page_title: Ragnall mac Somairle
section_title: Death
hierarchical_section_title: Ragnall mac Somairle / Death
caption_attribution_description: English: Paisley Abbey The north side of the abbey, viewed from Cotton Street.
context_page_description: Ragnall mac Somairle was a significant late twelfth century magnate, seated on the western seaboard of Scotland. He was probably a younger son of Somairle mac Gilla Brigte, Lord of Argyll and his wife, Ragnhildr, daughter of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles. The twelfth-century Kingdom of the Isles, ruled by Ragnall's father and maternal-grandfather, existed within a hybrid Norse-Gaelic milieu, which bordered an ever strengthening and consolidating Kingdom of Scots.
  In the mid twelfth century, Somairle rose in power and won the Kingdom of the Isles from his brother-in-law. After Somairle perished in battle against the Scots in 1164, much of his kingdom was probably partitioned between his surviving sons. Ragnall's allotment appears to have been in the southern Hebrides and Kintyre. In time, Ragnall appears to have risen in power and became the leading member of Somairle's descendants, the meic Somairle. Ragnall is known to have styled himself "King of the Isles, Lord of Argyll and Kintyre" and "Lord of the Isles". His claim to the title of king, like other members of the meic Somairle, is derived through Ragnhildr, a member of the Crovan dynasty.
context_section_description: The year and circumstances of Ragnall's death are uncertain, as surviving contemporary sources failed to mark his demise. According to clan tradition preserved in the Book of Clanranald, Ragnall may have died in 1207. However, no corroborating evidence supports this date, and there is reason to believe that dates in this source are unreliable. In fact, this source misplaces Somairle's death by sixteen years, which may indicate that Ragnall himself died some sixteen years earlier (in 1191). If this date is correct then Ragnall's death may be related to his defeat suffered at the hands of his brother. However, the Chronicle of Mann, which records the 1192 conflict between Ragnall and Áengus, gives no hint of Ragnall's demise in its account. Another possibility is that Ragnall may have been slain sometime around 1209 and 1210, during yet more internal conflict amongst the meic Somairle.
  A reanalysis of the Book of Clanranald has shown that, instead of 1207, this source may actually date Ragnall's demise to 1227. However, this date may well be too late for man who was an adult by 1164. Ragnall's grant to Paisley may leave clues to his fate. The similarity between this charter and another granted to the priory by his son, Domnall, may be evidence that the documents were drawn up at about the same time. If so, Ragnall's charter may be evidence that he survived his defeat at the hands of Áengus, and the two charters may indicate that Ragnall was nearing the end of his life. Ragnall's grant may also indicate that he entered into a confraternity with the monks at Paisley. If the charter was indeed granted near the end of his life, it is also possible that Ragnall ended his days there. Since the priory was one of the religious houses founded by the meic Somairle, his possible retirement there may partly explain why Ragnall disappears from record after 1192.
caption: Paisley Abbey. Ragnall's grant to the priory (later abbey) of Paisley may be evidence of an alliance with the kindred who defeated his father. Ragnall may well have ended his days at the monastery.
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