Lǫgmaðr Guðrøðarson

Lǫgmaðr Guðrøðarson
King of the Isles
Lǫgmaðr's name as it appears on folio 33v of British Library Cotton MS Julius A VII (the Chronicle of Mann): "Lagmannus".
Dynasty	Crovan dynasty
Father	Guðrøðr Crovan

Lǫgmaðr Guðrøðarson (pronounced ['lɒgmaðr 'guðruðarsson]) was a late eleventh-century King of the Isles, whose rise, reign, and fall from power are obscure. He was the eldest son of Guðrøðr Crovan, King of Dublin and the Isles, a Norse-Gaelic dynast who conquered and ruled the kingdoms of the Isles and Dublin, before dying in 1095. Three years after the latter's death, the Isles was conquered by Magnús Óláfsson, King of Norway, whose regime in the region lasted until his death in 1103. The chronology of Lǫgmaðr's reign is uncertain: he may have begun his reign either before Magnús' conquest, during his regime, or after his demise.

As King of the Isles, Lǫgmaðr faced significant opposition from factions supporting his younger brothers, Haraldr and Óláfr. At some point, the Islesmen are reported to have petitioned Muirchertach Ua Briain, King of Munster to select a temporary ruler in the region. This act may have been initiated on behalf of a faction supporting Óláfr. Whatever the case, Ua Briain responded by placing an Uí Briain relative upon the throne. The Uí Briain interlopers, however, do not appear to have been well received; and were evidently ejected by the Islesmen, perhaps led by supporters of Lǫgmaðr himself.

The chronology and circumstances surrounding the conclusion of Lǫgmaðr's reign are uncertain. According to one source, he voluntarily resigned the kingship and journeyed to Jerusalem where he died. This account could be evidence that he died on crusade: one possibility is the First Crusade, perhaps in the entourage of Robert II, Duke of Normandy; another possibility is the so-called Norwegian Crusade, in the entourage of Sigurðr Magnússon, King of Norway. Although one source claims that Lǫgmaðr's trek to the Holy Land was undertaken in remorse for the cruelty he had inflicted upon Haraldr, another possibility is that he was forced into exile instead. Whatever the case, it is apparent that about a decade after Magnús' death, the Crovan dynasty was restored to the kingship in the person of Lǫgmaðr's youngest brother.