Lord of the Isles Somerled[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
Abt 1118 - 1164 (46 years)-
Name Lord of the Isles Somerled Birth Abt 1118 Morven, Argyllshire, Scotland 
Gender Male Death 1164 Battle of Renfrew, Scotland Burial Abbey of Saddel, Kintyre, Argyllshire, Scotland Notes - Sumerled or Somerled, Lord of the Isles (d 1164) was, according to theCeltic traditon, the son of Gillebrede, son of Gilladoman, sixth indescent from Godfrey MacFergus, called in the Irish chronicle Toshach ofthe Isles; but some suppose him of Norse origin. His father, a reputedthane of Argyll, is said to have been expelled from his possessions, andforced to conceal himself for a time in Morven; but having placed his sonat the head of the men of Morven to resist a band of Norse pirates, theson defeated them, and the prestige thus won enabled him afterwards notonly to regain his father's possessions, but to make himself master ofthe greater part of Argyll, of which he claimed to be lord or regulus.Along with the pretender to the maarmorship of Rosee, he rebelled againstMalcolm IV in 1153, but found it necessary to come to terms with him.About 1140 he married Ragnhildis or Effrica, daughter of Olave the Red,king of Man, by whom he had three sons: Dugall, Reginalds or Ranald, andAngus. By a former marriage he had a son Gillecolm; and, according to the'Chronicle of Man,' he had a fifth son, Olave. After the death of Olave,king of Man, Thorfin, son of Ottar, one of the lords of Man, resolved todepose Godfred the Black, king of Man, as an oppressor, and offered toSomerled, if he would assist him, to make his son Dugall king inGodfred's stead. Somerled was nothing loth, and Thorfin carried Dugallthrough all the isles, except Man, and forced the inhabitants toacknowledge him, hostages being taken for their obedience. ThereuponGodfred collected a fleet and proceeded against the galleys of therebels, reinforced and commanded by Somerled. As the result of a bloodyand indecisive battle fought in 1156, Godfred was induced to come toterms by ceding to the sons of Somerled the south isles and retaining tohimself the north isles and Man. Two years later Somerled invaded Manwith fifty-three ships, and laid waste the whole island, Godfred beingcompelled to flee to Norway. The power wielded by Somerled aroused thejealousy of Malcolm IV, who demanded that Somerled should resign hispossessions to him, and hold them in future as a vassal of the king ofScots. This Somerled declined to do, and was being declared, he in 1164sailed with 160 galleys up the Clyde and landed his forces near Renfrew.Hardly, however, had they disembarked, when they were attacked and put toflight with great slaughter, Somerled and his son Gillecolm being amongthe slain. According to one account, King Malcolm set a boat to conveythe corpse to Icolmkill, where it was buired at the royal expense, butaccording to another account it was buried in the church of Sadall inKintyre, where Reginald, the son of Somerled, afterwards erected amonastery. According to Celtic tradition, while a son of Gillecolm becamesuperior of Argyll, the isles were divided among his other three sons,Dugall, Reginald, and Angus. [Dictionary of National BiographyXIX:164-165]
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Somerled. All that is known of the early history of Somerled, the firstof the family of the Isles in clearly historical times, is derived almostentirely from tradition embodied in the MS histories of MacVurich, HughMacdonald, and other family seanachies. The MacVurichs, whose line ofbards and historians to the Island Family go back almost to the time ofSomerled himself, agree with the others in their account of his firstappearance on the stage of history. When first referred to, he is livinga quiet life in the district of Moren with his father Gillebride.Somewhat earlier than the middle of the twelfth century, it appears thata strenuous effort was made by the native tribes of Argyll to freethemselves from the Scandinavian yoke under which they had so longchafed. What part Somerled played in the early part of this struggle doesnot appear, but finally the tribes made choice of him as their leader.After a series of skirmished, the Scandinavians were driven to theirgalleys and retired in utter confus
Person ID I7606 Wilson-Maynard Family Tree Last Modified 11 Jul 2004
