Highlanders of Scotland PDF

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THE HIGHLANDERS
OF
SCOTLAND.
VOL. II.
WOODFALL, ASiiRi COURT. sK;\xrK strekt, i.om
:
THE
HIGHLANDERS
OF
SCOTLAND,
THEIR
ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND ANTIQUITIES

WITH
A SKETCH OF THEIR
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS,
AN ACCOUNT OF THE CLANS INTO WHICH THEY WERE DIVIDED,

AND OF THE STATE OF SOCIETY WHICH EXISTED AMONG THEM.
BY WILLIAM F. SKENE, F.S.A. Scot.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
MDCCCXXXVII,
CONTENTS
OF VOLU3IE II.
PART II.
THE HIGHLAND CLANS.
CHAPTER I.
Page
Traditionary Origins of the Highland Clans. — History of
Highland Tradition Succession of false Traditions in
the Highlands — Traces of the oldest and true Tradition

— Effect
to be found. to
Genealogies of the Highland Clans ....

be given to the old Manuscript
3
CHAPTER II.
I. The Gallgael. 26
I. Siol
1.
Cuinn ........
Argyll
Clan Rory, or Macrorys . , . .54

33
35
CHAPTER III.
2. Clan Donald, or Macdonells . . .58

CHAPTER IV.
.....91
Clan Donald, continued . . .
3. Clan Dugall, or Macdugalls 107

n. Siol Gillevray 113
]. Clan Neill, or Macneills . . . .115
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.
Page
2. Clan Lachlan, or Maclachlans . . .118
3. Clan Ewen, or Macewens . . . .120
III. Siol Eachern 121
1.
2.
nish ........
Clan Dugall Craignish, or Campbells of Craig-
Clan Lamond, or Lamonds . . . .123

ib.
CHAPTER V.
Atholl . . 127
IV. Clan Donnachie, or Robertsons . 140
V. Clan Pharlane, or Macfarlanes . 149
CHAPTER VI.
Moray 161
I. Clan Chattan, or Macphersons 170
CHAPTER VII.
II. Clan Cameron, or Camerons 193

III. Clan Nachtan, or Macnachtans 201
IV. Clan Gille-eon, or Macleans 205
V. Siol O'Cain
1.
....
Clan Roich, or Monros
214
215
2. Clan Gillemhaol, or Macmillans 218
CHAPTER VIII.
ill. Ross 222

I. Clan Anrias, or Rosses
II. Clan Kenneth, or Mackenzies
III. Clan Mathan, or Mathiesons 241
IV. Siol Alpine 243
1. Clan Gregor, or Macgregors 244
2. Clan Grant, or Grants . 254
3. Clan Fingon, or Mackinnons 258
4. Clan Anaba, or Macnabs 260
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.
5. Clan Duffie, or Macphies

PART II.
THE HIGHLAND CLANS.
VOL. II,
THE
HIGHLAND CLANS.
CHAPTER I.
Traditionary Origins of the Highland Clans. — History of High-

land Tradition Succession of false Traditions in the High-
lands — Traces of the oldest and true Tradition to be found.
Effect to be given to the old manuscript Genealogies of the
Highland Clans.
In the second part of this Work, it is proposed to

examine the history, individually, of the different
clans of the Gael of the Highlands of Scotland, to
trace the origin of each, their distinctive designations,
descent, branches into which they have subsequently
spread out, and the affiliation of the different clans
with respect to each other, with such particulars of
their earlier history as may seem to be supported by
good evidence.
It has been considered unnecessary to load these
accounts with the more recent details of family his-
tor)', as possessing in themselves httle variety or
interest to the general reader, and in no respect
B 2
4 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART II.
affecting the main object of this Work— namely, that

of dispelling the obscurity and inconsistencies in
which the early history of the Gael has been in-
volved. When the outline has been distinctly traced,
and the subject reduced to what it is to be hoped
may appear a well-founded system of history, that
outline would admit of being easily filled up, and the
notice of each individual family brought down in full
to the present time, were such details compatible
with the necessary limits of a Work of the present

description.
In order to explain the nature of the arrangement
in which the clans have been placed, it will be ne-
cessary to recall to the recollection of the reader, that
one great feature of the system of history established
in this Work is, that previous to the thirteenth cen-
tury the Highlanders of Scotland were divided into a

few great tribes, which exactly corresponded with the
ancient earldoms, and that from one or other of these
tribes all the Highlanders are descended. Accord-
ingly, the different clans will be found under the
name of the ancient earldom, or tribe, of which they
originally formed a part, and, throughout, the rela-
tion of the different clans to each other will be accu-
rately maintained.
Before entering, however, upon the history of the
Highland clans, it may not be amiss to notice an
objection which may be made to this view of their

origin.
CHAP. I.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 5
The Pictish
origin of
In the early part
'
•"
of this Work it has been
fanddans demonstrated, so far as a fact of that nature
by" raduion. is Capable of demonstration, that the mo-
dern Highlanders are the same people with those
who inhabited the Highlands of Scotland in the
ninth and tenth centuries, and that these inhabitants
were not Scots, as is generally supposed, but were
the descendants of the great northern division of the
Pictish nation, who were altogether unaffected by
the Scottish conquest of the Lowlands in 843, and
who in a great measure maintained their independ-
ence of the kings of that race. It has also been
shewn that these Northern Picts were a part of the
Caledonians, the most ancient inhabitants of the
country, and that they spoke the same language, and
bore the same national appellation, with the present
Highlanders. Now to this idea, it may be said, that
the traditionary origins at present existing among the
clans are radically opposed, and that it is difficult to
believe that, if such was their real origin, a tradition

of an opposite nature could exist among them. At
first sight this objection will appear a serious one;
but that arises, in a great measure, from not duly
investigating the nature and history of the Highland
traditions.
History of In examining the history of the Highland
traditions, claus, the cuquircr will first be struck by
the diversity of the traditionary origins assigned to
them. He will find them to have been held by some
to be originally Irish, by others Scandinavian, Nor-
man, or Saxon, and he will find different origins
assigned to many of the clans, all of which are sup-

ported by arguments and authorities equally strong.
Among so many conflicting traditions and systems,
he will probably feel himself in considerable uncer-
tainty, and the presumption which naturally arises in
his mind is, that all these systems and traditions are
equally false, and that the true origin of the High-
landers has yet to be discovered. This presumption
will be strengthened when he remarks, that in none
of these traditions is a native origin ever assigned to
any of the clans, but that, on the contrary, they are

all brought from some one foreign people or another;
a system which reason shews to be as impossible as

it is unsupported by history and inconsistent with
the internal condition of the country. But a closer
inspection will discover to him a still more remark-

able circumstance— viz., that there has been in the
Highlands, from the '
earliest 'period, a suc-
Succession "^
tu>n"fn the
ccssiou of traditions regarding the origin of
Highlands,
^j^^ different clans, which are equally op-
posed to each other, and which have equally ob-

tained credit in the Highlands, at the time when
they sevei-ally prevailed. It will be proper, there-
fore, to notice shortly these successive systems of
traditionary origin which have sprung up at different
times in the Highlands, and the causes which led to

their being adopted by the clans.
The immediate effect of the Scottish conquest, in
843, was the overthrow of the civilization and leam-
CHAP. I.J THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 7
ing of the country. The Southern Picts, a people

comparatively civilized, and who possessed in some
degree the monkish learning of the age, were over-
run by the still barbarous Scottish hordes, assisted
by the equally barbarous Pictish tribes of the moun-
tains. After this event, succeeded a period of confu-
sion and civil war, arising from the struggles between
the races of the Scots and of the Northern Picts, for
preeminence on the one part, and independence on
the other; and when order and learning once more
lifted up their heads amongst the contending tribes,
a race of kings of Scottish lineage were firmly esta-
blished on the throne, and the name of Scot and
Scotland had spread over the whole country. A
knowledge of the real origin of the Highland clans
was, in some degree, lost in the confusion. The na-
tural result of the preeminence of the Scottish name
in the country was a gradual belief in the Scottish
origin of the Highland clans
and this belief, which
;
must eventually have prevailed even among the clans

themselves, was firmly fixed in their minds at an
earlier period by a circumstance in the history of
Scotland which will be afterwards noticed. The
First gene- first systcm, thcu, which produced a change
ônassignB -j^ ^j^g traditional origin of the Highlands
?he^dam. may be called the Scottish or Irish system.
The oldest and purest specimen of this tradition
which I have been able to discover, is contained in

an ancient parchment MS., containing genealogies
of most of the Highland clans, and which, from in-
temal evidence, appears to have been written about

A.D. 1450 '. In this MS. the different clans are
brought from two sources. First, the Macdonalds
and their numerous dependants are brought from
Colla Uais, an Irish king of the fourth century
second, the other clans mentioned in the MS. are
brought in different lines from Feradach Fin and his
son, Fearchar Fada, the latter of whom was a king of
Dah-iada, of the line of Lorn, and reigned in the
early part of the eighth century. I shall state shortly
the reasons which induce me to think generally that
this could not have been the true origin of these

clans, and that it must have been a system intro-
duced by circumstances, and one which gradually

obtained belief among the Highlanders. The parti-
cular objection to the origin of the different clans
1 This MS., the value and importance of which it is impos-

sible to estimate too highly, was discovered by the Author
among the MSS. in the collection of the Faculty of Advocates.
After a strict and attentive examination of its contents and ap-
pearance, the Author came to the conclusion that it must have
been written by a person of the name of M'Lachlan as early as
the year 1450; and this conclusion with regard to its anti-
quity was afterwards confirmed by discovering upon it the date
of 1467. As this MS. will be very frequently quoted in the
course of this part of the Work, it will be referred to as " the

MS. of 1450," to distinguish from the other Gaelic MSS. to
it
which allusion will be made. The Author may add, that he

has printed the text of the MS. in question, accompanied with
a literal Enghsh translation, in the first number of the valuable
Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis, edited by the lona Club.
CHAP. I.J THE HIGHLAND CLANS. i)
mentioned in the MS. will be found under the head

of each clan. In the Jirst place, it will be remarked,
that although the Dalriads consisted of the three dif-
ferent tribes of Lorn, Cowall, and Kintyre and
;
although, as we have seen, the tribe of Lorn was

almost annihilated, while that of Kintyre attained to
so great power as eventually to obtain the supreme
authority over all Scotland, yet the clans in this MS.
inhabiting the greater part of the Highlands, includ-
ing the extensive districts of Moray and Ross, are
all brought from the small and almost annihilated
tribe of Lorn, and not one from any of the other
Dalriadic tribes. It is almost inconceivable that the
population of such immense districts could have
sprung from the small tribe of Lorn alone. In the
second place, if we suppose the general system of the
descent of the clans from the Dalriadic tribe of Lorn,
as contained in the MS., to be correctf then the re-
lative affinities of the clans with each other will be
found at utter variance with those which are known
and estabhshed by authentic documents. The clans
brought by this MS. from the line of Lorn may be
divided into two classes ; first, those brought from
sons or brothers of Fearchar Fada ; secondly, those
brought from a certain Cormac Mac Oirbertaigh, a
descendant of Fearchar. In the second class, the
Rosses are made nearer in connexion to the Mac-
nabs than the Mackinnons, and yet there is no tra-
dition of any connexion having subsisted between
the Rosses and the Macnabs, a connexion which
B 3
10 THE HIGHLAND CLANS.
distance of abode renders improbable while, on the ;
bond of Manrent between

other hand, there exists a
the Macnabs and Mackinnons, founded upon their
close connexion and descent from two brothers.
The same remark applies to the Macgregors, Mac-
kinnons, and Macquarries, who by the MS. are made
no nearer to each other than they are to the Rosses,
Mackenzies, &c. If, however, we leave out of view
those earlier parts of the diffei-ent genealogies by
which the clans are connected w ith the kings of the
line of Lorn, then we shall find the rest of the MS.

to be borne out in a most remarkable manner by
every authentic record of the history of the different
cians which remains to us. In the third place, those
early parts of the different genealogies do not agree
among themselves ; thus, Cormac Mac Oirbertaigh is
upon different occasions made great-great-grandson,
great-grandson, grandson, a remote descendant, ne-
phew, and brother of Fearchar Fada.
It will be shewn in another place, that there is
every reason to think that the genealogies contained

in the MS. are perfectly authentic for the last four-
teen generations, or as far back as the year 1000,
A.C., but that previous to that date they are to be re-
garded as altogether fabulous'.
Upon the whole, the only inferences which can be
legitimately drawn from the MS., are, 1st. That
there was at that time an universal belief in the
'
See infra, p. 39.
CHAP. I.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. H
Highlands, that the Highland clans formed a distinct
people of the same race, and acknowledging a com-
mon origin. 2dly. That the clans mentioned in the
MS., apparently consist of three great divisions the ;
clans contained in each division being more closely

connected among themselves than with those of the
other divisions. The first consists of the Mac-
donells and other families descended from them.
The second, of those clans which are said by the
MS. be descended from sons or brothers of Fear-
to
char Fada, and who inhabit principally the ancient
district of Mora}'. The third is formed by the prin-
cipal Ross-shire clans, together with the clan Alpin,
who are brought from Cormac Mac Oirbertaigh.
JenlATua'^ The ncxt system of traditionary origins
dui?dthe which was introduced into the Highlands,
clans from
of^sroufsh
^^^ which supplanted the former, may be
histoVy!'' termed the heroic system, and may be cha-
racterized as deducing many of the Highland clans
from the great heroes in the fabulous histories of
Scotland and Ireland, by identifying one of these
fabulous heroes with an ancestor of the clan of the
same name. This system seems to have sprung up
very shortly before the date of the MS. before re-
ferred to, and to have veiy soon obtained credit in
the Highlands, probably in consequence of the effect
of its flattering character upon the national vanity.
We* can trace the appearance of this system in some
of tlie clans contained in the MS. of 1450. It seems
to have been first adopted by the Macdonalds, who

identified two of their ancestors, named Colla and
Conn, with Colla Uais and Conn of the hundred
battles, two celebrated kings of Ireland. In the
Macneills we actually see the change taking place,
for while they have preserved their descent in the MS.
according to the Irish system, they have already
identified their ancestor, who gave his name to the
Naoi Giall, a king of Ireland, who
clan, with Neill
reigned many hundred years before they existed. In
the Macgregors we can detect the change taking
})lace in the latter part of the 15th century. In a
MS. genealogy written in the year 1512 ', I find that
the Macgregors are brought in a direct line fi-oni
Kenneth Macalpin, a hero famed in fabulous history

as the exteraiinator of the whole Pictish nation ;
whereas, in the MS. of 1450, we have seen that

their origin is very different; so that this change
must have taken place between these two periods.
The publication of the history of Fordun, and the
chronicle of Winton, had given a great popular
celebrity to the heroes of Scottish history, and some
of the Highland Sennachies finding a tribe of the
Macgregors termed Macalpins, probably took ad-
vantage of that circumstance, to claim a descent
from the great hero of that name. The same cause
apparently induced them afterwards to desert their
' MS. penes Highland Society of Scotland.

supposed progenitor Kenneth, and to substitute in

his place Gregory the Great, a more mysterious, and
therefore, perhaps, in their idea, a greater hero than
Kenneth.
A similar change may be observed in the tradi-
tionary origin of the Macintoshes, Mackenzies, Mac-

leans, &c. ; the Macintoshes, who, in the MS. of
1450, are made a part of the clan Chattan, and de-
scended fi-om Gillechattan Mor, the great progenitor
of that race, appear soon after to have denied this
descent, and to have claimed as their ancestor, Mac-
duff, the Thane of Fife, himself a greater and more
romantic hero even than Kenneth Macalpin. They
were, however, unfortunate in this choice, as in later
times the very existence of Macduff has with some
reason been doubted, and they were perhaps induced
to choose him from the fact that the late earls of
Fife possessed extensive property in their neigh-

bourhood, and also that there is some reason for
thinking that the earls of Fife were actually a branch

of the same race.
Not to multiply instances of the change of the tra-
ditionary origins to this system, I shall only mention

at present the Mackenzies and the Macleans, who,
probably, from finding the Scotch field occupied,
took a wider flight, and claimed descent from a cer-
tain Colin Fitzgerald, a scion of the noble family of
Kildare, who is said to have greatly contributed to
the victory at Largs in 1266. This origin, it has
been seen, was altogether unknown in 1450, at which
period the Mackenzies were universally believed to

have been a branch of the Rosses.
The last tra-
^ho last systcui of Highland origins did
No'rman and^ not appear till the seventeenth century, and
Norwegian .
i • /. i tt-
ancestors to is not the production
^ of the Highland
" Sen-
many of the
clans.
nachies. It may be termed the Norwegian
or Danish system, and sprung up at the time when
the fabulous history of Scotland first began to be
doubted ; when it was considered to be a principal
merit in an antiquary, to display his scepticism as
to all the old traditions of the country ; and when
the slender knovA'ledge of the true history, which
they did possess, produced in their minds merely a
vague idea of the immense extent of the Norwegian
conquests and settlements in the north of Scotland.
Not only was every thing imputed to the Danes, but
every one was supposed to be descended from them.
This idea, however, never obtained any great credit
in the Highlands. The greatest efforts of the fa-
vourers of this system was that of making the INIac-
leods the direct descendants of the Norwegian kings
of Mann and the Isles, a descent, for which there is
not a vestige of authority. Besides this, I possess a MS.

genealogy of the Macleods, written in the sixteenth
century, in which there is no mention whatever of such
an origin'. I may also mention the Camerons, who
are said to be descended from Cambro, a Dane ; the
Grants from Acquin de Grandt, a Dane ; the Mac-
'
MS. penes Highland Society of Scotland.
donalds from the Norwegians of the Isles ; the

Campbells from de Campo-Bello, a Norman ; and
many others, but all of which are equally groundless,
as will be shewn in the sequel.
Such is a short view of the different systems of
descent which have sprung up in the Highlands, and
of the causes which apparently led to their being
adopted ; and from these few remarks which have
been made upon the origin of the Highland clans,
we may draw two conclusions. In the first place,
we may conclude that circumstances may cause the
traditionary origin of the different Highland clans to
change, and a new origin to be introduced, and gra-
dually to obtain general belief; and arguing from
analogy, the real origin of the Highlanders may be
lost, and a different origin, in itself untrue, may be
received in the country as the true one. Farther,
in this way there may be a succession of traditions
in the Highland families, all of them differing
equally from each other and from the truth. In the
second place, we may conclude, that although the
general system of the origin of the clans contained in
a MS. may be false, yet the farther back we go,
there appears a stronger and more general belief
that the Highland clans formed a peculiar and dis-
tinct nation, possessing a community of origin, and

also, that throwing aside the general systems, the
affinities of the different clans to each other have
been through all their changes uniformly preserved.
] 6 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART II.
Such being
° the case,' it is manifest that
The old MS.
genealogies
merely prove
ype should considcr these old MS. arenea-
<->
Hfghiand logics merely as affording proof that the

res"ed''a°com- Highland clans were all of the same race,
men origin.
and that in order to ascertain what that race
was, we should look to other sources. It has already
been shewn, from historic authority, that the High-
landers of the tenth century were the descendants
of the Northern Picts of the seventh and eighth.
Now, when it appears that the Highlanders
The clans in . ,..,,. .
reality de- at that time wcrc divided into several gi-eat
°
scended from
tHbls'ôfthe tribes inhabiting those northern districts
eleventh cen- which Were aftcrwards known as earldoms,

turies, whose
aftlrwrrd?
^^^ ^^^ tliesc tribcs had hereditary chiefs,
termed earls,
^^j^^ appear in tlic chrouiclcs in connexion
with their respective districts, under the title of
Maormors — and when it also appears that in many
of the districts these Maormors of the tenth century
can be traced down in succession to the reign
of David I., at which time, in compliance with
the Saxon customs then introduced, they assumed
the title of Comes, and became the first earls in
Scotland :— and when it can be shewn that in a few

generations more, almost all of these great chiefs be-
came extinct in the male line that Saxon nobles ;
came by marriage into possession of their territories

and honours and that then the different clans appeaf
;
for the first time in these districts, and in inde-
pendence we are irresistibly drawn to the conclu-

;
CHAP. I.] THE HIGHLANB CLANS. 17
sion, that the Highland clans are not of different of
of foreign origin, but that they were a part of the

original nation, who have inhabited the mountains
of Scotland as far back as the memory of man, or
the records of history can reach — that they were di-
vided into several great tribes possessing their here-
ditary chiefs ; was only when the line of
and that it
these chiefs became extinct, and Saxon nobles came

in their place, that the Highland clans appeared in
the peculiar situation and character in which they
were afterwards found.
This conclusion, to which we have arrived by
these general arguments, is strongly coiToborated by
a very remarkable circumstance : for, notwithstand-
A tradition
° that the system of an Irish or Dalriadic
ing ''
desren't^can
o^'igi" of the Highland clans had been intro-
theHigh-"' duced as early as the beginning of the
fifteenth century, we can still trace the
existence in the Highlands, even as late as the
sixteenth century, of a still older tradition than that
contained in the MS. of 1450 ; a tradition altogether
distinct and different from that one, and one which
not only agrees in a singular manner with the system
developed in this Work, but which also stamps the
Dalriadic tradition as the invention of the Scottish
monks, and accounts for its introduction.
The first proof of the existence of this tradition

which I shall bring forward, is contained in a letter
dated 1542, and addressed to King Henry VIII.

of England, by a person designating himself " John
18 THE HIGHLAND CLANS, [PART II.
Elder, clerk, a Recldschanke." It will be necessary,

however, to premise that the author uses the word
" Yrische " in the same sense in which the word
Erse was applied word for
to the Highlanders, his
Irish being diffei-ently spelt. he men-
In that letter
tions the *' Yrische lords of Scotland, commonly

callit Redd Schankes, and by Jdstoriagraphouris,
PiCTis." He then proceeds to give an account of the
origin of the Highlanders ; he describes them as in-
habiting Scotland " befor the incummynge of Alba-

nactus Brutus second sonne," and as having been
" gyauntes and wylde people without ordour, civi-
litie, or maners, and spake none other language but
Yrische ;" that they were civilized by Albanactus
from whom they were " Albonyghe." And
callit
after this account of their origin, he adds, " which

derivacion the papistical curside spiritualitie of Scot-
land, will not heir in no manor of wyse, nor confesse
that ever such a. kynge, namede Albanactus reagnede-
ther, the which derivacion all the Yrische men of
Scotland, which be the auncienl stoke, cannot, nor
will not denye."
He then proceeds to say, " But our said bussheps
drywithe Scotland and theme selfes, from a certain
lady namede Scota, which (as they alledge) came out
of Egipte, a mai-aculous bote cuntreth, to recreatt
hirself emonges theame in the colde ayre of Scot-
land, which they can not afferme by no probable a un-
dent author.''' From the extracts which have been
made from this curious authoi*, it will at once be
seen, tliat there was at that time in Scotland two

conflicting traditions regarding the origin of the
Reddschankes or Highlanders, the one supported by
the Highlanders of the " more auncient stoke" the
;"
other by the " curside spiritualitie of Scotland
and from the indignation and irritation which he
displays against the " bussheps " it is plain that
the latter tradition was fast gaining ground, and must
indeed have generally prevailed. The last tradition
is easily identified with that contained in the MS. of

1450, and consequently there must have existed
among the purer Highlanders a still older tradition
by which their origin was derived from the " Plctis."
The existence of such a tradition in Scotland at
the time is still farther proved by Stapleton's Trans-
lation of the Venerable Bede, which was written in
1550. In that translation he renders the following

passage of Bede, " Cugus monasterium in cunctis
pene septentrionalium Scottorum et omnium Pic-
torum monasteriis non parvo tempore arcem tenebat,"
as follows ; —" The house of his religion was no
small time the head house of all the monasteries of the
northern Scottes, and of the abbyes of all the Redd-
schankes." It would be needless to multiply quo-
tations shew that the Highlanders were at that
to
time universally known by the tenu Reddschankes.
The accordance of the oldest tradition which can
be traced in the country, with the conclusion to which
a strict and critical examination of all the ancient
authorities on the subject had previously brought us^
20 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART 11.
foniis a body of evidence regarding the true origin

of the Highlanders of Scotland to which the history
of no other nation can esLhibit a parallel. The au-
thority of John Elder, however, not only proves the
tradition of the descent of the Highlanders from the
Picts, to have existed in the, Highlands before the
Irish or Dalriadic system was introduced, but we
can even ascertain from him the origin of the later
system, and the cause of its obtaining such universal

belief.
It appears from John Elder's letter, that the clergy

of Scotland asserted the descent of the Highlanders
from the Scots of Dalriada, and that the older High-
land families held a different tradition, which agrees
with the system contained in this Work. The object
of John Elder's letter, however, was to assure the
King of England of support in the Highlands in his
plans of obtaining influence in Scotland, and the
Highland chiefs who held this older tradition are
just those whom he afterwards names to King Henry
as in the English interest. Now it is very remark-
able, that the first trace of the Dalriadic system
which we can discover, is in the famous letter ad-
dressed to the Pope in 1320 by the party who as-
serted the independence of Scotland. To this party
the clergy of Scotland unquestionably belonged,

while it is equally clear that the Highland chiefs,
with very few exceptions, belonged to the Englisli
party and upon comparing the traditionary history
;
upon which Edward 1. founded his claim, and whjclj

CHAP. 1.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS, 21
of course bis party in Scotland must have believed,

u'e actually find it to be a part of the same ti-adition
which John Elder asserts to have been held by the

older Highland families, and which included a belief
of their descent from the Picts. The cause of the
ju'evalence of the Scottish story is now clear; for the
question of the independence of Scotland having
been most improperly placed by the two parties on
the truth of their respective traditions, it is plain
that as the one party would the tradition which
fell, so
they asserted ; and that the final supremacy of the
independent party in the Highlands, as well as in
the rest of Scotland, and the total ruin of their ad-
versaries, must have established the absolute belief
in the descent of the Highlanders, as well as the
kings and clergy of Scotland, from the Scots of Dal-
riada.
We see, however, from John Elder, that, notwith-
standing the succession of false traditions which

prevailed in the Highlands at difierent times, traces
of the true one were still to be found.
This remark, however, is true also of the tradi-
tionary origins of individual clans, as well as of the
Highlanders in general; for although tradition as-
signs to them an origin which is untrue, still we can
invariably trace in some part of that tradition the
real story, although it assumes a false aspect and
colouring from its being connected with a false tra-
dition.
The most remarkable instance of this occurs in

those clans who assert a Scandinavian or Norman

origin; for we invariably find, in such cases, that their
tradition asserted a marriage of the foreign founder
of their race with the heiress of that family of which
they were in reality a branch. Thus, the Macin-
toshes assert that they are descended from the Earl
of Fife, and obtained their present lands by marriage
with the heiress of clan Chattau, and yet they can
be proved to have been from the beginning a branch
of that clan. The Campbells say that they are a
Norman family, who married the heiress of Paul
O'Duibhne, lord of Lochow, and yet they can be
proved to be descended from the O'Duibhnes. The
Grants, who no sooner
are a sept of the clan Alpin,
claimed a foreign descent from the Danish Acquin
de Grandt, than they asserted that their ancestor had
married the heiress of Macgregor, lord of Freuchie
the Camerons and Mackenzies, when they assumed
the Danish Cambro and the Norman Fitzgerald for
their founders, asserted a maiTiage with the heiresses
of Macmartin and Matheson, of which families they
can be proved to have been severally descended in
the male line. The first thing which strikes us as
remarkable in this fact is, that the true tradition in-
variably assumes the same aspect, although that a
false one, with regard to all the clans ; and there is
also another fact with regard to these clans which

will probably throw some light upon the cause of
the adoption of a false tradition, and the singular and
unvarying aspect which the true one assumes — viz.,
that most of the families who assert a foreign origin,
and accomit for their position at the head of a High-

land clan by a marriage with the heiress of its chief,
are just those very families, and no other, whom we

find using the title of captain ; and that the family
who oppose their title to the chiefship invariably
assert amale descent from the chief whose daughter
they are said to have married. The Aôrd captain
implies a person in actual possession of the leading
of the clan who has no right by blood to that station
and it will afterwards be proved that every family who
used the title of captain of a particular clan, were the
oldest cadets of that clan, who had usurped the lead-
ing of it, to the prejudice of the chief by blood. Now
as the identity of the false aspect which the true tra-
dition assumes in all of these cases, implies that the

cause was the same in all, we may assume that
wherever these too circumstances are to be found
combined, of a clan claiming a foreign origin, and
asserting a marriage with the heiress of a Highland
family, whose estates they possessed and whose fol-
lowers they led, they must invariably have been the

oldest cadet of that family, who by usui-pation or
otherwise had become de facto chief of the clan, and
who covered their defect of right by blood by deny-
ing their descent from the clan, and asserting that
the founder of their house had married the heiress of
its chief.
The genela deduction from the MS. genealogies

of the Highland clans is, that the various clans were
24 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART II,
divided into several great tribes, the clans forming

each of these separate tribes being deduced by the
genealogies from a common ancestor, while a marked
distinction is drawn between the and
different tribes,
indications can at the same time be traced in each
tribe, which identify them with the earldoms or
maormorships into which the north of Scotland was
anciently divided.
This will appear from the following Table of the
distribution of the clans by the old genealogies into
different tribes :
I. Descendants of Conn of the Hundred Battles.

The Lords of the Isles, The Maclauchlans.
Macdonalds. The Macewens.
The Macdougalls. The Maclaisrichs.
The Macneills. The Maceacherns.
IL Descendants of Ferchar Fata Mac Feradaig.

The Old Maormors of Moray. I The Macphersons.
The Macintoshes. | The Macnauchtons.
III. Descendants of Cormac Mac Oirbertaig.

The Old Earls of Ross. The Mackinnons.
The Mackenzies. The Macquarries.
The Mathiesons. The Macnabs.
The Macgregors. The MacduflSes.
IV. Descendants of Fergus leith dearg.
The Macleods. |
The Campbells.
V. Descendants of Krycul.
The Macnicols.
In the foUowiug notices of the Highland clans we

shall take the various great tribes into which the
Highlanders were originally divided, and which are
identic with the old earldoms, in their order; and
after giving a sketch of the history and fall of their
ancient chiefs or earls, we shall proceed, under the
head of each tribe, to the diflerent clans which
formed a part of that tribe, and then for the first
time appeared in independence.

2& THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART II.
CHAPTER IT.
I. The Gallgael.
The Gall-
When the Norse Sagas and Irish Annals
^^^''
first throw their steady though faint hght
upon the history of the north of Scotland, we can
distinctly trace, in the restless warfare at that period
excited by the incessant incursions of the northern
pirates, the frequent appearance of a people termed
by the Irish annalists the Gallgael, or Gaelic pirates.
Tlie northern pirates were at that time known to the
Irish writers by the name of Fingall and Dugall, the
former being applied to the Norwegians, the latter to
the Danes. The word Gall, originally signifying a

stranger, came to be applied to every pirate, and we
find a strong distinction invariably implied between
the white and the black Galls, and those to whom
they added the name of Gael, or Gaelic Galls. The
latter people are first mentioned in the Irish Annals
in the year 855, when we find them assisting the
Irish against the Norwegians ; and in the following
year they again ajDpear under their leader, Caittil
fin, or the white, at war with the Norwegian
pirate kings of Dublin. In 1034, Tighernac men-
tions the death of Suibne, the son of Kenneth, king
CHAP. II.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 27
of the Gallgael; and in 1154 wefind mention made

of an expedition to Ireland by the " Gallgael of
An-an, Kintyie, Man, and the Cantair Alban." This
last passage proves that the Gallgael were the inha-
bitants of the Isles and of Argyll, the expression
Cantair Alban being equivalent to the Oirir Alban
or Oirir Gael of other writers, and to the Ergadia of
the Scottish historians ; and as Arefrodi, the oldest
Norse writer which we possess, mentions the occu-
pation of the Western Isles, on the departure of
Harold Harfagr, by Vikingr Skotar, a term which is
an exact translation of the appellation Gallgael, it
seems clear that the Gallgael must have possessed

the Isles as well as Argyll, from the period of the
Scottish conquest, in the ninth century, to the mid-
dle of the twelfth, while the expression of Are frodi
equally clearly implies that they were native Scots
and not Norwegians.
The Gallgael were certainly independent in the
ninth century, and also in the beginning of the
eleventh, when a king of the race is mentioned ; it is
therefore not improbable that the kings of the Isles

between these periods were of this race. The first
king of the Isles who is mentioned is Anlaf,who at-
tempted, in conjunction with Constantine, the Scot-
tish king, to obtain possession of Northumberland,
but was defeated by Athelstan, the Saxon king, at
Brmianburgh, in 938. Anlaf is styled by the Saxon
historians. Rex plurimarum insularum, and that he
was king of the Western Isles, and of the same race
c 2
with the Gallgael, is put beyond all doubt by the

Egilla Saga, which ancient document not only calls
hira a king in Scotland, but expressly states that he
had Danish blood from his mother, who was a Dane,
and a descendant of Regnar Lodbrog, but that his
father was a native Scot'. Anlaf was the son of
Sidroc, who was put by the Danes in possession of
Northumberland and as Anlaf is called by the Irish
;
writers grandson of Ivar, and it is well known that

Ivar was a son of Regnar Lodbrog, it follows from
the passage in the Egilla Saga, that Sidroc must
have been a native Scot of the race of the Gallgael,
who married the daughter of Ivar, the principal
leader of the Danish pirates, and was made by him
king of the Northumbrians, But it would farther
appear that Sidroc was the brother of the king of the

Gallgael, for the Saxon historians mention, in 914,
the death of Nial rex by his brother Sidroc. Sidroc
was at this time in possession of Northumberland,
so that king Nial was probably the king of the Gall-
gael, and on his unnatural death was succeeded by
his nephew Anlaf.
In ascertaining the earlier kings of this race we
are assisted by the Manx traditions. Sacheveral,
in his curiouswork on the Isle of Man, mentions that
there was a very old tradition, that previous to the
conquest of the island by Godred Crovan, in the end
> Egilla Saga. — Olafr Raudi bet konungr a Skotlandi hann

var Skoizkr at faudr kyiii enn Danskr at modur ki/ni oc komina
af aett Ragnars Lodbrokar.
of the eleventh century, it was ruled by twelve suc-

cessive kings of the same race, the first of whom wa;^
named Orree, and conquered the island abont the

middle of the ninth century. This tradition is very
remarkably confirmed, for we recognise in the names
of these kings the kings of the Isles of the race of
Sidroc, of whom Anlaf is the first mentioned by the
historians, while the first of them is said to have
conquered Man at the very time when, as we have
seen, the Gallgael took possession of the Western
Isles. The accuracy of the tradition, however, is
still farther evinced by the fact that the Lodbrogar

quida, an authentic and almost contemporary record
of the piratical expeditions of Regnar Lodbrog, in
describing an attack upon the Western Isles by
Regnar, in 850, actually mentions that he slew Aurn
conungr, or king Aurn at Isla. The resemblance of
name is sufficient to identify him with the Orree of
the Manx tradition, and it vôuld thus appear that
the Gallgael, a native tribe, had, under their king
Orree, or Aurn, taken possession of the Western
Isles and Man shortly after the date of the Scottish
conquest in 84.3. It is now clear who these Gall-
gael were, for they possessed Argyll as well as the
Isles ; and it has been previously shewn, that the
whole of Argyll was, immediately after the Scottish
conquest in 843, possessed by the tribe of the Cale-

donii', who had previously inhabited the districts of
Atholl, Lochaber, and North Argyll. The Pictish
'
See Vol. I. p. 102.
origin of the Gallgael is, however, established by

another circumstance. The territories occupied by
the Gallgael in the ninth century constituted exactly
the diocese of Dunkeld. The first measure of Ken-
neth M'Alpin, on his conquest of the southern Picts,
was to establish the Culdee Church over the whole
of the conquered territory, and in consequence of this
great extension of that church, he found it necessary
to remove the primacy from lona to Dunkeld. With
this church the primacy remained until the reign of
Grig, when the primacy was removed from Dunkeld
to St. Andrew's ; and the Scots appear to have ob-
tained the removal of their subjection to the diocese
of Dunkeld, as the price of their submission to the
usurper Grig. The expression of the chronicle in
narrating this event is remarkable
" Qui dedit EcclesicB libertates Scoticance,

Quae sub Pictorum lege redacta fuit ;
" l
and the inference is clear that the inhabitants of

the diocese of Dunkeld at least, that is, the Gallgael,
were at that time Picts. The early history of
this tribe is now sufficiently clear : on the con-
quest of the southern Picts by the Scots, they
obtained possession of Dalriada, which, along with
their previous possessions of Lochaber and Wester
Ross, now received the appellation of Oirir Gael, or
the Coastlands of the Gael, probably in contradis-
tinction to their inland possessions of AthoU ; and a
' Chron. Eleg.

few years afterwards they added the Western Isles

to their now extensive territoiies. Here their king
Aura was slain by Regnar. As Regnar immediately
after this attacked the Fingall in Ireland, and con-
tinued at war with them for some years ; and as at
the same period we find the Gallgael, under their

leader Caittil fin, also engaged in hostilities with the
Fingall, it is probable that Regnar had compelled
them to join him, and that it was in consequence of
this union, and of the pirate life which they were
compelled to adopt, that they obtained the Irish
name of Gallgael, and the Norse appellation of the
Vikingr Skotar. On the arrival of the sons of Reg-
nar, in 865, to avenge their father's death, Caittil
appears to have joined them with his Gallgael, and is
probably the same person with the Oskytel, whom

the Saxon historians mention as one of the leaders
in that expedition. His successor was Neil, who
was put by his own brother Sidroc, who,
to death
having married the daughter of Ivar, the son of Reg-
nar Lodbrog, had, on the success of the expedition,
been put in possession of Northumberland- On Si-
droc's death, his son Anlaf found himself unable to
retain possession of Northumberland, but held the
whence he made
Scottish territories of his race, fi-om
two unsuccessful attempts to regain Northumberland.
The next king of the Isles mentioned by the histo-
rians, is Maccus, styled by the Saxon writers " rex
plurimarum insularum," and by the Irish writers,
the son of Arailt. It appears from the same WTiters
that he was Anlaf's nephew, for they style Arailt the
grandson of Ivar and son of Sidroc. Maccus was

succeeded by his brother, Godfrey Mac Arailt, who
was slain in an Irish expedition in 987, and not long
after his death the Isles were conquered, along with
a considerable part of the north of Scotland, by
Sigurd, the earl of Orkney. Among the Scottish earls
mentioned by the Sagas as reconquering the north
of Scotland from Sigurd, is Hundi or Ken-
A.D. 993.
neth. He was probably the same Kenneth
who was father of Suibne, king of the Gallgael in
1034, and at the same time must have been son of
Godfrey, as we find Ranald Mac Godfrey king of the
Isles in 1004. On Ranald's death, in 1004, Suibne,
the son of Kenneth, reigned over this tribe until
1034, when, as his death exactly synchronises with

the conquest of the Isles and the whole of the nortli
of Scotland by Thorfinn, the earl of Orkney, it would
appear that he had been slain by that powerful earl
in the unsuccessful defence of his territories. From

this period there is no mention of any king of the
Gallgael, and it is certain that the subsequent kings
of the Isles were not of this race. It is therefore
apparent that this petty kingdom never afterwards

rose to the same state in which it had been before
the conquest of Thorfinn, and that the different
septs into which the tribe became separated on the
death of their king in 1034, never again united under
one head. We shall now, therefore, trace the origin
and history of the various septs whom we find inha-
biting these districts at a later period, under the two

great divisions of Argyll and AthoU,
ARGYLL.
The ancient distinct of Argyll consisted of the pre-
sent county of that name, together with the districts
of Lochaber and Wester Ross, and was known to the
Highlanders by the name of the Cantair, or Oirir,
Alban, and sometimes of Oirirgael, whence the pre-

sent name The present district of Wester
is derived.
Ross was termed them Oii-ir an tuath, or the

b}'
Northern coastlands, and the remaining part re-

ceived the name of the Oirir an deas, or Southern
coastlands. From the previous history of this dis-
trict, it is probable that this name was derived from
its forming the maritime part of the territories of tlie
Gallgael, in opposition to their inland possessions of

Atholl. By the historians, the whole of this exten-
sive district is included under the term of Ergadia,
and the northern and southern divisions iinder those
of Ergadia Borealis and Ergadia Australis. When
the Saxon polity of sheriffdoms was introduced into
Scotland, the government had not such a secure
footing in the Highlands as to enable them to dis-
tribute itnumerous sheriffdoms, and thus to
into
force obedience to the laws, by means of the sheriffs,
every where established, as they did in the Lowlands,
Such a subjection to royal authority in the person of
sheriffs could only in the Highlands be a nominal
one, but the principles of the Saxon polity then in-
troduced, required that the whole countiy should

either nominally or really be distributed into sheriff-
doms, and accordingly the whole of the Highlands
was divided into two, the districts north of the
Mounth forming the sheriffdom of Inverness, while
those south of that range were included in the she-
riffdom of Perth. In this state the Highlands re-
mained till the reign of Alexander II., divided into

two sheriffdoms, each of which in extent resembled
more a petty kingdom than the sheriffdom of the
rest of the country and that sheriff-making monarch
;
revived the Saxon policy of bringing conquered dis-

tricts under permanent subjection to the laws and
government, by erecting them into a new and sepa-

rate sheriffdom, and thus arose the additional shires
of Elgin, Nairn, Banff, Cromarty, and Ai-gyll. In
this way, previous to the reign of Alexander II., the
districts of North and South Argyll were included in
separate shires, the former being in Inverness, the
latter in Perth. To the Norse the whole district was
known by the name of Dala, under which appellation
it is first mentioned in the end of the tenth century,
and is included among the conquests of Sigurd, the
second of that name, Earl of Orkney, and the same
term is used by the Norse writers for this district
down to the end of the twelfth century. In 1093

the Western Isles were conquered by Magnus Bare-
foot, king of Norway, and the conquest was con-
firmed to him by Malcolm Kenmore, then com-
mencing the expedition into England, in which he
lost his life, who resigned to Magnus all the Western

Isles round which he could sail in a boat of a parti-
cular size, but Magnus causing his boat to be dragged
across the isthmus which unites Kintyre and Knap-
dale, asserted that the former district came within
the description of those which were resigned to him,
and thus was Kintyre separated from Argyll', and
united to the kingdom of the Isles, of which it ever
afterwards formed a part. This great district of
Argyll was inhabited by a number of powerful clans,
of which the most potent were the Macdonalds and
other clans of the same race, who exercised for a long
period an almost regal sway in these regions, and
who were anciently included under the general de-
signation of the Siol Cuinn, or race of Conn, a re-
mote ancestor of the tribe.
SIOL CUINN.
This tribe was one far too distinguished to escape

the grasping claims of the Irish Sennachies, and
accordingly it appears to have been among the very
first to whom an Irish origin was imputed ; but later
antiquaries, misled by the close connection which at
all times subsisted between the Macdonalds and the
Norwegians of the Isles, have been inclined rather to
consider them as of Norwegian origin. Neither of

these theories, however, admit of being borne out
either by argument or authority. The followers of
' Magnus Barefoot's Saga.

the Irish system can only produce a vague tradition

in its support against the manifest improbability of
the supposition that a tribe possessing such exten-
sive territories in Scotland should have been of
foreign origin, while history is altogether silent as
to the arrival of any such people in the country.
Besides this, it has been formerly shewn that there is
reason to regard the Irish traditions in Scotland as

of but late origin. As to the Norwegian theory, it
has principally arisen from its supporters having

overlooked the fact, that when the Danish and Nor-
wegian pirates ravaged the shores of Scotland, and
brought its inhabitants under their subjection, the
conquered Gael adopted in some degree the Nor-
wegian habits of piracy, and took frequently an
active share in their predatory expeditions. These
Gael are termed, as we have seen in the Irish
Annals, Gallgael, or the Norwegian Gael, to distin-
guish them from those Gael who were independent
of the Norwegians, or who took no part in their ex-
peditions, and we have every reason to think con-
sisted principally of the Siol Cuinn.

The traditions of the Macdonalds themselves tend
to shew that they could not have been of foreign
origin. The whole of the Highlands, and especially
the districts possessed by the Gallgael, were inhabited
by the northern Picts, as we have seen, at least as
late as the eleventh century. In the middle of the

twelfth, the Orkneyinga Saga terms Somerled and his
sons, who were the chiefs of this tribe, the Dalveria
Aett, or Dalverian family, a term derived from Dala,

the Norse name for the district of Argyll,and which
implies that they had been for some time indigenous
in the district ; and this is confii-med in still stronger
terms by the Flatey-book, consequently the Mac-

donalds were either the descendants of these Pictish
inhabitants of Argyll, or else they must have entered
the country subsequently to that period.
But the earliest traditions of the family uniformly
bear that they had been indigenous in Scotland from

a much earlier period than that. Thus, James Mac-
donell, of Dunluce, in a letter written to King James
VI., in 1596, has this passage
— " Most mightie and
potent prince, recomend us unto your hieness with
our service for ever your grace shall understand that
our forebears hathe been from time to time' your
servants unto your own kingdome of Scotland."
And again, in 1615, Sir James Macdonald, of Kin-
tyre, expresses himself, in a letter to the Bishop of
the Isles, in these words—" Seeing my race has been
tenne hundred years kyndlie Scottismen under the
kings of Scotland—." Although many other pas-
sages of a similar nature might be produced, these
instances may for the present suffice to shew that
there existed a tradition in this family of their having
been natives of Scotland from time immemorial ; and
it is therefore scarcely possible to suppose that they
could have entered the country subsequently to the
' The expression of " from time to time", when it occurs in

ancient documents, always signifies from time immemorial.
ninth centiuy. But besides the strong presumption

that the Macdonakls are of Pictish descent, and
formed a part of the great tiibe of the Gallgael, we
fortunately possess distinct authority for both of
these facts. For the former, John Elder includes
the Macdonalds among the ancient Stoke, who still
retained the tradition of a Pictish descent, in oppo-

sition to the later tradition insisted in by the Scottish
clergy, and this is sufficient evidence for the fact that
the oldest tradition among the Macdonalds must

have been one of a Pictish origin. The latter ap-
pears equally clear from the last mention of the

Gallgael, in which they are described as the inha-
bitants of Argyll, Kintja-e, Arran, and Man ; and as
these were at this very period the exact temtories
which Somerled possessed, it follows of necessity
that the Macdonalds were the same people.
The identity of the Gallgael with the tribe over
which Somerled ruled as hereditary chief, being thus
established, the independent kings of the Gallgael
must in all probability have been his ancestors, and
ought to be found in the old genealogies of the
family. The last independent king of the Gallgael
was Suibne, the son of Kenneth, whose death is
recorded in 1034, and exactly contemporary with

this Suibne, the MS. of 1450, places a »Suibne among
the ancestors of Somerled ; accordingly, as the Gall-
gael and the Macdonalds wei-e the same tribe, the
two Suibnes must have been meant for the same
person. But the MS. makes the name of Suibne's
father to have been Nialgusa, and there does not

occur a Kenneth hi the genealogy at all. As an
authority upon this point, Tighernac must be pre-
ferred, and his account is corroborated by most of
the old Scottish writers, who mention the existence
at that time of a Kenneth Thane of the Isles; and
farther, at the very same period, as we have seen,
one of the northern Maormors who opposed Sigurd,
earl of Orkney, was named Kenneth. must con- We
sequently receive Tighemac's account as the most
accurate but above Kenneth we find the two ac-
;
counts again different, for there is no resemblance

whatever between the previous kings of the Gallgael
and the earlier part of the Macdonald genealogies
and the MS. of 1450, without mentioning any of these
kings at all, leads the genealogy amongst the Irish
kings and heroes.
Here then we have the point where the fabulous
genealogies of theHighland and Irish Sennachies
were connected ivith the genuine history.
The MS. of 1450 is supported in its genealogy of
the Macdonalds by all other authorities up to Suibne,
and here the true history, as contained in the Irish
Annals and the genealogy of the MS., separate the ;
one mentions the Gallgaels under their leaders as far
back as the year 856, while the other connects

Suibne by a different genealogy altogether with the
Irish kings. It is obvious, then, that this is the
point where the Irish genealogies were connected
with the real line of the chiefs, and an examination
of this MS. will shew that the period where the ge-
nealogies of the other clans were also connected with
the Irish kings was the same. We may therefore
conclude, that previous to the eleventh century the
MS. of 1450, and the Irish genealogies of the High-
land clans, are of no authority whatever, and con-
sequently, that the Siol Cuinn is of native origin.
After the death of Suibne we know nothing of the
history of the clan until we come to Gille Adomnan,
the grandfather of Somerled, who, according to the
fragment of an ancient Gaelic MS., was driven out of
his possession in Scotland by the violence of the
Lochlans and Fingalls, and took refuge in Ireland.
The expedition of Magnus Barefoot in 1093 is pro-
bably here alluded to. The same authority proceeds
to inform us, that " whilst Gillebride Mac Gille
Adomnan was residing in Ireland, the descendants
of Colla, consisting of the Macquarries and Mac-
mahones, held a great meeting and assembly in Fer-
managh, the county of Macquire, regarding Gille-
bride's affairs, how they might restore to him his
patrimony, which had been abdicated from the vio-
lence of the Lochlan and Fingalls. When Gillebride
saw such a large body of the Macquires assembled
together, and that they were favourable to his cause,
he besought them to embark in his quaiTel, and to
assist the people in Scotland who were favourable to
him in an attempt to win back the possession of
the country. The people declared themselves willing
to go, and four or five hundred put themselves under
his command. With this company Gillebride pro-

."
ceeded to Alban, and came on shore Here, '
unfortunately, the fragment concludes abruptly, but

it would appear that this expedition was unsuccess-
ful, for another MS. history of considerable antiquity,
but of which the beginning is also lost, commences
with these words
— " Somerled, the son of Gilbert,
began to muse on the low condition and misfortune
to which he and his father were reduced, and kept at
first very retired." But Somerled was a person of
no ordinary talents and energy ; he put himself at
the head of the inhabitants of Morven, and by a
series of rapid attacks he succeeded, after a consi-
derable struggle, in expelling the Norwegians, and

in making himself master of the whole of Morven,
Lochaber, and North Argyll. He soon afterwards
added the southern districts of Argyll to his other
possessions, and David I. having at this
period conquered the islands of Man, Arran,

and Bute, from the Norwegians, he appears to have
held these islands of the king of Scotland ; but still
finding himself unable, in point of strength, to cope

with the Norwegians of the Isles, he, with true
Highland policy, determined to gain these ancient
possessions of his family by peaceful succession,

since he could not acquire them by force of arms;
and accordingly with that intent he prevailed, by a
singular stratagem, in obtaining the hand of the
'
MS. penes Highland Society of Scotland.
daughter of Olaf tlie Red, the Norwegian king of the

Isles, in marriage. Of this union the fruit was three
sons, Dugall, Reginald, and Angus by a previous ;
marriage he had an only son, Gillecolum.

