Bárid mac Ímair
| Bárid mac Ímar | |
|---|---|
| King of Dublin | |
| Reign | 873–881 |
| Predecessor | Ímar |
| Successor | Sichfrith mac Ímair |
| Died | 881 Dublin |
| Issue | Ímar ua Ímair |
| Dynasty | Uí Ímair |
| Father | Ímar |
Bárid mac Ímar(also referred to asBaraidorBardur Ivarsson);Old Norse:Bárðr[ˈbɑːrðz̠]orBárǫðr[ˈbɑːrˌɔðz̠];d. 881) was a ninth-centuryKing of Dublin.He was a son ofIvar (Ímar) Ragnarssonand a member of theUí Ímair.
Biography
[edit]The earliest mention of Bárid in theIrish Annalsis in part of a saga embedded within theFragmentary Annals of Ireland.[nb 1][2]In this entry, dated 867, Bárid is named as aJarlofLochlann[nb 2]who, along with a Jarl Háimar was ambushed by men ofConnacht.[4]Bárid is mentioned again by a saga element within theFragmentary Annalsin 872, when he is said to have raidedMoylurgand the islands ofLough Ree.[5]This saga element also says that Bárid fostered a son ofÁed Findliath,overking of the NorthernUí Néill.The sagas are usually considered of dubious historical value, but this particular element draws upon earlier written accounts, and there is much evidence for later links between the descendants of Áed Findliath and theUí Ímair.[6]Fosterage was used in Ireland as a means of strengthening ties between different ruling families, and it is possible Bárid may have tried to integrate himself with the Irish political elite.[6]
Bárid is mentioned by theAnnals of Inisfallenin 873 which say:
Bárid with a great fleet fromÁth Cliath[went] by sea westwards, and he plunderedCiarraige Luachraunder ground,i.e.,the raiding of the caves.[7]
Downhamsuggests this raid was undertaken as a show of strength; it occurred shortly after the death ofÍmar,with Bárid probably succeeding him asKing of Dublin.[6]Cogad Gáedel re Gallaibnames a son of Amlaíb, most likelyOistin,as raiding with him.[nb 3][8]It has been suggested that Bárid and his cousin Oistin ruled together as co-kings following the death of Ímar.[9]
According to the Annals of Ulster, in 875 Oistin was "deceitfully" killed by "Albann", a figure generally agreed to beHalfdan Ragnarsson,supposed son of the legendary VikingRagnar Lodbrok.[nb 4][11]Halfdan is sometimes considered a brother of Ímar, and this conflict may have been an attempt by Halfdan to claim Dublin for his own.[10]It seems he was not successful in pressing his claim, but he tried to take Dublin again in 877, and he fell in battle against an army of "fair foreigners"at theBattle of Strangford Lough.[12]Cogad Gáedel re Gallaibidentifies Bárid as the leader of the "fair foreigners", and as being wounded "so that he was lame ever after".[8]
The next mention of Bárid in the annals comes in 881, when theAnnals of Ulster,theAnnals of the Four Masters,and theChronicon Scotorumdescribe his death; he was killed and burnt in Dublin shortly after raidingDuleek.[2]The annals attribute his death to a miracle ofSaint Cianán.[13]
Family
[edit]Bárid's father is identified by theChronicon Scotorumas Ímar, King of Dublin until his death in 873.[14]Ímar is sometimes identified withIvar the Boneless,son of the legendary VikingRagnar Lodbrok.[15]The same entry identifies him as "the head of the Northmen". The known brothers of Bárid wereSichfrith(died 888) andSitriuc(died 896).[16]
Bárid is identified as the father of Uathmarán, who bore an Irish name derived from the Irish word "uathmar", meaning ‘awesome’, perhaps in an attempt to associate with the Irish political elite.[17]Bárid may also be identified as the father of Eloir mac Báirid (died 891), and the grandfather of the unnamed son of Uathmarán mac Bárid (fl. 921).[2]This unnamed man may be identical to Sichfrith mac Uathmaráin (fl. 932).[18]It is uncertain whether Bárid was the father of the unnamed son of Bárid (mac Bárid in the originalOld Irish) who plunderedCill Clethiin 937. This unnamed man may be identical to Aric mac Báirith (died 937).[19]Likewise, it is uncertain if Bárid was the father ofColla mac Báirid(fl. 924).[20]Any or all of the aforementioned Aric, Colla, and the unnamed son of Bárid, could have been sons ofBárid mac Oitir(died 914), not Bárid mac Ímair.[21]
Notes
[edit]- ^TheFragmentary Annalswere written several hundred years after the events they describe, and are considered less reliable than earlier annals such as theAnnals of Ulsterwhich may have served, along with historically dubioussagas,as partial sources for theFragmentary Annals.[1]
- ^"Lochlann" is believed to refer to Viking-controlledScotlandandMan,though in later times it came to meanNorway.[3]
- ^For a discussion of the historical value ofCogad Gáedel re GallaibseeNí Mhaonaigh.
