Person Page - 87

Reginald Mac Somerled¹

• Father: Somerled MacGillebride King of the Isles^2,3,4,5 b. c 1110, d. 1164
• Mother: Ragnhilde Olafsdotter^2,3,5 b. c 1120

• Relationships: 17th great-grandfather of Dougald MacFarlane, 14th great-grandfather of Margaret MacDonell, 19th great-grandfather of Donald James MacFarlane
• Charts: Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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• Name Variation: Reginald Mac Somerled was also known as Ranald.
• Birth*: Reginald was born circa 1143 in Islay, Scotland.^2,3
• Marriage*: He married Fonia (?) of Galloway circa 1175.⁴
• Burial*: His body was interred in 1207 in Isle of Iona, Scotland.³
• Death*: Reginald died in 1207 in Scotland.^3,5
• Biography*: On his father's death Reginald received Kintye and Islay.
  
  Ragnall mac Somairle was a late 12th century and possibly early 13th century magnate, seated on the western seaboard of Scotland. He was likely a younger son of Somairle mac Gilla Brigte, Lord of Argyll (d. 1164) and his wife, Ragnhildr, daughter of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles (d. 1153). The 12th century Kingdom of the Isles, ruled by Ragnall's father and maternal-grandfather, existed within a hybrid Norse-Gaelic milieu, which bordered an ever strengthening and consolidating Kingdom of Scots.
  
  In the mid 12th century, Somairle rose in power and won the Kingdom of the Isles from his brother-in-law. After Somairle perished in battle against the Scots in 1164, much of his kingdom was likely partitioned between his surviving sons. Ragnall's allotment appears to have been in the southern Hebrides and Kintyre. In time, Ragnall appears to have risen in power and became the leading member of Somairle's descendants, the meic Somairle (or Clann Somairle). Ragnall is known to have styled himself "King of the Isles, Lord of Argyll and Kintyre" and "Lord of the Isles". His claim to the title of king, like other members of the meic Somairle, is derived through Ragnhildr, a member of the Crovan dynasty.
  
  Ragnall disappears from record after he and his sons were defeated by his brother Áengus. Ragnall's death-date is unknown, although dates ranging between 1192–1227 are all possibilities. Surviving contemporary sources reveal that Ragnall was a significant patron of the Church. Although his father appears to have aligned himself with traditional forms of Christianity, Ragnall's associated himself with newer reformed religious orders from the continent. Ragnall's now non-existent seal, which pictured a knight on horseback, also indicates that he attempted to present himself as an up-to-date ruler, not unlink his Anglo-French contemporaries of the bordering Kingdom of Scots.
  
  Ragnall is known to have left two sons, Domnall and Ruaidrí, who went on to found powerful Hebridean families. Either Ragnall or Ruaidrí had daughters who married Ragnall's first cousins Rögnvaldr and Óláfr, two 13th century kings of the Crovan dynasty.
  
  Origins of the meic Somairle
  Ragnall was a son of Somairle mac Gilla Brigte, Lord of Argyll (d. 1164) and his wife, Ragnhildr, daughter of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles. Somairle and Ragnhildr had at least three sons: Dubgall (d. after 1175), Ragnall, Áengus (d. 1210), and likely a fourth, Amlaíb. Dubgall appears to have been the couple's eldest son. Little is certain of the origins of Ragnall's father, although his marriage suggests that he belonged to a family of some substance. In the first half of the 12th century, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man (Mann) were encompassed within the Kingdom of the Isles, which was ruled by Somairle's father-in-law, a member of the Crovan dynasty. Somairle's rise to power may well have begun at about this time, as the few surviving sources from the era suggest that Argyll may have begun to slip from the control of David I, King of Scots (d. 1153).
  
  Somairle first appears on record in 1153, when he rose in rebellion against Máel Coluim IV, King of Scots (d. 1165), in support of his nephews and their father, a certain Máel Coluim who was imprisoned by the like-named king. In the same year, Somairle's father-in-law was murdered, after ruling the Kingdom of the Isles about forty years. Óláfr was succeeded by his son, Guðrøðr; sometime afterwards, Somairle participated in a coup within the kingdom by presenting Dubgall as a potential king. In consequence, Somairle and his brother-in-law fought a naval battle in 1156, after which much of the Hebrides appear to have fallen under Somairle's control. Two years later, he defeated Guðrøðar outright and took control of the entire island-kingdom. In 1164, Somairle again rose against the King of Scots, and is recorded in various early sources to have commanded a massive invasion force of men from throughout the Isles, Argyll, Kintyre, and Scandinavian Dublin. Somairle's host sailed up the Clyde, and made landfall near what is today Renfrew, where they were crushed by the Scots, and he himself was slain. Following Somairle's demise, Guðrøðr returned to the Isles and seated himself on Mann, although the Hebridean-territories won by Somairle in 1156 were retained by his descendants, the meic Somairle.
  
