer of the funst man in Danelagh’ (FW 334.12) and the ‘funst man in Danelagh’ (FW 334.13).
As scholars could document before, at the second reading, Joyce would sometimes jot down words that he had previously recorded. In Bugge’s case, four units that Joyce had already taken down in Ripples: Danelagh (VI.B.17.060(j)), Barefoot (Magnus Barefoot in VI.B.17.063(g)), Hordeland (VI.B.17.064(i)) and Dania (VI.B.17.061(c)) made their way into Spree. Coincidence or not, but in both notebooks Joyce’s notes start with Danelagh.
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We endorse Daniel Ferrer’s “how did Joyce come to read these rather confidential fascicles published by the Norwegian Academy”4 that were “Read in the meeting 23, march 1900”5? Maybe from the copy at Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève as Ferrer suggests?
The authors wish to thank Dipanjan Maitra—PhD student at the University of New York, in Buffalo—for taking the time to download Alexander Bugge’s book, Contributions to the History of the Norsemen in Ireland and for making it available for our consultation.
References:
1. Alexander Bugge. Contributions to the History of the Norsemen in Ireland. Videnskabsselskrabets Skrifter, II. Historisk-filosofisk Klasse, No. 4. Christiania: J. Dybwad, 1900
2. Daniel Ferrer. “VI.B.17: a Reconstruction (Part I)” Genetic Joyce Studies, Issue 14 (Spring 2014) and “VI.B.17: A Reconstruction and Some Sources”. Genetic Joyce Studies, Issue 15 (Spring 2015) at: http://www.geneticjoycestudies.org.
3. Viviana-Mirela Braslasu and Ian MacArthur, An Account of the Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland and Ireland. Genetic Joyce Studies, Issue 19 (Spring 2019) at: http://www.geneticjoycestudies.org. The source was first documented in notebook VI.B.18. See Viviana-Mirela Braslasu and Geert Lernout, Dublin, Norwegians, Anglo-Saxons, Danes, Tristram and Medieval Nuns in Genetic Joyce Studies, Issue 16 (Spring 2016) at: http://www.geneticjoycestudies.org.
4. Daniel Ferrer. “VI.B.17: A Reconstruction and Some Sources”. Genetic Joyce Studies, Issue 15 (Spring 2015) at: http://www.geneticjoycestudies.org, page 18.
5. Alexander Bugge. Contributions to the History of the Norsemen in Ireland. Videnskabsselskrabets Skrifter, II. Historisk-filosofisk Klasse, No. 4. Christiania: J. Dybwad, 1900, front flyleaf verso.
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VI.B.37.054 (b) r
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MS 47479-187, ScrTsBMA: - And this ^+is defender of defeater of defaulter of deformer of the funst man in Danelagh, willingtoned in with this glance dowon his browen and that born appalled noodlum the panelite pair’s cummul delimitator, adding: ^+Oliver White, he’s as tiff as he’s ^+She’e’s ^+Shee’s+^+^+^. And thisens his speak quite hoarse. Dip.+^ | JJA 54:307 | 1936 | II.3§2.1 | FW 334.13 (c) Turgesius > (d) Hirota > (e) Findgenti > (f) Linnduachàil / amlaib > (g) Barefoot Note: See also VI.B.17.063(g). Norsemen in Ireland 4: Zimmer says: »The Vikings who, until 840-850 wandered about in Ireland, or like Turgeis, tried to establish a kingdom, were Norwegians. Their home is Hirōta (Book of Armagh), Hiruath (in the old Irish Saga texts), i. e. Hörđaland at the Hardangerfjord. In my opinion they are called Findgenti, Find gaill, because their names are very often compounds (Hvíti-pagans, Hvíti- foreigners)«. Zimmer goes on to relate that Danish vikings in 848, came to Ireland and attacked the Norwegians. »Two years afterwards«, he says, »the Danes conquer Dublin and defeat the Norwegians at Linn Duachail. In the following year, the Norwegians come with a fleet of 160 ships, and fight with the Danes at Snam Aignech, a battle in which the Norwegians lose 5000 men, and even have to give up their ships to the Danes. The Norwegian Viking power is broken, and the Danes, victorious at Linn Duachail and Snam Aignech, hold the sway and have Dublin in their hands. When, in the following year (852), it is simply stated that Amlaib, son of the King of Lochlann, came to Ireland and that the Vikings in Ireland acknowledged his rule, there can be no doubt that he was a Dane«. Zimmer admits that Lochlann, after the twelfth century, means Norway; but he is of opinion that this is due to the expedition of King Magnus Barefoot. He tries to prove that the original form of the name is not Lochlann, but Lathlann, Lothlann, which at first signified the Danish island, Lolland. Zimmer also believes that the name Hiruath, as early as the ninth century, completely disappears, and is replaced by the name Lochlann; and he sees in this a proof of his theory. (h) Hordeland >> Note: See also VI.B.17.064(i).
