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

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

for a Viking ship enclosureConnolly S.J (1998). The Oxford Companion to Irish History. Oxford University Press. p. 580 or shore fortress. Although these ''longphorts'' were used as bases for Viking raids, the term had additional meanings and these sites had multiple purposes.Valante, Mary A. The Vikings in Ireland: Settlement, Trade, and Urbanization. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2008. The reason it cannot be assumed that ''longphorts'' were solely for military purposes as that would assume that there were always large numbers of Vikings at these settlements, which is not true. These 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. These 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 ''Annales Bertiniani'' (''Annals of Saint Bertin'') are late Carolingian, Frankish annals that were found in the Abbey of Saint Bertin, Saint-Omer, France, after which they are named. Their account is taken to cover the period 830-82, thus continu ...

with the establishment of Viking encampments at Linn Duachaill and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. It also describes new Viking settlements established at

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

in 914 and

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

in 922 possibly by the Uí Ímair. Many camps along river banks and lakes did not last long, however, some only as little as one or two seasons, but others such as Dublin developed into large urban centers, as did the other significant Norse settlements at

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Waterford, Woodstown (in Waterford),

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

and Limerick which remain the largest urban centers in Ireland today.

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.

References

{{reflist Viking Age in Ireland Viking Age populated places