Vikings in the South: Voyages to Iberia and the Mediterranean (Studies in Early Medieval History)

In the ninth century, Vikings carried out raids on the Christian north and Muslim south of the Iberian peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal), going on to attack North Africa, southern Francia and Italy and perhaps sailing as far as Byzantium. A century later, Vikings killed a bishop of Santiago de Compostela and harried the coasts of al-Andalus. Most of the raids after this date were small in scale, but several heroes of the Old Norse sagas were said to have raided in the peninsula. These Vikings have been only a footnote to the history of the Viking Age. Many stories about their activities survive only in elaborate versions written centuries after the event, and in Arabic. This book reconsiders the Arabic material as part of a dossier that also includes Latin chronicles and charters as well as archaeological and place-name evidence. Arabic authors and their Latin contemporaries remembered Vikings in Iberia in surprisingly similar ways. How they did so sheds light on contemporary responses to Vikings throughout the medieval world. Viking activity in Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal) and the Mediterranean has received little attention in general histories of the Viking Age, even though Vikings raided Christian northern Spain and Muslim al-Andalus over at least two centuries, attacked North Africa, southern Francia and Italy and may have sailed to Byzantium. Vikings killed a bishop of Santiago de Compostela and several heroes of the Old Norse sagas were said to have raided in Spain. This book surveys a wide range of material that includes histories and geographical works written in Arabic, Latin and Romance, as well as charters, archaeology and place-name evidence. It discusses the way that different authors characterized the raiders, and whether we can be sure that all of them were indeed Vikings. It shows how the stories about them could become more elaborate with each retelling, creatively implicating prominent figures in the defence against these pirates. Most of the Viking activity in the south probably consisted of small-scale raiding for slaves, although some of the captives were ransomed. Yet the Scandinavians were nonetheless perceived as a threat by the rulers of Christian and Muslim Iberia, who raised fortifications and built fleets to use against them. Arabic authors and their Latin contemporaries remembered Vikings in Iberia in surprisingly similar ways. How they did so sheds light on contemporary responses to Vikings throughout the medieval world. Cover page -- Halftitle page -- Series page -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface and Acknowledgements -- Maps -- 1 Introduction: Don Teudo Rico Defeats a Viking Raid -- 2 From the Encircling Ocean -- 3 So the Story Goes -- 4 A Mediterranean Adventure -- 5 Waiting for the Barbarians -- 6 The Wars of Santiago and Cordoba against Vikings -- 7 Conclusion: From Charter and Chronicle to Saga -- APPENDIX 1 Glossary of Histories and Historians -- APPENDIX 2 Timeline -- Abbreviations -- Bibliography -- A. Primary sources and sources in translation -- B. Secondary sources -- Index Ann Christys. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.