Isle of Man was a pirate island in medieval times, author says

Tim Clarkson visited the Isle of Man while researching his book on medieval history

The Isle of Man was a "sort of pirate island" in the Irish Sea in the early medieval period, an author has said.

Tim Clarkson said the island's nodal position made it an ideal place to keep a fleet of ships for raiding in the surrounding areas.

His new book, A Mighty Fleet and the King's Power, covers the period between AD400 to AD1265.

The 62-year-old visited the island in September 2021 for research and to see the sites for himself.

He said: "At times it was almost like reading a tale of Pirates of the Caribbean kind of thing.

"It was that sort of atmosphere, that sort of activity that seemed to be quite central to the history of the Isle of Man in the early medieval period."

Mr Clarkson has written several books about British medieval history but it is his first book about at the island.

The island is home to more than 200 medieval stone crosses

He said it was a logical progression to focus on the island as it had cropped up in research for his other projects.

"I had come across quite a few references to the Isle of Man while doing my other books and it seemed that this was an island that had quite an important part to play in the history of the larger land masses around it," he added.

Mr Clarkson said the use of the island as a strategic base was not just restricted to the "more obvious pirates", like the Vikings.

"Before and after the Viking age it seemed to be quite a continuous theme this idea of raiding fleets being based on the Isle of Man because it was so suitable as a place for raiding wherever you wanted to raid in whatever direction."