Ruaidhrí Mac Ruaidhrí

Following the apparent death of his brother, Lachlann, Ruaidhrí appears to have taken control of the kindred, and firmly aligned the family with Robert I, King of Scotland.

[35] The struggle between the two Clann Somhairle namesakes seems to be attested not long after Alasdair Óg's appointment in April 1296, and is documented in two undated letters from the latter to Edward I.

At the end of the letter, the Clann Domhnaill chief implored upon Edward I to instruct the other noblemen of Argyll and Ross to aid him in his struggle against the king's enemies.

The Clann Domhnaill chief further related a specific expedition in which he pursued his opponents to the Comyn stronghold of Inverlochy Castle[39]—the principal fortress in Lochaber[40]—where he was unable to capture—but nevertheless destroyed—two massive galleys which he described as the largest warships in the Western Isles.

[39] Alasdair Óg's dispatches seem to show that Lachlann and Ruaidhrí were focused upon seizing control of Skye and Lewis and Harris from the absentee Earl of Ross.

In specific regard to Clann Ruaidhrí, it is likely that the kindred's campaigning was an extension of the conflict originating from the creation of the shrievalty of Skye, granted to William II in 1293.

[42] As Sheriff of Skye, William II's shrieval jurisdiction evidently encompassed the entirety of the Clann Ruaidhrí estate.

[46] In February 1306, Robert Bruce VII, Earl of Carrick, a claimant to the Scottish throne, killed his chief rival to the kingship, John Comyn of Badenoch.

[49] According to the fourteenth-century Gesta Annalia II, Ruaidhrí's sister, Cairistíona, played an instrumental part in Robert I's survival at this low point in his career, sheltering him along Scotland's western seaboard.

[55] In any case, later the next year, at about the time of Edward I's death in July 1307, Robert I mounted a remarkable return to power by first consolidating control of Carrick.

[56] In contrast to the evidence of assistance lent by Cairistíona to the Scottish king, Lachlann is recorded to have aligned himself closer with the English, as he appears to have personally sworn fealty to Edward I in August 1306, and petitioned for the lands of a supporter of the Bruce cause.

[57] In October, there is evidence indicating that a certain Cristin del Ard delivered messages from the English Crown to William II, Lachlann, Ruaidhrí, and a certain Eóin Mac Neacail.

[62] Whatever the case, William II played a key role in Robert I's misfortunes at about this time, as the earl captured the latter's wife and daughter—Elizabeth and Marjorie—and delivered them into the hands of Edward I.

[63] The correspondence delivered by Cristin could have concerned this particular episode,[64] and may evince an attempt by the English Crown to project pro-English power into the Isles against Robert I and his supporters.

[85] Seemingly in 1310, whilst in the service of the English Crown, Aonghus Óg Mac Domhnaill entreated the king on behalf of several unnamed members of Clann Ruaidhrí—men were then aiding the English-aligned forces of Aonghus Óg and Hugh Bisset—asking the king to grant the Clann Ruaidhrí clansmen feu of their ancestral lands.

[99] In fact, there was little distinction between legitimate and illegitimate offspring in Gaelic Scotland, as society tolerated temporary sexual unions amongst the elite as a means of furthering the continuation of the male line of the clan.

[101] Nevertheless, Ruaidhrí seems to have only gained formal recognition of his rights to the lordship after Christina's resignation of her own claims,[102] by way of a charter confirmed by Robert himself.

[107] Although the charter outlining her resignation is undated, it seems to have been granted early in the reign of Robert I, possibly before the end of the first decade the century.

[108] On one hand, it is possible that the king orchestrated Ruaidhrí's succession to the lordship as a means of securing support from one of the most powerful families on the western coast.

[116] Although every other pitched-battle between the Scots and the Anglo-Irish resulted in a Scottish victory,[117] the utter catastrophe at Faughart cost Edward his life and brought an end to the Bruce regime in Ireland.

[142][note 11] The latter may well have been under age at the time of Ruaidhrí's death, and it is apparent that Cairistíona and her confederates attempted to seize control of the inheritance.

Refer to caption
The arms of the Lord of Argyll depicted in the fourteenth-century Balliol Roll . [ 26 ] [ note 3 ]
Photo of a ruined castle
Now-ruinous Inverlochy Castle was once a stronghold of the Comyn kindred . In 1297, Alasdair Óg Mac Domhnaill pursued his opponents to the castle, where he attempted to capture the largest warships on the western seaboard.
Black and white photo of a mediaeval seal
The seal of Alasdair Óg Mac Domhnaill, [ 41 ] opponent of Ruaidhrí and his brother.
Black and white photo of a mediaeval seal
The seal of Robert I . [ 47 ] After seizing the throne for himself, this embattled king appears to have partly owed his survival to efforts of Ruaidhrí's sister, Cairistíona .
Refer to caption
The arms of the Earl of Ross depicted in Balliol Roll . [ 58 ]
Refer to caption
The arms of the Earl of Buchan depicted in Balliol Roll . [ 66 ]
A fourteenth-century illumination of Edward II on folio 105r of Oxford Bodleian Library Rawlinson C 292. [ 86 ]
Refer to caption
The arms of the Earl of Mar depicted in Balliol roll . [ 97 ]
Refer to caption
The arms of the Earl of Carrick depicted in Balliol roll . [ 109 ]
Map of northern Britain
The extent of the Clann Domhnaill Lordship of the Isles in 1343 (yellow). The Clann Ruaidhrí territories (red) were absorbed within this lordship after the death of Ruaidhrí's son, Raghnall in 1346. [ 114 ]
Photo of a castle
Now-ruinous Castle Tioram may well have been a Clann Ruaidhrí stronghold. [ 138 ] The island the fortress sits upon is first recorded in a charter of Ruaidhrí's half-sister, Cairistíona. [ 139 ]