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 Donnchadh mac Dubhgaill, son of

Dubgall mac Somairle 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 ...

. 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. Ruaidhri mac Raghnaill, son of

Ragnall mac Somairle Ragnall is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of 102, increasing to 146 at the 2011 census. It is located on the A57 road one mile west of the River Trent. The parish churc ...

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, was at peace with

Raghnall mac Gofraidh ''Ragnall'', ''Raghnall'', ''Raonall'', and ''Raonull'' are masculine personal names or given names in several Gaelic languages. ''Ragnall'' occurs in Old Irish, and Middle Irish/ Middle Gaelic. It is a Gaelicised form of the Old Norse '' Røgnv ...

, King of Mann, and had become friendly with Ailean mac Lachlainn, Lord of Galloway 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, Alexander II, the

King of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

, 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 Ruaidhri 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 (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. In 1229, the

Manx king Manx (; formerly sometimes spelled Manks) is an adjective (and derived noun) describing things or people related to the Isle of Man: * Manx people **Manx surnames * Isle of Man It may also refer to: Languages * Manx language, also known as Manx ...

, Ragnvald Godredsson, 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. This expedition was unsuccessful and led to Uspak's death. Donnchadh remained firmly in possession of his Argyll lordship.Sellar, "Hebridean Sea Kings", p. 201; Woolf, "Age of the Sea-Kings", pp. 107-8. The ''Mormaerdom'' or ''Kingdom of Argyll'' was also a lordship in High Medieval Scotland.

Mormaers of Argyll

* Somhairle mac Gillebride (?? - 1164) *

(1164 - 1207) *

Domhnall mac Raghnaill Domhnall mac Raghnaill was a Hebridean noble in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He is the eponymous progenitor of Clan Donald (''Clann Dhòmhnaill'', "Children of Donald"). For this reason some traditions accumulated around him in the la ...

(1207 - ??)

Stewart lords of Lorne

* Lord of Lorne

Campbell lords of Lorne

* The Campbell lairds of

Lochawe Loch Awe (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Obha'') is a large body of freshwater in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such ...

inherited the lordship of Lorne via their foremother, Isabel Stewart, daughter of the 2nd Lord of Lorne. The Campbells received the titles Earl and then Duke of Argyll

References

{{Reflist People associated with Argyll and Bute Clan MacDougall