- ^The historicity of Ragnar is uncertain and the identification of Ragnar as the father of Halfdan is not to be relied upon.[10]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^Radner,p. 322–325
- ^abcDownham,p. 247
- ^Ó Corrain,pp. 14–24;Helle,p. 204
- ^Downham,p. 247;Fragmentary Annals of Ireland,§ 350
- ^Downham,p. 247;Fragmentary Annals of Ireland,§ 408
- ^abcDownham,p. 24
- ^Annals of Inisfallen,s.a. 873
- ^abSigurðsson and Bolton,p. 36;Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib,§ 25
- ^Sigurðsson and Bolton,p. 36–37
- ^abCostambeys
- ^Southp. 87;Annals of Ulster,s.a. 875
- ^Downham,p. 24;Annals of Ulster,s.a. 877
- ^Downham,p. 247;Annals of the Four Masters,s.a. 881;Annals of Ulster,s.a. 881;Chronicon Scotorum,s.a. 881
- ^Downham,p. 247;Chronicon Scotorum,s.a. 881
- ^Woolf,p. 95
- ^Downham,pp. 28 fig. 5, 259
- ^Downham,p. 25
- ^Downham,pp. 264, 269
- ^Downham,pp. 245, 247, 263
- ^Downham,pp. 247, 250
- ^Downhampp. 245, 247, 263
Primary Sources
[edit]- "Annals of the Four Masters".Corpus of Electronic Texts(16 December 2013 ed.).University College Cork.2013.Retrieved23 November2014.
- "Annals of Inisfallen".Corpus of Electronic Texts(16 February 2010 ed.).University College Cork.2010.Retrieved1 January2015.
- "The Annals of Ulster".Corpus of Electronic Texts(15 August 2012 ed.).University College Cork.2012.Retrieved23 November2014.
- "Chronicon Scotorum".Corpus of Electronic Texts(24 March 2010 ed.).University College Cork.2010.Retrieved26 November2014.
- Todd, JH,ed. (1867).Cogad Gaedel re Gallaib: The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill.London:Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer.Accessed viaInternet Archive.
- "Fragmentary Annals of Ireland".Corpus of Electronic Texts(5 September 2008 ed.).University College Cork.2008.Retrieved29 November2014.
Secondary Sources
[edit]- Costambeys, Marios (2004)."Hálfdan (d. 877)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49260.Retrieved20 December2014.Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.
- Downham, Clare(2007).Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014.Edinburgh:Dunedin Academic Press.ISBN978-1-903765-89-0.
- Helle, Knut, ed. (2003).The Cambridge History of Scandinavia. Volume 1: Prehistory to 1520.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-47299-9.
- Ní Mhaonaigh, Máire (1996). "Cogad Gáedel re Gallaiband the annals: a comparison ".Ériu.47:101–126.JSTOR30007439.
- Ó Corrain, Donnchad (1998)."The Vikings in Scotland and Ireland in the Ninth Century"(PDF).Peritia.12:296–339.doi:10.1484/J.Peri.3.334.
- Radner, Joan."Writing history: Early Irish historiography and the significance of form"(PDF).Celtica.23:312–325. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 23 September 2015.
- Sigurðsson, Jón Viðar; Bolton, Timothy, eds. (29 November 2013).Celtic-Norse Relationships in the Irish Sea in the Middle Ages 800-1200.Brill.ISBN978-90-04-25512-8.
- South, Ted Johnson (2002).Historia de Sancto Cuthberto.Boydell & Brewer.ISBN978-0-85991-627-1.
- Woolf, Alex (2007).From Pictland to Alba: 789 - 1070.Edinburgh University Press.ISBN978-0-7486-1234-5.
External links
[edit]- CELT: Corpus of Electronic TextsatUniversity College Cork.TheCorpus of Electronic Textsincludes theAnnals of Ulsterandthe Four Masters,theChronicon Scotorumand theBook of Leinsteras well as Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress.
| 9th century |  | |
|---|---|---|
| 10th century | ||
| 11th century | ||
| 12th century | ||
^ Disputed * Speculative | ||