Lochlann

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the 12th century Lord of Galloway, see
Lochlann, Lord of Galloway. For the personal names Lochlann and Lochlainn, see Lachlan (name)
.

In the modern

Gaelic languages, Lochlann (Irish: [ˈl̪ˠɔxl̪ˠan̪ˠ]) signifies Scandinavia or, more specifically, Norway. As such it is cognate with the Welsh name for Scandinavia, Llychlyn (pronounced [ˈɬəχlɨn]
). In both old Gaelic and old Welsh, such names literally mean 'land of lakes' or 'land of swamps'.

It may initially have referred to the mythical, undersea otherworldly abode of the Fomorians of Irish mythology.[1] At times it may have referred to an early Norse settlement in Scotland.[2]

viking
.

Historical uses

All uses of the word Lochlann relate it to Nordic realms of Europe. While the traditional view has identified Laithlind with

Western Isles and large areas of the coastal mainland from Caithness and Sutherland to Argyll—was conquered by the Vikings in the first quarter of the ninth century and a Viking kingdom was set up there earlier than the middle of the century.[2]

Ireland and the Suðreyjar

Port an Eilean Mhòir ship burial
.

The Fragmentary Annals of Ireland contain numerous reference to the Lochlanns, who are clearly Vikings and feared and distrusted by the writers. However relatively few named individuals are identified from amongst their number and their relationships with one another are largely obscure.

tanist of the king of Lochlann" fell in the Battle of Sciath Nechtain (near modern Castledermot) in 848.[4]

In 851 Zain, also identified as the "half-king of the Lochlanns"

Goffridh who had "come for him".[9][10]

Hona, who the annalists believed was a druid and Tomrir Torra were "two noble chiefs", "of great fame among their own people", and "of the best race of the Lochlanns", although their careers appear to have been otherwise unrecorded. They died whilst fighting the men of Munster in 860.[11]

Gnimbeolu, chief of the Galls of Cork, was killed in 865, possibly the same person as Gnim Cinnsiolla, chief of the Lochlanns who is recorded as dying in similar circumstances.[12] In 869 Tomrark the Earl is described as a "fierce, rough, cruel man of the Lochlanns"[13] and the annalist notes, perhaps with some satisfaction, that this "enemy of Brenann" died of madness at Port-Mannan (possibly the harbour of the Isle of Man) in the same year.[14]

19th-century depiction of Magnus Barefoot's forces in Ireland.

Also in 869 the

Picts
were attacked by the Lochlanns and internal strife in Lochlann was recorded because:

the sons of Albdan, King of Lochlann, expelled the eldest son, Raghnall, son of Albdan, because they feared that he would take the kingdom of Lochlann after their father; and Raghnall came with his three sons to Innsi Orc and Raghnall tarried there with his youngest son. But his elder sons, with a great host, which they collected from every quarter, came on to the British Isles, being elated with pride and ambition, to attack the Franks and Saxons. They thought that their father had returned to Lochlann immediately after setting out.[15]

This entry provides a number of problems. The demise of Gofraid, King of Lochlann and father of Amlaíb and Imhar (or Ímar) and

Harald Finehair (although the Norse sagas claim that Halfdan was Raghnall/Rognvald's grandfather).[20] The "Lochlanns" may thus have been a generic description for both Norwegian-based warriors and insular forces of Norse descent based in the Norðreyjar or Suðreyjar
.

Other Lochlannachs mentioned in the texts for dates during the early 10th century are Hingamund[21] (or Ingimund) and Otter, son of Iargna, who was killed by the Scots.[22] Whatever the meaning of Laithlind and Lochlann in Ireland in the ninth and tenth centuries, it may have referred to Norway later. In 1058 Magnus Haraldsson is called "the son of the king of Lochlann", and his nephew Magnus Barefoot is the "king of Lochlann" in the Irish πreports of the great western expedition four decades later.[23]

