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THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

Photo, by Moffat, Bdhibur.-h.

Norman, Twenty-third Chief of MacLeod.

Frontispiece.

THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

From the Time of Leod to the End of the Seventeenth Century

BASED UPON THE BANNATYNE MS. AND ON

THE PAPERS PRESERVED IN THE DUNVEGAN

CHARTER CHEST

BY

THE REV. CANON R. C. MACLEOD OF MACLEOD

PRIVATELY PRINTED FOR

THE CLAN MACLEOD SOCIETY

1927

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DEDICATED TO

MY FELLOW CLANSMEN AND CLANSWOMEN

IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD

FOREWORD

By Sir JOHN LORNE MACLEOD. G.B.E., LL.D.

I HAVE the honour to make a few preHminary remarks upon the issue of the present volume.

I presume to say forthwith that this result of the labours and investigation of the learned writer concerning the origin and history of our Clan will be welcomed by every one of the name, and associated with the name, both at home and overseas. We are all under a deep debt of gratitude to Canon R. C. MacLeod of MacLeod for yield- ing to our solicitations, and thus making available in permanent form his great store of knowledge upon a subject which inspires our pride and patriotism, and reanimates our spirit of continuing clanship.

We express our high loyalty to our revered and honoured Chief — MacLeod of MacLeod — and to the House of Dunvegan.

This volume, though particularly relating to ' The MacLeods of Dunvegan ' — and so limited in its title, as is properly the case, having regard to the special sources of information founded on — is not, however, thus exclusive in its scope. On the contrary, it embraces much matter of a general character relating to the Clan as a whole, and of equal interest and importance to other branches

viii THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

of the Clan, in regard to which the same particular informa- tion, for a variety of reasons, probably cannot now be ascertained. The fall of ' the MacLeods of Lewis ' in the latter part of the sixteenth century has left many blank pages in the history of the Clan.

The general matter referred to relates to our common origin, and also to various events and affairs in Highland history, and in the larger sphere of Scottish history. Indeed, while no sort of pretension of the kind is made, the volume is a marked contribution in the latter respect, apart from its special interest to members of the Clan. The separate kingdom of Man and the Isles, the re- absorption of the western islands into geographical Scotland and, under the Scottish Crown, the rise of the clans, their inter-relations, and their common relationship to the central government, are aspects which are touched upon, and in regard to which a convincing and satisfac- tory view has still to be stated in our national history. The present volume will be helpful in this direction.

The references to the social and political conditions in the Highlands during the last two preceding centuries are perhaps only too brief. The House of Dunvegan has a noble record as regards its military service and the welfare of the Clan. The achievements of the original Highland regiments, and the emigration from the High- lands, both of which subjects are also touched upon, had an effect upon the growth and development of the Dominions overseas of capital importance in the history of British expansion.

FOREWORD ix

It is not wasted effort to preserve our sense of kinship, and our background of clan history and tradition. These things are still a unifying actuahty, which we more fully realise through the present volume, and I again express our appreciation of the devoted study and research which its preparation has involved, and our gratitude for its publication.

J. LORNE MACLEOD.

72 Great King Street, Edinburgh, is/ January 1927.

PREFACE

A LARGE amount of manuscript has been preserved in the Glendale branch of the MacLeod family, now known as the Bannatyne MacLeods. The most important part of this is a history of the MacLeods of Dunvegan from the time of Leod up to the time of Tormod, eleventh Chief, who died in 1585. It contains the fullest history of the Clan I have ever seen during this period. It covers 142 sheets of foolscap paper, and must have been written at some period before 1857, when the gentleman who was probably the author died.

No author's name appears in the manuscript. The fact that it is known as the Bannatyne MS., coupled with what we know of Sir William MacLeod Bannatyne of Kames, would lead one to suppose that it was his work. This gentleman was born in 1749, and died in 1838. He was a son of Roderick MacLeod, and a great-grandson of Sir Norman MacLeod of Bemera. His mother was a daughter of Bannatyne of Kames, and through her he succeeded to his uncle's estate, and took the name of. Bannatyne.

His hobby is known to have been the study of old High- land history and tradition, and yet, as far as I have been able to ascertain, no fragment of all the notes he must have made remain, if this manuscript is not his work.

There was no more distinguished authority on West Highland history than Gregory, the author of the History

xii THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

of the Western Highlands of Scotland, and Gregory bears the following testimony to the merits of Sir William MacLeod Bannatyne as an archaeologist. ' The author takes this opportunity to pay a tribute of respect to the memory of that lamented gentleman who, during a public life of seventy years (for he died at the advanced age of ninety-one), was ever distinguished by his zeal in all matters tending to benefit the Highlands and Islands. He early turned his attention to the history of the prin- cipal Highland families, and to the peculiar manners and customs of the Highlanders, in the elucidation of which his progress was so great at a time when, from political causes, these subjects were generally neglected, as to make it a matter of regret that he never thought proper to communicate his knowledge to the world. To him the author of the present work is indebted for much curious information, and for many valuable suggestions.' But there is one fact which militates against the theory that Sir William Bannatyne wrote the manuscript. Both in it and in a separate monograph the author stoutly maintains that Tormod, the ancestor of the branch known as the ' Sliochd Ian Mhic Leoid,' was really the elder son of Ian Borb, the sixth chief, who died about 1440, and that his descendants ought to have been chiefs instead of those who have actually ruled over the Clan since the time of their common ancestor. It is possible that Sir William Bannatyne, who was a scion of the Bernera family, might have become convinced that this theory was the true one, but it is more likely that it should be held by one who himself belonged to the ' Sliochd Ian Mhic Leoid.' Such a one was Dr. Bannatyne William MacLeod, a son of William MacLeod, eighth of Glendale, and a cousin

PREFACE xiii

of Sir William Bannatyne, and I incline to the opinion that he was the author of the manuscript for the following reasons : (i) The manuscript is in the possession of his descendants. (2) He belonged to the ' Sliochd Ian Mhic Leoid.' But as Bannatyne MacLeod spent most of his life in India, it seems unlikely that he should himself have been able to collect the mass of information given in the manuscript, and I think that probably Sir William Bannatyne gave or bequeathed to him the notes he had made during his researches, and that from them he com- piled the history we have in the manuscript. If this surmise is correct, we have in the manuscript the results of Sir William's labours, which Gregory wished had been given to the world.

Turning from the question of the authorship to the manuscript itself, it is quite certain that it is very largely based on traditions which have been orally handed down from generation to generation in the families of the bards and the seannachies. The question as to what may be the value of tradition is too large a subject to deal with here, but I may quote the author's words on the subject :

' Traditions, however apt to be incorrect guides, may be generally relied upon in tracing the history of the families who formerly ruled in the Western Isles. These families prided themselves on their descent, and they distin- guished with much honour their bards and seannachies. It was the duty of these men to learn from their fathers the history of past times and the genealogy, of each family, and they, on all occasions of moment and state, had to rehearse their knowledge before an audience of apt critics and jealous rivals, who were as ready as

xiv THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

they were able to correct a mistake, or expose a fabri- cation. This being the case the traditions preserved by the bards are not without value.'

The account the author gives of the installation of a Chief bears out this statement in a particularly interesting manner :

' After the funeral of the late Chief all the clan present sat down to a funeral feast. At this feast it was the duty of the bards to rehearse the genealogy of the deceased, to praise his achievements, and to lament his loss. It was then their duty to give an exordium on the qualities of his successor, and express the expectations and hopes of the clan as to his valour and other virtues. This done, the new Chief then rose in his place, and demanded his predecessor's sword. This was always placed in his hand by the first man in the clan, and then the new Chief was hailed by the acclamation of all present as the leader of the clan.'

The author of the manuscript certainly knew Gaelic colloquially, but he did not know the Gaelic of the grammars and dictionaries. His spelling of Gaelic words is often very faulty. This I have corrected, using the Gaelic dictionary published by E. MacDonald and Co., Heme Bay, for the purpose, but occasionally I have found it impossible to identify the words he uses.

Quotations from the Sagas are taken from the Nor- wegian edition of Munsch, published at Oslo in 1881. In Chapters II. to XII. of the History which follows I give a transcript of the Bannatyne MS. To this I have added such notes as seemed necessary to elucidate the text. The quotations from the manuscript are placed between double inverted commas. The latter

Photo by iriucler, Horsham.

Mrs. MacLeod of MacLeod.

PREFACE XV

part of the History I have compiled from all the available sources of information which I could find. Of all these the papers preserved in the Dunvegan charter chest have been the most valuable.

I must express my gratitude to the ladies and gentle- men who have made it possible for the Clan Society to publish this volume by guaranteeing the necessary expenses.

The illustrations, with the exception of two, are all reproduced from my own negatives, but I must not omit to express my thanks to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, who have kindly allowed me to use a number of blocks they made from some of these negatives for use in their Proceedings ; and to Messrs. W. and R. Chambers Ltd., who have supplied eleven of the illustra- tions from blocks which they made from some negatives lent by me to Mr. MacGregor to illustrate his books.

My warmest thanks are also due to Mr. R. C. MacLeod, Secretary of the Clan Society in Edinburgh . He originally placed in my hands the manuscript which has given me such invaluable information on the early history of our Clan, and his untiring energy and zeal have made it possible to publish this volume.

I must acknowledge with grateful thanks the help I have received from Mr. John Mackenzie, who is a mine of information on West Highland history and tradition.

I am aware that some Gaelic words and names are mis- spelt. Thus, ' vich ' should be ' mhic,' and Alastair should be Alasdair. In such cases the wrong spelling gives the pronunciation better than the right spelling would do.

CONTENTS

Foreword Prefack .

CHAF.

I. Thk Descent of Leod II. Leod, First Chief .

III. ToRMOD, Second Chief

IV. Malcolm, Third Chief V. Ian, Fourth Chief

VI. William Cleireach, Fifth Chief

VII. Ian (Ian Borb), Sixth Chief .

VIII. William Dubh, Seventh Chief

IX, Alexander, Eighth Chief

X. William na h'Uamha, Ninth Chief

XI. Donald, Tenth Chief, and the Usurpation OF Ian Dubh

XII. Tormod, Eleventh Chief

XIII. William, Twelfth Chief

XIV. RoRY, Thirteenth Chief

b

PAGE

vii

24 34 39 51 56 60 68 72 90

94

98

117

119

xviii THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGaN

CHAP.

XV. Ian, Fourteenth Chief XVI. RoRY, Fifteenth Chief XVII. Ian (Ian Breac), Sixteenth Chief XVIII. Some Later Events XIX. Dunvegan Castle .... Appendix ..... Index

PAGE

153

158 170 184 210 219

ILLUSTRATIONS

the Dunvegan Cup

Norman, Twenty-third Chief of MacLeod Mrs. MacLeod of MacLeod . Dunvegan Castle, east front . Where Leod Ues, lona Cathedral Castle Camus

Fairy Flag, Rory Mor's Horn, and Dunvegan Cup and Inscription Duntulm Castle, Ruins of . MacLeod's Tables Alister Crottach's Tomb, Rowdell St. Clement's Church, Rowdell The Sea Gate, Dunvegan Castle Trumpan Church, Ruins of . Corridor in Rory Mor's Wing, Dunvegan Castle Effigy of Margaret, wife of Rory Mor Tombstone, Rory Mor's Grave, Fortrose Dunvegan Castle, the Rock and South Wing . MacLeod Arms, Ian Breac's, Sixteenth Chief „ Dunvegan Armorial

Frontispiece

PAGE

xiv

i6

33 39 42 48

65 80 97 112 129 144 161 161 167 170 170

XX THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

PAGE

Sword of Sir Norman MacLeod of Bernera . . .176

Regimerital Colours, 2nd Bn. The Black Watch,

Armour, etc. . . . . . . .176

On Claigan Road, Skye 183

Dunvegan Casde, 1780 186

N^ „ Plan 193

Fair)' Room, Dunvegan Castle ..... 208

CHAPTER I

THE DESCENT OF LEOD

The descent of both the great branches of our family, and of their cadets, from Leod, our common ancestor, can be traced with absolute certainty, and there can be no doubt that Leod flourished at some period in the thirteenth century ; but there is some doubt concerning Leod's own descent, and also concerning the exact part of the thirteenth century in which he lived.

I propose in the following pages to lay all the facts it has been possible to discover before the reader. These are to be found in family traditions, and in some MSS. of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Before dealing with these it may be well to mention one or two theories which scholars interested in the subject have evolved. Captain Thomas, R.N., whose \vritings appear in the Proceedings of the Scottish ArchcBO- logical Society, maintains that Leod was Ljotulf, who, according to the Orkneyinga Saga, was Lord of Lodhus, the Lewes, early in the tenth century ; that Thorkel Tormodson, who was killed in Loch Bracadale in 1230 {Sagas, vol. ii. p. 337), was a descendant of his, and the ancestor of the MacLeods.

It is quite probable that Leod was connected with this family of ' MacTurkills,' who once ruled in Dublin ; indeed, a writer named Nicolson, in John O'Hart's Irish Pedigrees, says that a Torcill MacLeod, one of this family, killed Ottar, King of the Danes, in Dublin. But there is not a shred of proof that this theory is correct.

A

2 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

That Ljotulf gave his name to the Lewes is not im- probable.

Professor Bugge, a distinguished Scandinavian scholar, identifies Leod with Ljot Niding, who lived in Sutherland in the twelfth century, and who is said to have been the son of Olaf the Red, King of Man (on what grounds I do not know).

Others have sought to identify Leod with an Abbot of Brechin who lived early in the thirteenth century, and some have even tried to connect him with St. Mac Lou, the early French saint whose church is one of the glories of Rouen.

If there was no other evidence, these theories would be interesting as giving the possible identity of Leod, but there is other evidence, that of the traditions and that of some manuscripts, and I shall now deal with these.

The Traditions

As far as I know there are four of these traditions which may have been handed down from remote times orally in the families which possess them, but which have only been reduced to writing in comparatively recent years.

The earliest to be thus put into writing (probably early in the seventeenth century) forms the first part of a manuscript history of the Rosses of Balnagown. Accord- ing to this : ' There were three sons of the King of Denmark, called Gwyn, Loid, and Leandres, who came by sea out of Denmark to the north of Scotland, to conquest to themselves land by the sword. Gwyn conquest the Hieland brayes of Cathness, Loid, of whom McLoid is descended, the Lewes, Leandres conquest Braychet.'

This is supported by Sir Robert Gordon (c. 1620), who

THE DESCENT OF LEOD 3

says Gunn was the son of the King of Denmark ' who came many years agoe and settled in Catyness,' and by a Captain Dymes, who made a survey of the Lewes in 1630 and says, ' Leod was a son of the King of Denmark. It also agrees with the Dunvegan MS. in the names of Leod's brothers, but it is so vague that it is practically of no value. The only point about it is that it confirms Leod's Scandinavian descent.

The second is given by Sir George MacKenzie in his history of the MacKenzies, published in 1669. The MacKenzies claimed to represent the MacLeods of the Lewes in the female line, and had become possessed of most of their estates, and for this reason a MacLeod genealogy is inserted in a history of the MacKenzies. This Sir George was a great seannachy, and kept open house for all the bards and poets of his time. Most Highland families still retained their hereditary bards in Sir George's day, so he probably was well acquainted with the views held by them. According to this tradi- tion Leodus was a son of Harold, son of Godred Don, son of Reginald, King of Man, and Leod's wife was Adama, daughter of Farquhar, Earl of Ross.

The third is contained in a pedigree of the Assynt branch of our family, which now belongs to Mrs. MacLeod of Hazeldine, Ryde. It was compiled in 1680. In her letter to me Mrs. MacLeod says that the later parts of the pedigree contain evidence that it was compiled in Gottland, a province of southern Sweden. A corre- spondent suggests that a cadet of the Assynt family may have joined MacKay's regiment, raised in 1626 for service under the King of Sweden, and have settled in Gottland. At the end of the seventeenth century the study of ancient history was being vigorously pursued in Scandinavia. Torfaeus in 1680 had just returned from Iceland, and published his great work on the Orkneys in 1690. So the compiler of this pedigree of 1680 may

4 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

have had access to Norse and Icelandic sources of information.

The Assynt tradition says that Leodus was son of Olaf, thirteenth and last King of Man. Olaf the Black was not the last King of Man, but he was the thirteenth, counting from Orry, a son of the King of Norway and Denmark in the tenth century, who founded a Norse kingdom in Man. This tradition, therefore, supports the Dunvegan one, and this is a tradition of the Assynt family, who were a branch of the Lewes family. This is somewhat remarkable, for Sir George MacKenzie, who claimed descent from the Lewes family, gives a different version, as we have seen.

The fourth tradition is contained in a memorial drawn up for the nineteenth Chief of Dunvegan in 1767. There may be earlier written records of this in existence, but so far I have failed to discover any. But there is evidence that a hundred years earlier the MacLeods of Dunvegan believed that they were descended from the Kings of Man. Over the front door at Dunvegan is a stone bear- ing the arms of the sixteenth Chief. In this coat the arms of the Isle of Man appear.

This tradition says that Olaf the Black, King of Man, had three sons by his third wife, Christina, daughter of the Earl of Ross, whom he probably married about 1225 : (i) Guin, or Gunn, of whom are descended the Clan Gunn in Sutherland ; (2) Leoid, or Leod ; (3) Leandres, of whom descend the Clan Leandres in Ross. It goes on to say that Leod was fostered in the house of Pol, or Paul, the son of Bok, the Sheriff of Skye, who was a constant and firm friend to his father in all his dangers and difficulties ; that Pol gave to Leod the island of Harris, and that Leod married the daughter of McCraild Armuinn, and received Dunvegan and all the Skj^e estates of the family as her dowTy.

It wiU be observed that three of these traditions con-

THE DESCENT OF LEOD 5

nect Leod with the royal house of Man and the Isles. The other, the first-named, does not contradict this if we understand a ' son of the King of Denmark ' as mean- ing a ' descendant of the King of Denmark,' for the Kings of Man traced their descent back to Sigurd Ring, King of Denmark in the eighth century.

There is one very strong reason for believing that Leod was really descended from the Kings of Man, and that is the fact that the MacLeods bore the same insignia in their arms as the Kings of Man had borne before them. The seals on two charters granted by Harold, King of Man, in 1245 and 1246, have on one side the lymphad or galley, on the other a lion. In later days the MacLeods bore the lymphad, and the lion appeared in their arms as supporters (see Appendix).

I am aware that the galley was borne by Norse poten- tates in the Orkneys and Caithness, and it might be said that, if MacLeod's ancestor was not Olaf the Black, but Olver, whose story I shall relate later on, they might have got their galley, not from the Norwegians in Man, but from those in the Orkneys ; but I think there is a com- plete answer to this. The date of Olver was 1139. At that time, even in England and Normandy, the science of heraldry was unknown. Boutell says, ' Until the concluding quarter of the twelfth century the traces of heraldry in England are faint and few in number. It was in the reign of Henry iii. (1216-1272) that heraldry began to be regarded as a science.' If, then, the MacLeods bore Norse insignia in their arms, as they certainly did, they must have derived them from the Norwegians in Man and the Isles, and if Leod was not descended from them, I know of no connection between the MacLeods and the royal line of kings in Man which would entitle them to bear their arms.

But there is one discrepancy in the traditions which must be considered. Sir George MacKenzie says that

6 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

Leod was a son of Harold, a grandson of Reginald, King of Man, while the Assynt and Dunvegan traditions say he was a son of Olaf the Black. I think that the latter is more likely to be correct than the former for three reasons :

1. Two traditions support this descent, while only one supports the other.

2. As we shall see later on the Kilbride MS. says that Leod was a son of a man named Olaf, not of a man named Harold.

3. It is quite certain that a part of the Lewes was in the possession of Olaf the Black, both before and after his captivity. It is equally certain that part of the island was the property of Leod and his sons, probably in Olaf's lifetime. Is Olaf likely to have given his estate in the Lewes to the great-grandson of a man who had robbed him of his throne, banished him, and imprisoned him for years, as most certainly Reginald had done ? The fact that Leod owned part of the Lewes and Glenelg creates a strong presumption that he was Olaf's son.

As far, then, as the question of Leod's paternity ^oes I think that the statements given in the Assynt and Dunvegan traditions should be accepted.

I now proceed to consider the Dunvegan tradition, which is much more circumstantial in its details than any of the others and, as it mentions persons known to history, it is possible to check its accuracy.

While I believe that the tradition is correct in its statement that Olaf the Black was Leod's father, I think it is improbable that Christina, daughter of the Earl of Ross, was his mother. Olaf did not marry Christina till 1225, and his second son by her could not have been born before 1227. As we shall see later on, it is almost certain that Leod was born about the year 1200. Indeed, the tradition itself suggests this. It says that ' Leod was fostered in the house of Pol or Paul, the son of Bok.'

THE DESCENT OF LEOD 7

This Pol must certainly be identified with Paal Baalkeson, who is often mentioned in the sagas. This Paal was killed in 1231 {Sagas, vol. ii. p. 339). If, then, Leod was Christina's son, he can only have been fostered in Pol's house during the first four years of his life, and it seems wildly improbable that a four-year-old child should have succeeded Paal in his estates as Leod certainly did.

But, if we suppose that Leod was Olaf's son by his first wife, this difficulty disappears at once. A short sketch of Olaf's life will make things clearer. He was born about 1170, and was a child when his father died. His elder, but illegitimate, brother Reginald seized the crown, and gave him part of the Lewes for his main- tenance. In due time he married a daughter of some unnamed Kintyre potentate, and lived in the Lewes till 1207. He was probably on very friendly terms with Paal Baalkeson, the Sheriff of Skye. Later on he cer- tainly returned from Norway in Paal's ship in 1231 {Sagas, vol. ii. p. 337).

In 1207 Olaf complained to Reginald that his share of the Lewes was not sufficient for his maintenance, but instead of giving him any increased possessions, Reginald sent him as a prisoner to William the Lion, who kept him confined in Marchmont Castle till 1214. Regaining his liberty, in that year he made a pilgrimage to St. James of Compostella in Spain, and returned to the Isles about 1217, when he again took possession of the Lewes and married Javon, a sister of Reginald's wife, from whom, however, he was forced to separate because she was a cousin of his first wife.

In 1225 he married Christina, regained his kingdom, and finally died in 1237.

I suggest that Leod was Olaf's son by his first wife, that he was born about the year 1200, and brought up by his father's friend Paal Baalkeson.

8 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

Thus amended, all the difficulties in the tradition dis- appear, and certainly the arguments for believing that the main facts contained in it are true are very strong.

The descent of Leod, on the assumption that he was a son of Olaf the Black, will be found on page 22, together with the descents given in the Kilbride and MacFirbis MSS.

The Manuscripts

But traditions are not our only sources of information. Skene discovered in the Advocates' Library at Edin- burgh some MSS. which are known as the Kilbride MSS. These, his editor says, were in such a state that chemicals had to be employed to make them legible, which chemicals later on entirely destroyed the originals. It must be observed that these MSS. begin with the name of the chief who was living when they v^^ere compiled, and work backwards from him.

The oldest of them, dated 1467, does not contain the MacLeod genealogy, but a second one, which Skene thinks may be dated about 1540, does. There is, however, some reason for the belief that its date was earlier than this. Skene says there were six names before that of Leod, but that these have been carefully erased. These were probably the names of Leod's successors up to the time when the MS. was written. As in 1540 Leod's seventh successor was Chief, had it been compiled at that date seven names would have been erased. As only six are V so treated we may conclude that the pedigree was drawn up in the time of William, Leod's sixth successor. He succeeded in 1440, and was killed in 1480 at the Battle of the Bloody Bay, so it seems likely that the true date of the MS. is between 1440, when he succeeded, and 1480, when he was killed. The fact that names were erased seems to point to the MS. having been in the possession

THE DESCENT OF LEOD 9

of the MacLeod family. If it was not, they could not have got at it at all, and only MacLeods could have had any reason for making the erasures. We can only guess what these reasons were.

This MS., then, as a record of what was believed to be Leod's descent in the fifteenth century, has great authority.

Besides this there are two pedigrees of Leod by members of the MacFirbis family, the Irish genealogists. One is contained in the MacLean genealogy, the other purports to be a genealogy of Leod.

Before giving the genealogies I may point out four principles on which it appears the genealogists went, as this will make it easier to understand them.

1. They often give, not a man's name, but the sobri- quet or nickname by which he was known. This, if it was Norse, was translated into Gaelic. Thus, number 23 in the Kilbride MS. is not a name but a word which means a magician. Ceallach, 10, 12, 13, the origin of the Irish name Kelly, may mean in Gaelic the warlike, or the monk, and have been applied, either to a great warrior, or to some one who took the cowl in his later days. The Gillemuires of the MacFirbis MS. may have been devotees of the Virgin Mary, for Muire is the Gaelic form of Mary, or of St. Meolrubha, who is also known as Moorrie ; or possibly it may have meant the ' seafarer,' muire being Gaelic for the sea. Raice may be connected with the Gaelic word raic, boastfulness, and been applied to a boastful man. This means that different names are often given to the same man, and if we do not know a man's nickname, we shall be unable to identify him when only that is mentioned.

2. They sometimes give, not the name of a man's father, but that of his father-in-law, thus giving his descent in the female line. An instance of this having been done is found in John O'Hart's Irish Pedigrees, in

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10 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

which is printed an old genealogy of the MacNichols or Nicholsons. The heiress of this family married Torcill MacLeod, who later obtained a Crown charter of the lands his wife brought him. In this genealogy the name of ' Torcill ' follows that of the last of the MacNichols without any indication that he was, not the son, but the son-in-law of the last MacNichol.

3. They invariably give the Gaelic equivalents for Norse names — lamhar for Ivar, Arailt for Harold, Leod for Ljot, Oloir for Olaf.

4. Without giving any hint of what they are doing they interpolate, between the names of a father and a son, the names of kings or any other famous men from whom the latter may be descended through his mother.

That this was the habit of the genealogists is, I think, proved by considering the number of names, and the length of time which elapsed between two persons the dates of whose birth are known. Thus between Ivar the Boneless and Leod about three hundred and seventy years elapsed, or about twelve generations. Between these two persons there are twenty-two names in the Kilbride MS., and eighteen in the MacFirbis, Between Leod and Alasdrann about four hundred and twenty years elapsed, or fourteen generations ; in the MacFirbis MS. twenty-two names are mentioned.

I now give the Kilbride genealogy in full.

GENEALACH MIC LEOD AN SO

{From Skene's Kilbride MS., probably 1440-1480)

Mic Leod.

1. Mic Oloir.

2. Mic Oib.

3. Mic Oilmoir.

4. Mic lamhar Og. Young Ivar.

THE DESCENT OF LEOD ii

5. Mic Sin lamhar. Old Ivar.

6. Mic Sgoinne Sganlain. Sgoinne, ' Scone/ the Scot-

tish capital, where ' Scanlan ' may have been a hostage.

7. Mic lamhar Atacliadh. Ivar of Dublin.

8. Mic Connla.

9. Mic Conaill Clannderg.

10. Mic Ceallach= Irish for ' Kelly.' Moore's Manx

Surnames and Place-Namcs has ' Ceallach ' = war, strife. Its second meaning is a monk.

11. Mic Mardoid Re R. In Mic L.

12. Mic CeaUach Cathanid. Probably means inconstant

in battle.

13. Mic Cuilnan.

14. Mic Connla.

15. Mic Dergdian Sgotheg.

16. Mic Manuis Oig. Young Manuis (Irish form of

Magnus) .

17. Mic Magnus na Luinge Luaithe. Of the swift ship.

18. Mic Magnus Aircon Ise Ro Gab iiii Micam in Leomhar.

19. Mic lamhar Uallach. Ivar the Proud.

20. Mic Dergi.

21. Mic Arailt.

22. Mic lamhar na Mhreat, Should be nam Breat, of

the Judgments. Almost certainly ' The High King of the Norse.'

23. Mic Ubhaidh. The Magician.

24. Mic Arailt.

25. Mic Aspuig.

26. Mic Ceallach = ' Kelly.'

27. Mic Connla.

28. Mic Lamus.

29. Mic Lungbaird.

30. Mic Lamus.

31. Mic Lochlan.

32. Mic Arailt.

12 THE MACLEODS OF DUN VEGAN

33. Mic Laigh Laidere Or. Crich L.

34. Mic Fergus Leithderg.

Analysing this genealogy, Oloir is the Gaelic form of the Norse Olaf, and he may be Olaf the Black.

Oib may be the Gaelic form of the Norse Ubi or Ubbe, but of him nothing is known.

Oilmoir I take to be the Gaelic form of the Norse Olver. He may have been ' Olver the Turbulent,' whose career is sketched in the Orkneyinga Saga. He was, says this saga, ' the tallest of men, of very great strength and wantonly quarrelsome.' His father was Thorljot, his grandfather Ljot, or Leod ; so, if this be correct, the name of Leod was hereditary in the family. He was mixed up in all the wars and intrigues which went on in the Orkneys, and, having made a deadly enemy of Sweyn Asleifson, the famous Viking, was forced to flee from his home at Kinbrace on the Helmsdale river in Sutherland in 1139, ' crossed the Helmsdale water, and went up the fell, thence to Scotland's firth, and so out to the Sydereys, and out of the Sagas.'

Olver, a correspondent believes, married the daughter of Ivar Og, his name being inserted in accordance with the second principle I laid down. One of his reasons for believing this is that after this, the names such as lamhar and Arailt, so common in the earlier part of the MS., disappear, and such names as Olver, Olaf, and Ljot, which are very common in the Orkneyinga Saga, come in. Of lamhar Og and Sin lamhar, and of Sgoinne Sganlach, who bears a purely Celtic name, nothing is known, but it is certain that lamhar Atacliadh, i.e. Ivar of Dublin, is to be identified with the Ivar MacArailt who became King of Dublin in 1038, ejecting his kinsman Each- marcach, but was afterwards himself driven into exile in the islands in 1046, and died (so the annals of Loch Ce say) in 1054.

THE DESCENT OF LEOD 13

I have not been able to identify any more names till we come to number 22, lamhar of the Judgments. He is certainly to be identified with Ivar, ' the Boneless High King of the Norse.' The Kilbride MS. traces Ivar MacArailt's descent from him probably in the female line, and with several names interpolated. In it there are fourteen names between these two; in Dr. MacTodd's only five.

Dr. MacTodd gives the pedigree of this lamhar Ata- cliadh in his Wars of the Gael with the Foreigners, back to Ivar the Boneless, ' High King of the Norse in Ireland and Brittain,' v/ho died in 873, as foUows. As will be observed, he gives the earliest name first and works downwards.

Ivar (Beinlaus), died 873, High King 11 of the Norse.

(The Irish Annalists term these 'Grandsons of Ivar,' but by which son is uncertain.) I

Var, slain 904. Sitric, died 927. Gothfrith, died 934. Ragnall.

i !1 I

Gothfrith. Olaf-Cuaran, died 981. Gyda, m. Olaf-Trygvasson, II King of Norway.

I I I II I

CuNiARAiNN, Sitric-Silkenbeard, Ragnall, Aralt, Amancus,

slain 989. died 1042. slain slain slain

980. 1000. 954.

I II

Eachmarcach, Ivar, King of Dublin

died 1054. 1038, expelled 1046.

The remaining names in the Kilbride MS. I have not attempted to identify. They are probably mythical.

Excepting the first name it is impossible to identify the names given in the Kilbride MS. with those borne by Leod's ancestors, on the assumption that he was a son of Olaf the Black.

14 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

It is quite evident that traditions which were written down in the fifteenth or sixteenth century carry greater weight than traditions which were not reduced to writing till the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. One would therefore think at first sight that, strong as the reasons are for believing that Leod was a son of Olaf the Black, that theory must be given up when we consider what this MS. says.

But this is not necessarily the case. As we have seen, the bards often put in the name of a father-in- law instead of that of a father. It is therefore quite possible that Oib may be the name of the father of Olaf's first wife, who, as I have shown, was probably Leod's mother.

In this case the Kilbride MS. does not contradict the tradition, but supplements it by giving Leod's descent through his mother.

This is the theory which I am inclined to accept. It is very likely that the bards, being anxious to magnify the ancient and honourable descent of their Chief, made several genealogies tracing his ancestry through different lines of descent, and that, as it happens, Leod's descent through his mother is the only one among several which has come down to us.

The MacFirbis MS. is of much less value than the Kilbride MS. A capable scholar of Irish history might be able to identify the persons named, but I have not been able to identify even the twenty-one descendants of Leod, of whom we know something, much less his ancestors, of whom we know nothing. Skene thought that it was a jeu d' esprit of some bard.

The only point of interest about it is that it traces Leod's descent back to the same Ivar of the Judgments as the Kilbride MS. does.

I give this genealogy in full. It probably begins in the seventeenth century, and works backwards.

THE DESCENT OF LEOD 15

GENEALACH MAC LEOID

	(By Dubhaltach MacFirbisigh)
I.	Alasdrann.
2.	Mic GioUa Coluim.
3-	Mic Tormoid.
4-	Mic Ruaidhrigh.
5-	Mic Nell.
6.	Mic GioUa Christ.
7-	Mic Tormoid.
8.	Mic Consaitin.
9-	Mic Lochlainn Leosaigh.
10.	Mic Loairn Loingsigh.
II.	Mic Duilbh Locha-Abroin.
12.	Mic londuilbh Innsi H-Orc.
13-	Mic Scandlain Sgainde.
14.	Mic Amhlaoibh.
15-	Mic lomhair Cairthe Sgarloide.
16.	Mic Alpin.
17-	Mic Maoil Coluim Ceann-Mh<5ir.
18.	Mic Comhgaill.
19.	Mic Si6graidh.
20.	Mic Loairn.
21.	Mic Broin Berbe.
22.	Mic Leoid, a ttaid, Clanna Leoid, fri Lara	agus as i
	thainig a siothbroghaibh a riocht Lara, ionnus
	go rug triar Mac, ar a ffuil sliocht.
	(' From whom (descend) the Clan Leod	, by Lara,
	and she came from the fairy palaces in	the shape
	of a Lara, so that she bore three sons,	of whom
	there are descendants.') A Lara may	be a cor-
	ruption of the Gaelic word lair, a mare
23-	Mic Artuir.
24.	Mic Balair.
25-	Mic Ferccusa.

i6 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

26. Mic Forguill Cliche Na Fuardhachta.

27. Mic Naoi.

28. Mic Duilbh.

29. Mic lolduilbh,

30. Mic Alexandair.

31. Mic Neid a quo Ui Ned.

32. Mic Monuigh Mh6ir, o Raiter Dun Monaigh.

33. Mic Balbuaidh Innsi Tile.

34. Mic Gioda.

35. Mic Fomhra.

36. Mic Maghnuis Na Loinge Luaithe.

37. Mic Arailt.

38. Mic Asmaint.

39. Mic Sin-Iomhair Mhoir Na Mhreath, o ffuilt siol Sin-

lomhair in Albain, agus a N-Erinn, agus a Loch- lonnuibh.

(' Old-Ivar the Great of the Judgments, of whom (descend) the race of Old-Ivar in Scot- land, and in Ireland, and in Scandinavia.')

I now give the descent taken from the MacLean genealogy, which says that a certain Christina, who married a MacLean, was a daughter of Tormoid, who was a son of Leod, whose genealogy it then gives as follows :

1. Leod.

2. Gillemuire.

3. Raice.

4. Olbair Snoice.

5. Gillemuire.

6. Ealga of the beautiful locks.

7. Arailt.

8. Semmair, King of Lochlann.

We cannot identify Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5 with Leod's ancestors in the Kilbride MS., or with his ancestors

Where Leod lies in lona Cathedral.

See page 30.

