The lords of Galloway consisted of a dynasty of heirs who were lords (or kings) and ladies who ruled over
Galloway
Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway.
A native or ...
in southwest Scotland, mainly during the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 1500 ...
. Many regions of Scotland, including Galloway and
Moray
Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.
Between 1975 ...
, periodically had kings or subkings, similar to those in Ireland during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. The Scottish monarch was seen as being similar to a
high king (''Ard-Righ'' in
Gaelic). The lords of Galloway would have either paid tribute to the Scottish monarch, or at other times ignored him. The Lords of Galloway are fairly well recorded in the 12th and 13th centuries, but the records are incomplete or conflicting at other times. Later on, the kings were known as "lords" at the Scottish court, and "kings" at home, finally becoming "lords" in both arenas.
The boundaries of the Kingdom of Galloway were ill-defined, and varied over time. During many periods Galloway was much larger than it is today, and took in parts of southern
Ayrshire
Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of R ...
, such as
Carrick, Upper Douglasdale and
Nithsdale. The area appears to have been the main bastion of
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...
culture south of the
Highlands in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
.
Kingdom of Galloway
Suibne mac Cináeda (d.1034) is the first recorded king of the ''Gall-ghàidhil'', the people of Galloway, although it is not until about 1138 that the succession is properly recorded. The Dynasty of Fergus appears to have continued until 1234 and the Laws of Galloway remained in force until 1426. It is thought that these laws originally derived their authority from the kings of Galloway.
Contrary to some popular conceptions, there is no evidence that Galloway was ever part of the
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde (lit. " Strath of the River Clyde", and Strað-Clota in Old English), was a Brittonic successor state of the Roman Empire and one of the early medieval kingdoms of the Britons, located in the region the Welsh tribes referred to as ...
. It does not logically follow from that that Galloway (west of the
Nith at least) lay outside the traditional area claimed by the
Kingdom of Alba
The Kingdom of Alba ( la, Scotia; sga, Alba) was the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II in 900 and of Alexander III in 1286. The latter's death led indirectly to an invasion of Scotland by Edward I of England in 1296 and the ...
, Strathclyde's
successor state
Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...
in the area. Galloway, often defined as all of the area to the south and west of the
Clyde and west of the
River Annan
The River Annan (''Abhainn Anann'' in Gaelic) is a river in south-west Scotland. It rises on Annanhead Hill and flows through the Devil's Beef Tub, Moffat and Lockerbie, reaching the sea at Annan, Dumfries and Galloway after about 40 miles. ...
, acknowledged the kings of Scotland as Ard Rí or over-king when politic. The year before his death, Fergus resigned Galloway into the hands of
King Mael Coluim iv of Scotland. Though it formed part of the northern mainland of Britain, Galloway was just as much a part of the Irish Sea; part of that Hiberno-Norse world of the
Gall-Gaidhel lords of the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
and the
Hebrides
The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebr ...
. The ex-King of Dublin and Man,
Echmarcach mac Ragnaill, had the title ''Rex Innarenn'' (possibly "
King of the Rhinns") attributed to him on his death in 1065. The western sections of Galloway had been firmly aligned with the Isle of Man, and Norse and Gaelic-Norse settlement names from the 10th and 11th centuries are spread all along the coastal lands of south-western "Scotland" and north-western "England".
Magnus III
In the late 11th century, the Norwegian King
Magnus III Berrføtt ("Barefoot") led a campaign of subjugation in the Irish Sea area. In 1097, he sent his vassal,
Ingimundr, to take control of the Kingdom of the Isles. However, when this man was killed, Magnus himself launched the first of his two invasions, the campaigns of 1098-1099 and of 1102-1103. In the former campaign, he took control of the
Western Isles
The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...
of Scotland, and deposed King
Lagmann of Man. (Incidentally, this campaign also brought him to Wales, where he killed
the Earl of Chester and
the Earl of Shrewsbury, who were at war with
the Prince of Gwynedd.) In this campaign, Magnus almost certainly brought Galloway under his suzerainty too. Magnus, moreover, gained the recognition of these conquests from the then-king of
Alba
''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingdom ...
,
Etgair mac Maíl Coluim.
On his second campaign, Magnus went to Man, and with a huge fleet attacked Dublin and attempted to force the submission of
Muircertach mac Toirrdelbach, the
Uí Briain King of
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...
. The campaign resulted in an alliance between the two kings, and the arranged marriage of Magnus' son
Siguðr to Muircertach's daughter
Bjaðmunjo. The alliance mitigated the threat of
Domnall Ua Lochlainn, King of
Ailech, bringing stability to the Irish Sea world, and security to Magnus' new Irish Sea "Empire." However, it all went wrong when Magnus was killed on his way back to Norway on a minor raid in
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Ki ...
. Much of Magnus' work lay in ruins.
Fergusan Dynasty
Fergus of Galloway
Fergus of Galloway (died 12 May 1161) was a twelfth-century Lord of Galloway. Although his familial origins are unknown, it is possible that he was of Norse-Gaelic ancestry. Fergus first appears on record in 1136, when he witnessed a charter o ...
took the throne of Galloway some time between 1110 and 1120. When he died in 1161 the year after taking canonical habit in Holyrood, according to the Chronicle of Holyrood, and resigning Galloway to Scotland’s King Mael Coluim iv, Galloway was left to his two sons,
Uchtred and
Gille Brigte (Gilbert). In 1174 Uchtred died after being brutally blinded and mutilated by his brother Gille Brigte and Gille Brigte's son, Máel Coluim (Malcolm). When Gilla Brigte died a few years later, in a meeting between the kings of Scotland and England and the two sons of Uchtred and Gille Brigte, it was agreed that Uchtred's son
Lochlann (Roland) would take possession of the southern part of Galloway. Gilla Brigte's surviving son
Donnchad (Duncan) was given the northern part, being made
1st Earl/Mormaer of Carrick.
Lochlann married Helen, the daughter of
Richard de Moreville,
Constable of Scotland, and inherited his father-in-law's title. Their son
Alan of Galloway was the most powerful of the lords and upon his death in 1234, his holdings were divided between his three daughters and their husbands. However, an attempt was made, within Galloway, to establish Alan's 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 A ...
as ruler, but this failed when King
Alexander II of Scotland broke the line of rejected such claim for an illegitimate son to take over. In response
Gille Ruadh led a revolt against Alexander. The attempt failed resulting in Galloway being divided amongst Alan's three living daughters who were married to Anglo-Normans,
Roger de Quincy (married to
Ela),
John de Balliol (married to
Derborgaill) and
William de Forz (married to
Cairistiona). Galloway's period as an independent political entity eventually came to an end with John de Balliol delegated as Lord.
Douglas Lords
In 1369,
Archibald the Grim had been appointed Lord of Galloway by
David II of Scotland
David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scots from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five, and was crowned at Scone in November 1331, bec ...
, "becaus he tuke git trawell to purge the cuntrey of Englis blude". Later he would construct his mighty fortress of
Thrieve, near present-day
Castle Douglas.
*
Archibald Douglas, Lord of Galloway
*
Archibald Douglas Lord of Galloway
*
Archibald Douglas, Lord of Galloway
*
Margaret Douglas, Fair Maid of Galloway
List of Lords of Galloway
Notes
References
*''The Arms of the Realm and Ancient Local Principalities of Scotland'', Bartholomew 1983.
{{Royal houses of Britain and Ireland
Galloway
Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway.
A native or ...
History of Galloway
Feudalism in Scotland