Lord of the Isles
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Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
. It emerged from a series of hybrid 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...
/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....
rulers of the west coast and islands of 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...
in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, who wielded sea-power with fleets of galleys. Although they were, at times, nominal vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s of the King of Norway, High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
, or the King of Scotland, the island chiefs remained functionally independent for many centuries. Their territory included the Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
, (Skye and Ross
Ross-shire
Ross-shire is an area in the Highland Council Area in Scotland. The name is now used as a geographic or cultural term, equivalent to Ross. Until 1889 the term denoted a county of Scotland, also known as the County of Ross...
from 1438), Knoydart, Ardnamurchan
Ardnamurchan
Ardnamurchan is a peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoilt and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access route being a single track road for much of its length.-Geography:...
, and the 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...
peninsula. At their height they were the greatest landowners and most powerful Lords in Britain and its Isles (excluding Ireland) following the Kings of England and Scotland.
Today it is a style of the heir to the throne of the United Kingdom
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
The monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
(known as the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
outside Scotland) as a subsidiary Scottish title to the Dukedom of Rothesay
Duke of Rothesay
Duke of Rothesay was a title of the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707, of the Kingdom of Great Britain from 1707 to 1801, and now of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland....
. The office itself has been extinct since the 15th century.
Background
The west coast and islands of present-day Scotland were those of a people or peoples of uncertain cultural affiliation until the 5th century. They were invaded by GaelsGaels
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....
from 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...
starting perhaps in the 4th century or earlier, whose language eventually predominated. In the 7th and 8th centuries this area, like others, suffered raids and invasions by Vikings from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, and the islands became known to the Gaels as Innse-Gall, the Islands of the Foreigners. Around 875, Norwegian jarls, or princes, came to these islands to avoid losing their independence in the course of King Harald Fairhair
Harald I of Norway
Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair , , son of Halfdan the Black, was the first king of Norway.-Background:Little is known of the historical Harald...
's unification of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, but Harald pursued them and conquered the Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
as well as Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, and the Shetland and Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
. The following year, the people of the Isles, both Gael and Norse, rebelled. Harald sent his cousin Ketil to regain control, but Ketil then declared himself King of the Isles. Scotland and Norway would continue to dispute overlordship of the area, with the jarls of Orkney at times seeing themselves as independent rulers.
In 973, Maccus mac Arailt
Maccus mac Arailt
Maccus mac Arailt or Maccus Haraldsson was a Scandinavian or Norse-Gael king. He and his brother Gofraid were active in the lands around the Irish Sea in the 970s and 980s...
, King of the Isles, Kenneth III
Kenneth III of Scotland
Cináed mac Duib anglicised as Kenneth III, and nicknamed An Donn, "the Chief" or "the Brown", was King of Scots from 997 to 1005. He was the son of Dub...
, King of the Scots, and Malcolm, King of the Cumbri
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
formed a defensive alliance, but subsequently the Scandinavians defeated Gilledomman of the Isles and expelled him to Ireland. The Norse nobleman Godred Crovan
Godred Crovan
Godred Crovan was a Norse-Gael ruler of Dublin, and King of Mann and the Isles in the second half of the 11th century. Godred's epithet Crovan may mean "white hand" . In Manx folklore he is known as King Orry.-Ancestry and early life:...
became ruler of Man and the Isles, but he was deposed in 1095 by the new King of Norway, Magnus Bareleg
Magnus III of Norway
Magnus Barefoot or Magnus III Olafsson was King of Norway from 1093 until 1103 and King of Mann and the Isles from 1099 until 1103.-Background:...
. In 1098, Magnus entered into a treaty with King Edgar of Scotland
Edgar of Scotland
Edgar or Étgar mac Maíl Choluim , nicknamed Probus, "the Valiant" , was king of Alba from 1097 to 1107...
, intended as a demarcation of their respective areas of authority. Magnus was confirmed in control of the Isles and Edgar of the mainland. Lavery cites a tale from the Orkneyinga saga
Orkneyinga saga
The Orkneyinga saga is a historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200...
, according to which King Malcolm III of Scotland
Malcolm III of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Donnchada , was King of Scots...
offered Earl Magnus of Orkney all the islands off the west coast navigable with the rudder set. Magnus then allegedly had a skiff hauled across the neck of land at Tarbert, Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne is a sea loch on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound of Bute, making it the longest of the sea lochs...
with himself at the helm, thus including the Kintyre peninsula in the Isles' sphere of influence. (The date given falls after the end of Malcolm's reign in 1093).
Founding of the dynasties
SomerledSomerled
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...
