 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2009) |
| Clan MacDonald of Glencoe | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Clann Iain Abrach | |||
| Motto | Nec Tempore Nec Fato (Neither Time Nor Fate) | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Argyll, Glencoe | ||
| Plant badge | Fraoch gorm (erica vulgaris) common heath | ||
| Clan MacDonald of Glencoe has no chief, and is an armigerous clan | |||
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The MacDonalds of Glencoe, also known as Clann Iain Abrach, was a Highland Scottish clan and a branch of the larger Clan Donald. They were named after Glen Coe.
The founder of the MacDonalds of Glencoe was Iain Fraoch MacDonald (d. 1368) who was a son of Aonghus Óg of Islay (died 1314×1318/c.1330), chief of Clan Donald, who fought alongside King Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. [1]
It is believed that Angus Og never married the daughter of MacEanruig or MacHenry the 'head man' in Glencoe. [2] Instead, he married Aine O'Cahan of Ulster who gave birth to his legitimate heir, John of Islay, who became Lord of the Isles.
Angus Og gained the lands of Glencoe from Robert the Bruce who, after the Battle of Bannockburn, bestowed these lands on him as well as others. In turn, Angus Og gave his natural son, Iain Fraoch, Glencoe.
Glencoe was an ever hostile environment whose sparse soil drove people to theft, raiding, and stealing cattle from their neighbors. Though the Maclans of Glencoe disavowed any connexion with these piratical expeditions of their kinsmen, it is to be feared their own record was not less open to question.
As time went on, and the virile house of Campbell rose more and more into power at the expense of their older rivals the MacDonalds, these Maclans of Glencoe played their own part in that struggle between the Montagues and Capulets. The struggle came to a height in the seventeenth century, when the Campbells, at last, felt strong enough to deal their MacDonald rivals a knockout blow. In the time of the civil wars of Charles I, when that King’s general, the Marquess of Montrose, had been defeated at Philiphaugh, and the Marquess of Argyll, Chief of the Campbells, found himself at the head of the government of Scotland and in possession of despotic power, the latter seized the opportunity to send the armies of the Covenant to demolish the last strongholds of the MacDonalds and MacDougalls, burning the forts of the latter at Gylen and Dunnollie near Oban, and massacring the garrison of three hundred MacDonalds in their Castle of Dunavertie at the south end of Kintyre [3] .
In these events may be found the reason for the raids made by the MacDonalds of Glencoe during the half-century which followed into the lands of their Campbell enemies which lay to the westward. For geographical reasons the lands which suffered most from these incursions were those of the younger branch of the Argyll family, the Campbells of Glenorchy, whose head in the days of Charles II, became Earl of Breadalbane and Holland. On one occasion, while a marriage feast was going on at Glenurchy’s stronghold of Finlarig on Loch Tay, the word was suddenly brought that the MacDonalds were driving the cattle of the Campbells out of the glen, and the wedding guests almost instantly found themselves engaged in a bloody affray with the invaders. Again, on their way home from playing a victorious part under King James’s general, Viscount Dundee, at the Battle of Killiecrankie, the MacDonalds of Glencoe seized the opportunity to sweep Glenlyon of its whole cattle and valuables, and left Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, Breadalbane’s henchman, absolutely a ruined man [4] .
