WikiVisually
Infinite photos and videos for every Wiki article · Find something interesting to watch in seconds
Celebrities Ancient Marvels Animals Presidents Wonders of Nature Richest US Counties Great Cities Tallest Buildings Recovered Treasures History by Country Rare Coins Sports Crown Jewels Countries of the World Kings of France Great Museums British Monarchs Largest Empires Supercars World Banknotes Orders and Medals Largest Palaces Famous Castles Great Artists Best Campuses Wars and Battles
more top lists
History
Rǫgnvaldr Óláfsson (fl. 1164)
Videos
Page
Rǫgnvaldr Óláfsson was a twelfth-century King of the Isles, succeeding the warrior Somerled. He was a son of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles and a member of the Crovan dynasty. In the 1153, Óláfr was assassinated by three nephews, before his son, Guðrøðr, was able to overcome them and succeed his father as king. By 1158, Guðrøðr was forced from power by his brother-in-law, Somairle mac Gilla Brigte, who was married to Óláfr's daughter Ragnhildr. In 1164, when Somairle was killed in an invasion of Scotland, and while Guðrøðr was away in exile overseas, Rǫgnvaldr briefly seized the kingship for himself, before being overcome by Guðrøðr, who had him blinded and mutilated.
Rǫgnvaldr's name as it appears on folio 39r of British Library Cotton Julius A VII (the Chronicle of Mann): "Reginaldum".
Rǫgnvaldr's name as it appears on folio 39r of British Library Cotton Julius A VII (the Chronicle of Mann): "Reginaldum".
Somerled
Videos
Page
Somerled, known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði, was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence to create the Kingdom of Argyll and the Isles. Little is certain of Somerled's origins, although he may have been born in the north of Ireland and appears to have belonged to a Norse–Gaelic family of some prominence. His father, GilleBride, of royal Irish ancestry, appears to have conducted a marriage alliance with Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair, son of Alexander I of Scotland, and claimant to the Scottish throne. During a period of alliance with David I of Scotland, Somerled married Ragnhild, daughter of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of Man and the Isles in 1140. In 1153, Olaf of Man died and was succeeded by his son, Godred. But Godred Olafsson was a very unpopular ruler. Somerled was asked by Thorfinn Ottarson, a Manx chief, to allow Somerled's son, Dugall, to be appointed king of Man and the Isles. Somerled agreed and with 80 ships confronted Godred off the coast of Islay on January 5–6, 1156. After the sea battle, Somerled and Godred divided the Kingdom of Man and the Isles between them but Godred did not accept Dugall as King of Man. Accordingly, two years later, Somerled defeated and drove Godred from power. Dugall continued as King of Man and Somerled thus ruled the entire kingdom of Argyll, Man and the Isles until his death.
Somairle mac Gilla Brigte (Cambridge Corpus Christi College 139, folio ar)
Somairle mac Gilla Brigte (Cambridge Corpus Christi College 139, folio ar)
Mid-12th-century depiction of David I, and his grandson, Malcolm IV. Earlier that century, Somerled's family appears to have bound itself in marriage
Mid-12th-century depiction of David I, and his grandson, Malcolm IV. Earlier that century, Somerled's family appears to have bound itself in marriage to an opposing branch of the Scottish royal house.
Lewis chess piece depicting the armament of a Norse warrior roughly contemporaneous to Somerled.
Lewis chess piece depicting the armament of a Norse warrior roughly contemporaneous to Somerled.
St Oran's Chapel, the oldest intact building on Iona, may have been built by Somerled, Ranald, or members of the Crovan dynasty.
St Oran's Chapel, the oldest intact building on Iona, may have been built by Somerled, Ranald, or members of the Crovan dynasty.