General Notes

Jim Weber writes: "This relationship (Sigurd Jerusalem-farer's daughter being mother of Somerled) is speculative based on the reasoning outlined below. The dates are tight, but it might explain why Mike Ashley plus many other people on World Connect believe that a daughter of Sigurd was mother of Somerled. They say Sigurd II of Orkney, which I believe is impossible. The ancestry I have is at least possible.

"I have no source for Somerled's mother, other than Mike Ashley's book which was referred to in an e-mail from Betty Knoche. Although I have no idea what Mike Ashley's source is for saying that Somerled was a son of Sigurd's daughter (even though Ashley says Sigurd II of Orkney), it may be the closest to a source that I will ever have. Sigurd II, as I have stated in my note, which was also my reply to Betty, was not the father of Somerled's mother (as he died in 1014, much too early to be father of Somerled's mother). However there was a later Sigurd (I suppose Sigurd III, although he was never referred to as such), who might have been father of Somerled's mother. His early 1st wife was of Irish descent, who he left in Orkeney in 1103. I believe that Somerled's mother would have been a product of his first marriage (with the couple residing on Orkney) because Mike Ashley states he was Sigurd of Orkney, and Sigurd had little to do directly with Orkney after he became King of Norway in 1103. So perhaps Sigurd's 1st wife returned to Ireland, after she was apparently abandoned on Orkney by Sigurd, and raised a child who married Somerled's father who we know was exiled in Ireland about this time.

"CP states that Biadmunai or Blathmin (daughter of Muirchtach MacToiredlbach, High King of Ireland (1086-1119), great-grandson of King Brian), was only five years old when the wedding took place in 1099, 1101, or 1102, but that date could have been her age when Sigurd's father arranged the marriage between the two, which could have been somewhat earlier. CP also states that he left Blathmin partially in charge of Orkney when he left in 1103, which makes it sound like she would then have been much older than 9 years old; so I am making her the same age as Sigurd (b. c1089). Certainly old enough to have born a child by him in 1104."
--------------------
Below is part of Betty's e-mail (full e-mail is under Somerled) with my response as a note:
Jim
Thought you might be interested in what was in British Kings & Queens by Mark Ashley (sic. Mike Ashley) on pages 433-434 regarding Somerled:
"Somerled was the son of Gillebride, thane of Argyll, and was descended from Ragnall, the Danish king of York. He was born in Ireland (where his father had been exiled by the Scots king Edgar) perhaps around the year 1105. His mother was Norse, the daughter of Sigurd II of Orkney, and she named the boy with a typical Norse nickname, which means "summer voyager". We know little of his early life, but he seems to have regained his heritage sometime before 1130, because he was already styled thane of Argyll when his sister married Malcolm, the illegitimate son of Alexander I of Scotland. . . .
This raised a question in my mind regarding the mother of Somerled (that you have indicted as Agatha Hadonsdottir). Can you double check this and let me know what you find out?
Thanks
Betty
Jim Weber notes: "Checking with The Complete Peerage, Vol X, Appendix A on the Jarls of Orkney, I came up with the following Sigurds: Sigurd II 'Digri' Hlodvesson was Jarl of Orkney, but he died in 1014, which makes any daughter of his (b. in or before 1015) impossible as a mother of Somerled. Sigurd Jorsalafari 'Jerusalem Goer/The Crusader', was b. circa 1089, and was made King of Orkney by his father Magnus 'Barelegs' King of Norway. He married as 1st wife a daughter of the King of Ireland in 1099/1102 (at the age of 13) and left Orkney and his first wife (who stayed in Orkney) in 1105. I believe he was 'married' 2 or 3 times more (CP only concentrates on his Orkney activities in this Appendix). A daughter of that early marriage could have been mother of Somerled, given that Somerled was born, say, in or after 1117."