Ímar Mac Arailt
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Ímar mac Arailt (died 1054) was an eleventh-century ruler of the
Kingdom of Dublin Vikings invaded the territory around Dublin in the 9th century, establishing the Norse Kingdom of Dublin, the earliest and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland. Its territory corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin. The Norse refe ...
and perhaps the
Kingdom of 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 ...
. He was the son of a man named Aralt, and appears to have been a grandson of
Amlaíb Cuarán, King of Northumbria and Dublin Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...
. Such a relationship would have meant that Ímar was a member of the
Uí Ímair The Uí Ímair (; meaning ‘''scions of Ivar’''), also known as the Ivar Dynasty or Ivarids was a royal Norse-Gael dynasty which ruled much of the Irish Sea region, the Kingdom of Dublin, the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides ...
, and that he was a nephew of Amlaíb Cuarán's son, Sitriuc mac Amlaíb, King of Dublin, a man driven from Dublin by
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, ...
in 1036. Ímar's reign in Dublin spanned at least eight years, from 1038 to 1046. Although he began by seizing the kingship from Echmarcach in 1038, he eventually lost it to him in 1046. As king, Ímar is recorded to have overseen military operations throughout Ireland, and seems to have actively assisted the family of Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig, King of Gwynedd overseas in Wales. After Echmarcach's final expulsion from Dublin 1052, Ímar may well have been reinstalled as
King of Dublin Vikings invaded the territory around Dublin in the 9th century, establishing the Norse Kingdom of Dublin, the earliest and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland. Its territory corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin. The Norse refe ...
by
Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó, King of Leinster 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 ...
. Whatever the case, Ímar died in 1054. He may have been an ancestor or close kinsman of
Gofraid Crobán, King of Dublin and the Isles Godred Crovan (died 1095), known in Gaelic as Gofraid Crobán, Gofraid Meránach, and Gofraid Méránach, was a Norse-Gaelic ruler of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Dublin, Dublin and the Kingdom of the Isles, Isles. Although his precise parentage h ...
, the progenitor of a
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
that ruled in the Isles until the mid thirteenth century.


Familial background

Ímar was probably the son of Aralt mac Amlaíb, a man whose death at the Battle of Glenn Máma is recorded by the seventeenth-century texts ''
Annals of Clonmacnoise The ''Annals of Clonmacnoise'' ( ga, Annála Chluain Mhic Nóis) are an early 17th-century Early Modern English translation of a lost Irish chronicle, which covered events in Ireland from prehistory to 1408. The work is sometimes known as ''Mag ...
'' and ''
Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...
'', the fifteenth- to sixteenth-century ''
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, ...
'', and the twelfth-century ''
Chronicon Scotorum ''Chronicon Scotorum'', also known as ''Chronicum Scotorum'', is a medieval Irish chronicle. Overview According to Nollaig Ó Muraíle, it is "a collection of annals belonging to the ' Clonmacnoise group', covering the period from prehistoric tim ...
''. If this identification is correct, Ímar's paternal grandfather would have been
Amlaíb Cuarán, King of Northumbria and Dublin Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...
, and a paternal uncle of Ímar would have been Sitriuc mac Amlaíb, King of Dublin.


