The Clan Macrae is 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 ...
. The clan has no chief; it is therefore considered 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 ...
.
Surname
The surname Macrae (and its variations) is an
anglicisation
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
of the
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...
from the
Gaelic
Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
personal name ''MacRaith''. This
personal name
A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...
means "son of grace".
Traditional origins of the clan
According to the late 19th-century historian
Alexander Mackenzie, and
Rev. Alexander Macrae in the early 20th century, the main authority for the early history of Clan Macrae is the late 17th-century
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
account of the clan written by Rev. John Macrae.
Alexander Macrae largely based his history of the clan upon John Macrae's earlier account.
According to tradition, the Macraes were originally from Ireland and shared a common ancestry with the
Mackenzies and
Macleans
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...
. The Macraes were said to have originated from Clunes, which is located near the southern shore of the
Beauly Firth
The Beauly Firth ( gd, Linne Fharair) is a firth in northern Scotland. It is the outlet for both the River Beauly and River Ness. The Beauly Firth is bounded at its western end by the town of Beauly and its eastern by Inverness, where it emptie ...
, and was within the lordship of Lovat. Alexander Macrae stated that these traditions likely refer to a period sometime in the middle of the 13th century.
According to John Macrae, after a violent dispute arose between the Macraes and more powerful
Frasers of Lovat
The following is a list of the chiefs of the Clan Fraser of Lovat, in chronological order. The Chiefs of Clan Fraser often use the Gaelic patronym MacShimidh, meaning Son of Simon. Simon is the favoured family name for the Chiefs of Clan Frase ...
, three sons of the Macrae
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 ...
set off for new lands. One of the sons settled in Brahan, near Dingwall (later the site of
Brahan Castle); another settled in
Argyll
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
; and the other settled in
Kintail
Kintail ( gd, Cinn Tàile) is an area of mountains in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, located in the Highland Council area. It consists of the mountains to the north of Glen Shiel and the A87 road between the heads of Loch Duich and Loch Clu ...
.
![Macrae (R](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Macrae_%28R._R._McIan%29.jpg)
At that time Kintail was held by the Mackenzies, and according to John Macrae's account, there were very few Mackenzies of the chiefly line and thus the chief of that clan welcomed the Macraes because they shared a common descent and could be relied upon. Although John Macrae did not know the name of the Macrae brother who settled in Kintail, he stated that this Macrae brother married the daughter, or granddaughter, of Macbeolan who possessed a large part of Kintail before Mackenzie's rise to power. Alexander Mackenzie considered this marriage to be the real reason for the loyalty given by the Macraes to their Mackenzie lords; he did not believe the Macraes and Mackenzies to share a common ancestry in the
male line
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...
as John Macrae had claimed.
![EileanDonanCloser](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/EileanDonanCloser.JPG)
Alexander Macrae was of the opinion that these events probably took place sometime in the first half of the 14th century before the Mackenzies became firmly established in the Kintail area. He stated that there didn't appear to be any evidence that the Macraes were in the Kintail area before the time of these events, but noted that it was said that
Eilean Donan Castle
Eilean Donan ( gd, Eilean Donnain) is a small tidal island situated at the confluence of three sea lochs (Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh) in the western Highlands of Scotland, about from the village of Dornie. It is connected to the mainl ...
was garrisoned by Macraes and
Maclennans in the late 13th century, during the period when the fortress was first taken into possession by Kenneth, founder of the Mackenzies of Kintail.
According to tradition, one of the prominent ancestors of the Macraes from Kintail was
Fionnla Dubh mac Gillechriosd
Fionnla Dubh mac Gillechriosd is purported to have been a 15th-century Scottish people, Scotsman, who lived in the north-west of Scotland. The Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic ''Fionnla Dubh mac Gillechriosd'' translates into English language, English as ...
, According to John Macrae, Fionnla Dubh mac Gillechriosd was about two, or three, generations removed from the Macrae who settled in Kintail from Clunes. Alexander Macrae stated that Fionnla Dubh was a contemporary of Murdo Mackenzie, fifth
chief of the Mackenzies of Kintail. In 1416, Murdo died and was succeeded by his son,
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
.
According to the traditions of John Macrae, when the bastard uncles of the young Mackenzie chief began oppressing the folk of the district, Fionnla Dubh was instrumental in retrieving him from the south of Scotland; upon Alexander's return, the Mackenzie lands were brought back under control. The main line of the Macraes from Kintail, the Macraes of Inverinate, trace their descent from Fionnla Dubh.
