Scandinavian-Britain

III.THE NORSE SETTLEMENTSSo far,we have considered only the Scandinavianimmigration from the east settlers, chiefly Danish,who colonised the shores of the North Sea and penetratedBritain halfway across, or in one part more andin another less than halfway. We have now to dealwith the counter current of invasion from thewestof settlers, chiefly Norse, who made homes on thecoasts of the Irish Sea. In Northumbria they metthe streams from the east, interpenetrated the Danishsettlements, and, though late in the history of Scandinaviancolonisation, made their way, as we have justseen, across Yorkshire. In Scotland they formed thebulk of Scandinavian element in the population. Butall the shores of the Irish Sea, and its continuationsnorth and south, were visited by them and retain tracesof their presence. The difficulty in treating the subjectas matter of history is great, for there are no sufficientlyfull and consecutive annals of these regions which liebetween England and Ireland ;we get little morethan occasional hints, and the evidences of placenamesand archaeology; but still it is possible tosketch the general course and extent of the movement.The Viking kingdoms in Ireland cannot be rightlyincluded in a review of Scandinavian Britain, and thisomission narrows therange of a subject, already too182