...........Somhairlidh, Celtic Liberator, King of Argyle and the Isles. Also Known as Somerled...............
The person we have come to know as Somerled was known as Somhairlidh, pronounced “Sorley”, in his native Gaelic tongue. There are more than fifteen 14th through 17th century Gaelic & Latin manuscripts listing the Celtic royal pedigree of Somhairlidh (sometimes spelled Somhairle, Somairle, Somhuirle, Somuirle, or Sowarli). But the 1536 Scots translation of Hector Boece's 1527 Latin "Historia Gentis Scotorum" rendered the name as "Symmerleid". George Buchanan in his 1582 Latin "Rerum Scoticarum Historia" rendered the name "Sumerledus". In 1827 James Aikman, Esq. translated Buchanan's Latin classic into English and rendered the Latin "Sumerledus" as "Somerled". In 1894, when the Rev. Alexander Cameron translated the Book of Clanranald ("Reliquiae Celticae") into English, he continued to use Somerled for the Gaelic Somhuirle. The 1896 official clan history entitled “The Clan Donald” by the Reverends A & A MacDonald also used Somerled Rex Insularum (Latin for King of the Isles). They took issue with William Anderson who in his 1862 "The Scottish Nation" claimed the name Somerled was Norse. The Norse name meaning "Summer sailor" is actually Somarliar which in print appears similar, but the Gaelic and Norse names don't sound anything alike. The Gaelic "mh" is a very soft, almost silent "v" or "w" sound, but the "m" in Norse and Latin is pronounced as it is in English. Nevertheless A & A Macdonald consistently used Somerled throughout their work. The official history of Clan Donald was commissioned by the Clan Donald organization to respond to several early 19th century histories of the Highlands including William Forbes Skene’s 5 volume “Celtic Scotland, a History of Ancient Alban.” Although they disagreed with Skene on other key issues they continued the use of Somerled throughout their work instead of Sorley or the Gaelic spelling Somhairlidh. Skene suggested the ancestry of Clan Donald was Pict or Gall Gael rather than Celt. A & A Macdonald argued Clan Donald were descended from Celtic Dalriada's kings. Only on page 40 do they refer to our ancestor once by his Gaelic name Somhairle mor mac Ghillebhride as he is called in their source manuscripts. They provided no translation for any of the Gaelic and subsequent authors haven't translated Somhairle, but mor is Gaelic for "elder or greater", mac is Gaelic for "son of", and Ghillebhride is Gaelic for "servant of Bridget". After using the Gaelic name only once they use Somerled throughout the rest of their three volume history. When Donald J. Macdonald wrote his one volume history entitled “Clan Donald” in 1978 he followed A & A MacDonalds' practice of referring to our ancestor as Somerled, but when referring to the 16th century Irish Clan Donald leader of the same name he used "Sorley Buy". He explained the name was from the Gaelic Somhairle Buidhe. He then concluded Somhairle Buidhe was Gaelic for Somerled, the golden haired which is literally putting the cart before the horse! Why did these 19th & 20th century British historians substitute Somerled rather than use the original Gaelic Somhairlidh or its English spelling Sorley?

In the 19th & 20th centuries, when these histories were written, Gaelic was not popular in Britain. This was the time of a nationalistic movement in Ireland to obtain independence from the United Kingdom. In Ireland, Douglas Hyde was encouraging his countrymen to speak Gaelic rather than English. Speaking Gaelic created a sense of nationalistic pride that contributed significantly to the eventual independence of Ireland. Douglas Hyde became independent Ireland's first president. To the British of that time speaking Gaelic was seen as encouraging Ireland's rebellion and disloyalty to the United Kingdom. Many of the British historians of that time actually referred to the native language of the Highlanders as "Irish" rather than Gaelic! Several British historians expressed the opinion Gaelic was only a corruption of English! Current authorities on ancient languages agree Gaelic is an ancient Indoeuropean language as old as Greek. English is only a recent arrival by comparison. But 19th & 20th century British historians wrote under the misconception that all Gaelic was derived from English, Latin, and Norse. A & A MacDonald used the Gaelic & Latin manuscripts to compile their history of Clan Donald, but they appear to have followed earlier historians who avoided using Gaelic names. In addition to using Somerled instead of "Sorley" or the Gaelic spelling Somhairlidh they used the Norman "Reginald" instead of Raghnall and the Norman "Godfrey" instead of Gobhraidh. Somhairlidh's son was named Raghnall pronounced "Ranall" which is a Gaelic name meaning "strong". Somhairlidh's ancestor was Gobhraidh pronounced "Gowrie" which is a Gaelic name meaning "goat burn". The "English", "Latin", "Norse", or "Norman" substitutes for Gaelic names have no etymology (association or derivation) from the Gaelic originals, although in print they appear similar with alternate Gaelic spellings such as Gofraid for Gobhraidh. The names substituted for the Gaelic originals contain some of the same consonants, but consonants are pronounced very differently in Gaelic than any other language. In Gaelic mh, bh,and dh are a very soft, almost silent "v", "w", or "y" sound rather than the hard sounds they have in other languages. They used the name Donald which is etymologically the English form of the Gaelic Dhomhnaill (it is close to the Gaelic pronunciation, but Connell or Donnell are arguably closer). They used Columba, the Latin form of Colum Chille, which is logical because of Colum Cille's being Sainted under his Latin name in the Latin Church. They do not explain why they substituted other non-Gaelic names in their histories, but anti-Gaelic sentiment in Great Britain in the early 1900's is well documented. There are even lingering modern prejudices against Gaelic in much of Great Britain although the Internet has made suppressing Gaelic practically impossible.

