Guðrøðr Rǫgnvaldsson (died 1231), also known as Guðrøðr Dond, was a thirteenth-century ruler of the Kingdom of the Isles. He was a member of the Crovan dynasty, and a son of Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles, the eldest son of Guðrøðr Óláfsson, King of Dublin and the Isles. Although the latter may have intended for his younger son, Óláfr, to succeed to the kingship, the Islesmen instead settled upon Rǫgnvaldr, who went on to rule the Kingdom of the Isles for almost forty years. The bitterly disputed royal succession divided the Crovan dynasty for three generations, and played a central role in Guðrøðr's recorded life.
Guðrøðr's mother was Rǫgnvaldr's wife. Whilst the name of this woman is unknown, she appears to have been a member of the Clann Somhairle kindred. Although Rǫgnvaldr was able to orchestrate a marriage between Óláfr and her sister, Óláfr was able to oversee the nullification of this alliance and proceeded to marry the daughter of a leading Scottish magnate. In consequence, Guðrøðr's mother ordered her son to attack Óláfr. Although Guðrøðr is recorded to have ravaged Óláfr's lands on Lewis and Harris, the latter was able to escape to the protection of his father-in-law on the Scottish mainland. In about 1223, Óláfr, and his adherent Páll Bálkason, invaded Skye, defeated Guðrøðr, and blinded and castrated him.
Guðrøðr's maiming marks a turning point in the feud between Rǫgnvaldr and Óláfr. With the escalation of hostilities, Rǫgnvaldr bound himself to Alan fitz Roland, Lord of Galloway. Although Rǫgnvaldr was greatly aided by Alan's military might, Óláfr eventually gained the upper hand, and Rǫgnvaldr was slain in 1229. Afterwards, Alan and his Clann Somhairle allies continued to pressure Óláfr, forcing him from the Isles to Norway where news of the continual warfare had already reached Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway. As a result, Hákon elevated an apparent Clann Somhairle dynast, a certain Óspakr, as King of the Isles, and outfitted him with a fleet to secure control of the Isles.
Guðrøðr seems to have been one of Óspakr's principal supporters, and accompanied him in the ensuing campaign that reached the Isles in 1230. Óspakr seems to died from injuries sustained in the midst of the operation after which command fell to Óláfr. Although the latter proceeded to divert the fleet to Mann where he was reinstalled as king, Guðrøðr was recognised as king of the Hebridean portion of the realm. The following year, after the Norwegians vacated the Isles, both Guðrøðr and Páll are reported to have been killed. Although Óláfr consolidated control of the entirety of the Crovan dynasty's realm, ruling it for the rest of his life, Guðrøðr's son, Haraldr, continued the dynastic feud with Óláfr's successors, and temporarily held the kingship at the midpoint of the century.
Antecessors.
Guðrøðr was a son of Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles, and a member of the Crovan dynasty. Guðrøðr's mother was Rǫgnvaldr's wife, a woman who is styled Queen of the Isles by the thirteenth- to fourteenth-century "Chronicle of Mann". Although her parentage is uncertain, the chronicle describes her father as a nobleman from Kintyre, which suggests that he was a member of Clann Somhairle. Rǫgnvaldr was a son of Guðrøðr Óláfsson, King of Dublin and the Isles. Other children of this ruler include Affrica, Ívarr, Óláfr, a daughter whose name is unknown, and possibly a son named Ruaidhrí.
Whilst Óláfr's mother was Fionnghuala Nic Lochlainn, an Irishwoman whose marriage to Guðrøðr Óláfsson was formalised (at about the time of Óláfr's birth) in 1176/1177, Rǫgnvaldr's mother appears to have been another Irishwoman named Sadbh. When Guðrøðr Óláfsson died in 1187, the chronicle reports that he left instructions for Óláfr to succeed to the kingship since the latter had been born "in lawful wedlock". Whether this is an accurate record of events is uncertain, as the Islesmen are stated to have chosen Rǫgnvaldr to rule instead, because unlike Óláfr, who was only a child at the time, Rǫgnvaldr was a hardy young man fully capable to reign as king. The fact that Rǫgnvaldr and Óláfr had different mothers may well explain the intense conflict between the two men in the years that followed. This continuing kin-strife is one of the main themes of Rǫgnvaldr's long reign.
