Olaf the White

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Olaf the White was a Viking sea-king who lived in the latter half of the ninth century CE. He was born around 840, possibly in Ireland. His father was the Hiberno-Norse warlord Ingjald Helgasson; Olaf is described in some sources as a descendent of Ragnar Lodbrok (according to the Eyrbyggja Saga, his father's mother Thora was the daughter of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, one of Ragnar's sons); this is problematic given that Ragnar likely lived until the 860s.

Olaf was named King of Dublin around 853; during part of his reign he may have ruled together with his kinsman Ivar the Boneless. Olaf married Aud the Deep-minded, daughter of the ruler of the Hebrides, Ketil Flatnose. They had a son, Thorstein the Red, who attempted to conquer Scotland in the 870s. At some point Olaf had a falling-out with the clan of Ketil and sent Aud and their infant son back to her father's house.

Olaf may be identical with the viking warlord Amlaíb Conung, named in Irish sources.

[edit] References

• Forte, Angelo, Richard Oram and Frederik Pedersen. Viking Empires. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.