Somerled

Somerled was a twelfth-century Norse-Gaelic ruler who built a powerful lordship across Argyll and the Hebrides. Through warfare, alliance and marriage he challenged both the kings of Scots and the Norse rulers of the Isles.

He was killed during an invasion of the Clyde in 1164, but his descendants founded major branches of Clan Donald and other western kindreds. Later tradition regarded him as a foundational figure in the Lordship of the Isles.