Wales

The Irish Lochlann has a cognate in the

Maxen Wledig, the Welsh version of the historical Roman usurper Magnus Maximus. However, Rachel Bromwich suggests that Llychlyn in this case might be a corruption of Llydaw, or Armorica, Maxen's usual destination in other sources.[24] In The Dream of Rhonabwy, a company from Llychlyn led by March ap Meirchiawn (the King Mark of the Tristan and Iseult legend) appears among Arthur's vividly-depicted host.[26] Bromwich suggests this appearance derives ultimately from a recollection of Welsh Triad 14, which depicts March ap Meirchiawn as one of the "Three Seafarers/Fleet Owners of the Island of Britain" – the Scandinavians being famed for their nautical skills.[26]

Literary uses

Lochlann is the land of the Fomorians in the Irish Lebor Gabála Érenn. In the Lebor na hUidre and the Book of Leinster the "huge and ugly" Fomorians are pirates from the Outer Hebrides or sea demons that battled with the Tuatha De Danann.[27]

A Scandinavian Lochlann appears in later Irish tales, generally concerning the King of Lochlann—sometimes called Colgán—or his sons, such as in the tales of Lugh and the Fenian Cycle.[28]

The

Anglo-Saxon leader of the 5th century AD.[29]

The Gulf of Corryvreckan between Jura and Scarba. According to tradition "Prince Breacan of Lochlann" was shipwrecked there with a fleet of fifty ships.[30][31][32]

The adventures of Prince Breacan of Lochlann are part of the mythology of the naming of the

W.H. Murray corroborates the view that the original story may have referred to this latter location, quoting the 10th century Glossary of Cormac who describes the tale of "Brecan, son of Maine, son of Nial Naoighhiallach".[32][33]

The same story is associated with the Bealach a' Choin Ghlais (pass of the grey dog), a tidal race further north between Scarba and Lunga. The prince's dog managed to swim to land and went in search of his master. Failing to find him on Jura or Scarba he tried to leap across the strait to Lunga, but missed his footing on Eilean a' Bhealaich which sits in the middle of the channel between the two islands. He slipped into the raging current and drowned as well, giving his own name in turn to the strait where he fell.[34]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ MacKillop (2004) “Lochlainn”. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b Ó Corráin (1998) various pages.
  3. ^ Woolf (2007) pp. 107–108 & 286–289
  4. ^ Annals of Ulster AU 848.5
  5. ^ O'Donovan (1860) p. 123
  6. ^ O'Donovan (1860) p. 119
  7. ^ O'Donovan (1860) pp. 125–27
  8. ^ Annals of Ulster AU 853.2
  9. ^ O'Donovan (1860) p. 195
  10. ^ Ó Corráin (1998) p. 34
  11. ^ O'Donovan (1860) pp. 145–47
  12. ^ O'Donovan (1860) pp. 168–169
  13. ^ O'Donovan (1860) p. 163
  14. ^ O'Donovan (1860) p. 167
  15. ^ a b O'Donovan (1860) pp. 158–59
  16. ^ O'Donovan (1860) p. 171
  17. ^ Ó Corráin (1998) p. 36
  18. ^ Ó Corráin (1998) p. 37
  19. ^ Todd (1867) p. 270
  20. ^ Crawford, pp. 53–54.
  21. ^ O'Donovan (1860) p. 227
  22. ^ O'Donovan (1860) p. 231
  23. ^ Annals of Tigernach, s.a. 1058, s.a 1102; Woolf (2007) pp. 266–267.
  24. ^ a b Bromwich, p. 88.
  25. ^ Bromwich, pp. 82–83
  26. ^ a b Bromwich, p. 435.
  27. ^ Watson (1926) pp. 41–42
  28. ISBN 0-19-860967-1
  29. ^ The phrase is an addition to the Lebor Bretnach and thus cannot be compared to the original Historia.
  30. ^ a b c Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 51
  31. ^ a b Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 61
  32. ^ a b Murray (1966) pp. 71–2
  33. ^ Martin, Martin (1703) "A Voyage to St. Kilda Archived 13 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine" in A Description of The Western Islands of Scotland, Appin Regiment/Appin Historical Society. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
  34. ^ Buckley, Mike "Jura & the Corryvreckan ~ tales and legends from an Easter Expedition in 2004" ukseakayakguidebook.co.uk Retrieved 26 February 2007.

References

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