Struggle for Dublin

Ímar's probable uncle, Sitriuc, ruled Dublin for almost fifty years between 989 and 1036. There is reason to suspect that the latter's realm included Mann by the second or third decade of the eleventh century. His reign in Dublin was finally put to an end by
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, ...
, who drove Sitriuc from the coastal town and claimed the kingship for himself. Previously, Sitriuc seems to have been closely aligned with Knútr Sveinnsson, ruler of the kingdoms of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
, and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. Knútr's apparent authority in 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 Ce ...
region, coupled with Sitriuc's seemingly close connections with him, could account for the remarkable security enjoyed by Sitriuc during Knútr's reign. It is possible that Echmarcach had been bound from taking action against Sitriuc whilst Knútr held power, and that the confusion caused by the latter's death in 1035 enabled Echmarcach to exploit the situation and seize control of the Irish Sea region. Woolf (2007) p. 246. Although there is no direct evidence that Echmarcach controlled Mann by this date, Sitriuc does not appear to have taken refuge on the island after his expulsion from Dublin. This seems to suggest that the island was outside Sitriuc's possession, and may indicate that Mann had fallen into the hands of Echmarcach sometime before. In fact, it is possible that Echmarcach used the island to launch his takeover of Dublin. Echmarcach's hold on Dublin was short-lived as the fourteenth-century ''
Annals of Tigernach The ''Annals of Tigernach'' ( abbr. AT, ga, Annála Tiarnaigh) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish. Many of the pre-historic entries come from the 12th-cent ...
'' records that Ímar replaced him as King of Dublin in 1038. This annal-entry has been interpreted to indicate that Ímar drove Echmarcach from the kingship. There is reason to suspect that
Þórfinnr Sigurðarson, Earl of Orkney Thorfinn Sigurdsson (1009?– 1065), also known as Thorfinn the Mighty (Old Norse: ''Þorfinnr inn riki''), was an 11th-century Jarl of Orkney. He was the youngest of five sons of Jarl Sigurd Hlodvirsson and the only one resulting from Sigu ...
extended his presence into the
Isles Isles may refer to: Places *British Isles, often referred to as "the Isles" *Kingdom of the Isles, a medieval realm comprising the Hebrides, the islands of the Firth of Clyde, and the Isle of Man People * Carlin Isles (born 1989), American rugby ...
and the Irish Sea region at about this period. Hudson, BT (2005) p. 135. The evidence of Þórfinnr's power in the Isles could suggest that he possessed an active interest in the ongoing struggle over the Dublin kingship. In fact, Þórfinnr's predatory operations in the Irish Sea region may have contributed to Echmarcach's loss of Dublin in 1038. It is conceivable that Ímar received some form of support from Knútr's son and successor in Britain, Haraldr Knútsson, King of England. The latter was certainly in power when Ímar replaced Echmarcach, and an association between Ímar and Haraldr could explain why the ''Annals of Ulster'' reports the latter's death two years later. Ímar's reign lasted about eight years, ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (2013b) § 1046.8; Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 228; Hudson, BT (2005) p. 137; Oram (2000) p. 16; Duffy (1992) p. 96; Anderson (1922a) pp. 590–592 n. 2. and one of his first royal acts appears to have been the invasion of
Rathlin Island Rathlin Island ( ga, Reachlainn, ; Local Irish dialect: ''Reachraidh'', ; Scots: ''Racherie'') is an island and civil parish off the coast of County Antrim (of which it is part) in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's northernmost point. ...
within the year. Hudson, BT (2005) p. 136. The fact that he proceeded to campaign in the
North Channel North Channel may refer to: *North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland) *North Channel (Ontario), body of water along the north shore of Lake Huron, Canada *North Channel, Hong Kong *Canal du Nord, France {{geodis ...
could indicate that Echmarcach had held power in this region before his acquisition of Mann and Dublin. In 1044, the ''Annals of Tigernach'' records that Ímar penetrated into the domain of the Uí Fhíachrach Arda Sratha and killed their chief. The annal-entry also indicates that Ímar stormed the church of
Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...
, and burned ' (the "Shrine of Patrick") in the attack. The following year, he again invaded Rathlin Island, and his subsequent slaughter of three hundred noblemen of the
Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and in ...
, including a certain
heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
named Ragnall Ua Eochada, is documented by the ''Annals of Clonmacnoise'', 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 ...
'', the ''Annals of Tigernach'', and the ''Annals of the Four Masters''. This remarkable action may indicate that the Dubliners and Ulaid were battling for control of Rathlin Island. If so, it could be evidence that Ímar enjoyed the possession of Mann by this date. The domain of the Ulaid is certainly the closest Irish territory to Mann, and the control of the Manx fleet could account for the Dubliner's ability to challenge the Ulaid. Whatever the case, within the year Niall mac Eochada, King of Ulaid is recorded to have attacked Fine Gall ''The Annals of Tigernach'' (2010) § 1045.11; ''Annals of Tigernach'' (2005) § 1045.11; Hudson, BT (2005) p. 136.—Dublin's agriculturally-rich northern hinterland—in what may have been a retaliatory raid. The following year, the ''Annals of Tigernach'' states that Echmarcach succeeded Ímar. The ''Annals of the Four Masters'' specifies that Ímar was driven from the kingship by Echmarcach, who was then elected king by the Dubliners. After this point in Ímar's life, all that is known for certain is that he died in 1054, as recorded by the ''Annals of Ulster'' and the sixteenth-century ''
Annals of Loch Cé The ''Annals of Loch Cé'' (also ''Annals of Lough Cé'') cover events, mainly in Connacht and its neighbouring regions, from 1014 to 1590. It takes its name from Lough Cé in the kingdom of Moylurg - now north County Roscommon - which was the c ...
''. Nevertheless, since these sources style Ímar in
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
''rí Gall'' ("king of the foreigners"), there may be evidence to suggest that, when
Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó, King of Leinster 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 ...
drove Echmarcach from Dublin in 1052, Diarmait reinstalled Ímar as king. After Ímar's death, Diarmait appears to have appointed his own son, Murchad, control of Dublin later that decade, as the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' accords him the title ''tigherna Gall'', meaning "lord of the foreigners" in 1059. In 1061, Murchad invaded Mann and seems to have overthrown Echmarcach. The record of Murchad's actions against Echmarcach could indicate that the latter had seated himself on the island after his expulsion from Dublin. Another possibility is that Echmarcach had only reestablished himself as king in the Isles after Ímar's death in 1054. Whatever the case, both Diarmait and Murchad were dead by 1072, and the ''Annals of Tigernach'' describes Diarmait on his obituary as King of the Isles (''rí Innsi Gall'', literally "king of the isles of the foreigners"), a declaration which seems to indicate that, by the eleventh century at least, the kingship of the Isles was contingent upon control of Mann.


