Kingdoms of Caledonia & Ireland - Ynys Manau (original) (raw)

Ynys Manau / Isle of Man This moderate-sized island is located in the Irish Sea, midway between southern Scotland and Ulster in Ireland. The Isle of Man (or Ynys Manau to the post-Roman Britons and later Welsh) was taken by the Irish in the sixth century. Before that, for a short time, it governed the southern Picts of Galwyddel. That region was absorbed into Rheged, but became a dominion of Ynys Manau again from around 632 until circa 900, before being taken into Strathclyde. The fate for the Isle of Man was different. It was conquered during the ninth century wave of Viking attacks, with local Viking rulers vying for control of the island against stronger forces from Viking Dublin, York and the Orkneys. Once Viking power had faded, Man became a political pawn between England and Scotland. However, it retained its identity, with the last native Manx speaker reputedly dying as recently as 1974.
fl c.400s?	Mannanan / Manawydan fab Llyr	Legendary first king of Ynys Manau.
Mannanan, or Mannanan mac Lir (Lir being the Celtic sea god), is the legendary founder of the Manx people, after whom the island is named, and the island's first king. In Celtic mythology he is the god of the sea, not necessarily surprising if he really was an early king of Man. Attributed to him are dealings with the early Irish High King, Cormac mac Airt, so it is possible that they were contemporaries.
c.485 - 550	The son of Cinuit of Alt Clut, Tutgwal Theodovellaunus, establishes himself inGalwyddel, perhaps as a legitimate division of Alt Clut on his father's death, with such a division being an entirely normal and customary practise inCeltic kingdoms. It also seems that he and his successors rule Manau at the same time. However, if the order of succession for Alt Clut is correct, then the continual shift between two branches of the royal house may hint at a civil war or successional struggle which has since been forgotten. Around 550, Galwyddel is invaded by Rheged and annexed to the kingdom, and the king, Sennylt, is forced to flee with his family to Ynys Manau.
c.485? - c.495	Tutgwal Theodovellaunus ap Cinuit	Son of King Cinuit of Alt Clut. Also king of Alt Clut (c.490-495).
Dingat ap Tutgwal	Son. Also in Galwyddel.
fl c.550	Sennylt ap Dingat	Son. Exiled from Galwyddel.
c.570 - c.582	Llywarch Hen of South Rheged counts Ynys Manau as part of his holdings. However, towards the later years of his reign, the Annals of Ulster record an expedition by the Ulaid (in the form of Báetán mac Cairill) to Ynys Manau. Báetán returns toIreland in 578 after having imposed his authority on the island - temporarily as it transpires. Shortly after his death, in 582 the island is taken by theDál Riata Scotti under Áedán mac Gabráin and may be ruled by a client king or lesser member of the ruling family. As Sennylt ap Dingat's family appear to retain their position, it must be they who become the client kings.
fl c.575	Nudd Hael ap Sennylt	Son. Client king of South Rheged and then Ulaid?
c.590	A young girl is buried in a sacred site on the island (now known as Mount Murray) that dates back to the Bronze Age. Not only is the site sacred, it is a Christian site, making this the earliest-known Christian burial on the island. There may also be a wooden chapel nearby, which is the site that is later re-used as a Viking keeill (chapel) and surrounding burial site (the latter starting in use from about the eighth century). The young girl's grave remains remarkably intact when it is excavated by archaeologists in 2006.
fl c.600	Dingad ap Nudd	Son.
It appears that at the start of the seventh century, Manau is invaded byDál Riatan Scotti. Dingad and his family are reputed to flee their kingdom (although Manau is not specifically named) and take refuge inGwent, where they settle in the role of minor chieftains.
c.600s	Diwg	Dál Riatan Scot.
620 - 633	Ynys Manau is conquered by the Bernician Northumbrians until the death of King Edwin and the resultant chaos in his kingdom allows the island to throw off any claims of Northumbrian overlordship.
c.630s	Gwyar
c.638	Ynys Manau apparently regains the region ofGalwyddel.
c.670s	Teigid
? - 682	Merfyn Fawr	Descended fromMagnus Maximus.
