Loch Ghruinneart, Isle of Islay

If you picture troops involved in a 14th Century clan battle, fairies are the last thing you would expect to find among the ranks. However according to legend, a fairy is said to have appeared at the Battle of Traigh Ghruinneart, fought between Clan MacDonald and Clan MacLean in 1598. Although it wasn’t the kind of sweet, tinkerbell-esque fairy you’re probably imagining. According to legend, Dubh Sith (Black Fairy) was named after his dark skin and hairy body, and was an excellent archer. But the thing to remember about fairies is that they make great enemies – so you should never, ever cross a fairy.

In 1598 the Isle of Islay in the Inner Hebrides was held by Clan MacDonald, much to the annoyance of the chief of Clan MacLean, Sir Lachlan Mor MacLean. Sir Lachlan claimed that part of the Isle – the Rhinns – were part of the dowry given to his wife in 1566 by her brother Angus MacDonald, chief of Clan MacDonald. However Angus had also promised the Rhinns to Brian Vicar MacKay, lieutenant to the MacDonalds. For years Sir Lachlan had contested this, and in 1598 he finally decided to seek the lands that he claimed were rightfully his from his nephew, the new chief Sir James MacDonald.

In those days a battle was never fought without consulting a ban-fhaidh (wise woman), so Sir Lachlan sought out words of advice before embarking on his campaign. The ban-fhaidh told him under no circumstances should he go to Islay. Sir Lachlan replied that he was honour-bound to do so, and he must go, so the woman gave him three warnings to heed:

1.) Do not land at Islay on a Thursday

2.) Do not fight on the shores of Loch Ghruinneart

3.) Do not drink from the well known as Tobar Niall Neonaich

Three easy pieces of advice to follow to ensure a MacLean victory. However, upon arrival in Islay it wasn’t as easy to take heed of the ban-fhaidh’s warning. After assembling his forces of about 800-1000 men, Sir Lachlan set sail for Islay on a Wednesday. Unfortunately for him, bad weather meant the ship could not land until Thursday. Sir James rode to meet his uncle on the shores of Loch Ghruinneart and pleaded with him for peace, offering the MacLeans half of the island for Lachlan’s lifetime. Sir Lachlan had since learned he had double the men of Clan MacDonald, and was in no mood to compromise, instead demanding Sir James give him the entire island.

And so the troops from each clan lined up to battle at Traigh Ghruinneart (traigh meaning shoreline), which must have sent shivers down Sir Lachlan’s spine. Just before the battle the fairy from Jura known as Dubh Sith approached Sir Lachlan and offered his services as an archer during the battle. Sir Lachlan laughed in the fairy’s mutilated face, turning his back on the creature. Dubh Sith then approached Sir James, who received the fairy with open arms. Dubh Sith told Sir James to look after the battle, and he would take care of Sir Lachlan.

Unseen by the busy troops, Dubh Sith hid and waited in a Rowan tree near Tobar Niall Neonaich. The battle ensued under the hot August sun, and during a lull Sir Lachlan stopped at the well to take a drink. On removing his helmet, Dubh Sith jumped at the chance and shot Sir Lachlan through the eye with an arrow, killing him instantly.

The battle continued, with MacLean men full of rage upon hearing the news of the death of their chief. The MacDonald forces feigned retreat toward the setting sun then turned around to fight with the sun in the eyes of their enemy. The MacDonalds were victorious and chased the remaining MacLeans back to their boats, with some seeking refuge in the Chapel of Kilnave. The chapel was burnt to the ground, killing all but one of the men inside. According to local legend, this man was a aMacMhuirich (Currie) who managed to climb through a hole in the roof when the burning thatch collapsed. He eventually found refuge on the island, with his ancestors still there today.

Cairn marking the spot where Sir Lachlan MacLean fell

Sir Lachlan’s foster mother heard of his death and came to collect the body shortly after the battle. She made a cairn beside the well where he was shot, and carried the body by cart to the church at Kilchoman where she buried him inside the church. When the new church was built on the old site, it was a smaller building, so today Sir Lachlan lies in the grounds outside the church.

It is not known what became of the mysterious Dubh Sith. Following the battle James VI and I awarded the MacDonald lands of Islay to Clan Campbell, leading to an extension of the feud. Clan MacDonald’s reign in Islay came to an end in 1612 when Angus MacDonald, 8th of Dunnyveg, sold his land holdings to Sir John Campbell of Cawdor of Clan Campbell.

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The Red Wedding in Game of Thrones

The Island of Islay is a beautiful jewel in the inner Hebrides. A gentle low lying island of pastoral lands, expansive sandy beaches and more than a few whisky distilleries. The local population are among the friendliest you will ever meet so it seems surprising that such intrigue could play out in such an idyllic place. Read on…

Finlaggan

The Island was once the power base of the MacDonald Lords of the Isles. From their castle at Finlaggan the new lords were appointed and Islay was clan Donald’s spiritual home. However clan Donald had, to put it mildly, an uneasy relationship with the crown and in 1493 after various misdemeanours their lands had become forfeit.

Such was the extent of MacDonald lands that it took the crown accountants 20 years to take stock of all their estates. The estates were distributed among those loyal to the Scottish crown; mostly clan Campbell and the MacIan’s of Ardnamurchan, a branch of Clan Donald who were related to Campbell’s through marriage.

