page_title: Gilli (Hebridean earl)
section_title: Clontarf, Gilla Ciaráin, and Conamal/Conmáel
hierarchical_section_title: Gilli (Hebridean earl) / Clontarf, Gilla Ciaráin, and Conamal/Conmáel
caption_attribution_description: English: An excerpt from folio 16v of Oxford Bodleian Library MS Rawlinson B 488 (the Annals of Tigernach): "Sitriuic mac Amlaim". The excerpt concerns Sitriuc mac Amlaíb, King of Dublin (died 1042).
context_page_description: Gilli was an eleventh-century Hebridean chieftain whose career coincided with an era of Orcadian overlordship in the Kingdom of the Isles. According to mediaeval saga-tradition, Gilli was a brother-in-law of Sigurðr Hlǫðvisson, Earl of Orkney, having married the latter's sister Hvarflǫð. Traditionally regarded as one of the most powerful Orcadian earls, Sigurðr appears to have extended his authority into the Isles in the late tenth century. Gilli apparently acted as Sigurðr's viceroy or tributary earl in the region. The time frame of Gilli's apparent authority in the Isles is uncertain, and may date as early as the reign of Guðrøðr Haraldsson, King of the Isles, or as late as the period following the death of this man's eventual successor, Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles. Gilli's name is probably Gaelic in origin, and he seems to have seated himself on either Coll or Colonsay, islands in the Inner Hebrides. It is possible that Gilli is identical to Gilla Ciaráin mac Glún Iairn, an Uí Ímair dynast who was slain at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. If not, another possibility is that he was the father of a certain Conamal/Conmáel who was killed in 980.
context_section_description: By the end of the first decade of the eleventh century, the principal ruler in Ireland was Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig, High King of Ireland. Brian's daughter, Sláine, was married to Sitriuc mac Amlaíb, King of Dublin, whilst the latter's mother, Gormlaith ingen Murchada was a former wife of Brian. In 1013, Sitriuc allied himself to Brian's enemies, and revolted against Brian's overlordship. Although Brian proceeded to lay siege to Dublin—the only Viking town that participated in the revolt against his supremacy—Sitriuc retained possession of the settlement, and Brian retired to Munster for Christmas.
  According to Njáls saga, Gilli and Sitriuc spent Yule with Sigurðr in Orkney, where Sitriuc convinced Sigurðr to ally himself against Brian on the condition that Sigurðr would gain Gormlaith in marriage. In April 1014, the opposing forces met and clashed at the remarkably bloody Battle of Clontarf. Although Brian's forces ultimately won the day, and Sigurðr himself was amongst the slain, Brian lost his life as well. As for Gilli, he appears in a chapter of Njáls saga that presents a series of supernatural events connected with the conflict. In one instance, a Caithnessman is said to have witnessed valkyrie-like apparitions singing songs for the slain, whilst a similar event is said to have occurred in the Faroe Islands. Priests in Iceland are stated to have encountered paranormal phenomena, whilst an Orcadian is said to have encountered the spectre of Sigurðr before disappearing off the face of the earth. Regarding Gilli, the saga asserts that he dreamt of a song that foretold the outcome of the battle and the fall of Brian and Sigurðr. There is reason to suspect that the aforesaid supernatural manifestations—arguably somewhat detached from the saga's general narrative—are actually interpolations of separate material. Elsewhere in the narrative, however, there are examples of paranormal phenomena intervening into human affairs. For example, the episode concerning Gilli's dream seems to directly parallel an earlier episode in which another man, the Icelander Flosi Þórðarson, is depicted dreaming of the burning of the saga's eponym, Njáll Þorgeirsson.
  If the account of Gilli in the aftermath of Clontarf has been constructed for dramatic effect, the passage may not be evidence of his floruit beyond this point in history. In fact, it is possible that he is identical to Gilla Ciaráin mac Glún Iairn, a man who was amongst those slain at the battle. The Annals of Ulster, which records the latter's fall, styles him rígdamna Gall ("heir-designate of the Foreigners"), revealing that Gilla Ciaráin was indeed a prominent man. Sitriuc is known to have had an elder brother named Glún Iairn, a man who had reigned as King of Dublin until his death in 989. If Gilla Ciaráin was a son of this king, his apparent tender age at the time of his father's death could account for Sitriuc's accession to the kingship. Furthermore, the aforesaid title accorded to Gilla Ciaráin appears to indicate that he was regarded as his uncle's royal heir. If Gilli and Gilla Ciaráin are indeed identical, his pre-eminent status in the Norse-Gaelic world would help to explain his marital alliance with Sigurðr.
  Gilla Ciaráin's father bore a Gaelic name meaning "iron knee". It may or may not be a Gaelicisation of Járnkné, an identical-meaning Old Norse name. Gilla Ciaráin's own name is Gaelic, meaning "the servant of Saint Ciarán". Gaelic names beginning with the initial name-element Gilla- first appear on record in last half of the tenth century. Such names were shortened to Gilli by Scandinavian settlers in Britain and Ireland. In fact, such a phenomenon may account for the name accorded to Gilli himself. Gilli's name suggests that he was at least partly of Gaelic descent, perhaps either Irish or Hebridean. Although various names are attributed to Gilli's wife in the numerous versions of Njáls saga, the best version of this source gives Hvarflǫð. This name appears to be an Old Norse form of Forbflaith, a relatively rare Gaelic name.
  There may be further evidence concer
caption: The name of Sitriuc mac Amlaíb as it appears on folio 16v of Oxford Bodleian Library Rawlinson B 488: "Sitriuic mac Amlaim".[44]
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