styled Lord of Inchgall, King of the Isles and Lord of Ergile and Kyntire. (Origines Par. Scot., Kyntyre.) Whatever effect the disaster at Renfrew had on Somerled's army it is clear that neither Malcolm IV. or his successor, William, had the courage to follow up the alleged victory, as Reginald, the son of Somerled, immediately succeeded his father in all his power and glory. Having thus given a sketch of the life of Somerled, I come now to consider the possessions and history of the early families. of Argyle. DESCRIPTION OF THE POSSESSIONS OF THE FIVE FAMILIES IN ARGYLE, ON RECORD BEFORE THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER III., IN 1285. I.-The family of Somerled, as represented by Reginald, possessed all the islands from Islay to Ardnamurchan, including Bute and Arran, and on the mainland the lower half of Kintyre, Craignish, Lorn, Benderloch, Appin, Morvern, and Ardnamurchan, and even to Ross-shire. II. The family of Syfin or Swene possessed the upper half of Kintyre and all Knapdale, embracing the parishes of Kilcalmonel, Skipness, South and North Knapdale, extending on the south across from Rudhnahaorain, on the west to Cour on the east, and on the north from Crinan on the west to Lochgilp on the east. III.—The family of Lamont possessed all Cowal and part of Argyle proper, the latter bounded in the south by Lochgilp and Locherinan, extending northward by east of Lochawe to Braevallich and across to Braeleckan on Lochfyne. IV. The family of MacNaughtan possessed the upper part of Lochawe, Glenera, Glenshira, and Glenfyne. V. The family of MacGregor possessed east of Lochetive Cruachan, Glenstray, Glenorchy, and Glenlochy. HISTORICAL NOTES OF THE OLD FAMILIES OF ARGYLE. FIRST.-REGINALD AND HIS DESCENDANTS. After the death of Somerled and his son Dugald, Reginald seized upon almost all their possessions, to the exclusion of his brother Angus, which caused two bloody battles. Gregory says: "Bute was assigned to Angus, Arran was perhaps divided between him and Reginald, and may have been the cause of the deadly quarrel, which we know existed between them; for in 1191 the Chronicle of Man mentions a battle between Reginald and Angus, in which the latter obtained the victory. Eighteen years later we learn on same authority that "Angus was killed and his three sons by the men of Skye." (History, p. 17.) Gregory gives the Chronicle of Man as his authority, but on neither occasion does that document name a place. The entries are as follow: "1192, Commissum est bellum inter filios Sumerlidi Reginaldum et Engus in quo bello multi vulnerari corruerunt Engus tamen victoriam obtinuit." "1210, Engus filius Sumerlidi cum tribus filius suis occisus est." Dr. Skene, quoting from the Annals of Ulster, also makes the last battle with the men of Skye: "1208, Cath tucsat meic Raghnaill mic Somairligh for feraibh Sciadh du in ra marbhadh un ar." In English: "A battle given by the sons of Ronald, the son of Somerled, to the men of Skye, who were slain with great slaughter." (Chron. of Picts and Scots.) Another version of the Annals of Ulster has it: "1209, Battle given to the MacSomerleds by the men of Skiath.” (Celto-Normanica.) THE MEN OF SKIATH. The inexplicable point here is how and where did the sons of Somerled come in collision with the men of Skye? Hitherto neither Somerled nor his sons were heard of north of Ardnamurchan. In the present case we see that Angus was shut in by the peninsula of Kintyre, and that the deadly feud was between him and his brother Reginald. Sciath, therefore, must be sought elsewhere. Kintyre being the centre of Somerled's possessions, he is likely to have resided there, as he is said to have been buried in Saddel. Reginald in one of his titles is styled Lord of Kintyre. (Register Passelet.) He is likely to have resided at Dunaverty or Aberto, a royal residence of the Dalriadic kings. In that vicinity there is a place called Cara-sgiath and also Cara-sgeith; the prefix Cara being descriptive of dangerous rocks on the coast of its locality. The Bay of Cara-sgeith is known to mariners as that stretching east of Dunaverty Castle to west of the mansionhouse of Cara-sgeith near the Mull of Kintyre. This also included the old church and burying ground of Kill Callumkille. Among grants given by Queen Mary in 1545 to James MacConnyll are two marks of the lands of Karschaych. In Archdeacon Munro's description of the Western Isles in 1549, he says there was a castle of Carrick Skeath apparently situated on an island. In 1618, the Privy Council committed the keeping of the castle of Kilkerran to Hector MacNeill of Carskeay, (Origines Par. Scot.) We have already seen that Wymund, the fourteenth bishop of the Isles (Spottiswood), otherwise called Malcom MacEth, says of himself: "Ego Wymundus sanctae ecclesiae de Schid," which Skene translates Skye. It is probable that it was at the castle M of Sgiath, in Kintyre, or visiting the church of Callumkille, he became acquainted with his wife, the sister of Somerled. In the tributes paid to Baedan, king of Ulster, by Aedan, king of Dalriada, Aedan is made to say: Cid mise thanic O Sci Even I who have come from Sci; -(Chron. Picts and Scots, pp. 47-128.) These references indicate the real position of Sgiath. From the foregoing it is probable that Angus and his sons, who had been victorious in 1192, were emboldened in 1208 or 1210 to make a descent either from Bute or Arran upon Kintyre to seize the residence of Reginald, and there were encountered by Reginald and his men on the field of Sgiath, where Angus and his three sons were slain. I have already said that the Chronicle of Man calls the combatants MacSomerleds, or sons of Somerled, but the followers of Reginald alone could be termed the men of Sgiath, as they were in actual possession. To expiate for these and other bloody deeds, before the year 1200 Reginald became a monk of Paisley, and granted to that monastery eight cows and two pennies for one year, and one penny in perpetuity for every house in his territories from which smoke issued, and his peace and protection to the monks, whithersoever they should go, enjoining his dependents and his heirs in no way to injure them, and swearing by Saint Columba to inflict on the former the punishment of death, and that the latter should have his malediction if they disobeyed his injunctions. His wife Fonía, who was a sister of the convent, granted to the monks of Paisley the tithes of all her goods, whether in her own possession, or sent for sale by land or sea.(Reg. Pass.) Before 1250 the Abbey of Sagadull, afterwards termed Sandall and Saddel, was founded for monks of the Cistertian Order by Reginald, the son of Sorlet, who styled himself King of the Isles and Lord of Argyle and Kintyre. He granted to the monks the lands of Glensagadull and twelve marks of Baltebeam in the lordship of Kintyre, and the twenty mark lands of Ceskan in the Isle of Arane.-(Origines Par. Scot. Killean.) According to a deed which still exists in the Vatican, in the year 1203 Reginald established the Benedictines or Black Monks in Iona, also a nunnery there for Black Nuns, of which his sister Beatrice was the first prioress. (Celt. Scot., Vol. II., chap. vii. In 1426, Andrew Stewart, the prior of Paisley, caused a notorial transcript of the charter of Reginald to be made, on which occasion the impression of the Lord of Inchegall is there described by the notary Robert Hopprew-in the middle of the seal on one side a ship filled with men-at-arms, and on the reverse the figure of an armed man on horseback, with a drawn sword in his hand.-(Origines Par. Scot., Vol. I.. p. 2.) The family of Reginald were Rotheric, Donald, and Dugald. At first Rotheric apparently possessed Kintyre, Donald the Isles, and Dugald Lorn, &c. ROTHERIC. Rotheric in his early years was a noted rover. In 1212 Thomas, son of Uchtred, king of Galloway, with the sons of Reginald the son of Somerled, came to Derrycallumkill with seventy-six ships. They plundered Derry Innisowen and Clanconnell. In 1213, Thomas MacUchtred and Roderick, son of Reginald, |