Óspakr-Hákon

Óspakr (died 1230), also known as Hákon, was a King of the Isles. He seems to have been a son of Dubgall mac Somairle, King of the Isles, and therefore a member of the Meic Dubgaill branch of the Meic Somairle kindred. Óspakr spent a considerable portion of his career in the Kingdom of Norway as a member of the Birkibeinar faction in the Civil war era in Norway. He seems to be identical to Óspakr suðreyski, a Birkibeinar who took part in the plundering of Hebrides and the sacking of Iona in 1209/1210. The context of this expedition is uncertain, although it may have been envisioned as a way of reasserting Norwegian royal authority into the Kingdom of the Isles.

In the decade following the ravaging of Iona, the Kingdom of the Isles was plagued by vicious conflict between two competing dynasts of the Crovan dynasty. Although one member of this kindred, Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles, overcame his main dynastic rival in 1229, he faced continued opposition from Alan fitz Roland, Lord of Galloway, and leading members of the Meic Somairle. As a consequence of this conflict, Óláfr fled to Norway in 1230, and Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway authorised the preparation of a military campaign to restore order. The title of king was thereupon conferred upon Óspakr, as was the royal name Hákon, with Óspakr receiving command of a fleet take with him into the Isles. By May or June of that year, Óspakr's fleet reached the heart of the Hebrides where it is recorded to have swollen to eighty ships. The full brunt of Óspakr's forces were directed at Bute, where a stronghold—almost certainly Rothesay Castle—is reported to have fallen within a few days. Reports of a nearby fleet under Alan's command forced the Norwegians to withdraw from Bute, and Óspakr is reported to have died, apparently from injuries sustained during the sack of Bute. After Óspakr's death, the Norwegian enterprise was led by Óláfr who established himself on Mann. The following spring, with the Kingdom of the Isles partitioned between Óláfr and his rival nephew, Guðrøðr Rǫgnvaldsson, the Norwegians set sail for home, where Hákon thanked the returning warriors. About thirty years later, a certain Ruðri is recorded to have claimed Bute as his birthright and to have assisted Hákon in another Norwegian campaign in the Isles. One possibility is that Ruðri was a descendant of Óspakr.