An area of Islay known as ‘The Rinns’, the part of the island running out to the north west that includes Port Charlotte and Portnehevan was granted to the MacLeans of Duart, a powerful clan from Mull. With so many large clans sharing such a small area it was inevitable that tensions would spill over, nevertheless an uneasy peace was maintained. but it wasn’t to last long…

In 1567 Angus MacDonald succeeded as chief of the MacDonalds of Islay. Angus had a bitter rival in the young Lachlan MacLean of Duart and when Lachlan came of age the authorities realised it was just a matter of time before matters would get out of hand. In an effort to spare bloodshed the king commanded that Angus was to marry Lachlan’s sister. By all accounts the marriage went as planned, however when Angus decided to go to Mull to visit the ‘in-laws’ things took a dramatic turn for the worse.

Despite the forfeiture of the Rinns, Angus had never officially signed the papers over to the MacLeans and they were determined to get their land. When the newlyweds arrived at Duart castle Angus was taken prisoner until he signed away his rights to the Rinns. Even after signing the deeds the MacLeans rightly mistrusted Angus and so kept his brother and his son James as hostages.

So having signed away a part of his clan’s spiritual home Angus and his wife returned to Islay. Angus though was determined that the MacLeans would not be enjoying their new territory any time soon but nevertheless kept his own council playing a much longer game. Eventually Lachlan in triumphant mood arrived on Islay to look over his new possessions. he brought with him 86 of his clansmen and the young James MacDonald as a token of conciliation. Angus welcomed them with a lavish banquet but mid way though the meal the mood turned suddenly very ugly and on Angus’ cue a horde of heavily armed MacDonald’s burst into the room and took the MacLeans captive.

News of the capture of Lachlan and his MacLean kinsmen made it’s way back to Mull. Terrible news for most of the clan but not so for Alan MacLean a rival to Lachlan’s chiefship and uses Lachlan’s absence as an opportunity. Realising it would be in his best interests if Lachlan never returned he leaked out  a lie that Angus’ brother, still a captive at Duart had been put to death. Alan MacLeans subterfuge almost worked and Angus began to put to death two captives a day until all 86 had been executed – all that remained was Lachlan himself and Angus was on the way to watch his rival’s demise when news reached Islay that the story was false.By all accounts Lachlan’s neck was saved with minutes to spare.

Giving new meaning to the phrase ‘thats a bit awkward’ the MacDonald’s now had a fairly angry Lachlan as a captive they would much prefer not to have. Once again the Crown intervened and sent a Campbell representative to broker a hostage exchange and some peace. Peace however was not in the vocabulary of these two clans… As soon as Lachlan returned to Duart (and dealt with his scheming kinsman). He put together a raiding party to take revenge on Islay. Angus in return laid waste to settlements on Mull and Tiree. During another raid while Angus was mustering forces on the south of Kerrera, the party were ambushed by MacLean men and MacDonald of Sleat, Macleod of Lewis and and MacFee of Colonsay were all captured.

Once again the crown intervened and while most of the hostages were returned Angus MacDonald refuse to hand over his – as a result Angus was outlawed. As it was Lachlan was not much better at keeping his word and he too refused to return some of his captives. he had also been hatching his own particularly dark revenge…

in 1588 Macian of Ardnamurchan arranged to marry Lachlan’s mother. with the MacIan being a branch of clan Donald it was hoped that this marriage bond would help force a peace between them. This wasn’t Lachlan’s plan though… as the wedding festivities progressed Lachlan’s men stormed the reception and ordered all the MacDonalds present to be massacred. Only the bridegroom was spared.

Game of Thrones fans will be able to picture this scene well since the ‘red wedding’ is a pivotal moment in the series (the same events were played out with the Douglas Clan so its clearly not an uncommon occurrence) . This was not the end of Lachlan’s bloody crusade though and he then set off on a murder tour of a number of small islands including Rhum, Eigg, Muck and Canna. With assistance from some Spanish mercenaries who had survived the disastrous wrecks of the Spanish Armada they set about all but exterminating the population of these islands.

Angus’ revenge was taken out on the settlements of Mull and in this he was in turn assisted by English mercenaries. By 1589 the King had lost all patience with his warring subjects and both parties are summoned to Edinburgh.

On arrival both were arrested and held prisoner until they finally agree to behave. As a token of his willingness to comply Angus left his son James at the Royal court, the young man proved himself to be very popular and received a knighthood. And so peace descended on Islay again, but not for long. in 1592 a revolt of Scottish Nobles threatened the position of the King.

While he was otherwise occupied the MacLeans and MacDonalds saw the distraction as an opportunity to have another go at each other and war broke out again. This time it led to charges of treason being laid against both parties and this very serious threat calmed them both down. Now during all this time the Rinns of Islay (remember the Rinns?) had still never officially been handed over by the devious Angus so he agreed to make settlement including any arrears. Still, after 6 years of making promises Angus had still not officially made settlement so his son Sir James, now very much ‘in’ with the royal court decided to bring his father to book.

On James’ invitation Angus visited Cambletown, staying at Askomel House, James was lodged nearby. Angus and his son met and dined with each other with no hint of James’ plan. After one such meeting Angus returned to Askomel and was awakened in the night by some 300 men at James’ command , armed to the teeth and demanding that Angus give himself up. Angus understandably refused and so James decided to set light to the house with his mother and father inside. In making his escape though Angus is burned quite badly and ends up fleeing in only his nightshirt. James was cunning though and had set traps of felled logs around the grounds of the house and Angus tripped and fell and so was captured. He was then taken in chains to Dumbarton.

