Magnus Olafsson - Norwegian Retaliation

Norwegian Retaliation

Late in the summer of 1263, Hákon's fleet reached the northern seaboard of Scotland. Although the precise size of the fleet is unknown, the Icelandic Annals remark that "so great a host that an equally great army is not known ever to have gone from Norway". Upon reaching the Scottish-mainland, the late 13th century Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar ("The Saga of Hákon Hákonarson"), states that Hákon levied a tax upon Caithness and considered plundering into the Moray Firth. It is possible that he intended these acts as a form of retribution for the Earl of Ross' savage attack on Skye. The fleet then made its way south along the western seaboard to Skye, where the saga records that Hákon was met by Magnús. The saga states that Hákon's fleet then sailed south to Kerrera, where Dubgall mac Ruaidrí, King in the Isles (d. 1268) and Magnús amongst others, were sent to lead fifty ships towards Kintyre, while a smaller group was sent to Bute. The fleet sent to Kintyre was likely tasked with obtaining the allegiance of Áengus mac Domnaill, Lord of Islay (d. circa 1293) and a certain Murchad, both who are stated by the saga to have afterwards submitted to Hákon. The saga records that several castles were secured by Hákon's forces: Rothesay Castle on Bute; and an unnamed castle in southern Kintyre, which was more than likely Dunaverty Castle. At Gigha, the saga relates that Eógan surrendered himself to Hákon, and informed the Norwegian king that he had decided to side with the Scots from whom he held a larger grant of lands. At about the time when Hákon let Eógan go free, the saga records that the first messengers from the King of Scots arrived to parley.

The saga indicates that negotiations started peacefully enough, although as time drew on, and the weather grew worse, a time-pressed Hákon broke off all dialogue. He sent a detachment of ships deep into Lennox, through Loch Long—different versions of the saga number the force at forty and sixty ships—led by Magnús, Dubgall, Ailín mac Ruaidrí (Dubgall's brother), Áengus, and Murchad. The saga states that the ships were dragged across land to Loch Lomond—which indicates that the invaders would have beached their ships and made portage across the isthmus between the two lochs (between what are today the settlements of Arrochar and Tarbet). The saga vividly describes how the invaders wasted the well-inhabited islands of the loch and the dwellings surrounding the loch. The fact that Hákon tasked his Norse-Gaelic magnates with leading this foray likely indicates that their boats were lighter than those of the Norwegians, and thus easier to portage from one loch to another; it could also indicate that the undertaking was meant to test their faithfulness to the Norwegian cause.

While Lennox was being plundered, Hákon and his main force, stationed between the Cumbraes and the Scottish mainland, were occupied with the events surrounding the Battle of Largs, between 30 September and 3 October. Although claimed by later Scottish chroniclers as a great victory, in reality the so-called battle was nothing more than "a series of disorderly skirmishes", with relatively few casualties that achieved little for either side. Following the encounter, Hákon led his fleet northward up through the Hebrides. At Mull, he parted with his Norse-Gaelic lords: Dubgall was rewarded with Eógan's former island-domain; Murchad was given Arran, and a certain Ruaidrí was given Bute. The Norwegian fleet left the Hebrides and reached Orkney by the end of October, where an ill Hákon died in mid December. Despite the saga's claim that Hákon had been triumphant, in reality the campaign was a failure. Alexander's kingdom had successfully defended itself from Norwegian might, and many of Hákon's Norse-Gaelic supporters had been reluctant to support his cause.