Cerball mac Dúnlainge

Updated on Nov 22, 2023

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Reign 842–888 Burial Saighir, Co. Offaly Died 888 AD		Successor Riagan mac Dunlainge Predecessor Dungal mac Fergaile Name Cerball Dunlainge


Consort daughter of Mael Sechnaill mac Maele Ruanaid

Cerball mac Dúnlainge (patronymic sometimes spelled Dúngaile)(died 888) [ˈkərval mak ˈðūnləŋe]) was king of Ossory in south-east Ireland. The kingdom of Ossory (Osraige) occupied roughly the area of modern County Kilkenny and lay between the larger provincial kingdoms of Munster and Leinster.

Cerball came to prominence after the death of Fedelmid mac Crimthainn, King of Munster, in 847. Ossory had been subject for a period to the Eóganachta kings of Munster, but Feidlimid was succeeded by a series of weak kings who had to contend with Viking incursions on the coasts of Munster. As a result, Cerball was in a strong position and is said to have been the second most powerful king in Ireland in his later years. Upon his death, he was succeeded by his brother Riagan mac Dúnlainge.

Kjarvalr Írakonungr, a figure in the Norse sagas who appears as an ancestor of many prominent Icelandic families, is identified with Cerball.

Cerball's Ireland

A memory of the kingdom of Osraige survives today in the name and boundaries of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory. The earliest recorded seat of the bishops was at Aghaboe, and this appears to have been the principal church of the kingdom by the eighth century when the life of Saint Cainnech of Aghaboe was composed. The name Osraige—the Deer people—is among the oldest group of Irish tribal names. Although genealogists in the Early Christian period explained such names by recourse to eponymous ancestors, the names are likely those of totemic animals or tribal deities.

Osraige was only one túath among 150 in Ireland. The average túath was small, perhaps 500 square kilometres in area with a population of some three to four thousand. Osraige was atypical, much larger than this, covering perhaps 2000 square kilometres astride the River Barrow in the modern counties of Kilkenny, Laois, and Offaly. In principle, each tuath had its own king and court and bishop, but political power generally rested with the provincial over-kings.

At the time of Cerball's birth Osraige lay within the province and kingdom of Munster, ruled by the Eóganachta from the royal centre of Cashel. Osraige lay at the extreme eastern edge of Munster bordering the neighbouring province of Leinster. For a period in the seventh century, most of southern Osraige was ruled by the Corcu Loígde, rulers of Munster before the coming of the Eóganachta. The Frithfolad Muman text states that the Osraige had once been kings of Munster and makes it clear that they were a privileged and powerful group, but no longer a major force, "the respectable has-beens of Munster politics".

The period of Cerball's life covered much of the first Viking Age, and he is notably mentioned in later Nordic sources. The Icelandic Landnámabók describes Cearbhall (Kjarvalur) as ruler of Dublin and Earl of Orkney and opens with a list of the most prominent rulers in Viking-age Europe, listing this Ossorian king alongside other well-known rulers of that era, specifically Popes Adrian II and John VIII; Byzantine Emperors Leo VI the Wise and his son Alexander; Harald Fairhair, king of Norway; Eric Anundsson and his son Björn Eriksson rulers of Sweden; Gorm the Old king of Denmark; and Alfred the Great, king of England. While several kingdoms in Britain — East Anglia, Fortriu, Mercia, and Northumbria — would collapse under the shock of Viking attacks, their impact in Ireland was very much less immediate. In the first half of the ninth century, raiders appear to have come in small groups, increasing in size until larger forces appear, such as that led by the shadowy Turgéis (Turgesius) in the 840s, and those led by Amlaíb and Ímar from the 850s onwards. Vikings would be both enemies and allies for Cerball and other Irish kings. In the long run, the creation of Norse–Gaelic towns by Vikings operating as traders rather than raiders would change the Irish political landscape, but the results of this were seen in the tenth and eleventh centuries rather than the ninth.

Máel Sechnaill and the Danes

Cerball succeeded his father Dúnlang (or Dúngal) mac Fergaile as king of Osraige in 842. At this time the High King of Ireland was Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid who was married to Cerball's sister Land. Cerball in turn was married to a daughter of Máel Sechnaill.

