Ep 18 Cowards 😬 Captives & Kings 👑 : Somhairle Mòr

In the early years of the 12th century in north western Scotland, the rise of a great king is taking place among the most uncommon of men, in the most peculiar of circumstances. Somhairle Mór Steps into an unexpected role, at a low point in his life, rising to fame, and  power. The story of the origin of the clan Donald (MacDonald) was through the grandson of Somhairle Mór. 

Characters (in order of appearance):
Norsemen
Lochlannach
Vikings
Franks
Somhairle Mac GillaBridte
Somerled
Gilya Bridte
Gilya Ouwman
Malcolm
Alexander the 1st of Scotland
King Henry the 1st of Scotland
David the 1st
Clan MacInnes
MacAonghais
Boradill 
Lundy
Eass Stangadill
King David II of Scotland
Olaf the Red
Ragnhildis 
Duvall
Reginald
Angus
Donald

Locations:
Allapae
Scotland
Norway
Sweden
Denmark
Morvern, Scotland
Northern Ireland
Hebride Isles
Orkneys
Shetland’s 
Caithness
Sutherland
Argyll
Loche Linnhe
Gearr Abhainn
Loche Ness
Great Glen Fault
Eass Stangadill Linn
Lochaber
Isle of Man
Arran
Bute
Western Isles of Scotland

Transcript

1🎙 It is the early years of the 12th century, and the North and West of the region knows as Allapae were being harassed by raids of the Norsemen. Nowadays Allapae (Alba) is more commonly known as Scotland. The (locgh-la-nacgh) Lochlannach who are now known as Norsemen or vikings, came from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. They were powerful enemies, splendid fighters and born sailors. They were envied as explorers and feared as invaders. Their ships being the largest and fastest on the seas. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a dragon's head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern for design. Viking longships were used both for military purposes and for long-distance trade, exploration and colonization. There were places for as many as 50 rowers on some of the Viking ships. The Franks referred to them as Dragonships. A single Dragon-ship carrying 100 warriors was not uncommon. At first these Norseman landed only to plunder and destroy, and dash off again. But the time came when they were not content to stop at that, when their idea was to conquer land in which to settle and stay. ✅

2🎙 Lah breeah ah-ha-ouwn = Good day, hello! = (latha brèagha a tha ann!)

kimmer-ah-hawshib = How are you = Ciamar a tha sibh (Gaelic)

Sorlyeh Es enem hyough (Somerled is ainm dhomh)

My name is (Sorlyeh) Somhairle Mac Gilla (Gilya) Bridte, most people call me Sorlyeh. Its spelled S-o-m-e-r-l-e-d. You’ll have to forgive our Gaelic tongues. We leap over several consenants frequently and sit on our vowels. I’m the son of Gilya Bridte, (GilleBride) and grandson of Gilya Ouwmnan (GilleAdamnan). I’m of Norse-Gaelic ancestry. The year is 1156 AD, I am living in Scotland. And get this, I am married to a princess. Yes, really. I’m not jesting about that. An actual princess. She frequently corrects my behavior towards her by reminding me of this fact. I have 5 sons and a daughter. Its been rumored that my life is masked in obscurity and myth. But as far as I know, life is pretty normal. In fact I’ll bet I have some of the same problems that you have. Yeah..lets see…I was mad at the neighbor, wanted him to move…instead i married his daughter. Now I have issues with my brother in law, he’s been causing problems and is kind of a jerk. You know what they say, you dont just marry the princess, you marry the whole royal pain in the butt family. And…oh yes…I have a thing for boats. Big Ones. What else?…I like a peaceful life, but when trouble comes a brewing I am not above knocking a few heads to get things back in line. In my leisure time I enjoy fishing, and figure myself to be right good at it…Mother prefers that I take the children, but either way its a good time to unwind. I especially like fresh caught salmon cooked over an open flame. It was a favorite of my fathers also. Well, this here is a bit of my story. Forgive me if i am scant on a few of the details, its only been about 900 years ago, everyone wants to bend your ear of how it all happened. Let me tell you a few of my favorite parts of this story…Once upon a time on the coastal isles of northwestern Alba (Allápae) currently known as Scotland…. 

