Donnchadh of Argyll or Donnchadh mac Dubhghaill (

Anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

: "Duncan, son of Dougall") was a late 12th and early 13th century Scottish noble. He was the son of

Dubhghall mac Somhairle Dubgall mac Somairle (died 1175) was an apparent King of the Isles. He was a son of Somairle mac Gilla Brigte and Ragnhildr Óláfsdóttir. Dubgall was a leading figure of Clann Somairle, and the eponymous ancestor of Clann Dubgaill. Dubgall's c ...

, son of Somhairle mac Gille Bhrighde. He is the first of the

MacDougall Clan MacDougall is a Highland Scottish clan, historically based in and around Argyll. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in Scotland, issuing new grants of coats of arms, and serving as ...

lords of Argyll to take the title ''de Argadia'', and can be regarded as the founder of the successful MacDougall lordship of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. He was also a prominent builder, notable for his construction of

Ardchattan Priory The Ardchattan Priory was a Valliscaulian monastic community in Ardchattan, Argyll, Scotland. It was founded in 1230 by Duncan MacDougal, Lord of Argyll. From the early 14th century, the Prior of Ardchattan held the chantership of Lismore C ...

and

Dunstaffnage Castle Dunstaffnage Castle ( gd, Caisteal Dhùn Stadhainis) is a partially ruined castle in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland. It lies NNE of Oban, situated on a platform of conglomerate rock on a promontory at the south-west of the entrance to Loc ...

Biography

First appearance

Born at an unknown date probably somewhere in the mid 12th century, Donnchadh appears in the records for the first time in 1175, appearing along with his father and brother Amhlaibh in the

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

Liber Vitae A confraternity book (german: Verbrüderungsbuch, la, liber confraternitatum or ''confraternitatis''), also called a ''liber memorialis'' (memorial book) or ''liber vitae'' (book of life), is a medieval register of the names of people who had ente ...

'', making a pilgrimage to

St Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne ( – 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Nor ...

Construction of Lordship of Argyll-Lorne

During Donnchadh's time the great feuds that had been causing war on the western seaboard of Scotland since Somhairle mac Gille Bhrighde were coming to an end.

Ruaidhrí mac Raghnaill Ruaidhrí mac Raghnaill (died 1247?) was a leading figure in the Kingdom of the Isles and a member of Clann Somhairle. He was a son of Raghnall mac Somhairle, and was the eponymous ancestor of Clann Ruaidhrí. Ruaidhrí may have become the princ ...

, son of Raghnall mac Somhairle,

King of the Isles The Kingdom of the Isles consisted of the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Firth of Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norse as the , or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the or Nort ...

and

Lord of Argyll The sovereign or feudal lordship of Argyle was the holding of the senior branch of descendants of Somerled (''Somhairle''), this branch becoming soon known as Clan MacDougall Construction of the Lordship of Argyll-Lorne essentially started with ...

, was at peace with Ragnall mac Gofraid,

King of Mann The King of Mann () was the title taken between 1237 and 1504 by the various rulers, both sovereign and suzerain, over the Kingdom of Mann – the Isle of Man which is located in the Irish Sea, at the centre of the British Isles. Since 1504, th ...

, and had become friendly with Ailean mac Lachlainn,

Lord of Galloway The lords of Galloway consisted of a dynasty of heirs who were lords (or kings) and ladies who ruled over Galloway in southwest Scotland, mainly during the High Middle Ages. Many regions of Scotland, including Galloway and Moray, periodically ...

and

Constable of Scotland The Lord High Constable is a hereditary, now ceremonial, office of Scotland. In the order of precedence of Scotland, the office traditionally ranks above all titles except those of the Royal Family.p60-61, Bruce, Alistair, Keepers of the King ...

