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The Kingdom of the Isles comprised the Hebrides, the islands of the Firth of Clyde and the Isle of Man from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norse as the Suðreyjar, or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the Norðreyjar or Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland. The historical record is incomplete and the kingdom was probably not a continuous entity throughout the entire period. The islands concerned are sometimes referred to as the "Kingdom of Mann and the Isles", although only some of the later rulers claimed that title. At times the rulers were independent of external control, although for much of the period they had overlords in Norway, Ireland, England, Scotland or Orkney. At times there also appear to have been competing claims for all or parts of the territory. The islands involved have a total land area of over 8,300 square kilometres (3,205 sq mi) and extend for more than 500 kilometres (310 mi) from north to south.

Viking influence in the area commenced in the late 8th century, and whilst there is no doubt that the Uí Ímair dynasty played a prominent role in this early period, the records for the dates and details of the rulers are speculative until the mid-10th century. Hostility between the Kings of the Isles and the rulers of Ireland, and intervention by the crown of Norway (either directly or through their vassals the Earls of Orkney) were recurring themes.

Invasion by Magnus Barelegs in the late 11th century resulted in a brief period of direct Norwegian rule over the kingdom, but soon the descendants of Godred Crovan re-asserted a further period of largely independent overlordship. This came to an end with the emergence of Somerled, on whose death in 1164 the kingdom was split in two. Just over a century later the islands became part of the Kingdom of Scotland, following the 1266 Treaty of Perth.

The orthography of the rulers' names is complicated as Old Norse and Gaelic were both spoken throughout the region for much of period under consideration. Thus a single individual might be referred to as Rognvaldr in Icelandic sources, Rag(h)nall in Gaelic, Reginaldus in Latin and perhaps "Rognvald" or "Reginald" in English language sources.

9th and early 10th centuries

During this period the historical record is particularly sparse and these early entries must be considered as somewhat speculative.

It is also possible that Eiríkr, King of York from 947–948 and 952–5, was a ruler in the islands at some stage in the mid-10th century. Eiríkr is believed by some authorities to be synonymous with the saga character Eric Bloodaxe, although the connection is questioned by Downham (2007), who argues that the former was an Uí Ímair dynast rather than a son of Harald Fairhair. A raid on Northumbria in 949, the purpose of which may have been either to support or oppose the kingship of Amlaíb Cuarán is described as predam albidosorum idem nannindisi in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba. Alfred P. Smyth translated this as "the raid of the men from beyond the spine of Britain, that is, of the islands."

Late 10th and 11th centuries

Early rulers of Mann

Various rulers have been identified as ruling Man, but not the Isles as a whole. The Isle of Man may have fallen under Norse rule in the 870s, and paradoxically they may have brought the Gaelic language with them. The island has produced a more densely distributed Viking Age archaeology than anywhere else in the British Isles, but the written records for this time period are poor.

There then follows a period when it is likely that the Western Isles and Mann were jointly held by rulers of the House of Ímar (see above). Downham (2007) suggests Lagmann Godredson may have "wielded power in Man" and possibly even have been king but was expelled sometime after 1005, perhaps by Brian Bóruma. This may indicate that the Earls of Orkney did not control Man itself in the early 11th century. Echmarcach mac Ragnaill and his successors certainly did control Mann, but the extent of their rule over the islands of the Clyde and the Hebrides is not clear. Óláfr mac Lagmann (or Lagmainn) is recorded as having been killed at Clontarf in 1014, fighting with "warriors from the Hebrides".

The period 1095–1098 seems to have been politically unsettled, culminating in a Manx civil war between the north and south of the island. A battle at Santwat between the northerners under Jarl Óttar and the southerners under Macmaras (or MacManus) in 1098 resulted in the deaths of both leaders.

Early rulers of the Hebrides

In Irish mythology the Outer Hebrides were the home of the Fomorians, described as "huge and ugly" and "ship men of the sea". They were pirates, extracting tribute from the coasts of Ireland and one of their kings was Indech mac Dé Domnand (i.e. Indech, son of the goddess Domnu, who ruled over the deep seas). Indech is also mentioned in the Cath Maige Tuired along with Balor grandson of Nét, his rival who is described as righ na n-Innsi ('king of the Isles'), which may have meant the king of the Inner Hebrides. Together they "gathered all the forces from Lochlainn westwards into Ireland to impose their tribute and their rule over them."

