Harley Botham

Vikings have traditionally been portrayed as Scandinavian raiders, conquerors, and colonizers (Christys, 2015, p. 4). As a result, scholarly analysis of Viking contact has often focused on violent encounters, reinforcing an image of the Vikings as piratical, brutal, and lawless figures; deemed Majūs in Araic literature, a term with negative connotations, commonly associated with fire-worshippers, magicians, or heathens (al-Azmeh, 1992; Cattaneo, 2021, p. 4; Christys, 2015, p. 15; García Losquiño, 2022, p. 357; Price, 2008, p. 464; Pritsak, 1990). This dominant narrative has left diplomatic interactions and their outcomes underexplored.

It is only in recent years that scholars have begun to challenge this narrative, offering more nuanced interpretations of Viking engagements in the North Atlantic. At the centre of these recent studies is Irene García Losquiño’s research on Norse-Iberian relations in northern Iberia, which revealed Norse-Iberian exchange was multifaceted; involving trade, settlement, and mercenary service that contributed to lasting cultural exchanges, including the transfer of material culture and linguistic elements in the region (García Losquiño, 2022). Building on her findings, this thesis aims to further investigate the complex diplomatic exchanges between the Norse and the societies of al-Andalus and the Maghreb.

Through literary analysis, this thesis will evaluate the extent to which Norse-Iberian interactions were diplomatic and how these interactions resulted in lasting cultural exchanges in al-Andalus and the Maghreb. This thesis therefore includes a critical review and interpretation of current scholarship to provide insight into the necessity for diplomacy in Viking alliances, trade and settlement. Additionally, this thesis will undertake a comparative analysis between Norse-Iberian diplomacy and better recognised contexts, such as Norse-Anglo-Saxon relations, in order to highlight both commonalities and disparities between these contexts and ultimately identify unique aspects of Viking exchange in the southern diaspora.

Harley is a full-time distance student, working towards a PhD in Northern Studies at the Institute for Northern Studies. Alongside her doctoral research, she is undertaking the ALPINE Portfolio route to Associate Fellowship. She previously earned an MLitt in Viking Studies (Distinction) at the Institute for Northern Studies and was awarded UHI Student of the Year 2024. Harley has also obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Secondary Spanish with QTS) from Leeds Trinity University, and an undergraduate BA (Hons) Arts and Humanities (Spanish and History) from the Open University.