Somerled, having now attained to very great power
in the Highlands, resolved to make an attempt to
place his grandsons, the sons of Winiund or Malcolm
M'Heth, who had formerly claimed the earldom of
Moray, in possession of their alleged inheritance.
This unfortunate earldom seems to have been doomed
by fate to become, during a succession of many cen-
turies, the cause of all the rebellions in which Scot-
land was involved ; and it now brought the Regulus
of Argyll, as Somerled is termed by the Scottish his-
torians, for the first time in opposition to the king.
Of the various events of this war we are ignorant,

but from the words of an ancient chronicle it appears
to have excited very great alarm among the inhabit-
ants of Scotland, In all probability Somerled had
found it expedient to return speedily to the Isles, by
the recurrence of events there of more immediate im-
portance to himself than the project of establishing
his grandsons in their inheritance ; for Godred, the
Norwegian king of the Isles, and brother-in-law to
Somerled, having at this time given loose to a tyran-
nical disposition, and having irritated his vassals by
dispossessing some of their lands, and degrading
others from their dignities, Thorfinn, the son of
Ottar, one of the most powerful of the Norwegian
nobles, detenuined to depose Godred, as the only
means of obtaining relief, and to place another king

on the throne of the Isles. For this purpose Thor-
fin went to Somerled, and requested that he might
have Dugall, his eldest son, who was Godred's ne-
phew by his sister, in order to make him king in his
place. Somerled rejoiced at the prospect of thus at
last obtaining his object, and delivered up Dugall to

the care of Thorfinn, who accordingly took the young
prince, and conducting him through the Isles, com-
pelled the chiefs of the Isles to acknowledge him for
their sovereign, and to give hostages for their alle-
giance.
One of them, however, Paul Balkason, a power-
ful nobleman, who was Lord of Sky, refused to make
the required acknowledgment, and, flying to the Isle
of Man, acquainted Godred with the intended revo-
lution. Alarmed at the intelligence, Godred in-
stantly ordered his vassals to get their ships ready,
and without delay sailed to meet the enemy : he
found that Somerled had already prepared for the ex-
pected struggle, and was advancing towards him
with a fleet of eighty galleys. " A sea battle," says
the Chronicle of Man, " was fought between God-
red and Somerled during the night of the Epiphany,
with great slaughter on both sides. Next morning,
A. D. 1156.
however,^ at day J came to a com-
J -break, they ^
promise, and divided the sovereignty of the

Isles ; so from that period they have formed two dis-
tinct monarchies till the present time. The ruin of

the Isles may be dated from the moment when part
of them were ceded to the sons of Somerled. By

this treaty, Somerled acquired all the islands south of
tlie point of Ardnamurchan, but he no sooner found
himself in secure possession of these islands, than he
was again involved in hostilities with the government,
having joined the powerful party in Scotland who at
this time determined to dethrone Malcolm IV. and

place the Boy of Egremont on the throne and in ;
prosecution of that design commenced to infest the

shores of Scotland with his fleet. On the failure of
this attempt, Malcolm appears at length to have dis-
covered that Somerled was becoming too powerful to
be permitted to remain in the state of partial inde-
pendence which he had assumed ; he accordingly
demanded that Somerled should resign his lands into
the king's hands, and hold them in future as his
vassal, and he prepared to enforce his demand by the
aid of a powerful army. Somerled, however, em-
boldened by his previous successes, was little dis-
posed to yield compliance to the king's desire, but on
the contrary resolved to anticipate the attack. Col-
lecting his fleet accordingly from among the Isles,
he soon appeared in the Clyde, and landed at Ren-
frew. Here he was met by the Scottish army under
the command of the High Steward of Scotland,
and the result of the battle which ensued,
was the defeat and death of Somerled, toge?-
ther with his son Gillecolura.
This celebrated chief is decribed by an ancient
tSennachie to have been " a well tempered man, in
body shapely, of a fair piercing eye, of middle stature,

and of quick discernment." His territories at his
death were very considerable, comprehending the
whole of the district of Argyll, the original posses-
sion of the clan, and that portion of the Hebrides

termed by the Norwegians the Sudreys. These
great possessions, which he had acquired by his own
personal exertions, did not descend entire to his suc-
cessor ; for, although his grandson Somerled, the son
of Gillecolum, succeeded to the whole of his High-
land territories, the Isles, with the exception of
Anan and Bute, had come to him with his wife, and
consequently descended to Dugall, his eldest son by
that marriage.
For a period of upwards of fifty years after the
death of Soraei'led, his grandson of the same name'
appears to have remained in undisturbed possession
of the extensive territories on the mainland of Scot-
land to which he succeeded; and although we do not
find him during that period in active rebellion, or
offering any decided opposition to the government,
yet there is reason to think that he formed the prin-
' The Scottish historians and Highland Sennachies are

unanimous in asserting, that Somerled was succeeded by an-
other Somerled, who rebelled against Alexander II. in 1221 ;
and their account is confirmed by the anecdotes of Olave the

Black, a Norse Saga, which mentions a Somerled a king, and
calls him a relation of Duncan, the son of Dugall. I have ven-
tured to call him son of Gillecolum, and grandson of Somerled,
as the only probable supposition.
cipal support to the numerous rebellions raised during

that period in favour of the rival family of Mac
William.
He appears, however, to have rendered a more
active assistance to the last attempt made by that
family in 1221, and the king probably took •'
A. D. 1221. .
^
advantage of that occasion to make an
effort to reduce him more effectually under his power,
for in that year, Alexander, having collected an army
in Lothian and Galloway, attempted to penetrate the
recesses of Argyll by sea, but was beat back by a

tempest, and forced to take refuge in the Clyde. On
the failure of this attempt, Alexander was not dis-
couraged, but was resolved to attempt an expedition

by land. He collected a large army from every quar-
ter, and entered Argyll and whether it is to be attri-
;
buted to the military skill of the royal leader, or, as is
more probable, to the incompetency of his adversary,

and the divisions which have always existed in a
Celtic country so extensive as that ruled by him, yet

certain it is, that in this year the king made himself
master of the whole of Argyll, and Somerled took
refuge in the Isles, where he met a violent death
eight years afterwards.
According to Winton, the most honest and trust-
worthy of all our chroniclers,
" De kyng that yhere Argyle wan

Dat rebell wes til hym befor than
For wythe hys Ost thare in wes he

And Athe' tuk of thare Fewte,
Wyth thare serwys and thare Homage,

Dat of hym wald bald thare Herytage,
But of the Ethchetys of the lave
To the Lordis of that land he gave."
By " the Lordis of that land" to whom the forfeited

estates were given, Winton means the foreign vassals
placed there by Alexander, for Fordun is quite dis-
tinct that those who had offended the king too deeply
to hope for pardon fled, and their properties were
bestowed upon those who had followed the army
into Argyll. The general effect of this conquest, as
it may well be called, was that the district of Argyll
was no longer under the rule of a single lord :
wherever those who had previously held their pos-

sessions as vassals of Somerled submitted to the
king and were received into favom*, they became
crown vassals, and held their lands in chief of the
crown, while the estates of those who were forfeited
were bestowed as rewards upon many of those who
had joined the expedition into Argyll; and from the
nature of the expedition, and especially from its
complete success, it is probable that these were prin-

cipally Highlanders. The forfeited estates were
farther brought under the direct jurisdiction of the
government by being, according to the invariable
policy of Alexander 11., erected into a sheriffdom by
the name of Argyll, and the extent of this, the first
sheriffdom bearing that name, enables us to define

with certainty the districts which were forfeited
by the native lords and bestowed upon strangers.
The sheriffdom of Argyll originally consisted of that

part of the country now known as the district of
Argyll proper, consisting of the districts of Glenorchy,
Lochow, Loch flue, Glassrie, and Ardskeodnish. These
were bestowed upon the ancestors of the M'Gregors
and Macnauchtans, and of a family, probably Low-
land, termed De Glassrie, while the ancestor of the
Campbells was made hereditary sheriff of the new
sheriffdom. Besides this, the shire of Argyll in-
cluded part of Lochaber, retained by the crown ; the

north half of Kintyre, bestowed upon a certain
Dufgallus filius Syfin ; and the upper half of Cowall
given to a Campbell. The whole of Ergadia Borealis
or North Argyll was granted to the Earl of Ross,
who had rendered powerful assistance to the king
both upon this and a former occasion.
The remainder of this great district of Argyll was
now held of the crown by those who had formerly
been vassals of Somerled, and consisted of Lochaber,
held by the chief of the clan Chattan ; Lorn, by sons
of Dugall, the eldest son of the first Somerled by
his second marriage j Knapdale by the ancestor of

the Mac Neills; South Kintyre, by Roderick the son
of Reginald, second son of Somerled; and the lower
Lamonds.
half of Cowall, by the ancestor of the
These formed no part of the new sheriffdom of
Argyll, but remained, as formerly, part of the sheriff-
doms of Perth and Inverness.
In this manner was the power of the descendants
of Somerled, by the first marriage, on the mainland
completely broken for the time, and tlie fragments

of the clan now looked up to the race of Dugall,
the eldest son of the second marriage, who was in
undisturbed possession of the share of the Isles ac-
quired by Somerled, as their head. Dugall, the
eldest son of this marriage, possessed, besides the
Isles, the district of Lorn, as his share of the pos-
sessions of his paternal ancestors. But on his death,
the Isles did not immediately descend to his children,
but appear to have been acquired by his brother
Reginald, according to the Highland law of suc-
cession, who, in consequence, assumed the title of
king of the Isles. By the same laws, the death of
Reginald restored to his nephews the inheritance of
their father.
Dugall had left two sons, Dugall Scrag and
Duncan, who appear in the Norse Sagas, under
the title of Sudereyan kings. As the Hebrides were
at this time under the subjection of the Norwegian
king, the sons of Somerled appear to have nominally
acknowledged his authority, but as these Sagas
abound in complaints against their fidelity, they
seem to have professed submission to either king, as

best suited their object for the time, while, in fact,
they were in a state of actual independence. This
state of matters occasioned Haco, at that time king
of Norway, to determine, at length, to reduce these
refractory chiefs to obedience ; and for this purpose
he selected a Norwegian, termed Uspac, gave him the
name of Haco, with the title of king, and dispatched
VOL. II. D
liim to the Sudereys, with a Norwegian amiament.

Upon
^
his arrival at the Hebrides,' it was dis-
A.D. 1230.
covered most opportunely for the Sudereyan
kings, that Haco Uspac was in fact a son of Diigall,
and brother of Dugall Scrag and Duncan, and ac-
cordingly, that which was intended for their over-
throw, turned to their advantage. But in the mean-
time, Olave the Swarthy, ting of Man, had proceed-
ed to Norway, and had made the king aware of the
real state of the case, upon which Haco dispatched
him to the Sudereys with another fleet. When he had

reached the Sound of Isla, he found the brothers,
king Uspac Dugall and Duncan, alreadj^ there, toge-
ther with their relation, Somerled, who had taken
refuge in the Isles from the power of the king of
Scotland. These chiefs, alarmed at the force of the
Norwegians, attempted to overcome them by stra-
tagem, and for this purpose " invited them to an en-

tertainment, and provided strong wines," not an un-
common stratagem among the Highlanders. But
the Norwegians had suscipion of their good faith,
and refused to go, whereupon each of the com-

manders proceeded to draw their forces together,
and in the night the Norwegians made an unexpect-
ed attack upon the Sudereyans, in which they suc-
ceeded, having slain Somerled, and taken Dugall
prisoner, while the other two brothers effected their
escape. Uspac, upon this, judged it prudent to sub-

mit himself to the Norwegians, and afterwards joined
them in their expedition to Bute, where he met his
death in an attack upon a fortress in that island'.

Duncan was now the only one of his family who re-
tained any power in the Sudereys, but of his farther

history nothing is known except the foundation of
the priory of Ardchattan, in Lorn. On his death,
his son Evven succeeded to the whole power and
tenitories of this branch of the descendants of So-
merled ; and he appears to have remained more
faithful to the Norwegian king than his predecessors
had been, for when Alexander II., king of Scotland,
had determined upon making every effort to obtain
possession of the AVesteni Isles, and, deem-
A.D. 1249. f .
ing it of the greatest consequence to win

Ewen to his interest, had besought him to give up
Kerneburgh, and other three castles, together with
the lands which he held of king Haco, to the king
of Scotland, adding, that if Ewen would join him in
earnest, he would reward him with many greater
estates in Scotland, together with his confidence and
favour, and although all Ewen's relations and friends
pressed him to comply, he declared that he would
not break his oath to king Haco, and refused all
offers of compromise.
Alexander, it is well known, died in Kerreray, in
the commencement of an attack upon the Isles, and

his son, Alexander III., when he had attained
majority, determined to renew the attempt to obtain
possession of the Isles, which his father had com-
'
This account is taken from the Anecdotes of Olave the
Black.
D 2
52 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART U.
Bienced. But instead of proceeding in person to

the execution of this enterprise, he excited the Earl
of Ross, at that time the most powerful nobleman in
Scotland, and whose great possessions extended over
the mainland opposite to the Northern Isles, to
commence hosiilities against them, and this earl
accordingly, accompanied by the chief of the Ma-

thiesons and other powerful dependents, suddenly
crossed over to the Isle of Sky, where he ravaged
the country, burned villages and churches, and
killed great numbers both of men and women. Upon
this, the Sudereyan kings immediately dispatched
letters to Haco, complaining of the outrages com-
mitted, and acquainting him that it was but part of
a plan by which the Scottish king purposed to
subdue all the Sudereys, if life was granted to him,
Haco was no sooner aware of the extent of the

danger to which his insular dominion was exposed,
than he determined to proceed in person to the
Hebrides, with all means could
the troops which his
supply. Upon Haco's appearance, he was at once
joined by most of the Highland chiefs, among whom
was king Dugall, son of Ronald, the son of Reginald
Mac Somerled, and upon his arrival at Gigha, he
was met by king Ewen. Haco desired that Ewen
should follow his banner, but the politics of that
prince had changed in a most unaccountable man-
ner, for he excused himself, and said that he had
sworn an oath to the Scottish king, and that he had
Miore lands of him than of the Norwegian monarch.

and therefore he entreated king Haco to dis])ose of
all those estates which he had conferred upon liini.
The unfortunate termination of Haco's expedition,

eventually justified the sagacity at least of Evven's
change, but Haco did not find the other Sudereyan
lords so keen sighted or so scrupulous in breaking
their oaths as Ewen appeared to be, for he was not
only shortly afterwards joined by Angus, lord of
Isla and south Kintyre, but even by jMurchard, a
vassal of the earl of Menteith, in north Kintyre,
who had obtained this district from the baron to
whom it had been gi-anted by Alexander II. The
result of this enterprise is well known to every one,
and the defeat of the Norwegians by the Scots at

Largs, produced a treaty by which the Isles were
finally"^
ceded to the Scottish king'. In con-
A.D. 1266.
sequence of E wen's timely change, this event
rather increased than diminished his ])ower, but the
ill luck of the Macdonalds, which invariably prevented
the concentration of their power in the hands of one
family for any length of time, had commenced to dis-
play itself, for Ewen died without male issue, aud

left but two daughters, the eldest of whom had mar-
ried the Norwegian king of Man, and the second,
Alexander of the Isles, a descendant of Reginald.
The failure of the male descendants of Dugall in
the person of Ewen had now the effect, in conse-
quence of the well-devised treatment of the eon-
'
Norse account of Haco's expedition.
quered district of Argyll by Alexander II., and

subsequent annexation of the Isles to Scotland
by his successor, of dividing this great clan into
three, the heads of each of which held their lands of
the crown.These were the clan Rory, clan Donald,
and clan Dugall, severally descended from three
sons of these names, of Reginald, the second son of
Somerled by his second marriage'
CLAN RORY.
On the death of Somerled, although the superiority
of Argyll and the Isles fell respectively to his grand-
son Somerled, and his son Dugall, yet according to
the Highland law of gavel, the property of which he
died possessed was divided among all his sons, and
the portion which fell to Reginald appears to have
consisted of Islay among the isles, and Kintyre and
part of Lorn on the mainland.
Of the events of Reginald's life little is known,
and even that little is not free from uncertainty, for,
as he was contemporary with Reginald, the Nor-

wegian king of Man and the Isles, it is nearly
impossible to distinguish between the acts of the two
princes.
Reginald, however, appears on the death of his
brother Dugall, to have been designated " dominus
insularum," and sometimes even " rex insularum,"
and " dominus de Ergile and Kintyre," under which
1 " Ranald, from whom sprung the Clan Rory, Clan Donald,
and Clan Dugall."— MS. of 1450.
title he grants certain lands to the abbey of Saddell,

in Kintyre, which he had founded.
These titles, however, did not descend to his
children, and he was succeeded in his paternal
inheritance by his eldest son, Roderic, who on
the conquest of Argyll by Alexander 11., consider-
ably increased his powers, by agreeing to hold his
lands of the king as crown vassal ; and after this
period he is generally styled Dominus de Kintyre.

Roderick appears to have adopted the Norwegian
habits of piracy in their fullest extent, and to have
become, in every thing but his birth, one of that race.
He was one of the most noted pirates of his day,
and the annals of the time are full of the plundering
expeditions which he made. In these habits he was
not followed by his sons Dugall and Allan. Dugall
ruled over his Gaelic possessions in the usual man-
ner of a Celtic chief, and when Ewen had at length
agi-eed, in 1249, to desert the Norwegian interest for
that of Scotland, bore the Norwegian title of king of
the Isles until his death.
On Haco's expedition to the Western Isles, king
Dugall acquired great accession to his temtories.
Few of the Island chiefs had afforded so much as-
sistance to Haco, or taken such an active part in his

expedition as Dugall, and Haco therefore bestowed
upon him all those parts of Ewen of Lorn's territories
which had fallen into his hands. King Dugall ap-
pears to have died without descendants, and his
brother Allan succeeded to the possessions of this
branch of the Siol Cuiim. On the cession of the

Isles, Allan along with the other Hebridean chiefs
transferred their allegiance to Alexander III. of
Scotland ; for his name is found among the barons
in the list of those who assembled at Scoon in 1284,
to declare Margaret, the maid of Norway, heiress to

the crown ; and on that occasion he is designed,
" Allangus, filius Roderici." On this occasion, when
Alexander appears to have been willing to purchase the
support of his nobles to the settlement of the crown
on his daughter at any price, the adherence of Allan
was obtained by a grant of a great part of the an-
cient earldom of Garmoran, which remained ever
afterwards in this family, and was now known as the
lordship of Garmoran. Allan left one son, Roderic,
of whose history little is known, but it would appear
that he was not considered legitimate by the feudal law,
for we find that Allan was succeeded in his lordship
of Garmoran by his daughter Christina, although the

Highland law, by which Roderic was unquestionably
considered legitimate, had still so much influence as
in some measure to compel Christina to legalize
Roderic's possession of these lands by a formal re-
signation and regrant. Roderic afterwards incurred the

penalty of forfeiture during the reign of Robert Bruce,
probably from some connexion with the Soulis con-
spiracy of 1320. But his lands were restored to
his son Ranald by David II. Roderic had but
one son, Ranald, and one daughter, Araie, married to
John, lord of the Isles. Ranald, however, did not

long enjoy his extensive territories, for holding some

lands in North Argyll, of the Earl of Ross, his
proximity of situation gave rise to a bitter feud be-
tween these powerful chiefs. David II. having in
1346 summoned the barons of Scotland to meet him
at Perth, Ranald made his ai:>pearance there with
a considerable body of troops, and took up his quar-

ters at the monastery of Elcho. William, Earl of
Ross, who was also with the anuy, took this opj)or-
tunity of revenging himself upon Ranald, and having
surprised and entered the monastery in the middle
of the night, he slew Ranald with seven of his fol-
lowers. By the death of Ranald, the descendants
of Roderic became extinct, and John of the Isles,
the chief of the clan Donald, who had married his
sister Amy, became entitled to the succession, to

which he immediately laid claim.
D 8
CHAFIER III.
The Gallgael, continued.
CLAN DONALD.
The clan Donald derive their origin from Donald
II., son of Reginald. The share of his father's pos-
sessions which fell to him appears to have been
South Kintyre and Isla, but it is unquestionable

that he held these possessions of his brother Ro-
deric, as the head of the house. As the clan Do-
nald vrere at this time under the sway of the Nor-
wegians, but little is known of their history until
the cession of the Isles in 1266. Donald is said by
a Highland Sennachie to have gone to Rome for
the purpose of obtaining remission for various atro-

cities of his former life, which he is reported to
have obtained with little difficulty, and to have
evinced his gratitude by granting lands to the
monastery of Saddell, and other ecclesiastical esta-
blishments in Scotland. It was during the life
of Angus Moir, his son and successor, that the ex-

pedition of Haco to the Western Isles took place,
and although Angus joined him immediately on his
arrival with his fleet, and assisted him during the
CHAP. III.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 59
whole war, yet, in consequence of the treaty which

afterwards took place between the kings of Norway
and Scotland, he does not appear to have suffered
either in his territories or in his power. He ap-
peared at the convention in 1284, when the maiden
of Norway was declared heiress of the crown, when
his support appears to have been purchased by a
grant of Ardnamurchan, a part of the earldom of
Garmoran ; and also confirmed his father's and grand-
father's grants to the abbey of Saddell, granting ad-
ditional lands to them himself by not fewer than
four charters. Angus left two sons, Alexander and
Angus Og. Alexander acquired a considerable
addition to his territories by marriage with one of
the daughters and co-heiresses of Ewen de Ergadia,
the last of the male descendants of Dugall, the son
ofSomerled; but he unfortunately joined John, the
lord of Lorn, in his opposition to the accession of
Robert the Bruce, and in consequence became a
sharer in the ruin of that great chief. After the de-
feat of the lord of Lorn at Lochow, and the sub-
sequent siege of Dunstaffnage, king Robert pro-
ceeded to crush Alexander of the Isles also. And
for this purpose he crossed over the Isthmus of
Tavbet and besieged Alexander in Castle Swen,
his usual residence. The lord of the Isles was as
little able to hold out against the power of the
Bruce as the lord of Lorn had been, and he was
accordingly obliged to suiTender to the king, who
immediately imprisoned him in Dundonald castle
where he died. His whole possessions were for-

feited and given to his brother Angus Og, wlio,
fortunately for himself and for his clan, had adopt-
ed a different line of politics, having followed the
party of the Bruce from the very beginning.
After the disastrous defeat at Methven, and the
subsequent skirmish of the lord of Loni at Tyn-
drum, where the Bruce was obliged to fly, he was
received by Angus in his castle of Dunaverty, and
there protected until he was obliged to take refuge
in the small island of Rachlin. From this period
Angus attached himself to his party, and took a

share in all his subsequent enterprises. He assisted
in the attack upon Carrick, when " the Bruce wan
his father's hall," and was also present at the battle
of Bannockburn, where Bruce at length reaped the
reward of all his former toils and dangers, on which
occasion Angus with his clan seem to have furmtd
the reserve.
" Ye ferd bataile ye noble king

Tuk till his awne governyng.
And had in till his company
Ye men of Carrik halely,
And off Arghile, and of Kentyre,
And off ye Isles, quharof wes syr
Angus off Isle, and but all ya,
He of ye plane land had alsua
OfFarmyt men a mekyl rout,
His bataile stalwart wes and stout." '
'
Barbour.
As Angus had shared in Bruce's dangers and ad-

versity, so he now reaped the advantage of his
success. The extensive tenitories of the Corayns,
and their allies, the lords of Lorn, had fallen into
his hands through their forfeiture, and he accord-

ingly bestowed upon Angus the lordship of Locha-
ber, which had formerly belonged to the Comyns,
together with the lands of Durrour and Glencoe, and

the islands of Mull, Tiree, &c., which had formed
part of the possessions of the Lorn family. Brute,
however, was quite aware that in thus increasing
the already extensive possessions of the Isles"' fa-
mily, he was raising up a powerful opponent to

the crown ; but the services of Augus in his ut-
most need rendered it impossible for him to with-
hold these grants, and believing himself secure of
Angus's attachment during his life, he endeavoured
to neutralize the effects of such an addition to their
power by building the castle of Tarbett in Kintyre,
which he demanded permission to do as an equiva-

lent for the grants of land he had made. Angus
Og of the Isles died in the early part of the
fourteenth century, leaving two sons, John, his
successor, and John Og, ancestor of the Mac-
donalds of Glencoe.
Although Angus had throughout his life been a
steady friend to the crown, yet when, on his death,
any influence, which personal attachment between
the king and him might have occasioned had ceas-
ed, the causes v\ hich had formerly forced this clan into
opposition to the crown, again operated to change

the policy of the lords of the Isles, or rather to
cause them to resume their former line of conduct.
These natural causes of separation were heightened
by a dispute between John and the Regent, with
regard to some of the lands which had been granted
by the Bruce ; and John had not been long in pos-
session of the power and dignities of his ancestors
before he joined the party of Edward Baliol and
the English king. In consequence of this, a formal
treaty was concluded between Edward Baliol and
John on the 12th of December, 1335, in which
Baliol, " quantum in se est," yielded for ever to
John and his heirs and assignees, together with the
whole of his father's possessions, all title to the
lands and islands claimed by the Earl of Murray,
(the Regent,) and also gave him the wardship of
Lochaber until the majority of the heir of Atholl,
at that time only three years old, by whose ances-
tors it had been forfeited on the accession of Robert
Bruce. This indenture was confirmed by Edward
III. on the 5th of October, 1336.
The accession to Baliol's party of so great a man
as John of the Isles did not, however, prevent the
recovery of Scotland, for the regents succeeded

eventually in entirely freeing the country from En-
glish dominion, and were enabled in 1341 to send
for David II. from France to commence his per-
sonal reign over his native kingdom, although the

lord of the Isles himself was too powerful to suffer
by that revolution. On the return of David II. to

his country, he found it of the utmost importance to
attach as many of the Scottish barons to his party
as possible, and succeeded in concluding a treaty
with John of the Isles, who now for the first time
found himself not in opposition to the king. But

a circumstance soon after occurred very much to
increase John's power, and to concentrate in his
person nearly the whole of the possessions of his
ancestor, Somerled. This circumstance was the
slaughter of Ranald of theby the earl of
Isles
Ross at Perth in the year 1346, by which John of

the Isles, who had mamed his sister Amy, became
entitled to the succession, to which he immediately
laid claim. Although John was not at this time
in opposition to David II., yet the government,
notwithstanding the advantage it would derive from
the support of so powerful an Highland chief as
the Island lord, was well aware of the danger of
thus allowing the extensive territories and great
power of the Siol Cuinn, which had shaken the
stability of the crown under Somerled, to become
again united in the person of John, and it was de-
termined to throw every obstacle in his way. John's
request was consequently refused, and the govern-
ment seems to have taken advantage of the death
of Amy as an excuse for refusing a title to their
lands ; and even to have asserted that the marriage
upon which it was founded had been irregular, and
could not therefore be recognized.
64 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART IL
The natural effect of this refusal was to throw

John once more into opposition, and to regain for
the party of Baliol one of its most powerful adhe-
rents, but the attention of the king of England
having been soon after diverted from Scotland by the
wars in France, and a peace having in consequence
been entered into between England and Scotland,
John's opposition did not produce any consequences
detiimental to the government.
It was not long after this time, that a very extra-
ordinary change took place in the character and

situation of the different factions in Scotland, whicli
once more served to detach John of the Isles from
the English interest, and to class hira among the
supporters of Scottish independence. Previously
to the return of David II. from captivity in England
in 1357, the established government and the princi-
pal barons of the kingdom had, with the exception
of those periods when Edward Baliol had gained a
temporary success, been invariably hostile to the
English claims, while it was merely a faction of the
nobility, who were in opposition to the court, that
supported the cause of Baliol and of English su-

premacy. John, from the natural causes arising from
his situation, and urged by the continued policy of
the government being directed towards the reduction
of his power and influence, was always forced into
opposition to the administration for the time by
which this policy was followed, and when the op-
posing faction consisted of the adherents of the
CHAP. III.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. (15
English intei-est, the Island lord was naturally

found among them, and was thus induced to enter
into treaty with the king of England. On the
return of David, however, the situation of parties
became materially altered ; the King of Scotland
now ranked as Edward of England's staunchest ad-
herent, and secretly seconded all his endeavours to
overturn the independence of Scotland, while the
party which had throughout supported the throne of
Scotland and the cause of independence were in con-
sequence thrown into active opposition to the crown.
The natural consequence of this changewas that the
lord of the Isles left the party to which he had so
long adhered, as soon as it became identified with
the royal faction, and was thus forced into connexion
with those with whom he had been for so many
years at enmity.
The Steward of Scotland, who was at the head of
this party,was of course desirous of strengthening
himself by means of alliances with the most power-
ful barons of the country, and he therefore received
the accession of so important a person with avidity,

and cemented their union by procuring the mar-
riage of the lord of the Isles with his own daugh-
ter. John now adhered stedfastly to the party of the
steward, and took an active share in all its proceed-
ings, along with the other barons by whom they

were joined, but without any open manifestation of
force, until the year 1366, when the country was in
a state of irritation from the heavy burdens imposed
6G THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART II.
upon the people in order to raise the ransom of their
king, and when the jealousy of David towards the

steward had at length broken out so far as to cause
the former to throw his own nephew and the acknow-
ledged successor to his throne into prison. The
northern barons, who belonged to his party, broke out
into open rebellion, and refused to pay their propor-
tion of the general taxation, or attend the parliament,

to which they were frequently summoned. Matters
appear to have remained in this state, and the
northern chiefs to have actually assumed independ-
ence for upwards of two years, until David had at
last brought himself to apply to the steward as the

only person capable of restoring peace to the coun-
try, and charged him to put down the rebellion.
In consequence of this appeal, the steward, who
was unwilling to be considered as the disturber of
the peace of the kingdom, and whose ends were
better forwarded by steady opposition to the court
party than by open rebellion, took every means in

his power to reduce the insurgent noblemen to obe-
dience ; but although he succeeded in obtaining the

submission of John of Lorn and Gillespie Campbell,
and although the earls of Mar and Ross with other
northern barons, whose object was gained by the
restoration of the steward to freedom, voluntarily
joined him in his endeavours, the lord of the Isles
refused to submit, and secure in the distance, and in
the inaccessible nature of his territories, set the
royal power at defiance. But the state of affairs in
France soon after requiring the undivided attention

of the English king, he was obliged to come to terms
with the Scots, and a peace having been concluded
between the two countries on the most favourable
terms for the latter, the Scottish government was left
at liberty to turn its attention wholly towards re-

ducing the Isles to obedience. In order to accom-
plish this, David II., well aware of the cause of the
rebellion of the Isles, and of the danger of per-
mitting matters to remain in their present position,
at length determined, and that with a degree of
energy which his character had given little reason to
expect, in person to proceed against the rebels, and
for this purpose commanded the attendance of the
steward with the barons of the realm. But the
steward, now perceiving that the continuance of the
rebellion of the Isleswould prove fatal to his party,
by the which he possessed over his
great influence
son-in-law, succeeded in persuading him to meet the
king at Inverness and to submit himself to his au-
thority, and the result of this meeting was a treaty
entered into between " Johannes de Yla, dominus

insularum" on the one hand, and " David, Dei
gratia rex Scotorum" on the other, in which John
not only engaged to submit to the royal authority and
to take his share of all public burdens, but also to
put down all others who dared to raise themselves in

opposition to the regal authority. For the fulfilment of
this obligation the lord of the Isles not only gave
his own oath, but offered the high steward his
68 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [rAUT II.
and delivered his lawful son

father-ill-law as security,
Donald by the steward's daughter, his grandson

Angus by his eldest lawful son John, and a natural
son also named Donald, into the hands of the king as
hostages
By the accession of Robert Steward to the throne
of Scotland, which took place shortly after this event,
the lord of the Isles was once more brought into
close connexion with the crown, and as John re-
mained during the whole of this reign in a state of
as great tranquillity as his father Angus had been

during that of Robert Bruce, the policy of thus con-
necting these turbulent chiefs with the government
by the ties of friendship and alliance, rather than
that of attempting to reduce them to obedience by
force and became very manifest.
forfeiture, King
Robert, no doubt, saw clearly enough the advantage
of following the advice left by Robert Bruce for the
guidance of his successors, not to allow the great
territories and extensive influence of these Island
lords ever again to be concentrated in the person of
one individual ; but the claims of John were too
great to be overlooked, and accordingly Robert had
been but one year on the throne, when John obtained
from him a feudal title to all those lands which had
formerly belonged to Ranald the son of Roderick,
and which had so long been refused to him.
In order, however, to neutralize in some degree
the effect of thus investing one individual with a
feudal title to such extensive territories, and be-
CHAP. III.] TUE HIGHLAND CLANS. 69
lieving himself secure of the attachment of John

during his lifetime, king Robert determined, since
he could not prevent the accumulation in one family
of so much property, at least by bringing about its
division among its different branches, to sow the
seeds of future discord, and eventually perhaps of
the ruin of the race. He found little difficulty in
persuading John, in addition to the usual practice

in that family of gavelling the lands among the nu-
merous offspring, to render the children of the tu o
maxriages feuda III/ independent of each other, a fatal
measure, the consequences of which John did not

apparently foresee ; and accordingly, in the third
year of his reign, king Robert confirmed a charter
by John to Reginald, the second son of the first
mai-riage, of the lands of Garmoran, which John had

acquired by his marriage with Reginald's mother, to
be held of John's heirs, that is to say, of the de-
scendants of the eldest son of the first marriage, of

whom one had been given as an hostage in 1369,
and who would of course succeed to every part of
John's possessions which were not feudally destined
to other quarters. Some years afterwards John re-
signed a great part of the western portion of his
territories, consisting principally of the lands of
Lochaber, Kintyre, and Knapdale, with the island
of Colonsay, into the king's hands, and received from
him charters of these lands in favour of himself and
his heirs by the marriage with the king's daughter;
thus rendering the children of the second marriage
feudally independent of those of the first, and fur-
nishing a subject for contention between these fami-

lies which could not fail to lead to their ruin.
After this period, we know little of the events
of John's life, and he appears to have died about the
year 1386. During the rest of Robert the Second''s
reign, and of the greater part of that of Robert III.,
the peace of the country does not appear to have
been disturbed by any act of hostility from the
Island chiefs, and consequently the history of the
children of John is but little known ; but when the
dissension which took place between the principal
barons of Scotland, in consequence of the marriage of
the duke of Rothsay, and the consequent departure
of the earl of March to the English court, caused
the wars between the two countries once more to
break out, and called forth the English invasion of
Scotland, the intercourse between England and the
Island chiefs appears to have been renewed, and the
frequency of the safe conducts granted at this period
by the king of England to the sons of John, shews
that their relationship to the Scottish king was not
sufficient to counteract the causes which naturally
threw them into opposition. From the tenor of these
documents, it does not appear that at this time there
was any diflFerence of rank or authority observed
among the brothers. By the wise policy of Robert II.
this great clan had become completely divided for
the time into two, who were in every respect

independent of each other. Godfrey, the eldest
CHAP. III.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS, 71
surviving son of the first marriage, possessed the

principal power on the mainland, as lord of
Garmoran and Lochaber, which he transmitted to
his son and Donald, the eldest son of the se-
;
cond marriage, held a considerable extent of ter-
ritory of the crown, which was now first known

as the feudal lordship of the Isles, and which,
though not superior to, was independent of the

lordship of Garmoran and Lochaber. The rest of
the brethren received the usual provision allotted to
them by the law of gavel, and which was principally
held by them as vassals of one or other of the two
lords. But a circumstance soon after occurred which
had the effect of raising one of the brothers to a
station of power which he could not otherwise have

attained, and of adding to the already too extensive
possessions of the Macdonalds. This circumstance
was the marriage of Donald, the eldest son of the
second marriage of John, lord of the Isles, with
Mary, sister of Alexander, earl of Ross. Alexander,
earl of Ross, had an only daughter, Euphemia, by
the daughter of the duke of Albany, whom he had
married. Upon the death of Alexander, Euphemia
became a nun, and committed the government of her
earldom to the governor. Donald saw that if the
governor was permitted in this manner to retain the
actual possession of the earldom, although his right
to the succession was undeniable, he wôuld be un-
able to recover his inheritance from the grasp of so
craftv and ambitious a nobleman. He accordingly
proceeded to exert himself to obtain possession of

the earldom, contending that Euphemia, by talking
the veil, had become, in a legal point of view,

dead ; and that the earldom belonged to him in
right of his wife, and accordingly he demanded to

be put in possession of it. This demand was of
course repelled by the governor, whose principal
object appears to have been to prevent the accession
of so extensive a district to the territories of the lord
of the Isles, already too powerful for the secimtv of
tlie government, and whose conduct was more ac-
tuated by principles of expediency than of justice.
Donald had no sooner received this unfavourable an-
swer to his demand, than he determined to assert
his claim by arms, since he could not obtain it from
the justice of the government. And in consequence
of this determination, he raised all the forces which
he could command, to the amount of ten thousand
men, with whom he suddenly invaded the earldom
of Ross. From the inhabitants of Ross he appears
lo have met with no I'esistance, so that he speedily
obtained possession of the district ; but on his arrival
at Dingwall, he was encountered by Angus Dow
Mackay, at the head of a large body of men from
Sutherland, and, after a fierce attack, the Mackays
were completely routed, and their leader taken pri-
soner.
Donald was now in complete possession of the
earldom, but his subsequent proceedings shewed
that the nominal object of his expedition was but
a cover to ulterior designs, for, leaving the district

of Ross, he swept through Moray, and penetrated
even into Aberdeenshire, at the head of his whole
army. Here he was met Harlaw
at the village of
by the earl of Mar, at the head of an

army inferior
in point of numbers, but composed of Lowland gen-
tlemen, who were better anned and disciplined than

the Highland followers of Donald. It was on the
24th of July, 1411, that the celebrated battle of Har-

law was fought, upon the issue of which seemed to
depend the question of whether the Gaelic or Teu-
tonic part of the population of Scotland were in
future to have the supremacy.
Of the battle the result was doubtful, as both
parties claimed the victory ; but in the case of the
Highlanders, the absence of decided victoiy was
equivalent to defeat in its effects, and Donald was
in consequence obliged to retreat. The check which
had been given to the Highland army was imme-
diately followed up by the duke of Albany collecting

additional forces, and marching in person to Ding-
wall. But Donald avoided hazarding another en-
counter, and returned with his forces to the Isles,
where he remained all winter, while Albany rapidly
made himself master of the earldom of Ross.
In the ensuing summer the war was again re-
newed, and carried on with various success on both

sides,until at length the Island king was obliged
to come to terms with the governor, and a treaty

was concluded at Polgilp in Argyllshire, in which
VOL. II. E
Donald agreed to give up his claim to the earldom

of Ross, and to become a vassal of the Scottish
crown.
It has generally been supposed that the resigna-
tion of the earldom of Ross by Euphame the Nun
in ftivour of her grandfather, was the sole cause of
this invasion ; but this is impossible, for the instru-
ment by which the earldom was resigned is dated
,in 1415, just four years after the battle, and it seems
rather to have been an attempt on the part of Al-
bany to give a colour of justice to the retention of the
earldom, which he was enabled, by the result of

the battle, to carry into effect. There is no doubt
that a claim on the earldom was the ostensible
cause of the invasion but the readiness with which
;
that claim was given up when his subsequent in-

road i;pon the Lowlands was checked, (and he might
easily have retained possession of Ross, instead of
retreating to the Isles,) besides the fact that in the
year 1408 there was a treaty between Donald and
the king of England, and that the war was no
sooner at an end than a truce was concluded with
England for six years, — very clearly indicate that
this invasion was but a part of a much more ex-
tensive and more important scheme for which the
claim of the earldom served but as a pretext ; and
that upon the failure of the greater plan, that claim
was readily resigned.

