Iye Mackay, 4th of Strathnaver (died 1370) was the chief of the ancient

Clan Mackay Clan Mackay ( ; gd, Clann Mhic Aoidh ) is an ancient and once-powerful Highland Scottish clan from the far North of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old Kingdom of Moray. They supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish ...

, a

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from 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 structure recognised ...

of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

. He was murdered along with his eldest son Donald at

Dingwall Castle Dingwall Castle was a medieval fort and royal castle in the town of Dingwall, eastern Ross-shire, Scotland. The castle is believed to have been established by Norse settlers in the area in the 11th century. Wars of Scottish Independence During t ...

during a feud with the

Earl of Sutherland Earl of Sutherland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created circa 1230 for William de Moravia and is the premier earldom in the Peerage of Scotland. The earl or countess of Sutherland is also the chief of Clan Sutherland. The origin ...

, chief of the

Clan Sutherland Clan Sutherland is a Highland Scottish clan whose traditional territory is the shire of Sutherland in the far north of Scotland. The chief of the clan was also the powerful Earl of Sutherland, however in the early 16th century this title passed ...

Early life

Iye Mackay was the son of Donald Mackay, 3rd of Strathnaver and his wife who was a daughter of Iye (MacNeil) of Gigha.

Feud with the Earl of Sutherland

Between Iye Mackay, 4th of Strathnaver and the Sutherland family there was a feud that caused much blood-shed on either side. According to

Sir Robert Gordon, 1st Baronet Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonstoun (14 May 1580 – 1656) was a Scottish politician and courtier, known as the historian of the noble house of Sutherland. Early life Born at Dunrobin Castle, Golspie, Sutherland, on 14 May 1580, he was the fourth ...

(1580 – 1656), who was a younger son of Alexander Gordon, 12th Earl of Sutherland, "the Earl of Sutherland had great controversy with the house and family of Mackay, chief of the Clan Vic-Morgan of Stathnaver, which did continue a long time between the inhabitants of Sutherland and Strahnaver, although with some intermission".Mackay, Angus (1906). p. 44. Quoting: Gordon, Sir Robert, ''A Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland''. According to historian Angus Mackay, this account corroborates with a complaint made by William, 5th Earl of Sutherland in 1342 when he applied to the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

for a dispensation of marriage with Margaret Bruce (daughter of Robert I of Scotland) against "an ancient enemy" who caused "wars, disputes and many offences, in these parts".Mackay, Angus (1906). p. 44. Quoting: ''Theiner’s Monumenta Vetera''. p. 278. According to historian William Fraser, if as contended the Mackays are descendants of Malcolm MacHeth, 1st Earl of Ross, then it would make sense for them to be referred to as an ancient enemy of the Sutherlands, as the MacHeths gave trouble to the Scottish kings and their henchmen in the north the Earls of Sutherland.Mackay, Angus (1906). p. 45. Quoting: Fraser, Sir William. K.C.B., ''The Sutherland Book''. Strathnaver map

According to the ''Blackcastle MS'' (which was written by Alexander Mackay of Blackcastle who had access to the Mackay chief’s family charters and papers), a meeting was arranged in 1370 at

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 ...

between the Earl of Sutherland and Mackay to settle the dispute. Present at the meeting was the Earl of Sutherland along with his brother

Nicholas Sutherland, 1st of Duffus Nicholas Sutherland, 1st of Duffus was a Scottish noble who was seated at Duffus Castle, near Elgin, Moray, Scotland in the 14th and 15th centuries. History Nicholas Sutherland was the second son of Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland, ...

and Iye Mackay along with his son Donald. Mackay was about to succeed in his claim and the Sutherlands became so irritated that Nicholas Sutherland rose in the night and murdered both Iye Mackay and his son Donald. Sir Robert Gordon’s version of events agrees with this account, but he adds that the meeting actually took place at

. Gordon also adds that one of arbiters was the Lord of the Isles. Historian Angus Mackay concludes that the

Earl 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 ...

would also have been one of the arbiters of a case tried in his own castle and that it is not unlikely that the

Earl of Buchan The Mormaer () or Earl of Buchan () was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male li ...

who was justiciar for the north would also have been present. Angus Mackay gives some background information as to what may have caused the feud between the Mackays and Sutherlands: In 1345,

David II of Scotland David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scots from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five, and was crowned at Scone in November 1331, beco ...

granted a charter to the Earl of Sutherland and his wife Margaret Bruce who was the sister of David II which gave Sutherland almost kingly powers in Sutherland. The Earl had only one son with Margaret Bruce, John of Sutherland, who was to succeed the childless David II of Scotland as king. However, John of Sutherland died of plague in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and David was succeeded in the throne by his nephew,

Robert II of Scotland Robert II (2 March 1316 – 19 April 1390) was King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, he was the first monarch of the House of St ...

. Around this time the king's physician was Farquhar Mackay, son of Iye Mackay, 4th of Strathnaver, member of the family that was the Sutherland’s "ancient enemy". Farquhar Mackay had also received a charter from the Earl of Buchan, confined by the king for the lands of Melness in the parish of Durness. It suited royal policy to put pressure upon the Earl of Sutherland by favouring their "ancient enemy", Mackay of Strathnaver. Although the regality of the Earl of Sutherland did not include

Strathnaver Strathnaver or Strath Naver ( gd, Srath Nabhair) is the fertile strath of the River Naver, a famous salmon river that flows from Loch Naver to the north coast of Scotland. The term has a broader use as the name of an ancient province also kn ...

, Iye Mackay of Strathnaver also held lands in Sutherland, close to the borders of

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting o ...

, and vexing the claim of Sutherland's powers of regality over him, tried to have the matter submitted to arbitration when in favourable circumstances. Thus just when Mackay was in sight of receiving a favourable judgement, he and his son were killed by Nicolas Sutherland in the dead of night at Dingwall Castle.

Family

The known children of Iye Mackay, 4th of Strathnaver were: #

Donald Mackay, 5th of Strathnaver Donald Mackay, 5th of Strathnaver (died 1370), was the fifth chief of the ancient Clan Mackay, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. Early life Donald Mackay was the eldest son of Iye Mackay, 4th of Strathnaver. In 1370, he and his father we ...

, murdered with his father at Dingwall Castle in 1370. #Farquhar Mackay, physician to

. #Mariota Mackay, who was the wife of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, otherwise known as the Wolf of Badenoch. Iye Mackay, 4th of Strathnaver was succeeded by his grandson Angus Mackay, 6th of Strathnaver, eldest son of Iye's son Donald.

Early life

Feud with the Earl of Sutherland

Family

References

Notes

See also