History
![Sgurr Fhuran from Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Sgurr_Fhuran_from_Sgurr_na_Ciste_Duibhe.jpg)
The Macraes are known to have been constant supporters of the
Clan Mackenzie
Clan Mackenzie ( gd, Clann Choinnich ) is a Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional genealogies trace the ancestors of the Mackenzie chiefs to the 12th century. However ...
in recorded times; in 1520, and for many years onwards, they were
constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
s of
Eilean Donan Castle
Eilean Donan ( gd, Eilean Donnain) is a small tidal island situated at the confluence of three sea lochs (Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh) in the western Highlands of Scotland, about from the village of Dornie. It is connected to the mainl ...
.
In 1539 the
Clan Macdonald of Sleat
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
besieged Eilean Donan as part of their attempt to restore the
Lordship of the Isles
The Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles
( gd, Triath nan Eilean or ) is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title ...
and Duncan Macrae is credited with slaying the Macdonald chief with an arrow which brought the siege to an end.
[Way, George and Squire, Romilly. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The ]Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs
The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) is the organisation that represents the Chiefs of many prominent Scottish Clans and Families. It describes itself as "the definitive and authoritative body for information on the Scottish Clan System ...
). Published in 1994. Page 426–427. In view of their constant service to the Mackenzies, the Macraes of Kintail became known as the Mackenzies' "shirt of
mail
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
".
17th century and civil war
The Rev. Farquhar Macrae, born in 1580, Constable of Eilean Donan, was both an energetic churchman and a great Latin scholar. On his first visit to the Isle of Lewis, he is said to have baptised all the inhabitants under forty years of age, no clergyman having resided on the island during that period. His second son, John Macrae, became minister of
Dingwall
Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cast ...
in 1640 and died in 1704.
During the Civil War the Clan Macrae supported the
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
cause but under the equivocating Earl of Seaforth firstly fought valiantly on the losing Stateside at the
Battle of Auldearn
The Battle of Auldearn was an engagement of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It took place on 9 May 1645, in and around the village of Auldearn in Nairnshire. It resulted in a victory for the royalists, led by the Marquess of Montrose and Ala ...
in May 1645 before following Seaforth to support the royalist
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet and soldier, Lord Lieutenant, lord lieutenant and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wa ...
.
Rev. Farquhar Macrae's grandson,
Duncan Macrae of Inverinate was the compiler of the famous
Fernaig manuscript
The Fernaig manuscript ( gd, Làmh-sgrìobhainn Fheàrnaig or ''Làmh-sgrìobhainn MhicRath'') is a document containing approximately 4,200 lines of verse consisting largely of political and religious themes. The manuscript was composed between 1 ...
1688-93.
Jacobite risings
In 1721 William Ross, 6th chief of the Pitcalnie line, his brother, Robert Ross, and a force of their clansmen tried to levy rents in the
Clan Mackenzie
Clan Mackenzie ( gd, Clann Choinnich ) is a Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional genealogies trace the ancestors of the Mackenzie chiefs to the 12th century. However ...
lands, but were confronted by Colonel Donald Murchison and three hundred Mackenzies and Macraes. Both Walter Ross, the chief's son, and Robert's son, William, were wounded in the short
Battle of Glen Affric, and the outnumbered Rosses
parley
A parley (from french: link=no, parler – "to speak") refers to a discussion or conference, especially one designed to end an argument or hostilities between two groups of people. The term can be used in both past and present tense; in prese ...
ed and withdrew. Walter died of his wounds the next day.
In the
Jacobite rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...
, the Macraes were divided. A number are known to have sided with the Jacobites under
George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie
George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie (c. 1703 – 28 September 1766) was a Scottish nobleman.
Life
He succeeded his father John, the 2nd earl, in February 1731. In 1745, he joined Charles Edward Stuart and he served with the Jacobites unti ...
, while others joined the government's
Independent Highland Companies
The Independent Highland Companies were irregular militia raised from the Scottish clans of the Scottish Highlands by order of the Government between 1603 and 1760 in order to help keep the peace and enforce the law in the Highlands and were reco ...
under Captain Colin Mackenzie In June 1746 the Mackenzie Company at Shiramore in Badenoch had over sixty Macraes, including an
Ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
John MacRae.
