Domhnall of Islay, Lord of the Isles
Encyclopedia
John of Islay, Lord of the Isles
John of Islay was the Lord of the Isles and chief of Clan Donald. In 1336, he styled himself Dominus Insularum, "Lord of the Isles"; because this is the first ever recorded instance of the title in use, modern historians count John as the first of the later medieval Lords of the Isles, although...
and chief of Clan Donald
Clan Donald
Clan Donald is one of the largest Scottish clans. There are numerous branches to the clan. Several of these have chiefs recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms; these are: Clan Macdonald of Sleat, Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, and Clan...
. The Lordship of the Isles
Lord of the Isles
The designation Lord of the Isles is today a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It emerged from a series of hybrid Viking/Gaelic rulers of the west coast and islands of Scotland in the Middle Ages, who wielded sea-power with fleets of...
was based in and around the Scottish
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...
west-coast island of Islay
Islay
-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...
, but under Domhnall's father had come to include many of the other islands off the west coast of Scotland, as well as Morvern
Morvern
Morvern is a peninsula in south west Lochaber, on the west coast of Scotland. The name is derived from the Gaelic A' Mhorbhairne . The highest point is the summit of the Corbett Creach Bheinn which reaches in elevation....
, Garmoran
Garmoran
Garmoran is an area of western Scotland. It lies at the south-western edge of the present Highland Region. It includes Knoydart, Morar, Moidart, Ardnamurchan, and the Small Isles....
, Lochaber
Lochaber
District of Lochaber 1975 to 1996Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of ScotlandLochaber is one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region...
, 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 Knapdale
Knapdale
Knapdale forms a rural district of Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands, adjoining Kintyre to the south, and divided from the rest of Argyll to the north by the Crinan Canal. It includes two parishes, North Knapdale and South Knapdale....
on the mainland.
Domhnall was the grandson of King Robert II of Scotland
Robert II of Scotland
Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...
and first cousin of King Robert III
Robert III of Scotland
Robert III was King of Scots from 1390 to his death. His given name was John Stewart, and he was known primarily as the Earl of Carrick before ascending the throne at age 53...
; he took pride in his royal blood, even adopting the royal tressure to surround his coat of arms.
While it is customary to portray the Lords of the Isles as divorced from the mainstream of Scottish political life, and as representatives of a brand of lordship distinct from the rest of Scotland, this view obscures the fact that Domhnall was only one of many magnates who held large lordships with little interference from the crown in late 14th and early 15th century Scotland. The Douglas kindred
Clan Douglas
Clan Douglas is an ancient Scottish kindred from the Scottish Lowlands taking its name from Douglas, South Lanarkshire, and thence spreading through the Scottish Borderland, Angus, Lothian and beyond. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an armigerous clan.The...
of southern Scotland and the Albany Stewarts
Duke of Albany
Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the younger sons in the Scottish, and later the British, royal family, particularly in the Houses of Stuart and Hanover....
had similar roles as Domhnall.
Early rule
Domhnall spent some of his first years as Lord of the Isles suppressing a revolt by his brother John Mór. John was Domhnall's younger brother, and resented his meagre inheritance. Although he was recognized as heir-apparent (tànaisteTanistry
Tanistry was a Gaelic system for passing on titles and lands. In this system the Tanist was the office of heir-apparent, or second-in-command, among the Gaelic patrilineal dynasties of Ireland, Scotland and Man, to succeed to the chieftainship or to the kingship.-Origins:The Tanist was chosen from...
), he only received patches of land in Kintyre and Islay. The rebellion started in 1387 and went on into the 1390s, and John obtained the support of the MacLean kindred. However, John and the MacLeans were eventually forced to submit to Domhnall, and by 1395 John Mór had been forced into Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. There he entered the service of King Richard II of England
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
and later established a MacDonald lordship in Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
.
Conflict with the Stewarts
Suppression of the revolt enabled Domhnall to turn his attention northwards and eastwards. Most of the area to the north and east of the Lordship, that is Skye, RossRoss
Ross is a region of Scotland and a former mormaerdom, earldom, sheriffdom and county. The name Ross allegedly derives from a Gaelic word meaning a headland - perhaps a reference to the Black Isle. The Norse word for Orkney - Hrossay meaning horse island - is another possible origin. The area...