Various later rulers such as Gebeachan are also mentioned in early sources as having a role of some kind over unspecified areas of the northern part of the Kingdom of the Isles.

12th and 13th centuries

Kings of Mann and the Isles

Godred the Black's dictatorial style appears to have made him very unpopular with the Islesmen, and the powerful barons of the isles began plotting with an emerging and forceful figure – Somerled, Lord of Argyll. When Godred heard of this he engaged Somerled's forces in the naval Battle of Epiphany in 1156. There was no clear victor, but it was subsequently agreed that Godred would remain the ruler of Man and the northern Hebrides, whilst Somerled's young sons would nominally control the southern Inner Hebrides, Kintyre and the islands of the Clyde under their father's supervision. Two years later Somerled's invasion of the Isle of Man caused Godred to flee to Norway, leaving the former as the undisputed ruler of the entire realm.

Following the death of Somerled in 1164 Godred re-took possession of his pre-1158 territories in Mann and the north and the southern isles were distributed amongst Somerled's sons as had been previously agreed: Dubgall received Mull, Coll, Tiree and Jura; Islay and Kintyre went to Ragnall; Bute to Aonghas, with Arran possibly divided between him and Reginald. The Chronicle of Man and the Sudreys lamented that Somerled's marriage to Ragnhildis, daughter of Olave the Red, had been "the cause of the ruin of the whole kingdom of the Isles".

Kings of Mann and the North Isles

In a precursor to 1263, Norwegian forces invaded in 1230 in response to dynastic struggles amongst Godred the Black's descendants. The Chronicle of Lanercost states that a Norwegian fleet sailed down the west coast of Scotland with Óspakr-Hákon, who had been appointed "King of the Suðreyjar" by the King of Norway (and who may have been a son of Dubgall mac Somairle). His forces took Rothesay Castle, hacking through the walls with their axes. The Eirspennill version of Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar states that the fleet then sailed to Kintyre where Óspakr-Hákon fell ill and died. Olaf the Black then took control of the fleet, and led it to the Isle of Man. He and Gofraid Donn, the son of Raghnall mac Gofraidh, divided the kingdom between themselves, with the latter retaining Mann, and the former controlling the northern islands. A short time later Gofraid Donn was slain, possibly on Lewis.

On 30 May 1249, Ragnvald Olafsson was slain in a meadow near the Church of the Holy Trinity at Rushen by a knight named Ívarr, along with several of the knight's followers. The Chronicle of Lanercost states that he had reigned for only 27 days. Harald Godredsson then seized the kingship, although he was summoned to Norway the following year and effectively dispossessed. Magnus Olafsson was the last of the Norse kings to rule Mann, which was absorbed into the Kingdom of Scotland on his death.

Kings of the South Isles

The 1780 Anecdotes of Olave the Black (which are based on Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar) state that there were 3 Sudreyan kings all existing at one time who were "of the family of Somerled" and who were "very untrue to King Haco". It is not entirely clear which three kings are being referred to. They include Dubgall "Screech" mac Dubgaill and his brother Donnchadh and either Eóghan of Argyll who "was king afterwards" or possibly an unknown "relation of theirs, called Somerled, was then also a King in the Sudreys". This Somerled, who died in 1230, may have been a brother or cousin of Dubgall and Donnchadh.

Ragnall mac Somairle's son, Ruaidhri mac Raghnaill may have been the "king of the Isles" who was recorded in the Irish chronicles as having been killed fighting against the English at the Battle of Ballyshannon in 1247. Ruaidhri's direct descendants Dubhghall and Ailean, who ruled Garmoran and the Uists are generally not given titles by Scottish sources. However the Icelandic Annals recorded for the year 1249 that: "Dubhghall took kingship in the Sudreys." Norse sources also refer to kingship being held by Eóghan of Argyll, although this was rescinded by King Haakon when he refused to participate in the latter's expeditions against Scotland.