During the rest of the regency of Albany, Donald
did not again disturb the peace of the kingdom ;
and on the utter ruin of the Albany family, accom-

plished by the revenge of James I., Alexander,
lord of the Isles, the son of Donald, quietly suc-
ceeded to the earldom of Ross. Unfortunately for
himself, however, his succession to such extensive
territories, and the acquisition of so much power,
took place at a time when the individual who held
the reins of government was one fully able, by his
singular energy, decision of character, and personal
bravery, to compete with his turbulent nobles, as
well as to break down their independence and
power. Towards this object James I. seems to
have turned his attention at the very commence-
ment of his reign, and, doubtful of his strength ef-
fectually to reduce the northern barons to obedi-
ence, he had recourse to stratagem. For this pur-
pose he summoned these barons to attend a par-

liament to be held at Inverness, and proceeded
there himself at the head of his principal nobles,
and accompanied by a force which rendered re-
sistance unavailing ; and the great northern chiefs

not thinking it proper to disobey the summons,
were arrested as soon as they made their appear-
ance, to the number of about forty chiefs, among
whom was Alexander, earl of Ross and lord of the
Isles, his mother the countess of Ross, and Alex-
ander Mac Godfrey of Garmoran, who appeared as
feudal lord of that district.
Many of these victims of this act of treachery
were forthwith executed, among whom was Alex-
E 2
ander of Garmoran, whose whole posses.sions were

in consequence forfeited to the crown, while the
rest, together with the lord of the Isles, were de-
tained in captivity. By the success of this expe-
dient, the king concluded that he had effectually
reduced the Highland chiefs to obedience, and ac-
cordingly, after a short captivity, he set Alexander
of the Isles at liberty ; but the prospect of submis-
sion was only apparent, for no sooner was the lord
of the Isles free, than he flew to arms to obtain
revenge for the injurious treatment he had expe-
rienced, and appeared soon after before Inverness
with an army of 10,000 men, and rased to the
ground the town which had been the scene of his
surprise.
But James, from the great decision and activity of

his character, was fully equal to cope with the
Island lord, whose ancestors had been the teiTor of
preceding governments; and accordingly he no
sooner became aware of this invasion, than, with
an energy for which his adversary was little pre-
pared, he collected a feudal force, penetrated into
Lochaber with the utmost rapidity, and overtook
tlieHighland army before they had been able to
reach the shelter of the Isles. So completely were
the Highlanders surprised by this bold march, that
the lord of the Isles found himself deserted before
the battle by the clans Chattan and Cameron, who,
doubtful of the issue of an encounter, and feeling no
great cordiality for the cause of the earl of Ross, went
over to the royal army. The lord of the Isles, however,

did not shun the attack, but, as might be expected
from the dispiriting effect of so great a desertion,
the result was the complete rout and dispersion of
the Highland army ; and so close did the pursuit
of the Island lord at length become, that he found
it impossible to conceal himself, and after several
unsuccessful attempts to obtain a reconciliation \\ith
the king, he resolved to throw himself upon the
royal mercy, and to descend to the most extraordi-
nary piece of humiliation which is recorded in his-
tory. It was upon the occasion of a solemn festiv;il
held in the chapel of Holyrood that this proud chief,

whose father and grandfather had entered into trea-
tiesand concluded peace as independent princes,
appeared before the assembled Scottish court, di-
vested of all his garments save his shirt and drawers

alone, and holding a naked sword in his hand, knelt
down monarch, and implored his
at the feet of the
clemency. In some degree his supplication was

successful, for James granted him his life, but di-
rected him to be instantly imprisoned in Tantallon

castle.
James, however, had yet to leani that, from the

peculiar nature of the system of clanship, the im-
prisonment of their chief did not in any way affect
the strength of the clan, or render them more amen-

able to the royal authority. On the contrary, he
was now to find that such a proceeding was more
likely to incite them to revenge. And accordingly
Alexander of the Isles had been only two years in

captivity, when the inhabitants of the Isles once
more broke out into open insurrection, and burst
into Lochaber under the command of Donald Bal-
loch, the son of his uncle Reginald, and chief of
the clan Ranald. They there encountered an army
which had been Lochaber for the purpose
left in
of overawing the Highlanders, under the command
of the earls of Mar and Caithness, and after an ob-
stinate conflict, the king's troops were completely
defeated, the earl of Caithness left dead upon the
field, while the remainder were rescued with some
difficulty by the earl of Mar. Donald Balloch,
however, considered it hazardous to follow up his
success, and having ravaged the neighbouring dis-
tricts, he retired to the Isles, and subsequently to
Ireland, to avoid the vengence of so powerful an

adversary as the king of Scotland.
James now saw that the absence of the chief, so
far from rendering the clan more disposed to become
amenable to his will, rather roused them to acts of
rebellionand revenge, and that it was better to have

at the head of the clan, a chief who had become
bound to him from acts of clemency, than to expose

them to the influence of the other branches of the
family, who were irritated by the indignity offered
to the Island lord; he therefore proceeded in
person to the north, for the pui-pose of quelling the
remains of the rebellion: his expedition was attended
with his usual success, by the submission of all the
chiefs who had been engaged in it. Donald Bal-

loch was, soon after this, betrayed, and his head sent
to the king, upon which he at once restored the lord
of the Isles to libert}^, granted him a fi-ee pardon for
all the various acts of rebellion he had been guilty

of, and also confirmed to him not only all his titles
and possessions, but even granted him the lordship
of Lochaber, which had been forfeited from his
cousin Alexander, and given to the earl of Mar.
The policy of this act was soon apparent, for
although Alexander of the Isles was naturally thrown
into opposition to the court, and entered into a
strict league with the earls of Crawford and Douglas,
who at that time headed the opposition, yet it does
not appear that the peace of the country was again
disturbed during his life. But on his death, the
parties engaged in the league, which, although
strictly preserved, had not hitherto led to any ma-
nifestations of actual insurrection, at length broke
out into open rebellion, and the new lord of the

Isles, who was as active an opposer of the royal
party as his father had been, seized the royal castles
of Inveniess, Urquhart, and Ruthven, in Badenoch,
and declared himself independent.
In this state of open rebellion, John, lord of the
Isles, was secretly supported by the earl of Douglas,
and openly by the other barons who belonged to
thear party ; but a circumstance soon after occurred,
which, together with the murder of Douglas, and
defeat of Crawford, by Huntly, not only reduced
.John, after having for several years maintained a

species of independence, to submit to the king, and
resign his lands into his hands, but moreover proved
the cause of the subsequent ruin of the kingdom
of the Isles, w^hich had so long existed in a con-
dition of partial independence. This circumstance
was a rebellion in the Isles, against John, by his
son Angus Og, and John was thus doomed to ex-
perience, in his own territories, the same opposition
which he had so long offered to the king.
With regard to the actual circumstances which
gave rise to this extraordinary contest, there is con-
siderable obscurity, but the causes are thus stated
by an ancient Sennachie of the clan Donald. "John
succeeded his father, a meek, modest man, brought
up at court in his younger years, and a scholar more
fit to be a churchman, than to command so many
irregular tribes of people. He endeavoured, however,
still to keep them in their allegiance, by bestowing
gifts on some, and promoting others with lands and
possessions ; by this he became prodigal, and very
expensive. He had a natural son, begotten of
Macduffie of Colonsay's daughter, and Angus Og,
his legitimate son, by the earl of Angus's daughter.
He gave the lands of Morvairn to Maclean, and
many of his lands in the north to others, judging,
by these means, to make them more faithful to him
than they were to his father. His son, Angus Og,

being a bold, forward man, and high minded, ob-
serving that his father very much diminished his
CHAP. III.] thp: highland clans. 81
rents by his prodigality, thought to deprive him of

allmanagement and authority." But, whatever was
the cause of this dissension, it appeal's that Angus
Og, who had been appointed by his father lieu-
tenant general in all his i)ossessions, and who had
been the actual mover in all these insurrections,
took advantage of his station to deprive his father
of all authority whatever, and to become lord of the
Isles, and Angus Og was no sooner in a situation of
power than he determined to be revenged upon the

earl of Atholl, for the hostility which he had in-
variably manifested against the lord of the Isles,

and at the same time to declare himself independent
for this purpose, having collected a numerous array
in the Isles, he suddenly- appeared before the castle
of Inverness, and having been admitted by the go-

vernor, who believed him faithful, he immediately
proclaimed himself hing of the Hebrides. He then
invaded the district of Atholl, and arriving unex-
pectedly at Blair, he stonned the castle, seized the
earl and countess of Atholl, and carried them pri-
soners to Isla, where he confined them. But the

workings of superstition effected that which it would
have been found perhaps difficult by any otlur
means to obtain, for a storm of thunder and light-
ning having sunk the greater part of his galleys on
his retiu-n to the Isles with the rich booty he had
obtained, it was ascribed to the wrath of heaven, in
consequence of his having plundered and attem])ted
to burn the chapel of St. Bridget, in Atholl ; and in
E 3
order therefore to expiate the crime for which he

now began to feel remorse, he set the earl and
countess at liberty, and performed penance on the
scene of his sacrilege.
Angus Og next induced his father to enter into a
treaty with the king of England and the earl of

Douglas, which had for its object no less than the
entire subjugation of Scotland, and its partition
among the contracting parties. This remarkable
treaty is dated at London, on the 13th of February
1462, and by it the lord of the Isles agreed, upon
payment of a stipulated sum of money to himself,
his son, and his ally, Donald Balloch of Isla, to be-
come the sworn vassal for ever of England, and that
along with the whole body of his subjects, and to
assist him in the wars in Ireland as well as else-
where. But in addition to this, it was provided
that in the event of the entire subjugation of Scot-
land by the earls of Ross and Douglas, the whole of
the kingdom to the north of the Scottish Sea, or
Firth of Forth, was to be divided equally between
Douglas, the lord of the Isles, and Donald Balloch,
while Douglas was to be restored to the possession
of those estates between the Scottish Sea and the
borders of England, from which he was now ex-
cluded. No step, however, appears to have been taken
upon this extraordinary treaty, until the year 1473,
at which period the lord of the Isles appears to
have been in open rebellion, and to have continued

so for several years. But Angus Og does not appear
CHAP. III.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS, 83
to have been supported in this insurrection by the

other parties who had joined in the league with him,
which occasioned his reduction to become a matter

of less difficulty to the government.
A parliament was held at Edinburgh in the year
1 175, in which this fierce and insurgent noble was
declared a traitor, and his estates confiscated to the
crown ; and, in order to carry this forfeiture into
effect, the earls of Crawford and Atholl were di-
rected to proceed against him with a large force.
The extent of these preparations, which compre-
hended a formidable fleet, as well as a land army,
now convinced the earl of Ross that the proceedings
of his rebellious son, which had already deprived
him of all authority, were likely also to cause the
utter ruin and destruction of his race, and he deter-
mined to make one effort to regain his station, and
to preserve the possessions of his ancestors. Tlie
only means now left for him to effect this was, to
obtain the assistance of the government, a matter by
no means easy, in consequence of the rebellion into
which he had been dragged by his son, and which
had resulted in his forfeiture. He was therefore
obliged to submit to the necessary sacrifice, and by
means of a grant of lands in Knapdale, he obtained
the powerful influence of the Earl of Argyll, and in
consequence, upon resigning his whole possessions
into the hands of the crown, he received a remission
for his past offences, and was reinstated in the royal
favour, and in his former possessions, with the excep-
tion of the earldom of Ross, lands of Knapdale and

Kintyre, and offices of sheriff of Inverness and
Nairne, which were retained by the crown, while
he himself wâs created a peer of parliament by the
title of lord of the Isles.
Soon after this, the earl of Atholl was despatched
to the north, for the purpose of reinstating the earl
of Ross in his possessions and on entering the earl-
;
dom, he was joined by the Mackenzies, Mackays,

Erasers, Rosses, and others, but being met by Angus
Og, who had hastened there at the head of the clan,
at a place called Lagebread, the earl of Atholl was

defeated with great slaughter, and with some diffi-
culty made his escape. The earls of Crawford and

lluntly were then sent, the one by sea, the other by
land ; but both expeditions were attended with
equally bad success. The third expedition consisted
of Argyll and Atholl, who were accompanied by the
lord of the Isles, and on this occasion Argyll found
means to persuade several of the families of the
Isles to join their party. An interview^ then took
place between the contending parties, wdiich did not

produce any result, and the two earls, who do not
appear to have had any great cordiality towards the
object of their expedition, returned. John, however,
proceeded onwards through the Sound of Mull, ac-
companied by the Macleans, Macleods, Macneils,
and others, and encountered Angus Og in a bay on
the south side of the promontory of Ardnamurchaii.
A naval engagement immediately took place between
the father and son and their respective followers,
which ended in the complete overthrow of the unfor-

tunate father, and the dispersion of his fleet. By
this victory, long be remembered in the
which will
traditions of the country as the " Battle of the

Bloody Bay," Angus became completely established
in the possession of the power and extensive terri-
tories of his clan. John appears not long after this
to have become reconciled to his son, who easily re-
gained the entire ascendancy over him which he

had formerly possessed ; and, accordingly, it was
but five years after the date of his submission that
we once more find him throwing off his allegiance
to the throne, and engaging ^^'ith Ed-in a treaty
ward IV., king of England, who was then preparing

to invade Scotland and from this period, during the
;
remainder of the reign of James 111,, the Isles ap-

pear to have continued in a state of open resistance
to the authority of the government. But the acces-
sion of James IV., in 1494, made a material change
in this respect, for that energetic monarch, who in
many points of view bore a strong resemblance to
his ancestor the first James, took the most decided
and severe measures for reducing the country to a
state of peace, while the recent death of Angus Og
left John in no condition to defend himself from the
consequences of the rebellion into which he had
been led. In these measures James was accordingly
successful; it was in the sixth year of his reign that
he turned his attention particularly to the state of

the Highlands and Isles ; and during that year, he

visited them pei'sonally three times, besides having
twice, in the preceding year, penetrated into the
Highlands as DunstafFnage and Mingany, in
far as
Ardnamurchan, and reduced most of the Highland

chiefs to obedience.
The lord of the Isles, nevertheless, still refused
to submit, and defied the royal authorit}' ; James
found himself unable successfully to attack him in
his strongholds, but on his return to Edinburgh, he
assembled a parliament, in which the title and pos-
sessions of the lord of the Isles were declared for-
feited to the crown.
Not long after this, John of the Isles appears to
have died; and as his grandson, Donald Du, was still
a minor, and the other branches of the family were

engaged in various dissensions among each other,
there was no one at once to resume the government
of the clan, and to offer effectual resistance to the
king. The forfeiture and death of John had the
effect of completely disorganizing the clan ; while all
those clans which had been dependent upon the

lords of the Isles, although not connected by de-
scent, having attained to considerable power under
their protection, seized this opportimity, with one
accord, of declaring themselves independent of the
Macdonalds, and set about procuring from the king
feudal titles to their respective lands.
There was no longer, therefore, any prospect of
the Macdonalds again obtaining the almost royal
state which they had so long enjoyed, and from this

period may accordingly be dated the fall of that once
powerful clan ; although, before the Macdonalds
finally resigned the contest, they appear to have
made three several attempts to place various of their
branches at the head of the whole tribe ; but these
attempts proved equally unsuccessful, partly from
the prompt measures adopted by government, but
principally from the effects of their own intenial dis-
sensions, as well as from the great opposition they
received from those clans formerly dependent on the
Macdonalds, but whose interest it had now become to
prevent the union of the tribe under one head as for-

merly. The first of these attempts took place shortly
after the death of John of the Isles, and was made
in favour of Donald Du, his grandson by his son,
Angus Og. The principal parties engaged in this
attempt was Alaster Macdonald, of Lochalsh, the
son of Celestin, who was a bi-other of John, lord of
the Isles, Torquil Macleod of Lewis, and Lauchlan
Maclane of Doward. To Maclane was intrusted tlie
person of Donald Du, and the task of keeping pos-

session of the Isles, while Alaster proceeded with
the greater part of the clan to Ross, with a view to
recover possession of that earldom. Here he was
not prepared to meet with opposition, but Mackenzie,
being well aware that the loss of his newly acquired
independence would follow Alaster's success, and
elthough far inferior in strength, resolved to make a
desperate effort, in which he succeeded ; for, having
S8 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART II.
surprised the Macdonalds in the night time, at the

village of Blairnapark, he dispersed them with great
slaughter. Alaster upon this returned to the Isles,
but the dissension among the islanders soon put a
finishing stroke to the defeat of this first attempt.
The principal families of the Isles who were opposed
to the succession of Donald Du, were those of Mac-
ian of Ardnamurchan, and Macconnel of Kintyre,
who w ere apprehensive that their own houses would
suff'er by the success of the rebellion.They had
not, however, dared to oppose it, when fortune at
first seemed to favour the enterprise ; but when, after
Alaster's defeat in Ross, he returned to the Isles, to
raise men, they followed his vessel to Oransay, where
they overtook him, and put him to death. Maclane
with his party had, in the meantime, though at first
more successful, been reduced to submission by the

efforts of thegovernment. Having found little diffi-
culty inmaking himself master of the Isles, he had,
with the other Island chiefs, burst into Badenoch, at
the head of a considerable force, wasting the country
in every direction ; and even set fire to the town of
Inverness. An army, at the head of which were the
earls of Argyll, Huntly, Crawford and Marshall,
with Lord Lovat, and other barons, was led against
him, but, with the usual Highland policy, he had
retreated to the Isles with his plunder. James then
found it necessary to dispatch a fleet under the com-
mand of Sir Andrew Wood, the most celebrated
naval commander of his day, to the Isles, to co-
operate with the land army, and the result of this

expedition shewed that the Island chiefs had hither-
to owed their immunity to the inefficient state of the
Scottish navy ; and that the extraordinary advance

which had been made in that department now laid
them at the mercy of the government. Kernebnrg

Castle, the last resort of the insurgents, was reduced
with the utmost facility. The Maclanes and Mac-
leods submitted, and Donald Du was taken
captive and imprisoned in the castle of
Inch Connel, where he was destined to remain for
forty years.
At no period, however, did the Highlanders ex-
hibit more of the extraordinary perseverance with
which they support a falling cause ; for although the
person whom they regarded as the legitimate heir of
the Isles was in hopeless captivity, they made an at-
tempt to place his nearest relation and presumptive

heir in possession of the Isles ; and accordingly it
was not many years after the failure of their former

insurrection, that Donald Galda, the sou of that
Alaster who had been the principal mover in the
former rebellion, having just attained the age of ma-
jority, raised another insuiTection in the Isles, in
order to assert what he considered his just claim lo

the lordship of the Isles ; but this attempt, although
supported by a greater proportion of the chiefs,

proved equally unsuccessful with the last. It ap-
peal's that Donald Galda had no sooner de-

A.D. 1515. '^
, , . .
r
clared his intention oi attempting to regain
the Isles, than he wasjomed by the powerful clan of

the Macleods. He also reconciled himself with the
Macconnells of Kintyre, and with this great accession
of power he succeeded in obtaining possession of the
Isles, and was immediately declared lord of the Isles ;
but he did not long enjoy his dignity, as he died a

few weeks afterwards, and the only event of his short
reign was his revenging his father's death upon the
Macians of Ardnamurchan, by the slaughter of their
chief and his son.

CHAP. IV.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 91
CHAPTER IV.
Notwithstanding the ill success of the two attempts

which the Macdonalds had made to set up one of
their race as lord of the Isles, they remained deter-

mined not to give up all prospect of having a chief
of their own race without a farther struggle. Ihe
effects of the last insuiTections had indeed so com-
pletely depressed and crushed them for the time, that
they appear to have been, during the remainder of

the reign of James V., in no condition to attempt
such an enterprise ; and it was in consequence not
till the regency of Mary of Guise, that an apparently
favourable opportunity offered itself for the pui-pose.
The race of Celestine John's immediate younger bro-
ther being now extinct, they turned their thoughts
towards Donald Du, the son of Angus Og, in whose
favour the first attempt had been made shortly after
the death of the last lord of the Isles ; and they now
determined to make a final effort to place him in pos-
session of the inheritance which they conceived to
have been unjustly wrested from him. Donald Du

had been carried off, when still a minor, on the sue-
cessful siege of Kernebuvgh, by Sir Andrew Wood,

and had been detained in captivity ever since in
Inchconnel; but a sudden and unexpected attack
upon his castle by the Macdonalds of Glenco effected
his liberation, and he had no sooner arrived in the
Isles than he was declared lord, and received the
submission of the chiefs of the different branches of
the Macdonalds and the other Island lords. In this
insurrection, Donald Du was supported by the earl
of Lennox, who was at that tiuie in the En-

A.D. 1645.
glish interest ; and as long as Lennox con-
tinued in league with him, he remained in possession
of the Isles ; but that earl having soon after made
his peace with the king, and disbanded his followers,
Donald Du went to Ireland for the purpose of raising
forces to support his occupancy of the territories of
the Isles, but having been attacked with fever, he

died at Drogheda, on his way to Dublin, and with
him ended the direct line of the earls of Ross and
lords of the Isles, and all hopes of a descendant of
Somerled again reigning over the Isles. Thus ended
the last effort made by the Macdonalds to regain their
former state and power, and from this period they

have remained divided and broken up into various
branches, whose numerical strength is rendered un-
availing by their mutual jealousy and want of union.
Upon the forfeiture of the lords of the Isles, and
failure of their subsequent attempts to retrieve their
affairs, the various clans occupying the extensive
territories which had owned their swav, were found
ill one or other of three situations: of one class were

a number of clans which became dependent upon the
IMacdonalds, but were not of the same origin, and
these clans, with the exception of the Macleods,
Maclanes, and others, opposed all the attempts made
for the restoration of the family of the Isles, while
upon the success of that opposition all of them raised
themselves in strength and power. A second class
were of the same origin as the family of the Isles,
but having branched off from the main stem before

the succession of the elder branches fell to the clan,
in the person of John of the Isles, in the reign of

David II., and before they rose to the height of their
power, they now appeared as separate clans ; of these
were the Macalasters, Macians, &c. The Mac-
alasters are traced by the MS. of 1450 from Alaster, a
son of Angus Mor; and \\hile the general derivation
is confirmed by their tradition, the particular steps

of the genealogy contained in that MS. derive cor-
roboration from the records.
The Macalasters inhabited the south of Knapdale
and the north of Kintyre, and during the govern-
ment of the lords of the Isles, we of course know
little of their history. But after the forfeiture of the
Isles they became independent, and were imme-

diately exposed to the encroachments of the Camp-
bells, so that their principal possessions soon found
their way into different branches of that wide spread-
ing race.
The Macians of Ardnamuvchan are descended
from John, a son of Angus Mor, to whom his father

gave the property which he had obtained from the
crown ; while the descent of the Macians, or Mac-
donalds, of Glenco, from John Fraoch, a son of
Angus Og, lord of the Isles, is undoubted, and never
has been disputed, and their history in no degree
differs from that of the other branches of the Mac-
donalds. There is but one circumstance peculiar to
them which has rendered their name celebrated in
the annals of the country, — that of the infamous
massacre to which this unfortunate clan was sub-
jected ; a well known transaction, into the details of
which it is unnecessary here to enter. It must for
ever remain a blot upon the memory of the king in

whose reign it happened, and on that nobleman by
whom itwas perpetrated, which can never be ef-

faced ; and so detestable a transaction is almost suf-
ficient to justify the hatred and opposition of the
Highlanders towards the established government,
which, united to their personal attachment to the
line of their ancient kings, produced the unfortunate
insurrections of the years 1715 and 1745. The third
set were the descendants of the different lords of the
Isles, who still professed to form one clan, but among

whom the subject of the representation of the lords of
the Isles soon introduced great dissensions. These
branches all adopted the name of Macdonald, and
theiii'st great division which took place among them
was between the descendants of the sons of the two

marriages of John, lord of the Isles, in the fourteenth
century. The descendants of the first marriage were

Imiited to the clan Ranald ; those of the second con-
sisted of the Macdonalds of Sleat, Isla, and Kep-
poch, and the foiiner, now that the circumstances
which had given the latter in some degree a pre-
eminence were at an end, loudly asserted their right
to be considered as the patriarchal chiefs of the clan
Donald.
Among the descendants of the latter family, the
representation now clearly devolved upon the Mac-
donalds of Sleat, who were descended of Hugh, bro-
ther of John, the last lord of the Isles. The three
branches, however, remained in every respect inde-
pendent of each other. The second branch, or Mac-
donald of Isla and Kintyre, after maintaining them-
selves for some time in a state of considerable power,
at length sunk gradually before the secret but pow-
erful agency of the Campbells, and were finally
extinguished in the beginning of the reign of Charles

I., when the Campbells, having procured letters of
fire and sword against the whole clan Jan Vor, and
having also obtained the assistance of the Macleods,
Macleans, Macneils,Camerons, and others, compelled
the last representative of that house. Sir James Mac-
donald, to fly to Spain, upon which the earl of Argyll
got a grant of their lands, which forms the most
valuable portion of his property.
The Macdonalds of Keppoch remained for a long
period in the forcible possession of their district of

Lochaber, in spite of every effort to dispossess them,
which occasioned their being engaged in perpetual

feuds with their neighbours. They were the last of
the Highlanders who retained the system of preda-
tory warfare, in which at one time all were equally
engaged ; and as it is not long since they became
extinct, it may be said that they preserved the war-
like and high spirited character of the ancient High-
lander until it terminated with their own existence.
The Macdonalds of Sleat is the only branch which
has increased in power and station, and as their ele-
vation to the peerage by the title of Lord Macdonald

has placed them in the apparent situation of chief
of the race, it will not be improper to add a few re-
marks on the claims of the different branches to that

station.
While it is fully admitted that the family of Sleat

are theundoubted representatives of the last lord of
the Isles, yet if the descendants of Donald, from whom
the clan took its name, or even of John of the Isles
in the reign of David II., are to be held as forming

one clan, it is plain that, according to the Highland
principles of clanship, the jus sanguinis, or right of
blood to the chiefship lay unquestionably in the
male representative of John, whose own right was
undoubted. John of the Isles had, by Amy, the
daughter of Roderick of the Isles, three sons,
John, Godfrey, and Ranald, of whom the last only
left descendants, and from wdiom the clan Ranald un-
questionably derive their origin. By the daughter
of Robert IL, John had four sons, Donald, lord of the
Isles, from whom came the Macdonalds of Sleat
John Mor, from whom the Macconells of Kyntyre

Alaster, the progenitor of Keppoch and Angus. ;
In this question, therefore, there are involved two

subordinate questions which have given rise to con-
siderable disputes. — First, was Amy, the daughter of
Roderic of the Isles, John's legitimate w'ife, and
were the sons of that marriage John's legitimate
heirs ? And secondly, if the sons of the first mar-
riage are legitimate, who is chief of the clan Ranald,
the only clan descended from that marriage ? With
regard to the first point, there are two documents
which place it beyond all doubt that Amy was John's
lawful wife. The first of these is a dispensation
from the Pope in 1337 to John, son of Angus of the
Isles, and Amie, daughter of Roderic of the Isles.
The second is John and David II.

the treaty between
in 1369, in which the hostages are " Donaldum
filium meum ex filia domini senescali Scotia? genitum
Angusium filium quondam Johannis filii mei et Do-
naldum quemdam alium filium meum naturalemr
John had by Amy three sons, John, Godfrey, and
Ranald, and the distinction made in the above pas-
sage between John " JiUus meus,'"' and Donald filius
mens luituralis, proves that this family wêre legiti-
mate. But it is equally clear that the children of
this marriage were considered as John's feudal heirs.
"Wlien Robert II., in pursuance of the policy which
he had adopted, persuaded John to make the children
of the two marriages feudally independent of each
other, it was effected in this manner. John received

charters of certain of his lands containing a special
destination to the heir of the marriage with the king's
daughter, while he granted a charter of another portion
of his lands, consisting of the lordship of Garmoran,
part of Lochaber, and some of the Tsles, among
which was that of Uist, to Reginald, one of the chil-
dren of the first mamage, to be held of John's lawful
heirs, and this charter was confirmed by the king.
That a special destination was necessary to convey
part of John's possessions to the children of the
second marriage is in itself a strong presumption that
they were not his feudal heirs, and from the terms
of Reginald's charter it is manifest that he must,
on John's death, have held his lands of the person
universally acknowledged to be the feudal heir of the
lord of the Isles. This person, however, was his
brother Godfrey, the eldest surviving son of the first
marriage, for in a charter to the Abbey of InchafFray,

dated 7th July, 1389, he designates himself "Dominus
de Uist," and dates his charter " Apud Castrum
meum de Ylantirum," both of which are included
in Reginald's charter. Moreover it appears that he
was succeeded in this by his son Alexander, for
when James II. summoned a parliament at In-
verness, to which those only who held their lands in
chief of the crown, were bound to attend, and ^^•hen,
from the state of the country at the time, it is appa-
rent that no one would appear who could on any
grou.nd excuse his absence, we find among those
who obeyed the summons, Alexander Macreurv de

Garmoran. Macreury and Macgony, or son of God-
frey, are convertible expressions, and the attendance
of this chief in parliament proves that the sons of
Godfrey held the lordship of Garmoran in chief of
the crown. We find, however, that the rest of Regi-
nald's lands were equally held of this Alexander,
for Reginald's charter included a considerable part
of Lochaber, and in the year 1394 an indenture
was entered between the Earl of Moray and
into
Alexander de Insulis dominus de Lochaber for the
protection of certain lands in Morayshire. We thus
see that when it was intended that the eldest son of
the second marriage should hold his lands of the
crown a special destination to him was requisite,
that a charter of certain lands was given to Reginald
to be held of John's feudal heirs, and that these very
lands were held in chief of the crown by Godfrey, the
eldest surviving son of the first marriage, and by his
son Alexander. It is, therefore, plain, that the actual
effect of Robert the Second's policy was to divide the

possessions of his fonnidable vassals into two dis-
tinct and independent feudal lordships, of which the
Dominium de Garmoran et Lochaber was held by the
eldest son of the first marriage, and the Dominium
Insularum by the eldest son of the second marriage
and in this state they certainly remained until the
fatal parliament of 1427, when Garmoran
the lord of
was beheaded and his estates forfeited to the crown.
The policy of James I. induced him then to re-
F 2
verse the proceedings of his predecessor Robert, and

he accoi-dingly concentrated the Macdonald posses-
sions in the person of the lord of the Isles, but this ar-
bitrary proceeding could not deprive the descendants
of the first marriage of the feudal representation of the
chiefs of the clan Donald, which now, on the failure of
the issue of Godfrey in the person of his son Alexan-

der, unquestionably devolved on the feudal represent-
ative of Reginald, the youngest son of that nian-iage.
Of the descent of the clan Ranald, there is no
doubt whatever, nor has it ever been disputed, that
they derive their oiigin from this Reginald or Ranald,
a son of John lord of the Isles by Amy Mac Rory.
Ranald obtained, as we have seen, from his father the
lordship of Garmoran, which he held as vassal of his
brother Godfrey, and these were the same territories
which the clan Ranald possessed, as appears from the
parliamentary records in 1587, when mention is
made of the " Clan Ranald of Knoydart, Moydart, and

Glengairy." There has, however, arisen consider-
able doubt which of the various families descended
from Ranald anciently possessed the chiefship, and
without entering in this place into an argument of
any great length on the subject, we shall state shortly
the conclusions to which we have been led after a

rigid examination of that question.
That the present family styling themselves " of
Clanranald" were not the ancient chiefs there can
be no doubt, as it is now a matter of evidence that
thev are descended from a bastard son of a second
son of the old family of Moydart, who assumed the

title of captain of Clanranald in 1531, and as long as
the descendants of the elder brother remain they
can have no claim by right of blood. The point we
are to examine is, who was the chief previous to
that assumption ?
Ranald had five sons, of whom three only left

issue, viz. Donald, from whom descended the family
of Knoydart and Glengany, Allan, the ancestor of
the family of Moydart, and Angus, from whom came
the family of Moror. That the descendants of Angus
were the youngest branch, and could have no claim
to tlie chiefship, has never been disputed, and the
question accordingly lies between the descendants of
Donald and of Allan. The seniority of Donald, how-
ever, is distinctly proved by the fact, that on the ex-
tinction of the family of Moror, the family of Moydart
succeeded legally to that property ; consequently
by the law of Scotland they must have been de-
scended from a younger son than the family of Knoy
dart and Glengarry, and it follows of necessity that
the latter family must have been that of the chief.
Independently, however, of this argument, derived
from the history of their properties, the same fact is
evinced by the constant appearance of the latter fa-
mily at the head of the clan previous to the usurpa-

tion of the family of Moydart; thus when after
Alexander, the lord of Garmoran, had been beheaded

in 1427, and the lord of the Isles was soon after im-
prisoned, the whole clan rose in arms and revenged
the death and imprisonment of their chiefs by the
102 THE HIGHLAND CLANS, [PART II.
defeat of the king's army at Iiiverlochy in 1433, they

were commanded by Donald the son of Ranald, for
the oldest authorities tenn the Donald Balloch who
led the clan on this occasion, the son of Alexander's
uncle. The only other Donald who stood in this re-
lation to Alexander was the son of John Mor, of
Isla; but the same authorities state that the Donald
Balloch of Inverlochy was betrayed and slain but a
very few years afterwards, while the Donald the son
ofJohn Mor was unquestionably alive in 1462. The
Donald Balloch of Inverlochy must, therefore, have
been Donald the son of Ranald, and unless he was
the chief of the clan Ranald it is difficult to suppose
that he would have been placed in command of the
whole clan, while the natural inference from the
transaction is, that the clan turned themselves
to Donald as the person who had the best right
to lead them. Donald had three sons, John, Alas-
ter, and Angus \ On the forfeiture of Alexander
Mac Gorry of Garmoran in 1427, that part of Locha-
ber possessed by him was granted to the Earl of JNIarr,
while all those lands held of him by the clan Ranald
remained in the crown, and consequently the chief of
clan Ranald must have held them as crown vassal.
I
MS. of 1450.
"
Not only did the chief of clan Ranald hold these lands of
the crown, as he had previously held them of Alexander Mac
Gorry, but it actually appears that the Lord of the Isles was
his vassal in some of them, for Alexander, Lord of the Isles,
grants a charter to the ancestor of the Macneills, dated in 1427,

of the island of Barra, and of the lands of Boysdale in the
Accordingly we find John, the eldest son of Donald,

holding his lands of the crown as appears from a gift
of the nonentries of Knoydavt to Cameron since the

decease of Uraq" John Mac Ranald', and this suf-
ficiently indicates his ])osition at the head of the clan,
as, if he had not been chief, he would have held his

lands of the Moydavt family. John appears by
another charter to have died in 1467, and in 1476
the lands of Garmoran were included in a crown
charter to John, lord of the Isles. The lords of the
Isles had invariably manifested the most inveterate
Garmoran and their
hostility to the rival family of
supporters. On the acquisition of Lochaber by
Alexander, lord of the Isles, after his release from pri-
son, this animosity displayed itself in the proscription
of the Macdonalds of Keppoch, Macmartins of
Letterfinlay, and others who were always faithful
adherents of the patriarchal chief of the clan. The

same animosity was now directed against the chief of
clan Ranald his lands of Knoydart appear to have
;
been given to Lochiel, the lands of Southmoror,

Arisaig, and many of the isles, were bestowed on
Hugh of Slait, the brother of the lord of the Isles,
island of Uist, both of which islands are included in Reginald's
charter, and one of which was, as we have seen, certainly held

in chief of the crown by the heir of the^;-*^ marriage.
* That this John Mac Ranald was John, the eldest son of
Donald, appears from two facts ; first, his lands adjoin those of
Alaster, the second son, and are separated by them from those
of the other branches of the clan. Second, on the failure of his
descendants the descendants of Alaster succeeded to them.
104 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PaRT II.
and in this way tlie principal branch of the clan Ra-

nald was reduced to a state of depression from which
it did not soon recover. To this proscription
there was but one exception, viz. the family of Moy-
dart, who alone retained their possessions, and in
consequence, on the forfeiture of the lords of the Isles,
they did not hesitate to avail themselves of their

situation, and place themselves at the head of the
clan, a proceeding to which the representative of the
ancient chiefs was not in a situation to offer any re-
sistance.This was principally effected by John,
surnamed Mudortach, a bastard son of the brother of
the laird of Moydort ; but the character of the usurp-
ation is marked by the title of captain
sufficiently
of clan Ranald, which alone he assumed, and which

his descendants retained until the latter part of the
last century, when the Highland title of captain of
clan Ranald was most improperly converted into
the feudal one of Macdonald of clan Ranald. At
the forfeiture of the lords of the Isles, the family of
Knoydart and Glengarry consisted of two branches
termed respectively " of Knoydart" and " of Glen-
gany," of which the former was the senior ; and
while the senior branch never recovered from the de-
pressed state to which they had been reduced, the
latter obtained a great accession of territory, and rose
at once to considerable power by a fortunate mar-
riage with the heiress of the Macdonalds of Lochalsh.
During the existence of the senior branch, the latter
acknowledged its head as their chief, but on their ex-

tinction, which occurred soon after the usurpation
by the family of Moydart, the Glengarry branch

succeeded to their possessions, and as represent-
ing Donald, the eldest son of Ranald, the founder
of the clan, loudly asserted their right to the chief-
ship, which they have ever since maintained.
As Moydart family were unwilling to resign
the
the position which they had acquired, this produced
a division of the clan into two factions, but the right
of the descendants of Donald is strongly evinced by
the above fact of the junior branch acknowledging a
chief during the existence of the senior, and only
maintaining their right to that station on its extinc-
tion, and by the acknowledgment of the chiefship of
the Glengarry family constantly made by the Mac-
donalds of Keppoch and other branches of the clan,
who had invariably followed the patriarchal chiefs in
preference to the rival family of the lords of the Isles.
These few facts, which are necessarily given but
very concisely, are however sufficient to warrant us
in concluding, that Donald, the progenitor of the
family of Glengairy, was Ranald's eldest son ; that
from John, Donald's eldest son, proceeded the senior
branch of this family, who were chiefs of clan
Ranald ; that they were from circumstances, but
principally in consequence of the grant of Garmoran
to the lord of the Isles, so completely reduced, that
the oldest cadet, as usual in such cases, obtained

the actual chiefship, with the title of captain, while
on the extinction of this branch, in the beginning of
F 3
the seventeenth century, the family of Glengarry,

descended from Alaster, Donald's second son, became
the legal representatives of Ranald, the common an-
cestor of the clan, and consequently possessed that
right of blood to the chiefship of which no usurpation,
however successful, could deprive them. The family
of Glengarry have since then not only claimed the
chiefship of the clan Ranald, but likewise that of the
whole clan Donald, as undoubted representative of
Donald, the common ancestor of the clan; and when
the services rendered by the family to the house of
Stuart were rewarded by a peerage from Charles IL,
Glengarry indicated his rights by assuming the title
of Lord Macdonell and Arross, which, on the failure

of male heirs of his body, did not descend to his
successors, although his lands formed in consequence
the barony of Macdonell.
Arms.
Quarterly. — First. Or, a lion rampant, azure, armed and lan-
gued, gules. Second. A dexter hand coupee, holding a cross
crosslet, fitchie sable. Third. Or, a ship with her sails furled,
salterwise, sable. Fourth. A salmon naiant, proper, with a

chief waved argent.
Badge.
Heath.
Principal Seat,
Isla.
Oldest Cadet.
Mac Alaster of Loup, now Somerville Macalister of Kennox.
Chief.
The Ranaldson Macdonells, of Macdonell and Glengarry,

CHAP, IV.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 107
are the unquestionable male representatives of the founder of

the clan, and therefore possess the right of blood to the chief-
ship.
Force.
In 1427 the Macdonells of Garmoran and Lochaber mustered

2000 men. In 1715, the whole clan, 2820. In 1745, 2350.
CLAN DUGALL.
The Macdogalls have, in general, been derived
from Dogall, the eldest son of Somerled, and it
has been hitherto assumed, that Alexander de Er-

gadia, who first appears in 1284, and who was the
undoubted ancestor of the clan, was the son of Ewen
de Ergadia, or king Ewen, who appears so promi-
nently at the period of the cession of the Isles. But
this derivation, to which the resemblance of name
has probably given rise, is unquestionably erroneous,
for independently of the fact that there is strong evi-
dence for King Ewen having died without male
issue, it is expressly contradicted by the manuscript
of 1450, in two several places. That invaluable

record of Highland genealogies says expressly, that
from Ranald sprung the clan Rory, clan Donald,
and clan Dogall ; and that this was no mere mis-
take, but the real opinion of the author is evident,
for in another place he gives the genealogy of the
Macdogalls of Dunolly from Dugall the son of
Ranald. This, however, is confirmed by the chartu-
lary of Cupar, for the manuscript makes Alexander
de Ergadia, the son of Duncan, son of Dugall, son
of Reginald; and in that chartulary Duncanus de
Lornyn witnesses a charter of the earl of Atholl of

the lands of Dunfallandy, dated certainly between
1253 and 1270, while during that period Evven was
in possession of the lands of his branch of the
family. These facts seem to leave little room to
doubt that this clan were in reahty descended from
Ranald the son of Somerled, and that their ancestor
Dugall was the brother of Donald, the founder of
the clan Donald.
The first appearance of this family is at the con-
vention of 1284, where we find the name of Alex-
ander de Ergadia, and his attendance on this occa-
sion was probably procured by a crown charter of
his lands but from this period we lose sight of him
;
until the reign of Robert the Bruce, when the oppo-

sition of Alexander de Ergadia, lord of Lorn, and
his son John to the succession of that king, has
made hisname familiar in Scottish history. Alaster
having married the third daughter of John, called
the Red Comyn, who was slain by Bruce in the
Dominican church at Dumfries, became, from that
circumstance, the mortal enemy of that prince, and
on more than one occasion, was the means of re-
ducing him to great straits, in the early period of his
reign. After his defeat at Methven, in June 19, 1306,
Bruce retreated to the mountainous part of Braidal-
bane, and approached the borders of Argyllshire,
where, with his followers, who did not amount to
thi-ee hundred men, he was encountered by Lorn

with about a thousand of his followers, and repulsed
CHAP, IV.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 109
after a very severe engagement. The Bruce with

difficulty escaped, and the greatness of his danger
is attested by the fact, that upon one occasion he
was only able to extricate himself from the followers
of Lorn, by unclasping his mantle ;and the brooch,
which is said to have been lost by him during the
struggle, is still preserved as a remarkable relic in
the family of Macdogall of Dunolly.
The place where this battle was fought is still
called Dairy, or the King's Field. On another

occasion, when he had been obliged to hide from
was tracked for a long distance by
his enemies, he
John of Lorn and his paily, by aid of a blood-
hound, and only escaped by the exertion of almost
incredible personal courage and activity. It is not
to be wondered at, therefore, that when Bruce had
finally established himself firmly on the throne of
Scotland, that one of his first objects should be
directed towai"ds crushing his old enemies the Mac-
dogalls, and revenging the many injuries he had
received from them.
Accordingly, he marched into Argyllshire for the
purpose of laying that country waste and talking
possession of Lorn, and found John of Lorn, with
his followers, posted in the formidable and nearly
inaccessible pass, which intervenes between the
mountain of Ben Cruachan and Loch Awe. But
the military skill of Bruce was able to overcome
even the natural difficulties of the country, for he
dispatched a party to scale the mountain, and gain
the heights, while attacking the enemy in front, lie

speedily changed their resistance into precipitate
flight — the difficulty of the pass, which had been of
advantage to them in the attack, now proved their
ruin when in flight, and accordingly, being unable
to effect their escape, they were totally routed, and
that with great slaughter. Upon this event Bruce
laid waste Argyllshire, and besieged the castle of
Dunstafnage, which he compelled to surrender. Alas-
ter, of Lorn, hopeless of successfully continuing his
oi^position, submitted to the victorious king, while
his son John, who could not expect to be admitted
to any terms, fled to England. The greater part of
their territories were forfeited by the king, and
given to Angus of Isla, who throughout had been
one of his main supports, while Alaster was allowed
to retain the district of Lorn. At this time the king
of England was making preparations for that great
expedition into Scotland, which resulted in the battle
of Bannockburn, and on the amval of John of Lorn
as a fugitive, he appointed him admiral of the fleet,
and dispatched him to Scotland, to co-operate with

the land army. The battle of Bannockburn soon
after confirmed Bnice in the secure possession of the
crown, and he was no sooner relieved from the
apprehension of any farther attempt on the part of the
king of England to regain possession of Scotland,
than he determined to drive the lord of Lorn out of
the Isles, where he had arrived with his fleet. For
this purpose, when he had accompanied his brother
CHAP. IV.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. Ill
Edward in his expedition to Ireland, he turned his

course towards the Isles, and having arrived at
Tarbet, he is said to have caused his galleys to be

dragged over the isthmus which unites Kintyre and
Knapdale.
" And quhen thai, that in the Ih's war,

Hard tell how the gud king had thar
Gert hys schippis with saillis ga
Owt our betuix (the) Tarbart (is) twa.
Thai war abaysit sa wtrely
For thai wyst, throw auld prophecy,
That he that suld ger schippis sua
Betuix thai seis with saillis ga,
Suld wyne the His sua till hand

That nane with strength suld him withstand,
Tharfor thai come all to the king,
Wes nane withstud his bidding,
Owtakyn Ihone of Lome allayne.
But Weill sun eftre was he tayne

And present right to the king." ^
The result of this expedition was the complete

disjDersion of the English fleet and the seizure of
John of Lorn, who was imprisoned in Dumbarton,
and aftei'wards in Lochleven, where he remained
during the rest of Robert Bruce's reign. The
death of Robert Bruce seems to have procured for
John of Lom his liberty, and as his marriage with a
relation of the Comyn had caused the forfeiture of
his possessions, so he was now to recover his former
1 Barbour.
station by a more politic connexion with the royal

famil}^ He appears to have married a grand-daugh-
ter of Robert Bruce, early in the reign of his succes-
sor, David II., and was in consequence not only
restored to his possessions, but even obtained a grant
of the additional property of Glenlion. These ex-
tensive territories were not, however, doomed to re-
main long in the family, for on the death of Ewen,

the last lord of Lorn, they passed into the family of
Stewart of Innermeath John Stewart of Innermealh
;
and his brother Robert having married his two

daughters and coheiresses, and by an arrangement
between the brothers, the descendants of John Stew-
art acquired the whole of the Lorn possessions, with
the exception of the Castle of DunoUy and its de-

pendencies, situated in the heart of their lordship,
which remained to the next branch of the family.
Thus terminated the power of this branch of the
descendants of Somerled, who at one time rivalled
the other branches in their power and the extent of
their temtories. The chieftainship of the clan now
descended to the family of Dunolly, who were de-
scended from Allan, the son of John of Lorn, and
brother of Ewen, the last lord, and who still survive
the decay of their ancient grandeur. This family
continued to enjoy the small portion of their ancient
estates which remained to them until the year 1715,
" when the representative incuiTed the penalty of
forfeiture for his accession to the insun-ection of that
period, thus losing the remains of his inheritance to

CHAP. IV.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 1 13
replace upon the throne the descendants of those

princes whose accession his ancestors had opposed
at tlie expense of their feudal grandeur." But the
estate was restored to the family in 1745, in conse-
quence of their having taken no part in the attempt
of that year.
Amis.
Quarterly. First and fourth. In a field azure, a lion ramp-
ant, argent, for Macdogall. Second and third. Or, a lym-
phad sable, with flame of fire issuing out of the topmast, pro-
per, for Lorn.

Badge.
Cypress.
Principal Seat,
Lorn.
Oldest Cadet.
Macdogall of Raray.
Chief.
Macdogall of Dunolly.
Force.
In 1745, 200.
SIOL GILLEVRAY.
Besides the Macdonalds and the Macdogalls, the

MS. of 1450 deduces various others of the Argyll-
shire clans from the same race. According to that
ancient document, a certain Gillebride rig eilan, or
king of the Isles, lived in the twelfth century, and
was descended from a brother of Suibne, the ancestor
of the Macdonalds slain in 1034 and from Anradan, ;
or Henry, the son of Gillebride, the same authority

deduces the Macneills, Maclachlans, Macewens, and

Maclaisrichs. That the genealogy by which this
Gillebride is brought from an ancestor of the Mac-
donells, in the beginning of the eleventh century, is
authentic, is perhaps more than we are entitled to
assert; but the existence of a traditionary affinity
between these clans and the race of Somerled at so
eai-ly a period, sufficiently proves that they were of
the same race. Gillebride, probably, merely pos-
sessed the Norwegian title of a Sudreya Konungr,
or Hebridean king, which was bestowed on the prin-
cipal Island chiefs ; and the seat of his race appears
to have been Lochaber, as the different clans de-
scended from him can in general be traced fi'om
thence, and his immediate ancestor is termed

" Abrice," or of Lochaber. I have ventured to call
this tribe the Siol Gillebride, or Gillevray, as I find

an old Sennachy of the Macdonalds stating that in
the time of Somerled, " the principal surnames in
the country (Morvern, Ardgour, and Lochaber) were
Mac Innes and Mac Gillevrays, who were the same as
the Mac Innes." It appears from this passage, that
the oldest inhabitants of these districts consisted of
two clans, the Mac Gillevrays and the Mac Innes, who
were of the same race ; and as there is a very old
traditionary connexion between the clan A Mhaisdir,
or Mac Innes of Ardgour, and several of the clans
descended from Anradan Mac Gillebride, it seems to
establish the identity of this tribe with the old J\Iac
Gillevrays of Morvern. The various branches of this
tribe probably formed but one clan, under the name

of the clan Gillevray, until the conquest of Argyll by
Alexander when they fully shared in the ruin
II.,
which fell upon those who adhered to Somerled,

with the exception of the Macneills, who agreed to
hold their lands of the crowTi ; and the Maclachlans,
who regained their former position by man-iage with
an heiress of the Lamonds. The other branches of
this tribe appear, on the breaking up of the clan, to
have followed as chief the Macdogall Campbells of
Craignish, a family descended of the kindred race of
the Mac Innes of Ardgour, who likewise attained to
considerable power.
CLAN NEILL.
The Macneills first appear in the beginning of the
fifteenth century, as a powerful clan in Knapdale ;
and as this district was not included in the sheriff-

dom of Argyll, it is probable that their ancestor had
agreed to hold the disti-ict as a vassal of the crown.
In the beginning of the preceding century we find
that the district of Knapdale had been forfeited and
given by Robert Bruce to John de Menteth, and in
1310 there is a letter by the king of England grant-
ing to John Terrealnanogh and Murquocgh, the sons
of Swen de Ergadia, the lands of Knapdale, " que
quondam fuit antecessorum dictorum Johannis
TeiTcalnanogh et Murquogh," and from which they
had been driven out by John de Menteth. This
Swen appears to be the Swen Ruoidh alluded to in
an ancient manuscript genealogy of the Campbells,

which adds, he was owner of a great castle Swen
in Knapdale, andwas Thane of Glassrie and Knap-
dale. The next notice of the Macneills is a charter
by Alexander, lord of the Isles, dated in 1427, to
Gilleonan Roderici Murchardi Makneill, of the
Island of Barra, and the lands of Boysdale, in Uist, to
him and the longest liver of his brothers procreated
between Roderic Makneill and the daughter of Fer-
quhard Mac Gilleon, and failing them to the heirs
whomsoever of the said Roderic.
But Barra was not at this time chief of the clan,
as we shall afterwards see. In 1472 we find Hector
Mactorquill Macneill, keeper of Castle Swen, wit-
nessing a charter of Celestine, lord of Lochalsh ; and
from his office of heritable keeper of Castle Swen,
which together with Knapdale had been again
wrested from his ancestors by Robert Bruce, and
granted to John of the Isles by Robert II., there
seems little doubt that he must have been chief of
the clan. Six years after this the family of Geya
first make their appearance in the person of Malcolm
Macneill of Gigha, who in 1478 witnesses a charter
of John, lord of the Isles.
From this period the clan remained divided into

these two families of Gigha and Barra, and exhibits
the somewhat remarkable feature of part of their
possessions being completely separated off and lying
at a very great distance from the rest ; and as both
these properties appear in the possession of the clan
CHAP. IV.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS, 117
at a very early period, it is difficult to say how one

part of the clan came to be so detached from the rest.
This circumstance, however, has afforded grounds

for a dispute between the Macneills of Barra and the
Macneills of Taynish, or Gigha, with regard to the
chiefship, a circumstance which can be easily ac-
counted for when we recollect that the remoteness
of the two possessions must have superseded all
dependence or connexion between their occupiers,

and that a long period of independence would na-
turally lead each of them to claim the chiefship of
the whole. As late as the middle of the sixteenth
century, it is certain that neither of these families
were in possession of the chiefship, for in the Regis-
ter of the Privy Seal there appears in that year a
letter " to Torkill Macneill, chief and principal of
the clan and smiiame of Macnelis;" and it is un-
questionable that tliis Torliill was neither Gigha nor
Barra, for at this date Macneill of Gigha's name was
Neill Macnele, and that of Barra, Gilleownan Mac-
neill. As this Torlvill is not designated by any pro-
perty, it is probable that the chiefs of the Macneills
possessed the hereditary office of keeper of Castle
Swen, in which capacity the first chief of the clan
appears. After this period we cannot trace any chief
of the clan distinct from the families of Barra and
Gigha, and it is probable the family of the hereditary
keepers of Castle Swen became extinct in the per-
son of Torkill, and that his heiress carried his pos-
sessions to the Macmillans, whom we find soon after
in possession of Castle Swen, with a considerable

tract of the surrovmding country. Tradition unques-
tionably points to Barra as now chief of the clan, and
in this family the right to the chiefship probably
exists, although the extreme distance of his posses-
sions, which he appears from the first charter of
Barra to have obtained in consequence of a marriage
with an heiress of the Macleans from the rest, led
many of them to follow the Macneills of Gigha, and

made the latter family almost independent.
Anns.
Quarterly. First. Azure, a lion rampant argent. Second.
Or, a hand coupee, fess-ways, gules, holding a cross, crosslet,
fitchee, in pale azure. Third. Or, a lymphad sable. Fourth.
Parted per fess, argent and vert, to represent the sea, out of
which issueth a rock, gules.
Badge.
Sea Ware.
Princijial Seat.
Knapdale, afterwards Barra.

