page_title: Óspakr-Hákon
section_title: King of the Isles
hierarchical_section_title: Óspakr-Hákon / King of the Isles
caption_attribution_description: English: The names of Duggáll skrǫggr and Dungaðr, sons of Duggáll Sumarliðason, as they appear on folio 162v of AM 47 fol (Eirspennill). A transcription of this excerpt appears on page 555 of Jónsson, F, ed. (1916). Eirspennill: Am 47 Fol. Oslo: Julius Thømtes Boktrykkeri. This transcription reads: "Dugall skrækr ok Dungaðr".
context_page_description: Óspakr, also known as Hákon, was a King of the Isles. He seems to have been a son of Dubgall mac Somairle, King of the Isles, and therefore a member of the Meic Dubgaill branch of the Meic Somairle kindred. Óspakr spent a considerable portion of his career in the Kingdom of Norway as a member of the Birkibeinar faction in the Civil war era in Norway. He seems to be identical to Óspakr suðreyski, a Birkibeinar who took part in the plundering of Hebrides and the sacking of Iona in 1209/1210. The context of this expedition is uncertain, although it may have been envisioned as a way of reasserting Norwegian royal authority into the Kingdom of the Isles.
  In the decade following the ravaging of Iona, the Kingdom of the Isles was plagued by vicious conflict between two competing dynasts of the Crovan dynasty. Although one member of this kindred, Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles, overcame his main dynastic rival in 1229, he faced continued opposition from Alan fitz Roland, Lord of Galloway, and leading members of the Meic Somairle.
context_section_description: In the decades following the ravaging of Iona, the Kingdom of the Isles was plagued by vicious conflict between two competing dynasts of the Crovan dynasty: namely Rǫgnvaldr and his younger half-brother, Óláfr Guðrøðarson. Although Rǫgnvaldr enlisted the support of Alan fitz Roland, Lord of Galloway by way of a marital alliance, Óláfr seized the kingship of the Isles in 1226, and slew Rǫgnvaldr three years later. The death of Alan's ally did not deter Gallovidian interests in the Isles. In fact, it is apparent that Alan and members of the Meic Somairle—Dubgall and Donnchad, both sons of Dubgall mac Somairle—upheld pressure upon the recently inaugurated Óláfr. According to Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, reports of open warfare in the Isles reached the royal court of Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway in the summer of 1229. Specifically, the saga singles out Alan as one of the principal perpetrators of unrest in the Isles, describing him as "the greatest warrior", possessing a large force of men and ships with which he plundered throughout the Hebrides. The two sons of Dubgall mac Somairle are also noted, as is a kinsman of theirs named Somairle. All three of these Meic Somairle kinsmen are styled kings by Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, which describes the men as "unfaithful" to the Norwegian Crown. The saga also identifies Óspakr as yet another son of Dubgall mac Somairle, albeit one who was had long served outwith the Isles as a Birkibeinar. Although Óláfr arrived at the Norwegian court early in 1230, having been forced from the Isles by Alan and his allies, it is evident that Hákon had already decided upon a course of action.
  The Icelandic annals, the Chronicle of Mann, the fourteenth-century Chronicle of Lanercost, and Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, all reveal that Hákon handed over the kingship of the Isles to Óspakr and bestowed upon him the royal name Hákon. According to the latter source, Hákon not only granted him the kingship, but also gave him command of the Norwegian fleet tasked with restoring peace in the Isles. Within days of Óláfr's arrival in Norway, the saga reveals that Óspakr's fleet set sail for the Isles, and swelled in number after reaching Orkney. Whilst the Eirspennill version of the saga numbers the fleet in Norway at twelve ships, the Flateyjarbók, Frísbók, and Skálholtsbók versions give the number eleven; and whilst the former version relates that the fleet gained twenty ships from Orkney, the latter three versions state that the fleet numbered twenty when it left Orkney. Once in the Isles, the fleet linked up with the three other members of the Meic Somairle on Islay. According to the saga, the Meic Somairle held a feast for the Norwegians. That night, whilst Donnchad slept on board with Óspakr, the Norwegians are stated to have attacked Dubgall and Somairle, killing the latter amongst many others. Once Óspakr became aware of the attack, the source states that he allowed Donnchad to escape, and took Dubgall under his protection. One possibility is that Donnchad's escape was enabled as in an attempt to retain the Meic Dubgaill's dual allegiance to the Norwegian and Scottish Crowns. Another possibility is that Óspakr's Meic Somairle kinsmen were suspected of attempting to sabotage the operation. Certainly, Donnchad's later career reveals him to have ingratiated himself to the Scottish cause.
  There are two conspicuous Meic Somairle absentees from Óspakr's campaign. One such man was Ruaidrí mac Ragnaill, who seems to have been driven from Kintyre by Alexander II, King of Scotland in the 1220s. One explanation for Ruaidrí's nonappearance may be his possible participation in the near-concurrent insurrection of the Meic Uilleim claimants to the Scottish throne. Ruaidrí's younger brother, Domnall, is likewise unattested, although this may have been due to the fact that he seems to have come to an accommodation with the Scottish king in the wake of Ruaidrí's expulsion, and to have owed his lordship in Kintyre to Alexander's good will. If correct, the Norwegian muster off Islay, and the ravaging of surrounding territo
caption: The names of Dubgall and Donnchad, sons of Dubgall mac Somairle and possible brothers of Óspakr, as they appear on folio 162v of AM 47 fol (Eirspennill): "Dugall skrækr ok Dungaðr".[52] The epithet attributed to Dubgall in this excerpt, skrækr, translates to "screech".[53][note 3]
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