Viking Warrior-Women in the History of Ireland 

The Norse sagas told of “shield maidens” fighting alongside their menfolk in the Viking Age. The Irish chroniclers also recounted Norse warrior-women leading fleets and armies against Gaelic kings.

DNA evidence from the grave of a warrior noble at Birka in Sweden confirmed women were actively involved in seafaring, raiding, trading and warfare in Northern Europe.

The legends of Viking warrior-women in the Gesta Danorum, Volsunga Saga and Laxdaela Saga were accurate representations according to recent genetic evidence from a grave in Sweden.

Scientists established that the Vikings buried a female warrior noble at Birka in Sweden in the tenth century. They entombed the warrior-woman in a wooden chamber.

The game pieces in the tomb implied the woman was a high ranking Norse leader. Her most prized possessions of a sword, axe, spear, knife and numerous arrowheads accompanied the noblewoman in the afterlife.

The pagan priests sacrificed a stallion and mare during the funerary rites. The souls of the horses joined the Viking warrioress in halls of the Norse gods and goddesses.

The archaeological evidence proved a minority of women in Scandinavia chose the life of a shield-maiden.

The Laxdaela Saga, Greenland Saga and Saxo Grammaticus claimed women became professional fighters when they were no sons to defend the honour of a family. Some women preferred the life of a pirate to avoid an unsuitable marriage.

The Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib, or “The War of the Irish with the Foreigners”, described the exploits of a Viking warrioress called Inghen Ruadh, or “Red Maiden” in 917. Inghen Ruadh was the leader of one of the sixteen fleets that attacked Munster in 917.

The red hair of Inghen Ruadh only added to her fearsome reputation in Ireland. Inghen Ruadh showed no mercy to her enemies. She slaughtered them with no prisoners taken. The Irish regarded Inghen Ruadh as the most savage of the Viking warrior-women.

The chroniclers stated Inghen Ruadh and the Vikings ravaged the Gaelic monasteries, churches and communities in Munster. “And assuredly the evil which Erinn had hitherto suffered was as nothing compared to evil inflicted by these parties”.

The Danish historian, Saxo Grammaticus, narrated Inghen Ruadh was the heroine, Rusla or Rusila.

Rusla was the daughter of Rieg, the king of southern Norway. She became a shield-maiden when a rival king called Omund deprived her brother, Thrond, of his throne.

Omund was a clever man and manipulated Thrond into allying himself with the Danes. Thrond and Omund waged war against their enemy, Rusla.

The “ amazon Rusla, whose prowess in warfare exceeded the spirit of a woman, had many fights in Norway with her brother, Thrond, for the sovereignty. She could not endure that Omund rule over the Norwegians, and she had declared war against all the subjects of the Danes”.

Rusla led a nomadic life as the Viking pirate queen, Inghen Ruadh. She attacked Danish ships and raided the coasts of Denmark for many years. Her raids on the coasts of Britain, Ireland and Iceland were also celebrated in the Norse sagas.

Stikla was the deputy of Rusla and a skilled warrioress. She accompanied Rusla on her voyages and engaged in warfare against her enemies.

Rusla attacked the ship of her brother, Thrond, during her campaign against the Danes. Thrond narrowly escaped with his life and sought revenge against his sister, Rusla.

Omund and Thrond defeated Rusla and her fleet during a great sea battle. Thrond captured his sister Rusla. He held Rusla by the hair and killed her among the rowing oars of his crew.

Saxo Grammaticus narrated that two loyal warriors of Rusla called Thorias and Ber “were roving in Ireland; but...they heard of the death of their mistress”. The account suggested Rusla died shortly after attacking Munster in 917.

The Irish Annals later claimed the warrioress, Rusla, fought with the Vikings against the legendary Irish king, Brian Boru, at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Murchadh, the son of Brian Boru, killed Rusla on the battlefield. Her two sons, also died at the Battle of Clontarf.

Some scholars believe Rusla, or Ingean Ruagh, was the fairy queen, bean ruadh, in an Irish poem.

