THE NORSE IN OSSORY: THE NAMING OF GIOLLAPHADRAIG

THE NORSE IN OSSORY: THE NAMING OF GIOLLAPHADRAIG The naming of GiollaPhadraig, after whom the sloinne MacGiollaPhadraig, and the circumstances surrounding this decision may be seen as illustrative of the extent of the Norse influence upon the ruling dynasty of the ancient Kingdom of Ossory. It is widely held that the use of the surname MacGiollaPhadraig (MicGiollaPhadraig) derives from the Ossory King GiollaPhadraig who died in battle in 996 in connection with a confrontation with the “Danes of Waterford”. Annals of Tigernach, s.a. 995. “GillaPatrick, son of Donnchadh, was slain by Donnabhan son of Imhar, King of the Danes of Waterford, and Domhnall, son of Faelan, King of Decies.” AU, s.a. 996. “Gilla Patraicc m. Donnchada rí Osraigi (iter alia)…mortui sunt An examination of his life and background, as much as is afforded by the sources, sheds significant light upon the significance of the sloinne MacGiollaPhadraig. GiollaPhadraig was son of the long reigning King Donnchadh of Ossory. Reigned 932-976. Also known as Donnchadh Ramhor/Ramhar, meaning fat. AFM s.a. 976, D. However, the recorded forty two year reign of King Donnchadh may be overstated. It is stated in the annal entry recording his passing that he was senile. AFM, s.a. 976. “Dondch, M. Cell. Rex Ossoriae, in senile aetate, mortuus est”. Due to the fact that we find a record of Donnchadh’s son and tanist having pre-deceased him in 973 AFM, s.a. 973.“Mureadach, son of Donnchadh, son of Cellach, Tanist of Osraighi, died”. GiollaPhadraig may have succeeded his brother as tanist and de-facto regent as early as 973. Kelly, p. 94. “The law-texts sometimes include the esconn ([ess-conn ‘one whose sense has departed’ i.e. a senile person) among those who are legally incapable on account of their condition.” CIH 405.12. Therefore his reign is likely to have spanned twenty-three years. What of GiollaPhadraig himself? What of his name? Evidence which will be shown below indicates that he may well have been named in the Norse fashion due to fosterage with the Norse His unnamed paternal ancestor, son of Aéd King of Tara and Land who was the daughter of Dúnlang and sister of Cerball, both Kings of Ossory (FA No. 408), was fostered to Bárith, a Norse Chieftain c. 872. FA, s.a 872. “In this year, i.e. the eleventh year of Aéd’s reign, Bárith came (now he was fosterfather of the king’s son) and brought many ships with him from the sea westward to Loch Rí…”. FA, s.a. 870, No. 387. “…the King of Ireland, Áed Findliath (whose wife was Cerball’s sister)…” The practice of fosterage of Irish youths to the Norse was evidently widespread according to the Fragmentary Annals. “For the pagans had many Irish fosterlings” (ar ba h-iomodha dalta Gaoidhealach ag na paganaibh). (FA, p. 173, #423) or a simple alliance forged between his father Donnchadh and Norse chieftains who remained in Ireland and Ossory as settlers. This propensity to foster children of native Irish kings and nobles with the newly arrived Norse would seem to indicate that certain personal traits or skills which were possessed by the Norse were deemed desirable by the native Irish dynasts, in addition to the obvious political motivations. Consequently, it is likely that the annal entry celebrating the exodus of the heathen or gennti from Ireland was grossly overstated or could be characterized as misleading. AU, s.a. 902. “The heathens were driven from Ireland”. In fact, GiollaPhadraig’s great-grandfather Cearbhall was alleged to have been over-King of the Norse of the Dublin region prior to his death. AU, s.a 888. “Cerball, son of Dúngal, King of Osraige, died suddenly.” “Cerball m. Dungaile, rex Osraighi, subita morte periit”. Also, see Byrne, Kings and High Kings. The fact is that after more than three generations of residence in Ireland there may well have been many Norse who were no longer considered to have been heathen in the sense recognized by the annalists. An interesting entry in the Landnmabok details the posture taken by a cousin of GiollaPhadraig named Helgi inn magri. The text records that the mother of Helgi was one Rafarta, daughter of Kjarval, King of the Irish. The simple fact that Helgi was raised in Ireland as a cousin of our GiollaPhadraig renders this passage relevant to our theory of a possible association of the ruling dynasty of Ossory with an Hiberno-Norse saints’ cult dedicated to Saint Patrick. “Eyvinder went then on Viking raids to the west, and had a fleet fitted out for the coast of Ireland. He married Rafarta, the daughter of Kjarval, the King of the Irish, and settled down there…He and Rafarta had a son who was called Helgi...he was brought up in Ireland…Helgi was very shifty in his faith; he believed in Christ, but made vows to Thor for seafaring and hardy deeds.” Landnamabok (The Vikings, Johannes Brondsted, London, 