- Olaf I of the Isle of Man
Olav I was
King of Mann and the Isles from 1104 until 1153. His nickname was Morsel. He was born around 1080 and died29 June 1153 .His father was King
Godred Crovan . He succeeded, either together or after, his one or two brothers. Lagman who held the throne at between 1103-04 apparently was his (eldest) brother.Reign
Norway's Kings Magnus Barefoot and Sigurd Jorsalafare annexed the kingdom and caused disruption in successions. For forty years Olaf ruled them uncontested.
The
Kingdom of Mann and the Isles encompassed theIsle of Man and theHebrides , extending from theCalf of Man to theButt of Lewis . Olaf adopted the Latin style "Rex Manniae et Insularum" in his charters, a translation of the Gaelic title "ri Innse Gall" (literally 'king of the foreigners' isles'), which had been in use since the late 10th century.The islands which were under his rule were called the "Sullr-eyjar" (Sudreys or the south isles, in contradistinction to the "Norsr-eyjar", or the "north isles," i.e. the Orkneys and Shetlands, and they consisted of the
Hebrides , and of all the smaller western islands ofScotland , with Mann.Olaf I exercised considerable power, and according to the "
Chronicles of Mann ", maintained such close alliance with the kings of Ireland and Scotland that no one ventured to disturb the Isles during his time (1104 - 1153).In the 1130s the Church sent a small mission to establish the first
bishopric on the Isle of Man, and appointed Wimund as the first bishop. He soon after gave up his role as fisher-of-men, and became the hunter-of-men, embarking with a band of followers on a career of murder and looting throughout Scotland and the surrounding islands.During the whole of the Scandinavian period the isles remained nominally under the
suzerainty of the kings ofNorway , but the Norwegians only occasionally asserted it with any vigour. Magnus Barfod about 1100 conquered the isles.Marriage & Children
Olaf's first wife was
Aufrica of Galloway , who bore herself and him a son and successor, Godred V.His second wife was Ingeborg Haakonsdottir, daughter of Haakon, Earl of the Orkneys. This marriage produced at least daughter Ragnhild, who married
Somerled , King of Kintyre and the Isles.Reginald III, Lagmann and Harald are mentioned as his other sons.
After half a century of reign, Olaf I was killed.
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