Olaf the White

Who is Olaf the White?

Olaf the White was a viking sea-king who lived in the latter half of the 9th century.

Olaf was born around 820, in Ireland. His father was the Hiberno-Norse warlord Ingjald Helgasson. Olaf is described in some sources as a descendent of Ragnar Lodbrok. This is problematic given that Ragnar likely lived until the 860s.

Olaf was named King of Dublin around 853; during part of his reign he may have ruled together with his kinsman Ivar the Boneless. Olaf married Aud the Deep-minded, daughter of Ketil Flatnose, the ruler of the Hebrides, according to Icelandic traditions only. Irish fragments provide a different genealogy, and his wife was the daughter of King Aedh.

Auðr and Olaf had a son, Thorstein the Red, who attempted to conquer Scotland in the 870s. At some point Olaf had a falling-out with the clan of Ketil and sent Auðr and their son back to her father's house. According to Landnámabók, Olaf and Þorsteinn rauðr were both killed in the British Isles.