3a🎙 I was born…somewhere. Some say 1113 in Morvorn Scotland to a Viking mother. Others theorize about the year 1100 in Northern Ireland to a blue blooded mother. Well…Only Heaven and my mother know the truth of that. I have been accused of many things and called many names but there is one thing for certain I have never been accused of, and that is not being born. Many a men accused me of coming from elsewhere other than heaven…if you know what i mean. And I helped many of those same scoundrel men to be unborn and return to whatever dank corner of outer darkness they came from. The accounts seem to conflict and I have misplaced my birth certificate, but its undeniable that i was born. 

(Nature Sounds) 

3b🎙 During my early youth the Hebride (Heh-bread) isles off the west coast of (SCotlun) Scotland were fairly easy prey for the plundering Vikings, and in time they took possession of them as well as the (oarknees) Orkneys and the (SHETlunds) Shetlands north of Scotland; and parts of (Caith-Ness) Caithness and Sutherland (the northernmost sections of the Scottish mainland). Then they turned their attention to the mainland of (Ar-gayl) Argyll. My grandfather owned a large part of Argyll, but he was not powerful enough to keep the Vikings at bay, and after one ineffectual attempt our family was driven out of the country. We took refuge with Grandfather Gilya Ouwmnan (GilleAdamnan) in Northern Ireland where he eventually died.

(Irish wedding music)

In Ireland my father (pronounced Gill-bride) Gillebrighde…we’ll just refer to him as Gilbert, there he “met” a woman and remarried. And by “met” I mean the marriage was arranged by strategy. Somewhere around the year 1120 Father married the daughter of Malcolm the illegitimate son of Alexander the 1st of Scotland, and claimant to the Scottish throne. ✅ 

(King music, royal trumpets)

4🎙 Now the illegitimate complexities cost a great deal of strife when it came to choosing the next in line to be king. Several times, this resulted in bloodshed. When Great Grandpa Alexander the 1st died, grandpa Malcom sought with his muddy bloodline to be king. Well the reigning King Henry the 1st of England established grandpa Malcom’s uncle David the 1st to the throne. In the scrap for power and control, an exiled Norwegian priest, who worked for King David, was blamed for the death of David’s eldest son. The priest was subsequently put to death by being bound to the tails of four horses. Like a realistic game of wishbone. Well, King David made his point very clear, and Grandpa Malcom made the wise decision to amscray into areas of Scotland not yet under David’s control. There he remained for several years. On and off the accused treachery over power was thrown towards me. I am not here to declare my innocence or guilt of anything. Blood might be thicker than water, but at the heart of it all was the need of maintaining strong leadership as a strategy for stability of the nation. And whatever it took to accomplish that…it was done. Eventually i was fighting alongside David to retain his control of the country. This was the real life Game of Thrones that my family constantly played. ✅ 

(Boat sounds, oars, seagulls, waves lapping)

5🎙 By and by my father Gilbert began to long for seeing his native land again, and he and his son named  (Sorlyeh) Somerled, thats me, we managed to return to (Ar-gayl) Argyll. But when we arrived we  found ourselves homeless wanderers there. Life became so physically and emotionally destitute that we settled in a cave on the shores of Loche Linnyee (Loch Linnhe), where we lived in some pretty dire poverty. This is what we optimistically refer to as a time of depressed fortunes. 

My father Gilbert’s fighting days were over and I become consumed with brooding over the ruined fortunes of my family. All i knew of this land were the stories of my father. The mountains and lochs. The surreallness of it all combined with my fathers inability to jumpstart his life nearly engulfed me emotionally. Then something happened to change all this…and from being a depressed dreamer, I suddenly developed into a master of war like strategy. It was the strangest set of circumstances. And honestly i wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t experienced it myself. ✅ 

6 🎙 The Clan MacInnes (MacAonghais) occupied Morvern at (Ar-gayl) Argyll. They had suffered severely in withstanding the repeated attempts of the marauding Norseman to reduce them to entire subjection. Their leader had been slain. They were now menaced by and with another attack. The marauders galleys were moored on their shores and the more experienced of the clan assembled to deliberate on the unhappy position in which they were placed and to determine what course they should pursue in so critical an emergency. No man among the clansman was qualified to lead them into battle, and they knew of no one on the spot who could step into the breach. So various opinions were given and various plans suggested, but unanimity, when so much required, did not pervade the council. ✅ 

