Ardtornish Castle (9)
The power and virtual independence of the Lords of the Isles eventually went to their heads and proved to be their undoing. In 1461, John of Islay, 4th and last Lord of the Isles decided that if he couldn't get what he wanted from the Scottish crown, he would negotiate with the English crown instead! He seems to have paid scant regard to how treasonable others would consider his actions to be!
John of Islay met the commissioners of King Edward IV of England here at Ardtornish and in February 1462 John's representatives concluded an agreement since known as the Treaty of Westminster-Ardtornish. It envisaged nothing less than the joint conquest and partition of Scotland. John agreed to pay homage to Edward in return for his help in obtaining all of Scotland north of the Forth! His kinsman Donald Balloch of Dunnyvaig and the Glens and the forfeited Earl of Douglas were to get the rest of the country between them. Their greed seems to have only been exceeded by their naivety and stupidity!
The treaty is a remarkably vague document considering the risks John was prepared to take, saying nothing about the nature, scale and timing of English support. For King Edward however, it was a brilliant diplomatic coup. He achieved maximum results at minimum expense, laying out only as much bait as necessary to create a political disturbance in Scotland. When it suited them, the treaty was revealed to the Scottish government by the English themselves, with the immediate result that John of Islay lost the Earldom of Ross, and the eventual result that in 1493, the Lordship of the Isles was forfeited as well.
Following their forfeiture, the lands of Ardtornish remained for a time in the hands of the Crown but were eventually given to the MacLeans of Duart, who had already acquired large tracts of land in Morvern. The castle was probably abandoned around the end of the seventeenth century, by which time Ardtornish and the other Morvern estates of the MacLeans had been devoured by - yes, you've guessed it - the Campbell Earls of Argyll!
Ardtornish Castle (9)
The power and virtual independence of the Lords of the Isles eventually went to their heads and proved to be their undoing. In 1461, John of Islay, 4th and last Lord of the Isles decided that if he couldn't get what he wanted from the Scottish crown, he would negotiate with the English crown instead! He seems to have paid scant regard to how treasonable others would consider his actions to be!
John of Islay met the commissioners of King Edward IV of England here at Ardtornish and in February 1462 John's representatives concluded an agreement since known as the Treaty of Westminster-Ardtornish. It envisaged nothing less than the joint conquest and partition of Scotland. John agreed to pay homage to Edward in return for his help in obtaining all of Scotland north of the Forth! His kinsman Donald Balloch of Dunnyvaig and the Glens and the forfeited Earl of Douglas were to get the rest of the country between them. Their greed seems to have only been exceeded by their naivety and stupidity!
The treaty is a remarkably vague document considering the risks John was prepared to take, saying nothing about the nature, scale and timing of English support. For King Edward however, it was a brilliant diplomatic coup. He achieved maximum results at minimum expense, laying out only as much bait as necessary to create a political disturbance in Scotland. When it suited them, the treaty was revealed to the Scottish government by the English themselves, with the immediate result that John of Islay lost the Earldom of Ross, and the eventual result that in 1493, the Lordship of the Isles was forfeited as well.
Following their forfeiture, the lands of Ardtornish remained for a time in the hands of the Crown but were eventually given to the MacLeans of Duart, who had already acquired large tracts of land in Morvern. The castle was probably abandoned around the end of the seventeenth century, by which time Ardtornish and the other Morvern estates of the MacLeans had been devoured by - yes, you've guessed it - the Campbell Earls of Argyll!