Garmoran is an area of western

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It lies at the south-western edge of the present Highland Region. It includes Knoydart,

Morar Morar (; gd, Mòrar) is a small village on the west coast of Scotland, south of Mallaig. The name Morar is also applied to the northern part of the peninsula containing the village, though North Morar is more usual (the region to the south wes ...

Moidart Moidart ( ; ) is part of the remote and isolated area of Scotland, west of Fort William, known as the Rough Bounds. Moidart itself is almost surrounded by bodies of water. Loch Shiel cuts off the eastern boundary of the district (along a south ...

, Ardnamurchan, and the

Small Isles The Small Isles ('' gd, Na h-Eileanan Tarsainn'') are a small archipelago of islands in the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. They lie south of Skye and north of Mull and Ardnamurchan – the most westerly point of mainla ...

History

The medieval lordship of Garmoran was ruled by the MacRuaris, descendants of Somerled, and later formed part of the

Lordship of the Isles The Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( gd, Triath nan Eilean or ) is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title w ...

Castle Tioram Castle Tioram () ( gd, Caisteal Tioram, meaning "dry castle") is a ruined castle that sits on the tidal island Eilean Tioram in Loch Moidart, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It is located west of Acharacle, approximately from Fort William. Thou ...

, at the entrance to

Loch Moidart Loch Moidart is a sea loch (sea inlet) in the district of Moidart in Highland, Scotland. It is on the west coast of Scotland, and runs about 8 km (5 miles) eastward from the sea. It is connected to the sea by two narrow channels which are sep ...

, was one of the residences of the lords of Garmoran. In 1284 when his son the prince died, Alexander III called Ailin mac Ruaidhri, the ruler of Garmoran, (along with all the Earls and Barons of Scotland) to make them accept Margaret, Maid of Norway as the heir. Ailin had died by 1296, by which time he had fathered two illegitimate sons, Ruaidhri and Lachlan, and Christina, his sole legitimate heir. However, when Christina succeeded to the extensive estates of her father she resigned a large proportion of them to Ruaidhri.Barrow (2003) p. 347 In 1343, King David II issued a charter to

Raghnall Mac Ruaidhrí Raghnall Mac Ruaidhrí (died October 1346) was an eminent Scottish magnate and chief of Clann Ruaidhrí. Raghnall's father, Ruaidhrí Mac Ruaidhrí, appears to have been slain in 1318, at a time when Raghnall may have been under age. Ruaidhrí ...

, granting him the islands of Uist, Barra, Eigg and Rhum (''Ywest ... Barra ... Egghe ... Romme'') and eight pennylands of Garmoran (''Garw Morwarne''), which were defined as 'Moidart (''Mudeworth''), Morar (''Mordhowor''), Arisaig (''Aresaig'') and Knoydart (''Cundeworth'') with their pertinents'. In October 1346, Raghnall Mac Ruaidhrí was assassinated at

Elcho Nunnery Elcho Priory was a medieval Cistercian priory in Perthshire, Scotland, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Location Elcho Priory was located in the parish of Rhynd about three miles southeast of Perth on the south bank of the River Tay. It was the only ...

near

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

as the result of a quarrel with

Uilleam III, Earl of Ross William (or Uilleam) III, 5th Earl of Ross (d. 1372) was a fourteenth-century Scottish nobleman. He was the fifth O’Beolan earl of Ross, descending from the founder of the line, Fearchar of Ross (or Fearchar MacTaggart). Biography William wa ...

. Raghnall was the "last chieftain of the MacRuaris"Hunter (2000) p. 127 and

Amie mac Ruari Amy of Garmoran also known as Amie MacRuari and Euphemia was a 14th-century Scottish noblewoman who was the sister of Raghnall mac Ruaidhri, Lord of Garmoran and the spouse of John of Islay.Lee (1920) p. 61 After her marriage had produced three ...

, who married John of Islay, Lord of the Isles, was his sole heir.Gregory (1881) pp. 26-27 John of Islay later divorced her although the "unvarying tradition" of the '' Gàidhealtachd'' recorded in the late 19th century was that Amie had given her husband no grounds for doing so and lived on her own on her estates until her death. The divorce annulled John of Islay's rights to her lands, although he managed to procure a royal charter to them in which her name is not even mentioned.Gregory (1881) pp. 30-31Oram (2005) p. 128 Their son Ranald successfully petitioned for the return of much of the Macruairi lands including Garmoran. He became the progenitor of Clan Macdonald of Clanranald and Clan MacDonell of Glengarry.Gregory (1881) pp. 29-30Lee (1920) p. 61

Notes

References

* Barrow, G.W.S. (2003) ''The kingdom of the Scots: government, church and society from the eleventh to the fourteenth century''. Edinburgh University Press * Gregory, Donald (1881) ''The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland 1493 - 1625.'' Edinburgh. Birlinn. 2008 reprint - originally published by Thomas D. Morrison. * Hunter, James (2000) ''Last of the Free: A History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland''. Edinburgh. Mainstream. * Oram, Richard, "The Lordship of the Isles, 1336-1545", in Donald Omand (ed.) (2005) ''The Argyll Book''. Edinburgh. Birlinn. {{Coord, 56, 45, N, 5, 47, W, region:GB_scale:100000, display=title History of Scotland by location Geography of Highland (council area) Clann Ruaidhrí History of the Inner Hebrides