Gofraid Donn

Who is Gofraid Donn?

Gofraid mac Ragnaill was a 13th-century Hebridean king, who descended from a long line of kings who ruled the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. He is recorded within two 13th century chronicles with a byname meaning "the brown"; although within a 13th-century saga, and within Hebridean tradition dating from the 17th century, he is given the byname "the black". Gofraid Donn's father was Ragnall mac Gofraid, King of Man and the Isles; his mother was Ragnall's wife, who is described by a 13th-century chronicle as the sister of a daughter of a nobleman from Kintyre. Gofraid Donn's male-line ancestry can be traced back with certainty to his great-great grandfather, Gofraid Méránach, King of the Isles, King of Dublin. Gofraid Méránach is thought to have taken control of the Kingdom of Man and the Isles in about the year 1079, and is recorded as the King of Dublin in 1091.

In 1187, on the death of Gofraid Donn's paternal grandfather, Gofraid mac Amlaíb, King of Man and the Isles, Gofraid Donn's father, Ragnall, usurped the kingdom from the legitimate heir, his younger half-brother Amlaíb Dub. In consequence, a bitter family feud broke out, in which Gofraid Donn played a part. According to a 13th-century chronicle, when Amlaíb Dub's marriage to the sister of Ragnall's wife was nullified, Gofraid Donn was tricked by his mother into attempting to kill his uncle Amlaíb Dub. Sometime later, Amlaíb Dub had his revenge, as Gofraid Donn was captured, and one of Amlaíb Dub's followers blinded and castrated him. Amlaíb Dub later successfully took the throne, and Ragnall was soon after assassinated. Amlaíb Dub was constantly under threat of Ragnall's powerful ally Alan, Lord of Galloway. In about 1230, Amlaíb Dub was forced to flee Man, and went to Norway to plead for assistance from the king. Amlaíb Dub arrived just before the king sent a fleet into in the Hebrides to pacify the western coast of Scotland. Both Amlaíb Dub, and Gofraid Donn, travelled with the fleet, and upon the commander's death, Amlaíb Dub took control and retook the Isle of Man. Amlaíb Dub and Gofraid Donn then divided the kingdom between themselves, with Gofraid Donn controlling the Hebridean portion. Not long after the Norwegian fleet left the Hebrides, Gofraid Donn was killed on the Outer Hebridean island of Lewis, in 1231.