Amlaíb, King of Scotland
| Amlaíb | |
|---|---|
| King of Alba | |
| Reign | 973x977 |
| Predecessor | Kenneth II |
| Successor | Kenneth II |
| Died | 977 |
| House | Alpin |
| Father | Indulf, King of Alba |
Amlaíb mac Ilduilb (Modern Gaelic: Amhlaigh),[1] known in English as simply Amlaíb (died 977) was King of Scots during the 970s.[2] He was the son of King Indulf (Idulb mac Causantín) and brother of King Cuilén (Cuilén mac Iduilb). His name is of Old Norse or Norse-Gael origin, in this case the Old Irish equivalent of Olaf.[3]
He is known from the notice of his death in the Annals of Tigernach,[4] which reports that he was killed by Kenneth II of Scotland (Cináed mac Maíl Coluim).[5] His name is not included in any extant king lists, nor is he named as a king in 973 when Kenneth II met with King Edgar the Peaceable at Chester,[6] so that the length of his reign is unknown.[7]
Alex Woolf asserts that the Norse origin of the name Amlaíb "...strongly suggests that his maternal kind may have been from a Scandinavian background and they are likely to have been a branch of the Uí Ímair... ...He may well be the grandson of Amlaíb Cúaran, or his cousin Amlaíb son of Gothfrith".[8]
Notes
- ^ Amlaíb mac Ilduilb is the Mediaeval Gaelic form. The modern form has no patronymic; this is because the name Ildulb ("Indulf") has died out in Gaelic, and there is no modern rendering of it.
- ^ Duncan, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Amlaíb appears as Olaf in Smyth, pp. 220–221, table 4, where he is presumed to have been co-ruler with Kenneth II.
- ^ Annals of Tigernach, s.a. 977.4. See also Chronicon Scotorum, s.a. 977; Annals of Clonmacnoise, s.a. 970.
- ^ The Annals of Ulster, s.a. 977, agree with the other chronicles in reporting Amlaíb's death, but call his killer Cináed mac Domnaill. Cináed mac Maíl Coluim's grandfather was named Domnall.
- ^ Early Sources, pp. 478–479.
- ^ There are two king lists which list a 22-year reign for Kenneth rather than the 24 found in the majority, but whether this has any significance is unclear; Duncan, p. 18.
- ^ Woolf (2007), p. 206.
References
For primary sources see also External links below.
- Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286, volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. ISBN 1-871615-03-8
- Duncan, A.A.M., The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002. ISBN 0-7486-1626-8
- Smyth, Alfred P. Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80-1000. Reprinted, Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1998. ISBN 0-7486-0100-7
- Woolf, Alex (2007), From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland, vol. 2, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, ISBN 978-0-7486-1234-5
External links
- CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork includes
- The Annals of Tigernach (translation in progress)
- The Annals of Ulster (translation)
- The Chronicon Scotorum (translation)
- The Annals of Clonmacnoise at Cornell University