Editing Barra (section)

===Lordship of Garmoran===
{{Main|Garmoran}}
[[File:Cliad bay and Ben Cliad - geograph.org.uk - 852097.jpg|thumb|Cliad bay]]

In 1293, King [[John Balliol]] established the [[Sheriffdom of Skye]], which included the Outer Hebrides. Following his usurpation, the sheriffdom ceased to be mentioned{{refn|group="note"|In surviving records, at least.}}, and the Garmoran lordship (including Barra) was confirmed to {{lang|gd|[[Ruaidhrí Mac Ruaidhrí]]}}, the head of Clann Ruaidhri. In 1343, King [[David II of Scotland|David II]] issued a further charter to Ruaidhrí's son, [[Raghnall Mac Ruaidhrí|Raghnall]],<ref>''Regesta Regum Scottorum VI'' ed. Bruce Webster (Edinburgh 1982) no. 73.</ref> but Raghnall's assassination, just three years later, left Garmoran in the hands of [[Amy of Garmoran]].

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]],<ref name="Raven 2005">{{cite thesis |last=Raven |first=JA |title=Medieval Landscapes and Lordship in South Uist |degree=PhD |url=http://theses.gla.ac.uk/1116/ |volume=1 |publisher=[[University of Glasgow]] |year=2005 |via=[[Glasgow Theses Service]] }}</ref> 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 the Uists to Ranald's younger brother Godfrey and made Ranald Lord of the remainder of Garmoran.

On Ranald's death, disputes between Godfrey and his nephews led to an enormous amount of violence. In 1427, frustrated with the level of violence generally in the highlands, King [[James I of Scotland|James I]] demanded that highland leaders 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 of Garmoran forfeit.