The Battle of Ronaldsway took place in 1275 at Ronaldsway in the southern part of the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

between a Scottish army and the Manx. The battle crushed the final attempt by the Manx to re-establish the Norse Sudreyar

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

. As the battle resulted in the death of the last Norse King of Mann,

Guðrøðr Magnússon Guðrøðr Magnússon (fl. 1275), also known as Godred Magnusson, was an illegitimate son of Magnús Óláfsson, King of Mann and the Isles. In 1275, whilst Mann was under Scottish overlordship, Guðrøðr led an unsuccessful revolt on the is ...

, and the emigration to Norway of the remaining members of the Manx royal family, it also led to the firm establishment of Scottish rule on the Isle of Man.

Background

Although the Isle of Man was formally ceded to

Alexander III of Scotland Alexander III (; Modern Gaelic: ; 4 September 1241 – 19 March 1286) was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1249 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of Perth, by which Scotland acquired sovereignty over the Western Isles and the Isle of Man. ...

in 1266, Scottish rule did not go unchallenged and in 1267 Alexander was forced to send an expedition against "the rebels of Man". Between this expedition and the 1275 uprising all that is known is that Alexander III appointed

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

s to the Isle of Man.

Manx rebellion

In response to the open uprising of the Manxmen under Guðrøðr, Alexander III dispatched a fleet to the island led by John de Vesci of

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...

and many nobles. The Scots landed on St Michael's Isle on 7 October 1275 and sent a message to the rebels with terms of peace, "offering them the peace of God and of the King of Scotland on condition of their laying aside their absurd presumption, and of giving themselves up to the King and his nobles."

Battle

Guðrøðr and the Manxmen having rejected the terms offered, battle was joined before sunrise the following day, 8 October. The Manxmen were routed and suffered heavy casualties. Guðrøðr was probably among the dead, ending the male line of the Manx Norse dynasty, although some theorise that he might have survived and fled to

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Aftermath

With the death of Guðrøðr, the Isle of Man came under Scottish rule. This lasted at least until the death of Alexander III in 1285, as the island was listed among Alexander's heir

Margaret, Maid of Norway Margaret (, ; March or April 1283 – September 1290), known as the Maid of Norway, was the queen-designate of Scotland from 1286 until her death. As she was never crowned, her status as monarch is uncertain and has been debated by historia ...

's future possessions in 1284. The island did not, however, remain in Scottish hands beyond September 1290, when

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

issued decrees to the Manxmen as their ruler. Thereafter England and Scotland struggled for control of the island until 1333, when

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

renounced all English claims over the Isle of Man and recognised

William Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury William Montagu, alias de Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury, 3rd Baron Montagu, King of Man (1301 – 30 January 1344) was an English nobleman and loyal servant of King Edward III. He was the first king of an independent Manx Kingdom. The so ...

as King of Mann. Reasons of state, however, made the Isle of Man a shuttlecock to be passed over once more to Scotland with Edward Balliol, to whom Edward was giving his support in David's minority. After this, again the Scots had to be turned out, but this finally, when in 1343, ships being provided by the King, William de Montacute captured the island, and was crowned there. English rule was reinstituted in 1399. The title of King of Mann changed to

Lord of Mann The Lord of Mann () is the lord proprietor and head of state of the Isle of Man, currently King Charles III. Before 1504, the title was King of Mann. Relationship with the Crown Since 1399, the King of Mann, kings and lords of Mann were ...

in 1504, and from 1765 the title was purchased by

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

1936 archaeological excavations

During the eastward expansion of Ronaldsway Aerodrome in 1936 a number of small rises near the airfield were dug into to provide soil for the levelling of the ground to the east. When workers began digging into one rise on the south side of the airfield they came upon numerous ancient graves. To the northeast of the main area of graves a large number of skeletons were found thrown together in a disorderly manner. Seeing as the ancient burial mound, dating back to at least the 8th or 9th centuries AD, had been a dominating strong point in the area, it was believed the collection of skeletons might be a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

of soldiers who fell at the Battle of Ronaldsway.

In fiction

In February 2015 a short comedy film written by James Franklin was made on location at nearby Derbyhaven, titled "The Battle of Ronaldsway"; it is based on the historical story. This production, partly funded by the IOM Arts Council in association with the Mannin Shorts script writing project, was due to be finished later in 2015.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronaldsway 1275 1275 in Scotland Ronaldsway Military history of the Isle of Man Medieval rebellions in Europe Ronaldsway Ronaldsway 13th century in the Isle of Man