At some point after assuming control of the kingdom, the chronicle reports that Rǫgnvaldr gave Óláfr possession of a certain island called "". Whilst the name of this island appears to refer to Lewis—the northerly half of the Outer Hebridean island of Lewis and Harris—the chronicle's text seems to instead refer to Harris—the southerly half. In any case, the chronicle further relates that Óláfr later confronted Rǫgnvaldr for a larger share of the realm, after which Rǫgnvaldr had him seized and sent to William I, King of Scotland, who kept him imprisoned for almost seven years until about the time of the latter's death in 1214. Since William died in December 1214, Óláfr's incarceration appears to have spanned between about 1207/1208 and 1214/1215. Upon Óláfr's release, the chronicle reveals that the half-brothers met on Mann, after which Óláfr set off on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
Scandinavian sojourn.
In 1210, Rǫgnvaldr appears to have found himself the target of renewed Norwegian hegemony in the Isles. Specifically, the Icelandic annals reveal that a military expedition from Norway to the Isles was in preparation in 1209. The following year, the same source makes note of "warfare" in the Isles, and specifies that the holy island of Iona was pillaged. These reports are corroborated by "Bǫglunga sǫgur", a thirteenth-century saga-collection that survives in two versions. Both versions reveal that a fleet of Norwegians plundered in the Isles, and the shorter version notes how men of the Birkibeinar and the Baglar—two competing sides of the Norwegian civil war—decided to recoup their financial losses with a twelve-ship raiding expedition into the Isles. The longer version states that "'" (styled "'") and "'" (styled "'") had not paid their taxes due to the Norwegian kings. In consequence, the source records that the Isles were ravaged until the two travelled to Norway and reconciled themselves with Ingi Bárðarson, King of Norway, whereupon the two took their lands from Ingi as a "" (fief).
The two submitting monarchs of the saga most likely represent Rǫgnvaldr and Guðrøðr. Their submission appears to have been undertaken in the context facing the strengthening position of the Norwegian Crown following the settlement between the Birkibeinar and Baglar, and the simultaneous weakening of the Crovan dynasty due to internal infighting. The destructive Norwegian activity in the Isles may have been some sort of officially sanctioned punishment from Norway due to Rǫgnvaldr's recalcitrance in terms of, not only his Norwegian obligations, but his recent reorientation towards the English Crown. The fact that Ingi turned his attention to the Isles so soon after peace was brokered in Norway may well indicate the importance that he placed on his relations with Rǫgnvaldr and his contemporaries in the Isles. There is reason to suspect that Óláfr had earlier approached Ingi in an attempt to garner support in gaining his perceived birthright before Rǫgnvaldr was able to have Óláfr imprisoned by the Scots. With Óláfr thus neutralised, Rǫgnvaldr could well have submitted to the Norwegian Crown in the context of further securing his hold of the kingship. In any event, the albeit confused titles accorded to Rǫgnvaldr and Guðrøðr by the saga seem to reveal that Guðrøðr possessed some degree of power in the Isles by the early thirteenth century.
Kin-strife.
Upon Óláfr's return from his pilgrimage, the chronicle records that Rǫgnvaldr had Óláfr marry "", the sister of his own wife. Rǫgnvaldr then granted back to Óláfr, where the newlyweds proceeded to live until the arrival of Reginald, Bishop of the Isles. The chronicle claims that the bishop disapproved of the marriage on the grounds that Óláfr had formerly had a concubine who was a cousin of Lauon. A synod was then assembled, after which the marriage is stated to have been nullified. Although the chronicle alleges that Óláfr's marriage was doomed for being within a prohibited degree of kinship, there is reason to suspect that the real reason for its demise was the animosity between the half-brothers. Once freed from his arranged marriage, Óláfr proceeded to marry Cairistíona, daughter of Fearchar mac an tSagairt, a man closely aligned with Alexander II, King of Scotland.
