Nord Idan

NORD IDAN Vikings were formed in 2020 out of necessity and geographical location to enable 'Viking' reenactors the opportunity to participate in local events that inform residents and visitors of the heritage of Cumbria. Essentially, Nord Idan portray the Hiberno-Norse, and demonstrate through living history the influence that they had on developing a unique multi-cultural society in the no-man’s land of Cumbria during the 10th Century. Whether it was the expulsion of the Norse from Dublin in 902, or from an earlier the settlement of the coastal area that encouraged the Norse to settle in Cumbria is unknown. What is known is taken from two sources. Firstly place names, which show that the Norse lived alongside the indigenous Brythonic population who had their allegiance to the Kingdom of Strathclyde, the Angles of Bernicia who had claimed ‘Over-lordship’ since the 7th Century, and to a lesser extent the Danes who had settled Pennine regions along the Roman roads from Jorvik. The second source is the only surviving record of the early history of Cumbria which lifts the shadowy vail and gives a possible glimpse into the society that evolved during the 10th Century. The Gospatric Writ is the gifting of lands and refers to an earlier period ‘in Eadread’s day’. The Writ lists the Thegns of Cumbria as Thore, and Sygulf (Scandinavian), Waltheof, Wygrande, and Wyberth (Anglo-Saxon), Kunyth (Kenneth?), Gamel, Melmor and Molrin (Gaelic or Brythonic), all of whom helped forge the persona of Cumbria through a shared hardship of a shared landscape.