the 12th century and who has been described as "one of the greatest warrior kings born to the Gaels of Alba (Scotland)." An ambitious figure almost from the outset, Somerled sought the hand of Ragnhilda, daughter of King Olav the Red, Norse King of Man and the Isles. The story of how, after being initially rebuffed by that island magnate, Somerled would ultimately succeed through the stealth of one of his kinsmen, is recorded in the history of MacDonald of Sleat. According to this account, Somerled agreed to join Olav in an expedition to raid Skye. The night before sailing, however, a ship wright or carpenter known as Maurice Mac Neil (the second name sometimes given as MacNiall or MacArill), by some accounts Somerled's nephew, secretly bored holes in the hull of Olav's ship using tallow and butter to temporarily seal them. On entering the open seas the tallow was washed away by the action of the waves and the king's ship began rapidly taking on water. Olav's urgent appeal for help was spurned by Somerled, until he consented to the previously sought marriage. Maurice then boarded the King's ship and filled the holes with wooden plugs he had previously prepared for the purpose. From that time the descendants of Maurice were called "MacIntyres," "carpenters (or shipwrights) sons".", The sought-after marriage would take place in 1140. One line of Somerled's MacDonald descendants would become known as Kings and Lords of the Isles and over several centuries would contend with the Scottish monarchy for control of a large portion of northwestern Scotland. Another account, involving seafaring, holds that the name arose from the misfortune of a mariner afloat. In this version the clan's founder, sometimes identified as son of one of the Lords of the Isles, cuts off his thumb in order to plug a leak in his sinking vessel. The original home of Clan MacIntyre is likewise the subject of conjecture. There is general agreement that the clan arose in the Hebrides, the islands west of the Scottish mainland. Some accounts, however, identify Skye as the ancestral home, while another tradition holds Islay to have been the locale. The story of how the clan made its way to the mainland and settled along the shore of Loch Etive in the vicinity of Ben Cruachan is again shrouded in myth and magic. It is said that seeking fresh pastures for their