James returned to Edinburgh expecting a heroes welcome for finally taking care of his warmongering father but his over zealous methods didn’t go down at all well and such was the outrage that Angus had to be pardoned. James was now the outlaw and Angus got his revenge on his son 5 years later when he captured him on Islay, He was promptly delivered to the Campbells and taken to Perth to answer charges of fire raising and treason. Somehow though (and this does make you wonder about the level of security in the 16th century prison system) James managed to escape and fled back to Islay.

Now while all this in fighting has been going on Lachlan had been busy… Seeing his advantage Lachlan gathered a huge force with the aim of sending the MacDonalds to the afterlife once and for all. He sailed for Islay and the two sides squared up for battle at Traigh Ghruineart (Gruinard Bay) in August 1598.

As the MacLeans were preparing for battle Lachlan was approached by a dark skinned hunchback dwarf, the ‘Dubh Sith’ was half human and half fairy; his father being a Shaw from Jura and his mother from the other realm. This deformed dwarf offered the services of himself and his no doubt enchanted crossbow to Lachlan who laughed at him and considering himself to be far superior in numbers sent him on his way.

The dwarf hobbled off to the MacDonald camp and made the same offer to  Sir James who gratefully accepted. The dwarf said to James ‘you take care of the rest of the MacLeans and I’ll take care of Lachlan’ and then promptly scurried away and climbed into nearby Rowan tree. And so battle commenced on a hot August day. During a lull in the fighting Lachlan was overcome with thirst and so went to a nearby stream, he removed his helmet and knelt down to drink – right in range of the lurking dwarf who with one shot of his crossbow found his target on the back of Lachlan’s neck – the point of the crossbow bolt exiting his eye and killing him instantly.

With Lachlan dead the MacLeans lost heart and fled the field. The MacDonald’s pursued them to a church at Kilnave and with the surviving MacLeans barricaded in the church the MacDonalds set light to the thatch roof of the church killing all inside. Except one. One man; a MacMhurich (clan Currie) was able to escape from the church and fled into Loch Gruinard. As the bloodthirsty MacDonalds searched the land he hid under the waters of the bay using a hollow reed to breath through.

The story goes that after dark he made his escape and was taken in by some locals and it is said that his descendants live in the village of Bowmore on Islay to this day.

And so what became of our principal characters in this dark play? Well Lachlan was dead and buried at Kilchoman, Angus grew old and died naturally on Rothsay. Sir James had a more troubled future though; when James VI became king of a united England and Scotland he was determined to put behind him the reputation of his warring barbaric Scottish ancestry and so set about ‘cleaning up’ the Scots nobility. James was brought to justice, his possessions forfeited and charged with treason. He was condemned to death but managed to escape in 1615 (prison security had still not improved). James fled to Spain until 1620 when the King decided to offer him a royal pardon. He was forbidden from returning to Scotland though so lived out his few remaining years in London.

Apologies for anyone expecting dragons to feature at some point but you can’t have everything!

The post The Red Wedding and the Dwarf Assassin. Not ‘Game of Thrones’ But Everyday Clan Warfare appeared first on ScotClans | Scottish Clans.

The persecution of the Clan Gregor manuscript commission (above) was estimated to sell for between £2-3000. It sold at auction yesterday in Edinburgh for £2,750 (premium inclusive).

The manuscript licence (above) was expected to sell for a lot less, but was also sold to an as yet unknown bidder for £1,500 (premium inclusive). We’ll keep you updated on any updates we receive on this story. You can read the original story here.

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Balephuil Bay, Isle of Tiree

Crofters on an Inner-Hebridiean isle are looking to buy their island home from the chief of Clan Campbell under a community ownership plan. Residents on the Isle of Tiree, currently owned by Argyll Estates, say community ownership could generate fresh investment and economic growth on the island.

The Tiree Community Development Trust are currently putting together a feasibility study to look at the benefits of community ownership, although any bid could take at least four years to come together. The trust also intends to write to the Torquhil Campbell, current chief of the Campbells and 13th Duke of Argyll, to ask his opinions on the buy-out.

The low-lying Isle of Tiree, which lies west of the Isle of Mull, has an area of 7,834 hectares and a population of around 650. The land is highly fertile with crofting, tourism and fishing the main sources of employment for the islanders.

Andy Wright, governance and finance manager of the trust, said inspiration for the bid has come from seeing how other proposals on other islands have worked, as well as Scottish Government incentives to encourage more community land ownership. “Our steering group has held a couple of meetings just to get feedback” he said. “The first thing we want to do is make sure everyone knows what something like this would mean before we start pushing ahead.”

“There’s a lot of questions being asked about the community land ownership proposal, for example people with crofts are a bit confused about what it means for them – they wouldn’t lose their crofts. There is a general feeling that with community ownership things would be a lot more pro-active. Certainly it could make moving things forward a lot easier.”

Argyll Estates’ factor Andrew Montgomery says there would be no objection to the crofting lands being taken into community ownership – but little else. “I don’t think there is too much support for the proposal,” he said. “I have spoken to a number of people who would be against it for one reason or another. The last time there was talk of a community buyout there was a flurry of crofts purchased because these people don’t want to be involved in the community buyout. I suspect the same will happen again.”

“I think many community land ownership bids seem to come from areas where there’s been disquiet – where something has happened that isn’t great for the community. Rather than hinder we try to help as much as we can. It is worth saying too that even if the community owns the land, the same problems will remain and someone still needs to run the place.”

