The Lords of the Isles

Lindsay Webster

'Dominus Insularum’: How was Clan Donald able to establish its predominance in the Hebrides and much of the Western Highlands between 1329 and 1357? What implications did their rise have for the crown?

Arrayed off the West Coast of Scotland are the Isles, for a long time a land debated by the Scottish and Scandinavian crowns and which regarded itself as an independent realm of sorts. Once united under the legendary Somerled, by the early fourteenth century, the isles were divided between his descendants. However, by the middle of the century, the isles were united under one of these factions: the Clan Donald whose chief once more adopted the title of “Dominus Insularum”: The Lord of the Isles. How did this happen and more importantly, what did this mean for mainland politics? To answer this, it is necessary to examine the reasons for the rise of Clan Donald, not just after 1329 but to also look at the factors that put them in a position to seize so much power.

The inheritance of Somerled was divided between three sets of his descendants, the Clan Dougall, the Clan Donald and the Clan Ruairi. As one can expect, in a very short time the factions were at each others throats. The Isles were not really part of the kingdom of Scots, despite the best efforts of Alexander III following the defeat of the last great Norwegian invasion at Largs in 1263 and the treaty of Perth shortly afterwards. The men of the Isles tended to operate their own private agendas. This included the raising and deployment of troops. The Islesmen were renowned as ferocious warriors, perhaps taking on a number of characteristics of their former Norse overlords and they frequently operated as mercenary troops, in particular in Ireland where they were known as Gallowglass, forming heavy infantry units alongside the lightly armed Irish Kerns. It is interesting to note that the Turnberry Band, which features a MacDonald signatory, is primarily designed to prevent Hebridean troops from going to Ireland and attacking the Earl of Ulster.[1]

            It was during the wars of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries that Clan Donald began its rise to power. With the “Great Cause” Scotland was divided and much of the nobility began to polarise to one side or the other. Alexander MacDougall had married the daughter of John Comyn who was a supporter of the Balliol faction.[2] This naturally meant that the MacDonald’s natural ally would be the Bruce faction. This was particularly true after Bruce’s seizure of the throne in 1306. Defeated and hunted, Bruce was short of friends and shelter. Bruce spent the winter of 1306-7 sheltering in the Isles, aided by both the MacDonald and MacRuairi families. The aid of the Islesmen allowed Bruce to evade capture amongst the Isles and also granted him access to Ireland where he could recruit support from the Gaelic Irish. The MacDonalds and MacRuairis also aided Bruce in his campaigns by providing men and ships. In 1308 Bruce’s campaign moved against the MacDougall family. The fall of Dunstaffnage Castle marked the end of MacDougall influence in the West Highlands. This created a large amount of available land that the MacDonald family were quick to seize upon, the MacRuairi family gaining little from the wars.[3]

            In the aftermath of Bannockburn, a battle in which the men of Clan Donald are reputed to have played a significant role, more land was handed out to the head of the family, Angus Og. These included a grant of land in Lochaber. This is interesting as the land had already been granted to Thomas Randolph as part of the Earldom of Moray.[4] This suggests that the MacDonalds were occupying the land and were unwilling to give it up so Bruce, although now in a much more secure position than 1306, did not want to upset one of his most powerful allies who was not intimately linked with his cause (as the likes of Douglas and Randolph were) and so conceded the land. This shows the power of Clan Donald. With Clan Dougall removed, there were no real checks on their power in the Hebrides and because the crown owed them for previous services, their power would continue to grow. And grow it did, particularly under John of Islay the first in a new line of Lords of the Isles.

Robert I died in 1329 leaving behind a young boy as king. This left Scotland facing a long regency. Unfortunately for the Bruce cause, the Balliol faction had an adult heir in exile that was waiting for this opportunity. Invading and crushing the Scots at the battle of Dupplin moor in 1333, the Balliol faction seized the throne and David was forced to flee abroad. At this point, John MacDonald of Islay, the son of Angus Og MacDonald who had been one of Bruce’s most loyal supporters was almost certainly the leading figure in Hebridean politics.[5] He was also a very different figure from his father and had no strong loyalties to anyone other than himself[6]. The lands he had inherited made him a major power and the fact that he was not a staunch Bruce supporter made him an attractive prospect for the Balliol followers. At the same time, the Bruce faction also courted his loyalty in order to prevent him from siding with the exiles and thus opening up most of the Western Seaboard to enemy forces.

