Somerled (Old Norse Sumarliði, Scottish Gaelic Somhairle) was a military and political leader of the Scottish Isles in the 12th century who was known in Gaelic as ri Innse Gall ("King of the Hebrides"). Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... // Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. ... This article is about the Hebrides islands in Scotland. ...

Somerled first appears in historical chronicles in the year 1140 as the regulus, or King, of Kintyre (Cinn Tìre) when he marries Raghnailt the daughter of Amhlaibh (or Olaf), King of the Isle of Man. The year 1153 saw the deaths of two kings: David I of Scotland and Amhlaibh of Man. There was much confusion and discord as a result and Somerled took his chance - making offensive moves against both Scotland and Man under his brother in law Goraidh mac Amhlaibh. Events Henry Jasomirgott was made count palatine of the Rhine. ... For other uses, see Monarch (disambiguation). ... Kintyre shown within Argyll Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland in the south-west of Argyll. ... Olaf I the Isle of Man ... Events January 6 - Henry of Anjou arrives in England. ... King David I (or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim; also known as Saint David I or David I the Saint) (1084 – May 24, 1153), was King of Scotland from 1124 until his death, and the youngest son of Malcolm Canmore and of Saint Margaret (sister of Edgar Ætheling). ... This article is about the country. ... Godfred V, also known as king Goraidh mac Amhlaibh and Guthrod Olavssonn (died November 10, 1187) was King of the Isle of Man and the Isles from 1153 – 1158 and King of Man from 1164 – 1187, much of the kingdom being lost in the strife after him becoming deposed and...

A summoning was sent to Somerled Dougal - Somerled's own son by his wife, the daughter of the Manx King - to move so he might be "King over the Isles". In 1156 Goraidh was defeated in battle against 80 ships of Somerled's fleet and the two enemies partitioned the isles between them. Goraidh kept the islands north of Ardnamurchan with Somerled gaining the rest. However, two years following this Somerled returned to the Isle of Man with 53 warships. He defeated Goraidh again and this time forced him to flee to Norway. Somerled's kingdom now stretched from the Isle of Man to the Butt of Lewis. Events Prince Yuriy Dolgorukiy fortifies Moscow, regarded as the date of the founding of the city Establishment of the Carmelite Order Hogen Rebellion in Japan January 20 - According to legend, freeholder Lalli slays English crusader Bishop Henry with an axe on the ice of the lake Köyliönjärvi... Ardnamurchan is a 50 mile long peninsula in North West Scotland, noted for being very unspoilt and undisturbed. ... The Butt of Lewisis in the area of Ness. ...

Thus both Viking and Scot formed one people under a single lord and came to share a single culture, one way of life - they were to become a powerful and noted race known as the Gall-Gaidheal, literally meaning 'Foreign-Gaels'. It was upon the seas their power was situated under the rule of the kings of the isles yet new enemies arose in the East. The Stewarts made inroads in the west coast and eventually Somerled assembled a sizeable army to repel them. He advanced to the centre of the Stewarts' own territory, to Renfrew, where a great battle was fought in 1164. Much confusion surrounds the manner of the battle, and indeed whether a battle occurred at all, but what is certain is that Somerled was assasinated. Although the how of Somerled's death is also unsure, what is certain is that following the death of their great leader his army was greatly dispirited and retreated from the area. For other uses, see Viking (disambiguation). ... Wiktionary has a definition of: Scot A Scot is a person from Scotland. ... The Norse-Gaels were a people who dominated much of the Irish Sea region and western Scotland for a large part of the Middle Ages, whose aristocracy were mainly of Scandinavian origin, but as a whole exhibited a great deal of Gaelic and Norse cultural syncretism. ... The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST, internally called HT-7U) is a project being undertaken to construct an experimental superconducting tokamak magnetic fusion energy reactor in Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province, in eastern China. ... The Coat of Arms of King James I, the first British monarch of the House of Stuart The House of Stuart or Stewart was a royal house of the Kingdom of Scotland, later also of the Kingdom of England, and finally of the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... Renfrew (Rinn Friù in Scottish Gaelic) is a small town and former royal burgh in the Renfrewshire region of Scotland (see main article on the town of Renfrew, Scotland). ... Events Count Henry I of Champagne marries Marie de Champagne. ...

