Editing Coll (section)

===Early history===
[[File:Dùn Beic (photo, c.1900).jpg|300px|thumb|Dùn Beic (in about 1900), one of several Dùn on Coll traditionally claimed to have been Norse strongholds.]]
In the 6th century, an Irish invasion led to the establishment of the [[Gaels|Gaelic]] kingdom of [[Dál Riata]], which included Coll. Dál Riata was divided into four kin-groups, of which the [[Cenél Loairn]] ruled Coll, [[Isle of Mull|Mull]], and the adjacent mainland, which together consequently became known as ''[[Lorne, Scotland|Lorn]]'', after them. Coll shared the history of Lorn for the next 1000 years, becoming part of the [[Kingdom of the Isles]] under Norwegian dominion, then the [[Clan MacDougall|MacDougall]] subdivision of that kingdom after [[Somerled]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Coll, like other Hebridean islands, has several ''[[crannóg]]s'' (artificial islands) located in some of its [[loch]]s, dating from this early period. It is difficult to estimate the exact age of these islands, but several are thought to date to the Norse period; local traditions describe three – [[Dùn Anlaimh]], [[Dùn an Achaidh]], [[Dùn Dubh]] – as having been Norse strongholds which survived until they were attacked by the Macleans.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The 1266 [[Treaty of Perth]] transferred the [[Norway|Norwegian]] crown dependency to the Scottish king{{refn|group="note"|rather than Scotland; they remained a crown dependency, like the [[Isle of Man]] (which had itself once been part of the Kingdom of the Isles)}}. Following the MacDougall defeat in the dispute between king [[John Balliol]] and [[Robert I of Scotland|Robert de Bruys]] (they had backed the former), the position of ''[[sheriff of Argyll]]'' was created to have [[sheriffdom|shrieval]] authority over Lorn{{refn|group="note"|Over Lorn only. Authority was only extended to the rest of the region now known as ''Argyll'' by a gradual process over the following centuries. [[Kintyre]], for example, was dealt with by the [[Tarbertshire|sheriff of Tarbert]] for many centuries after this.}}, and the MacDougall lands were merged into the [[Lordship of the Isles]]. Though MacDougall authority was restored in 1357, by king [[David II, King of Scotland|David II]], [[John Gallda MacDougall|the MacDougall heir]] had 3 years previously{{refn|group="note"|1354}}, quitclaimed any rights to [[Isle of Mull|Mull]] (including Coll), which therefore remained with the Lord of the Isles.

In 1549 [[Dean Monro]] wrote of Coll that it was:
:"''ane mane fertile Ile inhabite and manurit, with an castell and ane paroch kirk in it, gude for fishing and fowlers, with ane utter fine Falcons nest in it''".<ref name="Munro 1961 p. 66">Munro (1961) p. 66</ref>
He wrote of Rum:
:''"It pertains to McKenabrey of Coll".<ref name="Munro 1961 p. 66"/>''

In the 15th century, the island came under the ownership of the ''MacLeans of Coll'' who constructed [[Breachacha Castle]].<ref name="Historic">{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB4708|desc=Old Breachacha Castle including Battery Wall and Outbuildings (also known as Breacachadh Castle)|cat=A|access-date=29 September 2024}}</ref> The MacLeans exercised baronial control of the island until 1848.<ref name="n387">{{cite web | title=Information about the Isle of Coll | website=Explore and discover the Isle of Coll | url=https://visitcoll.co.uk/about/ | access-date=2024-09-29}}</ref> The Maclean ownership of the castle was sold in 1851.<ref name="Historic"/>