Olaf Guthfrithson
Olaf Guthfrithson | |
---|---|
Auldhame, Scotland (possibly) | |
Issue | Cammán Gofraid Ímar |
Dynasty | Uí Ímair |
Father | Gofraid ua Ímair |
Olaf Guthfrithson or Anlaf Guthfrithson (
Olaf returned to Ireland in 938 but after Æthelstan's death the following year Olaf left for
Biography
Olaf first conclusively appears in contemporary records in 933 when the annals describe him plundering
Olaf is described as "Lord of the Foreigners" by the Annals of the Four Masters in 937,[8] at which time he went to Lough Ree and captured Amlaíb Cenncairech, King of Limerick, and his troops after breaking their boats.[6][2] This conflict can be ascribed to rivalry between the competing Viking settlements of Dublin and Limerick, with this event marking victory for Dublin. This period is considered to be the high-point of Viking influence in Ireland.[9] Having secured his position in Ireland, Olaf turned his attention to England and Northumbria, which had once been ruled by Olaf's father and had been conquered in 927 by Æthelstan of England.[7] Olaf allied with Constantine II of Scotland, whose kingdom had been invaded by Æthelstan in 934, and in 937, the same year as the victory over Limerick, Olaf and the Vikings of Dublin left for England.[10]
The allied forces of Olaf and Constantine met the forces of Æthelstan at the Battle of Brunanburh, at a site which is the subject of much debate, although current scholarly consensus identifies the site as Bromborough in Cheshire.[2][11] Olaf and Constantine commanded the Viking troops while Æthelstan alongside his brother Edmund led the English troops into the battle. Contemporary accounts indicate both sides suffered many casualties but the result was a decisive English victory. Olaf and Constantine survived the battle and returned to Ireland and Scotland respectively, but one of Constantine's sons died.[10] The battle is well-attested, with references in Irish chronicles, and a poetic telling of the battle in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.[12][13] The numerous references to it in various chronicles throughout the British Isles testify to its perceived importance at the time.[10]
The annals record Olaf's return to Ireland in 938 as well as a raid he carried out that year on
Burial
In 2005, a skeleton was excavated in an archaeological dig at
Family
Olaf's father is identifiable as Gofraid, who was king of Dublin between 920 and 934, and also briefly ruled Northumbria in 927.[25][26] Gofraid was a grandson of Ímar but no patronymic is given in the original sources. This may be because he was a child of a son of Ímar who never ruled Dublin, or he was a child of a daughter of Ímar, which in either case would mean his legitimacy to rule in the eyes of his contemporaries was dependent on the identity of his grandfather, not his parents.[27] Ímar, possibly identical to Ivar the Boneless, was the founder of the Uí Ímair and was one of the earliest kings of Dublin in the mid-ninth century.[28]
Three other individuals are identifiable as sons of Gofraid; Albann, Blácaire and Ragnall.[25] Albann was killed in battle against Muirchertach mac Néill in 926.[29] Blácaire ruled Dublin from 939 onwards, and Ragnall mac Gofraid ruled Northumbria in 943 and 944, probably along with his cousin Olaf Cuaran, until they were driven out by Edmund I of England.[14][30] John of Worcester, writing in the twelfth century, claimed that Olaf had married a daughter of Constantine II of Scotland prior to 937, but this evidence is considered unreliable.[31] The thirteenth century chronicler Roger of Wendover wrote that Olaf married Aldgyth, the daughter of a Northumbrian earl called Orm as a consequence of the agreement at Leicester between Olaf and King Edmund.[32]
An individual named Cammán mac Amlaíb is identifiable as a son of Olaf. The Annals of Ulster record he was defeated at a place called Dub in 960. Cammán may have been one of the meic Amlaíb (sons of Olaf) who the Annals of the Four Masters mention in 962.[33][34][35][36] According to this account the sons of Olaf and the Ladgmanns (lawmen) came to Ireland and plundered Conaille Muirtheimne and Howth. Afterward the lawmen went to Munster to avenge their brother Oin. They continued the plunder there and were defeated by the Irish in Uí Liatháin where 365 of them died. In the same year an unnamed son of Olaf led a raid from Ireland's Eye on Anglesey and Britain.[36][35] Cammán may be identical to Sitriuc Cam, an individual who in 962 made a naval attack on Uí Cholgain, but was forced to flee back to ships after a force of Dubliners and Leinstermen overtook him and slaughtered some of his men.[37] An individual named Gofraid mac Amlaíb recorded by the annals as dying in 963 may have been a son of Olaf or he may have been a son of Olaf Cuaran.[38] The Annals of Clonmacnoise list an Ímar, a "son of the king", among the dead at Brunanburh who might be a son of Olaf, although the origin of this list is uncertain.[39][40]
Family tree
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Notes:
