Magnús Óláfsson (died 24 November 1265) was a King of Mann and the Isles. He was a son of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles, and a member of the Crovan dynasty. Magnús' realm encompassed Mann and parts of the Hebrides. Some leading members of Magnús' family—such as his father—styled themselves "King of the Isles"; other members—such as Magnús and his brothers—styled themselves "King of Mann and the Isles". Although kings in their own right, leading members of the Crovan dynasty paid tribute to the Kings of Norway and generally recognised a nominal Norwegian overlordship of Mann and the Hebrides. Magnus was forced to cede lordship of the Isle of Mann to King Alexander III and swear fealty to him in 1264 after the Battle of Largs between the Norwegians and Scots after which the Norwegians retreated to Orkney.
In 1237, Óláfr died and was succeeded by his elder son, Haraldr, who later drowned in 1248. The kingship was then taken up by his brother, Rǫgnvaldr Óláfsson. After a reign of only weeks, Rǫgnvaldr was slain and the kingship was taken up by Haraldr Guðrøðarson, a descendant of Óláfr's half-brother and deadly rival, Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles. After a short reign, this Haraldr was removed from power by his overlord, Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway. In Haraldr's absence, Magnús and a relation of his, Eóghan Mac Dubhghaill, King in the Isles, unsuccessfully attempted to conquer Mann. A few years later, Magnús successfully made his return to the island and was proclaimed king.
In the 1240s, following attempts to purchase the Isles from Hákon, Alexander II of Scotland resorted to warfare to win the region. His death in 1249 brought an abrupt end to his westward invasion, and it was not until the 1260s that a Scottish king again attempted to impose his authority into the Isles. In 1261, Alexander II's son and successor, Alexander III, attempted to purchase the Isles without success, before Scottish forces raided into the Hebrides. Hákon's response to Scottish aggression was to organise a massive fleet to re-assert Norwegian authority. In the summer of 1263, the fleet sailed down through the Hebrides. Although his forces gained strength as they sailed southwards, the Norwegian king received only lukewarm support from many of his Norse-Gaelic vassals—in fact, Magnús was one of the few who came out whole-heartedly for Hákon. At one point during the campaign, Hákon sent Magnús and some other vassals raiding deep into Lennox. Meanwhile, the main Norwegian force was occupied with the Battle of Largs—a famous, but inconclusive series of skirmishes against the Scots. Following this action, Hákon's demoralised fleet returned home having accomplished little. Not long after Hákon's departure and death, Alexander launched a punitive expedition into the Hebrides, and threatened Mann with the same. Magnús' subsequent submission to the Scottish king, and the homage rendered for his lands, symbolises the failure of Hákon's campaign, and marks the complete collapse of Norwegian influence in the Isles.
Magnús, the last reigning king of his dynasty, died at Castle Rushen in 1265, and was buried at the Abbey of St Mary of Rushen. At the time of his death, he was married to Eóghan's daughter Máire. In the year after his death, the Hebrides and Mann were formally ceded by King of Norway to the King of Scots. Ten years after Magnús' death, Guðrøðr, a bastard son of his attempted to establish himself as king on Mann. Guðrøðr's revolt was quickly and brutally crushed by Scottish forces, and the island remained part of the Kingdom of Scotland. By the 1290s, the Hebridean portion of Magnús' former island-kingdom had been incorporated into a newly created Scottish sheriffdom.
Background
Magnús was a member of the Crovan dynasty—a line of Norse-Gaelic sea-kings whose kingdom encompassed the Isle of Man (Mann) and the northern parts of the Hebrides, from the late eleventh century to the mid thirteenth century. Although the kingdom originally encompassed the entirety of the Hebrides, much of the Inner Hebrides was permanently lost in the mid twelfth century, but the dynasty retained control of the largest Hebridean islands of Lewis and Harris and Skye. Magnús was the son of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles (died 1237). Although Óláfr is known to have had two wives, and no contemporaneous source names the mother of his children, Magnús' mother may have been Óláfr's second wife—Cairistíona, daughter of Fearchar, Earl of Ross, (died ).McDonald 2007: p. 79 fn 48.
Óláfr was a younger son of Guðrøðr Óláfsson, King of Dublin and the Isles (died 1187). Before his death in 1187, Guðrøðr instructed that Óláfr should succeed to the kingship. However, Guðrøðr was instead succeeded by his elder son, Rǫgnvaldr (died 1229), who had popular support.McDonald 2007: pp. 70–71. Rǫgnvaldr and Óláfr, who are thought to have had different mothers, subsequently warred over the dynasty's kingdom in the early thirteenth century, until Rǫgnvaldr was slain battling Óláfr in 1229.Duffy 2004c. See also: McNamee 2004. Rǫgnvaldr's son, Guðrøðr (died 1231), who was also in conflict with Óláfr, took up his father's claim to the throne, and at his height co-ruled the kingdom with Óláfr in 1231. Guðrøðr was slain in 1231, and Óláfr ruled the entire kingdom without internal opposition until his own death in 1237.McNamee 2004. Óláfr was succeeded by his son, Haraldr, who later travelled to Norway and married a daughter of Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway (died 1263), but lost his life at sea on his return voyage in 1248. In May 1249, Haraldr's brother, Rǫgnvaldr (died 1249), formally succeeded to the kingship of the Crovan dynasty's kingdom.McDonald 2007: pp. 87–88, 151–152.