The 17th Century “Book of Clanranald”, written in Gaelic, was an important source for both Skene and A & A Macdonald. To quote a line in the Gaelic,"Tarrla don chuidecht bhig sin do bhi ag learmhuin Ghillebride Somhuirle rabhadar ar sleibhtibh a coiltibh aird gobhar na morbhairne." English translation: "It happened that a small party who were followers of Gillebride and Sorley were in the mountains and woods of Ardgor and of Morvern." Note the original Gaelic names of the Clan Donald lands Ardgor & Morvern have meaning in the original language that is lost in the "English" version. Could there be meaning in the original Gaelic name Somhairlidh that has been lost to us because Somerled has been substituted for the original Gaelic name?

The legend has been handed down for fifty generations that as a young man Somhairlidh did not share his father's dream of regaining their inheritance. He cared more for hunting wild game than going to battle. But something caused Somhairlidh to change into the champion who would succeed where his father failed. The tradition is that Somhairlidh was trying to catch a salmon when he was approached to lead the Celts against the Vikings. In classic Celtic style he told them he would lead their army if he caught the salmon. To the modern reader Somhairlidh may only appear an avid fisherman, but every Celtic young man knew it was eating the salmon of knowledge that made Fingal become the great Celtic hero capable of unifying the ancient Irish kingdoms against foreign invaders. In Celtic culture catching the salmon was a sign they all accepted that Somhairlidh was destined to be their leader. Somhairlidh's salmon is displayed prominently on the Coats of Arms of Somhairlidh's descendants. The Gaelic name Somhairlidh may be derived from the most famous legend about Somhairlidh and his first victory. In Gaelic Somh means "convert" or "to change", air means "on or upon", and lidh means "steep grassy slope". It is also an abbreviation of milidh or mileadh meaning "champion". The Book of Clanranald tells how Somhairlidh obtained his first victory by marching his army around a hill three times in different attire. The Vikings thought the army about to attack was three times its actual size marching around the steep grassy slope. When the Celts attacked they had a psychological advantage due to Somhairlidh's plan which won the day and began his legendary campaign to drive the Vikings out of the Isles. Could the legend of how Somhairlidh became the mighty Celtic champion be found in the Gaelic meaning of his name? This is a common characteristic of Celtic heroes including the most famous of all Celtic champions Cuchulainn. An understanding of the Gaelic language and Celtic culture opens many doors to a better understanding of our ancestors. The 21st century Internet gives us greater ability to learn about our ancestors than any previous age. We can scan the original documents in their original languages and access multiple translations all in our own homes.

....................FAILTE GU TIR CHLAINN DHOMHNAILL EIRAGHT (www.ClanDonald-Heritage.com)..................
Welcome to the lands of Clan Donald Heritage.com. Our purpose is to provide information of interest to those with any ancestors named Macdonald, McDonald, McDonough, MacDonnell, McConnell, McDaniel or any of the other various spellings of the Gaelic name Mhic Dhomhnaill. There are also hundreds of additional names associated with Clan Donald branches that together make us the largest of the Highland clans. This is our heritage. This web site is not affiliated with any clan organization, but we encourage active involvement in your local Clan Donald organization. We have provided links to the official Clan Donald USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and UK web sites. Additional Regional Clan Donald USA web sites are listed on the official Clan Donald USA web site. These sites include calendars of local Clan Donald events. Becoming involved in local activities is the best way to preserve our heritage. The object of www.clandonald-heritage.com is to provide information on Clan Donald traditions in an entertaining multimedia format. We have a proud heritage. The Gaelic word eiraght means "heritage" in the sense of expectation, responsibility, birthright, or inheritance more than just one's ancestry. By learning about our ancestors' culture we learn something about ourselves. In the Celtic sense heritage is not just a past history to be proud of. Heritage bears a responsibility that we pass it on to our posterity in order to keep it alive. It is hoped this web site will help those of Clan Donald Heritage keep it alive by learning and teaching it to others.

