Silver penny of Ragnall Guthfrithson (YORYM 2003

Ragnall Guthfrithson ( non, Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðsson ; sga, Ragnall mac Gofraid) was a

Viking 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 ...

leader who ruled Viking Yorkshire in the 10th century. He was the son of

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 ...

and great-grandson of

Ímar Ímar ( non, Ívarr ; died c. 873), who may be synonymous with Ivar the Boneless, was a Viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid-late ninth century who founded the Uí Ímair dynasty, and whose descendants would go on to dominate the Ir ...

, making him one 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 ...

. He ruled Northumbria in 943 and 944, either with, or in opposition to,

Olaf Cuaran 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 ...

. Ragnall and Olaf were driven out of Northumbria by the English in 944. His later life is unknown but it is possible he was the "king of the Danes" who is reported as being killed by the Saxons at York in 944 or 945.

Biography

Ragnall first appears in the historical record in 943. The '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' says that that year,

was

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

, with Edmund I,

King of the English This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sa ...

as sponsor, and that same year "after a fairly big interval" Ragnall was

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

with Edmund as sponsor. Both Olaf and Ragnall are called king, but it is uncertain whether they were co-rulers or rival kings. Alex Woolf has suggested that the rivalry between Olaf and Ragnall may have been encouraged by Edmund for his own benefit.

Downham Downham is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It borders the London Borough of Bromley, and is located north of Bromley and south of Catford. Downham was named in honour of Lord Downham, who was ...

, pp. 111–112 There exists coinage featuring the name of Ragnall and coinage featuring the name of Olaf, suggesting both ruled at York for a time. Costambeys There also exists coinage featuring the name of an otherwise unknown Sitric, who may have co-rule Northumbria with Olaf before Ragnall arrived. If Ragnall arrived in late 943 this may explain why the confirmation ceremony with Edmund was arranged. Symeon of Durham's ''

Historia Regum The ''Historia Regum'' ("History of the Kings") is a historical compilation attributed to Symeon of Durham, which presents material going from the death of Bede until 1129. It survives only in one manuscript compiled in Yorkshire in the mid-to-lat ...

'' records that in 943 Olaf Cuaran was driven out of Northumbria by the Northumbrians. However, all texts of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' state that both Olaf and Ragnall were driven out in 944 by King Edmund. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is that Olaf was only driven out 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 943, and continued to contest Ragnall for Northumbria until the following year. An account by the chronicler Æthelweard relates that it was Wulfstan,

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

and an unnamed ealdorman 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= , ...

who drove out Ragnall and Olaf and forced them to submit to Edmund. Ragnall's life after 944 is not known with any certainty, although the ''

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 ...

'' report in 944 or 945 that "the king of the Danes was killed by the Saxons at York". This individual might be Ragnall but the account gives no name.

Family

Ragnall's father is identifiable as Gofraid, who was king of Dublin between 921 and 934, and also briefly ruled Northumbria in 927. In the annals Gofraid is identified by the use of "ua Ímair", meaning "grandson of

", but never with a patronymic. As such, it is not possible to identify which of the three known sons of Ímar ( Bárid, Sichfrith or Sitriuc) – if any – was the father of Gofraid. Ímar, possibly identical to

Ivar the Boneless Ivar the Boneless ( non, Ívarr hinn Beinlausi ; died c. 873), also known as Ivar Ragnarsson, was a Viking leader who invaded England and Ireland. According to the ''Tale of Ragnar Lodbrok'', he was the son of Ragnar Loðbrok and his wife Asl ...

, was the founder of the

and was one of the earliest kings of Dublin in the mid-ninth century. Three other individuals are identifiable as sons of Gofraid. Albann was killed in battle against Muirchertach mac Néill in 926. Amlaíb, King of Dublin and Northumbria, was another son, as was Blácaire, King of Dublin from 940–945, and again from 947-948. An individual identified as Mac Ragnaill (son of Ragnall) by the annals may have been Ragnall's son, though no name is given. In 942 Mac Ragnaill led a raid on

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the b ...

, but within a week he was killed by Matudán, Overking of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

. The ''

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 Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Flood myt ...

'' call Mac Ragnaill a jarl, but the '' Annals of Ulster'' call him a king. The ''Annals of the Four Masters'' also suggests he and his fellow plunderers came from an island.

, p. 64;

, s.a. 942

Family tree

Notes

References

Citations

Primary sources

* * * Accessed via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. * Accessed via

Secondary sources

* * Subscription o
UK public library membership
required. *

External links

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

. 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. * {{Northumbrian Monarchs Year of birth unknown 940s deaths Uí Ímair Viking rulers Monarchs of Jorvik 10th-century English monarchs 10th-century Vikings