In 1266, the Treaty of Perth transferred Suðreyjar to the Scottish king, as a set of crown dependencies - rather than merging it into Scotland itself.
Geographically, Canna lay within the portion of the former Suðreyjar which had become the MacRory realm of Garmoran (stretching from Uist to the Rough Bounds), but documents relating to Garmoran do treat Canna as part of it, suggesting the island was still under the Abbot's control.
The Abbot of Iona thus ruled Canna with considerable power.
Nevertheless, at the turn of the century, William I had created the position of Sheriff of Inverness, to be responsible for the Scottish highlands, which theoretically now extended to Canna.

During the 1420s, feuding within other fragments of Suðreyjar appears to have spilled onto Canna.
The Abbot, Dominicus, obtained papal authority to ban all nobility from setting foot on the island, but this wasn't respected, and Canna had to be temporarily abandoned.
In 1428, the Abbot wrote to the Pope requesting that he pronounce a general excommunication against anyone who harmed one of Canna's inhabitants, or damaged their property, claiming:
"by reason of wars and other calamities in the past divers homicides, depredations and other ills were perpetrated, so that some strong men of the familiars of the Abbot and convent were slain by pirates and sea rovers, and divers farmers and inhabitants of the island were afraid to reside there".

The Reformation was rapidly encroaching, however, and after 1498 Iona was transferred to Commendators, rather than Abbots.
Canna became a possession of the Bishop of the Isles (also known as the Bishop of Sodor; Sodor is the traditional anglicisation of Suðreyjar).
In 1548, the Dean of the Isles, Donald Monro, conducted a survey of the Bishop's lands and churches, reporting that the island was a: "faire maine land, foure myle lange, inhabit and manurit, with paroche kirke in it, guid for corne, fishing and grassing, with a falcon nest in it, pertines to the Abbot of Colmkill",
In 1561, the Bishop agreed to rent the island to the leader of Clan Ranald.
a branch of the MacDonalds.
In 1588, some of the remains of the Spanish Armada found refuge with the MacLeans of Duart, who had a longstanding feud with the MacDonalds (concerning the Rhinns of Islay).
Lachlan - the MacLean leader - demanded that the Spanish supply him with 100 soldiers, as the price of their refuge, which he used to launch an attack against the Small Isles, in pursuance of the feud; Canna "burned with fire".
Lachlan was imprisoned in Edinburgh by the king for this, but he escaped, and faced no further punishment.
In 1266, the Treaty of Perth transferred Suðreyjar to the Scottish king, as a set of crown dependencies - rather than merging it into Scotland itself. Geographically, Canna lay within the portion of the former Suðreyjar which had become the MacRory realm of Garmoran (stretching from Uist to the Rough Bounds), but documents relating to Garmoran do treat Canna as part of it, suggesting the island was still under the Abbot's control. The Abbot of Iona thus ruled Canna with considerable power. Nevertheless, at the turn of the century, William I had created the position of Sheriff of Inverness, to be responsible for the Scottish highlands, which theoretically now extended to Canna.
During the 1420s, feuding within other fragments of Suðreyjar appears to have spilled onto Canna. The Abbot, Dominicus, obtained papal authority to ban all nobility from setting foot on the island, but this wasn't respected, and Canna had to be temporarily abandoned. In 1428, the Abbot wrote to the Pope requesting that he pronounce a general excommunication against anyone who harmed one of Canna's inhabitants, or damaged their property, claiming:
"by reason of wars and other calamities in the past divers homicides, depredations and other ills were perpetrated, so that some strong men of the familiars of the Abbot and convent were slain by pirates and sea rovers, and divers farmers and inhabitants of the island were afraid to reside there".
The Reformation was rapidly encroaching, however, and after 1498 Iona was transferred to Commendators, rather than Abbots. Canna became a possession of the Bishop of the Isles (also known as the Bishop of Sodor; Sodor is the traditional anglicisation of Suðreyjar). In 1548, the Dean of the Isles, Donald Monro, conducted a survey of the Bishop's lands and churches, reporting that the island was a: "faire maine land, foure myle lange, inhabit and manurit, with paroche kirke in it, guid for corne, fishing and grassing, with a falcon nest in it, pertines to the Abbot of Colmkill",
In 1561, the Bishop agreed to rent the island to the leader of Clan Ranald. a branch of the MacDonalds. In 1588, some of the remains of the Spanish Armada found refuge with the MacLeans of Duart, who had a longstanding feud with the MacDonalds (concerning the Rhinns of Islay). Lachlan - the MacLean leader - demanded that the Spanish supply him with 100 soldiers, as the price of their refuge, which he used to launch an attack against the Small Isles, in pursuance of the feud; Canna "burned with fire". Lachlan was imprisoned in Edinburgh by the king for this, but he escaped, and faced no further punishment.
Canna, Scotland