This history has been compiled mainly from Donald J. Macdonald's history of Clan Donald. Along side the text this site provides original online maps, photographs, and even video clips of ancient Clan Donald lands so those who have never seen their ancestral lands may virtually experience them, and those who have experienced them may relive their experience.

We gain an understanding of our ancestors by learning about their culture (Celtic or Gael), their language (Gaelic meanings provided in parenthesis), and where they lived (meanings of place-names are given and shown on the map). We will learn much of our ancestors by looking at the land which was so much a part of them, the legends they taught their youth, and their history as told by their seanchaidh (pronounced Shawn-ah-heh, Gaelic meaning storytellers). The legends give us a detailed look at what our Celtic ancestors considered character flaws and admirable traits. Celtic legends allow us a glimpse into the values of our ancestors. A highlighted, underlined word indicates a link to more information can be found on another Internet page by clicking on the word (i.e. clicking on this word will take you to the "Tartan Gallery" page of this web site). Then use the "back" arrow at the top of your screen to return to the page you were reading. Click on the red eagle, black nyvaig (galley) icons on the map to read about and see the lands associated with each branch of Clan Donald.

Clan Donald Today
After the battle of Culloden (1746) many of Clan Donald were driven from their homelands and scattered all over the world. Instead of being the end of this great family it was the beginning of its worldwide influence. Clan Donald organizations can be found all over the world. The slogan of Clan Donald in Latin is “Per Mare Per Terras”, meaning By Sea By Land, which fits the lifestyle of these seafarers who ruled the seas, the islands, and the peninsulas because of their ability to quickly move armies with their nyvaigs (gaelic for boat or galley). The slogan is said to recall the mighty Somerled who conveyed his armies on 160 nyvaigs "by sea" to assault "by land". The ancient arms of the Macdonald display a black nyvaig and a red eagle (added when Clan Donald expanded it's influence to include Ross shire in the Highlands). Clan Donald’s battle cry, “Fraoch Eilean” is Gaelic for “Heathered Isle.” The full coat of arms are the property of “The Macdonald” currently Lord Godfrey Macdonald, Chief of Clan Donald. His coat of arms should not be displayed without his permission according to the Lord Lyons of Scotland (a judge in Heraldric law). Lord Godfrey Macdonald has given permission for the ancient MacDonald coat of arms to be displayed where Clan Donald gathers.

The top (or crest) of the helmet originally bore an emblem or badge properly worn by any clan member to identify them with the clan. This “clan crest” has evolved from antlers, horns, or a carving of an animal on the top (or crest) of a helmet into an emblem encircled by a belt worn on a hat. The emblem decorated a pin which held the plant branch or sprig anciently called the clan badge. The plant badge for Clan Donald is heather. The emblem on the pin became increasingly ornate and eventually the pin became known as the clan badge or crest. Most crests for Clan Donald bear a red cross crosslet fitchee held in either a gauntlet (knights armor glove) or a bare hand. This type of cross is composed of three crosses (crosslet) and a sword blade (fitchee) and was considered the warrior's cross. The point was used to plant the cross in the ground before battle. It has also been identified with St. Columba (Gaelic Columcille). It is not proper for anyone other than a chief to wear eagle feathers pinned to their cap so it is best to just stick with a sprig of heather pinned to your cap by your appropriate “clan crest”. One variation you may see is that clansmen who desire to show their ancestors' support of the Jacobites will wear a white ribbon folded behind their clan badge.

Modern members of Clan Donald are found in almost every culture of the western world. Wearing a kilt made of your family tartan, attending Scottish Festivals and Highland Games, and teaching your children & grandchildren about their heritage are the most important things you can do to preserve our Clan Donald Heritage. Go through this web site to learn more and we encourage you to join your local Clan Donald Association and participate in their activities with your children & grandchildren.

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