  Although contemporary sources are silent on the matter, it is more than likely that on Somairle's demise, his territory was divided amongst his surviving sons. The precise allotment of lands is unknown; even though the division of lands amongst later generations of meic Somairle can be readily discerned, such boundaries are unlikely to have existed during chaotic 12th century. It is possible that the territory of the first generation of meic Somairle may have stretched from Glenelg in the north, to the Mull of Kintyre in the south; with Áengus ruling in the north, Dubgall centred in Lorne (with possibly the bulk of the inheritance), and Ragnall in Kintyre and the southern islands.
  
  Internal conflict
  n a charter to Saddell Abbey, Ragnall is styled in Latin rex insularum, dominus de Ergile et Kyntyre ("King of the Isles, Lord of Argyll and Kintyre"). In what is likely a later charter, he is styled in Latin dominus de Inchegal ("Lord of the Isles"), in his grant to Paisley. Although Ragnall's abandonment of he title "king" in favour of "lord" may not be significant, it could be connected with his defeat to Áengus, or possibly due to the rise in power and expansion of his namesake and first cousin, Rögnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles. Ragnall's style dominus de Inchegal is not unlike the dominus Insularum used by his great-great-grandson, Eoin Mac Domhnaill, Lord of the Isles (d. c. 1387), the first of four successive Lords of the Isles.
  
  Ragnall's grant to Paisley is preserved in two documents. One dates from the late 12th century or early 13th century, a later copy of the charter is contained in an instrument which dates to 1426. Appended to the latter document is a description of a seal, which the 15th century notary alleged to have belonged to Ragnall. On one side, the seal is described to have depicted a ship, filled with men at arms. On the reverse side, the seal was said to have depicted an armed man on horseback, with a sword in his hand.
  
  Ragnall is the only member of the meic Somairle known to have styled himself rex insularm ("King of the Isles") in documents. His use of both the title and seal are likely derived from those of the leading members of the Crovan dynasty, such as his namesake Rögnvaldr, who was styled "King of the Isles" and was said to have borne a similar two-sided seal. The elements contained within the seals of the two men combine a Norse-Gaelic galley, a symbol of power of the rulers of an island-kingdom; and the Anglo-French knight, a symbol of feudal society, in which the cult of knighthood had reached its peak in the 12th and early 13th centuries. The use of such seals by leading Norse-Gaelic lords, seated on the periphery of the kingdoms of Scotland and England, illustrates their desire to present themselves as up-to-date and modern to their contemporaries in Anglo-French society.
  
  The fact that two Hebridean rulers, Ragnall and Rögnvaldr, shared the same personal names, the same grand-father, and (at times) the same title, has perplexed modern historians and possibly mediaeval chroniclers as well.
  
  In the late 12th century, Haraldr Maddaðarson (d. 1206) set his sights on the Scottish earldom of Ross, and associated himself with the meic Áedha who were in open rebellion against the King of Scots. To keep Haraldr in check, Uilliam I, King of Scots (d. 1214) launched the first of two expeditions into Haraldr's mainland territory in 1196, with one reaching deep into Caithness. According to John of Fordun (d. after 1363), Uilliam's first military action subdued Caithness and Sutherland. The Orkneyinga saga records that Rögnvaldr was tasked by Uilliam to intervene on his behalf, and that Rögnvaldr duly gathered an armed host from the Isles, Kintyre, and Ireland, and went into Caithness and subdued the region. The Chronica of Roger of Howden (d. 1201/2) also notes that Rögnvaldr went into Caithness, and records that he bought the title to the earldom. The precise date of Rögnvaldr's venture is uncertain, although it appears to date to about 1200.
  
