Editing Cowal (section)

===Clans and castles===
[[File:Old Castle Lachlan 20100927.jpg|thumb|Castle Lachlan]]
The history of the Cowal is tied into the clans who inhabited it. Seemingly, in the 11th century, an unidentified heiress of the Cenel Comgaill married [[Ánrothán Ua Néill|Anrothan]], grandson of [[Flaithbertach Ua Néill|the king]] of the [[Cenél nEógain]], from [[Ulster]]. Clan traditions argue that Anrothan's lands were passed down to a descendant named Aodha Alainn O'Neil, who had the following sons:
*Neil, who founded the [[Clan MacNeil#McNeills of Argyll (in Taynish, Gigha and Colonsay)|MacNeil of Argyll]], who were [[castellan]]s of [[Castle Sween]] in Knapdale, on behalf of the Lords of the Isles. The [[Clan MacNeil#MacNeils of Barra|MacNeil of Barra]] claim to be related to them, though how they came to be involved with [[Barra]] is unclear.
*Gillachrist, whose son was:
**Lachlan ''Mor'', who founded [[Clan MacLachlan]], who ruled from [[Old Castle Lachlan|Castle Lachlan]], on the Loch Fyne coast
*Dunslebhe, whose sons were:
**Ewen, who founded [[Clan Ewen of Otter]], who ruled from [[Castle MacEwen]], in the [[Kilfinan]] peninsula
**Fearchar, who founded [[Clan Lamont|Clan MacKerracher]], renamed Clan Lamont after 1235, after Lauman, the then chief. Clan Lamont ruled from [[Castle Toward#Toward Castle|Toward Castle]], in the [[Toward]] peninsula.

Excavations carried out at Castle MacEwen showed the site had several stages of development before it was the defended medieval homestead of the MacEwens; at first there was a palisaded enclosure, and then a promontory fort with a timber rampart.<ref>{{cite web | title= McEwan's Castle | website=Canmore |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/39861/kilfinan-macewans-castle| access-date=15 March 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Carrick Castle, Argyll, Scotland.JPG|thumb|Carrick Castle]]
The remote areas in the north east of Cowal, which were theoretically under the dominion of Clan Lamont, were used by Scottish kings for hunting; indeed, Cowal was the last part of Britain to have [[wild boar]]. When King [[John Balliol]] was threatened by his rival, [[Robert I of Scotland|Robert de Bruys]], Balliol's ally, [[Edward I of England|the king of England]], established [[Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy|Henry Percy]] at [[Carrick Castle]], in the region; likewise [[Dunoon Castle]] further south. De Bruys expelled the English from Cowal, with the aid of the [[Clan Campbell|Campbells]] (who were based nearby at Loch Awe), and eventually defeated Balliol. [[David II of Scotland|De Bruy's son]] gave Carrick Castle to the Campbells, while, after spending some time as a direct Royal possession, Dunoon Castle was handed to them by [[James III of Scotland|James III]], who made the Campbells its Honorary Keepers.{{sfn|Miers|2006|p=82}}

[[File:Old_Castle_Toward.jpg|thumb|The remains of Toward Castle]]
During [[Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms|the civil war between Royalists and Puritans]], the Campbells had sided with [[Covenanter|the Puritans]], so following their defeat at the [[Battle of Inverlochy (1645)|Battle of Inverlochy]], Clan Lamont took the opportunity to push back the borders of Campbell control. Predictably, in 1646, the Campbells took revenge, and overran Toward Castle; after being offered hospitability, the Campbells slaughtered the Lamont occupants in their beds. Despite the chief of the Lamonts surrendering, the Campbells hanged many members of Clan Lamont, in what became known as the Dunoon massacre.{{sfn|Miers|2006|p=82}}

By contrast, the next chief of the Campbells, the son of the former chief, was a [[Cavalier|Royalist]], so after the [[Restoration of Charles II|restoration of Royalist rule]], the Campbells were not ultimately dispossessed of their gains. However, after [[James II of England|James VII]] came to the Scottish throne, [[Argyll's Rising|the Campbells revolted]], and the chief was executed, but his son, the new chief, took part in [[Glorious Revolution|the successful expulsion of James VII]], so the Campbells once again ultimately retained their lands.