Alexander III of Scotland, undertook a campaign to renew his kingdom's struggle to wrest the Hebridean region and Isle of Man from Norwegian overlordship. In so doing, Alexander III provoked a retaliatory military response fromHaakon IV of Norway, resulting in theBattle of Largs and Haakon's wintering atOrkney. The campaign ultimately ended in failure with the latter's weakening health and death in 1263.[1]
With Haakon's death Alexander III seized the initiative, and oversaw a series of invasions into the Isles and northern Scotland. Recognising this dramatic shift in royal authority,Magnús Óláfsson, King of Mann and the Isles, submitted to Alexander III within the year,[2] and in so doing, symbolised the complete collapse of Norwegian sovereignty in the Isles.[3] The following year, Magnús died without a legitimate heir to succeed him.[4] In 1266, Alexander III pacifically secured the Hebrides and Mann from Hákon's son and successor,Magnús Hákonarson, King of Norway (died 1280), by way of theTreaty of Perth.[5]
Following the conclusion of the treaty, Alexander III entrusted control of Mann into the hands of royal officials. Four suchbailiffs orjusticiars are known to have been appointed to govern the island: a certain "Godredus Mac Mares"; Alan, illegitimate son ofThomas fitz Roland, Earl of Atholl (died 1231); a certain "Mauricius Okarefair" / "Mauricio Acarsan"; and Reginald, the king's chaplain.[6][note 1] Scottish exchequer records also reveal that the Scottish Crown held several Manx hostages as a means to ensure order on the island.[8]
Guðrøðr Magnússon led a revolt on the island against the Scottish Crown, taking possession of the island's strongholds and ejecting the Scottish representatives in the process.[9][10]
The Scots made landfall on the southern shores of Mann.[14] According to theChronicle of Lanercost and theChronicle of Mann, the invaders first attempted to resolve the uprising peaceably, demanding that the rebels stand down and submit to Alexander III.[15]
The account preserved in theChronicle of Lanercost and theChronicle of Mann suggest that lightly armed and poorly-trained rebels were soundly crushed by well-armed Scottish warriors, with theAnnals of Lanerost declaring that "the wretched Manxmen turned their backs, and perished miserably".[16] Although theChronicle of Mann specifies that five hundred and thirty seven people were slaughtered by the Scots, it is possible that this tally owes itself to contemporary poetic convention, as the source further quotes the following rhyming lament: "ten times fifty, three times ten and five and two did fall; O Manx race, beware lest future catastrophe you befall".[17][note 3] Although Guðrøðr may have died in thedefeat,[18] the continuation ofHistoria rerum Anglicarum reports that he and his wife managed to escape the carnage on Mann, and fled toWales.[19] If correct, this source is one of several that demonstrate strong connections between the Crovan dynasty and Wales spanning the eleventh and thirteenth centuries.[20]
Scotland's rule over the Isle of Man was confirmed after putting down the revolt, however Scottish rule was not long-lasting, and in 1290 the Manx was under the possession ofEdward I of England after an expedition by Walter de Huntercombe.[21] The Isle of Man remained in English hands until 1313, whenRobert I of Scotland took it after besiegingCastle Rushen for five weeks. A confused period followed when Man was sometimes under English rule and sometimes Scottish, until 1346, when theBattle of Neville's Cross decided the long struggle between England and Scotland in England's favour.
Moore, DW (2005).The Other British Isles: A History of Shetland, Orkney, the Hebrides, Isle of Man, Anglesey, Scilly, Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company.ISBN978-0-7864-6434-0.
McDonald, RA (1997).The Kingdom of the Isles: Scotland's Western Seaboard, c. 1100–c. 1336. Scottish Historical Monographs (series vol. 4). East Linton: Tuckwell Press.ISBN978-1-898410-85-0.
McDonald, RA (2004). "Coming in From the Margins: The Descendants of Somerled and Cultural Accommodation in the Hebrides, 1164–1317". In Smith, B (ed.).Britain and Ireland, 900–1300: Insular Responses to Medieval European Change. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press. pp. 179–198.ISBN0-511-03855-0.
McDonald, RA (2007).Manx Kingship in its Irish Sea Setting, 1187–1229: King Rǫgnvaldr and the Crovan Dynasty. Dublin:Four Courts Press.ISBN978-1-84682-047-2.
Moore, D (1996). "Gruffudd ap Cynan and the Medieval Welsh Polity". In Maund, KL (ed.).Gruffudd ap Cynan: A Collaborative Biography. Studies in Celtic History (series vol. 16). Woodbridge:The Boydell Press. pp. 1–60.ISBN0-85115-389-5.ISSN0261-9865.
Neville, CJ (2015). "Preparing for Kingship: Prince Alexander of Scotland, 1264–84". In Nugent, J; Ewan, E (eds.).Children and Youth in Premodern Scotland. Woodbridge:The Boydell Press. pp. 155–172.ISBN978-1-78327-043-9.
Sellar, WDH (1998). "The Ancestry of the MacLeods Reconsidered".Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness.60. Gaelic Society of Inverness:233–258 – viaGoogle Books.
Sellar, WDH (2000). "Hebridean Sea Kings: The Successors of Somerled, 1164–1316". InCowan, EJ; McDonald, RA (eds.).Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages. East Linton: Tuckwell Press. pp. 187–218.ISBN1-86232-151-5.
Stringer, K (1995). "Thirteenth-Century Perspectives". In Grant, A; Stringer, KJ (eds.).Uniting the Kingdom?: The Making of British History. London:Routledge. pp. 85–96.ISBN0-203-74306-7.
Wærdahl, RB (2011). Crozier, A (ed.).The Incorporation and Integration of the King's Tributary Lands into the Norwegian Realm, c. 1195–1397. The Northern World: North Europe and the Baltic c. 400–1700 AD. Peoples, Economics and Cultures (series vol. 53). Leiden:Brill.ISBN978-90-04-20613-7.ISSN1569-1462.
