Somerled

Somerled (Old norrois Scottish Sumarliði , Somhairle ) in [[1113] with Morvern (Scotland) - 1164 with Renfrew (Scotland)], was a political leader and soldier of the islands of Scotland, at the 12th century. He known under the name of is laughed Innse Gall (" King of the Hébrides "). His/her father was Gillebride Mac Gille Adomnan, wire of Gilladomnan, descendant of a noble Gaelic family, while his/her mother was norroise.

The first evocations of Somerled in the historical chronicles go up with 1140. It is described there as regulus (“King”) of Kintyre (Cinn Tìre) at the time of its marriage with Raghnailt, girl of Amhlaibh (or Olaf), king of the island of Man.

In 1153 died two kings: David I of Scotland and Amhlaibh de Man. This unstable situation supported the ambitions of Somerled which attacked at the same time the Scotland and the island of Man, the latter being then dominated by his/her brother-in-law, Goraidh mac Amhlaibh. A request was then formulated in Somerled Dougal, the son of Somerled and Ragnhailt - to encourage it to become king of the Islands. In 1156 Goraidh was overcome by eighty vessels of the fleet of Somerled and the two rivals shared the islands. Goraidh preserved the islands at the north of the Ardnamurchan and Somerled seized the remainder. Nevertheless, two years later, Somerled turned over on the island of Man with fifty-three men-of-war and overcame Goraidh, forcing it to flee for the Norway. The kingdom of Somerled extended then from the island of Man to the Butt off Lewis. The islands of the south had been lost, but the Hébrides of north belonged to the kingdom of Man.

The Viking S and the Scot trained only one people then, under the direction of one only lord, sharing the same lifestyle. These people are designated under the term of Celto-norrois ( Gall-gaidheal , “Gaëls from abroad”). This situation lasted a few years and of new enemies appeared. The Stuart made incursions on the west coast and Somerled was constrained to gather a heavy army to push back them. This attack gave the opportunity to him to penetrate on the grounds of Stuart, until Renfrew, where a famous battle (1164) was played. During this one, Somerled lost the life. Its army withdrew area.

After the death of Somerled, several powerful lords appeared inside his kingdom. The seigniory was disputed by two families: that of Somerled and its descendants and that of the descendants of Goraidh mac Amhlaibh.

Descendants of Somerled

A study, led in 2005 by Bryan Sykes, professor of Génétique to the Université of Oxford, concluded that Somerled had 500.000 descendants in life today, which makes of him the second most common ancestor after Genghis Khan.

Random links: