History of the Macleods

29O THE HISTORY OF THE MACLEODS.
He died in 1498, when he was succeeded by his eldest son,
VIII. TORQUIL MACLEOD,
Eight of Lewis, who has a charter under the Great Seal —
" Torquilo Maeleod de Lewes, de officio balivatus omnium
terrarum regi in Troternish, jacen. infra insulam de Skye,
in forisfaetaram Johannis, olim domini msularum, tenend.
dieto Torquilo et hceredibus fuis inter ipsum et Catharinam
Campbell, fororem Arehibaldi comitis de Argyll, legitime
procreand quibus deficientibus, regi et hceredibus fuis re-
vertend, datum apud novum castrum de Kilkerran in Kintyre.
28vo. Junii, 1498." Torquil now, by the death of his
father, Lord of Lewis, accompanied by Alexander Crotach
Maeleod of Dunvegan, in the summer of 1498 paid
homage to James IV. at the head of Loch Kilkerran,
where His Majesty held a Court at a castle then recently
erected by him. In October of the same year Torquil
has a charter under the Great Seal granting him the
office of Bailliary of Troternish, with eight merks of the
land, described as being then in the hands of the Crown
by the forfeiture of the Lord of the Isles, though only
in August, two months before, a grant of the same Bail-
liary, with two unciates of the land now given to Maeleod
of Lewis, was made by a similar charter to Alexander
Maeleod, VIII. of Dunvegan.*
On the liberation of Donald Dubh of the Isles from
his imprisonment in the Castle of Inchconnel, he at once
repaired to Torquil Maeleod of the Lewis, who was
married to Catharine, daughter of Colin, first Earl of Argyll,
and sister of Donald's mother. Maeleod took him under
his protection, warmly espoused his cause, and at once
set about securing for him the support of the other West
Island Chiefs in his efforts to establish himself as Lord of
the Isles. Through the Earl of Argyll, Macian of Ardna-
murchan, and Stewart of Appin, all of whom were at
the time in regular communication with the Court, the
King very soon heard of Donald's escape and Torquil's
* Reg. of the Great Seal, XIII., 305 and 377.
\