See also

• List of Manx consorts
• Lists of monarchs in the British Isles
• Lord of the Isles

References

Notes

1. McDonald (2007) states of Raghnall mac Gofraidh: "Some of his successors were grandly styled Rex Manniae et Insularum, 'King of Man and the Isles' ", implying the title had not been used prior to that time, i.e. the early 13th century.
2. This is the combined land area of the Isle of Man the islands of the Clyde, the Inner Hebrides and the Outer Hebrides.
3. For consistency the regnal names up to the end of the reign of Somerled are as used by Gregory (1881) and by MacDonald (1997) for the period post 1164 unless otherwise indicated. MacDonald does not use patronymics unless otherwise indicated.
4. Innsi Gall or in modern usage Innse Gall, meaning "islands of the foreigners or strangers", is a name originally used by mainland Highlanders when the Hebrides were ruled by the Norse and is still occasionally used by Gaelic speakers today to mean the Hebrides/Outer Hebrides.
5. Amlaíb Conung was clearly a significant figure and a "king of the Northmen". The title "the greatest warrior king of the Western Sea" (or "West-over-the-sea") is recorded of Olaf the White in the Eyrbyggja Saga and some sources believe these two individuals are one and the same. Amlaíb may have pre-deceased Ímar.
6. Ketill Flatnose appears in the Laxdœla saga, apparently set in the late ninth century. His daughter, Aud the Deep-Minded married Olaf the White, who some scholars believe to have been Amlaíb Conung, but these dates do not match well as Amlaíb is recorded as coming to Ireland in 853, unless a much earlier date for Ketill's excursions is accepted—which is also necessary for the validity of the proposed identification of Ketill with Caittil Find.
7. There is no real evidence of Uí Ímair rule in the Isles during this period. For the following century the connection between the Hebrides, Man and Ireland "has been elucidated by Sean Duffy, who has demonstrated that, when control of Dublin passed to the Irish provincial kings in the middle of the eleventh century, these rulers also inherited the old Viking links between Dublin and the Isles".
8. Crawford (1987) states that there was a possible "collapse of the earls' control in the west" following the Battle of Clontarf and there is no specific evidence that Einar ever claimed to be a ruler of the Suðreyar. He died c. 1025.
9. Thorfinn is often stated as dying c. 1064, although Woolf (2007) states that "there is no reason why a date in the late 1050s is not just as credible."
10. He may have "ruled Dublin and the Isles intermittently until 1061". However, if Echmarcach mac Ragnaill was a son of Ragnal mac Gofraid he must either have been very young when his father died in 1005, or very old on his own death in the early 1060s. He may have controlled Mann from 1036 onwards. There appears to be no evidence of his presence in or around the Scottish islands.
11. Both possibilities for the timing of Lagmann Godredsson's reign have been advanced by modern scholars. For example, in 1986 Rosemary Power favoured the reigns of Lagmann and Domnall mac Taidc after Magnus's arrival, suggesting that Lagmann may have also ruled for a time under his overlordship. As noted above Duffy (1992) also placed Domnall mac Taidc Ua Briain's rule before Magnus.
12. He is described as dominating "Dublin, and probably the Isle of Man and much of the coastline of Galloway and north west England."
13. Woolf (2007) states of Amlaíb mac Gofraid: "It seems likely that he controlled or at least had strong influence in Man and Galloway."
14. Amlaíb mac Gofraid was identified by the 12th century chronicler John of Worcester as "King of the Isles".
15. Referred to by William of Jumièges as a king of the Swedes, Downham (2007) mentions a theory that "Lagmann ruled the Hebrides and Man in the early eleventh century", discussed further in Downham (2003.) .