THE DESCENT OF LEOD 17

through Olaf the Black. They may be the same persons under other names, or they may possibly be his ancestors through his mother. I have found no mention of ' Ealga of the Beautiful Locks ' in any of the sagas or chronicles, and the name Arailt or Harold is so common that, with- out any further description, it is not easy to say who this particular Arailt was. But Semmair, King of Norway, is almost certainly the great Norse king, St. Olaf, under another name.

Though Lochlann, strictly speaking, is Denmark, it is often used for Norway, As we have seen, instead of names, the Gaelic translations of nicknames are often given in these genealogies. Now St. Olaf, though he was called the Saint after his death, was called during his life Olaf Digre. Digre means ' the stout.' In Gaelic Seamach means ' stout.' This might easily be altered to Seammair, so I think there is little doubt that Seammair is St. Olaf, who was probably born about 970, and was killed at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. I can trace no son of his except Magnus Barfod, who succeeded him, but he may have had a son named Harold, who is not mentioned in the sagas.

Having laid all the available facts before the reader, I make some deduction from them.

I. Leod was certainly, in the main, of Norse descent, though he may have had some Celtic blood in his veins through the Celtic wives some of his forebears married. All the theories, all the traditions, all the manuscripts, however much they differ about other things, agree in this. The Kilbride MS., on which Skene mainly relied to prove his Celtic descent, proves the exact contrary. Out of thirty-three names, seventeen are Gaelic forms of Norse names, five more are translations of nicknames which are as likely to be Norse as Celtic, and the re- mainder are probably the names of Celtic chiefs whose daughters married Norsemen. In the Fairy Lullaby B

i8 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

(see page 197) is an emphatic statement that the MacLeods were of Norse descent, and this lullaby is probably older than any of the manuscripts.

2. He was certainly a man of ancient and honourable ancestry. Here again the traditions and manuscripts agree. According to one tradition, he was the son of a King of Denmark ; according to three others he was descended from the royal race who ruled in Man. One of the manuscripts traces his descent from the heroic King of Norway, St. Olaf, who was killed in 1030, and through him from a long line of kings who Uve in the dim and distant past.

It may be interesting if I give briefly what is known of some of Leod's most distinguished ancestors. Three out of the four traditions and two out of three MSS. trace his descent from ' Ivar the Boneless, High King of the Norse in Britain and Ireland,' and he was a very important person indeed. He was the son of Ragnar Lodbrok, and Ragnar was the son of Sigurd Ring. These early ancestors of Leod were the most famous men of their time in all Scandinavia. Sigurd Ring, whose adventures are related in the Volsunga Saga, was King of Denmark and Sweden, and also, the sagas tell us, of Viken (Oslo) in Norway.

He was a famous Viking ; he commanded the Danish fleets which destroyed Lindisfarne in 793, and harried all Northumberland, which indeed he claimed to have conquered. He appears to have ravaged many places in England, France, and Ireland, and to have gone as far as the Mediterranean.

His son, Ragnar Lodbrok, whose life is recorded in a saga which bears his name, was even more famous than his father. He also was King of Denmark and Sweden, and perhaps the most formidable of aU the Vikings. He commanded the Danes who attacked Paris in 845, and carried the dread of his name over the whole seaboard

THE DESCENT OF LEOD 19

of Europe. Even in his old age he could not rest. He fitted out a fresh expedition and attacked Northumbria. He was, however, defeated, and met with a terrible death, being flung into a pit full of venomous serpents. He left four sons, one of whom was Ivar the Boneless. He was probably a cripple, and, I gather from the sagas, more famed for his cunning and wisdom than for physical strength. Hence his name in the Kilbride MS., Ivar of the Judgments. He it was who planned the vengeance which the four brothers took on the king who had put their father to death. They defeated him, took him prisoner and tattooed a great eagle on his back, the tattooing being so deep that the unhappy man died of the wounds thus inflicted. Ivar's brothers returned to Scandinavia, but he remained to rule over the king- doms which his father and brothers had carved for them- selves in England and Ireland. The most important of these were Dublin and Limerick in Ireland and North- umbria in England, and for this reason Northumbria and the Danish kingdom in Ireland are inextricably mixed up in the Irish annals. This Ivar was the founder of the great house of Hy Ivar, which ruled for so long both in England and Ireland.

I have taken these particulars from Du ChaiUu's book. The Age of the Vikings, in which he gives copious ex- tracts from the sagas already mentioned. For details of the lives of Ivar's successors the reader is referred to the various Irish annals. They were all men well known and distinguished in the history of their times.

Olaf Cuaran's sister Gyda became the wife of Olaf Tryggvason, the first Christian King of Norway [Sagas, vol. i. pp. 103, 113).

3. It is almost certain that Leod was born about the year 1200. At all events, the evidence points to about that date.

20 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

It is true that :

1. Sir George MacKenzie's tradition fixes his birth at about 1240, and

2. The unamended tradition of the Dun vegan family fixes it between 1226 and 1237, the year in which Olaf the Black died.

But (3) the amended tradition fixes it about 1200 ; and

4. Both the Kilbride MS. and the MacFirbis MacLean genealogy demand an early date. In the former we know that Ivar MacArailt's father was killed a.d. 1000, and I take 990 as the date of Ivar's birth. In the latter we know that St. Olaf was born about 970, and, allowing thirty years for a generation, we get, in each case, the date 1200 which is given in the following table for Leod's birth.

5. There is, in the Clanranald charter chest, a charter granted by Donald, Lord of the Isles, to Lord Bissett ' at our Castle of Dingwall ' in 1245, and this charter is wit- nessed by ' our beloved cousins and councillors Tormod MacLeod of Harris, and Torquil MacLeod of the Lewes.' As Leod lived till 1280 we must conclude that he gave his two sons these estates in his lifetime. If this charter is genuine it is proof positive that Leod was born in the very early years of the thirteenth century. Otherwise he could not have had sons old enough to witness a charter in 1245.

But this charter is said to be a forgery, if I remember right, on two grounds : (i) That the Lord of the Isles did not in 1245 possess the Castle of Dingwall ; (2) that the Pope, Celestine the Fourth, in whose pontificate the charter is said to have been granted, had died in 1243.

Neither of these objections seems to me very convincing. I have never seen the charter, and cannot write with any certainty, but, knowing as I do the difficulty of making out place-names in ancient charters, it seems to me possible that a mistake has been made in reading the name, and that the charter may have been really granted at some

THE DESCENT OF LEOD 21

other place ; and even if the reading is correct, in those turbulent times, when raids were constantly taking place, it is always possible that the Lord of the Isles had cap- tured Dingwall, and, holding it for a short time, may have called it his own.

The second objection appears rather a proof of genuine- ness than the reverse. In those days, when news travelled slowly, the death of a Pope might not be known in the Highlands two years after it happened, while surely a forger in later times would take care to get all his details correct.

I may add that Dr. MacDonald of Killearnan, one of the authors of the book on the Clan Donald, without any hesitation pronounced the charter to be genuine.

6. The fact that his granddaughter married the Lord of Kerry before 1285 (see Chapter II.) implies that Leod was born early in the thirteenth century.

From all this it follows that we cannot be quite so certain as to Leod's paternity, but I think that the evi- dence that he was a son of Olaf the Black is very strong indeed, and I have arrived at the following conclusions :

1 . I think that the Dunvegan tradition, amended as I have suggested, is correct, and that Leod was the son of Olaf the Black by his first wife.

2. It is my opinion that Oib was Olaf the Black's father-in-law, and that the Kilbride MS. gives Leod's descent in the female line through Olaf the Black's mother.

3. I think that, probably, the persons named in the MacLean genealogy of MacFirbis were Leod's ancestors through some other line of descent, possibly through his mother, and that the genealogy was compiled for the special purpose of showing that Leod's descent could be traced back to the Kings of Norway.

In the following table I give these three lines of Leod's descent. The dates are in some instances known. In

22 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

others they are deduced from the known dates, allowing thirty years for a generation.

THE DESCENT OF LEOD

Through the	As ^iven in the	As given in the
Kings of Man.	Kilbride MS.	MacFirbis MS.
Sigurd Ring, born about	Sigurd Ring, born about
770.	770.
Ragnar Lodbrok, born	Ragnar Lodbrok, born I
about 810.	about 810.
' Ivar, High King, born	Ivar, High King, born	Halvdan Svarte, born
about 840.	about 840.	about 825.
2 Sitric of Limerick, born	1 One of his sons, born	Harold Haarfagre, born
about 870.	870. I	about 855.
3 Harold O'lvar, born	Sitric, born 900 ; died	Bjorn, born about 880.
about 900.	927.
* Godred McHarold,	Olaf Cuaran, born 930.	Gudrod, born about
born about 930.		910.
Lagman,born about 960.	Arailt, born 960.	Harold Grenski, born about 940.
*01af, K. of the Isles,	Ivar Atacliadh, born	Semmair, St. Olaf, K. of
born about 990.	990.	Norway, born about 970 ; killed 1030.
Harold of Iceland, born	Sgoinne Sganlain, born	Harold, born about
about ID ID.	1020.	lOIO.
Godred Croven, born	Ivar Sin, born 1050.	Ealga = Helga, born
about 1040.		about 1050.
Olaf the Red, born	Ivar Og, born 1080.	Gillemuire, born about
about 1 100.		1080.
Godred the Black, born	Olmoir, born mo.	Olbaire Snoice, born
about 1 1 40.		about mo.
Olaf the Black, born	Oib, born 11 40.	Raice, born about 1 140.
about 1 1 75.
Leod, born about 1200.	Oloir, born 11 70.	Gillemuire, born about 1 1 70. Leod, born about 1200.
	Leod, born about 1 200.
1 Died 873.	1 His sons were Sitric,
a Killed 896.	Lord of Limerick, who mur-
^ „ 940.	dered his brother 888.
* ,, 989-	Sichfrith, murdered 888.
5 ,. at Clontarf, 1014.	Which was the father of Sitric is not known.

I have only carried Leod's descent through St. Olaf back to Halvdan Svarte, the first King of Norway, who

THE DESCENT OF LEOD 23

has a saga of his own in the Kongesagaer, but the Ynglinga Saga carries his descent through thirty kings back to Odin, who appears to have lived about the beginning of our era.

In conclusion, I must acknowledge the most valuable help which I have received from a gentleman with whom I have been corresponding on these matters. He does not wish his name to be mentioned, but I must not fail to express my admiration of his wide reading and pro- found knowledge concerning the history of those distant days, and it is quite certain that, if this effort to elucidate the descent of Leod and the date when he lived possesses any merit, it is due to the generous and ungrudging help which this gentleman has given.

[/n Chapters II. to XII. the passages between double inverted commas are verbatim quotations from the Bannatync MS., unless some other source is given. ^

CHAPTER II

LEOD, FIRST CHIEF

Born about 1200: died about 1280

As we have seen, the Dunvegan tradition says that Leod was brought up by Paal Baalkeson, who held the office of Sheriff of Skye under the Kings of Man. This office was hereditary, and had been held by another Paal Baal- keson, probably this Paal's grandfather, a hundred and fifty years earlier. This earlier Paal had been the best friend of Godred, King of Man. ' Well was he called Baalk, the beam or supporter, for he proved a veritable tower of strength to Godred.' So says an old chronicler. In the Dunvegan tradition the later Paal is called Pol the son of Boc. In the Bannatyne MS. he is called Paal Baccas (the lame or crippled), and he is also called Phaich. In the sagas he is called Paal Baalkeson, but there is no doubt that the man who was known hy all these names is the same person.

Paal owned very large estates. " In Skye he owned Sleat, Trotternish, Waternish, and Snizort. SI eat had previously belonged to the Clan Vic Gurimen, a Celtic tribe. Trotternish had originally belonged to the Clan Vic Val or Mai, a Norwegian tribe who had settled at Duntulm, and held for several generations the east part of Trotternish. Waternish had been held by a branch of the McNechtons of the Lewes, who later called them- selves Nicolsons. The province of Snizort, which in- cluded Grishornish, Lyndale, Bernisdale, etc., belonged partly to the Clan Vic Varten (now Martins), and partly

LEOD, FIRST CHIEF 25

to the Abbey of lona and the monks of Columkill. Remnants of each of these tribes are still to be met with in Skye, and a few of their descendants are now men of wealth and respectability in other parts of the world.

" Besides these estates in Skye Paal Baalkeson owned Harris. Previous to this time, the north end, called the Frith or Chase, had been possessed by the Clan Vic Cearch or Each, the Children of the Mist."

This etj^mology is certainly a mistake. Professor Watson in his work on Gaelic poetry says that the real name of this tribe was MacShittich, which means the Jl^j

Children of the Wolf. This was corrupted to MacGhittich, '

which has been anglicized to Shaw. When the name recurs later on in the MS. I shall give the real name without making any further note.

" The centre of Harris was possessed by the Clan Vic Vurrachie, and the south end and small isles by the MacCrimmons, afterwards the famous hereditary pipers of the MacLeods. The northern part of North Uist, possibly the whole, at that period went with Harris, and was included in Paal's property.

" All tliese tribes had been subdued by Paal's ancestors, and acknowledged his authority.

" Paal had a natural son, whose descendants for several generations held the island of Bernera and other lands in Harris under the MacLeods. In the course of time they fell into decay, and a few peasants only now remain of a race once numerous and powerful. They are called the Clan Vic Phaich, and were considered a fierce vin- I )^ dictive tribe, who prided themselves on their descent from Paal.

" Passing over his natural son, Paal bequeathed all his estates to Leod. No one opposed Leod's claim. This was probably less due to the fact that he was Paal Baal- keson's heir, than to the other fact that he was a son

26 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

of Olaf the Black who was at that time firmly estab- lished in his kingdom. It is certain that, when Paal was killed in 1231, Leod peaceably succeeded to his possessions."

With this wealthy and powerful chief, Leod spent his boyhood and youth, possibly at Duntulm, Dun- skaith, or Castle Camus.

If the charter witnessed by his sons in 1245 is genuine he must have married early, perhaps about 1220. His bride was a daughter of MacCrailt Armuinn, who was the Lord of Dun vegan and owned Durinish, Bracadale, and Minginish.

MacCrailt is a corruption of MacArailt, and Arailt is the Gaelic equivalent of the Norse name Harold. It appears very frequently amongst the Norsemen settled in Ireland. The name, therefore, indicates that Leod's father-in-law was descended from a Norseman named Harold, whose family had lived so long among the Celts that they had adopted the Gaelic form of their ancestor's name, and prefixed to it the Celtic Mac. From this I infer that the MacCrailts had been settled at Dunvegan for a long time, possibly since the latter end of the ninth century, when so many Norsemen, driven from their homes by Harold Haarfagre, were settling in the Hebrides as well as in other parts of the world.

The latter part of this chief's name was his title. The Armins or Armuinns were the second order of nobility in the Lordship of the Isles, and probably also in the King- dom of Man and the Isles. They ranked after a thane. This alliance with MacCrailt 's daughter and heiress brought Dunvegan into the MacLeod family. After his marriage it is probable that Leod took up his residence in the same keep which is still the home of his twenty- second descendant.

It is likely that, as the tradition affirms, Dunvegan had been built by one of MacCrailt 's ancestors. In parts

LEOD, FIRST CHIEF 27

of the world where timber was plentiful, in those days nobles used to live in wooden houses, as Cedric the Saxon did, whose home is described in Ivanhoe, and it is probable that in England there were no castles built of stone before the time of the Norman conqueror. But in the Western Isles timber was scarce. During the period when Norse rovers were constantly making raids, the Celtic inhabitants found that it was necessary to erect strongholds for purposes of defence against the Norsemen, and the ruins of the duns and brochs, which they then built, remain to this day.

The Norsemen, surrounded by a hostile population, who might at any moment rise to throw off the alien yoke, found that such strongholds were equally neces- sary to their own safety. Sometimes they used the old Celtic brochs, sometimes they built new castles for themselves, changing the shape of these from circular to rectangular, and using mortar in their construction. The keep at Dunvegan, with its old sea-gate,^ is almost certainly one of these.

Professor Henderson, in his Norse Influence in Celtic Scotland, says that the true etymology of Dunvegan is not Dun bheagan, the Little Dun, but the Dun built by a man named Began or Becan. This Becan may have been one of MacCrailt's ancestors, and have lived in the ninth or tenth century. He may have been one of the sturdy worshippers of Thor and Odin who, when Chris- tianity began to spread in the islands, disliking the new faith and its professors, deserted their homes in the Syderies, and sailed away to Iceland in order to find more congenial surroundings. There is certainly a place called Becanstadt in Iceland. This may have been founded by the very Becan who built Dunvegan,

In the Bannatyne MS. MacCrailt's home is called ' Dunbecan Blavin.' Blavin is probably derived from the Gaelic hlath, pleasant, and hheinn, a hill or pinnacle.

28 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

so the full name of the place means ' Becan's Dun ' on the pleasant pinnacle or rock, and a dun on a pleasant rock it remains to this day.

As we have seen MacCrailt owned Durinish, Braca- dale, and Minginish, and these lands came with Dun- vegan to Leod in right of his wife.

From his father Leod received a part of the Lewes and Glenelg. That he only received part of the Lewes is clear from what the Bannatyne MS. tells us about the owners of that island early in the thirteenth century, and the fact that Olaf the Black found his property in the Lewes insufficient for his maintenance bears out this theory. The whole island would probably have been sufficient for his needs.

" The Lewes was peopled by several tribes, but the most powerful of all were the MacNaughtons, who held most of the island of the King of Man. They were a branch of the powerful MacNaughtons of Argyll, the chief of whom was called Thane of Loch Tay. Their power and estate terminated in Margaret, who married MacLeod of the Lewes."

John Morrison, who wrote about 1680 under the name of ' Indweller,' confirms this, saying MacLeod married Margaret by force, and killed her kindred.

" Another tribe held Ness in the Lewes. They were called the Clan Igaa, or the Descendants of the Armourer. Their Chief possessed the Castle of Pabbay, afterwards one of the strongholds of the MacLeods. The power of this family also ended in an heiress who married Gille- muire, a natural son of Olaf the Black, and a bastard brother of Leod. From them descended the Clan Gille- morrie or ' Morrison,' afterwards so powerful as the hereditary brieves or judges of the Lewes."

All this is borne out by MacKenzie's History of the Outer Hebrides, p. 60, but he thinks, and he is probably right, that the MacNaughtons (MacNaghtans) have been con-

LEOD. FIRST CHIEF 29

fused with the MacNicols (MacNechtons) and that the latter, and not the former, were the holders of a large part of the Lewes.

With regard to Glenelg the Dunvegan tradition says that Leod's grandfather, the Earl of Ross, gave him this estate. This must be a mistake. In the first place, if I am right, the Earl was not Leod's grandfather ; in the second place, Glenelg was not in the Earldom of Ross. There is a charter in the Register House at Edinburgh, dated 1282, which describes Glenelg as having ' formerly belonged to the King of Man,' and no doubt Leod got it, as well as part of the Lewes, from his father.

Thus Leod owned part of the Lewes, Harris, and the whole or part of North Uist, Glenelg, and all Skye except Strath. The Bannatyne MS. says that " Strath, Raasay, and Rona had been for several generations Church land. The MacKinnons possessed themselves of most of it through their connections with the abbots of lona and the bishops of the Isles, several of whom had been MacKinnons or MacFingons. They were a purely Celtic race, tracing their descent back to Alpin, King of Scotland."

Though we do not know how Leod obtained possession of it, he also owned Gairloch. The MacKenzies did not get a footing there till late in the fifteenth century, and the MacLeods of Raasay still owned some of it early in the seventeenth century. One tradition says that Leod was Lord of all the west coast from Tongue to Ardnamurchan.

" Leod, therefore, though inferior in wealth and power to his ancestors, and not possessed of the Royal dignity, was at this period the most powerful Chief in the Islands."

The question as to who were the superiors under whom Leod and his successors held their lands is of some in- terest. Up to the cession of the Isles by Haakon, King of Norway, the King of Man was undoubtedly their immediate overlord. But the King of Man was himself

30 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

tributary to the King of Norway. Robert de Torigi, in his chronicle of Stephen, 1166, says, ' He held thirty- two islands in such tribute that he pays ten marks of gold when a new King succeeds, and does naught else for the King of Norway in his whole life, unless a new King is appointed in Norway.'

Under the arrangement made by Alexander ill. after the cession had taken place, Skye and the Lewes, Gair- loch and Glenelg were placed in the Earldom of Ross. At that time Harris was undoubtedly included in the Lewes. As late as 1498 Harris is called ' Herege in Lewes.' In 1335 the Lewes, again including Harris and Skye, were granted to John of Islay, the first who held the title of Lord of the Isles. These potentates per- manently retained the Lewes. In 1344 Skye was re- stored to the Earl of Ross, but shortly afterwards John of Islay himself became Earl of Ross, and henceforth both branches of the MacLeods, at least nominally, were vassals of the Lords of the Isles for their island estates.

Leod lived to a good old age, and died about 1280. He was buried at lona.

On the floor, below the place where the high altar stood in lona Cathedral, is a large stone. In this stone is cut the figure of a man. This is the matrix which originally contained a brass. Tradition says, however, that this was not made of brass, but of silver. Perhaps its value accounts for its having disappeared. This stone is identified as MacLeod's tomb. The fact that it occupies the place of honour in the cathedral illustrates the remark that ' Leod was the most powerful chief of his time in the Isles.'

The MS. says that the first seven chiefs were all buried at lona. Probably under the stone is a vault, and I suppose that in this Leod himself, and his six successors, except one, were laid, as well as the standard-bearer of the seventh Chief, who was killed with his Chief at the

LEOD. FIRST CHIEF 31

Battle of the Bloody Bay in 1480. I conjecture that the vault was then filled. This may account for Alastair Crottach being buried at Rowdell. There is another MacLeod stone at lona. This, I think, was erected to the memory of Ian, the fourth Chief. He was a very wicked man (see Chapter V.), and I conjecture that he was not thought worthy to lie in the family vault with his ancestors, and that he was buried in another place outside the sacred precincts of the cathedral and this stone erected to his memory.

Leod left four sons and two daughters. Very little is known with any certainty concerning the daughters. One is said to have married a son of Fergus of Galloway, and another John, Lord of Mull, but who these chiefs were it is difficult to determine. To Tormod, his eldest son, Leod left all his estates in Skye, Glenelg, and Harris. To Torquil, his second son, he left Gairloch and the Lewes, i.e, whatever he had there. This was afterwards augmented by marriages with heiresses till the whole of the Lewes belonged to the family in later days. The memorial which was prepared for the nineteenth Chief in 1767 says that Torquil's brother Tormod gave him Waternish, in addition to the property left to him by his father, because he considered this an insufficient provision. Waternish certainly belonged to the Lewes family, and the MacKenzies after them, until 1610, when Rory Mor obtained it in exchange for Trotternish. If Leod's estate in the Lewes was a small one, it reduces the strength of the argument that Torquil, having inherited ' the nest of the family,' must have been the elder brother.

The writer of the MS. does not discuss the question as to which of the two brothers was the elder, but simply says that Tormod was the elder, and, more than once, describes how, at the inauguration of a new Chief of the Dunvegan family, the sword was placed in his hand

32 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

by MacLeod of the Lewes, as the head of the principal cadet branch of the clan.

" His third son John is said to have followed Bruce to Ireland. He acquired considerable estates in Galway, and, having been knighted, is known as Sir John MacLeod of Galway. He was the principal man of his name in those parts, but his kinsmen were known, not as MacLeods, but as MacElliots. His daughter and heiress married Maurice, second Lord of Kerry. She brought her hus- band two knights' fees about Listowell and Tralee, the lands of Galy, the lands of O'Brennan and Clogin M'Kin, with several others in Kerry. In her right the family quartered the arms of MacLeod — viz., azure a tower argent. Lord Lansdowne is the present heir and repre- sentative of that family."

This marriage is duly chronicled in the 1900 edition of Burke's Peerage, but, in the 1923 edition, it is said that this Lord of Kerry married a daughter of FitzElie. This is probably the same name as MacElliot, the name by which the MS. says the MacLeods were known, and MacElliot may possibly be a corruption of MacLjot, the original Norse form of the name MacLeod. The state- ment about the arms does not necessarily mean that the arms of MacLeod in the thirteenth century were a tower. Many of these elaborate coats of arms were compiled by a herald named Mowbray in the eighteenth century, and he probably took the Scottish arms he wanted from the records in the Lyon Office at Edinburgh. The statement that Sir John followed Bruce to Ireland is a mistake. Sir John's daughter cannot have married later than 1285. Bruce, who was born in 1275, did not go to Ireland till 1306.

" Olaus, Leod's fourth son, is reputed to be the founder of the family of MacLewis or Fullarton. They were originally from Arran, and have invariably traced their origin to Lewis or MacLoy, son of Olaus, son of Leod."

LEOD, FIRST CHIEF 33

In Burke's Landed Gentry, under FuUarton, this MacLoy was said to be a son of Allan, who was flourish- ing in 1257. This Allan may be Olaus. Sir R. Gordon {History of Sutherland) says that Olaus is often spelt OUanus, so the change to AUanus would be easily made. This Allan's second son, the founder of the Arran branch of the Fullarton family, was named MacLoy, which is probably the same as MacLeod. As the MacLoys or MacLeods were settled in Arran, it is interesting to note that MacFirbis mentions a MacLeod of Arran. Skene thought that this was a mistake for Ara, an old name of Harris. It is possible that MacFirbis was referring to the family of Olaus, Leod's fourth son. I have never seen in any other history of the MacLeods any reference to Leod's third and fourth sons, but the notes I have given above go a long way to substantiate the story given in the MS., and wherever the author got his in- formation, I think it is probably correct.

I think that it is certain that Leod was succeeded, not by his son, but by his grandson. When an heir dies before his father his name is omitted in the pedigree. This happened in the case of John, son of the nineteenth Chief. It probably also happened in the case of Leod's eldest son. Assuming that the charter of 1245 is genuine, his name must have been Tormod. All we know of him is that he witnessed that charter, and that he married Finguala, daughter of a famous Irish chief named M'Crotan. As he died before his father, his son, also called Tormod, succeeded his grandfather.

CHAPTER III

TORMOD, SECOND CHIEF Born about 1250: succeeded about 1280: died about 1320

ToRMOD, or Norman, succeeded his grandfather in Skye, Harris, and part of Glenelg. He married Christina Fraser, daughter of the Lord of Lovat, and sister of Sir Alexander Fraser, who married Mary, daughter of Robert Bruce, King of Scotland.

" By this lady (Christina Fraser) Tormod had three sons, (i) Malcolm, (2) Leod, (3) Godfrey. Leod is said to have followed Edward Bruce to Ireland, where he lost his life and left no heir. Godfrey was bred a monk and died abroad. The eldest of the three, Malcolm, succeeded his father as Chief of the MacLeods. Tormod, who is said to have fought at the Battle of Bannockburn, was con- sidered one of the best soldiers of his time, and held the office of Sheriff of Skye and aU the Long Island during his hfetime. He lived to a good old age, and tradition says that his white beard was so long that he had to tuck the end of it under his girdle. He died at the Castle of Pabbay in Harris, and was buried alongside of his grandfather at lona."

The Peerage says, under Lovat, that the Lady Mary was a sister of King Robert, not a daughter. Sir Alexander was her second husband ; she had been previously married to Sir Neil Campbell, ancestor of the Duke of ArgyU. As we shall see later on, her daughter by Sir Neil afterwards married Malcolm, Tormod's son and heir. MacKenzie says that the MacLeods are not mentioned among the

TORMOD. SECOND CHIEF 35

clans who fought at Bannockburn, and infers that they were hostile to Bruce, from the fact that a charter of Glenelg was granted to Randolph between 1307 and 1314. This does not necessarily follow.

A grant of wide domains did not mean that families who were in actual possession of these lands were disturbed. It meant that they continued to hold those lands, but under a new superior Lord. The connection between Tormod MacLeod and the royal family was close enough to make it probable that the former would be a loyal supporter of the latter. Mary, the sister of the King, and wife of Sir Alexander Eraser, was sister-in-law to Tormod's wife.

I am weU aware that poetry is not history, but the fancies of a great poet concerning one of our ancestors are interesting to his descendants. In Scott's immortal poem he changes the name of Angus, Lord of the Isles, to Ronald, and the name of Tormod to Torquil, and it is Tormod whom he describes as :

Brave Torquil from Dunvegan high, Lord of the misty hills of Skye,

who was present at the bridal feast of Edith of Lorn in Ardtornish Castle. The reader will remember how the peace of the banquet was broken by the arrival of the Royal Bruce and his companions :

Now rose De Argentine, to claim The prisoners in his sovereign's name, To England's crown, who, vassals sworn, 'Gainst their liege lord had weapon borne — Such speech, I ween, was but to hide His care their safety to provide —

And Ronald, who his meaning guessed, Seem'd half to sanction the request. This purpose fiery Torquil broke. Somewhat we 've heard of England's yoke,'

36 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

He said, and, in our islands, Fame Hath whisper'd of a lawful claim, That calls the Bruce fair Scotland's Lord, Though dispossess'd by foreign sword. This craves reflection — but though right And just the charge of England's Knight, Let England's crown her rebels seize, Where she has power ; — in towers like these, 'Midst Scottish Chieftains summon'd here, To bridal mirth and bridal cheer, Be sure, with no consent of mine, Shall either Lorn or Argentine With chains or violence, in our sight, Oppress a brave and banished Knight.' Then waked the wild debate again With brawling threat and clamour vain.

This was scarcely stilled by the arrival of the Abbot of lona, who had come to celebrate the wedding. Lorn and Argentine appealed to him :

He waked a spark, that, long suppress'd. Had smoulder'd in Lord Ronald's breast.

' Enough of noble blood,' he said, ' By English Edward has been shed,

And must his word, till dying day. Be nought but quarter, hang, and slay ! — Thou frown'st, De Argentine, — my gage Is prompt to prove the strife I wage. — Nor deem,' said stout Dunvegan's knight, ' That thou shalt brave alone the fight ! By saints of isle and mainland both, By Woden wild, (my grandsire's oath,) Let Rome and England do their worst, Howe'er attainted or accursed. If Bruce shall e'er find friends again, Once more to brave a battle-plain,

TORMOD, SECOND CHIEF 37

If Douglas couch again his lance, Or Randolph dare another chance, Old Torquil will not be to lack With twice a thousand at his back. — Nay, chafe not at my bearing bold, Good Abbot ! for thou know'st of old, Torquil's rude thought and stubborn will Smack of the wild Norwegian still : Nor will I barter Freedom's cause For England's wealth or Rome's applause.'

The Abbot rose to pronounce a curse on Bruce's head :

' But, like the Midianite of old.

Who stood on Zophim, heaven-controU'd,

I feel within mine aged breast

A power that will not be repress'd,

O'ermaster'd yet by high behest,

I bless thee, and thou shalt be bless'd ! '

With the departure of the Abbot, De Argentine, Lorn and his friends, closed the scene in the bridal hall. The slumber of the King and his brother was disturbed in the night :

Advancing then his taper's flame, Ronald stept forth, and with him came

Dunvegan's chief — each bent the knee

To Bruce in sign of fealty.

They proffer'd aid, by arms and might, To repossess him in his right.

Then Torquil spoke : — ' The time craves speed.

We must not linger in our deed.

But instant pray our Sovereign Liege,

To shun the perils of a siege.

The vengeful Lorn, with all his powers,

Lies but too near Artornish towers,

38 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

And England's light-arm'd vessels ride,

Not distant far, the waves of Clyde,

Prompt at these tidings to unmoor.

And sweep each strait, and guard each shore.

Then, till this fresh alarm pass by.

Secret and safe my Liege must lie

In the far bounds of friendly Skye,

Torquil thy pilot and thy guide.'

' Not so, brave Chieftain,' Ronald cried ;

' Myself will on my Sovereign wait.

And raise in arms the men of Sleate,

Whilst thou, renown'd where chiefs debate,

Shalt sway their souls by counsel sage,

And awe them by the locks of age.'

— ' And if my words in weight shall fail,

This ponderous sword shall turn the scale.'

Tormod makes no further appearance in the poem, though he is referred to in the following words spoken by Ronald :

' I would old Torquil were to show

His maidens with their breasts of snow,

Or that my noble Liege were nigh

To hear his Nurse sing lullaby !

(The Maids — tall cliffs with breakers white.

The Nurse — a torrent's roaring might).'

CHAPTER IV

MALCOLM, THIRD CHIEF

Born about 1296 : succeeded about 1320: died about 1370

" Malcolm, who succeeded his father, is renowned in tradition as the greatest hero of his race. The charter by King David Bruce (probably granted in 1342) runs thus : ' Dilecto et iideli nostro Malcohno MacLeod, fiho Tormodi MacLeod, pro Homagio et servitio suo, duas partes tenementi de Glenelg viz octo davatas et quinque denariatas terrae cum pertinentiis, infra vicecomitatem de Inverness, faciendo nobis et heredibus nostris pre- dictus Malcolmus et heredes sui servitium unius navis triginti et sex remorum quoties super hoc pro nos fuerunt requeriti.' Malcohn married a daughter of Sir Neil Campbell of Lochow, ancestor of the Dukes of Argyll." Mackenzie {History of the MacLeods) says that Malcolm married Martha, daughter of the Earl of Mar, probably the seventh earl. Neither lady is mentioned in Burke's Peerage, but, in these early days, it often happens that the names of daughters are omitted in the lineages given by Burke. Either marriage meant a close connection with the heroic King Robert Bruce. Sir Neil's wife Mary, and Lord Mar's wife Christian, were both the King's sisters. It is possible that Malcolm may have succes- sively married both ladies.

" Malcolm was a man of great personal courage and physical strength. When quite a youth he killed a bull which infested the woods of Glenelg and had become the terror and scourge of the inhabitants. In this feat of

40 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

agility and strength he made use of no weapon but a short hunting-knife or dirk, and with his body exposed without either shield or cuirass, he engaged the furious animal on equal terms. In the struggle one of the bull's horns was broken off. This Malcolm carried as a trophy of his prowess to Dunvegan, where it stiU remains, having been converted into a drinking-horn, which each Chief on his succession was obliged to drain to the bottom at one draught of whatever quality of liquor it was the fashion of his time to drink. A modern MacLeod could hardly accomplish the task, for it contains more than a Scottish pint or half a gallon of English measure."

This horn is one of the most precious relics preserved at Dunvegan. It is kept with the cup and the fairy flag in a case which hangs in the old banqueting hall now known as the keep. A silver rim runs round the thick open end. On this are seven medallions : on three are weird beasts, on three are patterns of a very curious description. This pattern was used in Russia as early as the fifth century, and is found on undoubtedly Norse stones, brooches, and other ornaments in Scotland. The seventh medallion, where the join is found, has both a beast and a bit of the pattern on it. The rim round the medallions is covered with many curious designs.

Professor Brogge of Oslo says the horn is Norse work of the tenth century. Professor Callander of Edinburgh says it is Celtic work of the sixteenth century, basing his opinion on the similarity of the work on the horn to that on other objects found in Scotland. The weak point in his argument is that it does not follow that, because a thing is found in Celtic Scotland, it is of Celtic workmanship, for Norse influence was very strong in Celtic Scotland. My own opinion is that the horn is really Norse work of the tenth century.

" The family of MacLeod of MacLeod have ever since carried a bull's head as their crest, with the motto ' Hold

MALCOLM, THIRD CHIEF 41

fast,' but most of the MacLeods of the Siol Tormod have never adopted this crest or motto, the more ancient crests being a lymphad or galley, a griffin's head, or an eagle displayed."

A griffin's head, with motto ' Audeo,' is the crest of the Tolmies, a sept of the MacLeods. (Another story of a MacLeod killing a bull at Inveraray is related in Chapter XII.)

