Attestations of uncertain date

Unlike some of his Clann Somhairle kinsmen, there is little known of Aonghus Mór's career.^[33] Details of his father's life are even more obscure. One source that may cast light upon the latter—and potentially concern Aonghus Mór himself—is the thirteenth- to fourteenth-century Chronicle of Mann. According to this source, an aged chieftain named "Dofnaldus" was held in high esteem by Haraldr Óláfsson, King of Mann and the Isles, but after the latter's unexpected death, and the subsequent assassination of his brother Rǫgnvaldr Óláfsson, the kingship was seized by their rival kinsman Haraldr Guðrøðarson (reigned 1249–1250), who in turn had Dofnaldus and his infant son imprisoned. The episode concerning Dofnaldus concludes with him and his son successfully escaping their captors through divine intervention, and the compiler of the chronicle stating that the recorded events were provided in person by the chieftain in question.^[62] There is reason to suspect that Dofnaldus and his infant son are identical to Domhnall and possibly Aonghus Mór himself. Haraldr Óláfsson certainly associated himself with the Hebrides throughout his reign, a fact which could in turn indicate that the chieftains whom he had held in highest esteem were indeed Hebrideans.^[63]

The seal of Haraldr Óláfsson, King of Mann and the Isles.^[64] The device depicts a sailing vessel on one side similar to that of Aonghus Mór.^[65] To the rulers of the Isles, such vessels were symbols of power and authority.^[66]

There are several charters that may have bearing upon Aonghus Mór's early career. At some point he issued several undated charters to the monastery of Paisley. One of these was a payment and promise of protection to the monks of this religious house, not unlike an earlier grant by his paternal grandfather, Raghnall mac Somhairle.^[67] Aonghus Mór's other charter concerned his grant of the church of St Ciarán in Kintyre to the monastery.^{[68][note 8]} This particular charter refers to both a king and prince named Alexander. Although these two can be understood to refer to Alexander II and his son and successor, Alexander III—an identification that would date the endowment to 1241×1249—another possibility is that the names instead refer to the latter and his like-named son, Alexander. If this latter identification is indeed correct, the charter would instead date to 1264×1284.^[63] The grant itself stresses that the transaction was made "for the welfare of my lord Alexander, illustrious king of Scots" ("pro salute domini mei Alexandri illustris regis Scotie"), a declaration that may be evidence that Aonghus Mór was attempting to align himself with the Scottish Crown.^[74]

Involvement in Irish affairs

The name of Brian Ó Néill as it appears on folio 68r of Oxford Bodleian Library Rawlinson B 489.^[75]

The first certain record of Aonghus Mór in contemporary sources dates to February 1256, when the English Crown commanded that he, and other unnamed men from Scotland, were not to be received in Ireland.^[76] In the mid thirteenth century, leading members of Clann Somhairle were clearly involved in Irish affairs. In 1247, a certain Mac Somhairle was slain whilst resisting an English invasion of Tír Chonaill.^[77] Dubhghall raided western Ireland and slew the English Sheriff of Connacht in 1258.^[78] The year after that, a daughter of Dubhghall married Aodh na nGall Ó Conchobhair, with the latter receiving the bride's tocher of one hundred and sixty gallowglass warriors commanded by Dubhghall's brother, Ailéan.^[79] The year before this, Aodh na nGall had been one of several leading Irishmen who relinquished their claims to the high-kingship of Ireland in favour of Brian Ó Néill, King of Tír Eoghain,^[80] a man committed to combating the Anglo-Irish in Ulster.^[81] Unfortunately for this group of Irish confederates, their combined forces were utterly crushed by the Anglo-Irish at Downpatrick in 1260, with Brian amongst the slain.^[82]

A rook gaming piece of the Lewis chessmen.^[83] The Scandinavian connections of leading members of the Isles may have been reflected in their military armament, and could have resembled that depicted upon such gaming pieces.^[84]

Whilst the Uí Conchobhair clearly enlisted Hebridean military assistance from Clann Ruaidhrí—with members of the kindred potentially present at the catastrophe at Downpatrick^[85]—it is apparent that the Cineál Chonaill also enjoyed connections with Clann Domhnaill,^[86] as a daughter of Aonghus Mór is known to have married the King of Tír Chonaill, Domhnall Óg.^[46] A product of this union was Toirdhealbhach Ó Domhnaill, a man who is recorded to have seized the kingship of Tír Chonaill from his reigning paternal half-brother, Aodh, by way of overseas military assistance from Clann Domhnaill in 1290.^{[87][note 9]} If Aonghus Mór had been involved with Brian and his insurrection, such a relationship could account for Aonghus Mór being singled out by the English ordinance of 1256. The fact that this directive stated that the Scottish king would name other figures to be denied access to Ireland could indicate that these men were regarded as threats by the Scottish Crown. Such could have been the case if alliances between Irishmen and Islesmen were undertaken in the context of lending mutual assistance to each other.^[90]