Mr Montgomery added that he knows the Duke is not keen on the proposal. “(The Duke) has a great fondness for Tiree and they go over every year for their holidays. It’s not a flat out no, but there’s reasons for and against on both sides I think. It’s something we need to look at further but really I haven’t given it much thought.”

Among the Duke’s 29 titles are Master of the Royal Household of Scotland, Hereditary Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland (ranking 25th in the Scottish Order of Precedence) and Admiral of the Western Coasts and Isles. The Duke served as a Page of Honour to Queen Elizabeth II from 1981 to 1983, and is the current captain of Scotland’s national elephant polo team.

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Inveraray Castle – Downton Abbey

Inveraray Castle – Downton Abbey

Featured in the nail-biting finale to the third season of Downton Abbey, the stunning Inveraray Castle in Argyll has also been home to Clan Campbell since the 17th Century. In the episode the Grantham family and staff travel north to the home of their cousins, the Marquess and Marchioness of Flintshire in their mythical Scottish home, ‘Duneagle Castle’. The Inveraray Estate boasts 16 acres of highland charm including formal gardens and woodland walks that attract thousands of visitors each year. The castle has also seen its fair share of Downton-inspired storylines over the years – it was inhabited by the eccentric 10th Duke of Argyll in the 1920s, and was home to the rather promiscuous Margaret Campbell during the 1960s.

Castle Stalker – Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Highlander: Endgame

Castle Stalker - Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Highlander: Endgame

This wee gem of a castle located in Argyll is most well-known from the final scene of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Castle Stalker is known in the film as “The Castle of Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh”, where John Cleese taunts Arthur from its battlements before launching an attack. It also appeared briefly in the film Highlander: Endgame. Castle Stalker was built as a small fort by Clan MacDougall around 1320, with it’s present form dating from around 1440. Stalker is said to have been lost by the MacDougalls to Clan Campbell in a drunken bet in 1620, with the castle changing hands between the two clans until 1820 when Clan Campbell abandoned the castle for good when it lost its roof. You can view the Python scene in all its glory by clicking here.

Glenfinnan Viaduct – Harry Potter Series

Glenfinnan Viaduct – Harry Potter Series

Perhaps one of the most magical landscapes featured in the Harry Potter series, the Glenfinnan Railway Viaduct is passed over by Harry and his pals en route to Hogwarts at the beginning of each school year/film. The 21-arch single track viaduct was one of the largest concrete engineering feats undertaken when construction began in 1897. Today the route acts as a part of the West Highland tourist trail, with the steam engine operating along the line called ‘The Jacobite’. The engine had a starring role in the Harry Potter films, playing the role of the Hogwart’s Express, which you can view here.

Rosslyn Chapel – The Da Vinci Code

Rosslyn Chapel - The Da Vinci Code

Rosslyn Chapel was founded as a Catholic church by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness of the Sinclair Family in the mid-15th Century. According to some accounts, the descendents of Jesus Christ and members of the Knights Templar existed within the Sinclair family. Dan Brown used this theory in his 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code, with the chapel being used as a location in the film version which was released three years later. Despite being dismissed by historians and the Catholic Church, the novel has sold over 80 million copies worldwide.

City of Edinburgh – The Illusionist

City of Edinburgh - The Illusionist

This hand-drawn animated French film is perhaps one of the most beautiful filmic depictions of Edinburgh, and one of the reasons I fell head over heels for this magnificent city. The film brings to life locations such as Arthur’s Seat, Princes Street, Jenners Department Store, The Cameo Theatre, Waverley Station and the glorious cobbled streets, presenting them as they were in the late 1950s. Jonathan Meville of The Scotsman wrote: “Edinburgh’s skyline has never looked so good, and if the city didn’t exist it would be hard to believe somewhere so beautiful was real: if locals aren’t inspired to take a walk up North Bridge or down Victoria Street after this, they never will be. You can view a clip featuring Edinburgh as depicted in the film here.

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It’s a well-known and begrudgingly accepted fact that Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin loves to kill off central characters. In episode nine of the third season of the television series based on the books, three deaths in the space of mere minutes provoked an excessive amount of mortified outcry in almost every media outlet imaginable a few weeks ago. Such shocked reactions are nothing new to Martin – ever since the third book was published a decade ago, he’s been receiving exclamatory emails and letters from heartbroken readers about the disastrous Stark-Tully-Frey union. In a nutshell, three members of the much-loved but ill-fated Stark family and hundreds of Stark bannermen were slaughtered at a wedding, decisively snuffing out the King of the North’s claim to the throne of Westeros.

After heartbreakingly accidentally reading a tiny spoiler via a newspaper, I finally watched the final two episodes of season three a week after the episodes were released. Once the shock subsided and I finally stopped weeping, I was very intrigued to discover that Martin based the fateful ‘Red Wedding’ on two specific events from Scottish clan history. In an interview with EW, Martin said: “No matter how much I make up, there’s stuff in history that’s just as bad, or worse.”

The first event dates back to the fifteenth century, when Clan Douglas were one of the most powerful families in lowland Scotland. Rival families including Clan Crichton felt the Douglases were far too strong and capable of upsetting the delicate power-balance in Scotland at that point. In 1440 King James II was only ten years of age, and the ambitious and influential clan chief William Douglas could have easily gained control of the throne. So Clan Crichton, with the help of Alexander Livingston of Callendar, set out to extinguish the Douglas threat.

