A while ago, I watched a brutal movie called The Norseman. It followed the journey of a Viking who went from prince to slave, ultimately confronting his father's killer in an epic final showdown. The movie did not hold back on the blood and gore, but it also seemed like they did their research when it came to Viking life. Of course, there were exaggerations, but a lot of the movie was grounded in historical accounts. One of the aspects that caught my attention the most was their depiction of an ancient stick-and-ball game called Knattleikr. Here is a link to the clip, but please be advised that it contains graphic violence.
In the scene, the protagonist is thrust into a game between two teams, and the rules and objectives are initially unclear to him. The ball is put into play, and the participants begin fighting and wrestling each other. However, as the game progresses, the main adversary from the opposing team picks up the ball and strikes it against a wooden pole, which draws a triumphant yell from their team. This is when our protagonist realizes that hitting the poll with the ball is "score," and he proceeds to play the game viciously. On the next play, he hits an opponent with his stick, picks up the ball, and tosses it to a teammate before getting shoulder rammed.
“His teammate balances the ball on his stick and runs towards the wood pole to score.”
This specific part of the scene was a lightbulb moment for me. I have seen that type of gameplay happen before, but it took a little bit of investigating to find that it matched how an Irish hurling player might advance the ball. There are many rules to Irish hurling, but specifically, if a player wants to run with the ball for more than four steps, the ball must be balanced or juggled off of their stick. This similarity was striking enough to make me wonder if there was a connection between the Knattleikr and Irish hurling, given that this gameplay feature is so similar.
There was indeed cultural exchange between the Vikings and the Irish, specifically during the 8th to 11th centuries. This period was marked by Viking raids and settlements in Dublin, Wexford, and Limerick, resulting in a significant cultural exchange between the two groups. Further evidence comes from several Irish annals, including those from Ulster and the Annals of the Four Masters. The Annals of Ulster describe an ambush on the Norse Dubliners during an Irish ball game called Iomán (more on that later). A similar account in the Annals of the Four Masters describes Norse Dubliners being ambushed during a public ball game during a festival. Other annals describe how the Irish and Norse frequently intermarried, shared languages, and participated in shared festivals.
Interestingly, there are also similar story arcs mentioned between Knattleikr and Iomán in their respective ancient texts. There are several Viking sagas (Grettis the Strong and Egil Skallagrímsson) that mention Knattleikr, and both feature young heroes who get into (deadly) fights with their opponents, suggesting the seriousness of the outcome of these games. These sagas share similarities with Irish mythology, particularly the story of Cú Chulainn, one of the most important figures in Irish mythology. Cú Chulainn, the epitome of bravery and tragedy, was described as a youth playing Ioman and was so skilled that he defeated an entire team. In early Irish texts, such as The Cattle Raid of Cooley and The Boyhood Accounts of Cú Chulainn, accounts of his skill include his ability to strike the ball and be fast enough to catch his own hit, as well as balance the ball on his stick and run past defenders. Similarly to Egil, when Cú Chulainn is denied a turn during the game, he becomes enraged and attacks the other boys. Both sets of stories feature aggression in their respective games, and also feature young heroes giving in to their anger.
Besides having a resemblance to the mythology surrounding their heroes, the Viking game Knattleikr (translated to "ball game") and the Irish Ioman (meaning "to drive or strike") potentially shared similar rule sets as well. Both were team ball and stick games played in public, utilizing physical contact to gain control of the ball. Scoring happened when the ball was hit at one pole (Knattleikr) or between two poles (Ioman). Both were played outside in open grasslands, but Knattleikr is explicitly mentioned as being played on ice as well. Both games were integral for warrior training and a rite of passage.
By most experts, Ioman is considered the direct ancestor of modern Irish hurling. Even the modern Irish word for hurling is iománaíocht, making Ioman an older name for the game. The playing stick was called a camán, and the ball was called a liathróid (now called a Sliotar), and the camán was the only thing allowed to touch the liathróid, meaning no hands! The ball was allowed to be carried only if it was balanced on the camán. While rough play was part of the game, around 1100 AD, the Brehon law was reflected in various legal texts that defined the amount of violence allowed and penalties for exceeding it. The Brehon law, a significant legal system in early Irish society, was used to dictate compensation to the injured party when a player was too aggressive (probably striking the head with the camán).
So, what is the actual connection between Knattleikr and Irish hurling? The short answer is the game Ioman, but Knattleikr and Ioman evolved in parallel. Knattleikr is not played anymore (except by reenactors at festivals or Viking games), but Ioman is played today through its most recent version of Irish hurling. However, I believe Knattleikr lives on in Irish hurling. In Ioman, using the hand was strictly forbidden, but we saw in the movie clip that picking up the ball to strike it was allowed in Knattleikr. Modern Irish hurling also allows the ball to be handled by the hand in specific gameplay scenarios. I believe modern hurling's use of the hands comes from the sport of Knattleikr. Because later versions of Ioman likely borrowed this gameplay feature from Knattleikr, they had to define their game to distinguish it from Knattleikr. As Knattleikr's popularity dwindled, regional stick ball games referencing Ioman were transforming into modern hurling during the 1600s. In 1884, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) was founded, and curling was properly codified. In conclusion, Knattleikr likely contributed to the development of modern Irish hurling by allowing the use of hands, which was previously not permitted in hurling’s ancestor sport, Ioman.
Bibliography
Annals of Ulster (U921). (n.d.). CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts. University College Cork. https://celt.ucc.ie
Annals of the Four Masters (M1013). (n.d.). CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts. University College Cork. https://celt.ucc.ie
Byock, J. L. (2001). Viking Age Iceland. Penguin Books.
Kinsella, T. (Trans.). (1969). The Táin. Oxford University Press.
Movie Clips. (2022). The Northman (2022) - The Knattleikr Game Scene. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI_kDOZjWUw
Ó Súilleabháin, S. (1991). Irish folk custom and belief. Mercier Press.
Wikipedia contributors. (2025, July 17). Hurling. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:35, July 24, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hurling&oldid=1301076129
Wikipedia contributors. (2025, May 5). Knattleikr. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:34, July 24, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knattleikr&oldid=1288960353