Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Bef 1040, Isle of Man, England; Jarl (konge?).

Family/Spouse: NN Ragnfrødsdatter. NN (daughter of Ragnfrød Eiriksen) was born about 975; died after 1030 in Isle of Man, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Abt 1079, Isle of Man, England; Konge av Man og Hebridene.

Notes:

Occupation:
Konge av Sudreys.

Kjempet sammen med sin svigerfar Harald Hardråde mot Harald Godwinson i slaget ved Stamford Brigde 1066. Svigerfar Harald falt i slaget, og Gudrød Crovan reiste til Isle of Man og bodde hos en slektning. Senere erobret han øya og tok makten der.

Family/Spouse: Ragnhild Haraldsdatter. Ragnhild (daughter of Harald Sigurdsen av Norge, "Harald 3" and Ellisiv Jaroslavsdatter av Kiev) was born about 1047; died after 1080 in Isle of Man, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: 1103, Isle of Man, England; Konge Isle of Man & the Isles 1103-1153.

Notes:

Occupation:
Olaf 1 Bitling the Red was the last born child of Godred Crovan (Orry). To be the youngest is not necessarily to be a dwarf.

Óláfr Guðrøðarson (died 29 June 1153) was a twelfth-century King of the Isles. As a younger son of Guðrøðr Crovan, King of Dublin and the Isles, Óláfr witnessed a vicious power struggle between his elder brothers in the aftermath of their father's death.
At some point, the young Óláfr was entrusted to the care of Henry 1, King of England, and like the contemporaneous Scottish monarchs, Alexander 1 and David 1, Óláfr appears to have been a protégé of the English king.

As King of the Isles, Óláfr contracted marital alliances with neighbouring maritime rulers. Although he appears to have overseen successful military operations to reclaim the northern-most territories once controlled by his father, he may have witnessed the loss of authority in Galloway as well. Like his counterpart David 1, Óláfr was a reformer and moderniser of his realm. However, his four-decade reign ended in abrupt disaster when he was assassinated by 3 nephews in 1153. Following the ensuing power struggle, Óláfr's son Guðrøðr overcame the kin-slayers, and assumed the kingship of the Kingdom of the Isles.

The Isles—an archipelagic region roughly incorporating the Hebrides and Mann—was ruled by Guðrøðr Crovan for over 2 decades until his death in 1095, whereupon his eldest son Logmaðr assumed control. Warring soon broke out between factions supporting Logmaðr's younger brother Haraldr, which led to the intervention and encroachment of Irish power into the region. After a short period of Irish domination, the region lapsed into further conflict which was capitalised on by Magnús Óláfsson, King of Norway, who led two military campaigns throughout the Isles and surrounding Irish Sea region at about the turn of the twelfth century. Magnús dominated these regions until his death in 1103, whereupon control of the Isles appears to have fragmented into chaos once again.

Rather than allow ambitious Irish powers fill the power vacuum, Henry 1 appears to have installed Óláfr on the throne at some point between 1112 and 1115, about the time that Domnall mac Taidc relocated from the Isles to Ireland. Óláfr is recorded to have spent his youth at Henry 1's court, and Óláfr's later religious foundations reveal that he was greatly influenced by his English upbringing. In the second quarter of the eleventh century, Óláfr founded the abbey of St Mary of Rushen, a reformed religious house on Mann. He further oversaw the formation of the Diocese of the Isles, the territorial extent of which appears to reveal the boundaries of his realm. Óláfr is recorded to have had at least two wives: Ingibjørg, daughter of Hákon Pálsson, Earl of Orkney; and Affraic, daughter of Fergus, Lord of Galloway. The unions seem to reveal that Óláfr shifted from an alliance with Orkney to that with Galloway. Not long after his marriage to Affraic, one of Óláfr's daughters married Somairle mac Gilla Brigte, Lord of Argyll, an emerging power in the region.

Although Óláfr's reign is recorded to have been peaceful, there is reason to suspect that his own succession was uncertain.
In 1152, Guðrøðr travelled to Norway and rendered homage to Ingi Haraldsson, King of Norway. At about this time, the Diocese of the Isles was incorporated within the recently elevated Archdiocese of Niðaróss. Whilst this strengthened Norwegian links with the Isles, it secured the ecclesiastical independence of Óláfr's domain, and safeguard his secular authority in the region. Nevertheless before Guðrøðr returned to the Isles, three sons of Haraldr confronted Óláfr, and demanded a share of the kingdom before slaying him. Although the three men appear to have taken significant steps to counter military intervention from Galloway, they were soon after crushed by Guðrøðr, who returned to the region enstrengthened by Norwegian military might. Óláfr's descendants went on to reign as kings of the Isles for over a century.

Óláfr was a member of the Crovan dynasty, and 1 of 3 sons of this family's eponymous ancestor, Guðrøðr Crovan, King of Dublin and the Isles (died 1095). The latter appears to have secured the kingship of the Isles in the late 1070s, and to have seized the kingship of Dublin in the early 1090s. Guðrøðr Crovan's downfall came in 1094 when he was forced from Ireland altogether by Muirchertach Ua Briain, King of Munster (died 1119). There is reason to suspect that Guðrøðr Crovan was driven from Mann as well, since he is recorded to have died on Islay the following year.

According to the thirteenth–fourteenth-century Chronicle of Mann, Guðrøðr Crovan's eldest son, Logmaðr, succeeded to the kingship of the Isles. The chronicle further reveals that Logmaðr faced opposition from within his own family in the form of a rebellion by his brother, Haraldr. Logmaðr eventually overcame Haraldr, however, and is stated to have had him blinded and emasculated. Afterwards, Logmaðr appears to have faced further opposition in the form of a faction supporting his youngest brother, Óláfr. Apparently unable to overthrow Logmaðr on their own, the dissidents turned to Muirchertach, whose recent conquest of Dublin gave him control of that realm's dominating naval forces.

If the chronicle is to be believed, Óláfr's supporters petitioned Muirchertach to provide a regent from his own kin—the Uí Briain—to govern the Isles until Óláfr was old enough to assume control himself. Such a clause may well have been a condition of Muirchertach's involvement, rather than a request. Nevertheless, the chronicle indicates that Muirchertach installed his nephew, Domnall mac Taidc (died 1115), upon the throne. Although Domnall had previously opposed Muirchertach over the kingship of Munster, he was the son of Muirchertach's brother, and further possessed strong familial connections with the Isles through his maternal descent from Echmarcach mac Ragnaill, King of Dublin and the Isles (died 1064/1065). Regardless, the death of Domnall's brother, Amlaíb, recorded by the seventeenth-century Annals of the Four Masters in 1096, suggests that Domnall and the rest of the Meic Taidc faced significant opposition in the Isles, possibly in the form of Logmaðr's adherents. Domnall's reign appears to have been brief. The chronicle's account of warfare on the island in about 1097–1098 fails to mention him at all, a fact which seems to be evidence that he had lost control by then.

Probably late in 1097, Magnús Óláfsson, King of Norway (died 1103) turned his attention towards the Isles, and sent a certain Ingimundr into the region to take control on his behalf. Unfortunately for Magnús, Ingimundr was soon after slain on Lewis and Harris by leading Islesmen. The following year Magnús took matters into his own hands, and led an invasion-fleet of his into the area. As the invaders successfully carved their way through the Isles towards Mann, Logmaðr was evidently overcome and captured. From Mann, the Norwegians campaigned against the English in Anglesey. Although Magnúss saga berfœtts, within the thirteenth century Heimskringla, places this particular episode in the context of Norwegian conquest, it is likely that Magnús had merely assumed the same protector role that Óláfr's father had once filled with Gruffudd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd (died 1137). Magnús gained the submission of Galloway, and may have consolidated his campaign through a treaty with Edgar, King of Scotland (died 1107).

Magnús overwintered in the Isles, and left for Norway in the summer. He made his return to the region, nearly four years later, in 1102 or 1103. After reestablishing himself on Mann, Magnús entered into an marital alliance with Muirchertach formalised through the marriage between Magnús's young son, Sigurðr (died 1130), and Muirchertach's young daughter, Bjaðmunjo (fl. 1102/1103). The fact that Magnús intended to return to Norway reveals that Muirchertach benefited to most from the arrangement, although the alliance appears to have bound the kings against a common enemy in the region, Domnall Mac Lochlainn, King of Cenél nEógain (died 1121). Unfortunately for Muirchertach, and his long-term ambitions in the Isles, Magnús was slain in Ulster in 1103, and Sigurðr immediately repudiated his bride and returned to Norway. Although Muirchertach was able to regain control of Dublin and still had held considerable influence in the Isles, Magnús' death left a vacuum which neither Muirchertach nor Domnall Mac Lochlainn could fill.