            In 1335, MacDonald decided that the greatest opportunity for power lay with the exiles. This was a logical move since as a Bruce supporter, he would be unlikely to gain much land since there was none spare to distribute while if the Balliol party won, there would be large-scale forfeiture of pro-Bruce nobles and so plenty of land would be available. At the time, since Balliol had English support, it also appeared likely that they would win so that may well have swayed John’s decision. In exchange for his support, John was granted several new lordships in Knapdale, Skye and Lewis. He was also granted guardianship of Lochaber for the young Strathbogie heir.[7] It is interesting to note that with the return of the exiles, there was no MacDonald-MacDougall friction as MacDougall gained elsewhere. This may well show the importance Edward Balliol placed on having the MacDonald family on his side. In 1336, John was granted claims over more land belonging to Randolph, Ross and Stewart although these lands were granted on the condition that John obtain them himself. Before deciding upon his allegiance, John had waited until the Balliol/Plantagenet party was in a difficult situation and so he increased the value of his support and therefore the reward that would be forthcoming.

            In 1337, John married the heiress of the MacRuairi family, obtaining special dispensation from the Pope as they were related.[8] This move cemented not only the bond between the two families but also the MacDonald grip over the Isles. Aimee MacRuairi brought with her a significant amount of land and, as the heiress, stood to inherit more.

            For the next two years, John remained a loyal adherent of Edward III, presumably since he thought it to be most profitable. Even when David II returned from exile, John did not come into the king’s peace and as a result, David tried to replace him with one of his cousins.[9] Because of the power and influence John held over the Isles, this plan failed and in 1343, David conceded and granted John the lands he had held under Balliol.[10] What makes this document more interesting is that it fully grants John the lands of Lochaber “free and exempt from all claims to the same” instead of him just being the guardian for young Strathbogie. These lands were granted in exchange for “homage and service” to the king and so from one viewpoint, it could be seen that both sides gained from this agreement but really, the only winner was John as he was now officially recognised in his lands and had embarrassed the king. By recognising John’s rights to lands formerly held by members of the Bruce party, David was also weakening what small amount of control he could exercise over the area.

            Outrageous fortune struck the great MacDonald land grab in 1346 when David mustered his forces for an invasion of England. The Earl of Ross used the call to arms as an excuse to get close to Ranald MacRuairi, head of the MacRuairi family and promptly murdered him before quitting the army and returning home with his retainers. MacRuairi died without a male heir and so John’s wife was suddenly the inheritor of the MacRuairi lands. The loss of the Ross men may also have contributed to the mess that was the defeat at Neville’s Cross. Since David was captured at the battle this gave John more freedom to do as he wished. With David safely shut away in the Tower of London, government of Scotland was left in the hands of Robert Stewart. Despite the fact that there had been some friction between John and Robert over land during the 1330’s, the two now shared a common bond in being opponents of David II. It suited both of them that David was unable to rule directly as it allowed Robert to exercise power over the realm while John was able to secure his powerbase in the North-West free from royal interference. The bond between the men was sealed in 1350 when John set aside his wife of 13 years and married the Stewart’s daughter. In this arrangement, not only was John effectively marrying into the Royal house (A king in captivity is unlikely to breed) but when he agreed that any children by this marriage would inherit, not his sons from his first marriage. Adding insult to the already considerable injury he had caused Aimee MacRuairi, John then decided to keep her ancestral inheritance as his own. This shows that John was an absolutely ruthless individual, willing to do whatever it took to secure his power and position. It is also interesting to note that this marriage was also incestuous since his great grandfather had also married a daughter of the Stewart family.[11]

            At some point during this period, John adopted the title of Ri Innse Gall which is commonly translated into Latin as Dominus Insularum: The Lord of the Isles. However, the Gaelic has further connotations since there is no distinction between the title of a lord and that of a king so John may have been hinting that he was more of a mere lord and this may have been the impression he was trying to convey to his Gaelic subjects. This clearly shows the confidence John had in his position and the security in which he enjoyed it.