The first report of Cerball is in 846, when Vikings attacked into northern Osraige, destroying a church at Coolcashin (near Galmoy), and plundering an unidentified settlement at Cúl Maine. Here the raiders were besieged for a fortnight by Cerball's army and lost heavily. The following year Cerball defeated an attack by Vikings from the Irish midlands, perhaps from Dublin, led by one Hákon. This battle is said by some sources to have taken place at Carn Brammit, a site which can no longer be identified.

The late Annals of the Four Masters record an invasion of Osraige in 848 by the Uí Ceinnselaig of southern Leinster, led by their king Echtigern mac Guaire. Cerball played a part in Echtgern's removal in 853. The Annals of Ulster report that Echtigern was killed "deceitfully" by Cerball and one Bruatur of Áed, and that Bruatur was killed by his own household a week later.

In 854 the Fragmentary Annals say that Cerball was sent into Munster by his brother-in-law to collect tribute and hostages.

In 855 he is said to have slaughtered a Viking force under a certain Rodolb. In the aftermath of the battle Cerball was captured by other Vikings, but succeeded in escaping. Shortly afterwards Cerball aided a force of Danes led by a chief named Horm in their war with the Norwegians. The Danes may well have settled at what is now Waterford. The Munstermen asked Cerball's help against the Norse, and Cerball with the men of Osraige, Horm's Danes and some of the men of Munster inflicted a heavy defeat on the Norse. His ally Horm was killed raiding in Wales by Rhodri the Great.

Amlaíb and Ímar

Cerball next appears to have allied himself with two Norse or Norse-Gael "kings", Amlaíb Conung, "son of the king of Lochlann", and Ímar, called "king of the Norsemen of all Ireland and Britain" at his death in 873. Ímar is sometimes assumed to be the same person as Ivar the Boneless and Amlaíb to be Olaf the White, respectively son and grandson of the legendary Swedish king Ragnar Lodbrok, although this is far from certain. These allies were not sufficiently strong to prevent Máel Sechnaill from taking hostages and tribute from Cerball in 858, but Cerball and Ímar campaigned in Leinster that year, and also against the Norse-Gaels in Munster. The following year, together with Amlaíb Conung, they raided Máel Sechnaill's lands in Mide, but soon afterwards Cerball was compelled to submit again to Máel Sechnaill.

In 860 Cerball defeated a force of Norse who were raiding in Osraige, and later in the year he joined Máel Sechnaill on campaign against Áed Finnliath in the north of Ireland.

Áed and Flann

Máel Sechnaill died in 862 to be succeeded by Áed Finnliath, who married his widow, Cerball's sister Land. Also in 862, Cerball is reported to have defeated a Norwegian fleet under one Rodolb, although it is not clear that this is the same Rodolb who was defeated in 855. In 864 the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland report that the men of Leinster and their Norse allies raided Osraige in revenge for Cerball's raid, and that Eóganachta of Munster took advantage of this to attack him, so that Cerball raided both his neighbours and caused much destruction. The same year he is said to have attacked the neighbouring Déisi.

In 870 Áed Finnliath brought a large army to Leinster and Cerball accompanied him. The army of the Osraige was camped apart from Áed's main force, and was attacked by the Leinstermen. Although Cerball drove them off with heavy loss, Cennétig son of Gáethíne, a kinsman of Cerball, was killed in the battle. With a final notice of an expedition to Connacht and Munster in 871, the Fragmentary Annals are interrupted. In the Annals of Ulster, nothing more is said of Cerball until his death in 888. The next king of Osraige was his brother Riacán.

Legacy

Cerball is remembered in historical sources as a great and heroic king, possessed of victorious and daring exploits with many colourful anecdotes written about him. He is mentioned in all the major Irish annals, bringing the Osraige into military prominence during his reign, securing a very strong marriage alliance with the high king and gaining political independence away from Munster. Irish, Scandinavian and Welsh sources record his existence; several annals in particular contain unique information about him.

The Fragmentary Annals

Of all the Irish annals, the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland contain the most information about him, being composed in Osraige likely at the commission of his descendant Donnchad mac Gilla Pátraic, and therefore caution must be exercised over it as a source. Cerball is portrayed as an archetype of a Christian king who consistently vanquishes his enemies, especially pagan Vikings; yet is recorded allying with rival bands of Vikings to defeat them during his early career. Those Vikings allied with Cerball are portrayed in a more favorable light than those he defeats, thus mitigating the stigma of a Christian king allying with pagan marauders.

