Network analysis of the viking age in Ireland as portrayed in cogadh Gaedhel re gallaibh

Joseph Yose, Ralph Kenna, Máirín Maccarron, Pádraig Maccarron

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh (‘The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill’) is a medieval Irish text, telling how an army under the leadership of Brian Boru challenged Viking invaders and their allies in Ireland, culminating with the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Brian’s victory is widely remembered for breaking Viking power in Ireland, although much modern scholarship disputes traditional perceptions. Instead of an international conflict between Irish and Viking, interpretations based on revisionist scholarship consider it a domestic feud or civil war. Counterrevisionists challenge this view and a long-standing and lively debate continues. Here, we introduce quantitative measures to the discussions.We present statistical analyses of network data embedded in the text to position its sets of interactions on a spectrum from the domestic to the international. This delivers a picture that lies between antipodal traditional and revisionist extremes; hostilities recorded in the text are mostly between Irish and Viking—but internal conflict forms a significant proportion of the negative interactions too.

Original languageEnglish
Article number171024
Pages (from-to)171024
JournalRoyal Society Open Science
Volume5
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Jan 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Assortativity
  • Character networks
  • Complexity science
  • Epic narratives
  • Ireland
  • Vikings

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Network analysis of the viking age in Ireland as portrayed in cogadh Gaedhel re gallaibh'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this