The Uí Ímair (; meaning ‘''scions of Ivar’''), also known as the Ivar Dynasty or Ivarids was a royal
Norse-Gael dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
which ruled much of the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the C ...
region, the
Kingdom of Dublin
Vikings invaded the territory around Dublin in the 9th century, establishing the Norsemen, Norse Kingdom of Dublin, the earliest and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland. Its territory corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin. The N ...
, the western coast of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, including the
Hebrides
The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebri ...
and some part of
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angles, Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Scandinavian York, K ...
, from the mid 9th century.
The dynasty lost control of
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
in the mid 10th century, but reigned over the other domains at variously disputed times, depending on which rulers may be counted among their descendants. This has proved a difficult question for scholars to determine, because reliable pedigrees do not survive. Additionally, for between three and four decades, the Uí Ímair were overkings of the
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a l ...
itself,
[ distinct from the ]Kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde (lit. " Strath of the River Clyde", and Strað-Clota in Old English), was a Brittonic successor state of the Roman Empire and one of the early medieval kingdoms of the Britons, located in the region the Welsh tribes referred to as ...
, of which they may also have been overkings, and later briefly the Irish province of Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...
, dominated from Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
, and later still, briefly the English kingdom of Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, y ...
. In the west of Ireland, the Uí Ímair also supplied at least two kings of Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...
, from which they may have attempted to conquer Munster again.
Two members are styled queens of Ireland in the Irish annals
A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ...
(they were also queen of Mide and queen of Munster, respectively), while another was queen of Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
(and Osraige
Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home o ...
). In the Norse sources, another was queen of Norway. Finally, another may have been queen of Brega. The name ''Uí Ímair'' in Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writte ...
means "grandchildren" or descendants of Ivar, but the dynasty includes its progenitor and his sons. The Irish annals describe Ivar
Ivar (Old Norse ''Ívarr'') is a Scandinavian masculine given name. Another variant of the name is Iver, which is more common in Norway.
The Old Norse name has several possible etymologies. In North Germanic phonology, several of the elements c ...
as the brother of Amlaíb Conung
Amlaíb Conung ( non, Óláfr ; died c. 874) was a Viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid-late ninth century. He was the son of the king of Lochlann, identified in the non-contemporary ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' as Gofraid, and br ...
and of Auisle
Auisle or Óisle ( non, Ásl or ; died c. 867) was a Viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid-late ninth century. He was the son of the king of Lochlann, identified in the non-contemporary ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' as Gofraid, an ...
, and the Annals of Ulster
The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, ...
record his obituary
An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...
under the year 873, reading: ''Imhar, rex Nordmannorum totius Hibernie & Brittanie, uitam finiuit'' Ivar, king of all the Norse of Ireland and Britain, ended his life" Probably the senior leader of the Great Heathen Army
The Great Heathen Army,; da, Store Hedenske Hær also known as the Viking Great Army,Hadley. "The Winter Camp of the Viking Great Army, AD 872–3, Torksey, Lincolnshire", ''Antiquaries Journal''. 96, pp. 23–67 was a coalition of Scandin ...
, Ivar may thus have become the inspiration for the legendary Ivar the Boneless (fl.
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
865–860), son of Ragnar Lodbrok. In any event, Uí Ímair dynasts may also have exercised power as overkings of East Anglia during their career in Britain.
Alex Woolf
Alex Woolf (born 12 July 1963) is a British medieval historian and academic. He specialises in the history of Britain and Ireland and to a lesser extent Scandinavia in the Early Middle Ages, with a particular emphasis on interaction and comp ...
points out it would be a mistake to view the lordship as a "unitary empire"; it was, rather, a collection of lordships ruled by the same kindred, with only varying degrees of unity depending on the political circumstances of the moment and the charisma of individual leaders. Especially in the early period, a great portion of the dynasty's wealth, probably the majority, came from the international slave trade, both as slavers themselves and from the taxation of it, for which they were infamous in their time. In this role they star as the principal antagonists in the early 12th-century Irish epic political tract '' The War of the Irish with the Foreigners'', although the account is exaggerated.