Landnámabók

The Icelandic Landnámabók describes Cerball (Kjarvalur) as ruler of Dublin and Earl of Orkney and opens with a list of the most prominent rulers in Viking-age Europe, listing this Ossorian king alongside Popes Adrian II and John VIII; Byzantine Emperors Leo VI the Wise and his son Alexander; Harald Fairhair, king of Norway; Eric Anundsson and his son Björn Eriksson rulers of Sweden; Gorm the Old king of Denmark; and Alfred the Great, king of England.

While it is unsurprising that Cerball's great-great-grandson should have commissioned a work in which his most illustrious ancestor was portrayed in a heroic light, it is less obvious why Cerball in particular should have such a prominent place in the Icelandic sagas and in the genealogies of the founding families of Iceland as recorded by the Landnámabók. The Landnámabók mentions "Kormlöð", "Rafarta, the daughter of Kjarval", "Dufnial, who was the son of Kjarval" and "Friðgerðr, the daughter of Kjarval". Rafarta or Raforta is also mentioned in Njál's saga and the Laxdæla saga, and Friðgerðr in the Vinland sagas. The marriage of "Eithne, daughter of King Kjarval of Ireland" and Hlodvir Thorfinnsson, Earl of Orkney is reported in the Orkneyinga saga and Earl Sigurd the Stout, who was killed at the battle of Clontarf is called their son.

Some of these names are Irish: Kormlöð is the common name Gormflaith, Eithne too is clearly Irish as is Dufnial. It is doubtful whether Rafarta or Fridgerd are Irish, and there are clearly difficulties with the supposed number of generations. Insofar as any conclusions have been reached by historians of Ireland, it appears that the supposed descendants of Cerball left for Iceland in the generation before Donnchad mac Gilla Patraic, towards the end of the tenth century. Given the likely date at which the Landnámabók was compiled, this is rather too far in the past for the genealogies to be considered very reliable. Adding to the uncertainty, the genealogies of the Osraige themselves were subject to comprehensive rewriting in Cerball's time and immediately afterwards, attaching them to the Laigin of Leinster.

It has been suggested that the importance of Cerball in Icelandic writings stems from the popularity of the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland among the Norse-Gaels of eleventh century Ireland, who passed these accounts on to the Icelanders, who then attached this famous and warlike king to their ancestry. Whether Cerball was in fact an ancestor of many prominent settler families is, however, of rather less importance than the fact that the Icelanders considered it worth reporting their descent from Cerball mac Dúnlainge, whether real or contrived. As with the adoption of Norse names, sagas and other features, and the creation of the Norse-Gael culture, Cerball's adoption in Iceland is an example of the contacts between Norse and Gaelic society in the Viking Age.

Annales Cambriae

Cerball's repose is noted in the Annales Cambriae for the year 887, which is noteworthy as he is the only Irish king mentioned therein who wasn't an Uí Néill high king. This denotes his contemporary importance.

Other textual sources

Cerball appears to be referenced in The Prophecy of Berchán, although not by name.

Modern Day

Cerball is noted by historians to have been a patron of noteworthy building projects in his kingdom, and his reign likely birthed a flourishing of artistically fine stone carving in Osraige. In late February 2017, Kilkenny's new Medieval Mile Museum opened to the public, featuring an exhibit which highlights king Cerball's role as a powerful patron of Osraige's early high cross carving tradition.

Family tree

Cerball is hailed as an illustrious ancestor of several prominent lineages in both Ireland, Scotland and Iceland. He is the direct male ancestor of the kings of Osraige after him, and as such is the direct male-line progenitor of the Mac Giolla Phádraig clan who maintained kingship over Osraige and succeeded in the Barony of Upper Ossory in addition to the Earldom of the same and the Castletown Barons. He is also direct-male ancestor of the prominent clan Ua Braonáin (O'Brennan) of Uí Duach (Idough) in Osraige who were a junior sept stemming from a younger son of Cerball. Icelandic literature also names him as the maternal grandfather of Helgi the Lean, a prominent settler of Iceland from whom many Icelandic families claim descent, including the saga-hero Gunnar of Hlíðarendi.