Oistin mac Amlaíb () was a ninth-century Norse or Norse-Gael leader whom sometimes identified as a

King of Dublin The Kingdom of Dublin (Old Norse: ''Dyflin'') was a Norse kingdom in Ireland that lasted from roughly 853 AD to 1170 AD. It was the first and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland, founded by Vikings who invaded the territory around Dublin ...

. He was a son of

Amlaíb Conung Amlaíb Conung ( ; died c. 874) was a Viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid-late ninth century. He was the son of the king of Lochlann, identified in the non-contemporary '' Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' as Gofraid, and brother of ...

and nephew of

Ímar Ímar ( ; died c. 873) was a powerful Viking leader in Ireland and Scotland in the mid-late ninth century. He was the progenitor of the Uí Ímair dynasty, who would go on to dominate the Irish Sea region for several centuries. He was the son o ...

, founder of the

Uí Ímair The Uí Ímair (; meaning ‘''scions of Ivar’''), also known as the Ivar dynasty or Ivarids, was a Norse-Gael dynasty which ruled much of the Irish Sea region, the Kingdom of Dublin, the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides and ...

dynasty. He is sometimes identified with

Thorstein the Red Thorstein the Red or Thorstein Olafsson was a viking chieftain who flourished in late ninth-century Scotland. Biography 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 o ...

, a figure who features in the

Norse sagas Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

Biography

The earliest mention of Oistin may be by ''

Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib ''Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib'' ("The War of the Irish with the Foreigners") is a medieval Irish text that tells of the depredations of the Vikings and Uí Ímair dynasty in Ireland and the Irish king Brian Boru's great war against them, begin ...

'', which in 873 describes how

Bárid mac Ímair Bárid mac Ímar (also referred to as Baraid or Bardur Ivarsson); or ; d. 881) was a ninth-century King of Dublin. He was a son of Ivar (Ímar) Ragnarsson and a member of the Uí Ímair. Biography The earliest mention of Bárid in the Iris ...

and an unnamed son of

plundered the caves of Ciarraige. This unnamed son of Amlaíb is probably Oistin.

Downham Downham may refer to: Places ;in England * Downham, Cambridgeshire, a civil parish **Little Downham *Downham, Essex *Downham, Lancashire *Downham, London, a district of south east London **Downham Estate, housing estate in Downham, London *Downham, ...

suggests this raid undertook as a show of strength; it occurred shortly after the death of

, with Bárid probably succeeding him as

. Though Oistin is not named as a king in the annals, it has been suggested by others that Oistin and Bárid ruled together as co-kings after the death of Ímar. The one and only mention of Oistin by name in contemporary annals is by the ''

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' () are annals of History of Ireland, medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luin� ...

'' in 875: "Albann" is generally agreed to be identical to

Halfdan Ragnarsson Halfdan Ragnarsson (; or ''Healfdene''; ; died 877) was a Viking leader and a commander of the Great Heathen Army which invaded the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England starting in 865. Halfdan was one of six sons of Ragnar Lodbrok named in Norse ...

, supposed son of the legendary

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

Ragnar Lodbrok Ragnar Lodbrok (Old Norse: ''Ragnarr loðbrók'', ), according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Legendary Kings of Sweden, Swedish and Legendary kings of Denmark, Danish king.Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

''.

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

, s.a. 878 If Halfdan and Oistin were indeed kin, then it may explain the reason for the conflict: it was a dynastic squabble for control of the kingdom.

Identification with Thorstein the Red

Some have suggested Oistin is the same person as

, a figure who features in the

. However, this is problematic since Thorstein is said to have died in Scotland after conquering much of the country, whereas Oistin is said to have been killed in Ireland in 875 by Albann (i.e. Halfdan). Similarly, Oistin's father Amlaíb is sometimes identified with

Olaf the White Olaf the White () was a viking sea-king who lived in the latter half of the 9th century. Life Olaf was born around 820, in Ireland. His father was the Hiberno-Norse warlord Ingjald Helgasson. Some traditional sources portray Olaf as a descendan ...

, a Viking sea-king who also features in the sagas and is named as the father of Thorstein the Red.

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

The sagas are of dubious historical value, but the figures featured within may be based on real people. To get around the problem whereby Oistin and Thorstein die in different places in different circumstances, but keeping the identification of Amlaíb with Olaf the White, it has been proposed that Oistin and Thorstein were brothers.

Family

Amlaíb Conung is identified as Oistin's father by the ''Annals of Ulster''. A brother, Carlus, is mentioned by the ''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

''. A number of other familial connections are known if the identification of Oistin with Thorstein the red is correct. According to the sagas, Aud the Deep-Minded, daughter of

Ketil Flatnose Ketill Björnsson, nicknamed Flatnose (Old Norse: ''Flatnefr''), was a Norse King of the Isles of the 9th century. Primary sources The story of Ketill and his daughter Auðr, or Aud the Deep-Minded, was probably first recorded by the Icelande ...

, the King of Isles, was the mother of Thorstein. Thorstein's wife is given as Thurid (Þuríður in

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

), the daughter of a

Geatish The Geats ( ; ; ; ), sometimes called ''Geats#Goths, Goths'', were a large North Germanic peoples, North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the Late Middle Ages. They are one of ...

man named Eyvind the Easterner. Their children include at least six daughters, Osk, Vigdis, Olof, Thorhild and Thorgerd, and at least one son, Olaf Feilan. Eirik the Red's Saga, § 1 (Jones 127); Laxdaela Saga, § 4 (Magnusson 52); Njal's Saga, § 1 (Cook 3); Grettir's Saga, § 26 (Thorsson 62)

Notes

References

Citations

Primary sources

* Accessed via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. * * * Accessed via

. * Accessed via

. * * * *

Secondary sources

* * Subscription o
UK public library membership
required. * * Subscription o
UK public library membership
required. * * * * *

External links

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

. The Corpus of Electronic Texts includes the ''Annals of Ulster'' and ''the Four Masters'', the ''Chronicon Scotorum'' and the ''Book of Leinster'' as well as Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oistin mac Amlaib 875 deaths 9th-century Irish monarchs Monarchs of Dublin Year of birth unknown