Footnotes

1. McDonald (2007) p. 42
2. "Physical Geography" Archived 26 May 2012 at archive.today Isle of Man Government. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
3. Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 2
4. General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003) Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands Archived 7 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
5. "Unitary Authority Fact Sheet – Population and Area" University of Edinburgh School of GeoSciences. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
6. McDonald (2007) "Note on orthography of personal names" p. 13
7. ^ Gregory (1881) pp. 4–6 and/or as otherwise indicated. An asterisk (*) indicates the individual is not considered by Gregory.
8. MacDonald (1997) pp 257-59
9. ^ Woolf (2007) p. 109
10. ^ Ó Corráin (1998) p. 24
11. Orkneyinga Saga: Chapter 4.
12. Downham (2007) p. 254
13. Hunter (2000) p. 104
14. See for example "Outer Hebrides/Innse Gall – area overview". HIE. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
15. Ó Corráin (1998) p. 34
16. ^ Ó Corráin (1998) pp. 36–37
17. Marsden (2008) p. 18
18. Woolf (2007) p. 296
19. Woolf (2007) p. 110
20. ^ Gregory (1881) pp. 4–6
21. ^ "The Laxdale Saga". Icelandic Saga Database. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
22. Ó Corráin (1979) p. 298
23. Downham (2007) p. 238
24. Thompson (2008) p. 25
25. ^ Woolf (2007) p. 148
26. McDonald (1997) p. 32
27. Downham (2007) p. 155
28. Downham (2007) pp. 107, 115-20
29. Downham (2007) p. 154
30. Woolf (2007) p. 181
31. ^ Woolf (2007) p. 174
32. Ó Corráin (1998) p. 11
33. Downham (2007) p. 253
34. ^ Gregory (1881) p. 5
35. Downham (2007) p. 185
36. Downham (2007) p. 197
37. Downham (2007) p. 267
38. Etchingham (2001) p. 180
39. ^ Thompson (2008) p. 73
40. Crawford (1987) p. 71
41. ^ Woolf (2007) p. 246
42. ^ Etchingham (2001) pp. 157–58
43. Woolf (2007) p. 267
44. ^ Duffy (2006) pp. 53, 55
45. ^ Woolf (2007) p. 245
46. ^ Duffy (1992) p. 100
47. Downham (2007) p. 187
48. Downham (2007) p. 171
49. Downham (2007) p. 198
50. ^ Duffy (1992) pp. 100–01
51. ^ Duffy (1992) p. 108
52. ^ The Chronicle of Man and the Sudreys (1874) p. 51
53. Power (1986) p. 116–117.
54. Duffy (1992) p. 109
55. Woolf (2007) pp. 293–94
56. Downham (2007) p. 178
57. Howorth (1911) p. 8
58. ^ Woolf (2007) pp. 140–41
59. Howorth (1911) p. 12
60. Downham (2007) p. 30
61. Woolf (2007) p. 163
62. ^ Woolf (2007) p. 168
63. ^ Downham (2007) p. 183
64. Downham (2007) pp. 189, 197, 244
65. Woolf (2007) p. 197
66. ^ Downham (2007) pp. 132–33
67. Duffy (1992) pp. 121–22
68. The Chronicle of Man and the Sudreys (1874) p. 57
69. Watson (1926) pp. 41-42 quoting Lebor na hUidre and the Book of Leinster.
70. ^ Ó Corráin (1998) p. 17
71. Etchingham (2001) p. 167
72. Woolf (2006) p. 99
73. "Bishop's and Earl's Palaces, Kirkwall". Historic Scotland. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
74. ^ Gregory (1881) pp. 6–8 and/or as otherwise stated.
75. Hunter (2000) pp. 102–3
76. ^ Duffy (1992) p. 115
77. ^ Duffy (1992) pp. 125–26
78. Duffy (1992) pp. 127–28
79. ^ Gregory (1881) pp. 9–17
80. Gregory (1881) p. 13
81. "Finlaggan Eilean Mor - the Lords of the Isles".
82. Woolf (2006) p. 103
83. The Chronicle of Man and the Sudreys (1874) p. 61
84. "The Three Legs of Man". Manx Notebook. Retrieved 1 August 2010. This source cited Wagner, A.R. (1959–60), "The Origin of the Arms of Man", Manx Museum, 6 and Megaw, B.R.S. (1959–60), "The Ship Seals of the Kings of Man", Manx Museum, 6
85. The Chronicle of Man and the Sudreys (1874) various pages
86. ^ The Chronicle of Man and the Sudreys (1874) p. 75
87. ^ Gregory (1881) p. 17
88. The Chronicle of Man and the Sudreys (1874) p. 79
89. ^ Sellar (2000) pp. 194, 202
90. Coventry (2008) p. 545
91. Anderson (1922) pp. 473–478
92. Anderson (1922) p. 554
93. ^ Anderson (1922) pp. 553–554
94. Anderson (1922) p. 567
95. "Lords of Mann – Manx Middle Ages – 1265 AD to 1765 AD". Manx National Heritage. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
96. MacDonald (1997) p. 90
97. ^ MacDonald (1997) p. 68
98. Sellar (2000) p. 202
99. Johnstone (1780) p. 5
100. Woolf (2006) p. 108
101. Woolf (2006) p. 109
102. Anderson (1922) vol. ii, p. 554
103. Anderson (1922) vol. ii, p. 549

