Somerled: And the Emergence of Gaelic Scotland

by John Marsden

Throughout most of 800 years, Somerled of Argyll has been variously denounced as an intractable rebel against his rightful king and esteemed as the honoured ancestor of the later medieval Lords of the Isles, but he can be recognized as a much more complex figure of major prominence in 12th-century Scotland and of truly landmark significance in the long history of the Gael.

Genres: Scotland, History, Medieval, Medieval History

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

John Marsden is the author of a number of books on the early history of Scotland and Northumbria, including Somerled and Galloglas. In recent years he has made his home in the Western Isles of Scotland.

Reviews

[James Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

There may be little surviving sources on events in Scotland of the mid-1100s and there is even less on events in the Hebrides, and much of what is available is contradictory and was written many years after events, but Marsden uses what is available to him to try and deconstruct the traditional image of Somerled and to place him within the contemporary Norse-Gaelic world in which he moved. Marsden successfully reconstructs Somerled's early life and identifies his descendants. Marden does his best to use the information that is available to him, but the only demerit of this book is that, given the paucity of the sources, Somerled is sometimes a fleeting figure in the text.

[Barbara Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readable and accessible, but with a panoply of names sure to bamboozle. A good reference work to return to again and again, I have found.