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IHTA Town Type Series: Viking Towns

06 May 2020

As part of IHTA Online, Howard Clarke, MRIA and editor of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas, explores the traditional Irish Viking towns and other towns associated with them. 

For some more Lockdown Reading over the coming weeks we are revisiting the expert essays that were published along side the launch of each of the IHTA Online town types:

 

Monastic Towns – Anngret Simms Eary Modern, Gaelic and Plantation Towns – Raymond Gillespie
Viking Towns – Howard Clarke Towns in the Eighteenth Century – Colm Lennon
Anglo-Norman Towns – Michael Potterton Towns in Nineteenth-Century –  Jacinta Prunty

The second in the series is by Howard Clarke discussing the 'Viking Town' and other town names that are associated with them. Discussed in the link are Dublin, part I, to 1610, Limerick, Carlingford and Youghal, all of which are freely available as part of IHTA Online.

Part of artist's impression of Dublin, looking north, c. 1000; acrylic painting by Simon Dick; content provided by P.F. Wallace (National Museum of Ireland). It appears as Plate 1 in IHTA no. 11, Dublin, part I, to 1610 by H.B. Clarke (Royal Irish Academy, 2002). 

To go directly to Towns of Viking Origin where IHTA nos 11 Dublin, part I, to 1610 by H.B. Clarke and 21 Limerick by Eamon O'Flaherty click here. 

Further reading

For more on this topic, here is an excerpt from Reading the maps by H.B. Clarke and Jacinta Prunty on the 'Viking town'. There are some useful questions to test yourself at the end of the chapter. 

To read the previous essay by Anngret Simms on the Monastic Town click here. 

To read the next essay by Michael Potterton on the Anglo-Norman Town click here. 

Cover image: detail from 'Medieval Dublin. c. 840 to c. 1540, by H.B. Clarke (2002) and appears as Map 4 in IHTA no. 11 Dublin, part I, to 1610 by H.B. Clarke and the full version is available to download here. 

Irish Historic Towns Atlas

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