Donald Munro (died 1039) is the first

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

al 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 ...

. There is no existing contemporary evidence for Donald's existence however he is documented in several later family manuscripts such as the Coul MS and Munro Tree 1734. According to early 18th-century historian

Alexander Nisbet Alexander Nisbet (bapt. 23 March 1657; died 7 Dec. 1725) was a Scottish lawyer and antiquarian. He is remembered for his works on the subject of heraldry, which are generally considered to be some of the most complete and authoritative ever pr ...

, with no quoted source; The first of the name of the (Munro) family, was Donald, son of O'Caan Ro's, a nobleman upon the Water of Ro in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, who came to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

with some forces to the assistance of

Malcolm II Máel Coluim mac Cináeda ( gd, Maol Chaluim mac Choinnich, label=Modern Scottish Gaelic; anglicized Malcolm II; c. 954 – 25 November 1034) was King of Scots from 1005 until his death. He was a son of King Kenneth II; but the name of his mot ...

against the Danes; the King for his good-service gave him the lands of East-Dingwall, which he called "Ferin-Donald". i.e. "Donald's Lands": And he was called ''Donald a Bunro'' in respect of his father's residence on the Water of Ro in Ireland; and thereafter, by the change of the letter "B" to "M", his descendants were called ''Munros''. They got also other lands in Scotland, which they called ''Foules'', from a place in Ireland, of that name, called "Loch-Feul". Donald's father, O'Caan is said to have been the Prince of

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of a ...

. The lands spanning the parishes of

Kiltearn Kiltearn ( Gaelic: ''Cill Tighearna'') is a parish in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It is in the Presbytery of Ross. The principal settlement is the village of Evanton, and the parish extends almost to Dingwall and about halfway to Alness. The ...

and

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 ...

, north 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 cas ...

, are known as Ferindonald, from the Gaelic ''Fearan Domhnull'' ("Donald's land"). Although tradition identifies this "Donald" with Donald Munro, there is no evidence of the clan in the vicinity prior to the 14th century. It is equally possible that the "Donald" of ''Fearan Domhnull'' was someone else: possibly either

Malcolm III Malcolm III ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh; died 13 November 1093) was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" ("ceann mòr", Gaelic, literally "big hea ...

's like-named brother, or more probably Malcolm III's like-named son, either of whom may have been the first

Mormaer of Ross The Earl or Mormaer of Ross was the ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland. Origins and transfers In the early Middle Ages, Ross was part of the vast earldom of Moray. It seems to have been made a separate earldom in the mid 12 ...

. It was during Malcolm III's reign that eastern Ross likely first came under the control of the

Kings of Scotland The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...

. Arguments against Donald Munro's existence include the fact that surnames were not used during the early 11th century in Scotland.

References

External links

Stirnet: Munro01
(requires subscription to view without interruption)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald Munro Clan Munro Chiefs

Munro A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nev ...

See also

References

External links