It is conceivable that the overseas support lent to the Irish insurrection was ventured in the context of not only countering the English Crown in Ireland, but of also opposing the westward extension of Scottish royal authority.^[91] In fact, another ordinance dating to just weeks before Brian's defeat—and almost certainly related to the uprising itself—directed the Anglo-Irish justiciar to arrest any Scottish subjects who were actively seeking confederacies with the Irish that might be to the king's detriment.^{[92][note 10]} In the 1230s and 1240s, the Scottish Crown progressively attempted to expand its lordship into Argyll and the Isles. One example of this expansion that appears to have specifically concerned Aonghus Mór was the king's grant of the rights of the church of Killean to the Diocese of Argyll. Earlier in the century, this church had been under the patronage of Aonghus Mór's uncle, Ruaidhrí, and it is likely that Aonghus Mór himself considered its patronage as his own heritable prerogative.^[96]

Clann Somhairle and the kingship of the Isles

In 1248, the year after the fall of Mac Somhairle, two leading members of Clann Somhairle travelled to Norway seeking the kingship of the northern Suðreyjar from Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway. The two kinsmen were Eóghan Mac Dubhghaill and Dubhghall mac Ruaidhrí,^[100] chiefs of Clann Dubhghaill and Clann Ruaidhrí respectively.^[101] Although the entirety of the Suðreyjar roughly encompassed the Hebrides and Mann,^[102] the precise jurisdiction which Dubhghall and Eóghan competed for is uncertain. For instance, the northern Hebridean islands of Lewis and Harris and Skye appear to have been held by the Crovan dynasty, then represented by the reigning Haraldr Óláfsson.^[103] It is conceivable that Eóghan and Dubhghall sought kingship over the same jurisdiction that Hákon had awarded to Óspakr-Hákon about a decade before—a region which could have included some or all of the islands possessed by Clann Somhairle.^[104] In fact, it is possible that the events of 1247 and 1248 were related,^[105] and that Dubhghall and Eóghan sought to succeed Mac Somhairle's position in the Isles.^[106]

The arms of Alexander II depicted on folio 146v of British Library Royal 14 C VII (Historia Anglorum).^[107] The inverted shield represents the king's death in 1249.^[108]

It was only after the unexpected death of Haraldr Óláfsson in 1248 that Hákon sent Eóghan west-over-sea to temporarily take up the kingship of the Isles on his behalf.^[109] Eóghan, however, was not only a Norwegian dependant in the Isles, but an eminent Scottish magnate on the mainland.^[110] Although the Scottish Crown seems to have attempted to purchase the Isles earlier that decade,^[111] Eóghan's acceptance of Hákon's commission partly led Alexander II to unleash an invasion of Argyll in the summer of 1249, directed at the very heart of the Clann Dubhghaill lordship.^[112] The unfolding crisis only ended with the Scottish king's sudden death in July 1249.^[113] The first certain attestation of Aonghus Mór dates to the year after Eóghan finally himself with the Scottish Crown.^[114]

Scottish aggression and Norwegian subjection

A king gaming piece of the Lewis chessmen.^[115] Comprising some four sets,^[116] the pieces are thought to have been crafted in Norway in the twelfth- and thirteenth centuries.^[117] They were uncovered in Lewis in the early nineteenth century.^{[118][note 12]}

About a decade after Alexander II's death, his son and royal successor, Alexander III, came of age and took steps to continue his father's westward expansion.^[120] In 1261, the Scottish Crown sent envoys to Norway offering to purchase the Isles from Hákon. Once the Norwegians rejected the offer, the Scots are recorded to have lashed out against the Islesmen in a particularly savage attack upon the inhabitants of Skye.^[121] In 1262, the year after yet another failed attempt by the Scottish Crown to purchase the Hebrides, the thirteenth-century Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar reports that the Scots lashed out against the Islesmen in a particularly savage assault upon the inhabitants of Skye.^[122] Thus provoked, Hákon assembled an enormous fleet—described by the Icelandic annals as the largest force to have ever set sail from Norway^[123]—to reassert Norwegian sovereignty along the north and western coast of Scotland.^{[124][note 13]} In July 1263, this armada disembarked from Norway, and by mid August, Hákon reaffirmed his overlordship in Shetland and Orkney, forced the submission of Caithness, and arrived in the Hebrides.^[126]