Rusla died at the hands of Murchadh in the Slieve Aughty mountains of Galway. She transformed into the fairy queen, bean ruadh, and resided at her sidhe, or underground kingdom, in the Slieve Aughty.

The early Viking history of Ireland is discussed in:

Olaf the White and Ivar the Boneless - The Viking Kings of Dublin: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0916GJ3B2

And Vikings in Ireland (870 - 914): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096KVNBZK

References

Wikipedia - Rusla: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusla

Library Ireland - The Northmen (2): https://www.libraryireland.com/HullHistory/Northmen2.php

History UK - Did Viking Shield Maidens Really Exist?: https://www.history.co.uk/.../did-viking-shield-maidens...

Project Gutenberg - The Danish History by Saxo Grammaticus:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1150/1150-h/1150-h.htm

Cogadh Gaedhel Re Gallaibh: The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill: Or, The ... edited by James Henthorn Todd: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1150/1150-h/1150-h.htm

https://books.google.ie/books?id=7TJHDDrAH9wC&pg=PA342...

Wiley Online Library - A female Viking Warrior: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajpa.23308

Wikipedia - Birka Female Viking Warrior: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birka_female_Viking_warrior

National Geographic - Famous Viking Warrior Women:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/.../viking-warrior...

Aughty - Definitions Archive 1: http://www.aughty.org/define_arch01.htm

 

The Ring of Tomrair  - the Royal Emblem of the Ui Imair Kings in Dublin

The Irish chroniclers referred to the Ring of Tomrair and Sword of Carlus as the royal emblems of the Ui Imair kings in Dublin. The Ring of Tomrair bore the name of a tanist,  meaning the son and heir of the king of Lochlann in the mid-ninth century.

Tomrair was a high-ranking jarl in the Viking Age as the son and heir of the king of Lochlann. He commanded a fleet that attacked the monasteries and Gaelic settlements of County Kildare in 848.

Lorcán mac Laigin, King of Leinster, and his ally, Ólchobar mac Cináeda, King of Munster, fought Tomrair and his army at the Battle of Sciath Nechtain in 848. Jarl Tomrair and twelve hundred Viking warriors died on the battlefield. 

Historians suspect Tomrair was the tanist, or the son and heir, of Godfraid, King of Lochlann. 

The kingdom of Lochlann encompassed the Norse colonies in Scotland and the Isle of Man. Tomrair may have been the brother of “Amlaíb, son of the king of Lochlann”, or Olaf the White.

Amlaíb Conung, or Olaf the White, was active in the Irish Sea region in the mid-ninth century. He arrived in Ireland with a Viking fleet and expelled the Danes from the longphort at Áth Cliath, or Dublin in 853. 

The Irish chroniclers recounted Amlaíb Conung, or Olaf the White, proclaimed himself king of all the Vikings in Ireland. He shared the kingship of Dublin with his brothers, Imar or Ivar the Boneless and Auisle.

Amlaíb Conung and Imar ruled over the Scandinavian colonists from their stronghold in Dublin for the next twenty years. Imar or Ivar the Boneless founded the Ui Imair dynasty in Dublin.

The Ui Imair kings deemed the arm-ring of Tomrair a sacred object. The Ring of Tomrair and the Sword of Carlus formed the royal emblems of the Hiberno-Scandinavian kings of Dublin.

The Vikings kept the Ring of Tomrair in a temple in Dublin. A pagan priest wore the Ring of Tomriair during rituals to Thor. 

The Vikings in Dublin traditionally swore oaths on the Ring of Tomrair.

The Annals of the Fours Masters claimed Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, the High of Ireland, took possession of the Ring of Tomrair and Sword of Carlus when he captured Dublin in 995.

Scholars believed the Hiberno-Scandinavian kings of Dublin revered the Ring of Tomrair to honour a jarl of the same name. 

The Viking kings of Dublin, Olaf and Ivar, esteemed the ring in memory of the warrior hero, Tomrair. 

The poets of Ireland spoke of the Vikings in Dublin as the "race of Tomar" and "Tomar's nobles". 

The early Viking history of Ireland is discussed in:

Olaf the White and Ivar the Boneless - The Viking Kings of Dublin: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0916GJ3B2

And Vikings in Ireland (870 - 914): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096KVNBZK

References

 Wikipedia - Tomrair: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomrair Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ivarr to A.D. 1014 By Clare Downham: https://books.google.ie/books?id=_1hwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT63... Wikipedia - Lorcán mac Cellaig: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorc%C3%A1n_mac_Cellaig Wikipedia - Gofraid of Lochlann: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gofraid_of_Lochlann UCC - Annals of Ulster: https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T100001A/index.html

 

Ottir the Black, or Ottir Iarla - the Norse-Gael Ruler of Waterford in the Early Tenth Century

Ottir the Black, or Ottir Iarla, was a renowned Norse-Gael jarl in Britain and Ireland in the early tenth century. He rose to prominence as a friend and ally of Ragnall ua Imair, the Viking ruler of Northumbria and the Isle of Man. His fleets were active in the Irish Sea region after the fall of Dublin in 902. 

The arrival of Ottir the Black and his Danish warriors in Waterford Harbour in 914 heralded the beginning of the Second Viking Age in Ireland. 

Scholars believe Ottir the Black was born in Ireland or the Scottish Isles sometime in the late ninth century.  The Gaels called him Oitir Dub, or Ottar the Black, suggesting he was of Irish or Scottish extraction. He may have fled Dublin with Ragnall ua Imair and the other Viking nobles in 902.

There are several references to Ottir the Black being active in Britain and Ireland between 902 and 918. 

The Irish chroniclers recounted Ottir the Black arrived with a hundred ships at Port Láirge, or Waterford Harbour, in 914. He plundered the present-day counties of County Kilkenny and western Laois in southeastern Ireland.

The Fragmentary Annals of Ireland reported, “A great fleet of Norwegians landed at Port Láirge, and they plundered northern Osraige and brought great spoils and many cows and livestock to their ships”.

Ottir the Black founded a longphort, or “ship-camp”, near the estuary of Waterford Harbour in 914. The fortified naval base known as Vadrarfjordr among the Norse transformed into a major Viking town. Vadrarfjordr, or Waterford, was also a centre of trade in southern Ireland during the Early Middle Ages. 

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recounted the activities of Ottir the Black and a jarl called Hroald in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia in 918. Scholars believe the events described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle took place in 915.

Ottir and Hroald sailed from Brittany to the Severn estuary and raided southern Wales. They kidnapped Cyfeiliog, the Archbishop of Hereford. Edward the Elder paid a ransom to Ottir the Black for the release of Cyfeiliog.  

The Danish jarls, Ottir and Hroald, continued to plunder Hereford but met resistance from the Anglo-Saxons. Herald died during the fighting. Ottir the Black escaped with his Danish warriors to an “enclosure”. He agreed to leave England after the Anglo-Saxons laid siege to the enclosure.

The Medieval Chronicler, John of Worcester, claimed Ottir the Black sailed from England to Ireland. 

The Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib, meaning War of the Irish and Foreigners, claimed Ottir the Black ruled over the Danes at Waterford. Ragnall brought reinforcements to the Norse guarding the longphort at Waterford in 916. 

The Annals of the Four Masters described Ragnall ua Imair as the leader of the Danes, or Dubgaill, in 915.  

The texts of the Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib affirmed Ottir the Black and Ragnall ua Imair attacked the Norwegian longphort at Cork in 916. Ottir the Black took control of the settlement and raided monasteries on the River Lee. 

The Irish chronicles stated Ottir the Black ravaged the whole of Munster and put the Gaelic inhabitants under tribute. The Déisi of Munster paid Airgead Sroine, or “Norse Money”, to the Danes of Waterford. The Vikings cut off the noses of those who failed to pay the Airgead Sroine. 

Jarl Ottar was a powerful ally and vassal of the Viking warlord, Ragnall ua Imair. There is no evidence to suggest Ottir the Black and Ragnall ua Imair were kinsmen. 

Historians dismissed the theory that Ragnall ua Imair killed the son of Ottir the Black during a naval battle near the Isle of Man in 914. 

