The Battle of Renfrew in 1164 was a significant engagement near Renfrew

Renfrew

-Local government:The town of Renfrew gave its name to a number of local government areas used at various times:*Renfrew a town to the west of Glasgow*Renfrewshire, the present unitary local council area in which Renfrew is situatated....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The army of King Malcolm IV of Scotland (Malcolm the Maiden)

Malcolm IV of Scotland

Malcolm IV , nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" , King of Scots, was the eldest son of Earl Henry and Ada de Warenne...

 led by Walter fitz Alan was attacked by forces led by Somerled mac Gillebride (Somerled)

Somerled

Somerled was a military and political leader of the Scottish Isles in the 12th century who was known in Gaelic as rí Innse Gall . His father was Gillebride...

, including the Celtic King of Mann and the Isles, King of Argyll

Argyll

Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...

, Cinn Tìre (Kintyre)

Kintyre

Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The region stretches approximately 30 miles , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south, to East Loch Tarbert in the north...

 and Lorne. Somerled was killed and his forces were defeated.

Background

After defeating and deposing the Norse

Norsemen

Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...

 Gofraidh mac Amhlaibh (Godred II), King of Mann and the Isles during the Battle of the Isle of Man

Battle of the Isle of Man (1158)

The Battle of the Isle of Man was a battle fought in 1158 between the Norse Gofraidh mac Amhlaibh , King of Mann and the Isles and Celtic Somhairle MacGillebride , King of Cinn Tìre , Argyll and Lorne, on the Isle of Man....

, he was approached by powerful Scottish nobles to help in overthrowing Malcolm IV and replace him on the throne with the boy William fitz William, the “Boy of Egremont”, son of William fitz Duncan

William fitz Duncan

William fitz Duncan was a Scottish prince, a territorial magnate in northern Scotland and northern England, a general and the legitimate son of king Donnchad II of Scotland by Athelreda of Dunbar.In 1094, his father Donnchad II was killed by Mormaer Máel Petair of...

, grandson of King Duncan II of Scotland

Duncan II of Scotland

Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim was king of Scots...

. A series of attacks and raids were undertaken by Somerled along the coast of Scotland. Malcolm IV then demanded the fealty of Somerled and the resignation of his lands into the hands of the sovereign (although Somerled would have continued to hold them as a vassal of the Crown). When no response was given, Malcolm IV prepared to enforce his authority by assembling a powerful army at Renfrew Castle

Renfrew Castle

Renfrew Castle was a castle situated near junction of the River Clyde and White Cart upon the former river islet, known as the King's Inch, at Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland...

, Renfrew.

Battle at Renfrew

Somerled became aware of the growing army at Renfrew and decided to preemptively strike against the gathering forces, assembling an army of 15,000 from all parts of his kingdom that he then had carried to the shores of Firth of Clyde

Firth of Clyde

The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...

, in an armada of 160 birlinn

Birlinn

The birlinn was a type of boat used especially in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland in the Middle Ages. The Birlinn is a Norse-Gaelic variant on the Norse longship. Variants of the name in English and Lowland Scots include "berlin" and "birling". It probably derives ultimately from the...

s.

After landing and marching towards Renfrew, the two sides met near Paisley

Paisley

Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...

 and the battle began. The Scottish royal army, led by Walter fitz Alan, the High Steward of Scotland

High Steward of Scotland

The title of High Steward or Great Steward was given in the 12th century to Walter Fitzalan, whose descendants became the House of Stewart. In 1371, the last High Steward inherited the throne, and thereafter the title of High Steward of Scotland has been held as a subsidiary title to that of Duke...

 consisted of knights and armoured men-at-arms, while Somerled's Gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

, Celtic and Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

 warriors were no match against them. Somerled was wounded in the leg by a javelin and then killed by the sword of his opponents as well as his eldest son Gillecallum, from his first marriage, who died by his side. With Somerled's death the Gaelic, Celtic and Viking army took flight and many were slain, before the survivors escaped back to the ships.

Memorial

An octagonal plinth monument was erected by Walter FitzAlan commemorating the site of the battle. Unfortunately the plinth was removed in 1779 when the significance of the monument was clouded. On his seal of 1170, Walter FitzAlan is depicted leaning against the pillar.

Documentary and Narrative

• Anderson, A. O. ed., Early Sources of Scottish History, 1922.
• Argyll Family Letters, Maitland Club, 1839.
• The Book of Clanranald, in Reliquae Celticae, vol. 2, ed. A. MacBain and J. Kennedy, 1894.
• The Chronicles of Mann and the Sudries, ed. and trans. P. A. Munch, 1874.
• MacDonald, Hugh, History of the Macdonalds, in Highland papers vol. 1, 1914.

Secondary

• Brown A. L. The Cistercian Abbey of Saddell, Kintyre, in the Innes Review, vol. 20 1969.
• Duncan, A. A. M. and Brown, A. L., Argyll and the Isles in the earlier Middle Ages, in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. 90 1956-7.
• MacDonald, A & A, Clan Donald, 1896-1904.
• McDonald, R. A., The Death and Burial of Somerled of Argyll, in West Highland Notes and Queries, 1991.
• McDonald, R. A., The Kingdom of the Isles: Scotland's Western Seaboard, 1100-c1336, 1997.