Olaf

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  • aleph: the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, from which is derived alpha, or A, the first letter of the Greek alphabet
  • O: omega, the last letter of the Greek alphabet → the O recalls the beginning of the Anna Livia Plurabelle chapter, "O tell me all about Anna Livia" → FW 196.01 O
  • Olaf: according to Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales, Topographica Hibernica), three Danish brothers, Aulaf (or Olaf), Sitric and Ivar founded Dublin, Waterford and Limerick, though this is now known to be untrue; Olaf was the name of at least three kings of Dublin, though their precise identities are still a matter of conjecture
    • Olaf the White: (Olaf the Young?) the first Norse king of Dublin (853-873); Olaf was reputedly a descendant of the Norwegian warlord Halfdan Hvitbein ("Whitelegs"), though his identity is undertain; after making himself master of the city in 853, he departed for Britain; when he returned in 856, he was accompanied by two of the legendary Danish warlord Ragnar Lodbrok's sons, Ivar the Boneless and Audgisl (also known as Auisle or Hásli); both of these brothers were Olaf's co-regents at various times; this is probably the source of Gerald's garbled legend of the three brothers
    • Eolair: a shadowy figure who claimed the throne of Dublin in 886; his name may be an Irish form of Olaf or Alaric; he has been identified sometimes with Olaf the Young
    • Olaf II: a great-grandson of Ivar the Boneless; he reigned in Dublin from 934-941
    • Olaf III of the Sandals: Amlaíb Cúarán in Irish; he reigned in Dublin from 945-980; he too was a great-grandson of Ivar the Boneless; he was also the king of York in England, and has been identified with both Shakespeare's Hamlet and Havelok the Dane
    • Third Census of Finnegans Wake
    • Third Census of Finnegans Wake
    • Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition