Somerled

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Somerled ( Old Norse Sumarliði , Scottish Gaelic Somhairlidh , Central Irish : Somairle , Somhairle , also Anglicized "Sorley"; * around 1100; † 1164 ) was a military and political leader on the Scottish islands in the 12th century, known as "Rí (Central Irish ) or Rìgh Innse Gall ”(King of the Hebrides ). His father was GilleBride. The name is a kenning and means "summer traveler".

ancestry

There are a number of different versions of Somerled's family tree in the annals. So wrote Dean Monro :

“This Somerle wes the sone of Gillebryde M'Gilleadam, name Vic Sella, Vic Mearshaighe, Vic Swyffine, Vic Malgheussa, Vic Eacime, Vic Gothefred, fra quhome they were called at that time Clan Gothofred, that is, Clan Gotheray in Hybers Leid , and they were very grate men in that tymes zeire. "

“This Somerle was the son of Gillebryde M'Gilleadam, son of Sella, son of Mearshaighe, son of Swyffine, son of Malgheussa, son of Eacime, son of Gothefred after whom they were named as Clan Gothofred at the time, in Gaelic“ Clan Gotheray "And they were great men at that time."

It is agreed that his father "Gillibrigdi" (different spellings) and his grandfather Gilli Adamnáin. Solam is named as his great grandfather. The names of other ancestors are uncertain. Sources usually attribute it to the legendary Colla Uais .

The name "Gofraid" also appears in different versions. Monro also writes that Somerled was a member of the "Clan Gothofred". In a poetic writing to Aonghus of Islay , the Clann Somairle is described as having sprung from "Síol nGofraidh" (the seed of Gofraid). Woolf interprets this in 2005 as a reference to Godred Crovan instead of Gofraid Ímair or Gofraid mac Fergusa, as described in the annals. Since Crovan died in 1095, this would mean far fewer intermediate stages in the listing of names.

Life

Somerled first appears in chronicles from 1140 when Regulus, or King of Kintyre (Cinn Tìre), married Raghnailt, the daughter of Olaf (or Amhlaibh), King of Mann and the Isles . In 1153 two kings died: David I of Scotland and Olaf von Mann. There was much confusion and discord as a result. Somerled seized his chance and got by attacking Scotland and Mann and the islands that Somerled's brother-in-law Goraidh mac Amhlaibh had inherited.

Thorfin , the most powerful Jarl of the Hebrides, sent a huge contingent against Somerled Dougal (Somerled's son and daughter of the King of Manx) to become king of the islands. In 1156 Somerled defeated the Goraidh fleet with 80 warships at the Battle of Epiphany . The two enemies divided the islands between themselves, Goraidh received the islands north of Ardnamurchan , Somerled the rest. In 1158 Somerled returned with 53 warships. He defeated Goraidh in the Battle of the Isle of Man and forced him to flee to Norway . Somerled's realm now stretched from the Isle of Man to Lewis .

family

He had the following children with his first wife, whose name is unknown:

  • Somhairle Òg
  • Gillecallum, born around 1135, killed in 1164 during the Battle of Renfrew .

He also testified:

  • Gillies
  • Gall

With his wife Ragnhildr (daughter of Olaf and his unnamed concubine):

Invasion and death

In 1164 there was a conflict between Somerled and Scotland. Somerled landed with an invading fleet on the coast of the Clyde near Inchinnan and pulled against Renfrew . There there was a battle with a Scottish army under steward Walter Fitz Alan . Little is known about the battle, and it is questionable whether there was any major fighting. What is certain is that Somerled was killed. He is said to have either been murdered in his tent or died as a result of a spear wound during the battle. The pilotless fleet withdrew.

legacy

After Somerled's death, several powerful lords came to power in his realm. The rule fell on the one hand to the descendants of Somerled, on the other hand to the descendants of Goraidh mac Amhlaibh. During the 12th and 13th centuries, various forms of rule and administration developed in the Scandinavian world , which led to a highly centralized power structure in Denmark and Norway . This was not the case in the Kingdom of the Isles , it was increasingly being taken over by the Kingdom of Scotland . At first, the loyalty of its residents to the King of Scotland was very cautious, but in the centuries to come all the more spirited.

Genetic Studies

In 2005, human geneticist Bryan Sykes , a professor at Oxford University , concluded that Somerled has likely 500,000 living descendants, placing him second on the list of best-known ancestors after Genghis Khan . Bryan Sykes later wrote, "Around a quarter of the Macdonalds, a third of the McDougalls, and 40 percent of the Macalisters are direct paternal descendants of Somerled ..." It is estimated that there are 200,000 people who can prove the descent from the great Scandinavian leader Islands with the Y chromosome in them. Sykes research led him to conclude that Somerled was a member of the Y-DNA haplogroup R1a1 , which is believed to indicate the ancestry of the British and Scots from the Vikings. Syke's work has not been peer-reviewed, but it has been made public.

Trivia

Somerled is the central figure in Nigel Tranter's novella Lord of the Isles (1983).

See also

literature

  • Donald Gregory, Martin MacGregor: The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland 1493-1625 . Tuckwell Press (Birlinn), Edinburgh 2008, ISBN 1-904607-57-8 (Reprinted. Original by Thomas D. Morrison, 1881).
  • WH Murray: Islands of Western Scotland: Inner and Outer Hebrides (Regions of Britain) . Methuen Publishing, York 1973, ISBN 978-0-413-30380-6 .
  • Alex Woolf: The Age of the Sea-Kings: 900-1300 . In: Donald Omand (ed.): The Argyll Book . Birlinn, Edinburgh 2006, ISBN 1-84158-480-0 .
  • Alex Woolf: The Origins and Ancestry of Somerled: Gofraid mac Fergusa and 'The Annals of the Four Masters' . In: Mediaeval Scandinavia . tape 15 , 2005, pp. 199–213 ( University of St Andrews [PDF; accessed October 10, 2014]).
  • AJ Macdonald: MacDonald, Lord of the Isles . In: James Balfour Paul (Ed.): The Scots Peerage . tape 5 : Innermeath-Mar . David Douglas, Edinburgh 1908, p. 27–48 (English, Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Murray, 1973, p. 168
  2. ^ A b Dean Monro: Description of the Western Isles of Scotland, called Hybrides . Ed .: William Auld. Edinburgh 1774, The Geneologies Of The Chieff Clans Of The Iles, p. 52 ( Google Books [accessed October 10, 2014] first edition: 1549).
  3. a b Woolf, 2005, pp. 3-4
  4. Woolf, 2005, p. 12
  5. a b Woolf, 2005, pp. 13-14
  6. Gregory, 2008, pp. 15-16
  7. Woolf, 2006, p. 105
  8. ^ Brian Sykes: Blood of the Isles . Bantam Press, London 2006, ISBN 978-0-593-05652-3 , pp. 214 .
  9. DNA shows Celtic hero Somerled's Viking roots. Scotsman, accessed October 9, 2014 .