John Garbh Maclean, was the 1st Laird of

Coll Coll (; )Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 31 is an island located west of the Isle of Mull and northeast of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and fo ...

as an independent unit.

Biography

John was the second son of Lachlan Bronneach Maclean and Fionnaghal, daughter of

Sìol Tormoid Clan MacLeod ( ; ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the MacLeods of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Harris and Dunvegan, known in Gaelic as ' ("seed of Tormod") an ...

leader. Fionnaghal was Lachlan's second wife, making John Garbh the third lawful son of Lachlan, and the fourth (and youngest) natural son. Lachlan was the leader of the

MacLeans ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

, and his eldest lawful son, Donald MacLean, was his heir. When John grew into an adult, he gained the sobriquet ''Garbh'', meaning ''rough'', in reference to his gigantic stature and great strength. He was also called John ''Teomachd'', from his cunning and craft. John's father, Lachlan, was also the grandson of Mary MacDonald, daughter of John of Islay; John's grandfather was thus the cousin of

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. 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 ar ...

, the current

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 ...

, whose

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s the Macleans were. Donald MacLean took an armed band to Ardtornish, Alexander's main castle, and demanded a share of the estates Alexander had inherited from John of Islay, on the basis of common descent. After satisfying Alexander's demand that Donald expel the MacMasters (with whom Alexander had fallen out) from

Ardgour Ardgour () ( ; meaning ''high place of goats'') is an area of the Scottish Highlands on the western shore of Loch Linnhe. It lies north of the district of Morvern and east of the district of Sunart. Administratively it is now part of the wa ...

, Alexander awarded him a charter for Ardgour, and other adjacent lands, which were subsequently confirmed by King

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

. Having noticed this, John Garbh decided to try his luck by challenging Alexander in the same way as Donald had; Alexander gave him a charter for: *

(comprising 20

poundland Poundland Limited is a British variety store chain founded by Dave Dodd and Steven Smith in 1990, originally selling all of its items at the single price of £1. The retailer grew from a single location in Burton upon Trent, opening its hund ...

s) *Quinish (comprising 18 merklands), in Mull *

Loch Eil Loch Eil () is a loch, sea loch in Lochaber, Scotland that opens into Loch Linnhe near the town of Fort William, Highland, Fort William. John Stewart of Ardvorlich, Ardvorlich notes that "the name of the Chief of Clan Cameron is spelt LOCHIEL, ...

(comprising 20 poundlands), in

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...

*Drimnin and Achalennon (together comprising 6 merklands), in

Morvern Morvern ( ; "the sea-gap"), historically also spelt Morven, is a peninsula and traditional district in the Highlands, on the west coast of Scotland. It lies south of the districts of Ardgour and Sunart, and is bounded on the north by Loch Su ...

King James II confirmed Alexander's grant to John. Afterwards, John claimed purchased the island of

Rùm Rùm (), a Scottish Gaelic language, Scottish Gaelic name often Anglicisation, anglicised to Rum ( ), is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland, in the district of Lochaber. For much of the 20th century the ...

(with the associated islands of Canna and

Muck Muck most often refers to: *Muck (soil), a soil made up primarily of humus from drained swampland Muck may also refer to: Places Europe * Muck, Scotland, an island * Isle of Muck, County Antrim, a small island connected by sand spit to Portmuck ...

) from Allan MacDonald, leader of Clan Ranald;, p. 46 the price was a

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

. However, Clan Ranald refused to acknowledge the sale; John Garbh consequently seized Allan MacDonald, and held him prisoner on Coll. After 9 months, Allan was released, presumably having agreed to acknowledge a sale; following this, records describe Rùm (with Canna and Muck) as ''pertaining'' to John Garbh's descendants, rather than to Clan Ranald. John Garbh lived feared by his enemies and respected by his friends. He married Isabella, daughter of Fraser of Lovat, predecessor of

Lord Lovat Lord Lovat () is a title of the rank Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for Hugh Fraser by summoning him to the Scottish Parliament as Lord Fraser of Lovat, although the holder is referred to simply as Lo ...

. He was succeeded in his estates by his only son, John Abrach MacLean, 2nd Laird of Coll.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean, John Garbh Year of birth missing 1756 deaths John Garbh John Garbh