Leod I Chief MacGillemuire Olafson
b: ABT 1200
d: ABT 1280
Biography
!CAVEAT: There is significant disagreement over the true ancestry of Leod. That given in this database is the generally accepted traditional lineage, and its origins may be traced as far back as Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, in his BARONAGE OF SCOTLAND [1798], along with the Bannatyne MS, dated about 1830, which both have Leod as the son of Olaf the Black, King of Man, who died in 1237. Glenbervie acknowledges that he received this information from the MacLeods of Dunvegan [BARONAGE, p. 375].
It is allegedly based upon information contained in THE CHRONICLE OF MAN and Camden¹s BRITANNIA; however, neither of these mentions Leod at all. There are other lineages extant from earlier dates. An earlier lineage, presented by the Earl of Cromartie, written about 1770, states that Leod was the son of Harald, the son of Godred Don, who usurped the throne of Man in 1249. There are Gaelic genealogies, however, which present a third picture. The Kilbride MS, quoted by Skene and Rev. R. C. MacLeod of MacLeod, dated about 1550, gives Leod''''s lineage as "Leod mac Oloig mic Oib mic Oilmoir mic Iamhar (etc.) ... Iamhar Athalcliath (Ivar of Dublin)." The Irish genealogist Dugald MacFirbis, writing about 1650, lists "Leod mac Gillemuire mic Raice mic Olbair snoice mic Gillemuire." Cathal MacVurich, about 1650, has "Leod mac Olbuir mic Raisi mic Olbuir Snáithe mic Aonghusa." By comparison: --Kilbride (1550): Leod mac Oloig mic Oib mic Oilmoir mic Iamhar... --MacFirbis (1650): Leod mac Gillemuire mic Raice mic Olbair snoice mic Gillemuire... --MacVurich (1650): Leod mac Olbuir mic Raisi mic Olbuir Snáithe mic Aonghusa... --Cromartie (1770): Leod mac Railt mic Godred Don... --Glenbervie (1798): Leod mac Olaus mic Godred mic Olaf... While there are major differences in these genealogies, there are also similarities. For example, Oilmoir may be equivalent to Gillemuire, Raice may be the equivalent of Raisi, Olbair Snoice may be equivalent to Olbuir Snáithe, etc. It is much more difficult to see any similarity between Oloig and Gillemuire, Oloig and Olbuir, and especially between Oloig and Railt. At best, we may only say that the ancestry of Leod is, at this time, not certain. For an extended discussions of this problem, see William Matheson, "The Ancestry of the MacLeods" and "The MacLeods of Lewis", TRANSACTIONS OF THE GAELIC SOCIETY OF INVERNESS, Vol. LI (1978-80), 1981, pp. 68-80, 320-337, and Rev. Canon R. C. MacLeod, THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN, Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod Society, 1927, pp. 1-23. W. D. H. Sellar presented a paper on this subject to the Gaelic Society of Inverness in January, 1998. This paper has not yet been published. Its release is eagerly awaited by this genealogist. Another who has studied this problem in depth is Andrew P. MacLeod. He has not yet published his research results. The lineages given here, recognizing the problems involved, may be revised at any time, based upon better, more solid evidence.

!BIOGRAPHY: Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, Baronet, THE BARONAGE OF SCOTLAND, Edinburgh, 1798, p. 375. "V. Leod, son of king Olaus and brother of Magnus the last king of Man and the isles, and the fifth generation of that royal race in a direct male line. "He was young at his father''''s death, and was fostered and brought up in the house of Paul, son of Boke, sheriff of Sky, a man of the greatest power and authority of any in those parts, who had been a constant friend of his father''''s in all his dangers and distresses, and by whose assistance he recovered his kingdom, according to the above-mentioned chronicle. "He flourished in the reign of king Alexander III, and got from the said Paul the lands of Herries, &c. and from his grandfather the earl of Ross, a part of the barony of Glenelg, and he and his posterity have ever since been promiscuously designed by the titles of Herries, Glenelg, Dunvegan, and of that ilk. "He married the daughter and only child of Macraild Armine, a Danish knight, who had considerable property amongst those islands, by whom he got the lands of Mogenish, Bracadale, Durinish, Dunvegan, Lindell, Vaterness, and part of Troterness in the isle of Sky, &c. "By this lady he had two sons. "1. Tormod, progenitor of this family, first designed by the title of Herries. "2. Torquil, ancestor of the Macleods of Lewes, and their descendent, of whom under their proper titles. "These brothers Tormod and Torquil were called Macleods, as sons of Leod, and hence the sirname of the family. The descendent of Tormod were distinguished by the appellation of Sheil Tormod and the Macleods of Herries. Those of Torquil, Shiel Torquil and the Macleods of Lewes. "But we must here observe, that the seniority and precedency hath at different periods been disputed, and sometimes claimed by the descendants of both brothers. "But as it cannot, at this distance of time, be absolutely ascertained which of them was really so, we shall, in the course of the history of these families, give the reasons upon which they both found their claims, and let the reader judge which have the best right to the precedency. "1mo, It is affirmed from good authority, that Tormod got the greatest part of his father''''s estate. "2do, In several royal charters, and other authentic writs still extant, where the heads of both families are mentioned, the representative of Tormod or Macleod of Herries is always first named, as will appear from some indisputable documents hereafter narrated. "3tio, Though this family have now changed their armorial bearing, yet there is sufficient proof, that they formerly carried the paternal arms of the family, as will be shown afterwards. "We therefore proceed to deduce the descent of this family, from the said Tormod by authentic vouchers. "Leod was succeeded in a great part of his estate by his son, Tormod Macleod of Herries."

!BIOGRAPHY: John Burke, Esq., A GENEALOGICAL AND HERALDIC HISTORY OF THE COMMONERS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, Vol. II, Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1977, pp. 175-178.

!BIOGRAPHY: Rev. Dr. Donald MacKinnon, MACLEOD CHIEFS OF HARRIS AND DUNVEGAN, Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod Society, 1969, pp. 4-5. "According to Canon Roderick MacLeod, Leod, progenitor of the MacLeods, was a son of [the] marriage [between Olaf and a ''''lady from Kintyre'''', a cousin of the Queen of Man and the Isles.]. In this particular, the
Canon departs from MacLeod traditions (e.g. the MANUSCRIPT MEMORIAL of 1767, the TALISKER MANUSCRIPT and the BANNATYNE MANUSCRIPT), which claimed that Leod was a son of Olaf''''s third marriage with Christina, daughter of Farquhar, Earl of Ross."

!BIOGRAPHY: see THE CLAN MACLEOD MAGAZINE (1953), pp. 94-5. Rev. Dr. Donald MacKinnon, MACLEOD CHIEFS OF HARRIS AND DUNVEGAN, Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod Society, 1969, pp. 3-4. Alick Morrison, THE CHIEFS OF CLAN MACLEOD, East Kilbride, Scotland, 1986. "Leod, as we have seen was probably the son, by his first wife, of Olaf the Black, King of Man and the Isles, and was born c. 1200. He was foster-child of Paul Baalkason, heritable sheriff of Skye under the Kings of Man. When Paul Baalkason died in 1231, Leod succeeded to his lands in Harris and North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, and to Sleat, Trotternish and Snizort in Skye. Leod received from his father Glenelg on the mainland and also part of the Island of Lewis. He married c. 1220 the daughter and heiress of MacRaild (or MacCrailt), who owned Duirinish, Bracadale and Minginish. By this marriage, he came into possession of his wife''''s lands, and it is probable that he took up residence in the stronghold which is still the home of the Chiefs of MacLeod. Thus Leod, in and after 1231, owned the whole of Skye, except Strath, which was church-land, North Uist and Harris, part of Lewis and Glenelg, and was, as the BANNATYNE MANUSCRIPT says, ''''the most powerful Chief of his time in the Isles''''. He died c. 1280, ''''at an advanced age'''', and was buried in Iona, being the first of seven MacLeod chiefs to be interred there."

