Páll Bálkason
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Páll Bálkason
Páll, son of Bálki, or Paal Baalkeson, was a 13th-century Hebridean lord who was an ally of Olaf the Black, king of Mann and the Isles. He was long remembered in Gaelic tradition and is traditionally the progenitor of certain families with roots in the Hebrides. Páll is recorded as being a "sheriff" of Skye, a post which had earlier been held by another ''Páll, son of Bálki'', who was possibly an ancestor. This earlier sheriff was said to have been a close friend of Godred II, King of Mann and the Isles. Background Much of the contemporary knowledge of Páll comes from his appearances in the mediaeval ''Chronicle of Mann'' and later MacLeod tradition. Within the ''Chronicle of Mann'' he is named as ''Paul filius Boke'', and is titled as a ''vicecomes'' of Skye. This title has usually been translated into English as "sheriff", since it is the regular form of "sheriff" in later times in Scotland. According to W.D.H. Sellar, it is more likely that ''vicecomes'' refers to a ...
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Isle Of Lewis
The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The total area of Lewis is . Lewis is, in general, the lower-lying part of the island: the other part, Harris, Outer Hebrides, Harris, is more mountainous. Due to its larger area and flatter, more fertile land, Lewis contains three-quarters of the population of the Western Isles, and the largest settlement, Stornoway. The island's diverse habitats are home to an assortment of flora and fauna, such as the golden eagle, red deer and Pinniped, seal, and are recognised in a number of Conservation area (United Kingdom), conservation areas. Lewis has a Presbyterian tradition and a rich history. It was once part of the Norsemen, Norse Kingdom of the Isles. Today, life is very different from elsewhere in Scotland, with Sabbath in Christianity, Sabbath ...
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Dubgall Mac Somairle
Dubgall mac Somairle (died 1175) was King of the Isles. He was a son of Somairle mac Gilla Brigte and Ragnhildis Olafsdottir, Ragnhildr Óláfsdóttir. Dubgall was a leading figure of Clann Somairle, and the eponymous ancestor of Clann Dubgaill. Dubgall's career is obscure, and little is certain of his life. In 1155 or 1156, Dubgall was produced as a candidate to the kingship of the Isles, then-possessed by his maternal uncle, Guðrøðr Óláfsson. Later that year, Somairle defeated Guðrøðr, and the kingdom was divided between them. Two years later, Somairle again defeated Guðrøðr, and assumed control over the entirety of the realm. Whilst is possible that Dubgall was the nominal King of the Isles, it is apparent that his father possessed the real power. Dubgall's father died in an invasion of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland in 1164. At least one of Somairle's sons was slain in Battle of Renfrew, this defeat, and it is unknown if Dubgall was present. Whilst it is possible th ...
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Castrated
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceutical drugs to deactivate the testes. Some forms of castration cause sterilization (permanently preventing the castrated person or animal from reproducing); it also greatly reduces the production of hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen. Surgical castration in animals is often called neutering. Castration of animals is intended to favor a desired development of the animal or of its habits, as an anaphrodisiac or to prevent overpopulation. The parallel of castration for female animals is spaying. Castration may also refer medically to oophorectomy in female humans and animals. The term ''castration'' may also be sometimes used to refer to emasculation where both the testicles ''and'' the penis are removed together. In some cultures, ...
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Saint Columba
Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Gaelic Ireland, Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important Iona Abbey, abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. He is the patron saint of Derry. He was highly regarded by both the Gaels of Dál Riata and the Picts, and is remembered today as a Catholic saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. Columba studied under some of Ireland's most prominent church figures and founded several monasteries in the country. Around 563 AD he and his twelve companions crossed to Dunaverty near Southend, Argyll, in Kintyre before settling in Iona in Scotland, then part of the Ulster kingdom of Dál Riata, where they founded a new abbey as a base for spreading Celtic Christianity among the pagan Fortriu, Northern Pictish kingdoms. He rem ...
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Earl Of Ross
The Earl or Mormaer of Ross was the ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland, as well as chief of Clan Ross. Origins and transfers In the early Middle Ages, Ross was part of the vast earldom of Moray. It seems to have been made a separate earldom in the mid 12th century, when Malcolm MacHeth is found designated Earl of Ross. Malcolm had earlier been imprisoned at Roxburgh for rebelling against David I, but when Malcolm's brother-in-law Somerled invaded Scotland, David was forced to relent and grant the earldom unto Malcolm. The title was later granted by William the Lion to Floris III of Holland in 1161 upon Floris's marriage to William's sister Ada of Huntingdon. However, Floris held the title only in a nominal sense, as he took no active part in the governance of Ross. The title seems not to have been passed on, for in 1291 Floris's descendant is found complaining that he had been deprived of the earldom. The true founder was the famous Ferquhard, from th ...
