Eóghan MacDubhghaill ( Anglicized: ''Ewan MacDougall'', ''Ewan of Argyll'' or ''Ewan of Lorne'') was a 13th-century Scottish nobleman and warrior who was styled "King of the Isles", "Lord of Argyll". He was the son of

Donnchadh Donnchadh () is a masculine given name common to the Irish and Scottish Gaelic languages. It is composed of the elements ''donn'', meaning "brown" or "dark" from Donn a Gaelic God; and ''chadh'', meaning "chief" or "noble". The name is also writt ...

, son of Dubhghall, son of Somhairle mac Gille Brighde. According to

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n sources, after the death of Haraldr Óláfsson, King of Mann and the Isles in 1248, King Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway appointed Eóghan as

King of 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 Is ...

, though within a year that title went to Ewan's paternal second cousin,

Dubhghall mac Ruaidhrí Dubhghall mac Ruaidhrí (died 1268) was a leading figure in the thirteenth-century Kingdom of the Isles, on the West Coast of Scotland. He was a son of Ruaidhrí mac Raghnaill, and thus a member of Clann Ruaidhrí. Dubhgall was the last Norse–G ...

.Woolf, "Dead Man", p. 84. In response to Eóghan's assumption of this title perhaps, in 1249 King Alexander II, King of Scotland launched an expedition against Eóghan after the latter refused to renounce his homage to Hákon. Alexander II fell ill and died on this expedition, but Eóghan seems to have been temporarily deprived of his Argyll possessions. In 1250, Eóghan tried to obtain rulership of the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

, but was expelled by the inhabitants. He then travelled to Norway, hoping for recognition as King of the Isles. This attempt was unsuccessful. By 1255, King Henry III, King of England had secured a deal for Eóghan whereby he regained Lorne and came into full Scottish allegiance. When Hákon campaigned against the Scots in 1263, Eóghan refused the Norwegian king service and remained a Scottish loyalist. After Hákon's defeat at the

Battle of Largs The Battle of Largs (2 October 1263) was a battle between the kingdoms of Kingdom of Norway (872–1397), Norway and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde near Largs, Scotland. The conflict formed part of the Scottish–Norwegian ...

, Eóghan regained formal recognition as ruler of the Isles. His last recorded appearance is in 1268. Eóghan's son

Alasdair Alasdair () is a Scottish Gaelic given name. The name is a Gaelic form of ''Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

followed him as

Lord of Argyll 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 ...

. His daughter,

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

(died 1302), married four times: 1st Magnús Óláfsson, King of Mann and the Isles, 2nd

Maol Íosa II, Earl of Strathearn Máel Ísu or Malise II (Modern Gaelic: ''Maol Íosa''; died 1271) is the fifth known mormaer, or earl, of the Scotland, Scottish region of Strathearn. He was the son of Robert, Earl of Strathearn, Robert, 4th Earl of Strathearn. Biography Malise ...

, 3rd Hugh,

Lord of Abernethy The Lord of Abernethy was from the 12th century to the 14th century the hereditary holder of the church and lands of the Scottish monastery at Abernethy. It gradually evolved alongside the title Abbot of Abernethy, displacing that term in extan ...

, 4th Sir William FitzWarin.

Notes

References

* * Sellar, W. D. H.,
MacDougall, Ewen, lord of Argyll (d. in or after 1268)
, in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 5 Dec 2006 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eoghan Of Argyll Year of birth unknown 1268 deaths Nobility from Argyll and Bute 13th-century rulers of the Kingdom of the Isles Clan MacDougall 13th-century Scottish nobility