[MR] BBC: Finlaggan, “forgotten" Scottish Castle

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble friends, Especially fellow Scots,

Today the BBC features a brief story about the "discovery" of a royal
castle in the Hebredian islands.

The building is known as "Finlaggan Castle". It sits on one of three small
islets in Finlaggan Loch, a lake on the Isle of Islay. It is hardly
"forgotten", but hey! the BBC is just trying to get our attention. The
castle and associated structures were never forgotten, and have been under
excavation and preservation for over 30 years.

The larger islet is known as "Eilean Mòr" was possibly the site of an iron
age fort. It was replaced in the 7th century CE with a monastic community.
About 1138, the great chief and first "Lord of the Isles", Somerled, built
a wooden fort. The stone castle on the site dates from the 13th century.

The Lords of the Isles were a series of Clan MacDonald sea kings who at
various times ruled most of the Hebrides, large parts of western Scotland,
and even the Isle of Man. Although the Lords of the Isles were technically
vassals of Norway and later Scotland, they were fiercely independent. They
commanded large forces and an armada of ships called "birlinns" (small
shallow-draft warships). James IV, King of Scots, finally broke their power
in 1493 when he "invited" the then Lord and his son to dinner, then chucked
them into prison (a common tactic in Scotland!). Later he hanged the pair,
and occupied most of their strongholds with royal troops.

The BBC story features two very nice aerial reconstructions showing how the
islands and castle might have looked in the 13th century:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz693e0zdqeo .

More about the site is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlaggan .

The Lords of the Isles' history is summarized at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Isles .

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge 🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.