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Egil’s Saga,—for Ireland was still the home of the
Scots. Olaf Cuaran Sigtryggsson is not mentioned
under that name, though "Awley Fivit" (Fivil?= Fífl
= the Fool), numbered among the slain, may possibly
stand for Olaf Cuaran, the prototype of Hamlet, and
son of Sigtrygg Gale (the Crazy). It is noteworthy
that one of the six Christian landnámsmenn of Iceland
was "Ketil the Fool,"—so called, the Saga of Olaf
Tryggvason says, "because he was a good Christian" ;
and the "folly" or "lunacy" of Sigtrygg and Olaf,
who were sane enough to win kingdoms, may have
been merely the heathen way of stating their conversion.
Another leader was Ivar, "the King of Denmark’s own son,"
perhaps the same with Ivar, "tanist
of the Gaill," heir to the kingdom of Dublin, killed in
950. The son of Constantine, we learn, was named
Ceallach. In a word, all the Vikings of Ireland and
the Hebrides, together with the kingdoms of Scots
and Cumbrians, attacked Æthelstan and were repulsed.
It was not, however, a racial victory of Saxons or
English over Scandinavians and Celts ; the assistance
of Viking mercenaries is hinted in Egil’s Saga and corroborated
by the story of Olaf Cuaran’s adventure as
a spy, told by William of Malmesbury, in which one
of Æthelstan’s staff recognised in the strange minstrel
his former captain, but did not betray him. The
Danelaw, too, was on Æthelstan’s side; there is at
least no indication that Northumbria and the Five
Boroughs revolted before Brunanburh, or were punished
afterwards ; and until his death there was peace
throughout the north.
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