One of the greatest dynasties of the Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
, the Uí Ímair were at their height the most fearsome and wide-reaching power
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
in the British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
and perhaps beyond. Like the contemporary Rurikids
The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...
in the East they ultimately integrated with the native population but their impact on the histories of Scotland and Ireland are still visible through the cities they founded and the Norse-Gael descendants they left behind.
Ancestral homeland
Some historians believe Ímar and Ivar the Boneless to be identical, others claim they are two different individuals. According to Irish annals, Ímar was the son of Gofraid (also Goffridh, Gothfraid or Guðrøðr), who was the king of Lochlann. The Norwegians at this point were often referred to as Lochlanns by the Irish. Lochlann was widely accepted among scholars as being identical to Norway; recently, however, this has been questioned by Donnchadh Ó Corráin and other. His and others' theory is that Lochlann was the "viking Scotland" (Norse/Norwegian settlements on the Scottish islands and northern mainland). Whether the Irish annals used the term Lochlann to refer to Norway or to the Norse settlements in Scotland is still a matter of debate; however, by the 11th century the term had come to mean Norway. According to Donnchadh Ó Corráin, there is no evidence that any branch of the royal Danish dynasty ruled in Ireland. He also claims that Ímar's brother, Amlaíb Conung (the name "Conung" is from the Old Norse konungr and simply means "king"), who often has been identified as part of the royal Norwegian dynasty (Ynglingene), was in fact not. He argues that both Ímar and his brothers were part of a Norse dynasty centered in and around the Scottish mainland.
The Norwegian historian Kim Hjardar and archaeologist Vegard Vike claim that Ímar is the same person as the Dane Ivar the Boneless, and that he and the Norwegian chieftain Amlaíb Conung (Olaf the White) arrived in Ireland as leaders of a coalition of Vikings whose goal was to take control over the Viking settlements in Ireland. When the Irish annals describe Ímar and Amlaíb Conung as brothers, Hjardar and Vike claims that this has to be interpreted as a metaphor for "warrior brothers" or "brothers in arms".
Dynasts
The following list contains only members mentioned in the Irish annals
A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ...
and other reliable and semi-reliable sources, such as the ''Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib
''Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib'' ("The War of the Irish with the Foreigners") is a medieval Irish text that tells of the depredations of the Vikings and Uí Ímair dynasty in Ireland and the Irish king Brian Boru's great war against them, beginnin ...
'', and among those only the ones who can be placed in the pedigree with relative confidence. Thus it is by no means complete. Among recent developments in scholarship it has been argued that the historical king of Northumbria contributing to the character of Eric Bloodaxe
Eric Haraldsson ( non, Eiríkr Haraldsson , no, Eirik Haraldsson; died 954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( non, blóðøx , no, Blodøks) and Brother-Slayer ( la, fratrum interfector), was a 10th-century Norwegian king. He ruled as King of Norway from ...
was actually an Uí Ímair dynast.
First proposed by James Henthorn Todd
James Henthorn Todd (23 April 1805 – 28 June 1869) was a biblical scholar, educator, and Irish historian. He is noted for his efforts to place religious disagreements on a rational historical footing, for his advocacy of a liberal form of Prote ...
in 1867, and most recently considered by Alex Woolf
Alex Woolf (born 12 July 1963) is a British medieval historian and academic. He specialises in the history of Britain and Ireland and to a lesser extent Scandinavia in the Early Middle Ages, with a particular emphasis on interaction and comp ...
and Clare Downham, it is possible the Uí Ímair were peculiar in that some early members, and possibly the entire known later dynasty, descended from the founder via the female line.
After various authors. Birthdates are unknown. ''mac'' = son of; ''ingen'' = daughter of; ''ua'' = grandchild of; ''Ua (h)Ímair'' = surname (descendant of Ímar).
* Ímar/Ívar/Ivar/Ívarr (died 873)
** Bárid mac Ímair
Bárid mac Ímar (also referred to as Baraid or Bardur Ivarsson); non, Bárðr or ; d. 881) was a ninth-century King of Dublin. He was a son of Ivar (Ímar) Ragnarsson and a member of the Uí Ímair.
Biography
The earliest mention of Bárid ...