. In this context, King

Alexander II of Scotland Alexander II (Medieval Gaelic: '; Modern Gaelic: '; 24 August 1198 – 6 July 1249) was King of Scotland from 1214 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of York (1237) which defined the boundary between England and Scotland, virtually unch ...

led expeditions into Argyll in 1221 and 1222, expeditions which led to Donnchadh being recognised or appointed to the Lordship of Lorne. Donnchadh remained a strong supporter of the Scottish crown against the interests of Ruaidhrí mac Raghnaill and Amhlaibh Dubh. These expeditions into Argyll appear to have given Donnchadh domination of the kindreds of all Argyll in place of Ruaídhrí. Around 1225, Donnchadh ''de Argadia'' ("of Argyll") appeared in a charter of

Maol Domhnaich, Earl of Lennox Mormaer Maol Domhnaich (sometimes anglicized as ''Maldoven'') was the son of Mormaer Ailín II, and ruled Lennox 1217–1250. Like his predecessor Ailín II, he showed absolutely no interest in extending an inviting hand to oncoming French or E ...

(d. 1250) made to

Paisley Abbey Paisley Abbey is a parish church of the Church of Scotland on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, about west of Glasgow, in Scotland. Its origins date from the 12th century, based on a for ...

; this appearance is notable because it is the first attestation of the locative family name "of Argyll", the name that Donnchadh and his descendants would use to identify themselves among the higher nobility of Scotland.Sellar, "Hebridean Sea Kings", p. 201. In 1229, the Manx king Raghnall mac Gofraidh was killed. Fear of Galwegian or Scottish royal intervention led the Manxmen to appeal to the Norwegian crown. The Norwegian expedition, led by

Óspakr-Hákon Óspakr (died 1230), also known as Hákon, was a King of the Isles. He seems to have been a son of Dubgall mac Somairle, King of the Isles, and therefore a member of the Meic Dubgaill branch of the Meic Somairle kindred. Óspakr spent a considerab ...

, probably Donnchadh's brother, ravished Kintyre and in 1230 attacked the Stewart controlled

Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent isl ...

. This expedition was unsuccessful and led to Óspakr-Hákon's death. Donnchadh remained firmly in possession of his Argyll lordship.

Death

It is likely that soon after these events his son Eóghan began to play a more important role, particularly because Donnchadh was growing old. Donnchadh's death can not be placed with absolute certainty, but it is possible that Donnchadh is the "Mac Somhairle" who died at

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Location B ...

in 1247, mentioned in the ''

Annals of Loch Cé The ''Annals of Loch Cé'' (also ''Annals of Lough Cé'') cover events, mainly in Connacht and its neighbouring regions, from 1014 to 1590. It takes its name from Lough Cé in the kingdom of Moylurg - now north County Roscommon - which was the ...

'':

Mac Somhairle, king of Airer-Gaeidhel, and the nobles of the Cenel-Conaill besides, were slain.

This is what McDonald thinks, but other historians such as Seán Duffy have taken it to refer to Domhnall mac Raghnaill, the progenitor of

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

Alex Woolf Alex Woolf (born 12 July 1963) is a British medieval historian and academic. He specialises in the history of Britain and Ireland and to a lesser extent Scandinavia in the Early Middle Ages, with a particular emphasis on interaction and compa ...

argued that Donnchadh was probably too old at this stage to have been fighting in Ireland, and suggests that the probable identity of this man was Ruaídhrí mac Raghnaill. Sellar also believes that Donnchadh would have been too old, and also suggests identifying this man with Ruaidhrí mac Raghnaill. Donnchadh appeared in Scottish sources in 1237, and again, for the last time, in 1244, as one of the magnates whose names were attached to a letter from Alexander II to the Pope.Sellar, "Hebridean Sea Kings", p. 202. His son Eóghan appears to have been fully in charge of the lordship by 1249, probably indicating that Donnchadh was dead by this point.

Legacy

Donnchadh, like other Scottish

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

s of the time such as

Uilleam, Earl of Mar William of Mar, or Uilleam mac Dhonnchaidh ( Anglicized: William, Duncan's son), was the mormaers of Mar from 1244 to 1276, also known as Earl of Mar. His father was Donnchadh of Mar Uilleam was responsible for the construction of Kildrummy C ...