Following the death of Somerled several powerful lords emerged from within his kingdom. The lordship was contested by two main families; that of Somerled and his descendants and that of the descendants of Goraidh mac Amhlaibh. During the 12th and 13th centuries the Scandinavian world saw much change in methods of rule and administration which ultimately resulted in more strongly centralized, unified kingdoms such as Denmark and Norway. However, this did not happen in the Kingdom of the Isles, which was instead absorbed into the greater Kingdom of Scotland, albeit its place in that state and the loyalty of its inhabitants to the King of Scots would remain peripheral and temperamental for centuries to come. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region centered on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe which includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. ... Motto Latin: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) (Scots: Wha daur meddle wi me) Capital Edinburgh¹ Language(s) Gaelic, Scots Government Monarchy King/Queen  - 843-860 Kenneth I  - 1587–1625 James VI  - 1702-1714 Anne Legislature Parliament of Scotland History  - United 843  - Union of the...

In 2005 a study by Professor of Human Genetics Bryan Sykes of Oxford led to the conclusion that Somerled has possibly 500,000 living descendants - making him the second most common currently-known ancestor after Genghis Khan. [1] [2] [3] A karyotype of a human male, showing 46 chromosomes including XY sex chromosomes. ... Bryan Sykes is Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. ... The University of Oxford (usually abbreviated as Oxon. ... For other uses, see Genghis Khan (disambiguation). ...

Godfred V, also known as king Goraidh mac Amhlaibh and Guthrod Olavssonn (died November 10, 1187) was King of the Isle of Man and the Isles from 1153 – 1158 and King of Man from 1164 – 1187, much of the kingdom being lost in the strife after him becoming deposed and... Godfred I mac Fergus lord of the Hebrides (836-853) Sub-Kings under Norse Dublin Kingdom: Caitill Find Tryggvi (870-880) Asbjorn Skerjablesi (880-899) Gibhleachan (921-937) Mac Ragnall (937-942) Magnus I (972-978) Godfred II (978-989) Sub-Kings under Norse Orkney Rule: Harald I (989-999... King Ragnald of the Isle of Man, referred to in some texts as Reginald, and numeraled sometimes III, was the younger brother of Godfred V, the rightful successor to the throne and illegitimately rose to power, usurping his brothers right in 1164. ...

See also

• Lord of the Isles
• Norse-Gaels
• John MacDonald II
• Scotland in the High Middle Ages

MacDonald, Lord of the Isles For the series of fantasy novels by David Drake, see Lord of the Isles (David Drake). ... The Norse-Gaels were a people who dominated much of the Irish Sea region and western Scotland for a large part of the Middle Ages, whose aristocracy were mainly of Scandinavian origin, but as a whole exhibited a great deal of Gaelic and Norse cultural syncretism. ... John MacDonald (b. ... Dunnottar Castle in the Mearns occupies one of the best defensive locations in Great Britain. ...

References

• MacDonald, R. Andrew The Kingdom of the Isles: Scotland's Western Seaboard c.1100–c.1336 (Tuckwell Press, 1997) ISBN 1-898410-85-2
• MacPhee, Kathleen Somerled:Hammer of the Norse (NWP, 2004) ISBN 1-903238-24-2
• Stiùbhart, Domhnall Uilleam Rìoghachd nan Eilean (Clò Hallaig, 2005) ISBN 0-9549914-0-0
• Williams, Ronald The Lords of the Isles (Chatto & Windus, 1997) ISBN 1-899863-17-6