If the chronicle is to be believed, Óláfr's separation from Lauon enraged her sister—the wife of Rǫgnvaldr and mother of Guðrøðr—who surreptitiously tricked Guðrøðr into attacking Óláfr in 1223. Following what he thought were his father's orders, Guðrøðr gathered a force on Skye—where he was evidently based—and proceeded to , where he is reported to have laid waste to most of the island. Óláfr is said to have only narrowly escaped with a few men, and to have fled to the protection of his father-in-law on the mainland in Ross. Óláfr is stated to have been followed into exile by Páll Bálkason, a "" on Skye who refused to take up arms against him. At a later date, Óláfr and Páll are reported to have returned to Skye and defeated Guðrøðr in battle.
The chronicle specifies that Guðrøðr was overcome on "a certain island called the isle of St Columba". This location may be identical to Skeabost Island in the mouth of the river Snizort (). Another possibility is that the isle in question is the now-landlocked island of Eilean Chaluim Chille in the Kilmuir district (). This island once sat in Loch Chaluim Chille before the loch was drained of water and turned into a meadow. There is archaeological evidence to suggest that a fortified site sat on another island in the loch, and that this islet was connected to the monastic island by a causeway. If correct, the fortification could account for Guðrøðr's presence near an ecclesiastical site. According to the chronicle, Óláfr's forces consisted of five boats, and encircled the island after having launched from the opposite shore two from it. This distance, about , suggests that the island is more likely Eilean Chaluim Chille than Skeabost Island, as the former appears to have sat between and from the surrounding shores of Loch Chaluim Chille. In any case, in consequence of the defeat, Guðrøðr's captured followers were put to death, whilst Guðrøðr himself was blinded and castrated. It is possible that Óláfr was aided by Fearchar in the strike against Guðrøðr. Certainly, the chronicle's account seems to suggest that Óláfr accumulated his forces whilst sheltering in Ross. Although the chronicle maintains that Óláfr was unable to prevent this torture, and specifically identifies Páll as the instigator of the act, the Icelandic annals record that Óláfr was indeed responsible for his nephew's plight, and make no mention of Páll.
The mutilation and killing of high-status kinsmen during power struggles was not an unknown phenomenon in the peripheral regions of the British Isles during the High Middle Ages. For instance, in only the century-and-a-half of its existence, at least nine members of the Crovan dynasty perished from mutilation or assassination. For instance, in only the century-and-a-half of its existence, at least nine members of the Crovan dynasty perished from mutilation or assassination. As such, there is reason to regard this vicious internecine violence as the Crovan dynasty's greatest weakness. To contemporaries, the tortures of blinding and emasculation were a means of depriving power from a political opponent. Not only would the punishment deny a man the ability to sire descendants, it would divest him of personal power, limiting his ability to attract supporters, and further offset the threat of future vengeance. The maiming inflicted upon Guðrøðr seems to exemplify Óláfr's intent to wrest his perceived birthright from Rǫgnvaldr's bloodline. It is unknown why Rǫgnvaldr did not similarly neutralise Óláfr when he had the chance years before, although it may have had something to do with the preservation of international relations. For example, it is possible that his act of showing leniency to Óláfr had garnered Scottish support against the threat of Norwegian overlordship. In any case, the neutralisation of Guðrøðr appears to mark a turning point in the struggle between the Óláfr and Rǫgnvaldr.
Escalation of warfare.
In 1224, the year following Guðrøðr's defeat, the chronicle reveals that Óláfr took hostages from the leading men of the Hebridean portion of the realm, and confronted Rǫgnvaldr on