1965, p. 306) The potent force of intermarriage coupled with the conversion of the Norse to Christianity, even if only in theory Brondsted, Johannes, The Vikings (London, 1965). P. 306. “In Landnámabók it is said of him that ‘he was very mixed in his faith; he believed in Christ, but invoked Thor in matters of seafaring and dire necessity’. The person referred to was Helgi the Lean, a mixed race grandson of King Cerball of Ossory, who is celebrated in the Icelandic Sagas and clearly was rather ambivalent regarding his conversion to Christianity. , virtually assured assimilation of those Norse who chose to remain in Ireland. Despite the above described flexibility or ambivalence It is interesting to note the periodic resurgence of pagan or pre-Christian belief associated with the “Cult” of Aod Anghanach (search for Simms article) this Hiberno-Norse social group would then not likely have been referred to as gennti by the annalists. The stigma associated with pagan Norseness would have largely been eclipsed by both the intermingling of blood through intermarriage and Christian baptism. Indeed, we find the Norse King of Dublin Olafr Cuarán making a pilgrimage to Iona where he died during the period of the reign of GiollaPhadraig. AFM, s.a. 979, recte 980. “Amlaeibh, son of Sitric, chief lord of the foreigners of Áth Cliath, went to Hi on his pilgrimage; and he died there after a penance and a good life”. During the period of GiollaPhadraig’s youth it may be seen that the impact of the Norse upon Ossory did not subside. We find that the men of Ossory were credited with plundering the monastic installation at Cloncmacnois, an exploit usually associated with the Norse although no Norse involvement is mentioned. ACL, s.a. 956. Could this mean that the annalists, in fact, acknowledged the Norseness of the men of Ossory? Could this raid have been associated with the gathering of relics of Saint Ciarán the younger in order to assure his power and strength would be with the warriors of Ossory in battle? The inescapable topic of Hiberno-Norse Saints cults will be explored further below. In 962 the men of Ossory reportedly overcame Amlaeibh, son of Sitric. AFM, s.a. 962. Although we are not informed as to the political background of this confrontation it may be seen as further evidence of contact with Norse chieftains during the youth of GiollaPhadraig. In any event GiollaPhadraig certainly had sufficient contact with the Norse to have met and married the daughter of the Norse chieftain Arailt whose name was Mael Muru. Banseanchas, Lec. D. Br. Ed. 430. “Mael Muru ingen Arailt meic Gofraid, mathair Dondchada meic Gilli Padraic Rí Laigen 7 Osraidi”. One possible explanation of this marriage alliance was that an aunt of GiollaPhadraig was the wife of Amlaib Mac Gothfraid, the Norse King of Dublin. FA, p. xxiii. This marriage was not an innovation either. In addition to the marriage of Cerball’s daughter Rafarta to Eyvind mentioned above, we find that a grandson of King Cerball reportedly married a daughter of a Norse chieftain as well. Nora Chadwick, ‘The Vikings and the Western World, in “The Impact of the Scandinavian Invasions on the Celtic Speaking Peoples c. 800-1000 A.D.” International Congress of Celtic Studies (Dublin, 1959) ed., Brian O’Ciuv pp. 13-42. “Another daughter of Ketill Flatnefr was married to the grandson of Cerball (O.N. Kjarvalr) King of Ossory”. p. 19. This unnamed man had to have been either a brother or cousin of GiollaPhadraig. We also find a local Ossory tradition that a daughter of Cerball married one of the Norse chieftains and their son Sigurd bore a flag of the Raven, woven by her, at the battle of Clontarf. Lyng, T., Ballyragget and District, Old Kilkenny Review, No. 1, 1946. P. 16. “Finally in 873 Carroll became King of the Danes of Dublin and remained their King until his death in 885. One of his daughters was mother of Sigurd and wove the flag carried by Sigurd at the Battle of Clontarf.” (Although it is difficult to reconcile all of the claims made by Lyng with known existing sources he was considered to be one of the preeminent historians of Ossory of his time and may have had access to sources not now available to the writer. We must now address the likely motivation of King Cerballs’ son Donnchadh and the other key members of the ruling dynasty of Ossory in connection with the choice of the christian name GiollaPhadraig for a likely aspirant to the Kingship. The use of the prefix of Giolla was an apparent innovation for the Ossory ruling dynasty or sliocht. We do not find a record of any other ancestor or relation of GiollaPhadraig bearing any name with the “giolla” prefix. We do however, find a rather extensive penetration of the prefix in Norse areas of the Irish sea region. “Not in Arnorsson, though Lind says that there’s a Gilli enn gerzi of unknown nationality in