The Highlanders of Scotland - Clan Strachan Society

CHAP. II] OF SCOTLAND 191
as Argyll, from the period of the Scottish conquest, in the
ninth century, to the middle of the twelfth, while the expression
of Are frodi equally clearly implies that they were native Scots
and not Norwegians.
The Gallgael were certainly independent in the ninth cen-
tury, and also in the beginning of the eleventh, when a king
of the race is mentioned ; it is therefore not improbable that
the kings of the Isles between these periods were of this race.
The first king of the Isles who is mentioned is Anlaf, who
attempted, in conjunction with Constantine, the Scottish king,
to obtain possession of Northumberland, but was defeated by
Athelstan, the Saxon king, at Brunanburgh, in 938. Anlaf is
styled by the Saxon historians, Rex plurimarum insularum,
and that he was king of the Western Isles, and of the same
race with the Gallgael, is put beyond all doubt by the Egilla
Saga, which ancient document not only calls him a king in
Scotland, but expressly states that he had Danish blood from
his mother, who was a Dane, and a descendant of Regnar
Lodbrog, but that Jiis father zvas a native Scot^ Anlaf was
the son of Sidroc, who was put by the Danes in possession of
Northumberland ; and as Anlaf is called by the Irish writers
grandson of Ivar, and it is well known that Ivar was a son
of Regnar Lodbrog, it follows from the passage in the Egi'lla
that Sidroc must have been a native Scot of the race
Saga,
of the Gallgael, who married the daughter of Ivar, the principal
leader of the Danish pirates, and was made by him king of
the Northumbrians. But it would farther appear that Sidroc
was the brother of the king of the Gallgael, for the Saxon
historians mention, in 914, the death of Nial rex by his
brother Sidroc. Sidroc was at this time in possession of
Northumberland, so that king Nial was probably the king
of the Gallgael, and on his unnatural death was succeeded by
his nephew Anlaf
In ascertaining the earlier kings of this race we are assisted
by the Manx traditions. Sacheveral, in his curious work on
'
Egilla Saga. — Olafr Raudi liet at modur kyni oc kominn af aett
konungr a Skotlandi liann var Ragnars Lodbrokar.
Skotzkr at faudr kyni enn Danskr