If the Chronicle of Mann is to be believed, at one point in his career Logmaðr repented the cruelty that he had inflicted upon Haraldr, and remorsefully resigned his kingdom before setting off to Jerusalem where he died. The particular terminology employed by the chronicle—that Logmaðr departed the kingdom - marked with the sign of the Lord's cross — suggests that he participated in a crusade. On the other hand, since the chronicle was compiled in the thirteenth century, during a period when the idea of a cross-bearing pilgrim was well established, it is possible that this depiction of L?gmaðr has been contaminated by anachronistic conceptions.

If Logmaðr was indeed a crusader, it is uncertain which particular crusade he undertook. One possibility is that he took part in the First Crusade, a movement that reached its climax with the successful siege and capture of Jerusalem in mid 1099. Logmaðr could have embarked upon this enterprise in about 1096, the year the pope's calls reached England. Alternately, in light of Logmaðr's capture by the Norwegians in 1098, it is conceivable that his release from custody was made conditional upon his exile and participation in the First Crusade. On the other hand, it is not impossible that Logmaðr originally undertook a pilgrimage before catching wind of the crusade en route.

Another possibility is that Logmaðr regained some form of control in the Isles following Magnús' death, and afterwards joined Sigurðr's expedition to Holy Land in the first decade of the twelfth century. The precise chronology of this enterprise is uncertain, although the Norwegian fleet certainly reached England before the end of the first decade of the twelfth century. It may have been at this point, whilst Sigurðr overwintered at the English royal court, that Logmaðr joined up with him. If Logmaðr and Sigurðr indeed rendezvoused in England, this may have been the time when Óláfr was entrusted to the safekeeping of the English king. Certainly, the chronicle reveals that Óláfr was brought up at the English court. The reason why he was entrusted into the care of the English may have been because Henry 1 was thought to have been the only monarch who could guarantee Óláfr's safety.

A probable tenth-century ancestor of Óláfr was the Uí Ímair dynast Óláfr kváran, King of Northumbria and Dublin (died 980/981), This man was likely the prototype of the mediaeval literary character variously known as Havelok the Dane. The earliest surviving source detailing Havelok is the twelfth-century Estoire des Engleis. The catalyst for Óláfr kváran's incorporation into twelfth-century English literature may have been Óláfr's stay at the court of Henry 1. Conceivably, writers may have sought out the patronage of the young Óláfr by borrowing tales of his famous like-named forebear.

According to the twelfth-century Historia regum, Alexander 1, King of Scotland (died 1124) struggled to maintain control of his kingdom. One region which may have caused the Scots some concern was the Isles. In 1111, Domnall mac Taidc seized the kingship of the region, possibly with the aid of Muirchertach's northern opponent, Domnall Mac Lochlainn. This encroachment of competing Irish factions into the Isles may well have been as unpalatable to the English and Scots as the power vacuum left in the wake of Magnús' demise. The chronicle accords Óláfr a reign spanning forty years. His accession to the kingship of the Isles, therefore, appears to date to about 1112, 1113, 1114, or 1115. As such, Óláfr's accession dates to about the time of Muirchertach's faltering authority in 1114. Domnall may have been driven out of the Isles by force, or he could have been drawn back to Ireland in an attempt to capitalise upon his uncle's failing health and fleeting authority.

Óláfr's return to the Isles from England appears to have been the work of Henry 1, who would have likely welcomed a steadfast dependent in control a region of strategic importance. Although the English and Scottish kings were certainly at odds over Cumbria at about this time, it is likely that they would have cooperated to combat the extension of Uí Briain and Meic Lochlainn influence in the Isles. In fact, the Scottish king's participation in the 1114 English expedition against Gruffudd—a man who seems to have been an associate of Muirchertach—may have been undertaken in this context. Furthermore, Muirchertach was closely associated with the Bellême-Montgomery family that had risen in a failed revolt against the English Crown in the first decade of the century. According to the twelfth-century Gesta regum Anglorum, the English imposed a trade embargo against Muirchertach at some point during the reign of Henry 1. Whilst it is possible that this action was a consequence of Muirchertach's familial relationship with his son-in-law Arnulf de Montgomery (died 1118-1122) — and Muirchertach's possible part in the Bellême-Montgomery insurrection—another possibility is that the sanctions concerned Muirchertach's ambitions in the Irish Sea region, especially since Óláfr had been entrusted into Henry 1's care. By establishing Óláfr in the Isles, Henry 1 may have sought to mitigate the extension of Irish influence in the Isles, and escalate the expansion of English authority into the Irish Sea region.

According to the Chronicle of Mann, Óláfr married Affraic, daughter of Fergus, Lord of Galloway (died 1161). Although the union is not dated by contemporary sources, it appears to have been arranged in the 1130s or 1140s. Affraic is specifically identified as the mother of Guðrøðr by the chronicle. The fact that he is recorded to have travelled to Norway on a diplomatic mission in 1152 suggests that he was an adult by this date, and may indicate that Óláfr and Affraic's union commenced in the 1130s. Several contemporary sources concerning Fergus' descendants suggest that he had married an illegitimate daughter of Henry 1 in about the 1120s, and that this woman was the mother of at least some of Fergus' offspring, including Affraic herself. In fact, the shared kinship between Guðrøðr and Henry 1's succeeding grandson, Henry 2, King of England (died 1189), is noted by the twelfth-century Chronica of Robert de Torigni, Abbot of Mont Saint-Michel (died 1186). The marital alliance forged between Óláfr and Fergus gave the Crovan dynasty valuable familial-connections with the English king, one of the most powerful rulers in western Europe. Fergus profited from the marriage pact as well, since it bound Galloway more tightly to the Isles, a neighbouring realm from which Galloway had been invaded during the time of Magnús' overlordship. The union also ensured Fergus the protection of one of Britain's most formidable fleets, and gave him a valuable ally then outwith the orbit of the Scottish king.

Óláfr's dealings with the abbey of St Mary of Furness—a religious house founded by the Lord of Lancaster, Stephen of Blois (died 1154) — could be evidence that Óláfr and Stephen enjoyed amiable relations in the first third of the twelfth century, and may indicate that Óláfr supported Stephen as King of England after 1135. At about this time, David 1 appears to have consolidated his overlordship of Argyll, a region located on the western periphery of the Scottish realm. By about 1140, not only had Óláfr and Fergus bound themselves together, but Somairle mac Gilla Brigte, Lord of Argyll (died 1164) married one of Óláfr's illegitimate daughters. Although the name of this woman is not recorded by the Chronicle of Mann, she is identified as Ragnhildr by the thirteenth-century Orkneyinga saga. The marital binding of Óláfr with 2 of David 1's dependants — Fergus and Somairle — roughly coincided with the Scottish king's endeavour to establish control of Cumbria in the 1130s and 1140s. During this period, David's authority extended southwards along the Cumbrian coast through Copeland, Furness, into Stephen's former honour of Lancaster, thereby making him a principal power in the northern Irish Sea region. The martial alliances concerning Óláfr, therefore, may have formed part of a Scottish strategy to not only isolate him from an English alliance, but to project Scottish authority into the Irish Sea, and draw Óláfr into David 1's sphere of influence.

Besides his wife Affraic, the chronicle states that Óláfr had many concubines by whom he had several daughters and three sons: Ragnvaldr (fl. 1164), Logmaðr, and Haraldr. The B-text of the thirteenth-century Fagrskinna records that Óláfr married Ingibjørg, daughter of Hákon Pálsson, Earl of Orkney (died c.1126). Whilst Ingibjørg is not referred to by the chronicle, she is certainly linked to Óláfr by Orkneyinga saga, although this source also incorrectly states — in a passage concerning Guðrøðr's son and successor, Ragnvaldr (died 1229) — that Ingibjørg was Guðrøðr's mother. As a consequence of this error, there is reason to suspect that the saga has conflated Guðrøðr's son with Somairle's like-named son, Ragnall (died 1191/1192–c.1210/1227). The saga's confused entry, therefore, may be evidence that Ingibjørg was the mother of Óláfr's daughter, Ragnhildr. The terminology employed by the sources documenting Affraic and Ingibjørg reveal that the latter's relationship with Óláfr came to be viewed differently in Orkney than the Isles. Although Orkneyinga saga acknowledges that the union between Ingibj?rg's own parents was not a canonical marriage either, the coupling formed the basis for her family's claim to the earldom. Whatever the case, Óláfr's union with Ingibjørg likely predates his marriage to Affraic. Accordingly, Óláfr appears to have turned from an alliance with Ingibjørg's brother and Norwegian dependant, Páll Hákonarson, Earl of Orkney (died 1137), to establish an alliance with Fergus, who was then a rising power in the Irish Sea region. The end result of this shift may be alluded to by the chronicle which states that Óláfr held peaceful alliances with Irish and Scottish kings so that none - dared disturbed - the Kingdom of the Isles.

Whilst at the English royal court, Óláfr could well have met members of the Scottish monarchy. For example, Henry 1's wife was Matilda (died 1118), whose royal brothers, Alexander 1 and the future David 1, King of Scotland (died 1153), both resided in England before the onset of their reigns (the brothers respectively reigned in 1102–1124 and 1124–1153). Óláfr would have certainly been exposed to Henry 1's efforts to reform the English Church. Both Matilda and her husband were renowned patrons of religious orders, the Augustinians in particular. Although Óláfr's stay at Henry's court predated the arrival of the Savignac and Cisterian orders in England, Óláfr's experiences in England clearly influenced his decision to introduce reformed monastic orders into his own realm. In fact, the ecclesiastical actions of Óláfr's Scottish contemporaries—David I, and his predecessing Alexander 1 — were similarly influenced by their time spent in England. Óláfr's interest in religious reform is alluded to by the Chronicle of Mann, which declares:

He was devout and enthusiastic in matters of religion and was welcome both to God and men.

The ecclesiastical jurisdiction within Óláfr's kingdom was the Diocese of the Isles. Little is known of its early history, although its origins may well lie with the Uí Ímair imperium. Ecclesiastical interconnection between the Isles and Dublin seems to have been severed during a period of Irish overlordship of Dublin, at about the beginning of Guðrøðr Crovan's reign in the Isles. By the time of Óláfr's reign, the diocese appears to have encompassed the islands that had formerly been claimed by Magnús, and may well have included territory in western Galloway. In a letter that appears to date to about 1113, at about start of his reign, Óláfr presented an unnamed bishop for consecration to an Archbishop of York. Although the letter identifies the bishop with the initial - G - which potentially could represent Gerald (died 1108), whose tenure dates to 1100–1108, the fact that Óláfr's reign appears to have commenced several years later suggests that the initial is erroneous, and that the initial - T - was intended, perhaps in reference to either archbishop Thomas (died 1114), or the Thomas' successor, Thurstan (died 1140). No consecration is recorded in English sources, and Óláfr's candidate is not recorded in the chronicle.

In about 1134, the chronicle reveals that Óláfr founded the abbey of St Mary of Rushen on Mann by granting Ivo, Abbot of Furness land to establish the house. As a Savignac daughter house of the nearby abbey of St Mary of Furness—a religious house seated just across the Irish Sea in Lancashire — the abbey of Rushen was the first reformed house in the Isles, and its foundation partly evidences the importance of links between Mann and northern England. The abbey's foundation charter reveals that Óláfr granted the monks of Furness the right to elect the Bishop of the Isles, a provision that further emphasised Óláfr's royal prerogative. The charter implies that episcopal authority within his realm had fallen to outsiders, and expresses the king's desire that the Isles be administered by its own bishop. This could be evidence that the former diocesan bishop, Hamond, died several years previous, and that a period of vacancy ensued in which neighbouring bishops took up the slack. The reestablishment of the Diocese of Whithorn in 1128, may have been undertaken in this context, and may also signal the loss of western Galloway from the Kingdom of the Isles.

In a letter that probably dates not long after his foundation, Óláfr wrote to Thurstan, and confirmed the candidate elected by the monks of Furness. Hamond's successor appears to have been the shadowy Wimund, Bishop of the Isles (fl. c.1130–c.1150). According to the twelfth-century Historia rerum Anglicarum, Wimund began his ecclesiastical career at Furness before removing to Rushen. Although a twelfth-century chronicle of the ecclesiastical history of York states that Wimund professed obedience to Thomas, this archbishop's early tenure (1109–1114) suggests he has been confused with Thurstan. The fact that this source identifies Wimund's see as sancta ecclesia de Schith ("the holy Church of Skye") seems to be evidence that the diocesan seat had not yet been permanently centred on Mann, and that Wimund was seated at the site of the later mediaeval Snizort Cathedral. As a monk of Furness, Wimund may have originally relocated to Mann in the context of Óláfr's foundation of Rushen. He appears to have been the first Bishop of the Isles elected by the monks of Furness, and seems to have been consecrated by Thurstan. Wimund appears to have used his elevated position to violently seek the inheritance of an Earl of Moray in the late 1140s. Wimund's warring against the Scots eventually forced David 1 to cede him lands near Furness before his capture and mutilation in 1152. It is likely that Wimund's campaigning led to the abandonment of his diocesan see, and that his actions posed a serious threat to Óláfr's authority.

The fact that Wimund is not listed amongst other diocesan bishops by the Chronicle of Mann could be evidence that Óláfr eventually came to repudiate him. A letter from Óláfr to the chapter of York suggests that the king unsuccessfully attempted to have a replacement, a certain Nicholas (fl. 1147-1152), consecrated by Robert de Ghent, Dean of York (died c.1158). The fact that Óláfr interacted with the dean suggests that the correspondence dates between the 1147 deposition of William fitz Herbert, Archbishop of York (died 1154) and the 1152 consecration of Henry Murdac, Archbishop of York (died 1153). Óláfr's inability to have his man consecrated may have been due to the Wimund episode being unresolved at the time. According to Robert de Torigni's Chronica and the thirteenth-century Flores historiarum, Henry Murdac consecrated John (fl. 1152), a Benedictine monk from Normandy, as Bishop of the Isles in 1152. The fact that the Chronicle of Mann fails to record John's name amongst other diocesan bishops appears to indicate that he was an unacceptable candidate to Óláfr and the Islesmen, and that John never occupied his see.

By way of his ecclesiastical actions, Óláfr firmly established the Diocese of the Isles to correspond to the territorial borders of his kingdom, and seems to have initiated the transfer the ecclesiastical obedience of the Isles from the Archdiocese of Canterbury to Archdiocese of York. Such changes may have been orchestrated as a means to further distance his diocese from that of Dublin, where diocesan bishops were consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1152, steps were undertaken by the papacy to elevate the Diocese of Dublin to an archdiocese. Dublin's political and economic ties with the Isles could have meant that the Bishop of the Isles was now in danger of becoming subordinate to the Archbishop of Dublin. For Óláfr, such an event would have threatened to undermine both his ecclesiastical authority and secular power within his own realm. As a result of Óláfr's inability to have Nicholas formally consecrated, and his refusal to accept John as bishop, the episcopal see of the Isles appears to have been vacant at the same time of Dublin's ecclesiastical ascendancy. In consequence, without a consecrated bishop of its own, Óláfr's diocese seems to have been in jeopardy of falling under Dublin's increasing authority. Moreover, in 1152, David 1 attempted to have the dioceses of Orkney and the Isles included within the prospective Scottish Archdiocese of St Andrews.

It may have been in the context of this ecclesiastical crisis in the Isles that Guðrøðr undertook his journey to Norway in 1152. Guðrøðr's overseas objective, therefore, may have been to secure the patronage of a Scandinavian metropolitan willing to protect the Diocese of the Isles. Certainly, Guðrøðr's stay in Norway coincided with the Scandinavian visit of the papal legate Nicholas Breakspeare, Cardinal-Bishop of Albano (died 1159), a man who had been tasked to create Norwegian and Swedish ecclesiastical provinces in order to further extend the papacy's authority into the northern European periphery. Eventually the newly created Norwegian province—the Archdiocese of Niðaróss—encompassed eleven dioceses within and outwith mainland Norway. One such overseas diocese was that of the Isles, officially incorporated within the province in November 1154. Although Óláfr did not live long enough to witness the latter formality, it is evident that the remarkable overseas statecraft undertaken by Óláfr and Guðrøðr secured their kingdom's ecclesiastical and secular independence from nearby Dublin. The establishment of the Norwegian archdiocese bound outlying Norse territories closer to Norwegian royal power. In effect, the political reality of the Diocese of the Isles — its territorial borders and nominal subjection to far-off Norway — appears to have mirrored that of the Kingdom of the Isles.

In some respects, Óláfr's kingship may be comparable to that of David 1, who has come to regarded by modern historiography as a significant moderniser of the Scottish realm. have introduced modern forms of feudalism into his realm, and to have developed manorialism on Mann. He seems to have introduced the parochial system into the Isles; and like David 1, Óláfr transformed the church within his realm, creating a territorially defined diocese. His establishment of a more modern territorial kingship, which came to be associated with its demesne on Mann, may have led to the alienation of outlying areas. Although climatic conditions in the Isles improved in the eleventh century, and agricultural production appears to have increased as a result, there appears to have been a decrease in manufacturing by the twelfth century. Evidence of an eleventh-century mint on Mann exists prior to Guðrøðr Crovan's rule, but there is no evidence of one during Óláfr's reign, and no coins bearing the names of any of the members of his dynasty have been found.

The acclamation or election of a king was an important component of kingship in northern mediaeval Europe. There are several examples of the role played by chieftains in the kingship of the Isles during Óláfr's floruit. For instance, the leading men of the realm are recorded to have brokered the deal to have Muirchertach provide a regent until Óláfr was old enough to reign, whilst disaffected chieftains are reported to have brought about the dramatic end of Ingimundr's regency, and chieftains are said to have accompanied Óláfr from England to begin his reign. Even in the immediate aftermath of Óláfr's demise, the Chronicle of Mann reveals that the chieftains of the Isles (principes insularum) gathered together and unanimously elected Guðrøðr as king.

There is surviving evidence of only twenty royal charters dating from the reign of the Crovan dynasty. Of these, only one dates to the reign of Óláfr. Óláfr styled himself rex insularum, a Latin equivalent of a Gaelic title first accorded to his 10th century predecessor, Guðrøðr Haraldsson, King of the Isles (died 989). Surviving sources indicate that Óláfr was the first of several kings from his dynasty to claim to rule dei gratia (by the grace of God). The use of this formula was common amongst contemporary European monarchs but its use by the kings of the Isles, like the kings of Scotland, appears to have been adopted in imitation of the charters issued by the Angevin kings of England. Like the Scots, Óláfr and his successors appear to have adopted the formula to emphasise their sovereign right to kingship, to take their place amongst the leading monarchs of their time. Óláfr's use of the formula exemplifies the fact that — in comparison to his royal predecessors in the Isles — he was a new kind of ruler and the real founder of later Manx kingship. The fact that Óláfr was brought up at the English royal court could suggest that he, like David 1, was knighted by the English king. Certainly, several of Óláfr's thirteenth-century royal successors were knighted by their English counterpart.

Óláfr appears to have been an energetic king who consolidated his rule in the northern portion of the Isles by way of military force. There is reason to suspect that this region had fallen under Orcadian influence before being reclaimed by the Islesmen under Óláfr. According to Hebridean tradition preserved by the seventeenth-century Sleat History, he was aided by Somairle in military operations (otherwise unrecorded in contemporary sources) against the ancient Danes north of Ardnamurchan. Together with its claim that Óláfr also campaigned on North Uist, this source may be evidence that the bitter struggle between Guðrøðr and Somairle (fought after Óláfr's demise) took place in the context of Somairle taking back territories that he had originally helped secure into Óláfr's kingdom. Somairle first emerges into the historical record in the 1130s supporting an unsuccessful rival branch of the Scottish royal family against David 1. By about the time of Somairle's marriage to Óláfr's daughter, David 1 seems to have successfully imposed his authority over Argyll. As a result of this apparent overlorship, Somairle may have been encouraged to redirect his energies from Scotland into the Isles.

There is reason to suspect that the Kingdom of the Isles lost control of territories in Galloway during Óláfr's floruit. Earlier in the mid eleventh century, the Rhinns of Galloway may have been ruled by Guðrøðr Crovan's predecessor, Echmarcach. By the last years of the century, the region was ruled by Mac Congail, King of the Rhinns (died 1094), who may have been a descendant of Guðrøðr Crovan's immediate predecessor, Fingal mac Gofraid. Whether Mac Congail ruled independently or subordinate to Guðrøðr Crovan is unknown. The installation of Gilla Aldan (died 1151-1154) as Bishop of Whithorn, in the third decade of the twelfth century, may mark the date when the Rhinns finally separated from the Kingdom of the Isles. Although support from the rulers of Galloway and Scotland may well have strengthened Óláfr's position in the Isles, and the chronicle portrays his reign as one of peacefulness, other sources vaguely recount the mainland depredations wrought by Wimund. The latter's warring against the Scots suggests that Óláfr may have struggled to maintain control of his far-flung kingdom.

It is uncertain how the Diocese of the Isles was organised during Óláfr's reign. There may well have been several regional centres where diocesan bishops, accompanied by retinues of clerics and warriors, would have visited each successive region, living off the rendered tithes. In time however, the ecclesiastical endowments on Mann, commenced by Óláfr and further developed by his successors, would have reduced the need for such peripatetic diocesan bishops. As the kings of the Isles became more identified with their seat on Mann, so too were the bishops of the Isles, which may have resulted in the alienation of outlying areas.

The now-ruinous ecclesiastical site of Cille Donnain, near Loch Kildonan on South Uist, could well have been a bishop's seat and twelfth-century power-centre in the Isles. Its precise place in the organisation of the Isles is uncertain. Certainly, L?gmaðr is associated with the Uists by a particular verse of poetry, attributed to the contemporary skald Gísl Illugason, preserved by the early thirteenth-century Morkinskinna. This contemporary composition could be evidence of a connection between him, or an associated bishop, with the Uist chain of islands. It is possible that, at a later date, the Cille Donnain site could have formed a residence for the peripatetic diocesan bishops of the Isles during their periodic visitations in the Uists.

The year 1153 was a watershed in the history of the Kingdom of the Isles. Not only did David 1 die late in May, but Óláfr himself was assassinated about a month later on 29 June, whilst Guðrøðr was still absent in Norway. According to the Chronicle of Mann, Óláfr had been confronted by three Dublin-based nephews—the Haraldssonar—the sons of his exiled brother, Haraldr. After hearing the demands of these men — that half of the kingdom should be handed over to them — a formal council was convened in which one of the Haraldssonar — a man named Ragnvaldr — approached Óláfr, raised his axe as if to salute the king, and decapitated him in a single stroke. In the resulting aftermath, the chronicle relates that the Haraldssonar partitioned the island amongst themselves. Whether the men attained any form of authority in the rest of the Isles is unknown. Once in control of Mann, the chronicle reveals that the men fortified themselves against forces loyal to Guðrøðr, the kingdom's legitimate heir, by launching a preemptive strike against his maternal grandfather, Fergus. Although the invasion of Galloway was repulsed with heavy casualties, once the Haraldssonar returned to Mann the chronicle records that they slaughtered and expelled all resident Gallovidians that they could find. This ruthless reaction evidently reveals an attempt to uproot local factions adhering to Guðrøðr and his mother.

Within months of his father's assassination, Guðrøðr executed his vengeance. According to the chronicle, he journeyed from Norway to Orkney, enstrengthened by Norwegian military support, and was unanimously acclaimed as king by the leading Islesmen. He is then stated to have continued on to Mann where he overcame his three kin-slaying cousins, putting one to death whilst blinding the other two, and successfully secured the kingship for himself. Guðrøðr's reliance upon Norwegian assistance, instead of support from his maternal-grandfather, could suggest that the attack upon Galloway was more successful than the compiler of the chronicle cared to admit. Additionally, the account of incessant inter-dynastic strife amongst the ruling family of Galloway, recorded in the twelfth-century Vita Ailredi, suggests that Fergus may have struggled to maintain control of his lordship by the mid 1150s, and may also explain his failure to come to Guðrøðr's aid following Óláfr's death.

The fact that Óláfr sent Guðrøðr to Norway in 1152 could suggest there had been anxiety over the succession of the Kingdom of the Isles, and that Guðrøðr rendered homage to Ingi Haraldsson, King of Norway (died 1161) in an effort secure assistance in safeguarding the kingship. The chronicle's account of Guðrøðr's return from Norway notes that he arrived with a fleet of five ships, which could indicate that overseas support was indeed obtained. The earlier episode of conflict between Óláfr's elder brothers, his own slaying at the hands of his nephews, and the later internecine struggles endured by his descendants, reveal that competition for the kingship of the Isles was incredibly competitive and exceptionally violent. The turn to Ingi occurred at about the same time that Norwegian encroachment superseded roughly thirty years of Scottish influence in Orkney and Caithness,[280] and could be evidence of a perceived wane in Scottish royal authority in the first years of the 1150s. In November 1153, following the death of David 1, Somairle seized the initiative and rose in revolt against the recently inaugurated Malcolm 4, King of Scotland (died 1165). The dynastic challenges faced by Malcolm, and the ebb of Scottish influence in the Isles, may partly account for Guðrøðr's success in consolidating control of the kingdom, and may be perceptible in the seemingly more aggressive policy he pursued as king in comparison to his father.

Through Guðrøðr, Óláfr was the patrilineal-ancestor of later rulers of the Crovan dynasty, a kindred whose tenure of power in the Isles lasted until the second half of the thirteenth century. Through Ragnhildr, Óláfr was an important ancestor of the rulers of Clann Somairle, the descendants of Ragnhildr's husband Somairle. Whilst the union certainly testifies to Somairle's esteemed status, the key to his successful career may well have been the marriage itself. In fact, the chronicle and Orkneyinga saga reveal that the early rulers of Clann Somairle owed their claim to the kingship of the Isles by right of their genealogical link to Óláfr through Ragnhildr.

Although the burial place of Óláfr is unrecorded and unknown, by the second quarter of the thirteenth century St Mary of Rushen appears to have filled the role of royal mausoleum for the Crovan dynasty. Guðrøðr was himself buried on Iona, an island upon which the oldest intact building is St Oran's Chapel. Certain Irish influences in this building's architecture indicate that it dates to about the mid twelfth century. The chapel could well have been erected by Óláfr or Guðrøðr. Certainly, their family's remarkable ecclesiastical activities during this period suggest that patronage of Iona is probable.

Family/Spouse: Affraic av Galloway. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Bef 1187, Dublin, Irland; Konge av Dublin og øyene mot England-Skottland (del 1).
• Occupation: Bef 1187, Dublin, Irland; Konge av Dublin og øyene mot England-Skottland (del 2).

Notes:

Occupation:
Guðrøðr Óláfsson (died 10 November 1187) was a twelfth-century ruler of the kingdoms of Dublin and the Isles. Guðrøðr was a son of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles and Affraic, daughter of Fergus, Lord of Galloway. Throughout his career, Guðrøðr battled rival claimants to the throne, permanently losing about half of his realm to a rival dynasty in the process. Although dethroned for nearly a decade, Guðrøðr clawed his way back to regain control of a partitioned kingdom, and proceeded to project power into Ireland. Although originally opposed to the English invasion of Ireland, Guðrøðr adeptly recognised the English ascendancy in the Irish Sea region and aligned himself with the English. All later kings of the Crovan dynasty descended from Guðrøðr.

In the last year of his father's reign, Guðrøðr was absent at the court of Ingi Haraldsson, King of Norway, forging closer ties with the Kingdom of Norway. When Óláfr was assassinated by rival members of the Crovan dynasty in 1153, Guðrøðr returned to the Isles, overthrew his usurping cousins, and seized the throne for himself. Guðrøðr evidently pursued a more aggressive policy than his father, and the following year appears to have lent military assistance to Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, King of Cenél nEógain in the latter's bid for the high-kingship of Ireland. Not long afterwards, Guðrøðr faced a dynastic challenge from his brother-in-law, Somairle mac Gilla Brigte, Lord of Argyll, whose son, as a grandson of Óláfr, possessed a claim to the throne. Late in 1156, Guðrøðr and Somaile fought an inconclusive sea-battle and partitioned the kingdom of the Isles between them. Two years later Somairle stuck again and forced Guðrøðr from the Isles altogether.

Guðrøðr appears to have spent his exile in the kingdoms of England and Scotland before journeying to Norway. In about 1161, Guðrøðr distinguished himself in the ongoing Norwegian civil wars at the final downfall of Ingi. Guðrøðr made his return to the Isles in 1164, in the aftermath of Somairle's defeat and death at the hands of the Scots. Although he regained the kingship itself, the territories ceded to Somairle in 1156 were retained by the latter's descendants. At some point in his career, Guðrøðr briefly held the kingship of Dublin. Although he was initially successful in fending off Muirchertach, the Dubliners eventually settled with the latter, and Guðrøðr returned to the Isles. This episode may have bearing on Guðrøðr's marriage to Findguala ingen Néill, Muirchertach's granddaughter. In 1170, Dublin fell to an Anglo-Irish alliance. The following year the ousted King of Dublin attempted to retake the town, and Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht attempted to dislodge the English from Dublin. In both cases, Guðrøðr appears to have provided military assistance against the English. In succeeding years, however, Guðrøðr aligned himself with one of the most powerful English conquerors, John de Courcy. Guðrøðr's assistance to John, who had married Guðrøðr's daughter, Affrica, may have played a critical role in John's successful conquest of the Kingdom of Ulaid. Guðrøðr died in 1187 and was succeeded by his eldest son, R?gnvaldr. Although Guðrøðr may have attempted to avert any succession disputes between his descendants, R?gnvaldr and his younger brother, Óláfr svarti, eventually fought each over the throne, and the resulting conflict carried on into later generations.

Guðrøðr was a son of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles (died 1153) and his wife Affraic ingen Fergusa. The men were members of the Crovan dynasty, a Norse-Gaelic kindred descended from Guðrøðr Crovan, King of Dublin and the Isles (died 1095). Following Guðrøðr Crovan's death in 1095, there is a period of uncertainty in the history of the Kingdom of the Isles. Although the latter's eldest son, Logmaðr, appears to have succeeded to the kingship, he was soon forced to content with factions supporting his younger brothers: Haraldr, and Óláfr. Although he successfully dealt with Haraldr, foreign powers from Ireland intruded into the Isles, and Magnús Óláfsson, King of Norway (died 1103) seized control of the kingdom. At some point, Óláfr was entrusted to the protection of Henry 1, King of England (died 1135), and spent his youth in England before his eventual restoration as King of the Isles in the second decade of the twelfth century.

The thirteenth–fourteenth-century Chronicle of Mann reveals that Guðrøðr's mother, Affraic, was a daughter of Fergus, Lord of Galloway (died 1161). Several contemporary sources concerning Fergus' descendants suggest that he was married to an illegitimate daughter of Henry I, and that this woman was the mother of at least some of his offspring, including Affraic herself. Although the union between Guðrøðr's parents is not dated in contemporary sources, it appears to have been arranged in the 1130s or 1140s. The marital alliance forged between Óláfr and Fergus gave the Crovan dynasty valuable familial-connections with the English Crown, one of the most powerful monarchies in western Europe. As for Fergus, the union bound Galloway more tightly to a neighbouring kingdom from which an invasion had been launched during the overlordsship of Magnús. The alliance with Óláfr also ensured Fergus the protection of one of Britain's most formidable fleets, and further gave him a valuable ally outwith the orbit of the Scottish Crown.

Another alliance involving Óláfr was that with Somairle mac Gilla Brigte, Lord of Argyll (died 1164). Perhaps at about 1140, during a period when the latter was an apparent dependant of David 1, King of Scotland (died 1153), Somairle married Ragnhildr, one of Óláfr's illegitimate daughters. There is reason to suspect that the alliance was an after effect of the Scottish Crown's advancing overlordship. The marriage itself had severe repercussions on the later history of the Isles, as it gave the Meic Somairle—the descendants of Somairle and Ragnhildr—a claim to the kingship through Ragnhildr's royal descent. In the words of the chronicle, the union was the cause of the collapse of the entire Kingdom of the Isles.

Although the Chronicle of Mann portrays Óláfr's reign as one of tranquillity, a more accurate evaluation of his reign may be that he adeptly managed to navigate an uncertain political climate. By the mid part of the twelfth century, however, the ageing king's realm may well have begun to buckle under the strain, as perhaps evidenced by the depredations wrought on the Scottish mainland by Óláfr's leading ecclesiast, Wimund, Bishop of the Isles (fl. c.1130–c.1150). Confirmation of Óláfr's concern over the royal succession may well be preserved by the Chronicle of Mann, which states that Guðrøðr journeyed to the court of Ingi Haraldsson, King of Norway (died 1161) in 1152, where Guðrøðr rendered homage to the Norwegian king, and seemingly secured recognition of the royal inheritance of the Isles. According to Robert's Chronica, the kings of the Isles owed the kings of Norway a tribute of ten gold marks upon the accession of a new Norwegian king. This statement could indicate that Guðrøðr rendered Ingi such a payment upon his visit to the Norwegian court in 1152.

The following year marked a watershed in the history for the Kingdom of the Isles. For not only did David die late in May, but Óláfr himself was assassinated about a month later, on 29 June, whilst Guðrøðr was still absent in Norway. According to the chronicle, Óláfr had been confronted by three Dublin-based nephews—the Haraldssonar—the sons of his exiled brother, Haraldr. After hearing the demands of these men—that half of the kingdom should be handed over to them—a formal council was convened in which one of the Haraldssonar slew Óláfr himself. In the resulting aftermath, the chronicle relates that the Haraldssonar partitioned the island amongst themselves. Once in control, the chronicle reveals that the men fortified themselves against forces loyal to Guðrøðr, the kingdom's legitimate heir, by launching a preemptive strike against his maternal grandfather, Fergus. Although the invasion of Galloway was repulsed with heavy casualties, once the Haraldssonar returned to Mann the chronicle records that they slaughtered and expelled all resident Gallovidians that they could find. This ruthless reaction evidently reveals an attempt to uproot local factions adhering to Guðrøðr and his mother. Whatever the case, within months of his father's assassination, Guðrøðr executed his vengeance. According to the chronicle, he journeyed from Norway to Orkney, enstrengthened by Norwegian military support, and was unanimously acclaimed as king by the leading Islesmen. He is then stated to have continued on to Mann where he overcame his three kin-slaying cousins, putting one to death whilst blinding the other 2, and successfully secured the kingship for himself. Whether Guðrøðr succeeded to the throne in 1153 or 1154 is uncertain. The chronicle itself states that he overcame the Haraldssonar in the autumn following their coup.

Guðrøðr's reliance upon Norwegian assistance, instead of support from his maternal-grandfather, could suggest that the attack upon Galloway was more successful than the compiler of the chronicle cared to admit. Additionally, the account of incessant inter-dynastic strife amongst the ruling family of Galloway, as recorded by the twelfth-century Vita Ailredi, suggests that Fergus may have struggled to maintain control of his lordship by the mid 1150s, and may also explain his failure to come to Guðrøðr's aid following Óláfr's death. Óláfr and Guðrøðr's turn to Ingi occurred at about the same time that Norwegian encroachment superseded roughly thirty years of Scottish influence in Orkney and Caithness, and could be evidence of a perceived wane in Scottish royal authority in the first years of the 1150s. In November 1153, following the death of David, Somairle seized the initiative and rose in revolt against the recently inaugurated Malcolm 4, King of Scotland (died 1165). The dynastic-challenges faced by Malcolm, and the ebb of Scottish influence in the Isles, may partly account for Guðrøðr's success in consolidating control of the kingdom, and may be perceptible in the seemingly more aggressive policy he pursued as king in comparison to his father.

Midway through the twelfth-century, Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, King of Cenél nEógain (died 1166) pressed forth to claim to the high-kingship of Ireland, an office then held by the elderly Toirrdelbach Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht (died 1156). In 1154, the forces of Toirrdelbach and Muirchertach met in a major conflict fought off the Inishowen coast, in what was perhaps one of the greatest naval battles of the twelfth century. According to the seventeenth-century Annals of the Four Masters, Muirchertach's maritime forces were mercenaries drawn from Galloway, Arran, Kintyre, Mann, and the territories of Scotland. This record appears to be evidence that Guðrøðr, Fergus, and perhaps Somairle, provided ships to Muirchertach's cause. Although Toirrdelbach's forces obtained a narrow victory, his northern maritime power seems to have been virtually nullified by the severity of the contest, and Muirchertach soon after marched on Dublin, gained overlordship over the Dubliners, and effectively secured himself the high-kingship of Ireland for himself.

The defeat of forces drawn from the Isles, and Muirchertach's subsequent spread of power into Dublin, may have had severe repercussions concerning Guðrøðr's career. In 1155 or 1156, the Chronicle of Mann reveals that Somairle precipitated a coup against Guðrøðr, specifying that Þorfinnr Óttarsson, one of the leading men of the Isles, produced Somairle's son, Dubgall, as a replacement to Guðrøðr's rule. Somairle's stratagem does not appear to have received unanimous support, however, as the chronicle specifies that the leading Islesmen were made to render pledges and surrender hostages unto him.

Late in 1156, on the night of 5-6 January, Somairle and Guðrøðr finally clashed in a bloody but inconclusive sea-battle. According to the chronicle, Somairle's fleet numbered eighty ships, and when the fighting concluded, the men divided the Kingdom of the Isles between themselves. Although the precise partitioning is unrecorded and uncertain, the allotment of lands seemingly held by Somairle's descendants in the twelfth- and thirteenth centuries could be evidence that he and his son gained the southern-most islands of the Hebrides, whilst Guðrøðr retained the northern-most. Two years later the chronicle reveals that Somairle, with a fleet of fifty-three ships, attacked Mann and drove Guðrøðr from the kingship and into exile. According to the thirteenth-century Orkneyinga saga, the contemporary Orcadian warlord Sveinn Ásleifarson (died 1171?) had connections in the Isles, and overcame Somairle in battle at some point in the twelfth century. Although this source's account of Sveinn and Somairle is clearly somewhat garbled, it could be evidence that Sveinn aided Guðrøðr in his struggle against Somairle. Although the young Dubgall may well have been the nominal King of the Isles following Guðrøðr's final defeat, the chronicle makes it clear that it was Somairle who possessed the real power, and certain Irish source regarded Somairle as king by the end of his career. Why Somairle's son was selected in his place is uncertain; it may have been because Somairle himself was somehow an unacceptable candidate to the Islesmen, and that Ragnhildr's ancestry lent credibility to Dubgall that Somairle lacked himself.

Contemporaneous sources reveal that, upon his expulsion, Guðrøðr attempted to garner royal support in England and Scotland. For example, the English Pipe rolls record that, in 1158, the sheriffs of Worcester and Gloucester received allowances for payments made to Guðrøðr for arms and equipment. Guðrøðr may have arrived in England by way of Wales. The English Crown's recent use of naval forces off the Gwynedd coast, as well as Guðrøðr's own familial links with the king himself, may account for the Guðrøðr's attempts to secure English assistance. Whatever the case, Guðrøðr was unable to gain Henry 2's help, and the latter proceeded to busy himself in Normandy. Guðrøðr next appears on record in Scotland, the following year, when he witnessed a charter of Malcolm to Kelso Abbey. The fact that the Scottish Crown had faced opposition from Somairle in 1153 could suggest that Malcolm was sympathetic to Guðrøðr's plight. Although the latter was certainly honourably treated by the Scots, as revealed by his prominent place amongst the charter's other witnesses, he was evidently unable to secure military support against Somairle.

It is uncertain why Guðrøðr did not turn to his grandfather, Fergus, for aid. One possibility is that the defeat of the Gallovidian fleet in 1154 severely weakened the latter's position in Galloway. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that Galloway endured a bitter power struggle later that decade. According to the twelfth–thirteenth-century Chronicle of Holyrood, Malcolm overcame certain - confederate enemies - in Galloway in 1160. Although the exact identities of these opponents are unknown, it is possible that this source documents a Scottish victory over an alliance between Somairle and Fergus. Before the end of the year, Fergus retired to Holyrood Abbey, and Somairle came into the king's peace. Although the concordat between the Scottish Crown and Somairle may have taken place after the Malcolm's subjugation of Somairle and Fergus, an alternate possibility is that the agreement was concluded in the context of Somairle having aided the Scots in their overthrow of Fergus. Somairle's deal with Scottish Crown may also have been undertaken not only in an effort to ensure that his own authority in the Isles was recognised by Malcolm, but to limit any chance of Guðrøðr receiving future royal support from the Scots.

Having failed to secure substantial support in England and Scotland, Guðrøðr appears to have turned to Ingi, his nominal Norwegian overlord. In late 1160 or early 1161, Guðrøðr distinguished himself in the ongoing civil war in the Norwegian realm, as evidenced by Hákonar saga herðibreiðs within the thirteenth-century saga-compilation Heimskringla. The fact that the Icelandic Annals allege that Guðrøðr assumed the kingship of the Isles in 1160 could be evidence that, whilst in Norway, Ingi formally recognised Guðrøðr as king in a public ceremony. There is reason to suspect that Guðrøðr's support of Ingi may have been undertaken in the context of fulfilling military obligations as a vassal. Be that as it may, Hákonar saga herðibreiðs reveals that Guðrøðr played an important part in Ingi's final downfall in battle at Oslo in 1161. Up until 1155, Ingi had shared the kingship with his brothers Sigurðr (died 1155) and Eysteinn (died 1157). With both of these brothers dead by 1157, Ingi was forced to contend with Hákon Sigurðarson (died 1162), who had been elected to the kingship within the year. In regard to Guðrøðr himself, the saga relates that during this final battle against Hákon, Guðrøðr, at the head of fifteen-hundred men, went over to Hákon's side. Guðrøðr's decision to abandon his embattled overlord tipped the scales in favour of Hákon, and directly contributed to Ingi's defeat and death. The young Magnús Erlingsson (died 1184) was elected king after Ingi's death, and following the fall of Hákon, was crowned king in 1163-1164. It is likely that Guðrøðr was present at Magnús Erlingsson's coronation, and possible that Guðrøðr rendered homage to him as well.

Somairle was slain in an unsuccessful invasion of mainland Scotland in 1164. The declaration in the fifteenth–sixteenth-century Annals of Ulster, of Somairle's forces being drawn from Argyll, Kintyre, Dublin, and the Isles, reveals the climax of Somairle's authority and further confirms his usurpation of power from Guðrøðr. Despite the record preserved by the Icelandic Annals—that Guðrøðr regained the kingship of the Isles in 1160—it appears that Guðrøðr made his actual return to the region after Somairle's fall. Although it is possible that Dubgall was able to secure power following his father's demise, it is evident from the Chronicle of Mann that the kingship was seized by Guðrøðr's brother, R?gnvaldr (fl. 1164), before the end of the year. Almost immediately afterwards, Guðrøðr is said by the same source to have arrived on Mann, ruthlessly overpowered his brother, and regained the kingship once and for all. Upon Guðrøðr's reestablishment in the Isles, the realm was partitioned between two closely related rival kindreds: the Meic Somairle and Crovan dynasty.

In an entry dated 1172, the chronicle states that Mann was invaded by a certain Ragnall mac Echmarcacha, a man who slaughtered a force of Manx coast-watchers before being slain himself in a later engagement on the island. Although the chronicle claims that Ragnall was of - royal stock - his identity is otherwise uncertain. One possibility is that this man's final adventure was somehow related to the dramatic fall of Norse-Gaelic Dublin in the preceding years. He could have possessed a connection with the former rulers of the town, as a distant relative of Echmarcach mac Ragnaill, King of Dublin and the Isles (died 1064-1065). Another possibility is that the attack was somehow related to events in northern Ireland, where the Meic Lochlainn lost hold of the Cenél nEógan kingship to Áed Méith. In fact, it is possible that the invader himself was a member of the Uí Catháin, a branch of the Uí Néill who were opponents of John de Courcy (died c. 1219), Guðrøðr's English ally and son-in-law.

Occupation:
For a brief duration of his career, Guðrøðr appears to have possessed the kingship of Dublin. The chronology of his rule is unclear, however, as surviving sources concerning this episode are somewhat contradictory. According to the Chronicle of Mann, the Dubliners invited Guðrøðr to rule over them as king in the third year of his reign in the Isles. If correct, such an arrangement would have almost certainly provoked Muirchertach, the Dubliners' Irish overlord. In fact, the chronicle reveals that Muirchertach indeed took exception to such overtures, and marched on Dublin with a massive host before forming up at Cortcelis. Whilst in control of Dublin, Guðrøðr and the defending Dubliners are stated to have repulsed a force of 3.000 horsemen under the command of a certain Osiblen. After the latter's fall, Muirchertach and his remaining host retired from the region.

The chronicle's version of events appears to be corroborated by the Annals of Ulster. Unlike the previous source, however, this one dates the episode to 1162. Specifically, Muirchertach's forces are recorded to have devastated the Ostman lands of - Magh Fitharta - before his host of horsemen were repulsed. Despite the difference in their chronologies, both accounts refer to similar military campaigns, and the uncertain place names of - Cortcelis - and - Magh Fitharta - may well refer to nearby locations roughly in the Boyne Valley. Another source documenting the conflict is the Annals of the Four Masters. According this account preserved by this source, after Muirchertach's setback at Dublin and subsequent withdrawal in 1162, he left the forces of Leinster and Mide to campaign against the Dubliners. In time, the source states that a peace was concluded between the Irish and the Dubliners in which the latter rendered a tribute of one hundred forty ounces of gold to Muirchertach. The payment reveals that the Dubliners recognised Muirchertach as their overlord, which in turn suggests that the price for peace was Guðrøðr's removal from the kingship.

In the winter of 1176-1177, the chronicle reveals that Guðrøðr was formally married to Muirchertach's granddaughter, Findguala Nic Lochlainn, in a ceremony conducted under the auspices of the visiting papal legate, Vivian, Cardinal priest of St Stephen in Celio Monte. The precise date when Guðrøðr and Findguala commenced their liaison is unknown, and the two could have been a couple for some time before their formal marriage. It is possible that the union was originally brokered as a compromise on Muirchertach's part, as a means to placate Guðrøðr for withdrawing from Dublin. The demonstrable unreliability of the chronicle's chronology, and the apparent corroboration of events by the Annals of the Four Masters and the Annals of Ulster, suggests that the Guðrøðr's adventure in Dublin date to about 1162. Such a date, however, appears to contradict the fact that Guðrøðr seems to have endured Norwegian exile in 1160-1161, and apparently only returned to the Isles in 1164. If the chronicle's date is indeed correct, Guðrøðr's inability to incorporate Dublin into the Kingdom of the Isles could well have contributed to his loss of status to Somairle.

There may be reason to suspect that Guðrøðr's defeat to Somairle was partly enabled by an alliance between Muirchertach and Somairle. For example, Argyllmen formed part of the mercenary fleet utilised by Muirchertach in 1154, and it is possible that the commander of the fleet, a certain Mac Scelling (fl. 1154–1173/1174), was a relation of Somairle himself. If Muirchertach and Somairle were indeed allied at this point in time it may have meant that Guðrøðr faced a united front of opposition. If correct, it could also be possible that Þorfinnr participated in Somairle's insurrection as an agent of Muirchertach. On the other hand, the fact that Somairle and Muirchertach jostled over ecclesiastical affairs in the 1160s suggests that these two were in fact rivals. Furthermore, the fact that Þorfinnr may have been related to a previous King of Dublin could reveal that Þorfinnr himself was opposed to Muirchertach's foreign overlordship. If Guðrøðr's difficulties in Dublin indeed date to a period just before Somairle's coup, the cooperation of men like Þorfinnr could be evidence that Dubgall, on account of his maternal ancestry and powerful father, was advanced as a potential candidate to the united kingship of Dublin and the Isles.

Later in his reign, Guðrøðr again involved himself in the affairs of Dublin. In 1166, the slaying of Muirchertach meant that 2 men made bids for the high-kingship of Ireland: Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht (died 1198) and Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster (died 1171). The latter had possessed the overlordship of Dublin since Muirchertach's actions there in 1162. Within the same year as Muirchertach's fall, however, Diarmait was overcome by Ruaidrí and his allies, and forced him from Ireland altogether. Although Ruaidrí thereupon gained the high-kingship for himself, Diarmait made his return the following year enstrengthened with English mercenaries, and reclaimed the core of his lands. In 1170 even more English troops flocked to Diarmait's cause, including Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke (died 1176), who successfully stormed the Norse-Gaelic enclave of Waterford. Richard soon after married Diarmait's daughter, Aífe, and effectively became heir to kingship of Leinster and the overlordship of Dublin. Later that year, the combined forces of Diarmait and Richard marched on Dublin, and drove out the reigning Ascall mac Ragnaill, King of Dublin (died 1171).

According to the twelfth-century Expugnatio Hibernica, Ascall and many of the Dubliners managed to escape by fleeing to the northern islands. On one hand, this term could well refer to Orkney. On the other hand, it is also possible that the term refers to the Hebrides or Mann. If so, this source would appear to be evidence that the Dubliners had retained close links with the Isles. Whatever the case, within weeks of Diarmait's death early in May 1171, Ascall made his return to Dublin. The account of events recorded by Expugnatio Hibernica and the twelfth–thirteenth-century La Geste des Engleis en Yrlande indicate that Ascall's forces consisted of heavily armoured Islesmen and Norwegians. The invasion itself was an utter failure, however, and Ascall himself was captured and executed. Amongst the slain appears to have been Sveinn himself, Guðrøðr's apparent ally in arms.

The successive deaths of Diarmait and Ascall left a power vacuum in Dublin that others sought to fill. Almost immediately after Ascall's fall, for example, Ruaidrí had the English-controlled town besieged. Expugnatio Hibernica records that he and Lorcán Ua Tuathail, Archbishop of Dublin (died 1180) sent for Guðrøðr, and others in the Isles, asking them to blockade Dublin by sea. Whilst it is possible that Guðrøðr may have been enticed to assist the Irish through the promise of financial compensation, and perhaps the possession of any vessel his fleet captured in the operation, there is reason to suspect that the Islesmen were disquieted by prospect of permanent English authority in the region. Certainly, Expugnatio Hibernica states that:

The threat of English domination, inspired by the successes of the English, made the men of the Isles act all the more quickly, and with the wind in the north-west they immediately sailed about thirty ships full of warriors into the harbour of the Liffey.

Although the operation was one of the greatest military mobilisations that the Irish mustered in the twelfth century, the blockade was ultimately a failure, and Dublin remained firmly in the hands of the English. Ascall was the last Norse-Gaelic King of Dublin; and before the end of the year, Clare relinquished possession of Dublin to his own liege lord, Henry 2, who converted it into an English royal town.

With Dublin's defeat at the hands of English adventurers, and the ongoing entrenchment of the English throughout Ireland itself, the Crovan dynasty found itself surrounded by a threatening, rising new power in the Irish Sea zone. Despite his original opposition to the English in Dublin, Guðrøðr did not take long to realign himself with this new power, as exemplified though the marital alliance between his daughter, Affrica (died 1219-), and one of the most powerful incoming Englishmen, John de Courcy.

In 1177, John led an invasion of Ulaid (an area roughly encompassing what is today County Antrim and County Down). He reached Down (modern day Downpatrick), drove off Ruaidrí Mac Duinn Sléibe, King of Ulaid (died 1201), consolidated his conquest, and ruled with a certain amount of independence for about a quarter of a century. Although the precise date of the marriage between John and Affrica is unknown, the union itself may well have attributed to his stunning successes in Ireland. Certainly, decades later in the reign of Guðrøðr's son and successor, R?gnvaldr (died 1229), John received significant military support from the Crovan dynasty, and it is not improbable that Guðrøðr himself supplied similar assistance. In the 1190s, John also received military assistance from Guðrøðr's kinsman Donnchad mac Gilla Brigte, Earl of Carrick (died 1250). Like Guðrøðr, Donnchad was a grandson of Fergus, and it possible that John's marriage to Affrica accounts for Donnchad's cooperation with him.

Although the promise of maritime military support could well have motivated John to align himself with Guðrøðr, there may have been a more significant aspect to their alliance. The rulers of Ulaid and those of Mann had a bitter past-history between them, and it is possible that the binding of John to the Crovan dynasty was actually the catalyst of his assault upon the Ulaid. In fact, Guðrøðr formalised his own marriage to Findguala in 1176/1177, and it was by this union that Guðrøðr bound his own dynasty with the Meic Lochlainn, another traditional foe of the Ulaid. Another contributing factor to the alliance between Guðrøðr and John may have been the Meic Lochlainn's loss of the Cenél nEógain kingship to the rival Uí Néill dynast Áed Méith Ua Néill (died 1230) in 1177. The latter certainly clashed with John before the end of the century, and the strife between the Uí Néill and Meic Lochlainn continued on for decades. Whatever the case, the unions meant that John was protected on his right flank by Guðrøðr, through whom John shared a common interest with the Meic Lochlainn, situated on his left flank. John would have almost certainly attempted to use such alignments to his advantage, whilst Guðrøðr may have used John's campaigning against the Ulaid as a means of settling old scores.

There is reason to regard Óláfr, like his Scottish counterpart David, as a reforming monarch. Guðrøðr continued Óláfr's modernising policies, as evidenced by surviving sources documenting the ecclesiastical history of the Isles. For example, Guðrøðr confirmed his father's charter to the abbey of St Mary of Furness, in which the monks of this Cistercian house were granted the right to select the Bishop of the Isles. Guðrøðr granted the English priory of St Bees the lands of Escheddala (Dhoon Glen) and Asmundertoftes (Ballellin) in exchange for the church of St Óláfr and the lands of Euastad (perhaps near Ballure). In the reigns of Guðrøðr's succeeding sons, the Benedictine priory of St Bees continued to receive royal grants of Manx lands. The Chronicle of Mann reveals that Guðrøðr gave lands at Myroscough to the Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx in England. The chronicle also notes that a monastery was constructed on these lands, and that the lands eventually passed into the possession of the abbey of St Mary of Rushen. Guðrøðr also granted certain commercial rights and protections to the monks of the monastery of Holm Cultram, another Cistercian house in England.

The ecclesiastical jurisdiction within Guðrøðr's kingdom was the Diocese of the Isles. Little is known of its early history, although its origins may well lie with the Uí Ímair imperium. Ecclesiastical interconnection between the Isles and Dublin seems to have been severed during a period of Irish overlordship of Dublin, at about the beginning of Guðrøðr Crovan's reign in the Isles. Before the mid point of the twelfth century, Óláfr firmly established the Diocese of the Isles to correspond to the territorial borders of his kingdom, and seems to have initiated the transfer the ecclesiastical obedience of the Isles from the Archdiocese of Canterbury to Archdiocese of York. Such changes may have been orchestrated as a means to further distance his diocese from that of Dublin, where diocesan bishops were consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1152, steps were undertaken by the papacy to elevate the Diocese of Dublin to an archdiocese. Dublin's political and economic ties with the Isles could have meant that the Bishop of the Isles was now in danger of becoming subordinate to the Archbishop of Dublin. For Óláfr, such an event would have threatened to undermine both his ecclesiastical authority and secular power within his own realm. As a result of Óláfr's inability to have an ecclesiast of his own choice formally consecrated as bishop, and his own refusal to accept one favoured by the Archbishop of York, the episcopal see of the Isles appears to have been vacant at the same time of Dublin's ecclesiastical ascendancy. In consequence, without a consecrated bishop of its own, Óláfr's diocese seems to have been in jeopardy of falling under Dublin's increasing authority. Moreover, in 1152, David 1 attempted to have the dioceses of Orkney and the Isles included within the prospective Scottish Archdiocese of St Andrews.

It may have been in the context of this ecclesiastical crisis in the Isles that Guðrøðr undertook his journey to Norway in 1152. Guðrøðr's overseas objective, therefore, may have been to secure the patronage of a Scandinavian metropolitan willing to protect the Diocese of the Isles. Certainly, Guðrøðr's stay in Norway coincided with the Scandinavian visit of the papal legate Nicholas Breakspeare, Cardinal-Bishop of Albano (died 1159), a man who had been tasked to create Norwegian and Swedish ecclesiastical provinces in order to further extend the papacy's authority into the northern European periphery. Eventually the newly created Norwegian province—the Archdiocese of Niðaróss—encompassed eleven dioceses within and outwith mainland Norway. One such overseas diocese was that of the Isles, officially incorporated within the province in November 1154. Although Óláfr did not live long enough to witness the latter formality, it is evident that the remarkable overseas statecraft undertaken by Óláfr and Guðrøðr secured their kingdom's ecclesiastical and secular independence from nearby Dublin. The establishment of the Norwegian archdiocese bound outlying Norse territories closer to Norwegian royal power. In effect, the political reality of the Diocese of the Isles—its territorial borders and nominal subjection to far-off Norway—appears to have mirrored that of the Kingdom of the Isles.

Despite the ecclesiastical reorientation, the next Bishop of the Isles known from Manx sources was consecrated by Roger de Pont l'Evêque, Archbishop of York (died 1181). This bishop, an Englishman named Gamaliel, may have been consecrated between October 1154 and early 1155, possibly before news of the diocesesan realignment reached the Isles. Although it is possible that Gamaliel was consecrated without Guðrøðr's approval, the bishop appears to have witnessed at least one of the latter's charters. The fact that Gamaliel was buried in Peterborough could suggest that he was removed from his see at some point.

The next known bishop was Reginald (died c.1170), a Norwegian who witnessed the bitter struggles between Guðrøðr and Somairle, and who seems to have died in about 1170. It is possible that Reginald was consecrated in Norway in 1153/1154, and that the York-backed Gamaliel was compelled to resign the see to him. Reginald is the first Bishop of the Isles to be attested by the Icelandic Annals, which could indicate that he was the first such bishop to recognise the authority of Niðaróss. Either Gamaliel or Reginald could have been the unnamed Bishop of the Isles who is stated by Robert's Chronica to have met with William 1, King of Scotland and Henry 2 at Mont St Michel. Robert's account of the meeting indicates that the kings of the Isles were obligated to render tribute to newly crowned kings of Norway. It is possible that Reginald followed Guðrøðr into exile after the latter's defeat to Somairle. Reginald's successor was Cristinus, an Argyllman who appears to have been appointed by either Somairle or his descendants. The fact that Cristinus did not receive acknowledgement from the Archbishop of Niðaróss could be evidence that Reginald remained in Norway. The apparent antipathy between Guðrøðr and Cristinus may be evidenced by the fact that it was Silvanus, Abbot of Rievaulx — and not Cristinus — who conducted the marriage ceremony of Guðrøðr and Findguala during Vivian's visit in 1176.

According to the Chronicle of Mann, Guðrøðr had 4 children: Affrica, Ragnvaldr, Ívarr, and Óláfr svarti (died 1237). Although the chronicle specifically states that Findguala was Óláfr svarti's mother, and that he had been born before his parent's formalised marriage, the mothers of the other three children are unknown or uncertain. According to the anonymous praise-poem Baile suthach síth Emhna, Ragnvaldr's mother was Sadb, an otherwise unknown Irishwoman who may have been a wife or concubine of Guðrøðr. As for Ívarr, nothing further is recorded of him, although it is possible that his mother was also the product of an uncanonical liaison. There may be evidence to suggest that Guðrøðr had another son, Ruaidrí (fl. 1188-1190), who appears in a royal charter recorded as Ragnvaldr's brother (Rotherico, fratre meo).

Guðrøðr died on 10 November 1187 on St Patrick's Isle. The following year, he was finally laid to rest on Iona, an island upon which the oldest intact building is St Oran's Chapel. Certain Irish influences in this building's architecture indicate that it dates to about the mid twelfth century. The chapel could well have been erected by Óláfr or Guðrøðr. Certainly, their family's remarkable ecclesiastical activities during this period suggest that patronage of Iona is probable. Whatever the case, upon Guðrøðr's death the chronicle claims that he left instructions for his younger son, Óláfr svarti, to succeed to the kingship since he had been born in lawful wedlock.

On one hand, this record could be evidence that Guðrøðr continued to advance the institution of kingship in the Isles. For example, this episode appears to be the earliest record of a ruling member of the Crovan dynasty designating a royal successor. If so, such an arrangement may have been borne out of Guðrøðr's own bitter difficulties with rival claimants to the throne.

On the other hand, it is uncertain if the chronicle has preserved an accurate account of events, as the Islesmen are stated to have chosen Ragnvaldr to rule instead, because unlike Óláfr svarti, who was only a child at the time, Ragnvaldr was a hardy young man fully capable to reign as king. One possibility is that Guðrøðr may have intended for Ragnvaldr to temporarily rule as a lieutenant of sorts until Óláfr svarti was able to hold sway himself. Although Ragnvaldr appears to have later forged an alliance with the Meic Somairle, and may have temporarily reunited the entire Kingdom of the Isles under his own leadership, he was later opposed by Óláfr svarti, and the ensuing violent conflict between Guðrøðr's descendants carried on to further generations.

Family/Spouse: Findguala Nic Lochlainn. Findguala (daughter of Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn) was born about 1150 in Ulster, Nord-Irland; died about 1187. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]