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Donald Monro (or Munro) (
fl. 1526–1574) was a Scottish clergyman, who wrote an early and historically valuable description of the
Hebrides
The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebr ...
and other Scottish islands and enjoyed the honorific title of "
Dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
of the Isles".
Origins
Donald Monro was born early in the 16th century, the eldest of the six sons of
Alexander Munro of
Kiltearn, by Janet, daughter of Farquhar Maclean of Dochgarroch. His father was a grandson of
George Munro, 10th Baron of Foulis (Chief of the
Clan Munro
Clan Munro (; gd, Clann an Rothaich ) is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically the clan was based in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional origins of the clan give its founder as Donald Munro who came from the north of Ireland an ...
)
[Alexander Ross, ''The Reverend Donald Munro, M.A., High Dean of the Isles'', in The Celtic Magazine (volume 9, 1884), at pages 142 to 144.] and his maternal grandfather was Farquhar MacLean of Dochgarroch, (''Fearchar Mac Eachainn'')
Bishop of the Isles
The Bishop of the Isles or Bishop of Sodor was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of the Isles (or Sodor), one of Scotland's thirteen medieval bishoprics. The bishopric, encompassing both the Hebrides and Mann, probably traces its origins as ...
from 1529 to 1544.
[MacLeod (2004) p. 23] On Farquhar's resignation the bishopric passed to his son, and Donald Monro's uncle, Roderick MacLean (''Ruaidhri Mac Gill-Eathain'').
[
]
Career
Monro became the vicar of Snizort and Raasay
Raasay (; gd, Ratharsair) or the Isle of Raasay is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound. It is famous for being the birt ...
in 1526[MacLeod (2004) p. 25] later noting that although the latter (and the adjacent island of Rona
pertained
to the Bishop of the Isles
The Bishop of the Isles or Bishop of Sodor was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of the Isles (or Sodor), one of Scotland's thirteen medieval bishoprics. The bishopric, encompassing both the Hebrides and Mann, probably traces its origins as ...
"by heritage" that in practice it was held by "M'Gyllychallan of Raarsay be the sword". These were troubled times in the Highlands and Islands
The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles).
The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 18 ...
, with Domhnall Dubh
Domhnall Dubh (died 1545) was a Scottish nobleman. He was the son of Aonghas Óg, chief of Clan Donald (Clann Domhnaill), and claimant to the Lordship of the Isles, which had been held by his grandfather John of Islay, Earl of Ross (Eoin MacD ...
's attempts to resurrect 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 ...
only failing on his death in 1545. Partly as a result, the See of the Isles was one of the poorest in Scotland and although Monro lists fourteen islands as belonging to its Bishop, in practice rents were hard to collect. He was nominated to the Archdeaconry of the Isles in or shortly after 1549.[
]
Monro called himself "Sir Donald", a standard style at the time for a priest who lacked a university degree, and also referred to himself as "High Dean of the Isles". His position was one of considerable influence but the advancing Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
added further complication to the political landscape in which he was operating. He must initially have been a Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
, but following the Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Scotland broke with the Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterian in its outlook. It was part of the wider European Protestant Refor ...
in 1560 he adhered to the Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...
. At some point between 1560 and 1563 he was appointed as parson of Kiltearn and he was also minister at Alness
Alness (, ; gd, Alanais) is a town and civil parish in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It lies near the mouth of the River Averon, near the Cromarty Firth, with the town of Invergordon 3 miles (5 km) to the east, and the village of Evanton ...
and Lemlair. In 1563, he witnessed a charter, still styling himself "Archdeacon of the Isles". At Lammas
Lammas Day (Anglo-Saxon ''hlaf-mas'', "loaf-mass"), also known as Loaf Mass Day, is a Christian holiday celebrated in some English-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere on 1 August. The name originates from the word "loaf" in reference ...
in the same year he was appointed by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray, ...
