AUFRICA Guðrøðardóttir

• Noblewoman in Ireland.
• Affreca de Courcy or Affrica Guðrøðardóttir was a late 12th-/early 13th century noblewoman. She was the daughter of Godred Olafsson, King of the Isles, a member of the Crovan dynasty. In the late 12th century she married John de Courcy. Affrica is noted for religious patronage in northern Ireland.
• Affreca was the daughter of Godred Olafsson (Old Norse: Guðrøðr Óláfsson, a member of the Crovan dynasty. Godred ruled the Kingdom of the Isles.
• Affreca founded in 1193 Grey Abbey, in the peninsula of Ards, where John had previously given lands to his family priory, St Andrew of Stogursey.

Project MedLands, SCOTTISH NOBILITY

iii) OLAV of Man, son of ([1080]-murdered 29 Jun 1153). The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum names “Lagmannum, Haraldum et Olavum” as the three sons of “Godredus Crovan” [1288]. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that “Murecardum O’Brien regem Hibernie” sent “Dompnaldum filium Tade” to island as regent for Olav after the death of Lagman, dating the event to 1111[1289]. King of Man. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that the regent ruled for three years with great tyranny until he was expelled to the Ireland by the people of Man[1290]. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that Olav was recalled from exile at the court of Henry I King of England in 1114 and ruled for forty years[1291]. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that King Olav in 1134 gave land in the Isle of Man to Yvo Abbot of Furness on which to build the abbey of Rushen[1292]. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that “tres filii Haraldi fratris Olavi” who had been brought up in Dublin demanded part of the kingdom of the Isles from their paternal uncle King Olav and that one of them “Reginald” murdered his uncle, dating the murder to 29 Jun 1153 in a later passage[1293].
m AUFRICA, daughter of FERGUS Lord of Galloway & his wife ---. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that “Olavus filius Godredi Crovan” married “Affricam…filiam Fergus de Galwedia”[1294]. Olav & his wife had one child:

1. GODRED (-Isle of St Patrick, Isle of Man 10 Nov 1187, bur Iona). The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum names “Godredum” as the child of “Olavus filius Godredi Crovan” and his wife “Affricam…filiam Fergus de Galwedia”[1295]. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that “Godred filius eius” returned from Norway after his father was killed, murdered one of his cousins and blinded the other two, after which he reigned for 33 years[1296]. King of Man. "Guthredus…rex Insularum" exchanged land "Eschedala" for "ecclesia sancti Olavi et villula…Euastad" with St Bees by undated charter, witnessed by "…Gillochristo fratre et collactaneo meo…"[1297]. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that King Godred was defeated by Somerled Lord of Argyll in 1158 and fled to Norway to seek help[1298]. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records the death “IV Id Nov” in 1187 of King Godred “in insula Sancti Patricii in Mannia” and his burial the following summer in “insulam…Hy”[1299]. m (1176) FINGOLA, daughter of --- of Ireland & his wife ---. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that King Godred married “Phingola filia MacLotlen filii Murkartac regis Hiberniæ”, mother of his son, in a Christian marriage ceremony in 1176[1300]. Godred & his wife had one child:

a) OLAV ([1172/73]-21 May 1237, bur Rushen St Mary). The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum names Olav as the son of King Godred and his wife, adding that he was three years old when his parents were married[1301]. King of Man. OLAV, son of GODRED King of Man & his wife Fingola --- ([1172/73]-21 May 1237, bur Rushen St Mary). The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum names Olav as the son of King Godred and his wife, adding that he was three years old when his parents were married[1329]. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that the Manxman chose Olav’s older brother Ragnall as king, against the wishes of their father, adding in a later passage that Ragnall granted the island of Lewes to Olav but that Olav was later imprisoned by William I King of Scotland, was freed by the latter’s son King Alexander I and returned to Lewes[1330]. King of Man. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that Olav recovered Man from his half-brother in 1226[1331]. The History of Olave the Black King of Man records that “Olave son of Godred was…King of Man” in 1229 when he resisted Alan Lord of Galloway[1332]. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that Olav kept Man when he agreed to divide his kingdom with his nephew Godred in 1230, the latter ruling in the Isles[1333]. "Olavus rex Insularum" donated "boves…oves et porcos" to St Bees by undated charter, witnessed by "…Therkillo filio Nigelli…"[1334]. Henry III King of England made a grant of property to "Olaf King of Man and the Isles" for "his homage and services in guarding at his expense the coast of the English sea towards Ireland and the Isle of Man…" by charter dated 11 Jul 1235[1335]. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records the death “XII Kal Jun” in 1237 of “Olavus Godredi filius rex Manniæ et Insularum” and his burial “in abbatia Sanctæ Mariæ de Russin”[1336].

