Sigtrygg Silkbeard
King of Dublin
960 CE to 1042 CE
Sigtrygg II Silkbeard Olafsson (also Sihtric, Sitric and Sitrick in Irish texts; or Sigtryg and Sigtryggr in Scandinavian texts) is a Hiberno-Norse King of Dublin (possibly 989–994; restored or began 995–1000; restored 1000 and abdicated 1036) of the Uí Ímair dynasty.
He is caught up in the abortive Leinster revolt of 999–1000, after which he is forced to submit to the King of Munster, Brian Boru.
His family also conducts a double marriage alliance with Boru, although he later realigns himself with the main leaders of the Leinster revolt of 1012–1014.
He has a prominent role in the 12th-century Irish Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh and the 13th-century Icelandic Njal's Saga, as the main Norse leader at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.
Sigtrygg's long reign spanss 46 years, until his abdication in 1036.
During this period, his armies see action in four of the five Irish provinces of the time.
In particular, he conducts a long series of raids into territories such as Meath, Wicklow, Ulster, and perhaps even the coast of Wales.
He also comes into conflict with rival Norse kings, especially in Cork and Waterford.
He goes on pilgrimage to Rome in 1028, with is associated with the foundation of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.
Although Dublin undergoes several reversals of fortune during his reign, on the whole trade in the city flourishes.
He dies in 1042
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Máel Mórda mac Murchad, the King of Leinster, had in 1012 started a rebellion against Brian Boru that eventually ends on April 23, 1014 at the Battle of Clontarf, in which the High King’s army decisively routs a coalition of his Danish Viking and Irish enemies.
The seventy-three-year-old Brian, too old to take part in the battle, is murdered by a few Norsemen who stumble upon his tent while fleeing.