Editing Benbecula (section)

===Lordship===
{{see also|Garmoran}}

At the turn of the century, [[William I of Scotland|William I]] had created the position of [[Sheriff of Inverness]], to be responsible for the Scottish highlands, which theoretically now extended to Garmoran.<ref>Dickinson W.C., ''The Sheriff Court Book of Fife'', Scottish History Society, Third Series, Vol. XII (Edinburgh 1928), pp. 357-360</ref><ref>''The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707'', K. M. Brown et al eds (St Andrews, 2007–2017), 15 July 1476</ref> In 1293, however, king [[John Balliol]] established the [[Sheriffdom of Skye]], which included the Outer Hebrides. Nevertheless, following his usurpation, the Skye sheriffdom ceased to be mentioned,{{refn|group="note"|in surviving records, at least}} and the Garmoran lordship (including Uist) was confirmed to [[Ruaidhrí Mac Ruaidhrí|the MacRury leader]]. In 1343, King [[David II of Scotland|David II]] issued a further charter for this to [[Raghnall Mac Ruaidhrí|the latter's son]].<ref>''Regesta Regum Scottorum VI'' ed. Bruce Webster (Edinburgh 1982) no. 73.</ref>

[[File:Borve Castle 20090609 from south west.jpg|thumb|Borve Castle]]
Just three years later{{refn|group="note"|1346}} the sole surviving MacRury heir was [[Amy of Garmoran]]. According to [[MacGibbon and Ross]], [[Borve Castle, Benbecula|Borve Castle]] (which they date to between 1344 and 1363) was built by Amy;<ref name=RCAHMS>{{Canmore|num=9962|desc=Benbecula, Borve Castle|access-date=2021-10-29|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> it became the main power seat of power in Benbecula and surrounding islands of North and South Uist. Amy is also reported to have built ''the parish church of St. Columba on Benbecula''; the eastern side of [[Teampul Chalumchille]], an ancient chapel dedicated to St Columba, dates to her lifetime.{{refn|group="note"|Other parts are more recent}}<ref>''Clan Donald'', Donald J MacDonald, MacDonald Publishers (of Loanhead, Midlothian), 1978, p.448</ref>

The southern parts of the Kingdom of the Isles had become the ''[[Lordship of the Isles]]'', ruled by the [[Clan Donald|MacDonald]]s (another group of Somerled's descendants). Amy married the MacDonald leader, [[John of Islay, Lord of the Isles|John of Islay]], but a decade later he divorced her, and married the king's niece instead (in return for a substantial [[dowry]]). As part of the divorce, John deprived his eldest son, [[Ranald MacDonald (founder of Clanranald)|Ranald]], of the ability to inherit the Lordship of the Isles, in favour of a son by his new wife. As compensation, John granted Lordship of North Uist and South Uist (presumably including Benbecula) to Ranald's younger brother Godfrey, and made Ranald Lord of the remainder of Garmoran.

However, on Ranald's death, his sons were still children, and Godfrey took the opportunity to seize the Lordship of Garmoran. This led to a great deal of violent conflict involving Godfrey's family (the [[Siol Gorrie]]) and the heirs of Ranald ([[Clan Ranald]]) and his other brother Murdoch (the [[Siol Murdoch]]). {{refn|group="note"|Surviving records do not describe this in detail}} In 1427, frustrated with the level of violence generally in the highlands, King [[James I of Scotland|James I]] demanded that highland magnates should attend a meeting at [[Inverness]]. On arrival, many of the leaders were seized and imprisoned. Alexander MacGorrie, son of Godfrey, was considered to be one of the two most reprehensible, and after a quick [[showtrial]], was immediately executed.<ref name="G65">{{Citation | author1=Gregory, Donald | title=History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, from A.D. 1493 to A.D. 1625, with a brief introductory sketch, from A.D. 80 to A.D. 1493 | year=1836 | publisher=Edinburgh, W. Tait | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DaoHAAAAQAAJ | access-date=11 May 2012 }}, p. 65</ref> As Alexander had by now inherited Godfrey's [[de facto]] position as Lord of Garmoran, and in view of Ranald's heirs being no less responsible for the violence, King James declared the Lordship forfeit.