Who were the Lords of the Isles? by Regan Walker

 

They were the great sea lords, the legendary rulers of the waves, commanding the seas of the Hebrides and the Western Highlands in their swift galleys for four hundred years. Their roots were in ancient Ireland with its high kings, in the Isles where the Norse settled, and in ancient Dalriada, the Kingdom of the Gaels. They ruled what was essentially a realm separate from the rest of Scotland.
 
The first Lord of the Isles was Somerled (then called the King of the Isles), the Norse-Gael who sent the Norse pirates fleeing from the Isles in the 12th century. Upon his death, Somerled’s kingdom was divided between three sons—each of whom would form his own clan. The most prominent of them was Clan Donald, named after Somerled’s grandson. The Macdonalds of Clan Donald, established a dynasty that would shape the region for centuries. They fought with and against Scotland’s kings, and were known for their courage, honor and constancy.

 

From their seat on Loch Finlaggan, an island within an island, on the Isle of Islay, each Lord of the Isles was inaugurated in a solemn ceremony that dates to the 12th century. It was at Finlaggan that the Council of the Isles met to make decisions and dispenses justice, ruling over a vast kingdom of one hundred Isles as well as land on the mainland that eventually included the earldom of Ross.

 

They ruled over a vast kingdom of isles from the Outer Hebrides of Lewis, Harris and Barra in the north to Islay in the south, as well as Scottish mainland of Kintyre, Lochaber and eventually the earldom of Ross.

 

While nominally vassals of the Scottish kings, the Lords of the Isles operated semi-autonomously, a “realm within a realm” as noted by David Moore author of The Other British Isles. The Lords forged alliances with Ireland and England to counterbalance royal Scottish authority. This independence made them both indispensable allies and persistent threats to the ambitions of the Scottish monarchy.

 

The Chiefs of Clan Donald, the Lords of the Isles, were men of faith, patrons of the Church and protectors of monasteries, helping sustain the religious and cultural life of the Gaelic world. They were well-educated and lovers of music and poetry.

 

From the 12th to the 15th century, the Lords were buried in St. Oran’s Chapel on Iona, a structure that still stands today. The Isle was also the burial place of many of Clan Donald’s chiefs as well as Scottish, Irish, and Norse kings.

 

They supported and endowed many churches in the Isles, including the Iona Abbey and its church (pictured to the left) that became the Cathedral of the Isles.

Their society was based on clans whose chiefs looked to the Chief of Clan Donald, the Lord of the Isles, as their leader. The clans were his vassals, as you might think of them, but in the lordship, they were more like family. 

 

The Lords of the Isles skillfully used marriage alliances to consolidate their power and foster loyalty among their vassal clans. Marriages were not only unions of individuals, and occasionally love matches, but also strategic partnerships that bound families and clans together. 

 

Alliances with influential families in Ireland and Scotland strengthened their diplomatic ties and secured their borders. Within the lordship, intermarriage among clans like the Macleods, Macleans, and Camerons reinforced their allegiance to the Lords of the Isles. These familial bonds ensured that the clans operated as an extended kinship network, with loyalty based not merely on feudal obligations but on blood ties and shared heritage. This system of interconnected families created a resilient social fabric that allowed the Lords to command loyalty even in times of external threats or internal strife.

Clan Donald still exists today in the descendants of those earlier clans that once formed the lordship. My historical fiction series, The Clan Donald Saga, tells the tales of their chiefs, who were men of great deeds, and the women they loved. Their stories are worth remembering. Through them, I hope to inspire my fellow Clan Donald members and my readers who love all things Scottish.

 

 See the series on my Website and on Amazon, available for Kindle, in Paperback and on Audible. And check out the Pinterest storyboard for the Saga...it’s my research in pictures!