page_title: Óláfr Guðrøðarson (died 1237)
section_title: Hebridean magnate
hierarchical_section_title: Óláfr Guðrøðarson (died 1237) / Hebridean magnate
caption_attribution_description: Español: El Maestro Esteban proyecta un soberbio transepto (1100-1115) tomando como modelo el de la Abadía de Cluny
context_page_description: Óláfr Guðrøðarson (died 1237), 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 the 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.
context_section_description: Rǫgnvaldr succeeded Guðrøðr as king in 1188. At some point after assuming control of the kingdom, the chronicle reports that Rǫgnvaldr gave Óláfr possession of a certain island called "Lodhus". The chronicle disparagingly describes the island as being mountainous and rocky, completely unsuitable for cultivation, and declares that its small population lived mostly by hunting and fishing. Although Lodhus is an early Latin form of the place name of Lewis—the rather flat and boggy northerly half of the Outer Hebridean island of Lewis and Harris—the chronicle's text seems to instead refer to Harris—the somewhat mountainous southerly half. The chronicle claims that, because of the impoverishment of his lands, Óláfr was unable to support himself and his followers, and that in consequence he led "a poor sort of life". There is reason to suspect that the chronicle's otherwise perceptible prejudice against Rǫgnvaldr's branch of the Crovan dynasty, and its apparent bias in favour of Mann over the northern-most reaches of the realm, may also account for its denigrating depiction of Óláfr's allotted lands.
  In consequence of this supposed poverty, the chronicle claims that Óláfr went to Rǫgnvaldr, who was also living in the Hebrides, and confronted him for more land. Rǫgnvaldr's stated response was to have Óláfr seized and sent to William I, King of Scotland, who kept him imprisoned for almost seven years. It is possible that, at this stage of his career, Óláfr acted as an under-king to Rǫgnvaldr, and sought to increase his share of power. There is reason to suspect that, following Óláfr's inability to make a deal with Rǫgnvaldr, Óláfr approached Ingi Bárðarson, King of Norway, and offered himself as a more palatable vassal-king in return for Norwegian support in deposing Rǫgnvaldr. In 1210, Rǫgnvaldr himself appears to have travelled to Norway, as evinced by a version of the thirteenth-century Bǫglunga sǫgur, in a journey that could well have been an attempt to further cement his position in the Isles, and counter Óláfr's claims to the throne, by formally submitting to the Norwegian king. In any case, the chronicle states that William died during the seventh year of Óláfr's captivity, and that William had ordered the release of all his political prisoners before his passing. Since William died in December 1214, Óláfr's incarceration appears to have spanned between about 1207/1208 and 1214/1215. Upon his release, the chronicle reveals that the half-brothers met on Mann, after which Óláfr set off on a pilgrimage with his followers to Santiago de Compostela.
  Óláfr's time in the Isles is confirmed by several Icelandic sources—the sagas of Hrafn Sveinbjarnarson (an Icelandic chieftain) and Guðmundr Arason (an Icelandic ecclesiast)—which recount how, in 1202, Guðmundr attempted to sail from Iceland to Norway to become consecrated as the Bishop of Hólar. For example, the thirteenth-century Hrafns saga Sveinbjarnarsonar relates that the wayfaring Icelanders encountered a severe storm and were blown far off course before being forced to make landfall in the Hebrides. The saga identifies the island they landed upon as Sandey, which may well refer to Sanday, a tiny tidal island linked to its larger neighbour Canna, the westernmost island of the Small Isles. The sandy flat that joins the islands together forms one of the best natural harbours in the Hebrides.
  According to Hrafns saga Sveinbjarnarsonar, the Icelanders were met by an official of a local king named Óláfr who attempted to collect a landing-tax from them. Afterwards, whilst the Icelanders were at church, the king is said to have personally invited the bishop-elect to dine with him. Guðmundr is then said to have refused the king, after which the latter forbade them to leave. Although the Icelanders are reported to have taken up arms, they eventually caved to the king before being allowed to set sail for Norway. The king encountered by the Icelanders was probably Óláfr himself, although it is not certain that the Crovan dynasty controlled the Small Isles at this point in history. One p
caption: The mediaeval barrel-vaulted nave of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. For over a thousand years the cathedral has been the destination of pilgrims making their way to Santiago de Compostela.
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