, Gilledomman's grandson, seized the Isles from the King of Man in 1156 and founded a dynasty that in time became the Lords of the Isles. He had Celtic blood on his father's side and Norse on his mother's: his contemporaries knew him as Somerled Macgilbred, Somhairle or in Norse Sumarlidi Höld ('Somerled' means "summer wanderer", the name given to the Vikings). He took the title Rí
Rí
Rí, or very commonly ríg , is an ancient Gaelic word meaning "King". It is used in historical texts referring to the Irish and Scottish kings and those of similar rank. While the modern Irish word is exactly the same, in modern Scottish it is Rìgh, apparently derived from the genitive. The word...
Innse Gall (King of the Hebrides) as well as King of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
.
After Somerled's death in 1164 three of his sons divided his kingdom between them:
- Aonghus (ancestor of the McRuari or McRory)
- Dughall (ancestor of Clan MacDougallClan MacDougallClan MacDougall is a Highland Scottish clan consisting of the descendants of Dubgall mac Somairle, son of Somerled, who ruled Lorne and the Isle of Mull in Argyll in the 13th century...
) - Ragnald, whose son Donald Mor McRanald would give his name to the Clan DonaldClan DonaldClan 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...
which would contest territory with the MacDougalls.
King Haakon IV of Norway
Haakon IV of Norway
Haakon Haakonarson , also called Haakon the Old, was king of Norway from 1217 to 1263. Under his rule, medieval Norway reached its peak....
(reigned 1217–1263) confirmed Donald's son Angus Mor (the Elder) Mac Donald (the first Macdonald) as Lord 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...
, and the two participated jointly in the Battle of Largs
Battle of Largs
The Battle of Largs was an engagement fought between the armies of Norway and Scotland near the present-day town of Largs in North Ayrshire on the Firth of Clyde in Scotland on 2 October 1263. It was the most important military engagement of the Scottish-Norwegian War. The Norwegian forces were...
(1263). When that ended with an effective victory for Scotland, Angus Mor accepted King Alexander III of Scotland
Alexander III of Scotland
Alexander III was King of Scots from 1249 to his death.-Life:...
as his (nominal) overlord and retained his own territory.
Council of the Isles
The Lord was advised (at least on an occasional basis) by a Council. Dean MonroDonald Monro (Dean)
Donald Monro was a Scottish clergyman, who wrote an early and historically valuable description of the Hebrides and other Scottish islands and enjoyed the honorific title of “Dean of the Isles”.-Origins:...
, of the Isles who wrote a description of the Western Isles in 1549, described the membership as consisting of four ranks:
- Four "great men of the royal blood of Clan Donald lineally descended" (Macdonald of Clanranald, Macdonald of DunnyvaigClan MacDonald of DunnyvegClan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, also known as Clan Donald South, Clan Iain Vor, Clan MacDonald of Islay and Kintyre, MacDonalds of the Glens and sometimes referred to as MacDonnells, is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald...
, MacIain of Ardnamurchan and Macdonald of KeppochClan MacDonald of KeppochClan MacDonald of Keppoch, also known as Clan Ranald of Lochaber, is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald.-History:The MacDonalds of Keppoch are descended from Alistair Carrach Macdonald who was a younger son of Good John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, 6th chief of Clan Donald and his second...
) - Four "greatest of the nobles, called lords" (Maclean of DuartClan MacLeanClan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...
, Maclaine of LochbuieClan MacLaine of LochbuieClan Maclaine of Lochbuie is a Scottish Clan that inhabited lands on the southern end of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of the western Scottish Highlands. "Maclaine" is an alternate spelling for "MacLean." Clan Maclaine of Lochbuie and Clan MacLean of Duart are two separate clans...
, Macleod of DunveganClan MacLeodClan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the Macleods of Harris and Dunvegan, whose chief is Macleod of Macleod, are known in Gaelic as Sìol Tormoid ; the Macleods of Lewis, whose chief is Macleod of The Lewes, are known in...
and Macleod of the LewesClan MacLeod of LewisClan Macleod of The Lewes, commonly known as Clan MacLeod of Lewis, is a Highland Scottish clan, which at its height held extensive lands in the Western Isles and west coast of Scotland. From the 14th century up until the beginning of the 17th century there were two branches of Macleods: the...
) - Four "thanes of less living and estate" (Mackinnon of StrathClan MacKinnonClan Mackinnon or Clan Fingon is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the islands of Mull and Skye, in the Inner Hebrides.Popular tradition gives the clan a Dalriadic Gaelic origin. The 19th century historian W. F. Skene named the clan as one of the seven clans of Siol Alpin - who according to...
, MacNeil of BarraClan MacNeilClan MacNeil, also known in Scotland as Clan Niall, is a highland Scottish clan, particularly associated with the Outer Hebridean island of Barra. The early history of Clan MacNeil is obscure, however despite this the clan claims to descend from the legendary Niall of the nine hostages...
