Ragnall mac Somairle

Ragnall mac Somairle
Ragnall's name as it appears on folio 35v of British Library Cotton MS Julius A VII (the Chronicle of Mann): "Raignaldum".
Spouse	Fonia
Issue	Ruaidrí, Domnall
Dynasty	Clann Somairle
Father	Somairle mac Gilla Brigte
Mother	Ragnhildr Óláfsdóttir

Ragnall mac Somairle (also known in Gaelic as Raghnall, Raonall, Raonull; in English as Ranald, Reginald; in Latin as Reginaldus; and in Old Norse as Rögnvaldr, Røgnvaldr, Rǫgnvaldr; died 1191/1192–c. 1210/1227) 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 (or Clann 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.

Ragnall disappears from record after he and his sons were defeated by his brother Áengus. Ragnall's death-date is unknown, although certain dates between 1191 and 1227 are all possibilities. Surviving contemporary sources reveal that Ragnall was a significant patron of the Church. Although his father appears to have aligned himself with traditional forms of Christianity, Ragnall himself is associated with newer reformed religious orders from the continent. Ragnall's now non-existent seal, which pictured a knight on horseback, also indicates that he attempted to present himself as an up-to-date ruler, not unlike his Anglo-French contemporaries of the bordering Kingdom of Scots.