In 1440 Sir William Crichton, custodian of Edinburgh Castle, invited William Douglas and his younger brother David to dine with the young king; with the siblings suspecting nothing as the evening proceeded. Near the end of the dinner, a black bull’s head (the symbol of death) was placed on the table by a servant. The two brothers were then seized and dragged out to Castle Hill at the top of the Royal Mile. They were given a mock-trial and accused of various crimes including high treason, before being lead to the headman’s block where they both met a grisly demise with the swing of the executioners axe.

A depiction of the Black Dinner, an inspiration for the Red Wedding

This event came to be known as the ‘Black Dinner’, and just as in Thrones, a family were murdered after the unspoken laws and customs of hospitality were breached. Unsurprisingly the rest of Clan Douglas were quick to retaliate, laying siege to Edinburgh Castle and causing considerable damage. Perceiving the danger, Crichton surrendered the castle to King James who was then given the title of Lord Crichton. This was a politically astute move as challenging the decision would have meant challenging the king himself and left them fighting an unwinnable war against much of Scotland.

The discussion on the laws of hospitality that frequent the final two episodes also eerily draw from the events of the Massacre of Glencoe, which I blogged about earlier this year. In the final episode of the series, Bran speaks of a Lord who killed guests beneath his roof, saying “it’s something the Gods cannot forgive“. In 1692 32 Clan MacDonald members were murdered by Clan Campbell on direct orders from the crown, after providing accommodation to Campbell clansmen for the previous two weeks. The massacre was considered especially awful as it was considered ‘slaughter under trust’, and is still commemorated to this day.

I’m also convinced that Martin based his family/house structures in the series on the Scottish clan system. Every Thrones house has a coat of arms, words, leader, seat and region; just as each clan has their own crest, motto, chief, seat and region. I’ve made a comparison below between House Lannister from the series, and Clan MacGregor:

House Lannister
Words - Hear Me Roar!
Current Leader - Joffrey Baratheon
King of the Seven Kingdoms
Seat - Casterley Rock
Region - The Westerlands

Clan MacGregor
Motto – ‘S rioghal mo dhream (My race is royal)
Current Chief - Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor
The 7th baronet of Lanrick and Balquhidder
Seat - Bannatyne
Region - Argyll and Perthshire

The clans of Scotland have certainly captured the imagination of Martin, hundreds of years after these fateful events occurred. Like millions of others around the world, I sit with bated breath awaiting the next installment in the Game of Thrones series. Just in case you’re wondering, you can check here how many weeks and days are remaining by clicking here!

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The dome topped mausoleum in front of Kilmun Parish Church

Work has begun on restoring the final resting place of twenty generations of Campbell chiefs. Built in 1798, the current mausoleum is on the site of an earlier chapel where Campbells have been buried since the 15th century. The mausoleum is located within the grounds of Kilmun Parish Church on the banks of the Holy Loch in Argyll.

Following six years of campaigning, £1m in funding was awarded to the community organisation behind the restoration drive. Donors included Historic Scotland, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Argyll and Bute Council and the Argyll Estates. The mausoleum has fallen into disrepair after the cast iron dome, forged in Glasgow’s shipyards in 1890, began leaking soon after it was installed. The restoration project will be supervised by a team of archeaologists because of the building’s status as a scheduled ancient monument.

Welcoming the announcement, Dinah McDonald, Chair of Argyll Mausoleum Ltd said:  “We’re thrilled that after years of campaigning, the Mausoleum has been given the recognition it deserves. We would like to thank everyone for their support and contributions. The funding will go towards vital restoration of the building and artefacts. We also want to build new visitor facilities within the adjacent Church of Scotland and open the Mausoleum up to the community, schools and visitors”.

Records indicate that Campbell chiefs have been buried in Kilmun since at least the 15th Century. This tradition began with the untimely death in 1422 of Celestine, the son of ‘The Black Knight of Loch Awe’ Sir Duncan Campbell. A fierce snowstorm prevented the burial party from reaching Innishail, so Sir Duncan chose to bury his son beneath the aisle of the church at Kilmun. Sir Duncan and his wife Marjory (great, great grand-daughter of Robert the Bruce) were subsequently also buried in the church with their effigies above their tombs, establishing the clan tradition. A private chapel for burying Campbell chiefs and their families was constructed off the nave of the church by the 9th Earl in 1669. This was replaced by the present mausoleum built in 1798. The last Campbell chief to be buried in the mausoleum was the 10th Duke of Argyll in 1949.

Work is expected to begin in January 2014, with completion plans scheduled for the summer. David McKenzie, director of Argyll Mausoleum, said the mausoleum has wider historical importance as it contains medieval burial effigies dating back to the 1450s which are thought to be the last examples of such quality in Scotland. “They are not only of incredible historical importance, they’re also of incredible quality. The stone carvings are incredibly detailed. They show how a lady would have dressed, down to the beading on her gown. The armour worn by the lord is said to be evidence that even then, the Campbells had aspirations to be more than just a Highland clan.”

A list of those buried in the mausoleum can be found here.

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A memorial stands at the site today, with the Scottish Socialist Republican Movement marching through the streets of the village of Glencoe to the memorial annually on the anniversary. This year, a copy of the proclamation instructing troops to massacre the MacDonalds (below) was set alight. In recent commemorations the group have filmed themselves burning a Union flag.

Following a series of Jacobite risings in 1689 (including the Battle of Killcrankie), newly crowned King William III sought to subdue rebellious Highlanders by offering them a pardon. An order was received that all clan chiefs must swear allegiance to the King by 1 January 1692 or be punished with the “utmost extremity of the law”. John Dalrymple, Master of Stair and Scottish Secretary of State, used the deadline to his own political advantage and set about hindering clans from signing their allegiance. He had a deep dislike for highlanders (particularly the MacDonalds of Glencoe) and felt their way of life was a step backwards for Scotland.

