 - 1153
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| Name |
Olaf I Godredsson "The Red" Of Man |
| Prefix |
King |
| Nickname |
The Red |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
1153 |
Isle Of MAN  |
| Person ID |
I61334 |
Cecilie Family |
| Last Modified |
2 Mar 2009 |
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| Event Map |
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 | Death - 1153 - Isle Of MAN |
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| Notes |
- Notes for Olaf I Godredson:
"King of Man"; Olaf the Red of Man ; Olaf Bitlungcalled Olaf the Red, ruled Man and the Isles, 1114-53.
The son of Godred Crovan, he was too young on the death of his father and elder brothers to assume tht title. This suggests he well may have been the son of a second marriage and was born late in Godred's life, perhaps around 1085/6. Because of his youth a regent was appointed (Comnall mac Teige), whose rule was so oppresive that he was deposed. From 1099-1103 the Isles were under the direct control of Magnus III of Norway, who established his second son Sigurd (III) as king of Orkney and the Isles, which included all of the Hebrides down to Man. During these years Olaf stayed at the court of Henry I of England and learned about Norman administration. After Sigurd returned to Norway in 1103, Olaf strove to gain the kingdom of Man, though it seems that Domnall still held on to the title for some years and may not have been expelled until around 1111 or 1114. Olaf reigned in peace and harmony for forty years, a remakable achievement considering the upheaval elsewhere throughout Britain. part fo the reason for this was Olaf's mastery of the seas around Man. He owned a powerful fleet, probably the most powerful in Britain. He served as a form of policing agent, but it also meant no one had the temerity to attack him. He succeeded in maintaining good allicances with all contemporary monarchs, and with the church. He established a Cistercian monastery in Man at Rushen in 1134. In 1140 his daughter Ragnhild, married Somerled, the lord of Argyll who would subsequently usurp the kingdom of Man. By 1153 Olaf was approaching seventy and was too feeble to risk the journey to Norway to pay homage to his overlord, King Eystein III, so his son, Godred (II) went in his stead. During his son's absence, Olaf's nephew, Ragnald, the son of Harald who had been murdered by Olaf's brother Lagman, grew impatiend, believing he should have been king in Olaf's place. The impatience boiled into murder, and Olaf was killed.
Mike Ashley, 'British Monarchs'King of the Isle of Man, Olave of Man
Note: According to the Icelandic sagas [see ESSH, vol. 2, p. 191], Olaf md. Ingibjorg, daughter of Hakon, jarl of Orkney, by whom he was father of Godred. In contradiction to this, Chronicon Regum Manniae (CRM) states that Godred was the son of Aufrica, daughter of Fergus of Galloway. Although there seems to be no good reason to doubt that Olaf was also married to Ingibjorg, the native source of CRM is to be preferred regarding the identity of Godred's mother.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~medieval/man.htm
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| Sources |
- [S1283] Skuncke, Herje., Skuncke (1979)., (Norrkoping: Private Edition, 1979.).
- [S1326] Young, G. V. C., Young (1981), (Peel, Isle of Man: The Mansk-Svenska Publishing Co., 1981.), p. 202 (Reliability: 3).
- [S1484] Ashley, Mike, Ashley (1998), (New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1998.), p.420 (Reliability: 3).
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