The ‘Three fragments’ were copied from ancient sources in 1643 by Dubhaltach MacFirbisigh. They cover the period from 571 to 914. Dubhaltach MacFirbisigh (1580-1660), was a scholar who studied at the school at Cahermacnaghten in the Burren in Western Ireland. As his work is fundamental to the conclusions proposed here, I make a couple of points in relation to criticisms of it.

F.T Wainwright in “Inigmund’s Invasion” argues that:
"The account of the attack upon Chester would make good entertainment for any audience, but the whole story centers in Æthelflæd and it is not easy to see how any Irishman outside the tenth century would have hit upon this incident for elaboration unless he were following some earlier authority. It is probable that the story of Ingimund as it now stands contains both explanatory interpolations and literary additions, but the basic facts can scarcely have been conceived by a writer drawing mainly upon imagination and living in an age remote from the early tenth century. Whatever may have happened to the story in the centuries before 1643, it is difficult to believe that the original version was either late or legendary."

Wainwright lends credibility to the work. The names of main players in the period are corroborated in other annals, however many critics have suggested since he embellished the work with “explanatory interpolations and literary additions” it cannot be relied upon. However this assertion seems at odds with his life and other works. ( More details here and here include the following points)

• His family had been renowned historians for centuries beforehand.
• From an early age, he was in residence at a respected school of law and history in Ormond, and also at a distinguished literary and legal school under patronage of the O'Davorens in the Burren. He had Greek and Latin and was well read.
• Much of his work was either geneological in nature or concerned with the preservation of ancient texts.
• MacNamara writes “perhaps the very last, of the schools formed on the ancient model flourished at Cahermacnaughten, in Burren, and continued to exist down to the occupation of Clare by the soldiers of raging Cromwell”.
• He and his colleagues were made destitute as a result of Cromwell’s invasion. He was subsequently murdered by a Cromwellian soldier at the age of around 85. ( I am disheartened to discover his assassin appears to of be of a local colonizing family related to my own)

Bearing these points in mind, and the fact that his alleged ‘embellishments’ in our extracts appear to favour the forebears of his Anglo-Saxon persecutors, one is led to ask why?

The follows revelant extracts from the three fragments with my own ‘literary additions’ (in rounded brackets) while his remain [in square]

It starts ‘We have related above’ which suggests to me that MacFirbisigh is making a strict transcription as the story alluded to doesn’t exist in his transcription. His own interjections appear to be marked by brackets.

906?

We have related above, that is, in the fourth year previously, that the Norwegian armies were driven out of Ireland, thanks to the fasting and prayers of the holy man, Céle Dabaill, for he was a saintly and pious man, and he had great zeal for the Christians; and besides inciting the warriors of Ireland against the pagans, he laboured himself through fasting and prayer, and he strove for freedom for the churches of Ireland, and he strengthened the men of Ireland by his laborious service to the Lord; and he removed the anger of the Lord from them. For it was on account of the Lord's anger against them that the foreigners were brought to destroy them [i.e., the Norwegians and Danes], to plunder Ireland, both church and tribe.

Now the Norwegians left Ireland, as we said, and their leader was Ingimund, and they went then to the island of Britain. The son of Cadell son of Rhodri was king of the Britons at that time. The Britons assembled against them, and gave them hard and strong battle, and they were driven by force out of British territory. (This was in Angelsey according to other sources which corroborate the name of ‘Ingimund’)

After that Ingimund with his troops came to Aethelflaed, Queen of the Saxons; for her husband, Aethelred, was sick at that time. [Let no one reproach me, though I have related the death of Aethelred above, because this was prior to Aethelred's death and it was of this very sickness that Aethelred died, but I did not wish to leave unwritten what the Norwegians did after leaving Ireland.] Now Ingimund was asking the Queen for lands in which he would settle, and on which he would build barns and dwellings, for he was tired of war at that time. Aethelflaed gave him lands near Chester, and he stayed there for a time.

What resulted was that when he saw the wealthy city, and the choice lands around it, he yearned to possess them. Ingimund came then to the chieftains of the Norwegians and Danes; he was complaining bitterly before them, and said that they were not well off unless they had good lands, and that they all ought to go and seize Chester and possess it with its wealth and lands. From that there resulted many great battles and wars. What he said was, ‘Let us entreat and implore them ourselves first, and if we do not get them good lands willingly like that, let us fight for them by force.’ All the chieftains of the Norwegians and Danes consented to that.

Ingimund returned home after that, having arranged for a hosting to follow him. Although they held that council secretly, the Queen learned of it. The Queen then gathered a large army about her from the adjoining regions, and filled the city of Chester with her troops.

