Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross

Alexander de Yle (Alasdair MacDomhnaill)
Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles
The seal of Alexander. It includes his arms, which contains the arms of the Lordship of the Isles and the Earldom of Ross, surrounded by a royal tressure, indicating Alexander's royal blood as the grandson of King Robert II of Scotland.
Reign	1423/1437-1449
Predecessor	Domhnall of Islay
Successor	John of Islay
Died	1449 (1450) Dingwall
Buried	Fortrose Cathedral, Fortrose
Noble family	Clann Domhnaill (Clann Somhairle)
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Seton
Issue Among others	John of Islay Hugh MacDonald, Lord of Sleat Celestine MacDonald, Lord of Lochlash
Father	Domhnall of Islay
Mother	Mariota MacDonald

Alexander of Islay or Alexander MacDonald (died 1449; Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair MacDomhnaill, Dòmhnallach or MacDhòmhnaill) was a medieval Scottish nobleman who succeeded his father Domhnall of Islay as Lord of the Isles (1423–1449), later rising to the rank of Earl of Ross (1437–49). His lively career, especially before he attained the earldom of Ross, led Hugh MacDonald, the 17th century author of History of the MacDonalds, to commemorate him as "a man born to much trouble all his lifetime".^[1] Alexander allied himself with King James I of Scotland against the power of the Albany Stewarts in 1425 but, once the Albany Stewarts were out of the way, Alexander quickly found himself at odds with the new king. War with King James would initially prove Alexander's undoing, and would see the King's power in Scotland greatly increased, but at the Battle of Inverlochy Alexander's army prevailed against the forces of the King. Alexander died in 1449, having greatly extended his family's landed wealth and power. He was buried, not in the Isles of his ancestors, but at Fortrose Cathedral in his mainland Earldom of Ross.