Askulf (King of Dublin)

Ascall was the son of Ragnall Mac Thorkail (d. 1146 ), King of Dublin. In 1160, after the death of his uncle Brodar Mack Torkail , King of Dublin (1148–1160), Askull inherited the Dublin royal throne.

In the mid- 12th century, the Kingdom of Dublin was under the supreme authority of Diarmait Mack Murhada, King of Leinster . Diarmait was in alliance with the great king of Ireland, Muirhertach Mac Lochline (1156–1166). In 1161, Diarmait Mack Moorhad with the Dubliners took the oath of allegiance to Murhertah Mack Lohline. According to the Annals of Ulster , in 1162, Diarmait Mack Moorhada gained complete power over Dublin .

The High King of Ireland, Muirhertach Mack Lochline, died in 1166 . On the supreme royal throne, his adversary, King Connaught Rwaidry Wa Konkhobyr (d. 1198 ), entered. In the same 1166, Ruidri and his allies expelled Diarmait Poppy Murhad from Leinster and Dublin . According to the Annals of the Four Masters , Ruidri Wa Konhobyr subdued Dublin to his rule. The Dubliners participated in the military campaign of Ruidri against the kingdom of Leinster . The anonymous “ Song of Dermot and Earl ” reports that Askull had betrayed his former overlord , King Leinster, and the Annals of Inishfalllen indicated that Diarmait Mac Murhada was expelled from Ireland after Leinsters and Dubliners spoke out against him.

The following year 1167, the High King of Ireland, Ruidry Wa Conhobair, convened a large meeting of the nobility in Athlone. The annals of the four masters report that 13 thousand horsemen arrived, of which 1000 were from Dublin . One of the rulers who arrived at the meeting was Ragnall poppy Ragnayl, referred to as the tiger Gall (“Lord of the Aliens”). Perhaps the head of the Dublin delegation was Askull's unknown brother, or Askull himself, mistakenly named by another name in the annals. At the same time, Diarmait Mack Moorhad received permission from the English king Henry II Plantagenet to recruit his army in the latter's possessions. In the fall of 1167 Diarmait with a small English detachment landed in Ireland and established himself in Ferns . The High King of Ireland, Ruidry Wa Conhobair, organized a campaign against Diarmite, in which the Dubliners also took part. Opponents concluded a peace agreement, Diarmait Mack Moorhada was able to regain the southern part of the kingdom of Leinster .

In the summer of 1169, new Anglo-Norman troops arrived in Ireland. Some of the former vassals of Diarmait poppy Murkhady began to switch to his side. According to the Song of Dermot and Count, the kings Ui Faelayn and Osraig went to his side. According to the Annals of the Four Masters, the High King of Ireland, Ruidry Wa Conhobair , led his army to Tara, where the kings of Ulad and Ayrgially joined him with their own forces, after which the combined army moved to Dublin . In August 1170, Richard de Clair, Earl of Pembroke (d. 1176 ) arrived in Ireland with a large detachment, who besieged and stormed Waterford . Richard de Claire married Eve (Ifa), daughter of Diarmait Poppy Murhada, becoming the heir to Leinster and Dublin . In September of that year, the combined forces of Diarmyth and Richard de Claire moved to Dublin , where they clashed in the army of the High King Ruydri Wa Konhobyra .

According to the Annals of the Four Masters , the Dubliners sided with Diarmait Poppy of Murkhada. Expugnatio Hibernica (Conquest of Ireland) reports that during the negotiations between Ruidry Wa Conhobyr and the Diarmait Mac coalition of Murhada and Richard de Claire, an English squad under the command of Milo de Cogan and Raymond le Groot suddenly attacked the city, killing a significant number of inhabitants. The annals of the four masters report that the British attacked Dublin , where they killed many inhabitants, seizing their property and cattle. Expugnatio Hibernica (“The Conquest of Ireland”) claims that King Ascall and most of the Dubliners escaped by fleeing the city to the “northern islands”. This term may be referred to Orkney, Hebrides or Isle of Man. According to The Song of Dermot and Count, the British took Dublin on September 21, 1170 .

In early May 1171 , according to Expugnatio Hibernica, Askull returned to Ireland and attempted to return Dublin . Expugnatio Hibernica and "Song of Dermot and Count" report that under his command were islanders and Norwegians (from 60 to 100 ships). In the ranks of Askall's mercenaries was “John the Mad”, which is probably identical to Höwding Svein Asleifarson , the character in the “Orkneys Saga”. Ascall landed on the banks of the Liffey River and tried to capture Dublin , but was defeated by Milo de Cogan and his brother Richard. According to Expugnatio Hibernica and The Song of Dermot and Count, Askull was captured and beheaded.

Immediately after the death of Ascall, the High King of Ireland, Ruidri Wa Conhobair besieged Dublin, where the English garrison was located. Expugnatio Hibernica reports that Ruidri Wa Conhobair and Dublin Archbishop Lorcan Wa Tuatail (d. 1180 ) turned to King of Maine and the Islands Gofride poppy Amlajbu (d. 1187 ), asking him to block Dublin from the sea. Hofride led a fleet of thirty ships blocking the city from the sea. Despite the siege of Dublin from land and the blockade from the sea, the English garrison was able to defend the fortress. In October 1171, the English king Henry II Plantagenet landed with a large army in Ireland and subjugated the coastal part of the island to his supreme authority.

• Clare Downham Living on the edge: Scandinavian Dublin in the Twelfth Century, in West over Sea, Studies in Scandinavian Sea-Borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300 a “Festschrift in honor of Dr Barbara E. Crawford”, eds. Beverley Ballin Smith, Simon Taylor and Gareth Williams, Leiden and Boston, 2007 ( ISBN 978-90-04-15893-1 ), p. 33-51 & Table p. 43
• Song of Dermot and the Earl
• Annals of inisfallen
• Annals of Loch Cé AD1014-1590
• Annals of the four masters
• Annals of tigernach
• Mac Carthaigh's Book
• The annals of ulster

• "The Cambro-Norman Invasion of Ireland"
• Références sur l'invasion de "Strongbow" et le conflit avec Askulf Mac Torkil