Scandinavian-Britain

234 SCANDINAVIAN BRITAINThen followed a period of anarchy until 1113, whenOlaf Bitling, son of Godred Crovan, was elected kingof Man. His youth had been spent at the court ofHenry I. of England; he married the daughter ofFergus, lord of Galloway, a granddaughter of Henry I.,and reigned in peace for forty years, strengthening hiskingdom by alliances.His daughter married Sumarlidi(Somerled), the Gallgael lord of Dalir (Argyll),ancestor of the Macdonalds of the Isles, and partisanof the romantic adventurer Malcolm mac Eth, whohad been a monk of Furness Abbey under the nameof Wymund (Vemund) and threw Scotland into confusionby his claims and attempts. After Olaf Bitling'sdeath his son and successor, Godred, came into collisionwith Sumarlidi, and by the naval battle of 1156was forced to surrender part of his kingdom of theIsles. Two years later Sumarlidi invaded Man ;Godred fled to Norway, but returned after a six years'absence to hold his throne until 1187, when he wassucceeded by his son Ragnvald.The division of the Isles left Man in possession ofthe northern Hebrides, whereas those from ArdnamurchanPoint southward remained in the hands ofthe Argyll family, first under Dubhgall and then underRagnvald, Sumarlidi's sons. Consequently in 1187,King Ragnvald of Man held Man and the northernisles, while King Ragnvald of Argyll held the centralpart of the whole group. Galloway in 1160 ceased tobe independent ;Malcolm of Scotland reduced it tothe condition of a province, as he also reduced Moray,where he expelled the Viking or Gallgael inhabitants