Gofraid of Lochlainn
Encyclopedia
Gofraid, King of Lochlainn was a key figure in the emergence of Norse influence in Scotland
Scandinavian Scotland
Scandinavian Scotland refers to the period from the 8th to the 15th centuries during which Vikings and Norse settlers and their descendents colonised parts of what is now modern Scotland...

 and the likely progenitor of the early Kings of the Isles
Kingdom of the Isles
The Kingdom of the Isles comprised the Hebrides, the islands of the Firth of Clyde and the Isle of Man from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norse as the Suðreyjar, or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the Norðreyjar or Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland...

 and of the Uí Ímair
Uí Ímair
The Uí Ímair , or Dynasty of Ivar, were an enormous royal and imperial Norse dynasty who ruled Northern England, the Irish Sea region and Kingdom of Dublin, and the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides, from the mid 9th century, losing control of the first in the mid 10th, but the rest...

 that dominated the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...

 and environs in the early Medieval period. Very little is known of him, including his origins and the nature of his kingdom, although his descendents are well attested in the Irish annals. Speculative connections between these historical figures and characters from the Norse sagas have also been made.

Life

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...

record of Amlaib Conung
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....

that in 871 he:
went from Erin to Lochlann to wage war on the Lochlanns, and to aid his father Goffridh, for the Lochlanns had made war against him, his father having come for him.
Frustratingly, the text continues:

Since it would be lengthy to tell the cause of their war, and since it has so little relevance to us, although we have knowledge of it, we forego writing it, for our task is to write about whatever concerns Ireland, and not even all of that; for the Irish suffer evils not only from the Norwegians, but they also suffer many evils from themselves.


These annals also note that in 849:
the sixth year of the reign of Máel Sechlainn, Amlaib Conung, son of the king of Lochlann, came to Ireland, and he
brought with him a proclamation of many tributes and taxes from his father, and he departed suddenly. Then his younger brother Imar came after him to levy the same tribute.


This source is then clear that Amlaib is the son of Gofraid, who is the king of Lochlann
Lochlann
Lochlann is a geographical region in Classical Gaelic literature and in the history of Early Medieval Ireland. In the modern Gaelic and Welsh languages it signifies Scandinavia, and more specifically Norway...

, although the location of "Lochlann" is the subject of some dispute. This word is often translated as "Norway" although Ó Corráin (1998) argues that Lochlann "is Viking Scotland and probably includes Man" at this time and suggests an early date for an organised Kingdom of the Isles.

The Fragmentary Annals record little else about Gofraid's life but report of 873:
Ég righ Lochlainne .i. Gothfraid do tedmaimm grána opond. Sic quod placuit Deo. (The death of the king of Lochlainn i.e. Gothfraid of a sudden and horrible fit. So it pleased God.)


However, according to Downham (2007) "none of these details can be relied upon" as "there is no contemporary evidence to support the statement that [Amlaib's] father was called Gofraid" the Fragmentary Annals having been compiled at an uncertain date, possibly as early as the 11th century. Neither is the dating of the Annals definitive. Nonetheless, Ó Corráin (1998) argues of 873 that "this is no chronological impossibility: his sons first appeared in Ireland 25 years before, very likely in their twenties or younger, and we may infer from this that he may have been in his sixties when he died."

Predecessors

The Fragmentary Annals note of a date c. 871-872 that "In this year, i.e. the tenth year of the reign of Áed Findliath, Imar son of Gothfraid son of Ragnall son of Gothfraid Conung son of Gofraid and the son of the man who left Ireland, i.e. Amlaib, plundered from west to east, and from south to north." This suggests an ancestry for Gofraid but this reference to "his genealogical ascent is a construct without historical value" and attempts to link the Kings of Lochlainn with historical figures in Norway have not proven to be satisfactory.

Descendents

In addition to Amlaib Conung, Gofraid had at least two other children, Amlaib's brothers Ímar, the eponymous founder of the Uí Ímair, and Óisle
Auisle
Auisle , in Old Norse either Ásl or Auðgísl, was a Scandinavian, or perhaps Norse-Gael, king active in Ireland and north Britain in the 850s and 860s....

. The Annals of Ulster also note that there was a king of "Laithlinne" whose heir, Thórir, brought an army to Ireland in 848 and who died there in battle. Although there is no specific suggestion that this king was Gofraid this is only the year before the Fragmentary Annals first record of Amlaib as the king's son.

According to the Fragmentary Annals c. 867:
There was an encounter between Óisle, son of the king of Norway, and Amlaib, his brother. The king had three sons: Amlaib, Imar, and Óisle. Óisle was the least of them in age, but he was the greatest in valor, for he outshone the Irish in casting javelins and in strength with spears. He outshone the Norwegians in strength with swords and in shooting arrows. His brothers loathed him greatly, and Amlaib the most; the causes of the hatred are not told because of their length. The two brothers, Amlaib and Imar, went to consult about the matter of the young lad Óisle; although they had hidden reasons for killing him, they did not bring these up, but instead they brought up other causes for which they ought to kill him; and afterwards they decided to kill him.


When Óisle visited Amlaib the former said:
‘Brother, if your wife, i.e. the daughter of Cináed, does not love you, why not give her to me, and whatever you have lost by her, I shall give to you.’ When Amlaib heard that, he was seized with great jealousy, and he drew his sword, and struck it into the head of Óisle, his brother, so that he killed him. After that all rose up to fight each other (i.e. the followers of the king, Amlaib, and the followers of the brother who had been killed there); then there were trumpets and battle-cries on both sides.


