Battle of Dalrigh

Battle of Dalrigh
Part of the Wars of Scottish Independence
Dalrigh where the battle took place
Date Summer 1306 Location Dalrigh, Lorne, Scotland grid reference NN342289 Coordinates: 56°25′25″N 4°41′16″W / 56.42361°N 4.68778°W / 56.42361; -4.68778 Result MacDougall victory
Belligerents
Scottish Royal Army	Clan MacDougall Clan Macnaghten
Commanders and leaders
Robert Bruce	John MacDougall
Strength
ca.500	ca. 1,000
Casualties and losses
High	Light

The Battle of Dalrigh, also known as the Battle of Dail Righ, Battle of Dalry or Battle of Strathfillan, was fought in the summer of 1306 between the army of King Robert I of Scotland against the Clan MacDougall of Argyll who were allies of Clan Comyn and the English. It took place at the hamlet of Dalrigh (the "King's Field" in the Scottish Gaelic language) near Tyndrum in Perthshire, Scotland (not to be confused with Dalry, Ayrshire). Bruce's army, reeling westwards after defeat by the English at the Battle of Methven, was intercepted and all but destroyed, with Bruce himself narrowly escaping capture. The battle took place sometime between late July and early August, but the exact date is unknown.

By the late 13th century, the Clan MacDougall had emerged as the most powerful of the descendants of Somerled, a former king of the Hebrides. Alexander MacDougall, the head of the family, was related by marriage to King John I of Scotland and his nephew John Comyn. He attained high office when John was king, being appointed Sheriff of Lorn in February 1293. Alexander managed to extend his power still further at the expense of the Macdonalds of Islay and the Campbells of Loch Awe, whom he defeated in battle sometime in the mid-1290s. The outbreak of the War of Independence in 1296 placed the MacDougalls on the side of the Scottish patriots. This changed in the most dramatic fashion in February 1306, when Robert Bruce killed John Comyn. Soon after Bruce seized the crown, and the Macdougalls and other families with Balliol and Comyn associations became allies of the English.

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