Arms and Armour

Olaf the Black

Óláfr Guðrøðarson (died 1237) (Scottish Gaelic: Amhlaibh Dubh; English: Olafr Godredsson), also known as Olaf the Black, was a thirteenth-century King of the Isles, and a member of the Crovan dynasty. 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.

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See also

• ▸Hoogstraten Castle
• ▸Bryan Adams
• ▸Battle of Tarakan (1945)

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