  Although most scholars regard Ragnall's cousin as the Hebridean-king who assisted the King of Scots against Haraldr, several points have been raised which may suggest that it was actually Ragnall. For example, the saga makes the erroneous statement that the Hebridean-king in question was a son of Ingibjörg, who is much more likely to have been Ragnall's maternal-grandmother than Rögnvaldr's; in addition, the saga notes that the king's military force was gathered in part from Kintyre, which may be more likely of Ragnall than his cousin, since Ragnall is known to have styled himself dominus Ergile et Kyntyre. Also, until recently, the transcription of Howden's account of the episode has stated that the Hebridean-king was in fact a son of Somairle. However, a recent re-analysis of the earliest existent version of Howden's chronicle has shown that its original text was altered to include Somairle's name, and that it originally read in Latin Reginaldus filius rex de Man, thereby revealing that Rögnvaldr Guðrøðarson was indeed the man in question.
  
  There is another instance where an historical source records a man which may have been either Ragnall or Rögnvaldr. The early 13th century Böglunga sögur indicates at one point that men of two Norwegian factions decided to launch a raiding expedition into the Isles. One version of this saga states that Rögnvaldr ("King of Mann and the Isles") and Guðrøðr ("King on Mann") had not paid their taxes due to the Norwegian kings; in consequence, the Isles were ravaged until the two travelled to Norway and reconciled themselves with Ingi Bárðarson, King of Norway (d. 1217), whereupon the two took their lands from Ingi as a fief.
  
  The mentioned kings of Böglunga sögur are regarded to represent Rögnvaldr and his son, Guðrøðr (d. 1231), although it has been suggested that the saga's "Rögnvaldr" may in fact refer to Ragnall, and that the "Guðrøðr" of the saga may simply refer to Rögnvaldr's patronym.[56] The events depicted in the saga appear to show that, in the wake of destructive Norse activity in the Isles, which may have been some sort of officially sanctioned punishment from Norway, Rögnvaldr and his son (or possibly Ragnall and Rögnvaldr) travelled to Norway where they rendered homage to the Norwegian king, and made compensation for unpaid taxes.
  
  Ecclesiastical activities
  Iona Abbey
  In the 6th century, exiled-Irishman Colum Cille (d. 527) seated himself on Iona, from where he oversaw the foundation of numerous daughter-houses in the surrounding islands and mainland. Men of his own choosing, many of his extended family, were appointed to administrate these dependent houses; in time, a lasting monastic network—a monastic familia—was centred on the island, led by his successors. With the continued Viking onslaught in the 9th century, the leadership of the familia relocated to Kells.[59] In the 12th century, Flaithbertach Ua Brolcháin, Abbot of Derry (d. 1175), the comarba ("successor") of Colum Cille, relocated from Kells to Derry.
  
  In 1164, the Annals of Ulster indicate that Somairle attempted to reinstate the monastic familia on Iona, under Flaithbertach's leadership. Unfortunately for Somairle, the proposal was met with significant opposition, and with his death in the same year, his intentions ultimately came to nothing. About forty years later, a Benedictine monastery was founded on Iona. The foundation charter, dating to December 1203, places the monastery under the papal protection of Pope Innocent III (d. 1216). Although the Book of Clanranald claims that Ragnall founded the monastery, the charter reveals that the monastery received endowments from throughout the meic Somairle domain, indicating that the foundation concerned the leading members of the kindred.
  
  The decision of the meic Somairle to establish a Benedictine house provoked a prompt and violent response from the familia. The Annals of Ulster relate that, after Cellach, Abbot of Iona had built the new monastery on the island in 1204, a large Irish force made landfall and burnt the new buildings to the ground. Immediately afterwards, Cellach was deposed and replaced with a more palatable abbot. Although a contemporary poem echoes the sentiments of the familia, as it portrays Colum Cille cursing the descendants of Somairle, the Benedictine presence on Iona was there to stay. The new monastery nearly obliterated the old monastery of Colum Cille, and sometime after its foundation, an Augustinian nunnery was established just south of the site, with Somairle's daughter, Bethóc, as its first prioress. The oldest building on the island is St Oran's chapel. Judging from certain Irish influences in its architecture, the chapel is thought to date to about the mid 12th century. The building is known to have been used as a mortuary house by Ragnall's later descendants, and it is be possible that either he or his father were responsible for its erection.
  