Ragnall ua Imair returned to Waterford in 917 and plundered the province of Munster. He defeated Niall Glundub, the High King of Ireland, at the Battle of Meg Femen in County Tipperary.

The arrivals of the Vikings at Waterford was part of a two-pronged attack by Ragnall ua Imair and his brother, Sitric Cáech. The grandsons of Ivar the Boneless gathered their forces to retake their old stronghold of Dublin.

Sitric Cáech sailed to Cenn Fuait in Leinster in 917. He killed Augaire mac Ailella, King of Leinster, at the Battle of Confey before marching in triumph into Dublin.

Ragnall ua Imair abandoned his lands in Ireland after the restoration of Sitric Cáech as King of Dublin in 917. His ambition was to found a kingdom in Scotland with his ally, Ottir the Black. 

The Annals of Ulster narrated in Ragnall ua Imair left Waterford in 918 with the jarls, Ottir the Black and Gragabai.

“Ragnall, king of the dark foreigners, and the two jarls, Oitir and Gragabai, forsook Ireland and proceeded afterwards against the men of Scotland”.

Ragnall ua Imair and Ottir the Black encountered Constantín mac Áeda, King of Scotland and his ally, Ealdred, the Anglo-Saxon king of Bamburgh, on the banks of the River Tyne in 918.

The Annals of Ulster described the events of the Battle of Corbridge in 918. The  Vikings “formed themselves into four battalions: a battalion with Gothfrith grandson of Ímar, a battalion with the two jarls, and a battalion with the young lords”.

The Scots defeated three battalions and inflicted heavy casualties on the Norse. Ottir the Black and Jarl Gragabai died bravely on the battlefield.

Ragnall ua Imair commanded the fourth battalion which ambushed the Scottish warriors. He slaughtered the army of Constantine but did not win an outright victory. 

Historians regard the Battle of Corbridge as an indecisive conflict. Ragnall ua Imair could not pursue his ambitions to found a Norse kingdom in Scotland without his powerful ally, Ottir the Black. 

Constantine II, King of Scotland, drove Ragnall ua Imair and the Vikings of Waterford from his lands. 

Ragnall ua Imair proceeded to the Danelaw in Northumbria. He won the support of the Viking nobles and declared himself King of York in 918.

Ottir the Black is remembered in history as the founder of Waterford in southern Ireland in 914. He ruled over the Vikings at the longphort as either an independent king or vassal of Ragnall ua Imair.

The death of Ottir the Black at the Battle of Corbridge changed the fortunes of his ally, Ragnall ua Imair, and the Vikings of Waterford in Scotland. Ragnall ua Imair never fulfilled his ambitions to found a Norse kingdom in Scotland without the support of Ottir the Black 

The early Viking history of Ireland is discussed in:

Olaf the White and Ivar the Boneless - The Viking Kings of Dublin: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0916GJ3B2

And Vikings in Ireland (870 - 914): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096KVNBZK

References 

Wikipedia - Ottir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottir

Wikipedia - Ragnall ua Ímair: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnall_ua_%C3%8Dmair

Celt UCC - Fragmentary Annals of Ireland: https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T100017.html

Celt UCC - Chronicon Scotorum: https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T100016/index.html

Celt UCC - Annals of Ulster: https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T100001A/

Stringfixer - Ottir: https://stringfixer.com/en/Ottir_Iarla

Dominion Publico - The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle translated by James Ingram: http://www.dominiopublico.gov.br/download/texto/gu000657.pdf

Peoplepill - Ottir: https://peoplepill.com/people/ottir-iarla 

National Library of Scotland - Arrival of the Danes: https://digital.nls.uk/early-gaelic-book-collections/archive/76271829?mode=transcription

The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill: Or, The Invasions of Ireland by the ... edited by James Henthorn Todd: https://books.google.ie/books?id=7fnIuo1_SI0C&pg=PR84&dq=ottir+the+black+and+ragnall+ua+imair&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjhz6jk9fTyAhUymVwKHXaHDFsQ6AF6BAgFEAI#v=onepage&q=ottir%20the%20black%20and%20ragnall%20ua%20imair&f=false