MacIain, chief of the MacDonalds, was still bound by oath to James Stuart, the deposed King in France. It was December 12 before James had released the clans from their oath and December 28 before a messenger arrived in the Highlands with the news. MacIain rushed to sign the oath but was delayed and detained by Campbell soldiers along the way. He eventually signed the oath late, but it was rejected by John Dalrymple in Edinburgh, providing a way for him to get rid of the MacDonalds once and for all.

A Campbell-dominated Argyll regiment arrived in Glencoe twelve days before the massacre, claiming the nearby fort was full. The MacDonalds, honouring the Highland hospitality code, duly gave the soldiers quarter in their own houses, with neither clan nor soldiers aware of what lay ahead. On the night of February 13, a blizzard howled through Glencoe, and the soldiers received orders that they were to kill all MacDonald clansmen. In the morning, 38 lay dead including the chief MacIain, with another 40 women and children dead as a result of exposure after their houses had been burned.

Many were able to escape the massacre with some historians claiming that some Campbell men, disgusted at their orders, alerted the families who had been their hosts, giving them time to wrap up for the terrible wintery conditions outside. News of the massacre provoked outrage around Scotland resulting in an inquiry conducted by the Scottish Parliament. Even though the orders had been signed by the King himself, the inquiry sought to exonerate the King and place the blame on John Dalrymple, who had resigned from his post. The whole matter was forgotten in a matter of months, even though it was suggested that the government should pay compensation to the surviving members of the MacDonald Clan.

You are hereby ordered to fall upon the rebels, the McDonalds of Glenco, and put all to the sword under seventy. you are to have a speciall care that the old Fox and his sons doe upon no account escape your hands, you are to secure all the avenues that no man escape. This you are to putt in execution att fyve of the clock precisely; and by that time, or very shortly after it, I’ll strive to be att you with a stronger party: if I doe not come to you att fyve, you are not to tarry for me, but to fall on. This is by the Kings speciall command, for the good & safety of the Country, that these miscreants be cutt off root and branch. See that this be putt in execu- tion without feud or favour, else you may expect to be dealt with as one not true to King nor Government, nor a man fitt to carry Commissione in the Kings service. Expecting you will not faill in the full- filling hereof, as you love your selfe, I subscribe these with my hand att Balicholis Feb: 12, 1692 (signed) R. Duncanson For their Majesties service To Capt. Robert Campbell of Glenlyon

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Ouch!

A few years ago my sister contacted a genealogist to research my Mother’s family tree. After months of painstaking research she got back a large scroll with generations of our Robertson heritage. This scroll sat in its tube for some time until one day I got hold of it and decided it would be a good idea to incorporate this into some research I had been doing on our father’s side. This involved setting up an account with ancestry.com and starting to build my tree.

Talk about a can of worms!

First of all let me say I think ancestry is a great website. I have two issues with it though; first of all since they are not on great speaking terms with the records office in Scotland. Mainly down to the fact that the records office have their own ancestral research facility called ‘Scotland’s People‘ and it’s a paid for service so they are not hugely keen on handing over all their data to Ancestry for free so they can then charge for its use (you can sort of see their point). The second issue is that Ancestry builds some of its data from user’s trees. This means that it’s easy to let mistakes creep in. Of course if you are meticulous in your research and only allow ancestors onto your tree after they have been cross-referenced and quadruple checked then it’s not a problem.

If you are a bit lazy like me then you might get some surprises!

My attempts to go back on my father’s line (Moffet) did not take me very far, only a few generations. Part of the problem came down to spelling. Being descended from simple folk on that side (miners and farmers mostly) they were not terribly literate and so the spelling of our surname tended to vary from one generation to another and even in the one family birth certificate surname spelling among siblings was all over the place! Eventually I hit a total brick wall, my best guess is that I came across an illegitimate birth and the whole thing fell apart but who knows.

Now I had this Ancestry account for another 10 months and a bit of confusion what to do now. What’s that they say about idle hands?

Presented with a dead end on one line I started taking a few zig zags to see where they took me. Still following what they call the ‘pedigree’ line; parents, grandparent, great grandparents and so on. Now this is where the lazy bit comes in. looking for quick results I decided to use Ancestry’s ‘tree hints’. The website looks at the people you have added and searches other member trees, if it finds a match then it lets you know. You can then use their data to add members to your tree. Using this method you can build up a lot of relatives in a short time.

At first the results were interesting but each one would take me back a few generations and then run out. Nothing to see here, move along…. Census records only go back so far and before that you have parish records, which are pretty hard to read unless you are an expert so anyone doing amateur research tends to find it hard going after that.

Unless you hit a wee bit of blue blood that is.

The great thing about the upper classes, the landed elite is that with so much property they had to be sure of who they were handing the family jewels down to. Not so much of an issue of your inheritance was a wonky kitchen table and few bits of ‘manky’ crockery but if it’s a few hundred acres and a big ‘hoor’ of a castle that’s another matter! For this reason family records were kept meticulously. Also ancestors would turn up in charters and other documents so they are a lot easier to trace.

My bit of luck came while following a line back on my grannies side of the family, Granny always tended to think she was a bit above the rest of us (well she has been for a while now) Always centre stage in her fur coat! Well it turned out she had a point after all!

