The children of Sir Alexander of Lochalsh, the nephew of John the
fourth and last Lord of the Isles, had fallen into the hands of the
king, and as they were all young, they appear to have been brought
up in the royal household. Donald, the eldest son, called by the
Highlanders, Donald _Galda_, or the foreigner, from his early
residence in the Lowlands, was allowed to inherit his father’s
estates, and was frequently permitted to visit the Isles. He was with
James IV. at the battle of Flodden, and appears to have been knighted
under the royal banner on that disastrous field. Two months after,
in November 1513, he raised another insurrection in the Isles, and
being joined by the Macleods and Macleans, was proclaimed Lord of
the Isles. The numbers of his adherents daily increased. But in the
course of 1515, the Earl of Argyll prevailed upon the insurgents to
submit to the regent. At this time Sir Donald appeared frequently
before the council, relying on a safe-conduct, and his reconciliation
to the regent (John, Duke of Albany) was apparently so cordial that
on 24th September 1516, a summons was despatched to ‘Monsieur de
Ylis,’ to join the royal army, then about to proceed to the borders.
Ere long, however, he was again in open rebellion. Early in 1517 he
razed the castle of Mingarry to the ground, and ravaged the whole
district of Ardnamurchan with fire and sword. His chief leaders now
deserted him, and some of them determined on delivering him up to
the regent. He, however, effected his escape, but his two brothers
were made prisoners by Maclean of Dowart and Macleod of Dunvegan,
who hastened to make their submission to the government. In the
following year, Sir Donald was enabled to revenge the murder of his
father on the MacIans of Ardnamurchan, having defeated and put to
death their chief and two of his sons, with a great number of his
men. He was about to be forfeited for high treason, when his death,
which took place a few weeks after his success against the MacIans,
brought the rebellion, which had lasted for upwards of five years, to
a sudden close. He was the last male of his family, and died without
issue.
In 1539, Donald Gorme of Sleat claimed the lordship of the Isles, as
lawful heir male of John, Earl of Ross. With a considerable force he
passed over into Ross-shire, where, after ravaging the district of
Kinlochewe, he proceeded to Kintail, with the intention of surprising
the castle Eilandonan, at that time almost without a garrison.
Exposing himself rashly under the wall, he received a wound in the
foot from an arrow, which proved fatal.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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