Ragnvald Godredsson - Alliance With Alan of Galloway

Alliance With Alan of Galloway

In 1224, the year following Óláfr and Páll's victory over Guðrøðr, the chronicle states that Óláfr took hostages from leading men of island portion of the kingdom, and with a fleet of thirty-two ships, landed on Mann and confronted Rögnvaldr directly. It was then agreed that the kingdom would be split between the two—with Rögnvaldr keeping Mann itself along with the title of king, and Óláfr retaining the island portions. With his half-brother's rise at his own expense, Rögnvaldr appears to have turned to Alan, Lord of Galloway, a powerful magnate in the Irish Sea zone. Alan and Rögnvaldr appear to have been closely connected: both were great-grandsons of Fergus; both received lands in Ulster at about the same time; and Rögnvaldr's Gallovidian connections may well have led to his alliance with William during the Caithness episode. The following year, the chronicle records that, Rögnvaldr and Alan took part in a military campaign in the Hebrides, in an attempt to take possession of the lands that Rögnvaldr had given Óláfr. Unfortunately for Rögnvaldr, the expedition came to nothing, as the chronicle notes that the Manx were unwilling to battle against Óláfr and the Hebrideans.

A short time afterwards, the chronicle records that Rögnvaldr collected a tribute of 100 marks from the Manx, under the pretext of travelling to the court of the King of England. The chronicle notes that, Rögnvaldr then travelled to Alan's court and gave his daughter away in marriage to Alan's son. Such a marriage, between Rögnvaldr's daughter and Alan's illegitimate son Thomas, cemented an alliance which would have benefited Alan in his activities in Ulster against the de Lacys. It also gave Alan a stake in the kingship. Unfortunately for Rögnvaldr, the chronicle indicates that the prospect of a Gallovidian king prompted the Manx to depose Rögnvaldr in favour of Óláfr. By 1226, the chronicle states that Óláfr had taken control of the island-kingdom, and ruled as king for the next two years.

In this low point of his career, Rögnvaldr's appears to have gone into exile at Alan's court in Galloway. In 1228, while Óláfr and his chieftains were absent in Hebrides, the chronicle records of an invasion of Mann by Rögnvaldr, Alan and his brother, Thomas, Earl of Atholl (d. 1231). The southern half of the island was completely devastated, as the chronicle declares that it was almost reduced to a desert. In what may have been the price for Gallovidian support, Alan is described by the chronicle to have installed bailiffs who were instructed to collect tribute from Mann and send it back to Galloway. Unfortunately for scholars, the chronicle does not record Rögnvaldr's role in the takeover. After Alan had left the island for home, Óláfr and his forces appeared and routed the remaining Gallovidians, and thus, the chronicle notes, peace was restored to Mann.