Most people in Scotland look to the Stewarts (or the Stuarts as they later chose to spell it) as the dominant Scottish dynasty coming all the way down from Robert the Bruce himself. In this they would be correct. However to suggest they are the only Scottish dynasty is to fall into the trap which the Stewarts themselves deliberately set. For centuries there was another dynasty in the sea kingdoms of the west, which was a constant threat to the Stewarts until the end of the fifteenth century. The Stewarts won in the end, and then set about erasing the story of the sea kingdoms of the west from history. Thus they were eclipsed. They had ceased to be.
But such political shenanigans of the Stewart spin doctors cannot remove the facts.
When the Romans left Briton in 410 AD there was a vacuum of power. Ultimately the Scotii emerged on top of the power struggle in Scotland. Based in the west, this tribe had strong links with Ireland: Gaelic, Celtic designs, a legal system, the Celtic Church and the sea.
It was they who struggled against the Vikings, also a seafaring race. We have all heard of William Wallace, but what of Somerled, born a century and a half before Wallace? He took on the Vikings, as Wallace took on the English for the same political reasons: identity, self determination. Born of a Viking mother and a Gaelic father he cried ‘Freedom!’ long before Wallace. He harried the Vikings and let the west believe the invaders could be expelled. Ultimately they were, and into the succeeding vacuum came Somerled’s descendants, the Lords of the Isles. Their land stretched from Ness to the Isle of Man, centring on Finlaggan in Islay.
It is not clear whether they wished to take over the whole of Scotland, or were content to dominate the west. As the House of Stewart emerged, the western kingdom became increasingly a potential threat, were it to link with England. The expansionist notions of our bigger southern neighbour took on another complexion, should the west become a base from which to strike. Much harder to control than an army marching via Carlisle. This threat was realised in 1462 with the Treaty of Westminster Ardtornish which stated that in the event of mainland Scotland being defeated, the English would take the land south of the River Forth, and the Lords the land north of it.
The Stewarts had to move against the west and the Lordship was wiped out in 1493 in all but name. The title is still the official title of the heir to the throne in Scotland. Prince Charles is Lord of the Isles. The very retaining of the title by the Stewarts and all subsequent monarchs is evidence of the power of the dynasty.
Somerled was a terrific character who was ultimately killed after a battle near Renfrew. His remains were taken by sea to the abbey at Saddell in Kintyre. That building, like so many in the west, displays a cultural heritage which was very much more advanced much earlier than its contemporary in inland Scotland.
The Sea Kingdom in the West is a wonderful area of Scottish history to explore and to visit. Wiped out of history by the Stewarts, it is slowly coming to be recognised for what it was, a vibrant, strong, structured society, which contributed much to our country.