Godred Don

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Godred's name in a medieval manuscript

Godred Don ( German  Gottfried the brown-haired ; also Guðrøðr Rǫgnvaldsson or Godred Ragnvaldson ) († after 1231) was briefly a king of the West Scottish islands .

origin

Godred Don came from the originally Scandinavian family of the Godfreysons . He was the eldest son of King Ragnvald von Man and his wife, whose name has not been passed down. In 1210 Ragnvald traveled with him to Norway, where they swore allegiance to King Inge and paid tribute.

Man and the surrounding empires at the time of Godred Don

Power struggle with Olaf Godfreyson

Ragnvald's younger brother, Olaf the Black , ruled the Isle of Skye as sub-ruler . When he abandoned his wife, who was a sister of Godred's mother, Godred was sent to the northern Scottish islands to take Olaf prisoner. However, he was himself captured by Olaf, who in 1223 had him blinded and emasculated by Páll , an allied with him , a subordinate on Skye . In the following years there was a power struggle between Ragnvald and Olaf, in which Ragnvald was killed in 1229. Olaf now feared further attacks from the powerful Scottish magnate Alan, Lord of Galloway , who had been allied with Ragnvald. So he traveled to Norway to see King Håkon IV , who ruled Man and the West Scottish islands . Godred Don had previously fled to Norway. The Norwegian king now sent a fleet under the command of Uspak Macdougall , another of the islands' nobles, to western Scotland. Both Olaf and Godred Don accompanied the fleet. Uspak died during the campaign, but with the help of the Norwegian fleet, Olaf and Godred Don were able to occupy the Isle of Man. While Olaf took control of Man, he left Godred to rule the northern Scottish islands despite his mutilation. However, Godred was killed while trying to subdue the Isle of Lewis . Thereupon Olaf also took over the rule of the north Scottish islands.

progeny

Godred Don had at least one son, Harald († after 1255). After the death of Harald , the son of Olaf the Black, in the autumn of 1248, the question of power on Man was unresolved. Harald's brother Ragnvald was murdered in May 1249. Then Godred Don's son Harald returned to Man. He managed to take control of the island. He traveled to Norway to get the Norwegian king's approval for his takeover. During his absence, however, Magnus , another son of Olaf, occupied the island with the support of his father-in-law Ewen Macdougall , Lord of Argyll. Harald tried now to support the English king Heinrich III. to obtain. After the latter had initially supported him, he recognized Magnus as King of Man in 1255 and withdrew his support from Harald.

Web links

Commons : Guðrøðr Rǫgnvaldsson  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ AW Moore: A History of the Isle of Man . Vol. 1., Fisher Unwin, London 1900, p. 119.
  2. ^ AW Moore: A History of the Isle of Man . Vol. 1., Fisher Unwin, London 1900, p. 120.
  3. ^ AW Moore: A History of the Isle of Man . Vol. 1., Fisher Unwin, London 1900, p. 123.
  4. ^ Seán Duffy: Ragnvald [Rögnvaldr, Reginald, Ragnall] (d. 1229). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
  5. ^ AW Moore: A History of the Isle of Man . Vol. 1., Fisher Unwin, London 1900, p. 124.
  6. ^ AW Moore: A History of the Isle of Man . Vol. 1., Fisher Unwin, London 1900, p. 128.
  7. ^ AW Moore: A History of the Isle of Man . Vol. 1., Fisher Unwin, London 1900, p. 131.
personal data
SURNAME Godred Don
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Guðrøðr Rǫgnvaldsson; Godred Ragnvaldson
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of the West Scottish Isles
DATE OF BIRTH 12th century or 13th century
DATE OF DEATH after 1231