Magnus Olafsson - Acta and Honours

Acta and Honours

Only twenty originals, copies, or abstract versions of royal charters of the kings of the Crovan dynasty are known. Of these, only three date to the reign of Magnús—one of which, a grant to Conishead Priory in 1256, is the only original royal charter of the dynasty in existence. Important devices attached to royal charters were double-sided waxen seals, used to authentic such instruments. Although no seals of the dynasty now survive, there exists several 17th- and 18th century descriptions and depictions of ones believed to have belonged to Magnús' uncle Rögnvaldr, and brother Haraldr. This limited evidence suggests that, in the 12th- and 13th centuries, the kings of the dynasty bore a sailing ship upon their seals, which would have likely represented the clinker-built galley utilised in the Isles at the time. Borne by men whose strength lay in the power of armed galley-fleets, such a symbol would have represented their authority in the Isles.

The Chronicle of Mann, the only narrative source for the dynasty's realm, was compiled on Mann during Magnús' reign. Analysis of the document reveals that the main scribe's last entry dates to 1257, in an account which records the dedication of the Abbey of St Mary, Rushen in the presence of Magnús and Richard, Bishop of the Isles. The chronicle thus appears to have been commissioned by, or on behalf of, Magnús himself. The chronicle is somewhat biased in favour of one line of the dynasty over another—the line of Magnús's father, Óláfr, over that of Óláfr's rival half-brother Rögnvaldr. For example, Haraldr Guðrøðarson is depicted as a usurper and tyrant, in contrast to the legitimate kingship of his cousin, Magnús. In fact, one reason for the chronicle's composition may have been to legitimise the line of Óláfr which, at the time of the chronicle's compilation, was then represented by Magnús himself.

Like his father and his brother Haraldr, Magnús is recorded within the Chronicle of Mann as having been knighted by Henry III. The knighthoods of Haraldr (in 1247) and Magnús (in 1256) appear to be confirmed by independent English sources. For example, within Henry's letter to Magnús in 1256, Magnús is described to have been invested with a military belt by the English king.