Godred had three illegitimate children by unknown mistresses:

b) RAGNALD (-killed in battle Tynwald 1228, bur St Mary of Furness). The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum names “Reginaldum, Olavum et Yvarum” as the three sons of King Godred, adding that their father had nominated his legitimate son Olav as his successor, but that the Manxmen chose Ragnald as king because he was older[1302]. The birth date of his daughter, wife of the Welsh princes, indicates that Ragnald must have been much older than his legitimate half-brother. King of Man. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that Olav recovered Man from his half-brother in 1226[1303]. "Ragdnaldus…rex Insularum" donated "totam medietatem terre…Ormeshan…apud portum de Corna et aciam terram Asmundertoftes" to St Bees by undated charter, witnessed by "…Gospatricio filio Henrici…"[1304]. The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that Olav was murdered in 1228 and buried at St Mary of Furness[1305]. m ---, daughter of --. Her parentage is confirmed by the Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum which records that King Ragnald arranged the marriage of his half-brother Olav to “filiam cujusdam nobilis de Kentyre germanam uxoris suæ, nomine Jauon”[1306]. :
c) IVAR . The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum names “Reginaldum, Olavum et Yvarum” as the three sons of King Godred[1317].
d) AUFRICA (-after 1219, bur Grey Abbey of the Cistercians, Strangford Lough[1318]). The Chronicon Manniæ et Insularum records that “Johannes…de Curci” married “filiam Godredi…Affricam” who had founded “abbatiam Sanctæ Mariæ de Jugo Dei” where she was buried[1319]. Aufrica’s husband was one of the first conquerors of Ireland under Henry II King of England in the 1170s[1320]. m (1180[1321]%29 JOHN de Curcy, son of --- (-before 22 Sep 1219).
http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCOTTISH%20NOBILITY.htm#OlavMandied...

Affreca de Courcy, by Wikipedia

Anglo-Norman Ireland

A significant era in the history of Ireland was the Norman invasion of Ireland by English or Anglo-Norman adventurers in 12th century Gaelic Ireland.[1][note 1] In 1166, the once powerful King of Leinster, Dermot MacMurrough (d. 1171), was forced from Ireland by his rivals. With the consent of Henry, Mac Murchada sought the aid of Henry's vassals in Wales and England. Through his daughter Aoife MacMurrough (fl. 1189), Mac Murchada gained a matrimonial-alliance with the powerful Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (d. 1176). In 1167, the reinforced Mac Murchada made his return and easily regained Leinster, and later gained further lands.[2] One of the wealthiest and coveted settlements in 12th century Ireland was Dublin, a seaport and seat of a somewhat independent kingdom ruled by various Norse-Gaelic kings.[3] In September 1170, the forces of Mac Murchada and de Clare marched on Dublin, which was then successfully stormed by de Clare's men.[2] According to the near contemporary Expugnatio Hibernica by Gerald of Wales (d. 1220x23), the leadership of the Dubliners managed to escape the carnage with their belongings, and sailed away into the Isles.[4]

While many of the Dubliners may never have returned,[5] Gerald's account and a mediaeval French text popularly known as The Song of Dermot and the Earl state that, about six months later, the deposed King of Dublin, Ascall mac Ragnaill (d. 1171), launched a sea-borne assault on the town with a force that numbered either sixty or one hundred ships respectively. Although Mac Turcaill's men successfully made landfall near the town, the sources indicate that his forces were utterly crushed by the Norman defenders, and that he was himself captured and beheaded.[6] The French text specifically states that there was Manx involvement in the assault.[7] In Gerald's version of the events, Affreca's father supplied thirty ships to an unsuccessful later-attempt at ousting the Normans from Dublin. In the words of Gerald, "their fear of the threat of English domination, inspired by the successes of the English, made the men of the isles act all the more quickly, and with the wind in the northwest they immediately sailed about thirty ships full of warriors into the harbour of the Liffey".[8]