According to Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, Hákon was met in the region by Magnús Óláfsson, King of Mann and the Isles and Dubhghall himself.^[127] As the fleet made its way southwards, Hákon sent a detachment of vessels under the command of Dubhghall and Magnús Óláfsson to harry Kintyre whilst Hákon himself made landfall on Gigha.^[128] It is evident that Magnús Óláfsson^[129] and Dubhghall^[130] were tasked with bringing Aonghus Mór and Murchadh Mac Suibhne onto the king's side.^[129] The saga, and pieces of poetry embedded within it, glorifies the subsequent ravaging of Kintyre, suggesting that it was this rapaciousness that finally compelled Aonghus Mór and Murchadh to come into the king's peace. Certainly the saga reveals that these west-coast magnates duly submitted to Hákon, swearing oaths of allegiance, surrendering hostages into his keeping, and delivering the island of Islay into his control. The king is further said to have levied a tax of one thousand head of cattle upon the Kintyre headland, and a particular fortress^[131]—most likely Dunaverty Castle^[132]—is stated to have been surrendered to Hákon by an unidentified knight.^[131]

Locations relating to the expedition into the Lennox.

In early September, Hákon's fleet of Norwegians and Islesmen entered the Firth of Clyde.^[133] After negotiations between the Scottish and Norwegian administrations broke down, the saga identifies Magnús Óláfsson, Dubhghall, (the latter's brother) Ailéan, Aonghus Mór, and Murchadh, as the commanders of a detachment of Islesmen and Norwegians who entered Loch Long, portaged across land into Loch Lomond, and ravaged the surrounding region of the Lennox.^{[134][note 14]} According various versions of the saga, this contingent consisted of either forty or sixty ships—a considerable portion of Hákon's fleet.^[139] There is reason to suspect that this strike is evidence that the Norwegians and Islesmen were directing their fury at the territories of the powerful Stewart kindred.^[140] Furthermore, by penetrating into the Earldom of Lennox, and possibly striking further east inland, Hákon's adherents would have been encroaching into the Earldom of Menteith.^{[141][note 15]}

Meanwhile, at the beginning of October, Hákon's main force clashed with the Scots at Largs, and withdrew into the Hebrides.^[143] Once regrouped with the detachment of Islesmen, the saga records that Hákon rewarded his overseas supporters. Since Eóghan had refused to aid the Norwegians cause, Dubhghall and Ailéan were awarded his forfeited island territories. A certain Ruðri is stated to have received Bute, whilst Murchadh got Arran. Aonghus Mór—who is not identified as one of the beneficiaries—already enjoyed possession of Islay.^{[144][note 16]}

Although the saga declares that the Norwegian campaign was an overwhelming triumph, it seems to have been an utter failure instead.^[148] Not only did Hákon fail to break Scottish power, but Alexander III seized the initiative the following year, and oversaw a series of invasions into the Isles and northern Scotland. Recognising this dramatic shift in royal authority, Magnús Óláfsson submitted to Alexander III within the year,^[149] and in so doing, symbolised the complete collapse of Norwegian sovereignty in the Isles.^[150]

The Scots' retaliatory campaign against the Islesmen was evidently commanded by Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan, Uilleam, Earl of Mar, and Alan Hostarius.^[151] According to the fourteenth-century Gesta Annalia II,^[152] and the fifteenth-century Scotichronicon, it was these magnates who oversaw the Scots' ravaging of the islands.^[153] This source is corroborated by the thirteenth-century Magnúss saga lagabœtis, which states that Scottish forces invaded the Isles in the summer after Hákon's campaign, and forced the submission of Aonghus Mór and other adherents to the Norwegian cause.^[154] Evidence from the Scottish exchequer, concerning Uilleam's reception of monetary aid for commanding two hundred serjeants on behalf of the king in the Hebrides, also validates these accounts.^[155] Further evidence of a concerted campaign against Hákon's supporters is the record of Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith assembling a royal fleet at Ayr,^[156] and of Uilleam taking twenty cattle from Kintyre.^[157]

The names of Murchadh Mac Suibhne and Aonghus Mór as they appear on folio 122r of AM 45 fol (Codex Frisianus): "Myrgaðr ok Engus".^[158]