" It was while returning from a stolen interview with the young and beautiful wife of a chief of the Clan Fraser, who at this time held part of Glenelg, that Malcolm encoun- tered and slew the bull. This act of valour had such an effect on the lady, that she forsook her husband for Malcolm, with whom she lived for many years, and bore him six sons. These sons afterwards settled in Argyll- shire, their mother's county, she being a Campbell, and became the ancestors of the Clan Callum, now known in the south of Scotland as Malcolm.

" This family frequently pretended to be a sept of the Campbells, more from policy than conviction, as the family of Argyll were anything but friendly towards other races than their own. But to this day the MacCallums of Argyll consider themselves as MacLeods, and have ever been held as such by Highlanders.

" This story was given me by George MacLeod. This gentleman, who was bred to the Catholic Church, was a scholar, an antiquary, and one of the best genealogists in the Highlands. He could remember the death of Queen Anne and the accession of George i., and lived to be nearly ninety years old. He said that the general belief among the Clan Callum was that they were de- scended from Malcolm, the youngest legitimate son of Malcolm, who married an heiress of the Siol Diarmid, and settled in Argyll, but that the oldest and best sean- nachies of his youth gave the above account as the real one." (Some genealogists maintain that it was from the

42 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

Raasay MacLeods the Malcolms descend. All agree that they are MacLeods.)

" The first feuds in which the MacLeods were engaged of which any tradition remains were with the Erasers, owing to this liaison between the wife of the Baron of Glenelg and Malcolm. These family feuds continued during several generations with the greatest fury, and terminated at last in a family compact by which the MacLeods got the Eraser portion of Glenelg as a marriage portion with Lovat's daughter." (This happened in 1540, but, as there was no male issue of the marriage, the feud, which was by this time prosecuted in the Law Courts in- stead of the battlefield, was revived, and was finally settled by Rory Mor paying a large sum of money about 1610.)

The MS. gives here a description of the Dun vegan cup which, according to tradition, came into possession of the MacLeods at this time. These traditions are cer- tainly mistakes, for the inscription on the rim proves that the cup assumed its present form in 1493, at least a hundred and fifty years after Malcolm's time.

This cup, which is still preserved at Dunvegan, is a very beautiful piece of work. It is about ten inches high. It is made of wood, and it is believed that the wooden bowl dates from the tenth century, and was the property of Neil Glundubh, who was King of Ulster about 990. Tradition says it was his cup.

But the silver ornamentation of the cup could not be earlier than the fourteenth century, and the inscription makes it clear that it is late fifteenth century work. Each side has its own design. On all four sides appear triangles, the emblems of the Trinity, and circles, the emblems of Eternity. These are arranged with extraordinary in- genuity, and each side is a ' thing of beauty and a joy for ever.' The cup stands on four silver legs. Its sacred use is indicated by the letters I.H.S. four times repeated inside the rim. A few bits of coral remain, and it is

MALCOLM, THIRD CHIEF 43

evident that many others have dropped from the settings in which they were fixed.

Around the top is a silver rim, on which is the in- scription. Scott made some most remarkable mistakes in reading this, and even now there is some doubt as to the meaning of one or two words. I give the most probable reading :

' Katharina Nig Ry Neil Uxor Johannis meg Macguire, principis de Fermanae me fieri fecit anno Domini 1493.

' Oculi omnium te sperant Domine et tu das esca illorum in tempore opportuno.'

' Katharina, daughter of King Neil, wife of John, grandson of Macguire, prince of Firmanagh, had me made in the year of the Lord 1493.

' The eyes of all wait on Thee ; and Thou givest them their meat in due season.' (Psalm cxlv. 15.)

The wooden bowl may have descended to Katharina, and she may have put the silver work on the old cup.

We are now able to explain with some approach to cer- tainty how this Irish cup came to Dun vegan. In 1925 came a letter from Lady O'Neill. In this she said that, according to a tradition in the O'Neill family, one of their Chiefs had been a great friend of one of the MacLeod Chiefs. The former paid a visit to the latter at Dunvegan, and took a beautiful cup with him as a present to his friend. We know that in 1595 Rory Mor took five hundred men of his clan to help the Red O'Donnell and Shane O'Neill in a rebellion in which they were engaged against Queen Elizabeth (see Gregory i). Therefore it is certain that Shane and Rory knew each other, and probable that they were the friends mentioned in the O'Neill tradition. Considering that the cup had been made a hundred years earlier for a member of the O'Neill family, the probability becomes very strong that it is the identical cup given by Shane O'Neill to Rory Mor.

' History of the Western Highlands of Scotland, end of chap. v.

44 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

Though the traditions given in the MS. about the cup cannot be correct, as specimens of folklore they are interesting, and I give them slightly abridged from the MS. :—

Two brothers, who were on very bad terms, were joint tenants of the farm of Luskintire in Harris. One of these was the foster-son of a witch, who lived in a cottage on the farm. She had a son named Lurran, who possessed some of his mother's magical powers, and could see things which were not revealed to the sight of ordinary mortals. He was also the swiftest runner in the country.

As the cornfields were not fenced, it was necessary that the cattle should be watched night and day, to prevent them from doing injury to the crops. One night Lurran, with some other young men, was employed on this work. None of the others could see what he saw. A fairy mound opened, the fairies came out, and danced for a time on the green grass. They then came to the herd. The witch had put a charm on her foster-son's cattle, and the fairies could not hurt them ; but they selected two beasts belonging to the other brother, killed them, skinned them, and, leaving the skins full of offal on the ground, held a great feast in the fairy mound. This happened again and again. Almost every morning the skins of two beasts were found, and it was always the animals belonging to one brother which were taken. Lurran, who alone could have explained the mystery, held his tongue, but the farmer who had lost so heavily was firmly persuaded that it was his brother who had done the mischief, and, brooding over his injuries, resolved to revenge himself when an opportunity came.

One night Lurran did a bold thing. He followed the fairies into the hill, and, sitting close to the entrance, partook of the fairies' banquet. When the feast was over the cup, filled with wine, was passed round. The cup came to Lurran, he seized it, spilt the wine, knowing that

MALCOLM, THIRD CHIEF 45

it was death to a mortal to drink the fairies' wine, and fled for his life. The infuriated fairies pursued him, but his swiftness of foot stood him in good stead, and he gained a stream which flowed down the hill near the fairy mound. Having crossed this, for the moment he was safe, for no fairy can cross running water. He made his way to his mother's cottage. She cast potent spells over the house, and this made it impossible for the fairies to enter. For some time Lurran never ventured to go out, unless his mother had put a protecting spell on him, but one day he forgot, and went out with no charms on him. The fairies found him, and killed him, and so avenged the theft of the cup.

His mother, hating the thing which had caused her son's death, gave it to her foster-son. Thus it came to Luskintire.

Meanwhile the quarrel between the two brothers grew worse and worse, and at last Neil Glundubh, the one who had lost so heavily, killed his brother and seized all his possessions, including the cup.

The witch went to Dunvegan and told the Chief the whole story. Malcolm came to Luskintire, hanged the murderer, and confiscated all he possessed, taking the cup or horn to Dunvegan.

The second story ignores the last part of the first, but is another sequel to the first part. It relates how the Chief held a great banquet at Rowdell in Harris. Among the guests was Neil Glundubh of Luskintire, a quarrel- some man, whom his neighbours detested. While the feast was going on, a quarrel broke out between Neil and Magnus, the Chief's youngest son. Neil did not dare attack the son at his father's board, surrounded as he was by clansmen loyal to their Chief, and perhaps fear- ing that he might do something fatal to himself, he sprang up and rushed for the door of the room. Magnus, a hot-headed boy, also jumped up, and reaching the door

46 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

first, barred Neil's exit. The latter, in a fit of ungovern- able fury, drew his dagger, killed Magnus with a single blow, and then sought safety in flight.

He gained the top of a rock, on which he made his stand. With him he had his bow, and a quiver in which were twelve arrows. For a while he kept his pursuers at bay, killing a man with each arrow. When his last arrow was expended, he drew his sword, and made a desperate resistance. But at last he was overpowered, seized, and condemned to be flayed alive. Orders were issued that all his family should be put to death and his home burnt, all his possessions, including the cup, being confiscated.

" The place where the houses of this tribe stood is well known. Some years ago, after a severe storm, the sand- drifts, which had covered the houses for ages, and hidden them from view, were once more blown away and the walls were revealed quite entire, as well as a number of the utensils then made use of by the islanders. I was then a boy, and, playing amongst the ruins with my brothers, I found a brass sword, a steel dirk of beautiful workmanship, and a brooch the use of which was to fasten the shoulder plaid. No doubt these articles were left by the dwellers in the house as they fled from those who were sent to extirpate them.

" Soon after Malcolm had carried off the wife of Eraser of Glenelg the Clan Eraser were resolved on revenge, and to effect this a large force was collected in Glenelg, who, having committed every outrage on the MacLeods of that Barony, proceeded to Skye, where they met with no resistance until they reached the water of Drjmoch. Here the MacLeods had hastily collected a body of men under the command of Iain Reier (possibly Raidhe, a judge or arbiter), a bastard brother of Malcolm who, with most other persons of note amongst the MacLeods, was slain, and the remainder put to flight. Malcolm himself was at Pabbay in Harris, whither a swift galley

MALCOLM, THIRD CHIEF 47

was despatched with the sad tidings. He immediately collected all the forces he could, and, landing in Trotter- nish, was joined there by several others of his vassals.

" The Frasers in the meantime had laid waste Minginish and Bracadale, carrying off the cattle and spoil of the vanquished. A foster-brother of Malcolm, and the first of the name who is mentioned, a William MacCaskill, who had been left seneschal at Dunvegan, collected a select body of men, amongst them his six younger brothers, and resolved to recover the spoil of the MacLeods from the Frasers, or perish in the attempt.

" They took up their position in a wood above Broad- ford, on the direct road through which the Frasers had to pass. The Frasers, completely off their guard, were suddenly attacked, and their leader slain. This threw them into inextricable confusion, the greater part of them were slain, and the whole of the booty recovered by MacCaskill, who was joined by the Chief as the fight finished.

" Various accounts are given of the origin of the Clan MacCaskill. Some say that the name is derived from the prowess of this William, and that the etymology is cath, a battle, and gille, a man ; or more properly a vassal."

This is, I think, a mistake. The name is almost cer- tainly derived from the Norse Askill or Ansketill. Some authorities think that the MacCaskills are descended from Askill, King of Dublin, who in 1170 came to the Isles of the West to collect men to serve in the ill-fated attempt to recover his lost kingdom, which he made in 1171.

It is possible that the William MacCaskill who was seneschal of Dunvegan may be the same person as a Gilbertus MacKaskill who lived about the same time. If the name was contracted in an old document, Gulielmus might easily be misread for Gilbertus, or vice versa.

This Gilbertus MacKaskill was seneschal of the Isle

48 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

of Man in 131 1, one year after the death of Anthony de Bee, Prince Bishop of Durham, to whom the Isle of Man had been granted by Edward i. in 1298. It is possible that this Gilbert lost his office in Man in the time of the new bishop, Richard de Kellan, that he came to Skye, and was made seneschal of Dunvegan.

This is pure conjecture, but the dates tally, as the adventure related in the MS, probably took place about 1320.

In the sixteenth century an Alanus MacKaskyll was a scribe in a monastery at Perth.

" The MacCaskiUs were for several generations the lieutenants of the Chief, both by sea and land, and held large possessions under the MacLeods as commanders of the galleys or birlinns, and one of them always accom- panied the Chief as his henchman, clad in full armour. For a signal piece of service rendered by one of these henchmen, a Chief of the MacLeods decreed that, when- ever a MacCaskill was buried, a monumental stone, having a warrior in full armour, with the proper emblems of the clan cut upon it, should be put up over the grave. In almost every churchyard throughout the Isles these are still to be seen, and, from their close resemblance to each other, both in design and execution, there can be little doubt of their having been manufactured at the same place and by the same artists."

These stones were carved by the monks of lona. They worked in a cave in the Ross of Mull, and sold their work for the good of the Church. The cave in which the monks worked was closed by one of the Dukes of ArgyU. I am informed that all the MacCaskill tombs bear on them the man in armour, but it is doubtful whether this family had an exclusive right to use this device.

" Malcolm as he advanced in years became enormously corpulent, for which reason he was called Galium Reamhar Math, ' Good Fat Malcolm.' The Memorial of 1767 says

MALCOLM, THIRD CHIEF 49

he was known as Malcolm Coise Reamhar, or ' the Thick- legged.'

" He died in the castle of Stornoway wliilst on a visit to his kinsman, MacLeod of the Lewes. His body was con- veyed to lona to rest with that of his father (probably between 1360 and 1370). He left four sons : (i) John, his heir, (2) Tormod, (3) Murdo, (4) Malcolm Oig.

" Tormod, his second son, was settled in Bernera in Harris, where his race continued till the time of Rory Mor, who gave Bernera to his son Sir Norman. In the island of Pabbay there are still several families of this race. They call themselves Clan Vic GiUecallam cas Reamhar Vic Leod. They were a high-minded spirited race, and in my time, though poor and powerless, their pride of descent had rather increased than diminished, which often caused much mirth at the expense of their vanity. Some truly melancholy and horrid traditions are still extant regarding this race, whilst they lived in Bernera, which I shaU relate hereafter.

" Murdo, the third son of Malcolm, got as his patrimony the MacLeod lands in Glenelg. These the family held for several generations. This race was known as the MacLeods of Gesto (see Mackenzie's History of the MacLeods, p. 187), and were at one period the most powerful sept of the Siol Tormod. There are still in existence charters granted to them of their lands in Glenelg and Skye by the Chiefs of the MacLeods. The whole of this was, however, forfeited by the head of the family, Kenneth MacLeod of Gesto, in the time of Rory Mor, Gesto having, in the most treacherous and barbarous manner, murdered his father-in-law as well as his two brothers-in-law, whom he had enticed to a feast in his house at Gesto. His father-in-law was the Chief of the MacCaskills, who was then residing at Talisker.

" After that period the MacLeods of Gesto held their lands during the pleasure of the Chief. The present Captain Neil MacLeod is the lineal male heir of Murdo,

D

50 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

son of Malcolm, the third Chief. General MacLeod of the Royal Artillery is a descendant of one of the Gesto family."

Captain Neil MacLeod left Gesto in 1825, and died in 1836. His nephew, Neil Kenneth, who lives in Canada, is the present head of the Gesto family. Kenneth MacLeod of Grishornish, who founded the ' Gesto Hos- pital ' at Edinbane, and his nephew, the present Robert- son MacLeod of Grishornish, were, and are, members of this family, as are the MacLeods who settled in Holland.

The head of the Gesto family was always called Mac Vic Tormod.

" Malcolm Oig, the fourth son of Malcolm, married a daughter of MacDuffie of Colonsay, and settled in Argyll- shire, where he has been claimed as the founder of the MacCallums, as related above. The probability is that the MacCallums are descended from both, not only from this Malcolm, but also from the bastard sons of his father, as related above."

CHAPTER V

IAN, FOURTH CHIEF

Born about 1330 (possibly later) : succeeded 1360 to 1370 : died about 1392

"Malcolm was succeeded by his eldest son Ian. This Chief got a charter of Trotternish and all his other lands in Skye from Robert the Second, King of Scotland." I have so far found no mention of the charter in the public records, and it is certainly not at Dun vegan.

" This Ian is said to have been a most tyrannical and bloodthirsty despot, equally feared and hated by all his vassals, and by the members of his own family.

" He married a lady of the name of O'Neil, daughter of an Irish chief. She appears to have been as cruel and uncivilised as her husband. She ordered two of her daughters to be buried alive in a dungeon at Dunvegan for having attempted to escape from her tyranny with two lovers of the name of MacQueen, who then possessed Roag as feudatories of the Abbot of lona. Unfortun- ately the two brothers were also seized. They were flogged to death, and their bodies were thrown into the sea.

" By this lady Ian had two sons and four daughters. The eldest son was called Malcolm, and seems to have inherited much of the bad qualities of his parents. His career, however, was but short, for he was slain at a feast in the Lewes, whither he had gone to espouse his kinsman's daughter. He there quarrelled with the brother of his intended bride, and this led to the death

52 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

of both the young men, and gave rise to a feud between the two great families of the MacLeods, which lasted for some time.

" Malcolm's second son, William, was away from home when his elder brother was killed. He had intended to take Holy Orders, and was being educated in a monas- tery abroad. For this reason, and on account of his superior attainments, he is known as ' a Cleireach,' the Clerk. On hearing of his brother's death he returned home. One of lan's daughters married Lauchlan MacLean of Duart, another married Cameron of Lochiel, with issue in both cases.

" Ian went to Harris to be present at a deer hunt ; and, agreeably to the usages of that time, was accompanied by the chief men of the clan. The chase, or forest of Harris, had formerly belonged, as related before, to the Clan Vic Ghitthich (the Children of the Wolf), and was still partially possessed by them, they paying tribute to MacLeod.

" The son of their Chief, who resided at Hushinish, accompanied MacLeod on his hunting excursion . ' ' (There are two places called Hushinish, one opposite Ensay, one near Scarpa. The latter, which may be thirty miles from Rowdell, is probably the place referred to.)

" When the deer were collected in a valley within view of the Chief, he missed a favourite white stag, which he valued highly from the singularity of its colour. He was very angry, and expressed his determination to be amply revenged on whoever had destroyed it. He offered a large reward to any one who would discover the offender. An enemy of MacGhitthich, who was standing beside the Chief, pointed to the young Son of the Wolf. He was immediately seized by the order of the Chief, and put to death by the cruel and barbarous operation of forcing the antlers of a large deer into his bowels.

" The sport, however, continued, and when it was over

IAN, FOURTH CHIEF 53

MacLeod returned to Rowdell, intending to embark there and sail back to Dunvegan, where he usually resided. The galleys were ready to sail, the wind favourable, and MacLeod, accompanied by his fierce wife and his followers, came from the dwelling at Rowdell to the place of em- barkation. As he was raising his foot to step into the galley, an arrow whizzed through the air, and pierced his side. The wild war-cry of the MacGhitthichs was heard, and a vigorous attack was made on the followers of the Chief.

" The MacLeods were entirely off their guard, but, not- withstanding this, they made a stand around their fallen Chief, and finally, by the heroic courage of William the Clerk, the Children of the Wolf were beaten off, and com- pelled to take refuge in the mountains, not, however, before many of the chief men among the MacLeods had been slain.

" While the combat was going on the Chief's wife, accom- panied by three of his natural daughters and some other women, succeeded in getting on board one of the galleys. They cut the cables and drifted out to sea. A gale sprang up, the galley was driven across the Minch and dashed to pieces on the rocks now known as the Maidens. The Chief was carried to Rowdell Monastery, where he died the same evening. His body was taken to lona and buried there." (Ian probably was killed about 1392. The stone described in my paper on the arms is probably his tomb.)

Later on the manuscript describes the final fate of the Clan MacGhitthich, which occurred about 1555. I give it here.

" From this period the Clan MacGhitthich became out- laws, and were chased from place to place by MacLeod's followers. They became robbers and pirates, and their galleys were the terror of the whole of the west coast. In course of time they formed separate bands. Some

54 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

remained in Harris, some made their headquarters in Trotternish, and some in other places. When hotly pur- sued by land, they took to their boats, when danger approached by sea, they sought a refuge in the mountains. This went on for more than a hundred and fifty years. At last, about 1555, the end came.

" A family who lived at Hushinish (the old home of the MacGhitthichs) had incurred their resentment. This family they attacked, taking them completely by sur- prise. The father escaped, but, returning next day, he found his house in ashes, and the mangled bodies of his wife, six sons, and two daughters laid on a dunghill. All his followers, men, women, and children, were slaughtered or carried off. Most terrible of all, in a pot which was boiling over the fire, were the remains of his infant grandchild, who had been slaughtered and cut to pieces. He put the ghastly evidence of the crime in a boat, and sailed to Rowdell, a distance of thirty miles. He showed what he had in the boat to the Chief, who happened to be at Rowdell, and demanded vengeance. ' Then,' he said, ' I shall join them.'

" The Chief promised ample vengeance. He sent spies to ascertain where the Children of the Wolf were. It was found that they had taken possession of the church at Scarasta, and had, for a time, taken up their quarters in it. Scarasta lies to the east of Toe Head, about ten miles from Rowdell. The building now called Uig Church may be the scene of the story.

" MacLeod left Rowdell in the evening with a large force, arrived in the darkness at Scarasta, surrounded the church, in which they heard the Children of the Wolf eating what was to be their last meal on earth, and having taken every precaution to make escape impossible, shot arrows with lighted tow attached to them on to the thatched roof of the church. In a moment the church was in a blaze. The MacGhitthichs had barricaded the

IAN, FOURTH CHIEF 55

doors and windows. This made escape 3^et more difficult. Many perished in the church. All who succeeded in getting out were killed except one man and a youth. The lad, however, was wounded by an arrow in the foot. They travelled by rough mountainous paths a distance of twenty miles, seeking an asylum in a cave at Cavendale, which had often been a place of refuge for their tribe. The youth asked his companion to pause a while. ' I am almost spent,' he said, ' having been wounded in the foot.' His ferocious companion was furious ' It shall never be said,' he cried, ' that you, a mere boy, with an arrow in your foot, kept up with me, the swiftest of my race.' So saying, he flung his unhappy companion over the precipice on which they were standing, and he was dashed to pieces on the rocks below.

" This monster preserved his life. He was always called Murchadh Dothadh, or Singed Murdoch. Some female descendants of his are still living in Harris. Thus ter- minated the line of the MacGhitthichs of Harris.

" The MacGhitthichs continued in Trotternish for another hundred years. About 1664 they attacked the house of MacDonald of Keppoch, and murdered Mac- Donald himself. For this crime they were extirpated by Sir James MacDonald."

(In the Bannatyne MS. the author here gives an account of the Fairy Flag which he says came into the possession of the MacLeod family in John's time. The traditions about the Fairy Flag will be found in the chapter on Dunvegan.)

CHAPTER VI

WILLIAM CLEIREACH, FIFTH CHIEF Born about 1365 : succeeded about 1392 : died about 1402

" William, John's only surviving son, succeeded about 1392. At this time the quarrel with the Frasers, which had originated in Malcolm's time, again broke out. William, with a large force, invaded the Aird, a barony belonging to the Frasers. (Lord Lovat was called ' Prince of the Aird ' in the North at one time.) He laid the country waste, and brought off a great many cattle and a great deal of spoil to Skye. It was divided at Harlosh, where the cattle were slaughtered. The place ~^ was, for this reason, called Bun a Sgeamhaidh, or the Place of Offals "

Soon after this the first feud between the MacLeods and MacDonalds of which tradition supplies any record broke out. The causes which led the Lord of the Isles to make this sudden attack on the MacLeods are rather complicated. As we have already seen, Skye and the Lewes had been placed by Alexander in. in the Earldom of Ross, and the Earl had been MacLeod's superior. However, in 1335 a charter had been granted of both these islands to John of Islay, afterwards the first Lord of the Isles. In 1344 the grant of the Lewes was con- firmed, but Skye reverted to the Earl of Ross. Thus, when William succeeded in 1392, he held his estates under three feudal superiors. In Glenelg he was a tenant in capite under the charter of 1342 ; in Harris he was a vassal of the Lord of the Isles, in Skye a vassal of the Earl of Ross.

But matters were further complicated by the fact that

WILLIAM CLEIREACH, FIFTH CHIEF 57

Donald, Lord of the Isles, who had succeeded his father in 1380, maintained that Skye had been given as a marriage portion to his wife, who was a daughter of the Earl of Ross, and that he was consequently William's superior in Skye as well as in Harris. This claim the Earl of Ross and William resisted, and one motive for Donald's attack on MacLeod was to enforce his rights as MacLeod's feudal superior in Skye.

But there were other and more sinister motives behind the avowed one. The real object of Donald was, not merely to enforce his feudal rights, but to seize the MacLeod estates for his own half-brothers. About forty years before John of Islay had obtained a divorce from his first wife. Amy Macruari, and married the daughter of the Steward of Scotland, afterwards Robert 11. About 1370 his sons by her had been designated his heirs, ex- cluding his sons by his first wife. To compensate them for the loss of their own inheritance, of which their father had wrongfully deprived them, a plan was formed to conquer the MacLeod country and give it to the sons of Amy Macruari. In 1373 a grant of Harris, the North Isle, and part of Skye was made to Ranald, second son of John and Amy Macruari, ancestor of the Clan Ranald family. Nominally the charter only conveyed the feudal superiority ; really it was intended to convey the actual possession of the land, and the real object of the attacks made by the MacDonalds in William's time was to secure this. Thus at this time the MacLeods were fighting for their very existence. Had the plans of the MacDonalds succeeded, they would have been wiped off the face of the earth.

To carry out this iniquitous scheme a large force of MacDonalds under Alastair, brother of the Lord of the Isles (the ancestor of the MacDonalds of Keppoch) landed at Eynort. William collected his clan, and met the invaders at the head of Loch Sligachan.

58 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

" Here a fierce and bloody contest ensued which ended in the rout and total defeat of the MacDonalds, with the loss of their leader. Alastair MacDonald was killed by Tormod Coil MacLeod, a cousin of the Chief, and son of his uncle Murdo, Few of the MacDonalds escaped alive, their galleys having been captured by MacCaskill, who put every soul on board to death, and carried their heads to Dunvegan, where they were numbered and delivered to the Chief's warder. After the battle at Loch Sligachan, William divided the spoil amongst his followers at the foot of a rock which has ever since been called Creag na Feanish, or the Rock of the Spoil. (This rock is said to be the ' Bloody Stone ' in Hartacorrie.)

" William was much beloved by his clan for his valour and his love of justice. He was remarkably handsome, and a great admirer of the fair sex. He had an immense family of natural children, whose descendants are still met with in various parts of the Highlands.

" Two of his natural children were twins, who are the Castor and Pollux of the islanders, of whose marvellous deeds and ardent love for each other many stories are related. William married a daughter of MacLean of Duart (Mackenzie says of Loch Buy), and by her had three sons : (i) John his heir, (2) Tormod, (3) George.

" From Tormod are descended the clan Mac Vic Williams, as also the tribe called Mac Vic Alastair Ruaidh. Of the Mac Williams the only persons now remaining are the sons of the late Captain William MacLeod of Borline of the 73rd Regiment, though there are some of the family in North Carolina. The family possessed Borline for several generations.

" Alastair Ruaidh was the second son of Tormod. The family of St. Kilda was the head of this tribe. The famous poetess Mairi Nighean Alastair Ruaidh belonged to this family, as did Dr. John MacLeod of the Madras

WILLIAM CLEIREACH, FIFTH CHIEF 59

Medical Service. Others are settled in America, and some are to be met with in Waternish.

" William's third son George went abroad and settled in Lorraine, where several of his descendants are still to be met with. A genealogical account of this family was sent in 1758 by one of them to Britain, to John MacLeod of Muiravonside, and was in the possession of the late Sir Alexander MacDonald Lockhart, who gave me a perusal of it. It gave a complete account of the branch, as well as a correct genealogical descent of George to Leod, the founder of the name. They were called de Leod, and in some cases von Leod. Some of them were owners of large property before the Revolution."

About 1870 a gentleman of this family, who called himself Monsieur Maclot, called on the twenty-second Chief. He gave an account of his family which exactly tallied with that given above, only adding that one of them had attained the rank of marquess, and that at the Revolution, his own family had fled to Canada, where was then his home. He gave the Chief a wapiti head which now hangs in the hall at Dun vegan.

" William did not live to be an old man. He died suddenly at the castle of Camus in Sleat, and was buried at lona, probably about 1402."

CHAPTER VII

IAN (IAN BORB), SIXTH CHIEF

Born about 1392: succeeded 1402 : died 1442

V* "Ian, known as Ian Borb, the Fierce, succeeded his

father as Chief. He was scarcely ten years of age when his father died.

" As a clan in those days could not exist without a chief able to lead them to battle, a regent or acting chief was always chosen by the clan, called ' Taoitear ' or Guardian. This office was conferred on Ian MacLeod (a cousin of the Chief) who, from his imbecility and worthlessness, got the name of ' Mishealbhach,' or the Unlucky. He held the office of guardian for six years, and during that period the MacLeods of Skye and Harris met with more disasters, and were reduced lower than at any other period of their history down to the dissolution of the clans in 1748.

" The appointment of Ian Mishealbhach as guardian was highly displeasing to many of the clan, who wished to confer the dignity on Tormod Coil, who slew Alastair ^^ - Cannoch at the battle of Sligachan. Tormod Coil seized

the MacLeod portion of Glenelg, and refused to obey the guardian. As we have seen, the first attempt to carry out the plans of the MacDonalds in William's time had failed disastrously. William's death, the succession of a minor, the incompetence of his guardian, gave a favour- able opportunity to make a fresh endeavour.

" The MacDonalds landed in Sleat and took possession of the castles of Dunskaith and Camus, and drove out the MacLeods from Sleat. The MacDonalds also in-

IAN (IAN BORB), SIXTH CHIEF 6i

vaded North Uist, a great battle was fought at Cailus, North Uist, in which the MacLeods were totally defeated, and the portion of North Uist which pertained to Harris was wrested from them."

It must be remembered that, in the late fourteenth century, Sleat, Trotternish, and North Uist were all in the MacLeod country, Leod having inherited them from Paal Baalkeson. Camus (now known as Knock) on the east coast of Skye, and Dunskaith, on the west coast, were the principal strongholds of the MacLeods in Sleat. Ruins of both still remain.

Tradition says that the MacCaskills of Rhu-an-dunan were, during several generations, Constables of Dun- skaith, and defended it with great valour through several sieges.

In North Uist it seems probable that the MacLeods had fortified Dun Torcuil. The following quotation from Dr. Erskine Beveridge's work (pp. 151, 152) on the archaeology of North Uist is interesting to MacLeods, though he did not know that they had owned North Uist in earlier days.

' It would seem that the personal name associated with Dun Torcuill most probably refers to some chieftain of Clan MacLeod. According to its own tradition, this clan was founded by Ljotr, or Leod — a son of Olaf the Black, who died in 1237 — who was succeeded in Lewis and Harris respectively by his two sons Torquil and Tormod, whose names persist among the MacLeods to the present day. It is further noticeable that the MacLeods of Dunvegan and Harris disputed the ownership of North Uist with the MacDonalds from 1542 until 1618, a period to which the secondary occupation of Dun Torquil might reasonably be assigned.'

" After these defeats Ian Mishealbhach shut himself up in the strong castle of Pabbay. Here he remained during the rest of his governorship Ruins of the castle may still

62 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

be seen. The MacDonalds also besieged the castle of Dunvegan, in which the widow of the late Chief William was residing. Torquil MacLeod of the Lewes, the most powerful chief in the Islands after the Lord of the Isles, came to the rescue.

" He landed in Skye with a large force, and a great battle was fought at Fiorlig. The MacDonalds were completely defeated with heavy loss, the survivors being forced to take to their boats and leave Skye.

" Torquil took William's widow and family to the Lewes, where they remained until the Chief attained his sixteenth year. He was then installed as Chief at Row- dell, when Torquil, as the foremost man of the clan, placed his father's sword in his hand. (This implies that the MacLeods of the Lewes then acknowledged MacLeod of Dunvegan as their Chief. The same thing happened again later.)

" The first act of Ian after he took the authority into his own hands was to punish Ian Mishealbhach. He was hanged from the yard-arm of a galley at Rowdell, his property confiscated, and his family banished for ever. Tormod Coil and all the refractory clansmen submitted to the Chief.

" Ian then collected a large fleet of galleys and sailed to Islay, intending to attack Donald, Lord of the Isles, but his uncle, MacLean of Duart, mediated between the two enemies, and terms of peace were agreed on. Donald compelled the MacDonalds, who had seized lands belong- ing to the MacLeods, to give them all up, excepting the Macleod lands in North Uist. This island Ian Borb was forced to cede to the MacDonalds. It was given by the Lord of the Isles to one of his bastard brothers, who afterwards married the widow of Tormod Coil MacLeod, a daughter of MacLean of Loch Buy. Thus the first part of the MacDonald scheme succeeded, and North Uist was lost by the MacLeods. Considering the con-

IAN (IAN BORB). SIXTH CHIEF 63

dition to which the MacLeods were reduced, the terms of this treaty appear unexpectedly favourable to them, but the young Chief was showing that he possessed great energy and remarkable talents, and Donald may have felt that there was some danger of defeat if he continued the war, and as it was, he obtained considerable advantages.

" He not only obtained North Uist for his brother, but he compelled Ian Borb to acknowledge his suzerainty. This the MacLeods had not done before, and it was no small gain to bring so powerful a clan to accept him as their superior lord. He probably had another reason for showing moderation. He was at that time scheming to obtain the succession to the Earldom of Ross. This he claimed in the right of his wife, daughter and heiress of Leslie, Earl of Ross. The King of Scotland was not at all willing to see such vast possessions as those of the Earl of Ross and the Lord of the Isles combined in the hands of one man, and Donald realised that great difficulties lay before him in prosecuting his claim, and was not anxious to increase those difficulties by con- tinuing a war with a clan which was still powerful, and which was led by a capable and daring chief.

" Whatever the motives which actuated the contracting parties, an agreement was arrived at on the terms in- dicated above. Ian Borb acknowledged himself to be a vassal of the Lord of the Isles, and ceded North Uist to him. In return for this all the other lands which had been conquered by the MacDonalds were restored to him, and the danger of total extinction averted.

" In accordance with this treaty Ian Borb and his clan fought under the banner of the Island Lord at Harlaw in 141 1. Though this battle was not a decisive victory for the Lord of the Isles, and its result prevented him from carrying out a scheme he had formed for the con- quest of all Scotland, it secured his possession of the Earldom of Ross. This was henceforth united to the

64 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

Lordship of the Isles till the forfeiture of these potentates in the latter part of the fifteenth century.

" At the Battle of Harlaw Ian Borb commanded all the MacLeods, both those of the Siol Tormod and Siol Torquil alike. At this battle he refused to draw his sword unless he and his clan were given the post of honour on the right wing of the army. This the Lord of the Isles yielded to him, the only instance on record in which the MacDonalds yielded precedence to any other clan. In this battle Ian Borb behaved most gallantly. He was wounded in the forehead, where a deep scar remained ever here- after. This wound never entirely healed, and used to bleed whenever he took violent exercise, or was excited by passion. It was eventually the cause of his death."

In the agreement made at Islay above referred to St. Kilda appears to have been overlooked. It had always been considered as belonging to that part of North Uist which had been ceded by MacLeod to MacDonald. I conjecture that the dispute referred to in a tradition occurred at this time. One can understand how the dispute about the possession of the island arose. The MacDonalds probably claimed it as being attached to North Uist, while the MacLeods probably maintained that it had never been mentioned, and had not therefore been included in the ceded land. According to tradition it was agreed that a race should be rowed for the island, and that whichever boat's crew first touched its shore should win it for their clan.

The boats started, and for a long time kept very close together, but as they approached St. Kilda, the MacDonald boat drew slightly ahead, and it became obvious that it would touch the island first. MacLeod's henchman seized an axe, cut off his hand, and threw it ashore, thus touching the island first, and winning it for his Chief, whose successor still retains it. This was a deed of heroism which should not be forgotten.

IAN (IAN BORB), SIXTH CHIEF 65

" Donald, Lord of the Isles and Earl of Ross, died in 1420. His son Alexander rebelled against James i. in 1428. The MacLeods again joined the Island Lord's army, commanded by Ian Borb's son Tormod. In 1429 a great battle was fought in Lochaber, the royal army being commanded by the King in person. At a critical moment the Clan Chattan and the Clan Cameron, who had been in Alexander's army, went over to the King. Alexander was completely defeated, and afterwards surrendered to the King, who imprisoned him in Tantallon Castle. Tormod and many MacLeods lost their lives in this disas- trous battle.