7 🎙 “My Clansmen, my brothers, Let me be heard. I am old. I am weary of burying our people. This dissension amongst us will be our final undoing. We are frayed, fearful, and without union. It is vain for any of you to think you are superior to the other, now or ever. For the strength of the man is the clan, and the strength of the clan is the man. There on the shore, though the spawn of beelzebub himself, is a foe who is united as one man, and they are obedient to the commands of an acknowledged leader. My counsel as an elder of this clan is that we look outside of ourselves and our pride to ANOTHER. There is a man taking refuge among us by the name of (Sorlyeh) Somerled. The man who dwells in the cave by the loch. He is young and strong and the offspring of a great ruler himself. It is in his blood to be a leader, a lord, and a king. If you can put your selfish egos aside, you will agree that I am correct in this suggestion. (Aye, yes, you are right.) Ok then, now that we are finally in unison over this. You, and you and you need to find (Sorlyeh) Somerled and convince him to die with us, i mean to lead us in this cockamamie idea. You know where to find him, get going, we havent much time. ✅ 

8 🎙 I first saw them as the reached the Rocky shores of Loche Linnyee near a stream i was fishing in called the Gearr Abhainn (pronounce Garvin). I had with me nothing but my fishing rod and a blade for cleaning the fish… as I was only angling for my next meal! Now Garvin (Gearr Abhainn) is a Gaelic term meaning “short-river”. So there wasnt much room for me to be fishing, but it was much more my style than trying my luck in the deep Loche Linnyee. ✅ 

https://learngaelic.scot/dictionary/index.jsp?abairt=hello&slang=both&wholeword=false

9 🎙 “S-tew hean en coicrauggh (s tu fhèin an coigreach!) = hello stranger!” 

(Sounds of Group laughter and walking) In spite of their desperate situation they could not help raising a great shout of laughter. ✅ 

10 🎙 Lah breeah ah-ha-ouwn = Good day, hello!

I must admit was feeling a bit apprehensive about their intentions as the group converged upon me. “Hello to you, what might be the reason for your mirth and glee?”

They looked a bit perplexed and awkward at how to explain what i found out later was an emergency meeting that had just taken place, and the context of the unanimous vote they’d taken to nominate me as their leader. The fact was that they looked upon poor ol me as a sort of halfwit because of my melancholy manner and downtrodden situations. They HAD sworn to make me their leader … so they asked me as much. “You want to what? You want me to what?” Honestly I had to think about it for sometime without answering. I have been accused of being quite pensive, and this was one of those times when i was carefully measuring my next move. For my concern as well as theirs. I had learned since youth that “wisdom is like a river, the deeper it flows, the less noise it makes.” And even with onlookers, i was in the midst of this meditative analysis paralysis when suddenly there came a tug at my fishing line. ✅ 

11 🎙 “Oh praise the Good Lord, Finally I get a bite. (Grunting) Well if i aint mistaken, this is a monster, wonder if’n it swam from the Loche Ness across the Great Glen Fault.” (Fish splashing)

“See now, my good lads, I have hooked the salmon. Let it give you my answer. If’n I land the fish my help shall be yours!” (Walking in water, fish splashing, struggling) As it happened, it was a very sportive fish and difficult to catch. The MacInnes men saw a thrilling fight between their potential Battle chief and a monster salmon as we plunged and struggled up and down the river. But I was a good fisherman, I had done this before…and I was hungry…hungry for a lot of things, and at last the salmon lay quivering on the bank. Then Somerled turned and said, “Lads My help is yours! But…to begin with…having of your own accord invited me to lead you, you must swear to obey my commands!” They seemed quite delighted at my exhibition of authority.

12 🎙 Aye ceann-feadhna, yes Chief Sorlyeh (Somerled). We swear allegiance to you. ✅ 

(Cheers & swords clanking)

Well I wasted no time in their trust of me, and straightaway a place was appointed as to where they were to muster the men. I wanted it to be in a conspicuous spot, highly visible…we had a psychological PR campaign to run with the scoundrel norsemen. ✅ 

(MacInnes 1) Uh, excuse me sir, You want us to build war camp out in the open? ✅ 

Yes.

