The Lordship of the Isles

The Lordship of the Isles was a martial culture, even if it did produce brilliant art and was spectacularly cosmopolitan for a state of the era.

It inherited the warlike traditions of the Gaels and the Norse, both of which were born in prehistory and had long been a part of society. Both races were renowned for their prowess - the Gaels for their fanatical loyalty and the Norse for their determination and brutality.

As well as producing warriors that were feared, despised, and respected, the Lordship had a mighty navy - one which no doubt dwarfed that of Scotland and England combined, and the oceans were just as much a part of life as the land was.

The Lords of the Isles were often ambitious, practical, and well-educated men, with tens of thousands of fanatical clansmen to call upon in times of war. Their neighbours were weak and disunited - their feudal armour had chinks.

War occured. But how was it fought, what with, and for what reasons?

Preparing for a War

One of the greatest strengths of the Lords of the Isles was that they could have the fiery cross lit and clansmen would arm themselves. Often these clansmen needed no payment, and sometimes not even a logical reason.

Almost all men between twenty and sixty would have their own weapons, and would have had much experience in hunting and raiding. Many would also take their own food when required, or take what they could find when on campaign (it was a perfectly legitimate custom to take cattle from a defeated enemy).

Thirty thousand mercenaries arrived or left via Islay each year - experienced gallowglasses, fighting tribal wars and English invasions in Ireland - that would also bolster the Lordship's ranks for payment in food, so they would not need to provide it.

But there was still much preparation needed for war.

The Lordship of the Isles actually had all the time it needed to prepare for war, even after war had been declared. No foreign invader could make a move without a navy, and a navy which could rival that of the Lordship of the Isles whilst being able to brave the Atlantic (in other words, a navy that wins by sheer numbers) would have taken a while to build.

Still, it was possible for the Lordship of the Isles to act much like the USSR when under threat. It would have diverted all its production to war.

Hereditary smiths would have been busy fashioning local iron gathered by tacksmen and donated by the clansmen into axes and swords, whilst the weapons and armour of the leadership (claymores, battleaxes, and chainmail) would have been imported - possibly traded for wool when dealing with Norway, or for wood when dealing with Spain (especially in the 15th century, when Europe was facing an energy crisis).

The galleys would have imported food at an extraordinary rate, and every clansman and woman who would not go to war would have been busy fishing.

The Lordship's allies, including various Irish kings, would have provided some food or mercenaries, and it could always take to piracy in the Irish Sea and North Sea to get whatever else it needed.

Quite how all this would have reached the soldiers is something we don't know and cannot really assume. A theory is that it would simply have been trickled down through society.

Like I said, preparing for war was no rush for the Macdonald.

The Elite

Whilst most soldiers would have been clansmen who would usually be working on the fields, there were a few who would have been professional soldiers. These were the clan elite, and every powerful chief could rely on them.

They were not the same skill as the chief's bodyguard - who were handpicked, and only after performing some task which their ancestors had accomplished in Irish mythologoy - but they were hardened warriors with loyalty for no-one but their chief.

They were often tacksmen and their sons, and were given the best weaponry and armour - a claymore or battleaxe, and chainmail. Their tasks included patrolling clan lands, raiding, and looking after the clan's strongholds.

During the summer, they would keep themselves occupied with tournaments which became the modern Highland Games.

The Bodyguard

The honour of being in the ceremonial bodyguard of a Lord of the Isles would have been the dream of many young Highlanders, whether they were from his lands or not.

Unlike many things to do with a chief's retinue, a position in his bodyguard was not hereditary (although many times both father and son would have been accepted).

It was based on a warrior's personal ability. If he could row a galley faster than his competitors or the chief's personal oarsmen, or if he could pick up something ridiculously heavy with one hand, then he would have been accepted.

A position in a chief's bodyguard was special because it was rare. At the height of their empire's power, the Macdonald dynasty does not seem to have kept more than six guards who would stay with them whether at home or on the battlefield.

The Soldiers

The soldiers were mostly clansmen who enlisted when the fiery cross was lit. They would have had experience hunting and in raiding, and probably in previous conflicts, and would have possessed their own weapons. Basically, they were an elite citizen army, that required no payment but the rights to take cattle from their defeated enemy. They didn't often need a logical reason to fight.

They would have fought mostly with axes and dirks, although some would have had claymores and shields taken from defeated enemies or traded for cattle.

The Norse probably still would have fought with their battleaxes and spears, and the Irish would still have used javelins and skirmishing.

The Lordship of the Isles only lacked cavalry, but clansmen would often steal horses from their defeated enemies. There could be thousands of horses after a war, waiting to be shipped out or slaughtered - no Macdonald commander ever really cared to use them for anything else, besides the comfort of the influential or those who had cattle to spend.