Despite these retributory actions, the Scottish Crown was only partially successful in turning Clann Somhairle onside as Dubhghall stubbornly refused the recognise Scottish overlordship.^[159] Nevertheless, in 1266, almost three years after Hákon's abortive campaign, terms of peace were finally agreed upon between the Scottish and Norwegian administrations. Specifically, with the conclusion of the Treaty of Perth in July, Hákon's son and successor, Magnús Hákonarson, King of Norway, formally resigned all rights to Mann and the islands on the western coast of Scotland. In so doing, the territorial dispute over Scotland's western maritime region was finally settled.^[160]

Incorporation within Alexander III's realm

In the wake of the Norwegian withdrawal, and the violent extension of Scottish royal authority into the Isles, Aonghus Mór had no choice but to submit to the Scots. He was forced to hand over his son—seemingly Alasdair Óg, his eldest son and heir—who was consequently held at Ayr as a hostage of the Scottish Crown for Aonghus Mór's good behaviour.^[162] The fact that his son was accompanied by a nurse suggests that he was merely a young child at the time.^[163] In his submission, Aonghus Mór formally acknowledged that he would suffer disinheritance if his loyalty to the Scottish Crown was called into question again, whilst the other barons of Argyll swore to rise against him in the name of the king if such an eventuality came to pass.^[164]

An imaginative sixteenth-century illustration of Alexander III, King of Scotland, attending the parliament of his English counterpart, as depicted by the Wriothesley Garter Book.^[165]

Western magnates such as those of Clann Somhairle were rarely present at the Scottish royal court, although on certain occasions they participated in important affairs of state.^[166] For instance, in 1284, Aonghus Mór attended a government council at Scone which acknowledged Alexander III's granddaughter, Margaret, as the king's rightful heir.^[167] The inclusion of Aonghus Mór and three of his Clann Somhairle kinsmen—Alasdair Mac Dubhghaill and Ailéan—further illustrates the kindred's incorporation within the Scottish realm.^{[168][note 17]}

Factionalism after Alexander III's death

Other evidence of the Clann Somhairle's incorporation within Scotland concerns the formation of alliances with various factions within the realm.^[170] Whilst Clann Dubhghall forged ties with the dominant Comyn kindred, Clann Domhnaill evidently aligned itself to the Bruce kindred.^[171] This latter partnership appears to owe itself to the unsettled period immediately after Alexander III's unexpected demise in March 1286. Although the leading magnates of the realm had previously recognised Margaret as his legitimate heir, there were two major factions that possessed competing claims to the kingship. At the beginning of April, Robert Bruce V, Lord of Annandale announced his claim to the throne, whilst John Balliol—a magnate backed by the Comyns—seems to have declared a claim of his own before the end of the month.^[172]

The seal of Robert Bruce VI.^[173] The Turnberry Band was concluded at this man's principal residence, Turnberry Castle.^[174]

It is possible that the Bruce faction regarded its claim to be weaker to that of Comyn-Balliol faction.^[175] In September, members of the faction concluded a pact, known as the Turnberry Band, in which certain Scottish and Anglo-Irish magnates—including Aonghus Mór and his son Alasdair Óg—pledged to support one another.^[176] Although the precise purpose of the pact is uncertain, it is possible that it was somehow connected to the Bruce faction's claim to the throne.^[177] In accordance to the pact, the participating Scottish magnates swore to support two prominent Anglo-Irish magnates: Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster and Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond.^[176] Thomas' father-in-law died the same year leaving him with claims in Connacht and Ulster.^[178] This could indicate that one of the purposes of the bond was to further the ambitions of Richard and Thomas in north-west Ireland, and enable the latter to secure possession of his northern inheritance from the clutches of his chief competitor, John fitz Thomas, and the numerous native kindreds of the region.^[179] One aspect of the pact, therefore, could have concerned the curtailment of overseas connections between Clann Domhnaill and Irish kindreds opposed to the earl, families such as the Uí Domhnaill and the Uí Néill.^[180] In fact, the bond coincided with an immense show of force by Richard in Connacht and Ulster. This campaign saw the earl's exaction of hostages from Cineál Chonaill and Cineál Eoghain, the deposition of (Brian's son) Domhnall Ó Néill from the kingship of Tír Chonaill, and the subsequent replacement of the latter with a more palatable candidate.^[181] The bond's Anglo-Irish cosignatories may have sought maritime support from Clann Domhnaill,^[182] and it is possible that Aonghus Mór contributed to the earl's operation.^[183]

The seal of Walter Stewart,^[184] one of the signatories of the band.