682 - ?	Anarawd Gwalchcrwn	Son.
c.700	Algwyn
c.710	Tudwal	Son of Anarawd.
c.730	Sandde
790 - ?	Elidyr map Sandde	Son. Heir to South Rheged. Transferred family from Powys.
790	Elidyr map Sandde map Alcwn map Tegid map Gwyar map Llywarch Hen is a direct descendant of the last British king of South Rheged. Elidyr's son, Gwriad, becomes king of Gwynedd in 815, still carrying the title, 'Heir to South Rheged'. Physical control of the region, however, has long since fallen toNorthumbria, although southern sections may be conquered byMercia during its ascendancy around this time.
? - 825	Gwriad map Elidyr	Son. King of Gwynedd. FoughtNorse settlement invasions.
825 - 844	Merfyn Frych (Freckled) map Gwriad	Son. Offered throne of Gwynedd.
c.836	It is likely that the heirs ofSouth Rheged abandon Ynys Manau around this time. Attacks by Danes are increasing, while at the same time they conquer a base in Ireland near the settlement of Dyflin. The attacks on Ynys Manau lead swiftly to conquest, settlement, and the founding of a Viking dynasty.
c.836 - 853	Godred I MacFergus	Hiberno-Norse Lord of the Hebrides.
c.853 - 866	Ketil Flatnose Bjarnasson	Fled his Norse homeland in Sogn.
850s - 860s	Ketil Flatnose Bjarnasson, his family, and followers flee Haraldr Hárfagri's ongoing and enforced unification of Norway. Ketil becomes ruler of the Isle of Man and much of the Hebrides, although his precise dominions are open to some question and debate. His daughter, Unn 'the Deep-Minded', marries Olaf the White, ruler of Dublin, while their son, Thorstein 'the Red', is an early jarl of the Orkneys and Caithness. Much of Ketil's clan eventually settle in Laxdaela on Iceland.
c.866 - 870	Helgi Ketilsson	Son.
c.870	The Great Army of Ivarr the Boneless, king ofDublin, are fresh from sacking the capital of Alt Clut when they venture on to invade Ynys Manau. The island falls to them in the same year and Norse vassal kings are installed.
c.870 - 880	Caitill Find Tryggvi	Sub-king underNorse Dublin rule.
c.875	King Haraldr Hárfagri campaigns across the seas to hunt down those opponents who had fled Norway in opposition to his unification of the country. They have been raiding Norway's coast since then, causing considerable damage. Haraldr has been carrying out regular summer expeditions against them, but around this year, having tired of simply chasing them away, he pursues them to their western bases. His forces storm the islands of Hjaltland (Shetland) and clear them of hostile Vikings. Then he does the same on the Orkneys, plunders the Sudreys (Hebrides), chases down Vikings across Scotland, and finds that Vikings on the Isle of Man have fled before him. As compensation for the death in battle of Ivar, son of Jarl Ragnvald of Møre, Haraldr gives Ragnvald the Orkney and Shetland Isles. He in turn hands them to Sigurd, his brother, who remains there to govern them.
c.880 - 899	Asbjorn Skerjablesi	Sub-king underNorse Dublin rule.
c.900	Alt Clut (Strathclyde) gains control of the region of Galwyddel.
900 - 902	The isle is controlled by the Viking kingdom ofDublin, although this is disputed by the Scandinavian kingdom of York.
902 - 921	The isle is ruled directly by the Scandinavian kingdom of York.
921	The Scandinavian kingdom of York changes the governance of the isle by appointing client kings.
921 - 937	Gebeachan / Gibhleachan	Sub-king under Scandinavian kingdom of York rule.
937 - 942	Macragnall / Mac Ragnall	Sub-king under Scandinavian kingdom of York rule.
942 - 972	Manau is ruled directly by the Viking kingdom ofDublin.