Oldest Cadet.
Macneill of Gigha.
Chief.
Macneill of Barra.
CLAN LACHLAN.
The Maclachlans are traced, by the manuscript of A
1450, to Gilchrist, the son of Dedaalan, who was son
of that Anradan from whom all the clans of this tribe
are descended, and besides the high authority which

this genealogy derives from the circumstance that there
is every reason to think that the autlior of the manu-

script was a Maclachlan, it is by the
farther confirmed
fact that at the period at which the manuscript men-
tions a Gillepadrig Mac Gilchrist as one of the chiefs
of the clan, we find in the Paisley chartulary, a
charter by " Laumanus filius Malcolmi," the an-
cestor of the Lamonts, witnessed by Gillpatrick
filius Gillchrist. Universal tradition asserts that
they acquired these lands in Cowall, by maniage
with an heiress of the Lamonds, and the manuscript
apparently indicates the same fact, for it states that
this Gilchrist married the Mac

daughter of Lachlan
Rory, while Lachlan Mac Rory is exactly cotem-
porary with Angus Mac Rory, lord of Cowall, chief
of the Lamonds. /Their original seat appears to have
been in Lochaber, where a very old branch of the
family has from the earliest period been settled as
native men of the Caraerons. But as this clan soon
after their acquisitions in Cowall became dependent
u]3on the Campbells, we are unable to funiish any
history of the subsequent generations. Although the
Maclachlans were thus reduced by the Campbells
to a species of dependence, they still remained a
clan of considerable strength, and for a long period
do not appear to have been subject to any great

change in their condition : in the year 1745 their
strength was estimated at three hundred men.
Arms.
Quarterly. First. Or, a lion rampant gules. Second. Ar-
gent, a hand coupee fessways, holding a cross, crosslet, fitchee,

120 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART IT.
gules. Third. Or, a galley, her oars in saltyre, sable, placed

in a sea proper. Fourth. Argent, in a base undee vert, a sal-
mon naiant, proper.
Badge.
Mountain ash.
Prificipal Seat.
Strathlachlane in Cowall.
Oldest Cadet.
Maclachlan of Coruanan, in Lochaber.
Chief.
Maclachlan of Maclachlan.
Force.
In 1745, 300.
CLAN EWEN.
The Reverend Mr. Alexander Macfarlane, in his
excellent account of the parish of Killfinnan, says,
" on a rocky point on the coast of Lochfiue, about a
mile below the church, is to be seen the vestige of a
building called Caesteal Mhic Eobhuin (i. e.) Mac
Ewen's and he adds, " This Mac Ewen was
castle ;"
the chief of a clan, and proprietor of the northern
division of the parish called Otter." The reverend
gentleman professes his inability to discover who
this Mac Ewen was, but this omissionby is supplied
the manuscript of 1450, which contains the gene-
alogy of the clan " Eoghan na Hoitreic," or clan
Ewen of Otter, and in which they are brought from
Anradan, the common ancestor of the Maclachlans
and Macneills.
This family became very soon extinct, and their
property gave a title to a branch of the Campbells,
of their history consequently we know nothing what-

ever.
SIOL EACHERN.
Under this name are comprised the Macdogall

Campbells of Craignish, and Lamonds of Lamond,
both of whom are very old clans in Argyllshire, and
were, as we have reason to think, of the same race.
CLAN DUGALL CRAIGNISH.

The policy of the Argyll family led them to em-
ploy every means for the acquisition of property and
the extension of the clan. One of the arts which
they used for the latter piu-pose, was to compel those
clanswhich had become dependent upon them, to
adopt the name of Campbell, and this, when suc-
cessful, was generally followed at an after period by
the assertion that that clan was descended from the
house of Argyll. In general, the clans thus adopted
into the race of Campbell, are sufficiently marked
out by their being promoted only to the honour of
being an illegitimate branch, but the tradition of the
country invariably distinguishes between the real
Campbells and those who were compelled to adopt
their name. Of this, the Campbells of Craignish
afford a remarkable instance ; they are said to be de-
scended from Dogall, an illegitimate son of one of
the ancestors of the Campbells in the twelfth cen-
tury, but the universal tradition of the country is
that their old name was Mac Eachern, and that they
VOL. II. G
were of the same race with the INIacdonalds. This

is partly confirmed by their arms, being the galley
of the Isles, from the mast of which hangs a shield,
containing the girone of eight pieces or and sable
of the Campbells, and still more by the manuscript
of 1450, which contains a genealogy of the Mac
Eacherns, deducing them, not from the Campbells,
but from a certain Nicol Mac Murdoch in the
twelfth centuiy. When the Mac Gillevrays and
Mac Innes of Morvern and Ardgour were dis-
persed and broken up, we find that many of their

septs, especially the Mac Innes, although not re-
siding on any of the Craignish properties, acknow-
ledged that family as their chief. Accordingly, as
the Mac Gillevrays and Mac Innes were two
branches of the same clan, and separate from each
other, as early as the twelfth century ; and as the
Mac Eacherns are certainly of the same race, while
Murdoch, the first of the clan, is exactly contempo-

rary with Murdoch, the father of Gillebride, the an-
cestor of the Siol Gillevray, there seems little doubt
that the Siol Eachern and the Mac Innes were the
same clan \ That branch of the Siol Eachern which
settled at Craignish in the ancient sheriifdom of Ar-
gyll, were called the Clan Dogall Craignish, and
are said to have obtained this property from the
' There was an old family of Mac Eachern of Kingerloch,

and as Kingerloch marches with Ardgour, the old property of
the Mac Innes, it strongly confirms the hypothesis that the two
clans were of the same race.
brother of Campbell of Lochow in the reign of

David II. Certain it is that in that reign, Gil-
lespie Campbell obtained these lands on the for-
feiture of his brother Colin Campbell of Lochow,
and it is probable that from hira the clan Dougall
Craignish acquired their right. The Lochow family
were afterwards restored from this forfeiture, and the
Craignish family were then obliged to hold their
lands of the Argyll family.
They remained for some time after this a power-
ful family, though unable eventually to resist that
influence which swept all the neighbouring clans
under the power of the Campbells, where they soon
became identified with the other clans which had
been compelled to assume the name of Campbell
and to give up their existence as a clan, to swell
the already overgrown size of that powerful race.
CLAN LAMOND.
There are few traditions more universally believed
in the Highlands, or which can be traced back to
an earlier period, than that the Lamonds were the
most ancient proprietors of Cowall, and that the
Stewarts, Maclachlans, and Campbells, obtained
their possessions in that district by mamage
\\ ith daughters of that family. At an early period,
we find that a small part of Upper Cowall was
included in the sheriffdom of Argyll, while the
rest of the district remained in the shire of Perth; it
is plain, therefore, that the lord of Lower Cowall

G 2
12-1 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART II.
had, on the conquest of Argyll by Alexander II.,
submitted to the king, and obtained a crown charter.

Towards the end of the same century, we find the
high steward in possession of Lower Cowall, and
the Maclachlans in that of Strathlachlan ; and as it
appears Alexander the high steward

that, in 1242,
married Jean, the daughter of James, son of Angus

Mac Rory, said to be lord of Bute, while the manu-
script of 1450 informs us, that about the same period
Gilchrist Maclachlan married the daughter of
Lachlan Mac Rory, — it seems probable that this
Roderic or Rory was the person who obtained the

crown charter of Lower Cowall, and that by these
marriages the property passed to the Stewarts and
Maclachlans. The identity of these facts with the
tradition, at the same time indicate, that Angus Mac
Rory was the ancestor of the Lamonds.
After the marriage of the Stewart with his
heiress, the next of the Lamonds whom we trace is
" Duncanus filius Ferchai-," and " Laumanus filius
Malcolmi nepos ejusdem Duncani," who grant a

charter to the monks of Paisley, of the lands of Kil-
nior near Lochgilp, and of the lands " quas nos et
antecessores apud Kilmun habuerunt." In

nostri
the same year there is a charter by Laumanus filius

Malcolmi, of Kilfinan, and this last charter is con-
firmed in 1295 by " Malcolmus filius et haeres do-
mini quondam Laumani." That this Laumanus was
the ancestor of the Lamonds is proved by an instru-
ment, in 1466, between the monastery of Paisley
and John Lamond of that ilk, regarding the lands of

Kilfinan, in which it is expressly said, that these
lands had belonged to John Lamond's ancestors.
From Lauinanus the clan appear to have taken the
name of Maclaman or Lamond and previous to ;
Laumanus they unquestionably bore the name of

Macerachar, and clan ic Earachar. The close con-
nexion of this clan with the clan Dougall Craignish
is marked out by the same circumstances which
have indicated the other branches of that tribe ; for
during the power of the Craignish family, a great

portion of the clan ic Earachar followed that family
as their natural chief, although they had no feudal
right to their services. There is one peculiarity con-
nected with the Lamonds, that although by no
means a powerful clan, their genealogy can be
proved by charters, at a time when most other
Highland families ai'e obliged to have recourse to
the uncertain lights of tradition, and the genealogies
of their ancient sennachies ; but their great anti-
quity could not protect the Lamonds from the en-
croachments of the Campbells, by whom they were
soon reduced to as small a portion of their original
possessions in Lower Cowall, as the other Argyll-
shire clans had been of theirs. As a clan, the La-
monds were of very much the same station as the
Maclachlans, and like them, they have still retained
a part of their ancient possessions.
Arms.
Azure, a lion rampant argent.
Badge.
Crab-apple tree.
Principal Seat.
Lower Cowall.
Chief.
Lamond of Lamond.
CHAP, v.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 1*27
CHAPTER V.
ATHOLL.
The district of Atlioll unquestionably formed, from

the very earliest period, one of the principal posses-
sions of the powerful and extensive tribe of the
Gallgael: but it possesses peculiar claims to our

attention from the fact, that it is the earliest district
in Scotland which is mentioned in history, and that
it has, from a remote jieriod, preseiTed its name and
its boundaries unaltered. Its piincipal interest,
however, arises from the strong presumption which
exists, that the family which gave a long line of
kings to the Scottish throne, from the eleventh to
the fourteenth century, took their origin from this
district, to which they can be traced before the mar-
riage of their ancestor with the daughter of Mal-
colm II. raised them to the throne of Scotland.
When Thorfinn, the earl of Orkney, conquered the
North of Scotland, the only part of the territory of the
Northern Picts which remained uusubjected to his

power was the district of Atholl and part of Argyll.
The king of the Gallgael was slain in the unsuccess-

ful attempt to preserve the Isles, and the king of the
Scots, with the whole of his had fallen in
nobility,
the short but bloody campaign, which laid the
North of Scotland under the Norwegian earl.
Had any of the Scottish nobility remained, of
sufficient power to offer the least resistance to the
progress of the Norwegians, there can be little doubt
that he would naturally have been placed on the
throne ; but in the disastrous condition to which the
Scots were reduced, they had recourse to Duncan,
the son of Crinan, abbot of Dunkeld, by the daughter
of Malcolm, the last Scottish king. Duncan, after
a reign of six years, was slain in an attempt to re-
cover the northern districts from the Norwegians ;
and his sons were driven out by Macbeth, who thus

added the South of Scotland, for the time, to the
Norwegian conquest.
The circumstances attending the establishment of
the race of Crinan again on the throne are well
known ; but there is no fact which so completely
establishes the entire overthrow of the Scots, and
that the country wrested by Malcolm Kenmore from
the Norwegians, had been completely divested of its
nobility, than this, that Malcolm's family were no
sooner in possession of the crown, than they divided
the Lowlands of Scotland into earldoms, according
to the Saxon polity, which were all of them granted
to different members of the royal family. The

districts included in Thorfinn's original conquest,
CHAP, v.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 129
we know reverted to the descendants of the original

proprietors, but the earldoms into which the rest of
the country was divided, can all be traced originally

in the possession of Malcolm Kenmore.
These earldoms, however, consisted of exactly the
country actually inhabited by the Scots, and the
earldom of At/toll possessed by the Northern Picts.
The establishment of Malcolm Kenmore, as king of
Scotland, would, in the circumstances, place the
Scottish districts at his disposal, and there is there-
fore the sti'ongest presumption that Atholl was the

original possession of his race before they ascended
the throne. This is confirmed by the circumstance
that when the descendants of Duncan, the eldest
son of Malcolm Kenmore, were excluded from the

crown by his younger sons, they succeeded, never-
theless, as we shall afterwards see, to the earldom
of x\tholl, and still more by the designation which
our earlier historians gave to Crinan, the founder of
this joyal race. Fordun, in mentioning the marriage
of Crinan, abbot of Dunkeld, with Beatrice, daughter
of Malcolm II., the issue of which marriage was
Duncan, who succeeded his maternal grandfather,
and was murdered by Macbeth, styles Crinan " Ab-
thaniis de Did ac seneschallus insularum." With
regard to the first of these two titles, Pinkerton re-
marks, " To support this nonsense, Fordun brings

more nonsense, and tells us ahba is father, and thana
is respondence vel numerans, and the abthane was a
G 3
]30 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART II.
chamberlain, who managed the king's rent and trea-

sury. But who," adds Pinkerton, " ever heard of
an abthane ? and who knows not that Dull, a village,
could not give a title which was, in that age, terri-
torial.'"' and in this remark he has been followed by

all subsequent historians.
The following notices will shew, not only that there
was such a title as abthane in Scotland, but even
that that very title of Abthane of Dull existed to a
late period, and consequently that Pinkerton, in de-
nying its existence, only betrays his gross ignorance,
and want of real research into the minuter parts of
Scottish history.
Charter. — William the Lyon to the Bishop of Dun-
keld, of terra de Abbethaj/n de Kilmichael,m Strath-
ardolf '.
Charter. — Hugh, Bishop of Dunkeld, of reditu
viginti solidorum qui nos et clericos nostros contin-
git de Abthania de Dull *.
Charter. — William the Lion to Gilbert, Earl of

Stratherne, of Madderty, and confirmation by Gal-
fridus. Bishop of Dunkeld, of the said grant to the
church of Madderty, et super terra qui Ahthen de
Madderdyn dicitur et super quieta clamatione de
Can et Conneck qui clerici Dunkelden antiquitus ab
eadem Abthen perceperunt '.
1 Chartulary of Dunfermline.
2 Chartulary of St. Andrew's.
3 Chartulary of Inchaffray.
Charter by David II. to John Drummond, of the

office of Baillierie, of the AhtJiain of Dull, in Athol '
and
Charter by the same king to Donald Macnayre,
terre de Ester Fossache, in Ahthania de Dull, in vie
de Perth ^
These notices establish the existence of Abthanes
and Abthainries in Scotland, and also of the particu-
lar Abthainry of Dull in Atholl. As it is very plain,
however, that Fordun neither knew what it meant,
nor of the existence of the Abthainrie of Dull, inde-
pendent of Crinan, it appears evident that he must
have drawn his infoimation from some authentic do-
cument, for it is impossible to suppose that he would
invent a title which he could not explain, or if he
had been aware of the actual existence of the Ab-
thainrie of Dull in after times, that he would have
given the absurd explanation which he did. Crinan
is the first person who can be traced of that race
which gave so many kings to Scotland from Duncan
to Alexander III. ; their origin is lost in obscurity,
and if, as we conclude, the

titles given to Crinan by
Fordun drawn from an authentic source, it be-

are
comes a matter of great interest and importance to
trace the origin and signification of the title of Ab-
thane generally, and of that of Abthane of Dull in
particular.
The title of Abthane is peculiar to Scotland, and
1 Robertson's Index.
2 Ibid.
does not appear to have existed in any other country.

It also appears to have been of but very rare occur-
rence even in Scotland, for I have been able to trace
only three Abthainries in Scotland— viz., those of
Dull, Kilmichael, and Madderty ; the two former in
Atholl, and the latter in Stratherne. From this it is
plain that it could not have been always a peculiar

and distinctive title, but must merely be a modifica-
tion of the title of Thane, produced by peculiar cir-
cumstances. The name shews that it must in its
nature have been strictly analogous to the Thane,

and for the same reason it must have taken its origin
subsequent to the introduction of Thanes into Scot-
land. It would be needless here to controvert the
idea formerly so prevalent in Scotland, that the

Thanes were the ancient governors of the provinces,
for it is now universally admitted that the Scottish
Thane was the same title with the Saxon Thegn, or
Thane, in England, and that it was introduced with
the Saxon polity into Scotland ; but it will be ne-
cessary to advert to an erroneous opinion first started
by Chambers in his Caledonia, and since adopted by

many, that the Thane v.as merely a land steward or
bailiff, and that the Ablhane was just the abbot's
steward, in the same way as the king's thane was

the king's steward. With regard to the Abthane
this is impossible, when we consider that although
there were many abbots in Scotland who must have
had their land stewards, yet there are but three in-
stances of the title of Abthane connected with land
CHAT, v.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 133
in Scotland. His idea of the nature of the Thane is
equally erroneous, for if the Scottish Thane was in-

troduced by the Saxons, as Chalmers has succeeded
in establishing, the characters of the offices must be
the same ; and nothing is clearer than that the
Saxon Thane was not a land stewârd, but the actual
propiietor of a certain extent of land held directly of
the crown, and that it was the title of a Saxon land
proprietor exactly equivalent to the Nonnan baron.
Of by analogy, the Thanes and Ab-
course, judging
thanes of Scotland must have been also land pro-
prietors. In order to ascertain the period in which
they were introduced into Scotland, it will be neces-
sary to advert shortly to the events in Scottish liis-
tory which caused the introduction of Saxon polity.

It is well known that Duncan, the son of Crinan, was
killed by Macbeth, and that his son Malcolm fled to
England for protection and it is now equally clear

;
that Macbeth was not the usurper he is generally

considered, but that he claimed the throne under the
Celtic law of succession, and that he was supported
throughout by the Celtic inhabitants of the country,
who inhabited all to the north of the Firths of Forth
and Clyde, Lothian being possessed by the Angli.
INIalcolm Canmore was placed upon the throne by an
English army. On his death, however, his brother
Donald succeeded in obtaining possession of the
crown, to the prejudice of Malcolm's sons; and as
he claimed the throne on the Celtic law that brothers
succeeded before sons, he was supported by the
Celtic inhabitants, and his party succeeded in expel-

ling the English whom Malcolm had introduced.
Donald was expelled by an English army composed
principally of Normans, who placed Duncan, Mal-
colm's eldest son, generally considered a bastard, on
the throne, but finding he could not retain possession
of it without the concurrence of the Celtic party,
Duncan was forced to dismiss the English once
more —a measure which did not avail him, for he
was slain by his uncle, Donald Bane, and the expul-
sion of the English completed. Edgar, his brother,
now made the third attempt to introduce the English,
and succeeded, but he was in a very different situ-
ation from his father and his brother: they had been
placed on the throne by an English army composed
principally of Normans, who left them when they
had succeeded in their immediate object, but Edgar
was, through his mother, the heir of the Saxon mo-
narchy and the legitimate sovereign of all the Saxons,
a j)art of whom possessed the south of Scotland.

This is a fact which has not been attended to in
Scottish history, but it is a most important one and ;
it is Edgar entered Scotland at the head

certain that
of a purely Saxon army, and that during his reign
and that of his successor, Alexander I., the constitu-
tion of Scotland was purely Saxon. The Norman
barons and Norman institutions were not introduced
till the accession of David I., who had previously
been to all intents and purposes a Norman baron,

and possessed through his wife an extensive Norman
barony. Previous to his accession in 11-24 there is
not a trace of Normanism, if Imay be allowed the

expression, in Scotland, and we find no other titles
of honour than just the two denominations of Saxon
landholders, the eorl or earl, and the Thegn or Thane.
It is consequently dming these two reigns, or be-
tween the years 1098 and 1124, that we must look
for the origin of Abthanes.
We have already remarked, that Abthane was
strictly analogous to Thane, and consequently im-
plies a Saxon landed proprietor; and the name
shews that Abthanus and Abthania are the same
words with Thanus and Thanagum, with the addi-
tion of the prefix Ab. It follows, therefore, that that
prefix must express some characteristic of an ordi-

nary Thanus; in other words, that the Abthanus was
a landed proprietor, with an additional character ex-
pressed by the syllable Ab. The syllable, however,
is manifestly derived from Abbas, an abbot ; and here
we are at once supportedby the analogous case of
the German Abbacomites. Du Cange defines them
to be "Abbates qui simul erant comites," and re-
fers to the similar term of Abba milites, implying
abbots who held lands of a subject superior; there

can, therefore, be little doubt, judging by analogy,
that Abthanus was just Abbas qui simul erat Thanus,
or an abbot who possessed a Thanedom ; and as
Thanedoms were certainly hereditary in Scotland,
the name once applied to the lands would always
remain. Such being manifestly the origin of Ab-
136 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [pART II.
thanedoms generally, we shall now be better enabled

to ascertain the origin of the three Abthanedoms of
Dull, Kilmichael, and Madderty. From what has
been said, it is plain that the Abthaneries were just
Thanedoms held of the crown by an abbot, and that
they must have been so created between 1098 and
1124. It is, however, a remarkable circumstance,
that these three Abthanedoms were in two essential
respects in the very same situation, for, first, as ap-
pears from the charters previously quoted, they were
at the earliest period at which we can
trace them in
the crotvn ; 2dly, that the monks of Dunkeld had
ancient rights connected with all of them. From
the previous arguments regarding Abthanes, these
facts can be accounted for in one way only. They
must in the first place have been all created during
the reign of Edgar or Alexander I. ; in the second
place, the rights possessed by the monks of Dunkeld,

to the exclusion of their bishop, proves that the abbas
who possessed them all must have been the Culdee
abbot of Dunkeld, who was only superseded by the
bishop in the reign of David I. ; and thirdly, as we
find them all in the crown at such an early period,
the king of Scotland must have been that abbot's
heir. Now it is a very remarkable circumstance
that these three facts are actually true of the abbot
of Dunkeld during the reign of Edgar, for he was
Ethelred Edgar's youngest brother, and he died
without issue, so that the king of Scotland was in
reality his heir. As the arguments regarding the
necessary origin of these three Abthanedoms are thus

so remarkably supported by the fact that there did
exist at the time a person in whom these requisites
are to be found, a fact otherwise so very unlikely to
occur, we are wan-anted in concluding that this was
their real origin, and that Ethelred, the abbot of
Dunkeld, must have received from his brother Edgar
three Thanedoms, which, in consequence, received
the peculiar appellation of Abthanedoms, and which,

upon his death, fell to the crown. It would also
appear that as he was the only abbot of royal blood
to whom such a munificent gift would be appropriate,
so these were the only Abthanedoms in Scotland.
This will likewise account for the appellation given
by Fordun to Crinan. At that period there was cer-

tainly no such title in Scotland, but it is equally
certain that there were no charters, and although
Crinan had not the name, he may have been in fact
the same thing. He was certainly abbot of Dunkeld,
and he may have likewise possessed that extensive

territory which, from the same circumstance, was
afterwards called the Abthanedom of Dull. Fordun

certainly inspected the records of Dunkeld, and the
circumstance can only be explained by supposing
that Fordun may have there seen the deed granting
the Abthanedom of Dull to Ethelred, abbot of Dun-
keld, which would naturally state that it had been
possessed by his proavus crinan, and from which
Fordun would conclude that as Crinan possessed the
thing, he was also known by the name of Abt/t anus
de Dull. From this, therefore, we learn tlie very sin-

gular fact that that race which gave a long line of
kings to Scotland, were originally lords of that dis-
trict in Atholl, lying between Strathtay and Ran-
noch, which was afterwards termed the Abthania de
Dull.
Besides the Abthanrie of Dull we find that in the
reign of Alexander I., nearly the whole of the pre-
sent district of Braedalbane was in the crown, and
these facts leave little room to doubt that the royal
family were originally, before their accession to the
throne, lords of the greater part of Atholl. Duncan,
however, succeeded to the throne in 1034, and at
that period the whole of Atholl was under the do-

minion of the Gallgael. Of this race then the de-
scendants of Crinau must unquestionably be, and
this is singularly corroborative of the title of Sen-
neschallus insularum, likewise given to Crinan by
Fordun,and which must have reached Fordun from the
same source with that of Abthanus de Dull, and
is consequently equally authentic. The exact con-
nexion of Crinan with the family of the Gallgael
kings, it would of course be difficult to point out, but
it may not be improper to mention that there exists
a very old tradition to which other circumstances
lead me to attach considerable credit, viz. that Crinan
was the son of Kenneth, Thane of the Isles', and if
this be true, he would thus be the brother of Suibne,
> Ancient history of the Drummonds.

the last regulus of the Gallgael, and by the operation

of the Gaelic law of tanistry, Duncan might, dur-
ing his life, have been at the head of this numerous
and powerful tribe.
By
Edgar, the whole of Atholl, with the excep-
tion of Braedalbane, was erected into an earldom
and bestowed upon Madach, the son of his father's
brother',and on his death, towards the end of the
reign of David I., it was obtained by Malcolm, the
son of Duncan, the eldest son of Malcolm Ken-
more ^ either because the exclusion of that family
from the throne could not deprive them of the ori-
ginal property of the family, to which they were
entitled to succeed, or as a compensation for the
loss of the crown. The earldom was enjoyed in
succession by his son Malcolm, and his grandson

Henry, and on the death of the latter, in the be-
ginning of the thirteenth century, his granddaugh-
ters, by his eldest son, who predeceased him, car-
ried the earldom into the families of Galloway and

Hastings, from whom it latterly came to the family
of De Strathboggie ^. When the Celtic earls of
^ Orknepnga Saga,
2 That Malcolm was the son of Duncan is proved by a char-
ter in the Chartulary of Dunfermline. In that charter Malcolm
implies that he was descended of more than one king buried at
Dunfermline, which is only possible on this supposition.

' The peerage writers have been more than usually inac-
curate in their account of the earldom of Atholl. From its
origin down to the fourteenth century there is scarcely a single

step in the genealogy which is correctly given in the peerage.
AlhoU thus became extinct, and in consequence

the subordinate clans assumed independence, we
find the principal part of Atholl in the possession
of the clan Donnachie or Robertsons.
CLAN DONNACHIE.
The tradition which has hitherto been received of
this clan, indicates, that they are a branch of the clan
Donald, and that Duncan Reamhar, the first of the
Robertsons of Straan, was a son of Angus Mor,
lord of the Isles. Unfortunately, the Robertsons
are not one of the clans noticed in the manusci'ipt of
1450j but nevertheless, that manuscrijot affords a
strong presumption that this tradition is unfound-
ed, — for although it details all the branches of the
Macdonalds with great minuteness and accuracy,
and especially the descendants of the sons of Angus
Mor, it does not include the Robertsons among
them, and this presumption will appear the stronger
when we consider not only the great extent of terri-
tory which this Duncan, as we shall afterwards see,

possessed in the district of Atholl, but that the arms
of the two families are quite different, and that they
do not appear ever to have had any connexion, as
a clan, with the Macdonalds. There is also an-
other fact which renders it impossible that this
Duncan could have been the son of Angus of the
Isles, and which consequently throws additional
doubt upon the tradition, viz., that in several char-
ters Duncan is designated " filius Andree de Atho-
lia"', and this designation " de Atholia''' continued

in the family for several generations afterwards.
The real descent of the family is indicated by
their designation, which was uniformly and exclu-

sively de Atholia. It is scarcely possible to con-
ceive, that the mere fact of a stranger possessing
a considerable extent of territory in the earldom,

should entitle him to use such a designation.
Atholia was the name of a comitatus, and after the
accession of David I., the comitatus was as purely
a Norman barony as any baronia or dominium in
the countr}'. It will not be denied that the name
of the barony was exclusively used by its posses-

sors and their descendants, and that the possession
of a teiTitorial name of barony as surely marks out
a descent from some of the ancient barons, as if
every step of the genealogy could be proved ; and

if we turn to the other earldoms in Scotland, we
find it to be invariably the case, that those fami-
lies whose peculiar designation is the name of the
earldom, are the male descendants of the ancient
earls. Thus the Northern families of " De Ross"
can all be traced to the earls of that district, and
the case is the same with Sutherland, Mar, Angus,
Strathern, Fife, Menteith, and Lenox. The only
apparent exception to the rule is in the case of the
earldom of Moray, and in that the origin of the
family of De Moravia is altogether unknown, so that
^ Robertson's Index.
the probability is equally great that that family is
descended from the former earls of Moray, as that

they were foreigners. Further, although many fa-
milies have at different times obtained extensive

territories in several of the earldoms, even greater in
proportion than those of the Robertsons, yet not a
single instance can be found of any of these fami-
lies assuming a designation from the earldom in
which their territories were situated, nor is it pos-
sible to produce a single family not descended from
the ancient earls who bear the name of the earl-
dom. The designation De Atholia thus distinctly
indicates a descent fi-om the ancient earls of Atholl,
but the history of their lands points to the same
result. The possessions of Duncan de Atholia, who
is considered the first of the Robertsons of Struan,
consisted, so far as can be ascertained, of three
classes, 1st. Those lands, afterwards erected into
the barony of Struan, of which Glenerochie fonned
the principal part, and which were strictly a male
fief. 2d. The barony of Disher and Toyer, com-
prehending the greater part of the present district
of Braedalbane. 3d. Adulia, or Dullmagarth.

By examining the ancient chartularies, it appears
that these last lands were formerly in the posses-
sion of the ancient earls of Atholl, for Malcolm, the
third earl, grants the " Ecclesia de Dull to St. An-
drews,' " and this charter was afterwards confirmed
by his son, Henry, the last earl.
1 Chartulary of St. Andrew's.

Now it will be observed as a remarkable fact, that
although the Lowland families who succeeded Henry

in the earldom of Atholl, obtained possession of a
considerable portion of the earldom by that succes-
sion, yet we do not find them in possession of Dull,
which, on the contrary, belongs to this family, De
Atholia. It is plain that this family could not have
acquired these lands by force in the face of the pow-
erful barons who successively obtained the earldom,
and as we can only account for its not forming a
part of the succession of these earls by supposing
Dull to have been a male fief, it follows, of ne-
cessity, that the family of De Atholia must have
been the heirs male of the family of Atholl.
But the other possessions point still more clearly
to the real descent of the family ; for there exists in
the chartulary of Cupar, a charter by Coningus filius
Heurici Comitis Atholie to the abbey of Cupar,

from which it appears that he was proprietor of
Glenerochie ; and this charter is confirmed by Euge-
nius filius Coningi filii Henrici Comitis Atholie,
likewise proprietor of Glenerochie. Glenerochie is
the same as Strcwan, and is included in the charter

erecting the possessions of the family into the barony
of Strowan ; and as Strowan was at all times a male
fief, it is scarcely possible to doubt the descent of
Duncan De Atholia from Ewen the son of Conan the
son of Henry, earl of Alholl. There is a charter,
howc. er, which still more cleaily proves it. It ap-
pears from the chartulary of Inchaffray, that Ewen,
the son of Conan, had married Maria, one of the two

daughters and coheiresses of Duncan, the son of
Convalt, a powerful baron in Stratherne. Duncan's
possessions consisted of TulHbardine and Finach in
Stratherne, and of Lethindy in Gowrie; his eldest
daughter, Muriel, married Malise, the seneschall of
Stratherne, and their daughter, Ada, carried her mo-
ther's inheritance, consisting of the half of TulHbar-
dine, the lands of Buchanty, &c., being the half of
Finach, and part of Lethindy, to William De Mo-
ravia, predecessor of the Mun-ays, of TulHbardine.
The other half of these baronies went to Ewen
Mac Conan, who married Maria Duncan's youngest
daughter. Now we find that in 1284, this Maria
granted her half of TulHbardine to her niece, Ada,
and William Moray, her spouse; and in 1443, we
find Robert Duncanson, the undoubted ancestor of
the Robertsons of Strowan, designating himself, Do-
minus de Fynach, and granting his lands of Finach,
in Stratherne, consanguineo suo Davidi de Morava
Domino de TulHbardine. The descent of the family
from Ewen, the son of Conan, the second son of
Henry, earl of Athol, the daughters of whose eldest
son carried the earldom into Lowland families, is
thus put beyond all doubt, and the Strowan Robert-

sons thus appear to be the male heirs of the old
earls of Atholl. Ewen was succeeded by his son,
Angus, as I find a charter to Angus filius Eugenii, of
part of the barony of Lcthendy. About fifty years
after, this appears : Duncanus de Atholia filius A n-
cli'eae de Atholia, and as Duncan is in tradition in-

vaiiably styled " Mac Innes," it is probable that
thisname was derived from this Angus, and that
Andrew de Atholia was his son.
From this view of the earlier generations of the
clan Donnachie, it would accordingly seem, that
upon the death of Henry, the last Celtic earl of
Atholl, the district of Atholl was divided, and that
the eastern part descended in the female line, by the
feudal law, while the western and more inaccessible
part was divided among the male descendants of
the old earls, according to the Highland law of gavel.
Andrew, of whom we know nothing, was suc-
ceeded by his son, Duncan, termed Reamhair, or
Fat. Duncan acquired a great addition to his lands,
including the south half of Rannach, by marriage
wdth one of the daughters of a certain Galium
Ruaidh, Malcolm the Red, styled Leamnach,
or
or De Lennox, whom tradition connects closely
with the earls of Lennox. Malcolm appears to have
been the same person with a Malcolm de Glendo-
chart, who signs Ragman's Roll in 1296, for it is
said, that the other daughter of Galium Ruaidh mar-
ried Menzies, and it is certain that the Menzies pos-
sessed soon after Glendochart, and the north half of
Rannoch. The descent of Malcolm from the earls of
Lennox is probable, for we find John Glendochar
witnessing a charter of Malduin third earl of Lennox
in 1238. Duncan appears to have attained to very
considerable power at that time, and to have been in
VOL. II. H
possession of extensive territories in the wilder and

more mountainous parts of the district of Atholl.
From him the clan took their name of clan Donna-
chie, and he is still the hero of many traditions in
that country. Of Robert de Atholia, his son and
successor, we know little. By marriage with one
of the daughters and coheiresses of Sir John Ster-
ling, of Glenesk, he obtained part of that property
which his daughter Jean, however, carried into the
family of Menzies, of Fothergill, and by his second
marriage with one of the coheiresses of Fordell,
he appears to have had four sons, Thomas, Duncan,
Patrick, ancestor of the family of Lude, and Gibbon.
During the life of Thomas we find the first appear-
ance of the clan Donnachie, as a clan, when they

played a distinguished part in the raid which the
Highlanders made into Angus in 1392, in which Sir
AValter Ogilvie, sheriff of Angus, and many other
liowland barons were slain. According to Winton,
" Thre chiftanys gret ware of thaim then

Thomas, Patrik, and Gibbone,
Duncansonys wes thare sumowne."
Thomas had an only daughter, Matilda, who

carried part of the property, by marriage, to the
family of Robertson of Straloch. The barony of

Strowan came to Duncan, Thomas's brother, who is
mentioned in 1432, under the designation of " Dun-
canus de Atholia dominus de Ranagh," and who
was succeeded by his son Robert.
Robert was a person of considerable power, and

was held in great dread by the neighbouring Low-
landers, whom he was in the habit of continually
harassing by his predatory incursions upon their
possessions. Upon the murder of king James T.
by the earl of Atholl and his accomplice, Graham,

Robert was fortunate enough to arrest Graham, toge-
ther with the master of Atholl, after the commission
of the bloody deed ; but any advantage which might
have been gained by this act was thrown away by
the reckless chief, who desired nothing more than to
have the lands which remained to his family erected

into a barony, which was granted to him along with
the empty honour of being entitled to carry a man in
chains upon his escutcheon, together with the motto
of
" Virtutis gloria nierces."
The historian of the abbots of Dmikeld relates a

curious anecdote connected with the death of this
chief of the clan Donnachie. It seems that Robert
had
some dispute with Robert Torwood, re-
FoiTester, of
garding the lands of Little Dunkeld, which the laird
of Sti-owan claimed, but which had been feued by the
bishop of Dunkeld to Torwood. Robert Reoch had
consequently ravaged these lands, but upon one occa-
sion, on his way to Perth, he was met near Auchter-
gaven by Torwood, and a conflict immediately took
place between the parties, in which Robert was mor-
tally wounded on the head. But the hardy chief,
H 2
heedless of the consequences, and having bound up

his head with a white cloth, is said to have ridden in
that state to Perth, and there obtained from the king
the new grant of his lands of Strowan, as a reward
for the capture of the master of Atholl, and on his
return to have expired in consequence of the wound
which he had i-eceived.
Notwithstanding that the remaining possessions of

the family of Strowan had been erected into a barony,
they were surrounded by far too many powerful
neighbours to be able to retain them long. The
greater part of the territories which once belonged
to them had already found their way into the posses-
sion of the grasping barons in their neighbourhood,
and being unable, in point of strength, to cope with
them, every o])portunity was taken still farther to
reduce their already diminished possessions. Ac-
cordingly, some generations afterwards, the earl of
Athol], taking advantage of a wadset which he pos-
sessed over Strowan's lands, which in those days
was not an vmcommon mode of acquiring property,
succeeded in obtaining possession of nearly the half
of the estates which remained to them ; and notwith-
standing the manifest injustice of the transaction, the
Robertsons were never afterwards able to recover
possession of their lands, or to obtain satisfaction
against a nobleman of so much power and influence.
But in spite of the diminished extent of their estates,
the Robertsons have been able always to sustain
a prominent station among the Highland clans,
and to take an active share in every attempt which

was made by the Gael of Scotland to replace the
descendants of their ancient line of kings on the

throne.
The deeds of Alexander Robertson of Strowan, in
the insurrection of 1715, as well as his eccentricity
of character and poetic talents, have made the name
of Strowan Robertson familiar to every one ; and al-
though their estates have been three times forfeited,
and their name associated with every insurrection of

the Gael in Scotland, yet a descendant of that
ancient race still holds part of the original posses-
sions of the clan, with the name of Robertson of
Strowan.
A)-7)IS.
Gules ; three wolves' heads erased, argent, armed, and langued

azure.
Badge.
Fern or brakens.
Principal Seat.
Rannoch.
Oldest Cadet.
Robertson of Lude.
Chief.
Robertson of Strowan.
Force.
In 1715, 800. In 1745, 700.
CLAN PHARLAN.
This clan is the only one, with the exception per-
haps of the clan Donnachie, whose descent from the
ancient earls of the district in which their posses-

sions lay, can be proved by charter, and it can be
shewn in the clearest manner, that their ancestor was
Gilchrist, brother of Maldowen, the third earl of
Lennox. There still exists a charter by Maldowen
earl of Lennox to bis brother Gilchrist " de terris
de superiori Arrochar de Luss," which lands con-

tinued in the possession of the clan until the death
of the last chief, and had at all times been their
principal seat. But while their descent from the
earls of Lennox cannot be doubted, the origin of
these earls is a matter of greater difficidty.
The ancient earls of this district have not been

fortunate enough to escape the grasp of the modern
antiquaries, and they alone of the native earls of
Scotland have had a foreign origin assigned to them.

The first of the earls of Lennox who appears on
record is Aluin comes de Levenax, who is mentioned
in the early part of the thirteenth century, and from
this Aluin there can be no doubt whatever that the
later earls of Lennox were descended. It unfortu-
nately happens, however, that an Aluin Macarchill

witnesses a number of charters in the reign of
David I., and that in the previous century Orde-
ricus Vitalis, a Saxon had mentioned the
writer,
flight of a Northumbrian nobleman named Archillus

into Scotland, in consequence of the success of Wil-
liam the Conqueror, and although constant tradi-
tion asserts the earls of Lennox to be of native
origin, this fact was sufficient for our Saxonizing
antiquaries unanimously to instal Archillus of Nor-

thumberland as the founder of the ancient earls of
Lennox'. There are two facts, however, which
materially interfere with this arrangement. First,
several generations intervene between Archillus the
Northumbrian, and Archill the father of Aluin.
Secondly, as many generations intei'vene between
Aluin Macarchill and Aluin first earl of Lennox,
whose identity could only be effected by giving Aluin
a long life of 120 years, and a family at the gi-eat
age of eighty. Moreover, Aluin Macarchill on no
occasion appears with the word Comes after his
name, a fact of itself sufficient to shew that he had
no connexion with any earldom. But, divesting this
eai'ldom of these puerile absurdities, its history is
perfectly clear. During the life of David I., there
is distinct authority for its being no earldom, but
having formed a part of the principality of Cumbria.
The next notice of Lennox is, that during the reign
of Malcolm IV., and a part of that of William the
Lion, their brother David, earl of Huntingdon, ap-
pears as earl of Lennox. And as Lennox was pre-
viously a part of the principality of his grandfather,
there can be little doubt that it had been for the first
time erected into an earldom in his favour. After
his death the next appearance of the earls is con-
tained in two charters ; 1st. A charter relating to
the church of Campsy, from " Alwyn comes de Le-
' The accurate Lord Hailes perceived the absurdity of this
descent. See additional case under Lennox.
venax, Jilius et heres Alwini comitis de Levenax^

Maldoweni Jilio et herede nostra concedente.'''' 2d. A
charter relating to the same subject by " Maldowen,
Jilius et heres comitis Alwini junioris comites de Le-
venax et heredes Alwini senioris comitis de Leve-
nax.'''' *
And these charters shew that a certain
Aluin had been created earl ofLennox by William
the Lion. Who Aluin was it is almost impossible to
determine, and in the absence of all direct authority
we are driven to tradition, in this instance a surer
guide, for the tradition is supported by documentary
evidence. An ancient history of the Drummonds
asserts, that the earls of Lennox, before they ac-
quired that dignity, were hereditary seneschals of
Stratherne, and baillies of the Abthainrie of Dull in
Atholl. From the chartulary of Inchaffray, and
others, we can trace the hereditary seneschals of
Stratherne subsequent to the creation of Aluin as
earl of Lennox, but not before ; but it would appear
that the later seneschals were a branch of an older
family, who had possessed that office, and had been
advanced to a higher dignity, for these hereditary
offices invariably went according to the strict rules
of feudal succession, and consequently remained at

all times in the head of the family, but if the pos-
sessor of them was advanced to a higher dignity, in-
compatible with their retention, and had possessed
more than one such hereditary office, they were in
' Napier's partition of the Lennox.