" The MacLeods were not left long in peace. Donald Balloch (a cousin of Alexander, who was acting as ruler of the Isles during the latter's imprisonment) again raised the standard of revolt against the King in 1431 . Amongst those who joined him were the MacLeods of Harris under MacCaskill, Ian Borb's lieutenant, and the MacLeods of the Lewes, whose Chief commanded all the MacLeods of both branches. The rebellion began well. Donald Balloch's army met the royal army under the Earls of Mar and Caithness at Inverlochy. The superior armour and discipline of the Lowland knights proved to be utterly unavailing against the broadswords and battle- axes of the Islesmen. The royal army was totally de- feated, the Earl of Caithness, with many other knights, was slain, and the Earl of Mar made his escape with great difficulty.

" But this success was short-lived. Donald Balloch was betrayed to his enemies, his head sent as an accept- able present to the King, and fresh forces sent by James easily put down the rebellion. This force captured the castles of Dunskaith and Camus, and overran Sleat. This estate was restored to Alexander on his release a little later, but was not given back by him to the MacLeods, and it was never again possessed by them, though, as E

66 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

we shall see, they obtained Crown charters of it in the sixteenth century. Thus was Sleat for ever lost to the MacLeods.

" Ian Borb generally lived in the castle of Pabbay in Harris, which he had much enlarged and strengthened. He was stiU, at the time of the events related above, in the prime of life, but probably the unhealed wound in his forehead made it impossible for him to bear the hardships and strenuous fighting of a campaign, so he did not command his clan in person in the wars of Alexander and Donald.

" He was reputed to be one of the best swordsmen of his time, and used often to fence with members of his family to keep himself in practice. His most usual antagonist was his foster-brother Somerled MacConn, who was considered the better swordsman of the two. The Chief did not relish this, and often grew irritated if Somerled showed more skill than himself. When they were fencing one day, Somerled was getting much the best of it ; the Chief flew into a passion, and attacked Somerled with a violence which threatened his life. Somerled disarmed him, and not wishing to injure him, threw away his own sword, and grappled with him. The Chief fell in the scuffle, and the wound in his forehead burst out with such violence that the bleeding could not be stopped. A swift galley was dispatched for a leech, but before he could arrive, Ian had expired. This happened in 1442. Ian Borb married a granddaughter of the Earl of Douglas (probably James, third Earl, who died in 1401. This earl's daughter Mary married, first the Duke of Rothesay, and secondly, Walter Halliburton. I incline to think that it was a daughter of this Mary Douglas whom Ian Borb married.) He had two sons, WiUiam and Tormod, and two daughters."

From Tormod descended the family known as the Sliochd Ian Mhic Leoid. The author of this manuscript

IAN (IAN BORB), SIXTH CHIEF 67

was closely connected with this family, and he stoutly maintains, in common with aU the race, that Tormod was the elder son, and that his son Ian should have succeeded to the chieftainship when Ian Borb died, instead of William. " Tormod had married a daughter of Chisholm of Strathglass. He had been killed very soon after his marriage, as noted above, and his son Ian was born after his death. From him descended the MacLeods of Meidle, Drynoch, and Balmeanach, Glendale, and others (see MacKenzie's History, pp. 201, 227)."

The author of the manuscript says it ' is evident that Tormod was the elder son of Ian Borb.' But the fact remains that William was accepted as Chief, and not as guardian of the youthful Ian. The Highlanders were very tenacious of the rights of minors, and invariably appointed a guardian to lead the clan during the young Chief's minority. The clan did so in the case of Ian Borb himself, they did so again in the case of the youth- ful nephew of Ian Dubh whom they accepted as Chief, they did so again in the case of Rory Mor's nephew. The fact that they accepted William as Chief, and not as guardian, is evidence that he really was the elder. One of lan's daughters married Rory MacLeod of the Lewes, another married Lauchlan MacLean. seventh of Duart.

CHAPTER VIII

^rjf^^ WILLIAM DUBH, SEVENTH CHIEF

* ^ / Qj^^"^^^ Born about 141 5 : succeeded 1442 : killed 1480

v^^"! > ^aS

r-^j^tS'^ '^ ♦ As we have seen, the MacLeods were now vassals of the

Lords of the Isles in all their estates except Glenelg, which they held from the Crown under the charter of 1342. These Lords, who were also Earls of Ross, aimed at complete independence, and were constantly rebelling against the King.

"When WiUiam succeeded, Donald's son Alexander was Lord of the Isles. He had rebelled in 1429, and was engaged in constant plots and intrigues against the King up to the day of his death. He died in 1449, but his son John was as turbulent a subject as his father had been. He joined the Earls of Douglas and Crawford in a rebel- lion in 145 I.

" In 1462 he and the attainted Earl of Douglas joined in a treasonable correspondence with Edward iv., who had recently ascended the throne of England, and a treaty, called the Treaty of Ardtornish, where the first negotiations took place, was signed in London on Feb- ruary 15, 1462. The Island Lord then rose in open rebellion. How this was suppressed we do not know."

It was not till 1475 that the Scottish Government learnt the full enormity of the Island Lord's treason. A decree of forfeiture was then pronounced against him, and a force prepared to enforce it, but the Earl's heart failed him, and he humbly submitted to the King. He was forced to surrender the Earldom of Ross as well as

WILLIAM DUBH, SEVENTH CHIEF 69

his lands in Kintyre and Knapdale, but was pardoned and created a peer of Parliament, with the title of Lord of the Isles, in 1476. Doubtless William MacLeod and all the western Chiefs were concerned in these schemes of aggrandisement. The Lords of the Isles were not despots, but heads of a confederation, and did not act without the advice of their council. In earlier days their councils had met at Finlaggan in Islay. In the fifteenth century the centre of gravity in the Lordship lay further north, and their councils met in the island of Eigg, These councils at this time consisted of seventeen chiefs. William most certainly would have attended these councils, and have led his clan to battle under the Island Lord's banner in all his wars.

The close connection between them is illustrated by the fact that two charters, one in 1449 and one in 1478, are witnessed by William and by Torquii MacLeod of the Lewes.

During the whole period, the history of which I have briefly sketched, we read of no clan feuds in the Western Isles. The Island Lords certainly maintained peace in their own dominions.

Indeed, from 141 8 downwards we know that they were organising raids on the Orkneys, whenever for a time there was peace between themselves and the kings of Scotland. Of these raids the Earl of Orkney bitterly complained. These incursions were probably organised, not only or mainly for the sake of the plunder which might be obtained, but to provide an outlet for the energies of the hot and turbulent spirits of the Isles, who might otherwise have turned their swords against each other.

One of these is fuUy described by an old chronicler. The two leaders were William MacLeod and Hugh MacDonald of Sleat. The latter had received this barony from his father, a grant which was confirmed by the King in 1495.

70 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

After 1476 the Lordship of the Isles was rent in twain. Though Angus, a bastard son of John, was recognised by the Scottish Government as his father's heir, he was infuriated by the latter's submission and the great diminution which had followed in the family's dignity and power. He resolved to depose his father, and him- self assume the title of the Lord of the Isles. In this he was supported by all the branches of the Clan Donald, and by the MacLeods of the Lewes, but the MacLeods of Dunvegan, the MacLeans, and MacNeils, with some smaller clans, supported John against his unnatural son.

" Skirmishes between the opposing forces took place all over the Western Isles. A large party of MacDonalds under Evan MacKail, son of the Clan Ranald Chief, landed at Aird Bay with the intention of laying waste the MacLeod country ; William was away, but his only son Alexander, then a youth, collected all the men he could, and hastened to meet the MacDonalds, who had encamped close to their galleys. A fierce battle ensued. Alexander was wounded in the back by the stroke of a battleaxe wielded by Evan MacKail. Alexander fell, but drew his antagonist down with him, kiUed him with his dirk, and carried off his head as a trophy of his prowess. The MacDonalds were defeated, losing most of their men, and ten of their galleys. Heaps of their bones and skulls were to be seen until lately on the place where the action took place. Alexander never thoroughly recovered from his wound. The muscles of the back had been divided, and he stooped ever after, from which he got the appella- tion of Crottach, or Hump-backed.

" These fights were only the preludes to a great general engagement in which all the forces on both sides were engaged. It was a sea fight, and took place in a bay on the north of Mull. This has ever since been known as the Bloody Bay.

" William MacLeod was killed early in the action, and

WILLIAM DUBH, SEVENTH CHIEF 71

the MacLeods, discouraged by the fall of their Chief, began to give way. At this moment Callum Clerich, a priest, induced Murcha Breach, the keeper of the Fairy Flag, to unfurl the sacred banner. ^ The Lewes MacLeods, immensely excited by the sight of the emblem of their race, changed sides and joined their Harris brethren in a body. The fight was renewed with intense fury. But it was too late. The victory was already decided. John, the old Lord of the Isles, had been captured by MacKenzie of Kintail, and the defeat of his adherents was complete.

" A vast number of MacLeods were killed in this battle, among them the twelve heroes whose duty it was to guard the fairy flag. Murcha Breach was mortaUy wounded in the side by a lance. As he fell he thrust the staff of the banner into the wound, thus keeping the flag flying till others came to protect it.

" William's body was buried at lona, and Murcha Breach was laid in the same grave, the greatest honour which could be bestowed on his remains. William was the last Chief to be buried at lona.

' ' William had married a daughter of MacLean of Loch Buy, and by her he had one son, Alexander, and one daughter, who married Lauchlan MacLean of Duart."

* It is not certain that the Fairy Flag was really waved in this battle, see page 201.

CHAPTER IX

ALEXANDER, EIGHTH CHIEF Born 1450 to 1460: succeeded 1480: died 1547

" Alexander, known as Alastair Crottach, succeeded at a dark hour in the history of the clan. The loss at the Battle of the Bloody Bay had been appalling, and Angus, now Lord of the Isles, though he was not acknowledged as such by the King, lost no time in improving his vic- tory. He dispatched a force which overran Trotternish and captured the castle of Duntulm, then a stronghold of the MacLeods, by surprise. This was never afterwards possessed by the MacLeods."

A few years later Alastair is spoken of as a tenant of the Crown in Trotternish, and he received a heritable grant of Trotternish when the Earl of Angus was at the head of affairs. In 1542 he obtained a Crown charter of Trotternish, Sleat, and North Uist. But I think it is certain that he never really possessed any part of these lands except the two unce-lands of Trotternish, which his grandson exchanged for Waternish in 1610.

Thus, during the fifteenth century the MacLeods lost, roughly speaking, half their ancient possessions. The portion of North Uist which belonged to them was ceded by Ian Borb about 1406. Sleat was lost about 1435, and now, about 1482, Trotternish was lost.

" Somewhere about 1490 the MacDonalds again landed in Skye, under the command of Donald Gruamach, at Loch Eynort. They laid waste Minginish, Bracadale, and Duirinish, up to the very gates of Dunvegan. The

ALEXANDER, EIGHTH CHIEF 73

Chief was in Harris at the time, but, the moment the news reached him, he came with all speed to Skye, and landed in Glendale, where he was joined by the MacLeods of the Lewes. Here he met the MacDonalds. The MacLeods drew up on the brow of a hill with a river in front of them (probably the Hammer) which made it difficult for the MacDonalds to attack them. Here they remained for ten days awaiting the arrival of rein- forcements.

" At the end of this period a large force arrived under the command of Donald Mor of Meidle. A fierce engage- ment ensued. The MacLeods were sorely pressed, Donald Mor and hundreds of the clan were killed, and the sur- vivors were on the point of giving way. Irretrievable disaster seemed imminent. By order of Alastair Crottach's mother, who was present, the fairy flag was displayed. The combat was renewed with redoubled fury and im- mense losses on both sides. A party of MacDonalds, headed by Allan of Moidart, penetrated the MacLeod line, and cut off the Chief and the select band who guarded the fairy flag from the rest of the clan. At this moment Murdo MacCaskill cut down Donald Gruamach and, raising his head on a spear, ordered the MacLeod pipers to play the MacDonald lament. The MacDonalds were seized with a panic at the sound of this ill-omened music, and gave way on all sides. Allan of Moidart did all he could to rally them, but in vain,

" Such was the slaughter, say the old seannachies, that the ravens which stood on Creggan nan Fitheach (the Rocks of the Ravens) drank the blood and ate the flesh of the MacDonalds, who lay in heaps around, without descending from their airy perch. Allan of Moidart en- gaged in single combat with MacCaskill and his three brothers successively, and killed them all, and then, with the remnant of his followers, made good his retreat to Loch Eynort where the galleys awaited them.

74 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

" This was the most tremendous battle in which the MacLeods were ever engaged. Victory remained with them, but it had been bought at a terrible price. The Chief was himself severety wounded, many of the chief men, and most of the men of the clan were killed. The clan never, indeed, recovered from these tremendous losses.

"Among those who had perished in the battle was Paul Dubh, the standard-bearer, who had carried the fairy flag in the thick of the fight till he was killed. The great- est possible honour was paid to his remains. A very deep stone coffin was made. Ten or twelve inches from the top a bevel was cut in the stone, on this was laid an iron grating, and on this grating was laid the body of Paul Dubh. The tomb was placed in the north-east corner of the chancel at St. Clement's, Rowdell, and became the burying-place of Paul's descendants who succeeded him as standard-bearers of the clan.

" Henceforth, when a standard-bearer was buried, the coffin was opened, all that remained of the last who had been buried in it was shaken down through the bars of the grating into the bottom of the coffin, and the body of the new occupant was laid on the grating. In this way the ashes of successive standard-bearers mingled in one coffin. Paul Dubh's last descendant died early in the eighteenth century. My grandfather was present at the funeral, and saw all the old ceremonies duly performed."

At this time, or perhaps later, the coffin was either buried in the ground or built into the wall of the church. No trace of it is now to be seen at RowdeU,

In 1493 the final forfeiture of the Lords of the Isles took place, and though some members of the House of Islay during the next fifty or sixty years asserted their claims to the dignity, and plunged the West Highlands into a frightful condition of bloodshed and anarchy, the island principahty was practically ended.

ALEXANDER, EIGHTH CHIEF 75

During the latter years of the fifteenth century most of the western chiefs received charters from the King, and were henceforth tenants in capite under him for the lands formerly held under the Lord of the Isles. The charter granted to ' Alexandro MakCloid de Dunbegane ' in June 1498 is still preserved at Dunvegan. This charter grants him Dynzines, Bracadell, Mygnes, Lendell, and the two unce- lands of Trouternes with the office of Bailie of all Trouternes. It also grants the lands com- monly called Ardmannach of Heray in Lewis. The name MacLeod is also spelt Makclode in this charter. One galley of twenty-six oars and two of sixteen oars are to be kept ready for the King's service, and the falcons' nests are reserved to the King.

" The Western Isles were now nominally under the direct rule of the Scottish King, but he was distant and preoccupied with other things. Practically each Chief was a law to himself, and anarchy descended on the West Highlands and Islands. The most savage warfare was carried on between the clans, especially between the MacLeods and the MacDonalds of Clan Ranald. Every species of revolting cruelty was exercised against each other by both parties, nor was it possible for any of their vassals to meet, but with the certainty that the weaker would be destroyed. A gaUey manned by about twenty MacDonalds was driven by stress of weather into Loch Stockernish. (This is an inlet on the east coast of Harris about ten miles north of Rowdell.) Alastair Dubh MacLeod, who lived there, received them with the greatest hospitality, without asking who they were. At supper one of them let out the fact that they were Clan Ranald MacDonalds. Alastair slipped out of the house unobserved, roused six of his neighbours from their beds, returned with them to the house, and told the MacDonalds to depart, for, as a vassal of MacLeod, he could not harbour them any longer. The door was

76 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

low and narrow, so that only one at a time could pass. Alastair's men were stationed outside the door, and each MacDonald, as he left the house, was dispatched with a battleaxe. Their heads were cut off, and carried to Donald Raekar MacLeod, who was governor of Harris for Alastair Crottach. Their bodies were thrown under a rock, where their bones still remain. Alastair was afterwards known as Alastair Dubh nan Ceann (Alastair of the Heads) . Several of his descendants are still to be found in the Lewes and Harris.

" Shortly afterwards the MacDonalds seized a birlinn belonging to Alastair Crottach. On board of this was a natural son of the Chief called Donald Glass and thirty- 4V six men. They were taken to ArevuUim in North Uist.

Donald Glass was put in irons, having a heavy weight attached to a chain placed round his neck ; he was de- tained for six years, and never recovered from the effects of the treatment he received. His crew were all put in a dungeon, and starved to death. It is said that they ate each other till not one remained alive.

" MacCaskill of Talisker was returning from Mull in a birlinn, with thirty or forty men, among them the foster- brother of William, Alastair Crottach's son. They were driven by a storm on the island of Eigg. They had no provisions, and wished to buy some. This being refused, they seized and slaughtered some cows. Then they sat down to eat near the place where they had landed. The islanders suddenly came upon them, cut off MacCaskill's ears, and otherwise most barbarously treated the MacLeods.

" MacCaskill and two companions were put in a crazy boat without sails or oars, and left to drift out to sea. The rest of the crew were put to death in cold blood. The boat was miraculously brought to Skye, and the three were rescued and carried to Dun vegan. The Chief swore that he would never change his clothes till he had put

ALEXANDER, EIGHTH CHIEF 77

to death every soul in Eigg, Rum, and Canna. He ordered six large galleys to be got ready, and sailed for Eigg, accompanied by his son William and several hundred armed clansmen. His intentions were known to the MacDonalds, and, as resistance was vain against such a force, the inhabitants of all three islands gathered and hid themselves in a large cave on the island of Eigg, the entrance of which was known to none but to the in- habitants. Then, when the MacLeods reached Eigg, they found the island deserted. They waited some time, and, on the third day, a man, who had been sent out to discover whether the MacLeods had left or not, was observed. William, the Chief's son, went with a party and tracked him to the cave. It is said that there was snow on the ground.

" In the cave was a man who had often relieved Donald Glass during his imprisonment in Uist. The Chief offered to spare this man's life, but he refused to accept this boon unless his son and his daughter were also spared, and to this the Chief would not consent. It is said that Alastair Crottach wished to spare the women and children, but that his son William, more vindictive, insisted that all should perish."

There is a story about an old woman whom Alastair met on Eigg at this time, which is preserved by tradition.

This old woman lived at Laig in Eigg, and, being lame, could not cross the hills to take refuge with the others in the cave. The MacLeods tried hard to make her tell where the MacDonalds were in hiding, but her answer always was : —

' Ma thig e triomh mo ghluin, cha'n 'eil comas air, ach cha tig e troimh mo bheul.'

(If it comes through my knee, it cannot be helped, but it shall not come through my mouth.)

'Cuir a tigh na theine ' (Put her house on fire), said MacLeod.

78 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

' Tha tigh agam fo gach creig ' (I have a house under each rock), answered the woman.

' Curibh bar an eilean na theine ' (Set fire to the crops of the island), said MacLeod.

' Tha colac air traigh bhan Laeg ' (There are cockles on the white strand of Laig), said the woman.

' Treibh a traigh ' (Plough up the strand), replied MacLeod, which they did, and never to this day has a cockle been seen there, and there the furrows can still be observed. The woman only laughed heartily at this and exclaimed :

' Duileasg an luig, biolaire bog, deoch a tobar mhor Tholainn 's foghnaidh sin ' (The dulse of the hollow, soft water cress, a drink from the great well of Holan, sulhceth).

The MacLeods accordingly hurried away from her presence with anger in their hearts, and set sail for Skye. The old woman stood up on a high rock above them, and flung this curse after them :

' Is crotach an t'oighre og vie Leod an diugh, agus fhad 's a ghabhas connlach tioram gur h'iomadh croit is caime bhios anns an fhinne.'

(Hump-backed is the young heir of MacLeod to-day, and, so long as dry straw will burn, many a hump and crook will there be in the clan hereafter.)

It is a certain fact that many of the MacLeods at the present, including the writer of the present history, have bent or crooked little fingers. The superstitious might attribute this to the old woman's curse.

The old woman, however, on reconsidering the matter, and realising that her life had been spared, added the following :

' Ach on 'fhag sibh mo bheathe agam 's cha 'n eil mi ag radh nach do choisinn sibh beannachd bheag an lorg gach uilc'

(But you have spared my life, and I am not saying that you have not earned a little blessing on each evil deed.)

" Alastair Crottach was not an irreligious man, and, be- fore proceeding with the massacre, he prayed for six hours

ALEXANDER, EIGHTH CHIEF 79

incessantly. If, he declared before he began his prayer, the wind was blowing at the end of the six hours off the mouth of the cave, the people should be spared. If it then blew on the mouth of the cave, they would be put to death. \Vhen he began his prayer the wind was side- ways, neither off nor on the mouth of the cave, but, before he had finished, it shifted, and blew strongly on the mouth of the cave.

"Alastair accepted this as a sign from heaven, but it appears that he could not bear to do the dreadful deed himself, for he sailed away from the island, leaving his son William to complete the work. William collected all the combustibles he could find, piled them in the mouth of the cave, and set them on fire. The smoke soon pu* an end to the miseries of the three hundred and ninety-five MacDonalds in the cave. The bones of the victims still remain in the place where they died.

" William MacLeod was ever afterwards called William na h'Uamha, William of the Cave."

It is not very easy to settle the date of this tragedy. A report on the condition of the Isles prepared for the information of James vi. about 1578 gives the date as 1577. I incline to the opinion that the story as given above is so circumstantial that it is difficult to reject it, and that the author of the report, wishing to make out that the islands were in a very bad state, as indeed they were, may have taken an old story, and post-dated it in order to impress the King. I think that the date was between 1500 and 1520.

These stories, with some others which are too horrible to relate, indicate the awful condition of the islands in the time of Alastair Crottach. But these were not the only difficulties with which that Chief had to deal. It appears from papers preserved at Dunvegan that about 1507 he had seized the portion of Glenelg which belonged to Lord Lovat. This was worth £40 a year. In 1527

8o THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

MacLeod owed £800 on this account, by 1535 the debt had grown, in some mysterious way, to £4080. A charter of half MacLeod's share of Glenelg was granted to Lovat

in 1535-

But probably these legal proceedings had no practical effect at all. In one of the papers it is said, ' Ye said Alexander dwellys in the Islis where ye Officers of ye law dare not pass for hazard of their lives,' a sentence which is very full of meaning as to the lawlessness of the times.

In 1540 the dispute was settled by Alastair's son William marrying Lord Lovat's daughter. Alexander resigned extensive tracts of land in favour of his son and his wife, he received a fresh charter of Glenelg in 1539, and they received a charter of the lands resigned by Alexander in 1540. As William and Agnes had no male heir the dis- pute revived, and was not finally settled till 161 1, when Rory Mor paid to Lord Lovat 16,000 merks.

I now turn to the efforts made by James v. to pacify the West Highlands. The Scottish kings had themselves done a great deal to bring about the terrible evils which they now had to deal with, and one cannot help thinking that, realising the danger which the united Highlanders might become to the kingdom, they had done all they could to stir up strife between the different clans. They had granted the same lands to different chiefs. Thus in 1498 James iv. granted the Bailiary of Trotternish to MacLeod of Harris, and to MacLeod of the Lewes. In numberless cases they were issuing letters of fire and sword ordering chiefs whom they favoured to attack and destroy other clans. Such letters had been issued to the MacLeods about 1481 against the MacDonalds. But about 1530 James became seriously anxious to reduce the Isles to obedience, and visited them frequently himself.

Robert Barr tells a delightful story of a visit the King

ALEXANDER, EIGHTH CHIEF 8i

paid to Dunvegan in A Prince of Good Fellows, which may have some foundation in fact. He was certainly in Argyllshire in 1532 and 1534 (Gregory, p. 143), and in 1536 he sailed round Skye, Lewes, and the Isles, very probably visiting Dunvegan (MacKenzie's History 0/ the Outer Isles, p. 132).

A delightful story about this visit was told me by Doctor Ranking, a distinguished scholar of old Highland lore.

Alastair Crottach had been south some time in the previous year, and had been entertained by James at a great banquet at Holyrood. Alastair was looking round with much interest, and was obviously impressed by the splendour of the banqueting hall, by the magnificent table at which they sat, and by the golden sconces which held the candles by which the hall was lighted. Noticing this, a Lowland noble addressed him rather scoffingly, saying, ' You have not such a hall, such a table and such candlesticks as these in Skye.' Alastair was nettled and replied, ' If the King and you will come to Dunvegan, I will show you a nobler haU, a finer table, and more precious candlesticks than any here.' James overheard Alastair's words and joined in the conversation. ' We will come, Alastair, next summer,' he cried. ' We wiU come next summer, and take care that you make good your boast. ' Alastair was a little crestfallen, and returned to Dunvegan thinking that he had spoken unadvisedly with his lips. He told his foster-brother the story, and he entirely reassured the Chief, saying it would be all right when the King arrived.

In due course the six ships which composed the King's fleet sailed into Loch Dunvegan. Alastair went on board to do homage to his sovereign. ' There, your Majesty,' he said, ' is my table,' pointing to Halleval Mor, ' and horses are waiting to take us to its top, where the banquet is spread.' A path had been made, and the royal party

F

82 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

climbed the hill. They arrived at the top just as it was growing dark. Round the summit several hundred clansmen were gathered, each holding a flaming torch of pine in his hands. Alastair addressed the King, ' Here, sire, is my hall. Its walls are great mountains, its floor is the sea, its roof is the canopy of heaven. Here is my table, a great hill two thousand feet high, and here are my candlesticks, your Majesty's faithful servants. I ask you to partake of the banquet which is spread on my table, by the light of the torches which my sconces hold. Say, sire, have I made good my boast ? '

' Assuredly,' cried the King. ' I can show nothing like this in Holyrood. What say you, my lord ? ' he added to the Lowland lord who stood beside him. ' I say as you say, sire, and I ask this brave Chief to pardon the words I spoke at Holyrood, and to give me his friendship.' The two then clasped hands, and a merry party feasted that night on the top of MacLeod's table.

In 1540 James came again, seized a large number of Highland chiefs, and carried several of them off to the south. He visited Stornoway, probably Dun vegan, certainly Portree, which gets its name from this visit, and took vigorous steps to pacify the islands. The manuscript says Alastair Crottach retired to Pabbay, and refused to meet the King, but that he sent hostages, in- cluding his son Tormod, for his good behaviour. The evidence appears to be very strong that Alastair was high in the royal favour at this time. He received a charter of Glenelg in 1539, his son and daughter-in-law received a charter of lands he had himself resigned in this very year 1540, and in 1542 he received a charter of Sleat, North Uist, and Trotternish. I think, therefore, that he probably met the King, and did not share in the harsh treatment his brother chiefs received.

" About this time a daughter of MacDonald of Cantyre was murdered in Harris. It appears that, years before.

ALEXANDER, EIGHTH CHIEF 83

this lady had met young MacLeod of the Lewes at some gathering of the clans, and had fallen desperately in love with him, without any return on his part. The lady was not beautiful, but highly accomplished, and of an heroic spirit. She left her father's home accompanied by a faithful servant, and carrying with her a locket, jewels, and a purse of gold, traversed aU the wild country between her home and Skye on foot. She passed over from there to Harris, and hired a boat belonging to two brothers, to ferry her across an arm of the sea which she had to cross on her way to the Lewes. These men lived at Taransay, an island four or five miles north of Toe Head, on the west coast of Harris. Tempted by the sight of her purse, they murdered her and her servant. The latter's body they threw into the sea, and the lady's they cast into a deep pit, called ever afterwards Slochd na Nighean Granda, or the Ugly Girl's Pit. Here a few years ago her body was discovered in a state of perfect preservation, as well as her dress, which had a most sin- gular appearance. Her family sent persons in pursuit of her, who traced her to Harris, and to the boat of the two brothers. They were seized, put to the torture, and confessed their crime. They were flogged to death at a rock called Rhu in Taransay, and all their offspring were put to death."

This cruel punishment was common in the High- lands.

Some years before his death Alastair Crottach gave up his authority to his son William, and retired into the monastery of Rowdell. He endowed the monastery liberally with lands in Harris, and restored the church. He also prepared his own tomb there. He built two other beautiful smaU churches, one at Nic Caperrall close to Toe Head, and one in Scarpa, an island off Loch Resort on the west side of North Harris. Both are now in ruins. He also built the tower at Dunvegan which

?<

84 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

is still known by his name. The fairy room which Rory Mor used as his bedroom is in this tower,

" He formed a code of regulations for the college of pipers in Skye, to whom he gave liberal grants in land, which they retained until very lately.

" His household was on a scale of great magnificence for the age and country, and in it he maintained a number of harpers, bards, and seannachies.

" He was a man of unusual learning and culture, and translated several of the Psalms of David into Gaelic, which were afterwards published by the late Mr. Morrison of Ness. Such was his prudence and sagacity, that he was constantly employed as arbitrator between the most powerful chiefs in the Highlands and Islands in all their feuds and quarrels.

" He was a man of great courage, and well skilled in the use of all the arms then in vogue. Few could now wield his claymore, with which he performed many valiant deeds." This claymore is sculptured between his knees on the tomb at Rowdell. I think it probable that the claymore at Dunvegan, called Rory Mor's, was really his. Mr. Clepham assigned a date to it of about 1460, which roughly agrees with Alastair's youth.

" He had a bodyguard, whose duty it was to teach the young men of the clan the use of the battleaxe, sword, and targe. He used himself to teach his young kinsmen the most approved modes of fence and defence, and re- warded the best pupils with suits of armour. He took great delight in the education of his grandson, the after- wards famous Rory Mor, who always resided with him, and into whose mind he instilled his own good sense, with many admirable qualities which were then as rare as they were useful."

If this was the case Rory must have been a very old man when he died in 1626.

"The latter years of Alastair Crottach were as useful and

ALEXANDER, EIGHTH CHIEF 85

exemplary as his early years were turbulent and am- bitious. His memory is still revered in the Isles as the friend of the poor, the rewarder of merit, and the pattern of what a reaUy good chief should be.

" He married a daughter of Cameron of Lochiel. It is said that Lochiel was on a visit to Alastair Crottach, who was stiU unmarried, though by no means young. Lochiel asked him why he had never married. He replied that he was a humpback, and he could not expect that any young lad}' of good family would ever love him. Lochiel replied that he had ten daughters, of whom Alastair might have his choice.

" Alastair shortly afterwards returned Lochiel's visit, and was duly presented to his host's family. They all of them, from the eldest to the ninth, declared that nothing should induce them to marry so fierce-looking and deformed a person. The youngest, who was also much the handsomest of them all, expressed her delight at the resolution of her sisters, and avowed the par- tiality she had felt for their guest from the first moment she beheld him, remarking that she loved strength and wisdom, while they loved a smooth face and straight limbs, which often concealed imbecility and worthless- ness. She became Alastair's happy wife, lived to a very advanced age, and is buried beside him at Rowdell where all her good qualities and virtues are expressed, not in bad monkish Latin, but in black Saxon characters. (I cannot remember seeing this tomb.)

" By her he had three sons, (i) William, (2) Donald, (3) Tormod, and two daughters. One daughter married] James MacDonald, second son of Donald of Sleat, and by\ \/ him was the mother of John^Og^ progenitor of the | ^ MacDonalds of Kingsborough. She married secondly I Allan Maclan, the Chief of Clan Ranald, by whom she had a son William Og. She was treated very harshly by her second husband, which was largely the cause of

86 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

the fierce feud between the two famihes. She married thirdly MacDonald of Keppoch, by whom also she had issue. Alastair's second daughter married Hector Mac- Lean of Loch Buy, with issue."

His family were, I think, being born at intervals between 1500 and 1520.

During the last years of Alastair's life events of great importance were taking place in the West Highlands, in the shaping of which he certainly had a share.

Henry viii. of England, on the death of James v. of Scotland in 1542, formed a plan for uniting the two kingdoms by affiancing his own son, afterwards Edward vi., to the infant Queen of Scotland. To this scheme the Scots were violently opposed, and Henry endeavoured to compel them to agree by force of arms. It had long been the policy of England to weaken the Scots by intrigues with the Lords of the Isles. Strictly speaking, there was no Lord of the Isles at this period, but Donald Dubh claimed the dignity, and he was sup- ported by many of the Islanders. With him Lennox (Henry's envoy) entered into negotiations through Patrick Colquhoun, who had formerly been the King's chamber- lain in the Isles. On July 28, 1545, Donald of the Isles issued a commission with the advice of seventeen of his barons and councillors, of whom Alastair Crottach was one, for treating with the English King, and by August 5 the Barons of the Isles were at Knockfergus in Ire- land, and there took the oath of allegiance to Henry. Four thousand Islesmen accompanied their Lords to Ireland ; these assisted the troops of Henry in an Irish campaign. Three thousand of them are described as ' tall men clothed for the most part in habergeons of mail, armed with long swords and long bows, but with few guns, the other 1000 tall maryners which rowed the 180 galleys in which they had crossed the sea.' In this force there were certainly some MacLeods. The

ALEXANDER, EIGHTH CHIEF 87

Islesmen, however, did not stop long in Ireland. It was arranged that eight thousand of them should co-operate with Lennox and two thousand Irishmen in an attack on Scotland from the west.

But this expedition was unavoidably postponed, and Donald Dubh returned with his men to the Isles. Dis- sensions then arose as to the division of the money paid by England amongst the different clans, and each Chief went home to his own castle. But Donald Dubh went back to Ireland with Lennox, and died of a fever at Drogheda.

This led to the collapse of the whole scheme. James MacDonald of Isla then claimed to be Lord of the Isles, and in February 1546 entered into fresh negotia- tions with the English, but his authority was re- pudiated by the MacLeods of both branches, the MacNeils, and the MacKinnons, and these Chiefs made their peace with the Regent, and returned to their Scottish allegiance.

I have taken this story from Gregory. James MacDonald's claim to the Lordship of the Isles was the last attempt to restore the ancient dynasty.

It is probable that some MacLeods shared in the disastrous defeat at Pinkie in 1547. It is expressly stated that many Islesmen were present, but that the MacLeods of the Lewes were not there. Had the Harris MacLeods also been absent, the fact would probably have been stated.

Alastair Crottach died in 1547, and is buried in the magnificent tomb which he had prepared for himself in the chancel of St. Clement's Church at Rowdell.

The church at Rowdell is the finest in the Islands after lona. Whatever the earlier history of the monastery may have been, it belonged to Augustinian canons at the end of the twelfth century. The church belongs to this period. It consists of a tower, nave, transepts, and

88 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

chancel. There may have been aisles at one time. The lower part of the tower and the arches of the transepts are late twelfth century, the east window and some work on the tower are fourteenth century.

There are some curious carvings built into the west end of the tower which it is thought are relics of some Eastern worship, possibly of Isis or Anaitis.

The church was burnt about 1790 and very badly restored. It was again restored about 1870 by Lady Dunmore. It was struck by lightning and badly damaged early in the twentieth century, but has been repaired by the Ancient Monuments Commission of Scotland, to whom it was handed over.

There are several tombs in the nave, but it is im- possible to identify the persons who lie there, the inscrip- tions being now obliterated.

Alastair Crottach's tomb is on the south side of the chancel. It is a magnificent monument. On an arch at the top is the Holy Trinity, on the right side are St. Peter and St. Paul, an angel censing, St. Andrew with his cross, and two monks or women. On the left are two nimbed figures, an angel censing, two nimbed figures, and two bearded figures.

Below the arch are nine compartments, five in the upper part, four in the lower. In the upper part appear, something I cannot identify, an abbot, the Virgin en- throned with the Holy Child, a second abbot with a skull on his knee, and the old arms of the family, a lymphad or galley. Below is a hunting scene with dogs, three stags, angels weighing Alastair's sins and good deeds in a balance, while Satan is trying to depress the sins. Of the inscription, which is very faulty Latin, I give a translation : ' This tomb was erected by Alexander, son of William MacClod, Lord of Dunvegan anno Domini 1528.' Below the tomb is a figure of Alexander in armour, with his claymore between his knees.