            Further evidence of John’s security in his position can be found in an indenture issued by him in 1354. In it he grants John MacDougall of Lorn “the isle of Coll and three parts of Tiree” in exchange for John of Lorn renouncing his claims over large areas of the former MacDougall estates.[12] The fact that John is willing to allow a MacDougall to hold even a small amount of their former lands shows that John knew that his position in the Hebrides was unassailable and probably viewed bringing the MacDougall family onto his side as further strengthening his grip on the Isles. This document contains the first surviving usage of the term “Lord of the Isles.”[13]

            Grant adds a further reason for the rise of the MacDonald clan. He suggests that the kin-based nature of Highland society meant that as some of the families went into a decline and were removed, the MacDonalds expanded out to fill the gaps.[14] While this can only have helped the MacDonald rise to power, it does not quite explain the meteoric rise achieved by the Clan.

It is quite clear why Clan Donald became the dominant power in the Western Isles during this period but what implications did this have for the King and the rest of Scotland? John’s land-grabbing meant that he was not only the largest landholder in the Isles but also had considerable estates on the mainland. This brought them more into Highland politics and ultimately national politics than they had before. However, the most serious implication of the Clan Donald gaining almost all of the Isles was that the old Kingdom of the Isles was once more united. This was a very dangerous thing. According to Buchanan, before he died Robert I had left the advice that the Isles should never be allowed to fall into the hands of a single lord because of the power and influence a united Isles could have over the Highlands and the Crown.[15] Why was it dangerous? One of the reasons was that a united Isles meant that the rival factions were no longer fighting amongst themselves. This meant that there were large numbers of Hebridean mercenary troops and warships sitting idle. These troops could be used to influence mainland politics although another area possibly more at risk was Ireland, the traditional employer of Islesmen troops. A powerful magnate, with the armies and fleets of the Isles behind him would also be very difficult to remove from his position if he turned against the king.

            The Stewart marriage and alliance was also very significant. It not only provided John with more land in Kintyre but also effectively joined the ruler of the Isles with the most powerful of the mainland magnates. This created a tremendous danger to the crown especially since both families were frequently in opposition to David II. Since Robert Stewart was heir apparent if David failed to produce an heir, he formed an alternative to David and with the support of the Isles could mount an effective challenge if he so wished while being very difficult to forfeit or kill. The Stewart marriage also had further reaching implications since it brought the Clan Donald into the royal succession should the Stewart male line fail. This claim was never implemented but it is an intriguing what if.

The conclusion that can be drawn from the rise of Clan Donald is that they were initially in the right place at the right time to gain most from the Bruce party. Then, when another possibility arose to gain more land and power from another party, they switched allegiance. By cunning marriage and ruthless diplomacy, John was also able to secure enough land and have sufficient support that once he had gained all he could from both the Bruce and Balliol factions, it would be impossible for the king to forfeit or diminish his power without risking a major internal war that he could ill afford. Probably one of the main reasons for John gaining such prominence was that he was utterly ruthless and had a complete disregard for any person or cause that was not his own. This allowed him to abandon factions and spouses as he wished as well as entering into two incestuous marriages. The implications of the dominant Lord of the Isles was that the kings already tenuous position in the North West was weakened further while Clan Donald was able to exert more influence over local and national politics while having the backing of the heir apparent and even a slight claim to the throne itself.

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Bibliography

Brown M. The Wars of Scotland (Edinburgh 2004)

Grant A. Independence and Nationhood: Scotland 1306-1469 (Edinburgh 1984)

Grant I.F. The Lordship of the Isles (Edinburgh 1935)

McDonald R.A. The Kingdom of the Isles (East Linton 1997)

MacLean L. (ed) The Middle Ages in the Highlands (Inverness 1981)

Stirling A.M.W MacDonald of the Isles (London 1914)