Kings of Dublin

Dyflin / Dubh Linn Kingdom of Dublin ← 839–1171 → Flag Maximum extent of Dublin (pink) and other Norse settlements (green) in Ireland. Capital Dublin Language(s) Old Norse, Old and Middle Irish Religion Norse paganism Roman Catholicism Government Monarchy King  - 839–845 (first) Thorgest  - 1160–1171 (last) Hasculf Thorgillsson History  - Established 839  - Disestablished 1171

The Vikings invaded the territory around Dublin in the ninth century, establishing the Norse Kingdom of Dublin. This corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin. The Norse referred to the kingdom as Dyflin, which is derived from the Irish: Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". The first reference to the Vikings comes from the Annals of Ulster and the first entry for 841CE reads: "Pagans still on Lough Neagh". It is from this date onwards that we get references to ship fortresses or longphorts being established in Ireland. It may be safe to assume that the Vikings first over-wintered in 840–841CE. The actual location of the longphort of Dublin is still a hotly-debated issue. Norse rulers of Dublin were often co-kings, and occasionally also Kings of Jórvík in what is now Yorkshire.

Over time, the rulers of Dublin became increasingly Gaelicized. They began to exhibit a great deal of Gaelic and Norse cultural syncretism, and are often referred to as Norse-Gaels.

In 988, Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill led the initial Irish conquest of Dublin. As a result the founding of Dublin is counted by some from the year 988, notwithstanding that a village has existed on the site of Dublin since before the Roman occupation of Great Britain nearly a thousand years earlier. Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill was dethroned by Brian Boru (1002-1014).

In the mid 1000s, the Kingdom of Leinster began exerting influence over Dublin, but its kings remained Norse-Gaels until the Norman invasion of 1171. Though the last Norse king of Dublin was killed by the Normans in 1171, the population of the city retained their distinctiveness based on their origins for some further generations.

Norse Kings

(N.B. "Sitric" is the Irish variant of Norwegian "Sigtrygg")

See also

• Uí Ímair
• Irish nobility

References

• Downham, Clare, Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014. Edinburgh. 2007.
• Forte, Angelo, Oram, Richard, & Pedersen, Frederik, Viking Empires. Cambridge University Press. 2005 ISBN 0-521-82992-5.
• Hudson, Benjamin T., Viking Pirates and Christian Princes: Dynasty, Religion, and Empire in the North Atlantic. Oxford. 2005 ISBN 0-19-516237-4.
• Larsen, Anne-Christine (ed.), The Vikings in Ireland. Roskilde: The Viking Ship Museum. 2001.
• Todd, James Henthorn (ed. and tr.), Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh: The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill. Longmans. 1867.
• Woolf, Alex, "Age of Sea-Kings: 900-1300", in Donald Omand (ed.), The Argyll Book. Edinburgh. 2004. pp. 94-109.

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