ALEXANDER, EIGHTH CHIEF 89

The inscription does not say that the tomb is his tomb, but that it was erected by him. I conjecture that the tomb is the one which he put up to his wife, who may have died in 1528, and that he himself was after- wards laid beside her in the same tomb.

CHAPTER X

WILLIAM NA H'UAMHA, NINTH CHIEF Born about 1505 : married 1540: died September 1551

" William had been wielding his father's authority for some years when he became Chief in 1547. By his marriage with Agnes Fraser, daughter of the third Lord Lovat, he had an only daughter, Mary, and it appears that for some reason he had at an early period given up all hope of a male heir.

" His one object was to secure the succession of his daughter. This was legally provided for by the charter under which he held his lands ; but it was no easy matter to obtain the assent of the clan. After his father's funeral he called a meeting of the clan at Rowdell, in the hope of getting them to agree. Some few consented, but most of the clansmen positively refused to do so, and after a turbulent discussion, the meeting broke up without coming to any definite decision.

" But William was still resolved to gain his ends; he only showed favour to those who supported his daughter's claims. He entered into a close alliance with Donald Gorme of Sleat, to whom he surrendered his rights to Sleat and Trotternish, in the hope that his influence might forward his project. By strict economy he saved a large sum of money which he thought would be useful in prosecuting his schemes.

" He only succeeded in completely alienating the affec- tions of the clan. He shut himself up in the castle of Dun vegan, and spent the remainder of his life in solitude

WILLIAM NA H'UAMHA, NINTH CHIEF 91

and gloom. A Greek poet would have said that he was haunted by the Furies of those he had slaughtered in the cave at Eigg.

" He died in September 1551, having only survived his father for four years. His remains were buried at Row- dell, where a monument to his memory was afterwards erected by his nephew Rory Mor."

When William died in 155 1, his daughter Mary, who had been born about 1542, under the charter of 1498 was the undoubted heiress to the estates, and her wardship was a prize not beneath the notice of the greatest nobles in Scotland. In 1553 Huntley got the coveted wardship. About 1558 Argyll was negotiating with Huntley for its purchase. In anticipation of succeeding in buying it he took two steps.

He sent a party of Campbells to Skye to ascertain what chance there was of any husband whom he might choose for Mary being accepted as Chief by the clan. As we shall see presently, they were murdered by Ian Dubh ; and Argyll was convinced that Mary and a CampbeU husband would never be received by the clan.

In 1559 he made terms with Mary's uncle Tormod, the male heir, which are embodied in a document still pre- served at Dunvegan. In this it was agreed that Mary should resign her rights, and that Tormod should pay her a dowry of ;^iooo, and convey his rights to Sleat, North Uist, and Trotternish, under the charter of 1542, to Argyll.

These negotiations fell through because Huntley was deprived by the Crown in 1559 of the wardship. This was then granted to MacDonald of Dunyveg. On May 21, 1562, Kintail appeared before the Queen in council charged with having seized the person of Mary, and was ordered to deliver her to the Queen. Pleading that an action was pending by Dunyveg to enforce her deliverance

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to him, he was promised the royal protection, and agreed to surrender her to the Queen. Thus Mary came to Court where she remained for some years. This is proved by the following entries in the Lord Treasurer's accounts.

' The 14th day of December 1562, by the Queen's grace precept, to Marie McCloid, i elne i quarter of black to be hude mufell and turet, the elne vi lb. and velvous of chamlot McKie to be one Williecote bodie and slevis the elne viii s. summa xl s.

' 1564-5. The xvi day of Marche by the Queen's grace precept to Marie McCloid in her Grace's chalmer, to be ane cloke and ane dewanter of scarlett stain, 3 elnes the price of the elne summa x lb. x s.'

In 1566 Argyll at last obtained the wardship, and in the same year renewed the agreement with Tormod. In 1571 Mary received £400, as is proved by a receipt at Dunvegan, and also received a life-rent charter of Herbost and Carroy. Argyll married her to a cousin of his own, Duncan Campbell of Castle Swinny, younger of Auchen- breck. Their descendants kept on bringing actions to enforce their supposed claims at intervals of thirty or forty years, hoping that some evidence would turn up to prove that Mary's resignation was invalid. There is no reason to suppose that this was the case, for Tormod obtained a new charter to himself dated February 4, 1579, but the claim was not finally settled till 1692, when the MacLeod of the day paid ' a certain sum of money,' and received a complete renunciation of all his claims from Campbell of Westerkames, to whom any rights Mary might have possessed had descended.

It is evident that Mary MacLeod's girlhood was an exciting and eventful time for her. Whether she was one of the Queen's Maries is not certain, but it is clear that she was in the Queen's ' chalmer ' for some years. After recording the life and death of William, the Banna-

WILLIAM NA H'UAMHA, NINTH CHIEF 93

tyne MS. becomes very confused. The author is clearly anxious to make out that the ' Sliochd Ian Mhic Leoid ' were the rightful heirs to the chiefship, and this bias impairs the value of his history. His record of events suddenly breaks off in the time of Tormod, and in the chapters which follow this, I shall only include a few quotations from this valuable manuscript.

CHAPTER XI

DONALD, TENTH CHIEF, AND THE USURPATION OF IAN DUBH

Born about 1507 : killed about 1557

Donald was by right the Chief, but as a fact he never exercised any authority as such. William had treated him and his brother Tormod very unkindly, and both had left the country. Donald was supposed to have gone to England and Tormod to France, but it was not known where they were, or even whether they were still alive when William died. The next heir after them was lan-a-Chuail-Bhain (Fair-Haired John), head of the Sliochd Vich Ian Leoid, who mamtained that they should have been chiefs since Ian Borb's death in 1442. After William's funeral a meeting of the clan was held at Rowdell, and at this meeting, Ian was hailed as Chief with the usual formalities, and seems to have been an excellent Chief.

He governed the clan for five or six years. It was he who finally destroyed the MacGhitthichs, as is related in a previous chapter. Then, at the end of 1556 Donald, Alastair Crottach's second son, came home to assert his claims. News travelled slowly in- those days, and he may not have heard of his brother's death for a long time after it occurred.

Had he been at home five years earlier, it is probable that he would have been hailed as Chief, but things had changed in the interval. lan-a-Chuail-Bhain had been acting as Chief, and had endeared himself to the people.

DONALD, TENTH CHIEF 95

A meeting was held in March 1557 at Lyndale, and Donald's claim being rejected, Ian was confirmed in his position, and again invested as Chief. However, Ian Dubh, his second son, who was resolved at any cost to make himself Chief, treacherously murdered Donald on the very night on which the meeting at Lyndale was held, and was in consequence declared an outlaw, and fled to his friend Uistean Cleirich.

A few months later lan-a-Chuail-Bhain died, and was buried at Rowdell. Again a meeting was held at the funeral feast, and the events of six years earlier were repeated. Tormod, Alastair Crottach's third son, was away, and lan-a-Chuail-Bhain's young grandson, his eldest son Tormod being dead, was received as Chief, and lan's third son Donald was appointed as guardian, to the exclusion of his second son, Ian Dubh, whose hateful character and horrible crimes were well known and cordially detested by the whole clan.

While lan's brother and nephew were away attending the funeral at Rowdell, Ian Dubh emerged from his hiding-place with a band of ruffians as wicked as himself, surprised the castle of Dunvegan, murdered the warders, and took possession of the castle.

When the young Chief with his uncle Donald and his brothers returned from Rowdell, they entered through the sea-gate expecting no evil. They found Ian Dubh clad in complete armour in the passage inside the gate. By his orders the portcullis was dropped behind them before their train could enter, Donald, grasping the truth, though not clad in armour, fought bravely to defend himself and his nephews, but he was kiUed, and the young Chief and his brothers butchered in cold blood.

Ian Dubh was now Chief, though there is no record of his having been accepted as such by the clan. He knew how cordially he was hated, so he seized the wives and

96 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

children of several leading clansmen, and held them as hostages for the obedience of their husbands and fathers, thus enforcing an unwilling obedience to his rule. Shortly after Ian had established himself as Chief, the party of Campbells whom Argyll sent to spy out the country landed at Roag. Ian Dubh received them in a most friendly manner, and invited eleven of their chief men to a banquet at Dunvegan. The invitation was accepted, and the Campbells came to the castle, accompanied by only a few followers. At table each Campbell was placed between two of Ian Dubh's friends. After the feast was over, a cup full of blood, instead of wine, was ominously placed before each of the strangers, who at the same moment received his death-thrust from the dirk of one of the MacLeods who sat next to him, Ian Dubh stabbing the leader to the heart with his own hands. A few of the servants of the murdered Campbells escaped and gave the alarm to their friends, who, being panic-struck, made for their galleys, and sailed from Skj^e, never again to return to claim the ancient inheri- tance of the MacLeods.

Shortly after this, in 1559, Tormod MacLeod, the third son of Alastair Crottach, eighth of MacLeod, escaped from the French (he had possibly been serving in the French Guards maintained by Mary of Guise), and assisted by the Earl of Argyll, MacLean of Duart, and the Erasers of Lovat, proceeded to Skye to claim the chiefship, as the rightful heir and rightful successor of his late brother and father. None of the clan having come to the assistance of Ian Dubh, he was obliged to shut himself up in Dunvegan Castle, depending solely on the aid he should receive from Uistean MacGhilleaspuig Chleirich. But before help from that quarter could arrive, Torquil MacSween, the warder, agreed to give up the castle to Tormod MacLeod. MacSween secured all the gates and passages, except the one which led to

DONALD, TENTH CHIEF 97

the landing-place, and communicated directly with Ian Dubh's sleeping apartment. This passage was guarded by lan's four foster-brothers, who could neither be bribed by Tormod MacLeod, nor displaced by Torquil MacSween.

The noise made by Tormod and his followers in enter- ing the castle alarmed Ian Dubh's guards, who at once roused their master from his sleep, and managed to secure his escape to his galley, which was moored close at hand, below the castle walls. He immediately set sail for Pabbay, in Harris, where, on his arrival, he was refused admittance to the castle. Fully alive to his danger, he then sailed for Ireland, where he lived for some time a wretched wanderer, but was finally seized by one of the O'Donnell Chiefs, and put to death by having a red-hot iron forced into his bowels. Thus he expiated the suc- cession of horrible murders by which he had won his short-lived supremacy.

CHAPTER XII

TORMOD, ELEVENTH CHIEF Born about 1510 : became Chief 1560 : died 1585

Of Tormod's earlier life it is not easy to form any idea. The main difficulty is to settle whether he married before he left home about 1550 or not. If he did not marry then, he probably did not do so till after his return in 1559. His wife was Giles, or Julia, the fourth daughter of Hector, eleventh Chief of Duart. As her father married a second wife in 1517, and as he had some younger daughters by his first wife, Giles can hardly have been born later than 1512. For this reason I think it probable that he married about 1535, in which case the story told in the Bannatyne MS. that his second son, Rory, was educated by his grandfather, who died in 1547, may be true. The only difficulty is that, if this theory is correct, Rory was an old man when he was leading an active life early in the seventeenth century. The only two facts about Tormod's early life of which we can be certain are that about 1540 he was sent to Edinburgh as a hostage for the good behaviour of his father, and that his brother William's unkindness drove him from home about 1550. It is said that he went to France, and rendered dis- tinguished service there, or it is possible that he was a member of the French guard which Mary of Guise, mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, maintained at Edin- burgh. The agreement with Argyll in 1559 says that the Earl had ' delivered him out of the hands of the Frenchmen,' and this maj^ mean that Argyll's influence

TORMOD. ELEVENTH CHIEF 99

obtained for him a release from his service in Mary's guard before his term had expired. As we have seen he returned home in 1559 or 1560.

After Ian Dubh's flight Tormod was unanimously received as Chief by the clan. Even the Sliochd Ian Mhic Leoid preferred him to the monster of iniquity, Ian Dubh.

The Bannatyne MS. gives one a very favourable im- pression of Tormod's character: "Tormod was a man far removed above most of his countrymen. He had served abroad for some years with much credit and dis- tinction, and was much respected by the ruling authorities of Scotland in his time."

This is borne out by a statement of Gregory's that in 1585 Tormod was summoned to Edinburgh to give his advice as to the best measures to be taken in order to quell the disturbances in the Highlands. If he went it was probably the last act of his life, as he died in 1585.

It appears that he was a devoted adherent of Mary, Queen of Scots, and that he was concerned in several of the intrigues which were taking place at the time on her behalf. He, with several other chiefs, was ordered by the Queen, in 1565, to join the Earl of AthoU who was in command of the force Mary had sent against the Dukes of Chatelherault and Argyll. They had rebelled because they disliked the marriage of Mary and Darnley.

" As Chief he did a great deal to heal the dissensions by which the clan had been divided, and to restore his race to the power and consequence which they had altogether lost under Ian Dubh."

There is no evidence to show when his first wife died, but it is certain that in 1580 he married Janet, daughter of the Earl of Argyll, and widow of MacLean, twelfth of Duart. Her liferent charter of land in Bracadale is still at Dunvegan.

By his first wife he had three sons : (i) William, who

100 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

died about 1590, leaving a son who died about 1595 ; (2) Rory, Chief from 1595 to 1626 (Rory Mor) ; (3) Alex- ander of Minginish, from whom descended the MacLeods of Ose and Fernelea. And two daughters : (i) Margaret, who married Donald Gorme of Sleat ; (2) Christiana, who married first Torquil MacLeod of the Lewes, secondly MacDonald of Benbecula. By his second wife he had one daughter, Florence, who married Lauchlan MacLean of Coll.

Tormod was surrounded by difficulties as soon as he became Chief.

1 . There were the claims of his niece Mary and Argyll ; we have seen how he dealt with them.

2. The claims of Lord Lovat on Glenelg had revived. A letter to his son Rory, dated 1595, shows that these were causing him much anxiety. His instrument of seisin had been lost, and his ' haill lands and heretage were in danger of being tint.'

3. He was harassed by fears that some member of the Sliochd Ian Mhic Leoid might rise against him and claim the Chiefship. Indeed one story related of him leads me to think that he feared assassination. He formed a bodyguard of twelve men, who were called ' Buannaichean,' or conquerors.

These men were chosen for their strength, and no man was admitted to the band until he had shown his powers in a curious way. A bull was killed, and the candidate for admission to the bodyguard had to twist off the four legs at the knees. The ' Buannaichean,' as favourites of the Chief, had great power, and used it to oppress the people, none of whom dared to make any complaint.

A man named ' Fionnalaidh na Plaide Baine ' (Finlay of the White Plaid) was then living at Galtrigil, near Dunvegan Head. He owed his name to the fact that he was always dressed in white homespun.

He was a man of great strength and courage, and.

TORMOD, ELEVENTH CHIEF loi

seeing that the conquerors were becoming a curse to the country, he went and told the Chief of their malpractices.

The conquerors were furious. The next day they came to Finlay's house while he was out, ordered his wife to prepare their dinner, and to punish Finlay for reporting them, they killed his best cow.

When Finlay returned he asked what they meant by killing his cow. They replied it was to please themselves, and that they would kill him too if he did not mind what he was about. Finlay then went to his bjnre and re- turned with a heavy cowtail, with which he attacked the ' Buannaichean,' making their skin and hair fly all over the room. Those who were not killed were so terrified that they offered to pay the price of the cow, and more if Finlay asked it ; but their offer was sternly refused. Finlay bound them with strong fishing-lines, and flung them into the byre, where they passed a comfort- less night. Next morning he put them in a boat and took them over to Dunvegan, still bound with the fishing- lines. When Tormod saw that his strong men had been beaten and bound by one man, he dismissed them, and there were never again any ' Buannaichean' at Dunvegan.

According to the Bannatyne MS. Tormod's fear of the Sliochd Ian Mhic Leoid was so intense, that he planned and carried out the massacre of the whole tribe.

" He gathered a number of his adherents on whose obedience he could rely, he drew up a list of all his in- tended victims, and allotted to each man his share in the massacre. Each man was compelled to take an oath of obedience to his commands, and, to make the oath more binding, he opened a vein in his own arm, filled a goblet with his blood, and forced each man, as he swore, to drink from the cup. A night was fixed on which the dreadful deed was to be done, and on that night aU the members of the tribe, wherever they happened to be, were murdered by the emissaries of the Chief. Only

X

102 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

one escaped. This was Tormod, a grandson of lan-a- Chuail-Bhain. He had been sent to Wia, in the island of Taransay, on the west coast of Harris, to be nursed by one ' Bethag Nighean Choinnich Mac Sheumais Mhic- Gillerahuire,' who, as well as her husband, Finlay MacGillemhuire, was nearly related to the child's mother. This Finlay was among those who took the oath to Tormod, eleventh of MacLeod, to extirpate the Sliochd Ian Mhic Leoid, but he was, in his heart, a friend to the doomed race ; for, according to the ideas of every Highlander, he considered his foster-son had a better right to his love and protection than his own offspring. When the day arrived on which he was instructed to kill the boy, he was greatly depressed in spirit, and when his foster-child climbed on his knee and kissed him, Finlay, in an agony of grief, gave vent to his feelings in convulsive sobs. The only reply he could make to the inquiries of his wife as to the cause of his agitation was, * Fly and save him.' She at once understood this to refer to her dalt, so she got her two sons to launch a small boat, and taking young Tormod MacLeod in her arms, she ordered them to land her on the opposite coast at a place called Aird Husabost. From thence she proceeded across Harris, and on reaching Stockinish, on the east side of that island, she got a man, who had just returned from murdering the family of the doomed race who resided at Skellibost, to take her across in a boat to Skye, offering as his reward a large silver brooch. This, however, he refused, and it was long preserved among the Morrisons, who were this woman's own descendants.

" Bethag, with the child, landed in Trotternish, and after being nearly captured by Tormod MacLeod's followers, made her way to Duntulm Castle, where the boy's relative, Donald Gorme MacDonald, then resided, and entering the hall where the Chief was sitting, she

TORMOD, ELEVENTH CHIEF 103

placed the orphan at his feet, saying, ' There is all that remains of SHochd Ian Mhic Leoid ; to your protection I resign him.' Donald Gorme most humanely and gener- ously protected and educated young Tormod, and gave him the lands of Kingsburgh."

I imagine that there is no doubt that this massacre really took place, but the manuscript says that Tormod to his dying day denied that he was responsible for it. He always declared that the deed had been planned and carried out by some of his over-zealous adherents.

The murder of Thomas a Becket may be a parallel case. I think it probable that Tormod dropped some hasty words, as the English king did, and that some of his adherents took up these words and acted on them pre- cisely as Henry's followers did.

4. During the whole of his time as Chief Tormod was at war with the MacDonalds of Clan Ranald. The ill- treatment of his sister by her husband may have been a contributory cause. Possibly an invasion of South Uist, the record of which is preserved by tradition, may have been undertaken to revenge this. On that occasion a great battle was fought at a place called Glendale, and the same story is told of the Ravens' Rock there which is related of the Ravens' Rock in Glendale in Skye. But I incline to the opinion that the MacDonalds were still trying to carry out the scheme of conquering the whole of the MacLeod country, which had been formed a hundred and sixty years before, and which had to a great extent succeeded.

It is certain that the MacDonalds invaded the MacLeod country three times.

I. One very foggy night a great fleet of galleys ap- proached Dunvegan Head. Finlay of the White Plaid was fishing with four companions, and heard the beat of their oars. He at once guessed that the enemy were coming, hoping to take the MacLeods by surprise. The

104 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

Chief must be warned at all costs ; he got up his anchor and rowed with all speed for the shore. Finlay, in his turn, was heard, and a swift galley dispatched to cap- ture him. He was overtaken as he reached the shore. A desperate fight ensued. Finlay alone succeeded in escaping, the others being cut off, and caught in a cave, where they had taken refuge, and cut to pieces. Finlay ran to the top of the Head, and gave three mighty shouts which the watchman at Dunvegan heard— a distance of seven miles. MacLeod was warned, the surprise was averted, and the MacDonalds withdrew.

2. The MacDonalds landed at Trumpan, and made for Unish at the north end of Waternish point. The alarm was given, and the MacLeods made a desperate resistance. Two stories are told of this battle. On each side among the combatants was a smith attired in a complete suit of armour, and these two singled each other out and engaged in single combat. The MacLeod smith was growing weak through loss of blood when his wife arrived on the scene of the conflict. Striking the enemy with her distaff, she cried, ' Turn to me.' He turned his head involuntarily, and that moment was his last, as the MacLeod smith seized the opportunity and promptly ran him through.

The place is still called Beinn a'Ghobha, or The Blacksmith's Hill.

At this same fight Roderick, son of Ian MacLeod of Unish, did great execution with his sword. At last a MacDonald rushed upon him and cut off his legs at the knees, but the doughty clansman continued to stand on his stumps, cutting down all comers. At last he fell — on the knoll named after him, Cnoc Mhic Iain, or The Knoll of the Son of Ian ; it is also called ' Crois Bhan,' because a white cross was put up there to his memory.

Eventually the MacLeods received reinforcements,

TORMOD, ELEVENTH CHIEF 105

and the MacDonalds were forced to retreat to their galleys.

3. The MacDonalds again landed at Trumpan. The MacLeods were surprised while at divine service, their enemies surrounded the church and set it on fire. The whole congregation perished, either by the sword or the flames, except one woman who, grievously wounded, effected her escape and brought the news to Dunvegan. MacLeod, with such forces as he could collect in a short time, sallied forth, and found that the MacDonalds were marching on Dunvegan. He attacked them, and suc- ceeded in driving them back to Trumpan. As it chanced, the tide was low, and the MacDonalds could not launch their galleys, which were high and dry on the rocky floor of the bay. One boat was launched, and a few got away in her, but for the main body escape was impossible. They put up a desperate struggle on the narrow isthmus which divides Trumpan Bay from the sea outside, but in vain, and before the evening came the MacDonalds were all killed. In order to save the trouble of digging graves, their bodies were laid under a wall, and the wall overturned upon them. For this reason this fight has always been known as Blar milleadh garaidh, or the Battle of the Destruction of the Wall.

Tradition says that victory was won in one of these two Waternish fights by waving the fairy flag, but it is not certain in which it saw the light.

If there is any truth in the following story, the spirits of those who had lost their lives in this long and terrible feud between the MacDonalds of Clan Ranald and the MacLeods remembered the battles in the life beyond the grave and, though they could no longer fight them- selves, took a savage joy in seeing their mortal descen- dants do so.

Near Eynort Church a man was watching the lambs one night to protect them from the ravages of foxes. At

io6 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

midnight he saw many graves in the churchyard open, and from them emerged a host of warrior spirits. They all had wings on which they soared up towards the sky. Two of them seized him, and rising into the air, carried him with inconceivable speed over the moonlit land and sea beneath.

They visited all the churchyards in the MacLeod country in Skye. At each a new contingent of spirits joined the ghostly army. From Trumpan, the last place they visited, they flew across the Minch to South Uist, carrying their prisoner with them. In South Uist they met a great army of MacDonald ghosts, who also had a mortal with them.

They formed a great ring upon the " Machir," the grass-grown plains on the shores of the Long Island, and set the two living men to fight with each other. In this ring the two mortals, one a MacLeod, the other a MacDonald, fought while the ghosts looked on. Neither gained much advantage over the other, or seriously injured his adversary.

When the first gleam of dawn appeared in the eastern sky the battle was stopped. The MacDonald spirits carried away their man, and sought their own burial- places. The MacLeod spirits flew back over the sea to Trumpan, again they visited all the churchyards in the MacLeod country, leaving in each the spirits whose bodies were buried there, and at length the ghosts from Eynort returned there, laid the man who had had this wonderful adventure in the exact spot in which they had found him, and themselves sank into the graves they had left.

One might fancy from all these stories that warfare was incessant in the Highlands, and that the Highlanders did nothing but fight. This was by no means the case. Even in the worst times there were intervals of peace, and during these there was much social intercourse

TORMOD, ELEVENTH CHIEF 107

among the Chiefs. Hunting the deer and athletic sports were the favourite amusements, and meetings for both purposes were frequently held. A story is worth record- ing which relates what happened at an athletic meeting held on the point below the castle at Dunvegan, probably in Tormod's time.

On this occasion Argyll, Glengarry, Raasay, and many other Chiefs came to Dunvegan, each of them bringing his strongest and best men to compete in the games. Raasay's man proved to be the best wrestler, and Argyll's retainer put the stone further than any one. MacLeod alone had entered no one for any of the contests, and Argyll rather slightingly said he would like to see MacLeod's best man contend with his own and Raasay's men. ' My best,' cried the Chief, ' my meanest shall contend with your best.'

MacLeod had in his service at the time a man named Paul Crupach. This man, though short and indeed deformed, was possessed of enormous strength. MacLeod had purposely dressed him in filthy rags, and called on him to contend with the smartly dressed champions of Argyll and Raasay. A shout of ridicule greeted his appearance, but his strength was so great, and his skill in athletic contests so marked, that he was an easy victor in all the contests, and made for himself a reputation on that day which endures in tradition to the present time. A rock is still shown from which Paul once leapt on shore when overtaken by the rising tide. Few men would try the leap now.

Tormod married Argyll's daughter, and the letter from Ranald MacRanald about Glenelg shows that Argyll and he were on very friendly terms, so I think that, probably, Tormod was the Chief of whom the following story is told.

MacLeod once went on a visit to Argyll at Inveraray, and when he got there, he learned that a clansman of his had, for some offence, been condemned to be gored

io8 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

to death by a bull. An arena was prepared and the criminal placed therein with a bull of singular strength and ferocity. MacLeod, much struck with the appear- ance of the man, interceded for him with Argyll ; but Argyll declared it was now too late, that the man and the infuriated animal were in the ring, and no human power could save him. MacLeod was only armed with his dirk, but, on hearing this, he sprang at once into the ring, and attacked and killed the bull. As he clung to the bull's horns, a cry rang out, ' Hold fast,' and this is said to be the origin of the family motto. He thus saved the man's life, and when he went back to Skye he took the man with him, and there is a family living at Dun- vegan now who claim descent from the man whom MacLeod saved from such a terrible death.

Tormod died in 1585, being then probably about seventy-five years old. It is said that he was buried at Rowdell, but his tomb cannot be identified.

Tormod was the last of the Dunvegan Chiefs who could not write. There are several signatures of his at Dun- vegan, I give one : ' Tormod Macleod of Dunbegane with my hand leid at ye pene of ye persoun be my command.'

Two famous Highlanders were living in Tormod 's time, one in Harris, the other at Ness in the Lewes. The Bannatyne MS. gives some interesting details con- cerning both, and these I have included here. These men were named respectively Angus a Eneis and Coin- neach Odhar, or Kenneth Ouir.

" The former was a famous bard and satirist whose verses and sayings have been handed down from genera- tion to generation to our own time, and display a richness of imagery, a depth of thought ^ and an extent of know- ledge which is almost incredible, as well as a terseness of style and purity of language which we look for in vain in other Highland bards.

TORMOD, ELEVENTH CHIEF 109

" He was a native of Harris and the son of very poor parents, his father being a scalag, or thrall. He only discovered his own gifts by an accident when about fourteen years of age. Working with another man, with whom he was cutting turf, he wedged his cas chrom in a cleft of the rock by accident, and broke the iron from the wood. Instead of expressing his feelings in the usual manner, he said : ^

Thog mi bullien huicce I gave a blow on a pebble

Ann an oisinn creige On a corner of a rock,

Ghag mi theab an theab, I shattered it almost in pieces,

A thog mi nicous y maide. I took off the from the

wood.

" His companion was astonished and said, ' You have made a good rhyme out of this trifle.' Angus replied, ' If that 's a rhyme my delving days are over,' and suiting the action to the word, he flung his spade away, and from that hour commenced his reputation as a bard. He travelled over most of Europe. He died at an ad- vanced age at Strathglass, where he was buried with all the honours due to a chief by the Chief of the Chisholms."

Coinneach Odhar, or Kenneth Ouir, was perhaps the most famous seer or prophet who ever lived in the High- lands. Some mainland authorities identify him with . the Brahan seer, but the Island traditions all point to / his having been a different person who lived in the Islands at least a hundred years before the Brahan seer who lived on the mainland. " His prophecies embrace a vast extent of space and time. He foretells the fate of king- doms and royal dynasties, of chiefs and clans, of tribes and families. He foretells the innumerable changes in manners, ideas, modes of living, architecture, husbandry,

' It has been very difficult to put the phonetic spelling down correctly and translate the verse. One word, nicous, I cannot identify, and I am by no means sure that my version is correct.

< -. fciJiUAd-d CU^M^Cff UJJi^ y

no THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

and arms which have taken place. He fixes the periods when these changes would occur, and, to mark their progress, foretells a great number of events coeval with them, and at last, in melancholy strain, laments the hour when the son of the mountains forgets the language of his fathers, and is mingled with the strangers, when all traces of his religion are lost like the mountain stream which falls into the ocean.

" His prophecies are known as Faack Rhenie Eeir. They would not have held their ground so long but for the constant fulfilment of some of them in all parts of the country. They are nothing more nor less than prophetic history. I will give one minor instance of his prophecies, and its fulfilment. The prophecy says, ' When the Gael begins to wear the garb of the stranger, a dark-haired man, in white hose and a green plaid, will cross and re- cross the sound of Scarpa (a channel deep enough for a seventy-four to sail through), a thing which never has been done, and never will be done but this once.' This was fulfilled in 1748, when the Disarming Act had just been passed, which forbade the wearing of the Highland dress. Philip MacDonald, dressed as the prophet had foretold, actually did cross and recross the sound of Scarpa on a Sunday in August 1748, the tide happening to be abnormally low, and he did it for a frolic. His act was witnessed by more than one hundred people who had assembled for church. The feat has often been attempted, but no other has ever succeeded. I knew Philip MacDonald well myself."

But far more remarkable than this was the prophecy about the fairy flag at Dunvegan which all the best sean- nachies in the Islands attribute to Coinneach Odhar. I give this extraordinary prophecy and its fulfilment more than two hundred years later, as described by Dr. Norman MacLeod, so well known as the ' Caraid nan Gaidheal,' or Friend of the Gaels. This gentleman visited

TORMOD, ELEVENTH CHIEF iii

Dunvegan in 1799, when the events here related took place ; and I quote his own words from a letter, a copy of which is in my possession :

' One circumstance took place at the castle on this occasion which I think worth recording, especially as I am the only person now living who can attest the truth of it. There had been a traditionary prophecy, couched in Gaelic verse, regarding the family of MacLeod, which on this occasion received a most extraordinary fulfil- ment. This prophecy I have heard repeated by several persons, and most deeply do I regret that I did not take a copy of it when I could have got it. The worthy Mr. Campbell of Knock, in Mull, had a very beautiful version of it, as also had my father, and so, I think, had likewise Dr. Campbell of Kilninver. Such prophecies were current regarding almost all old families in the Highlands ; the Argyll family were of the number ; and there is a prophecy regarding the Breadalbane family, as yet unfulfilled, which I hope may remain so. The present Marquis of Breadalbane is fully aware of it, as are many of the connections of the family. Of the MacLeod family, it was prophesied at least a hundred years prior to the circumstance which I am about to relate.

' In the prophecy to which I allude, it was foretold that when Norman, the fourth Norman (" Tormod nan tri Tormoid"), the son of the hard, slender English lady (" Mac na mnatha caoile cruaidh Shassunaich ") would perish by an accidental death ; that when the " Maidens " of MacLeod (certain well-known rocks on the coast of MacLeod's country) became the property of a Campbell ; when a fox had young ones in one of the turrets of the castle, and particularly when the fairy enchanted banner should be for the last time exhibited, then the glory of the MacLeod family should depart — a great part of the estate should be sold to others ; so that a small " curragh " (a boat) would carry all gentlemen of the name of MacLeod

112 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

across Loch Dunvegan ; but that in times far distant a chief named Ian Breac should arise, who should re- deem those estates, and raise the powers and honour of the house to a higher pitch than ever. Such in general terms was the prophecy. And now as to the curious coincidence of its fulfilment.

' There was, at that time, at Dunvegan, an English smith, with whom I became a favourite, and who told me, in solemn secrecy, that the iron chest which con- tained the " Fairy Flag " was to be forced open next morning ; that he had arranged with Mr. Hector MacDonald Buchanan to be there with his tools for that purpose. I was most anxious to be present, and I asked permission to that effect of Mr. Buchanan (MacLeod's man of business), who granted me leave on condition that I should not inform any one of the name of MacLeod that such was intended, and should keep it a profound secret from the Chief. This I promised, and most faith- fully acted on. Next morning we proceeded to the chamber in the east turret, where was the iron chest that contained the famous flag, about which there is an interesting tradition. With great violence the smith tore open the lid of this iron chest ; but in doing so, a key was found under part of the covering, which would have opened the chest, had it been found in time. There was an inner case, in which was found the flag, enclosed in a wooden box of strongly-scented wood. The flag consisted of a square piece of very rich silk, with crosses wrought with gold thread, and several elf-spots stitched with great care on different parts of it. On this occasion the melancholy news of the death of the young and promising heir of MacLeod reached the castle, " Norman, the fourth Norman," was a lieutenant of H.M.S. the Queen Charlotte, which was blown up at sea, and he and the rest perished." At the same time, the rocks called "MacLeod's Maidens" were sold, in the course of that

The Sea Gate at Dunvegan.

See pages gz^, i86, i88.

TORMOD, ELEVENTH CHIEF 113

very week, to Angus Campbell of Ensay, and they are still in possession of his grandson. A fox in possession of a Lieutenant MacLean, residing in the west turret of the castle, had young ones, which I handled, and thus all that was said in the prophecy alluded to was literally fulfilled.'

vSince Dr. Norman's time the latter part of the prophecy has unhappily come true, for MacLeod has now no gentle- men of his clan tenants on his estate. And very large portions of the property have been sold. More un- happily still, Ian Breac, the young heir of the family, who, it was hoped, would restore the fortunes of the clan, was killed in the Great War.

This prophecy and its fulfilment are indeed remarkable.

1. Coinneach Odhar foretold that four events would take place simultaneously. All four did take place simultaneously more than two hundred years after the prophecy was uttered.

2. One of these events was the violent death of the ' fourth Norman.' As the young man who lost his life on the Queen Charlotte was the son of the twentieth Chief, and as the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth Chiefs were all Normans, he was the fourth Norman.

3. His mother, Coinneach Odhar said, would be Sassenach. Though she was Highland by descent, she came from Suddie, a place which a sixteenth-century man who lived in the Lewes would certainly think was in the Lowlands, and she spoke English.

4. He foretold that MacLeod's estate would be so sadly reduced by the sale of large tracts of land that there would be none of the old class of tenantry left. This has come true.

5. He foretold that a Chief named Ian Breac would restore the fortunes of the family. Perhaps this will be fulfilled in the future, but certainly, when the young Ian Breac MacLeod gave his life for King and Country

114 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

on April 17, 1915, he did cast a fresh lustre on the name he bore, and showed that his race had not lost the loyalty and courage which were their chief claims to glory in ancient days. Some seannachies have attributed this prophecy to Rory Dall, the blind harper at Dunvegan towards the end of the seventeenth century, but all the best authorities say that it was uttered by Coinneach Odhar, and that Rory Dall, who had received it from his predecessors, did no more than repeat it and hand it down to his successors. -^ " Kenneth was a native of Ness in the Lewes. The

following is the correct version of how he obtained his supernatural powers.