VI.B.37.055 (a) Kings Norsemen in Ireland 5: First the name Hiruath (gen. pl. na Hiruade is the name of the people). Probably Dr. Todd and Zimmer are right in connecting Hiruath with the Hœreðas of the Anglo- Saxons, and in explaining it as Old-Norse, Hƍrðar, i. e. men from Hördaland.[…] The Annals describe the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, and relate that »it was he (i.e. Maelmorda, the son of Murchad) who gathered the kings together and entered into alliance with them, their islands and sons, with the Lochlanns of Iartuaith (con in Lochlaind an Iartuaith)«. (b) Dania > Note: See also VI.B.17.061(c). (c) Ioruaighe Norsemen in Ireland 5-6: Even as late as in the 17th and 18th centuries, the name, in the corrupted form Iorruiadhe, is found in the Irish ballads. And, according to Mac Firbis’s genealogical work (from the beginning of the 17th century), »the writings of the Irish call the Lochlannaigh by the name Goill: they also call some of them Dubhlochlannaigh, i.e. black Gentiles, which was applied to the Danes of Dania, i.e. Denmark. Finn-Lochlannaigh, i.e. fair Gentiles, i.e. the people of Ioruaighe, i.e. the people of Norwegia«. — Iorruaidhe and Ioruaighe, which must both [5] have been pronounced in the same manner, are clearly later forms of Hiruath, Hirotha, or Iroda. — (d) Mac Ragnal
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Norsemen in Ireland 8: Another very trustworthy source is the chronicle, »The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill« (Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh). Dr. Todd, in his admirable introduction, has proved that this old chronicle must have been composed soon after the battle of Clontarf, probably about the year 1030. The chronicle relates (pp. 27 and 232) that the Danish chieftain Mac Ragnaill, i. e. Ragnall’s son, came to Dublin, and that a banquet was given in his honour. This event must be dated 877. (e) +longhland Note: See reproduction of the notebook page. Unit overwritten (d). Norsemen in Ireland 9: the name Lochlann, even before the time of Magnus Barefoot, meant »Norway«. (f) under the year Norsemen in Ireland 9: In the Anglo-Saxon lay of the Battle of Brunanburh, which, under the year 937, has been inserted in the most ancient MSS of the Saxon Chronicle, Anláf (i. e. Olav Kuáran) is called Norðmanna bregu »King of the Norwegians.« His men are called þa Norþmen »the Norwegians«, and it is related that they went back to Dublin across the sea. King Alfred’s Orosius already shows that the Anglo-Saxons distinguished between Norþmen »Norwegians« and Dene »Danes«. (g) +co[nqueror]s = ? N > Note: See reproduction of the notebook page. Unit overwritten (f). (h) ostman Norsemen in Ireland 11: the Annals of St. Mary’s Abbey in Dublin (from the 14th century) make the following remarks with regard to the year 1095: »Notandum vero quod Norwagienses seu Ostmanni, qui tunc civitates Hiberniœ et maritima accupabant, Normanni, in Christo, sunt vocati.« Thus the inhabitants of Dublin, in the second half of the 12th century and later, have regarded themselves as Norwegians, and not as Danes. And we have no reason to call in question the correctness of their conviction. (i) the ‘black’ >>
VI.B.37.056 (a) Balde > (b) (dub gall) > (c) the
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in Norway. After the death of his father, he and his mother went to the Hebrides, where Thorstein became a great chieftain. (g) Inglings >>
VI.B.37.057 (a) rOliver White Note: See reproduction of the notebook page. Letter W connected with what it seems to be the Arabic numeral ‘1’. Norsemen in Ireland 15n1: E. H. Lind in his »Namnhistoriska bidrag till fràgan om den gamla norska konungaättens härstamnings« […] is of opinion that King Olav the White, his brothers and descendants, belonged to the same race as the Norwegian kings, viz. the Yngling family. Lind also believes that Godfred and Godred were identical. But on the other hand, I cannot see that Lind has proved the Danish origin of the Yngling kings. Many of the names in this family are found, not only in Denmark, but also in Sweden and Norway. Halfdan, for instance, was a common name in Upland, whence the Ynglings, according to tradition, were descended. And Olav — even before the time of St. Olav — was a common name in Norway, and likewise Erik. MS 47479-186v, ScrTsLPA: ^+Oliver White, he’s as tiff as he’s ^+She’e’s ^+Shee’s+^+^ | JJA 54:306 | 1936 | II.3§2.1 | FW 334.15
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