Mann and the Isles, Kingdom of
Substate | Defunct
1079 CE to 1164 CE
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 CE.
The islands are 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 is 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 claim that title.
At times the rulers are independent of external control, although for much of the period they have 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 kilometers (3,205 sq mi) and extend for more than 500 kilometrers (310 mi) from north to south.Viking influence in the area commences in the late 8th century, and while there is no doubt that the Uí Ímair dynasty plays 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 vassal the Earl of Orkney) are recurring themes.Invasion by Magnus Barelegs in the late 11th century results in a brief period of direct Norwegian rule over the kingdom, but soon the descendants of Godred Crovan reassert a further period of largely independent overlordship.
This comes to an end with the emergence of Somerled, on whose death in 1164 the kingdom is split in two.
Just over a century later, the islands become part of the Kingdom of Scotland, following the 1266 Treaty of Perth.
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Godfred Corvan, an Icelandic-born Viking, has twice attempted the conquest of the Isle of Man, long under the control of the Dublin Norsemen.
The Isle of Man is part of a larger political entity called the Kingdom of the Sudreys, or Kingdom of the Isles, which consists of Mann and the Hebrides.
According to the Chronicles of Mann, Godred Crovan's father was "Harald the Black of Ysland" about whom nothing more is known.
Other sources suggest he may have been a brother or son of Ivar Haraldsson, who died in 1054.
King Godred Sitricson had died in 1070 and his throne had passed to his son Fingal, but he does not seem to have remained there long.
Godred Crovan had assembled a fleet and an army, probably of Norsemen from the Hebrides, and in 1079 attacks the island.
Repulsed, he soon returns for a second attempt.
and is again repulsed, but later in the same year Godred Crovan comes back a third time, and the chronicles are reasonably clear as to what happened next: Corvan and his Vikings defeated the Manxmen at the Battle of Skyhill, one and a half miles west of Ramsey.
It has been suggested that Fingal died at this battle, as he disappears from the record from this time, but the otherwise detailed account neglects to mention this.
The result of the battle is that the Manx submit to Godred’s rule and a sanctioned plundering of the island is carried out by his men.
The island is then divided between the north, for rule by the Manx, and the South, for rule by those from the Hebrides whom Godred had brought with him to the battle.
Despite Godred then moving on to a conquest of Dublin before returning to the Hebrides, he will retain rule of the island until his death in 1095.
His descendants will continue to rule the island for the next seventy-four years, until 1153.
Most information about Magnus is gleaned from Norse sagas and chronicles, which will only begin to appear during the twelfth century.
The most important sources still available are the Norwegian chronicles Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium by Theodoric the Monk and the anonymous Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum (or simply Ágrip) from the 1180s and the Icelandic sagas Heimskringla (by Snorri Sturluson), Morkinskinna and Fagrskinna, which date to about the 1220s.
While the later sagas are the most detailed accounts, they are also generally considered the least reliable.
Additional information about Magnus, in particular his campaigns, is found in sources from the British Isles, which include contemporary accounts.
Although sources are unclear about the first year of Magnus Barefoot’s reign, it is apparent that the king’s focus is on the west (towards the British Isles).
Since conditions have been chaotic in Norse-dominated parts of the British Isles since the death of Thorfinn the Mighty, this provides Magnus an opportunity to intervene in local power struggles.
According to some accounts, he made his first expedition west in 1093–94 (or 1091–92), helping Scottish king Donald Bane to conquer Edinburgh and the Scottish throne and possibly gaining control of the Southern Isles (Suðreyjar) in return.
It is unclear if this early expedition took place, since it is not directly referenced in early reliable sources or the sagas.
Haakon has been proclaimed king in the Uplands and at the Øyrating, the thing of Trøndelag (in central Norway).
According to Førsund, Haakon took control of the entire portion of the kingdom once held by his father (also including the Frostating—the thing of Hålogaland in northern Norway—and the Gulating—the thing of western Norway).
Haakon has secured support by relieving farmers of taxes and duties (including taxes dating back to the Danish rule of Sweyn Knutsson during the early 1030s), while Magnus pursues costly policies and demands lengthy military service.
After Magnus settles at the new royal estate in Nidaros for the winter of 1094–95, Haakon also travels to the city and takes up residence at the old royal estate.
Their relationship becomes increasingly tense, culminating when Haakon sees Magnus' longships fully rigged at sea.
