English translation of a title borne by rulers of the Hebrides from the time of Somerled (d. 1164) to the 15th century; the title was first lost in a treaty with Edward IV of England, restored in 1476, and finally lost in 1493. After his defeat of the Norse in 1156, Somerled took the Gaelic title Rí Innse Gall [king of the Hebrides]; this was translated into Latin as Dominus Insularum in 1354 and from thence into English as Lord of the Isles. Sir Walter Scott's six-canto poem titled The Lord of the Isles (1815) is a romantic fiction set in the time of Robert the Bruce (c.1305–7).

A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Copyright © James MacKillop 1998, 2004. All rights reserved.