alan first appears in courtly circles in about 1200, about the time he inherited his father's possessions and offices. after he secured his mother's inheritance almost two decades later, alan became one of the most powerful magnates in the scottish realm. alan also held lands in the kingdom of england, and was an advisor of john, king of england concerning "magna carta". alan later played a considerable part in alexander ii, king of scotland's northern english ambitions during the violent aftermath of john's repudiation of "magna carta". alan participated in the english colonisation of ulster, receiving a massive grant in the region from the english king, and simultaneously aided the scottish crown against rebel claimants in the western and northern peripheries of the scottish realm. alan entered into a vicious inter-dynastic struggle for control of the kingdom of the isles, supporting one of his kinsmen against another. alan's involvement in the isles, a region under nominal norwegian authority, provoked a massive military response by hákon hákonarson, king of norway, causing a severe crisis for the scottish crown.