411 
ISLE of M A N. 
land was never more formidable to the ftates of Europe, 
than was the Ifle of Man to its neighbouring and compa¬ 
ratively great kingdoms in the reigns of Godred Crovan, 
and of Magnus. 
During the ufurpation of the king of Norway, Olave 
the fon of Godred had refided in England in the court of 
Henry I. On the death of Magnus, they fent a deputa¬ 
tion to Olave to offer him the crown. He afeended the 
throne to the great fatisfaftion of the people ; he made 
treaties with all the kings of Ireland and of Scotland ; 
and enjoyed in profound peace a reign of forty years. In 
the year 1142, he fent his fon Godred to Norway, to do 
homage for the crown of Man. During his ablence the 
three fons of Harold, Olave’s brother, who had been edu¬ 
cated at Dublin, came to Man with many followers, par¬ 
ticularly fuch as had been banifhed from the ifland, and 
demanded one half of Olave’s kingdom. The king, wil¬ 
ling to pacify them, promifed to confult his council on 
the fubjeft. The place of meeting was near Ramfay Ha¬ 
ven. The king with his retinue fat in due order on one 
fide, while his nephews with their followers placed them- 
felves on the other. Reginald, one of the nephews, be¬ 
ing addrelfed by the king, approached his feat, and ap¬ 
peared to be going to falute him ; but, fuddenly lifting up 
liis (hining battle-axe, cut off his head at one blow. 
Olave left one legitimate fon, Godred, by his wife Africa, 
daughter of Fergus of Galloway. By his concubines he 
had Reginald, Lagman, and Harold, belides many daugh- 
' t'ers, one of whom, married to Somerled, prince or duke 
of Argyle, afterwards occafioned the ruin of the kingdom 
of the Hies. 
The people yielded without refiftance to the wicked 
but fuccefsful confpirators; and the three brothers divided 
the lands of Man among themfelves. But, the next year, 
Godred, Olave’s fon, returned from Norway ; and the 
ufurpers fubmitted to his authority without hazarding a 
battle. One of them, in all probability the immediate 
murderer of his father, he put to death, and punifhed the 
other two with the lofs of their eyes. In the third year 
of his reign he was created, at the requeft of its inhabi¬ 
tants, king of Dublin. Murecard O’Brien, having made 
war againft him, fent to Dublin an army of three thou- 
fand liorfe, which was routed by the Dublinians with 
Godred at their head. The king, on his return to Man 
after this engagement, began to aft in a defpotic manner, 
depriving forne of his nobles of their property. One of 
them, Thorfin, the fon of Other, mightier than the reft, 
went and joined Somerled in Scotland, and, having re¬ 
duced to his fubjeftion many of the iflands, proclaimed 
his fon Dugball their king. Godred fitted out a cor.fi- 
dera'ble navy, and failed againft Somerled, who was ad¬ 
vancing with eighty fail of fhips. The fleets met on the 
night preceding the feaft of Epiphany, and fought a 
dreadful and decifive battle. On the following morning, 
the commanders made a treaty, agreeing to divide be¬ 
tween them the kingdom of the ifles. The peace was of 
fnort duration ; for, two years afterwards, Somerled failed 
to the Ifle of Man with fifty-three fhips 5 defeated God¬ 
red, who fled to Norway for affiftance; and laid wafts the 
country. It appears that Somerled reigned over Man fix 
years, at the expiration of which period, having collefted 
a large fleet, he invaded Scotland, intending to conquer 
the whole of that kingdom. His troops were landed at 
Renfrew; were vanquifhed in the firft engagement; and 
himfelf and his fon were flain in the field of battle. 
In the fame year, 1164, Reginald, natural fon of Olave, 
having raifed a party in his favour, fought, and defeated 
by treachery, an army of the people of Man. Four days 
after the commencement of his reign, Godred arrived from 
Norway with a great army ; attacked and took prifoner 
Reginald, put out his eyes, and treated him with other 
marks of feverity. 
In the year 1176 we firft hear of the pope’s influence 
in the Ifle of Man. He fent over from Ireland his legate 
Vivian, who obliged Godred to be re-married, according 
to the form of the Romifh church, to his wife Phingola> 
grand-daughter to Murecard O’Brien, her fon Olave being 
at that time three years old; and fince that time it is one 
of the laws of the ifland, that a marriage within three 
years of the birth of any child makes that child legitimate. 
