Harald (Isle of Man)

Drawing of a certificate with the seal of King Harald from the 17th century

Harald (also Harald Olafsson ) († 1248 ) was a king of Man and the West Scottish Islands .

origin

Harald came from the dynasty of Godfreysons . He was the eldest son of King Olaf the Black , but was still a minor when his father died in 1237. Nevertheless, he succeeded his father as King of the Isle of Man and part of the West Scottish Isles .

King of Man and the Isles

Controversial succession to the throne

When Harald traveled from Man to other islands in his possession after his succession to the throne in 1237, his related Loughlin , whom he had appointed as administrator of Man , tried to take control of the island. However, when Harald returned to Man in the spring of 1238, Loughlin fled. His ship sank in a storm off the Welsh coast and he drowned. Harald's father had the Norwegian King Håkon VI. recognized as overlord, but after his accession to the throne, Harald refused to obtain Håkon's approval for his succession. Thereupon the Norwegian king sent a fleet to Man in 1238, which drove Harald from the island. For the next two years Man was ruled by Norwegian bailiffs. Harald had initially retired to his islands in northwest Scotland, but in 1241 he traveled to Norway. He swore allegiance to King Håkon, whereupon the man returned to him. In doing so, however, he precisely laid down the rights of the Norwegian king.

Further relationship with the kings of Norway, Scotland and England

After his return to Scotland, Harald kept his good relationship with the Norwegian king. Also to the Scottish King Alexander II and the English King Heinrich III. Harald had good relationships. In 1246 he traveled to the English royal court, where Heinrich III. to beat Knight . In 1247 Harald traveled to Norway again. The Norwegian king now granted Harald further powers and married him to his daughter Cecilia . When Harald traveled back to Man by ship in the autumn of 1248, he was shipwrecked in the Shetland Islands and drowned with his wife.

Succession struggles

After news of Harald's death reached the West Scottish islands several months later, his brother Ragnvald declared himself his successor on May 6, 1249. However, Ragnvald was murdered on May 30th by a rival named Ivar near Rushen . However, this could not assert himself against another Harald , a son of Godred Don , the son of the former king Ragnvald . The Scottish king wanted to take advantage of this power struggle on Man to expand his own rule on the West Scottish islands. He had Skye and Lewis looted and occupied Man. After the death of Alexander II in July 1249, the Scottish campaign against the West Scottish islands was broken off. While Harald, the son of Godred Don, was in Norway to have his succession confirmed by the Norwegian king, Magnus , a brother of Harald, who drowned in 1248 , conquered the Isle of Man in 1250 with the help of his father-in-law Ewen Macdougall , the Lord of Argyll .

Web links

Commons : Haraldr Óláfsson  - 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. 125.
2. ^ AW Moore: A History of the Isle of Man . Vol. 1., Fisher Unwin, London 1900, p. 126.
3. ^ Edward J. Cowan: Norwegian Sunset - Scottish Dawn: Hakon IV and Alexander III . In: Norman H. Reid (Ed.): Scotland in the Reign of Alexander III 1249-1286 . John Donald, Edinburgh 1990. ISBN 0-85976-218-1 , p. 115.
4. ^ AW Moore: A History of the Isle of Man . Vol. 1., Fisher Unwin, London 1900, p. 127.
5. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 80.

predecessor	Office	successor
Olaf II.	King of Mann 1237-1248	Magnus III.