Her great Granny was called Margaret Eaton, going back another few generations the name changes to Aiton, go back another few generations and William Aiton strikes it lucky and marries Mary Campbell who it turns out is descended from the chiefs of Clan Campbell of Loudon

Bingo!

Now that I’ve tapped into a line of nobility there is frankly no turning back. My first impulse was to head off to Loudon Castle and set up the siege towers and claim my birth right, couple of problems with that; first of all we are talking 12 generations. Imagine each descendant had 5 children and each of them had 5 children (big families were more common then than now). Turns out there are a LOT of us! I guess maybe I could claim one brick of the ancestral home. Oops another problem, Loudon castle is the site of an abandoned theme park. Looks like I’m descended from a character in a Scooby Doo mystery (peels of mask to reveal the old caretaker)!

Black Agnes: ‘I fart in your general direction’

So off I went on my travel back trough time adding ancestor after ancestor, after ancestor, after…hang on! Just how many could I add? Turns out the answer was A LOT! Again the maths kicks in; 2 parents = 4 grandparents = 8 Great Grandparents = 16 Great Grandparents. After 10 generations you have over a thousand! Blimey. What became fascinating was that as I delved back further I began to uncover some gems from the past. People who I read about in the history books but people it now appeared I was descended from. For instance Black Agnes Dunbar:

 Agnes was one hell of a woman! Living in the 14th century she was the daughter of the Earl of Moray, a friend of Robert the Bruce. She held Dunbar castle while under siege by the English. According to legend, as the English fired volleys at the castle ramparts she would walk along with her handkerchief and flip the dust from them with nonchalance! She would stand and berate her English attackers without getting as much as a scratch! I’ve always thought Agnes was the inspiration behind the cheeky French knights in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Speaking of famous women another important one to turn up on the tree was Annabella Drummond. Annabella was consort to king Robert III and mother of King James I of Scotland. And of course if you have tapped into the Royal Stuart line then that line will of course take you back to Robert the Bruce or as we like to call him great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, Grandad!

Now it’s a funny thing that! For years I’ve had emails at ScotClans from people saying ‘oh yes of course I’m descended from Robert the Bruce’, well by the looks of it most of us are! I remember hearing a few years ago about the descendents of Charlamagne. Emperor Charlamagne who was doing his ‘emperor thing’ around 700AD had an unbroken line of descent, every European royal family is descended from him and at least 14 US presidents have traced their line back there too. In fact research suggests that if you have white European ancestors then he’s your daddy, or rather your great, great, great, oh you get the idea!

So it was one evening while fooling around on the Ancestry site, adding relatives that I came up with the game called ‘Hit the Norman’ (remember the title of this blog, it seems like years ago now doesn’t it). How to play ‘Hit the Norman’

Take an ancestor on Ancestry.com and start heading back along one line, keep going till you can’t go back any further or until you find someone with a suspiciously French sounding name who’s birth place was somewhere in France some time before 1050! Well done you have found one of the Norman conquerors and you get 10 points and a cuddly toy!

Of course now I have a family tree with around 3,000 direct ancestors in it and I have NO IDEA how far back I’ve been able to go, some lines go way back to the 700s and beyond with names like Ethelwulf and Fulke LeStrange. Not names you hear being shouted up the street these days “haw Ethelwulf, come in yer tea’s oot!’ or ‘Fulke! Stop hitting yer wee sister (Grizel)’.

Of course this can all get quite obsessive, addictive even! Hours have been spent frantically adding relatives to the point where I’m seriously worried about how much of the internet I’m going to need for all this! Seriously they might have to give me a quiet bit all to myself where I can’t bother anyone. On the plus side it has made trips out more interesting; a day out to Roslyn castle becomes more interesting when you know you are descended from the St Clair’s who built it and the famous chapel nearby, mind you some places have a bloody cheek charging me to get in when I own the place!

So where do I go next? Clearly this is a task akin to emptying Loch Lomond with a teaspoon (with a hole in it). This could literally go on forever so maybe its time to look at a more defined area, maybe just limit myself to a few generations and see what detailed information I can find on them. This is in a way more interesting than knowing you are the 26th great grandson of King Whatshisname.

Tracing my Mother’s family who came from Wanlockhead in Dumfriesshire I discovered some amazing human stories, families of 13 children many of whom died in infancy, families who ended up in the local poor house and the story of James Robertson. James was born on Wanlockhead in 1803 but died in Inkerman Pennsylvania in 1869. John had immigrated to the USA taking his family with him. All but one that is. Of his 11 children one son John didn’t go, this was because at age 25 John was already dead leaving a wife and 4 children. For some reason his wife Isabella Milligan did not go with the others and stayed behind to suffer severe poverty as a widower in a small lead mining village, nevertheless her spirit survived and through her our family were descended.

So maybe that is the lesson after all. Not to celebrate the kings and queens and landed gentry but to recognise some of the incredible strong women, without whom none of us would be here!

Rodger Moffet (Rodger knows a fair bit about clans but clearly hasn’t much of a clue about genealogy as he readily admits)

The post Hitting the Norman: Tracing Your Roots on Ancestry.com (in a hurry) appeared first on ScotClans | Scottish Clans.

Easily the best known and most popular of Highland prophets is Kenneth Mackenzie, The Brahan Seer; who may (or may not) have lived around 400 years ago to the north and west of Inverness. The story goes that his mother cut a deal with the spirit of a Danish princess, and in return for letting the wraith return to her grave the power of second sight would be gifted upon her child. In the morning Kenneth awoke to find a stone with a hole cut through the middle next to his bed. On looking through the stone he was engulfed with visions, good and bad, of a future yet to come. In time he would learn to control this gift and make numerous predictions for his own people and for the Highlands as a whole.

