Baltar mac Amlaimh, also called Walter of Faslane, was the ''de facto''

Mormaer of Lennox The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty. Ancient earls The first earl ...

through his wife Margaret between 1365 and 1385. He was the great grandson of Amlaibh, the grandson of

Mormaer In early medieval Scotland, a mormaer was the Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a ''Toísech'' (chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English earls or Continental c ...

Ailín II through the male line. He was the chief of a kin-group tracing its origins to the settlement which followed the death of Ailín II, where the ten brothers of Mormaer Maol Domhnaich were compensated with lands. Baltar and his kin achieved the Mormaerdom because he was allowed to marry the daughter of Mormaer

Domhnall Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Goidelic languages, Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic language, Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is part ...

, Margaret. When Domhnall died in 1365, Margaret succeeded with Baltar as de facto ruler. It had been Domhnall's intention that the marriage would eventually allow the succession of a grandson, but it seems that Baltar was intended to rule in his turn. Indeed, Baltar and Margaret had a son, Donnchad, who was probably a young man by the time Baltar and Margaret succeeded. We do not know how relations deteriorated, but it seems that Donnchadh got impatient. In the summer of 1384, King Robert II issued two charters formally conferring the Mormaerdom on Baltar. However, a year later he and his wife Margaret resigned the Mormaerdom over to their eldest son Donnchadh. Brown (p. 215) attributes this change as a policy change of the monarchy triggered by the increased influence of John of Carrick, the future king Robert III. However, in 1388, Baltar and Margaret were handed custody of the Mormaerdom for the remainder of their lives, with Donnchadh retaining the title. Donnchadh was confined to a stronghold in

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of C ...

Inchmurrin Inchmurrin ( gd, Innis Mhearain) is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is the largest fresh water island in the British Isles. Geography and geology Inchmurrin is the largest and most southerly of the islands in Loch Lomond. It reache ...

castle.

Bibliography

* Brown, Michael, "Earldom and Kindred: The Lennox and Its Earls, 1200-1458" in Steve Boardman and Alasdair Ross (eds.) ''The Exercise of Power in Medieval Scotland, c.1200-1500'', (Dublin/Portland, 2003), pp. 201–224 {{Earls of Lennox 14th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Mormaers of Lennox 14th-century Scottish earls

See also

Bibliography