, and

Fearchar, Earl of Ross Fearchar of Ross or Ferchar mac in tSagairt (''Fearchar mac an t-sagairt'', often anglicized as ''Farquhar MacTaggart''), was the first of the Scottish Ó Beólláin (O’Beolan, Beolan) family who received by Royal Grant the lands and Title of Mo ...

, was a prominent religious patron and castle builder. Around 1230, he founded a house for

Valliscaulian The Valliscaulian Order was a religious order of the Catholic Church. It was named after ''Vallis Caulium'' or ''Val-des-Choux'', its first monastery, located in Burgundy. The order was founded at the end of the twelfth century and lasted until i ...

monks at

Loch Etive Loch Etive (Scottish Gaelic, ''Loch Eite'') is a 30 km sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It reaches the sea at Connel, 5 km north of Oban. It measures 31.6 km (19 miles) long and from 1.2 km ( mile) to wide. Its ...

; this was

. The Valliscaulians were a relatively new religious order fashionable in the reign of Alexander II, with other foundations around the same time at

Beauly Priory Beauly Priory was a Valliscaulian monastic community located at "Insula de Achenbady", now Beauly, Inverness-shire. It was probably founded in 1230. It is not known for certain who the founder was, different sources giving Alexander II of Scotla ...

and

Pluscarden Abbey Pluscarden Abbey is a Catholic Benedictine monastery in the glen of the Black Burn, southwest of Elgin, Moray, Scotland. It was founded in 1230 by Alexander II for the Valliscaulian Order. In 1454, following a merger with the priory of Urqu ...

. Donnchadh is remembered for his secular buildings too. It was Donnchadh who constructed

, the site which became the main seat of the MacDougall lords of Argyll. Donnchadh may have been responsible for the huge hallhouse castle at Aros in

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides ** Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica *Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highway ...

. Donnchadh had several children. The most important of these was his son

Eóghan of Argyll Eóghan MacDubhghaill ( Anglicized: ''Ewan MacDougall'', ''Ewan of Argyll'' or ''Ewan of Lorne'') was a 13th-century Scottish nobleman and warrior who was styled "King of the Isles", "Lord of Argyll". He was the son of Donnchadh, son of Dubhgha ...

, who succeeded to his lordship. It has been alleged, without any authority, that a daughter of Donnchadh named ''Gill'' or ''Egidia'' married Brian Ua Néill, King of Tír Eógain.Sellar, "Hebridean Sea Kings", pp. 194, 202.

Notes

References

* Cowan, Ian B. & Easson, David E., ''Medieval Religious Houses: Scotland With an Appendix on the Houses in the Isle of Man'', Second Edition, (London, 1976) * Duffy, Seán, "The Bruce Brothers and the Irish Sea World, 1306–29", in Seán Duffy (ed.) ''Robert the Bruce's Irish Wars: The Invasions of Ireland, 1306–1329'', (Stround, 2002), orig. published in Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies, no. 21 (summer, 1991), pp. 55–86 * McDonald, R. Andrew, ''The Kingdom of the Isles: Scotland's Western Seaboard, c. 1100–1336'', (Edinburgh, 1997) * Sellar, W. D. H., "Hebridean Sea-Kings: The Successors of Somerled, 1164–1316", in Edward J. Cowan & R. Andrew McDonald (eds.), ''Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Medieval Era'', (Edinburgh, 2000), pp. 187–218 * Sellar, W. D. H., "MacDougall, Ewen, lord of Argyll (d. in or after 1268)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
, accessed 2 Aug 2007
* Watt, D. E. R. & Shead, N. F. (eds.), ''The Heads of Religious Houses in Scotland from the 12th to the 16th Centuries'', The Scottish Records Society, New Series, Volume 24, (Edinburgh, 2001) * Woolf, Alex, "Age of Sea-Kings: 900–1300", in Donald Omand (ed.), ''The Argyll Book'', (Edinburgh, 2004), pp. 94–109 {{Kings of the Isles 12th-century births 1240s deaths 13th-century rulers of the Kingdom of the Isles Clan MacDougall Medieval Gaels from Scotland People from Argyll and Bute Rulers of the Kingdom of the Isles