A longphort (Ir. plur. ''longphuirt'') is a term used in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

for a

Viking ship Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, used in Scandinavia throughout the Middle Ages. The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexi ...

enclosureConnolly S.J (1998). The Oxford Companion to Irish History. Oxford University Press. p. 580 or shore fortress. The ''longphorts'' were bases for Viking raids but had multiple purposes.Valante, Mary A. The Vikings in Ireland: Settlement, Trade, and Urbanization. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2008. There were not always large numbers of Vikings at these settlements. The camps were fortified areas along rivers, usually at a tributary where both sides were protected such that the Vikings could port ships. The sites were easily defended, sheltered, and gave immediate access to the sea. The camps would be of great importance to the Vikings during their raids of Ireland, which included attacks on many churches and monasteries located on the coast. It can be assumed that the purpose of these sites was to ease travel and trade within the region.Unknown. The Annals of Ulster. Comp. Pádraig Bambury and Stephan Beechinor. Cork: CELT, 2000. Longphorts were essential to the economic prosperity of the Vikings. For example, it is clear that the earliest settlements became major trading centers throughout Ireland.Holman, Katherine. The Northern Conquest: Vikings in Britain and Ireland. Oxford: Signal, 2007. Archeological evidence shows that imports and exports included textiles, animal skins, amber, and glass from England. During this time, the Vikings were able to begin a period of extremely profitable trade. Overall, the longphort settlements were essential in establishing the presence of the Vikings in Ireland during the ninth and tenth centuries.

Origins

The word was first used in the 840s in the Irish account of The Annals of Ulster and in the Frankish account in the Annals of St. Bertin with the establishment of Viking encampments at Linn Duachaill and

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. It also describes new Viking settlements established at

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

in 914 and

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

in 922 possibly by the

Uí Ímair The Uí Ímair (; meaning ‘''scions of Ivar’''), also known as the Ivar dynasty or Ivarids, was a Norse-Gael dynasty which ruled much of the Irish Sea region, the Kingdom of Dublin, the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides and ...

. Many camps along river banks and lakes did not last long, some only as little as one or two seasons. Others, however, including Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Woodstown (in Waterford),

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

, and Limerick, became the largest towns in Ireland.

Terminology

The term longphort, or longphuit in Irish as seen in the annals, literally translates to “ship camp”. This compound word was likely coined by Irish monks from the Latin word "longus" (long) reflecting the Old Norse "lang" (long), thus implying "langskip" (long ship); plus the Latin "portus", meaning port, harbour. There are several towns and townlands in Ireland whose names bear some element of Longphort in them. This may suggest that at some point in history there may have been a longphort situated there, as is attested in some examples. The town and county of Longford are anglicisations of the Irish equivalent "longfort", referring to a fortress or fortified house. The County Kerry village of

Ballylongford Ballylongford (historically ''Bealalongford'', from ) is a village near Listowel in northern County Kerry, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 415. Geography The village is situated near the estuary of the Ballyline River, ...

and Scottish village of Longformacus also derive their names from ''longfort''.Taylor, I. (2020). ''The Placenames of Scotland''. United Kingdom: Birlinn.

References

{{reflist Viking Age in Ireland Viking Age populated places