The MacDonalds of Glencoe, also known as Clann Iain Abrach, was a Highland
Scottish clan
A Scottish clan (from Goidelic languages, Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official ...
and a branch of the larger
Clan Donald
Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...
. They were named after
Glen Coe
Glen Coe ( gd, Gleann Comhann ) 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 ...
. the MacDonalds of Glen Coe (or MacIains as they were more specifically known) have resided in Glen Coe since at least the early 14th century, when they supported
King Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...
. The MacIains were constantly involved in trouble with the law and with neighbouring clans for their consistent raiding, pillaging and cattle rustling. The clan had particular trouble with the neighbouring
Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell ( gd, Na Caimbeulaich ) 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 be ...
. Their infamous feud gained notoriety in the coming generations, eventually leading to the
Massacre of Glencoe
The Massacre of Glencoe ( gd, Murt Ghlinne Comhann) 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, alleged ...
in 1692. The clan soon took part in a series of
Jacobite Uprisings in 1715 and 1745.
The last chief, Alexander James MacDonald, 19th of Glencoe, died in 1889, without producing an heir. The MacDonalds of Glencoe soon became an
armigerous clan
An armigerous clan (from armiger) is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognised as such by Lyon Court. Befor ...
.
History
Origins of the clan
The founder of the MacDonalds of Glencoe was
Iain Fraoch MacDonald
Iain Fraoch MacDonald (died 1368) was a younger son of Aonghus Óg of Islay, Angus Og MacDonald of Islay, and founder of Clan MacDonald of Glencoe.
"Fraoch" is a nickname which means "the snarling" in the Scottish Gaelic language, although it usua ...
(d. 1368) who was a son of
Aonghus Óg of Islay
Aonghus Óg Mac Domhnaill (died 1314 × 1318/ 1330), or Angus Og MacDonald, was a fourteenth-century Scottish magnate and chief of Clann Domhnaill. He was a younger son of Aonghus Mór mac Domhnaill, Lord of Islay. After the latter's apparent ...
(died 1314×1318/c.1330),
chief
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
of
Clan Donald
Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...
, who fought alongside King
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
at the
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn ( gd, Blàr Allt nam Bànag or ) fought on June 23–24, 1314, was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. It was ...
in 1314.
It is believed that Angus Og never married the daughter of MacEanruig or MacHenry the 'head man' in Glencoe.
Instead, he married Aine O'Cahan of Ulster who gave birth to his legitimate heir,
John of Islay
:''This article refers to John I, Lord of the Isles; for John II, see John of Islay, Earl of Ross''
John of Islay (or John MacDonald) ( gd, Eòin Mac Dòmhnuill or gd, Iain mac Aonghais Mac Dhòmhnuill) (died 1386) was the Lord of the Isles (1 ...
, 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.
Clan skirmishes
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 Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
, when that King’s general, the
Marquess of Montrose
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
, had been defeated at Philiphaugh, and the
Marquess of Argyll
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
, 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
Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north ...
.
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 Campbell may refer to:
People Surname
* Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell
Given name
* Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer
* Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...
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
Earl of Breadalbane and Holland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1681 for Sir John Campbell, 5th Baronet, of Glenorchy, who had previously been deprived of the title Earl of Caithness.
Creation
Sir John, as a princi ...
. 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 Battle of Killiecrankie ( gd, Blàr Choille Chnagaidh), also referred to as the Battle of Rinrory, took place on 27 July 1689 during the 1689 Scottish Jacobite rising. An outnumbered Jacobite force under John Graham, Viscount Dundee and S ...
, the MacDonalds of Glencoe seized the opportunity to sweep Glenlyon of its whole cattle and valuables, and left
Robert Campbell of Glenlyon
Robert Campbell, 5th Laird of Glenlyon (1630 – 2 August 1696), was a minor member of Scottish nobility and is best known as one of the commanding officers at the Massacre of Glencoe.
Life
Robert was the second son of Archibald Campbell, ...
, Breadalbane’s henchman, absolutely a ruined man.
The Massacre of Glencoe
![Glencoe Massacre Memorial 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Glencoe_Massacre_Memorial_2.JPG)
The Glencoe MacDonalds were one of three
Lochaber
Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creation ...
clans with a reputation for lawlessness, the others being the
MacGregors
Clan Gregor, also known as Clan MacGregor, () is a Highland Scottish clan that claims an origin in the early 9th century. The clan's most famous member is Rob Roy MacGregor of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The Clan is also known to hav ...
and the
Keppoch MacDonalds. Levies from these clans served in the Independent Companies used to suppress the
Conventicles
A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly, and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level ''conventicle'' is only a good Latinized synonym of the Greek word church, and points to Jesus' promise in M ...
in 1678–80, and took part in the devastating
Atholl
Atholl or Athole ( gd, Athall; Old Gaelic ''Athfhotla'') is a large historical division in the Scottish Highlands, bordering (in anti-clockwise order, from Northeast) Marr, Badenoch, Lochaber, Breadalbane, Strathearn, Perth, and Gowrie. Histor ...
raid that followed
Argyll's Rising
Argyll's Rising, also known as Argyll's Rebellion, was an attempt in June 1685 to overthrow James II and VII. Led by Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, the rising was intended to tie down Royal forces in Scotland while a simultaneous rebel ...
in 1685. This made them an obvious target when the
Duke of Argyll
Duke of Argyll ( gd, Diùc Earraghàidheil) is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful ...
returned to power after the 1688
Glorious Revolution in Scotland
The Glorious Revolution in Scotland refers to the Scottish element of the 1688 Glorious Revolution, in which James VII was replaced by his daughter Mary II and her husband William III of Orange, William II as joint monarchs of Kingdom of Scotla ...
.
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 William III or William the Third may refer to:
Kings
* William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198)
* William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702)
* William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
. They agreed to do so in the June 1691 Declaration of Achallader,
the Earl of Breadalbane signing for the government.
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. 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.
In early October, the chiefs asked the exiled
James II James II may refer to:
* James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade
* James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier
* James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily
* James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...
for permission to take the Oath unless he could mount an invasion before the deadline, a condition they knew to be impossible. 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.
The exact reason for the selection of the Glencoe MacDonalds remains unclear but led to the
Massacre of Glencoe
The Massacre of Glencoe ( gd, Murt Ghlinne Comhann) 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, alleged ...
(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
Robert Campbell, 5th Laird of Glenlyon (1630 – 2 August 1696), was a minor member of Scottish nobility and is best known as one of the commanding officers at the Massacre of Glencoe.
Life
Robert was the second son of Archibald Campbell, ...
; 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.' Recent estimates put total deaths resulting from the Massacre as 'around 30', while claims others died of exposure have not been substantiated.
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.'
Post 1692
![McCulloch, Glencoe, Argyllshire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/McCulloch%2C_Glencoe%2C_Argyllshire.jpg)
The Glencoe Macdonalds rebuilt their houses, taking part in the Jacobite risings of
1715
Events
For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...
and
1745
Events
January–March
* January 7 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Austrian Army, under the command of Field Marshal Károly József Batthyány, makes a surprise attack at Amberg and the winter quarters of the Bavaria ...
. In 2018, a team of
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
s organised by the
National Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organ ...
began
surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
several areas related to the massacre, with plans to produce detailed studies of their findings. 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.
Clan Tartan
The clan's tartan is sold as MacIain/MacDonald of Glencoe but sometimes is often sold as
MacDonald of Ardnamurchan
The MacDonalds of Ardnamurchan also known as MacIain of Ardnamurchan, or Clan MacIan,{{cite book , last=Coventry , first=Martin , year=2008 , title=Castles of the Clans: The Strongholds and Seats of 750 Scottish Families and Clans , location=Musse ...
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.
List of clan chiefs
The following is a list of the historic chiefs of the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe:
*Iain Og an Fraoch MacDonald, 1st of Glencoe (Abt 1300 – 1358), (son of
Aonghus Óg of Islay
Aonghus Óg Mac Domhnaill (died 1314 × 1318/ 1330), or Angus Og MacDonald, was a fourteenth-century Scottish magnate and chief of Clann Domhnaill. He was a younger son of Aonghus Mór mac Domhnaill, Lord of Islay. After the latter's apparent ...
)
*John MacIain MacDonald, 2nd of Glencoe (Bef 1358)
*John MacIain MacDonald, 3rd of Glencoe
*John MacIain MacDonald, 4th of Glencoe
*John MacIain MacDonald, 5th of Glencoe
*John MacIain MacDonald, 6th of Glencoe
*John MacIain MacDonald, 7th of Glencoe
*Iain Og MacIain MacDonald, 8th of Glencoe (1543 – Abt 1590)
*Iain Og MacIain MacDonald, 9th of Glencoe (1579–1610)
*Iain Abrach MacDonald, 10th of Glencoe ( – 1630)
*Alasdair Ruadh MacIain MacDonald, 11th of Glencoe ( – 1650)
*Alasdair Ruadh MacIain MacDonald, 12th of Glencoe (1630–1692) (Killed at the
Massacre of Glencoe
The Massacre of Glencoe ( gd, Murt Ghlinne Comhann) 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, alleged ...
)
*John MacIain MacDonald, 13th of Glencoe (1657–1714)
*Alexander MacIain MacDonald, 14th of Glencoe (1708–1750)
*John MacIain MacDonald, 15th of Glencoe (Abt 1735 – 1785)
*Alexander MacIain MacDonald, 16th of Glencoe (1761–1814)
*Dr. Ewen MacIain MacDonald, 17th of Glencoe, H.E.I.C.S. (1788–1840)
*Ronald MacIain MacDonald, 18th of Glencoe (1800–1841) (brother of 17th)
*Alexander James MacDonald, 19th of Glencoe (1829–1889)
Disputed chiefship
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
Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...
. Currently there are 4 contenders for MacDonald of Glencoe Chiefship.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.
Septs of the Clan
The list of
sept
A sept is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person ( ...
s of the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe is:
Culp,
Henderson Henderson may refer to:
People
*Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname
*Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan
Places Argentina
*Henderson, Buenos Aires
Australia
*Henderson, Western Australia
Canada
*He ...
, Hendrie, Hendry, Henry, Johnson, Kean, Keene, Keane, MacDonald, MacGilp, MacHendrie, MacHendry, MacHenry, MacIan, MacIsaac, MacKean, McKean, McKendrick, McKern, MacKern, MacKillop, MacPhilip, Moor, Philip, Philp
See also
*
Eilean Munde
Eilean Munde is a small uninhabited island in Loch Leven, close to Ballachulish.
It is the site of a chapel built by St. Fintan Mundus (also known as Saint Fintan Munnu), who travelled here from Iona in the 7th century. The church was burnt i ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Clan Donald Heritage
{{Scottish clans
Clan Donald
Lochaber
Glen Coe