The Brahan Seer

Although he is most famous for predicting the downfall of his own clan, the Mackenzies of Seaforth, with a dramatic vision of deaf chiefs, white-hooded lassies and tragedy; he also foresaw the destinies of many other clans as well, for example – “When the big-thumbed sheriff officer and the blind man of the twenty-four fingers shall meet, then MacNeil of Barra shall prepare for a flitting“. It is known that this prophecy came true in 1838 when the last of the MacNeils of Barra left Kisimul Castle behind bankrupt (a ‘flitting’ in Scotland is to move house). Most of his predictions follow this vein, with many being very specific. Many of the prophecies are about battles or hardship ahead, and often a little macabre: “The day will come when the raven will drink its three fills of the blood of Clan Donald on top of the Hills of Minaraidh in Lewis“; ravens drinking the blood is a recurring theme. He would also foresee the changes that ravaged the Highlands during the Clearances of the 18^th and 19^th century that began in Ross-shire.

“The day will come when there will be a road through the hills of Ross-shire from sea to sea, and a bridge on every stream. Then the people of the land will degenerate and grow weak as their country improves . . . and the clansmen will flee from their native country before an army of sheep” Anyone who knows something of the history of the Highlands will know just how much that sadly came to pass, with sheep replacing men, and whole glens emptied of their people by a brutal aristocracy and their agents. Still, the seer goes on in another vision: “the people will emigrate to islands now unknown in the boundless oceans, after which the deer and other wild animals shall be exterminated by horrid Black Rains. The people will then return and take undisturbed possession of the lands of their ancestors.” This is a reference to the mass emigration from Scotland in the 19^th century; but we still await the horrid black rain, and this is one of the most feared predictions in the Highlands still to be fulfilled.

The Brahan Seer wasn’t the only prophet to foretell the Clearances, and considering the social and personal upheavals it caused it’s no wonder. In the 1640s on the shores of Loch Tay in Highland Perthshire lived a seer known as the ‘Lady of Lawers’. It is likely she was Mary Campbell who married John Stewart of Appin, and lived at the big house in the now deserted village of Lawers. She too saw the coming of the sheep and the evicting of the people: “The land will first be sifted and then riddled of its people, and the jaw of the sheep will drive the plough from the ground. The homes on Loch Tay shall become so scarce that a cock crowing will not be heard from one to the other.” Today, the once heavily cultivated slopes of Loch Tay are now almost exclusively put over to sheep grazing.

The landlord was the Marquess of Breadalbane, who’s estate in the 19^th century was nearly half a million acres; and he was instrumental in evicting at least 3000 people from Lochtayside during the worst excesses of the Clearances. Not that his family would be spared from the foresight of the Lady of Lawers either: “The day will come when the Campbells of Breadalbane will have a thousand rents, then one rent, then no rents at all; what was put together in hides shall be rent asunder in laces. The last laird will pass over Glenogle with a grey pony leaving nothing behind.” In the 1920s the estate fell into a sharp decline with mounting debts and by the 30s it was bust. Countess Breadalbane sold the last of the estate in 1948 and left the area in a trap pulled by a grey pony.

Breadalbane – Hard hit by the Clearances

Sometimes landowners made the mistake of evicting seers as well, and one such soothsayer forcibly removed from Jura in the early 1700s left her Campbell landlord with an ominous prediction: “The last Campbell laird of Jura will be blind in one eye, and will leave the island with all of his belongings tied to a cart pulled by a lone white horse.” This was well known to the islanders, and finally came true in 1938 when Charles Campbell, who’d been blinded in the First World War fell on hard times, sold up and left the island behind with nothing but a cart and horse. Today, the Isle of Jura distillery produces a whisky commemorating the story, called “Prophecy”

Not all prophecies are doom and gloom; some have a more positive aspect. For example it is well known to the Clan Cameron that “As long as there’s snow on Ben Nevis the Camerons will command Locheil“. At 4409ft, Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British isles and looms high and large over the Cameron estates of Locheil; being so high the snow has only melted six times in the last 120 years, only to remain the next year. The Camerons I think are safe. But, eventually we may all be doomed by the famous words of the Border prophet known as ‘Thomas the Rhymer’: “When the Cows of Gowrie come to land, the Judgement Day is near at hand.” The Cows of Gowrie are two boulders sitting in the sands of the Firth of Tay near Dundee, and it is said they move landward at about an inch a year.

The legend goes that Thomas the Rhymer, who lived in the 13^th century in the village of Earlston near Melrose, was enchanted by a fairy queen dwelling deep within the Eildon Hills. He was allowed to return to the mortal world for a short time, and was granted the gift of second sight; before eventually spending eternity in the world of the fairies. The story is similar in theme to the ‘gifting’ of the power to the Brahan Seer; and the sidhe, or fairy people play a large part in old superstitions and legends in Scotland. It may be a folk-memory of an older, lost culture that had certain shamanic ritual, and thus lots of prophecies. Many people across the globe, through their own natural shrewdness and perhaps with the help of hallucinogens have been venerated in their culture as being able to divine the future. The seers are our version of this, and many people have claimed the gift, or curse, right down to the present day – it may well have its origins in our very ancient past. It certainly makes for great storytelling.

This article was written by David McNicoll, who runs Vacation Scotland – a travel company specialising in tours and vacation packages to Scotland. For more info – www.vacationscotland.biz

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