(died 881)
** Sichfrith mac Ímair
Sichfrith mac Ímair ( non, Sigfrøðr Ívarrsson ; died 888), also known as Sigfred Ivarsson and Sigfrodo, was a ninth-century King of Dublin. He was a son of Ímar and a member of the Uí Ímair.
Biography
Sichfrith succeeded his brother B ...
(died 888)
** Sitriuc mac Ímair
Sihtric mac Ímair ( non, Sigtryggr Ívarrsson ; died 896) was a ninth-century King of Dublin. He was a son of Ímar and a member of the Uí Ímair.
Biography
Sitriuc succeeded his brother Sichfrith as King of Dublin in 888.Downham p. 25 For mo ...
(died 896)
** ? mac/ingen Ímair, and/or among the above sons
*** Amlaíb ua Ímair (died 896)
*** Ímar ua Ímair
Ímar mac Bárid ( non, Ívarr , died 904); also known as Ivar II, was a Norse-Gaelic King of Dublin. He was a grandson of Ivar Gudrödrødsson and a member of the powerful Uí Ímair.
Biography
Ímar ua Ímair became King of Dublin sometim ...
(died 904)
*** Ragnall ua Ímair
Ragnall mac Bárid ua Ímair ( non, Rǫgnvaldr , died 921) or Rægnald was a Viking leader who ruled Northumbria and the Isle of Man in the early 10th century. He was a grandson of Ímar and a member of the Uí Ímair. Ragnall was most probably ...
(died 920/1)
**** ? mac Ragnaill (died 942)
**** Ímar (died 950)?
***** probably Ímar of Waterford (died 1000)
****** Gilla Pátraic mac Ímair (died 983)
****** Ragnall mac Ímair (died 995)
****** Donndubán mac Ímair (died 996)
****** Ragnall mac Ímair II (died 1018)
******* ? mac Ragnaill (died 1015)
******* Ragnall mac Ragnaill (died 1035)
****** Sihtric mac Ímair (died 1022)
*** Sitric Cáech
Sitric Cáech or Sihtric Cáech or Sigtrygg Gále, ( non, Sigtryggr , ang, Sihtric, died 927) was a Hiberno-Scandinavian Viking leader who ruled Dublin and then Viking Northumbria in the early 10th century. He was a grandson of Ímar and a me ...
(died 927)
**** Sichfrith mac Sitric (died 937)
**** Ausle mac Sitric (died 937)
**** Aralt mac Sitric
Harald Sigtryggsson ( sga, Aralt mac Sitric; non, Haraldr Sigtryggsson , died 940) was a Viking leader who ruled Limerick in the early 10th century. He was the son of Sitric Cáech and great-grandson of Ímar, making him one of the Uí Ímair. H ...
(died 940)
***** probably Maccus mac Arailt
Maccus mac Arailt ( fl. 971–974), or Maccus Haraldsson, was a tenth-century King of the Isles. Although his parentage is uncertain, surviving evidence suggests that he was the son of Harald Sigtryggson, also known as Aralt mac Sitriuc, the Hib ...
(died 984/7)
***** probably Gofraid mac Arailt (died 989)
****** Ragnall mac Gofraid (died 1005)
****** Lagmann mac Gofraid (died ?)
******* Amlaíb mac Lagmann (died 1014)
******** ? Donnchadh mac Amlaíb (died 1014)
****** Máel Muire ingen Gofraid (died ?)
**** Gofraid mac Sitriuc
Gofraid mac Sitriuc (died 951), in Old Norse Guðrøðr Sigtryggsson , was King of Dublin. He was the son of Sihtric ua Ímair and a great-grandson of Ímar, founder of the Uí Ímair kindred which dominated much of the Norse-Gael and Scandinavi ...
(died 951)
**** Amlaíb Cuarán (died 981)
***** Ragnall mac Amlaíb (died 980)
***** Glúniairn
Glúniairn (died 989), in Old Norse Járnkné (, "Iron-knee"), was a Norse-Gael king of Dublin of the Uí Ímair kindred which ruled over much of the Scandinavianised and Norse-Gael parts of Great Britain and Ireland in the tenth century.
Glúni ...
