Camps and Early Settlement in the Viking Diaspora: England, Ireland and the Case of Galicia

Des del segle IX al segle XI, els víkings van atacar constantment àrees com Anglaterra, Irlanda i Normandia. Durant les primeres fases dels assentaments, el campament víking (anomenat longphort en els annals irlandesos) apareix com un model d’estructura des del qual controlar el territori adjacent a rius i costes. Algunes d’aquestes estructures van evolucionar i es van tornar centres comercials i militars. En alguns casos, es van convertir en centres urbans i van ser el germen de ciutats com Dublín. Aquests campaments són fonamentals per a entendre el desenvolupament d’una fase de ràtzies a una d’assentament. No obstant això, aquests campaments no s’han trobat en altres regions menys estudiades de la diàspora vikinga, com és el cas de Galícia. Galícia va rebre atacs víkings durant tota l’Era vikinga i també va ser poblada per víkings, encara que a molta menys escala que a altres parts de la diàspora. En aquest article, presentaré les similituds dels campaments víkings d’Anglaterra i Irlanda i avaluaré quin tipus d’estructura es podria trobar a Galícia.From the ninth to the eleventh century, Vikings famously raided areas like England, Ireland and Normandy and started to settle there. In its early phases of activity, the Viking camp, called longhort in Irish annals, appeared and was used as an initial structure from which to control areas adjacent to navigable rivers or to the coast. These structures sometimes evolved into centres of trade and military activity, and in some cases, they became urban centres. However important they are to understanding the progression from raiding to settlement in the Viking diaspora, these camps have not been found in less-studied regions that underwent a long period of Viking contact. That is the case of Galicia, a frequent raiding destination and, as argued in this paper, one that also witnessed the medium- and long-term presence of Vikings, although possibly in much lower numbers than in other areas of the diaspora. In this article, I will present the commonalities of Viking camps in England and Ireland and will assess whether that type of structure should be expected in Galicia