Rǫgnvaldr Óláfsson's reign was an extremely short one; only weeks after his accession, he was slain on Mann. His killer is identified by a contemporary source as a knight named Ívarr who may have been an ally of Rǫgnvaldr Óláfsson's second cousin once removed, Haraldr Guðrøðarson (fl. 1249), who seized the kingship immediately following the killing.McDonald 2007: p. 88. Although at first Haraldr was recognised as a legitimate ruler of the kingdom by Henry III, King of England (died 1272),Anderson 1922: p. 567 fn 2. Haraldr was later regarded as a usurper by his Norwegian overlord, Hákon. In 1250, Hákon summoned Haraldr to Norway to answer for his seizure of the kingship, and Haraldr was kept from returning to the Isles.McDonald 2007: pp. 88–89.
Eóghan of Argyll and the invasion of Mann
Eóghan Mac Dubhghaill, Lord of Argyll (died c.1268×1275) was a prominent member of Clann Somhairle, the descendants of Somhairle mac Giolla Brighde, King of the Isles (died 1164).Sellar 2004b. Through Somhairle's wife, Ragnhildr, daughter of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles (died 1153), several leading members of Clann Somhairle claimed kingship in the Hebrides.Beuermann 2010: p. 102. In 1248, Eóghan and his second cousin, Dubhghall mac Ruaidhrí (died 1268), travelled to Hákon in Norway and requested the title of king in the Hebrides. Hákon subsequently bestowed the title upon Eóghan, and the following year, upon learning of Haraldr Óláfsson's death, Hákon sent Eóghan westward to take control of the Isles (at least temporarily) on his behalf.Beuermann 2010: p. 108. See also: Sellar 2004b. See also: Anderson 1922: pp. 554–555. Up until this point Eóghan had two overlords: the King of Norway, who claimed the Hebrides; and the King of Scots, who claimed Argyll and coveted the Hebrides. Unfortunately for Eóghan, soon after his return from Norway, Alexander II of Scotland (died 1249) led an expedition deep into Argyll and demanded that Eóghan renounce his allegiance to Hákon. Eóghan refused to do so and was subsequently driven from his Scottish lordship.Sellar 2004b. See also: Stringer 2004.
In 1250, following Haraldr Guðrøðarson's summons to Norway, the Chronicle of Mann records that Magnús and Eóghan arrived on Mann with a force of Norwegians. The exact intentions of the invaders are unknown; it is possible that they may have intended to install Magnús as king.McDonald 2007: p. 89. At the very least, Eóghan was likely looking for some form of compensation for his dispossession from his mainland Scottish lordship.Sellar 2004b. See also: Stringer 2004. See also: Brown 2004: p. 81. See also: McDonald 1997: p. 104. The chronicle states that the invaders made landfall at Ronaldsway, and entered into negotiations with the Manx people; although, when it was learned that Eóghan styled himself "King of the Isles", the Manxmen took offence and broke off all dialogue.McDonald 1997: p. 104. See also: Anderson 1922: pp. 567–569. See also: Munch; Goss 1874: pp. 104–109.
The chronicle indicates that Eóghan had his men form-up on St Michael's Isle, an island that was attached to Mann by a tidal causeway. As evening drew near, the chronicle records that an accomplice of the knight Ívarr led a Manx assault on the island and routed the invading forces. The next day, the chronicle states that the invading forces left the shores of Mann.McDonald 2007: p. 89. See also: Anderson 1922: pp. 567–569. See also: Munch; Goss 1874: pp. 104–109. Ívarr's connection to the Manx attack on the invading forces of Eóghan and Magnús suggests that there was still considerable opposition on Mann by adherents of Haraldr to the prospect of Magnús' kingship there.McDonald 2007: p. 89. See also: Munch; Goss 1874: p. 206 fn 49.
The following year, Henry III commanded the Justiciar of Ireland, John fitz Geoffrey (died 1258), to prohibit Magnús from raising military forces in Ireland for an invasion of Mann.Duffy 2007: p. 21. See also: McDonald 2007: p. 89. See also: Close rolls of the reign of Henry III. Preserved in the Public Record Office 1970: p. 177. See also: Sweetman 1875: p. 478 (#3206). See also: Cooper 1832: pp. 425–426. A year later Magnús succeeded to the kingship, as the chronicle records that he returned to Mann and, with the consent of the people, began his reign.McDonald 2007: p. 89. See also: Anderson 1922: p. 573, See also: Munch; Goss 1874: pp. 108–109. There are indications that opposition to Magnús, and thus possibly support of Haraldr, continued into the mid 1250s.McDonald 2007: pp. 89–90. For example, the chronicle records that when Hákon bestowed upon Magnús the title of king in 1254, it further notes that when Magnús' opponents heard of this, they became dismayed and that their hopes of overthrowing him gradually faded away.McDonald 2007: pp. 89–90. See also: Anderson 1922: p. 578. See also: Munch; Goss 1874: pp. 108–109. Furthermore, a letter of protection, written on behalf of Henry to Magnús in 1256, orders Henry's men not to receive Haraldr and Ívarr, which may thus indicate that these two men were still alive and active. Although Magnús' eldest brother, Haraldr Óláfsson, appears to have ruled over the entirety of the dynasty's thirteenth-century sea-realm, as did Magnús from 1252 onwards, the situation during the years between Haraldr Óláfsson's death and Magnús' accession is uncertain, and it is possible that the kingdom was partitioned between feuding dynasts, as it had been during the bitter inter-dynastic strife of the twelfth- and thirteenth centuries.McDonald 2007: p. 92. Clearly the situation in the Isles was unsettled in the 1250s. For example, Henry is known to have written letters to Alexander, Hákon, and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (died 1282), the co-ruler of Gwynedd, ordering them not allow their men invade Mann in Magnús' absence there in 1254.McDonald 1997: p. 104 fn 4.
Scottish aggression