!BIOGRAPHY: John Burke, Esq., HISTORY OF THE COMMONERS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, Vol. IV, Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1977, pp. 584-592. Leod, ancestor of the MacLeods, son of Olaus the Black, and brother of Magnus, the last king of Man and the Isles; [Godfred, surnamed "Crovan," or "the White Hand," son of Harold the Black, King of Norway, was the undoubted founder of the dynasty of the Norwegian kings of Man and the Isles; the ancestors of the clan Macleod.] was the fifth generation of that race, in a direct male line. He was young at his father''''s death, and was brought up in the house of Paul, son of Boke, sheriff of Skye, who had been a constant friend of his father''''s, and a man of the greatest power and authority in those parts. Leod lived in the time of Alexander III. King of Scotland. He succeeded his father in the patrimonial estate of Lewis and its dependencies, consisting of the Baronies of Assynt, Coigach, Castle Leod, Strathpeffer, Rasay, Edrachullis, Gairloch, Lochbroom, Strathannan, etc.; and got from the said Paul the lands of Herries, and from his grandfather, the Earl of Ross, a part of the Barony of Glenelg. He married the daughter and only child of Macraild Armine, a Danish knight, who had considerable property in the islands, by whom he got the lands of Mogenish, Bracadale, Durinish, Lindell, Dunvegan, Vaterness, and part of Troterness, in the Isle of Skye. Leod had two sons, Torquil, who inherited the paternal estate of Lewis, etc. Tormod, who had for his portion Herries and Dunvegan. These brothers, Torquil and Tormod, were called, "Macleods," or "Sons of Leod," and hence the surname of the family. The descendants of Torquil, are distinguished by the appellation of "Siol Torquil," or "Race of Torquil," and "Macleods of Lewis," and their descendants. Those of Tormod, by that of "Siol Tormod," or "Race of Norman," and "MacLeods of Herries," and their descendants. These have always been two distinct clans, each independent of the other, and following their respective chiefs. It is still disputed which was the elder; the seniority and precedence are clamed by the descendants of both; and, as it is impossible, at this distance of time, to ascertain precisely to whom the precedence ought to be accorded; all that can be done, is to state the arguments brought forward by each. The following are those of the Siol Torquil: Torquil inherited the paternal estate of Lewis, with all its dependencies, viz. -- the Baronies of Assynt, Coigach, Castle Leod, Strathpeffer, Strathannan, Lochbroom, Edrachullis, Gairloch, Rasay, etc.; and also the lands of Troterness and Vaterness, in the Isle of Skye. These lands, with the exception of Troterness and Vaterness, formed the ORIGINAL, and by far the greater portion of Leod''''s estate. Torquil carried the armorial bearings of the Kings of Man and the Isles, his paternal ancestors, and these are carried by his descendants until this day. In the records of Denmark, there is mention made of the Macleods of Lewis, being recognised in that country as the lineal descendants, in the male line, of the Norwegian Kings of Man. The precedence and seniority are given to the Lewis family, by Sir David Lindsay, of the Mount, Lord Lyon King at Arms, in the reigns of James IV. and V. and Queen Mary; and also by Buchanan, in his History of the Clans, published in 1723. It has always been an unvaried tradition of the Rasay family, that Torquil was the elder son, which tradition is confirmed by the family papers. The Siol Tormod, on the contrary, say that Tormod had the greater portion of his father''''s property; however, a glance at any map of the country, will prove that this was not the case. Indeed, in an old paper, now in possession of Macleod of Rasay, it is said, that Herries itself was the only portion given to Tormod by his father. The Siol Tormod, did at one time carry the armorial bearings of the Kings of Man, but they have since changed these for others. It may here be observed, the Siol Tormod have never said at what time, or for what reason, they effected this change. Now both these ought to have been recorded, in order to account for the alteration. In several public acts, the name of "Macleod of Herries," is placed before that of "Macleod of Lewis." This may be the case, but it is certain, that Sir David Lindsay, (who was undoubtedly the most learned herald of his day, and lived in a time when both families flourished,) would not have given the precedence to Macleod of Lewis, unless he was convinced it was his by right. The Macleods of Herries, designate themselves, "Macleods of Macleod," but this is a title of comparatively modern date, having been first assumed by Roderick Macleod, seventeenth Laird of Herries and Dunvegan, in the year 1693, or 1694; when, though perhaps NOT the most ANCIENT, they certainly were the most powerful branch of the clan Macleod. The claims of each branch of the clan Macleod for seniority and precedency, having now been stated, it remains for the reader to form his own opinion as to their respective merits. To proceed with the history of the Siol Torquil. Leod, first Baron of Lewis, died about the year 1300, and was succeeded, in his paternal estates, by his son, Torquil.

