Gille Ruadh was the

Galwegian Galwegian or Galwegians may refer to: * Of Galway (disambiguation) ** Of or pertaining to Galway, Ireland, or to its residents. ** Galwegians RFC, rugby club in Galway, Ireland * Of Galloway (disambiguation) ** Of, or pertaining to, Galloway, Scotla ...

leader who led the revolt against 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 ...

. His birth, death date and origins are all unknown. Upon

Alan, Lord of Galloway Alan of Galloway (before 1199 – 1234), also known as Alan fitz Roland, was a leading thirteenth-century Scottish magnate. As the hereditary Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland, he was one of the most influential men in the Kingdom of S ...

's death in 1234, Galloway was left without a legitimate

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

heir. Alexander II had decided to partition the

lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of econ ...

between the

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...

husbands of Alan's three living daughters, Roger de Quincy (married to

Ela Ela or ELA may refer to: Companies and organizations * Basque Workers' Solidarity (Basque: '), a trade union * Earth Liberation Army * ELA Aviación, a Spanish aircraft manufacturer * English Lacrosse Association * Equatorial Launch Australia, ...

John de Balliol John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an ...

(married to Derborgaill) and William de Forz (married to Cairistiona). However, Alan had left an illegitimate son,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

. In Gaelic succession law, Thomas was a perfectly acceptable heir. Thus the native Galwegians and the Gaelic clergy of the province rose in revolt against the Scottish king.

Leader of Galloway Revolt

The revolt of the Galwegians started in 1235, under Gille Ruadh's leadership.

Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...

says that Manx and Irish forces got involved too. Thomas received help from his father's father-in-law,

Hugh de Lacy Hugh de Lacy may refer to: * Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Lassy (c.1020–1085), first recorded member of the Norman noble family de Lacy * Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath (died 1186), 4th Baron Lacy * Hugh de Lacy, Abbot of Shrewsbury (died c. 1215/18) *Hug ...

the

Earl of Ulster The title of Earl of Ulster has been created six times in the Peerage of Ireland and twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since 1928, the title has been held by the Duke of Gloucester and is used as a courtesy title by the Duke's eld ...

, Hugh had his own problems which limited his participation. Thomas also seems to have gained support from Ruaidrí mac Ragnaill and the Uí Domnaill of

Tír Conaill Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called ''County Tyrconnell''. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, Cou ...

. Alexander soon invaded Galloway. Gille Ruadh ambushed the royal army, almost bringing it to disaster. However the Scottish King was saved by Fearchar,

Mormaer of Ross The Earl or Mormaer of Ross was the ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland. Origins and transfers In the early Middle Ages, Ross was part of the vast earldom of Moray. It seems to have been made a separate earldom in the mid 12th ...

. Gille Ruadh and Thomas escaped to Ireland, Alexander returned north, and

Walter Comyn Walter Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1258) was the son of William Comyn, Justiciar of Scotia and Mormaer or Earl of Buchan by right of his second wife. Life Walter makes his first appearance in royal charters as early as 1211–1214. In 1220 ...

, Earl of

Menteith Menteith or Monteith ( gd, Mòine Tèadhaich), a district of south Perthshire, Scotland, roughly comprises the territory between the Teith and the Forth. Earlier forms of its name include ''Meneted'', ''Maneteth'' and ''Meneteth''. (Historically ...

, was left to subdue the province, ravaging the lands and monastic establishments (

Glenluce Abbey Glenluce Abbey, near to Glenluce, Scotland, was a Cistercian monastery called also ''Abbey of Luce'' or ''Vallis Lucis'' and founded around 1190 by Rolland or Lochlann, Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland. Following the Scottish Reformatio ...

and

Tongland Abbey Tungland or Tongland Abbey was a Premonstratensians, Premonstratensian monastic community located in Tongland in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It was probably founded circa 1218 by Alan, Lord ...

were both sacked, and their abbots punished). Soon afterwards, Gille Ruadh returned from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

with a new army. The royal forces fled the province. However, for an unknown set of reasons, Gille Ruadh abandoned Thomas and gave himself up on favorable conditions to

Patrick II, Earl of Dunbar Patrick II (1185–1249), called "6th Earl of Dunbar", was a 13th-century Anglo- Scottish noble, and one of the leading figures during the reign of King Alexander II of Scotland. Said to be aged forty-six at the time of his father's death, th ...

. Thomas followed suit. The failure of the revolt ensured the death of the Lordship of Galloway as a united and distinct sub-kingdom of northern Britain.

Notes

References

* Oram, Richard, ''The Lordship of Galloway'', (Edinburgh, 2000), pp. 141–6. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruadh, Gille 13th-century deaths 13th-century Scottish people History of Galloway Medieval Gaels from Scotland People from Dumfries and Galloway 12th-century Scottish people Year of birth unknown