Amlaíb, King of Scotland

Who was Amlaíb, King of Scotland?

Amlaíb mac Ilduilb, known in English as simply Amlaíb was King of Scots during the 970s. He was the son of King Indulf and brother of King Cuilén. His name is of Old Norse or Norse-Gael origin, in this case the Old Irish equivalent of Olaf.

He is known from the notice of his death in the Annals of Tigernach, which reports that he was killed by Kenneth II of Scotland. His name is not included in any extant king lists, nor is he named as a king in 973 when Kenneth II met with King Edgar the Peaceable at Chester, so that the length of his reign is unknown.

Alex Woolf asserts that the Norse origin of the name Amlaíb "...strongly suggests that his maternal kind may have been from a Scandinavian background and they are likely to have been a branch of the Uí Ímair... ...He may well be the grandson of Amlaíb Cúaran, or his cousin Amlaíb son of Gothfrith".