OLAF, or ANLAF (d. 981)

This article appears in Volume V20, Page 63 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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OLAF, or ANLAF (d. 981) , king of the Danish kingdoms of Northumbria and of Dublin, was a son of Sitric, king of Deira, and was related to the English king lEthelstan. As his name indicates he was of Norse descent, and he married a daughter of Constantine II., king of the Scots. When Sitric died about 927 thelstan annexed Deira, and Olaf took

refuge

REFUGE

Scotland

and in Ireland until 937, when he was one of the leaders of the formidable league of princes which was destroyed by Etheistan at the famous battle of Brunanburh. Again he sought a

home

among his kinsfolk in Ireland, but just after lEthelstan's death in 940 he or Olaf Godfreyson was recalled to England by the Northumbrians. Both crossed over, and in 941 the new English king, Edmund, gave up Deira to the former. The peace between the English and the Danes did not, however, last long. Wulfstan, archbishop of

York

YORK
YORK (
HOUSE
- HOUSE
- HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
  Gothic
  - GOTHIC
  it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)
OF)
YORK, EDMUND OF
LANGLEY
- LANGLEY, SAMUEL PIERPONT (1834-1906)
, DUKE OF (1341-1402)
EDWARD
- EDWARD
.html">YORK,
EDWARD
- EDWARD
YORK, FREDERICK
AUGUSTUS
- AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)
, DUKE OF (1763-1827)
YORK, RICHARD, DUKE

, sided with Olaf; but in 944 this king was driven from Northumbria by Edmund, and crossing to Ireland he ruled over the Danish kingdom of Dublin. From 949 to 952 he was again king of Northumbria, until he was expelled once more, and he passed the remainder of his active life in warfare in Ireland. But in 98o his dominion was shattered by the defeat of the Danes at the battle of Tara. He went to Iona, where he died probably in 981, although one account says he was in Dublin in 994. This, however, is unlikely. In the sagas he is known as Olaf the Red.
This Olaf must not be confused with his kinsman and ally, Olaf (d. 941), also king of Northumbria and of Dublin, who was a son of Godfrey, king of Dublin. The latter Olaf became king of Dublin in 934; but he was in England in 937, as. he took part in the fight at Brunanburh. After this event he returned to Ireland, but he appears to have acted for a very short
time as

joint

JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

king of Northumbria with Olaf Sitricson. It is possible that he was the " Olaf of Ireland " who was called by the Northumbrians after Ethelstan's death, but both the Olafs appear to have accepted the invitation. He was killed in 941 at Tyningham near Dunbar.
See W. F. Skene, Celtic

Scotland

, vol. i. (1876), and J. R. Green, The Conquest of England, vol. i. (1899).

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