Father Gillebride macGilledAoman, b. Abt 1085, Morven, Argyllshire, Scotland d. Abt 1130, Morven, Argyllshire, Scotland (Age 45 years) Notes - _UIDC6D2575FF5138A4F966805D258CCB397723C
Family ID F4297 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Notes - _UID8EA16AA9D2700A48894F569EFA61E33C1CDC
Family ID F4296 Group Sheet | Family Chart
- Sumerled or Somerled, Lord of the Isles (d 1164) was, according to theCeltic traditon, the son of Gillebrede, son of Gilladoman, sixth indescent from Godfrey MacFergus, called in the Irish chronicle Toshach ofthe Isles; but some suppose him of Norse origin. His father, a reputedthane of Argyll, is said to have been expelled from his possessions, andforced to conceal himself for a time in Morven; but having placed his sonat the head of the men of Morven to resist a band of Norse pirates, theson defeated them, and the prestige thus won enabled him afterwards notonly to regain his father's possessions, but to make himself master ofthe greater part of Argyll, of which he claimed to be lord or regulus.Along with the pretender to the maarmorship of Rosee, he rebelled againstMalcolm IV in 1153, but found it necessary to come to terms with him.About 1140 he married Ragnhildis or Effrica, daughter of Olave the Red,king of Man, by whom he had three sons: Dugall, Reginalds or Ranald, andAngus. By a former marriage he had a son Gillecolm; and, according to the'Chronicle of Man,' he had a fifth son, Olave. After the death of Olave,king of Man, Thorfin, son of Ottar, one of the lords of Man, resolved todepose Godfred the Black, king of Man, as an oppressor, and offered toSomerled, if he would assist him, to make his son Dugall king inGodfred's stead. Somerled was nothing loth, and Thorfin carried Dugallthrough all the isles, except Man, and forced the inhabitants toacknowledge him, hostages being taken for their obedience. ThereuponGodfred collected a fleet and proceeded against the galleys of therebels, reinforced and commanded by Somerled. As the result of a bloodyand indecisive battle fought in 1156, Godfred was induced to come toterms by ceding to the sons of Somerled the south isles and retaining tohimself the north isles and Man. Two years later Somerled invaded Manwith fifty-three ships, and laid waste the whole island, Godfred beingcompelled to flee to Norway. The power wielded by Somerled aroused thejealousy of Malcolm IV, who demanded that Somerled should resign hispossessions to him, and hold them in future as a vassal of the king ofScots. This Somerled declined to do, and was being declared, he in 1164sailed with 160 galleys up the Clyde and landed his forces near Renfrew.Hardly, however, had they disembarked, when they were attacked and put toflight with great slaughter, Somerled and his son Gillecolm being amongthe slain. According to one account, King Malcolm set a boat to conveythe corpse to Icolmkill, where it was buired at the royal expense, butaccording to another account it was buried in the church of Sadall inKintyre, where Reginald, the son of Somerled, afterwards erected amonastery. According to Celtic tradition, while a son of Gillecolm becamesuperior of Argyll, the isles were divided among his other three sons,Dugall, Reginald, and Angus. [Dictionary of National BiographyXIX:164-165]
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Sources - [S536291612] Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 106th Edition, Charles Mosley {1999}, 327, 1985.
- [S536291611] Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom; GE Cokayne, Sutton Publishing Ltd , VII:76.
- [S536291610] Dictionary of National Biography, George Smith, Oxford Press, Vols 1-21 (Orignially published 1885-90),Ed by Sir Leslie S, XIX:164-165.
- [S536291615] The Lineage and Ancestry of HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales; Gerald Paget [1977}, I:153.
- [S536291616] The Isle of Bute in the Olden Time; James King Hewison {1893}, 247-248, chart 258.
- [S536291617] The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens; Mike Ashley, 1998, 397, 420, 432, 434.
- [S536291614] The Scots Peerage; Sir James Balfour Paul {1904-1914, 2000 rev} with Addenda et Corrigenda {2000}, V:28-30.
- [S536291612] Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 106th Edition, Charles Mosley {1999}, 327, 1985.