Gofraid mac Fergusa

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Gofraid mac Fergusa was a ruler in Hebrides and perhaps the Isle of Man in the 9th century.

He is named by the Annals of the Four Masters in its entry for 835, correctly c. 839, where it is reported that "Gofraid mac Fergusa, chief of Airgíalla, went to Alba, to strengthen the Dál Riata, at the request of Cináed mac Ailpín." From his name, Gofraid is presumed to be of mixed Norse and Gaelic descent and thus one of the earliest known Norse-Gaels.

The date of his death is uncertain. The Annals of the Four Masters report his death in around 853 when he is called "Gofraid mac Fergusa, toisech Innsi Gall", Gofraid mac Fergusa, lord of the foreigners' isles, that is of the Hebrides. The term "Insi Gall" may be an anachronism. Alternatively, his death may be reported in the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland, around 874.

His relationship, if any, with other Norse and Norse-Gael rulers, such as Ketil Flatnose and the Uí Ímair, is obscure, but he may be the father of Amlaíb Conung, Ímar and Óisle, and thus the ancestor of the Uí Ímair.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286, volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. ISBN 1-871615-03-8
Crawford, Barbara, Scandinavian Scotland. Leicester University Press, Leicester, 1987. ISBN 0-7185-1282-0
Ó Corráin, Donnchadh, "Vikings in Ireland and Scotland in the in the ninth century" in Peritia 12 (1998), pp. 296–339. Etext (pdf) at CELT

[edit] External link

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at [University College Cork] The Corpus of Electronic Texts includes the Annals of Ulster and the Four Masters, the Chronicon Scotorum and the Fragmentary Annals as well as Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress