!SOURCE: George Crawfurd, Esq., THE PEERAGE OF SCOTLAND, Edinburgh,
1716, p. 229ff.
Altho'' the MacDonalds do not yield to any other Name or Family in
Scotland either in Antiquity of Grandeur, yet the History of them does
not run higher than Somerled Thane of Argyle in the Time of Malcolm IV.
yet the Monuments that remain of him do show that his Race was great
and anterior to the Age he liv''d in. This Somerled the first conspicuous
Person of this Line being a very great and powerful man by his own
hereditary possessions upon the Western Continent, became yet greater,
by adding the AEbudae or West Isles to his Fortune, by the Marriage of
the Heir Female of Olaus, formerly the Lord thereof, whereupon he
assum''d to himself the Title of King of the Isles, which was so ill taken
by King Malcolm, that he proclaim''d Somerled a Rebel, and sent a Body of
Men against him under the Command of Walter high Stewart of Scotland,
by whomhis Army was routed, and himself killed in the Battle Anno Chr.
1164 (Chron. de Melross.), but the MacDonald''s contravert this upon the
Authority of their Bards and Sanachies, whose memorial Records are in
great Veneration with that People: Be this as it will, it''s certain that
Somerled was
succeeded in the Jurisdiction and Property of the Isles by his Son.
!SOURCE: Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, PEERAGE OF SCOTLAND,
Edinburgh, 1764?, pp. 357ff.
I. Somerled, thane of Argyle, (the immediated ancestor of this noble
family) flourished in the reign of king David I. who succeeded to the
crown of Scotland, anno 1124, and died in 1153.
It is acknowledged by all our historians, that this Somerled was a man
of great
power and interest. He married the daughter and heiress of Olaus, one of
the kings of the AEbudae, whereupon he and his posterity, for several
generations, assumed to themselves the title kings of the Isles.
Somerled being no less ambitious than great, raised an army, and
invaded the territories of Malcolm IV. who succeeded David, was joined
by Donald, son of Malcolm MacBeth, who had been at the head of a
formidable rebellion in the preceeding reign; but king Malcolm sent the
brave Gilchrist, earl of Angus, against them, who defeated them, took
Donald prisoner, and obliged Somerled to fly to Ireland, anno 1157.
Somerled afterwards returned, raised a new army, made a descent at a
bay in the river Clyde, and penetrated into the country as far as Renfrew,
where he was met and attacked by the king''s army, under the command of
Walter high steward of Scotland, was enterely routed, and himself slain,
anno 1164. He had issue four sons.
1. Dulgal, who was killed with his father at Renfrew, and, it is said,
was progenitor of the MacDougals.
2. Reginald, who succeeded his father in the lorship of the Isles.
3. Angus.
4. Olaus, who, in the chronicle of Man, are both designed filii
Somerledi.
!SOURCE: Rev. Dr. Donald MacKinnon, MACLEOD CHIEFS OF HARRIS AND
DUNVEGAN, Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod Society, 1969, p. 4. Alick
Morrison, THE CHIEFS OF CLAN MACLEOD, East Kilbride, Scotland,
Associate Clan MacLeod Societies,1986, p. 13.]
Regulus of Argyle, progenitor of Clan Donald, Lords of the Isles.
!BIOGRAPHY: Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, Bart., THE PEERAGE OF
SCOTLAND, Vol. 2, Second Edition, John Philip Wood, Esq., Editor,
Edinburgh, 1813, p. 5.
This very antient Norwegian race, long independent of the Scotish
Kings, is derived from
I. Somerled, Thane of Argyll, who acquired the Western Islands, by his
marriage with Effrica, or Rachel, daughter of Olavus the Swarthy, King
of Man, and grand-daughter of Harald Harfager, King of Denmark. he
assumed the designation of King of the Isles. He gave one of his
daughters in marriage to Wimund, the pretended Earl of Moray, (who
invaded Scotland in 1114, and being afterwards taken, had his eyes put
out.) On the death of King David I., Somerled, accompanied by the
children of Wimund, landed with a great force in Scotland, 5th November
1153, in order to revenge the wrongs done to his son-in-law. The
predatory incursions of Somerled distressed the kingdom, and spread
consternation among the inhabitants. Disdaining submission, he
continued to infest the coasts of Scotland; but at length, in 1157, he
agreed to terms of accommodation with King Malcolm IV. However, in
1164, he again invaded Scotland with a mighty force, landing at Renfrew.
The inhabitants of the country repulsed his army with great slaughter.
Somerled, and his son, Gillecolane, were slain. It is said he had four
sons,
1. Gillecolane, killed with his father [In the first edition the eldest son
is called Dulgal, and is stated to be progenitor of the Macdougals.
Crawford, in his Peerage, does not mention him; and it may be asked how,
if he was the eldest son, he did not inherit the isles?]
2. Reginald.
3. Angus.
4. Olaus. The two last in the Chronicle of Man are designed sons of
Somerled.
!BIOGRAPHY: John Burke, Esq., A GENEALOGICAL AND HERADIC HISTORY OF
THE COMMONERS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, Vol. II, Baltimore,
Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1977, pp. 175-178.