Experts at the University have reached across ‘the M6 of the Viking age’ to spread the latest research on the history and culture of the Norsemen.

The 7th Midlands Viking Symposium brought together some of the foremost Viking researchers in Dublin.

The Vikings left a strong imprint on Ireland that is still apparent in place-names, archaeological finds and in the DNA of the modern population.

Archaeological finds have provided new evidence of the widespread impact the invaders had on Ireland when they arrived on its shores over 1,000 years ago. The recently-discovered site of Annagassan promises to rival Viking Dublin in the richness and variety of relics.

There is strong evidence to suggest that all modern Irish cities had their foundations in the Viking age. Limerick, for example, can trace its heritage back to the Norsemen’s settlement of Hlymrekr.

The Symposium is a collaboration between the universities of Nottingham, Birmingham and Leicester, and brings together academics and non-academics. This year’s event, from April 29-30, was co-organised and hosted by Dublin City Council, and supported by the National Museum of Ireland.

Professor Judith Jesch, of The University of Nottingham, presented a session on ‘Depictions of the Irish in Norse literature’. She said: “In the Viking age, the Irish Sea was the M6 of its day – an extremely busy highway for trade and travel. Both England and Ireland were thus plugged into the wider Viking world that extended north to Scotland and Iceland. The literature of medieval Iceland is one of the best ways of finding out what people thought of their neighbours in this busy multicultural world.”

In the past, Vikings have been seen as ‘Gaill/foreigner’ in Britain and Ireland, but focus has shifted to settlement and integration into existing cultures. The Vikings are a shared experience for the two nations, linked by the Irish Sea and characterised by varied adaptation to circumstances of language, economy and politics.

The opening keynote lecture was given by Dr Christina Lee, of The University of Nottingham, and Dr John Sheehan, of University College Cork, who talked about the importance of Vikings in their respective research areas – literature/language and archaeology. Other sessions included:  ‘A nest of pirates? Weapons, warriors and early Viking Dublin’ – Dr Stephen Harrison, University College Dublin, ‘and What’s in a name? The genetic legacy of the Vikings in the north of England’ – Dr Turi King, University of Leicester.

The University of Nottingham is at the forefront of Viking research, through the Centre for the Study of the Viking Age in the School of English Studies (www.nottingham.ac.uk/csva/index.aspx), which was founded in 1995 by Professors Christine Fell OBE and Judith Jesch.

A web resource, with a list of Viking finds in Ireland, is at: www.vikingage.mic.ul.ie/. The resource will be showcased at May Fest 2011, the University’s community open day, on Saturday 7 May. Visit www.nottingham.ac.uk/mayfest/index.aspx.