" There was, and still is, an idea among Highlanders that the grave of a stranger ought to be purchased, otherwise the soul has no rest, and assumes its original corporal appearance in its wanderings. It being the duty of Kenneth's mother, on a particular night some time before Kenneth was bom, to watch the cornfields, as was always done in harvest to prevent cattle from getting into the unenclosed fields, she sat down on an eminence overlooking a burial ground, and having a rake and spindle with her, commenced her usual occupation of spinning. To her terror she saw a grave open, and the figure of a female in a strange garb issue from it. The figure proceeded to the sea, here close by, stretched her hands towards the ocean, and by her gestures seemed to express grief and woe. Kenneth's mother, who was possessed of good nerves, soon recovered her presence of mind, and instantly resolved to become better ac- quainted with the unfortunate apparition. She signed herself with the sign of the Cross, and spoke the religious words most familiar to her. She hastened to the grave, laid her distaff across it, and sat down close by to await its restless occupant.

" The figure soon returned, and finding it impossible

TORMOD, ELEVENTH CHIEF 115

to pass the earthly staff which was laid across the grave, addressed the mortal in most pathetic terms, and asked to be allowed to enter the grave. The other replied that she must first learn by what power she was enabled to leave it. The answer to this was as follows : ' I am a princess of a far-off and foreign land. I was lost at sea and my body was thrown up upon this shore. It was found, and deposited in this grave by the people of the country. As the earth has never been ransomed, my spirit cannot rest, and I am nightly obliged to wander down to the seashore, and visit the spot where my body first touched the land. If you will purchase the earth in which my bones rest, great will be your reward, and your name will descend to after ages as the mother of the most wonderful man of his time ; a handful of corn from one of your own fields will suffice.' The woman immediately cut a sheaf of corn, and laid it in the grave. Before the apparition descended into her sepulchre, she put a small black and beautiful pebble into the woman's hand, saying, ' Give this to the child which will be born to you, when he is exactly seven years of age.' She then went into the grave, which closed and showed no appear- ance of having been opened. The woman kept the matter a secret, and shortly after became the mother of a boy, who was named Kenneth.

" Years passed, and nothing out of the common occurred. On Kenneth's seventh birthday his mother, who had for- gotten about her ghostly friend's admonition, wished the boy to go and call his father, who was at work in the fields some distance away, to his midday meal. Kenneth was unwilling to go till his mother, remembering the pebble, gave it him as the reward of his compliance with her wishes. He took it in his hand, looked at it, and said, ' A large whale is ashore in the ravens' cave.' This was the first instance he gave of possessing supernatural powers, for it turned out that what he said was the case.

L'l V

ii6 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

and that a whale was actually ashore at the place he named, and from thenceforward his fapie spread far and wide. When he was about fifty years of age he pro- phesied the downfall and the utter ruin of the MacLeods of the Lewes. This so enraged some of that Chief's followers that they waylaid him on a moor near the lake of Cangenvale, with a view to depriving him of the pebble, without which he could not prophesy. He at once flung it into the lake, preferring to see it lost to seeing it fall into other hands. He died a few days after the loss of his stone. His grave can still be seen at Ness where he is buried."

CHAPTER XIII

WILLIAM, TWELFTH CHIEF

Born between 1535 and 1540, or about 1560 : succeeded 1585 : died 1590

As it is impossible to settle the date of their father's marriage, I have suggested two dates for the birth of William and Rory. There are arguments in favour of both, and either may be correct.

During William's short period of rule the Highlands were in a frightfully disturbed condition. A feud was raging between the MacDonalds and the MacLeans. This feud was marked by a succession of treacherous murders and horrible massacres. All the western clans were engaged on one side or the other. The Lewes MacLeods sided with the MacDonalds, the MacLeods of Harris were on the side of the MacLeans. Probably William's sympathies were already with the MacLeans, his mother being a member of that family, but he may also have been influenced by a letter dated September 18, 1585, from the King, a copy of which is stiU preserved in the Dun vegan charter chest. After stating that the Clan Donald have attacked Lauchlan MacLean of Duart, ' And intend to effect furder injure against him and so far as in them lyis, to wrak him,' the King goes on, ' We are movit theifore, most effectunslie, to request and desjnre you that you supplie him with your haill friendis and force in resisting of the violence and persute of the said Clan Donald, as ye will do us maist acceptable plesour and service, and report our special thankis, and swa we commit you to God.'

ii8 THE MACLEODS OF DUN VEGAN

What share the MacLeods took in the feud we have no means of knowing, but it was probably an active one. The war came to an end in 1589, mainly through the efforts of the King.

Little is known of William's life and doings. A bond which he gave his father-in-law, MacKintosh of Dun- achton, ancestor of the present MacKintosh of MacKin- tosh, is preserved in the charter chest of that family, and is printed by MacKenzie in full (p. 57). As it is entirely one-sided, and deals only with the obUgations which MacLeod undertook to perform towards MacKin- tosh, I conjecture that there was another bond, setting forth the obligations of MacKintosh to MacLeod, which has been lost.

Probably a little earlier William had married Janet, a daughter of this Chief. By her he had a son John.

William died late in 1589, or early in 1590, and his son John became Chief. Rory Mor was his tutor, and the rights which the King possessed, as superior Lord, were granted to Thomas Fowlis, Goldsmith and Burgess of Edinburgh on November 18, 1590. These rights included the whole net profits of the estate, after due provision had been made for the maintenance and education of the heir during his minority, a fine to be paid when he married, and another to be paid when he attained his majority. In the charter of 1611 these payments are commuted for an annual payment of 160 merks during a minority, and a fine on marriage of 500 merks.

John died in 1595, and Rory Mor then became Chief. I gather from a letter in the charter chest that William was a most attractive person, and much loved by all who knew him. The writer refers, in his letter to Rory, to ' your nobell brother quhome I tenderit als weill or better nor zour Father,' The letter shows that all through William's time the dispute about Glenelg was going on.

CHAPTER XIV

RORY, THIRTEENTH CHIEF "^

Born between 1535 and 1540, or about 1562 : tutor 1590 : chief 1595 : died 1626

Of Rory Mor's domestic life, and of his methods of governing his clan we know nothing, but the general im- pression left on our minds by the traditions is that he was a kind man and a wise ruler, who was loved by all who knew him. I shall relate his activities which are known to us under three heads : (i) His estate affairs. (2) His relations with his brother Chiefs. (3) His atti- tude towards the Government.

I. His Estate Affairs

Three questions of vital importance affecting the estate claimed Rory's attention during his life.

I. It appears from a letter, dated in 1595, from one Allan McRanald, who was probably the family man of business, that the old dispute between Lord Lovat and MacLeod about Glenelg had broken out afresh in Tormod's time, that Lord Lovat was in possession of the MacLeod estate there, and had let it to Clan Ranald, that Tormod had produced his charter and precept of seisin, but had lost his instrument of seisin. For lack of this he was like to lose his estate. In William's time both Lovat and MacLeod had been trying to find the missing document. ' Howbeit,' says the letter, ' not till ane effect, for we socht it to keep it weill, and he to ryve and burne it.' The debt, Lovat alleged, now

119

120 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

amounted to ;ir200,ooo, and Lovat proposed to get Rory's whole estate apprised. It had been discovered that the document was in the hands of some one who had evidently stolen it. This person not only demanded a large sum of money for it, but absolute secrecy as to the name of the person from whom it had been obtained. A rapid decision was necessary, ' Thairfoir tak tyme in tyme, for tyme and tyd bydis no man.' He will come and see Rory, but ' becaus I am growne auld, I may not travail far of on fute, for, in great journeys, I lippen mor in horse feit nor my aine.' The dispute dragged on till 1610. The missing document had not then been found. At that time Rory informed the courts that he had reason to believe it was in Lord Lovat 's own charter chest, unless indeed ' he has fraudfullie put away ye same.' Anyhow Lord Lovat ' wrongously refuses to produce it.' Lord Lovat was ordered to produce the document, but he does not appear to have done so. At last the dispute was submitted to arbitration, and in May 1611 the arbitrators settled that the land belonged to MacLeod, but that a sum of 12,000 merks was due to Lord Lovat, which was duly paid in several instalments.

2. Waternish, which lay close to Dun vegan, had been from time immemorial in the hands of the MacLeods of the Lewes. According to one tradition, it had been given by Tormod, second Chief, to his brother Torquil, because he considered the latter's heritage in the Lewes insufficient. Probably the inconvenience of this had not been seriously felt as long as the possessors of this land were kinsmen and fellow-clansmen, but when the estate passed into the hands of strangers and possible enemies it became a matter of grave importance. On the other hand, the two unce-lands of Trotternish were now a small parcel of land in the midst of a country which had passed into the hands of a hostile clan. It was probably a source rather of weakness than of strength.

RORY, THIRTEENTH CHIEF 121

As early as 1606 Sir Rory had entered into negotiations with the Fife adventurers for the exchange of the two estates. Matters had gone so far, that he actually ordered his own tenants (named McTowll) ' to turn out of Uig, where these two unce-lands were situated. In 1610 Waternish, with all the other estates of the Lewes family, had passed to Lord Kintail. With him Rory in this year negotiated an exchange of the two properties, Rory paying 9000 merks to complete the bargain. Water- nish, containing five unciates, was more valuable than Trotternish, which only extended to two unciates. Thus Waternish became part of the Dunvegan estate.

3. Nearly half the original inheritance of the family had been wrested from Rory's forebears by the Mac- Donalds, and were, dc facto, in their possession, but under the Charter of 1542 they were, de jure, MacLeod property. Rory was untiring in his efforts to recover them. A letter which he wrote to the King in 1615 will explain the position he took up, and this letter I give in full

DENMYLNE MSS.i

Sir Rorie MacLeod to the King, 7 Jany. 1615

Most gracious and sacred Soverane, — Since it has bene the good pleasour of God by zour maiesteis most prudent and happie govemament, And to zour maiesteis immortall prais and commendatioune, with the exceiding grit comfort of all zour faithfull subjectis, to bliss this zour maiesteis kingdome with ane universall peace and quietnes throughout all the nukis and comaris yairof, especiallie in the yllis and hey- landis Swa that now ye hoip and expectatioune of iustice makis all men to seik redres of these wrangis, whairin, thir mony zeiris bygane, through the iniquitie of the tyme, they half bene silent. So it is that I and my predicessoris, being

^ Extracted from vol. xx. (pp. 173-5) of ^^e Scottish History Society Publications, 2nd series.

122 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

heretable tenentis to zour Maiestie and zour predicessouris of the landis of Slait, Northuist, and utheris landis lyand in the north yllis, quhairin we war heretablie infeft be zour Maiesteis worthie goodsir of famous memorie efter his perfyte aige. The clandonald, quho, efter the daith of zour Maiesteis said goodsyr, wer of gritest power force and freindschip in the yllis, did most violentlie detrude my forbearis furth of our saidis landis, with grit slauchter of diverss of thame, especiallie of my father brethir and other kynnismen. And, by fyre and sword, mantenit thair violent possessioune againis my forbearis and myself sen syne. And I having now enterit my self as air to my father brethir in the saidis landis, and being infeft and seasit thairintill, and zour maiestie being lykwayis gratiouslie pleasit at my laite being with zour maiestie, To dispone unto me the nonentrie of the saidis landis. I halve thairupone intendit actiounis before zour maiesteis sessioune for recoverie of my possessioune and richt of ye saidis landis. In the quhilk actioune I am lyke to sustene some preiudeice by ye practezeis and dealing of my adversair pairtie, Donald Goraie of Slaitt, quho, taking hold of yat act of parliament, quhairby ye inhabitantis of the yllis war ordanit to exhibeit and produce thair infeftmentis befoir zour maiesteis chekker, to the effect the teno'' and conditiounes thairof micht have bene knawin to thame. The said Donald, upon my alledgit tailzie in that poynt, of the exhibitioune of my infeftmentis allanerlie, intendis to fumeis actioune and pley aganis me. And upone that onlie cans to detene and withhald fra me my lauchfull heretage, Althocht it be of trewth that I and all my predicesso'is haif evir constantlie protest zour maiesteis obedience, And did nevir kyth in counsall actioune or hostilitie with ony of ye rebellis of the yllis aganis zour maiestie, Lykas I my self, in ye fourscoir sextene yeir of God, gaif my compeirance befoir zour maiesteis counsall, and at that tyme fand cautioune for my confomiitie in all tymes thairefter, And I thairupone simplie apprehending that the said act of parliament could nawayes stryke aganis me quho wes a lauchfull subject, Bot that the samene wes maid and devysit aganis ye rebellis and brokin men of ye yllis. In quhilk nomber I disdanit to rank my self, I, ignor-

RORY, THIRTEENTH CHIEF 123

antlie and not upone contempt, failled in that poynt of the productioune of my infeftmentes, quhilkis I could not produce the tyme of ye making of ye said act, In respect the said Donald Gorhame stud then infeft in the saidis landis, haldin of zour maiestie, and continowit in ye violent possessioune of the samene lykas he zit does, And I am bot laitlie servit and retourit air to my said father brether in ye saidis landis, Quhairin I am certane that it is not zour maiesteis meaning that any advantage sail be tane of me, bot that I sail half iustice aganis ye said Donald. Notwithstanding thairof, or of ony obiectioune that can be moved aganis me thainipone. The said act of parliament being onlie maid to draw the brokin Ilismen to obedience, and not to snair simple, ignorant, and lauchfull subiectis. In consideratioune quhairof I am bauld, in all submissioune and reverence, to halve my recource unto zour sacred Maiestie, as the fontane, fra quhome all zour distressit subiectis ressavis comfort. And, in all humilitie, to beseik your Maiestie to wryte in my favouris to zour Maiesteis sessioune, willing thame to proceid and minister iustice unto me aganis ye said Donald, and utheris violent possessors of my landis and heretage, notwithstanding of ye said act of parliament, and ye not productioune of my infeft- mentis, or ony thing that may result or follow yairupone. And so craiving pardone for this my presumptioune, Humblie praying God long to preserve zour Maiestie in zour blissit govemament, that we zour poore subiectis may, in tyme of oure distress, haiv our recourse to zour Maiestie I rest Zour most humble and obedient servito^,

S. R. MacLeod. Ed^, 7 January 1615.

Apparently the King did not interfere. I do not even know whether he answered the letter. Possibly at his suggestion in 1616 the dispute was submitted to arbi- tration. The lands were assigned to MacDonald, who however was ordered to pay Sir Rory a sum of money (I have not been able to find the amount), and Sir Rory was placed in possession of Sleat until he had paid him- self the amount due out of the rents.

124 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

This accounts for the fact, which appears from dis- charges in the Dunvegan charter chest, that in 1618, 1619, and 1622, Sir Rory was paying the taxation on Sleat. When the payment was completed, Sleat and the other lands became the property of the MacDonalds.

Besides arranging these great and difficult matters with remarkable skill and address, Rory managed his estate exceedingly well, and in his time its value ad- vanced by leaps and bounds. This was largely due to the action of Rory's redoubtable enemy, Donald Mac- Ian Vich Shamuis. This doughty warrior, of whom I shall have a good deal to say later on, when clan feuds ceased, and he found no outlet for his energies in warfare, turned his attention to trade. He was the first man who took a drove of Highland cattle to the Lowlands to be sold in southern markets. Others followed his example, and a flourishing trade sprang up. This brought about the most remarkable prosperity in the Islands, and had far-reaching results, the importance of which cannot be exaggerated.

II. Rory's Relations with his Brother Chiefs By the time that Rory began to govern the clan in 1590 theold feudwith the MacDonalds of Clan Ranald had come to an end. Henceforth Rory was on excellent terms with Clan Ranald. Indeed it seems probable that at this period the Western Highlands were in a state of com- parative peace. This is indicated by the fact that Rory and Donald Gorme, probably tired of inaction at home, went to Ireland, each of them taking five hundred men, to assist the Red O'Donnell in his struggle against the troops of Elizabeth. Nothing much came of this ex- pedition, but it got the Chiefs into trouble with the Government. Elizabeth complained, and James, anxious to do nothing which might imperil his succession to the English throne, ordered the two Chiefs to come home.

RORY. THIRTEENTH CHIEF 125

But this happy state of affairs did not last very long. The Lewes had been in a very disturbed condition for years. There were grave doubts as to the legitimacy of Torquil Conanach, eldest son of the Lewes Chief. In the Dunvegan muniment room is a notarial instrument, dated August 22, 1566, which contains the confession of Hucheon Brieve of the Lewes that he was Torquil's father. The consequence was that Torquil, who stoutly maintained that he was the legitimate son of the old Chief, and his younger, but certainly legitimate brother, Torquil Dubh, were both claiming the estates. MacKenzie of Kintail supported the former, Rory sup- ported the latter, who had married his sister. This in- volved Rory in a war with Kintail.

In 1596 Rory and his brother-in-law attacked and conquered Coigeach and Loch Broom. It was probably in consequence of this that in 1597 Rory Mor was ordered by the King to give security in 5000 merks, afterwards increased to 10,000 merks, that he would not molest Kintail and, failing to obey, was declared a rebel and put to the horn. Torquil Dubh was soon afterwards cap- tured and put to death by his brother, leaving, however, three sons whose cause was taken up by their illegitimate bjother Neil and supported by Rory Mor.

In 1598 matters were further complicated by the for- feiture of the Lewes under the Act of 1597, and by the grant of the island to some Lowland gentlemen, who were called the Fife Adventurers. In 1599 these new claimants appeared in the Lewes, and endeavoured to enforce their rights. For something like ten years the three rival claimants kept the island in a frightful state of anarchy and disturbance. It is probable that Rory was concerned in all the fighting which took place, but the only definite fact about his activities which I find in the records is a statement that, in 1607, he invaded the Lewes and captured Stornoway Castle. On August 13,

126 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

1607, the Council ordered him to surrender this to the Fife Adventurers.

In 1609 the Fife Adventurers gave up their attempts to hold the Lewes as hopeless, and Kintail, after two more years of desperate fighting, succeeded in making himself master of the island.

Neil MacLeod, however, held out for two years on the inaccessible island of Birsay on the west coast of the Lewes. In 1613 he was unable to maintain himself any longer there, and he took refuge with the Dunvegan Chief. Rory was just starting on his journey to London, and offered to take Neil with him and intercede for him with the King. But at Glasgow he received an order from the Council that he should deliver Neil to them under pain of being declared a rebel. This he was obliged to do, and Neil was executed at Edinburgh.

Rory has been charged with having been guilty of gross treachery in giving up Neil to the Council. I do not myself see how he could have avoided doing so. He was in Glasgow, not in his own domains, and the Council had ample power to enforce their demands.

The disturbances in the Lewes were not the only difficulties which demanded Rory's attention during the troubled years at the close of the sixteenth century. The MacLeods and the MacLeans had been closely allied for a long time. Rory's mother was a MacLean, and two of his daughters married MacLeans. This alliance involved Rory in a war with the MacDonalds of Duny- veg in 1598. In that year the old feud concerning land in Islay between Sir James MacDonald and MacLean of Duart broke out again. The MacLeans were de- feated at Loch Gruinart, but they summoned their allies, Lochiel, MacKinnon, MacNeil, and Rory MacLeod, to their aid. The combined clans invaded Isla, defeated the MacDonalds in a battle at Bern Bige, and ravaged the whole island. Almost as soon as this war was finished

RORY, THIRTEENTH CHIEF 127

yet more serious trouble arose which brought the clan to the verge of ruin.

In 1600 broke out a terrific war between the MacLeods and Donald Gorme As we have seen, the two clans had been on sufficiently friendly terms to go together to Ireland, and Rory's sister had married Donald Gorme, but there was always smouldering hostility between the two clans on account of the claims of the MacLeods to Donald Gorme's estates. This was brought to a head by a deadly insult which the latter offered to MacLeod.

Tradition says that Donald Gorme discovered that his wife was blind of one eye, and that he sent her home riding on a one-eyed horse, that the horse was led by a one-eyed man, and that a one-eyed dog was running behind. Rory was furious. He declared that if there had been no bonfires to celebrate the marriage, there should be some very fine ones to celebrate the divorce. He gathered his clan, and carried fire and sword into Trotternish. The MacDonalds retaliated by invading Harris, where they killed great numbers of people and carried off much cattle. The MacLeods then invaded North Uist. The Chief detached Donald Glas with forty men to lay waste the island and attack the church of Kiltrynad, where the cattle of the islanders and other effects had been placed for safety. The attempt was not successful. A redoubtable leader of the MacDonalds, Donald Maclan Vich Shamuis, with only twelve men, attacked the marauders at a place called Carinish, killed their leader, as well as many of his men, and recovered the cattle. Rory, believing that large forces were at hand, withdrew from the island and went to Harris, meditating vengeance.

Gregory says that ' these raids were carried out with so much inveterac}^ that both clans were brought to the brink of ruin, and many of the natives of the devastated districts were forced to sustain themselves by killing

128 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

and eating their horses, dogs, and cats.' Tradition says that a fortnight after the battle of Carinish a terrific gale sprang up, and Donald Maclan Vich Shamuis, who was on a voyage from Uist to Skye, was forced to take refuge in Rowdell harbour, where Rory was then residing. Rory's page alone knew of the strangers' arrival. He was wondering how he should tell his master the un- welcome news, when Rory rose, opened the lattice, looked forth on the howling tempest, and said, ' Ah, if my worst enemy, Donald Maclan Vich Shamuis were here to-night, I would not refuse him shelter.'

The page saw his opportunity, and told Rory of Donald's presence. Rory welcomed his guests with the best grace possible. At supper he had much ado to restrain his followers, especially when one of the MacDonalds said, ' Ah, a fortnight ago we were fighting at Carinish.' But no outbreak occurred during the meal. Donald refused Rory's offer of a bed in the house, and went with his men to sleep in a barn. This barn Rory's men, without the knowledge of their Chief, set on fire, not knowing that, the gale having moderated, the MacDonalds had sought their boats and sailed away. They saw the flames as they were going out of Loch Rowdell, and were infuriated by the treachery of their hosts, in which, however, Rory himself had no share.

Rory soon after went to invoke the assistance of Argyll. During his absence the MacDonalds invaded Skye. Alexander, the Chief's brother, met them below ' Bruach na Fridhe,' the Brae of Anger, a mountain which takes its name from this battle. The MacLeods were defeated, their leader and many others taken prisoners, and many men killed, not, however, before they had inflicted heavy loss on their conquerors.

Both clans were by this time exhausted, and their Chiefs were not indisposed to listen to the mediation of Huntley and Argyll, who were acting under the orders

RORY, THIRTEENTH CHIEF 129

of the King. It is clear from a paper signed by Donald Gorme at Dunvegan, dated September 19, 1601, that two treaties between the parties were drawn up and agreed to, one at a place called Zlandonan, another at Glasgow, These documents are not at Dunvegan, and I do not know their contents, but it is certain that they brought the war to an end.

Thus was finished the last great clan war in which the MacLeods were engaged. I shall give later on the bond of friendship between Rory and Donald Gorme which was signed in 1609 at lona.

III. Rory's Relations with the Government

Mr. R. C. MacLeod, secretary of our Clan Society, has searched the Register of the Council, and has found thirty-three entries between 1587 and 1616 relating to Rory. These have been invaluable in helping me to deal with this subject.

Up to 1597 our famous Chief seems to have been in favour with the King. Possibly he had been personally known to James, when he had been in the south as a hostage for his brother William's good behaviour. In 1596 the King was employing Rory and his clan as he had done in 1588. An order was sent to him in that year command- ing him to come with all his forces to Islay and be there on September 20. By some accident Rory, who was then in Harris, did not receive the order till September 18. It was impossible for him to obey, and he addressed the following apology to the King. It is a pity that MacKenzie, from whose History I take this letter, has modernised the spelling.

' To his Hynes Maiestie Soverane Lord, King and Maister,' from Marvak, Harris, on the 22nd of September 1596. Referring to the King's charge that he should be at Islay on the 20th, he says (the orthography being

130 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

modernised) — ' I take God and your Grace to witness if it was possible for me to have done the same ; although my force had been together, and wind and weather had served me at every airt of the broken seas in the countries, and my men lie far asunder ; and although the charge had been given to me the first of August, it had been little enough to have been at the day appointed, with my force. Sir, I beseech your Grace think not this to be an excuse. I will lay all this aside ; and although I should be borne in a horse litter, I shall do my exact diligence to be at my Lord Crowner, where your Grace has commanded me, in all possible haste, as I shall answer to God and your Grace both, and whom your Grace or my Lord Crowner will command me in your Highness's name to pass on, either by sword or fire, I shall do the same, or any your Grace will command me to fight hand in hand in your Grace's sight, I shall prove my pith on him. Beseeching your Grace favourably to let not use me with letters of treason or traitory, I being in mind to serve your Grace under God as my native King and Master to the uttermost of my life. This voyage being ended, I will rejoice to be at your Grace, and to have your Grace's presence, and to serve and know your Grace as my only sovereign, king, lord, and master ; looking for your Grace's answer, if need be, again with this bearer, to have your Grace's presents, and God bless your Grace.'

It is clear that the apology was accepted. This appears from an order dated in 1597, and preserved in the Dun- vegan charter chest. The messenger is commanded to desist from all ' pursewt ' of the said Rory since he ' holds our special assurance and protection.' The 'pursewt' was an account of some alleged infraction of the ' general band ' of 1587.

But in 1598 Rory entirely lost the royal favour. The reason for this is not quite clear. Probably, I think.

l^ (1^ (ix,\^aX*^ t P^f'^''-^

RORY, THIRTEENTH CHIEF 131

there were two reasons. One was that he had invaded Coigeach and Loch Broom in company with Torquil Dubh MacLeod, the other that he had failed to appear before the Council and produce the titles to his estates as ordered to do by the Act of 1597. Why he failed to do this I cannot say. It is possible that his title deeds were lost. We know that the Glenelg deeds were lost from Ranald MacRanald's letter referred to above, and those of the Island estates may have been also lost. Or possibly Rory, knowing that his action in invading Coigeach was not approved of by the Government, may have been afraid to put himself in their power by appear- ing before the Council. Whatever the reason may have been, it is certain that his lands were forfeited and he himself pronounced a rebel and put to the horn. The war with Donald Gorme a year or two later served to aggravate matters, and for thirteen years Rory was regarded as a dangerous outlaw and rebel.

During these troubled years Alexander, Rory's brother, was a hostage in Edinburgh for the Chief's good be- haviour. Several Orders in Council show that he was very harshly treated, being confined in the Tolbooth at Edinburgh.

After making several futile attempts to pacify the Highlands, in 1608 James sent Lord Ochiltree to the Isles as his Lieutenant. Lord Ochiltree ordered the Chiefs to meet him at Aros in Mull, and laid his proposals before them. Rory was among those who obeyed the order. ' Not finding the Chiefs ready to agree to his proposals, Lord Ochiltree invited them to come on board the King's ship, the Moon, to hear a sermon from Bishop Knox, and dine with him afterwards. When dinner was over the host informed his guests that they were his prisoners, and carried them off to be confined in the south.' (Gregory.)

Rory had been suspicious of Lord Ochiltree's inten-

132 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

tions, and had refused his invitation. So he alone escaped imprisonment. Though he thus preserved his liberty, his action did not tend to make him a persona grata with the Government.

Though Rory's estates had been forfeited ten years earlier, they had not been granted to anj'^ one else. Pos- sibly, as the result of his escapade at Aros, in December 1608 Harris and the castle of Duntulm were granted to Lord Balmerino, Patrick Spens of Woomaston, and Sir George Hay of Nethercliffe. MacKenzie says that all Rory's estates were included in the grant, but these are the only ones mentioned in the document preserved at Dunvegan. Lord Balmerino was attainted for treason the following year, and certainly the three grantees never got possession of the estate.

All these events show how completely Rory had for- feited the King's favour. Yet it is certain that, even when he was acting in opposition to the Government, he was extremely anxious to regain the King's goodwill. In 1606 he entered into an agreement with Argyll in which he promised that, if he obtained the King's pardon by the earl's good offices, he would resign Glenelg into the King's hands, and receive it again as a fief from Argyll. This agreement gave rise to much trouble later on.

Rory's restoration to the King's favour was nearer than seemed possible in 1608. In 1609 James ordered aU the Chiefs to meet at lona, under the presidency of Bishop Knox. The success of this new effort was nothing short of miraculous. The ' Statutes of lona ' were agreed to at this meeting, and, after a few years had passed away, the reign of law began in the Highlands.

A subsequent meeting was held in 1616 at which the Statutes of lona were confirmed, and some new ones added, which mainly repeated the rules that had been laid down in 1585 and 1587.

I may give here the laws settled on these two occasions

RORY, THIRTEENTH CHIEF 133

under which the Highlands were henceforth to be governed :

1. War between the clans was forbidden, and all disputes were to be settled by the Courts of Law.

2. Each Chief must send some of his kinsmen to reside in the south, as hostages for his good conduct. This was a re-enactment of a law which had been in force since 1540. Tormod, Rory himself, and his brother Alexander, had all been for a time in the south, as hostages for the good conduct of the clan.

3. Each Chief was to be held responsible for the m.al- practices of his clansmen. This was another old law re-enacted. I find among the papers many claims for satisfaction on account of depredations carried out by the Chiefs' dependants.

4. Each Chief must appear annually before the Council in July to answer for his doings during the previous year. This was relaxed in 1623, possibly in consequence of a letter from Rory Mor to the Council dated August 31, 1622.

5. The Chiefs' households were restricted. MacLeod was only to be allowed to maintain in his train six gentle- men, and he was only allowed to have one birlinn or galley.

6. Old churches must be repaired, and new ones built, the number of clergy was to be increased, due obedience was to be rendered to them, and their stipends regularly paid. It appears that in the sixteenth century the country had sunk into a state of positive heathenism.

7. The Chiefs, and all owners of sixty cattle or more, \ were to send their children to be educated in the south. No heir who had not been thus educated should in future be allowed to succeed. '

8. The consumption of liquor was to be curtailed. Regulations were made under which the Chiefs were permitted to brew and distil liquor for their own use,

^

134 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

and to buy fixed quantities of wine in the south. MacLean and MacLeod were allowed four tuns of wine, Clan Ranald three, but anything like free trade in liquor was absolutely prohibited under heavy penalties. There is no doubt that drunkenness had been a terrible evil in the sixteenth century, more especially among the upper classes.

9. Sorning was to be put down with a strong hand. Criminals, masterless men, ' every one who was in distress, every one who was in debt, every one who was discon- tented,' every one who had made his own country too hot to hold him, had found a refuge in the Highlands. These turbulent spirits were called sorners. This is possibly a corruption of sojourners. A Chief was glad to welcome them because they added to the fighting strength of the clan, but they lived at free quarters on the people, to whom they were great burdens, and they were a cause of endless strife in the country ; for this reason a Chief was forbidden to receive sorners in his territory.

10. Handfasting was forbidden. Handfasting was the custom, then common in the Highlands, of taking a wife for a year, with liberty to send her home if she was not approved of. This had been a fruitful source of clan wars for centuries.

After the meeting at lona in 1609 the Chiefs entered into bonds of friendship among themselves. One of these between Rory and Donald Gorme of Sleat is in the Dunvegan charter chest. The wording is deliciously quaint : ' The said pairteis, being certainly persuadit of their dreid Soverane his Majestis clemencie and mercie towardis thame, and willing of thair reformation, and thair leiving together in peace as His Hyeenes gude modest and peacable subjectis, and considering the God- less and unhappie turnis done by other of yame to utheris, qhuilkis from yair hairtis ai and ilk ane of thame now

RORY, THIRTEENTH CHIEF 135

repentis, thairfoir ilk ane of them frely remittis, dis- chairgis, and forgivis ilk ane of thame utheris for all and quatsumevir murthouris, slauchteris, hairschippis, spul- zeis of goodis, and raising of fire committit by athar of yame against utheris.' This of course is only an extract.

The meeting of 1616 was followed by a bond of friend- ship between MacLeod, Clan Ranald, MacKinnon, and MacLean In this the parties agree to ' fortifie, assist, maintain, and defend utheris against all and quhat- sumevir personis, trubelling or inquyeting our estatis, except his Majestie, and la wis of the realm.'

And these bonds were kept. Gradually but quickly clan feuds came to an end, agriculture began to revive, cattle, the staple product of the country, began to be exported, and a state of prosperity was brought about in a short time which only a few years before had seemed impossible.

I am not aware that any documents exist to prove the view I take, but I think that the bishop who presided over the conference must have been favourably impressed by Rory's disposition and abihties, and that he probably told James that he was the one man who could do more to further the King's objects than any one else, if he could be won over, and that it was this which secured for him his restoration to the King's favour, and not, as Argyll afterwards maintained, the good of&ces of that earl.

On June 6, 1610, Rory received a remission for all crimes which he might have committed in the past, except treason and witchcraft, and in the following year he got a new charter of his lands. In this the estate was raised to be a free barony, which it had not been before. In this charter Waternish is included instead of Trotter nish.

In 1613 Rory undertook the long journey to London to see James, probably by the King's own invitation.

136 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

The King was evidently very pleased with him. He knighted him, and on June i, 1613, he wrote three letters to the Council in Scotland. In the first he says Sir Rory has complained of the wrongs inflicted on him by the men of Knoydart, and ordered them to take steps for the punishment of the malefactors.

In the second he commends Sir Rory to the ' special favour of the Council ' ; they are to ' further him in all his lauchful effeiris, earnestly desyring 3''ou that, when- ever occasion sal be offered wherein he sal neid zour good countenance, in onie his honest particularis, zou will let him find that zou respect this oure recommendation, to the intent that he, being allured by zour good usudge may, in tyme coming, be so much the more allured to manifest his good will to oure service.'

In a third letter the King says, ' Whereas the hether coming of this bearair Sir Rory McCloyde of Dunvegan haith wrocht such effectis, and the conversation of men of accompt heith maid suche impression on him as we planeley percave, not only an earnest desyre to be repute civile, but also a full intention to reform his haill tenantis and servandis, and hath earnestlie desyred to be made a justice of the peace in his aune and some adjacent boundis, and we think it not unfit that he be desyned justice of our peace, not doubting that he sal be found not unworthy of zat imployment.' Sir Rory, probably, before he left London, bought the plate which he presented to Duirinish. It bears the London hall-mark of 1612. Then, armed with a royal order addressed to postmasters, which no doubt much facilitated his getting horses on his journey, and bearing these letters to the Council in Edinburgh, he travelled north.

Scott, in a note at the end of the Fortunes of Nigel, refers to the proclamations issued at this time, forbidding Scots to come to England.

In 1616 Sir Rory received a permit to visit the Court

RORY, THIRTEENTH CHIEF 137

whenever he chose. This was no doubt an unusual favour. Copies of all these letters are preserved at Dunvegan, the originals are in the hands of a gentleman in London.

After this date Sir Rory was a law-abiding subject of the King. The only occasion on which he again took up arms was in 162^, when it became necessary to hunt down and destroy the unfortunate Maclans of Ardna- murchan. This unhappy race had been goaded into rebeUion by the treatment which Argyll had meted out to them, and they had become pirates. The King issued letters of fire and sword against them, and Sir Rory was only obeying the royal commands when he took part in their extirpation.

The action which Sir Rory took when he himself received injuries and wrongs is most remarkable. Hence- forth he appealed, not to the sword to redress his wrongs, but to the laws of the realm. This appears in a letter dated June 18, 1615, which he addressed to Lord Binning. In this he says that, during his own absence in the south, Coll Keitach, one of Clan Ranald's dependants, aided and abetted by Donald Gorme's wife and son, had made a raid on his island of St. Kilda, where they had destroyed all the cattle and all the houses of the islanders, only sparing their lives. One can imagine what would have happened a few years earlier ; the fiery cross would have been sent round, the whole clan gathered, the galleys got out, and the horrors of Eigg and Trumpan renewed. Now an appeal is made to the Government for redress.