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Notes
- ^ The definition as given by Downham is used here – Vikings were "people of Scandinavian culture who were active outside of Scandinavia".[1]
- ^ The number of casualties given here is that given by the Annals of the Four Masters and the Chronicon Scotorum. The Annals of Clonmacnoise provide the alternative number of 1200.[3][4][5]
- ^ The exact dating of this invasion is uncertain. Symeon's Historia Regum records that it took place in 940 whereas the D-text of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says it occurred in 942–943, after Olaf's death.[17]
References
Citations
- ^ Downham (2007), p. xvi
- ^ a b c d e Hudson (2004)
- ^ Annals of the Four Masters, s.a. 933
- ^ Chronicon Scotorum, s.a. 933
- ^ Murphy (1896), pp. 149–150
- ^ a b c d Downham (2007), pp. 243–244
- ^ a b Cannon (2009), p. 479
- ^ Annals of the Four Masters, s.a. 937
- ^ Downham (2007), pp. 41–42
- ^ a b c Downham (2007), p. 104–106
- ^ Roffe (2012), p. 120
- ^ Annals of the Four Masters, s.a. 938
- ^ Thorpe (1861), pp. 86–88
- ^ a b Forte, Oram, and Pedersen (2005), p. 115
- ^ a b Downham (2007), pp. 107–110
- ^ Harper-Bill (1998), pp. 23–24, n. 155
- ^ a b Downham (2007), pp. 108–110
- ^ Stevenson (1853), p. 97
- ^ Stenton (2001), p. 357
- ^ Forte, Oram, and Pedersen (2005), p. 111
- ^ Chronicon Scotorum, s.a. 941
- ^ Murphy (1896), p. 152
- ^ a b "Skeleton discovered may be Viking King Olaf Guthfrithsson". Heritage Daily. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ "East Lothian skeleton may be 10th Century Irish Viking king". BBC News. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ a b Downham (2007), p. 29
- ^ Hart (2004)
- ^ Downham (2007), p. 33–34
- ^ Bartlett and Jeffrey (1997), p. 44
- ^ Downham (2007), p. 238
- ^ Downham (2007), pp. 111–112
- ^ Downham (2007), p. 150
- ^ Harper-Bill (1998), pp. 25–26, n. 166
- ^ Annals of Ulster, s.a. 960
- ^ Downham (2007), p. 249
- ^ a b Downham (2007), p. 262
- ^ a b Annals of the Four Masters, s.a. 962
- ^ Downham (2007), p. 269
- ^ Downham (2007), p. 253
- ^ Murphy (1896), p. 151
- ^ Downham (2007), p. 259
Primary sources
- "Annals of the Four Masters". Corpus of Electronic Texts (16 December 2013 ed.). University College Cork. 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "The Annals of Ulster". Corpus of Electronic Texts (15 August 2012 ed.). University College Cork. 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- "Chronicon Scotorum". Corpus of Electronic Texts (24 March 2010 ed.). University College Cork. 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- Murphy, D, ed. (1896). The Annals of Clonmacnoise. Dublin: Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. Accessed via Internet Archive.
- Stevenson, Joseph, ed. (1853). The Church Historians of England. Vol. 4, Part 1. London: Seeleys. Accessed via Internet Archive.
- Thorpe, B, ed. (1861). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Rerum Britannicarum Medii Ævi Scriptores. Vol. 2. London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts. Accessed via Internet Archive.
Secondary sources
- Bartlett, Thomas; Jeffrey, Keith (9 October 1997). A Military History of Ireland. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62989-8.
- Cannon, John (21 May 2009). A Dictionary of British History. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-955037-1.
- Downham, Clare (2007). Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014. Edinburgh: ISBN 978-1-903765-89-0.
- Forte, Angelo; Oram, Richard D.; Pedersen, Frederik (5 May 2005). Viking Empires. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82992-2.
- Harper-Bill, Christopher (1998). Proceedings of the Battle Conference in Dublin, 1997. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 978-0-85115-573-9.
- Hart, Cyril (2004). "Sihtric Cáech (d. 927)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25543. Retrieved 6 January 2015. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.
- Hudson, Benjamin T. (2004). "Óláf Guthfrithson (d. 941)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20670. Retrieved 15 August 2015. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.
- Roffe, David (2012). The English and Their Legacy, 900-1200: Essays in Honour of Ann Williams. Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-794-7.
- Stenton, Frank M. (1971). Anglo-Saxon England (3rd ed.). OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-280139-5.
Further reading
- Halloran, Kevin (December 2013). "Anlaf Guthfrithson at York: A Non-existent Kingship?". Northern History. 50 (2). University of Leeds: 180–185. S2CID 154514458.
- Capener, D.H (2014) Brunanburh and the Routes to Dingesmere, Countyvise
External links
- CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork. The Corpus of Electronic Texts includes the Annals of Ulster and the Four Masters, the Chronicon Scotorum and the Book of Leinster as well as Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress.