Olaf the Black

Olaf the Black
Óláfr Guðrøðarson
Refer to caption
Óláfr's name as it appears on folio 102v of AM 45 fol (Codex Frisianus): "Olafr Gvðraþr.s."[1]
King of the Isles
Reign1226–1237
PredecessorRǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson
SuccessorHaraldr Óláfsson
Died21 May 1237
St Patrick's Isle
Burial
Rushen Abbey
Spouse
  • Lauon
  • Cairistíona inghean Fearchair
Issue
HouseCrovan dynasty
FatherGuðrøðr Óláfsson
MotherFionnghuala Nic Lochlainn

Óláfr Guðrøðarson (died 1237) (Scottish Gaelic: Amhlaibh Dubh), also known as Olaf the Black, was a thirteenth-century King of the Isles, and a member of the Crovan dynasty.[note 1] He was a son of Guðrøðr Óláfsson, King of the Isles and Fionnghuala Nic Lochlainn. Óláfr was a younger son of his father; Óláfr's elder brother, Rǫgnvaldr, probably had a different mother. According to the Chronicle of Mann, Guðrøðr appointed Óláfr as heir since he had been born "in lawful wedlock". Whether or not this is the case, after Guðrøðr's death in 1187 the Islesmen instead appointed Rǫgnvaldr as king, as he was a capable adult and Óláfr was a mere child. Rǫgnvaldr ruled the island-kingdom for almost forty years, during which time the half-brothers vied for the kingship.

Óláfr appears to have held authority on the island of Lewis and Harris. At some point, Óláfr appears to have confronted Rǫgnvaldr for a larger stake in the kingdom, after which Rǫgnvaldr had him seized and imprisoned by William the Lion, King of Scotland. Upon his release in 1214/1215, Óláfr is stated to have undertaken a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, after which the half-brothers were reconciled, and Rǫgnvaldr had Óláfr married to Lauon, the sister of his own wife. In what appears to have been a politically motivated maneuver, Óláfr had his marriage declared null by Reginald, Bishop of the Isles, and proceeded to marry Cairistíona, a daughter of Fearchar, Earl of Ross. Whilst Lauon appears to have been a member of Clann Somhairle, a kindred led by Ruaidhrí mac Raghnaill, a man closely aligned with Rǫgnvaldr and opposed to the Scottish Crown, Cairistíona was the daughter of a rising Scottish magnate.

In 1223, Óláfr's marital actions are stated to have precipitated Rǫgnvaldr's son, Guðrøðr Dond, to attack Óláfr on Lewis and Harris, driving him into Ross to the safety of his father-in-law. Together with Páll Bálkason, Óláfr later defeated Guðrøðr Dond on Skye. The following year, Óláfr confronted Rǫgnvaldr on Mann, and the two partitioned of the kingdom between themselves. One of Rǫgnvaldr's allied against Óláfr was Alan fitz Roland, Lord of Galloway, who is recorded to have campaigned in the Isles against Óláfr. There is reason to suspect that Óláfr was conversely aligned with Alan's opponent in Ireland, Hugh de Lacy, Earl of Ulster. In 1226, Rǫgnvaldr and Alan orchestrated the marriage of a daughter of Rǫgnvaldr to Alan's bastard son, Thomas, a union that led the Islesmen to depose Rǫgnvaldr in favour of Óláfr. In 1229, Rǫgnvaldr invaded Mann, and was killed in battle against Óláfr.

In 1230, Óláfr was forced from his kingdom to Norway by Alan and members of Clann Somhairle. In response to this latest bout of warfare in the Isles, Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway decided to send a royal fleet into the Isles, under the command of Óspakr, an apparent member of Clann Somhairle. When Óspakr was slain early in the campaign, Óláfr took control of the fleet and secured himself on Mann. At this point, the kingdom appears to have been partitioned between him and Guðrøðr Dond, with the latter ruling the Hebridean portion and Óláfr ruling Mann itself. In 1231, after the Norwegian fleet left Isles, Guðrøðr Dond was slain, and Óláfr ruled the whole Kingdom of the Isles peacefully, until his death in 1237. Óláfr's restoration was seen as a success by the Norwegians, and likely favourably viewed by the Scots as well. Óláfr was succeeded by his son, Haraldr. In all, three of Óláfr's sons ruled the Crovan dynasty's island-kingdom—the last of which, Magnús, was also the last of the dynasty to rule.

  1. ^ Unger (1871) p. 476 ch. 169; AM 45 Fol (n.d.).
  2. ^ Brown, M (2004).
  3. ^ a b c d McLeod (2002).
  4. ^ a b Veach (2014); Duffy (2002); Duffy (1993).
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  6. ^ Munro; Munro (2008); Duffy (2004); Williams, DGE (1997).
  7. ^ Brown, D (2016); Jesch (2016); McDonald (2016); Beuermann (2014); Veach (2014); Oram (2013); Power (2013a); McDonald (2012); Oram (2011); Beuermann (2010); Valante (2010); McDonald (2008); Duffy (2007); McDonald (2007a); McDonald (2007b); Woolf (2007); Murray (2005); Oram (2005); Pollock (2005); Power (2005); Oram (2000); Gade (1994).
  8. ^ a b Brown, D (2016).
  9. ^ Brown, M (2004); Sellar (1997–1998).
  10. ^ Jamroziak (2008).
  11. ^ McDonald (2019); Crawford, BE (2014); Thomas (2014); Moore, D (2013); Oram; Adderley (2010); Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005); McNamee (2005).
  12. ^ Williams, DGE (1997).
  13. ^ Oram (2000).
  14. ^ Murray (2005); Oram (2005).
  15. ^ McDonald (2016); Veach (2014); Oram (2013); McDonald (2012); McDonald (2007b).
  16. ^ Oram (2013).
  17. ^ Gade (1994).
  18. ^ Oram (2011).
  19. ^ a b Sellar (1997–1998).
  20. ^ Sellar (2000); Sellar (1997–1998).
  21. ^ Jamroziak (2011); Woolf (2007); McNamee (2005); Brown, M (2004); McDonald (2004); Woolf (2004); Woolf (2003); Duffy (2002); MacLeod (2002); Sellar; Maclean (1999); Sellar (1997–1998).
  22. ^ Duffy (2007).
  23. ^ McDonald (2012); Murray (2005).


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