Haakon summons the Øyrating in response, leading Magnus to sail southwards.
Haakon attempts to intercept Magnus by traveling south to Viken by land (over the mountains of Dovrefjell), but he dies unexpectedly while hunting in February 1095.
Haakon's foster-father Tore Tordsson ("Steigar-Tore"), who refuses to recognize Magnus as king after Haakon's death had been the strongman behind the monarch.
With Egil Aslaksson and other noblemen, he has the otherwise-unknown Sweyn Haraldsson set up as a pretender.
Although later sagas maintain that Sweyn was Danish, some modern historians have speculated that he may have been a son of Harald Hardrada.
The revolt is based in the Uplands, but also gains support from noblemen elsewhere in the country.
After several weeks of fighting, Magnus captures Tore and his supporters and has them hanged on the island of Vambarholm (outside Hamnøy, Lofoten, in northern Norway).
Magnus was reportedly furious because he could not pardon Egil, a potentially useful, young and resourceful nobleman.
As king, his honor would only allow a pardon if other noblemen pleaded for Egil's life; this did not happen.
The Normans, following their invasion of England in 1066, and the subsequent conquest of large parts of Wales, had proceeded towards North Wales in the late eleventh century.
While the Normans had experienced a setback in 1094, the Norman earls Hugh of Montgomery and Hugh d'Avranches finally manage to conquer North Wales and Anglesey in 1098, forcing Gruffudd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd, to flee to Ireland.
The Norwegian king Magnus Barefoot goes on an expedition with a large fleet into the Irish Sea early in 1098, seeking to assert Norwegian rule over the Kingdom of the Isles.
After he has subdued most of the Isles and set up his base on Mann, he goes further south and appears with six ships (according to the English chronicler Orderic Vitalis), off the coast of Anglesey, only a few days after the Norman capture.
According to Orderic Vitalis, Magnus enters the Menai Strait with a red shield on the mast, which is the usual sign to signal peace and trade.
While Magnus may have sought trade, or to get provisions for his ships, he may also have intended to take possession of the island as a base for further operations.
When Magnus approaches Anglesey in June or July, the Normans do not permit him to land.
The fighting starts with the two sides shooting arrows at each other, the Norwegians while still onboard their ships, and the Normans while standing on the shore.
As the Normans prepare to attack the Norwegians, Hugh of Montgomery, who is fully armored except for an opening for his eyes, is shot through one eye with an arrow and dies instantly.
Contemporary non-Norse sources all agree that Magnus Barefoot himself was responsible for the shot, while the Norse sagas are somewhat less inclined to attribute the decisive shot to Magnus alone, noting that his shot hit Hugh almost simultaneously with that of another of his men.
Since some sources indicates that Magnus regretted the deed when he realized who he had killed, Magnus may originally have been interested in alliances with the Normans.
The Normans retreated from Anglesey to England following the defeat.
Magnus also conquers the Isle of Man, …
…the Hebrides, and …
…the Orkney Islands in 1098.
The Norse jarls from this point forward twill owe allegiance both to Norway for Orkney and to the Scottish crown through their holdings as Mormaers of Caithness.
The Welsh consider the Norwegians their liberators following the Norwegian victory against the Normans, but Magnus regards Anglesey as part of the Kingdom of the Isles and takes the island as a Norwegian possession.
Since the Norwegians never settle on the island, Anglesey reverts to Welsh control in 1099 when Gruffudd ap Cynan returns from Ireland.
The Norwegian control is at best nominal hereafter,but as Gruffudd awards Magnus with great rewards and honor, and during Magnus' second expedition in 1102 allows him to cut as much timber as he wanted, Magnus may possibly have reasserted the overlordship over Gruffudd formerly held by Godred Crovan, and thereby received the submission of Gwynedd.
The Norse Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, which has existed in the British Isles from 1079 until 1266, has two parts, Sodor, or the South Isles (the Hebrides and Mann), and Norðr, or the North Isles (Orkney and Shetland).
The Kings of Mann and the Isles are vassals of the Kings of Norway.
Orkney’s Kirkjuvåg bishopric is from 1153 subordinate to the archbishop of Nidaros (today's Trondheim).
Cubbie Roo's Castle, built around this time and mentioned in the Orkneyinga Saga, is one of the oldest castles in Scotland.