Ragnvald Godredsson - Relations With William of Scotland

Relations With William of Scotland

Rögnvaldr appears to have enjoyed an amicable alliance with William, a Scots monarch who faced a series of revolts during his reign (r. 1165–1214). In the late 12th century, Haraldr Maddaðarson, Earl of Caithness, Earl of Orkney (d. 1206) set his sights on the Scottish earldom of Ross, and associated himself with the meic Áedha, a kindred who were in open rebellion against the King of Scots. To keep Haraldr in check, William launched the first of two expeditions into Haraldr's mainland territory in 1196, with one reaching deep into Caithness. According to the 14th century chronicler John of Fordun (d. after 1363), William's first military action subdued Caithness and Sutherland. The Orkneyinga saga, likely composed early in the first quarter of the 13th century, records that William tasked Rögnvaldr to intervene into Caithnesss on his behalf. Rögnvaldr duly gathered an armed host from the Isles, Kintyre, and Ireland; he then his troops into Caithness and subdued the region. With the coming of winter, the saga records that Rögnvaldr returned to the Isles, after having left three stewards in Caithness. Haraldr then had one of these stewards murdered, which brought him into direct conflict with William, who forced him into submission. Rögnvaldr's involvement in Caithness is also noted by the contemporary English chronicler Roger of Howden (d. 1201/2), in his Chronica. According to Roger, after two rounds of negotiations between Haraldr and William failed, Rögnvaldr intervened and bought Caithness from William. The precise date of Rögnvaldr's venture is uncertain, although it appears to occurred in about 1200.

The fact that two Hebridean rulers, Rögnvaldr and his first cousin Ragnall mac Somairle (d. between 1192–1227), shared the same personal names, the same grandfather, and (at times) the same title, has perplexed modern scholars and possibly mediaeval chroniclers as well. Although most scholars regard Rögnvaldr as the Hebridean-king who assisted the William against Haraldr, several scholars have suggested that it was actually Ragnall. Until recently, the transcription of Roger's account of the episode has indicated that the Hebridean-king was in fact a son of the Hebridean-king Somairle mac Gilla Brigte (d. 1164). However, a recent re-analysis of the earliest existent version of Roger's chronicle has shown that its original text was altered to include Somairle's name, and that it originally read in Latin Reginaldus filius rex de Man, thereby revealing that Rögnvaldr was indeed the man in question.

Another perplexing point is the fact that the saga makes the erroneous statement that Rögnvaldr was a son of Ingibjörg, daughter of Hákon Pálsson, Earl of Orkney (d. c. 1126). In fact, Ingibjörg was one of two known wives of Rögnvaldr's paternal-grandfather, Óláfr, and she is much more likely to have been a grandmother of Ragnall, as Rögnvaldr likely descends from Óláfr's other wife, Affraic, daughter of Fergus, Lord of Galloway (d. 1161). Although not descended from previous Earls of Orkney, Rögnvaldr was related to these Norse magnates by right of his grandfather's marriage to Ingibjörg—a relationship which may well have influenced William in using Rögnvaldr against Haraldr. Although it has been suggested that Rögnvaldr may have acted as an Earl of Caithness for a short time, the surviving evidence merely suggests that he was appointed by William to administrate the province.

Surviving evidence indicates that the rulers of Mann held Glenelg, a grant of land on the mainland adjutant to Skye, from the Kings of Scots. Although the actual charter is now non-existent, the grant is mentioned in a surviving inventory of documents at Edinburgh in 1282. Although the circumstances, terms, and dates of the deal are unknown, the grant may well have originated during a period of cooperation between the neighbouring monarchs, sometime in the 12th and 13th centuries.