(MacInnes 1) Where the Vikings can see us? ✅ 

Yes….And tonight i want you men to light as many roaring fires around the camp as possible. I want men walking back and forth in front of the fires for a good while into the night. ✅ 

(Whispering) (MacInnes 1) Are you sure Sorlyeh (Somerled) is on our side. Can we do a re-vote? He seems to be making us very visible to the enemy. Im feeling emotionally naked with this guy. I’m gonna have a hard time sleeping tonight. His boldness has my stomach swirling like a butter churn all day. Eh…Although honestly It could be the Snipe I ate on the evening yester. That ol bird just doesnt agree with me. I probably should’ve plucked it first as my lass recommended. ✅ 

(Whispering response) (MacInnes 2) You ninnyhead. Of course he knows what he’s doing. He’s destined for greatness. I can just feel it in his confidence. Ive seen him working his sword and letting his arrows fly. This man has skill and valor. If we hang close to him i think we will do pretty well. And good grab, of course you’re supposed to pluck the snipe first afore you et it. I’m convinced that your mother was a goat and your father smelled of elderberries. ✅ 

“Ok men, I’ll be at the camp afore dawn. Do as i directed and there’ll be further instructions in the morning.”

Then I carried the salmon to the cave where I cooked it and left it ready for father‘s meal; That salmon turned out really well. The cold river water sure makes for a tasty fish. Definitely worth the trouble I am about to get into, and the hell I am about to raise. ✅ 

(Horse sounds, trotting, cows in the distance, crickets)

13 🎙 There was a lot on my mind on my pre dawn ride to the place where the men had mustered for the night. As I rode through the cool Loche air could smell the dampness of the bluebell flowers and the heather that carpeted the hillside. Bell Heather made the honey so strong and thick. It was like a nectar from the Gods. I was looking for any advantage I could imagine to aid in honoring the trust that these men and their families had put in me. We were now defending our wives & children, our homes, and our futures, that felt different. 

Upon arriving at the camp i was pleased to see that the men had done exactly as I commanded with the fires. As the early morning light crept into our valley I saw the Viking ships landing their forces. Them rapacious Norse pirates had a numerical advantage over us. The old Gaelic Proverb came to mind: “There isn't a flood which will not subside.” I thought to myself, “thats certainly true, yet sometimes you just gotta help it a bit”. One advantage that the Vikings brought down upon us was funding and resources of weapons. New swords of superior steel, large axes that seemed razor sharp, spears, shields, and arrows that were straighter than a skeeters peeter in the middle of mating season. We would just have to use the home field advantage to our benefit. ✅ 

14 🎙 “Well Lads, it looks like we wont be playing fair today. We could sensibly match them lad for lad, except they got us outnumbered many times over. We’ve got to get them presuming that there are more of us. We’ve got to trust each other men, and use our wits.”

  With prompt decision my mind seemed to sort out a strategy. “Need More men”…”outnumbered”…”use our wits”…hmmmm. I had noticed on my ride to the camp early in the morning that there was a good size herd of cattle lay in the neighboring valley.

“Have you any men who are handy with butchering and skinning of animals? Good Good. Take horses and weapons to the adjoining valley. Slay as many cattle as we have men, and bring back the hides as quickly as you can. That is my command…Now go!

(Conversation of men riding to the adjoining valley)

“I was shaking the dew off my lilly and didnt hear How much meat Chief Sorlyehwanted us to bring back?”

(Warrior 1) “No meat lad, just hides. One for each man in the group.”

(Warrior 2) “Wait, WHAT! Were killing cattle, wasting meat, probably gonna die by the end of the day and he wants us to just bring hides? Is there some kind of burial ritual with hides that I am not familiar with?”

(Warrior 1) “Oh Lad, have some faith in him. Remember what grandma used to say ‘The geese will tell it in autumn.’”

(Warrior 2) “Oh crimeny, what in the name of Nessy is that supposed to mean?”

(Warrior 1) “Patience lad. Your trust increases his ability. All will be revealed in due course.”

(Warrior 2) mumbling comments just heard….ah whatever…i guess its as good a day to die as any. ✅ 

(Kicking horses and trotting off)

 15 🎙 I took up a position which commanded a full view of the enemy’s movements; when I saw them forming the ranks I ordered my small but mighty forces to gather in for instructions. 

“Alright lads. Here is where the man meets the mountain. Follow my instructions meticulously and with the help of the Good Lord we will live to fight another day. I want you to march down the valley 4 abreast…go around the hill at the foot and drop out of sight into the glen at the bottom, then scamper around the other side of the hill and come back to the place where we now stand. Repeat this pattern until I command otherwise.  

(Men marching on dirt, clanking of weapons, maybe some chanting or bagpipes)

The men kept on marching round and round the hill and the Norsemen seemed to be biting on our deception of a formidable battalion. Next, I ordered every man to wrap himself in an ox hide with the smooth side out, and then repeat the marching routine as a second battalion until i give command. 