Involvement in Wales

The principal Welsh monarch during Ímar's reign was
Gruffudd ap Llywelyn Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (  5 August 1063) was King of Wales from 1055 to 1063. He had previously been King of Gwynedd and Powys in 1039. He was the son of King Llywelyn ap Seisyll and Angharad daughter of Maredudd ab Owain, and the great-grea ...
. One of the latter's main rivals was Iago ab Idwal ap Meurig, King of Gwynedd, a man who had killed Gruffudd's father in 1023, and thenceforth ruled
Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
until his own demise in 1039. Gruffudd himself may have been responsible for Iago's slaying, and certainly succeeded to the
kingship of Gwynedd Before 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). Bounda ...
after his death. It was likely in the context of Iago's fall and this resulting regime change that the latter's son,
Cynan Cynan (also spelled Conan or Kenan) is a Welsh masculine given name. It may refer to: * Cynan, the bardic name of Albert Evans-Jones (1895–1970), Welsh poet and dramatist * Cynan ab Iago (11th century), prince of Gwynedd and father of Gruffydd ...
, fled overseas and sought refuge in Dublin. According to the thirteenth-century ''Historia Gruffud vab Kenan'', the mother of Cynan's
son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...
was Ragnailt ingen Amlaíb, a paternal granddaughter of Sitriuc. Further revealed by this source is the fact that this woman's father,
Amlaíb mac Sitriuc Amlaíb mac Sitriuc ("Amhlaeibh, son of Sitric") or Olaf Sigtryggsson, was the son of Sigtrygg Silkbeard, the Hiberno-Norse King of Dublin, and Sláine, the daughter of Brian Boru. A member of the Uí Ímair dynasty, his ancestors also included ...
, built and commanded a Welsh fortress called ''Castell Avloed''. Although it is unknown how long the Dubliners possessed the fortress, in 1036 another son of Sitriuc was slain in Wales by an apparent kinsman, an event which could be evidence of a struggle for control of the site. Echmarcach's aforesaid expulsion of Sitriuc from Dublin in the same year could in turn indicate that this exiled monarch sought refuge in Wales. Despite the uncertainty of its specific location, Castell Avloed appears to have been situated in territory formerly controlled by Iago, and there is reason to suspect that—after Iago's fall and Cynan's flight—Ímar oversaw military actions against Gruffudd. Three years later, for example, the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century ''
Brut y Tywysogyon ''Brut y Tywysogion'' ( en, Chronicle of the Princes) is one of the most important primary sources for Welsh history. It is an annalistic chronicle that serves as a continuation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. ''Brut ...
'' and the "B" and "C" versions of the eleventh- to thirteenth-century ''
Annales Cambriæ The (Latin for ''Annals of Wales'') is the title given to a complex of Latin chronicles compiled or derived from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales. The earliest is a 12th-century presumed copy of a mid-10th-century original; later ed ...
'' report that this Welsh king was captured by forces from Dublin. The episode is further elaborated upon by a sixteenth-century text compiled by
David Powel David Powel (1549/52 – 1598) was a Welsh Church of England clergyman and historian who published the first printed history of Wales in 1584. Life Powel was born in Denbighshire and commenced his studies at the University of Oxford when he was 1 ...
l and a seventeenth-century text by compiled by James Ware. According to these admittedly late versions of events, Gruffudd was captured by the Dubliners in the context of them supporting the cause of Cynan. The accounts further state that Gruffudd managed to escape his captors when the Dubliners were
counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...
ed by Welsh forces before they could return to Ireland. The evidence of Cynan cooperating with the Dubliners against Gruffudd suggests that, not only was Ímar personally involved as king, but that the Welsh fortress of Castell Avloed was still controlled by the Dubliners. Another conflict that could have involved Ímar and the military forces of Dublin was Gruffudd's final defeat of Hywel ab Edwin, King of Deheubarth. According to ''Brut y Tywysogyon'' and the "B" version of ''Annales Cambriæ'' this last stand of Hywel took place at the mouth of the
River Tywi The River Towy ( cy, Afon Tywi, ) is one of the longest rivers flowing entirely within Wales. Its total length is . It is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing. Route The Towy rises within of the source of the River Teifi on the lower slo ...
—perhaps in the vicinity of
Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...
—and included
Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
from Ireland who supported Hywel's cause. It is apparent that Gruffudd's adversaries generally utilised foreign military support from Ireland's Viking enclaves. Certainly, the twelfth-century ''
Book of Llandaff The Book of Llandaff ( la, Liber Landavensis; cy, Llyfr Llandaf, ', or '), is the chartulary of the cathedral of Llandaff, a 12th-century compilation of documents relating to the history of the diocese of Llandaff in Wales. It is written prima ...
'' declares that Gruffudd struggled against English, Irish, and Vikings during his career.


