| Henderson Stone | |
|---|---|
| Native name Scottish Gaelic: Clach Eanruig | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 56°40′52″N5°05′46″W / 56.6812°N 5.096°W |
| OS grid reference | NN 10443 58668 |
  Location of Henderson Stone in Highland | |
The Henderson Stone (Clach Eanruig in Scottish Gaelic) is a granite boulder in a field in the Glencoe (Carnoch) area of Scotland. Clach Eanruig is translated alternatively as Henderson Stone or Henry's Stone. [1] [2] [3]
Oral tradition in the area includes stories involving the Henderson Stone and a warning from a Campbell soldier of the impending Massacre of Glencoe in 1692. Although the details vary from one version of the story to another, each version has certain commonalities. Legend has it one of the soldiers, who had been billeted with the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe for ten days, knew of the order to kill the MacDonalds early the next morning. He sought to warn his host of the impending massacre. While walking with the local, the soldier speaks a warning directly to the stone. The exact wording of the warning statement varies by retelling, but goes something like this: "Great stone in the Glen, though you have every right to be there, if you knew what was to happen tonight you would not stay there on any account." [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Tradition has it that the local who heard the cryptic message to the stone escaped, but was unable to warn many others. [1] [4] [5]
John Prebble, in Glencoe: the story of the massacre, analyzes the significance of the stories of the warnings at Henderson Stone in this way:
The Campbells of Argyll’s Regiment were Highland, and the inviolability of hospitality was as sacred to them as to any other clan, murder under trust was as great a sin. This is remembered in the stories which the Glencoe people told for another hundred and fifty years. Confused and contradictory though the legends became, they do record the truth that some of the Argyll men were revolted by the orders given them, and that within the oath of obedience they had taken they attempted to warn the people. . . . And for each warning remembered by the MacDonalds, there may have been another forgotten. When the order was given two hours before dawn on Saturday, there were soldiers who killed no one, who turned their backs on running shadows, who heard no frightened breathing in the dark. [7]
A commemorative sign has been located at the Henderson Stone since at least 1870. [1] Commemorations are on occasion held at the site of the stone. [9]
Glencoe or Glencoe Village is the main settlement in Glen Coe in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands. It lies at the north-west end of the glen, on the southern bank of the River Coe where it enters Loch Leven.
The Massacre of Glencoe took place in Glen Coe in the Highlands of Scotland on 13 February 1692. An estimated 30 members and associates of Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by Scottish government forces, allegedly for failing to pledge allegiance to the new monarchs, William III and Mary II.
Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan became Earl of Argyll and later Duke of Argyll.
Archibald Campbell, Marquess of Argyll, 8th Earl of Argyll, Chief of Clan Campbell was a Scottish nobleman, politician, and peer. The de facto head of Scotland's government during most of the conflict of the 1640s and 1650s known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, he was a major figure in the Covenanter movement that fought for the maintenance of the Presbyterian religion against the Stuart monarchy's attempts to impose episcopacy. He is often remembered as the principal opponent of the royalist general James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose.
Argyll, sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Glen Coe is a glen of volcanic origins, in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the county of Argyll, close to the border with the historic province of Lochaber, within the modern council area of Highland. Glen Coe is regarded as the home of Scottish mountaineering and is popular with hillwalkers and climbers.
Argyll's Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment formed in April 1689 to suppress Jacobite opposition in the Highlands. In February 1692 it took part in the Glencoe Massacre, moved to Brentford near London in May then to Flanders in early 1693 where it fought in the Nine Years War. It became Lord Lorne's Regiment in April 1694 and was disbanded on February 1697.
Balquhidder is a small village in Perthshire located 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Callander. It is administered by the Stirling council area of Scotland and is overlooked by the dramatic mountain terrain of the 'Braes of Balquhidder', at the head of Loch Voil. Balquhidder Glen is also popular for fishing, nature watching and walking.
John MacDonald, known as Iain Lom was a Scottish Gaelic poet.
The Clan Henderson also known as House of Henderson is a Scottish clan. The clan's historical seat is at Fordell Castle in Dalgety Bay, Fife. The current clan chief is Alistair Henderson of Fordell.
Glen Lyon is a glen in the Perth and Kinross region of Scotland. It is the longest enclosed glen in Scotland and runs for 34 miles from Loch Lyon in the west to the village of Fortingall in the east.
The MacDonalds of Glencoe, also known as Clann Iain Abrach, was a Highland Scottish clan and a branch of the larger Clan Donald. Named after Glen Coe, the MacDonalds lived there from the early 14th century, until the glen was largely abandoned during the Highland Clearances of the late 18th century.
Achallader Castle is a ruined 16th-century tower house under the shadow of Beinn Achaladair, about 3.5 miles north of Bridge of Orchy, Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
Events from the year 1692 in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Sir Duncan Campbell (1597–1645), 2nd Baronet and 6th Lord of Auchinbreck, was a Scottish landowner and soldier. He was commander of the Marquess of Argyll, Archibald Campbell's troops, (Covenanters) in Ireland.
The Battle of Lagganmore took place in 1646 at Lagganmore in Glen Euchar, west of Loch Scammadale. It was part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, though in this case the battle, which was fought largely between Highland clansmen, incorporated a long running feud between Clan MacDonald and Clan Campbell.
Lady of the Glen: A Novel of 17th-Century Scotland and the Massacre of Glencoe is a 1996 historical fiction novel by American author Jennifer Roberson. It is a re-telling of the 1692 Massacre of Glencoe, and focuses on the romance between Catriona of Clan Campbell and Alasdair Og MacDonald of Clan Donald, each from rival clans.