Little is known of Sir Rory's later years save that he was exceedingly prosperous, and highly looked up to, respected, and loved. In 1623 he was made a burgess of Edinburgh, a remarkable honour for a Highland Chief to receive. His burgess ticket is preserved at Dunvegan. It is certain that by the time he died the rents of High- land property had risen enormously. He was able to find large sums of money for the purchase of Watemish,

138 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

and to settle the dispute about Glenelg with Lord Lovat. He built a new wing on to the castle of Dunvegan. The date of this addition is probably fixed by the fact that in 1623 he bought one thousand ' stanes ' of lead, I suppose for the roof of the new building.

Sir Rory lived in great state at Dunvegan during his latter days. The six gentlemen of his clan whom he was entitled to keep in attendance under the Statutes of lona, were always there with their own retainers. He was surrounded by a retinue of pipers, harpers, jesters, and bards. Of course the pipers were MacCrimmons.

The name of the hereditary bards is known. This was O'Murgheasa, which is probably, though not certainly, equivalent to Morrison. The name appears as witness to a contract of fosterage entered into by Sir Rory for his son, afterwards Sir Norman of Bernera, in 1614.

Clansmen were always coming and going from all parts of the MacLeod country, and noble guests were constantly arriving to share the great Chief's magnificent hospitality. A feast at Dunvegan, which lasted a whole week, is described in glowing terms by Clan Ranald's bard.

' The six nights I remained at Dunvegan, it was not a show of hospitality I met with there, but a plentiful feast in thy fair hall among thy numerous host of heroes. The family placed all round, under the protection of their great Chief, raised by his prosperity and by respect for his warlike feats, now enjoying the company of his friends at the feast, amidst the sound of harps, over- flowing cups, and happy youth unaccustomed to guile or feud, partaking of the generous fare by a flaming fire, mighty Chief, liberal to all in your princely mansion, filled with your numerous warlike host, whose generous wine would overcome the hardiest heroes, yet we con- tinued to enjoy the feast, so happy our host, so generous our fare.'

Scott, who gives this in a note to The Lord of the

RORY, THIRTEENTH CHIEF 139

Isles, observes that it has grievously suffered in the translation from the original Gaelic ; but to any one who knows Dunvegan, and has a spark of imagination, it conjures up a scene of striking interest, and enables one to realise something of the manners and customs of the times.

It appears that Rory did not always pay for the wine consumed on these jovial occasions. In the charter chest there are two letters of horning against him, to enforce the payment of bills for wine, one in 1610, when the amount owed was ;^ioo, one in 1625, when the amount due was £500.

In 1626 he went, on some business or another, to Fortrose, which was then known as the Canonry of Ross, and which was the great legal centre of the Highlands. There he must have been taken ill, there he died, and there he lies beneath a stone on which his arms are cut, and his name inscribed. He was, I imagine, over eighty years of age when he died, and probably he saw greater changes during his life in the condition of the Highlands than any other of the long line of Dunvegan Chiefs, changes which he had done much to bring about himself. If I read Rory Mor's character aright, he was more of a statesman than a warrior. No great feats of strength and courage are related of him, such as Malcolm's adven- ture with the bull, or Alastair Crottach's feats in the field of battle. He was not even present at some of the battles fought in his day, notably the fights at Carinish and Bruach-na-Fridhe. I do not for a moment doubt that he was a brave man and a capable leader of his clan in war, but if he was really born about 1535, he was no longer a young man when he became Chief in 1595, and this may account for his taking little personal share in the military adventures of his clan ; while his not doing so is an additional reason for believing that the early date I have suggested for his birth is correct.

140 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

It is as a clear-sighted statesman that he stands out pre-eminent among the distinguished Chiefs who have ruled over the clan. I think that, even early in his life, he realised how dreadful was the state of anarchy into which the Highlands had fallen, and saw that the only chance for his country lay in submission to the King, and in obedience to the law, and that in all his actions between 1597 and 1609 he was doing, not what he wanted to do, but what he was forced to do by circumstances.

The Act of 1597, which ordered him to produce title deeds, which were possibly not in his possession, made him a rebel in spite of himself. He could not refuse to support his brother-in-law, whom he believed to be the rightful Chief of the Lewes branch of his clan. The notarial instrument at Dunvegan, which supplies some proof that Torquil Connanach was not really the son of Rory of the Lewes, was very likely sent to him to con- vince him of the justice of his brother-in-law's claim ; and its presence in the charter chest implies that he had gone into the question, and made up his mind on the subject. It was impossible for him to over- look the meditated insult offered to him by Donald Gorme. Had he done so he would have been an object of contempt and derision throughout all the Highlands.

During these years, controlled by the force of circum- stances, he was, in my opinion, acting against his own better judgment.

In 1609 he got his chance to show the great qualities of statesmanship which he really possessed. To him more than to any other man, except the Bishop of the Isles, and possibly Sir Roderick MacKenzie of Coigeach, the rapid pacification of the Highlands is, as I think, due, and we, his clansmen and descendants, may find an honest pride that it was our clan which produced the

RORY, THIRTEENTH CHIEF 141

great statesman who conferred such vast and lasting benefits on our beloved country.

Rory married, probably between 1590 and 1598, Isabel, daughter of Donald MacDonald, eighth of Glengarry. Little is known of her. It is probably her efligy which stands in the courtyard at Dunvegan. A deed in the charter chest shows that she could not write, and estate accounts show that she survived her husband by some- thing like thirty years. By her he had a large family. He provided for his sons by giving them large tracts of land for, I think, two lives.

His sons were :

1. John, his heir.

2. Sir Roderick of Talisker.

3. Sir Norman of Bernera.^

4. William of Hamer.i

5. Donald of Greshornish.2

His daughters were :

1. Margaret, who married Hector MacLean, younger

of Duart. Her marriage contract is in the charter chest, dated April 9, 1623. Hector died young, and she married iEneas MacDonald of Glengarry as her second husband. One of her descendants by him was the famous Charles Colbert, Marquess of Seignelay, minister of finance under Louis xiv.

2. Mary, who married Sir Lauchlan MacLean of Duart.

3. Moire, whose contract of marriage with John of

Moydart, son of Clan Ranald, is dated February 15, 1613, at Glasgow, where Sir Rory was probably staying on his way to London. Her dowry is ' nyne scoir of gude and sufficient quick ky (cattle),

1 A receipt dated 1632 shows that they had then recently been 'studentis in Glasgow.' Norman may have been born about 1616, K William a year or two later.

- A receipt dated 1636 shows that he came of age (at that time 18 was legal full age) in that year. Thus he was born in 161 8.

142 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

with other twentie ky if ye said John sal desire thaime, and ane gallay of twentie foure airis with her sailing and rowing geir gude and sufficient.' The cattle were probably worth about £3000, John settled land on his wife. It is pleasant to find that, in a deed dated May 24, 1633, her hus- band settled further lands on her on account of ' the entire love favour and affection that I bear towards my loveing spouse.'

4. Janet, who married John MacLeod of Raasay.

5. Florence, who married Donald MacSweyn of Roag.

6. A daughter who married Lauchlan MacLean of Coll.

CHAPTER XV

IAN, FOURTEENTH CHIEF

Born about 1595 : succeeded 1626 : died 1649

' Happy is the land which has no history,' said the wise man, for 'history is little more than the register of the crimes, the follies and misfortunes of mankind.' — Gibbon.

That was the happy lot of the Western Isles, when Ian was Chief at Dunvegan. The wars between the Lords of the Isles and the King of Scotland, which had been the feature of the fifteenth century, the feuds between the clans which had devastated the Isles in the sixteenth century, were alike passed away and done with. The period of strife on behalf of the kings of the house of Stuart, which began in 1644, when Montrose called the clans to fight for King Charles the First, and which only ended when Prince Charles Edward sought a refuge in France after Culloden, had not yet begun. The words of Holy Scripture may be applied to the West Highlands during this period : ' The land had rest forty years.'

And how the land needed rest. The annals of the six- teenth century are black with murder, rapine, and massacre. The fiercest warrior must have had his fiU of fighting, and turned with relief to the repair of his ruined home, the cultivation of his devastated fields, and the care of his decimated, or much more than deci- mated, flocks and herds.

But though there was peace between the clans, there were plenty of marauders in the Highlands, whose ideas of meum and tuum were, to say the least of it, primitive.

143

144 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

Foxes, in modern days, it is said, generally choose places at a distance from their own haunts for their depredations, and the thieves of the West Highlands went on the same principle. If they plundered a home- stead on the estate of their own Chief, he had power to bring them to book and punish them. If they selected some farm on the estate of a neighbouring Chief, they had a very good chance of getting off scot free. The only thing the aggrieved party could do was to appeal to the law, and the arm of the law was not very long in those days in the West Highlands. We know something of what was going on from a paper in the Dunvegan charter chest.

This is an ' information for raising criminal letters against a number of men who lived in Lord Lo vat's portion of Glenelg, at the instance of John MacLeod of Dunvegan.' It seems these men came to Arnistill in Glenelg with their accomplices on five occasions in May and June of a year not mentioned. On one visit ' they killit thrie ky with calfis, windit (wounded) and strack dyvers oyer goodis to the death, they maliciously brack John McConell, MacLeod's tenant yair, his house, and thiffte-ouslie tuic away wyth thame twentie stanes butter and cheis wyth his colter, lock, and other his plenth and graith (furniture).' On another occasion they carried off more ' cheis and wedders, and twentie merks in money,' on another they ' wricht (wrecked) yair houses and bair- nines (barns), and took away butter, cheis, meal, money, ane kist, twa great creils yat keepit the meat, wyth ane twa arit boat.' On another they ' tuik and appurkendit Christiane Neyn on the Kingis his highway, and put violent handis oh the said Christiane, cruellie tirrit (stripped) her mother and her children nakeit, and tuik away wyth tham all yair closes, thereefter brusseing her to perrell of her lyfe. Through committing of whilk crimes the whole landis ar lade waist, and swa disturbit

IAN, FOURTEENTH CHIEF 145

that no man can saifflie pas to do his leisum (lawful) effeivis.' The criminals belonged to the clan Iwir. I do not know whether they were caught and punished.

In lan's time a great source of wealth began to be tapped in the fisheries, though it is clear from the records which have come down to us that, then as now, it was largely strangers who reaped the profits of this industry. In 1628 Dutch fishing-boats made enormous catches in the seas round the Lewes, while the local fishermen were ' so far from having the true industry of killing cod and ling, that one boat, with our Newfoundland men, will kill more in a daye than they do with one of their boats in a yeare.' (Letter from Captain Dymes, 1630.)

In 1632 two English fishing corporations were formed to carry on fishing in the West Highlands at the instance of the King himself, and a little earlier, boats from Fife- shire had been busily engaged in fishing. For a time these companies made large profits, but some harbour dues collected by the Chiefs were the only benefit secured by those who should have reaped a rich harvest. These dues in Scots money were : ' (i) from each boat a barrel of ale or meal at the owner's option ; (2) for each anchor laid on shore, 6s. 8d. ; (3) £3 in money for each last (12 barrels) of herring caught ; and (4) the benefit of each Saturday's fishing.' Human nature being what it is, I suspect that very few fish were caught on Saturdays. Ian and some other Chiefs agreed with some east coast burghs that 36s. should be paid for each boat engaged in the herring fishery, and 20 merks for each boat engaged in catching cod and ling.

Even these dues were considered too high. Com- plaints were made to the Council, and Ian, MacDonald of Sleat, Clan Ranald, and MacNeil of Barra, were sum- moned to give evidence as to these dues before the Council in 1634.

K

146 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

One cannot help wishing that the profits of the fishing industry could have been reaped by our own people. How different would the history of the West Highlands have been during the last three hundred years had the people devoted themselves to fishing, as the people on the east coast did.

Probably, when Ian succeeded, the country was only beginning to recover from the effects of the long period of incessant warfare in which the clans had been engaged for two hundred years. The population of the islands was then probably less than at any other period before or since, and it may well be that there were scarcely enough people to cultivate the soil, attend to the herds of cattle, which were the main wealth of the country, and carry on the dairying industr}^ (the making of cheese and butter) which was so important in the Highlands until early in the nineteenth century, when the intro- duction of sheep brought it to an end.

I shall deal with lan's affairs under the same three heads as I did in the case of his father.

I. The Estate Business

Ian must have experienced a great shock soon after his father's death. Argyll, who had lain quiet aU these years, suddenly produced the agreement entered into by Rory Mor in 1606, declared that Rory had been restored to the royal favour by his efforts, and demanded that Glenelg should be resigned into the King's hands, granted to himself, and held henceforth under him as mesne lord. In this claim the fine to be paid on marriage is fixed at 10,000 merks, and MacLeod is to serve ArgyU ' in sic manner as is usual in friends and wassalis.' The claim is made in the name of Lord Lome, to whom Argyll had transferred his rights. The lines of MacLeod's defence appear from a number of questions which were to be

IAN, FOURTEENTH CHIEF 147

answered by Lord Lome, he having only produced a copy of the agreement.

1. Was there a clause in the original agreement that, if Argyll did not procure Sir Rory a charter from the King, the contract should be null and void ?

2. Had Sir Rory got his charter by Argyll's influence ?

3. Was not the agreement entered into to make it appear to the King that the lands were Argyll's, and so save them from confiscation ?

4. Had not Sir Rory already paid 3000 merks as a ' gratitude ' to the earl for his help ?

5. Had the earl during the 27 years which had elapsed ever urged Sir Rory to fulfil the agreement ?

6. Had the original document been duly signed and witnessed ?

7. How long is it since Lord Lome got knowledge that the document was in existence ?

Many other legal points were raised on which the opinion of counsel was obtained. The said opinions are written in the most difficult hand which I have ever tried to read.

A petition was presented to the King asking him to forbid the carrying out of the agreement on three grounds :

1. He would lose MacLeod's ward and marriage, which he had been getting for three hundred years,

2. The people would not follow a stranger to do the King service as they would their own Chief.

3. The power of the Campbells would be increased. Some time in 1633 the case was tried and decided

against MacLeod. He had to pay 20,000 merks for the ward and marriage to Lord Lome, and Glenelg was held under Argyll till it was sold in 181 1. The 20,000 merks were paid in January 1634.

The rise in the value of land, which had been so remark- able in Sir Rory's time, continued in that of his son, and there is no doubt that Ian was a rich man. A paper in

148 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

the charter chest tells us that his ' kist ' was opened after his death. In it money value 2600 merks was found, and a number of ' billats,' the whole amounting to 26,380 merks. The receptacles in which the money and billats were placed, are curious, ' ane leathir bag,' ' ane lyning hois,' which indicates that Ian literally kept his cash in his stockings, ' ane leatherne bulgett,' whatever that may be, ' ane yellow wollin shark,' and ' ane catskin purs.'

This kist with its contents is rather illuminating as to lan's character. It reveals to us, not a typical High- land chief of the period, turbulent, rash and headstrong, but a careful, methodical gentleman, what a Scot of the period would have called a ' quiet douce body.' A tailor's bill of lan's is preserved, dated 1633. From this I give some extracts :

Merks.

For making your cott cuttet in bands and wrout w*

leace 4I

For making your pagge his dublet .... 3

5 1 ell grey Inglis cloathe for cott breiks and clock . 50

3 ell of bais to ye clock and coat taillis ... 7

6""^ leace to ye clock neke, and luping to ye dublait . i| I pair greine wirsett stockings . . . .1

A blacke hatt with brow string and reben gairts . 4I The total was 90 J merks.

From his bills and discharges which remain at Dun- vegan I gather that he not only incurred some debts, but that he also paid them, which was certainly a very un- usual practice among the Highland chiefs in his time.

II. His Relations with his Neighbours

These were certainly most friendly. He was closely connected with most of the West Highland Chiefs by marriage. Lord Kintail was his father-in-law, the MacLeans of Duart and Coll, Clan Ranald, MacLeod of

IAN. FOURTEENTH CHIEF 149

Raasay, Glengarry, were aU his brothers-in-law. To all of these, and to some others, Ian was fatally good- natured. He became ' cautioner ' or security for them whenever they wanted to borrow money. This they appear to have been constantly doing. I can trace sums amounting to 75,000 merks which he and his sons had to pay, the principals having failed to do so, and there may be other sums which I cannot trace.

I gather from a contract dated September 19, 1628, between MacLeod, Seaforth, MacDonald of Sleat, Clan Ranald and MacLeod of Raasay, that the great herds of deer, which had roamed from time immemorial in the forests, had decreased in number, and were in danger of becoming extinct, both by the operation of native poachers and more especially by the depredations of men who came in boats from the territories of neigh- bouring Chiefs. Under this agreement each Chief under- takes to stop poaching by his own people, the penalties being fixed for each offence, and covenanted that he would not permit his people to go by boat to poach on his neighbour's lands. In 1658 some men in the Lewes bound themselves not to kill deer in MacLeod's forest in Harris. This shows that the efforts to preserve the deer continued.

III. His Relations with the Government

Ian was a good law-abiding subject. On May 2, 1639, Charles i. wrote him a letter from Durham, thanking him for his past services, and assuring him of his future favour. I am not aware that Ian had rendered any special services to Charles at all, and I suspect that the King's gratitude was a ' lively sense of favours to come.'

Charles, when he wrote, was probably at Durham, on his way to Berwick, where he arrived in June 1639 at the head of an army of 20,000 men, with which he hoped

150 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

to awe the Covenanters into submission. At this time the outlook from the King's point of view was very gloomy. All Scotland was in arms against him, all England was seething with discontent. Charles cer- tainly wanted all the help he could get. He may have known lan's father when the latter was in London in 1613, and thought that a friendly letter might enlist a powerful supporter. Unfortunately this letter is lost.. It appears that, in spite of this letter, Ian did not join Montrose when the latter called on the clans to fight for Charles five years later. The influence of Argyll, who was his superior in Glenelg, may have helped to keep him quiet, but I incline to think that it was probably rather his own unenterprising character which pre- vented him from joining the gallant and adventurous Marquess. He had never been engaged in war, he did not love war for its own sake, and he was constitution- ally indisposed to great activities, and therefore he stayed quietly at home.

Ian was certainly a good man. Because he was good, and the world in which he lived was wicked, he was called during his lifetime ' Lot in Sodom ' ; but he was not an able or distinguished man. He was called Ian Mor, not because he was a great man, like his father, but because he was a big man, which is a very different thing.

He was exactly the Chief his clan required at the time. After centuries of war the one thing the clan wanted was peace, and that Ian gave them. A man of stronger char- acter would not have given his people the blessings which he conferred on them.

Ian died in September 1649, being probably not more than fifty years old. He married Sibella, daughter of Kenneth, first Lord Kintail. By her he had three sons :

Rory, his heir.

A son who died young.

Ian, who afterwards became sixteenth Chief.

IAN, FOURTEENTH CHIEF 151

A curious custom prevailed in the Highlands during several centuries. This was the custom of fosterage. As soon as a Chief's son was born, he was given in foster- age to some distinguished member of the clan, or to some one whom the Chief thought likely to be a good foster-father. The child was taken from his home, and brought up, till he grew to man's estate, in the house of his foster-father.

This custom accounts for the extraordinary affection which we so often find existed between a Chief and his foster-brothers. It meant, not merely that they had drawn sustenance in their babyhood from the same mother, but that they had been brought up together, and were in all, save blood, brothers.

There are several instances of this custom in our own family history. Leod had been the foster- son of Paal Baalkeson. Probably William, the son of Alastair Crot- tach, had been brought up by some unknown foster- father. A contract of fosterage, dated early in the seventeenth century, proves that Sir Norman of Bernera was brought up by a foster-father, and there is in the charter chest a contract of fosterage dated September 6, 1637, under which Ian, afterwards sixteenth Chief (Ian the elder's third son) is entrusted to the care of Mr. Neil MacKinnon, minister of Sleat, and Joan his wife to be ' fosterit, intertenit, and upbrocht, by thame ay and quhill he be apt for schulis, God alwayes sparing him dayes and lyfe.' The father was to provide 600 merks, the foster-father 400. The 1000 merks was to be invested, and the interest to accrue for the benefit of the young Ian till he comes to ' perfait aige.'

I do not understand why the foster-father pays any- thing instead of receiving payment. He undertakes ' to mentene and upbryng the said Ian Junior in the fear of God, and in aU maner requisit to his equal, and, with God's assistance, to saiff him from fyre and watter

152 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

and the alyke accidentis, as God forbid, quhilk may insew.'

Ian had five daughters : I I. Mary, married Sir James MacDonald of Sleat, with issue John MacDonald of Backney. She married, I secondly, Muir of Rowallson.

^ 2. Marion, married Donald, eleventh of Clan Ranald.

3. Giles or Julia, married Sir Alan MacLean, first

baronet ; secondly, Campbell of Glendaruel.

4. Sibella, married 1665 Thomas Eraser of Beaufort,

who was buried at Dunvegan, as he wished to ' lie amongst his brave kinsfolk the MacLeods.* A pyramid still marks his grave. By him Sibella was the mother of the Lord Lovat who was beheaded in 1746 for the part he took in the '45.

5. Margaret, married Sir James Campbell of Lawers,

without issue. As one reads the marriages of successive Chiefs and their children, one is struck by the fact of the close relationship which existed between the leading families in the West Highlands, especially between the MacLeods, MacDonalds, MacLeans, and MacKenzies. This may account for the fact that all the MacLeod Chiefs for two hundred years died, some comparatively young, some very young. John, fourteenth Chief, can hardly have been fifty, the fifteenth was only thirty, the sixteenth under sixty, the seventeenth and eighteenth under thirty, the nineteenth lived to be sixty-six, but his son died at under forty, and the twentieth and twenty-first Chiefs died at forty-seven. When the custom of marry- ing relations ceased a great change took place, the twenty- second Chief lived to be eighty-three, the twenty-third, as I write, is still alive and well at eighty-seven, and his brother, Sir Reginald, is marvellously active and vigorous in his eightieth year.

CHAPTER XVI

RORY, FIFTEENTH CHIEF

Born about 1635 : succeeded 1649: died 1664

RoRY, afterwards known as Rory the Witty, was only about fourteen years of age when he succeeded his father. Rory MacLeod of TaUsker became his tutor and leader of the clan.

At this time the peaceful period I have referred to was passing away. Charles i. had been executed a few months before John died. The Lowland Scots had been struck with horror and fury, strengthened perhaps by the fact that they themselves had placed the King in the hands of his enemies — on assurance, however, that ' no harm, prejudice, or violence, should be done to the Royal Person.' In 1650 they invited Charles 11. to come and be their King, though they did not give him a very happy time when he was nominally ruling over them. He arrived in January 1650 at Edinburgh. The loyal clans were im- mediately called to arms, for the acceptance of Charles as King meant war with England.

The young Chief's uncles were very different men to their brother. The caU to arms was enthusiastically obeyed. Probably by this time the West Highlanders were recovering from the exhaustion caused by centuries of warfare, and were getting very tired of their enforced inactivity. A force of 766 men was raised, equipped, and sent to join the royal army under Norman MacLeod of Bernera. Three hundred more men soon followed, though the Chief's uncle, Rory of Talisker, had to give his

154 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

own bond to pay for their equipment. Probably he himself went with them. The MacLeods did not arrive in time to share in the crushing defeat of Dunbar, Sep- tember 3, 1650, but they probably joined the King early in 1651. At this time the royal army was occupying a strong defensive position near Stirling, but, after the defeat at Inverkeithing, this position became untenable, and the King resolved to march into England, hoping that the Royalists there would rise to support him. In this, however, he was disappointed. The Royalists were impoverished and dispirited by the disastrous civil war in which they had been engaged, and probably also, now as in 1745, they looked on Charles's Highland regiments as savages, with whom it was not safe to have any dealings.

During the march of Charles and his army into Eng- land a strong force of English militia was sullenly retreat- ing before them, and Cromwell, with his Ironsides, was in hot pursuit. He overtook the royal army at Wor- cester. The English army attacked on September 3, 1651. They were double the number of the Highlanders, and they were led by the first captain of the age. Crom- well said it was as ' stiff a contest as he had ever seen,' but the King's army was completely defeated, 3000 men were killed, and 10,000 taken prisoners.

The King got away, and thanks to the devoted loyalty of Miss Lane and other no less zealous friends, made good his escape to France.

Rory of Talisker, passing through many adventures, reached Skye safely. Norman of Bemera was captured, and tried for his life under the name of Loyd, the simi- larity of the name causing his captors to think that he was a Welshman. This flaw in the indictment saved his life, and escaping from prison, he lived to render much faithful service to the King.

Of the rank and file of the clan many were killed, and

RORY, FIFTEENTH CHIEF 155

many prisoners were shipped off to serve as slaves in the West Indian plantations. It is no great exaggeration to say that the clan lost a thousand men on that fatal day, and it was agreed among the other clans that the MacLeods should not be asked to take part in any more wars till they had had time to recover.

We know of one prisoner who returned. I give a copy of a paper in the charter chest which reveals this.

Barbadoes. By the Governor.

These are to license Angus McQueane to depart this island in the ship Loue of London bound for Scotland, he having stayed out the accostomed time in the Secretaries Office. In that behalfe given under my hand this 2 day of July 1658.

I cannot read the signature.

After Worcester southern Scotland was overrun by Cromwell's troops. The clans kept up a desultory resist- ance in the Highlands, and late in 1653, or early in 1654, a force of 5000 Highlanders was collected. Glencairn, who was in command, seems to have been wanting in tact, and failed to hold the Chiefs together. The King sent General Middleton to take over the command, but he was not a Montrose or Dundee. He did very little, and was totally defeated on July 26, 1654, at Loch Garry. The Highlanders dispersed, and General Middleton, with Colonel Dalziel, and some other officers, sought a refuge at Dunvegan, where they were brought by Norman of Bernera, who had certainly been at Loch Garry. Lochiel and a number of loyal Chiefs met at Dunvegan, probably late in March 1655, and decided that they must submit to Cromwell, as further resistance was quite impossible. All that could be done was to secure the best possible terms.

It appears that Rory's brother-in-law. Sir James Campbell of Lawers, conducted the negotiations on his behalf. He and George Monck, afterwards Duke of

156 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

Albemarle, signed Rory's capitulation which was dated May 31, 1655. The following are the terms :

1. The Laird shall find good Lowland security for £6000 for his good conduct,

2. The Laird and all commissioned officers may take away their horses and arms, but must sell the former within six weeks.

3. Any place of strength in the Laird's bounds to be delivered if required.

4. A fine of 45,000 merks (£2400 sterling) to be paid. When this was paid the bond of £6000 sterling to be discharged.

5. The Laird is pardoned all his offences against the Government since 1648, but his uncles are excepted and the Laird is to apprehend them if he can.

6. Cess due up to September 1654 is remitted. During 1656 three instalments of the fine, totalling

18,000 merks, were paid. I find no further receipts, but I think that the whole was paid.

In 1656 Rory came of age. In the following year he was infeft in his estate. The legal charges for this amounted to 1430 merks.

After the Restoration Rory went to London to pay his respects to the King late in 1661, or early in 1662. His tailor's bill in 1661 amounted to 3000 merks, which was probably the cost of his court dress. The date of his return is fixed by an order addressed to postmasters, and signed by Albemarle, which instructs them to supply Rory with horses on his way to Edinburgh. This is dated March 17, 1662.

He may have gone, as Sir Geoffrey Peveril did, thinking that the services and losses of his clan might be rewarded with a peerage. If he did, he shared Sir Geoffrey's dis- appointment, for Charles did not even say a gracious word about Worcester, and all his clan had suffered there. It is said that he was so vexed that he came

RORY, FIFTEENTH CHIEF 157

north again, swearing that no clansman of his should ever draw the sword again for the ungrateful Stuarts. His uncles were knighted, and this was the only reward bestowed on the clan for the services which it had ren- dered, and which had cost it so dear. The bills which remain show that Rory was living in Edinburgh during the next two or three years of his life. The bills he in- curred there were certainly heavy. A chemist's bill for about 200 merks incurred in two months in 1662 makes me think he had an illness in that year, and heavy bills for saddlery imply that he was fond of riding.

In 1664 he died when only twenty-eight years of age. He himself has left no mark on the history of the clan. But the loyalty and valour of his uncles, and the courage and devotion which the clan displayed at Worcester, have made the years during which he ruled the clan the most glorious years in our history, even though they were also the most disastrous.

Sir Norman's sword, with which he led the clan at Wor- cester, was given by Captain Norman MacLeod of Orbost, a descendant of Sir Norman's, to the twenty-second Chief, and is preserved at Dunvegan. The names of Sir Norman of Bernera and Sir Rory of Talisker will be remembered through all time as the names of men of unwavering loyalty, of unblemished integrity, and of dauntless valour. Sir Rory died in 1675, but Sir Norman was <>{. rjoS^ certainly alive in 1698 and, I think, lived on into the "r. j, ^- eighteenth century. ^ \^ '^'^'^

Rory, the Chief, married Margaret, a daughter of Sir John MacKenzie of Tarbat. By her he had a son ^ o&i»c.A^

Norman, who died in childhood, and a daughter who married Stewart of Appin.

To him the famous MacLeod poetess, Mairi Nighean Alastair Ruaidh, composed the elegy ' Cumha do MhicLeoid.'

CHAPTER XVII

IAN (IAN BREAC), SIXTEENTH CHIEF Born 1637 : succeeded 1664 : died 1693

Ian Breac succeeded his brother in 1664, When he succeeded the family was on the brink of ruin. The fooUsh good-nature of his father in becoming ' cautioner ' for his friends, the fines levied on the estate for the loyalty of the clan to Charles 11., and the extravagance of his brother, had all combined to bring about this result.

Ian Breac displayed great ability in dealing with financial difficulties, and by prudence and sound judg- ment restored the fortunes of his family.

But he was a great deal more than a good man of business. He was a great and good Chief. He lived among his people, and ruled over them with remarkable wisdom and sagacity, and he won the love and respect of all classes. He was Lord-Lieutenant of Inverness-shire, and the foremost man in the county. In the county borough of Inverness he was much esteemed, and the Town Council decreed that his arms should be put on the new bridge at Inverness, he having generously sub- scribed 1800 merks to the expense of building it, and there the shield remained till the bridge was taken down and a new one built.

He lived in great state at Dunvegan, maintaining in his household pipers, bards, harpers, and jesters. I am convinced that it was his fool, and not the wicked man's (as is said in my former volume), who played the trick on Rob Roy, the account of which follows : MacLeod

IAN (IAN BREAC), SIXTEENTH CHIEF 159

sent his fool to Inverness to fetch a sum of money which he required. On the way the fool fell in with a gentleman riding a fine horse. This gentleman made himself ex- tremely agreeable, and to him the fool confided the mission he was engaged on. Naturally enough (seeing the gentleman was no less a person than Rob Roy) , on his return journey MacLeod's messenger met his friend again. On this occasion Rob Roy was not quite so pleasant ; he put a pistol to the poor fellow's head and demanded the money of which he was the bearer. Pre- tending great fear the fool threw a parcel on the ground ; this roUed down a steep hill, and Rob Roy, supposing it contained the money, sprang from his horse, and rushed after it, leaving the fool who, like most of his class, was a very shrewd fellow, to mount his assailant's horse, a very superior one to his own, and make off with the money all safe. The parcel he had thrown away con- tained nothing but some bits of tin and iron, but in the saddle-bags on Rob Roy's horse was found a large sum of money, which the fool triumphantly delivered to his master, as well as that which his ready wit had preserved. MacLeod having some elementary notions of honesty, which I daresay the fool thought extremely silly, insisted on sending him back to find Rob Roy, and restore to him his horse and money, also sending Rob Roy an in- vitation to visit him at Dunvegan. The invitation was accepted, and the famous outlaw and MacLeod became great friends. This probably happened about 1690.

lan's harper was Rory Dall. To him we owe the preservation of the remarkable prophecy which had been uttered by Coinneach Odhar more than one hundred years earlier. The story of Rory Ball's life is told at length in Mr. MacGregor's book on Skye. From this I gather that he was not the hereditary harper of the MacLeods, but that Ian Breac had been so struck by his extraordinary genius that he invited him to become his

i6o THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

harper at Dunvegan. It is said that after Ian Breac's death he was treated very harshly by lan's son and heir.

lan's bard was the famous Mairi Nighean Alastair Ruaidh (whose poetry is so well known in the High- lands), whom he had recalled from her banishment in Mull. To his second son Norman, who afterwards succeeded his brother Roderick as Chief of the clan, she composed her famous ' Cronan,' one of the best and most remarkable poems in the Gaelic language. In another of her compositions Mary says that she nursed five Chiefs of the MacLeods and two Lairds of Applecross. She is said to have died in 1693, at the great age of 105, in the same year in which died her favourite Chief, Ian Breac MacLeod, of whom I now write. It is said that she could neither write nor read, and that her com- positions were taken down from her recitation.

The MacCrimmons were undoubtedly lan's pipers, serving as pipers to the clan as they had done for cen- turies. The origin of this remarkable family is uncertain. Some writers think that they came from Ital}^ but the Bannatyne MS. says that they owned the south of Harris and the islands in the sound before Paal Baalkeson's ancestors conquered that part of the country, and in a later chapter says that Alastair Crottach gave them the lands on which they lived in Skye.

It is impossible to say when they came to Skye and became the hereditary pipers of the clan. This certainly happened before the end of the sixteenth century. It is certain that Ian Odhar MacCrimmon, or dun-coloured John, was the clan piper at that period, and it is probable that members of the family held the office in yet earlier times. Possibly the tradition that Alastair Crottach gave the MacCrimmons their lands may indicate the time when the pipers became really important officials in the clan. Alastair was Chief from 1480 to 1540. The lands which Alastair gave to the MacCrimmons were

IAN (IAN BREAC), SIXTEENTH CHIEF i6i

situated at Boreraig on the south side of Loch Dun- vegan. They were the most famous pipers in the Highlands, and had a college at Boreraig, where young men came from all parts of the country to learn their art. They were a family of most extraordinary musical genius, and they have left many compositions behind them. One of the most beautiful is the ' Lament for the Children,' which was composed by Patrick Mac- Crimmon, who lived in the seventeenth century, when seven out of his eight sons died in one year. The famous ' MacCrimmon's Lament ' is another, and many others might be mentioned.

It is doubtful whether harpers, bards, and fools were maintained at Dunvegan after the death of Ian Breac, but I find entries in the estate accounts of payments being made to MacCrimmons up to the end of the eighteenth century. In 1708 one of them received a ' tocher ' on his marriage of £157.

In the rent-roll of 1664 they appear as holding Gait- ^ rigil, not Boreraig. Though they have ceased to be pipers at Dunvegan, I believe that the family is not extinct. I remember meeting an old gentleman named MacCrimmon when I was a boy, and one of the tribe was an officer in the 74th Highlanders about 1865.

A pleasant little fairy tale is told about Ian Og MacCrimmon. He was practising on his pipes one day when the Queen of the Fairies happened to pass that way. She was immensely struck by the manly beauty of the handsome young piper, and still more by the loveliness of the music which he produced from his pipes. The two became great friends and, tradition says, lovers. The fairy gave him a silver chanter and, using this, he poured forth such music as had never been heard before. The chanter was preserved as an heirloom, and the envious pipers of other clans used to maintain that it was not to their skill but to the magic powers of the

L

i62 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

chanter they used, that the MacCrimmons owed their supremacy as pipers. I should like to know that this fairy gift is still preserved by some member of the famous family.

Towards the end of fan's time he had a momentous decision to make. William and Mary had been accepted as sovereigns of Great Britain in 1689, but James was still King in Ireland, and planning the recovery of his dominions in England and Scotland. In the latter country his principal supporter was Dundee, the famous Claverhouse, who, having escaped from the Convention at Edinburgh, spent the spring of 1689 at his own castle preparing for a rising to be carried out in the Highlands. Meanwhile Melford, the King's Secretary of State, had been writing letters to all the loyal Chiefs in Scotland. One was addressed to MacLeod.

James R.

