WThe Crovan dynasty, from the late 11th century to the mid 13th century, was the ruling family of an insular kingdom known variously in secondary sources as the Kingdom of Mann, the Kingdom of the Isles, and the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. The eponymous founder of the dynasty was Godred Crovan, who appeared from obscurity in the late 11th century, before his takeover of the Isle of Man and Dublin. The dynasty was of Gaelic-Scandinavian origin, descending from a branch of the Uí Ímair, a dominant kindred in the Irish Sea region which first appears on record in the late 9th century.
WAffreca de Courcy or Affrica Guðrøðardóttir was a late 12th-/early 13th century noblewoman. She was the daughter of Godred Olafsson, King of the Isles, a member of the Crovan dynasty. In the late 12th century she married John de Courcy. Affrica is noted for religious patronage in northern Ireland.
WGuðrøðr Magnússon, 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 island. According to a near contemporary source, over five hundred people lost their lives in the subsequent Scottish invasion and suppression of the Manx. It is not certain whether Guðrøðr escaped the decisive defeat of the rebels at Battle of Ronaldsway with his life or if he was among the slain.
WGuðrøðr Rǫgnvaldsson, also known as Guðrøðr Dond, was a thirteenth-century ruler of the Kingdom of the Isles. He was a member of the Crovan dynasty, and a son of Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles, the eldest son of Guðrøðr Óláfsson, King of Dublin and the Isles. Although the latter may have intended for his younger son, Óláfr, to succeed to the kingship, the Islesmen instead settled upon Rǫgnvaldr, who went on to rule the Kingdom of the Isles for almost forty years. The bitterly disputed royal succession divided the Crovan dynasty for three generations, and played a central role in Guðrøðr's recorded life.
WLǫgmaðr Guðrøðarson was a late eleventh-century King of the Isles, whose rise, reign, and fall from power are obscure. He was the eldest son of Guðrøðr Crovan, King of Dublin and the Isles, a Norse-Gaelic dynast who conquered and ruled the kingdoms of the Isles and Dublin, before dying in 1095. Three years after the latter's death, the Isles was conquered by Magnús Óláfsson, King of Norway, whose regime in the region lasted until his death in 1103. The chronology of Lǫgmaðr's reign is uncertain: he may have begun his reign either before Magnús' conquest, during his regime, or after his demise.
WÓláfr Guðrøðarson, also known as Olaf the Black, was a thirteenth-century King of the Isles, and a member of the Crovan dynasty. He was a son of Guðrøðr Óláfsson, King of the Isles and Fionnghuala Nic Lochlainn. Óláfr was a younger son of his father; Óláfr's elder brother, Rǫgnvaldr, probably had a different mother. According to the Chronicle of Mann, Guðrøðr appointed Óláfr as heir since he had been born "in lawful wedlock". Whether or not this is the case, after Guðrøðr's death in 1187 the Islesmen instead appointed Rǫgnvaldr as king, as he was a capable adult and Óláfr was a mere child. Rǫgnvaldr ruled the island-kingdom for almost forty years, during which time the half-brothers vied for the kingship.
WRǫgnvaldr Óláfsson was a twelfth-century King of the Isles. He was a son of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles and a member of the Crovan dynasty. In the 1153, Óláfr was assassinated by three nephews, before his son, Guðrøðr, was able to overcome them and succeed his father as king. By 1158, Guðrøðr was forced from power by his brother-in-law, Somairle mac Gilla Brigte, who was married to Óláfr's daughter Ragnhildr. In 1164, when Somairle was killed in an invasion of Scotland, and while Guðrøðr was away in exile overseas, Rǫgnvaldr briefly seized the kingship for himself, before being overcome by Guðrøðr, who had him blinded and mutilated.