American Revolution
At the outbreak of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, many members of Clan Macrae who had settled along the
Cape Fear River
The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...
in the
Colony of North Carolina
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
, rose up and fought under the command of Brigadier General Donald MacDonald as
Loyalists
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
at the
Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge
The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge was a minor conflict of the American Revolutionary War fought near Wilmington (present-day Pender County), North Carolina, on February 27, 1776. The victory of the North Carolina Provincial Congress' militia ...
. Among them was the
war poet
A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non-combatant who writes poems about war. While the term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War, the term can be applied to a p ...
John MacRae, who has been termed one of the "earliest
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
poets in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
about whom we know anything."
[ Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), ''North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora'', McGill-Queen's University Press, pg. 14.]
MacRae was taken prisoner by
Patriot
A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism.
Patriot may also refer to:
Political and military groups United States
* Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution
* Patriot m ...
militia following the Loyalist defeat. His son Murdo was mortally wounded.
Even though John MacRae is believed to have been killed in 1780, his poems and songs celebrating the Loyalist cause remain an important part of
Scottish Gaelic literature
Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literature composed in the Scottish Gaelic language and in the Gàidhealtachd communities where it is and has been spoken. Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, along with Irish ...
and are equally popular among speakers of
Canadian Gaelic
Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig Chanada, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada.
Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scot ...
.
Symbols
Clan crests,
clan badge
A clan badge, sometimes called a plant badge, is a badge or emblem, usually a sprig of a specific plant, that is used to identify a member of a particular Scottish clan. They are usually worn affixed to the bonnet behind the Scottish crest badge ...
s, and
clan tartan
Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...
s are means of identifying and displaying members' allegiance to their clan.
Macraes may wear on a
bonnet
A Bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap
Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include
Scottish
* Blue bonnet, a distinctive woollen cap worn by men in Scotland from the 15th-18th centuries And its derivations:
**Feath ...
or upon the chest either a badge of the Crest, ''A cubit arm grasping a sword, all proper''.
encircled by a strap with the Latin motto ''FORTITUDINE'', meaning "with fortitude";
[Way; Squire (2000), p. 230.], or the more authentic plant badge of a real sprig of
club moss
Lycopodiopsida is a class of vascular plants known as lycopods, lycophytes or other terms including the component lyco-. Members of the class are also called clubmosses, firmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. They have dichotomously branching s ...
.
[Adam; Innes of Learney (1970), pp. 541–543.] sometimes referred to as ''staghorn grass''. It may refer to the Mackenzie chief's arms, since the Macraes proudly admit no chief of their own but are closely associated with the Mackenzies.
The clan's war cry ''Sgurr Uaran'' refers to
Sgùrr Fhuaran
Sgùrr Fhuaran is a Scottish mountain that is situated on the northern side of Glen Shiel, east south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.
Overview
The mountain reaches a height of and qualifies as a Munro and a Marilyn, it is the highest point f ...
, a mountain near
Loch Duich
Loch Duich ( Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Dubhthaich") is a sea loch situated on the western coast of Scotland, in the Highlands.
History
In 1719, British forces burned many homesteads along the loch's shores in the month preceding the Battle of Glen ...
which is one of the "
Five Sisters of Kintail
Kintail ( gd, Cinn Tàile) is an area of mountains in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, located in the Highland Council area. It consists of the mountains to the north of Glen Shiel and the A87 road between the heads of Loch Duich and Loch Clu ...
",
and a prominent rallying point in the clan's traditional lands.
''"
In Flanders Fields
"In Flanders Fields" is a war poem in the form of a rondeau, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and f ...
"'' was scribbled by a Canadian
war poet
A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non-combatant who writes poems about war. While the term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War, the term can be applied to a p ...
of Scottish descent, Lieutenant-Colonel
John McCrae
Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae (November 30, 1872 – January 28, 1918) was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I, and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium. He is best known for writing the ...
, following the death of a close friend on the
Western Front during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He threw it away, but one of his orderlies retrieved it for posterity.
A 2/4 March for bagpipes has been composed in honour of Clan Macrae.
[Archie Cairns – Book 1 Pipe Music 'Clan MacRae Society' 2/4 March 1995]
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
*http://www.clan-macrae.org.uk/ Clan Macrae Scotland
*https://www.clanmacraecanada.ca/ Clan MacRae Society of Canada
*http://www.macrae.org/ Clan MacRae Society of North America
{{Scottish clans
Macrae
Macrae