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Gerald of Wales, the Topographia Hiberniae , and the History of the Vikings in Ireland

2020; Brepols; Volume: 51; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1484/j.viator.5.127049

2031-0234

Patrick Wadden,

Linguistics and language evolution

This article examines the account of Irish history recorded by Gerald of Wales, focusing especially on the narrative of the Scandinavian conquest and settlement of Ireland presented in the third distinctio of his Topographia Hiberniae. It identifies the diverse sources Gerald drew upon, including Geoffrey of Monmouth's De gestis Britonum; sources related to two extant Middle Irish historical texts, namely Lebor gabála Érenn and Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib; and potentially a lost Hiberno-Scandinavian account of the foundation of Dublin and Ireland's other maritime cities. The influence of Norman historical traditions and of Gildas's De excidio Britanniae is also highlighted. Ultimately, it argues that Gerald utilized a historiographical framework appropriated from Lebor gabála, supplemented by information and concepts derived from other sources, to construct a complex historical narrative that was both backward-looking and presentminded. This enabled him to depict the Scandinavian invasion and settlement both as characteristic of Ireland's history over the longue durée and as a precursor to the English invasion of Gerald's own time.