Turgesius
The Norman Turgesius (also: Turgeis , Thorgest or Thorgils ; † 845 ) is a real, but historically hardly comprehensible figure of the early Viking or Norman times in Ireland .
He is said to have been either a descendant of the Norwegian royal family of the Ynglingers or even the son of the Norwegian king Harald Fairhair or a son of the Danish king Gudfred (Harald was only born in 851). He became known through forays into Ireland and Great Britain . He is equated with the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok , who sacked Paris in 845 . Turgesius died in the Annals of Ulster in 845. He is sometimes considered the founder of Linn Duachaill and Dublin (both in 841), but the latter was Olaf the White .
It is not certain whether Turgesius was in Ireland as early as 820. From the year 832 he was the leader of a large navy that undertook raids for 13 years, during which they invaded the hinterland and plundered monasteries on the rivers Boyne , Liffey and Shannon . The fact that the Irish bishopric in Armagh is said to have belonged to this is probably a legend.
The Northmen (Gäl. Lochlonnaigh - people from the land of the lakes) had plundered the monastery on Lambay Island near Dublin in 795 and set up a winter base at the Liffey estuary in 832. Woodstown near Waterford was a settlement that some archaeologists consider to be the oldest in Ireland. So Turgesius probably owned naval bases from which he could undertake the raids in Ireland and Wales . His advance on the Shannon and his attack on the monastery of Clonmacnoise , according to the annals in the year 842, as well as on the nearby monasteries Clonfert (Cluain Fearta of Breanainn), Terryglas (Tir da Ghlas) and Lorrha are notorious . According to Geoffrey Keating , he founded a dun and a fort (possibly Athlunkard or Dunrally Fort ) on an island in Lough Ree (Loch Rihb) near Athlone . Here and in Lough Lene (also Lane) in neighboring ( County Westmeath ), where the island Turgesius Island bears his name, he is said to have maintained bases (presumably winter camps).
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Turgesius |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Turgeis; Thorgest; Thorgils |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Norman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 8th century or 9th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 845 |