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Birth:          ABT 1113 Morven, Argyllshire, Scotland
Death:          1 Jan 1164 Renfrew, Scotland
Cause of Death: killed in battle
Burial:         Abbey of Saddell, Kintyre, Scotland

Notes
ancestry.com and previous sources
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jweber&id=I03448
Somerled, King of Argyll; married Raghnild, daughter of Olaf, King of Man and the Isles 
(a realm comprising the Iom, Hebrides, and western islands off Scotland that flourished 
from the late 11th centruy to 1266), and was killed at Renfrew 1164 campaigning 
against Malcolm IV King of Scots. [Burke's Peerage]

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Taken from www.tartans.com web site:
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Somerled, Lord of the Isles

(c.1113-c.1164)

Somerled was born around 1113 in Morven, Argyleshire. He was the son of Gillebride 
Mac Gille Adomnan and a Viking woman. Although there is some contention on his 
ancestry, his father was apparently either of the Royal line of Dalriada, Gall Gael 
(which is Cruithni or Pict) or both. Somerled's name means 'summer wanderer', a name 
used by his contemporaries to describe the Vikings. For Somerled, it was a name that 
prophecized his life -and the combination of bloodlines, at least in Somerled's case, 
proved itself powerful, as he later forged a permanent spot for himself in the history of 
the Isles and Scotland.

Sometime in Somerled's early youth, the Lochlans and the Fingalls (Clans or tribes) 
expelled Somerled's family from their home. They took refuge in Ireland, where 
Gillebride managed to persuade the Colla (an Irish tribe) to assist him in the recovery 
of his possessions or holdings. A large force of approximately 500 men accompanied 
the family home. The mission was a failure, however, and his father either died in the 
battle or soon afterwards.

Somerled lived for a while in the caves of his homeland, fishing and hunting for his 
survival. Slowly he grew into manhood and became, according to the accounts; "A 
well tempered man, in body shapely, of a fair and piercing eye, of middle stature and 
quick discernment." During this period of his life several things happened in quick 
succession which made Somerled a man of stature.

In one story, Somerled put himself at the head of the inhabitants of Morven and 
attacked the Norwegians. He was successful, and recovered his family's lands at the 
same time. He then was master of Morven, Lochaber and northern Argyle. Soon after 
this he conquered the southern portions and pronounced himself Thane or Regulus of 
Argyle. This happened at about the same time as David the First's war with the 
Norwegians, which took place in 1135, so Somerled may have received these lands in 
a grant from the King.

His newfound power greatly increased his standing, but it also drew the attention of 
his neighbors, the Vikings in the Isles (the Isle of Skye, the Isle of Man and that 
general area). Somerled, however, still did not have the force required to take on the 
Olaf the Red, the Viking Lord of the Isles. Instead 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 married in approximately 1140.

For the next fourteen years Somerled and Ragnhild lived in relative peace and started 
raising a family. Raginald gave him three sons, Dugall, Reginald, and Angus. These 
sons joined his son by a previous marriage, Gillecallum.

In 1154, Olaf (Olave in some stories) was murdered by his nephews who quickly took 
control of the northern half of the Kingdom of the Isles. Olaf's son, Godfred (or 
Godfrey) heard of the events and returned from Norway, quickly regaining possession 
of the entire Kingdom. But Godfrey was a tyrant, and the Islemen soon revolted 
against his leadership. Some of the chieftans of the Isles appealed to Somerled for 
help. He joined them and defeated Godfrey, in the process taking the southern half of 
the Kingdom for himself. About two years later Godfrey and Somerled again went to 
war, this time Somerled was using new ships with a rudder and Godfrey was defeated 
again. Somerled became King of the Isles in about 1156.

At about the same time, Somerled was also campaigning in Scotland to a small degree 
and this in combination with his new title as King of the Isles drew the attention of its 
King. King Malcolm IV of Scotland was concerned over Somerled's growing power and 
dispatched an army to Argyle. In 1160, after a battle the two Kings reached an 
understanding and there was again peace. This peace was short lived however, as in 
late 1163, after being continually insulted by Malcolm and his ministers, Somerled led 
an army against Scotland.

The King of the Isles sailed up the Clyde with 164 galleys and 15,000 troops to 
Greenock. He landed at the Bay of St. Lawrence and marched on Renfrew. There are 
two popular stories about what occurred in Scotland. In one version, a bribed nephew 
murdered Somerled and the army of the Isles dispersed and went home. In the other 
version of the story, battle was joined between the Scots and the men of the Isles and 
Somerled was killed. His son Gillecallum, his heir, also died during the battle. Now 
without a leader, the army from the Isles dispersed and went home. In either case 
Somerled died in Scotland in very early 1164.

Somerled is generally credited with breaking the power of the Vikings in the Isles as 
his descendants remained Kings of the Isles for centuries after his death. One of 
Somerled's grandsons, a Donald, is also considered the ancestor of the Clan Donald, 
for his sons were the first to carry the name MacDonald.

