Leod

Leod (Scottish Gaelic: Leòd; Old Norse: Ljótr) ( 1200 – 1280) was the eponymous ancestor and founder of Clan MacLeod and Clan MacLeod of Lewis. Almost nothing is known about him and he does not appear in any contemporary records. Heraldic evidence, dating to the late 17th century, is considered to be the earliest evidence of descent from Olaf the Black. However, in recent years, this traditional lineage has been challenged and is no longer considered fact by one historian.

According to Clan MacLeod tradition, Leod inherited some of his lands from a foster father, who was a sheriff of the Hebridean island of Skye; other lands he inherited from his father-in-law, who was also a lord on Skye. MacLeod tradition also states that Leod was the father of four sons and two daughters. Two of these sons founded the two main branches of MacLeods; branches which exist to this day—Tormod (from whom the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan descend) and Torquil (from whom the MacLeods of Lewis descend). The traditional belief that Torquil was a son has also been challenged; the current understanding is that he was a great-grandson of Leod. In recent years, the DNA evidence of men bearing surnames equating to MacLeod has revealed that a certain proportion share a common ancestor—an ancestor considered to have been the clan's founder.

Traditional ancestry

The ancestry and some of the relatives of Olvir Rosta, according to the Orkneyinga saga.

Leod's name is represented in Scottish Gaelic as Leòd. This name is a Gaelic form of the Old Norse Ljótr, Matheson stated that this Norse name was rare in both Scandinavia and Iceland. He noted that in Scotland it was peculiar to the MacLeods, though it is almost never used within the clan. Matheson speculated that Leod's great-grandfather would have likely flourished at about the same time as Olvir Rosta was supposedly exiled to the Outer Hebrides. Matheson went even further and proposed that Leod's great-grandfather was in fact Olvir Rosta—a character from the mediaeval Orkneyinga saga. Morrison considered it possible that Leod's name could have ultimately originated from that of Ljótólfr's; however, while he considered it possible that Ljótólfr could have been an ancestor of Leod, he did not think it could have been in the male-line.

Leod in clan tradition

Clans Mackenzie and Ross The first earl of Cromartie's 17th century genealogical account of the MacLeods relates how Leod ("Leodus") was a son of Harald, son of Godred Donn. When the Isle of Man passed into the possession of the Scots, Alexander III granted Lewis, Harris, Waternish, and Minginish to Harald. Leod later succeeded his father to the lands as his father's only son. Cromartie's account also states how Leod's wife was Adama, daughter of Fearchar, Earl of Ross. However, according to Sellar, there is no record of a son of Harald named Leod, nor is there any record of a daughter of Fearchar named Adama. Sellar also noted that there is no record of the grant of lands by Alexander III. Sellar went so far as to state that Leod's wife, father, and the grant, were nothing but figments of Cromartie's imagination. Skene stated that Gwine likely was meant to refer to the eponymous ancestor of the Clan Gunn, and that Leandres refers to the Gilleandres whom "Clan Andres, or old Rosses" took their name.

Clan MacLeod multiple image footer = A photo of the choir of Iona Abbey. The stone said to represent a MacLeod is visible on the floor in the middle. In the Bannatyne manuscript, the sheriff is called "Paal Baccas", and is stated to have owned the isle of Harris, as well as the following lands on Skye: Sleat, Trotternish, Waternish, and Snizort. The manuscript states that he had a natural son, but named Leod his heir. The "Pol, son of Bok" and "Paal Baccas" of MacLeod tradition are considered to be identical with the historical Páll, son of Bálki, who is mentioned within the Chronicles of Mann as a loyal ally of Olaf the Black. It states that the first seven chiefs of Clan MacLeod were buried at Iona. The stone formed a matrix which at one time contained the brass inlay (tradition states it was a silver inlay). It is the largest carved stone on the island, measuring by . The early 20th-century clan historian R.C. MacLeod speculated that perhaps Leod and five of his successors were buried beneath—however, in his opinion the fourth chief, Iain Ciar, was buried elsewhere. In fact, the stone may actually mark the tomb of a MacLean, rather than that of a MacLeod. #tag:ref|The stone is mentioned in the late 17th century by William Sacheverell (c. 1675–1715), who visited Iona in August 1698: "In the middle on a flat stone, the proportion of a Man in Armour engrav'd, which seems very Ancient, and they say was laid there in Honour of one of the Family of Mac-Leon, who were for many Ages Lords of Mull".

The Bannatyne manuscript also names two other sons; however, Matheson considered the manuscript to be of dubious authority, since it is the only source for these names. It lists Leod's third son as John, stating that John followed Bruce to Ireland. The manuscript continues that in Ireland he acquired considerable estates in Galway and was knighted; although he was the principal man of his name there, his descendants were known not as MacLeods, but as MacElliots. The manuscript states that his daughter, and heiress, married Maurice, 2nd Lord of Kerry. According to MacLeod, the statement about John following Bruce to Ireland is a mistake, since John's daughter couldn't have married later than 1285. Bruce was, however, born in 1275, and did not go to Ireland until 1306. Leod's fourth son is listed by the manuscript as being Olaus. The account states that this Olaus was the reputed ancestor of the MacLewis, or Fullarton family, which originated on the Isle of Arran and that this family traced its ancestry from Lewis, or MacLoy, son of Olaus, son of Leod. It states that one of the daughters married Fergus of Galloway; while the other married John, Lord of Mull. It is unknown who these men could have been.