 Traditional Clan Donald genealogies, created in the later Middle Ages, give the clan a descent from various legendary Irish figures.Modern historians, however, distrust these traditional genealogies, and consider Somhairle, son of Gille Brighde to be earliest ancestor for whom there is secure historical evidence.Somhairle, himself, was a 12th-century leader, styled "king of the isles" and "king of Argyll"; yet there is no reliable account for his rise to power.