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Tomrair
Tomrair (died 848) was a ninth-century Viking active in Ireland. He is one of the first Vikings recorded by Irish sources. Tomrair is reported to have been killed at the Battle of Sciath Nechtain, a conflict in which twelve hundred Vikings were slain, battling the combined forces of Ólchobar mac Cináeda, King of Munster and Lorcán mac Cellaig, King of Leinster, in 848.
Surviving accounts of Tomrair's demise accord him the Gaelic title erell, making him the first earl noted by Irish sources. In fact, erell is the first Nordic loanword on record. Tomrair is also described as the tánaise ríg of Laithlind, which could mean that he was either an heir or deputy to the King of Laithlind. The accounts of Tomrair's final fall are the earliest annalistic references to the office of tánaise ríg. The precise identity of the King of Laithlind, or even location of Laithlind itself, is uncertain.
The context of Tomrair's fall is likewise uncertain. The year after his death, the King of Laithlind is reported to have sent a force of Vikings to contend with Vikings already settled in Ireland. In the years immediately after this, a group of Vikings called Dubgaill are noted to have battled another group called Finngaill. Afterwards in 853, a certain Amlaíb, described as the son of the King of Laithlind is stated to have won the submission of the Vikings in Ireland, and to have gained tribute from the Irish. It is uncertain if the Vikings of Laithlind are to identical to the Finngaill or Dubgaill. In the years that followed, three Vikings appear to have shared the kingship of Dublin: Amlaíb, Ímar, and Auisle. These men could well have been related to each other, and there is reason to suspect that Tomrair was yet another relation as well.
The year of Tomrair's death is remarkable in the fact that the Irish won several battles against the Vikings. Tomrair's eminent standing as a Viking tánaise ríg could indicate that it was his defeat and death that is referred to by a Frankish annal in 848. It is possible that a hoard of Carolingian coins, unearthed at Mullaghboden in the nineteenth century, may have been deposited in the context of Tomrair's defeat. These coins appear to have been looted from Aquitaine only a few years before by Vikings from Vestfold.
Tomrair may be associated with the "ring of Tomar", an object that was looted from Dublin in 994, along with the "sword of Carlus". These objects appear to have formed part of the royal insignia of Dublin, and may have been symbols of the Uí Ímair dynasty descended from Ímar. At about the same time that the ring appears on record, the Dubliners are described in Irish poetry as the "race of Tomar" and "Tomar's nobles". If these designations are not references to Þór, a Nordic deity, they may refer to Tomrair.
Tomrair died in 848. His death is reported by the eleventh–fourteenth-century Annals of Inisfallen, the seventeenth-century Annals of the Four Masters, the fifteenth–sixteenth-century Annals of Ulster, and the twelfth-century Chronicon Scotorum. These accounts reveal that Tomrair—accorded the title of earl, and described as tánaise ríg of Laithlind—fell with twelve hundred Vikings at the Battle of Sciath Nechtain, a conflict evidently fought at Skenagun in the parish of Castledermot. Tomrair's troops were pitted against the combined forces of two of the most powerful provincial kings of Ireland: Ólchobar mac Cináeda, King of Munster (died 851) and Lorcán mac Cellaig, King of Leinster (fl. 848).
The King of Laithlind may be identical to the King of the Foreigners attested by the Irish annals in the following year. According to various annalistic accounts, the said king sent a fleet of one hundred and forty ships overseas to contend with Vikings already settled in Ireland. In 851, a contingent of Dubgaill are stated to have arrived in Dublin, where they defeated the Finngaill before overcoming them again at Linn Duachaill. The year after that, the Dubgaill are again reported to have crushed the Finngaill, this time at Carlingford Lough. In 853, Amlaíb (fl. c. 853–871), the son of the King of Laithlind, is reported to have arrived and Ireland, where the Vikings are stated to have submitted to him, and the Irish are reported to have rendered him tribute. Although the annal-entries that report this event are the first specific notices of Amlaíb by name, he may well have commanded the Vikings of Laithlind in the earlier attested conflicts.
Thereafter, Dublin was evidently ruled by three kings: Amlaíb, Ímar (died 973), and Auisle (died 867). There is reason to suspect that the three were brothers. The eleventh-century Fragmentary Annals of Ireland certainly claims that the three were brothers, and specifically identifies the father of Amlaíb and Ímar as a man named Gofraid.