Landnamabok. He also has a Hebridean GIlli aa Gillastadom from the time of the Settlement, a Faraoese Gilli lo, gso, gumadr, and a Hebridean Gilli iarl in the 11th century; an Irish thrall Gilli praell s. Iathguds Gilla s:ar from the mid-11th century, and a Norwegian Pronder Gillaeson 1366; the last suggests that the name was actually borrowed into the Norwegian name pool, though Fellows Jensen thinks the majority of bearers of the name were descended from Irish speakers. The name is either from early Irish gilla a servant, a lad or shortened form of early Irish names of the Gilla X type.” Old Norse Forms of Early Irish Names, Brian M. Scott, 2003; p. 5. In addition to the use of the prefix “giolla” we must examine the choice of the use of Patrick. Although there are the usual historical connections of Saint Patrick with the Kingdom of Ossory, these were not celebrated to any noticeable extent in the existing record. The choice of Saint Patrick then was another innovation for the ruling dynasty of Ossory. If one were to have chosen a major saint’s name for an Ossory dynast, itself another innovation, The short list of the names of the Kings of Ossory from the mid ninth century to the installment of GiollaPhadraig follows: Dúngal; Cerball; Riacán; Diarmait; Cellach; Cuilén; Donnchadh. why would they have not chosen either Sén Ciarán (Ciaran of Saigir) or Cainnech (Canice) of Aghaboe. Both of these saints were well acknowledged patron saints of Ossory with long histories of affiliation with the ruling dynasty and possessing formidable paruchiae or churches and followers within Ossory. In fact, Sén Ciarán was invoked by King Cerball to assist him and his Ossory warriors in battle during his extensive interaction with the Norse. FA, s.a. 870. “However, the Osraige trusted in St. Ciarán of Saighir to bring them victory and triumph over the Laigin”. Also, s.a. 868. We also find that Ciaran was a saint revered by the Norse themselves as evidenced by the naming of the heir designate of the Norse of Dublin, Gilla Ciaráin. AU, s.a. 1014. “There fell on the side of the foreign troops in this battle… and of the foreigners there fell Dubgall, son of Amlaib, Siucrad son of Lodur, Jarl of Innsi Orc, and Gilla Ciaráin son of Glún Iaran, heir designate of the foreigners…” Dr. Colman Etchingham has also observed a similar name pattern in nearby Waterford. He notes that the ruling family of Norse Waterford through the twelfth century was Mac Giolla Muire. He notes that it was first attested in the annals for 1013 in connection with a Norse expedition in conjunction with the Norse of Dublin. His conclusion is that Mac Giolla Muire denotes a devotion to the cult of the Virgin Mary among the Waterford Ostmen, which is the local description of the Norse of Waterford. Etchingham, Colman, “Woodstown and Viking Waterford:The Historical Context”, p. 10-11 (NUI Maynooth, October 7, 2004) Why then would a King whose name translates to “Brown Warrior” (Donnchadh) and whose ancestors had not been seen to utilize important saints’ names formally designate one of his sons the “Devotee or Follower of Patrick”? The Regnal List of the Kings of Ossory, attached as Exhibit “A” does not show one name relating to a saint other than Patrick from 842 A.D. until 1194 A.D.. The question as to why Ciaran or Canice were not so honored as patron Saints of the Kingdom of Ossory remains unanswered. The predominant name being Donnchadh (Brown Warrior) (seven monarchs or 22%) with Domnall (Lord of the World) (four monarchs or 13%) second in a tie with GiollaPhadraig (four monarchs or 13%) with Cearbhall fourth (three monarchs or 9%). It is perhaps interesting to note that beginning in 1286 A.D. and ending in 1443 A.D. we find a series of four monarchs named Finghin (Little Fair One). The contrast with the Donnchadh era described above is striking especially when the fourth Finghin mother’s name was Ragnall. (See Bardic poem attached as Exhibit “B”) The answer most certainly was the strong Norse affiliation of the ruling dynasty of Ossory. As discussed above, GiollaPhadraig was likely fostered to the Norse as had been his paternal ancestor to the Norse chieftain, Bárith. FA, s.a. 872. No. 408. “In this year, i.e. in the eleventh year of Aéd’s reign, Bárith came (now he was the fosterfather of the king’s son) … In addition, his marriage to a Norse princess clearly indicates a period of contact during which the cultural intercourse between the native Irish and the Norse settlers included intermarriage as well as fosterage. These two manifestations of ongoing alliances were probably only the tip of the iceberg. The naming of a prominent member of the ruling dynasty of Osraighe in recognition of a Hiberno-Norse saint’s cult remains the most likely explanation given the above. The Norse were accustomed to pledging themselves to their Gods. The individual