Argyll and the southern isles

Who rules

Name

Clann Somairle: Ragnall (Raghnall mac Somairle), his brother Angus (Aonghus mac Somairle), and the line of their brother Dubgall (Dubhghall mac Somairle)

Title

Kings of the Isles and lords of Argyll and Kintyre (rex insularum, dominus de Ergile et Kintyre); no single ruler is pinned for 1 January 1200

Since

Somerled was killed at Renfrew in 1164; his lands were divided among his sons

Born

Ragnall and Angus were adults by 1164 (born before about 1145)

Family

Sons of Somerled (Somairle mac Gille Brigte, died 1164) and Ragnhild, daughter of Olaf, king of Mann. Ragnall's wife was Fonia (perhaps Findguala); his sons are Ruaidri (first recorded 1214) and Domnall (founder of Clann Domnaill). Dubgall's sons recorded at Durham in 1175 are Donnchad (Duncan, later of Lorn, last certain in 1237), Amlaib and Ragnall. Angus has three sons, all killed with him on Skye in 1210. Rognvald, king of Mann, married a daughter of a 'nobleman of Kintyre', most likely Ragnall or his son.

Confidence

low

Ragnall styled himself 'king of the Isles, lord of Argyll and Kintyre' in a charter to Saddell and 'lord of the Isles' (dominus de Inchegal) in a later grant to Paisley. In 1192 Angus defeated Ragnall and his sons in a bloody battle (Chronicle of Mann); Ragnall is not securely attested after that, and his death is variously dated 1191-1192, 1207, about 1209-1210 or 1227. Dubgall last appears at Durham in 1175. So on 1 January 1200 the senior figure may be Angus, or a surviving Ragnall; the evidence does not settle it.

Overlord

Disputed and loose. The mainland lordships (Argyll, Lorn, Kintyre) are claimed by the king of Scots; the islands lie in the Norwegian sphere (the Hebrides were Norwegian by the agreement of 1098, and their bishop is under Nidaros). Somerled's heirs pay little to either in 1200.

What the realm holds

• Kintyre and Knapdale with Saddell (Ragnall's line)
• Islay, Jura and Gigha (probably Ragnall's line)
• Lorn, Lismore, Mull, Coll and Tiree (probably Dubgall's line under Duncan)
• The northern mainland and isles from Ardnamurchan to Glenelg and claims to the Uists (perhaps Angus; thin)
• Bute and Arran: lost to the Stewart, who seems to have Bute by about 1200 (date not pinned)
• Patronage of Iona, Saddell Abbey (Cistercian), and the diocese of Argyll at Lismore

How it was acquired

Somerled's conquests (from the 1140s) and his war with Godred of Mann (1156-1158) that split the kingdom of the Isles.

Allies and rivals

Rivals: one another; Rognvald of Mann in the northern isles; the Stewart pushing into Bute and Cowal; the king of Scots, whose new castle at Ayr (1197) watches the Firth of Clyde. Allies: Paisley Abbey and the Stewart (Ragnall's grants to Paisley may have bought Alan's help against Angus); the Irish kings and the galloglass trade of Ulster.

The realm that morning

Held by the kindred, divided among three branches; no single head is pinned. No war is recorded for 1199; the next recorded fighting is the attack of Ragnall's sons on Skye in 1209 and the killing of Angus and his sons there in 1210.

Wealth

Cattle, fish and seals, the sea-lanes of the Clyde and the Irish Sea, tribute in kind from the island kindreds, and the hire of galleys and fighting men to Irish kings. No figures.

Military

Galley-fleets (birlinns) crewed by the island kindreds; fighting men who serve for hire in Ireland. No numbers.

Threats

• Feud among Somerled's heirs
• The Stewart in Bute and Cowal
• Royal pressure from Ayr and Dumbarton
• Rognvald of Mann's claims in the northern isles

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1200 and after, not datedThe Stewart's hold on Bute is consolidated (Rothesay castle is a later work of the thirteenth century).Depends on: Clann Somairle's divisions Stopped by: A united kindred, or royal veto of Stewart expansion
2. December 1203 (outside 1200)Foundation charter of the Benedictine abbey of Iona, traditionally Ragnall's work.Depends on: Papal approval and the kindred's patronage Stopped by: War in the isles

Places of note

• Saddell Abbey: Cistercian abbey founded by Somerled or Ragnall in Kintyre
• Iona: Columba's monastery; a Benedictine abbey is founded in 1203
• Lismore: Seat of the bishop of Argyll (diocese founded about 1192)

Where the sources disagree

• The assignment names Dubgall as holder of Argyll, Kintyre, Lorn, Islay and Mull. Dubgall last appears in 1175 and was probably dead or eclipsed by 1200; Kintyre and Islay are more likely Ragnall's line, and Lorn and Mull Dubgall's son Duncan's.

Evidence: The division of Somerled's lands is reconstructed by modern historians from later family holdings; dates of death and the 1200 position are not pinned.

Primary sources for this realm

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Chronicle of the Kings of Mann and the Isles, Anonymous (monks of Rushen abbey, Mann) (about 1257, with continuations to 1316). The only native record of the kingdom of Mann and the Hebrides. Read online
• Early Sources of Scottish History, Various; collected and translated by A. O. Anderson (sources of the 6th to 13th centuries; collection published 1922). The quickest way to every non-English witness to Scotland and the Isles in 1200, in translation and in date order: the Irish annals on the Isles and Galloway, Orkneyinga saga and the Norwegian sagas on Harald Maddadsson of Orkney and Caithness and his war with William the Lion, the Chronicle of Mann on Ragnall and the Hebrides, Melrose and Holyrood, and Scottish charters. Read online