!BIOGRAPHY: Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, Baronet, THE BARONAGE
OF SCOTLAND, Edinburgh, 1798, p. 374.
III. Godfred, king of Man and the isles, who married Phingola, daughter
of Maclotten, son of Mackartae king of Ireland, by whom he had one son,
Olave, his heir.
He had two natural sons, Reginald and Ivar.
This Godfred was a tyrannical prince, and greatly oppressed his
subjects. There was therefore a rebellion raised against him by Torphin
the son of Ottar, or, according to Macpherson, Oler, and others of the
nobility who took upon them to give the government of the island to
Dungal, who was son of Somerled.
King Godfred died anno 1187, and his only lawful son, Olaus the Black,
succeeded him.
!MENTION: Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, Bart., THE PEERAGE OF
SCOTLAND, Vol. 2, Second Edition, John Philip Wood, Esq., Editor,
Edinburgh, 1813, p. 5.
!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.
Godred the Black succeeded his father in 1154. After conquering
Dublin, Godred became a tyrant and his oppression was such that one of
his leading vassals, Thorfinn, son of Ottar, went to Somerled, regulus of
Argyle and proposed that Dugall, son of Somerled, should be appointed
King of Man and the Isles. Thereafter, Somerled and Thorfinn sailed to
the Sudreys (Hebrides) where they were joyfully received by most of the
leading men. Paul Baalkeson (of whom the clan MhicBhaic or MacKillops
in Berneray, Harris) hastened to Man to inform King Godred of what was
happening. Godred now collected a fleet and sailed north to deal with
the insurgents. He found Somerled ready for him with 80 sail near
Ardnamurchan. Here a great battle was fought on the night of the
Epiphany, 6th January 1156. There was much slaughter on both sides:
Somerled seems to have been victorious. A treaty was drawn up by
which the Hebrides (Sudreys) were divided between the rival
protagonists. King Godred retained the island of Man and all the Sudreys
north of Ardnamurchan. The Hebridean islands, south of this point fell to
Dugall, son of Somerled. This arrangement did not bring peace. We find
Somerled invading Man and driving Godred from his throne. The latter
however made his way to Norway, where he received sufficient
assistance to recover his territories. Godred reigned 33 years and died
in 1187. He married Phingola (Fionaghuala), daughter of MacLochlan, son
of Muircheartach, King of Ireland, with issue, one son, Olaf the Black.
Cardinal Vivian, a Papal Legate visited the Isles about this time and
insisted that Fionaghuala was Godred''s legally married wife. This
suggests that Godred had previously had a handfast marriage, for he had
two illegitimate sons, Reginald and Ivar, who were older than Olaf."
!BIOGRAPHY: Alick Morrison, THE CHIEFS OF CLAN MACLEOD, East
Kilbride, Scotland, Associate Clan MacLeod Societies,1986, pp. 17-18.