Brodir and Ospak of Man

Bróðir and Óspak of Man were two Danish or Norwegian brothers who were active in the Isle of Man and Ireland in the 11th century. They are mentioned in the 12th century Irish Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh and the 13th century Icelandic Njal's Saga as the key leaders who fought on opposite sides in the Battle of Clontarf, in 1014. The latter account names Bróðir as the killer of Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland. Both Boru and Bróðir died in the battle, although accounts differ as to who killed whom. Óspak fought on the side of Boru, was injured, and lost his two sons in the battle.

Life Bróðir (also Brodir or Brodar or anglicised as Broderick) and Óspak Around 1012, relations between Brian and Leinster had become so strained that revolt broke out among the Leinstermen. Sigtrygg went to Man, where he persuaded Bróðir to come to Dublin by Palm Sunday. and refused to "fight against so good a king". According to Njál's Saga, one night a great din passed over Bróðir and his men on the Isle of Man, so that they all sprang up from sleep and dressed themselves. Until dawn, this din was accompanied by a shower of boiling blood, which scalded many of them even though they covered themselves with their shields. He augured that if the battle were on Good Friday, King Brian would fall but win the battle; but if they fought on any day before, all who opposed Brian would be killed. and the battle raged all day, from high tide at sunrise to sunset. ending in an eventual victory for Brian's allies.

Meanwhile, Brian, now in his seventies, had been advised to await the outcome of the battle in a tent not far from the field, Accounts differ over whether Bróðir was the killer of Brian Boru. According to one Irish account, Bróðir overcame Brian's guard, only to be killed by the High King who then killed himself.

According to Njal's Saga, Óspak was on the wing opposite King Sigtrygg Silkbeard.

Historicity and legacy The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography notes that the Irish surname Ó Bruadair – frequently anglicised as "Broder" or "Broderick" – may be an amalgamation of the Irish element "Ó" ("grandson of") and the Norse name Brodir. However, although Norse origins are often claimed for the surname, it has been on record in Ireland for centuries before the Anglo–Norman invasion. The name occurs most commonly in Munster and south-east Leinster.

An article on the historicity of the Icelandic sagas notes that "Brodir" is not a Norse proper name at all, and is itself derived from the Irish name variously written as Bruattar, Bruadar or Brodur. According to the article, the name first appears in the Annals of Ulster in the year 853, when a princeling of south-east Ireland named Bruattar mac Aeda was involved in the murder of a rival before being slain himself. The name only appears in Norse context twice – at the Battle of Clontarf, and in 1160 for the King of Dublin, Brodar mac Torcaill – and had a longer circulation in Irish literature. The same article also suggests that while there is no doubt about the historical truth of the Battle of Clontarf, the name "Ospakr", along with other names in the Njál's saga account of the Clontarf episode, may have been borrowed from the Landnámabók.

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