King of the Isles In the decades following the ravaging of Iona, the Kingdom of the Isles was plagued by vicious conflict between two competing dynasts of the Crovan dynasty: namely Rǫgnvaldr and his younger half-brother, Óláfr Guðrøðarson. Although Rǫgnvaldr enlisted the support of Alan fitz Roland, Lord of Galloway by way of a marital alliance, Óláfr seized the kingship of the Isles in 1226, and slew Rǫgnvaldr three years later. The death of Alan's ally did not deter Gallovidian interests in the Isles. In fact, it is apparent that Alan and members of the Meic Somairle—Dubgall and Donnchad, both sons of Dubgall mac Somairle—upheld pressure upon the recently inaugurated Óláfr. According to Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, reports of open warfare in the Isles reached the royal court of Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway in the summer of 1229. Specifically, the saga singles out Alan as one of the principal perpetrators of unrest in the Isles, describing him as "the greatest warrior", possessing a large force of men and ships with which he plundered throughout the Hebrides. The two sons of Dubgall mac Somairle are also noted, as is a kinsman of theirs named Somairle. All three of these Meic Somairle kinsmen are styled kings by Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, which describes the men as "unfaithful" to the Norwegian Crown. The saga also identifies Óspakr as yet another son of Dubgall mac Somairle, albeit one who was had long served outwith the Isles as a Birkibeinar. Although Óláfr arrived at the Norwegian court early in 1230, having been forced from the Isles by Alan and his allies, it is evident that Hákon had already decided upon a course of action. The Icelandic annals, the Chronicle of Mann, the fourteenth-century Chronicle of Lanercost, and Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, all reveal that Hákon handed over the kingship of the Isles to Óspakr and bestowed upon him the royal name Hákon. According to the latter source, Hákon not only granted him the kingship, but also gave him command of the Norwegian fleet tasked with restoring peace in the Isles. Within days of Óláfr's arrival in Norway, the saga reveals that Óspakr's fleet set sail for the Isles, and swelled in number after reaching Orkney. Whilst the Eirspennill version of the saga numbers the fleet in Norway at twelve ships, the Flateyjarbók, Frísbók, and Skálholtsbók versions give the number eleven; and whilst the former version relates that