{"id":101182,"date":"2025-05-08T15:45:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T19:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=101182"},"modified":"2025-06-18T09:10:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T13:10:12","slug":"stamp-of-approval-research-delivers-medieval-sea-king-history-to-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2025\/05\/stamp-of-approval-research-delivers-medieval-sea-king-history-to-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Stamp of approval: Research delivers medieval sea king history to the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When Andrew McDonald imagined sharing his research with the world, he never dreamed it would reach all corners of the globe by way of postage stamp.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Brock Professor of History and participating faculty member in the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (MARS) has co-created a new stamp collection bringing life to the epic history of medieval sea kings in the Irish Sea.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was thrilling \u2014 and incredibly challenging \u2014 to take 30 years of my research and several books and condense it down into six little encapsulations, but it forced me to think about the essence of this fascinating and fierce time of history,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

An internationally recognized scholar of the Norse history and Isle of Man, McDonald was sought by the Isle of Man Post Office to partner on the specialized collection in collaboration with local Manx artist Juan Moore.<\/p>\n

Entitled The Age of the Sea Kings: The Medieval Kingdom of Man and the Isles, 1079-1265, the collection of six stamps was issued last month.[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/HAZ9Og0Wxt8″][vc_column_text]During the High Middle Ages, the Isle of Man and the Hebridean islands off the west coast of Scotland were forged into maritime realms known as the Kingdoms of Man and the Isles. For two centuries, Manx and Hebridean sea kings dominated the seaways with ferocity and cunning.<\/p>\n

Tasked with writing concise, catchy and appealing text about these revered and ruthless sea kings, McDonald was given strict parameters by the post office: only 100-word descriptions per stamp.<\/p>\n

Collaborating with artist Moore, the concept took shape, and the pair ultimately landed on featuring six rulers from the dynasty depicting their key accomplishments through vibrant imagery.<\/p>\n

The stamps are chronological, moving through the history of the period in tiny snapshots of each ruler.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces”][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm”][vc_column_text]

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Olaf Godredsson<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Last King of Seas<\/p><\/div>\n

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Godred Olafsson<\/p><\/div>\n

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Godred Crovan<\/p><\/div>\n

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Rognvald & Olaf Godredsson<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Chronicles<\/p><\/div>\n

Watch a video<\/a><\/small>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_accordion section_title_tag=”h2″ active_section=”0″ collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Map and stamp description” tab_id=”description”][vc_column_text]The map above is an interactive Google Map that shows the Isle of Man island located in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. There are 5 points of interest on the map. Each point of interest hows one or two stamps with a brief description of what the stamps represent:<\/p>\n

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  1. Sky Hill<\/strong> \u2013 Sky Hill, overlooking the north of the Isle of Man, was the site of the most famous battle in Manx history when Godred Crovan, an Irish-Norse warlord, defeated the Manx by a clever stratagem and won the Island. Godred was the founder of the dynasty of sea kings that ruled Man and the Isles until 1265.<\/li>\n
  2. St. Patrick\u2019s Isle<\/strong> \u2013 Strategically situated on the west coast of Man, St. Patrick\u2019s Isle is mentioned several times in the Manx chronicle and it was the most important power centre of the sea kings for most of the history of the dynasty. The defensive wall enclosing most of the islet is late medieval, but the round tower and some of the churches are medieval, including St. German\u2019s cathedral; the causeway connecting the islet to the mainland dates from the 1700s. King Reginald attacked and destroyed his brother\u2019s ships here on a daring night-time raid in 1228\/29.<\/li>\n
  3. Tynwald Hill<\/strong> \u2013 This was the Viking age and medieval assembly-site for the Isle of Man: Tynwald is derived from Old Norse meaning \u201cAssembly (or Parliament) field\u201d and the place is mentioned twice in the Chronicles. The artificial stepped mound is linked to St. John\u2019s chapel by a processional way (not shown here). The final confrontation between the brothers King Reginald and Olaf occurred near here in 1229.<\/li>\n
  4. Rushen Abbey<\/strong> \u2013 Established by King Olaf, son of Godred Crovan, in 1134, Rushen Abbey was the most important monastic site on the Isle of Man through the Middle Ages until its dissolution in 1540. The Chronicles of the Kings of Man and the Isles was almost certainly composed here in the late 1200s-late 1300s, and this is the burial place of several of the sea kings.<\/li>\n
  5. Castle Rushen<\/strong> \u2013 The massive stone-built keep in the south of the Isle of Man was probably begun in the late 1100s and was rebuilt and developed over subsequent centuries. The last Manx king, Magnus son of Olaf, died here in 1265, marking the end of the dynasty of sea kings, but Castle Rushen remained as the premier power-centre in the Island for centuries.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_accordion][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]McDonald often describes the Kingdom of Man and the isles as “lost” or “forgotten” and has worked to share their history through his research and knowledge mobilization efforts.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe sea kings were fighting maritime battles and civil wars; they sailed fleets of longships all around the Irish sea and carved their empire out of the islands and defended it; and yet, they\u2019ve flown under the radar of historians for a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is just one more method of getting this valuable and fascinating history into the world in a way that is accessible, interesting and beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

    McDonald\u2019s work with the Isle of Man Post Office stemmed from his years of research and travel to the area, where he is known as the ever-curious Canadian scholar dedicated to uncovering the past and sharing it with the world.<\/p>\n

    He was first approached by the post office in 2023 when he was in the Isle of Man for a launch of his book A visitor’s guide to the medieval kingdoms of Man and the Isles, 1066-1275, published by Manx National Heritage which McDonald has collaborated with on several projects.<\/p>\n

    He met with the post office and Moore to firm up the concepts while leading a Brock study travel experience<\/a> in Isle of Man last summer.<\/p>\n

    For McDonald, stepping into the realm of artistic, collaborative storytelling has been an adventure.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI am greatly honoured by the Manx Post Office’s notice of my research, and I think it\u2019s such an interesting way to get this knowledge out into the world in a very different format than we are used to academia,\u201d he said.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Photo Gallery”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n\n\t