The Bruces and Stewarts also had a stake in north-west Ireland, with the latter kindred eventually possessing claims to territories that had formerly been held by predecessors of John Balliol.^{[185][note 18]} The participation of the Stewart/Menteith kindred in the band could have also concerned its part in the hostile annexation of the Clann Suibhne lordship in Argyll. Forced from its Scottish homeland, Clann Suibhne evidently found a safe haven in Tír Chonaill on account of an alliance forged with Domhnall Óg.^[188] Not only was the latter's son and successor, Aodh, the product of a union with a member of Clann Suibhne,^[88] but Domhnall Óg himself had been fostered by this family.^[189] The fact that Murchadh is known to have died imprisoned by Richard's father could in turn indicate that the earls of Ulster were opposed to Clann Suibhne's resettlement in the region.^{[190][note 19]} Clann Domhnaill's part in Toirdhealbhach's defeat of Aodh in 1290 meant that the forces of Clann Domhnaill were engaged supporting the cause of Aonghus Mór's maternal grandson against a maternal descendant of Clann Suibhne. Whether this clash was a direct result of the bond is uncertain, although it seems likely that Aonghus Mór's part in the pact concerned the value of his family's military might.^{[193][note 20]}

Kin-strife under the regime of John Balliol

A thirteenth-century illumination of Edward I, King of England on folio 6v of British Library Cotton Vitellius A XIII.^[196]

By the death of Alexander III, the Clann Domhnaill holdings seem to have included Kintyre, Islay, southern Jura, and seemingly Colonsay and Oronsay. Whilst Aonghus Mór is regularly described with a patronymic referring to his father, Aonghus Mór's sons tend to be accorded the territorial designation "of Islay".^[197] In 1292, the English Crown granted Aonghus Mór and Alasdair Óg safe conduct to travel and trade between Scotland and Ireland.^[198] 1292 is also the year in which a violent feud between Clann Domhnaill and Clann Dubhghaill is first attested. The infighting appears to have stemmed from Alasdair Óg's marriage to an apparent member of Clann Dubhghaill, and seems to have concerned this woman's territorial claims.^[199] Although Aonghus Mór, Alasdair Óg, and Alasdair Mac Dubhghaill, swore to Edward I, King of England that they would postpone the feud, and pledged to uphold the peace in the "isles and outlying territories", the bitter internecine struggle continued throughout the 1290s.^[200]

The seal of John, King of Scotland,^[201] a monarch closely connected with Aonghus Mór's neighbouring rival, Alasdair Mac Dubhghaill.

In February 1293, at the first parliament of John, King of Scotland, three new sheriffdoms were erected in the western reaches of the realm.^[202] In the north-west, William II, Earl of Ross was made Sheriff of Skye, with a jurisdiction that appears to correspond to the territories formerly held by the Crovan dynasty before 1266. In the central-west, Alasdair Mac Dubhghaill was made Sheriff of Lorn, with a jurisdiction over much of Argyll. In the south-west, James Stewart, Steward of Scotland was made Sheriff of Kintyre.^[203] The creation of these divisions dramatically evidences the steady consolidation of royal authority in the west in since 1266.^[204] Remarkably, representatives of Clann Domhnaill failed to attend the king's inaugural parliament.^{[205][note 21]} Days later, Alasdair Mac Dubhghaill—the Scottish Crown's leading representative in the west—was commanded to bring Aonghus Mór and two other regional landholders to do homage before the king by Easter.^{[209][note 22]} Although it is unknown if Aonghus Mór obeyed the summons, the pledge by the barons of Argyll—to rise up against him in the event of his infidelity—may date to about this time. Whatever the case, it is apparent that by the 1290s the Scottish Crown demanded and expected unquestioned loyalty from Clann Somhairle.^[215]

Aonghus Mór seems to have died in about 1293.^[216] According to Hebridean tradition preserved by the eighteenth-century Book of Clanranald and the Sleat History, he died on Islay, with the latter source locating his burial on Iona.^[217] Alasdair Óg's undated renewal of Aonghus Mór's charter concerning the church of St Ciarán seems to be evidence that the later had been succeeded by the date of its issue.^[218] Certainly, Alasdair Óg appears to have succeeded Aonghus Mór by the mid 1290s.^[219]

Primary sources

Secondary sources