, Badenoch
Badenoch
Badenoch is a traditional district which today forms part of Badenoch and Strathspey, an area of Highland Council, in Scotland, bounded on the north by the Monadhliath Mountains, on the east by the Cairngorms and Braemar, on the south by Atholl and the Grampians, and on the west by Lochaber...
and Urquhart
Urquhart Castle
Urquhart Castle sits beside Loch Ness in Scotland along the A82 road, between Fort William and Inverness. It is close to the village of Drumnadrochit. Though extensively ruined, it was in its day one of the largest strongholds of medieval Scotland, and remains an impressive structure, splendidly...
, was under the control of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, famously known as the "Wolf of Badenoch". The Stewarts had been building up their power in the central Highlands and north of Scotland since the death of John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray
John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray
John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray was an important figure in the reign of David II of Scotland, and was for a time joint Regent of Scotland.-Family:...
in 1346. Alexander had acquired control of the lordship of Badenoch
Lord of Badenoch
The Lord of Badenoch was a magnate who ruled the lordship of Badenoch in the 13th century and early 14th century. The lordship may have been created out of the territory of the Meic Uilleim, after William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan, Justiciar of Scotia and Warden of Moray defeated Gille...
, the earldom of Buchan
Earl of Buchan
The Mormaer or Earl of Buchan was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male line. The earldom had three lines in its history, not counting...
and the Justiciarship of Scotia
Justiciar of Scotia
The Justiciar of Scotia was the most senior legal office in the High Medieval Kingdom of Scotland. Scotia in this context refers to Scotland to the north of the River Forth and River Clyde....
. He had been appointed "Lieutenant of the North", giving him the flexibility to exercise total control over most of Scotland north of the mounth
Mounth
The Mounth is the range of hills on the southern edge of Strathdee in northeast Scotland. It was usually referred to with the article, i.e. "the Mounth". The name is a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic monadh which in turn is akin to the Welsh mynydd, and may be of Pictish origin...
. Alexander was at once the de facto ruler of northern Scotland as well as the means by which the crown itself exercised control.
However, there had been complaints over the activities of his cateran
Cateran
The term cateran historically referred to a band of fighting men of a Scotland Highland clan; hence the term applied to the Highland, and later to any, marauders or cattle-lifters....
s (war bands). More importantly, Alexander's position had become threatening not only to the crown, but also to the Euphemia I, Countess of Ross
Euphemia I, Countess of Ross
Euphemia I , also called Euphemia of Ross and Euphemia Ross, and sometimes incorrectly styled Euphemia Leslie and Euphemia Stewart , was a Countess of Ross in her own right.Euphemia was the elder daughter of Uilleam III, Mormaer of Ross...
, her son Alexander
Alexander Leslie, Earl of Ross
Alexander Leslie, Earl of Ross was a Scottish nobleman. Born between 1367 and 1382, he was the son of Walter Leslie, Lord of Ross and Euphemia I, Countess of Ross. In around 1394 he became Earl of Ross and sometime before 1398 he married Isabel Stewart, daughter of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany....
and the titular Dunbar Earl of Moray. Late in 1388, soon after becoming Guardian of the Kingdom, Robert Stewart, Earl of Fife (created Duke of Albany
Duke of Albany
Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the younger sons in the Scottish, and later the British, royal family, particularly in the Houses of Stuart and Hanover....
in 1398) deprived Alexander of the Justiciarship. The assault of Alexander's position continued into the 1390s. Domhnall and his brother Alexander of Lochaber were in a perfect position to benefit. In 1394, the latter entered a 17-year agreement with the Earl of Moray, taking over Alexander Stewart's role as "protector" of the wealthy comital
Earl of Moray
The title Earl of Moray has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland.Prior to the formal establishment of the peerage, Earl of Moray, numerous individuals ruled the kingdom of Moray or Mormaer of Moray until 1130 when the kingdom was destroyed by David I of Scotland.-History of the...
and episcopal
Diocese of Moray
The Diocese of Moray was one of the most important of the medieval dioceses in Scotland. It was founded in the early years of the 12th century by David I of Scotland under its first bishop, Gregoir...
lands in the Moray lowlands. The MacDonalds were in possession of Urquhart by the end of 1395, and had given control of the castle to the MacLean
Maclean of Duart
The Macleans of Duart or Maclean of Dowart are the main sept of the Scottish clan Clan Maclean, whose chief has his seat at Duart Castle, Isle of Mull.-History:Lachlan Lubanach Maclean was the first Maclean to occupy Duart Castle....
kindred of Duart
Duart Castle
Duart Castle or Caisteal Dhubhairt in Scottish Gaelic is a castle on the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute...