(died 989)
****** Gilla Ciaráin mac Glúniairn (died 1014)
****** Sitric? mac Glúniairn (''fl''. 1036)
***** Aralt mac Amlaíb (died 999)
****** Ímar mac Arailt
Ímar mac Arailt (died 1054) was an eleventh-century ruler of the Kingdom of Dublin and perhaps the Kingdom of the Isles. He was the son of a man named Aralt, and appears to have been a grandson of Amlaíb Cuarán, King of Northumbria and Dubli ...
(died 1054)
***** Dubgall mac Amlaíb (died 1014)
***** Ragnailt ingen Amlaíb (died ?)
***** Máel Muire ingen Amlaíb
Máel Muire (died 1021) was Queen of Ireland, being actually styled so in the Annals of Clonmacnoise. 1014021 p. 170 The wife of Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland, she was a daughter of Amlaíb Cuarán, King of Dublin until 980/ ...
(died 1021)
***** Gytha ingen Amlaíb (died ?)
***** Sigtrygg Silkbeard
Sigtrygg II Silkbeard Olafsson (also Sihtric, SitricÓ Corráin, p. 123 and Sitrick in Irish texts; or SigtrygWinn, p. 46 and SigtryggrMac Manus, p. 278 in Scandinavian texts) was a Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin (possibly AD 989–994; restored ...
(died 1042)
****** Artalach mac Sitric (died 999)
****** Amlaíb mac Sitric I/II (died 1013)
****** Glúniairn mac Sitric (died 1031)
****** Amlaíb mac Sitriuc II/I (died 1034)
******* Ragnailt ingen Amlaíb (died ?)
****** Gofraid mac Sitric (died 1036)
****** Cellach ingen Sitric (died 1042)
*** Gofraid ua Ímair
Gofraid ua Ímair or Guthfrith of Ivar ( non, Guðrøðr , la, Guthfridus, fl. from AD 918 until death in 934) was a Hiberno-Scandinavian (people of Gaelic and Scandinavian birth and Culture) and Viking leader who ruled Dublin and briefly Vik ...
(died 934)
**** Alpdann mac Gofraid (died 927)
**** Amlaíb mac Gofraid (died 941)
***** Cammán mac Amlaíb (''fl''. 962)
**** Ragnall mac Gofraid (''fl''. 943)
**** Blácaire mac Gofraid (died 948)
*** ? ua Ímair (or among the above grandsons?)
**** Ímar Ua hÍmair, of Limerick (died 977)
***** Amlaíb mac Ímair (died 977)
***** Dubcenn mac Ímair (died 977)
****** Osli mac Dubceinn (died 1012)
****** Amond mac Dubceinn (died 1014)
***** Aralt mac Ímair (died 978)
The precise lineage of one of the last widely agreed upon members of the dynasty, Echmarcach mac Ragnaill
Echmarcach mac Ragnaill (died 1064/1065) was a dominant figure in the eleventh-century Irish Sea region. At his height, he reigned as king over Dublin, the Isles, and perhaps the Rhinns of Galloway. The precise identity of Echmarcach's father ...
, is uncertain. He was either a descendant of Ivar of Waterford
Ivar of Waterford ( ga, Ímar, rí Puirt Láirgi; non, Ívarr ; died 1000) was the Norse king of Waterford from at least 969 until his death in the year 1000, and also reigned as King of Dublin, possibly from 989 to 993, and certainly again fo ...
(died 1000) or Gofraid mac Arailt (died 989). That of Cacht ingen Ragnaill
Cacht ingen Ragnaill was the queen of Donnchad mac Briain, from their marriage in 1032 to her death in 1054, when she is styled Queen of Ireland in the Irish annals of the Clonmacnoise group: the Annals of Tigernach and Chronicon Scotorum. Her h ...
, Queen of Donnchad mac Briain Donnchadh () is a masculine given name common to the Irish and Scottish Gaelic languages. It is composed of the elements ''donn'', meaning "brown" or "dark" from Donn a Gaelic God; and ''chadh'', meaning "chief" or "noble". The name is also written ...
, may or may not depend upon Echmarcach's.
Family tree
Later Waterford and Limerick
The independent dynasty of Waterford founded or continued by Ivar of Waterford
Ivar of Waterford ( ga, Ímar, rí Puirt Láirgi; non, Ívarr ; died 1000) was the Norse king of Waterford from at least 969 until his death in the year 1000, and also reigned as King of Dublin, possibly from 989 to 993, and certainly again fo ...
