Ollaghair Olaf_or_Olaus Odhar Godredson (The Black)
b: ABT 1177
d: 21 MAY 1237
Biography
!CAVEAT: The descendancy from Olaf the Black described in Sir Robert
Douglas of Glenbervie (see next note) while true and verifiable for the
Kings of Man and the Isles, is not so certain for the descendants via his
third wife, Christina, daughter of the Earl of Ross. See <A
HREF="matheson1.html">William Matheson, &quot;The Ancestry of the
MacLeods&quot;,</A> TRANSACTIONS OF THE GAELIC SOCIETY OF
INVERNESS, Vol. LI (1978-1980), The Gaelic Society of Inverness, 1998,
pp. 68-80. See <A HREF="sellar.html">W. D. H. Sellar, &quot;The Ancestry
of the MacLeods Reconsidered&quot;,</A> TRANSACTIONS OF THE GAELIC
SOCIETY OF INVERNESS, Vol. LX (1997-1998), The Gaelic Society of
Inverness, 2000, pp. 233-258. See also <A
HREF="APMacLeod.html">Andrew P. MacLeod, &quot;The Ancestry of
Leod&quot;,</A> CLAN MACLEOD MAGAZINE, No. 91, 2000.<BR>
!SOURCE: Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, Baronet, THE BARONAGE
OF SCOTLAND, Edinburgh, 1798, pp. 374, 375.
"IV. Olaus, sirnamed [sic] the Black, was then about ten years of age;
the nobles therefore cast their eyes upon Reginald, his natural brother,
who was indeed a brave man; but he no sooner got the reigns of
government into his hands, than he usurped the crown, of which he kept
possession 38 years, and gave his brother Olave, the righteous heir, the
island of Lewes for his subsistence.
"Olave however, after encountering many dangers and difficulties (with
the assistance of Paul, sheriff of Sky, who will be mentioned hereafter),
recovered possession of his kingdom of Man and the Isles, anno 1226, and
enjoyed it till he died, anno 1237, having been thrice married; 1st. to a
daughter of one of the nobles of Kintyre, by whom he had three sons,
"1. Harold.
"2. Reginald.
"3. Magnus.
"All successively kings of Man and the isles. But that dominion
terminated when Magnus king Norway, the superior, made a surrender of
Man and the western isles to king Alexander III, anno 1265; and Magnus
the last king died without issue at the castle of Ross, anno 1266.
"King Olave, father of the three last kings, appears to have had no
children by his second wife; but he married, 3dly, Christina, daughter of
Ferquhar earl of Ross, by whom he had three sons,
"1. Leoid, Loyd or Leod, the undoubted progenitor of the clan Macleod,
of whom afterwards.
"2. Guin, of whom the clan Gun in Sutherland are descended.
"3. Leaundres, of whom the clan Leaundres in Ross-shire.
"Having thus, from the chronicle of Man, finished the succession of the
sovereigns of that kingdom of the Norvegian race, and as the clan
Macleod, or the descendants of Leoid, are the only people now subsisting
we can connect with that royal family, we proceed to deduce their
descent from the above Leoid, or Leod."
!SOURCE: John Burke, Esq., A GENEALOGICAL AND HERALDIC HISTORY
OF THE COMMONERS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, Vol. II, Baltimore,
Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1977, pp. 175-178.
The three elder sons became in succession Kings of Man and the Isles,
but that dominion terminated when Magnus, King of Norway, made a
surrender of Man, and the western isles to Alexander III. King of
Scotland, in 1265. Magnus, the youngest of the three sons, and last king,
died without issue, at the castle Ross, anno 1266, and thus terminated
the Norwegian race of sovereigns; we now proceed with the eldest of the
three younger sons, Leod.
!SOURCE: Rev. Dr. Donald MacKinnon, MACLEOD CHIEFS OF HARRIS AND
DUNVEGAN, Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod Society, 1969, pp. 6-7.
!SOURCE: Alick Morrison, THE CHIEFS OF CLAN MACLEOD, East
Kilbride, Scotland, Associate Clan MacLeod Societies,1986, p. 20.
"Godred Donn, King Reginald''s son now left for Norway to plead his
claim and was so far successful that it was agreed by Olaf that they
should divide the Kingdom between them. Just when Olaf was on the
point of proceeding to Norway to pay his ''scat'', King Hakon, tired of the
divisions in the Isles, decided to bestow the Kingdom on Husbac, whom
he renamed Hakon, son of Owmund, a Hebridean. Husbac accompanied by
Godred Donn sailed south to the Sudreys to deal with a Scottish invasion
of the Isles, and they were joined off Islay by Olaf the Black. Here a
naval engagement was fought, Arran was captured and a siege was laid
to the strong castle of Rothesay in the Isle of Bute. The defenders
hurled down huge stones and poured boiling pitch and lead on the
besiegers. Olaf, however, caused his men to build wooden sheds for
protection while they were busily undermining the walls. King Husbac
was hurt by a stone, from the effect of which he died and was later
buried in Iona. After three desperate days and the loss of 390 men, the
fortress was taken.
"Olaf the Black and Godred Donn now proceeded to divide the island
kingdom between them. Godred Donn received Lodhus, where obviously
Olaf the Black still had considerable influence. In 1231, Godred Donn, to
settle old scores, decided to kill Pol, son of Boke (Paul MacBhaic), who
was the foster father of Olaf''s son, Leoid. Immediately, the people of
Lodhus rose in revolt and Godred Donn was slain. The whole kingdom now
fell into the hands of King Olaf once again and he continued to rule it
until he died in 1237. His three sons, Harold, Reginald and Magnus,
succeeded him on the throne in that order. Magnus, the last king of Man
and the Isles, took part in Haco''s expedition against Scotland, which
ended disastrously at the Battle of Largs in 1263. He died in 1265 and in
the following year, by the Treaty of Perth, Man and the Isles were ceded
to Alexander III, king of Scotland.
Facts
  • ABT 1177 - Birth -
  • 21 MAY 1237 - Death - ; Isle of,St. Patrick
  • Nobility Title - The Black
Ancestors
   
