ID: I9670
Name: Somerled King Of The ISLES
Surname: ISLES
Given Name: Somerled King Of The
Sex: M
Birth: ABT 1113 in Of Morven, Argyleshire, Scotland
Death: 1 Jan 1164 in Renfrew, Scotland
Burial: Abbey Of Saddell, Kintyre, Argule, Scotland
Ancestral File #: PZ7J-20
LDS Baptism: 18 Jul 1893
Endowment: 15 Mar 1894
Sealing Child: 18 May 1994 Temple: IFALL 1
Note:
Name Suffix: King of Isles
Ancestral File Number: PZ7J-20\
aka Somerled MAC GILLEBRIDE


Note:
Somerled, King of Argyll; married Raghnild, daughter of Ola f, King of Man and the Isles (a realm comprising the Iom, H ebrides, and western islands off Scotland that flourished f rom the late 11th centruy to 1266), and was killed at Renfr ew 1164 campaigning against Malcolm IV King of Scots. [Burke's Peer age] Somerled was born around 1113 in Morven, Argyleshire. He wa s the son of Gillebride Mac Gille Adomnan and a Viking woma n. Although there is some contention on his ancestry, his f ather was apparently either of the Royal line of Dalriada , Gall Gael (which is Cruithni or Pict) or both. Somerled's name m eans 'summer wanderer', a name used by his contemporaries t o describe the Vikings. For Somerled, it was a name that pr ophecized his life -and the combination of bloodlines, at l east in Somerled's case, proved itself powerful, as he later forge d a permanent spot for himself in the history of the Isle s and Scotland. Sometime in Somerled's early youth, the Lochlans and the Fi ngalls (Clans or tribes) expelled Somerled's family from th eir home. They took refuge in Ireland, where Gillebride man aged to persuade the Colla (an Irish tribe) to assist him i n the recovery of his possessions or holdings. A large force of a pproximately 500 men accompanied the family home. The missi on was a failure, however, and his father either died in th e battle or soon afterwards. Somerled lived for a while in the caves of his homeland, fi shing and hunting for his survival. Slowly he grew into man hood and became, according to the accounts; "A well tempere d man, in body shapely, of a fair and piercing eye, of midd le stature and quick discernment." During this period of his l ife several things happened in quick succession which mad e Somerled a man of stature. In one story, Somerled put himself at the head of the inhab itants of Morven and attacked the Norwegians. He was succes sful, and recovered his family's lands at the same time. H e then was master of Morven, Lochaber and northern Argyle . Soon after this he conquered the southern portions and pronounce d himself Thane or Regulus of Argyle. This happened at abou t the same time as David the First's war with the Norwegian s, which took place in 1135, so Somerled may have receive d these lands in a grant from the King. His newfound power greatly increased his standing, but it a lso drew the attention of his neighbors, the Vikings in th e Isles (the Isle of Skye, the Isle of Man and that genera l area). Somerled, however, still did not have the force re quired to take on the Olaf the Red, the Viking Lord of the Isles. Ins tead he chose to woo his enemy for the hand of his daughter , Ragnhild. Eventually he succeeded (some say by trickery ) in obtaining Olaf's daughter's hand and the two were marr ied in approximately 1140. For the next fourteen years Somerled and Ragnhild lived i n relative peace and started raising a family. Raginald gav e him three sons, Dugall, Reginald, and Angus. These sons j oined his son by a previous marriage, Gillecallum. In 1154, Olaf (Olave in some stories) was murdered by his n ephews who quickly took control of the northern half of th e Kingdom of the Isles. Olaf's son, Godfred (or Godfrey) he ard of the events and returned from Norway, quickly regaini ng possession of the entire Kingdom. But Godfrey was a tyrant , and the Islemen soon revolted against his leadership. Som e of the chieftans of the Isles appealed to Somerled for he lp. He joined them and defeated Godfrey, in the process tak ing the southern half of the Kingdom for himself. About two years l ater Godfrey and Somerled again went to war, this time Some rled was using new ships with a rudder and Godfrey was defe ated again. Somerled became King of the Isles in about 1156. At about the same time, Somerled was also campaigning in Sc otland to a small degree and this in combination with his n ew title as King of the Isles drew the attention of its Kin g. King Malcolm IV of Scotland was concerned over Somerled's growing power and dispatched an army to Argyle. In 1160, af ter a battle the two Kings reached an understanding and the re was again peace. This peace was short lived however, a s in late 1163, after being continually insulted by Malcol m and his ministers, Somerled led an army against Scotland. The King of the Isles sailed up the Clyde with 164 galley s and 15,000 troops to Greenock. He landed at the Bay of St . Lawrence and marched on Renfrew. There are two popular st ories about what occurred in Scotland. In one version, a br ibed nephew murdered Somerled and the army of the Isles disperse d and went home. In the other version of the story, battl e was joined between the Scots and the men of the Isles an d Somerled was killed. His son Gillecallum, his heir, als o died during the battle. Now without a leader, the army from the Isles d ispersed and went home. In either case Somerled died in Sco tland in very early 1164. Somerled is generally credited with breaking the power of t he Vikings in the Isles as his descendants remained Kings o f the Isles for centuries after his death. One of Somerled' s grandsons, a Donald, is also considered the ancestor of t he Clan Donald, for his sons were the first to carry the name MacDo nald. ********************************************************** British Kings & Queens by Mark Ashley on pages 433-434 rega rding Somerled: "Somerled was the son of Gillebride, thane of Argyll, and w as descended from Ragnall, the Danish king of York. He wa s born in Ireland (where his father had been exiled by th e Scots king Edgar) perhaps around the year 1105. His mothe r was Norse, the daughter of Sigurd II of Orkney, and she named the bo y with a typical Norse nickname, which means "summer voyage r". We know little of his early life, but he seems to hav e regained his heritage sometime before 1130, because he wa s already styled thane of Argyll when his sister married Malcolm, th e illegitimate son of Alexander I of Scotland. Somerled wa s a skilled negotiator from an early age and he had probabl y re-established himself with the Scottish king David, fo r by 1138 he was in charge of the West Highland contingent of David's ar my. He also talked his way into the confidence of Olaf (I ) king of Man, whose daughter, Ragnhild, he married in 1140 . Throughout these years Somerled maintained a strong affec tion for the kingdom of the Gaels, not the rapidly anglicised or Ang lo-Norman kingdom that King David had developed. Although i t was the way of the future, Somerled rejected it. He was u nable to convince David, but when the new and very young ki ng, Malcolm IV, succeeded to the throne in 1153, Somerled trie d again. In 1154 Somerled and his nephews rebelled agains t Malcolm IV. At this same time Olaf of Man had died and hi s son, Godred II, had returned to the Isles and was provin g something of a despot. Somerled spent two years redesigning and rebui lding his fleet and then, in January 1156 met Godred in bat tle off Islay. Godred's fleet was the most powerful in Brit ain and he should have been the victor but Somerled's new d esign, which allowed him to out-manouevre his opponent, won him th e day, though there were significant losses on both sides . As a result Godred and Somerled negotiated and agreed t o divide the Isles. Somerled received the southern Hebrides , which consisted of the two main groupings of islands around Isla y and Mull. Godred's continued intolerance caused Somerle d to bring his fleet against him again in 1158 and this tim e Godred fled back to Norway. Somerled's claims were uphel d and he became king of the Isles, a title accepted by both King Ign e of Norway and eventually (in 1160) by Malcolm IV of Scotl and. Somerled so ingratiated himself with the Scottish kin g that he earned the nickname. "sit-by-the-king". Neverthel ess his attempts to sway Malcolm toward maintaining the Gaelic heri tage remained thwarted. Somerled did try to have the Celti c church reinstated on Iona, and it was only his death tha t halted this development. In 1164, Somerled raised an arm y in thehope of forcing Malcolm into treaty. A force of 10,000 me n sailed up the Clyde, from where Somerled took half the ar my on to Renfrew to parley with the king's representatives . Somerled was found murdered the following morning, but hi s killers were never identified. Somerled was buried on Iona but wa s apparently later reinterred by his son at Saddell Abbey o n Kintyre. After his death, Godred II regained Man and the northern He brides. The rest of Somerled's kingdom was divided betwee n his sons. The eldest, Dugald, took Lorne and Argyll, wit h the islands of Mull, Coll, Tiree and Juta. The second, Ra gnald, took Islay and Kintyre, which remained the focal point of the ki ngdom of the Isles. A third son, Angus, took Arran and Bute ."
2
Change Date: 3 Apr 2007 at 01:00:00

