Longphort
Longphort ( Irish "ship port") originated as a term for fortified Viking settlements on the coast of Ireland in the 9th and 10th centuries. Longphorts were often built on the lower reaches of larger rivers, giving the Vikings access to the sea as well as inland and allowing ships to land. The camps were important to the Vikings during their raids on churches and monasteries in Ireland. It is believed that the later purpose of these places was to facilitate trade in the region. Longphorts were essential to the economic prosperity of the Vikings. Archaeological evidence shows that amber , glass from England, textiles and furs were traded.
The word was first used in the Annals of Ulster and the Frankish Annals of St. Bertin with the establishment of the Viking camp of Linn Duachaill (probably Lis-na-Rann at the mouth of the Glyde) in County Louth and Dublin in the 840s. It describes settlements at Athlunkard ( Irish Áth Longfoirt ) in County Clare , Dunrally Fort ( Irish Longphort Rothlaibh , Dún Rothlaibh ) in County Laois , Longford ( Irish Longphort Uí Fhearghail ) (Longphort of the O'Farrells) in County Longford , Rindoon (the Longphort of the Viking Turgesius in Lough Ree ), Woodstown in County Waterford and Limerick and was possibly established by the Nordic dynasty of the Uí Ímair . Many longphorts did not last long, others like Cork , Dublin, Limerick, Waterford and Wexford became urban centers and remain so to this day.
literature
- Eamonn P. Kelly, John Maas: Vikings on the Barrow: Dunrally Fort, a Possible Viking Longphort in County Laois. In: Archeology Ireland. Vol. 9, No. 3 = The Viking Issue , 1995, ISSN 0790-892X , pp. 30-32, JSTOR 20558681 .
- Eamonn P. Kelly, Edmond O'Donovan: A Viking Longphort near Athlunkard, Co. Clare. In: Archeology Ireland. Vol. 12, No. 4, 1998, pp. 13-16, JSTOR 20562423 .