CHAP, v.] THE HIGHLAND CLAxXS. 153
general separated, and given to different branches ol

the family. Now we find, that of the later sene-
schals of Stratherne, one branch possessed the sene-

schalship, and another branch the office of baillie of
the Abthainrie of Dull; there must therefore have
been an older family in possession of both of these
hereditary offices, who had been advanced to a
higher dignity; and that that family was that of the
earls of Lennox appears from the fact, that the later
baillies of the Abthainrie of Dull possessed the lands
of Finlarig, in the barony of Glendochart, and held
them Malcolm de Glendochart, who was,
as vassals of
as we have Lennox.
seen, a cadet of the earls of
This connexion of the Lennox family with the crown
lands in Braedalbane warrants us, in the absence of
other evidence, in placing the family of Lennox under
the title of Atholl, and this is confirmed by the fact,
that the only possessions which we can trace in the

family of the earls of Lennox, or their cadets out of
that earldom, were all in Braedalbane, and that we
find them in possession of these lands from the ear-
liest period.
Aluin was succeeded by his son, who bore the

same name. This earl is very frequently mentioned
in the chartularies of Lennox and Paisley, and he
died before the year 1225, leaving nine sons. He
was succeeded by his eldest son Maldowen, and
among the other sons there appear to have been
only two who left any male descendants. Aulay
was founder of the family of Fassalaue, who after-
H 3
wards succeeded to the earldom by marriage with

the heiress of the last earl, and Gilchrist obtained
possession of the northern portion of the district of
Lennox, and became progenitor of the clan Pharlan,
or that of the Macfarlanes. Maldowen, the third
earl, appears to have lived till about the year 1270,
and he surrendered to the king the stronghold of
Dumbarton, which had previously been the prin-

cipal seat of the family. Of the fourth and fifth
earls, both of whom bore the name of Malcolm, little
is known ; their names, together with those of the

earlier earls, having only been perpetuated in conse-
quence of their numerous donations of land to the
various ecclesiastical establishments. The latter earl
was killed at Halidon Hill, in 1333, and in his son

Donald the male line of this branch of the family
became extinct. Margaret, countess of Lennox, the
only daughter of Donald the sixth earl, married
Walter de Fasselane, the heir male of the family, but
any attempt to preserve the honours and power of
the Lennox in the family proved unsuccessful, for
Duncan, the eighth earl, their son, had no male

issue, and his eldest daughter, Isabella, having mar-
ried Sir Murdoch Stuart, the eldest son of the Regent,
duke of Albany, he became involved along with his
family in the ruin by which the house of Albany
was overwhelmed. The honovirs and estates of Len-
nox were not however forfeited, but were possessed
by Isabella, the widow of Duke Murdoch of Albany,
under the title of Countess of Lennox, until her
death in 1460 ; and on her decease the earldom was

claimed by three families — those of Napier of Mer-
chiston, and Haldane of Gleneagles, the coheirs of
her second sister Margaret, and that of Stewart of
Darnley, who represented the yoiuigest sister Eliza-
beth. It would be unnecessary here to enter into
any detail of the measures by which the Darnley
family at length succeeded in overcoming all oppo-
sition, and acquiring the title of earl of Lennox
suffice it to say, that they had finally accomplished
this object in 1488. The earldom of Lennox having
thus fallen into the possession of a Norman family,
the clans which had formerly been united under the
rule of the old earls, now became separate and inde-
pendent, and the principal of these was the clan
Pharlane or Macfarlanes.
The Macfarlanes were descended from Gilchrist,
a younger brother of Malduin, earl of Lennox. This

Gilchrist appears frequently as a witness to many of
the Lennox charters, in which he is generally desig-
nated " frater Comitis." Duncan, his son, also ob-
tained a charter of his lands from the earl of Lennox,
in which the earl ratifies and confirms " Donatio-
nem illam quam Malduinus Avus mens comes de
Lennox fecit Gilchristo fratri suo de terris superioris
AiTochar de Luss." Duncan appears in Ragman's

roll under the title of " Duncan Mac Gilchrist de
Sevenaghes." From a grandson of Duncan, termed
Bartholomew, or in Gaelic Parian, the clan took
their surname of Macfarlane, and the connexion of
Parian with Duncan and Gilchrist is sufficiently

proved by a charter Malcolm Macfai'lan or Par-
to
ian's son. This charter proceeds upon the resigna-

tion of his father, Bartholomew, son of Malduin, and
confirms to Malcolm the lands of Arrochar and
others, " Adeo libere plenarie quiete et honorifice in
omnibus et per omnia sicut carta or'igmaMs Xacta per
;'"
antecessores nosfros atHecessorihm clicti Malcolmi
and from this Malcolm Macfarlane the whole clan
are descended. To Malcolm succeeded his son
Duncan, sixth laird of Macfarlane, who obtained
from Duncan, earl of Lennox, a charter of the lands
of Arrochar, in as ample manner as his predecessors
held the same, which is dated at Inchmirin in the
year 1395, This Dimcan, laird of Macfarlane, was
maiTied to Christian Campbell, daughter to Sir
Colin Campbell, of Lochow, as appears from a
charter by Duncan, earl of Lennox, confirming a dif-
ferent charter granted by Duncan, laird of Macfar-

lane, in favour of Christian Campbell, daughter to
Sir Colin Campbell, of Lochow, his wife, of the
lands of Ceanlochlong, Inverioch, Glenluin, Portcable,
&c. This charter is dated also in the year 1395. It
was not long after the Duncan that the an-

death of
cient line of the earls of Lennox became extinct,
and there is strong reason for thinking that the Mac-
farlanes claimed the earldom as heirs male, and of-
fered a strong resistance to the actual occupation of

the earldom of Lennox b}^ the feudal heirs. This
resistance, however, suffered the usual fate of the
assertion of their rights by the Celts ; and the final

establishment of the Stewarts as earls of Lennox
appears to have been preceded by the dispersion
and almost entire destruction of this clan. The
family of the chief fell in the defence of what they
conceived to be their rights, and a great part of the
clan took refuge in distant parts of the kingdom.
The ruin of the clan, however, was prevented by the
opportune support given by one of its houses to the
Darnley family ; and its head, Andrew Macfarlane,
having married the daughter of John Stewart, lord of
Darnley and earl of Lennox, saved the rest of the
clan from destruction, and was put in possession of
the greater part of their former possessions. Andrew
Macfarlane does not appear, however, to have had a
natural title to the chiefship, other than that of being
the only person in a condition to afford them pro-
tection, for the clan refused him the title of chief;
and his son. Sir John Macfarlane, in a charter to a
William Macfarlane, designates himself honorabilis
vir Johnnes Macfarlane, dominus ejusdem miles
Capitaneus de clan Pharlane, filius Andreas. After
this, the Macfarlanes appear to have supported the
Lowland earls of Lennox on all occasions and to
have followed their standard to the field. Little is
consequently known of their history for some gene-
rations, and they appear to have continued to enjoy
undisturbed possession of their ancient property
under the powerful protection of these great barons.
In the sixteenth century we find Duncan Macfar-
lane of that ilk frequently mentioned as a steady

adherent of Mathew, earl of Lennox. He joined the
earls of Lennox and Glencairn in the year 1544,
with three hundred men of his own surname, and
was present with them at the unfortunate battle of
Glasgow Muir. Macfarlane also shared in the ruin-
ous forfeiture which followed that event, but being
afterwards restored through the intercession of his
friends, he obtained a remission under the privy seal,
which is still extant. The loss of this battle obliged
the earl of Lennox to retire to England, and having

there manied a niece of king Henry VIII. he soon ,
after returned with some English forces, which he

had obtained from that monarch. On this occasion
the chief of Macfarlane did not dare to join the earl

in person, but nevertheless his assistance was not
wanting, for he sent his relative, Walter Macfarlane,
of Tarbet, with four hundred men to join him. Ac-
cording to Holinshed, " In these exploytes the erle
had with him Walter Macfarlane, of Tarbet, and
seven score of men of the head of Lennox, that spake
the Irishe and the English Scottish tongues, light
footmen, well armed in shirtes of mayle, with bows
and two-handed swords ; and being joined with the
English archers and shotte, did much avaylable ser-
vice in the streyghts, mareshes, and mountayne

countrys."
This Duncan is reported to have been slain, with
a number of his clan, at the fatal battle of Pinkey, in
1547. His son Andrew was not less active in the

civil wars of the period, and took a very prominent

part on the side of the Regent, exhibiting in this in-
stance a contrast to almost all the other Highland
chiefs. Holinshed again records the name of Mac-
farlane as being distinguished for bravery, for in de-
scribing the battle of Langside, he says, " In this
battle the valliancie of ane Highland gentleman
named Macfarlane stood the Regent's part in great
stead, for in the hottest brunte of the fight he came
in with three hundred of his friends and countrymen,
and so manfully gave in upon the flank of the queen's
people, that he was a great cause of disordering of
them." The clan boast of having taken at this bat-
tle three of queen Mary's standards, which they say
were preserved for a long time in the family. The
reward obtained by the INIacfarlanes for their ser-
vices upon this occasion, was of the usual substan-

tial nature of the royal rewards of those services
when merited. The regent bestowed upon them the
crest of a demi-savage proper, holding in his dexter
hand a sheaf of aiTows, and pointing with his sinister
to an imperial crown or, with the motto, " This I'll
defend."
Walter Macfarlane, the grandson of this chief,
seems to have been as sturdy an adherent as his
grandfather had been an opponent to the royal party.
He was twice besieged in his own house during
Cromwell's time, and his castle of Inveruglas burat
to the ground by the English. His losses on the one
side being of a somewhat more substantial character

than his grandfather's rewards on the other had been.
It is impossible to conclude this sketch of the his-
tory of the Macfarlanes without alluding to the emi-
nent antiquary, Walter Macfarlane, of that ilk, who
is as celebrated among historians as the indefatigable
collector of the ancient records of the country, as his
ancestorshad been among the other Highland chiefs
for their prowess in the
field. The most extensive
and valuable collections which his industry has been
the means of preserving form the best monument to
his memory, and as long as the existence of the an-
cient records of the country, or a knowledge of its
ancient history, remain an object of interest to any

Scotsman, the name of Macfarlane wnll be handed
down as one of its benefactors. The family itself,
however, is now nearly extinct, after having held

their original lands for a period of six hundred years.
Arms.
Argent, a saltier engrailed, cantoned with four roses gules.
Badge.
Cloudberry bush.
Principal Seat.
Arrochar, at the head of Lochlong.
Chief.
After 1493 the family of Macfarlane of Macfarlane were cap-
tains of the clan. The representative of the old chief is un-
known.
CHAP. VI.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 161
CHAPTER VI.
II. MORAY.
The Maormors of Moray were, during the

Moray.
tenth and eleventh centunes, by far the most
powerful chiefs in Scotland, their immense territories
extended from the eastern nearly to the western seas,
and power and influence over the whole of the

their
north of Scotland. They were the only chiefs who
attempted, during this period to resist the encroach-
ments of the Norwegians, and although that resist-
ance was unsuccessful, yet in consequence of a

connexion which was formed between the head of
their race, and the Norwegian earl, the very success
of the Norwegians ultimately contributed to increase
the power of the Maormors of Moray, and to extend
over Scotland the tribes dependent upon them.
Three of these Maormors succeeded in attaining the
crown of Scotland, and until the fall of their race,
before the increasingpower of the kings of the line
of Malcolm Kenmore, they may be considered as
kings of the Highlands.
It has been previously remarked, that the High-
land clans are divided by the old Highland genealo-
gies into five great classes, and that one of these

consists of the Macphersons, Macintoshes, and Mac-
naughtans; to these there is reason to add, as we shall
afterwards see, the Camerons, Macleans, Macmillaus,
and Monroes; and this great division, which extends
from Inverness even as far as Co wall and Kintyre,
is proved by the same manuscript to be descended
fi-om the ancient inhabitants of Moray, for among
the genealogies of these clans, it contains the gene-
alogy of the ancient Maormors of Moray, and con-
nects the other clans with that line. The old name
of this tribe has also been preserved to us by Tigher-
nac, who calls Finlay Macrory who was un-
doubtedly Maormor of Moray, " Maormor mhic Croeb."
By the defeat and death of Donald Macmalcolm,
king of Scotland and Maolsnectan Maclulaigh,
king of Moray, by Malcolm Kenmore in the year
1085, the line of the ancient Maormors seems to have
become extinct, and from that period the consequence
of that powerful tribe began to decline. Alter the
death of Maolsnectan the first person whom we find
in possession of this district is Angus, who in the
Ulster Annals, is styled earl of Moray and son of
Lulach's daughter ; Lulach was the father of Maols-
nechtan, and Angus was thus the son of his sister.
Although these annals do not mention who this

Angus was, yet we are enabled, by the assistance of
the invaluable MS. so often quoted, to discover that
he was the head of an ancient branch of the same
family, for when Wimund, the English monk, who
CHAP. VI,] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 163
claimed the earldom of Moray in the reign of

David II., asserted that he was the son of this
Angus, he assumed in consequence the name of

Malcolm Macheth. As his supposed father's name
was Angus, it is plain that the name Macheth which
he assumed, was Angus's family name, particularly as
Wimund's son, Kenneth, also called himself Kenneth
Macheth. Among the Comites, however, who wit-
ness charters in the first years of David the First's

reign appears fi-equently Head, Hed, and Ed, with
the word " Comes" after it, and he appears along
with the earls of almost aU the other earldoms, so
that he could scarcely have been earl of any other
district than Moray. His date is circa 1125, Angus
is killed in 1130, and if we add the fact of Angus's
family name being Macheth, there can be little doubt

that Head was his father, and the husband of
Lulach's daughter, and that from him his descendants
took the name of Macheth. At this period feudal
succession, by which alone Head could have derived
any right from his wife, was altogether unknown in
Scotland, and as he was the first of the Maormors of
Moray, who exchanged that name for the Saxon
title of earl, it follows of necessity that his right to
the position of Maormor must have been derived
through the Highland law of succession we should ;
therefore expect to find this earl the head of some

family closely connected with the former earls, to
whom the earldom could have come by the operation
of a strictly male succession.
It SO happens, however, that the grandson of Gil-

lichattan, the founder of the clan Chattan, by far the
most important of those clans, whose descent from
the ancient Maormors of Moray is established by the
manuscript, is called by the manuscript, Heth, and
that from a calculation of generations he is exactly

contemporary with the children of Lulach. As this
is so very uncommon a name, there can be little
doubt, but that Heth was the same person who was
the father of Angus, and who married the daughter of
Lulach, and that he was hereditary chief of clan Chat-
tan, the principal branch of the Moray tribe. He thus
possessed a title to the earldom of Moray from his
own descent, as well as from his connexion with
the family of the previous Maormors.
The tribes of Moray had no sooner in some de-
gree, recovered their strength after the blow they had
received in the reign of Malcolm Kenmore, than
their new Maormor commenced that course of de-
termined opposition to the government of the feudal
successors of Malcolm, which was not finally over-
come for upwards of a hundred years, and the same
adherence to the rights of the heirs of the throne,
according to the Highland principles of succession,
which the former Maormors had maintained for their
own.
The attempt of the Moray tribes in the reign of
Alexander I., which must have taken place during

the possession of the earldom by Head, has already
been alluded to, and on the death of Alexander I.,
a still more fonnidable attempt was 4iade by

Angus the next earl, in the reign of his successor
David I., in the year 1130, when Angus, after having
obtained possession of the northern districts of Scot-
land, advanced at the head of a numerous array into
Forfarshire. At this time it appears that David was
at the court of Henry, king of England, but
Edward, the son of earl Seward, led an army into
Scotland with which he defeated and slew the earl
of Moray at Strickathrow, and after this event Daviil
seems to have taken the most prompt measures to
quell the Moravians. In consequence of these

measures the Moravians remained quiet
^
for
A.D. U3(».
the unusual period of upwards of twelve
years, but at the end of that time they were again
excited to revolt by one of the most singular occur-
rences of the history of that period.
An English monk, who had hitherto been known
under the name of Wimund, and who, had risen to
be bishop of Man, suddenly announced himself to
be the son of Angus, earl of Moray, who had been

slain at Strickathrow, and thereupon prepared to
assert his right to that earldom. Having collected
together some ships in the Isle of Man, and having
been ioined by numerous adventurers, he
'' -^ '
A.D. n42.
appeared among the Western Isles, where
he was immediately received by Somerled, who,
actuated either by policy or conviction, acknowledged
his right, and also evinced his sincerity by bestowing
upon him his sister in marriage. Wimund, having
166 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PAET II.
assumed the name of Malcolm Macheth, now pro-

ceeded to invade the shores of Scotland, where he
was joined by many of the northern chiefs, and even
received the support of the Norwegian earl of Orkney,
who declared him to be the earl of Moray, and mar-
ried his sister. The assistance of the northern
chiefs, and the natural advantages which the moun-
tainous character of the country afforded to the pro-
secution of his enterprise, enabled Wimund for se-
veral years to sustain a war with David I. of Scot-
land, retiring to the mountains or to his ships when
pressed by the royal army, and again renewing his
depredations as soon as it was withdrawn. At
length, however, he was betrayed and delivered up
to David, who, in the spirit of eastern barbarity,
caused his eyes to be put out, and imprisoned him
in Rokesburgh Castle.
Historians have generally considered Wimund to
be an impostor ; but when, in addition to the impro-

bability of any such imposition having either been
conceived or likely to have been attempted with any
prospect of success, we reflect, that the circumstance
of his assviming the name of Malcolm Macheth proves
at least that Angus had children, and if so, that they
must of necessity have fled from the wrath of David ;
that Wimund not only received assistance from the
Gaelic chiefs, but even from the earl of Orkney, all
of them openly countenancing his pretensions ; and

that in the Norse Sagas he is distinctly styled Mal-
colm, earl of Moray, without any surmise of his
title to that dignity being doubtful or called in ques-

tionby any one at the time, —we must admit that
Wimund's claim may have been well founded.
When Wimund fell into the hands of his oppo-
nent, his sons appear to have sought refiige with
Somerled their uncle; and that ambitious chief seems
to have made their cause a pretext upon several
occasions for invading Scotland. But as these inva-
sions were generally succeeded by a peace, they
were not productive of any advantage to his nephews.
One of these youths, named Donald, was, in the year
1156, discovered lurking in Galloway, where he was
secured, and imprisoned along with his father in
Rokesburgh Castle. In the following year Mal-

colm ajipears to have come to terms with Wimund,
who, upon being released from prison, resumed the
cowl, and retired to the monastery of Biland in
Yorkshire.
But there still remained one of the sons of Wi-
mund at whose name was Kenneth, and
liberty,
who, undeterred by the fate of his father and bro-

ther, resolved to make another attempt for the re-
covery of his inheritance ; and taking advantage of

the insuiTection of the Scottish earls in favour of
William of Egremont, he easily succeeded in excit-
ing the Moravians once more to revolt. The unex-
pected success with which Malcolm crushed the
conspiracy enabled him likewise, after a violent
struggle, effectually to subdue these restless assailants;
and in order to prevent the recurrence of farther

insurrections upon the part of the Moravians, he

resolved to reduce their strength by removing many
of the hostile clans, and peopling the districts with
strangers. The inhabitants of the northern portion
were principally either driven out or removed to the
crown lands of Braedalbane, in Perthshire, and the
conquered district was bestowed upon the Norman
families of Bisset, Thirlstane, and Lauder. A great
part of the present county of Elgin was likewise
depopulated, and strangers introduced, among whom
was the Flemish family of Innes, while the whole
earldom was bestowed upon the earl of Mar.
By these measures the Moravians were so com-
pletely crushed, that during the remainder of this
and the following reign, they did not again attempt
to disturb the peace of the country. Kenneth in
the mean time having made his escape, after his
defeat by Malcolm, and hopeless of obtaining farther

support in Scotland, took refuge in Ireland, and soli-
cited assistance from the Irish. He was there joined

by Donald Macwilliam, who claimed the throne of
Scotland in right of his great-grandfather Duncan,
Malcolm Kenmore's eldest son, and having collected
a numerous body of Irish followers, the two adven-
turei's proceeded to invade Scotland, and made an in-
road into Moray.

J They
J were
there met by
J
A. D. 1214.
Ferchard Macantagart, the earl of Ross, who
had judged it prudent for him to join the king's party
— the invaders were defeated, and both of the leaders
slain. By this defeat, and the consequent death of
Kenneth, it appears that the family of Angus became

extinct; but the Highland law of succession had the
effect of transmitting the claims of the family, together
with the chiefship of the whole tribe, to the next branch
of the clan, and accordingly we find that thirteen
years after this event, a certain Gillespie
raised another insurrection in Moray. In
his progress he burnt some wooden castles which
had probably been erected for the purpose of con-
taining garrisons to overawe the country ; he sur-
prised and slew a baron called Thomas of Thirl-
stane, to whom Malcolm IV. had given the district
of Abertarff, and afterwards burnt Inverness. The
king proceeded against him in person, but unsuc-
cessfully; and in the following year William Comyn,
earl of Buchan, then justiciary of Scotland, marched
with his numerous vassalage upon the same enter-
prise, dispersed the insurgents, ai\d slew Gillespie
with his two sons. As we find that immediately
after this event Walter Comyn, the son of the earl
of Buchan, becomes possessed of the districts of Ba-
denoch and Lochaber, while it is certain that these
were previously possessed by the natives, we
districts
cannot doubt that this Gillespie was lord of that exten-

sive territory, and that on his death Comyn received
a grant of them from the crown as the reward of his
' This Gillespie has been most improperly confounded with

Gillespie mac Scolane, of the Mac William family, slain in 1221.
Fordun, the only authority for both rebellions, carefully dis-
tinguishes between them.
VOL. II. I
services in suppressing the insurrection and slaying

its head. Alexander II. followed up this success by
his usual policy, and erected the portion of the eai-1-
dom of Moray which was not now under the stern

rule of the Bissets, Comyns, and other Norman
barons, into the separate sheriffdoms of Elgin and
Nairn. The authority of government was thus so
effectually established, that the Moravians did not
again attempt any farther resistance ; and thus ended
with the death of Gillespie, the last of that series of
persevering efforts which the earls of Moray had made
for upwards of one hundred years to preserve thqir
native inheritance.
The extinction of the native earls of Moray now
threw the various clans formerly united under their
^vay into independence, and the most powerful of
these was the clan Chattan.
CLAN CHATTAN.
When the almost universal extinction of the High-

land earls threw the Highland clans into the inde-
pendent and disunited state in which they latterly
existed, we find few of them in possession of such
extensive territories as the clan Chattan. The whole
of Badenoch, with greater part of Lochaber, and the
districts of Strathnairn and Strathdearn, were inha-
bited by the various septs of this clan, and pre-
vious to the grant made to Comyn, these districts
were held of the crown by the chief of the clan.

From the earliest period this clan has been divided
into two great branches, respectively following as

leaders Macpherson of Cluny, and Macintosh of
Macintosh, both of whom claim the chiefship of the
whole tribe. The descent of the former family from
the old chiefs of the clan has never been doubted,
but the latter family has hitherto considered itself as
possessing a different descent from the rest of the

clan Chattan. The earl of Fife, of the name of
Macduff, is claimed as its ancestor, alleging that the
chiefship of the clan Chattan was obtained about
the end of the thirteenth century by marriage with
Eva, the daughter and heiress of Gillepatrick, the
son of Dugall dall, son of Gillichattan, and chief of
the clan.
But independently of the manifest unlikelihood of
a tale so clearly opposed to the Highland princij^les
of succession and clanship, the mere fact of this
family styling themselves captains of the clan, claim-
ing a foreign origin, and asserting a marriage with
the heiress of its chief, leads to the strong presump-
tion that they were the oldest cadets of the clan,
by
whom had been usurped, while the
the chiefship
manuscript of 1450 puts it beyond doubt that this
story is not only an invention, but one subsequent
to the date of the MS., and that the Macintoshes
are as radically a branch of the clan Chattan as the
Macphersons; for that invaluable record of High-
land genealogies deduces the Macphersons and the
Macintoshes from two brothers, sons of Gillecattan
Mor, the great founder of the clan Chattan. That
I 2
there has long existed a keen dispute with regard to

the chiefship of the clan Chattan between the Mac-
phersons and Macintoshes is certain ; and while the
Macphersons have hitherto rested their claims upon
tradition alone, the Macintoshes have triumphantly
brought forward charters and documents of every
description in support of their alleged title. But
the case now altered and the investigations which
is ;
we have made into the history of the tribe of Mo-

ray, as well as into the history and nature of High-
land tradition, shew that the fact of the Macphersons
being the lineal and feudal representatives of the
ancient chiefs of clan Chattan rests upon historic au-
thority, and that they possess that right by blood to
the chiefship, of which no charters from the crown,

and no usurpation, however successful and continued,
can deprive them.
The MS. of 1450 puts it beyond all doubt that
the Macphersons and the Macintoshes ai'e descended
from Neachtan and Neill, the two sons of Gillechat-
tan Mor, the founder of the race; while the title of
captain, the assertion of a foreign origin, and of a
marriage with the heiress of the fonuer chiefs, as
certainly point out that the Macintoshes were a
usurping branch, and that the Macphersons, whose
descent from the old chiefs is not denied, alone pos-
sessed the right of blood to that hereditary dignity.
The history of the earls of Moray is equally conclu-
sive, that the descendants of Neachtan, from whom
the Macphersons deduce their origin, were the eldest
branch and chiefs of the clan. The son of Neachtan,

is Head, or Ileth, and although he married the sister
of the last Maormor of Moray, yet, that in his own

person he possessed aright to the earldom independ-
ently of his marriage, appears from the fact, that he
must have succeeded in 1085, before the title of earl
or the feudal succession was introduced. His grand-
son, by his eldest son, Angus, was Malcolm Mac-
heth, whose title to the earldom and consequently
to the chiefship of his clan was acknowledged by all
the Gaelic part of the population of Scotland, and even

by the Norwegian earl of Orkney, while his grandson
by his younger son, Suibne, was Muirich, from whom
the Macphersons take their name of the clan Vuirich.
On the death of the last descendant of Angus, his
claims were taken up by Gillespie, and as he un-
questionably possessed the districts of Badenoch and
Lochaber before the feudal barons acquired posses-
sion of it, he must have been chief of the clan Chat-
tan, the ancient possessors of these districts. This is
singularly coiToborated by the fact, that the oldest

traditions styled Gillichattan the grandfather of Gil-
lipatrick, whose daughter is said to have married
Macintosh, Mac Gillespie, or son of Gillespie, while
he must have lived at that very time. Gillespie was
certainly not a descendant of Angus, earl of Moray,
but his claim to the earldom proves that he must
have been a descendant of Head. The identity of
the Macbeth family with the chiefs of the clan
Ohattan is therefore clearly established, and, at the
same time, the descent of the clan Vuirich, or Mac-

phersons, from these chiefs, is proved by the MS.
of 1450
This statement, supported as it is by the MS., and
by documentary evidence of an antiquity far greater
than any which the Macintoshes can produce, at
once establishes the hereditary title of the Macpher-
sons of Cluny to the chiefship of clan Chattan, and
that of the Macintoshes to their original position of
oldest cadets of the clan.
The circumstances which led to the establishment
of the Macintoshes as captains of clan Chattan can
likewise be traced, and tend still more strongly to
confirm the position which has been adopted.
As the whole territory of Moray was at this period
in the possession of different Lowland barons, in vir-
tue of their feudal rights only, we know but little of
the history of the various clans inhabiting that dis-
trict tm the fourteenth century; nevertheless it is
certain, that the clan Chattan, with its different
clans, continued to acknowledge the rule of one

common chief as late as that period ; for the his-
torian, John Major, after mentioning that the two

tribes of the clan Chattan and clan Cameron had
deserted Alexander of the Isles after his defeat by
king James 1., in the year 1429, adds, " These two
tribes are of the same stock, and followed 07ie head
of Iheir race as chief.'''' From other sources we know

that these clans were at this time separate from each
other, and were actually engaged in mutual hostili-
ties. But, notwithstanding, the passage distinctly

proves that these clans had veiy shortly before fol-
lowed one chief as head of their respective races.

It appears, therefore, that some event must have
occurred about this time to occasion disunion among
the different branches of the clan, and it is impos-
sible to avoid being struck with the remarkable coin-
cidence in point of time between this rupture and
the singular conflict between the chosen champions
of the two clans upon the North Inch of Perth, in
the year 1396, which the works of Sir Walter Scott
have recently made so generally familiar, but which
has nevertheless baffled every enquirer into its cause
or as to the lineage of its actors.
According to the oldest authorities the names of
these clans were clan Yha and the clan Quhele, not
the clan Kay and the clan Chattan, as they have
generally been called. At the end of the contest
itwas found that only one of the clan Yha had sur-
vived, while eleven of the clan Quhele were still ex-
isting,although severely wounded, upon which it
was determined by the king that the clan Quhele
were the victors. Now there are but three clans in
which any tradition of this conflict is to be found,
that of the Camerons, the Macphersons, and the
Macintoshes, and it is obvious that the memory of
so remarkable a circumstance could never have been
suffered to escape the enduring character of High-
land tradition. The circumstances which attended
the conflict, however, clearly indicate the Macpher-
sons and Macintoshes as the actors. From the

brief but contemporary accounts which have reached
us we can only learn two facts connected with its
cause ; first, that the dispute had broken out very

shortly before, and secondly, that the singular mode
of determining it was carried into effect by Sir David
Lindsay and the earl of Moray. In ascertaining

who the clans were who were engaged in this con-
flict, we must therefore look for some change in their
situation immediately before the conflict, and for
some especial connexion with the two noblemen

who were principally interested in it. These are to
be found in the clan Chattan only ; for, first, by the

death of the Wolfe of Badenoch, in 1394, that dis-
trict which was nearly equally inhabited by the Mac-
phersons and the Macintoshes, came in to the crown,
and thus those clans were suddenly relieved, but
two years before the conflict, from the oppressive
government of that ferocious baron and the attention
;
of the clan would be at once turned from the neces-

sity of defending themselves from the tyranny of
their feudal superior, to their own dissensions, which,
if such existed among them, would then break out
and secondly, it so happens, that at that very period,
the remaining possessions of these two families were
held of these two barons, as their feudal superiors,
the Macphersons holding the greater part of Strath-
nairn, under Sir David Lindsay, and the Macin-
toshes being vassals of the earl of Moray, in Strath-
dearn. Every circumstance, therefore, leads us to
suppose the Macphersons and Macintoshes to have

been the parties engaged in that celebrated conflict.
Soon after this period the chief of the Macintoshes

assumes the title of captain of clan Chattan, but the
Macphersons have always resisted that claim of
precedence, and at this period also, the Camerons
seem to have separated from the clan Chattan. I
am inclined to assume from these circumstances that

the ]Macintoshes were the clan Quliele. In the
MS. of 1450, the Macphersons are stated to be de-
scended of a son of Heth, and brother of Angus, earl
of Moray, and it will be observed, that the name,
Heth, is a corruption of the same Gaelic name which
has been changed by these historians to Yha. Clan
Heth must have been the most ancient name of the
Macphersons, and it follows, that they were the
clan Yha of the conflict. The leader of the clan
Yha, is styled by the old authorities, Sha.Fercharson,
that of the clan Quhele, Gilchrist Johnsone, and in
the old MS. histories of the Macintoshes we find Gil-
christ Mac Jan, at the period, while, according to the
MS. of 1450, the chief of the Macphersons was Shaw,
and his great grandfather's name is Ferchar, from
whom he probably took the patronymic of Ferchar-
son. From all this we may reasonably deduce, that
previous to the fifteenth centmy the various tribes
forming the clan Chatlan obeyed the rule of one
chief, the lineal descendant and representative of
Gillecattan Mor, the founder of the clan Chattan;
that in consequence of the rebellion of Gillespie,
I 3
then chief of that race, the territories of the prin-

cipal branch were forfeited and given to the Comyn,
and consequently that the family of the chief gra-
dually sunk in power, while that of the oldest cadet of
the clan, i. e. Macintosh, who was in consequence,
after the chief, the most powerful, and whose princi-
pal lands were held under the easy tenure of the
bishop of Moray and the good earl of Moray, gra-
dually rose in power, until at length they claimed the
chiefship, and from this cause arose the first dis-
union among the branches of this extensive tribe.
They became divided into distinct factions on ;
the one side there was ranged the Macphersons

and their dependants, together with the Camerons;
on the other side were the Macintoshes, with the
numerous families who had sprung from that branch
of the clan Chattan; and they were about to settle
their difference by open war, when the"'Tnterference
of Sir David Lindsay and the earl of Moray produced
the extraordinary conflict which resulted in the defeat
of the faction adhering to the family of the ancient
X chiefs, and to the establishment of the Macintoshes
as captains of clan Chattan.
In this manner the Macintoshes became the de
facto chiefs of the clan, and consequently acquired
the title of Captain, a title which at once indicates
the absence of any right by blood to the chiefship,
and from this very circumstance is their name de-
rived Toshoch being unquestionably the title an-
X
;
ciently applied to the oldest cadets of the different

clans, and having no connexion whatever with the

Saxon title of Thane, as has generally been asserted.
The conflict by which they finally established

themselves in the power and dignity of head of the
clan Chattan took place in 1396. From this period
until the latter part of the sixteenth century, they
remained, as leader of the clan, willingly followed by

the cadets of their own house, and exacting obe-
dience Irom the other branches of the clan, often
refused, and only given when they were in no con-
dition to resist. Soon after this period, they appear
to have become dependent upon the lords of the
Isles, and to have followed them in all their expe-
ditions.
The first of the Macintoshes who appears in the

records, is Malcolm Macintosh, who obtained from
the lord of the Isles, in 1447, a grant of the office of
baillie or steward of the lordship of Lochaber ; and
the same office was given to his son, Duncan Mac-
intosh, in 1466, along with the lands of Keppoch,
and others in Lochaber.
It is probable that he likewise obtained from the
same lord that part of Lochaber lying between Kep-
poch and Lochaber, for, on the forfeiture of the lord
of the Isles in 1475, he obtained a charter from

James III.: " Duncano Macintosh, capitano de clan
Chattan, terrarum de Moymore, Fern, Chamglassen,
Stroneroy, Auchenheroy, &c.", dated 4 July, 1476 ;
and afterwards, in 1493, he obtained a charter from

James IV., " terrarum de Keppoch Innerorgan, &c.,

cum officio Ballivatus earundera."
Macintosh liaviDg probably rendered the govern-
ment considerable assistance on that occasion, these
grants were the cause of long and bitter feuds be-
tween the Macintoshes and the Camerons and the
Macdonalds of Keppoch, the actual occupiers of the
land.
From this period may be dated the commence-
ment of the rise of the Macintoshes to the great
influence and consideration which they afterwards
possessed. Two causes, however, combined to render
their progress to power slow and difficult, and at
times even to reduce the clan to considerable ap-

parent difficulties. These causes were, first, the dis-
sensions among the Macintoshes themselves, and,
secondly, the continued feud which they had with
Huntly, in consequence of their strict adherence to
the earl of Moray. The dissensions in the clan
commenced in the early part of the sixteenth century,
with the accession of William Macintosh, of Dun-
nachton, to the chiefship. His title to that dignity
appears to have been opposed by John Roy Mac-
intosh, the head of another branch of the family ;
and after having in vain attempted to wrest the

chiefship by force from William, John Roy at length
murdered him at Inverness, in the year 1515. The

perpetrator of this treacherous deed did not however
attain his object, for, having been closely pursued by
tlie followers of William Macintosh, he was over-

taken at Glenesk and slain, while Lachlan, the bro-
ther of the murdered chief, was placed in possession
of the government of the clan. But Lachlan was

doomed to experience the same fate as his brother,
for, according to Lesly, " sura wicked persones being
impatient of vertuous Icving, stimt up ane of his
awn principal kynnesmen, callit James Malcolm-
sone, quha cruellie and treasonablie slew his said

chief." On Lachlan's death, his son was under age,
and therefore the clan, in accordance with the ancient
system of succession, chose Hector, a bastard brother,
to be their chief.
The of Moray, who was the young chief's

earl
uncle, became alarmed for his safety, and, in order

to secure him against his brother's ambition, he
carried him
off, to be brought up by his mother's
relations. But Hector was determined to repossess

himself of the person of the young heir, and with
that view invaded the lands of the earl of Mora}', at
the head of the clan : he besieged the castle of Pettv,
which he took, and put the Ogilvies, to whom it
belonged, to the sword. Upon this, the earl obtained

a commission from the king, and, having raised his
retainers, he attacked the Macintoshes, and seized
300 of them, whom he instantly executed. Hector
escaped, and fled to the king, to whom he surren-
dered himself, and received from him a remission of
his former offences, but he was soon after slain in
St. Andrew's ; and the young heir, William Macin-
18-2 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART II.
tosh, after having beenbrought up by the earl of

Moray, was put in possession of his inheritance.
According to Leshe, " Wilham wes sua well
braught up be the meanes of the earl of Murray and
the laird of Phindlater, in vertue, honestie, and civil
policye, that after he had received the government of
his countrie, he was a mirrour of vertue to all the
Heiland captains in Scotland; bot fortune did envye
his felicitie, and the wicket practises of the dissoluit
awne kin sufferit him nocht to reraaine

lives of his
long amang them bot the same factious companie

;
that raise againis his fader wes the cause of his

destructionne."
Soon after the accession of William Macintosh to
the chiefship, the feud between the Macintoshes and
earls of Huntly commenced, and it appears to have
been instigated by the acts of Lachlan Macintosh,
the son of the murderer of the last chief, who had
been received into favour, but who was still bent on
the destruction of the family of the chief. But, how-
ever the feud may have originated, a subject upon
which the accounts given in the different families are
much at variance, it would appear that Macintosh
commenced the hostilities, by surprising and burning
the castle of Auchindoun. Huntly immediately moved
against the clan, with all the retainers which his ex-
tensive territories could furnish, and a fierce though
short struggle ensued, in which any clan less power-
ful than the Macintoshes would have been com-
pletely crushed j as it was, Macintosh found himself
SO unequal to sustain the conflict, that, despairing of

obtaining any mercy from Huntly, he determined to
apply to his lady, and for that purpose presented
himself before her at a time when Huntly was
absent, and suiTendered himself to her will. The
marchioness, however, was as inexorable as her
husband could have been, and no sooner saw Mac-
intosh within her power, than she caused his head
to be struck off.
The death of William Macintosh occasioned no

farther loss to the clan, but, on the contrary, relieved
them from the continuance of the prosecution of the
feud with Huntly for that nobleman found himself
;
immediately opposed by so strong a party of the

nobility who were related to Macintosh, that he was
obliged to cease from farther hostilities against them,
and also to place the son of the murdered chief in
possession of the whole of his father's territories.
The government afterwards found the advantage of
restoring Macintosh to his patrimony, and preserving
so powerful an opponent to Huntly in the north ;
for when the queen nearly fell into Huntly's hands

at Inverness, in 1562, when that ambitious nobleman
wished to compel her majesty to marry his second
son, John Gordon, of Findlater, the timely assistance
of Macintosh assisted in defeating this plan. Soon
after this, the feud between Huntly and Macintosh
once more broke out, and this circumstance was the
cause of the final separation of the Macphersons
from the Macintoshes, and the loud assertion by the
former of their right to the chiefship, which they

have ever since maintained ; for Huntly, unable to
meet the united force of the clan Chattan, took ad-
vantage of the claims of the Macphersons, to cause
a division in the clan : and, in consequence of the
support of this powerful nobleman, the Macphersons
were enabled to assert their right to the chiefship,
and to declare themselves inde])endent of the Mac-
intoshes, if they could not compel the latter to ac-
knowledge them as their chief. The history of the

Macphersons, posterior to the unfortunate conflict
on the north Inch of Perth, becomes exceedingly
obscure. As they hold their lands of subject su-
periors, we lose the assistance of the records to guide

us, neither do they appear in history independently
of the rest of the clan. And it is only when, at a
late period, they began to assert their claims to the
chiefship, that they again emerge from the darkness

by which- their previous history was obscured. Pre-
vious to this period, finding themselves in point of
strength altogether unable to offer any opposition to
the Macintoshes, they had yielded an unwilling sub-
mission to the head of that family, and had followed
him as the leader of the clan ; but even during this
period they endeavoured to give to that submission
as much as might be of the character of a league,
and as if their adherence was in the capacity of an
ally, and not as a dependent branch of the clan. In
consequence of Huntly's support, they now declared
themselves iudependeiitj and refused all further obe-
dience to the captain of clan Chattau, as Macintosh

had been styled.
In this they succeeded as long as the feud con-

tinued between Iluntly and Macintosh, but when at
length Huntly became reconciled to his adversary,
and consequently gave up his unfortunate ally Mac-

pherson, when he could derive no farther benefit
from him, the Macphersons found themselves unable
to withstand Macintosh, and many of them were
obliged in 1609 to sign a bond, along with all the
other branches of the clan Chattan, acknowledging
Macintosh as their chief. But the long continued
hostilities which Macintosh soon after became
in
engaged with the Camerons and other Lochaber
clans, enabled Macpherson again to separate from
him ; and during the whole of these wars Macintosh
was obliged to accept of his assistance as of that of
an ally merely, until at length in 167-2 Duncan Mac-

pherson, of Cluny, threw off all connexion with Mac-
intosh, refused to acknowledge his authority as chief-
tain of the clan, and applied to Lyon office to have

his arms matriculated as " Laird of Clunie Mac-
phersone, and the only and true representer of the
ancient and honorable familie of the clan Chattane,"
which he obtained ; and soon after, when the privy
council required all the Highland chiefs to give
security for the peaceable behaviour of their re-

spective clans, Macpherson obtained himself bound
for his clan under the designation of Lord of Cluny
and chief of the Macphersons ; but his legal pro-
ceedings were not so fortunate as his resistance by

arms had been, for no sooner was Macintosh aware
of what had taken place, than he applied to the
privy council and the Lyon office to have his own
title declared, and those titles given to Macpherson
recalled.
Both parties were now called upon to produce
evidence of their assertions, but while Macintosh
could produce deeds during a long course of years,
in which he was designated captain of clan Chattan,
and also the unfortunate bond of Manrent which
had been given in 1609, Macpherson had nothing to
bring forward but tradition, and the argument arising
from his representation of the ancient chiefs, which
was but little understood by the feudalists of those
days. The council at length gave a decision, which,
perhaps, was as just a one as in the circumstances
of the case could be expected from them. The
judgment was in the following terms : /" The lords of
privy council upon consideration of a petition pre-
sented by Duncan Macpherson of Cluny, and the
Laird of Macintosh, doe ordain Mcintosh to give
bond in these terms, viz., for those of his clan, his
vassals, those descendit of his family, his men,
tenants and servants, or dwelling upon his ground
and ordaine Cluny to give bond for those of his name
of Macpherson, descendit of his family, and his
men, tenants, and servants, but prejudice always to
the Laird of Mcintosh, bonds of relief against such
of the name of Macpherson, who are his vassals.
(Sub'*.), Rothes." Upon this decision the arms

were hkewise recalled, and those of the Macphersons
again matriculated as those of Macpherson of Cluny.
After this the Macintoshes remained in quiet pos-
session of their hereditary temtories, frequently at
feud with Huntly and at other times at peace, and
they appear to have constantly maintained the high
station which they had acquired among the High-
land clans with respect to power and extent of ter-
ritory. Their feuds with the Camerons, with the ac-

counts of which the earlier parts of their traditionary
history abound, terminated by the place of that clan
becoming supplied by another whose possessions in
the Braes of Lochaber placed them too near to the
Macintoshes to avoid collision, and their natural dis-
position was of too turbulent a character not to give

speedy cause of feud betwixt them. This clan was
that of the Macdonalds of Keppoch, and the circum-
stance which gave rise to the feud was this, the
Macdonalds had no other right to the lands they in-
habited than that of long possession, while the Mac-
intoshes held a feudal title to the property which
they had obtained from the lord of the Isles, and
which had been confirmed by the crow^n on their
forfeiture. This feud continued for several years with
various success, but was finally brought to a close
by the last considerable clan battle which wâs fought

in the Highlands. Macintosh had come to the deter-
mination of making an effort to obtain something

more than a mere feudal title to these lands, and with
that view, if possible, to dispossess the Macdonalds.

He accordingly raised as many of the clan as still
adhered to him, notwithstanding the separation which

had taken place not long before between the Mac-
intoshes and the Macphersons, and marched towards
Keppoch with the assistance of an independent com-
pany of soldiers furnished him by the government.
On his arrival at Keppoch he found the place
deserted, and he was engaged in constructing a fort
in Glenroy in order to leave a garrison behind him,

believing himself secure from any opposition in the
mean time, when he learnt that the Macdonalds of
Keppoch had assembled together with their kindred
tribes of Glengarry and Glenco, and were stationed
in great numbers at a place called Mulroy, for the
purpose of attacking him at day break. Macintosh

immediately resolved upon anticipating this design,
and forthwith marched ujôn the enemy, whom he found
prepared for the conflict. The Macdonalds were
stationed on the upper ridge, under Coll Macdonald
of Keppoch, and the Macintoshes had nearly sur-
mounted the height of Mullroy when the battle began.
The contest, though fierce and maintained with great
obstinacy on both sides, was not of long duration,
and ended in the defeat of the Macintoshes, the cap-
ture of their chief, and the death of the commander of
the independent company. But the battle had not
been long closed, when a large body of the Mac-
phersons, who, considering that the honour of clan
Chattan was compromised, had forgotten all former
feelings of rivalry, suddenly appeared and prepared

to assail the victors.Keppoch, although victorious,
was in no condition to renew the contest with a fresh
party, and he therefore agreed to surrender Macin-
tosh to them, who accordingly had the double humi-
liation of having been captured by the Macdonalds,
whom he despised as mere refractory tenants, and

rescued by the Macphersons, whom he had treated
with so little forbearance or consideration.
The Macphersons did not take any advantage of
the chance which had placed Macintosh in their
hands, but escorted him safely to his own estates,
and from that time forward Keppoch remained undis-

turbed in his possessions, while the Macintoshes and
Macphersons continued as separate and independent
clans, the one possessing the title of captain, and the
other claiming that of chief of clan Chattan, for
notwithstanding the decision of the privy council,
the Macphersons have ever since maintained them-
selves altogether distinct from the Macintoshes, and
took an active share in the insun-ections of 1715 and
1745 as a separate clan, refusing to acknowledge the
title of Macintosh to be either chief or captain of
clan Chattan, and asserting their own preferable
title. In the latter insm-rection the name of Mac-
pherson has become celebrated for the distinguished
part which their chief took in that ill-fated expedi-
tion, but perhaps still more so for the conduct of the

clan to their chief after the defeat of CuUoden had
terminated the hopes of the Stuarts, and exposed

Cluny to the vengeance of the government.
There is perhaps no instance in which the attach-
ment of the clan to their chief was so very strikingly
manifested, as in the case of the Macphersons of
Clmiy after the disaster of" the forty-five." The chief
having been deeply engaged in that insurrection, his
life became of course forfeited to the laws, but nei-
ther the hope of reward nor the fear of danger could
induce any one of his people to betray him. For
nine years he lived concealed in a cave at a short dis-
tance from his own house ; it was situated in the front
of a woody precipice, of which the trees and shelving
rocks completely concealed the entrance. This cave
had been dug out by his own people, who worked by
night and conveyed the stones and rubbish into a
neighbouring lake, in order that no vestige of their
labour might appear and lead to the discovery of
the retreat. In this asylum he continued to live
secure, receiving by night the occasional visits of his
friends, and sometimes by day when time had begun
to slacken the rigour of pursuit.
Upwards of one hundred persons were privy to
his concealment, and a reward of one thousand
pounds sterling was offered to any one who should
give information against him ; and besides, as it was
known that he was somewhere concealed upon his
own estate, a detachment of eighty men was con-
stantly stationed there, independent of the occasional
CHAP. VI.J THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 191
pai'ties that traversed tlie country throughout, with

a view to intimidate his tenantry and induce them
by force or persuasion to disclose the place of his
concealment; but although the soldiers wêre ani-
mated by the hope of reward, and their officers by

the promise of promotion for the apprehension of
this proscribed individual, yet so true were his peo-
ple, so inflexibly strict to their promise of secresy,
and so dexterous in conveying to him the necessa-
rieshe required in his long confinement, that not a
trace of him could be discovered, nor an individual
base enough to give a hint to his detriment. Many
anecdotes are still related in the country of the nar-
row escapes he made in eluding the vigilance of the
soldieiy, and of the fidelity and diligence displayed
by his clan in concealing him, until, after ten years of

this dreary existence, he escaped to France, and
there died in the following year '.
After his death, the estate was restored to the pre-
sent family, in whose possession it remains, and who

are the lineal representatives of the ancient chiefs of
the clan Chattan.
Arms.
Parted per fess, or, and azure, a lymphad or galley, her sails
furled, her oars in action, of the first; in the dexter chief point
a hand coupee, grasping a dagger pointed upwards, gules, for

killing Cummine Lord Badenoch : in the sinister point a cross
crosslet, fitchee, gules.
1 Stewart's Sketches.
192 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART H.
Badge.
Boxwood.
Principal Seat.
Strathnairn and Badenoch.
Oldest Cadet.
Macintosh of Macintosh is oldest cadet, and was captain of the
clan for a period of two centuries.
Chief.
Cluny Macpherson.
Fo7-ce.
In 1704, 1400. In 1715, 1020. In 1745. 1700.