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The following was supplied by Betty Knoche, BGKnoche AT aol.com:

Jim

Thought you might be interested in what was in British Kings & Queens by Mark Ashley 
on pages 433-434 regarding Somerled:

"Somerled was the son of Gillebride, thane of Argyll, and was descended from 
Ragnall, the Danish king of York. He was born in Ireland (where his father had been 
exiled by the Scots king Edgar) perhaps around the year 1105. His mother was Norse, 
the daughter of Sigurd II of Orkney, and she named the boy with a typical Norse 
nickname, which means "summer voyager". We know little of his early life, but he 
seems to have regained his heritage sometime before 1130, because he was already 
styled thane of Argyll when his sister married Malcolm, the illegitimate son of Alexander 
I of Scotland. Somerled was a skilled negotiator from an early age and he had 
probably re-established himself with the Scottish king David, for by 1138 he was in 
charge of the West Highland contingent of David's army. 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 affection for the kingdom of the 
Gaels, not the rapidly anglicised or Anglo-Norman kingdom that King David had 
developed. Although it was the way of the future, Somerled rejected it. He was unable 
to convince David, but when the new and very young king, Malcolm IV, succeeded to 
the throne in 1153, Somerled tried again. In 1154 Somerled and his nephews rebelled 
against Malcolm IV. At this same time Olaf of Man had died and his son, Godred II, 
had returned to the Isles and was proving something of a despot. Somerled spent two 
years redesigning and rebuilding his fleet and then, in January 1156 met Godred in 
battle off Islay. Godred's fleet was the most powerful in Britain and he should have 
been the victor but Somerled's new design, which allowed him to out-manouevre his 
opponent, won him the day, though there were significant losses on both sides. As a 
result Godred and Somerled negotiated and agreed to divide the Isles. Somerled 
received the southern Hebrides, which consisted of the two main groupings of islands 
around Islay and Mull. Godred's continued intolerance caused Somerled to bring his 
fleet against him again in 1158 and this time Godred fled back to Norway. Somerled's 
claims were upheld and he became king of the Isles, a title accepted by both King 
Igne of Norway and eventually (in 1160) by Malcolm IV of Scotland. Somerled so 
ingratiated himself with the Scottish king that he earned the nickname. "sit-by-the-
king". Nevertheless his attempts to sway Malcolm toward maintaining the Gaelic 
heritage remained thwarted. Somerled did try to have the Celtic church reinstated on 
Iona, and it was only his death that halted this development. In 1164, Somerled raised 
an army in the hope of forcing Malcolm into treaty. A force of 10,000 men sailed up 
the Clyde, from where Somerled took half the army on to Renfrew to parley with the 
king's representatives. Somerled was found murdered the following morning, but his 
killers were never identified. Somerled was buried on Iona but was apparently later 
reinterred by his son at Saddell Abbey on Kintyre.

After his death, Godred II regained Man and the northern Hebrides. The rest of 
Somerled's kingdom was divided between his sons. The eldest, Dugald, took Lorne 
and Argyll, with the islands of Mull, Coll, Tiree and Juta. The second, Ragnald, took 
Islay and Kintyre, which remained the focal point of the kingdom of the Isles. A third 
son, Angus, took Arran and Bute."

This raised a question in my mind regarding the mother of Somerled (that you have 
indicted as Agatha Hadonsdottir). Can you double check this and let me know what 
you find out?

Thanks
Betty

Note: Checking with The Complete Peerage, Vol X, Appendix A on the Jarls of Orkney, 
I came up with the following Sigurds: Sigurd II "Digri" Hlodvesson was Jarl of Orkney, 
but he died in 1014, which makes any daughter of his (b. in or before 1015) impossible 
as a mother of Somerled. Sigurd Jorsalafari "Jerusalem Goer/The Crusader", was b. 
circa 1089, and was made King of Orkney by his father Magnus "Barelegs" King of 
Norway. He married as 1st wife a daughter of the King of Ireland in 1102 (at the age 
of 13) and left Orkney and his first wife (who stayed in Orkney) in 1105. I believe he 
was "married" 2 or 3 times more (CP only concentrates on his Orkney activities in this 
Appendix). A daughter of that early marriage could have been mother of Somerled, 
given that Somerled was born, say, in or after 1117.

Parents
GILLEDOMANSSON Gillibrehede (ABT 1070 - )
----- ----- ()

Siblings
MAC GILLEBRIDE Somerled (ABT 1113 - 1 Jan 1164)

Marriage To OLAFSDOTTIR Ragnhild (ABT 1120 - )
    m.  

Notes

Parents
____ Olave I "Bitling" (ABT 1080 - 29 Jun 1153)
HAKONSDOTTIR Ingebiorg (ABT 1105 - )

Children by OLAFSDOTTIR Ragnhild ABT 1120 - 
D'ISLES [DE LISLE] [DE INSULA] Agnes (ABT 1140 - AFT 1198)
SUMARLIDASSON Rognvald (Reginald) (ABT 1148 - 1207)
SUMARLIDASSON Dougall (Dufgall) "Mac Ruaidhri" (ABT 1150 - ABT 1207)
MAC SOMERLED Angus (ABT 1152 - 1210)
MAC GILLEBRIDE Arran (ABT 1154 - )

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