by Regan Walker
Somerled is the accepted founder of Clan Donald, though the clan takes its name from Donald, the 3rd Lord of the Isles, Somerled’s grandson, who died in 1269. Donald’s son was the original “Mac” Donald (“mac” meaning “son of”).
Some argue as to whether Somerled’s name is Norse or Gaelic. Sumarliðr is Old Norse for “summer warrior” (or “summer traveler” in the sense of a Viking). Somhairlidh, pronounced Saw-ur-lay, is a Gaelic name. As written in the 15th century documents, it was pronounced “Sorley”. It means champion or warrior. While “Somerled” is not a Gaelic name, since so many know him by that name, I have used it. Based upon my research, he was both Norse and Gaelic, what was called a “Norse-Gael” or “foreign Gael”. His father Gillebride was most likely a Gael or a Norse-Gael and his mother could have been wholly or partly Norse. (All I was able to discern is that she was “fair” and likely of Norse descent.)
Gaelic historians trace his lineage back to the Norse Kings of Dublin and the great Ard-Rí, the High Kings of Ireland. His origins also speak of Colla Uais, a Celtic prince with influence in the Western Isles before the establishment of the kingdom of Dalriada.
Except for a few key dates, the life of Somerled is shrouded in the mists of time, much of it the subject of legend, of which I have made free use, believing, as I do, that there is always some truth to legend. As the story goes, Somerled’s grandfather, Gilledomman of the Isles, had been defeated by the Norse and exiled to Ireland. Though some online sources indicate it is “assumed” Somerled was born in Morvern in Argyll, I think the better view is that he was born in Ireland while his family was in exile. It was from there his father raised an army of five hundred and returned to Argyll to try and regain their inheritance but was defeated. At that time, Somerled would have been a young man, old enough to accompany his father.
The dates for Somerled’s birth and emergence as a hero vary widely. For the sake of the story, I have been flexible, placing him in his late twenties. Most sources say he married Ragnhild in 1140 but others say it could have been earlier. We know that David, King of Scots, granted Somerled the Isles of Arran and Bute in 1135. And in 1138, Somerled began construction of his compound on Islay (pronounced “Eye-lah”). In that same year, he heeded David’s call to join him to fight the English in Yorkshire (what became known as “the Battle of the Standard”).
All sources agree that Somerled successfully cleared Morvern, Lochaber and the northern part of Argyll from the Norse, becoming the Thane of Argyll. Then he turned his attention to southern Argyll and the Isles. His warriors would have included close-fighting Islesmen, archers from Argyll and Irish mercenaries from Antrim. Since we know Somerled fought for King David in 1138, it is likely he had David’s support for turning back the Norse tide, building his castles and taking the title he did as Lord of Argyll, Kintyre and Lorne. David would have considered Somerled a minor king, but a king nonetheless.
Long before the Norse invaders arrived, Celtic seafaring was part of the culture. In time, Somerled developed his own fleet of galleys, half the size of the Norse longships and more maneuverable with the moveable stern rudder he invented. They were called Naibheag, or “Little ships,” sometimes “Birlinns”. In contrast, the larger Norse longships used a steering board on the right side, hence the term “starboard”, which gave them limited steering capability.
Most of my characters were real historical figures, even Sweyn Asleifsson, “the Skullcrusher”. According to the Orkneyinga Saga, he came to prominence when he murdered Earl Paul of Orkney’s cupbearer about 1134 in a quarrel over a drinking game. He was a pirate whose activities included drunkenness, murder and plundering. Rognvald did, indeed, drive him out of Orkney. Clan Donald tradition states that Somerled slew a Viking named Sweno who had courted Ragnhild. Not exactly the real historical figure but close enough. When the Normans retook Dublin in the late 12th century, Sweyn was killed. I preferred he die by Somerled’s hand.
We do not know much about Ragnhild, save for her parentage, the approximate year she married Somerled and the names of her children. That intrigued me from the beginning. What would the Princess of Man have been like to draw the attention of a warrior like Somerled? She was a known beauty and it is said Somerled was smitten, but would she have been more? I like to think she could have been the woman I have portrayed her to be, intelligent and spirited, the daughter of a powerful king, desired for more than her dowry.
From 1140 to 1153, Somerled established a family, built military alliances, extended his influence in the Isles, and adhered to a cautious middle ground in the world of Norse-Scots politics. These were long years of careful preparation—redesigning and building faster, more maneuverable galleys, constructing castles, and training fierce warbands for the inevitable conflicts.
Sadly, in 1153 both King David and King Olaf died, the latter being murdered by his three nephews. In 1156, Somerled defeated Olaf’s heir, Godred the Black, by then the ruler of Man and one the people disdained. With the Kingdom of Man now under his lordship, Somerled became Ri Innse Gall or King of the Isles. As he envisioned, his was a kingdom independent of both Norway and Scotland.
By 1158, Somerled’s dominion covered 25,000 square miles and more than 500 islands. North to south, his control covered 200 miles from the Isles of Lewis and Skye to the Isle of Man. It was unified by the broad roads of the sea protected by his many castles of which there were fourteen in his time (errors in the Internet notwithstanding). Somerled’s fortifications were on coastal heights and deep in lochs where his galleys could be beached and his warriors protected to keep the sea lanes clear. Some were timber castles to be later fortified in stone, which may be why some Internet sources wrongly attribute the dates when they were fortified in stone to the original dates for their construction. Alas, I found too many Internet errors to name.
In 1164, in an attempt to forestall King Malcolm’s attempt to grab the lands of Argyll, Kintyre and Lorne, Somerled invaded Scotland with 164 ships, sailing up the Clyde to near Renfrew. In the ensuing battle against Walter FitzAlan, then High Steward of Scotland, sadly, Somerled was killed along with Gillecolum. This was so devastating to the Highland cause that there was no serious challenge to the Kings of the Scots for more than two centuries.
Ragnhild gave Somerled three sons, Dougall, Ranald (or Ragnall), Angus, and a daughter, Bethoc. (The Chronicle of Man indicates they had a fourth son, Olaf, but he is never heard from.) It was Donald, one of the descendants of Ranald, who would be the progenitor of the MacDonalds. Bethoc, named (presumably) after Somerled’s sister, became the prioress at Iona. Somerled, too, founded an abbey—at Saddell on Kintyre—as he had wanted to do. Construction of Saddell Abbey was begun by him but he died before it was finished. It would be his son, Ranald, who would complete it. Somerled was buried on Iona but was apparently later reinterred by his son at Saddell Abbey.
You might wonder about the religious beliefs of the people at the time. The Norse, English and Scots, including the people over which Somerled reigned in the west, were all Christians. The Gaels would have followed the Celtic tradition of Columba and the Culdees. (They were not initially Roman Catholic.) As historian A. J. Wylie explains in his History of the Scottish Nation, Vol. III.,
The 12th century, particularly in Scotland and Brittany, was a time when two Christian faiths of different origins were contending for possession of the land, the Roman Church and the old Celtic Rite. The age was a sort of borderland between Culdeeism and Romanism. The two met and mingled often in the same monastery, and the religious belief of the nation was a mumble of superstitious doctrines and a few scriptural truths.
As you know from my story Rebel Warrior (titled The Refuge in the stand alone, inspirational version), in the late 11th century, despite Queen Margaret’s desire to move Scotland more toward Roman Catholicism, Culdee monks existed there into the 12th century. Somerled would have followed the Culdee tradition, which aligned with his Celtic roots, but Ragnhild and her father, Olaf the Red, would h
ave been Roman Catholics, likely because of Olaf’s having been raised in England in Henry I’s court.
All evidence points to St. Columba, who founded the Iona center of worship in 563, being a Culdee. The same is believed of St. Patrick and St. Findlugan. Columba is given credit as the first evangelizer of Scotland. In the last year of his life, Somerled attempted to persuade the head of the Columban Church, Flaithbertach Ua Brolcháin, Abbot of Derry, to relocate from Ireland to Iona. With Somerled’s death, however, the reunification he sought did not occur.
The Culdees represented “the people’s church”. They did not place great value on formal church hierarchy but emphasized learning and the study of the Scriptures. According to tradition, Columba spent much of his time in reading and writing, and he placed great value in exact copying of ancient texts. Also, unlike the Roman Catholics of the time, the Culdees believed that the Scriptures should be translated into the vernacular languages of the people.
Though marriage was not declared a sacrament by the Roman Catholic Church until 1184, when Somerled and Ragnhild married it seemed reasonable to me that both she and her father would have wanted them to be married on the Isle of Man and before my fictional Abbot Bernard. (My research suggests the actual name of the first abbot at Rushen Abbey was Conanus, but Bernard comes easier to the tongue.)
While Ragnhild would, in time, have many castles to choose from in which to live, she would often be on Islay, as Somerled imagined in my story, because that is where the chiefs gathered and would for generations.
Since the map developed for this story is one I hope to use in subsequent novels in the series, which will move forward in time, I have tried to use place names you would recognize. For example, though the earlier version of Argyll is “Argyle”, I used the name from later centuries. Ulaid in North Ireland—the far northwest part—would become part of Ulster. And, while I named the loch on Islay “Findlugan’s Loch” after the Irish monk, it would eventually become “Finlaggan” and would serve as Clan Donald’s headquarters.
Summer Warrior has its own Pinterest storyboard that captures some of my research, including the maps I used and the way characters and places appear to me.
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AUTHOR’S BIO
Regan Walker is an award-winning author of Regency, Georgian and Medieval novels. A lawyer turned writer, she has six times been nominated for the Reward of Novel Excellence (RONE) award. Her novels The Red Wolf’s Prize and King’s Knight won that award in the medieval category. The Refuge: An Inspirational Novel of Scotland won the Gold Medal in the Illumination Awards. To Tame the Wind won the International Book Award for Romance Fiction and Best Historical Romance in the San Diego Book Awards. A Fierce Wind won a medal in the President’s Book Awards of The Florida Authors & Publishers Association. And many of her books have been finalists in numerous other contests.
Years of serving clients in private practice and several stints in high levels of government have given Regan a feel for the demands of the “Crown”. Hence her novels often feature a demanding sovereign who taps his subjects for special assignments. Each of her novels features history, adventure and love.
Regan lives in San Diego with her dog “Cody”, a much-loved Wirehaired Pointing Griffon.
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BOOKS BY REGAN WALKER
The Agents of the Crown series (Regency):
Racing with the Wind
Against the Wind
Wind Raven
A Secret Scottish Christmas
Rogue’s Holiday
The Donet Trilogy (Georgian):
To Tame the Wind
Echo in the Wind
A Fierce Wind
Holiday Novellas (related to The Agents of the Crown):
The Shamrock & The Rose
The Holly & The Thistle
The Twelfth Night Wager
Medieval Warriors:
The Red Wolf’s Prize
Rogue Knight
Rebel Warrior
King’s Knight
The Clan Donald Saga:
Summer Warrior
Inspirational
The Refuge: An Inspirational Novel of Scotland
www.ReganWalkerAuthor.com