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Tomrair
Tomrair (died 848) was a ninth-century Viking active in Ireland. He is one of the first Vikings recorded by Irish sources. Tomrair is reported to have been killed at the Battle of Sciath Nechtain, a conflict in which twelve hundred Vikings were slain, battling the combined forces of Ólchobar mac Cináeda, King of Munster and Lorcán mac Cellaig, King of Leinster, in 848.
Surviving accounts of Tomrair's demise accord him the Gaelic title erell, making him the first earl noted by Irish sources. In fact, erell is the first Nordic loanword on record. Tomrair is also described as the tánaise ríg of Laithlind, which could mean that he was either an heir or deputy to the King of Laithlind. The accounts of Tomrair's final fall are the earliest annalistic references to the office of tánaise ríg. The precise identity of the King of Laithlind, or even location of Laithlind itself, is uncertain.
The context of Tomrair's fall is likewise uncertain. The year after his death, the King of Laithlind is reported to have sent a force of Vikings to contend with Vikings already settled in Ireland. In the years immediately after this, a group of Vikings called Dubgaill are noted to have battled another group called Finngaill. Afterwards in 853, a certain Amlaíb, described as the son of the King of Laithlind is stated to have won the submission of the Vikings in Ireland, and to have gained tribute from the Irish. It is uncertain if the Vikings of Laithlind are to identical to the Finngaill or Dubgaill. In the years that followed, three Vikings appear to have shared the kingship of Dublin: Amlaíb, Ímar, and Auisle. These men could well have been related to each other, and there is reason to suspect that Tomrair was yet another relation as well.
The year of Tomrair's death is remarkable in the fact that the Irish won several battles against the Vikings. Tomrair's eminent standing as a Viking tánaise ríg could indicate that it was his defeat and death that is referred to by a Frankish annal in 848. It is possible that a hoard of Carolingian coins, unearthed at Mullaghboden in the nineteenth century, may have been deposited in the context of Tomrair's defeat. These coins appear to have been looted from Aquitaine only a few years before by Vikings from Vestfold.
Tomrair may be associated with the "ring of Tomar", an object that was looted from Dublin in 994, along with the "sword of Carlus". These objects appear to have formed part of the royal insignia of Dublin, and may have been symbols of the Uí Ímair dynasty descended from Ímar. At about the same time that the ring appears on record, the Dubliners are described in Irish poetry as the "race of Tomar" and "Tomar's nobles". If these designations are not references to Þór, a Nordic deity, they may refer to Tomrair.
Tomrair died in 848. His death is reported by the eleventh–fourteenth-century Annals of Inisfallen, the seventeenth-century Annals of the Four Masters, the fifteenth–sixteenth-century Annals of Ulster, and the twelfth-century Chronicon Scotorum. These accounts reveal that Tomrair—accorded the title of earl, and described as tánaise ríg of Laithlind—fell with twelve hundred Vikings at the Battle of Sciath Nechtain, a conflict evidently fought at Skenagun in the parish of Castledermot. Tomrair's troops were pitted against the combined forces of two of the most powerful provincial kings of Ireland: Ólchobar mac Cináeda, King of Munster (died 851) and Lorcán mac Cellaig, King of Leinster (fl. 848).
The King of Laithlind may be identical to the King of the Foreigners attested by the Irish annals in the following year. According to various annalistic accounts, the said king sent a fleet of one hundred and forty ships overseas to contend with Vikings already settled in Ireland. In 851, a contingent of Dubgaill are stated to have arrived in Dublin, where they defeated the Finngaill before overcoming them again at Linn Duachaill. The year after that, the Dubgaill are again reported to have crushed the Finngaill, this time at Carlingford Lough. In 853, Amlaíb (fl. c. 853–871), the son of the King of Laithlind, is reported to have arrived and Ireland, where the Vikings are stated to have submitted to him, and the Irish are reported to have rendered him tribute. Although the annal-entries that report this event are the first specific notices of Amlaíb by name, he may well have commanded the Vikings of Laithlind in the earlier attested conflicts.
Thereafter, Dublin was evidently ruled by three kings: Amlaíb, Ímar (died 973), and Auisle (died 867). There is reason to suspect that the three were brothers. The eleventh-century Fragmentary Annals of Ireland certainly claims that the three were brothers, and specifically identifies the father of Amlaíb and Ímar as a man named Gofraid.