CHAP. VII.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 193
CHAFrER VIT.
Moray, continued.
CLAN CAMERON.
An ancient manuscript history of this clan com-
mences with these words
— " The Camerons have a
tradition among them, that they are originally de-
scended of a younger son of the royal family of Den-

mark, who assisted at the restoration of king Fergus
II., anno 404. He was calledCameron from his
crooked nose, as that word imports. But it is more
probable that they are of the aborigines of the ancient
Scots or Caledonians that first planted the country."
With this last conclusion I am fully disposed to agree,
but John Major has placed the matter beyond a
doubt, for in mentioning on one occasion the clan
Chattan and the clan Cameron, he says, " Hae tribus
sunt consauguineoe." They therefore formed a part
of the extensive tribe of Moray, and followed the
chief of that race until the tribe became broken up,
in consequence of the success of the Macintoshes in
the conflict on the North Inch of Perth in 1396.
Although the Macphersons for the time submitted to
the Macintosh as captain of the clan, the Camerons
VOL. II. K
seem to have separated themselves from the main

stock, and to have assumed independence.
The Camerons was that
earliest possession of the
part of Lochaber extending to the east of theLoch

and river of Lochy, and was held by them of the
lord of the Isles their more modern possessions of
;
Locheil and Locharkaig, which lie on the west side

of that water, had been granted by the lord of the
Isles to the founder of the clan
Ranald, by whose
descendants was inhabited. As the Camerons are
it
one of those clans whose chief bore the somewhat

doubtful title of captain, we are led to suspect that
the latter chiefs were of a different branch from the
older family, and had, in common with the other
clans among whom the title of captain is found,
been the oldest cadet, and had come
in that capacity
to supersede the elder branch when reduced by cir-

cumstances. Originally the clan Cameron consisted
of three septs, the clan ic Mhartin, or Mac Martins,
of Letterfinlay ; the clan ic Ilonobhy, or Camerons,
of Strone ; and Sliochd Shoirle Ruaidh, or Came-
rons, of Glenevis. Of one of these septs the genea-
logy is to be found in the MS. of 1450, and it is appa-
rent from that genealogy that the Locheil family
belonged to the second, or clan ic Ilonobhy, for the
first of the Locheil family who appears on record is
Allan Mac Connell dui or son of Donald Du, who

in 1472 obtains a charter from Celestine of the Isles,
lord of Lochalche, to himself and the heirs male pro-
created between him and his wife, Mariot, daughter
of Angus de Insulis, with remainder to his brother,

Eugene Mac Connelduy, and the two last genera-
tions of the clan ic Ilonobhy are Donald Du and his
son Eogan. The traditionary origin of the Came-
rons, however, like that of the Macintoshes and other
clans, clearly points out the ancient chiefs of the clan,
for while they are unquestionably of native origin,
their tradition derives them from a certain Cambro,
a Dane, who is said to have acquired his property
with the chiefship of the clan, by marriage with the
daughter and heiress of Mac Martin, of Letterfinlay.
The extraordinary identity of all these traditionary
tales, wherever the title of captain is used, leaves
little room to doubt that in this case the Mac Martins
were the old chiefs of the clan, and the Locheil fa-
mily were the oldest cadets, whose after position at
the head of the clan gave them the title of captain of
the clan Cameron. There is some reason to think
that on the acquisition of the captainship of the clan
Chattan, in 1396, by the Macintoshes, the Mac Mar-
tins adhered to the successful faction, while the great
body of the Camerons of Locheil, de-
clan, with the
clared themselves independent,and thus the Locheil
family gained that position which they have ever
since retained. Another circumstance probably con-
tributed to place Donald Du at the head of the clan,
for the Camerons having, along with the clan Chat-
tan, deserted Alexander, lord of the Isles, when
attacked by James I., in Lochaber, and having sub-
sequently refused to join Donald Balloch in his in-
K 2
vasion of Scotland in 1431, that chief, after his

victory at Inverlochy, resolved to revenge himself
upon the Camerons, and attacked them with fury.
The clan was unable to withstand his attack, and
the chief was obliged to fly into Ireland, while the
rest of the clan took refuge among the most inac-
cessible parts of that mountain country.
When the return of Alexander from captivity had
restored some degree of order to his wild dominions,
the family of Mac Martin were probably unable to
resume their former station, and the oldest cadet,
who on the occurrence of such events, and being
generally the most powerful family of the clan,
assumed the chieftainship with the title of captain,
was now placed at the head of the clan. The name of
this chiefwas Donald Du, and from him the Came-
rons of Locheil take their patronymic of Macconnel
Du.
He appears to have raised the Camerons from the
depressed state into which they had fallen by
the vengeance of the lords of the Isles, and to
have re-acquired for the clan the estates which they

had formerly possessed. These estates had been
given by the lord of the Isles to John Garbh
Maclean of Coll as a reward for his services, but
Donald Du soon drove him out of Lochaber,
and slew his son Ewen. Donald Du was succeeded
by his son Allan M'Coilduy, who acquired the estates
of Locharkaig and Locheil, from the latter of which
his descendants have taken their title. This pro-
perty had fomied part of the possessions of the clan

Ranald, and had been held by them of Godfrey of
the Isles, and his son Alexander, the eldest branch of
the family. After the death of Alexander, the Ca-
merons appear to have acquired a feudal title to these
lands, while the chief of clan Ranald claimed them

as male heir.
At this period the feuds of the Camerons with the
Macintoshes began, which with various success on
both sides continued down to a late period, and
that always with unabated bitterness. Allan Mac
Coilduy was the most renowned of all the chiefs of
the Camerons, with the exception, perhaps, of his
descendant. Sir Ewen. "This Allan Mac Coilduy,"
says the manuscript history before quoted, " had the
chai-acter of being one of the bravest captains in his
time. He is said to have made thirty-two expedi-
tions into his enemies' country, for the thirty-two
years that he lived, and three more for the three-
fourths of a year that he was in his mother's womb."
Notwithstanding his character of one of the bravest
captains, he was slain in one of his numerous con-
flicts with the Macintoshes and Macdonalds of Kep-
poch. The possessions of the family were still far-
ther encreased, and feudal titles to their whole pro-

perty obtained by his son Ewen Allanson. He ap-
pears, in consequence of his feudal claims, to have
acquired almost the whole of the estates which
belonged to the chief of clan Ranald, and to have so
effectually crushed that family that then- chiefship

was soon after usurped by a branch of the family.
It was during the life of Ewen that the last lord of
the Isles was forfeited, and as the crown readily

gave charters to all the independent clans of the
lands then in their possession, Ewen Cameron easily
obtained a feudal title to the whole of his possessions,
as well those which he inherited from his father as
those which he had wrested from the neighbouring
clans and at this period may be dated the establish-
;
ment of the Caraerons in that station of importance

and consideration which they have ever since main-
tained.
Ewen Cameron having acquired a great part of the
lands of the chief of Clanranald, and having been
the cause of the downfall of that family, he sup-
ported the bastard John Mudertach in his usurpation
of the chiefship, and in consequence brought upon
himself the resentment of Huntly, who was at that
time all-powerful in the north. After Huntly and

Lovat had by force dispossessed John Mudertach,
they returned separately and by different routes, and
the consequence as might have been expected was,
that the Camerons and Macdonalds pursued Lovat,
against whom
they were principally irritated, and
having overtaken him at the head of Loch Lochy,
they attacked and slew him together with his eldest
son and three hundred of his clan. Huntly, enraged
at this, immediately returned to Lochaber with a
force which prevented all opposition, seized Ewen

Cameron and Ronald Macdonald of Keppoch, and
caused them to be beheaded at Elgin.
From this period the Camerons seem to have been
engaged in the usual feuds with the neighbouring
clans, conducted after the same fashion as usual in
those matters, so that their history does not present
any thing remarkable until we come to the time of
Sir Ewen Cameron, a hero whose fame has eclipsed
that of all his predecessors. Sir Ewen, or " E vandhu "
as he was called in the Highlands, seems to have
possessed an uncommon character, and one of chi-
valrous features, only equalled perhaps by that of his
unfortunate grandson, whose share in the insurrection
of 1745 is well known. The grandfather was the
first to join in the insurrection of 1652 in favour of
the royal cause, and the last who held out against
the power of Oliver Cromwell, and to whom, in fact,
he never fully submitted.
Of the numberless anecdotes related of this chief,

it would be impossible to give a full detail in this
place, or to do any justice to his history in a work so

limited. He is said to have killed the last wolf in
Scotland, and he so often defeated the body of
troops stationed in Lochaber, and so constantly
harassed them, that they were obliged to remain
confined in the fortress of Inverlochy, and were at
length so desirous to be at peace with him, that a
treaty was concluded on terms most honourable to
Sir Ewen, and in which his political principles were
fully respected. One circumstance, however, re-
garding him, it may be proper to mention, being of

more importance than all his exploits, as it illustrates
the highly chivalrous nature of his character as well

as the impression it had made upon others ; and of
the truth of this circumstance we have sufficient au-
thority in the following passage of General Monk's

letter. " No oath was required of Locheil to Crom-
well, but his ivord of honour to live in peace. He
and his clan were allowed to keep their arms, as
before the war broke out, they behaving peaceably.
Reparation was to be made to Locheil for the wood
cut by the ganison of Inverlochy. A full indemnity
was granted for all acts of depredation and crimes
committed by his men. Reparation was to be made
to his tenants, for all the losses they had sustained
from the troops."
Sir Ewen joined the royal party at Killicranky,
although then an old man, and survived till the
year 1719, when he died at the age of ninety.
Ewen's character was equalled by any
If Sir one,
it was by his grandson. The share taken by that
unfortunate chief in the insurrection of 1745, is well
known to every one, and his conduct was such as to
gain him the respect and admiration of all. The

estates of the family became of course included in
the numerous forfeitures of that period ; but they

were afterwards restored, notwithstanding that this
clan had taken a part in every attempt made by the

Highlanders in favour of the family of Stuart.
CHAP. VII.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. QOl
Arins.
Or, paly, barry, gules.

Badge.
Oak.
Principal Seat.
Locheil.
Oldest Cadet.
Cameron of Locheil was oldest cadet, and has been captain of
the clan Cameron since the fourteenth century.
Chief.
Previous to the fifteenth century, Macmartin of Letterfinlay.

Fo)-ce.
In 1715, 800. In 1745, 800.
CLAN NACHTAN.
The traditions of the M'Nachtans derive them
from Lochtay, where they are said to have been
Thanes, but the genealogy contained in the manu-
script of 1450, puts it beyond all doubt that they
were one of the clans descended from the tribe of
Moray, and formerly united under its Maormors.
The whole of the ancient district of Moray is still
occupied by clans descended from that tribe, with

the exception of one portion of considerable extent.
This portion consists of that part of the ancient dis-
trict which extends between the lordship of Badenoch
and Strathnairn and the southern boundary of Ross,
and comprehends the extensive districts of the Aird,
Glenurchart, Glenmorison, AbertarfF, Stratherick,
&c. This northern division of the ancient district is
intersected by Loch Oich and Loch Ness, and

is chiefly in possession of the Frasers, Grants, and
K 3
Macdonalds, but as all these families can be traced

as having acquired possession of the lands at dif-
ferent periods, and as deriving their origin from the
occupiers of other districts, it is plain that we must
look to other quarters for the early occupiers of this
division of the temtories of that tribe.
The first families that can be traced as in posses-
sion of this part of Moray are those of Bisset, a
family unquestionably of Norman origin, and of
Thirlstain, certainly a Lowland, if not a Norman
family, and there can be little doubt that they ac-
quii'ed this district from Malcolm IV. in 1160, when
we know that he planted a great part of Moray with
strangers. The oldest authorities for this fact, how-
ever, are equally distinct, that he removed the old in-
habitants and placed them in other parts of the coun-
try, for which purpose the crown lands must have
been principally employed. It is, therefore, ex-
tremely probable, that those clans of Moray descent
which we find at an early period in districts the
most remote from their original seat, formed a part of

the inhabitants of this district whom Malcolm IV.
removed.
To them the Macnachtans certainly belonged, for
their genealogy indicates a Moray descent, while
their traditions place them at a very early period in
the crown lands of Strathtay.
There is one remarkable circumstance regarding
this clan, whicluis, that while the other clans can
generally be traced to have previously formed a part
of some greater sept, the Macnachtans at a very-

early period appear in the same independent state in
which they existed at a late period, and also, that
they continued without perceptible increase or dimi-
nution of strength. Their earliest possessions, which
they have always maintained, although they after-
wards held them of the earl of Argyll, extended be-
twixt the south side of Lochfine and Lochawe, and
included the glens of Ara and Shira, Glen fine, and
others, while their ancient seat, the castle of Dundur-
aw, shews that they must at one time have possessed
considerable power. They probably obtained these
properties from Alexander II., on his conquest of
Argyll in 1221, and must as crown vassals have
formed a part of his army, to whom the forfeited
lands were principally given. The MS. of 1450 de-
duces them through a long line of ancestors from Nach-
tan Mor, who, according to that authority, must have
flourished in the tenth century ; but the first chief of
the family occurring in this genealogy, whose age we
can fix with certainty, is Gilcrist JNIacnachtan,
who obtained from Alexander III. the keeping of
the royal castle of Frechelan in Lochaw, and this
castle wassome time the residence of the family.
for
In the reign of Robert Bruce, the baron Macnach-

tan is mentioned as having actively supported the
cause of Baliol along with the lord of Lorn, and on
that occasion the Campbells probably obtained a
grant of a great part of their lands.
In the reign of Robert III. there is a charter by-

Colin, earl of Argyle, to Maurice Macnachtan, of
sundry lands in Over Lochaw, and at the same pe-
riod Morice Macnachtan occurs in the genealogy
previously alluded to. After this we know very
little of the family until th,e reign of Charles I., when
Sir Alexander Macnachtan appears to have dis-
tinguished himself very much in the numerous civil
wars of that era. On the restoration of Charles II.,
Macnachtan is said to have proved an exception

to the generality of the royalists, and to have been
rewarded with a large pension as well as the honour
of knighthood. He did not, however, escape the
fate of the neighbouring clans, and found himself as
little in a condition to offer any obstacle to the
rapid advancement of the Argyll family as the
others. They accordingly soon joined the ranks of
the dependants of that great family, and the loss of
their estate some time afterwards, through the ope-
ration of legal diligence, reduced them still lower,
until there was little left to them but the recollection
of former greatness, which the ruins of various of
their strongholds, and the general tradition of the
country, would shew not to be visionary.
Jlrms.
Quarterly. First and fourth. Argent, a hand fess-ways,

coupee, proper, holding a cross crosslet, fitchee, azure. Second
and third. Argent, a tower embattled gules.
PrincijMl Seat.
Dundurraw on Lochfine.
Chief.
Extinct.
CLAN GILLE-EON.
This clan is one of those to which a Norman
origin has for a considerable length of time been
assigned, and it is said, that a brother of Colin Fitz-
gerald, the alleged ancestor of the Mackenzies, was
the founder of the family. But this origin, as well
as those of the other clans derived from a Nor-

man source, appears to have been altogether un-
known previous to the seventeenth century, and to
be but little deserving of credit.
This clan has been omitted in the MS. of 1450, but
the two oldest genealogies of the family, of which
one is the production of the Beatons, w^ho were here-
ditary sennachies of the family, concur in deriving
the clan Gille-eon from the same race from whom
the clans belonging to the great Moray tribe are
brought by the MS. of 1450. Of this clan the oldest
seat seems to have been the district of Lorn, as they
first appear in subjection to the lords of Lorn ; and
their situation being thus between the Camerons and
Macnachtans, who were undoubted branches of
the Moray tribe, there can be little doubt that the
Macleans belonged to that race also. As their oldest
seat was thus in Argyll, while they are unquestion-
ably a part of the tribe of Moray, we may infer that
they were one of those clans transplanted from north

Moray by Malcolm IV,, and it is not unlikely that
Glenurchart was their original residence, as that
district is said to have been in the possession of the
Macleans when the Bissets came in.
The first of the family on whom tradition has
fixed a name, is Gilleon, sm-named "ni tuoidh," from
the word signifying a battle-axe, which it appears was
his favourite weapon. He is said to have fought at
the battle of Largs, but of his history nothing what-

ever is known. In 1296 we find Gillemore Macilean
del Counte de Perth signing Ragman's Roll, and as

the county of Perth at that time embraced Lorn, it is
probable that this was the soil of Gilleon and ances-
tor of the Macleans. In the reign of Robert the
Bruce, frequent mention is made of three brothers,
John, Nigell, and Dofuall, termed Mac Gillion, or
filii Gillion, and they appear to have been sons of

Gillemore, for we find John designated afterwards
Mac Molmari, or Mac Gillimore.
John Mac Gillimore had two sons, Lachlan Lu-
banich, predecessor of the family of Dowart, and
Eachin Reganich, predecessor of that of Lochbuy.
These brothers lived during the reign of Robert IL,
and appear first as followers of the lord of Lorn ;
but a dispute having arisen between them and their

chief, they left him and took refuge with the lord of
the Isles. The island lord was now rapidly acquir-

ing the supremacy over the other descendants of
their great progenitor, Somerled, and they were ac-
cordingly at once received by him with great favour.

But the usual consequence of a stranger entering
into the country of another clan followed, and a bit-
ter feud soon took place between them and the chief
of the Mackinnons, which led to one of the most
daring actions which has ever been recorded of any
Highland chief. The lord of the Isles had set out
on some expedition to the mainland in a single
galley, desiring the Macleans and the Mackinnons to
follow him, and the Macleans resolved upon taking
this opportunity of avenging many
which
injuries
they had received from Mackinnon, and killed him

while in the act of mounting into his galley. Afraid
of the vengeance of the lord of the Isles for this deed
of treachery, they proceeded to follow up their act
by one more daring, and accordingly set sail
still
after him. No
sooner had they overtaken his galley
than the brothers at once boarded it, and succeeded
in taking the Macdonald himself pi-isoner in the very
centre of his islands, and within sight of many of his

castles. They then earned their captive to the small
island of Garveloch, and thence to Icolmkill, where

they detained him until the lord of the Isles, seeing
no prospect of speedy relief from his degrading situa-
tion, agreed to vow friendship to them " upon cer-
tain stones where men were used to make solemn
vows in those superstitious times," and granted them
the lands in Mull wdiich the clan have ever since
Lachlan Lubanich afterwards married the daughter

of the lord of the Isles, and was appointed by him

his lieutenant-general in time of war, an office for
which this deed had shewn him well fitted. The
descendants of these brothers have disputed among
themselves the honour of the chieftainship of the
clan Gille-eon, but, although there are not data left
from which to ascertain with any degree of certainty

in which family the right lay, there seems little
reason to doubt that the family of Dowart was the

principal branch of the clan. Both families produce
tradition in support of their claims ; but when we
consider that, upon the lord of the Isles being com-
pelled when in the power of both the brothers, to
give his daughter to one of them, Lachlan was
selected ; and that unvaried tradition asserts that his
son commanded as lieutenant-general at the battle of
the Harlaw ; it seems probable, that Lachlan was the
eldest brother, and consequently, that the Macleans
of Dowart were chiefs of the clan Gille-eon.
Lubanich was succeeded by his son
Lachlan
Eachin Ruoidh ni Cath or Red Hector of the battles.
He commanded as we have said, at the battle of Har-
law under the Earl of Ross, and it is said, that the
Maclean and Irvine of Drum, having encountered on
the field of battle, slew each other in single combat.
He appears to have well maintained his epithet of
" ni cath," although the Sennachy is scarcely borne
out in history, when he asserts that he " commanded

an army in Ireland, took the city of Dublin, and a
fleet that lay in the harbour."
His eldest son, Lachlan, was taken prisoner at the
battle of Harlaw, and detained in captivity for a

long time by the Earl of Mar ; his brother John,
however, followed Donald Balloch with the Macleans
in his expedition into Lochaber, and was present at
the victory of Inverlochy. From this period until

the forfeiture of the lords of the Isles, the Macleans
adhered to these powerful chiefs, taking a share in all
the transactions in which the Macdonalds were en-

gaged. In the dissensions which arose between
John the last lord and his son Angus Og, the chief
of the Macleans took part with the former, and was
present at the sea fight in the bloody bay, where both
Macdonald the father, and Maclean, were made pri-
soners.
On the forfeiture of the last lord of the Isles, the
Macleans assumed independence, and appear to have
gradually risen upon the ruins of that great clan,
in the same manner as the Mackenzies, Campbells,
Macintoshes and others. The possessions of the
Macleans now comprehended the greater part of the
island of Mull, Movem, and many of the smaller
and became divided into the powerful branches
isles,
of Dowart, Lochbuy, Coll, Ardgowr, Morvera, &c.

Their history after this period exhibits merely a suc-
cession of feuds between them and the Macdonalds
and Campbells, in which they were enabled to main-
tain their ground against both, by reason of their
great numbers, and the nature of the country they
possessed. But at length, towards the close of the
sixteenth century, the Macclonalds appear to have

united for the purpose of effectually crushing the
rising power of the Macleans. A-t the head of this
union was Angus Macdonald of Kintyre, who had
married Maclean's sister, and between whom and
Maclean disputes had arisen in consequence of both
possessing lands in Jura. The Macdonalds of Slait
were involved in the dispute in consequence of Slait
having landed on Maclean's property in Jura on his
way to visit Macdonald of Kintyre, when the Kintyre
Macdonalds canied off some of Maclean's cattle
during the night, in order that he might impute the

theft to Macdonald of Sleat. In this they were suc-
cessful, for theMacleans were no sooner aware of
their loss, than they attacked the Macdonalds of
Sleat and defeated them with so much slaughter,
that their chief with difficulty escaped. In order to
revenge themselves, the Macdonalds united to attack
the Macleans, and having assembled in great num-
bers landed in Mull. At that juncture, the chief of
the Macleans, who was suraamed Lachlan More, was
a person well fitted by his great talents and military
genius to meet the emergency upon which the fate of
his clan seemed to depend. He immediately retired
with his followers and cattle to the hills in the in-
terior of the island, and left the plains open to the

Macdonalds, who, finding no one to attack, and being
unable to force the almost inaccessible mountains,
were obliged to depart ; but soon after returning with
greater numbers, they found Maclean, having assem-
bled his whole clan and been joined by the other

numerous branches of the family, determined to anti-
cipate their purposed invasion, and setting sail for
Mull he attacked the Macdonalds in an island south

of Kerrera, called Bacca. Unprepared for so vigo-
rous an attack on the part of the Macleans, the
Macdonalds were forced to give way and betake
themselves to their galleys, stationed on the other
side of the island, but not before they had sustained
great loss in the skirmish. After this defeat, the
Macdonalds never again attempted to invade the
possessions of the Macleans, but a bitter enmity
existed between the Macleans and the Macdonalds
of Isla and Kintyre, who failing tomake any impres-
sion upon them by force resorted to treachery. With
this view Angus Macdonald of Kintjo-e effected a re-
conciliation with Laclilan More, and the better to
cover his intended fraud he visited him at his castle

of Dowart, where his purpose was anticipated by
Maclean, who took him and did not release
prisoner,
him until he had given up his right to some of the

lands in Isla, and had left his brother and his eldest
son at Dowart as hostages. Maclean was then in-
vited to visit Macdonald at Kintyre, which, relying

upon the security of the hostages, he agreed to do,
and arrived there, having left Macdonald's brother at
Dowart, and being accompanied by the other hostage,
his uncle, and seventy gentlemen of his clan. They
were received with apparent cordiality, but had no
sooner retired for the night than the house was sur-
rounded by the Macdonalds with Angus at their

head, and after an obstinate resistance, the Macleans
were made prisoners.
Angus now satiated his vengeance by executing
two of the Macleans every day, reserving their chief
Lachlan More to the last; and he had already in
this way slain them all except the chief, when two of
the gentlemen of his clan having been taken pri-
soners in Mull, he was obliged to exchange Lachlan
for them. No sooner, therefore, was Lachlan at
liberty than he applied to the government, and ob-

tained letters of fire and sword against Macdonald,
with an order upon Macleod and Locheil to assist
him. With these means he sailed for Isla, attacked
and defeated the Macdonalds, burnt the whole island,
and drove Angus to seek refuge in his castle, who,
seeing that he could not resist Maclean, bought his
forbearance by giving up to him the half of the island
of Isla.
On the death of Angus of Isla, this giant pro-
duced some negotiations between Maclean and James
Macdonald, Angus's son, and in order to settle their
difference a meeting was agreed upon between them,
but Maclean coming unadvisedly with a small attend-
ance, and his boats being stranded by the retiring
tide, he was surprised by James Macdonald and
killed after a brave resistance. And thus fell the
gi'eatest chief whom the Macleans ever had, a victim
to the treachery of the Macdonalds of Isla.
After this the feuds between the Macleans and

Macdonalds seem to have come to an end the son ;
of Lachlan having fully revenged his death by

ravaging the island of Isla. The Macleans joined
the Marquis of Montrose in his memorable campaign,
along with the other Highland clans under the com-
mand of Sir Lachlan Maclean of Morvern, and sus-
tained the warlike character of the clan throughout
that enterprise.
In the year 1715 the Macleans also joined the
rising imder the Earl of Mar, and suffered upon that
occasion the same penalty with the other clans who
had been induced to take a part in that unfortunate
expedition. But their estates having been afterwards

restored, they were prevailed upon by the persuasions
of President Forbes to remain quiet during the sub-
sequent insurrection of the year 1745.
Nevertheless, although they had thus escaped the
snare into which so many of the clans fell upon this
occasion, the family became soon after extinct, and

the clan is now divided into several independent
branches, wlio contest with each other the honour of
the chiefship.
Arms.
Quarterly. First. Argent, a rock gules. Second. Argent,
a dexter hand fess-ways, couped, gules, holding a cross crosslet,
fitchee, in pale azure. Third. Or, a lymphad sable. Fourth.

Argent, a salmon naiant, proper; in chief, two eagles' lieads
erased, a fronte gules.
Badge.
Blackberry heath.
Princijoal Seat.
Mull.
Oldest Cadet.
The family of Lochbuy, who have long claimed the chiefship,
appear to be the oldest cadet.
Chief.
Maclean of Dowart appears to have been chief of the clan.
Force.
Formerly 800. In 1745, 500.
SIOL O'CAIN.
In enquiring into the existence of any descendants

of the ancient inhabitants of the North of Moray,
we should expect to find them either as isolated
clans in the neighbourhood, whose traditionary origin
shewed some connection with those of the tribe of
Moray, or situated in districts whose situation dis-
played evident marks of the violent removal effected

by Malcolm IV. Of the latter we find instances in
the Macnachtans and Macleans, of the former we ^
can discover it in those clans whom tradition deduces

from the O'Cains, and which consist principally of
the Monros, Macmillans, and Buchannans. These
clans, like most of the other Highland clans, have
been supposed to be derived fi-om the Irish, but
their traditionary origin clearly points out their con-
nection with the tribe of Moray. According to the
ancient Sennachies, the descent of these clans is de-
rived from certain branches of the family of O'Cain,
who are said to have come from Fermanagh ; but
the name Cain being spelt in Gaelic Cathan, and
being the very same with Cattan, from whom clan

Chattan derives its appellation, it seems much more
probable that they derived their patronymic of
" O'Cain " or " O'Cathan " from the Cattan of clan
Chattan. And more particularly when the oldest
genealogies of the Macmillans, expressly makes them
a branch of the clan Chattan. The founder of the
clan Chattan is also brought ft'om the same part of
Ireland as the Monros in the legends of the Senna-
chies ; and the identity of tradition clearly points
out a connection between the two clans. We have
already shewn this fable of the Irish origin to be un-
tenable in respect to the one, and it must be equally
so witli regard to the other.
CLAN EOICH.
The possessions of the Monros lie on the north
side of the Cromarty Firth, and are known in the
Highlands by the name of " Ferrin Donald ", a
name derived from the progenitor Donald, who bore
the patronymic of O'Cain ; but as they originally
formed a part of the tribe of Moray, it seems clear
that their earliest seats must have been in that part
of Moray from which they were driven out by the
Bissets. By their situation they were naturally
thrown into connection with the earls of Ross, and
they seem, accordingly, to have followed them in
the various expeditions in which they were engaged.
The first of the Monros for whom we have distinct
authority, is George Monro of Fowlis, who is said
to be mentioned in a charter of William, earl of

Sutherland, so early as the reign of Alexander II.
In the next centuiy, the clan appears to have been
nearly cut off to a man, in a feud with the inha-
bitants of the hill-country of Ross. These clans,
consisting principally of the Macivers, Macaulays,
and Maclays, had risen against the earl of Ross,
and taken his second son at Balnagowan. In his
attempt to put down this insurrection, the earl of
Ross was promjitly assisted by the Monros and the
Dingwalls, who pursued the Highlanders, and fought
them at a place called Beallynebroig. The three
clans who had broken out into rebellion were nearly
extinguished, and it is said that a hundred and forty
of the Dingwalls and eleven of the house of Fowlis,
who were to succeed each other, were killed, and that
accordingly the succession fell to an infant. The
Monros, however, appear to have soon recovered
from this slaughter, and to have again attained to the
station they had formerly possessed.
The first feudal titles obtained by this family to
their possessions were acquired about the middle of
the fourteenth century, and all proceeded from the
earl of Ross as their feudal superior. The reddendo
of one of these charters is of a somewhat singular
nature considering the times. Monro holding the
lands of Pitlundie blench of the earl of Ross, for
'payment of a pair of white gloves, or three pounds
Scots, if required, alternately. In another charter,
however, granted by the same earl, of the lands of
Easter Fowlis, to Robert Monro of Fowlis, it is ex-

had belonged to his pre-
pressly said, that these lands
decessors ever since the time of Donald, the first of
this family. From this period, the Monros appear
to have remained in possession of the same terri-
tories, without either acquiring additions to them,

or suffering diminution ; and to have at all times
held the same station in which they were first found
among the other Highland clans.
In the sixteenth century they seem to have been

considered as a clan of considerable importance, for
when so many of the Highlanders assembled round
Queen Mary at Inverness, in 1562,Buchannau
says, " Audito principis periculo magna priscorum
Scotorum mullitudo partira excita partim sua sponte
affecit, imprimis Fraserii et Mdnroi hominum fortis-
simorum in illis gentibus familiar."

But when the civil wars of the seventeenth century
broke out, and the Highlanders took such an active
part on the side of the royal cause, the Monros were
one of the few clans of Gaelic origin who embraced
the other side ; and from this period they made a
constant and determined opposition to the efforts
made in favour of the Stuarts. The cause of this
determination is probably to be found in the cir-
cumstance of the chief of the Monros having been
for several generations engaged in the. continental
wars, into which they had been drawn to serve

by embarrassments at home, and the hope of en-
creasing the fortunes of the family. This cir-
VOL. II. L
218 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART IF.
cumstance, as it had the same effect with the Mac-

kays, seems always to have induced the Scotch, on
their return from the German wars, to adopt the
line of politics opposed to that of the Highlanders
generally, and, in this respect, the Monros had
rendered themselves well known for the active sup-
port which they invariably afforded to the established

government.
In the year 1745, the Monros proved their attach-
ment to the government by joining it with the whole
clan, and their chief, Sir Robert Monro, of Fowlis,
was killed at the battle of Falkirk, fighting against
the army of the Stuart cause.
Arms.
Or, an eagle's head erased, gules.
Badge.
Eagles' feathers.
Princijml Seat.
Fowlis.
Oldest Cadet.
Monro of Milton.
Chief.
Monro of Fowlis.
Force.
In 1704 and 1715, 400. In 1745, 500.
CLAN GILLEMHAOL.
The earliest seat of the Macmillans appears to

have been on both sides of the Locharkaig, and their
situation strongly confirms their traditionary connec-
tiou with the clan Chattan. On the grant of Loch-

aber to the lord of the Isles, the Macmillans became
vassals of that powerful chief, but when the Came-
rons obtained possession of Locharkaig, they became
dependent upon that clan, in which situation they
have remained ever since.
Another branch of this clan possessed the greater
part of southern Knapdale, where their chief was

known under the title of Macmillan of Knap and ;
although the family is now extinct, many records of

their former power are to be found in that district.
One of the towers of that fine ancient edifice. Castle
Swen, bears the name of Macmillan's Tower, and
there is a stone cross in the old church-yard of Kil-
moray Knap, upwards of twelve feet high, richly
sculptured, which has upon one side the representa-
tion of an Highland chief engaged in hunting the
deer, having the following inscription in ancient
Saxon characters underneath the figure ;
— " Hsec
est crux Alexandri Macmillan." Although the
Macmillans were at a very early period in Knap-
dale, they probably obtained the greater part of their
possessions there by marriage with the heiress of the
chief of the Macneills, in the sixteenth century.
Tradition asserts that these Knapdale Macmillans
came originally from Lochtay-side, and that they
formerly possessed Lawers, on the north side of that
loch, from which they were driven by Chalmers of
Lawers, in the reign of David II.
As there is little reason to doubt the accuracy of

L 2
2-20 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART it.
the tradition, it would appear that this branch of the

Macmillans had been removed by Malcohn IV.
from North Moray, and placed in the crown lands
of Strathtay. Macmillan is said to have had the
charter of his lands in Knapdale engraved in the
Gaelic language and character upon a rock at the
extremity of his estate ; and tradition reports that
the last of the name, in order to prevent the prosti-
tution of his wife, butchered her admirer, and was
obliged in consequence to abscond. On the extinc-
tion of the family of the chief, the next branch, Mac-
millan of Dunmore, assumed the title of Macmillan
of Macmillan, but that family is now also extinct.
Although the Macmillans appear at one time to
have been a clan of considerable importance, yet as
latterly they became mere dependants upon their
more powerful neighbours, who possessed the supe-
riority of their lands, and as their principal families
are now extinct, no records of their history have

come down to us, nor do we know what share they
took in the various great events of Highland history.
Their property, upon the extinction of the family of
the chief, was contended for by the Campbells and
Macneills, the latter of whom were a powerful clan
in North Knapdale, but the contest was, by compro-
mise, decided in favour of the former. It continued
in the same family till the year 1775, when, after the
death of the tenth possessor, the estate was purchased
by Sir Archibald Campbell, of Inverniel.
Of the same race with the Macmillans, appear to
CHAP. VII,] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 221
be the Buchannans, or clan Anselan, who obtained

the barony of Buchannan by marriage with its
heiress. They claimed descent from Anselan O'Cain,
and their oldest traditions indicate a close connec-
tion with the Macmillans.
Arvis.
Or, a lion rampant sable upon a chief parted per barr. gules,
three mollets argent.
Prmcijml Seat.
Knapdale.
Chief.
Extinct,
CHAPTER VIII.
The district of Ross is very frequently mentioned in

the Norse Sagas along with the other districts which
were ruled by Maormors or larls, but we find it im-
possible to extract from these authorities the names
of many of its Maormors, for the proximity of the
extensive district of Moray, and the very great power

and influence to which its chiefs attained, would
naturally force the less powerful Maormor of Ross
into a subordinate situation, and thus prevent his
name from being associated with any of the great
events of that early period of our history.
It was consequently only upon the downfall of that
powerful race that the chiefs of Ross first appear in
history, and by that time they had already assumed
the new appellation of Comes or earl. That these
earls, however, were the descendants of the ancient
Maormors, there can be little doubt, and this natural

presumption is in this instance strengthened by the
fact that the oldest authorities concur in asserting
the patronymic or Gaelic name of the earls of Ross
CHAP. VIII.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 223
to be O'Beolan, or descendants of Beolan and we;
actually find, from the oldest Norse Saga connected

mth Scotland, that a powerful chief in the north of
Scotland, named Beolan, married the daughter of
Ganga Rolfe, or Rollo, the celebrated pirate, who
became afterwards the first earl of Nonnandy. From
this account, extracted fi'om almost a contemporary
writer, it would appear that the ancestor of the earls
of Ross was chief of that district in the beginning of
the tenth century.
The first known earl of Ross is Malcolm, to whom
a precept was dii-ected from Malcolm IV., desiring
him to protect and defend the monks of Dunferm-
line in their lawful privileges, possessions, &c. This
precept is not dated, but from the names of the wit-
nesses it must have been granted before the year
1162. The next earl who is recorded in history is
Ferchard, surnamed Macintagart, or son of the priest.

At this period the tribe of Moray, after a series of
rebellions, of which each had proved

be more fatal to
to them than the preceding, was rapidly approach-

ing its downfall and in proportion as it declined,
;
the earls of Ross appear to have obtained more and

more of the power and influence in the North, which
had hitherto been possessed by the Maormors of
Moray, By the defeat of Kenneth Macbeth, the last
of the line of the old earls of Moray, that family
became extinct, and the ruin of the tribes was com-
pleted, while Ferchard, earl of Ross, who had judged
it prudent at length openly to join the king's party,

and had been mainly instrumental in suppi'essing
that insurrection, at once acquired the station in the
Highlands which had been formerly held by the
earls of Moray. The designation of this earl of " son
of the priest," shews that he was not the son of the
former earl, but that the older family must have be-
come extinct, and a new line come into possession of
the dignity. Of what family this earl was, history
does not say, but that omission may in some degi'ee
be supplied by the assistance of the MS. of 1450. It

is well known that the surname of Ross has always
been rendered in Gaelic, clan Anrias, or clan Gille-
anrias, and they appear under the fonner of these

appellations in all the early Acts of Parliament
there is also an unvarying tradition in the Highlands,
that on the death of William, last earl of Ross of this
family, a certain Paul Mac Tire was for some time
chief of the clan ; and this tradition is coiToborated
by the fact that there is a charter by this same Wil-

liam, earl of Ross, to this very Paul Mac Tire, in
which he him his cousin. There appears,
styles
however, among the numerous clans contained in the

MS. of 1450, one termed clan Gilleanrias, which com-
mences with Paul Mac Tire, so that there can be
little doubt that this clan is the same with that of the
Rosses, and in this MS. they are traced upwards in

a direct line to a certain " Gilleon na h'Airde," or
Collin of the Aird, who must have lived in the tenth
century. In this genealogy occurs the name of Gil-

leanrias, exactly contemporary with the generation
preceding that of Ferchard.
The name of Gilleanrias, which means the servant
of St. Andrew, would seem to indicate that he was
a priest ; and when, in addition to this, we consider
that the time exactly corresponds, — that the earls of
Ross, being a part of the clan Anrias, must have
been descended from him, — and that among the
earls who besieged Malcolm IV. in Perth, in the
year 1160, appears the name of Gilleandres, it seems
clear that Ferchard, " the priest's son," was the son
of Gilleanrias, the founder of the clan Anrias, and
consequently, that he succeeded to the earldom of
Ross on the failure of a former family. Ferchard ap-
pears to have rendered great assistance to Alexander
II. in his conquest of Argyll in 1221, and on that
occasion obtained from that monarch a grant of
North Argyll, afterwards termed Wester Ross. The
only other act recorded of his life is the foundation
of the Abbey of Feme and on his death at Tayne,
;
in 1251, he was succeeded by his son William.

It was. during the life of this earl that the expedi-
tion ofHaco to the Western Isles took place. The
more immediate cause of this expedition was the
incursions which the earl of Ross had made into
various of the Isles but although, in a Celtic coun-
;
try, the proximity of powerful tribes was always ac-

companied by bitter feuds, and accordingly there
might have existed some hereditary enmity between
L 3
the Rosses and the Gael of the Western Isles, yet

the history of the period shews very clearly that the
hostilities of the earl ofRoss were in all probability
instigated by the king; and that that monarch,
aware of the danger of attempting the subjugation
of the Isles, from the ill success of his father, had by
these means called forth a Norwegian armament,
and brought the war to his own country, a policy
the sagacity of which was fully justified in the re-
sult. The cession of the Isles, however, although an

event of so much importance and advantage to the
general welfare of the country, did not afiect the in-
terests of the earl of Ross so favourably ; as previous
to that occurrence they had, ever since the decline
of the Maormors of Moray, been the only great
chiefs in the Highlands, and had possessed an abso-
lute influence in the North. But now a new family
was thus brought in closer connexion with the king-
dom of Scotland, whose power was too great for the
earls of Ross to overcome, and who consequently-
divided with them the consideration which the latter
had alone previously held in the Highlands. It
would lead to too great length to enter in this place
into a detailed account of the history of these earls,
particularly as their great power involved them so
much with the general public events of Scottish his-
tory, that such a detail becomes the less necessary
suffice it therefore to say, that notwithstanding the
powerful clan of the Macdonalds having by the ces-
sion of the Isles been brought into the field, they
continued to maintain the high station they had

reached in point of influence ; and their poHcy lead-
ing them to a constant adherence to the estabhshed
government of the time, they were ready to take ad-
vantage of the numerous rebelHons of their rival

chiefs to encrease their own influence, although the
actual strength of the Macdonalds, and the advantage

they derived from the distant and inaccessible nature
of their extensive possessions, was too great to allow
any very permanent advantage to be obtained over
them. Such was the reciprocal position of these
two respect to each other and each
gi-eat families in ;
of them would perhaps in the end have proved too

much for the strength of the government, had they
not at all times had to apprehend the enmity of the
other ; so that they remained in an attitude of mutual
defiance and respect until the extinction of the direct
male line of the earls of Ross, when the introduction,
through the operation of the feudal principles of suc-
cession, of a Norman baron into their temtories and
dignities, not only deprived the lords of the Isles of
a dreaded rival, but eventually even threw the whole

power and resources of the earldom of Ross into the
hands of these Island lords and thus, no Highland
;
chief remaining powerful enough to offer any oppo-

sition to the Macdonalds, gave birth to that brief but
eventful struggle between the lords of the Isles and
the crown, which could only terminate with the ruin
or extinction of one of the contending parties.
This termination of the male line of the earls of
Ross, and introduction in their place of a Norman

baron, although it was but for a short period that
the Lowland family remained, being soon succeeded

by the Macdonalds themselves, had the usual efl'ect
of bringing the subordinate clans into notice and ;
the first of these to which we have to direct our at-

tention is the clan Anrias, or the Rosses.
CLAN ANRIAS.
On the death of William, the last of the old earls
of Ross, it is unquestionable that the chiefship of the
clan devolved upon Paul Mac Tire, who in the
MS. of 1450 is given as chief of the clan Anrias.
Paul appears from that manuscript to have descended
from a brother of Ferchard, first earl of Ross of this
family, who bore the same name of Paul, and to have
been a person of no ordinary consequence in his
time. " Paul Mactire," says Sir Robert Gordon,

" was a man of great poAver and possessions. In
hys tyme he possessed the lands of Creich, in
Sutherland, and built a house there called Doun-
criech, with such a Lynd of hard mortar that at
thisday it cannot be known whereof it was made.
As he was building this house and fortefieing it, he
had intelligence that his onlie son was slayen in
Catteness, in company with one Murthow Reawich,
ane outlaw and valiante captaine in these days,
which made him desist from further building, when
he had almost finished the same. There are manie
things fabulouslie reported of this Paul ISIaclire
among the vulgar jieople, which I do omit to relate."

Sir Robert is perfectly correct in calling Paul a man
of great power and possessions, for he held the whole
of Strath Carron, Strath Oikill, Scrivater, and Glen-
beg, in Ross, besides the extensive district of Brae-
chatt, including Lairg Criech and Slischilish, or
Ferrincoskie. He had also a charter of the lands
of Gerloch from the earl of Ross, but his title to be
considered as the inventor of vitrified forts, Dun-
criech being one of the most remarkable specimens
remaining of these curious objects of antiquity, al-
though admitted, strangely enough, by the sceptical

Pinkerton, may by some be considered doubtful.
" Paul Mactyre," says an ancient historian of High-
land families, " was a valiant man, and caused Caith-
ness to pay him blackmail. It is reported that he
got nyn score of cowes yearly out of Caithness for
blackmail so long as he was able to travel." On
this chief, whose actions seem to have dwelt so long
in the recollection of after generations, being re-
moved b}'^ death, we find the Rosses of Balnagowan
appearing as the head of the clan, and in this family
the chiefship has remained for upwards of three
hundred years. The descent of the Rosses of Bal-
nagowan has hitherto been considered as perfectly
distinct, and it has never been doubted that their
ancestor was William Ross, son of Hugh de Ross,
who was brother to Wilham, the last Earl of Ross.
The family have in consequence claimed to be the
male representatives of the ancient earls, but to this
the objection naturally occurs, that if the Rosses of

Balnagowan are the descendants of the brother of the
last earl, how came Paul Mactire, a remote colla-
teral branch, to be considered chief of the race, as
we know from the MS. of 1450, and other sources,
he unquestionably was ? The descent of the Bal-
nagowan family from a William de Ross, the son of a
Hugh de Ross, who lived in the reign of David II.,
is undoubted ; but it unfortunately happens that the

records prove most clearly that there lived at the
same time two Hugh de Rosses, one of whom was
certainly brother to the last earl, and that each of
these Hugh de Rosses had a son William de Ross.
In 1375, Robert II. confirms " Willielmo de Ross,
filio et quond Hugonis de Ross," a charter

h(Bredi
Hugh, his bro-
of William, earl of Ross, to the said
ther, of the lands of Balnagowan, and in 1379 he
grants consanguineo suo Hugoni de Ross de Kin-

fauns, and Margaret Barclay his spouse, an annual
rent from the lands of Doune in Banff. The one
Hugh Ross thus got a charter in 1379, while the
other was already dead in 1375'.
In J 383, however, we find a charter to John
Lyon of lands in Fife, que fuerunt Roberto de Ross,
filio et heredi Hugonis de Ross de Kinfauns^ and in
' Mr. Wood, in his Peerage, quotes these charters as of the

same Hugh de Ross ; and in quoting the last, remarks, with the
utmost gravity, that Hugh appears at this time to be dead.
No doubt he was, but a grant of an annual rent to a dead per-
son does not seem to have struck Mr. Wood as singular.
CHAP. VIII. J THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 231
1377 the king confirms a charter by the earl of

Caithness, Willielmo de Ross, jilio juniori quond
Hugonis de Ross, of the lands in Caithness, which
had belonged to Walter Moray.
From these charters then it appears that there
existed in the North, at the same time, two William
de Rosses, each of them son of a Hugh de Ross.
The one William de Ross, however, was the eldest
son of Hugh de Ross, the brother of the last earl,
while the other William de Ross was the younger

son of a Hugh de Ross who, in consequence of
a connection with the royal family, obtained a grant
of Kinfauns in Perthshire, Kinfauns being inherited
by the eldest son, Robert, while William obtained
property in the North. It is of course impossible to
fix with certainty from which of the two Williams

the Balnagowan family are descended, but the pre-
sumption certainly is, that William de Ross, the sou
of the earl's brother, died without issue, and that
the other William de Ross, who must have been of a
remote branch, is their ancestor. That the Rosses
of Balnagowan were of the same branch with Paul
Mac Tire is rendered probable by their own tra-
dition, for when a family is led by circumstances to

believe in a descent different from the real one, we
invariably find that they assert a marriage between
their ancestor and the heiress of the family from
which they are in reality descended, and the Rosses
of Balnagowan have accordingly invariably accom-
panied the assertion of their descent from Hugh, the
brother of the last earl, with that of their ancestor

having married the daughter and heiress of Paul
Mac Tire.
Of the history of the Rosses during the fifteenth
century we know little and they may have acquired
;
the property of Balnagowan either by marriage or as

male heirs of the last family. Towards the end of
that century they very narrowly escaped being anni-
hilated in a feud with the Mackays, who were at
that time in great power./ Angus Mackay, after
having for a long period constantly molested and
irritated the Rosses by frequent incursions into their
territories, was at length surprised by them in the
church at Tarbat, and there burnt to death. When
his son John attained majority he detei'mined to
take a deep and bloody revenge for his father's
death, and having raised as many of his own clan
as he could, and also obtained considerable assist-
ance from the earl of Sutherland, he unexpectedly
burst into the district of Strathoykill, wasting the
country with fire and sword. Alexander, then laird
of Balnagowan, collected forthwith all the men he
could and met the invader at a place called Aldy-
charrich. A battle followed, which was contested
with unusual fierceness and obstinacy, until at length
the Rosses were totally routed, and their chief, to-
gether with seventeen landed proprietors of the

county of Ross, were slain. The Rosses do not
appear ever to have recovered the great slaughter
which took place upon this occasion, and they
CHAP. VIII.J THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 233
remained afterwards a clan of no great strength,

until at length the family became extinct in the
beginning of the eighteenth century, in the person of
David, the last of the old Rosses of Balnagowan,
who, finding that in consequence of the entail of
Balnagowan ending with himself, he was enabled to

sell the estate, disposed of it to General Ross, bro-
ther of lord Ross of Hawkhead, from whom the late
Rosses of Balnagowan are descended-/ thus occa-

sioning the somewhat curious coincidence of the
estates being purchased by a family of the same
name though of very different origin.
Arms.
Oldest coat, Sa. on a chev. ar. a lion rampant, or, between
two torteauxes.
Badge.
The uva ursi plant.
Principal Seat.
Balnagowan.
Chief.
Ross Munro, of Pitcalnie, now represents this family.

Force.
In 1427, 2000. In 1/04 and 1715, 300. In 1745, 500.
CLAN KENNETH.
The Mackenzies have long boasted of their descent
from the great Norman family of Fitzgerald in Ire-
land, and in support of this origin they produce

a fragment of the records of Icolmkill, and a charter
by Alexander III. to Colin Fitzgerald, the supposed
progenitor of the family, of tlie lands of Kintail. At

first sight these documents might appear conclusive,
but, independently of the somewhat suspicious cir-
cumstance, that while these papers have been most

freely and generally quoted, no one has ever yet de-
clared that he has seen the originals, the fragment
of the Icolmkill record merely says, that among the
actors in the battle of Largs, fought in 1262, was
" Peregrinus et Hibernus nobilis ex familia geral-
dinorum qui proximo anno ab Hibernia pulsus apud
regem benigne acceptus hinc usque in curta per-
mansit et in prsefacto proelio strenue pugnavit,"
giving not a hint of his having settled in the High-
lands, or of his having become the progenitor of any
Scottish family whatever ; while as to the supposed
charter of Alexander 111,, it is equally inconclusive,
as it merely grants the lands of Kintail " Colino
Hibemo", the word " Hibernus" having at that time
come into general use as denoting the Highlanders,
in the same manner as the word " Erse" is now
frequently used to express their language: but in-

conclusive as it is, this charter cannot be admitted at
all, as it bears the most palpable marks of having
been a forgery of later times, and one by no means
happy in its execution.
How such a tradition of the origin of the Mac-

kenzies ever could have arisen, it is difficult to say
but the fact of their native and Gaelic descent is
completely set at rest by the manuscript of 1450,

which has already so often been the means of detect-
ing the falsehood of the foreign origins of other clans.