, MacNeill of GighaGighaThe Isle of Gigha is a small island off the west coast of Kintyre in Scotland. The island forms part of Argyll and Bute and has a population of about 150 people, many of whom speak Scottish Gaelic. The climate is mild with higher than average sunshine hours and the soils are fertile.Gigha has a...
and Macquarrie of UlvaClan MacQuarrieClan MacQuarrie is a Highland Scottish clan, associated with the islands of Ulva, Staffa and the Isle of Mull, which are all located in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. The last chief of Clan MacQuarrie died in 1818 and since the clan does not have a current Chief recognized by Lord Lyon it can be...
) - "Freeholders or men that had their lands in factory" (Mackay of the RhinnsRinns of IslayThe Rinns of Islay is an area on the west of the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland....
, MacNicol of ScorrybreacClan MacNeacailClan MacNeacail, sometimes known as Clan MacNicol, is a Scottish clan long associated with the Isle of Skye. The clan is closely associated with Clan Macleod, with whom the MacNeacails have been aligned since around the 14th century...
, MacEacharn of KilellanClan MacEacharnClan MacEacharn were a group of families who occupied lands in the Kintyre, Islay, and Morvern regions of Scotland. They are traditionally known as one of the oldest Western Highland family names...
, Mackay of Ugadale, Macgillivray in Mull and Macmillan of KnapdaleClan MacMillanClan MacMillan is a Highland Scottish clan.-Origins of the clan:The MacMillans are one of a number of clans - including the MacKinnons, the MacQuarries, and the MacPhees - descended from Airbertach, a Hebridean prince of the old royal house of Moray who according to one account was the...
).
In practice, membership and attendance must have varied with the times and the occasion. A commission granted in July 1545 by Domhnall Dubh
Domhnall Dubh
Domhnall Dubh was a Scottish nobleman. He was the son of Aonghas Óg, chief of Clan Donald , and claimant to the Lordship of the Isles, which had been held by his grandfather John of Islay, Earl of Ross ....
, claimant to the Lordship, identified the following members:
- Hector Maclean of Duart
- John Macdonald of Clanranald
- Ruari Macleod of the LewesClan MacLeod of LewisClan Macleod of The Lewes, commonly known as Clan MacLeod of Lewis, is a Highland Scottish clan, which at its height held extensive lands in the Western Isles and west coast of Scotland. From the 14th century up until the beginning of the 17th century there were two branches of Macleods: the...
- Alexander Macleod of DunveganAlasdair Crotach MacLeodAlasdair Crotach MacLeod is considered to be the eighth chief of Scottish Clan MacLeod. He was the son of the seventh chief William Dubh and succeeded his father in 1480, following William Dubh's death at the Battle of Bloody Bay. He was the first MacLeod chief not to be buried on the island of...
- Murdoch Maclaine of LochbuieClan MacLaine of LochbuieClan Maclaine of Lochbuie is a Scottish Clan that inhabited lands on the southern end of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of the western Scottish Highlands. "Maclaine" is an alternate spelling for "MacLean." Clan Maclaine of Lochbuie and Clan MacLean of Duart are two separate clans...
- Allan Maclean of TorloiskAilean MacleanAilean Maclean was the second son of Lachlan Cattanach Maclean, but better known as Ailean nan Sop, or Allan o' the Wisp, because he set fire to buildings with straw, was a very noted character...
- Archibald Macdonald, Captain of Clann UisdeinClan MacDonald of SleatClan Macdonald of Sleat, sometimes known as Clan Donald North and in Gaelic Clann Ùisdein , is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald — one of the largest Scottish clans. The founder of the Macdonalds of Sleat is Ùisdean, 6th great-grandson of Somhairle, a 12th century Rì Innse Gall...
- Alexander MacIan of Ardnamurchan
- John Maclean of CollCollColl is a small island, west of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and for Breachacha Castle.-Geography and geology:...
- Gilleonan MacNeil of Barra
- Ewen Mackinnon of StrathClan MacKinnonClan Mackinnon or Clan Fingon is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the islands of Mull and Skye, in the Inner Hebrides.Popular tradition gives the clan a Dalriadic Gaelic origin. The 19th century historian W. F. Skene named the clan as one of the seven clans of Siol Alpin - who according to...
- John MacQuarrie of UlvaClan MacQuarrieClan MacQuarrie is a Highland Scottish clan, associated with the islands of Ulva, Staffa and the Isle of Mull, which are all located in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. The last chief of Clan MacQuarrie died in 1818 and since the clan does not have a current Chief recognized by Lord Lyon it can be...