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Fearchar, Earl Of Ross
Fearchar of Ross or Ferchar mac in tSagairt (''Fearchar mac an t-sagairt'', often anglicized as ''Farquhar MacTaggart''), was the first of the Scottish Ó Beólláin (O’Beolan, Beolan) family who received by Royal Grant the lands and Title of Mormaer or Earl of Ross (1223–1251) we know of from the thirteenth century, whose career brought Ross into the fold of the Scottish kings for the first time, and who is remembered as the founder of the Earldom of Ross. Origins The traditional story is that Fearchar was part of the ancient family Ó Beólláin (O'Beolain, Boland, Bolan) of the Gaelic Cenél Eoghain that were co-arbs (hereditary abbots) of St. Maelrubha at Applecross in Ross-shire. This idea goes back to the work of the great William F. Skene, and indeed, even before him, with William Reeves, whom Skene cited. The historian Alexander Grant has recently challenged this theory, arguing that the evidence for this origin is far too thin to contradict the intuitive and we ...
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Synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, synods were meetings of bishops, and the word is still used in that sense in Catholicism, Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Orthodoxy. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not. It is also sometimes used to refer to a church that is governed by a synod. Sometimes the phrase "general synod" or "general council" refers to an ecumenical council. The word ''synod'' also refers to the standing council of high-ranking bishops governing some of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. Similarly, the day-to-day governance of patriarchal and major archiepiscopal Eastern Catholic Churches is entrusted to a permanent synod. Usages in diffe ...
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Concubine
Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar, but mutually exclusive. During the early stages of European colonialism, administrators often encouraged European men to practice concubinage to discourage them from paying prostitutes for sex (which could spread venereal disease) and from homosexuality. Colonial administrators also believed that having an intimate relationship with a native woman would enhance white men's understanding of native culture and would provide them with essential domestic labor. The latter was critical, as it meant white men did not require wives from the metropole, hence did not require a family wage. Colonial administrators eventually discouraged the practice when these liaisons resulted in offspring who threatened colonial rule by producing a m ...
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Bishop Of The Isles
The Bishop of the Isles or Bishop of Sodor was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of the Isles (or Sodor), one of Scotland's thirteen medieval bishoprics. The bishopric, encompassing both the Hebrides and Mann, probably traces its origins as an ecclesiastical unity to the careers of Olaf, King of the Isles, and Bishop Wimund. Previously, there had been numerous bishoprics and recorded bishoprics include Kingarth, Iona, Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ... and Mann. There were very likely numerous others. List of precursor bishoprics List of known bishops of Iona List of known bishops of Cenn Garad Kingarth was a church on the Isle of Bute, supposedly founded by Saint Chattan and Saint Blane. Three abbots are known, but only two bishops. Sadly, little ...
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William Of Scotland
William the Lion (), sometimes styled William I (; ) and also known by the nickname ; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49-year-long reign was the longest for a Scottish monarch before the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Early life William was born around 1142, during the reign of his grandfather King David I of Scotland. His parents were Henry of Scotland, a younger son of David I, and Ada de Warenne, a daughter of the powerful Anglo-Norman lord William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey and Elizabeth of Vermandois, Countess of Leicester, herself a granddaughter of Henry I of France. William was around 10 years old when his father died in 1152, making his elder brother Malcolm the heir apparent to their grandfather. From his father, William inherited the Earldom of Northumbria. David I died the next year, and William became heir presumptive to the new king, Malco ...
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King Of Mann And The Isles
The Kingdom of the Isles, also known as Sodor, was a Norse–Gaelic kingdom comprising the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries. The islands were known in Old Norse as the , or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the or Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland. In Scottish Gaelic, the kingdom is known as . The territory is sometimes called the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, although only some of the later rulers claimed that title. The historical record is incomplete, and the kingdom was not a continuous entity throughout the entire period. At times the rulers were independent of external control, although for much of the period they had overlords in Norway, Ireland, England, Scotland or Orkney. At times there also appear to have been competing claims for all or parts of the territory. The islands have a total land area of over and extend for more than from north to south. Viking influence in the area began in the late 8th ce ...
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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 '' Røgnvaldr'', ''Rǫgnvaldr'', ''Rögnvaldr''. This Old Norse name is composed of two elements: ''regin'', meaning "(Germanic) Gods"; and ''valdr'', meaning "powerful". It has also been suggested that ''Ragnall'' could also represent the Old Norse ''Ragnarr'' as well. ''Ragnall'' can be Anglicised as '' Ranald'' and ''Ronald'', and Latinised as '' Reginald'', ''Reginaldus''. The modern spelling is '' Raghnall'' in Scottish Gaelic and either ''Raghnall'' or ''Raonull'' in Irish. Anglicised forms of ''Raghnall'' include: '' Ranald'', ''Rannal'', and ''Ronald''. The final ''-ll'' sound of the Gaelic names are de-vocalized, and to non-Gaelic-speakers this suggests ''-d'' sound. In this way the name is similar to the various forms of the Gaelic ''Domh ...
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