(died 1000) cannot be linked genealogically to the 'central' line of Dublin kings, but James Henthorn Todd
James Henthorn Todd (23 April 1805 – 28 June 1869) was a biblical scholar, educator, and Irish historian. He is noted for his efforts to place religious disagreements on a rational historical footing, for his advocacy of a liberal form of Prote ...
gave him a descent from Ragnall ua Ímair
Ragnall mac Bárid ua Ímair ( non, Rǫgnvaldr , died 921) or Rægnald was a Viking leader who ruled Northumbria and the Isle of Man in the early 10th century. He was a grandson of Ímar and a member of the Uí Ímair. Ragnall was most probably ...
, who never ruled there. Their claim to Dublin and the names of their dynasts suggest they did belong to the dynasty.
Like in the case of the late Waterford dynasty, the pedigree of the last Norse to rule in Limerick is also uncertain. Ivar of Limerick
Ivar of Limerick ( ga, Ímar Luimnich, rí Gall; Ímar ua Ímair; Ímar Ua hÍmair, Ard Rí Gall Muman ocus Gáedel; Íomhar Mór; non, Ívarr ; died 977), was the last Norse king of the city-state of Limerick, and penultimate ''King of the For ...
(died 977), and surnamed Ua hÍmair, features prominently in the early 12th century saga ''Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib
''Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib'' ("The War of the Irish with the Foreigners") is a medieval Irish text that tells of the depredations of the Vikings and Uí Ímair dynasty in Ireland and the Irish king Brian Boru's great war against them, beginnin ...
'', although he appears less in the annals, which are lacunose and in general poorer for western Ireland. In any case he and/or the Waterford dynasty are probably survived today through intermarriage with the O'Donovan family
The O'Donovans are an Irish family. Their patronymic surname derives from Irish ''Ó Donnabháin'', meaning the grandsons or descendants of Donnubán, referring to the 10th century ruler of the Uí Fidgenti, Donnubán mac Cathail. During the 1 ...
, verifiably associated with both and known for their use of Uí Ímair dynastic names in medieval times. A notable sept of the O'Donovans known as the Sliocht Íomhair or "Seed of Ivor" survived into early modern times. It is also periodically claimed that some of the family may even be male line descendants of Ivar of Waterford, a variant of which (through his son Donndubán) actually appeared in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'' for a few decades. This remains unverified and the family do not make this last claim themselves. All (surviving) septs profess a Gaelic lineage.
Loss of Dublin
How long the Uí Ímair remained in Dublin after losing it to the Uí Cheinnselaig in 1052 is unknown. Following the death of Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (Irish pronunciation: ) or Diarmid O'Dyna, also known as Diarmuid of the Love Spot, was a demigod, son of Donn and one of the Fianna in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology (traditionally set in the 2nd to 4th century). He ...
in 1072 the kingship appears to have been held by one Gofraid mac Amlaíb meic Ragnaill
Gofraid mac Amlaíb meic Ragnaill (died 1075) was a late eleventh-century King of Dublin. Although the precise identities of his father and grandfather are uncertain, Gofraid was probably a kinsman of his royal predecessor, Echmarcach mac Ragna ...
, who may or may not have been a candidate supported by Toirdelbach Ua Briain
Toirdhealbhach Ua Briain (old spelling: Toirdelbach Ua Briain), anglicised ''Turlough O'Brien'' (100914 July 1086), was King of Munster and effectively High King of Ireland. A grandson of Brian Bóruma, Toirdelbach was the son of Tadc mac Briain ...
. While it has been argued he was installed by Toirdelbach, the annals themselves make no such statement, which but for one only briefly report Gofraid's death in 1075, and variously style him King of the Foreigners and King of Dublin. But according to the Annals of Inisfallen
Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record.
Scope
The nature of the distinction between ann ...
