Chapter 51: Mere Anarchy Is Loosed Upon The World

''Furthermore, the legally mandated food and housing welfare requirements for all members of Berk's holdings—a holdover from the days of the Dragon War, when a surprise dragon raid could put any of the Hooligans out of house and livelihood—helped significantly with accelerating the rate of social, cultural and economic growth. ''

''The end result of the pattern of absorption was that, by the mid-1050s AD, Eire was politically and socially unified, integrated and enfranchised under Berk's auspices as a province of the newly created North Sea Empire. With the second-highest per-capita productivity in the Empire, Gaoidhealg forming one of the initial core Imperial languages, and their voting block resolutely backing and supporting Hiccup Haddock in the Grand Thing, the actions of the Eirish had, and continued to have, an indelible impact on the society, culture, economy and political life of the Empire…''

''…This is not to say that all went smoothly, especially at first, before the pattern had established itself. The Hooligans took significant time to formulate specific policies and end goals in regards to Eire, and there was also staunch resistance due to the fact that Eire had been a formalized caste-based inequitable society, and had no cultural experience with the Hooligans' more egalitarian traditions. In contrast, the Norse-Gael towns that dotted the coast of the island were easier to acculturate, as they already had the cultural traditions of the proto-democratic Viking Thing and the social closure effect of the holmgang.''

''Further complicating matters were the long-entrenched conflicts between the native Eirish and the Vikings, and the religious differences between the Norse Hooligans and the Christian Eirish. As the Eirish had no experience nor expectation of actual intent of peace from Vikings, and no worldview that would allow them to see the act of dragon-riding as anything other than witchcraft or devil-worship, it was an uphill struggle for the Hooligans to convince the Eirish of their peaceful intent, much less politically and socially integrate the island's populace—not helped by the necessity of self-defense against preemptive attacks.''

—Origins Of The Grand Thing, Edinburgh Press, 1631

Foreshadowing
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Epigraph Tie-In

 * The epigraph mentions that the Hooligans encountered problems trying to convince the various factions of Eire of their peaceful intent due to conflicts between the native Eirish and Vikings and the Christian Eirish and Norse Hooligans. The chapter shows King Donnchadh mac Brian of Mumhan trying to attack Hiccup's retinue because his father died fighting vikings and calls the Hooligans devil worshippers.

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