The word aros, in Gaelic can be translated as a house, mansion, palace, or merely an abode, dwelling or habitation. According to the renowned Gaelic scholar, AIexander MacBain, however, it is derived from the Norse a (water) and ass (mouth) and he therefore concludes that Aros means 'river mouth.' Aros Castle, however, may well have been named from the river near the mouth of which it is situated, about 2km north.west of Salen, on the east side of the Sound of Mull. It occupies a high baltic plateau which forms a promontory, sheltering a natural harbour and commands a clear view of the channel in both directions. The site was one of considerable strategic importance and the castle formed the principal centre of communication between Mull and the mainland district of Morvern and its castle of Ardtornish. The principal remains are of a hall-house and bailey defended on the landward side by a ditch and bank. The hall-house is situated on the north-west section of the rock summit, the remainder of which was enclosed by a stone curtain-wall forming a more or less square bailey approximately half an acre in extent. The principal approach seems to have been by means of a causeway across the north section of the ditch, passing below the south-west corner of the hall-house and through a gateway in the west wall of the bailey. Another path probably of more recent construction can be traced westwards from the gateway across the bottom of the ditch and through the outer bank. The hall-house is approximately oblong, measuring around 25m from north to south by 12.510 transversely over walls varying from 1.7m to 3m In thickness and a small square latrine tower projects from the north-west pamer. The walls on the west and south sides of the building which were vulnerable to assault, were strengthened by a high steeply splayed plinth. The structure seems to have been composed of two principal storeys and a part attic, all wooden floored. Many of the doorway and window embrasures seem to have been 'ceiled' with wooden lintels, a construction method frequently used in 13th century West Highland castles. No fireplaces remain within the buildings and it may well be that the hall was heated by means of an open hearth. The ground-floor probably consisted of two separate rooms. The first floor dimensions are 21.410 by 7.910 but it is unclear whether this area was occupied by an unusually large hall or a hall and adjoining apartment. Only the north part of the building seems to have contained a chamber at second-floor level. The wall-head was probably surmounted by an open parapet-walk, the roof being gable-ended. The curtain-wall which formerly enclosed the bailey survives only along parts of the west and south sides.
The castle was probably built by the MacDougalis Of Lorn who possessed Mull from after the death of Somerled until their forfeiture by Robert I (the Bruce) early in the 14th century. Thereafter Aros became one of the principal seats of the Lords of the Isles, chiefs of Clan Donald. Both Donald, 2nd Lord of the Isles and his grandson John, 4th and last Lord issued charters from Aros and its significance as a place of importance was recognised when Angus MacDonald, 9th Chief of Glengarry was raised to the peerage by Charles II for services rendered to the Royal House of Stuart and became Aeneas, Lord MacDonell and Aros. After the forfeiture of the Lordship of the Isles, the ownership of Aros passed to the MacLeans of Duart and it was there that Lord Ochiltree, King James VI's Lieutenant, in 1608, entertained the principal Island chiefs on board his flag ship, the Moon, after which he announced to them that they were the King's prisoners and sailed with them to the south where they were imprisoned in the castles of Blackness, Dumbarton and Stirling until they promised to yield to His Majesty's demands. When the land.grasoinn Archibald, Farl of Argyll succedded in acquiring the MacLean lands in Mull, circa 1674, Aros fell into the hands of the Campbells who eventually, after 1690, allowed the castle to fall into a state of decay. (Sources include: The Castlellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century by D.MacGibbon and T.Ross (1889); RCAHMS, Argyll, Vol 3 (1980); The Castles of Western and Northern Scotland, by M.Stalker (1995).

This text article has been copied from the Clan Donald Society of Edinburgh's newsletter, written by Norman MacDonald FRSA, FSA Scot, their Historian and Archivist.