 
   
  
  
 
  
 
  
 
   
  
  
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Family Group Sheet - Child
PARENT (M) Ochraidh Godred_II The_Black Olafson
BirthBEF 1154
Death1187
Marriageto Phingola (Fionghuala) MacLochlan
FatherOlaf_I The_Red Godredson
MotherElfrica
PARENT (F) Phingola (Fionghuala) MacLochlan
Birth
Death
Marriageto Ochraidh Godred_II The_Black Olafson
FatherMaclotten
Mother?
CHILDREN
MOllaghair Olaf_or_Olaus Odhar Godredson (The Black)
BirthABT 1177
Death21 MAY 1237Isle of,St. Patrick
Marriageto Lyaoan
Marriageto Joan
Marriageto Christina Ross
MReginald [Rogn-wald] Godredson
Birth1187
Death7 FEB 1228Tynwald Hill,Isle of Man
Marriageto ?
MIvar Godredson
Birth
Death
FAufrica
Birth
Death
Marriageto Somerled MacGHILLEBRIGHDE
Family Group Sheet - Spouse
PARENT (M) Ollaghair Olaf_or_Olaus Odhar Godredson (The Black)
BirthABT 1177
Death21 MAY 1237 Isle of,St. Patrick
Marriageto Lyaoan
Marriageto Joan
Marriageto Christina Ross
FatherOchraidh Godred_II The_Black Olafson
MotherPhingola (Fionghuala) MacLochlan
PARENT (F) Lyaoan
Birth
Death
Marriageto Ollaghair Olaf_or_Olaus Odhar Godredson (The Black)
Father?
Mother?
CHILDREN
MHarold Olafson
Birth
Death
MReginald Olafson
Birth
Death
MMagnus Olafson
BirthBEF 1237
Death1266
Marriageto ?
Family Group Sheet - Spouse
PARENT (M) Ollaghair Olaf_or_Olaus Odhar Godredson (The Black)
BirthABT 1177
Death21 MAY 1237 Isle of,St. Patrick
Marriageto Lyaoan
Marriageto Joan
Marriageto Christina Ross
FatherOchraidh Godred_II The_Black Olafson
MotherPhingola (Fionghuala) MacLochlan
PARENT (F) Joan
Birth
Death
Marriageto Ollaghair Olaf_or_Olaus Odhar Godredson (The Black)
Father?
Mother?
CHILDREN
Family Group Sheet - Spouse
PARENT (M) Ollaghair Olaf_or_Olaus Odhar Godredson (The Black)
BirthABT 1177
Death21 MAY 1237 Isle of,St. Patrick
Marriageto Lyaoan
Marriageto Joan
Marriageto Christina Ross
FatherOchraidh Godred_II The_Black Olafson
MotherPhingola (Fionghuala) MacLochlan
PARENT (F) Christina Ross
Birth
Death
Marriageto Ollaghair Olaf_or_Olaus Odhar Godredson (The Black)
FatherFarquhar Earl_of_Ross
Mother?
CHILDREN
MLeod I Chief MacGillemuire Olafson
BirthABT 1200
DeathABT 1280
Marriageto Heiress_of Armuin MacRaild
MGuin Olafson
Birth
Death
MLeandruis Olafson
Birth
Death
Descendancy Chart