Sigtrygg Silkbeard
Sigtrygg II Silkbeard Olafsson was a Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin of the Uí Ímair dynasty. He was caught up in the abortive Leinster revolt of 999–1000, after which he was forced to submit to the King of Munster, Brian Boru. His family also conducted a double-marriage alliance with Boru, although he later realigned himself with the main leaders of the Leinster revolt of 1012–1014. He has a prominent role in the 12th-century Irish medieval text Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh and the 13th-century Icelandic Njal's Saga, as the main Norse leader at the Battle of Clontarf.
Sigtrygg's long reign spanned 46 years, until his abdication in 1036. During that period, his armies saw action in four of the five Irish provinces of the time. In particular, he conducted a long series of raids into territories such as Meath, Wicklow, Ulster, and perhaps even the coast of Wales. He also battled with rival Norse kings, especially in Cork and Waterford.
He went on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1028 and is associated with the foundation of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. Although Dublin underwent several reversals-of-fortune throughout his reign, on the whole, trade in the city flourished. He died at age 72 in 1042.
Life
Family
Sigtrygg was of Norse and Irish ancestry. He was a son of Olaf Cuarán, King of York and of Dublin, and Gormlaith ingen Murchada. Gormlaith was the daughter of the King of Leinster, Murchad mac Finn, and the sister of his successor, King Máel Mórda of Leinster. She went on to marry the King of Meath and High King of Ireland, Máel Sechnaill, and subsequently Brian Boru. She was a beautiful, powerful and intriguing Irish woman, who, according to the 13th-century Icelandic Njál's saga, was "the fairest of all women, and best gifted in everything that was not in her own power, but it was the talk of men that she did all things ill over which she had any power". Sigtrygg's paternal half-brother was Glúniairn, or "Iron-knee", who ruled as King of Dublin from 980-989.An incident involving the ransom of one of Sigtrygg's sons, late in his reign, in which "seven score British horse" were mentioned in the list of demands, suggests that Dublin was one of the main ports for importing horses into 11th-century Ireland; it is thought that Sigtrygg and his family may have been personally involved in animal husbandry.
King of Dublin
Sigtrygg may have succeeded his paternal half-brother Glúniairn as king of Dublin in 989, but it is just as likely his rival Ivar of Waterford came to power in the city then. The Irish annals record little information about Sigtrygg, his family or Dublin during these first five years of his reign. Benjamin Hudson claims this was because of the arrival of the future King of Norway, Olaf Tryggvason, who took up residence in Dublin for a few years after marrying Sigtrygg's sister Gytha. Tryggvason had met Gytha while raiding along the coasts of the Irish Sea. The presence of a powerful Viking leader in Dublin was a deterrent to Irish raids, and Tryggvason may have weakened Sigtrygg's foes by plundering them.Hudson argues that Tryggvason's return to Norway in 994 coincided with the temporary expulsion of Sigtrygg from Dublin by his rival Ivar of Waterford. Ivar may have already ruled there from 989 until forced-out by Sigtrygg in 993; much depends on interpretation. Nevertheless, Sigtrygg was back within a year. In 995, he and his nephew, Muirchertach Ua Congalaich, attacked the church at Donaghpatrick in County Meath. In retaliation, Máel Sechnaill entered Dublin and took the ring of Thor and the sword of Carlus. Sigtrygg then attacked Kells and Clonard in 997. In 998, Máel Sechnaill and the King of Munster, Brian Boru, forced Sigtrygg to recognise their lordship by giving hostages.
Sigtrygg realised that Dublin's wealth made him a target, and that his city needed powerful allies and walls. The Dublin countryside did not provide sufficient resources for competition against powerful Irish princes. Sigtrygg first allied with his maternal uncle, Máel Mórda mac Murchada, King of the Uí Fáeláin of north Leinster. In 999, they defeated their cousin, the King of Leinster, Donnchad mac Domhnaill, and imprisoned him in Dublin.
First Leinster revolt against Brian Boru
Late in 999, the Leinstermen, historically hostile to domination by either the Uí Néill overkings or the king of Munster, allied themselves with the Norse of Dublin and revolted against Brian Boru. This provided the opportunity for Sigtrygg's second alliance with Máel Mórda mac Murchada. Brian's forces inflicted a crushing defeat on the united Leinster-Dublin army at the Battle of Glenmama, and followed the victory with an attack on the city of Dublin. The 12th-century Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh gives two accounts of the occupation: Brian remained in Dublin from Christmas Day until Epiphany, or from Christmas Day until St. Brigid's Day. The later Annals of Ulster date the Battle of Glenmama to 30 December 999, while the Annals of Inisfallen date Brian's capture of the city to 1 January 1000. In any case, in 1000, Brian plundered the city, burned the Norse fortress, and expelled Sigtrygg.According to the Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh, Sigtrygg's flight from the city took him north, first to the Ulaid and then to Aéd of Cenél nEógain. Both tribes refused to help him. As Sigtrygg could find no refuge in Ireland, he eventually returned, submitted to Brian, gave hostages and was restored to Dublin three months after Brian ended his occupation in February. In the meantime, Sigtrygg may have temporarily "turned pirate" and been responsible for a raid on St David's in Wales.