Godred died in November 1187, leaving one legitimate 
child, Olave, ten years old, whom he had made his heir, 
and two natural fons, Reginald and Yvar. On account 
of Olave’s youth, Reginald was made king. When Olave 
came to man’s eltate, his brother Reginald gave him the 
Ifle of Lewis, one of the largeft of the Hebrides, but moun¬ 
tainous and barren, with few people, and thefe gaining 
their livelihood by hunting and fifhing. Olave took pof- 
fefiion of the ifland, and for fome time lived there in a 
mean condition ; but, being unable to maintain bis army, 
he went boldly to Reginald and thus addrefied him:—• 
“ Brother and Sovereign! You well know that the king^ 
dom which you poffels was mine by right of inheritance; 
but, fince God hath made you its king, I will not envy 
either your good fortune or your crown. I only beg of 
you fo much land in thefe ifles as may maintain me ho¬ 
nourably ; for upon Lewis I cannot live.” Reginald, in 
reply, told his brother that he would take the opinion of 
his council upon the requeft. The day following when 
Olave, by the king’s order, came into his prefence, he was 
apprehended and lent to William king of Scotland, to be 
imprifoned in that kingdom. There he was confined for 
nearly feven years, at the end of which time William died, 
anno 1214; having direfted that, on his death, all prifon- 
ers fliould be enlarged. Olave, being thus at liberty, went 
firft oil a pilgrimage. On his return to Man, Reginald 
gave him Lewis again, and made him marry Lavon, a fil¬ 
ter of his own wife ; but the bifhop of the ifles divorced 
Olave from Lavon, becaufe flie was a coufin-german of 
his former wife. Olave then married Chriftina, daughter 
of the earl of Rofs; which fo much offended Reginald’s- 
wife, that file fent a meffage, in her hufband’s name, to 
her fon Godred, who refided at the Ifle of Skye, com¬ 
manding him to kill Olave. Olave, being informed of 
Godred’s delign, efcaped in a little boat to his new fa- 
tlier-in-law; and by his affiftance and that of Pol, a pow¬ 
erful man in Skye, and difaffefted towards Godred, lie 
equipped a fleet, and in the year 1223 fet fail for Man. 
Reginald, deeming it imprudent to rilk a battle, agreed to. 
grant to Olave one half of the Ifles. 
The next year, Reginald, in conjunftion with Allan 
lord of Galloway, a powerful Scot, failed to the Ifles, in¬ 
tending again to difpoffefs his brother; but the army, 
confifting chiefly of Mankfmen, having a partiality for 
Olave, refufed to fight againft him, and obliged their 
commander to return home. Reginald, who did homage 
to the king of England, next obtained from the inhabi¬ 
tants of Man or.e hundred marks to pay the expence of a 
journey to his court. It was foon difeovered that the 
propofed journey was nothing but a pretext; for Reginald 
proceeded immediately to Allan’s court, and during his 
ftay in Galloway married his daughter. The Manks, in¬ 
dignant at thefe proceedings, fent for Olave, and made 
him king. Thus Reginald loft his crown after a reign of 
thirty-eight years, anno 1226. 
In the fecond year after his acccffion, 1228, Olave, 
with all the nobility, and many of the inhabitants of Man, 
failed over to the Ifles. Reginald, in order to bring reli¬ 
gion to his aid, had made a l'urrender of his loft kingdom 
to the fee of Rome; a copy of which aft is ftill extant. 
He prevailed upon Allan, and Thomas earl of Athol, to 
feize with him the opportunity of Olave’s abfence to 
make a defeent upon the Ifle of Man. They wafted all 
the fouthern part of it, fpoiled the churches, and put to 
death fo many of the inhabitants, that the whole country 
was a feene of defolation. Having thus gratified their 
revenge, the invaders returned to Galloway, leaving bai¬ 
liffs to collect tribute from the people ; but king Olave, 
coming upon thefe men unexpectedly, put them to flight,, 
and recovered his kingdom. In the enfuing winter, Re¬ 
ginald 
