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Second Sons: Somerled - First Lord of the Isles
Part Viking and part Scottish Gaelic, Somerled emerges from relative obscurity in the Orkneys to leave an indelible mark on mid-12th-century Scottish history.
Somerled, the second son of a minor Gaelic lord dispossessed by the Vikings of his lands, first avenges the loss of his father’s lands in Morvern. Then, achieving what no man before him had succeeded in doing, he used guile, persuasion, and force to unite the warring Gaelic clans and Norse settlers of the Western Isles into one cohesive and powerful kingdom—the Lordship of the Isles. His dynasty, through his second son Ragnall and, in turn, Ragnall’s second son Donald, establishes the powerful foundations of the influential Scottish clan, Clan MacDonald.
This fictional novel, loosely based on the few known historical events in Somerled’s rise to power, creates a very different Somerled from the brutal warlord depicted by most historians. While capable of ruthless and brutal savagery, this charismatic man of vision prefers statecraft and skilful negotiation as he unfolds his grand plan to unite the Gaelic clans and their Viking invaders.
While history credits Somerled with a pivotal role in the creation of the unique rear-ruddered Scottish birlinn, the part he plays in the several other Scottish icons that appear throughout the narrative—the tartans, whisky, and the standing stone of Finlaggan—are simply figments of the author’s imagination.
One thing, however, is Somerled was a giant of his time and is revered to this day by all who bear the name MacDonald.
Somerled, the second son of a minor Gaelic lord dispossessed by the Vikings of his lands, first avenges the loss of his father’s lands in Morvern. Then, achieving what no man before him had succeeded in doing, he used guile, persuasion, and force to unite the warring Gaelic clans and Norse settlers of the Western Isles into one cohesive and powerful kingdom—the Lordship of the Isles. His dynasty, through his second son Ragnall and, in turn, Ragnall’s second son Donald, establishes the powerful foundations of the influential Scottish clan, Clan MacDonald.
This fictional novel, loosely based on the few known historical events in Somerled’s rise to power, creates a very different Somerled from the brutal warlord depicted by most historians. While capable of ruthless and brutal savagery, this charismatic man of vision prefers statecraft and skilful negotiation as he unfolds his grand plan to unite the Gaelic clans and their Viking invaders.
While history credits Somerled with a pivotal role in the creation of the unique rear-ruddered Scottish birlinn, the part he plays in the several other Scottish icons that appear throughout the narrative—the tartans, whisky, and the standing stone of Finlaggan—are simply figments of the author’s imagination.
One thing, however, is Somerled was a giant of his time and is revered to this day by all who bear the name MacDonald.
420 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 31, 2023
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