In that MS., the antiquity of which is perhaps as
great, and its authenticity certainly much greater
than the fragments of the Icolmkill records, the Mac-
kenzies are brought from a certain Gilleon-og, or
Colin the younger, a son of " Gilleon na h'airde,"
the ancestor of the Rosses.
The descendants of Gilleon na h'airde we have
already identified with the ancient tribe of Ross
and it follows, therefore, that the Mackenzies must
always have formed an integral part of that tribe.
Until the forfeiture of the lords of the Isles, the

Mackenzies held their lands of the earl of Ross, and
always followed his banner in the field, there is con-
sequently little to be learned of their earlier history,
until by the forfeiture of that earldom also they rose

rapidly upon the ruins of the Macdonalds to the
gi'eat power and extent of tenitory which they after-
wards came to possess.

The first of this family who is known with cer-
tainty, appears to be " Murdo filius Kennethi de
Kintail," to whom a charter is said to have been
granted by David II. as early as the year 1362 and ;
this is confirmed by the manuscript of 1450, the last

two generations given in which are " Murcha, the
son of Kenneth." After him we know nothing of the
elan, until we find the chief among those Highland
barons who were arrested by king James 1., at his
treacherous Parliament held at Inverness in 1427 ;
and the clan appears by this time to have become

one of very considerable strength and importance, for

Kenneth More, their chief, is ranked as leader of two
thousand men.
It was during the life of his son Murdoch that the
earl of Ross and lord of the Isles was forfeited ; on
that occasion, the chief of the Mackenzies did not
neglect the opportunity so eagerly seized by the
other clans that were dependent on the Macdonalds,
but not connected by descent with that clan, to ren-
der himself altogether independent; and therefore he
steadily opposed, to the utmost of his power, every
attempt on the part of the Macdonalds to resume
possession of the earldom which had been wrested
from them. One of the principal attempts of the
Macdonalds for this purpose was that of the rebellion
under Alaster Mac Gillespie, the nephew of the last
lord, when, after having succeeded in regaining pos-
session of the Isles, he at length invaded Ross ; but
the Mackenzies were not willing to resign with-
out a struggle their newly acquired independence.
They accordingly exerted all the interest they could
command to excite opposition to the attempt of
Alaster Mac Gillespie upon Ross, and finally at-
tacked him at the head of his own clan, together

with a large body of the inhabitants of the country,
near the river Connan. A fierce and obstinate engage-
ment between the parties ensued, but the Macdonalds,
being unable to cope Mith the numbers opposed to
them, were at length completely overthrown with
very great slaughter. This battle is known in history
Chap, viii.] the highland clans. 237
and in tradition by the name of the conflict of

Blairnapark ; after this, various other encounters took
place between the Macdonalds, which ended in the

complete independence of the former.
From this period the Mackenzies gradually in-
creased, both in power and extent of territories, until
they finally established themselves as one of the

principal clans of the north, and in the words of
Sir Robert Gordon —" From the ruins of the family
of clan Donald, and some of the neighbouring High-
landers, and also by their own vertue, the surname
of the clan Kenzie, from small beginnings began to
flourish in these bounds, and by the friendship and
favour of the house of Sutherland, chiefly of earl
John, fifth of that name, earl of Sutherland, (whose
chamberlains they were in receiving the rents of the
earldom of Rosse to his use,) their estate afterwards
came to great height, yea, above divers of their more

ancient neighbours." The establishment of the clan
at once in so great power, upon the ruins of the
Macdonalds, was much furthered by the character of
the chief of the time, who appears to have been a
person of considerable talent, and well fitted to seize
every occasion of extending their influence. " In
his time,"" (says an ancient historian of the clan,) " he
purchased much of the Braelands of Ross, and se-

cured both what he had acquired, and what his pre-
decessors had, by well ordered and legal security
so that it is doubtful whether his predecessors' cou-

rage, or his prudence, contributed most to the rising
of his family." The endeavours of the Mackenzies

thus to possess themselves of a portion of the now
scattered territories of the Macdonalds, had with
them the same result as with the other clans engaged
in pursuit of the same object, for they soon found
themselves involved in bitter feuds with several
branches of that great but fallen clan.
Proximity of situation, and peculiar circumstances,
occasioned the Glengarry branch of the Macdonalds
to become their principal antagonists; and the causes
of this feud, which for some time raged with great
fierceness, and at length ended in the additional ag-
grandisement of the Mackenzies, and in the loss of
a great part of Glengarry's possessions, are these.
During the period when the earldom of Ross was
held by Alexander, lord of the Isles, that chief be-
stowed a considerable extent of temtory in Ross

upon the second son Celestine. The descendants of
Celestine having become extinct, after the failure of
the various attempts which had been made to regain
the possessions and dignities of the forfeited lord of
the Isles, their estate in Ross descended to Mac-
donald of Glengarry, whose grandfather had manied
the heiress of that branch of the Macdonalds. But
these possessions were, from their proximity, looked
upon with an envious eye by the Mackenzies, and
they consequently attempted to expel the Macdonalds
fi-om them. Various success for some years attended
the pi-osecution of this feud, and many atrocities
had been committed on both sides, when Mackenzie
resolved, by assistance from government and under

cover of law, to obtain that which he had otherwise
found himself unable to accomplish and the mode
;
of procedure adopted by him for this pm-pose is thus

described by Sir
—
Robert Gordon: " The laird of
Glengarry (one of the clan Donald) being inexpert
and onskilful in the laws of the realme, the clan
Chenzie easily entrapped him within the compass
thereof, and secretly charged him (bot not person-
allie) to appear before the justice of Edinburgh,

having in the meantime slayn two of his kinsmen.
GlengaiTy, not knowing, or neglecting the charges
and summonds, came not to Edinburgh at the prefixt
day, bot went about to revenge the slaughter of his

kinsmen, whereby he was denounced rebell and out-
lawed, together with divers of his followers so by ;
means and Dumfermlyn, lord

credit of the earl of
chancellor of Scotland, Kenneth Mackenzie, lord of
Kintayle, did purchase a commission against Glen-
garry and his men, whereby proceeded great slaugh-
ter and trouble." Mackenzie having thus obtained
the authority and assistance of the government, and
l)eing joined by a party of men sent by the earl of
Sutherland, soon succeeded in driving the Mac-
donalds from the disputed temtory, and at length
besieged the only remaining detachment of them,
who occupied the castle of Strome.
After a siege of some duration, the Macdonalds
were obliged and the Mackenzies forth-
to surrender,
240 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART 1!.
with blew up the castle. He then invaded Glen-

garry at the head of a numerous body of troops,
which he had collected for that pui-pose, and at-
tacked the Macdonalds, who had taken arms in de-

fence of their territory. The Macdonalds were beat,
and their leader, Glengarry's eldest son, was killed,
with great slaughter on both sides ; the Macdonalds
defended their possessions for a considerable period
with such desperation, that at length Mackenzie,

finding that he could not make any impression upon
them in their own country, and Glengarry being
aware that he had now little chance of recovering
the districts which had been wrested from him, the
contending parties came to an agreement, and the
result was, a cro vn charter obtained by Mackenzie
to the disputed districts, being those of Lochalsh,
Lochcarron, &c., with the castle of Strome. The
charter is dated in the year 1607. — " Thus doe the
tryb of clan Kenzie become great in these pairts,
still encroaching upon their neighbours, who arc
unacquainted with the lawes of this kingdome."
This Kenneth jNlackenzie was soon after raised to
the peerage by the title of Lord Mackenzie of Kin-

tail, and his son Colin received the additional dig-
nity of earl of Seaforth, honours which they appear
to have owed entirely to the great extent of territory
which they had then acquired. " — All the High-

lands andIsles, from Ardnamurchan to Strathnaven,
were either the Mackenzies' property or under their
vassalage, some very few excepted and all about

;
him were tied to his family by very strict bonds of

fiiendship."
The Mackenzies took an active share in all the
attemptsmade by the Highland clans in support of
the cause of the Stuarts, with the exception of the
last ; and having been twice forfeited, the dictates
of prudence, strengthened by the eloquence of Presi-

dent Forbes, induced them to decline joining in that
unfortunate insurrection.
In the next generations, however, the family be-
came extinct, and the estates have passed by the
marriage of the heiress into the possession of a
stranger.
Anns.
Az. a stag's head embossed, or.
Badge.
Deer-grass.
Principal Seat.
Kintail.
Oldest Cadet.
Mackenzie of Gairloch.
Chief.
The family of the chief is said to be represented by Mackenzie

of Allangrange.
Force.
In 1427, 2000. In 1704, 1200. In 1743, 2500.
CLAN MATHAN.
The Macmathans or Mathiesons are represented in
the manuscript of 1450 as a branch of the Mackenzies,
VOL. II. M
and their origin is deduced, in that document, from

Mathan or Mathew, a son of Kenneth, from whom
the Mackenzies themselves take their name.
This origin is strongly con-oborated by tradition,
which has always asserted the existence of a close
intimacy and connexion between these two clans.
The genealogy contained in the manuscript is also
confirmed by the fact, that the Norse account of
Haco's expedition mentions that the earl of Ross,
in his incursions among the Isles, which led to that
expedition, was accompanied by Kiarnakr, son of
Makamals, while at that very period in the genealogy
of the manuscript occur the names of Kenneth and
Matgamna or Mathew, of which the Norse names
are evidently a con-uption.
Of the history of this clan we know nothing what-
ever. Although they are now extinct, they must at
one time have been one of the most powerful clans
in the north, foramong the Highland chiefs seized
by James I. at the Parliament held at Inverness in
1427, Bower mentions Macmaken leader of two
thousand men, and this circumstance affords a most
striking instance of the rise and fall of different
families; for, while the Mathison appears at that
early period as the leader of two thousand men, the
Mackenzie has the same number only, and we now
see the clan of Mackenzie extending their number-
less branches over a great part of the North, and
possessing an extent of territory of which few fami-
lies can exhibit a parallel, while the once powerful
clan of the Mathisons has disappeared, and their

name become nearly forgotten.
SIOL ALPINE.
The general appellation of Siol Alpine has been

usually given to a number of clans situated at con-
siderable distances from each other, but who have
hitherto been supposed to possess a common descent,
and that, from Kenneth Macalpine, the ancestor of
a long line of Scottish kings. These clans are the
clan Gregor, the Grants, the MacKinnons, Mac-
quaiTies, Macnabs, and Macaulays, and they have
at all times claimed the distinction of being the
noblest and most ancient of the Highland clans.
" S'rioghail mo dhream," my race is royal, was the
proud motto of the Macgregors, and although the
other Highland clans have for centuries acquiesced
in the justice of that motto, yet this lofty boast must
fall before a rigid examination into its truth. For
the authority of the manuscript of 1450 puts it
beyond all doubt that that origin was altogether un-

known at that period, and that these clans in reality
formed a part of the tribe of Ross.
The clans which formed the Siol Alpine, seem to
have differed from all others in this respect, — that, so
far back as they can be traced, they were always
disunited, and although they acknowledged a common
descent, yet at no time do they appear united under
the authority of a common chief. But the principal
tribe was always admitted to be that of clan Gregor,
M 2
who, in the words of a late illustrious writer, are de-

scribed to have been a race " famous for their mis-
fortunes and the indomitable spirit with which they
maintained themselves as a clan, linked and banded
together in spite of the most severe laws, executed
with unheard-of rigour, against those who bore this
forbidden surname."
CLAN GREGOR.
A great deal of romantic interest has of late years
been attached to the history of this clan, from the
conspicuous part which it performs in many of the
productions of the inimitable author of the Waverly
novels, by which their proscription and consequent
sufferings have become familiar to every one. But
in the following short sketch I shall only attempt to
throw together as many authentic facts regarding
their early history as are still to be traced. The
earliest possession of this family appears to have
been the district of Glenurchy in Lorn, and from
that district all the other septs of clan Gregor pro-
ceeded, for the common ancester of all these clans is
in tradition styled Ey Ujchaych, or Hugh of Gle-

nurchy, and his epithet of Glenurchy apparently
points him out as the first of the clan who took
possession of that district. Glenurchy forms a part
of those temtories in Ai-gyll which were forfeited by
Alexander the Second, and given to the principal
chiefs in his army. As the earl of Ross had in par-
ticular joined him with a considerable force, and ob-
tained no inconsiderable extent of territory in con-
sequence, it is probable that Glenurcliy was given

to the chief of the Macgregors, at that time a vassal
of the earl of Ross.
Glenurchy appears among the possessions of the
Argyll family as early as the reign of David II.,
and was afterwards settled upon a second son

of that family, who became the founder of the
house of Braedalbane. But notwithstanding that
the Campbells had thus a legal right to that district,
the Macgregors maintained the actual possession of
it as late as the year 1390, for in that year there is
mention of the deatli of John Gregorii de Glenurchy,
and from the earliest period in which this clan is
mentioned, their whole possessions appear to have

been held by them upon no other title than that of
the " Coir a glaive^'' or right of the sword.
Prior to the death of John Macgregor, of Glenurchy,
we any thing more of their
are not acquainted with
mere genealogy of the family John
history than the ;
Macgregor, who died in 1390, appears to have had

three sons, Patrick, who succeeded him ;John Dow,
ancestor of the family of Glenstrae ; and Gregor,
ancestor of the family of Roro. Patrick appears, in
addition to his lands in Glenurchy, to have possessed
some property in Strathfillan, but the Campbells,
who had obtained a feudal right to Glenurchy, and
reduced the Macgregors to the situation of tenants
at will, were apparently determined that they should
not possess a feudal right to any property whatever.
Malcolm Patrick's son was in consequence com-

pelled to sell the lands of Auchinrevach in Strath-
fillan, to Campbell of Glenurchy, who in this manner
obtained the first footing in Braedalbane, and after
this period the Macgregors did not possess one acre
of land to which they had a feudal title. As long as
the clan remained united under one chief, they were
enabled to maintain possession of their ancient
estates by the strong hand, but the policy of the
Argyll family now occasioned the usual disunion
among the various families of the clan. The chief of
the Macgregors, with the principal families, had
been reduced to the situation of tenants on the lands
of the Campbells of Glenurchy, with one exception,
viz., the family of Glenstray, who held that estate
as vassal of the earl of Argyll. From Glenurchy,
the Macgi'egors experienced nothing but the extreme
of oppression. The Argyll family, however, adopted
the different policy of preserving the Macgregors on
their property in a sufficient state of strength to
enable them to be of service to these wily lords in
annoying their neighbours. The consequence of
this was that the chief was for the time in no
situation to protect his clan, and that the Glenstray
family gradually assumed their station at the head of
the clan with the title of captain, which they after-
wards bore. The state of the principal branches of
the clan now presented too favourable an oppor-
tunity for expelling them from the lands to be neg-
lected, and accordingly the powerful families of
Glenurchy, and others who had acquired a claim

upon the chief of the Macgregors' lands, and were in
the partial possession of them, appear at this time
to have commenced a system of annoyance and op-
pression, which speedily reduced the clan to a state of
lawless insubordination, and obliged them to have
recourse to a life of robbery and plunder as their
only means of subsistence. It was not unnatural
that a spirit of retaliation should direct their attacks
against those who thus acquired possession of their
lands, but this conduct, though natural, considering
the country and the time, was studiously represented
at court as arising from an untameable and innate
ferocity of disposition, which it was said nothing
could remedy, " save cutting oflf the tribe of Mac-
and branch." And in truth, the treat-
gregor, root
ment they had received had so utterly exasperated
this unhappy clan, that it became the interest of
these barons to extirpate them altogether, for which
purpose every means was used to effect their object
under the colom- of law.

The minority of King James the Fourth having
thrown the power of the state into the hands of the
principal barons, they appear for the first time to
have attained this object by means of the enactment
obtained in the year 1488, " for staunching of
and other enormities throw all the realme ;"
thiftreif
and among the barons to whom powers were given

for enforcing the Act, we find Duncan Campbell of
Glenurchy, Neill Stewart of Fortingall, and Ewine
Campbell of Strachur. This Act must have fallen
with peculiar severity upon the clan Gregor, and of

course must rather have aggravated than alleviated
the evil apparently sought to be remedied. But in
numbers the Macgregor was still a powerful clan.
The chieftainship had been assumed by the Glenstray
family, which was descended from John Dow,
second son of John Macgregor, and they still in
some degree maintained their footing in Glenurchy.

Besides this, a great number of them were now
settled in the districts of Braedalbane and Atholl,
among whom were the families of Roro, descended
from Gregor, third son of John Macgregor, and
those of Brackly Ardchoille and Glengyll, the only
remaining descendants of the ancient chiefs; and
those families, although they acknowledged Glen-
stray as the chief, were yet by distance and jealousy
dissevered from that sept.
In order to reduce these branches, Sir Duncan
Campbell of Glenurchy obtained, in 1492, the office
of baliary of the crown lands of Disher and Toyer,
Glenlion and Glendochart, and the consequences of
his obtaining this office speedily shewed themselves,
for in 1502 he obtained a charter of the lands of
Glenlion, and he seems nearly to have accomplished
the extermination of the other families of Macgre-
gor in his neighbourhood. From this period the
history of the Macgregors consists of a mere list of

acts of privy council, by which commissions are
granted to pursue the clan with fire and sword.
and of various atrocities which a state of despera-
tion, the natural result of these measures, as well as

a deep spirit of vengeance against both the fratners
and executors of them, frequently led the clan to
commit. These actions led to the enactment of
still severer laws, and at length to the complete
proscription of the clan.
The slaughter of Drummond of Drummondernoch
in the year 1589, and the conflict of Glenfruin in
1G03, are well known to every one; the former af-
fording a foundation for the incident detailed in Sir

Walter Scott's Legend of Montrose, and the latter
being the result of the remarkable raid of the Mac-

gregors into Lennox, where they were opposed by
the Colquhouns, whom they defeated with great
slaughter. Previously to this latter event, the king,
despairing of being able to reduce the clan, had
constituted the earl of Argyll king's lieutenant and
justice in the whole bounds inhabited by the clan
Gregor, and this appointment was the means of at
length effecting the utter ruin of the tribe ; for that
politicnobleman, instead of driving the Macgregors
to desperation, determined to use them as tools for
executing his own vengeance on any of the neigh-
bouring families who had the misfortune to offend
him.
There seems little doubt that almost all the in-
cursions of the clan, after this period, may be traced
to that earl as their cause. But when the conflict
of Glenfruin drew the attention of government once
M 3
more upon them, the earl deemed it time to sacrifice

his unfortunate instruments to the laws of his coun-
try. The chief of the clan Gregor was at this time
Alaster Macgregor, of Glenstray, and the earl of
Argyll having inveigled him into his power by a
promise that he would convey him in safety to
England and plead his cause at court, proceeded
with him as far as Berwick; but having crossed the
border, he declared that he had, to the letter, now
fulfilled his promise, though not to the sense. He
forthwith conveyed his victim back again to Edin-
burgh, and, after the form of a mock trial, had him
hanged along with seven of his followers. But un-
fortunately for the fame of the earl, Macgregor had,
before his death, made a declaration, which affords
so curious an exposure of that nobleman's policy,
that we shall subjoin an extract from that docu-
ment, as printed in Pitcaim's Criminal Trials, Vol.
II,, p. 435. " I, Alaster Macgregor, of Glenstray,
confess heir before God, that I have been persudit,
movit, and intycit, as I am now presently accusit
and troublit for ; alse gif I had usit counsall or com-
mand of the man that has entysit me, I would have
done and committit sindrie heich murthouris mair.
For trewlie syn I wes first his majesties man, I could
never be at ane eise, by my Lord of Argylls falshete
and inventiones, for he causit Macklaine and Clan-
hamrowne commit herschip and slaughter in my
roum of Rannoche, the quhilk causit my pure men
thereefter to begg and steill, also thereefter he movit
CHAP. VIII,] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 251
my brother and some of my friendes

to commit baith
heirschip and slaughter upon the Laird of Lues

also, he persuadit myself with message to weir
againes the Laird of Boquhanene, whilk I did re-
fuse, for the whilk I was contenuallie bostit that
he would be my unfriend, and when I did refuse
his desire in that point, then he entysit me with
other messengeris, to weir and truble the Laird of
Luss, quhilk I behuffit to do for his false bout-
gaittes ; then when he saw was in ane strait, he
I
causit me trow he was my
gude friend, &c., but
with fair wordes to put me in ane snare that he
might get the lands of Kintyre in feyell fia his
majesty, beganne to put at me and my kin. The

quhilk Argyll inventit maist shamfuUie, and per-
suadit the Laird of Ardkinglass to dissave me quha
was the man I did maist traist into ; but God did
releif me in the meantyme to libertie maist narrow-
lie, &c. I declare befoir God that he did all his
craftie diligence to intyse me to slay and destroy
the Laird of Ardinkaiple Mackally for ony ganes
kyndness or friendship that he might do or give
me. The quhilk I did refuse in respect of my faith-
ful promise maid to Mackallay of befor; also he did
all the diligence he culd to move me to slay the
Laird of Ardkinglass in like manner. Bot I never
grantit thereto. Throw the quhilk he did envy me
gretumly," &c., &c.
The result of the representations which were made
252 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PAKT II.
to the king against the Macgregors on account of

this conflict, were the acts of proscription.
By an Act of the privy council, dated 3d April
1603, thename of Macgregor was expressly abo-
and those who had hitherto borne it were
lished,
commanded to change it for other surnames, the
pain of death being denounced against those who
should call themselves Gregor or Macgregor, the
names of their fathers. Under the same penalty,
all who had been at the conflict of Glenfiuin, or
accessory to other marauding parties charged in the

Act, were prohibited from canying weapons, except
a pointless knife to cut their victuals. By a subse-
quent Act of council, death was denounced against
any persons of the tribe formerly called Macgregor,
who should presume to assemble in greater numbers
than four. And finally, by an Act of Pai-liament
1607, c. 26, these laws were continued and extended
to the rising generation, in respect that great num-
bers of the children of those against whom the Acts
of privy council had been directed, were stated to
be then approaching to maturity, who, if permitted
to assume the name of their parents, would render
the clan as strong as it was before. The execution
of these severe and unjustifiable Acts having been
committed principally to the earl of Argyll, with the
assistance of the earl of Atholl in Perthshire, were en-

forced with unsparing rigour by that nobleman, whose
interest it now was to exterminate the clan ; and on
the part of the unfortunate Macgregors were resisted

with the most determined courage, obtaining some-
times a transient advantage, and always selling their
lives dearly.
After the death of Alaster of Glenstray, that branch

of the Macgregors remained nominally captains and
chiefs of the clan, with little real power over the
other houses of the clan, until the end of the seven-
teenth century, when they appear to have become
extinct ; although when Montrose raised his High-
land army greater part of the clan Gregor joined
him under the command of Patrick Macgiegor of
Glenstray. The Brackly family, however, seem con-
stantly to have asserted their right to the chiefship,
and, at length, when the clan obtained full redress
from the British government, by an Act abolishing for
ever the penal statutes which had so long been im-
posed upon this race, they entered into a deed recog-
nizing John Murray of Lanrick, afterwards Sir John
Macgregor, Baronet, representative of this family, as
lawfully descended from the ancient stock and blood
of the lairds and lords of Macgregor, and therefore
acknowledged him as their chief. This deed was
subscribed by eight hundred and twenty-six per-
sons of the name of Macgregor capable of bearing
arms, and in this manner the descendant of the
ancient chiefs of the clan again assumed the station
at the head of the clan which his ancestors had pos-
sessed, and to which he was entitled by the right of
blood.
254 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PAET II,
Their claim, however, is opposed by the Glen-

gyle family, to which branch belonged the cele-
brated freebooter, Rob Roy, whose deeds have been

lately brought so conspicuously before the public.
Arms.
Argent, a sword in bend azure, and a fir tree eradicated in
bend sinister, proper ; in chief, a crown gules.
Badge.
Pine.
Principal Seat.
Glenorchy.
Oldest Cadet.
The Macgregors of Glenstray were oldest cadets and captains
for a period of two centuries.
Chief.
Sir Evan Macgregor Murray, Baronet.
Force.
In 1743, 700.
CLAN GRANT.
Nothing certain known regarding the origin of
is
the Grants. They have been said to be of Danish,

English, French, Norman, and of Gaelic extraction ;
but each of these suppositions depends for support

upon conjecture alone, and amidst so many con-
flicting opinions it is difficult to fix upon the most
probable. It is maintained by the supporters of
their Gaelic origin, that they are a branch of the
Macgregors, and in this opinion they are certainly
borne out by the ancient and unvarying tradition of
the country ; for their Norman origin, I have upon
examination entii-ely failed in discovering any further

reason than that their name may be derived from the
French, grand or great, and that they occasionally
use the Norman form of de Grant. The latter rea-
son, however, is not of any force, for it is impossible
to trace an instance of their using the form de
Grant until the fifteenth century ; on the contrary,
the form is invariably Grant or le Grant, and on the
very first appearance of the family it is " dictus
Grant." It is certainly not a territorial name, for
there was no ancient property of that name, and the
peculiar form under which it invariably appears in
the earlier generations, proves that the name is de-
rived from a personal epithet. It so happens, how-
ever, that there was no epithet so common among
the Gael as that of Grant, as a perusal of the Irish
annals will evince ; and at the same time Ragman's
Roll shews that the Highland epithets always appear
among the Norman signatures with the Norman " le"
prefixed to them. The clan themselves unanimously
assert their descent from Gregor Mor Macgregor, who
lived in the twelfth century ; and this is supported by
their using to this day the same badge of distinction.
So strong is this belief in both the clans of Grant
and Macgregor, that in the early part of the last
century a meeting of the two was held in the Blair
of Atholl, to consider the pohcy of re-uniting them.
Upon this point all agreed, and also that the com-
mon surname should be Macgregor, if the reversal of
the attainder of that name could be got from govern-
raent. If that could not be obtained it was agi-eed

that either Mac Alpine or Grant should be sub-
stituted. This assembly of the clan Alpine lasted
for fourteen days, and was only rendered abortive by
disputes as to the chieftainship of the combined
clan. Here then is as strong an attestation of a tra-
dition as it is possible to conceive, and when to this

is added the utter absence of the name in the old
Norman rolls, the only trustworthy mark of a Nor-
man descent, we are warranted in placing the Grants
among the Siol Alpine.
The first of this family who appear on record are
Domini Laurentius et Robertus dicti Grant, who are
witnesses to an agreement between Archibald, Bishop
of Moray, and John Bisset, dated in September
1258, and they are said to have been the sons of
Gregory de Grant, who acquired the lands of Strath-
errick by marriage with a Bisset. This is so far
borne out, that there is reason to think that Strath-
errick was the earliest possession which the Grants
had, and remained for some time in the family, while
we find in Alexander the Third's reign a charter
to Walter Bisset of Stratherrick. By this man-iage
the Grants at once took their place as barons of con-
siderable power, and accordingly we find Laurence
Grant bearing the high office of sheriff of Inverness
in the reign of Alexander III., and taking a leading
part in the transactions of that period. Laurence
still further increased the possessions of the family
by marrying the daughter and heiress of the baron of
Glencliarny, in Strathspey, and obtained, in conse-

quence, an extensive tract of country on the north
side of the Spey. From this period the family took
the name of Glencharny ; and it seemed as if the

family wei'e to owe their whole advancement to their
fortunate marriages, for Laurence's son and suc-
cessor, Gilbert de Glencharny, added to his other
possessions a considerable extent of property in the
counties of Elgin and Banff, by marriage with Mar-
garet Wiseman, heiress of the Wisemans of Molben.
Gilbert had but one son, of the same name, by whose
death without issue these properties came to his
sister Christina, with the exception of Stratherrick,
which descended to the male heir ', Malcolm le
Grant, probably a descendant of Robert, the younger

son of Gregory the Grant. Christina had married
Duncan Fraser, a cadet of the house of Lovat, and
Fraser, finding that a peaceable possession of these
properties in the midst of the clan Grant and at a
distance from his own chief, was not to be expected,
exchanged the properties in Strathspey with Mal-
colm Grant for that of Stratherrick, which its vicinity
to Lovat rendered the more desirable possession for

a Fraser. In this manner the greater part of Strath-
spey remained in the possession of the chief of the
Grants, while their original property went into the
family of the Frasers.
After Malcolm we know little of the Grants, until
* Robertson's Index.
we find Duncan Grant de eodem at the head of the

clan in the middle of the fifteenth century, and from
this period they began gradually to increase in extent
of possessions and of power, until they rose to be a

clan of no ordinary importance.
At difierent periods they acquired Glenmorison,
Glenurchart, and many other estates, and continued
in the ranks of the principal clans, until at length
the extinction of the noble family of Finlater added
the peerage of Seafield to their former possessions.
Arms,
Gules, three antique crowns, or.
Badge.
Cranberry heath.
Principal Seat.
Strathspey.
Oldest Cadet.
The Sliochd Phadrick, or Grants of TuUochgorum, appear to

have been oldest cadets.
Chief.
Grant of Grant, now Earl of Seafield.
Force.
In 1715, 800. In 1745, 850.
CLAN FINGON.
Of the history of this clan but little is known
having settled at a very early period in the island of
Sky, they became followers of the lords of the Isles,
in whose history they are very often mentioned^ but
they do not appear to have been engaged in many
transactions by which their name is separately
brought forward as a clan. ' Although so great a dis-

tance intervened between the country of the Mac-
gregors and that of this family, they are unquestion-
ably a branch of the former clan. In the MS. of
1450 they are brought from Finguine, a brother
of Anrias or Andrew, who appears in the Macgi-egor
genealogy about the year 1130. This connexion is
by a bond of friendship entered into

farther proved
between Lauchlan Mackinnon, of Strathardill, and
James Macgregor, of Macgregor, in 1671, in which
bond, " for the special love and amitie between these
persons, and condescending that they are descended
lawfully /ra twa hreethern of auld descent, quhair-
fore and for certain onerous causes moving, we witt
ye we to be bound and obleisit, likeas be the tenor
hereof we faithfully bind and obleise us and our
successors, our kin friends and followers, faithfully
to serve ane anither in all causes with our men and

servants, against all wha live or die."
In consequence of their connexion with the Mac-

donalds, the Mackinnon s have no history independ-
ent of that clan, and the internal state of these
tribes during the government of the lords of the Isles
is so obscure that little can be learned regarding
them, until the forfeiture of the last of these lords.
During their dependence upon the Macdonalds there
is but one event of any importance in which we find
the Mackinnons taking a shai'e, for it would appear
that on the death of John of the Isles, in the four-
teenth century, Mackinnon, with what object it is
impossible now to ascertain, stirred up his second

son, John Mor, to rebel against his eldest brother,
apparently with a view to the chiefship, and his
faction was joined by the Macleans and the Mac-
leods. But Donald, the elder brother, was supported
by so great a proportion of the tribe, that he drove
John Mor and his party out of the Isles, and pursued
him to Galloway, and from thence to Ireland.
The rebellion being thus put down, John Mor
threw himself upon his brother's mercy, and received
his pardon, but Mackinnon was taken and hanged,
as having been the instigator of the disturbance.
On Mackinnon be-
the forfeiture of the last lord,
came independent, but was so small that he
his clan
never attained any very great power in consequence.
In the disturbances in the Isles which continued
during the following century, the name of Sir Lauch-
lan Mackinnon occurs very frequently, and he ap-
pears, notwithstanding the small extent of his pos-
sessions, to have been a man of some consideration
in his time. From this period they remained in the
condition of the minor clans in the Highlands, and
with them took a part in all the political events in
which these clans were engaged.
CLAN AN ABA.
The Macnabs have been said by some to have
been Macdonalds, by others, Macgregors ; but there
exists a bond of Manrent, dated 1606, which proves
them to have been a branch of the Mackinnons, and
consequently of the Siol Alpine. This bond was

entered into between Lachlan Mackinnon, of Strath-
ardel, and Finlay Macnab, of Bowaine, and narrates
that " happening to foregadder togedder with certain
of the said Finlay's friends in their rooms, in the
Laii'd of Glenurchay's country, and the said Lauch-
come of one house, and being
lan and Finlay having
of one surname and lineage, notwithstanding the
said Lauchlan and Finlay this long time bygone
oversaw their awn duties till uders in respect of the
long distance and betwixt their dwelling places,
quhairfore baith the saids now and in all time coming
are content to be bound and obleisit, with consent of
their kyn and friends, to do all sted, pleasure, assist-
ance, and service that lies in them ilk ane to uthers :
The said Finlay acknowledging the said Lauchlan

as ane kynd chieff, and of ane house and likelike :
the said Lauchlan to acknowledge the said Finlay

Macnab, his fiiend, as his special kynsman and
friend."
This account of their origin is fully confirmed by
the MS. of 1450.
The Macnabs originally possessed 'considerable
territories lying west of Loch Tay, but having fol-
lowed Lorn in the opposition which he made to the

Bruce, and having taken a conspicuous part in that
struggle, their possessions were, on the accession of
that monarch, restricted to the barony of Bowain,
in Glendochard, to which they have a charter as
early as 1536.
The Macnabs remained for a long time an inde-

pendent clan in the heart of the possessions of the
Campbells, and adopted a different line of politics
from these great lords. The line of their chiefs,
however, has at length become extinct, and their
property is now in possession of the Braedalbane
family.
CLAN DUFFIE.
Tlie MacdufEes or Macphees are the most ancient
inhabitants of Colonsay, and their genealogy, which
is presei*ved in the manuscript of 1450, evinces their
connexion by descent with the Macgregors and Mac-
kinnons, among whom accordingly they have been
placed. Of their early history nothing is known,
and the only notice regarding their chiefs at that
period,is one which strongly confirms the genealogy
contained in the MS. On the south side of the

church of St. Columba, according to Martin, lie the
tombs of Macduffie, and of the cadets of his family ;
there is a ship under sail and a two-handed sword

engraven on the principal tombstone, along with this
inscription,
" Hie lacet Malcolumbus Macduffie de Colonsay."
And in the genealogy the name of Malcolm occurs

at a period which corresponds with the supposed
date of the tombstone. The Macduffies certainly re-
mained in possession of Colonsay as late as the
middle of the seventeenth century, for we find them
mentioned on several occasions during the troubles

of that period ; but they appear at that time to have
been nearly exterminated, as we find in the criminal
records for 1623, Coil Mac Gillespie Macdonald, in
Colonsay, (afterwards the celebrated Collkitto,) was
" delaitit of airt and pairt of the felonie and cruell
slaughter of Umquhill Malcolm Macphie of Colon-
say," with others of his clan. From this period their
estate seems to have gone into the possession of the

Macdonalds, and afterwards of the Macneills, by
whom it is still held ; while the clan gradually
sunk until they were only to be found, as at present,
forming a small part of the inhabitants of Colonsay.
CLAN QUARRIE.
The Macquarries first appear in possession of the
island of Ulva and part of Mull, and like the Mac-
kinnons, their situation forced them, at a very early
period, tobecome dependent upon the Macdonalds.
But from the clan Alpine, which has
their descent
constantly been asserted by tradition, is established
by the manuscript 1450, which deduces their origin
fi-om Guaire or Godfrey, a brother of Fingon, ances-
tor of the Mackinnons, and Annas or Andrew, an-
cestor of the Macgregors. The history of the Mac-
quarries resembles that of the Mackinnons in many
respects ; like them they had migrated far from the
head-quarters of their race, they became dependent
upon the lords of the Isles, and followed them as
if they had been a branch of the clan.
On the forfeiture of the last lord of the Isles, they

became, like the Mackinnons, in a manner independ-
ent, and although suiTounded by various powerful
clans, they maintained their station, which was that
of a minor clan, without apparently undergoing any
alteration; and survived many of the revolutions of
fortune to which the greater clans were exposed in
the same station, bearing among the other clans the
character of great antiquity, and of having once been
greater than they now were.
CLAN AULA.
The Macaulays, of Ardincaple, have for a long
period been considered as deriving their origin from
the ancient earls of Lennox, and it has generally
been assumed, without investigation, that their an-
cestor was Aulay, son of Aulay, who appears in
Ragman Roll, and whose father, Aulay, was brother
of Maldowan, earl of Lennox. Plausible as this
derivation may appear, there are yet two circum-
stances which render it impossible, and establish
the derivation of the clan to have been very differ-
ent.
In the first place, it is now ascertained that these

Aulays were of the family of de Fasselane, who after-
wards succeeded to the earldom, and among the
numerous deeds relating to this family in the Len-
nox chartulary, there is no mention of any other
son of Aulay's than Duncan de Fasselane, who suc-
ceeded to the earldom and left no male issue. Se-
condly, there exists a bond of friendship entered

into between Macgregor of Glenstray and Macau-
lay of Ardincaple, upon the 27th May 1591, in
which the latter owns his being a cadet of the
house of the former, and promises to pay him the
" Calp." There can be no doubt, tlierefore, that
the Macaulays were a branch of the clan Alpine,
and the mistake as to their origin has probably
arisen from the similarity of name, and from their
situation necessarily making them, for the time,
followers of the earl of Lennox.
The Macaulays appear to have settled, at a very
early period, in the Lennox, and the first - chiefs
who are mentioned in the Lennox chartulary are

designed " de Ardincapill." Their connexion with
the Macgregors led them to take some part in the
feuds that unfortunate race were at all times engaged
in, but the protection of the earls of Lennox seems
to have relieved the Macaulays from the consequences
which fell so heavily upon the Macgregors. The
Macaulays never rose above the rank of a minor
clan, and like many others in a similar situation,
they have latterly become extinct.

CHAPTER IX.
IV. GARMORAN.
In the oldest list of the Scottish earldoms which

has been preserved, appears the name of Garmoran.
There was afterwards a lordship of Garmoran, con-
sisting of the districts of Knoydart, Merer, Arisaig and
Moydart ; and the situation of this lordship indicates
the position of the earldom to have been between
north and south Argyll, including, besides the lord-
ship of the same name, the districts of Glenelg, Ard-
namurchan, and Morveni.
At no period embraced by the records do we dis-
cover Garmoran as an efficient earldom; but as the

polity of earldoms was introduced by Edgar, its ap-
pearance in the old lists proves that it lasted in the
possession of its native earls till after his reign.
The grant by Alexander III. of a great part of the

earldom as a lordship of the same name, likewise
proves thatit must have been for some time in the
crown.
In consequence of a singular mistake of our
of this earldom has
earlier historians, the existence
been entirely forgotten, and its history merged

GHAP. IX.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 267
in that of another earldom, of nearly the same

name. Garmoran is known to the Highlanders by
the name of Garbhcriochan, or the rough bounds.
The identity of the first syllables of the two names
shews that the name of Garmoran is descriptive of
the district, and that it is properly Moran, with the
prefixed qualification of garbh or rough. Now it is
remarkable, that there is a Lowland earldom bearing

the same name, without the prefixed qualification of
Roifffh, for the old name of the Mems is Moerne. The
name is certainly descriptive of the situation of the
earldom, and must have been imposed at a very early
period ; but it is singular, that with reference to the
Pictish nation, the original inhabitants of both, their
positionis identic, for the Merns bears exactly the
same position towards the southern Picts, forming a

sort of wedge-like termination to their territories,
which Garmoran does to the Northern Picts. There

can therefore be little doubt of the absolute identity of
the names of these two earldoms^
The people and earls of Moerne are frequently
mentioned in the older chronicles, principally as
rebelling, along with the Moravians, against the
government. It has invariably been assumed that
Moerne here implies the Lowland Mems, but the

constant and close connexion between the people
of Moerne and the Moravians in the history of the
• In the red book of Clanranald, the name Morshron, pro-

nounced Moran, and signif}ang "great nose", is applied to the
districts forming the earldom of Garmoran.
N 2
Scottish rebellions has been remarked by historians

as singular and inexplicable.
If, by the Moerne, the Northern earldom is meant,
which is adjacent to Moray, the connexion is natu-
ral, but it is impossible to account either for the
language of the chronicles, or for the circumstances
themselves, if it is to be understood of the Lowland
Merns.
This will appear more clearly from a review of
the particular instances in which the name occurs.
Moerne is mentioned in ancient chronicles four
times :
I. In A.D. 950, Malcolm, king of Scotland, went

into Moray, and slew Cellach, and shortly after-
wards he is slain by the Viri na Moerne, or Men of
the Moerne in Focbesach. Cellach we can prove

to have been Maormor of neither Moray nor Ross.
He must have been of some neighbouring Maormor-
ship. If Moerne is Moran in the north, the trans-
action is natural the king slew their chief, and was
;
slain by them in Forres. If the Merns, we neither

know why the first event should have been men-
tioned or the second taken place. Moreover, an-
other authority says he was slain by the Moravians
at Ulurn. Ulurn was near Forres. We see how the
Moravians might have been mistaken for the people
of Garmoran— not for the Merns — or how the people

of the Merns should have been in Moi-ay.
II. Duncan, king of Scotland, is slain a.d. 1094
by Malpeder Macloen, Comite de Moerne. This,

CHAP. IX.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 269
however, could not have been the Southern Merns,

because we have strong reason to think that until
the reign Edgar some time after, the Merns
of
formed a part of the Maormorship of Angus. The
older historians all agree that Merns was originally
a part of Angus, and it certainly was so in the
when Kenneth, the third king of
tenth century, for
Scotland, was slain by the daughter of the earl of
Angus, the scene of his slaughter is placed by the
old chronicles in Fettercairn in the Merns. The
ancient dioceses of the Culdee church, however, af-
ford the most certain information as to the number

and extent of the Maormorships previous to the reign
of Edgar, and they place the matter beyond a doubt,

for the diocese of Brechin unquestionably included
the Mems along with Angus, and prove that it must
have formed a part of the Maormorship of Angus
until the reign of Edgar. If the earl who slew king
Duncan was earl of Garmoran, the event is more
intelligible, for he did so for the purpose of placing
Donald Bane on the throne ; and Donald, we know,
received the principal support from the Celtic in-
habitants of the west.
III. Alexander I. in his palace at Invergovvry
is attacked by the " Satellites" of Moerne and Mo-
ray. He drives them across the Month across the —
Spey and over " the Stockfurd into Ros."
" And tuk and slew thame or he past
Out of that land, that fewe he left
To tak on hand swylk purpose eft."

270 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PAET IL
The connexion between Moray and Garmoran is
intelligible —not so if this was Merns; for it is
quite impossible to account for the people of the

Merns taking refuge in Ross, when the Grampians
would afford them a securer retreat in their own
neighbourhood. The language of Winton, however,
is quite inconsistent with the supposition that the
Southern Merns is here meant; if by this, the Northern
Moerne or Garmoran is here meant, it agrees with
our previous deduction, that the earldom must have
been forfeited after the reign of Edgar.
It is thus plain that these transactions are con-
nected with the Northern Moran only, and we trace
from them three of the old earls of Gannoran.
1. Cellach, slain by Malcolm, king of Scotland,
A.D. 950.
2. Cellach, who appears in the Sagas under the

name of Gilli ; he lived a.d. 990 — 1014, and was
certainly Maormor of this district.
3. Malpeder Macleon, forfeited by Alexander I.
The earldom of Garmoran remained in the crown

until the reign of Alexander III., with the excep-
tion of Glenelg, which had been given to the Bis-
sets, A.D. 1160, and the support of the great chiefs

of the Macdonalds at the convention of 1283 was
purchased by the grant of Ardnamurchan to Angus
More of the Isles, and of the remaining part of the
earldom to Allan Mac Rory, lord of the Isles, under
the name of the Lordship of Garmoran.
The ancient inhabitants of the earldom can, how-
ever, be traced by the assistance of the old manu-

script genealogies. The various clans are, as we
have seen by these genealogies, divided into five
tribes, of which four can be identified with the

tribes of the Gallgael, Moray, Ross, and Ness.
The fifth consists of the Macleods and the Camp-
bells, who are, by the oldest genealogies, deduced
from a common ancestor. These two clans must
have taken their descent from some of the ancient
tribes, and we ought to find, in their early history,
traces of a connexion with the earldom from which

they proceed. The earliest charter which the Mac-
leods possess is one from David II. to Malcolm,
the son of Tormad Macleod, of two-thirds of
Glenelg. He could not have acquired this by a
marriage connexion, and as these two-thirds came
to the crown by forfeiture of the Bissets, it bears a
strong resemblance to a vassal receiving his first
right from the crown, and consequently an old

possessor. Glenelg, however, was in Gaimoran,
and the connexion of the Macleods with this earl-
dom is strongly corroborated by the fact that in

their oldest genealogy occur two Cellachs, grand-
father and grandson, exactly contemporary with the
two earls of Garmoran of that name.
The Campbells are not old in Argyll proper, or
the sheriffdom of Argyll ; it was, we know, the pe-
culiar property of Somerled II., and we have dis-
tinct authority for its being planted with strangers.

Campbell's ancestor was made sheriff by Alexander
II.; his successor adhered to government, and re-

ceived many grants of land in the sheriffdom, so
that we should expect to find traces of his original
property in the possession of cadets, who came off
before his acquisition of property in Argyll.

