Ailín I, Earl of Lennox

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Mormaer Ailín I of Lennox, also Alún or Alwin, ruled Lennox sometime before 1178. He is an obscure figure, known only in two sources, and remains characterless. It is not certain that he was ever recognized as a Mormaer of Lennox, although one source does call him that. In the 1170s, Lennox was in the nominal possession of David, the brother of King William I. David was given the territory as a fief of the crown in 1178.

In early medieval Scotland, a mormaer was the Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a Taoiseach (chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English earls or Continental counts, and the term is often translated into English as 'earl'.

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However, the land was restored to a native magnate, Ailin's son Ailín, and recognized as a Mormaer (comes). The reasons for this are unknown. Perhaps the crown had never really controlled it; or perhaps, as Neville suggests (p. 15), the frontier region of Lennox lost its importance after the defeat and death of Somhairle mac Gille Bhrigdhe. Part of the reason was undoubtedly the promotion of David to the Earldom of Huntingdon.

Mormaer Ailín II of Lennox, also known as Ailean or Alwyn, was the son of Mormaer Ailín I, and ruled Lennox from somewhere in the beginning of the 13th century until his death in 1217.

Somerled, known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði, was a mid-12th-century warlord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence and seized control of the Kingdom of the Isles. Little is certain of Somerled's origins, although he appears to have belonged to a Norse–Gaelic family of some substance. His father, GilleBride, appears to have conducted a marriage alliance with Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair, son of Alexander I of Scotland, and claimant to the Scottish throne. Following a period of dependence upon David I of Scotland, Somerled first appears on record in 1153, when he supported kinsmen, identified as the sons of Malcolm, in their insurgence against the newly enthroned Malcolm IV of Scotland. Following this unsuccessful uprising, Somerled appears to have turned his sights upon the kingship of the Isles, then ruled by his brother-in-law, Godred Olafsson. Taking advantage of the latter's faltering authority, Somerled participated in a violent coup d'état, and seized half of the kingdom in 1156. Two years later, he defeated and drove Godred from power, and Somerled ruled the entire kingdom until his death.

Earl of Huntingdon

Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title was associated with the ruling house of Scotland.

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Bibliography

Cynthia J Neville, FRHistS, FSAScot is a Canadian historian, medievalist and George Munro professor of history at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Neville's primary research interests are the social, political and cultural history of medieval Scotland, 1000-1500, specifically legal history, Gaelic-Norman interactions and Gaelic lordship. She is also interested in English legal history from 1250-1500. Neville is currently working on a project concerning royal pardon in Scotland from 1100-1603.

Preceded by
?
Mormaer of Lennox
Late 12th century
Succeeded by
Ailín II

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