972 - 977	Magnus I MacHarald	Sub-king underNorse Dublin rule.
977 - 989	Guthred / Godfred I	Sub-king underNorse Dublin rule.
989	From this point the isle is controlled by the Vikings of the Orkneys, who themselves are subjects of the Norwegian throne.
989 - 999	Harald I	Sub-king under Norse Orkney rule.
999 - c.1000	Godfred II	Sub-king under Norse Orkney rule.
c.1000 - 1005	Ragnald I Godfredson	Sub-king under Norse Orkney rule.
1005 - c.1014	Kenneth Godfredson	Sub-king under Norse Orkney rule.
c.1014 - 1034	Sven / Swein Kennethson	Sub-king under Norse Orkney rule.
early 1000s	The Vikings on Man convert to Christianity, and the island quickly contains up to two hundred keeills (a derivation of the word chapel) that are built at the centre of Viking burial sites that themselves have been in use as far back as the eighth century. The keeill at Mount Murray is the only one to survive untouched into the modern age so that it can be excavated by archaeologists. The rest of Man's keeills are dug up, mostly by Victorian antiquaries. The keeill is a small stone chapel with turf wall buttresses, while the burials lay outside a ditch that surrounds the keeill. Many keeill sites re-use pre-existing burial sites, and they remain in use until about the twelfth century.
1034? - 1038	Manau again falls under the control of the Viking kingdom ofDublin.
c.1034 - 1052	Harald II Svarte the Black	Sub-king underNorse Dublin rule.
1052 - 1061	Margad MacRagnald / Ragnallson	Also king of Dublin (1036-38 & 1046-52). Sub-king under Dublin.
1061 - 1070	Murchaid MacDairmit	Also king of Dublin (1052-1070).
1070 - 1079	Fingal Godfredson	Sub-king underNorse Dublin rule.
1079	TheNorse kings of Man & the Isles establish independent control under distant Scandinavian overlordship when Godred invades the island three times and, following two defeats, he seizes control. He establishes the 'Kingdom of Man & The Isles'. Then he turns his attentions to conquering Dublin.
1079 - 1095	Godred II / Godfred IV / Godric Crovan	King of Dublin (1091?-1094). 'King Orry of Man'.
c.1091 - 1094	The Annals of Ulster record that the grandsons of Ragnall, the kings of Dublin, are killed on an expedition to attack Ynys Manau. Godred Crovan, in turn invades Dublin and takes the kingship until he too is kicked out. He dies the following year. The attack and conquest of Dublin by Godred Crovan would have been launched from longboats just like this
1095 - 1102	Magnus II Barfod / Barefoot / Barelegs	King ofNorway, and Dublin (1102-1103).
1096	Olav I	Probably a sub-king under Magnus II.
1096 - 1098	Donald	Probably a sub-king under Magnus II.
1098 - 1103	Magnus 'Barefoot' is the first aggressive king ofNorway since the reign of his grandfather, Harald Hardrade. Having secured his throne at home in these years he goes campaigning in and around the Irish Sea. Orkney, the Hebrides, and Man are all raided, and his authority there is agreed through treaty with King Edgar 'the Valiant' ofScotland. Man remains loosely controlled by the Vikings of the Orkneys once Magnus no longer requires it for his base of operations.
1102 - 1104	Lagman	Son of Godred IV. Died 1111.
1104 - 1130	Sigurd
1114 - 1115	Domnall mac Teige
1115 - 1137	Murchadh O'Brian
1137 - 1153	Olav II Bitling the Red
1153 - 1158	Godred III / V the Black
1158 - 1164	Sumerled	Lord of the Isles (1140-1164). Ancestor of Clan MacDonald.
1164	The Isles break away from Man and become an independent kingdom.
1164	Godred III / V the Black	Restored.
1164	Ragnald / Reginald the Usurper	Died c.1210.
1164 - 1187	Godred III / V the Black	Restored for a second time.
