Lewis (Olaf)

Who he is

Name

Olaf son of Godred (Oláfr Gudrodarson, Olaf the Black)

Title

Holder of Lewis (Lodhus) under his half-brother

Since

Granted by Rognvald; date not pinned

Born

About 1177; he is about 22

Family

Legitimate son of King Godred of Mann and Findguala (Fionnghuala), granddaughter of Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, king of Ireland. Married to Lauon, sister of Rognvald's wife (a Kintyre family); the marriage is later annulled.

Confidence

medium

The Chronicle of Mann says Rognvald gave Olaf Lewis, 'mountainous and rocky and almost wholly unfit for tillage', and when Olaf asked for more, sent him to William the Lion, who kept him prisoner for almost seven years (about 1207-1214). Olaf becomes king of Mann in 1226.

Overlord

Rognvald, king of Mann and the Isles

What it holds

• Lewis and Harris

How it was acquired

Grant from Rognvald.

Allies and rivals

Rival of Rognvald; later turns to Norway and to Clann Somairle.

How things stand that morning

Holds Lewis (the grant's date is not pinned).

Wealth

Fish, sheep, cattle. No figures.

Military

A few galleys. No numbers.

Threats

• Rognvald

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The Chronicle of Mann's account is undated and partisan.

On the map: The chronicle may mean only northern Lewis.

Primary sources for Mann and the Isles

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Chronicle of the Kings of Mann and the Isles, Anonymous (monks of Rushen abbey, Mann) (about 1257, with continuations to 1316). The only native record of the kingdom of Mann and the Hebrides. Read online
• Saga of the Earls of Orkney, Anonymous (Icelandic) (about 1200 to 1230; surviving text mainly from Flateyjarbok, about 1390). The saga's last chapters are about Earl Harald Maddadsson, who in 1200 held Orkney under King Sverre of Norway and Caithness under William the Lion: his long rule, his quarrel with the Scottish king that cost him Caithness in 1196 to 1197, his recovery of it, and the maiming of Bishop John of Caithness and the king's revenge in 1201 to 1202. Read online
• The saga of King Sverre of Norway, Karl Jónsson and a continuator (begun about 1185 under Sverre's own supervision, completed about 1210 to 1220). The king's own authorised saga. Read online
• The Norwegian diplomatarium and the Norwegian regesta (documents of 1050 to 1590; Regesta vol. 1 covers 991 to 1263 and was published 1898). The Norwegian documents of the year are few and mostly papal: Innocent III's letters on Sverre's excommunication and the interdict, the correspondence of the exiled Archbishop Eirik and the bishops, and a handful of church grants. Read online
• Early Sources of Scottish History, Various; collected and translated by A. O. Anderson (sources of the 6th to 13th centuries; collection published 1922). The quickest way to every non-English witness to Scotland and the Isles in 1200, in translation and in date order: the Irish annals on the Isles and Galloway, Orkneyinga saga and the Norwegian sagas on Harald Maddadsson of Orkney and Caithness and his war with William the Lion, the Chronicle of Mann on Ragnall and the Hebrides, Melrose and Holyrood, and Scottish charters. Read online