"Gofraid grandson of Ragnall, king of Áth Cliath, was banished over sea by Tairdelbach Ua Briain, and he died beyond the sea, having assembled a great fleet o come
O, or o, is the fifteenth Letter (alphabet), letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in ...
to Ireland." So Gofraid, regardless of how he took the throne, thought he had some chance of reestablishing the dynasty independent in Dublin in spite of the Gaels. Godred Crovan
Godred Crovan (died 1095), known in Gaelic as Gofraid Crobán, Gofraid Meránach, and Gofraid Méránach, was a Norse-Gaelic ruler of the kingdoms of Dublin and the Isles. Although his precise parentage has not completely been proven, he was c ...
may have been successful for a period after him.
Later Ireland in general, and intermarriage
The Uí Ímair dynasty was the precursor of a number of families in Ireland, both Gaelic and Norse speaking.
However, the Norman invasion of Ireland
The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly sanc ...
led to the destruction of a vast majority of the medieval Norse-Irish and Gaelic aristocracy alike. This destruction was completed with the later Tudor conquest.
Nevertheless, dense clusters of given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...
s strongly associated with the Norse dynasty can be found in notionally Gaelic families, in the great genealogical compilations of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (), also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius (fl. 1643 – January 1671) was an Irish scribe, translator, histori ...
and Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh
Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh ( fl. 1624–1664) was an Irish historian and genealogist, known in English as Peregrine O'Clery.
Life and work
Ó Cléirigh was a son of Diarmaid Ó Cléirigh, and thus a third-cousin once removed to Brother Mích ...
, and in various other sources. And, while the dynasty was concentrated in Dublin, Waterford and Limerick, and thus in the southern half of Ireland, Gaelic families later using their given names with great frequency are found mainly in the northern half of Ireland: their pedigrees associate them with the Connachta, Uí Maine, and Northern Uí Néill
The Northern Uí Néill is any of several dynasties in north-western medieval Ireland that claimed descent from a common ancestor, Niall of the Nine Hostages. Other dynasties in central and eastern Ireland who also claimed descent from Niall wer ...
. None of these northern dynasties have a documented history of willing association with the Uí Ímair, or in the case of the first two any association at all. Of the Irish dynasties, the Uí Ímair are documented intermarrying only with the Osraighe
Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...
(the FitzPatricks), Laigin
The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''Cóiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinster ...
, O'Brien dynasty
The O'Brien dynasty ( ga, label=Classical Irish, Ua Briain; ga, label=Modern Irish, Ó Briain ; genitive ''Uí Bhriain'' ) is a nobility, noble house of Munster, founded in the 10th century by Brian Boru of the Dál gCais (Dalcassians). After ...
, the Southern Uí Néill Clann Cholmáin
Clann Cholmáin is the dynasty descended from Colmán Már mac Diarmato, son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill — they were the kings of Mide (Meath) — they traced their descent to Niall Noígiallach and his s ...
and Síl nÁedo Sláine
Síl nÁedo Sláine () are the descendants of Áed Sláine (Áed mac Diarmato), son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill—they were the kings of Brega—they claimed descent from Niall Noígiallach and his son Conall ...
and the aforementioned O'Donovans. In any event, the one long surviving source that might have contained pedigrees of surviving septs of the Uí Ímair themselves was a section in the Great Book of Lecan
The (Great) Book of Lecan (Irish: ''Leabhar (Mór) Leacáin'') (RIA, MS 23 P 2) is a medieval Irish manuscript written between 1397 and 1418 in Castle Forbes, Lecan (Lackan, Leckan; Irish ''Leacán''), in the territory of Tír Fhíacrach, nea ...
. This section, specifically focused on the pedigrees and doings of the Norse families of Ireland, was still in existence in the 17th century, as reported by Mac Firbis himself, but has since become lost.
Later Mann and the Isles
Crovan dynasty
Descendants of the Dublin Uí Ímair most likely persisted into the 13th century in the line of Godred Crovan
Godred Crovan (died 1095), known in Gaelic as Gofraid Crobán, Gofraid Meránach, and Gofraid Méránach, was a Norse-Gaelic ruler of the kingdoms of Dublin and the Isles. Although his precise parentage has not completely been proven, he was c ...
, King of Dublin and King of Mann and the Isles
The Kingdom of the Isles consisted of the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Firth of Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norse as the , or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the or Nort ...