The armies of the Danes and the Norwegians mustered to attack Chester, and since they did not get their terms accepted through request or entreaty, they proclaimed battle on a certain day. They came to attack the city on that day, and there was a great army with many freemen in the city to meet them.

When the troops who were in the city saw, from the city wall, the many hosts of the Danes and Norwegians coming to attack them, they sent messengers to the King of the Saxons, who was sick and on the verge of death at that time, to ask his advice and the advice of the Queen. What he advised was that they do battle outside, near the city, with the gate of the city open, and that they choose a troop of horsemen to be concealed on the inside; and those of the people of the city who would be strongest in battle should flee back into the city as if defeated, and when most of the army of the Norwegians had come in through the gate of the city, the troop that was in hiding beyond should close the gate after that horde, and without pretending any more they should attack the throng that had come into the city and kill them all.

Everything was done accordingly, and the Danes and Norwegians were frightfully slaughtered in that way. Great as that massacre was, however, the Norwegians did not abandon the city, for they were hard and savage; but they all said that they would make many hurdles, and place props under them, and that they would make a hole in the wall underneath them. This was not delayed; the hurdles were made, and the hosts were under them making a hole in the wall, because they wanted to take the city, and avenge their people.

It was then that the King [who was on the verge of death] and the Queen sent messengers to the Irish who were among the pagans [for the pagans had many Irish fosterlings], to say to the Irishmen,
 ‘Life and health to you from the King of the Saxons, who is ill, and from the Queen, who holds all authority over the Saxons, and they are certain that you are true and trustworthy friends to them. Therefore you should take their side: for they have given no greater honour to any Saxon warrior or cleric than they have given to each warrior or cleric who has come to them from Ireland, for this inimical race of pagans is equally hostile to you also. You must, then, since you are faithful friends, help them on this occasion.’
This was the same as saying to them, (I.e. The repercussions of this is you should say to the Danes:)
 ‘Since we have come from faithful friends of yours (I.e.The Lochlanns) to converse with you” you should ask the Danes “what gifts in lands and property they would give to the people who would betray the city to them.(I.e us Gal Gaedil)
“If they will make terms for that, bring them to swear an oath in a place where it would be convenient to kill them, and when they are taking the oath on their swords and their shields, as is their custom, they will put aside all their good shooting weapons.”

All was done accordingly, and they set aside their arms. And the reason why those Irish acted against the Danes was because they were less friends to them than the Norwegians. Then many of them were killed in that way, for huge rocks and beams were hurled onto their heads. Another great number were killed by spears and by arrows, and by every means of killing men.

However, the other army, the Norwegians, was under the hurdles, making a hole in the wall. What the Saxons and the Irish who were among them did was to hurl down huge boulders, so that they crushed the hurdles on their heads. What they did to prevent that was to put great columns under the hurdles. What the Saxons did was to put the ale and water they found in the town into the towns cauldrons, and to boil it and throw it over the people who were under the hurdles, so that their skin peeled off them. The Norwegians response to that was to spread hides on top of the hurdles. The Saxons then scattered all the beehives there were in the town on top of the besiegers, which prevented them from moving their feet and hands because of the number of bees stinging them. After that they gave up the city, and left it. Not long afterwards there was fighting again ...

914

In that year great armies of Dark Foreigners and Fair Foreigners Danish and Norwegian Vikings came again to attack the Saxons, after the installation of Sitric grandson of Imar as king. They challenged the Saxons to battle, and the Saxons did not delay, but came at once to attack the pagans. A hard and ferocious battle was fought between them, and there was great energy and heat and contention on both sides. Much noble blood was spilled in this battle; nevertheless, it was the Saxons who won victory and spoils after massacring the pagans. For the king of the pagans was taken ill, and he was carried out of the battle to a forest nearby, and he died there.

Now Oittir, the most greatly esteemed earl in this battle, when he saw the Saxons slaughtering his people, fled into a dense wood near him, along with those of his people who survived. A huge throng of Saxons came after him, and they surrounded the wood. The Queen commanded them to hack down all of the forest with their swords and battleaxes, and they did so. First they felled the trees, and then all the pagans who were in the wood were killed. The pagans were slaughtered by the Queen like that, so that her fame spread in all directions.

Aethelflaed, through her own cleverness, made peace with the men of Alba and with the Britons, so that whenever the same race should come to attack her, they would rise to help her. If it were against them that they came, she would take arms with them. While this (pact) continued, the men of Alba and Britain overcame the settlements of the Norwegians and destroyed and sacked them.


(Also in 914)
The king of the Norwegians came after that and sacked Srath Cluada, and plundered the land. But the enemy was ineffectual against Srath Cluada.(I.e. He plundered the country but was unable to take Strathclyde)