Mac Rory obtained a grant of the lordship
Allan
of Garmoran about 1275 his feudal heir was his
;
daughter Christina, and her first act of possession

is a charter Arthuro Campbell filio Domini Arthuro
Campbell militis de terris de Muddeward Ariseg et

INIordower et insulis de Egge et Rumme et perti-
neri.
Christina was never in actual though in feudal

possession of the lordship, for though vera haeres,
her nephew Ranald^ was verus dominus, this is
therefore apparently a feudal right given to an old

possessor, otherwise we do not see its object.
Thus, when we find, from the manuscript gene-

alogies, that the Macleods and Campbells were
branches of the same ancient tribe, and when we
find that the oldest notices of each tribe separately,
connect them with the district of Garmoran, there
can be little doubt that these two clans are the re-
maining descendants of the ancient inhabitants of
that district.
CLAN LEOD.
There are few clans whose Norwegian origin has
1 Ranald and Christina are so styled in a charter in the In-
chafFray Chartulary.
GHAr. IX.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. 273
been more strenuously asserted or more generally

believed than that of the Macleods, and yet, for that
origin there is not the vestige of authority. In this
matter it is usual to find the chronicle of Man
referred to as exjDressly sanctioning the assertion,
and this reference has been again and again re-
peated, but notwithstanding the confidence with
which this chronicle has been quoted as authority,
it is a singular circumstance that that record is
nevertheless destitute of the slightest hint of any

such origin, or even of any jâssage which could be
assumed as a ground for such an idea. Neither does
the tradition of Norwegian descent, if such a tradi-
tion ever did exist, appear to be very old, for in
a manuscript genealogy of the Macleods, written in

tlie latter part of the sixteenth century, there is not
a trace of such a descent, but, on the contrary, as
we have seen, ihey are deduced from one common
ancestor with the Campbells, and were certainly a
part of the ancient inhabitants of the earldom of
Garmoran.
From the earliest period in which the Macleods
are mentioned in history, they have been divided
into two great families of Macleod of Glenelg, or
Hanis, and Macleod of Lewis, and these families
have for a considerable period disputed as to which
of them the right of chief belongs. As occurs in the
somewhat parallel case of the Macneils, this disjjute
appears to have arisen from the possessions of the
Macleods having necessarily been so little connected
N 3
together,and from both famiHes being nearly of equal

power and consequence; but from the few data
which have remained to guide us on this point there
seems every reason to think, that Macleod of Glenelg,
or Hams, was of old the proper chief of the clan.
Macleod of Harris was originally invariably desig-
nated " de Glenelg", and Glenelg was certainly the
first and chief possession of the clan. In various
charters of the fifteenth century, to which the heads
of both families happen to be witnesses, Macleod de
Glenelg always appears before that of Macleod of
Lewis, and finally the possessions of the Lewis
family formed no part of the original possessions of
the clan, for the first charter of the family of Lewis
is one by king David II., to Torquil Macleod of the
barony of Assint. And it is certain that Torquil
obtained this barony by marriage with Margaret
Macnicol, the heiress of the lands, and in that charter
he is not designated " de Lewis", nor has he any desig-
nation whatever. These facts seem conclusive, that

the claim of Macleod of Harris to be chief of the
clan is well founded, and that the marriage of a
younger son of that family with the heiress of Assgut
and Lewis, gave rise to the family of Macleods of
Lewis, who were the oldest cadets of the clan, and
who soon came to rival the family of the chief in
power and extent of territory.
The original possessions of the Macleods then
appears to have been Glenelg, of which district king
David II. grants a charter to Malcolm, the son of
Torniod Macleod, and the reddendo of the charter is
to keep a galley with thirty-six oars for the use of
the king. The Macleods are said to have acquired

the extensive lands in Sky, which they still hold by
man-iage with the daughter of Macraild, or Mac-
arailt, one of the Norwegian nobles of the Isles ; and
from this connexion, and the succession which was
obtained by it, arose probably the tradition of their
being descended from the Norwegian kings of the
Isles. Malcolm was succeeded by his son William,
who, although from his having been a younger son,
he had been brought up for the church, appears to
have involved himself in numberless feuds with the
neighbouring clans, and to have become one of the
most noted and daring of the restless chiefs of that
period.
Among the first of his plundering incursions he
ravaged the estates of Lovat in the Aird, in order to
avenge an insult which he had received in that
country in his youth. He afterwards on some occa-
sion called down upon himself the resentment of the
lord of the Isles, who invaded his estates with a
considerable body of Macdonalds ; William Macleod,
however, possessed no small portion of military skill,
and having a perfect knowledge of the country, he

succeeded in surprising the Macdonalds at a place
called Lochsligichan,where he defeated them with
great slaughter. But notwithstanding, this feud with
the Macdonalds, John Macleod, his successor, is
said to have followed the banner of Donald of the
Isles in his invasion of Scotland in 1411, and to

have taken a part in the battle of Harlaw.
From the accession of the Macdonalds to the earl-
dom of E-oss, the Macleods seem to have acknow-
ledged them as their lords, and to have followed
them on all occasions. On the unfortunate dissen-
sion occurring between John, the last lord of the
Isles, and his son Angus Ogg, when both parties
at length took to arms, the one to reduce a rebellious
son, and the other to depose a person whom he con-
sidered incapable of governing his extensive terri-
tories, Macleod of Glenelg embraced the cause of
the injured father, and took an active share in the
civil war which thus divided the Macdonalds and
finally caused their ruin. He was present at the
battle of the Bloody Bay, and lost his life in that
unnatural engagement.
On the forfeiture of the last lord, the Macleods, as
well as the other clans connected with the Mac-
donalds, assumed independence, and in consequence
Alexander Macleod received from king James IV. a
crown charter of all his lands, which included those
of Harris and his extensive jDossessions in Sky;
which charter narrates that these lands were held of
the earls of Ross and lords of the Isles before their
forfeiture, but were now to be held of the crown upon
condition of holding in readiness one ship of twenty-
six oars, and two of sixteen, for the king's service
Avhen required. After this period, the Macleods, like

the other clans who had formerly been dependent
upon the Macclonalds, appear to have become in-
volved in a succession of feuds with the remaining

branches of that great but now reduced clan, and
these feuds seem to have been prosecuted with all
the bitterness and barbarity of the age. The Mac-

leods took in the conflicts and
an active share
mutual injuries upon each other in the
inflicted
contest between the Macleans and the Macdonalds of

Isla, towards the end of the sixteenth century, and
by means of their support were mainly instrumental

in causing the success of the former, and consequent
ruin of the latter.But the most barbarous perhaps
of any of these feuds was that earned on between
the Macleods themselves and the clan Ranald.
The Macleods had longêen in a state of irrita-
tion against the latteryin consequence of the bad
treatment which a daughter of Macleod of Glenelg
had some time before experienced from her husband,
the captain of clan Ranald, and they only waited for
a fitting occasion to satisfy their vengeance on that
ground. Towards the close of the sixteenth century
an opportunity presented itself, when a small party
of Macleods having accidentally landed on the island
of Egg, they were at first received with hospitality,
but having been guilty of some incivilities to the
young women of the island, the inhabitants resented
it so far as to bind them hand and foot and turn them
adrift in their boat to perish if assistance did not

reach them; they had the good fortune, however, to
be met by a boat of their own clansmen, and brought
to Dunbegan, where they gave an account of the

treatment they had met with. Macleod eagerly
availed himself of the opportunity of executing his
long meditated revenge on the clan Ranald, and
having manned his galleys, set sail for the island of
Egg. When the inhabitants became aware of his

approach, and feeling conscious of their inability
to offer any effectual resistance against the force that
threatened them, they took refuge, along with their

wives and families, to the amount of two hundred, in
a large cave, the situation and difficult discovery of
which rendered it admirably adapted for conceal-
ment. Here for two days they succeeded in eluding
the search of the Macleods, which was pursued with
ineffectual industry, until at length their retreat was
discovered in consequence of their impatience having
led them to send forth a scout ; when they refused
to surrender themselves to the pleasure of the Mac-
leod, he caused the stream of water which fell over
the entrance of the cave to be turned aside ; and
having caused all the combustibles to be found on
the island, had them piled up against the entrance,
and so furious a fire maintained for many hours
that every creature within was suffocated; thus, at
one blow, exterminating the entire population of the
island. / This atrocity was one of the worst instances
UTising out of the feuds which at that period dis-
tracted the whole Highlands, and by which one
family rose upon the ruins of another.
The possessions and power of the Macleods ap-
pear to have been very much increased by Sir Rorie

More Macleod, and was during his life that the
it
rival family of Lewis became extinct, a circum- —

stance which, as it removed the division and disa-
greement hitherto subsisting in the clan, also tended
to render the family of still gi-eater influence. During
the civil wars of the seventeenth century, the Mac-
leods joined the royal army with seven hundred men,
and took an active share in all the campaigns of that
period ; but when the clans again took arms in sup-
port of the cause of that family, the Macleods were
induced, by the persuasion and active urgency of the
Laird of Culloden, to abstain from taking any share
in that insurrection, and while their presence would
not probably have altered the ultimate result, they
thereby escaped the numerous forfeitures of the
period.
Arms.
Az. a castle triple towered and embattled, or, masoned sa. win-
dows and port, gu.
Badge.
Red whortle-berries.
Principal Seat.
Glenelg.
Oldest Cadet.
Macleod of Lewis, now represented by Macleod of Rasay.
Chief.
Macleod of Macleod.
Force.
In 1704, 700. In 1715, 1000, In 1745, 700.
CLAN CAMPBELL.
To the Campbells a Norman origin has been very
generally ascribed, and this numerous clan, who,
although their possessions in Argyllshire were at
first small, rapidly rose to considerable eminence,
seems of late to have been tacitly surrendered by the
supporters of the Celtic race to their antagonists,
the admirers of Wilham the Noi-man's motley band,
yet no clan do these southern antiquaries claim more
unjustly. Their claim is principally founded upon
the assumption that the name Campbell is a mere
corruption of that of de Campo Bello, which they
assert to have been a Norman family. Now to this
the answer is was a Norman

easy, for there never
family of the name of Campo Bello. Battel Abbey
and other Rolls, Doomsday Book, and similar re-
cords, are equally silent about them, while the far-
ther back we trace the spelling of the Scotch name,
the more unlike does it become to his supposed
Campo Bello, the oldest spelling of it, that in Rag-
man Roll, being Cambel or Kambel. There is thus
no authority whatever for their Norman descent
and while the most ancient manuscript genealogies
attest their Gaelic origin, the history of the earldom
of Garmoran proves, as we have seen, that they
formed a part of the ancient inhabitants of that dis-
trict. There is one feature, however, in the tale of
their Norman descent which deserves attention.

While they say that their ancestor was a Norman
de Campo Bello, they add that he acquired his
Argyllshire property by marriage with the daughter

and heiress of Paul O'Duin, lord of Lochow. This
story is so exactly similar to those in the other clans,
where the oldest cadet had usurped the chiefship,
that it leads to the suspicion that the same circum-
stance must have given rise to it among the Camp-
bells. We have shewn it to be invariably the case,
that when a clan claims a foreign origin, and ac-
counts for their possession of the chiefship and pro-
perty of the clan by a marriage with the heiress of
the old proprietors, they can be proved to be in
reality a cadet of that older house who had usurped
the chiefship, while their claim to the chiefship is
disputed by an acknowledged descendant of that
older house. To this rule the Campbells are no ex-
ceptions, for while the tale upon which they found a
Norman descent is exactly parallel to those of the
other clans in the same situation, the most ancient
manuscript genealogies deduce them in the male
line from that very family of O'Duin, whose heiress
they are said to have married, and the Macarthur
Campbells, of Strachur, the acknowledged descend-
ants of the older house,^ have at all times disputed
the chiefship with the Argyll family. Judging from
analogy, we are compelled to admit that the Camp-
bells of Strachur must formerly have been chiefs of
the clan, and that the usual causes in such cases
have operated to reduce the Strachur family, and to
place that of Argyll in that situation, and this is con-
iinned by the early history of the clan.
The first appearance of the Campbells is in the
reign of Alexander III., and we find them at that
time divided into two great families, afterwards dis-

tinguished by the patronymics of Mac Arthur and
Mac Cailinmor.
The first notice of the Mac Cailinmor branch is
Gillespie Cambel, who witnesses the charter of erec-

tion of the Bmgh of Newburgh by Alexander III.
in 1266, and tiiere is the strongest reason to think
that he was heritable sheriff of the sheriflfdom of Ar-
gyll, which had been erected by Alexander II. in
1221. It is certain, however, that until the reign of
Robert the Bruce, the Campbells did not possess an
heritable right to any properrty in Argyllshire. The
situation of the Mac Arthur branch at this time was
very different, for we find them in possession of a
very extensive territory in the earldom of Garmoran,

the original seat of the Campbells. It is therefore
impossible to doubt that Mac Arthur was at this
time at the head of the clan, and this position
he appears to have maintained until the reign of
James I. Arthur Campbell of this branch embraced

the cause of Hobert the Bruce, as well as Sir Neill
Campbell, the son of Colinmore, and appears to have
been as liberally rewarded by that monarch with the
forfeited lands of his opponents. He obtained the
keeping of the Castle of Dunstaffnage, with a con-
siderable part of the forfeited territory of Lorn, and
his descendants added Strachvir in Cowall, and a
considerable part of Glendochart and Glenfalloch, to
their former possessions. In the reign of David II.
the Mac Cailinmor branch, who since the marriage

of Sir Neil with the sister of Robert Bruce had been

rapidly increasing in power and extent of temtory,
appear to have taken the first steps towards placing
themselves at the head of the clan, but were suc-
cessfully resisted by Mac Arthur, who obtained a
charter, Arthuro Campbell quod nulli subjicitur
pro ten-is nisi regi ; and the Mac Arthurs appear to
have maintained this station until the reign of James
I., when they were doomed to incur that powerful
monarch's resentment, and to be in consequence so

effectually crushed as to oflFer no further resistance to
the encroaching power of Mac Cailinmor.

When James I. summoned his parliament at
Inverness for the purpose of entrapping the High-
land chiefs, John Mac Arthur was one of those who
fell into the snare, and he seems to have been among
the few especially devoted to destruction, for he was
beheaded along with Alexander, the lord of Garmo-
ran, and his whole property forfeited, with the ex-
ception of Strachur and some lands in Perthshire,
which remained to his descendants. His position at
the head of the clan is sufficiently pointed out by
Bower, who calls him ^' i^rhiceps maynus apud suos
et dux mille hominum," but fi'om this period the
Mac Cailinmore branch were unquestionably at the
head of the clan, and their elevation to the peerage,
which took place but a few years after, placed them
above the reach of dispute from any of the other
branches of the clan. The Strachur family, in the
mean time, remained in the situation of one of the
principal of the Ceann Tiglie, preserving an unavailing

claim to the position of which they had been de-
prived. After this period the rise of the Argyll
family to power and influence was rapid, and the
encroachments which had connnenced with the
branches of their own clan soon involved most of
the clans in their neighbourhood ; and their history is
most remarkable from their extraordinary progress
from a station of comparative inferiority to one of
unusual eminence, as well as from the constant and
steady adherence of all the barons of that house
to the same deep system of designing policy by
which they attained their greatness.
It would be inconsistent with the limits of this
work to follow the history of this family farther, and

the omission is of the less importance, as during the
early part their history is identic with that of all
the other Highland clans of no great notoriety
while in the later part, when they began to rise
upon the ruins of the great families of the Isles,

it becomes in some degree the same with that of the
Highlanders generally, and consists principally of

the details of a policy characterised by cunning and
perfidy, although deep and far-sighted, and which
obtained its usual success in the acquisition of
great temporal gi'andeur and power.
Ar7)is.
Gyronne of eight, or, and sable.
£adge.
Myrtle.
Principal Seat.
Originally the lordship of Garmoran, afterwards Locliow.
Oldest Cadet.
Maccailinmore, or Campbell of Lochow, now Duke of Argyll,
was oldest cadet, but has been at the head of the clan since
1427.
Chief.
Previous to 1427, Macarthur Campbell of Strachur.

Force.
In 1427, 1000. In 1715, 4000. In 1745, 5000.
V. CAITHNESS.
The northern of Scotland were those

districts
which were most early exposed to the ravages of

the Norwegians, and it was in these districts where
they effected their first permanent settlement in
Scotland. But the nature of the country itself had

always a considerable influence upon the effect pro-
duced on the population by the Norwegian settle-
ments. Where the country was open and exposed the
population was in general altogether changed, and
in process of time became purely Norse ; but where
the conquered districts possessed in whole or in part
the mountainous, and at that period, almost inacces-
sible character of the rest of the Highlands, the actual
population commonly remained Gaelic, although the
chiefs were reduced to subjection and became tributary
to the Norwegians. This distinction in the character
of the different conquered districts can be traced
without difficulty in the Sagas, and these invaluable
records afford sufficient reason for thinking that a
considerable portion of the Gaelic population re-
mained, notwithstanding the long occupation of the

country by the Norwegians. The districts which
were subjected to the most permanent occupation of
the Norwegians in Scotland, were those of Caithness,
Ness, and Sudi-land, or Sutherland.
The district of Caithness was originally of much
greater extent than the modem county of that
name, as it included the whole of the extensive
and mountainous district of Strathnaver. Towards
the middle of the tenth century the Norwegian
larl of Orkney obtained possession of this pro-
vince, and with the exception of a few short in-
tervals, it continued to form a part of his extensive

territories for a period of nearly two hundred years.
The district of Strathnaver, which formed the western
portion of the ancient district of Caithness, differed
very much in appearance from the rest of it, exhibit-
ing indeed the most complete contrast which could
well be conceived, for while the eastern division was
in general low, destitute of mountains, and altoge-
ther of a Lowland character, Strathnaver pos-
sessed the characteristics of the rudest and most
inaccessible of Highland countries ; the consequence
of this was, that while the population of Caithness
proper became speedily and permanently Norse,
that of Strathnaver must, from the nature of the
country, have remained in a great measure Gaelic
and this distinctionbetween the two districts is very
strongly marked throughout the Norse Sagas, the
eastern part being termed simply Katenesi, while
Sti'athnaver, on the other hand, is always designated
" Dolum a Katenesi", or the Glens of Caitlitiess,
That the population of Strathnaver remained Gaelic

we have the distinct authority of the Sagas, for they
inform us that the Dolum, or glens, were inhabited
by the " Gaddgedli ", a word plainly signifying some
tribe of the Gael, as in the latter syllable we recog-
nize the word Gaedil or Gael, which at all events
shews that the population of that portion was not
Norse.
The oldest Gaelic clan which we find in possession
of this part of the ancient district of Caithness is
the clan Morgan* or Mackay.
CLAN MORGAN.
There are few clans whose true origin is more un-
certain than that of the Mackays. By some they
have been said to have descended from the family of
Forbes in Aberdeenshire, by others, from that of
Mackay of Ugadale in Kintyre, and that they were
planted in the North by king William the Lion,
when he defeated Harald, earl of Orkney and Caith-
ness, and took possession of these districts. But
when we take into consideration the very great
power and extent to which this clan had attained in
the beginning of the fifteenth century, it is difficult
to conceive that they could have been a mere offset

from families in the South of comparatively small
extent, or to give credence to stories in themselves
improbable and which have nothing further to sup-
port them than similarity of name in the one case.
S88 THE HIGHLAND CLANS. [PART IT.
and of armorial bearings in the other. It happens,

unfortunately for the solution of this question, that
the clan Mackay is not contained in the manuscript
of 1450 ; and in the absence of direct testimony of any
sort, the most probable supposition seems to be, that
they were descended from the ancient Gaelic inha-

bitants of the district of Caithness. If this conclu-
sion be a just one, however, we can trace the early
generations of the clan in the Sagas, for we are
informed by them, that towards the beginning of the
twelfth century " there lived in the Dolum of Kata-
nesi (or Strathnaver) a man named Moddan, a noble
and rich man", and that his sons were Magnus
Orfi, and Ottar, the earl in Thurso.
The absence of all mention of Moddan's father,
the infallible mark of a Norwegian in the Sagas,
sufficiently points out that he must have been a
native but this appears still more strongly from his
;
son being called an earl. No Norwegian under the

earl of Orkney could have borne such a title, but
they indiscriminately termed all the Scottish Maor-

mors and gi-eat chiefs, earls, and consequently Mod-
dan and his son Ottar must have been the Gaelic
Maormors of Caithness; and consequently the Mac-
kays, if a part of the ancient inhabitants of Caithness,
were probably descended from them.
A very minute and circumstantial history of the
first generations is narrated in the ponderous volume
of Sir Robert Gordon ; he deduces them from the
Forbeses, but states that the first who obtained pos-
sessions in Strathnaver was named Martin, and

adds " that he wes slain at Keanloch-Eylk in Loch-
aber, and had a son called Magnus. Magnus died in

Strathnaver, leaveing two sones, Morgan and Farqu-
liar. From this Morgan the whole familie of Macliy
is generally called clan-wic-Worgan in Irish or old
Scottish, which language is most as yet vsed in that
countrey. From Farquhar the clan-wic-Farquhar in
Strathnaver ar descended."
The striking coincidence between Martin and his
son Magnus, of Sir Robert Gordon and Moddan and
his son Magnus of the Sagas, strongly confirms the
supposition that the Mackays are descended from
these old Maormors of Caithness. The first chief of
this clan who appears on record is Angus Dow,
towards the beginning of the fifteenth century, and
to him the latter chiefs can all be traced. At this
time the clan had extensive possessions in Suther-
land and Caithness, and seem to have been of no
ordinary power and consideration among the High-
land clans. Their territories included the greater part
of Strathnaver and a considerable portion of the dis-
trict of Sutherland proper, and these were confirmed
by Donald, lord of the Isles, after he had married
the countess of Ross, " Angusis eyg de Strathnaver
et Nigello filio suo seniori inter ipsum et Eleza-
betham de insulis sororem nostram procreato," on
the 8th of October, 1415. Among the chiefs arrested
by king James I. at the parliament held at Inverness
in 1427, Angus Dow is mentioned and designated as
the leader of no less than four thousand men, a fact

which places the Mackays among the most powerful
of the Highland clans, and shews that they must
have occupied then tenitories for a very long period
of time. Angus Dow was chiefly remarkable for the
resistance which he made to Donald of the Isles,
when that ambitious leader made his well known

attempt to obtain possession of the earldom of Ross,
and it is this event which has principally preserved
the name of Angus Dow Mackay from oblivion.
Donald of the had claimed the earldom of Ross
Isles
in right of his wife, but had been refused possession
of by the duke of Albany, then governor of Scot-
it
land, " whereat," says Sir Robert Gordon, " Donald

of the Isles took such indignation and displeasure,
that raising all the power of the Isles, he came into
Rosse and spoiled the country, which Angus Dow
Mackay of Farr endeavoured to defend, because that
Donald had molested some friends which he had in
that province. He met the lord of the Isles at
Dingwall, where he fought a cruel skirmish against
him. In end, Donald overthrew Angus Dow, took
him prisoner and killed his brother Rory Gald Mac-
kay, with divers others." In another part of his
work, alluding to the same conflict. Sir Robert Gor-
don says, " Donald of the Isles having detayned
Angus Dow a while in captivitie released him and
gave him his daughter in marriage, whom Angus
Dow carried home with him into Strathnaver, and had
a son by her called Neill Wasse,' so named because
'
he was imprisoned in the Basse." Shortly after this

Angus Dow appears to have brought the attention of
the energetic James upon him, in consequence of an
incursion which he had made into Caithness. The
inhabitants of Caithness had resisted his inroad,
and a battle had been fought at Helmsdale between
the parties, " when ther wes much slaughter on
either syde." In consequence of this Angus was
included in the summons to attend the parliament at
Inverness in 1427, and feeling that it would not have
been prudent to disobey that order, he was arrested
with the other Highland chiefs, on which occasion
Fordun has transmitted his name to us in the fol-
lowing passage, " Ibi arrestavit Angus Duff, ahas
Macqye, cum quatuor filiis suis ducem quatuor mil-
lium de Strathnaveri." Angus obtained his liberty
from the king but his son was detained as a hos-
tage, and committed to the prison of the Bass for
security.
After this period, the history of the Mackays con-
sists almost entirely of constant incursions into Caith-
ness, together with the usual feuds in which the
Highland clans were at all times engaged, and they
do not appear to have maintained the power and
influence which they possessed under Angus Dow,
but with diminished territories to have assumed a
somewhat lower station in the scale of the High-
land clans. The first crown charter obtained by
the Mackays of their extensive possessions in
Strathnaver appears to have been as late as the
o 2
year 1499. This charter was obtained in conse-

quence of Y. Mackay, at that time chief of the
clan, having appi-ehended Alexander Sutherland,
of Dalred, his own nephew, wlio had incurred the
vengeance of government in consequence of the
murder of Alexander Dunbar, brother of Sir James
Dunbar, of Cumnock, and delivered him over to
the king with ten of his accomplices. The power
of the government had now so far penetrated into the
Highlands, that the Highland chiefs began to feel
the necessity of possessing some sort of feudal title
to their lands, while the government, aware of the

advantage to its influence which the want of such
a title occasioned, were not always willing to grant
it ; in consequence of this, the Highland chiefs now
began to take advantage of any service which they
might have rendered to the government, to demand,
as their reward, a feudal investiture of their estates ;
and was probably owing the charter which

to this
Y. Mackay now obtained, and which his descend-
ants took especial cai'e that when once procured, it
should be frequently renewed.

It would be tedious and uninteresting to follow
this clan through all the domestic broils and feuds
with the neighbouring clans, of which their history
is entirely composed, and in which it in no respect
differed from that of other Highland clans. It may
be sufiicient to mention that considerable military
genius, some talent, and more good fortune contri-
buted to raise the chief of the clan to the dignity
of the peerage in the person of Donald Mackay,

first Lord Reay, and thus upon the clan
to confer
a fictitious station among thewhich other clans,

their power had not previously enabled them to at-
tain. Donald Mackay had raised a regiment of

fifteen hundred men of his clan, which he carried
over to Germany to the assistance of the king of

Bohemia; and after having taken a distinguished
part in all the foreign service of the time, he re-
turned to England, at the commencement of the
civil war in the reign of Charles I., with some
reputation, acquired during the continental wars, and
having been of considerable service to that unfortu-
nate monarch, he was by him raised to the peerage
with the title of Lord Reay.
His successors in the peerage maintained the sta-
tion to which they had been thus raised, but, being
as willing to remain in the peerage as their ances-
tor had been to be raised to it. Lord Reay found
it as much his interest to oppose the family of
Stewart as Donald Mackay had to support that
family in their difficulties with all his interest,
and accordingly throughout the insurrections in fa-
vour of that royal house in the years 1715 and
1745, the existing government found in Lord Reay
a staunch and active supporter ; while the Stewarts
found that in rewarding the loyalty of the chief of
the Mackays with a peerage, they had but changed
a steady friend to a bitter enemy, and that Charles
Edward was to find one of his most powerful oppo-
nents in the great-grandson of the person who had

been most indebted to his grandfather.
The lineal descendant of this ancient line of
Highland chiefs still remains in possession of the
peerage, but having sold the estates which had
been the property of the family for so many gene-
rations, the clan are left in reality without a chief
of their race.
Arms.
Azure, on a chevron, or, between three bears' heads couped,
argent, and muzzled, gules. A roebuck's head erased, of the
last, between two hands holding daggers, all proper.
Badge.
Bulrush.
Principal Seat.
Strathnaver.
Oldest Cadet.
Mackay of Auchness.
Chief.
Erick Mackay, Lord Reay.
Force.
In 1427, 4000. In 1743, 800.
VI. NESS.
Among the Rikis or districts in Scotland men-
tioned in the Sagas, and which are exactly synony-
mous with Maormorships, as they may be called,
or the earldoms of Scottish writers, the name of
Ness occurs frequently. This designation has ge-
nerally been supposed to be nothing more than a
variation of the word Kateness, and has accord-
ingly been so translated in most of the Latin trans-

lations of the Sagas ; but a stiict comparison of the
different passages in which it occurs will shew clear-
ly that Ness and Caithness must be held to have
been names applied by the Norwegians to different
districts. Thus, in describing the civil war whicli
took place in the Orkneys about the year 1040 be-
tween Thorfinn, Earl of Orkney, and Roguvald, his
nephew, who claimed a part of the Islands of Ork-
ney, in right of his father, the Orkneyinga Saga
says that " Rognvald sent messengers to Nes and
tlieSudereyom to say that he had taken possession
of the kingdom which was Thorfinn's and that none ;
in these districts opposed him, but that Thorfinn was

in the meantime in Katenesi with his friends," thus
shewing distinctly that Nes and Katenes could not
have been applied to the same district, but that
there must have been a marked difference between
tliem. This is confinned in another passage of the
same Saga, inwhich it is mentioned that Swen hav-
ing gone to Nes to plunder, was detained there by
stormy weather, and sent a messenger to that effect
to larl Erlend, at that time in Katenes, and the same
passage shews that Nes must have been a district of
considerable size, as it mentions Swen having over-
run the country and carried off an immense booty
and also that at this period, namely, towards the be-
ginning of the twelfth century, Nes belonged to the
native inhabitants, otherwise it would not have been
made the object of a plundering expedition ; a cir-
cumstance which was not the case with regard to

Caithness. It aj)pears, in fact, distinctly from the
Sagas, that Ness was situated somewhere on the
northern shore of Scotland, and that it included the
north-western angle of the country ; for the Earls
of Orkney are frequently mentioned as crossing the
Pentland Firth into Nes, and on one occasion
Swen is stated, in the Orkneyinga Saga, to have gone
from Lewes into Scotland to meet the king of Scot-
land, and as having passed through Ness on his way.
The district of Strathnaver, as we have seen,
formed part of the Riki of Katenes, and was known
to the Norwegians by the name of " Dolum a Kate-
nesi." The only districts therefore which at all an-
swer to the descrij)tion of Ness are those of Assint
Edderachylis and Diurnes ; these districts are not
included in any of the other earldoms comprehended
in the north-western corner of Scotland. And in the
latter the appellation Ness appears to have been pre-
served. There seems therefore little reason to doubt
that therewas an ancient maormorship or earldom,
comprehending these districts of Assint Edderachylis
and Diurnes, and that that earldom was known to
the Norwegians under the designation of the Riki of
Ness.
The most ancient Gaelic clan which can be traced
as inhabiting these districts, is the clan Nicail or
Macnicols.
CLAN NICAIL.
" Tradition, and even documents declare," says the
Reverend Mr. William Mackenzie, in his statistical
account of the parish of Assint, " that it was a forrest

of the ancient Thanes of Sutherland." " One of these
Prince Thanes gave it in vassalage to one Mackry-
cul, who in ancient times held the coast of Coygach,
that part of it at the place presently called Ullapool.
The noble Thane made Assint over in the above man-

ner, as Mackrycul had recovered a great quantity of
cattle carried off from the county of Sutherland by
foreign invaders. Mackrycul's family, by the fate of
war in those days of old, being reduced to one heir
female, she was given in marriage to a younger son
of Macleod, laird of Lewis, the thane of Sutherland
consenting thereto ; and also making Assint over to
the new-married couple, together with its superiority.
The result of this marriage was fourteen successive

lairds here of the name of Macleod." The same gen-
tleman also adds, in a note, " Mackry-cul is reported
by the people here to be the potent man of whom are
descended the Macnicols, Nicols, and Nicolsons."
With the exception of the part performed by the
Thane of Sutherland, which is disproved by the fact,
that the charter to Torquil Macleod, who married
the heiress of Mackrycul, of the lands of Assint was
a crown charter, and does not narrate any grant what-
ever ; this account is substantially confirmed by the
manuscript of 1450, in which MS. the descent of
the clan Nicail is traced in a direct line fi'om a cer-
o 3
tain Gregall, plainly the Ki-yctil of the reverend mi-

nister of Assint.
From a calculation of generations it appears that
Gregall must have flourished in the twelfth century,
and as we have seen that this district was certainly
at that time occupied by a Gaelic tribe, it follows
that the Macnicols must be of Gaelic origin. But
the clan Nicol are not connected by the manuscript
of 1450 with any of the four great tribes into which
the clans contained in that manuscript are divided,
and which tribes have been shewn to be synonymous
with the ancient districts of Moray, Ros, Garmoran,
and the tribe of the Gallgael. It seems therefore
clear, that we must look upon the Macnicols as the
descendants of the ancient Gaelic ti-ibe who formed
the earliest inhabitants of the district of Ness. This
clan is now nearly extinct, and of its history, when
in possession of these districts, we know nothing.
But these ancient possessions certainly compre-
hended Edderachylis and Duirnes as well as Assint
and Coygach, as we find these districts in the pos-
session of the Macleods of Lewis, who acquired their
mainland territories by marriage with the only daugh-
ter of the last Macnicol. The district of Assint re-
mained in the possession of Macleod formany gene-
rations until about the year 1660, when it became
the property of the earl of Seaforth, by the usual
mode in which the powerful barons obtained posses-
sion of the properties of the chiefs in their neigh-
bourhood, whom circumstances had reduced into
their power, viz. by the fatal operation of the old

system of wadset and apprising. By purchase it
afterwards fell into the hands of the Sutherland

family, in whose possession it has ever since re-
mained. The northern portion of this district con-
tinued for some time to be held by the Macleods,
until a feud between Macleod of Edderachylis and
the Morisons of Duirnes gave the Mackays, who
were then at the height of their power, an oppor-
tunity of wresting these estates from both families,
and accordingly these districts have ever since formed
a part of the Mackays' possessions, or what is called
Lord Reay's country.
VII. SUDELAND.
The ancient district of Sutherland or Sudrland,
so termed by the Norwegians, in consequence of
its in respect to Caithness, which for a
position
long time was their only possession on the main-
land of Scotland, was of much less extent than
the present country of the same name for the ;
districts of Strathnaver, Edderachylis, Duirnes, and

Assint, which are included in the same county at
present, formed no part of the ancient earldom, but
belonged the first to Caithness, while the others con-
stituted, as we have seen, the ancient district of Ness.
This district, therefore, included merely the eastern
portion of the county, and although it is unquestion-
ably of a mountainous and Highland character, yet
it did not, like the other Highland districts, retain

its Gaelic population in spite of the Norwegian con-
quest, but became entirely colonized by the Norse,
who thus effected a permanent change in its popula-
tion. This result, however, arose from circumstances
altogether peculiar to the district of Sutherland, and
which, in no respect, apply to the case of other
Highland regions.
It will be in the recollection of the reader, that
the principal cause of the extensive conquest of
Thorfinn, the Norwegian larl of Orkney, on the main-
land of Scotland, in the year 1034, was from the
king of Scotland having bestowed Caithness and Su-
therland upon Moddan, his sister's son, with com-
mands to wrest these districts from the Norwegian
larl, to whom they had been ceded by the preceding
monarch. But there is considerable reason to think,
from the expressions of the Norse writers, and from
the events which followed, that Moddan must have
been the Gaelic chief or Maormor of Sutherland ; for
independently of the improbability of this district
having been bestowed on any other Gaelic chief

than its own proper Maormor, when the only object
of the king was to wrest it from the hands of the
Norwegians, the Saga expressly mentions that Mod-
dan went north to take possession of these two dis-
tricts, and levied his army for that purpose in Su-

therland, — a fact which, in these times, is sufficient
to prove Moddan to have been the Maormor of

CHAP. IX.] THE HIGHLAND CLANS. .301
Sudrland, The natural consequence of the complete

success of Thorfinn, and of the total overthrow of
his opponents must have been, in accordance with
the manners of the times, that his vengeance would
be peculiarly directed against the Gaelic chiefs, to
whose race Moddan belonged, and against the Gaelic

population who had principally supported him in
his war with Thorfinn. We may hence conclude
with certainty, that on the establishment of the Nor-
wegian kingdom of Thorfinn, the Gaelic inhabitants
of Sudrland would be altogether driven out or de-
stroyed, and that during the extended dui-ation of the
Norwegian occupancy, its population would become
purely and permanently Norse.
There are consequently no Highland clans what-
ever descended from the Gaelic tribe which anciently
inhabited the district of Sutherland, and the modem
Gaelic population of part of that region is derived
from two sources. In the first place, several of the
tribes of the neighbouring district of Ross, at an
eai-ly period gradually spread themselves into the
nearest and most mountainous parts of the country,
and they consisted chiefly, as we have seen, of the
clan Anrias. Secondly, Hugh Freskin, a descend-
ant of Freskin de Moravia, and whose family was a
branch of the ancient Gaelic tribe of Moray, ob-
tained from King William the territory of Sutherland,
although it is impossible to discover the circum-
stances which occasioned the grant. He was of
course accompanied in this expedition by numbers

of his followers, who increased in Sutherland to an
extensive tribe ; and Freskin became the founder of
the noble family of Sutherland, who, under the title
of Earls of Sutherland, have continued to enjoy

possession of this district for so many generations.
CONCLUSION.
Having now concluded the history of the Highland

clans according to the system established in the
former part of the Work, it may be proper here to
state in a few words, the simple but highly import-
ant conclusion to which these researches have
brought us.
First. The Gaelic race at present occupying the
Highlands, have existed as a distinct and peculiar
people, inhabiting the same districts which they
now occupy, from the earliest period to which the
records of histoiy reach.
Secondly. Previous to the thirteenth century,
that Gaelic nation was divided into a few great
tribes, which exactly con-espond with the ancient
earldoms of that part of Scotland. The hereditary
chiefs of these tribes were termed Maormors, a title
which the influence of Saxon manners changed to
that of earl.
Thirdly. From these few tribes all the High-
landers are descended, and to one or other of them
each of the Highland clans can be traced.
304 CONCLUSION.
Upon this system, tlierefore, has every part of the

Work been brought to bear. Each
present of the
clans has been viewed rather as forming a part of one
great whole than as a separate family detached from
and it has throughout been deemed of
all others,
more importance to establish with precision the

place of each clan in this great system, than to
enter into any detail of their history. Of the im-
portance of the result to which all these researches
have led, it is impossible for a moment to doubt;
and while a view has been given of the history of
each detached portion, every thing has been brought
to contribute, in some degree, to the establishment
of a great truth as new as it is important.
This second portion would have extended to far
greater length and inore minute detail of family

history, had the Author not felt the necessity of
compressing his plan within the narrow limits of
an Essay, which he was desirous should exhibit, in
a distinct and comj)lete form, the theory of Scottish

which his researches have led him to adopt,
history,
and which he now submits with deference to the
judgment of the public.
The result of the system will be found, at one
view, in the following Table of the descent of the
Highland clans.
305
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APPENDIX
PART II.
As the simple conclusion to which we have arrived,
after the investigation contained in this Work, both

as to the origin of the Highlanders generally and
of the Highland clans in particular, is, that the
whole Highland clans are, with very few excep-
tions, descended from one Gaelic nation, who have
inhabited the same country from time immemorial,
it follows that the plan of this Work must exclude
all those families to whom a long residence in the
country have given the name of Highlanders, but
who are not of Gaelic origin. But as these fami-
lies are not very numerous, it will be proper, in
order to complete this sketch of the Highlanders,
that we should shortly state, in an Appendix, the
reasons for considering them of foreign origin.
There are, perhaps, few countries into which the

introduction of strangers is received with less fa-
vour than the Highlands of Scotland. So strong-
ly were the Highlanders themselves imbued with
an hereditary repugnance to the settlement of fo-
308 APPENDIX. [part II,
reigners among tliem, that assisted as that preju-

dice was by the ahnost impenetrable nature of their
country, such an occurrence must originally have
been nearly impossible, and at all times exceedingly
difficult. In this respect, however, the extinction
of the ancient earls or maormors produced some
change. Norman and Saxon barons, by the opera-
tion of the principles of feudal succession, acquired
a nominal possession of many of the great High-
land districts, and were prepared to seize every fa-
vourable opportunity to convert that nominal pos-
session to an actual occupation of the country ; and
although their influence was not great enough to
enable them materially to affect the population of
the interior of their respective districts, yet, under
their protection, many of the foreign families might
obtain a footing in those parts which more imme-
diately bordered on the Lowlands. It is accord-
ingly the eastern and southern boundary of the
Highlands which would naturally become exposed
to the encroachment of the Lowlanders and their
barons, and in which we might expect to find clans
which are not of pure Gaelic origin. The first of

these clans is that of the
STEWARTS.
In the present state of our information regarding
the Stewarts, the question of their origin seems to
have been at length set at rest, and until the dis-
covery of new documents shall unsettle this deci-

PART II.] APPENDIX. 309
sion, there seems no reason to doubt that they are

a branch of the Norman family of Fitzallan. The
proofs which have been brought forward in support
of this conclusion are too demonstrative to be over-
come by the authority of tradition alone, however
ancient that tradition may be, and until some im-
portant additional information be discovered, we
must look upon the fabled descent of the Stewarts
from the thanes of Lochaber, and consequently their
native origin, as altogether visionary.
The whole of the Scottish Stewarts can be traced
to Renfrewshire as their first seat, but still, in conse-
quence of the great extent of temtory acquired by
this family all over Scotland, a considerable number
of them penetrated into the Highlands, and the
amount of the Highland families of the name be-
came in time considerable. Those families of the
name who are found established in the Highlands
in later times are derived from three sources, the
Stewarts of Lorn, Atholl, and Balquidder.
The Stewarts of Lorn are descended from a na-
tural son ofJohn Stewart, the last lord of Lorn, who,
by the assistance of the Maclarins, a clan to whom
his mother belonged, retained forcible possession of
a part of his father's estates ; and of this family are
the Stewarts of Appen, Inveruahyle, Fasnacloich,
&c. Besides the descendants of the natural son of
the last lord of Lorn, the family of the Stewart of
Grandtully in Atholl is also descended from this
SIO APPENDIX. [part II.
family, deriving their origin from Alexander Stewart,

fourth son of John, lord of Lorn.
The Stewarts of Atholl consist almost entirely
of the descendants of the natural children of Alex-
ander Stewart, commonly called the " Wolfe of Bade-
noch"; of these the principal family was that of
Stewart of Garth, descended from James Stewart,
one of the Wolfe of Badenoch's natural sons, who
obtained a footing in Atholl by marrying the daugh-
ter and heiress of Menzies of Fothergill, or For-
tingall, and from this family almost all the other
Atholl Stewarts proceed.
The Balquidder Stewarts are entirely composed of
the illegitimate branches of the Albany family. The
principal families were those of Ardvorlich, Glen-
bucky, and others.
MENZIES,
The original name of this family was Meyners,

and they appear to be of Lowland
origin. Their arms
and the resemblance of name distinctly point them

out to be a branch of the English family of Manners,
and consequently their Norman origin is undoubted.
They appear, however, to have obtained a footing in
Atholl at a very early period, although it is not now
possible to ascertain by what means the acquisition
was obtained. Robert de Meyners grants a charter
of the lands of Culdares in Fortingall to Mathew de
Moncrief as early as the reign of Alexander II. His
PART II.] APPENDIX. 311
son Alexander de Meyners was certainly in posses-

sion of the lands of Weem, Aberfeldie, and Glen-
dochart, in Atholl, besides his original possessions of
Dunisdeer in Nithsdale. He was succeeded in the
estates of Weem, Aberfeldie and Durisdeer, by his
eldest son Robert, while his younger son, Thomas,
obtained the lands of Fothergill.
From the eldest son the present family of Menzies
of Menzies is descended ; but the family of Menzies
of Fothergill became extinct in the third generation,
and the property was transfeiTed to the family of
Stewart in consequence of the marriage of James
Stewart, natural son of the Wolfe of Badenoch, with
the heiress.
FRASER.
Of the Norman origin of the family of the Frasers
it is impossible for a moment to entertain any doubt.
They appear during the first few generations uni-
formly in that quarter of Scotland which is south of
the Firths of Forth and Clyde; and they possessed
at a very early period extensive estates in the coun-
ties of East Lothian and of Tweeddale : besides this,
the name of Frisale, which is its ancient form,
appears in the roll of Battle Abbey, thus placing
the Norman character of their origin beyond a
doubt.
Down to the reign of Robert the Bruce the Fra-
sers appear to have remained in the southern coun-
ties, but during his reign they began to spread
312 APPENDIX. [part II.
northward, penetrating into Mearns and Aberdeen-

shire, and finally into Inverness-shire. Sir Andrew
Fraser appears to have acquired extensive territories
in the North by marriage with the heiress of a
family of considerable consequence in Caithness;
but he still possessed property in the South, as he
appears under the title of Dominus de Touch, in the
county of Stirling. Simon Fraser was the first of
the family of Lovat. By marriage with Margaret,
daughter of John, earl of Orkney and Caithness, he
obtained a fooling in the North. On the death of
Magnus, the last earl of this line, he unsuccessfully
contested the succession with the earl of Stratherne,
but at the same time he acquired the property of
Lovat, which descended to his wife through her
mother, the daughter and heiress of Graham of Lo-
vat. His son Hugh is the first of this family who
appears on record in possession of Lovat and the
Aird. On the 11th September, 1367, Hugh Fraser,
" Dominus de Loveth et portionarius terrarum de
Aird", does homage to the bishop of Moray for his
part of the half daviach land of Kintallergy and

Esser and fishings of Form. After this he occurs
frequently under the title of "
Dominus de Loveth",
and this Hugh Fraser, Dominus de Loveth, is the
undisputed ancestor of the modern Frasers of Lovat,
while of their connexions with the Southern Frasers,
and also of their consequent Norman oi'igin, there
can be no doubt whatever.

313
Few families have asserted their right to be con-

sidered as a GaeUe clan with greater vehemence
than the Chisholms, notwithstanding that there are
perhaps few whose Lowland origin is less doubtful.
Hitherto no one has investigated their history; but
their early charters suffice to establish the real origin
of the family with great clearness. The Highland pos-
sessions of the family consist of Comer, Strathglass,
&c., in which is situated their castle of Erchless,
and the manner in which they acquired these lands
is proved by the fact, that there exists a confirmation
of an indenture betwixt William de Fenton of Baky
on the one part, and " Margaret de la Ard domina
de Erchless and Tliomas de Chishelme her son and
heir'''' on the other part, dividing between them the
lands of which they were heirs portioners, and
among these lands is the barony of the Ard in Inver-
ness-shire. This deed is dated at Kinrossy, 25th of
April, 1403.
In probability, therefore, the husband of Mar-
all
garet must have been Alexander de Chishelme, who

is mentioned in 1368 as comportioner of the barony
of Ard along with lord Fenton.
The name of Chisholm does not occur in Battle
Abbey Roll, so there is no distinct authority to
prove that the family was actually of Norman origin,
but these documents above cited distinctly shew that

the name was introduced into the Highlands from
VOL. II. P
314 APPKNDIX. [part it.
the low country. Their original seat was in all j)ro-
babilily in Roxbm-gshire, as we find the only person
of the name who signs Ragman's Roll is " Richard
de Chesehelm del county de Roxburg", and in this
county the family of Chisholm still remains. Their

situation therefore, together with the character of the
name itself, seems with sufficient clearness to in-
dicate a Norman origin.
The four families whose origin we havê here in-
vestigated, although cursorily, complete the number

of clans whose foreign origin can be established with
any degree of certainty ; and whether we consider the
small number of these families, or their situation on
the borders of the Highlands, we cannot but be
struck with the small impression which the predomi-
nating influence of the Saxons and Normans in the
Highlands, and the continued encroachments of the
Lowland barons, both of such lengthened endurance,
produced upon the population of the aboriginal Gael.
This is a fact which can only be accounted for by the
rooted and unalterable hatred which the Gael have
always exhibited to the introduction among them or
settlement of strangers, and which perhaps more
than any other cause led to those interminable feuds
by which the Highlands of Scotland were so long
and grievously distracted.
G. Wpodfall, Printer, Anftel Court, Skinner Street, I.onflon.

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(j^.

ORIGIN, HISTORY, AND ANTIQUITIES

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS,

AN ACCOUNT OF THE CLANS INTO WHICH THEY WERE DIVIDED,

BY WILLIAM F. SKENE, F.S.A. Scot.

THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

the Highlands — Traces of the oldest and true Tradition

Genealogies of the Highland Clans ....

Clan Rory, or Macrorys . , . .54

2. Clan Donald, or Macdonells . . .58

3. Clan Dugall, or Macdugalls 107

Clan Lamond, or Lamonds . . . .123

I. Clan Chattan, or Macphersons 170

II. Clan Cameron, or Camerons 193

ill. Ross 222

5. Clan Duffie, or Macphies

THE HIGHLAND CLANS.

Traditionary Origins of the Highland Clans. — History of High-

In the second part of this Work, it is proposed to

affecting the main object of this Work— namely, that

to the present time, were such details compatible

with the necessary limits of a Work of the present

tury the Highlanders of Scotland were divided into a

objection which may be made to this view of their

believe that, if such was their real origin, a tradition

man, or Saxon, and he will find different origins

assigned to many of the clans, all of which are sup-

any of the clans, but that, on the contrary, they are

a system which reason shews to be as impossible as

inspection will discover to him a still more remark-

posed to each other, and which have equally ob-

times in the Highlands, and the causes which led to

ing of the country. The Southern Picts, a people

must eventually have prevailed even among the clans

which I have been able to discover, is contained in

temal evidence, appears to have been written about

the reasons which induce me to think generally that

this could not have been the true origin of these

duced by circumstances, and one which gradually

cular objection to the origin of the different clans

1 This MS., the value and importance of which it is impos-

quity was afterwards confirmed by discovering upon it the date

of 1467. As this MS. will be very frequently quoted in the

course of this part of the Work, it will be referred to as " the

which allusion will be made. The Author may add, that he

mentioned in the MS. will be found under the head

although, as we have seen, the tribe of Lorn was

distance of abode renders improbable while, on the ;

bond of Manrent between

line of Lorn, then we shall find the rest of the MS.

every reason to think that the genealogies contained

clans contained in each division being more closely

to have been first adopted by the Macdonalds, who

the Macgregors are brought in a direct line fi-oni

Kenneth Macalpin, a hero famed in fabulous history