- John Maclean of ArdgourArdgourArdgour is a district of Lochaber on Ardnamurchan peninisula on the western shore of Loch Linnhe, in Highland Scotland.The term Ardgour, together with Kingairloch, is applied to a large area of countryside around the village, from the Glensanda Superquarry, Kingairloch and Kilmalieu in the south...
- Alexander Macdonell of Glengarry
- Angus Macdonald of Knoydart
- Donald Maclean of KingairlochGlensandaGlensanda was a Viking settlement at the mouth of Glen Sanda on the Morvern peninsula within south west Lochaber, overlooking the Isle of Lismore and Loch Linnhe in the western Highlands of Scotland....
- Angus Macdonald, brother of James Macdonald of DunnyvegClan MacDonald of DunnyvegClan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, also known as Clan Donald South, Clan Iain Vor, Clan MacDonald of Islay and Kintyre, MacDonalds of the Glens and sometimes referred to as MacDonnells, is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald...
.
Lords of the Isles
Angus Òg (Angus the Young), Angus Mòr's (Angus the Great) younger son (or grandson), gave assistance to Robert the BruceRobert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
at the Battle of Bannockburn
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...
in 1314, and in reward kept control of the Isles and gained most of the land confiscated from the McDougalls for backing the defeated side. Angus Og's son Good John of Islay first formally assumed the title Dominus Insularum – Lord of the Isles – in 1336.
In their maritime domain the Lords of the Isles used galleys for both warfare and transport. These ships had developed from the Viking longship
Longship
Longships were sea vessels made and used by the Vikings from the Nordic countries for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age. The longship’s design evolved over many years, beginning in the Stone Age with the invention of the umiak and continuing up to the 9th century with...
s and knarr
Knarr
The Knarr is a Bermuda rigged, long keeled, sailing yacht designed in 1943 by Norwegian Erling L. Kristofersen. Knarrer were traditionally built in wood, with the hull upside down on a fixed frame, then attaching the iron keel after the hull was completed. The hull planks were manufactured with...
s, clinker-built with a square sail and rows of oars. From the 14th century they changed from using a steering oar to a stern rudder. These ships took part in sea battles and attacked castles or forts built close to the sea. The Lordship specified the feudal dues of its subjects in terms of numbers and sizes of the galleys each area had to provide in service to their Lord.
Successive Lords of the Isles fiercely asserted their independence, culminating in 1462 with John MacDonald II of the Isles making a treaty with Edward IV of England
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
to conquer Scotland with him and the Earl of Douglas. The civil war in England, known famously as the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
, prevented the activation of this alliance and on the discovery of his treason in 1493 John Macdonald II forfeited his estates and titles to James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
. Since then, the eldest male child of the reigning Scottish (and later, British) monarch has been styled "Lord of the Isles". The office itself has been extinct since the 15th century and the style since then has no other meaning but to recall the Scottish destruction of the ancient Norse-Gaelic lordship (and indeed the self-destruction of the MacDonalds).
Currently Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
is styled Lord of the Isles. Tiny Cara
Cara Island
Cara Island is a small island which is located off the west coast of Kintyre in Scotland.-Geography and etymology:Cara is south of Gigha. It is accessible from Gigha, if you can find a local boatman who will take you over...
off 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...
, which is owned by the MacDonalds of Largie, is reputedly the only island still in the possession of direct descendants of the Lords of the Isles.
See also
- Clan DonaldClan DonaldClan 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...
- Kingdom of Mann and the Isles
- SomerledSomerledSomerled 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...
- John I, Lord of the IslesJohn of Islay, Lord of the IslesJohn 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...
- Donald, Lord of the IslesDomhnall of Islay, Lord of the IslesDonald, or properly, Dómhnall Íle , was the son and successor of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles and chief of Clan Donald. The Lordship of the Isles was based in and around the Scottish west-coast island of Islay, but under Domhnall's father had come to include many of the other islands off the...
- Alexander, Earl of Ross and Lord of the IslesAlexander of Islay, Earl of RossAlexander 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...
- John II, Earl of Ross and Lord of the IslesJohn of Islay, Earl of RossJohn of Islay was a late medieval Scottish magnate. He was Earl of Ross and last Lord of the Isles as well as being Mac Domhnaill, chief of Clan Donald....
- Angus ÓgAonghas ÓgAonghas Óg was a Scottish nobleman who was the last independent Lord of the Isles.-Biography:He was the bastard son of John of Islay, Earl of Ross . Aonghas became a rebel against both his father and against the Scottish crown...
- Donald DubhDomhnall DubhDomhnall Dubh was a Scottish nobleman. He was the son of Aonghas Óg, chief of Clan Donald , and claimant to the Lordship of the Isles, which had been held by his grandfather John of Islay, Earl of Ross ....
- Battle of HarlawBattle of HarlawThe 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....