Father: Gillebride b: ABT 1080 in , Scotland
Mother: Mrs-Gillebride b: ABT 1183 in , Scotland

Marriage 1 Ragnhild OLAFSDATTER b: ABT 1117 in Of Isle Of Man
Married: ABT 1140 in , Scotland
Sealing Spouse: 20 May 1946
Note: _UIDD3D2EE1491ACC2489550516C2F27D56520EC
Children
Rognvald (Reginald) SUMARLIDASSON LORD OF THE ISLES b: ABT 1148 in Of Morven, Argyleshire, Scotland
Alan b: ABT 1154 in , Scotland
Dougall (Dufgall) "Mac Ruaidhri" SUMARLIDASSON KING OF INNESGALL b: ABT 1143 in Morven, Argyleshire, Scotland
Angus (Engull) SUMARLIDASSON PRINCE OF MAN b: ABT 1145 in Morven, Argyleshire, Scotland
Olave Prince Of ISLES b: ABT 1147 in Morven, Argyleshire, Scotland
Gal Macsgillen Prince Of ISLES b: ABT 1149 in Morven, Argyleshire, Scotland
Beatrice Prioress Of IONA b: ABT 1151 in Morven, Argyleshire, Scotland

Sources:
Repository:
Name: Family History Library
Salt Lake City, UT 84150 USA

Title: Ordinance Index (TM)
Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Repository:
Name: Family History Library
Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA

Title: Ancestral File (R)
Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Publication: Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998