Upon completion, there was one last deceptive performance to be had and that was for the men to turn the rough side of the hides outward. That was the final straw. The wild and savage appearances of the supposed 3rd Battalion was too much for the Norseman. They began falling into disorder. I could see their movements of panic and then like a fox in the hen house they gave way to the fear and fled in all directions. 

(Distant sounds of men yelling and scattering)

Somerled “This is it lads. Now is our time to rain hell upon these invaders.”

(Gaelic Saying) “There is no man's death without another man's gain” Today lads, today we GAIN!!!

(Spocgh = Spoch = Attack Angrily) (Lee-irdscrus = lèirsgrios = annihilate, destroy, devastate!) ATTACK!!! ✅ 

(Running charge, yelling, screaming, fighting, swords, boats paddling, swimming, frantic sounds)

 16 🎙 Our little force went wildly yelling as they charged toward the Viking advanced party. It was referred to in history as a “great slaughter”. Two of the Norse leaders, Borradill and Lundy, were slain in two seperate steep sided hollows we call corries. Those corries still bear their name. And then there was Stangadill. He was so hotly pursued and so dreadfully terror-struck, that, in order to escape the sword, he leaped into a boiling linn. Linn is a Gaelic word for….Waterfall. That waterfall is still called by the name of Eass Stangadill. The remainder of the frightened marauders made for the ships and got away as fast as possible. 

(Cheering men, Boats rowing)

There were several other victories before we eventually drove the Norsemen out of the Western Highlands. I was referred to as the master of (Loche-Apped) Lochaber, Morvern, and (Airi-gayle) Argyll. Meanwhile King David II of Scotland granted me the Isle of Man, (Awrrain) Arran, and (Bōate) Bute, for my daring assistance. ✅ 

17 🎙 In the western isles, the Viking power was still unbroken, and in order to keep a handle on the neighbors I was determined to govern over those as well. Sometime in 1140 AD there was a Viking by the name of Olaf the Red, He was the king of the isles, and it just so happened that he had a daughter named (Pronounced Rang-hill-dis) Ragnhildis who was quite eligible. I Olaf was a decent ruler, and currently wasnt causing me any grief. But leadership changes hands so easily between treachery, treason, illness, and death, that I just didnt want to risk not having my foot in that door somehow. History will tell you that “As King of the Isles, Óláfr (Olaf the Red) ‘contracted marital alliances’ with neighbouring maritime rulers (that would be me).” In a vague way this is true. Its mostly political Rhetoric and much less voluntary than its made to sound. What really happened is that my way of getting my foot in the door with King Olaf was to marry (Pronounced Rang-hill-dis) Ragnhildis. Whether Ragnhildis wanted to marry me or not wasn’t really a question that I proposed to her. So as history states it I “fraudulently seized” and forcibly “carried her off” and married her. Not exactly the honeymoon a princess might expect. But it suited my purposes, brought peace to the region, and she was a fine mother to our three sons, Duvall, Reginald, and Angus. 

Our son Reginald subsequently had a family of his own, and a son named Donald. It is Donald who founded the clan Donald, and is therefore the eponym of all Macdonalds. Mac-Donald literally means “Son of Donald”. I took the title “King” and later “Lord of the Isles”. A title which became hereditary in my family. ✅ 

After recounting the events of a life so epic, how could i not have some takeaways…and here they are:

As Mr. Smith stated “Any man who will not fight for his wife and children is a coward.”

Marriage is one of the most important decisions of your life. Who you marry will decide in large measure how you are influenced, driven, focused, and ultimately become in this life. What kind of a “marriage alliance” do you want or have? 

Marriage should be as much about strategy for exalting oneself as it is the strategy of a synergistic match for your life’s conquests of hardships, weaknesses, and enemies of your kingdom.

Just remember that only the true treasures of life will fit with you in your own pine box of final resting. 

There’s some Viking wisdom in the phrase - Be warned by another’s woe.

(~Njal’s Saga,c.13) Don't you ever laugh at other people's mistakes. Because one day it will come and knock at your door. Learn from it. 

The Scottish Gaelic Proverb reminds us:

(Tree-niheun a-hique goonyearie - goul, etd es icle)

trì nithean a thig gun iarraidh - gaol, eud is eagal

• Translation: Three that come unbidden – love, jealousy and fear.

As IGGY once said, “Your future is determined by your past, so be careful what you do in your past.”

(pronounced) merr-shin-late en drawste = Goodbye for now = mar sin leat an-dràsta!