In 870 Dumbarton
Dumbarton Castle
Dumbarton Castle has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Great Britain. It overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton, and sits on a plug of volcanic basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high.-Iron Age:...

 was besieged by Amlaib Conung and Ímar, "the two kings of the Northmen", who "returned to Dublin from Britain" the following year with numerous captives. Gofraid may have been succeeded briefly by Ímar who also died in 873.
His death is recorded in 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...

: Imhar rex Nordmannorum totius Hibernię & Brittanie uitam finiuit (Ímar king of the Norwegian Vikings of the whole of Ireland and Britain ended his life.) Amlaíb died either the following year campaigning in Scotland, or perhaps prior to 872. The matter of Gofraid's descendents and antecedents is subject to some ambiguity based on differing interpretations of these siblings and their connections to legendary figures from the Norse sagas.

Ímar

The descendents of Ímar include his grandson Ragnall ua Ímair
Ragnall ua Ímair
Ragnall was a Norse overlord or emperor of northern Britain, including Northumbria, the entire Irish Sea region including the Isle of Man, south to Waterford and briefly much of the Irish province of Munster, and then returning to Britain, briefly York as distinct from Northumbria at this time...

, who was a ruler of Northumbria and Mann
History of the Isle of Man
The Isle of Man became separated from Britain and Ireland by about 8000 BC. It appears that colonisation took place by sea sometime before 6500 BC. The island has been visited by various raiders and trading peoples over the years. After being settled by people from Ireland in the first millennium,...

, (and who may have been the historical prototype of Rognvald Eysteinsson of the Orkneyinga Saga
Orkneyinga saga
The Orkneyinga saga is a historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200...

), Sitric Cáech  (d. 927) who was a King of Dublin and of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

, his successor Amlaíb Cuarán and probably the later Crovan dynasty
Crovan dynasty
The Crovan dynasty, from the late 11th century to the mid 13th century, was the ruling family of an insular kingdom known variously in secondary sources as the Kingdom of Mann, the Kingdom of the Isles, and the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles...

 of Mann and thus of Clann Somhairle
Clann Somhairle
Clann Somhairle refers to those Scottish and Irish dynasties descending from the famous Norse-Gaelic leader Somerled, King of Mann and the Isles. Primarily they are the Clan Donald, formerly known as the Lord of the Isles, and the mainland Clan MacDougall, and all their numerous branches...

, the rulers of Argyll
Argyll
Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...

 and their descendents the Clan Donald
Clan Donald
Clan Donald is one of the largest Scottish clans. There are numerous branches to the clan. Several of these have chiefs recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms; these are: Clan Macdonald of Sleat, Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, and Clan...

 Lords of the Isles.

Ímar has also been identified as the saga character Ivar the Boneless
Ivar the Boneless
Ivar Ragnarsson nicknamed the Boneless , was a Viking leader and by reputation also a berserker. By the late 11th century he was known as a son of the powerful Ragnar Lodbrok, ruler of an area probably comprising parts of modern-day Denmark and Sweden.-Invader:In the autumn of AD 865, with his...

. The latter is referred to in late 11th century Icelandic saga material as a son of the powerful Ragnar Lodbrok
Ragnar Lodbrok
Ragnar Lodbrok was a Norse legendary hero from the Viking Age who was thoroughly reshaped in Old Norse poetry and legendary sagas.-Life as recorded in the sagas:...

. This Ivar had 11 brothers including Halfdan Ragnarsson
Halfdan Ragnarsson
Halfdan Ragnarsson was a Viking chief and one of the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok with Aslaug. It has been suggested that Halfdan is the same person as Ragnar's son Hvitserk....

 and Ubbe Ragnarsson
Ubbe Ragnarsson
Ubbe, Ubba or Hubba Ragnarsson was a Norse leader during the Viking Age. Ubbe Ragnarsson was one of the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok and, along with his brothers Halfdan and Ivar the Boneless, a leader of the Great Danish Army....

 (but not including an Amlaib or Óisle) and is also believed to have died childless. Nor is there any indication in the Irish annals that Ragnar Lodbrok had any Irish connections.

Amlaib

Amlaib had two sons, Oistin (d. 875) and Carlus (d. 868). Unlike Ímar, no later descendents are recorded but like his brother, he has also been identified as a saga character — Olaf the White
Olaf the White
Olaf the White was a viking sea-king who lived in the latter half of the 9th century.Olaf was born around 840, possibly in Ireland. His father was the Hiberno-Norse warlord Ingjald Helgasson...

.

This Olaf married Aud the Deep-Minded
Aud the Deep-Minded
Aud the Deep-Minded was an earlier settler in Iceland.-Biography:...

, daughter of Ketil Flatnose
Ketil Flatnose
Ketill Bjǫrnsson, nicknamed Flatnose , was a Norwegian hersir of the 9th century.-Biography:Ketill Bjǫrnsson was the son of Bjorn Grimmson. He was from Romsdal , a valley in the county of Møre og Romsdal, between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre...

 and they had a son, Thorstein the Red
Thorstein the Red
Thorstein the Red or Thorstein Olafsson was a viking chieftain who flourished in late ninth-century Scotland. He was born around 850 AD and was the son of Olaf the White, King of Dublin, and Aud the Deep-minded, who was the daughter of Ketil Flatnose...

, whose name is similar to the Irish "Oistin". However, Aud does not appear in the Irish sources and there are various problems with the connection. For example, the Landnámabók
Landnámabók
Landnámabók , often shortened to Landnáma, is a medieval Icelandic written work describing in considerable detail the settlement of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries AD.-Landnáma:...

has Olaf killed in battle in Ireland, but no Irish source refers to the battle and the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba has Amlaib dying in Pictavia
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...

 at the hands of Causantín mac Cináeda. The connection has "frequently been proposed and frequently been rejected".
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