Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson

Relations with William of Scotland

Rǫgnvaldr was sent by King William of Scotland to deal with Haraldr Maddaðarson, who had taken Caithness. He raised a force from the Isles, Kintyre, and Ireland, marched into Caithness, and brought it under control.

As winter set in, he left three stewards there and returned to the Isles. After Haraldr had one of those stewards killed, William compelled him to surrender. That Haraldr only reclaimed authority once Rǫgnvaldr had left, and then slapped a heavy fine on the Caithnessmen, indicates Rǫgnvaldr had local backing.

Relations with John of England

Rǫgnvaldr's ties to John de Courcy and his activities in Ireland brought him into the orbit of King John of England. John placed Rǫgnvaldr under his royal protection on 8 February 1205. The following year, Rǫgnvaldr traveled to England for Easter, where he performed homage to John. In response, John instructed the Sheriff of Lancaster to grant Rǫgnvaldr thirty marcates of land.

Records from the Lancashire Pipe Rolls indicate that the sheriff instead allocated twenty librates of land to him between Michaelmas 1205 and Michaelmas 1206, though no specific estate was named, suggesting it was a charge on the county's revenue. On 29 April 1206, John directed his treasurer to pay Rǫgnvaldr thirty marks. A year later, on 17 June 1207, John again ordered the sheriff to assign him twenty librates of land. After Courcy's fall, Rǫgnvaldr's growing engagement with the English crown implies that John engineered Courcy's downfall and deliberately separated Rǫgnvaldr from him.

Enduring links with England

After the ravaging of Mann and plundering of the Isles, Rǫgnvaldr bound himself closer to the English Crown. While at Lambeth on 16 May 1212, he formally swore that he was John's liegeman. John authorised his seneschals, governors, and bailiffs in Ireland to come to Rǫgnvaldr's aid if his territory was threatened by 'Wikini or others', since Rǫgnvaldr had bound himself to do the same against John's enemies.

In return for his homage and service, Rǫgnvaldr and his heirs received a grant of one knight's fee of land at Carlingford and one hundred measures of corn to be paid yearly at Drogheda for the service of a knight. This grant gave Rǫgnvaldr a foothold in Ireland and provided his galley-fleet with an additional safe haven. The precise location of the territory is unrecorded and unknown.

Alliance with Alan of Galloway

After Óláfr gained the upper hand, Rǫgnvaldr sought help from Alan of Galloway, a major Scottish lord. The two were connected by blood, both being great-grandsons of Fergus, Lord of Galloway, and they had also received lands in Ulster from the English around the same time. In a letter to Henry III written the same year the half-brothers split the kingdom, Alan mentioned he was busy moving his army and fleet between islands. This likely marks the start of joint campaigns by Alan and Rǫgnvaldr against Óláfr.

But according to one account, the effort failed because the Manx refused to fight Óláfr and his Hebridean supporters. The same record suggests Alan framed his actions in the Isles as part of his own conflict with the Lacys in Ireland, hinting that the Lacys’ ambitions in Ulster aligned with Óláfr. That same year, the saga of King Hákon says that Gillikristr, Óttar Snækollsson, and many Islesmen visited the king with letters about their lands’ needs—possibly referring to the family feud and recent treaty.

Further attempts to involve the Norwegian crown may have occurred in 1226, when Simon, Bishop of the Isles, met with Hákon.

Did You Know?

• He was the brother-in-law of John de Courcy, one of the most powerful of the incoming Englishmen in Ireland.
• Rǫgnvaldr submitted to Pope Honorius III in 1219 and promised to pay a perpetual tribute for the protection of his realm.
• He was slain on 14 February 1229 and his body was conveyed to St Mary's Abbey, Furness and buried.