Around this time, Sigtrygg married Sláine, Brian's daughter by his first wife; Brian, in-turn, took Sigtrygg's mother, the now three-times-married Gormflaith, as his second wife.
Years between the revolts
Dublin enjoyed a sustained period of peace while Sigtrygg's men served in the armies of Brian. Sigtrygg never forgot the Ulaid's refusal of aid when he fled from Dublin and, in 1002, he had his revenge when his soldiers served in Brian's campaign against the Ulaid and ravaged their lands. His fleet raided Ulster, and he plundered Kilclief and Inis Cumhscraigh, taking many prisoners from both. They served under Brian against the Ulaid again in 1005, and against the Northern Uí Néill in 1006 and 1007. Cenél Conaill, the last of the Northern Uí Néill Kingdoms, submitted in 1011, and Brian was formally recognised as High King throughout Ireland.A remembrance of Sigtrygg's reign during these years is preserved in the late medieval Icelandic Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent's Tongue. Only fragments survive of the verses in the Sigtryggsdrápa, a drápa composed by the skald Gunnlaug Illugason while visiting Sigtrygg's court. The verses praise Sigtrygg for his royal ancestry, and describe Dublin as a busy, thriving port. Archaeological excavations of ships, gold, clothing, and pieces for games from around this time seem to confirm the description. According to the prose, Sigtrygg considered rewarding the poet with ships and gold, but instead granted him a new suit of clothes.
Second Leinster revolt against Brian Boru
Sometime during the 1010s, Brian Boru divorced Queen Gormflaith, and she began to engineer opposition to the High King. Around 1012, relations between Brian and Leinster had become so strained that revolt broke out among the Leinstermen. Sigtrygg aligned himself with the forces of Máel Mórda, leader of the revolt, and the chiefs Ua Ruairc, Ua Néill, and others. Together, they defeated Brian's ally Máel Sechnaill near the town of Swords, and Brian for the moment was unable to render assistance.Sigtrygg sent his son Oleif to lead a fleet south to Munster to burn the Viking settlement of Cork. The fleet also attacked Cape Clear, crippling Brian's naval power, which was concentrated in Cork.
According to Njál's saga, Gormflaith "egged on her son Sigtrygg very much to kill King Brian", sending him to win the support of Earl Sigurd of Orkney, and Bróðir and Óspak of Man at any price. Sigtrygg arrived in Orkney for Sigurd's Yule feast, where he sat in a high seat between the two brothers-in-law, Earl Sigurd of Orkney and Earl Gilli of the Southern Isles. The saga also records that Sigtrygg was very interested in the Burning of Njáll Þorgeirsson at Bergþórshvoll and what had happened since. Afterwards, Sigtrygg bade Sigurd to go to war with him against Brian. Despite Sigurd's initial hesitance, and against the advice of his men, he eventually agreed to arrive in Dublin by Palm Sunday with all his men, on the condition that if Brian was slain, Sigurd would marry Gormflaith and become King of Ireland.
Sigtrygg went next to Man, where he also persuaded Bróðir to be in Dublin by Palm Sunday, where he promised Bróðir too that, if successful, he would be allowed to marry Gormflaith and become King of Ireland; the terms of this agreement were kept-secret. Óspak was dissatisfied with the arrangement, and refused to "fight against so good a king".
The two forces met at the Battle of Clontarf, on Good Friday in 1014, a battle that claimed the lives of the main commanders on both sides: Brian and his son Murchad on the Munster side; and Máel Mórda, Sigurd and Bróðir on the Leinster-Norse side. According to Irish sources, Sigtrygg did not take part in the battle, but held his garrison in reserve in Dublin. The Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh records that Sigtrygg was able to observe the progress of the battle and the movement of the battle standards from the ramparts of his fortress. As the modern Irish medievalist historian Donnchadh Ó Corráin notes, Sigtrygg "wisely kept within the city and lived to tell the tale".
Earlier Scandinavian sources contend that he did actually fight valiantly at Clontarf. The Darraðarljóð, showing the persistence of paganism among the Vikings of Dublin, describes the Valkyries as following the "young king" Sigtrygg into battle. Njal's Saga records that Sigtrygg was on the wing opposite Óspak of Man for the whole battle, and that Óspak eventually put the king to flight.