page_title: Murchadh Mac Suibhne
section_title: Scottish encroachment in Argyll
hierarchical_section_title: Murchadh Mac Suibhne / Scottish encroachment in Argyll
caption_attribution_description: English: Illustration of the effigy of Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith and his wife, Mary I, Countess of Menteith.
context_page_description: Murchadh Mac Suibhne was a leading member of Clann Suibhne. He was a grandson of the family's eponymous ancestor Suibhne mac Duinn Shléibhe, and a nephew of the family's mid-thirteenth-century representative, Dubhghall mac Suibhne.
  During the latter's career, the Scottish Crown sought to extend royal authority into Argyll and the Isles. In the course of this westward drive, Clann Suibhne fell prey to the Stewarts, one of Scotland's most powerful and families. Charter evidence dating to the early 1260s reveals that Dubhghall resigned the Clann Suibhne lordship into the hands of Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith. Whether this transfer was the result of a military operation against Clann Suibhne is unknown.
  The fact that some members of Clann Suibhne were unwilling to subject themselves to Stewart domination is evinced by the record of Murchadh supporting the cause of Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway, who led a retaliatory campaign to reassert Norwegian authority in 1263. Murchadh played a prominent part in this campaign. He was amongst the Islesmen commanded a detachment of Hákon's fleet into Loch Lomond, where they devastated the Lennox district.
context_section_description: During the reign of Alexander II, King of Scotland, the Scots extended royal authority into Argyll and the Isles. In the early 1260s, about a decade after Alexander II's death, his son and royal successor, Alexander III, came of age and took steps to continue his father's westward expansion. As with the previous reign, it was the Stewart family, this time in the person of Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith, who spearheaded the campaign. Evidence of this push is preserved by the record of Clann Suibhne possessions being granted away in the early 1260s.
  For example, on 17 April 1261, Dubhghall, with the consent of his heir Eóin, granted the church of St Colmán Ela (Kilcalmonell) to Paisley Abbey, along with the chapel of St Columba near Skipness Castle. Furthermore, a charter of Walter Stewart to Paisley Abbey, dating to 19 January 1262, confirms Dubhghall's grant to the abbey, and states that Dubhghall had earlier granted the lands of Skipness to Walter Stewart himself. Dubhghall is listed as one of witnesses of the transaction. Other attested witnesses were Murchadh, and Murchadh's brother, Donn Sléibhe.
  Dubhghall is elsewhere stated to have granted Walter Stewart his lands to be held as a "free barony" for two-thirds of a knight's service in the king's army. Additional evidence of the Stewarts' takeover of the Clann Suibhne heartland includes the record of grants of Walter Stewart of several Knapdale churches—those of St Abbán moccu Corbmaic (Keills Chapel), St Michael (Kilmichael of Inverlussa), and St Mary/St Máel Ruba (Kilmory Chapel)—to Kilwinning Abbey.
  The circumstances surrounding of Dubhghall's contract with Walter Stewart are unclear. There are no other records regarding the allotment of Clann Suibhne lands during this period, and it is not known if the Stewarts or their allies had already established themselves in Knapdale. The transactions involving Clann Suibhne reveal that the family was progressively deprived of its territories. Whether the charters are evidence of a military invasion is unknown. The creation of a Stewart lordship in the region may have been undertaken in the context of extending Scottish royal authority into Argyll and the Isles. From the perspective of both the Stewarts and the Scottish Crown, Clann Suibhne seems to have represented a significant threat to regional stability. The removal or destruction of such families appears to represent part of a strategy to not only dislodge unpalatable kindreds (like Clann Suibhne), but forge new partnerships with more loyal kindreds, and extend the power of committed agents of the Scottish Crown (like the Stewarts).
caption: The effigy of Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith and his wife, Mary I, Countess of Menteith.[42] It is the earliest effigy of a married couple, side-by-side on the same tomb, in the British Isles.[43]
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