Norseman or Norsewoman would usually choose a particular god or gods which suited his or her own personality and needs. Whether it is Odin, Thor, Ty or one of the lesser Norse gods such as Baldr, Heimdal or Ull there were cults whose members pledged themselves to their chosen god or gods. This practice was undoubtedly transported to Ireland and superimposed upon native Irish Christianity. In fact, the historian Jan de Vries has noted the native Irish propensity to invoke saints instead of the God of monotheistic Christian tradition in times of need or danger and the fact that the heathen Norse would have been inclined to “appease” a foreign land’s spirits in the same fashion. FA, p. 197. “Jan de Vries has pointed out that this account of the arriving Danes invoking Patrick’s aid may be founded on fact: “Certainly there were among these Danish Vikings many who had heard about the Christian belief…There was also a very widespread custom of invoking saints in need or danger. The Vikings could have heard about this anywhere, and it was of course completely in agreement with their own heathen belief to appease a foreign land’s protective spirits by offering and invocation.” Jan de Vries, “Om Betydningen av Three Fragments of Irish Annals for Vikingetiden Historie.” Historisk Tidsskrift utgitt av den Norske Historiske Forening, Raekke V, Bind V (Kristiana, 1924): 516-7. It would have been an easy adjustment to a new culture to add another god/saint to the pantheon of gods from which the Norse could pick and choose depending upon their whim and particular perceived needs. An alternative Irish translation for the prefix “giolla” is one who pledges to another. The noun is clearly based upon the intransitive verb giáallaid which is attested to connote variously the acts of giving hostage, submitting or pledging. Dictionary of the Irish Language (RIA, Dublin, 1998) The initiation phase of the pledging of a man to a Norse god’s cult could likely be seen to be similar to the practice of Christian baptism. When considered within the context of the process of cultural assimilation into the mainstream of native Irish society, a christian baptism was of paramount importance for the Norse who intended to remain. The use of an Irish Saint’s name prefixed by giolla conveyed a clear message that the person bearing the name was a Christian, even if he were clearly ethnically Norse or Hiberno-Norse. This practice of naming a man in Ireland in this fashion was unknown prior to the arrival and the process of cultural assimilation of the Norse. Brian O’Cuiv, Aspects of Irish Personal Names, in Celtica 18 (1986) pp. 151-184. Personal Names as an indicator of relations between native Irish and settlers in the Viking period”; “In the 983 entry in the A.U. we also find records of Vikings with clearly Christian names, Gilla Patraicc m. Imhair and Gilla Padraig mc. Amhlaim.” p. 81 The use of “giolla” as a prefix to a male saints name appears at least seventy eight times in the Annals of Ulster beginning in 977, which interestingly roughly corresponds to the time period during which the Norse were beginning to convert to Christianity. This sampling ends in 1130 and includes twenty one Giolla Patricks (27%), fourteen Giolla Crists (18%) and five Giolla Ciaráns (6%). Of the Giolla Patricks eight (38%) are associated with the ruling dynasty of Ossory while the remaining thirteen are predominantly related to known Hiberno-Norse figures, including a Bishop of Dublin named Giolla Patrick who was drowned. AU, s.a. 1084. “Gilla Patraic, bishop of Áth Cliath, was drowned”. “Gilla Patraic espoc Atha Cliath do batadh”. In addition and not surprisingly, as discussed below, several of the Giolla Patricks were clerical functionaries associated with Armagh, Saint Patrick’s traditional seat. The evidence for the tradition of the pledging by some of the Hiberno-Norse to Saint Patrick is contained within the well known Book of Rights Lebor na Cert ed.Myles Dillon (Dublin, 1962). Pp. 115-9. “…If you give him life, cleric (Patrick) revered and powerful, and the Foreigners of the green land will bow…Then the host bring to him a screpall for each man, an ounce of gold, an ounce for each nose thus, a screpall of gold for each man.” as well as the more parochial Fragmentary Annals Joan Newlon Radner, ed. Fragmentary Annals of Ireland (DIAS Dublin, 1978). P. xxv. “Many of the characteristics of the Fragmentary Annals described so far point to the conclusion that the original text was compiled under the patronage of descendants of Cerball mac Dúnlaing- and therefore in the interests of the ruling Osraige dynasty.” the provenance of which has been attributed to the patronage and political aspirations of King Donnchadh of Laigin and Osraige, the highly successful son of GiollaPhadraig. The Fragmentary Annals are replete with references to circumstances