, even though his ancestry is not completely agreed upon. He was most likely the grandson of Ímar mac Arailt
Ímar mac Arailt (died 1054) was an eleventh-century ruler of the Kingdom of Dublin and perhaps the Kingdom of the Isles. He was the son of a man named Aralt, and appears to have been a grandson of Amlaíb Cuarán, King of Northumbria and Dubli ...
above, one of the last certain Uí Ímair kings of Dublin and a grandson of Amlaíb Cuarán. Godred's descendants, although vassals of the Kings of Norway
The list of Norwegian monarchs ( no, kongerekken or ''kongerekka'') begins in 872: the traditional dating of the Battle of Hafrsfjord, after which victorious King Harald Fairhair merged several petty kingdoms into that of his father. Named afte ...
, continued to rule into the 1260s, the last being Magnús Óláfsson
Magnús Óláfsson (died 24 November 1265) was a King of Mann and the Isles. He was a son of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles, and a member of the Crovan dynasty. Magnús' realm encompassed Mann and parts of the Hebrides. Some leading ...
(to 1265), or briefly his son Guðrøðr (1275).
Clann Somhairle
Although their descent from Godred Crovan is through the female line, Alex Woolf
Alex Woolf (born 12 July 1963) is a British medieval historian and academic. He specialises in the history of Britain and Ireland and to a lesser extent Scandinavia in the Early Middle Ages, with a particular emphasis on interaction and comp ...
believes the Clann Somhairle
Clann Somhairle, sometimes anglicised as Clan Sorley, refers to those Scottish and Irish dynasties descending from the famous Norse-Gaelic leader Somerled, King of Mann and the Isles, son of Gillabrigte (†1164) and ancestor of Clann Domhna ...
(Clan Donald
Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...
and Clan MacDougall
Clan MacDougall is a Highland Scottish clan, historically based in and around Argyll. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in Scotland, issuing new grants of coats of arms, and serving as ...
) or the Lords of the Isles
The Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles
( gd, Triath nan Eilean or ) is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title w ...
can be regarded as a "cadet branch
In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...
" of the Uí Ímair, as they apparently based their claim to the Isles on this descent (according to Woolf). Their founder Somerled
Somerled (died 1164), known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði , was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence to create the ...
married Ragnhild, daughter of Olafr Godredsson, King of Mann and the Isles and son of Godred Crovan. This of course assumes these dynasts belonged to the Uí Ímair. Sir Iain Moncreiffe attempted to reconstruct a male line descent from Echmarcach mac Ragnaill
Echmarcach mac Ragnaill (died 1064/1065) was a dominant figure in the eleventh-century Irish Sea region. At his height, he reigned as king over Dublin, the Isles, and perhaps the Rhinns of Galloway. The precise identity of Echmarcach's father ...
himself to Somerled, but Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard
Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard , (born 1966) is a Danish political scientist with a particular interest in public choice analysis and classical liberalism.
Education and employment
Kurrild-Klitgaard holds the degrees of Ph.D. in political science, M. ...
has demonstrated that the proposed line is problematic in several respects.Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard
Peter Kurrild-Klitgaard , (born 1966) is a Danish political scientist with a particular interest in public choice analysis and classical liberalism.
Education and employment
Kurrild-Klitgaard holds the degrees of Ph.D. in political science, M. ...
, "Second thoughts on Moncreiffe's theory of the origin of the 'Galley of the Isles'", Double Tressure (2022).
Gwynedd
Amlaíb mac Sitriuc (Ólafr son of Sigtrygg Silkbeard
Sigtrygg II Silkbeard Olafsson (also Sihtric, SitricÓ Corráin, p. 123 and Sitrick in Irish texts; or SigtrygWinn, p. 46 and SigtryggrMac Manus, p. 278 in Scandinavian texts) was a Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin (possibly AD 989–994; restored ...
, King of Dublin) became an ancestor of the Kings of Gwynedd
Prior to the Conquest of Wales, completed in 1282, Wales consisted of a number of independent kingdoms, the most important being Gwynedd, Powys, Deheubarth (originally Ceredigion, Seisyllwg and Dyfed) and Morgannwg (Glywysing and Gwent). Boun ...
through his daughter Ragnhild, wife of Cynan ab Iago
Cynan ab Iago (c. 1014 c. 1063) was a Welsh prince of the House of Aberffraw sometimes credited with briefly reigning as King of Gwynedd. His father, Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig, had been king before him and his son, Gruffudd, was king after him.
