page_title: Óláfr Guðrøðarson (died 1237)
section_title: Conflict with Guðrøðr Dond
hierarchical_section_title: Óláfr Guðrøðarson (died 1237) / Conflict with Guðrøðr Dond
caption_attribution_description: English: One of the Lewis chessmen. This photo is a cropped version of File:Chess02.jpg.
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: If the chronicle is to be believed, Óláfr's separation from Lauon enraged her sister—the wife of Rǫgnvaldr and mother of Guðrøðr Dond—who surreptitiously tricked Guðrøðr Dond into attacking Óláfr in 1223. Following what he thought were his father's orders, Guðrøðr Dond gathered a force on Skye—where he was evidently based—and proceeded to Lodhus, 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 vicecomes 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 Dond in battle.
   
  The chronicle specifies that Guðrøðr Dond 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 (NG41824850). Another possibility is that the isle in question is the now-landlocked island of Eilean Chaluim Chille in the Kilmuir district (NG37706879). 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 Dond'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 stadia from it. This distance, about 2 furlongs (400 metres), suggests that the island is more likely Eilean Chaluim Chille than Skeabost Island, as the former appears to have sat between 285 metres (935 feet) and 450 metres (1,480 feet) from the surrounding shores of Loch Chaluim Chille. In any case, following the clash, the chronicle reports that Guðrøðr Dond's captured followers were put to death, and Guðrøðr Dond was blinded and castrated. It is possible that Óláfr was aided by Fearchar in the strike against Guðrøðr Dond. 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. 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 Dond 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 Dond appears to mark a turning point in the struggle between the Óláfr and Rǫgnvaldr.
  In September 1219, Rǫgnvaldr surrendered Mann to the papacy, swore to perform homage for the island, and promised to pay twelve marks sterling in perpetuity as 
caption: A rook gaming piece of the Lewis chessmen.[172] The Scandinavian connections of leading members of the Isles may have been reflected in their military armament, and could have resembled that depicted upon such gaming pieces.[173]
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