Somerled
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Somerled, known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði, was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, ro
Sumerledus with scribal abbreviations (Cambridge Corpus Christi College 139, folio ar)
Mid-12th-century depiction of David I, and his grandson, Malcolm IV. Earlier that century, Somerled's family appears to have bound itself in marriage to an opposing branch of the Scottish royal house.
Lewis chess piece depicting the armament of a Norse warrior roughly contemporaneous to Somerled.
St Oran's Chapel, the oldest intact building on Iona, may have been built by Somerled, Ranald, or members of the Crovan dynasty.
Mac Scelling
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Mac Scelling, also known as Mac Scilling, was a prominent twelfth-century military commander engaged in conflicts throughout Ireland. He is first recorded in 1154 commanding the maritime forces of Mui
Detail from Maughold IV, a Manx runestone displaying a contemporary sailing vessel. The power of the kings of the Isles, laid in their armed galley-fleets.
A rook gaming piece of the so-called Lewis chessmen. Some of the pieces may have arrived in the Isles as a result of Guðrøðr's connections with Norway. 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.