General references

• Anderson, Alan Orr (1922) Early Sources of Scottish History: A.D. 500 to 1286. 2. Edinburgh. Oliver and Boyd.
• Barrett, James H. "The Norse in Scotland" in Brink, Stefan (ed) (2008) The Viking World. Abingdon. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-33315-6
• Coventry, Martin (2008) Castles of the Clans. Musselburgh. Goblinshead. ISBN 978-1-899874-36-1
• Crawford, Barbara E. (1987) Scandinavian Scotland. Leicester University Press. ISBN 0-7185-1197-2
• Downham, Clare (2007)"England and the Irish Sea Zone in the Eleventh Century" Anglo-Norman Studies, 26, pp. 55–73.https://www.academia.edu/1763453/England_and_the_Irish_Sea_Zone_in_the_Eleventh_Century
• Downham, Clare (2007) Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014. Edinburgh. Dunedin Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-903765-89-0
• Duffy, Seán (2006). "The Royal Dynasties of Dublin and the Isles in the Eleventh Century". In Duffy, Seán (ed.). Medieval Dublin. Vol. 7, Proceedings of the Friends of Medieval Dublin Symposium 2005. Dublin: Four Courts Press. pp. 51–65. ISBN 1-85182-974-1.
• Duffy, Seán (1992). "Irishmen and Islesmen in the Kingdom of Dublin and Man 1052–1171". Ériu. 43 (43): 93–133. JSTOR 30007421.
• Etchingham, Colman (2001) "North Wales, Ireland and the Isles: the Insular Viking Zone". Peritia. 15 pp. 145–87
• Gregory, Donald (1881) The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland 1493–1625. Edinburgh. Birlinn. 2008 reprint – originally published by Thomas D. Morrison. ISBN 1-904607-57-8
• Howorth, Henry H. (January 1911). "Ragnall Ivarson and Jarl Otir". The English Historical Review. 26 (101): 1–19. doi:10.1093/ehr/xxvi.ci.1. Also JSTOR.
• Hunter, James (2000) Last of the Free: A History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Edinburgh. Mainstream. ISBN 1-84018-376-4
• Johnstone J. (ed) (1780) Anecdotes Of Olave The Black, King Of Man, And The Hebridian Princes Of The Somerled Family (by Thordr) To Which Are Added Xviii. Eulogies On Haco King Of Norway, By Snorro Sturlson, Publ. With A Literal Version And Notes. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
• McDonald, R. Andrew (1997) The Kingdom of the Isles: Scotland's Western Seaboard c. 1100 – c. 1336. East Linton. Tuckwell Press. ISBN 1-898410-85-2
• McDonald, R. Andrew (2007) Manx Kingship in its Irish Sea setting, 1187–1229: King Rognavaldr and the Crovan dynasty. Dublin. Four Courts Press. ISBN 978-1-84682-047-2.
• Marsden, John (2008) "Somerled and the Emergence of Gaelic Scotland". Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 978-1-904607-80-9
• Munch, P.A. (ed) and Rev. Goss (tr) (1874) Chronica regnum Manniae et insularum: The Chronicle of Man and the Sudreys. Volume 1. Douglas, Isle of Man. The Manx Society. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
• Ó Corráin, Donnchadh (Mar 1979) "High-Kings, Vikings and Other Kings". Irish Historical Studies 22 No. 83 pp. 283–323. Irish Historical Studies Publications.
• Ó Corráin, Donnchadh (1998) Vikings in Ireland and Scotland in the Ninth Century CELT. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
• Pálsson, Hermann and Edwards, Paul Geoffrey (1981). Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044383-5
• Power, Rosemary (1986), "Magnus Barelegs' Expeditions to the West", The Scottish Historical Review, 65 (180, part 2), Edinburgh University Press: 107–132, JSTOR 25530199.
• Sellar, William David Hamilton Hebridean sea kings: The successors of Somerled, 1164–1316 in Cowan, Edward J. and McDonald, Russell Andrew (eds) (2000) Alba: Celtic Scotland in the middle ages. Tuckwell Press. ISBN 1-86232-151-5
• Thomson, William P. L. (2008) The New History of Orkney. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 978-1-84158-696-0
• Watson, W. J. (1994) The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland. Edinburgh; Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-323-5. First published 1926.
• Woolf, Alex (2005) "The origins and ancestry of Somerled: Gofraid mac Fergusa and 'The Annals of the Four Masters'". Mediaeval Scandinavia. 15 pp. 199–213.
• Woolf, Alex "The Age of the Sea-Kings: 900–1300" in Omand, Donald (2006) The Argyll Book. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-480-0
• Woolf, Alex (2007) From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070. The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-1234-5

• Lists of British monarchs
• Isle of Man-related lists
• Rulers of the Kingdom of the Isles
• Monarchs of the Isle of Man
• Uí Ímair
• Norway–Scotland relations