Auisle
Encyclopedia
Auisle in Old Norse either Ásl or Auðgísl, was a Scandinavia
n, or perhaps Norse-Gael, king active in Ireland
and north Britain
in the 850s and 860s.
According to a saga included in the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland
, material of uncertain reliability, Auisle was a younger brother of Amlaíb
and Ímar. Whether brothers or not, the evidence of the Irish annals
associates Auisle, Amlaíb and Ímar. Auisle is first noticed in the Irish annals
in 863 when, along with Amlaíb and Ímar, he led an army to plunder the pre-historic tombs of Brú na Bóinne
.
Auisle is not again mentioned until 866, at which time he joined Amlaíb on an expedition to north Britain, while Ímar appears to have joined the Great Heathen Army
in Mercia
, East Anglia
and Northumbria
. Auisle and Amlaíb ravaged Fortriu
and all Pictland, taking hostages and remaining over the winter.
Amlaíb returned alone to Ireland in 867, for the Annals of Ulster
say that "Auisle, one of three kings of the heathens, was killed by his kinsmen in guile and parricide". The saga in the Fragmentary Annals expands on this, stating that Auisle was killed by Amlaíb in a quarrel over Amlaíb's wife. This wife was said to be a daughter of Cináed, although whether this is intended to mean Cináed mac Ailpín, king of the Picts, Cináed mac Conaing
, king of Brega, or some other, more obscure Cináed, is uncertain.
The only descendant of Auisle identified in the records appears to be an unnamed son who was killed in 883, reported by the Annals of Ulster as the "death of Auisle's son at the hands of Iergne's son and the daughter of Mael Sechnaill". The much later Chronicon Scotorum
glosses this, stating that it was Ottár son of Járnkné, possibly identical with Ottir Iarla
, and Muirgel daughter of Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid who arranged the killing, but no motive is given.
Auisle was later the name of a grandson (died circa 1012) of Ivar of Limerick
.
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n, or perhaps Norse-Gael, king active in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and north Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in the 850s and 860s.
According to a saga included in the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland
Fragmentary Annals of Ireland
The Fragmentary Annals of Ireland are a Middle Irish combination of chronicle from various Irish annals and narrative history. They were compiled in the kingdom of Osraige, probably in the lifetime of Donnchad mac Gilla Pátraic , king of Osraige and of king of Leinster.The Fragmentary Annals were...
, material of uncertain reliability, Auisle was a younger brother of Amlaíb
Amlaíb Conung
Amlaíb Conung was a Norse or Norse-Gael leader in Ireland and Scotland in the years after 850. Together with his brothers Ímar and Auisle he appears frequently in the Irish annals....
and Ímar. Whether brothers or not, the evidence of the Irish annals
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
associates Auisle, Amlaíb and Ímar. Auisle is first noticed in the Irish annals
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
in 863 when, along with Amlaíb and Ímar, he led an army to plunder the pre-historic tombs of Brú na Bóinne
Brú na Bóinne
is a World Heritage Site in County Meath, Ireland and is the largest and one of the most important prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe.-The site:...
.
Auisle is not again mentioned until 866, at which time he joined Amlaíb on an expedition to north Britain, while Ímar appears to have joined the Great Heathen Army
Great Heathen Army
The Great Heathen Army, also known as the Great Army or the Great Danish Army, was a Viking army originating in Denmark which pillaged and conquered much of England in the late 9th century...
in Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
, East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
and Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
. Auisle and Amlaíb ravaged Fortriu
Fortriu
Fortriu or the Kingdom of Fortriu is the name given by historians for an ancient Pictish kingdom, and often used synonymously with Pictland in general...
and all Pictland, taking hostages and remaining over the winter.
Amlaíb returned alone to Ireland in 867, for the Annals of Ulster
Annals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
say that "Auisle, one of three kings of the heathens, was killed by his kinsmen in guile and parricide". The saga in the Fragmentary Annals expands on this, stating that Auisle was killed by Amlaíb in a quarrel over Amlaíb's wife. This wife was said to be a daughter of Cináed, although whether this is intended to mean Cináed mac Ailpín, king of the Picts, Cináed mac Conaing
Cináed mac Conaing
Cináed mac Conaing was King of Knowth in the medieval Irish province of Mide, succeeding his father Conaing mac Flainn in 849.Cináed's family belonged to the Knowth, or Uí Chonaing, branch of the Síl nÁedo Sláine, part of the southern branch of the dominant Uí Néill kin group...
, king of Brega, or some other, more obscure Cináed, is uncertain.
The only descendant of Auisle identified in the records appears to be an unnamed son who was killed in 883, reported by the Annals of Ulster as the "death of Auisle's son at the hands of Iergne's son and the daughter of Mael Sechnaill". The much later Chronicon Scotorum
Chronicon Scotorum
Chronicon Scotorum is a medieval Irish chronicle.According to Nollaig Ó Muraíle, it is "a collection of annals belonging to the 'Clonmacnoise group', covering the period from prehistoric times to 1150 but with some gaps, closely related to the 'Annals of Tigernach'...
glosses this, stating that it was Ottár son of Járnkné, possibly identical with Ottir Iarla
Ottir Iarla
Ottir Iarla or Jarl Óttar , also Ottir Dub or Óttar the Black, and in English sources Oter comes or Count Óttar, was a jarl who occupied a prominent position among the Norse of Britain and Ireland in the early 10th century. He is believed to be the founder of the settlement, Loch dá Caech in the...
, and Muirgel daughter of Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid who arranged the killing, but no motive is given.
Auisle was later the name of a grandson (died circa 1012) of Ivar of Limerick
Ivar of Limerick
Ivar of Limerick , died 977, was the last Norse king of the city-state of Limerick, and penultimate King of the Foreigners of Munster, reigning during the rise to power of the Dál gCais and the fall of the Eóganachta...
.