  Saddell Abbey
  Either Ragnall or his father could have founded Saddell Abbey, a rather small Cistercian house, situated in the traditional heartland of the meic Somairle. This, now ruinous monastery, is the only Cisterian house known to have been founded in the West Highlands. Surviving evidence from the monastery itself suggests that Ragnall was likely the founder. For example, when the monastery's charters were confirmed in 1393 by Pope Clement VII (d. 1534), and in 1498 and 1508 by James IV, King of Scots (d. 1513), the earliest grant produced by the house was that of Ragnall; furthermore, the confirmations of 1393 and 1508 specifically state that Ragnall was indeed the founder. Clan tradition preserved in the Book of Clanranald also states that Ragnall was the founder of Saddell Abbey. However, evidence that Somairle was the founder may be preserved in a 13th century French list of Cistercian houses, which names a certain "Sconedale" under the year 1160, which may well refer to Saddell.
  
  One possibility is that, while Somairle may well have began the planning a Cistercian house at Saddell, it was actually Ragnall who provided it with its first endowments. However, Somairle's attempt to relocate the traditional familia on Iona may be evidence that newer reformed orders of continental Christianity, such as the Cistercians and Benedictines, while acceptable to his immediate descendants, were unpalatable to himself. In contrast to his father, Ragnall's known religious endowments reveal that he was not adverse to such orders. During Somairle's career, he waged war upon the Scots and perished in an invasion of Scotland proper; it may be that Ragnall's ecclesiastical activities were undertaken in part to improve relations with the King of Scots.[83] Additionally, in an age when monasteries were often built by rulers as status symbols of their wealth and power, Ragnall's foundations may have been, in part, an attempt to appear as an up-to-date ruler, or king in his own right.
  
  Diocese of Argyll
  Either Dubgall or Ragnall were instrumental in the creation of the Diocese of Argyll, probably between 1183 and 1189. In the first half of the 12th century, Óláfr (Somarle's father-in-law) founded the Diocese of the Isles, by granting the monks of the Savigniac abbey of St Mary of Furness the right of episcopal election, and endowing this English abbey with lands to establish a daughter-house on Mann. In the mid 12th century, at about the time of Óláfr's death and his son's accession, the diocese became encompassed with the Norwegian Archdiocese of Nidaros. Although a significant proportion of the Óláfr's former kingdom eventually fell under control of the meic Somairle, there is no evidence that the administration of the diocese was altered. Even so, the right of patronage appears to have been contested between the meic Somairle and their cousins of the Crovan dynasty.
  
  Christian, Bishop of the Isles, an Argyllman, may well have been a meic Somairle candidate in about 1170, although this bishop appears to have been deposed, as Michael (d. 1203), a Manxman, was made Bishop of the Isles during Christian's lifetime. The Diocese of Argyll may have been established by the meic Somairle as a means to freely act as religious patrons, like their cousins of the Crovan dynasty. In fact, Rögnvaldr's resurgence of the dynasty's power in the latter 12th century may well have been a factor in the diocese's creation. Also significant is the fact that, when the Benedictine abbey was founded on Iona in about 1203, the community was made subject to the Vatican, thus leaving the Bishop of the Isles with no authority over the sacred island. Although the early diocese suffered from prolonged vacancies, over time it became firmly established on the mainland, with its cathedral nearby on Lismore, in the heartland of Dubgall's descendants, the meic Dubgaill.
  
  Death
  The year and circumstances of Ragnall's death are uncertain, as surviving contemporary sources failed to mark his demise. According to 17th and 18th century Hebridean-tradition preserved in the Book of Clanranald, Ragnall may have died in 1207. However, without corroborating evidence, such a late tradition cannot be accepted. Moreover, this particular tradition misplaces his father's death by sixteen years, which may indicate that Ragnall himself was slain some sixteen years earlier. If so, Ragnall's death may be related to his defeat suffered at the hands of brother, in 1192. However, the Chronicle of Mann, which records the 1192 conflict, gives no hint of Ragnall's demise. Another possibility is that Ragnall may have been slain sometime around 1209–1210, during yet more internal conflict amongst the meic Somairle.
  
  An independent analysis of the Book of Clanranald has shown that, instead of 1207, it may have dated Ragnall's demise to 1227. However, this date is may very well be too late for man who was an adult in 1164. Ragnall's grant to Paisley may leave clues to his fate. This charter was likely granted at about the same time as another by his son, Domnall, which may be evidence that Ragnall had not been killed in the defeat against Áengus. Also, there is reason to believe that, following his grant to the priory, Ragnall may have entered into a confraternity with the monks there. If this charter was indeed granted near the end of his life, then Ragnall may have ended his days at the priory. Since the abbey was not one of the several founded by himself, or the meic Somairle, this may be a clue as to why Ragnall disappears from record after 1192.^2,1