With the conquest of Norse-Gaelic Dublin, and the ongoing entrenchment of the English in Ireland, the Crovan dynasty found themselves surrounded by a potentially threatening, rising power in the Irish Sea zone.[9] The dynasty did not take long to realign itself with this new power, in the form of a dynastic marriage between Affreca and one of the most powerful of the incoming Englishmen—John de Courcy (d. c. 1219).

Marriage to de Courcy

Nothing is known of de Courcy's early life. He arrived in Ireland in 1176, with Henry's deputy in Ireland, William fitz Audelin (d. before 1198), and was a member of the English garrison of Dublin.[11] According to the Gerald, de Courcy led an invasion of Ulaid in 1177 (an area roughly encompassing what is today County Antrim and County Down). He reached Down (modern day Downpatrick), drove off Ruaidrí Mac Duinn Sléibe, King of Ulaid (d. 1201),[12] and consolidated his conquest of the area with the erection of a castle.[13] He thereafter ruled his lands with a certain amount of independence for about a quarter of a century.[14] According to the Dublin Annals of Inisfallen, the marriage between Affreca and de Courcy took place in 1180. Although scholars consider these annals particularly unreliable,[15] a date of about 1180 may not be far off the mark, considering the time-frame of de Courcy's rapid rise to power.[16] It is possible that de Courcy's marriage could have attributed to his success in Ulaid, considering the military resources of the Crovan dynasty. Less speculative is the likelihood that de Courcy's success was used by the Crovan dynasty, who were allied by marriage with Cenél nEógain, as a means of settling old scores.

John and Rǫgnvaldr

In a series of conflicts between 1201 and 1204, de Courcy finally fell from power. By 1205 he was forced from Ireland altogether, and his lands were awarded to Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster (d. 1242). Sometime in 1205, de Courcy rose in rebellion, and gained military support from Affreca's brother, Ragnvald Godredsson (Old Norse: Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson), King of the Isles.[18] The Chronicle of Mann specifies that de Courcy's massive force was further strengthened by Rögnvaldr with one hundred ships. Together the two laid siege to what the chronicle describes as "the castle of Rath", before being beaten back with the arrival of Walter de Lacy (d. 1241), Hugh's elder brother.[19] The expedition is also recorded in the Annals of Loch Cé, which state that de Courcy brought a fleet from the Isles to battle the de Lacys. Although the expedition ultimately proved a failure, the annals note that the surrounding countryside was plundered and destroyed by the invaders.[20] The identity of the castle noted by the chronicle is almost certainly Dundrum Castle, which was possibly constructed by de Courcy before 1203. The defeat of 1205 marks the downfall of de Courcy, who never regained his Irish-lands.

Sources

• Anderson, Alan Orr, ed. (1922), Early sources of Scottish history: a.d. 500 to 1286, 2, Oliver and Boyd.
• Dimock, James Francis, ed. (1867), Giraldi Cambrensis opera, 5, Longmans.
• Gilbert, John Thomas, ed. (1884), Chartularies of St. Mary's abbey, Dublin, 2, Longman & Company.
• Hennessy, William Maunsell, ed. (1871), The annals of Loch Cé, 1, Longman & Company.
• Munch, Peter Andreas; Goss, Alexander, eds. (1874), Chronica regvm Manniæ et Insvlarvm: the chronicle of Man and the Sudreys; from the manuscript codex in the British Museum; with historical notes, 1, printed for the Manx Society.
• Orpen, Goddard Henry, ed. (1892), The song of Dermot and the earl: an old French poem from the Carew manuscript no. 596 in the archiepiscopal library at Lambeth palace, Clarendon Press.
• Wright, Thomas, ed. (1894), The historical works of Giraldus Cambrensis, George Bell & Sons. y is uncertain.