Мәдениеттің негізін қалаушы Леод және МакЛеод тайпасының тарихы

Founder of Clan MacLoed

Leod (Scottish Gaelic: Leòd; Old Norse: Ljótr) (c. yes 1200 – 1280) was the eponymous ancestor and founder of Clan MacLeod and Clan MacLeod of Lewis. Almost nothing is known about him and he does not appear in any contemporary records. Heraldic evidence, dating to the late 17th century, is considered to be the earliest evidence of descent from Olaf the Black. However, in recent years, this traditional lineage has been challenged and is no longer considered fact by one historian. According to Clan MacLeod tradition, Leod inherited some of his lands from a foster father, who was a sheriff of the Hebridean island of Skye; other lands he inherited from his father in law, who was also a lord on Skye. MacLeod tradition also states that Leod was the father of four sons and two daughters. Two of these sons founded the two main branches of MacLeods; branches which exist to this day—Tormod (from whom the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan descend) and Torquil (from whom the MacLeods of Lewis descend). The traditional belief that Torquil was a son has also been challenged; the current understanding is that he was a great grandson of Leod. In recent years, the DNA evidence of men bearing surnames equating to MacLeod has revealed that a certain proportion share a common ancestor—an ancestor considered to have been the clan's founder.

[[File:Arms of "Le sire de bes" from the Armorial de Berry. jpg|right|thumb|150px|The coat of arms of the MacLeods of Harris, recorded in a mid 15th century armorial. #tag:ref|This is the 'MacLeod of Harris and Dunvegan' coat of arms which appears in the mid 15th century roll of arms Armorial de Berry (the roll actually lists the arms as those of "Le sire de bes"). The blazon is: azure, a castle triple towered argent. The castle may represent the seat of the chiefs—Dunvegan Castle, located on Skye. and that of "Torkyll M'Cloyd",#tag:ref|The royal arms of the Kingdom of Mann are derived from the emblem of the 10th century Manx dynasty. These arms appear in several mediaeval armorials, such as the English Walford's Roll, as well as the French Wijbergen Roll. In the Baronage of Scotland, Glenbervie stated that he had obtained information from the MacLeods of Dunvegan which was allegedly based upon information found within the mediaeval Chronicles of Mann and William Camden's 17th century Britannia—however, neither of these two works make any mention of Leod at all. In 1977, historian William Matheson rejected the traditional descent from Olaf the Black on the basis that it is unsupported by any facts whatsoever, and that it is also contradicted by earlier, more authentic, Gaelic language genealogies. There are considered to be four significant Gaelic language genealogies which concern Leod's ancestry. These pedigrees roughly agree with one another in the three generations after Leod. The greatest similarity between these genealogies are the names of Leod's great grandfather, variously spelt Oilmoir, Olbair Snaige, Olbuir Snaithe, and Olbair Snoice. thumb|The ancestry and some of the relatives of Olvir Rosta, according to the Orkneyinga saga. Leod's name is represented in Scottish Gaelic as Leòd. This name is a Gaelic form of the Old Norse Ljótr, Matheson stated that this Norse name was rare in both Scandinavia and Iceland. He noted that in Scotland it was peculiar to the MacLeods, though it is almost never used within the clan. Matheson speculated that Leod's great grandfather would have likely flourished at about the same time as Olvir Rosta was supposedly exiled to the Outer Hebrides. Matheson went even further and proposed that Leod's great grandfather was in fact Olvir Rosta—a character from the mediaeval Orkneyinga saga. Morrison considered it possible that Leod's name could have ultimately originated from that of Ljótólfr's; however, while he considered it possible that Ljótólfr could have been an ancestor of Leod, he did not think it could have been in the male line.

The first earl of Cromartie's 17th century genealogical account of the MacLeods relates how Leod ("Leodus") was a son of Harald, son of Godred Donn. When the Isle of Man passed into the possession of the Scots, Alexander III granted Lewis, Harris, Waternish, and Minginish to Harald. Leod later succeeded his father to the lands as his father's only son. Cromartie's account also states how Leod's wife was Adama, daughter of Fearchar, Earl of Ross. However, according to Sellar, there is no record of a son of Harald named Leod, nor is there any record of a daughter of Fearchar named Adama. Sellar also noted that there is no record of the grant of lands by Alexander III. Sellar went so far as to state that Leod's wife, father, and the grant, were nothing but figments of Cromartie's imagination. Skene stated that Gwine likely was meant to refer to the eponymous ancestor of the Clan Gunn, and that Leandres refers to the Gilleandres whom "Clan Andres, or old Rosses" took their name.