to act as one of three special Commissioners of Ross under the Bishop of Caithness responsible for creating new kirks. The duties were arduous but he retained his position for 12 years, occasional criticism by the General Assembly concerning his lack of ability in Gaelic notwithstanding.[ Traditionally, he is said to have lived at Castle Craig on the ]Black Isle
The Black Isle ( gd, an t-Eilean Dubh, ) is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. It includes the towns of Cromarty and Fortrose, and the villages of Culbokie, Jemimaville, Rosemarkie, Avoch, Munlochy, Tore, and ...
and to have crossed the Cromarty Firth
The Cromarty Firth (; gd, Caolas Chrombaidh ; literally "kyles /nowiki>straits.html"_;"title="strait.html"_;"title="/nowiki>strait">/nowiki>straits">strait.html"_;"title="/nowiki>strait">/nowiki>straitsof_Cromarty.html" ;"title="strait">/no ...
to perform his duties at Kiltearn.[Munro (1961) pp. 17–20]
The period 1565–70 was one of further trouble for the Church. Monro may have been an "outlawed rebel" referred to in 1568 for his support of the cause of Queen Mary in preference to the young James VI
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
but by 1570 he was re-instated as a Commissioner. The last record of him is dated 1574 and it is assumed he had died by 1576 when new ministers were appointed for Kiltearn, Lemlair and Alness. He never married and no extant stone marks his burial at Kiltearn, "a little to the east of the burial ground of the family of Foulis
Foulis Castle is situated two miles south-west of Evanton in the parish of Kiltearn, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It is a white washed mansion that incorporates an old tower house with gun loops. The castle was held by the Clan Munro from the ...
" his written work being his sole monument.
Language skills
Matheson (1963) suggests that the kirk's critiques of Monro's ability in Gaelic may have been misplaced, stating that "it would be most surprising if the Gaelic of a sixteenth-century native of Kiltearn were not sufficiently adequate for his pastoral duties" and that Monro's explanations of Gaelic names are "usually accurate".[Matheson (1963) p. 50] Matheson does however question Monro's command of spoken Scots, noting that "it is not unknown for Gaelic speakers to write English well but to speak it very inadequately."[
]
''Description of the Western Isles of Scotland''
In 1563, the year he became Archdeacon, Monro visited most of the islands on the west coast of Scotland and wrote a manuscript account of them, a ''Description of the Western Isles of Scotland
Description is the pattern of narrative development that aims to make vivid a place, object, character, or group. Description is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as ''modes of discourse''), along with exposition, argumentation, and narr ...
'' together with a brief genealogical account of various branches of Clan Donald, which was not published in any form until 1582 and not made widely available to the public in its original form until 1774. Further editions were published in 1805, 1818 and (with scholarly apparatus and including some material missing from the 1774 edition) in 1961. Monro's ''Description'' is a valuable historical account and has re-appeared in part or in whole in numerous publications about the Western Isles.[Munro (1961) p. 37]
See also
* Martin Martin
Martin Martin (Scottish Gaelic: Màrtainn MacGilleMhàrtainn) (-9 October 1718) was a Scottish writer best known for his work '' A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland'' (1703; second edition 1716). This book is particularly noted for ...
Notes
References
* MacLeod, Norma (2004) ''Raasay: The Island and Its People''. Edinburgh. Birlinn
* Matheson, Angus (April 1963)
Review of ''Monro's Western Isles of Scotland and Genealogies of the Clans, 1549'' by R. W. Munro"
''The Scottish Historical Review''. 42 No. 133, Part 1 pp. 48–51. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press/JSTOR.
* Munro, R. W. (1961) ''Monro's Western Isles of Scotland and Genealogies of the Clans''. Edinburgh and London. Oliver and Boyd.
*
External links
''Description of the Western Isles of Scotland''
(William Auld, Edinburgh, 1774)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monro, Donald
16th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland
Scottish genealogists
16th-century Scottish writers
16th-century male writers
Donald
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
History of the Inner Hebrides
History of the Outer Hebrides