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

Clan Mackay Clan Mackay ( ; ) is an ancient and once-powerful Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan from the far north of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old Mormaer of Moray, Kingdom of Moray. They supported Robert I of Scotland, Rober ...

, a

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure r ...

of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. He was murdered along with his eldest son Donald at Dingwall Castle 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, 1st Earl of Sutherland, William de Moravia and is the premier earldom in the Peerage of Scotland. The earl or countess of Sutherland is al ...

, chief of the

Clan Sutherland Clan Sutherland also known as House of 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 ear ...

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 fourt ...

(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 is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

for a dispensation of marriage with Margaret Bruce (daughter of

Robert I of Scotland Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

) 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 William Fraser may refer to: Military people *William W. Fraser (1844–1915), American Civil War soldier and Medal of Honor recipient *William Archibald Kenneth Fraser (1886–1969), British army officer *William Fraser (British Army officer) ( ...

, 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 (, ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland (council area), 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 castle north ...

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 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 Dingwall Castle. Gordon also adds that one of arbiters was the

Lord of the Isles Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( or ; ) is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title was ...

. 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, as well as chief of Clan Ross. Origins and transfers In the early Middle Ages, Ross was part of the vast earldom of Moray. It seems to have been made ...

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 l ...

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 Scotland 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, be ...

granted a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and David was succeeded in the throne by his nephew,

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

. 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 Durness () is a village and civil parish in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north coast of the country in the traditional county of Sutherland, around north of Inverness. The area is remote, and the parish is huge and spar ...

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

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

, and vexing the claim of Sutherland's powers of regality over him, tried to have the matter submitted to

arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...

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, 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