The Glencoe MacDonalds were one of three Lochaber clans with a reputation for lawlessness, the others being the MacGregors and the Keppoch MacDonalds. Levies from these clans served in the Independent Companies used to suppress the Conventicles in 1678–80, and took part in the devastating Atholl raid that followed Argyll's Rising in 1685. [5] This made them an obvious target when the Duke of Argyll returned to power after the 1688 Glorious Revolution in Scotland. [6]
During the 1689- 1692 Jacobite rising, the Scottish government held a series of meetings with the Jacobite chiefs. In March 1690, the Secretary of State, Lord Stair, offered a total of £12,000 for swearing allegiance to William III. They agreed to do so in the June 1691 Declaration of Achallader, the Earl of Breadalbane signing for the government. [7]
On 26 August, a Royal Proclamation offered a pardon to anyone taking the Oath prior to 1 January 1692, with severe reprisals for those who did not. Two days later, secret articles appeared, canceling the agreement in the event of a Jacobite invasion and signed by all the attendees, including Breadalbane, who claimed they had been manufactured by MacDonald of Glengarry. [8] Stair's letters increasingly focused on enforcement, reflecting his belief that forged or not, none of the signatories intended to keep their word, and so an example was required. [9]
In early October, the chiefs asked the exiled James II for permission to take the Oath unless he could mount an invasion before the deadline, a condition they knew to be impossible. [10] His approval was sent on 12 December and received by Glengarry on the 23rd, who did not share it until the 28th. One suggestion it was driven by an internal power struggle between Protestant elements of the MacDonald clan, like Glencoe, and the Catholic minority, led by Glengarry. Delayed by heavy snow, the Glencoe chief was late taking the oath, but Glengarry himself did not swear until early February. [11]
The exact reason for the selection of the Glencoe MacDonalds remains unclear but led to the Massacre of Glencoe (Gaelic: Mort Ghlinne Comhann) in the early hours of the 13th of February 1692. This was carried out by troops quartered on the Macdonalds, commanded by Robert Campbell of Glenlyon; the number of deaths is disputed, the often quoted figure of 38 being based on hearsay evidence, while the MacDonalds claimed 'the number they knew to be slaine were about 25.' [12] Recent estimates put total deaths resulting from the Massacre as 'around 30', while claims others died of exposure have not been substantiated. [13]
Although the action itself was widely condemned, there was limited sympathy for the MacDonalds; the government commander in Scotland, Thomas Livingstone, commented in a letter; 'It's not that anyone thinks the thieving tribe did not deserve to be destroyed, but that it should have been done by those quartered amongst them makes a great noise.' [14]
The Glencoe Macdonalds rebuilt their houses, taking part in the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745. In 2018, a team of archaeologists organised by the National Trust for Scotland began surveying several areas related to the massacre, with plans to produce detailed studies of their findings. [15] Work in the summer of 2019 focused on the settlement of Achtriachtan, at the extreme end of the glen; home to an estimated 50 people, excavations show it was rebuilt after 1692. It was still occupied in the mid-18th century, but by 1800 the area was deserted. [16]
The clan's tartan is sold as MacIain/MacDonald of Glencoe but sometimes is often sold as MacDonald of Ardnamurchan through confusion of both clans being known as MacIains. There is a separate tartan known as the MacDonald of Glencoe, it is very different from the MacIan or the Ardnamuchan. This is the proper tartan for Glencoe and was found on the bodies exhumed in the 1800s for burial in consecrated ground. This is an ancient tartan and predates the Highland Clearances.
The following is a list of the historic chiefs of the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe:
The Cameron Henry of Penicuik is currently claiming clan chief through ancestry by sept Henry. They are represented by the High Chief of Clan Donald. Currently there are 4 contenders for MacDonald of Glencoe Chiefship.[ citation needed ]The families descended from James Cameron of Madagascar are as well preparing a claim. It is anticipated that this matter will be settled by Lord Lyon King of Arms in the next few years.[ citation needed ]
The list of septs of the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe is:
Culp, Henderson, Hendrie, Hendry, Henry, Johnson, Kean, Keene, Keane, MacDonald, MacGilp, MacHendrie, MacHendry, MacHenry, MacIan, MacIsaac, MacKean, McKean, McKendrick, McKern, MacKern, MacKillop, MacPhilip, Moor, Philip, Philp [18] [19]
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 the Earl and later Duke of Argyll.
Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald, is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, who is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of coats of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, recognizes under Scottish law the High Chief of Clan Donald. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs also held the title of Earl of Ross until 1476.
Clan MacLean is a Highlands Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in clan skirmishes with the Mackinnons, Camerons, MacDonalds and Campbells, as well as all of the Jacobite risings.
Robert Campbell, 5th Laird of Glenlyon, was a minor member of Scottish nobility and is best known as one of the commanding officers at the Massacre of Glencoe.
