In The Lordship of the Isles, twelve specialists offer new insights on the rise and fall of the MacDonalds of Islay and the greatest Gaelic lordship of later medieval Scotland. Portrayed most often as either the independently-minded last great patrons of Scottish Gaelic culture or as dangerous rivals to the Stewart kings for mastery of Scotland, this collection navigates through such opposed perspectives to re-examine the politics, culture, society and connections of Highland and Hebridean Scotland from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries. It delivers a compelling account of a land and people caught literally and figuratively between two worlds, those of the Atlantic and mainland Scotland, and of Gaelic and Anglophone culture. Contributors are David Caldwell, Sonja Cameron, Alastair Campbell, Alison Cathcart, Colin Martin, Tom McNeill, Lachlan Nicholson, Richard Oram, Michael Penman, Alasdair Ross, Geoffrey Stell and Sarah Thomas.

With Lord of the Isles, David Drake returns to fantasy with a towering and complex epic of heroic adventure in an extraordinary and colorful world where the elemental forces that empower magic are rising to a thousand-year peak. In the days following an unusually severe storm, the inhabitants of a tiny seaport town travel toward romance, danger, and astonishing magic that will transform them and their world. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Explores the history of the Lordship of the Isles at its widest extent – the rulers of the west coast and islands of Scotland.

Tracing its origins back to the great Somerled, Raymond Campbell Paterson charts the steady ascent of Clan Donald to the zenith of its power in the 15th century, when the Lords of the Isles controlled much of the Hebrides, as well as extensive parts of the mainland, including the vast earldom of Ross. So powerful had the clan become that it was even able to challenge the authority of the Scottish Crown at the Battles of Harlaw and Inverlochy and plan to partition Scotland with Edward IV of England. Pride was followed by destruction, and James IV finally deposed the last Lord of the Isles in 1493. But under the chiefs of Clanranald, Glengarry, Sleat, Keppoch, Dunyveg and Glencoe, the various branches of the clan. Large and small, continued for many years to fight for their own independence and the independence of the old Gaelic world. The former enemies of the house of Stewart, they ended among the last of its defenders. Long vanished as a territorial power, the past glory of Clan Donald continues to be remembered to this very day.

By the power of his sword arm, his dragon fleet and his sheer personality, Somerled Norse Slayer carved an enduring name for himself in Scottish legend. Inheriting his father's shattered thanedom in Argyll in the twelfth century, he enlarged it by courage, initiative, military shrewdness and diplomacy. For decades his navy held the balance of power in the northern seas, and it was he who cleared the Vikings out of the Hebrides. Set against the romantically celebrated West Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland, the story of the conquests and courage of this hero king is a living tribute to a renowned legend. A thrilling story of the Scottish Isles in the 12th century by Nigel Tranter, master of Scottish historical fiction.By the power of his sword arm, his dragon fleet and his sheer personality, Somerled Norse Slayer carved an enduring name for himself in Scottish legend. Inheriting his father's shattered thanedom in Argyll in the twelfth century, he enlarged it by courage, initiative, military shrewdness and diplomacy. For decades his navy held the balance of power in the northern seas, and it was he who cleared the Vikings out of the Hebrides. Set against the romantically celebrated West Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland, the story of the conquests and courage of this hero king is a living tribute to a renowned legend. A thrilling story of the Scottish Isles in the 12th century by Nigel Tranter, master of Scottish historical fiction.

The sexy Scottish lords, the Maclean twins, return in this follow-up to Highland Princess. Forced into a scheme by her father, Cristina Macleod tricks Hector Maclean into marrying her. But Hector comes to realize that Cristina is, indeed, his true love.

This study explores the history of the western seaboard of Scotland (the Hebrides, Argyll and the Isle of Man) in a formative but often neglected era: the central middle ages, from the mightly Somerled to his descendant John MacDonald, the first Lord of the Isles (c. 1336). Drawing on a variety of sources, this very readable narrative deals with three major and closely interrelated themes: first, the existence of the Isles and coastal mainland as a kingdom from c.1100 to 1266; second, the rulers of the region, Somerled and his descendants, the MacDougalls, MacDonalds and MacRuaris; and third, the often complex relations among the Isles, Scotland, Norway and England. A fully rounded history emerges, which transcends national viewpoints. While political history predominates, the changing nature of society in the isles is emphasized throughout, and separate chapters address the church and monasticism as well as the monuments – the castles, monasteries, churches and chapels that form an enduring legacy.

This volume presents a detailed history of this Scottish noble lineage from the medieval Lords of the Isles to the mid–eighteenth century. Clan Donald is not the history of one clan, but of several important clans that descend from the old Kingdom of Macdonald. Each of these clans played its part in the history of Scotland until the fateful Battle of Culloden in 1746. Covering a period of six hundred years, the narrative begins with Somerled and the foundation of the Lordship of the Isles. It traces the narrative through the downfall of the Lordship in 1493 and the various branches that arose thereafter. The book then culminates in an overview of how the Celtic and Roman Churches were influenced by Clan Donald. Based on the original, three-volume edition of Clan Donald—first published between 1896 and 1904—this all-encompassing reference book is essential for members of the Clan as well as students of the Western Highlands and Isles.

The archipelagic kingdoms of Man and the Isles that flourished from the last quarter of the eleventh century down to the middle of the thirteenth century represent two forgotten kingdoms of the medieval British Isles. They were ruled by powerful individuals, with unquestionably regnal status, who interacted in a variety of ways with rulers of surrounding lands and who left their footprint on a wide range of written documents and upon the very landscapes and seascapes of the islands they ruled. Yet British history has tended to overlook these Late Norse maritime empires, which thrived for two centuries on the Atlantic frontiers of Britain. This book represents the first ever overview of both Manx and Hebridean dynasties that dominated Man and the Isles from the late eleventh to the mid-thirteenth centuries. Coverage is broad and is not restricted to politics and warfare. An introductory chapter examines the maritime context of the kingdoms in light of recent work in the field of maritime history, while subsequent chronological and narrative chapters trace the history of the kingdoms from their origins through their maturity to their demise in the thirteenth century. Separate chapters examine the economy and society, church and religion, power and architecture.