Fergus of Galloway (died 12 May 1161) was a twelfth-century Lord of Galloway. Although his familial origins are unknown, it is possible that he was of Norse-Gaelic ancestry. Fergus first appears on record in 1136, when he witnessed a charter of David I, King of Scotland. There is considerable evidence indicating that Fergus was married to an illegitimate daughter of Henry I, King of England. It is possible that Elizabeth Fitzroy was the mother of Fergus's three children.
Fergus forged a marital alliance with Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles through the marriage of the latter to Fergus's daughter, Affraic. As a consequence of this union, the leading branch of the Crovan dynasty descended from Fergus. When Óláfr was assassinated by a rival branch of the dynasty, Galloway itself was attacked before Fergus's grandson, Guðrøðr Óláfsson, was able to seize control of Isles. Both Fergus and his grandson appear to have overseen military operations in Ireland, before the latter was overthrown by Somairle mac Gilla Brigte, Lord of Argyll. The fact that there is no record of Fergus lending Guðrøðr support against Somairle could be evidence of a slackening of Fergus's authority. Contemporary sources certainly report that Galloway was wracked by inter-dynastic strife during the decade.
Fergus's fall from power came in 1160, after Malcolm IV, King of Scotland settled a dispute amongst his leading magnates and launched three military campaigns into Galloway. The reasons for the Scottish invasion are unknown. On one hand, it is possible that Fergus had precipitated events by preying upon Scottish territories. In the aftermath of the attack, the king came to terms with Somairle which could be evidence that he had either been allied with Fergus against the Scots or that he had aided in Fergus's destruction. In any case, Fergus himself was driven from power, and forced to retire to the abbey of Holyrood. He died the next year. The Lordship of Galloway appears to have been partitioned between his sons, Gilla Brigte and Uhtred, and Scottish influence further penetrated into Galloway.
Origins
Fergus's familial origins are unknown. He is not accorded a patronym in contemporary sources, and his later descendants are traced no further than him in their charters. The fact that he tends to be styled "of Galloway" in contemporary sources suggests that he was the head of the most important family in the region. Such appears to have been the case with Fergus's contemporary Freskin, a significant settler in Moray, who was styled de Moravia.
One source that may possibly cast light on Fergus's familial origins is Roman de Fergus, a mediaeval Arthurian romance, mainly set in southern Scotland, which tells the tale of a knight who may represent Fergus himself. The name of the knight's father in this source is a form of the name borne by Fergus's neighbouring contemporary Somairle mac Gilla Brigte, Lord of Argyll, and could be evidence that Fergus's father bore the same name. On the other hand, instead of being evidence of any historical relationship, the names could have been employed by the romance merely because they were regarded as stereotypically Gallovidian. In any case, there is reason to suspect that the romance is a literary pastiche or parody of the compositions of Chrétien de Troyes; and besides the coincidence of names, the tale has little to commend it as an authoritative source for the historical Fergus.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his origins, it is possible that Fergus was of Norse-Gaelic and native Gallovidian ancestry. Traditionally, the Gallovidians appear to have looked towards the Isles instead of Scotland, and the core of his family's lands seems to have centred in valley of the river Dee and the coastal area around Whithorn, regions of substantial Scandinavian settlement. In any case, the fact that Fergus died as an old man in 1161 suggests that he was born before 1100.
Early career
Fergus first appears on record in about 1136×1141, when he and his son, Uhtred, witnessed the grant of the lands of Partick to the church of St Kentigern at Glasgow. The exact extent of the twelfth-century Lordship of Galloway is unclear. Surviving acta of Fergus and Uhtred reveal a concentration of endowments in central Galloway, between the rivers Urr and Fleet. Subsequent grants of lands by later descendants of Fergus in the Dee valley could represent the expansion of territory from this original core. There is evidence indicating that Fergus's domain extended into western Galloway as well. His descendants were certainly associated with the castle of Cruggleton and dealt with lands in the vicinity.