The evidence for a large-scale Scandinavian migration into north-west England beginning in the early 10th century is considerable. One of the main challenges facing those who seek to construct a coherent
Narrative from that evidence, however, is the near complete dearth of contemporary written sources for the region. Alex Woolf (2007, p. 132) noted, for example, that ‘the western coast of Northumbria from the Mersey to Ayrshire is a “chronicle blind-spot” in the early middle ages and almost no events occurring there are recorded.’
Related Textual Evidence
One event that took place across the Irish Sea and had a significant bearing on Viking presence in the north-west at the time is reported in the Annals of Ulster. It states that in 902 a coalition of Irish kings turned against the Vikings whose seat of power had for decades been centred on Dublin. Another source, known as the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland, tells of the adventures of Ingimundr, a Viking leader who survived the Dublin expulsion.
Two other passages suggesting Viking activity in the north-west then are found in Historia de Sancto Cuthberto, a Latin work compiled in the mid 11th century that may contain texts dating to as early as the mid 10th century. Two Anglo-Saxon dignitaries are reported as having left north-west England by 918 at the very latest, and quite possibly several years earlier (Johnson-South 2002, p. 61). One of these, Tilred, was abbot of Heversham in Westmorland. For reasons not explained in the text, he left Westmorland and headed east where he purchased the abbacy of Norham on Tweed from Bishop Cutheard (918 or possibly 915).
The other dignitary is Alfred, son of Brihtwulf, who,‘fleeing from pirates, came over the mountains in the west and sought the mercy of St. Cuthbert and bishop Cutheard so that they might present him with some lands.’ It seems reasonable to assume that, as with Tilred, Alfred’s lands would have come at a price to satisfy the good bishop.
From these short passages (see also Griffiths, Chapter 2) it seems that some disruption (certainly in the case of Alfred at least) caused by Vikings in the early part of the reign of Edward the Elder led to the departure of these men (and quite possibly others) from the north-west. Significantly, however, they appear to have been in possession of sufficient funds to resettle comfortably in their new surroundings.
Place-Names
Another hindrance to piecing together the story behind the Scandinavians’ arrival in north-west England lies in the uncertainty related to dating much of the evidence. Place-names, for example, began to appear in written records from the 11th century and many were not recorded until much later. Among the few significant exceptions is the grant of Amounderness, as noted above, in a charter from the 930s. Here is an example of an entire administrative district in Lancashire bearing the name of what must have been a Scandinavian overlord before 934, suggesting that elite Viking leaders controlled major seats of power in this region at that time.
Angus Winchester (1985, p. 99) observed that ‘the major territorial divisions down the Irish Sea coast of north-west England—Allerdale, Copeland, Furness, Amounderness—all bear names of Scandinavian origin.’ Furthermore, the sheer abundance of ON place-names in parts of north-west England (Wainwright 1975, pp. 181-279; Fellows-Jensen 1985; Whaley 1996) suggests the presence of very large numbers of Scandinavians whose influence on the spoken language was both considerable and long-lasting.
Such influences can also be traced in local dialects (Ellis 1985, pp. 161-167), the occasional runic inscriptions from later centuries such as at Carlisle and Pennington in Cumbria (Barnes and Page 2006, p. 19), and also in an early text about territories in Cumbria and known as Gospatric's Writ (Harmer 1952, pp. 419-424). Some scholars have noted a West Norse or Norwegian bias in the place-names of north-west England (Smyth 1975, p. 77; Whaley 1996, p. xxi).
Coin and Silver Hoards
Two types of evidence relating to Scandinavian presence in north-west England allow for closer dating— one quite exact and the other to within a few decades. The first and more precise items are coin hoards which, if they contain sufficient coins for comparison, can often be dated accurately to within a few years of their deposition. Large numbers of silver and coin hoards have been found in north-west England. Two of these have particular significance for they may support the theory of a possible link between northwest England and the events recorded in ASC for 909 and 910.
The first hoard was found near Harkirk in Lancashire (north-west of Liverpool) in 1611. The coins have not survived but an engraving made near the time of discovery allowed numismatists to determine that the hoard included pennies from at least four series of Edward’s coins minted ca. 910, all bearing the names of moneyers from south-east England (Edwards 1998, pp. 42-45; Graham-Campbell 2001, pp. 219-220). The second hoard discovered in Shrewsbury in 1936 contained similar Anglo-Saxon issues (Robinson 1983, pp. 7-13).
The dates of the coins, their provenance, and places of deposition led Stewart Lyon (2001, p. 75) to suggest that ‘[i]t is conceivable that both these hoards are related to Edward’s campaign of 909-910 against the Northumbrian Danes, which ended in the battle of Tettenhall, less than 30 miles east of Shrewsbury.’ This accords well with the hypothesis that the Scandinavians of the nordhere in 909 and 910 were, in fact, Irish Sea Vikings who, following the destruction of Dublin as a Viking seat of power in 902, re-established themselves in north-west England.
World History
