Jorunn Ketillsdottir
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Early Life

Jorunn Ketillsdottir was the daughter of Ketill Björnsson and sister to King Björn and King Helgi of Mann. She was the fifth child of Ketill, likely born in the early 840s. She was an important figure in Manx politics during Björn's reign, serving as Seeress and Designated Regent of Mann and assisting with raising Björn's children, Ketill and Olafr.

Loss of Power

When Helgi became King of Mann after his brother's death in 879, he began aggressively expanding into northern Ireland. Jorunn was concerned by Helgi's plan to distribute the newly conquered territories to his own children, fearing it would diminish the influence of Björn's children. At the behest of her sister-in-law Asta, she attempted to persuade the council to put an end to the war. In response, Helgi fired her from the council, replacing her with his wife Gurli Mikli. Helgi and Gurli persuaded the other councilors to support the war by promising to divide a share of the spoils among them. Following this incident, Jorunn's influence on the realm decreased as Gurli's increased in proportion.

Imprisonment of Olafr

In 892, Björn's son Olafr challenged his brother Ketill to a duel, defeated, and killed him. Although Olafr claimed Ketill's Chiefdom of Galloway as next of kin, Gurli Mikli used her position as Seeress to convince the tribal leaders to support her son Rikulfr as their next chief instead. Rikulfr died in 896, leaving Galloway to his son Geirr. In early 900, Olafr again made a play for Galloway, murdering Geirr and seizing the county by force. Gurli became concerned at this point that Olafr was aiming to grow his power base in an attempt to take the throne of Mann from her children by force.

Gurli's third son Arni, who shared her concerns, was elected king of Mann in September 900. Arni and his Spymaster Olafr Þorsteinnsson were able to trick Olafr into travelling to Mann in January 901, where he was imprisoned for the murder of Geirr. Olafr died in Arni's dungeons in 902. Jorunn was furious with Arni and Gurli, believing the imprisonment of Olafr to have been unjust and politically motivated.

Exile in Breifne

Jorunn found a sympathetic ear for her grievances against Arni in his half-brother Bersi. Arni had began dismantling the existing power structures in Mann and replacing them with advisers he believed would be more loyal to him personally early in his rule. These moves earned the ire of Bersi and his other brothers, who expected to have a larger say in how the kingdom was run. By 903, Jorunn and Bersi had begun plotting to have Arni murdered and Refil placed on the throne. Olafr Þorsteinnsson intercepted a letter between them exposing the plot and informed Arni, who ordered their immediate arrest.

Jorunn received advance word of the order through one of Arni's concubines, Nuala Mac Malmure. She fled to the court of Arni's brother Refil in Breifne, and went into hiding. From there, she sent a warning to Bersi informing him of his impending arrest. Bersi attempted to rebel against Arni, but in the end lacked the manpower and was captured and thrown in the dungeons.

Manx Civil War of 906

Main article: Manx Civil War of 906

Bersi's betrayal made Arni paranoid that his other brothers would try to kill him also, and in 906 he devised a plan to strip Refil and Ale of their titles. Asta learned of this plan and passed the information to Jorunn, who warned Refil. Refil refused to surrender his titles, instead gathering a coalition of Manx nobles concerned with Arni's increasingly tyrannical behavior, and declared war.

When Arni received a head injury in October 906 during the Battle of Tyrconnell and was rendered incapable of speech, Gurli Milki assumed rulership of Mann as his regent. In December 906, Lorcán de Cashel of Airgialla declared a holy war against Mann, sparking fears on both sides that a lengthy civil war could see the realm lose ground to foreign invaders. The two sides met to negotiate a peace settlement in Kells in January 907, with Jorunn negotiating alongside Refil for the rebellion, and Gurli and Marshal Hrolfir of Teviotdale representing King Arni.

After two weeks of negotiations, an agreement was reached. Arni would relinquish the crown of Mann to Refil and free Bersi from the royal dungeons. In return, Refil would allow Arni's son to take possession of Arni's personal holdings in Suðreyjar, Argyll, and Tyrconnell, as well as the crown of Jorvik.

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