!SOURCE: Alick Morrison, THE MACLEODS: THE GENEALOGY OF A CLAN, Section IV, "The MacLeods of Lewis", Edinburgh, Associated Clan MacLeod Societies, 1974, p. 1. The Chiefs of Siol Thorcuil in Lewis like the chiefs of Siol Thormoid in Harris, Dunvegan and Glenelg are generally regarded as being descended from Leod, a son of Olaf the Black, King of Man and the Isles. Leod was born about 1200: Roderick Mac Chaluim, "the last MacLeod Baron of Lewis", was born about 1500. This gives a span of 300 years or 10 generations. I. Leod (c. 1200-1280) By his marriage with the daughter of MacRaild Armuin, Leod had, with other issue: Norman, progenitor of the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan and hence known as Siol Thormoid; Torquil, ancestor of the MacLeods of Lewis and their various branches and hence known as Siol Thorcuil.
Facts
  • ABT 1200 - Birth -
  • ABT 1280 - Death -
  • Nobility Title - I Chief
Ancestors
Family Group Sheet - Child
PARENT (M) Ollaghair Olaf_or_Olaus Odhar Godredson (The Black)
BirthABT 1177
Death21 MAY 1237 Isle of,St. Patrick
Marriageto Lyaoan
Marriageto Joan
Marriageto Christina Ross
FatherOchraidh Godred_II The_Black Olafson
MotherPhingola (Fionghuala) MacLochlan
PARENT (F) Christina Ross
Birth
Death
Marriageto Ollaghair Olaf_or_Olaus Odhar Godredson (The Black)
FatherFarquhar Earl_of_Ross
Mother?
CHILDREN
MLeod I Chief MacGillemuire Olafson
BirthABT 1200
DeathABT 1280
Marriageto Heiress_of Armuin MacRaild
MGuin Olafson
Birth
Death
MLeandruis Olafson
Birth
Death
Family Group Sheet - Spouse
PARENT (M) Leod I Chief MacGillemuire Olafson
BirthABT 1200
DeathABT 1280
Marriageto Heiress_of Armuin MacRaild
FatherOllaghair Olaf_or_Olaus Odhar Godredson (The Black)
MotherChristina Ross
PARENT (F) Heiress_of Armuin MacRaild
Birth
Death
Marriageto Leod I Chief MacGillemuire Olafson
FatherArmuin MacRaild
Mother?
CHILDREN
MTormod [Norman] MacLeod
BirthAFT 1220
DeathBEF 1280Castle,Isle of Pabbay,Sound of Harris,Scotland
Marriageto Dorothea Ross
Marriageto Christina Fraser
MSir_John MacLeod
Birth
Death
MOlaus MacLeod
Birth
Death
F[Daughter] MacLeod
Birth
Death
Marriageto Fergus
F[Daughter] MacLeod
Birth
Death
Marriageto John Lord_of_Mull
Descendancy Chart