John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland, son of Sir John Campbell of Glen Orchy, and of the Lady Mary Graham, daughter of William Graham, 1st Earl of Airth and 7th Earl of Menteith, was a member of Scottish nobility during the Glorious Revolution and Jacobite risings and also known as "Slippery John". An astutely political man, Campbell was one of the men implicated in the Massacre of Glencoe.
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.
Clan MacDonnell of Glengarry is a Scottish clan and is a branch of the larger Clan Donald. The clan takes its name from Glen Garry where the river Garry runs eastwards through Loch Garry to join the Great Glen about 16 miles (25 km) north of Fort William, Highland.
John MacDonald, known as Iain Lom was a Scottish Gaelic poet.
Clan MacIntyre is a Highland Scottish clan. The name MacIntyre, means "son of the carpenter" Although no documented history of the clan exists, it is most commonly said to descend from Maurice Mac Neil a nephew of Somerled, the great 12th century leader of the Scottish Gaels. Through an ingenious strategy, Maurice secured the marriage of Somerled to the daughter of the King of Mann and the Isles, thus greatly increasing Somerled's territories. At an unknown date the clan journeyed from the Hebrides to the Scottish mainland where the chiefs established their home at Glen Noe, in Ardchattan Parish, on the east side of Loch Etive.
The Clan 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.
Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, also known as Clan Ranald or Clan Ronald, is a Highland Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald, one of the largest Scottish clans. The founder of the Macdonalds of Clanranald is Reginald, 4th great-grandson of Somerled. The Macdonalds of Clanranald descend from Reginald's elder son Allan and the MacDonells of Glengarry descend from his younger son Donald. The clan chief of the MacDonalds of Clanranald is traditionally designated as The Captain of Clanranald and today both the chief and clan are recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the heraldic judge in Scotland.
Clan Maclachlan, also known as Clan Lachlan, Clann Lachainn (Argyll), and Clann Lachlainn, is a Highland Scottish clan that historically centred on the lands of Strathlachlan on Loch Fyne, Argyll on the west coast of Scotland. The clan claims descent from Lachlan Mor, who lived on Loch Fyne in the 13th century, and who has left his name upon the countryside he once controlled: places such as Strathlachlan, Castle Lachlan and Lachlan Bay. Tradition gives Lachlan Mor a descent from an Irish prince of the O'Neill dynasty, Ánrothán Ua Néill, son of Áed, son of Flaithbertach Ua Néill, King of Ailech and Cenél nEógain, died 1036. Clan Maclachlan has been associated with other clans, such as Clan Lamont, Clan Ewen of Otter, Clan MacNeil of Barra, and the MacSweens: as all claim descent from Anrothan O'Neill who left Ireland for Kintyre in the 11th century. From this descent the clan claims a further descent from the legendary Niall Noigíallach, High King of Ireland, who lived from the mid 4th century to the early 5th century.
Clan MacAlister is a Scottish Clan. The clan is the earliest branch to have split off from Clan Donald, claiming descent from Alasdair Mòr, son of Domhnall founder of Clan Donald. From Alasdair Mòr the clans takes its surname MacAlister; this surname is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic MacAlasdair meaning "son of Alasdair". In the 15th century the chief of the clan was seated in Kintyre, and the clan was centred there until the 18th century, when a chief sold the family estate in preference to an estate in the Scottish Lowlands.
Clan Macfie is a Highlands Scottish Clan.
Events from the year 1692 in the Kingdom of Scotland.
The Massacre of Glencoe is a 1971 British historical drama film directed by Austin Campbell and starring James Robertson Justice, Andrew Crawford and William Dysart. The film depicts the 1692 Massacre of Glencoe in Scotland.
Robert Duncanson, 1658 to May 1705, was a Scottish professional soldier from Inveraray; a retainer of the Earl of Argyll, he began his career during the 1685 Argyll's Rising, and is now best remembered for his involvement in the February 1692 Glencoe massacre.
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.
Coll Macdonald, 16th of Keppoch (c.1664-1729), was a Scottish clan chief and prominent Jacobite, active in both the 1715 Jacobite rebellion and Dundee's rising of 1689. He was chief of the Macdonalds of Keppoch, holding land in Lochaber.