page_title: Godred Crovan
section_title: Familial origins
hierarchical_section_title: Godred Crovan / Familial origins
caption_attribution_description: English: Map showing various places mentioned in the Wikipedia article Godred Crovan. Settlements are marked by stars; these include Bristol, Carlisle, Chester, Drogheda, Dublin, Fine Gall, Holyhead, St Davids, Waterford, and Wexford. Great Orme is also marked by a star.
context_page_description: Godred Crovan, known in Gaelic as Gofraid Crobán, Gofraid Meránach, and Gofraid Méránach, was a Norse-Gaelic ruler of the kingdoms of Dublin and the Isles. Although his precise parentage has not completely been proven, he was certainly an Uí Ímair dynast, and a descendant of Amlaíb Cúarán, King of Northumbria and Dublin.
  Godred first appears on record in the context of supporting the Norwegian invasion of England in 1066. Following the collapse of this campaign, Godred is recorded to have arrived on Mann, at the court of Gofraid mac Sitriuc, King of the Isles, a likely kinsman of his. During the 1070s, the latter died and was succeeded by his son, Fingal. Within the decade, Godred violently seized the kingship for himself, although the exact circumstances surrounding this takeover are uncertain. By 1091, Godred attained the kingship of Dublin, and thereby secured complete control of the valuable trade routes through the Irish Sea region. Godred's expansion may be further perceptible in the Clyde estuary and Galloway, and may well have forced the English to consolidate control of Cumberland in an effort to secure their western maritime flank.
context_section_description: While the familial origins of Godred Crovan aren't completely proven, it appears certain that he was a direct descendant of Amlaíb Cúarán, King of Northumbria and Dublin. Although the thirteenth- to fourteenth-century Chronicle of Mann calls him in Latin "... filius Haraldi nigri de Ysland", implying that his father was named Aralt, the fourteenth-century Annals of Tigernach instead calls him in Gaelic "... mac Maic Arailt", contrarily implying that it was Godred's grandfather who was named Aralt. Godred, therefore, may have been either a son, nephew, or brother of Ímar mac Arailt, King of Dublin. However, the early thirteenth-century Norse pedigree Achau Brenhinoedd a Thywysogion Cymru in the Welsh collection of genealogical tracts records “Gwrthryt Mearch” (Godred Crovan) as the son of "Harallt Ddu" (Harald “The Black” of Islay), who in turn was the son of “Ifor Gamle” (Ímar mac Arailt).  As such, it appears that Godred was not the son, nephew, or brother; but in fact, the grandson of Ímar mac Arailt, King of Dublin, patrilineal descendant of Amlaíb Cúarán, King of Northumbria and Dublin, and member of the Uí Ímair. The chronicle's passage may further cast light on Godred's familial origins. Although "Ysland" may represent Iceland, there is no other evidence linking Godred to this island. Alternately, the word may instead represent the Hebridean island of Islay, where he is otherwise known to have ended his life. Another possibility is that "Ysland" represents Ireland, which, if correct, would evidence Godred's close familial links with that particular island. Whatever the case, according to the same source, he had been brought up on Mann.
  When Godred is first noted by the Latin Chronicle of Mann, he is accorded the epithet "Crouan" or "Crovan". The origin and meaning of this name are uncertain. It may well be derived from the Gaelic crob bhán ("white-handed"). Another Gaelic origin may be cró bán ("white-blooded"), in reference to being very pale. Alternately, it could originate from the Gaelic crúbach ("claw"). If the epithet is instead Old Norse in origin, it could be derived from kruppin ("cripple"). In several Irish annals, Godred is accorded the epithet meranach. This word could represent either the Gaelic meránach ("mad", "confused", "giddy"); or else méránach (which can also be rendered mérach), a word derived from mér ("finger" or "toe"). If meranach indeed corresponds to the latter meaning, the epithet would appear to mirror Crouan/Crovan, and imply something remarkable about Godred's hands. Godred and his patrilineal royal descendants, who reigned in the Isles for about two centuries, are known to modern scholars as the Crovan dynasty, a name coined after Godred himself. The combination of Old Norse personal names and Gaelic epithets accorded to Godred, and his dynastic descendants, partly evidence the hybrid nature of the Norse-Gaelic Kingdom of the Isles.
caption: Locations relating to Godred's life and times.
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