I ...
and mother of the famous Gruffudd ap Cynan
Gruffudd ap Cynan ( 1137), sometimes written as Gruffydd ap Cynan, was King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule, and was remembe ...
.
See also
*Scandinavian York
Scandinavian York ( non, Jórvík) Viking Yorkshire or Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of Northumbria (modern-day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was do ...
*Kingdom of Dublin
Vikings invaded the territory around Dublin in the 9th century, establishing the Norsemen, Norse Kingdom of Dublin, the earliest and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland. Its territory corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin. The N ...
*Norse–Gaels
The Norse–Gaels ( sga, Gall-Goídil; ga, Gall-Ghaeil; gd, Gall-Ghàidheil, 'foreigner-Gaels') were a people of mixed Gaelic and Norse ancestry and culture. They emerged in the Viking Age, when Vikings who settled in Ireland and in Scotlan ...
Notes
References
*
* Downham, Clare (2004). "Eric Bloodaxe - axed? The Mystery of the Last Viking King of York", in ''Mediaeval Scandinavia 1'': 51–77.
* Downham, Clare (2007). ''Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014''. Edinburgh: Dunedin Academic Press.
*
*
* Forte, Angelo, Richard Oram
Professor Richard D. Oram F.S.A. (Scot.) is a Scottish historian. He is a professor of medieval and environmental history at the University of Stirling and an honorary lecturer in history at the University of Aberdeen. He is also the director of ...
, & Frederik Pedersen (2005).
Viking Empires
'. Cambridge: U. P. .
* Holman, Katherine (2007).
The Northern Conquest: Vikings in Britain and Ireland
'. Signal Books
* Hudson, Benjamin T. (2005). ''Viking Pirates and Christian Princes: Dynasty, Religion, and Empire in the North Atlantic''. Oxford
* Kurrild-Klitgaard, Peter (2022). "Second thoughts on Moncreiffe's theory of the origin of the 'Galley of the Isles'", Double Tressure (2022).
* Larsen, Anne-Christine (ed.) (2001). ''The Vikings in Ireland''. Roskilde: The Viking Ship Museum.
* Loyn, H. R., (1977). ''The Vikings in Britain''. London: B. T. Batsford. (Rev. ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 1994.)
* Maund, K. L. (ed.) (2006), ''Gruffudd ap Cynan: A Collaborative Biography''. Boydell Press
Boydell & Brewer is an academic press based in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, that specializes in publishing historical and critical works. In addition to British and general history, the company publishes three series devoted to studies, edition ...
.
* Ní Mhaonaigh, Máire (1996). "''Cogad Gáedel Re Gallaib'' and the Annals: A Comparison", in ''Ériu
In Irish mythology, Ériu (; modern ga, Éire ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland.
The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic languages, Germani ...
47'': 101–26
JSTOR
* Ó Corráin, Donnchadh (undated).
General: Vikings in Ireland
. UCC The initialism UCC may stand for:
Law
* Uniform civil code of India, referring to proposed Civil code in the legal system of India, which would apply equally to all irrespective of their religion
* Uniform Commercial Code, a 1952 uniform act to ...
Corpus of Electronic Texts
*
*
* Thornton, David E. (2006), "The Genealogy of Gruffudd ap Cynan", in K. L. Maund (ed.) (2006), ''Gruffudd ap Cynan: A Collaborative Biography''. Boydell Press. pp. 79–108.
* Todd, James Henthorn (ed. & tr.) (1867).
Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh: The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill
'. London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer.
* Woolf, Alex (2002). "Age of Sea-Kings: 900-1300", in Donald Omand (ed.), ''The Argyll Book''. Edinburgh: Birlinn; pp. 94–109.
*
* Valante, Mary A. (2008). ''The Vikings in Ireland: Settlement, Trade and Urbanization''. Four Courts Press
Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably t ...
.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ui Imair
9th-century establishments in Ireland
Viking Age in Ireland
Noble families in the British Isles
Scandinavian Scotland
Gaelic families of Norse descent