Dubgaill and Finngaill facts for kids

Dubgaill and Finngaill are old Middle Irish words. They were used to describe different groups of Vikings who were rivals in Ireland and Britain.

These words literally mean "dark and fair foreigners" or "black and white foreigners." There were also similar terms, Dubgenti and Finngenti, which meant "dark/black" and "fair/white heathens." You can find similar words in Welsh history books, which probably came from the Irish language.

The first time these terms appeared in history was in 851. Records from that year say that "The Dubhghoill arrived in Ath Cliath [Dublin], and made a great slaughter of the Finnghoill." This means the "dark foreigners" attacked and defeated the "fair foreigners" in Dublin. These terms, spelled in different ways, show up in Irish annals (historical records) from the 800s and 900s. Later historians also used and tried to understand these terms.

Historians have had different ideas about what these words meant. For a long time, people thought they might describe how the Vikings looked, like their skin or hair color. Some even thought it referred to their weapons or clothes.

However, Alfred P. Smyth suggested a new idea. He thought dub could mean "new" and finn could mean "old." Another common belief was that Dubgaill were Danish Vikings and Finngaill were Norwegian Vikings. But recently, historians like David N. Dumville and Clare Downham have challenged this idea. They agree with Smyth that the terms might not be about where the Vikings came from or their ethnic group at all.

What Do the Names Mean?

The word Gaill (which is the plural of Gall) originally came from the word "Gauls." In ancient Irish history, before the Vikings, the Gauls were seen as the ultimate "foreigners."

During the Viking Age, Gaill started to mean Scandinavians, or people who were descended from Scandinavians, or who spoke their language. Later, after the Norman invasion of Ireland in the late 1100s, this word was used for French-speaking foreigners and then for the English people in general.

It's important to know that Gaill didn't just mean "anyone who isn't Irish." The Irish historical records also used other terms for people like the Saxons, Welsh, and Picts. There were also specific terms for Scandinavians based on their nationality, such as Dene (for Danes), Northmanni (for Norsemen), and Lochlainn (another term for Vikings, often associated with Norway).

Another word often used in the early Viking Age was Gen(n)ti. This word meant "foreigner of a different religion." It came from the Latin word gentes or gentiles used in the Bible. This term was eventually stopped being used, probably because many Vikings started to become Christians.

The old Irish word Dub usually means "dark" or "black." The Middle Irish word finn (which was find in Old Irish and is fionn in modern Irish) means "light" or "white." However, Dub could also mean "gloomy" or "sad" in a moral sense. It could even mean "great" or "mighty." For finn, there were extra meanings like "handsome," "fair," and "true."

It is widely believed that the modern Irish family name "Doyle" comes from the word "Dubgaill."

Kings of the Dubgaill and Finngaill

The title "King of the Dubgaill and Finngaill" (or sometimes the other way around) was a very important title. Only a few powerful leaders from the Uí Ímair family held it. These were:

• Ragnall ua Ímair: He was the first to hold this title.
• Sitric Cáech: He was one of the most famous kings with this title.
• Gofraid ua Ímair: He was simply called Rí Gall (King of the Foreigners) in the old records.
• Amlaíb mac Gofraid: He was Gofraid's son and the last to hold this title. English records also called him "King of Ireland."

See also

• Irish nobility