1187 - 1226	Ragnald / Reginald I
1226	Man passes from the overlordship of the Scandinavian crown to that of theScottish crown.
1226 - 1237	Olav II Odhar the Black
1230	Godred IV the Brown
1237 - 1248	Harold I
1249 - 1249	Ragnald / Reginald II	Viking. Killed.
1249 - 1250	Harold II
1250 - 1252	Ivar
1252 - 1265	Magnus III	Viking. Scot-controlled.
1263 - 1275	King Alexander III of Scotland successfully defeats an invasion by Haakon of Norway at the Battle of Largs in 1263. Following this, the Treaty of Perth transfers the Hebrides and the Isle of Man to Scotland from Norway. From this point the Isle of Man is controlled directly from either Scotland or England, as the two nations vie for power.
1275	The son of Magnus III is Godfrey Magnuson. He attempts to seize the island by force, but the Battle of Ronaldsway, near Castletown, forever ends Manx independence.
1275	Godfrey Magnuson / Godred VI	Last king (but uncrowned). Illegitimate son of Magnus.
1275 - 1290	Man is under the control of Scotland.
1290 - 1293	Man is under the control of England.
1293 - 1296	Man is under the control of Scotland.
1296 - 1313	Man is under the control of England.
1313 - 1317	Man is under the control of Scotland.
1317 - 1328	Man is under the control of England.
1328 - 1333	Man is under the control of Scotland, until it is retaken by Edward III ofEngland.
King of the Isles of Man AD 1334 - 1765 The Isle of Man passed to Edward III ofEngland in 1333. Edward invested local authority in the earl of Salisbury and his descendants. While not kings themselves, the unchanged traditions on the island titled them as such, and gave them all the royal trappings that had been accorded to their Viking predecessors.
1334 - 1344	William I	William Montague, earl of Salisbury.
1344 - 1393	William II	Earl of Salisbury. Died 1397.
1393 - 1399	William III	William le Scrope.
1392	William le Scrope constructs Peel Castle on the coastal St Patrick's Isle. The islet site is already covered in ruins which date back to around 1000, while the castle itself replaces an earlier Viking structure built between 1095-1102 during the reign of King Magnus Barelegs. Shown here is Peel Castle, home of the latter-day 'Kings of the Isle of Man' on an island which had long been buffeted between overlords
1399 - 1405	Henry I	Henry Percy, earl ofNorthumberland. Died 1408.
1405 - 1414	John I	Sir John Stanley KG. Lord lieutenant ofIreland (1389). Died.
1414 - 1437	John II
1437 - 1459	Thomas I	Thomas Stanley, Baron Stanley from 1456.
1459 - 1504	Thomas II	Earl of Derby from 1485.
1504	The title of 'King of the Isles of Man' is relinquished (officially), to be replaced with 'Lord of the Isles of Man'.
1504 - 1521	Thomas III	Earl of Derby.
1521 - 1572	Edward	Earl of Derby.
1572 - 1593	Henry II	Earl of Derby.
1593 - 1594	Fernando	Earl of Derby.
1594 - 1610	The Isle of Man is confiscated by theEnglish Crown.
1610 - 1612	William IV	Earl of Derby.
1612 - 1627	Elizabeth
1627 - 1651	James I	Earl of Derby.
1651 - 1660	The Protectorate and Commonwealth ofBritain takes direct control of the island, appointing a Puritan governor for most of the duration of its existence. Following the Restoration, the earls of Derby are reappointed to govern Man.
1651 - 1660	Thomas Fairfax	Puritan Governor.
1660 - 1672	Charles	Earl of Derby.
1672 - 1702	William V	Earl of Derby.
1702 - 1736	James II	Earl of Derby.
1736 - 1764	James III	James Murray, duke of Atholl.
1764 - 1765	John III	Duke of Atholl. Died 1774.
1765	John III, the final 'King of the Isles of Man' is pressured by the English crown into relinquishing the title in return for a substantial payment. Direct authority passes to the Crown, and the rampant smuggler trade which has made the most of the island's independence is suppressed by governors.