Somerled - Emergence

Emergence

Somerled's first appearance in contemporary sources occurs in November 1153, when the Chronicle of Holyrood records that he rose in rebellion with his maternal-nephews against the recently inaugurated Malcolm IV, King of Scotland (d. 1165). In May of that year, the twelve-year-old Malcolm IV had hastily succeeded his grandfather, David I, King of Scotland (d. 1153), who had died only days beforehand. The father of Somerled's aforementioned nephews was Malcolm (fl. 1134), illegitimate son of Alexander I, King of Scotland (d. 1124). As a son of David's predecessor and elder brother, this Malcolm represented the senior line of the Scottish royal family. Malcolm and David bitterly struggled for control of the Scottish kingdom before Malcolm was finally apprehended and imprisoned in 1134. The chronology of Malcolm's capture, and the rising of his sons in league with Somerled, suggests that an alliance between Malcolm and Somerled's family must date prior to his capture, possibly in about the 1120s. At about this time, the reigning David is known to have temporarily based himself at Irvine in Cunningham, a point from where Scottish forces may have conducted seaborne military operations against Malcolm's western allies. Ailred of Rievaulx's Relatio de Standardo reveals that David received English military assistance against Malcolm. This source specifies that a force against Malcolm was mustered at Carlisle, and notes successful naval campaigns conducted against David's enemies, which suggests that Malcolm's support was indeed centred in Scotland's western coastal periphery. By the mid 1130s, David had not only succeeded in capturing Malcolm, but also appears to have gained recognition of his overlordship of Argyll.

Evidence that Somerled or his father acknowledged David's dominance may exist in the capture of Malcolm itself, as Ailred's Relatio de Standardo indicates that treachery attributed to Malcolm's downfall. Furthermore, this chronicle reveals that men from the Isles and Lorne or Argyll formed part of the Scottish army at the Battle of the Standard, when David was defeated by the English, near Northallerton in 1138. In fact, this could also indicate that Somerled himself campaigned in David's service; on the other hand, it could be evidence that Somerled merely provided mercenary forces for the Scots. There may be further evidence that David regarded himself overlord of Argyll. One charter, dating to 1141×1147, records that David granted Holyrood Abbey half the teind of his portion of cain from Kintyre and Argyll. Another charter, dating to 1145×1153, records that he granted Urquhart Priory the teind of his portion of cain from Argyll, and his pleas and revenues from there. A later charter, dating to 1150×1152, records that David granted the other half the teind of his cain from Argyll and Kintyre to Dunfermline Abbey. This latter charter includes the caveat "in whatever year I should receive it", which may suggest that whatever control David had exerted in Argyll at the time of the first charter seems to have eroded by the time of the latter. Thus, Somerled's rise to power may have taken place sometime between 1141 and 1152. Although David may well have regarded Argyll as a Scottish tributary, the ensuing career of Somerled clearly reveals that the latter regarded himself a fully independent ruler.

One of the ramifications of David's westward consolidation was a series of matrimonial alliances conducted by the rulers of Argyll, Galloway, and the Isles. By about 1140, not only had Somerled married Ragnhild, illegitimate daughter of Olaf Godredsson, King of the Isles (d. 1153), but Olaf was himself wed to a daughter of Fergus, Lord of Galloway (d. 1161). Olaf is known to have have had amiable relations with Stephen of Blois in the 1120s, and may well have supported the latter as King of England after 1135. The matrimonial binding of Olaf with dynasties dependent upon David roughly coincided with the latter's endeavour to establish control of Cumbria after 1138, and appears to have formed part of a strategy to isolate Olaf from an English alliance, and project Scottish authority into the Irish Sea. Although support from the rulers of Galloway and Scotland may well have strengthened Olaf's position in the Isles, and the Chronicle of Mann portrays Olaf's reign as one of peacefulness, other sources vaguely refer to mainland depredations wrought by Wimund, Bishop of the Isles. The bloodshed attributed to this bishop, a shadowy figure who appears to have violently sought the inheritance of an Earl of Moray in the late 1140s, suggests that Olaf may have struggled to maintain control of his vast kingdom. The fact that Olaf sent his son, Godred, to Norway in 1152, to render homage to Inge Haraldsson, King of Norway, could suggest that there was anxiety over the succession of the Kingdom of the Isles. Such fears appear to have been well founded, as Olaf was assassinated in the following year by the sons of his exiled brother. Although Godred was able to quickly return, avenge the murder of his father, and succeed to the kingship, the events of 1153 appear to have destabilised the entire region. The after-effects saw Godred, Fergus, and likely Somerled himself, involving themselves in conflicts in Ireland.