in connection with the manifestation of the power of Saint Patrick to the Hiberno-Norse. FA, s.a. 852, No. 235; s.a. 851, No. 241; s.a. 860, No. 279; “All answered him, and this is what they said: ‘Let our protector’ they said, ‘be this Saint Patrick and the lord who is master to him, and let our spoils and our treasure be given to this church’”. FA, s.a. 852, No. 235. Outside of the ruling dynasty of Ossory we find a contemporaneous adoption of the name GiollaPatrick by the Norse settlers themselves in connection with two of their noble warriors. Considering the strong thesis that the Ossory King GiollaPatrick was named as a result of a significant degree of Norse influence it is not surprising that this name phenomenon is witnessed in the adjoining territory of Waterford which historically boasted a large Norse population. “AU, s.a. 983. “Mael Sechnaill, son of Domnall, and Glun Iaran, son of Amlaib, inflicted a battle rout on Domnall Claen, King of Laigin and Imar of Port Lairge, in which fell Gilla Pátraic son of Imar and others- many being drowned or slain. (Gilla Pátraic, son of Amlaib)”. Fiona Edmonds of Oxford has surveyed church sites in the Norse inhabited regions of the Isle of Man, Lancashire, Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway. She found nearly twenty sites bearing the name of Patrick with nine found in the Hiberno-Norse Isle of Man alone. Information provided to the writer in 2005 which will be incorporated in Ms. Edmonds thesis to be presented in connection with a D. Phil. At Oxford in the near future. The popularity of the Norse inspired name GiollaPhadraig continued down the generations within the ruling dynasty of Ossory. Indeed, three additional Kings of Ossory were named Giolla Phadraig after the death of the initial Giolla Phadraig, seemingly one for each generation. Gilla Patrick Mic GiollaPhadraig (reigned 1039-1055); Gilla Patraic Ruadh Mic GiollaPhadraig (reigned 1090-1103); Gilla Patraic Mic GiollaPhadraig (reigned 1126-1146). One of these was the son of Donnchadh, who became King of Leinster He celebrated the Oenach at Carmun in 1033 as well and was the first recorded King of Osraighe to use Mac Giolla Padraig as a surname in honor of his father and his Norse mother. The existence of Hiberno-Norse Saint’s Cults may well be the key to the well recorded fascination of the Norse with native Irish monastic settlements as well. The temples of the Norse gods were considered sacred and conveyed a sense of power to the followers who participated in the rites prescribed by their priests. Brondsted, Johannes, The Vikings (London, 1965) pp. 287-8. We find that annalists noted the respect which certain Norse chieftains displayed with respect to Armagh, the traditional seat of Saint Patrick. In 921 we find one Gothfrith This Gothfrith may well have been the grandfather of Mael Muru, the Norse wife of GiollaPhadraig. having reportedly plundered Armagh while leaving the prayer houses and the monastery itself intact. It is important to note that the culdees, or devotees of Saint Patrick, were likely seen as being the high priests of the Patrick cult in the eyes of the attacking Norse. The Norse may have been seeking relics of Saint Patrick which, through their observation of the practices of the native Irish, the possession of which they likely thought would bring them power and luck in battle as well as in their other economic pursuits in Ireland. “Ard Macha was invaded by the foreigners of Ath Cliath, i.e. by Gothfrith grandson of Imar, with his army, on the fourth of the Ides [10] of November, the Saturday before the feast of Martin, and the prayer houses with their complement of Culdees and sick he spared from destruction, and also the monastery, save for a few dwellings which were burned through carelessness”. AU, s.a. 921. The final question is what prompted the highly successful King of both Leinster and Ossory, Donnchadh son of GiollaPhadraig, to adopt his father’s unusual name for the surname for the entire native Irish sliocht which historically held sway over the strategically important Kingdom of Ossory. Was it in deference to the significant presence and power of Norse settlers within the Kingdom of Ossory? Was it the power associated with the military prowess of the Norse upon which King Donnchadh and his ancestors had often called in connection with the political struggles in which they were constantly involved? Was it simply a fascination with Norse culture and an affinity deriving from his maternal relatives and/or his possible Norse foster-parents. These questions may be unanswerable failing the discovery of additional historical source material. However, it is clear that the name GiollaPhadraig and the sloinne MicGiollaPhadraig both bear witness to the undeniable imprint of the Norse upon the native Irish Kingdom of Ossory and its ruling dynasty.