Ancestral figure

Ímar may have been the father, uncle, or possibly even the brother of
Gofraid Crobán, King of Dublin and the Isles Godred Crovan (died 1095), known in Gaelic as Gofraid Crobán, Gofraid Meránach, and Gofraid Méránach, was a Norse-Gaelic ruler of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Dublin, Dublin and the Kingdom of the Isles, Isles. Although his precise parentage h ...
. In 1091, the ''Annals of Tigernach'' reveals that Gofraid possessed the kingship of Dublin in an annal-entry recording his patronym as "... ". The thirteenth- to fourteenth-century ''
Chronicle of Mann The ''Chronicles of the Kings of Mann and the Isles''
– British Library
( la, Chron ...
'', on the other hand, gives Gofraid's patronym as "... ". Whilst the former source identifies Gofraid as the son of a man named Aralt (Old Norse ), the latter identifies Gofraid as the paternal grandson of a man so named. In the aforesaid record of the military actions conducted in 1044, Ímar is merely named as the son of Aralt, a fact which could indicate that this was how he was known to his contemporaries. If correct, the patronym preserved by the ''Chronicle of Mann'' could merely be a garbled form of this style. The patronym given by the ''Chronicle of Mann'' states that Gofraid's father was from "", a place which could refer to either
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
,
Islay Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The isl ...
, or
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Other than this passage, there is no evidence hinting of a connection between Gofraid and Iceland. The chronicle elsewhere states that Gofraid died on Islay, although the island's name is rendered "" in this case. If "" instead refers to Ireland, the spelling could be the result of influence from a source originating in England, or a source written in Mediaeval French. McDonald (2007b) p. 62; Hudson, BT (2005) p. 171.


Notes


Citations


References


Primary sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Secondary sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Imar mac Arailt 1054 deaths 11th-century Irish monarchs 11th-century rulers of the Kingdom of the Isles Monarchs of Dublin Uí Ímair Year of birth unknown