The sovereign or feudal lordship of Argyle was the holding of the senior branch of descendants of

Somerled Somerled (died 1164), known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði , was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence to create the ...

(''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. 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, King of the Isles 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 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 forme ...

; 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 M ...

, 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 conside ...

, probably Donnchadh's brother, ravished

Kintyre Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately nor ...

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 is ...

. 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) * Ragnall mac Somairle (1164 - 1207) * Domhnall mac Raghnaill (1207 - ??)

Stewart lords of Lorne

Lord of Lorne ''For the Child ballad, see The Lord of Lorn and the False Steward.'' Lord of Lorne is a title in the Peerage of Scotland that has been created twice. ;First Creation The title was first created for Robert Stewart of Durisdeer (died 1403), son ...

Campbell lords of Lorne

* The Campbell

laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

s of

Lochawe Loch Awe (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Obha'') is a large body of Fresh water, 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 ...

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 Duke of Argyll ( gd, Diùc Earraghàidheil) is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerfu ...

References

{{Reflist People associated with Argyll and Bute Clan MacDougall