.
The Guardian soon turned his hostility against Domhnall and his family. Alexander of Lochaber had been using his role as "protector" to further his own lordship, including granting episcopal lands to his military followers. In 1398, Robert Stewart (now Duke of Albany) was called upon to take action, but the well-prepared expedition in the end came to nothing. Lochaber continued his activities, and in a raid of 1402 burned the burgh
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
of Elgin
Elgin, Moray
Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
along with the manses of the canons belonging to Elgin Cathedral
Elgin Cathedral
Elgin Cathedral, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, sometimes referred to as The Lantern of the North is a historic ruin in Elgin, Moray, north-east Scotland. It was established in 1224 on an area of ground granted by Alexander II that was close to the River Lossie and outside of the burgh of...
. For this he was excommunicated by William Spynie, bishop of Moray
Bishop of Moray
The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics...
. Later in the year Alexander visited Spynie to seek forgiveness.
Ross claims
Domhnall himself was causing still further concern when in the same year, following the death of Alexander Leslie, Earl of RossAlexander Leslie, Earl of Ross
Alexander Leslie, Earl of Ross was a Scottish nobleman. Born between 1367 and 1382, he was the son of Walter Leslie, Lord of Ross and Euphemia I, Countess of Ross. In around 1394 he became Earl of Ross and sometime before 1398 he married Isabel Stewart, daughter of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany....
, Domhnall pressed the claims of Mariota
Mariota, Countess of Ross
Mariota, Countess of Ross was the daughter of Euphemia I, Countess of Ross and her husband, the crusading war-hero Walter Leslie, Lord of Ross...
, Alexander Leslie's sister and Domhnall's wife, to the possession of Ross. Domhnall attempted to gain control of the earldom. Sometime after 1405 but before 1411, Domhnall gained control of Dingwall
Dingwall
Dingwall is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,026. It was formerly an east-coast harbor but now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north of Stirling. On the town's present-day outskirts lies Tulloch Castle, parts...
Castle, the chief seat of the earldom. In the year after the death of the nominal king, Robert III, Domhnall sent emissaries England, to make contact with the heir of the Scottish throne, the captive James Stewart
James I of Scotland
James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...
. King Henry IV of England
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
sent his own emissaries to Domhnall in the following year to negotiate an alliance against Albany.
With control over the principal seat of the earldom of Ross and support of the exiled heir to the Scottish throne, in 1411 Domhnall felt strong enough to march against Albany's main northern ally, Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar
Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar
-Biography:He was an illegitimate son of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan and probably Mairead inghean Eachann.Alexander held the Earldom of Mar and the Lordship of the Garioch in right of his first wife Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar . Alexander's marriage to Isabella followed his capture of...
. At the Battle of Harlaw
Battle of Harlaw
The Battle of Harlaw was a Scottish clan battle fought on 24 July 1411 just north of Inverurie in Aberdeenshire. It was one of a series of battles fought during the Middle Ages between the barons of northeast Scotland against those from the west coast....
, Domhnall failed to inflict a decisive victory, and withdrew back to the western highlands. In the aftermath, Albany was able to retake Dingwall and seize control of Easter Ross
Easter Ross
Easter Ross is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituency and a Scottish Parliament constituency...
. In 1415, the heir of Alexander Leslie, Euphemia II
Euphemia II, Countess of Ross
Euphemia II, Countess of Ross was the daughter of Alexander Leslie, Earl of Ross and his wife Isabella Stewart, daughter of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. She was in fact the only child and heir of Earl Alexander, and succeeded to the earldom de jure upon his death in 1402...
, resigned the earldom to Albany. Domhnall prepared for war and proclaimed himself "Lord of Ross". Although Albany appointed his own son John Stewart
John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan
John Stewart, Earl of Buchan was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who fought alongside Scotland's French allies during the Hundred Years War. In 1419 he was sent to France by his father the Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland, with an army of 6,000 men...
to the earldom, Domhnall's wife continued to regard herself as the rightful Countess.
Domhnall died in 1423 on Islay. He was succeeded by his son Alexander
Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross
Alexander of Islay or Alexander MacDonald was a medieval Scottish nobleman, who succeeded his father Domhnall of Islay as Lord of the Isles and rose to the rank of Earl of Ross...
.