Trusty and well beloved, we greet you well. Whereas the wickedness of our enemies has reduced our affairs to the necessity of requiring the assistance of our good subjects, these are to will and require you, with all your friends and followers, to be ready upon a call to come to our assistance at such time and place as shall be appointed, and we do hereby assure you that, what expenses you may be at, shall be fully reimbursed by us, and that we will stand to our former declarations in favour of the Protestant Religion, the liberty and property of our subjects, all which we will fully secure to them, and that we will reward abundantly such as serve us faithfully, and such as do not obey their duty, as becomes good subjects, we will punish, so as to terrify others in after times from the like wicked attempts. We expect your ready obedience, and therefor shall send you our com- mission with power to you to name your own officers. In the meantime, for what you shall do, in obedience to these our Royal commands, for raising and training of men for serving us, and opposing our enemies with your utmost forces, these

IAN (IAN BREAC), SIXTEENTH CHIEF 163

shall be, to you and all others, a sufficient warrant, and so, expecting from your loyalty and fidelity all the assistance you can give us, we bid you heartily farewell. Given at our Court in Dublin Castle the 29th day of March 1689, and in the fifth year of our Reign.

By his Majesty's command Melford.

Soon afterwards Ian received the following letter from Dundee : Borrowrigg, April 28, 1688.

Sir, — The loyal character of your family, and your kindness to the King's friends and servants in this time of trouble, obliges all of us to pay our thanks to you and to give you our thanks in our Master's name. As soon as you return to your own house at Dunvegan, I intend, God willing, to wait on you, and, in the meantime, I hope you will pardon me, though I have not the happiness of your acquaintance, to intreat you to do me the favour and kindness as to let me have one of your falcons. I have used freedom to give you this trouble, e'er I have the good fortune to see you, lest others should prevent me ; you will extremely oblige me in this and believe that I am your faithful and humble servant.

Dundee.

Neither of these letters seem to have produced any effect. The Dunvegan Chief probably answered them, but he did not call out his clan and join Dundee, as MacDonald of Clan Ranald, Lochiel, and some other Chiefs did. I can guess some of the reasons why Ian did not move. I believe that Sir Rory and his son Ian had been Episcopalians, but Ian Breac was, I think, a Presbyterian. If so, he probably felt little sympathy with a Roman Catholic King, and still less with Dundee who, as Claverhouse, had so ruthlessly treated the Covenanters in the south. He may have remembered also his brother's indignation at the ingratitude shown by Charles 11. Ian Breac himself was now over fifty, and past the age when men rush into adventure for adventure's own sake, and he was a man of sound judg-

i64 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

ment who had carefully weighed the shortcomings of the King's Government during the years he had ruled the kingdom. The siege of Blair Castle and the advance of MacKay probably threw out Dundee's plans, and he found it impossible to pay his proposed visit to Dunvegan, so he wrote the following letter :

For the Laird of MacLeod

MoY, Jim. lo, i6Sg. Sir, — Glengarry gave me an account of the substance of a letter he received from you ; I shall only tell you that, if you hasten not to land your men, I am of opinion you will have little occasion to do the King great service ; for, if he land in the West of Scotland, you will come too late, as I believe you will think yourself by the news I have to tell you. The Prince of Orange has written to the Scottish Council not to fatigue his troops any more by following us in the hills, but to draw them together in a body to the West ; and, accordingly, several of the forces that were in Perthshire and Angus are drawn to Edinburgh, and some of Mackay's regiments are marched that way from him. . . . Some of the French fleet has been seen amongst the islands, and hath taken the Glasgow frigates. The King, being thus master of sea and land, hath nothing to do but bring over his army, which many people fancy is landed already in the West. He will have little to oppose him there, and will probably march towards England, so that we who are in the greatest readiness, will have (enough) ado to join him. I have received by Mr. Hay a commission of Lieutenant-General, which miscarried by Breidy. I have also received a double of a letter, miscarried by Breidy to me, and a new letter, dated the i8th of May ; both of which are so kind that I am ashamed to tell. He counts for great services, while I am conscious to myself that I have hardly done my duty. He promises not only to me, but to all that will join, such marks of favour, as after ages shall see what honour and advantage there is in being loyal. He says, in express terms, that his favours shall vie with our loyalty. He hath, by the same letters, given full power of

IAN (IAN BREAC), SIXTEENTH CHIEF 165

Council to such Councillors here as shall he joined in the King's service, and given us power, with the rest of his friends, to meet in a Convention, by his authority, to counteract the mock Convention at Edinburgh, whom he hath declared traitors, and commanded all his loyal subjects to make war against them, in obedience to which I have called all the Clans. Captain of Clanranald is near us these several days ; the Laird of Barra is there with his men. I am persuaded Sir Donald (of Sleat) is there by this. Maclean lands in Morven to-morrow, certain. Appin, Glencoe, Lochiel, Glen- garry, Keppoch, are all ready. Sir Alexander (Maclean of Otter) and Largie have been here with their men all this while with me, so that I hope we may go out of Lochaber about 3000 strong. You may guess what we will get in Strath, Errick, Badenoch, Athole, Mar, and the Duke of Gordon's lands, besides the loyal Shires of Banff, Aberdeen, Meams, Angus, Perth, and Stirling. I hope we will be masters of the north, as the King's army will be of the south. I had almost forgot to tell you of my Lord Breadalbane, who will now, I suppose, come to the field. Dunbeath, with 200 horse and 800 foot, is said to be endeavouring to join us. My Lord Seaforth will be in the field in a few days from Ireland to raise his men for the King's service. Now I have laid the whole business before you. You will easily know what is fit for you to do. All I shall say further is to repeat and renew the desire of my former letter and assure you that I am, sir, your obedient humble servant, Dundee.

You will receive the King's letter to you.

The postscript probably refers to the King's letter of March 29 which is given above.

Dundee's second letter produced no more effect than the first, and the MacLeods were not among the clans who took part in the glorious Battle of Killiecrankie. On June 27 KiUiecrankie was fought, and Dundee killed, and with him perished the last hope of restoring James in Scotland. But James continued to hope. He wrote the following letter in May 1690, which is in the

i66 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

MacDonald charter chest. Ian Breac probably brought it over to show his brother chief, and take counsel with him as to what action they should take, and possibly left it behind him accidentally.

James R.

Trusty and well beloved, we greet you well. Our former letters to you shew the entire confidence wee had in you, and wee are glad to find by the Resolutions, S. Donald McDonald assures us, you had taken of ioyneing Our fforce when wee ourselves, or Our intirely beloved naturell son the Duke of Berwick come there, that wee were not mistaken in the judgment wee made of you . But considering that Our affaires are already so far advanced that Our Enemies are in no condition to under- take anything considerable against us, or hurt any of our friends, especially such as are at that distance that you are from them, we do expect that, having as great security as any other, you should join the rest of the Clans with all the men you can raise, whenever the officer commanding-in-chief our forces shall there require it. This is not a time for any man to make conditions for himself, or consult barely his own private interest, and for our part, as we never did press any of our subjects to expose themselves in vain, so we shall reckon on no man's loyalty that will run no hazard for the Common Good, when so fair a prospect. of success presents itself, with so little danger. We are sure you wish your country and posterity too well not to contribute all you can to its liberty, and if you all unanimously join, we cannot see how you can fail of being the glorious instrument of it, which we wish you may be, and so wish you heartily farewell. Given at our Court, at Dublin Castle, the 29th day of May, 1690. and in the sixth year of our Reign. To our trustie and beloved MacLeod.

On July I, James was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne, and very soon the surrender of the Bass Rock finally destroyed the hopes of his friends in Scotland.

As far as I know the only sign of sympathy with James

IAN (IAN BREAC), SIXTEENTH CHIEF 167

which Ian showed was to cease paying his cess to William's Government. The result, usual in those days, followed, for a troop of horse were quartered on him, as appears from the order for their withdrawal dated October 19, 1692. There is a tradition in Skye that much wood was cut down by the troops of the Queen of Holland. The troops quartered on Ian were the troops of William and Mary, who were Stadtholders of Holland as well as King and Queen of England, and they may have destroyed woods in Skye at this time. Certainly an old map dated 1650 shows woods where now are none.

Ian Breac repaired the old kirk at Dunvegan. He also repaired the castle. To him we owe the beautiful balcony on Sir Rory's wing, and he also built the south wing. His contracts with the masons and many of the biUs are stiU preserved at Dunvegan, as is a stone on which he records his works.

The letters which have been preserved are of no special interest beyond showing the disturbed state in which the country was in 1690 and 1691. I give quotations from one or two of them.

fan's son Rory writes from Edinburgh on August 23, 1690 : ' I cannot enter this collidge this year, aU the Masters and professors are to be desplaced next Wednes- day. No man can lay his mind to his book for reason of the tumult and confusion.'

Eraser of Beaufort writes on April 30, 1691 : ' Though I have written this line with the Bearer, I fear that it cannot safely come to hand, the way being so dangerous by robbery. King William is come to Ireland just as Whitehall was on fire. The damage is estimated at £100,000 sterling.'

Ian Breac married Florence MacDonald of Sleat, whose arms are impaled on his shield over the front door at Dunvegan. By her he had three sons and two daughters.

I, Rory, his heir.

i68 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

2. Norman, who afterwards succeeded as eighteenth

Chief.

3. William, who died young at Glasgow.

4. Isabel, married Stewart of Appin. Her dowry was

20,000 merks.

5. Janet married Sir James Campbell of Auchenbreac.

Her dowry was the same.

There are some interesting notes about the education of these children. For some years Mr. Martin Martin, author of the book about the Western Isles, was their governor, and went with them to Edinburgh. The young ladies learnt dancing, the fee being 8 merks ^ a quarter ; the viol, the fee being 18 merks a quarter ; and singing, the fee being 9 merks a quarter. The writing- master's fee was only 5 merks. They often went to balls, as the entry frequently occurs, ' a ball night, 2 merks.'

A fencing-master for the boys cost 43 merks a quarter.

A year's dyott and lodging for Rory cost 200 merks. This is about double what his great-uncles had cost sixty years earlier, but the same for Isabel only cost 180.

A schoolmaster's fee per annum was 18 merks.

When Rory took physic he was given 3 merks.

It cost 54 merks to ' cure William's head.'

A golf club and ball cost i^ merks.

When one of the girls married in 1696, she had ' a purple and silver mantle lined with green, a white and crimson nightgown' (evening dress), and a quantity of other things, the making of which, however, onty cost about 3 merks, but on the bill she is exhorted to ' mind ye lads ' who brought the goods home.

I believe that the picture at Dun vegan, erroneously labelled Norman, eighteenth Chief, is really Ian, six- teenth Chief.

' The merk was only worth a sliilling, a penny, and a third of a penny, but the purchasing power of a merk at the end of the seventeenth century nearly equalled that of a pound sterling at the present day.

IAN (IAN BREAC), SIXTEENTH CHIEF 169

He died on Wednesday in Easter week 1693, and is buried at Inverness, where his tomb is still visible, and where I think both his sons are also buried.

With him I conclude the history of the clan. From Leod's time to lan's time, the history of the Chiefs was the history of the clan, and clansmen all over the world will be interested by its perusal, but since his time, the history of the Chiefs has become a family record, inter- esting to members of that family, but of little interest to other people.

I have, however, added an epilogue in which I deal with some important events which occurred at a later date.

CHAPTER XVIII

SOME LATER EVENTS

After the death of Ian Breac some events occurred in our clan history which call for notice, and I shall deal with these in the present chapter.

I. ' The 'Forty-Five '

The most romantic episode in the history of some clans such as the Camerons, the Clan Ranalds, or the MacPhersons, is the Rising of 1745, and we must all admire the loyalty and heroism of those Chiefs who followed the Prince in that wonderful adventure.

But this was not the case with the MacLeods or the MacDonalds of Sleat. The Chiefs of these two clans did not join in the Rising — possibly owing to the influence of the Lord President Forbes of Culloden — and actually called their clans out to fight for King George. Their action brought them neither credit nor profit. The one interesting fact about MacLeod's action is that MacCrimmon, the hereditary piper of the clan, when leaving Dunvegan, composed the lament which bears his name, and uttered the prophecy which Scott has immortalised, ' MacLeod shall return, but MacCrimmon shall never,' a prediction which was only too sadly ful- filled. He was the only man killed in the inglorious ' Rout of Moy.'

Murray of Broughton declared that MacLeod had given the Prince the most solemn promises that when he came

Arms of Ian Breac and his wife, Florence MacDonald.

See pages 167 and 213.

Arms from the DunveLjan Armorial.

See page 21:

SOME LATER EVENTS 171

his clan would give him the fullest support, but, as far as I know, there is absolutely no evidence that he had ever given any promises whatever, and Murray was not a man whose unsupported testimony is worth anything at all.

Moreover, it appears from the history of the clan that the MacLeods had not been devotedly attached to the cause of the Stuarts since the fatal day of Worcester, nearly a hundred years before. Their Chief had been profoundly disgusted by the neglect of Charles 11. to express any thanks for the services his clan had rendered, and had vowed that no clansmen of his should ever again draw the sword for the ungrateful Stuarts. The MacLeods had not joined Dundee in 1689 or Mar in 1715. In a word, their traditions were not Jacobite. There can be no doubt, however, that MacLeod had often been approached by Jacobite agents. If he listened to them and gave them fair words, he was only doing what men of all parties, wishing to have a footing in both camps, had been doing ever since James 11. lost his throne in 1689.

There is one circumstance which points to his having been concerned in Jacobite plots in 1732. At that time Lord Grange was one of the Scots Lords of Session. He was a brother of the Lord Mar who had commanded the Highland army in the unfortunate rising of 1715, and was himself an ardent Jacobite. The adherents of the ' King over the Water ' often met in his house at Edinburgh.

He had married Rachel, a daughter of Chiesly of Dairy (now part of Edinburgh) . Lady Grange was a woman of ungovernable temper, and, it is said, made her husband's life a burden to him with the incessant quarrels in which she constantly involved him. She was also a pro- nounced Hanoverian, and it was believed that she was a spy in the pay of the English Government.

One night in 1732 a meeting of Jacobites was held

172 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

in Lord Grange's house. Plans for a rising were dis- cussed, and the names of many men mentioned who had never been as yet suspected by the Government of treasonable practices.

The meeting dispersed, but two or three remained to discuss matters further with Lord Grange. Suddenly they were alarmed by hearing a sneeze. They searched the room, and found Lady Grange concealed under a sofa. A hurried council was held, a plan for securing the lady's silence was formed, and carried into effect. It was given out that Lady Grange had died suddenly, and in due course a mock funeral took place, a cofhn full of stones was buried, and a memorial tablet put over the grave.

Meantime Lady Grange was smuggled out of Edin- burgh by night, and taken to the Highlands. For a time she was kept in an island called Heiscar, which lay off the coast of North Uist and belonged to Sir Alexander MacDonald. vShe was then taken to St. Kilda, where she remained for eight years. The lamp which she used at St. Kilda during this time is preserved at Dun vegan. At last she managed to conceal a letter in some wool, addressed to her sister, and saying where she was. The sister took the letter to the Government, and a ship of war was sent to St. Kilda to release her. Her gaolers, however, got wind of what had happened, and brought her to Skye. Tradition says that she lived in a cave near the Maidens for eighteen months. Then, her reason having given way, she was allowed comparative freedom. She was brought to Trumpan, where she spent the remainder of her life in the house of a man named Rory MacNeill. She finally died in 1745.

Much of this story rests on tradition, but there is some documentary proof of its truth. MacNeill's bill for her board and lodging for the last nine months of her life, and for the expenses of her funeral, is at Dunvegan.

SOME LATER EVENTS 173

This was paid by MacLeod. There is among the papers a letter to MacLeod, written in 1763, by the man who brought Lady Grange from St. Kilda. In this he threatens that he will publish all he knows unless his silence is bought by a large sum of money.

These documents show that MacLeod knew what had been done. It is asserted by some writers that the story of Lady Grange being a spy is a myth, and that Lord Grange merely wanted to get rid of his wife, and got his friends, among whom were Sir Alexander MacDonald and MacLeod, to co-operate in this scheme in order to do so. But it is difficult to believe that they would join in such a nefarious and dangerous proceeding merely to help a friend and, if they did, it does not raise our opinion of their characters. As I think, therefore, the story indicates that both Sir Alexander and MacLeod had been concerned in some of the Jacobite plots of the period. But this does not prove that they had invited Prince Charles to come over, and promised to raise their clans in his support when he did so, as Murray of Broughton asserts, and that therefore they were guilty of the foulest treachery in refusing to join him. If they had made any promises at all, they were probably condi- tional on the Prince com.ing with a French army and with large supplies of arms and money. In which case they would feel that they were not bound by any pledges they might have given, when Charles Edward came, absolutely alone, with very few arms and very little money.

In any case they had not promised more than such ardent Jacobites as Clan Ranald and Lochiel had done, and both these Chiefs took the view that the enterprise was absolutely insane, refused to join in it, and strongly advised the Prince to return to France without making any attempt to win his father's crown, and no one has ever suggested that they were treacherous villains because

174 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

they did so. They were only won over by the entreaties of the Prince, and the extraordinary magnetic charm which he exercised over all with whom he came in con- tact. Sir Alexander and MacLeod were not exposed to this influence. The Prince did not go to Dunvegan to ask them to join him. Had he done so he might have won them over. He sent young Clan Ranald, who found both Chiefs at Dunvegan. It cannot be wondered at that they took the same view which Lochiel and Clan Ranald had done, and, not being influenced by the per- sonal charm of the Prince, decided to have nothing to do with the enterprise.

But, it may be asked, was it necessary to take arms against the Prince ? If they could not join him, might they not have remained neutral ? They probably thought that, in the circumstances, it was essential to their own safety to take one side or the other. In such a crisis as this both sides would certainly consider that ' he who is not with us is against us,' and that inactivity was as criminal as action against them would have been. Thus, if they took a side, that side might win, and there was a chance of safety. If they remained neutral there was none. Whether George or James were the future King, their own ruin was certain. So they decided to support the Government, and both MacLeod and MacDonald served in the inglorious campaign which was carried on under Lord Loudon during the winter of 1745-6.

They found it very difficult to raise men for the service of King George. Sir Alexander says in a letter dated in the autumn of 1745, ' The men are as devoted to the young gentleman as their wives and daughters are,' and some of both clans went off, in spite of all their Chiefs could do, to join the Prince's army.

Among the most devoted adherents of the Prince was Donald MacLeod of Galtrigil. I am not sure whether

SOME LATER EVENTS 175

he actually fought on the Prince's side or not. His son, who was then a schoolboy of fifteen, certainly did so. He ran away from his school at Inverness, and fought at Culloden, afterwards making his way to Borrodale, where he joined his father, and shared in the thrilling adven- tures which followed.

The Battle of Culloden was fought on April 16, 1746. The Prince escaped, and by April 20 he had reached Borrodale, which is situated on Loch Nan Uamh, an inlet between Moidart and Arisaig. Here a council was held, and it was decided that the fugitive should seek a refuge in the Long Island. Donald MacLeod was known to be absolutely loyal, and a most capable sea- man, and he was selected to be the Prince's pilot. He got a strongly built eight-oared boat from Angus MacDonald of Borrodale, and collected a crew of eight men including his son. With three companions, besides the pilot and the crew, the Prince embarked on April 26. A frightful gale sprang up, but thanks to Donald's sea- manship, the party crossed the Minch in safety and landed at Rossinish on the north-east coast of Benbecula. Their arrival was observed. Clan Ranald, who was a friend, knew the truth, and unfortunately the Rev. John Macaulay, who chanced to be with him, did the same, and sent the news of the Prince's arrival to Stornoway.

On April 29, Charles and his party sailed to Scalpay, an island off Harris. The tacksman there, a man named Campbell, proved to be a friend, and entertained Charles kindly. The Rev. Aulay Macaulay came here with a part}^ of armed men to arrest the Prince, but his force was not strong enough to effect his purpose.

On May i, Donald MacLeod was sent to Stornoway to charter a vessel which might take the Prince away. He thought that he had succeeded, and wrote telling Charles to join him at Stornoway. On May 4 the royal fugitive started for Stornoway. Campbell took them over in

176 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

his boat to the head of Loch Seaforth, and the rest of the journey was performed on foot. After a stormy night, in which they endured frightful hardship, they reached Armish, opposite Stornoway, about ii a.m. on May 5.

feut the chartering of a ship had failed. The Storno- way people, though not hostile, would give no help. On May 6 they started back, and after spending a night on the open moor, regained Campbell's boat. They were delayed by meeting some English frigates, and did not reach Scalpay till May 10. Campbell's share in sheltering them had become known, and he had gone into hiding, so they pushed on south. Off both Rowdell and Loch Maddy they were chased by English men-of- war, but escaped on each occasion.

On May 12 they reached Loch Uskavagh in Benbecula, and took shelter in a miserable hut. On May 14 they went to Corradale in South Uist, where they were hos- pitably received by MacDonald of Corradale. Here they remained till June 6. But the net was being drawn closely round them, and for another three weeks they were constantly on the move, passing through incredible hardships, and escaping capture with great difficulty. Finally, on June 28, the Prince started with Flora MacDonald for Skye, having taken an affectionate leave of the faithful Donald MacLeod.

Donald MacLeod was arrested on July 5 and taken to London, but was set at liberty on June 10, 1747, and helped by Bishop Forbes to return to Scotland. A Mr. Walkinshaw presented him with a silver snuffbox, suitably engraved, as a memento of all he had done for the Prince. Thus, if our clan under its Chief was opposed to the Prince, one of our clansmen rendered him services, during two months of danger and hardship, no less valuable and devoted than those of Flora MacDonald herself, and his name deserves to live alongside of hers through all time, for both displayed the same loyalty.

Sir Norman of Bernera's Sword left).

See page 157.

Colours of the 2nd Bn. The Black Watch, armour, etc., in the passage.

See page 178.

SOME LATER EVENTS 177

the same courage, the same capacity, and the same self- sacrifice, and these are quahties which command the admiration of all right-thinking people.

11. Some Episodes in the Life of General Norman MacLeod, the Twentieth Chief

In 1773 the young Chief entertained Boswell and Johnson at Dunvegan. To relate the events which occurred during this visit would take up much space, and the reader will find them in Boswell's Journal and John- son's Journey. I may, however, give the letter which Johnson wrote after he had left. It is the most graceful letter of its kind I have ever read.

OsTAiG, 2Sth Sept. 1773.

Dear Sir, — We are now on the margin of the sea, waiting for a boat and a wind. Boswel grows impatient ; but the kind treatment which I find wherever I go makes me leave with some heaviness of heart an Island which I am not likely to see again. Having now gone as far as horses can carry us, we thankfully return them. My steed will, I hope, be received with kindness : he has bom me, heavy as I am, over ground both rough and steep, with great fidelity ; and for the use of him, as for your other favours, I hope you will believe me thankful, and willing at whatever distance we may be placed, to show my sense of your kindness, by any offices of friendship that may fall within my power.

Lady Macleod and the young ladies have, by their hos- pitality and politeness, made an impression on my mind which will not easily be effaced. Be pleased to tell them that I remember them with great tenderness and great respect.

I am, Sir, your most obliged and most humble servant,

(Signed) Sam. Johnson.

P.S. — We passed two days at Talisker very happily, both by the pleasantness of the place, and the elegance of our reception.

When Norman succeeded the estate was much em-

M

178 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

barrassed by the extravagance of his grandfather, who had died in 1772.

The Chief received most striking evidence of the affection of his clan in the following offer from a number of his clansmen.

We, the undersigned tacksmen, tenants and possessors on the estate of Norman MacLeod of MacLeod, Esq., wishing to shew our attachment to the family, and our desire to contribute, as far as our ability will admit, towards the support of their interest, and preservation of their estate, do hereby, in the hope that it may enable MacLeod and his Trustees to re-establish his affairs, and preserve the ancient possessions of the family, bind ourselves and successors for the space of three years to pay an additional rent of one shilling and sixpence in the pound of the rent now payable, on condition that, as our principal motive for becoming under this voluntary burden is our attachment to the present MacLeod, to the standing of the family, and our desire of their estate being preserved entire, that we shall be freed therefrom if we should have the misfortune to lose him by death, or if any part of the estate should be sold within the above-mentioned time.

Here follow the names of thirty-six tenants.

In 1775 Norman became a soldier. He raised a com- pany of his men, and joined the Eraser Highlanders, which regiment took part in the American War of Inde- pendence. He himself, however, was taken prisoner, and during his captivity had much personal intercourse with George Washington, to whom he became warml}'' attached.

In 1779 he was home again, and raised the 2nd Battalion of the Black Watch, one of the most famous regiments in the service, becoming its first lieutenant- colonel. Its colours are still preserved at Dunvegan.

This Battahon under its gallant young colonel saw much active service in the campaign against Tippoo

SOME LATER EVENTS 179

Sahib, 1781-83, and its commander distinguished him- self greatly, and became a General commanding the army on the Malabar coast in 1783. The General undertook a dangerous journey to Seringapatam to obtain the release of General Matthews, who was in Tippoo's hands as a prisoner. He received a letter from Warren Hastings which is of great interest . From this I extract the portion which refers to him personally :

Your offer to accompany Tippoo to Seringapatam for the Purpose of ensuring his Discharge of the Prisoners merits the highest Applause, both as it was an uncommon instance of Public Zeal, and was equally marked by the Spirit of Humanity. I most heartily wish that it may prove success- ful, and be the means of shortening the Captivity in which our unhappy Countrymen have lingered so long.

The praise of such a man as Warren Hastings is a feather in any man's cap, and we may be proud that it was bestowed on our Chief.

I mention this to show that the MacLeods were not backward in responding to the Government's appeal, and that they rendered magnificent service to their King and country in a time of great need. As William Pitt had foreseen, the splendid fighting qualities of the High- landers, which had once been a source of peril to the nation, became one of its greatest assets.

in. The Potato Famine

In 1846 came an appalling disaster: the potato disease ruined the crops, and the people were face to face with starvation. There are many letters and papers at Dun- vegan about the potato famine, and from them I give the following particulars of how it was dealt with on the MacLeod estate. MacLeod himself was then resident at Dunvegan. He addressed a circular to his people,

i8o THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

from which I give extracts whicli show the real nobility of the man. It was dated December 26, 1846 :

The awful possibility of starvation has approached too nearly to be disregarded. We must meet it with energy and stout hearts. You are all aware that, as possessor of the property on which you live, no exertions on my part have been, or will be, spared to alleviate your distress. It is my duty to take care that the country is supplied with a sufficiency of good and wholesome food. I am determined that there shall be neither idleness nor want on my property. I intend to remain among you during this time of trial. We will unite together to drive famine from our door. What do able- bodied and industrious men want to meet a calamity like this ? Is it food and clothing gratis ? Is it even meal at less than the market price ? No. What they look for is the opportunity to earn their own honourable living. For the helpless and the infirm we will not refuse to accept the noble contributions of the generous, but, to them alone, let the rivers of charitable goodness flow. Of strong and able-bodied labourers let it not be said that they stooped to accept such aid.

There are many letters from him in which he tells how crowds of starving people were coming to him for food every day. He says that he had started draining land, having borrowed money under the Drainage Acts, but bad weather often stopped work, and whether the money was earned or not, he must supply food. Meal was 30s. a stone, and his outlay was from £175 to £225 a week. He is profoundly conscious of his own embarrassed condition, but ' ruin must be faced rather than let the people die.' He is at his wits' end to get seed. He has induced the tacksmen to give the people land on which to grow corn, but what is the use of land without seed ? He bitterly feels the hardship that relief from the Com- mittee is being freely given on the estates of men who have done nothing to save their people, while he, who has

SOME LATER EVENTS i8i

done everything possible, is left to fight the battle single- handed. In several letters he says that he is weak, ill, and miserable.

The following account of what MacLeod had done, by Captain Elliot, appeared in the Edinburgh C our ant of May I, 1847 :

" I shall fail, by any mode of expression, adequately to express my sense of the benevolent and judicious exertions of MacLeod of MacLeod. Alike firm and kind, he sustains and animates their exertions and spirits to struggle through the calamity which has overtaken them with independence, sparing neither time, trouble, nor expense on his own part. Full of courage and of good hope of the blessing of God on their united efforts, he affords a beautiful representation of a good man and a good landlord. There is no scheme that can be devised for the present and permanent advantage of the people that is not in contemplation or in operation by this gentleman, and his benevolent and well-affected lady, who, with equal zeal, undertakes the custody and giving out of the wool, and the charge and sale of the manufactured return in stockings. But still (he goes on) the vast extent of the destitution is beyond the control of any individual exertion, however vigorous or well applied.'

Our Chief saved his people, but his great efforts brought about the ruin which he had foreseen and so manfully faced. The extravagance of his predecessors meant that before the famine came he was a poor man, and the heavy expenditure which he was forced to incur in order to preserve the lives of his people absolutely ruined him. He had to leave Dimvegan and go to London where he became a clerk in a Government office. I know not which is most to be admired, the splendid self-denial which brought about his ruin, or the serene courage with which he faced ruin when it came. I trust that this tribute to his memory will preserve the recollection of what he did when this appalling disaster came. It

i82 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

should never be forgotten, for it was the finest thing which any of the long line of Chiefs who owned Dunvegan ever did.

Meanwhile public attention had been drawn to the terrible catastrophe which had overtaken the people in the Highlands. Relief Committees had been formed, and before the end of 1849, £20^, y]^ had been raised and the money expended in various measures for relieving the people. There are at Dunvegan a very large number of papers which would probably be of great value to any one who was writing a history of this great catastrophe. They contain reports of the Committees which were formed in Edinburgh and Glasgow to cope with the crisis ; there are letters to and from ministers about the help which Government could give, and copies of Acts of Parliament which had been passed dealing with distress in Ireland, which were probably consulted as being precedents for Government action in such cases. There are also letters about emigration and the terms on which free or assisted passages to the Colonies could be given, and many letters from ministers, factors, and others residing in the country, giving details as to the distress, and suggesting remedies.

The famine had wide and far-reaching results. As much of the relief was given in the form of payment for work on objects of public utility, a certain number of roads are still in use which were made at this period. But the most important result was the great reduction in population which took place. There are many letters about emigration, and from Highlanders who had emigrated, giving an account of their journeys and of the conditions in which they found themselves in their new homes. In 1852 forty-two families went in one ship, the Georgina, from the MacLeod estate. Emigration was the only remedy of a permanent character for the evil which existed. The evil was the same as it now is.

SOME LATER EVENTS 183

There was no remunerative employment in the country for the population, and it was impossible to develop any industries which would support the people. The only thing that could be done was to remove a large propor- tion of the people to some country which would furnish them with employment.

Mainly as the result of the famine the population of Skye has fallen from 29,000 in 1851 to 11,000 at the present day.

CHAPTER XIX

DUNVEGAN CASTLE

The Probable Date of the Oldest Portions . THE Keep and the Sea-Gate

Many archaeologists maintain that none of the castles in the West Highlands date from an earlier period than the thirteenth century, but I do not think that this theory can be maintained. The numerous duns and brochs are in a sense stone castles. They were probably built by the Celts in the seventh and following centuries as places of defence against the Vikings. When the Norsemen began to settle in the Hebrides, they must certainly have required strong fortresses, and I think it is probable that the castles, lying as they invariably do close to the sea, were built by them in the ninth and tenth centuries.

If this is true there is nothing improbable in the tradi- tion which says that ' Dunvegan was standing in the time of MacCrailt Armuinn, and had been built by one of his ancestors in the ninth century.'

To some extent etymology confirms this tradition. There are several derivations of the name Dunvegan. One is Norse, Dun Vikan, the Dun of the Little Bay. This does not seem unlikely if we consider its situation on a little bay. Another is Gaelic, Dunbheagan, the Little Dun. This seems unlikely if we compare the size of the keep with that of other duns in the neighbourhood. We could only accept that etymology by supposing that the name was given when an earUer and much smaller dun was standing on the rock. As stated on page 27,

DUN VEGAN CASTLE 185

Professor Henderson in his Norse Influence in Celtic Scot- land rejects both, and says that the true etymology is the Dun of a person named Began. The only Began known to history is mentioned in the ' Landnamab(5k ' (24) as one of the early settlers in Iceland, where he founded a hamlet still called Began's Stad. Iceland was colonised toward the latter part of the ninth century. Henderson says that among the early settlers in Iceland were a number of sturdy heathens from the Western Isles who, disliking the increase of Christianity in the Hebrides, sought a more congenial home in Iceland, which remained heathen up to the year 1000 a.d. If Began was one of these he must have built Dunvegan at some period about the end of the ninth century before he went to Iceland.

The architectural details which we observe in the castle stiU more strongly support the date fixed by tradition. The masonry in the walls of the keep is revealed in a photograph taken when the harling was stripped off for repairs. It is random rubble, closely resembling that in the seventh-century church of Brixworth. This kind of masonry was not used in important buildings after the tenth century, and its use at Dunvegan means that the keep was built at an early date, quite possibly in the ninth century.

The small plain windows revealed in Grose's picture also imply an early date. At Newcastle, late eleventh century, Bamburgh, early twelfth century, and many other early castles, the upper windows are large and richly ornamented, and the keep at Dunvegan must be earlier than any of them. The barrel vaults over the dungeons indicate that this part of the castle was built before 1150, as after that date barrel vaults were never used. How long before this date it was built we cannot tell.

On the sea-gate it is quite clear that there is work of

1 86 THE MACLEODS OF DUN VEGAN

three periods. The filleted jambs of the doorway are thirteenth century, the cable moulding on the lintel over the door is twelfth century, but the arch over the door is much earlier. The voussoirs (the rayed stones which form the arch) are long, narrow, and numerous. They are very rough with jagged ends. The joints between them are very wide. After comparing this arch with many others, I am convinced that it is very early, quite possibly ninth century.

For these reasons I am inclined to believe that the date fixed by tradition for the building of the keep and the sea-gate is correct, and that they were built towards the end of the ninth century by some Norse Chief, possibly Began, who was an ancestor of MacCrailt Armuinn. I now proceed to deal with some of the more important features of the castle.

The isolated rock on which it stands is the special glory of Dunvegan, This rock is about 67 yards long by 23 broad. On the west side it rises to a height of about 40 feet above the sea. On the east side and south end, however, the floor of the valley, which divides the rock from the higher ground behind the castle, is raised so far above the sea that the summit of the rock does not reach a height of more than 15 to 20 feet above the ground.

An old tradition, however, implies that in ancient days the floor of this valley must have been from 20 to 30 feet below its present level. This seems unlikely to any one who knows the ground. But if during centuries rubbish was shot in this place ; if, when building operations were going on, waste materials of all kinds were dumped here ; and if, when the ground was being levelled to make the drive, large quantities of earth were disposed of here, it is not impossible that the level of the valley may have been raised in a very remarkable way. According to this tradition the rock, on which the castle stands, in early days was surrounded by water, and visitors, even when

DUN VEGAN CASTLE 187

they arrived by land, were compelled to take a boat and row round to the sea-gate, then the only entrance to the building. At that time a dam, which may have been raised considerably above high-water mark, stretched across the bay from the rock on the north-east of the castle to a point on the Ard nan Athan, and formed a fresh-water loch. This was filled by the water of the burn. There is a line of stones on the shore which may be the remains of this dam. The fact that Boswell refers to this tradition shows that it is at least a hundred and fifty years old.

It is clear that the situation of Dunvegan on its rock greatly impressed both Johnson and Boswell. One day their hostess expressed the wish to allow the old castle to go to ruin, and to move the home of the family to Loch Bay, where she thought a garden and other amenities might more easily be obtained than at Dunvegan, Reply- ing to this Johnson exclaimed, ' Madam, were they in Asia I would not desert the rock.' Boswell expressed his opinion even more strongly. ' The rock,' he said, ' is the Jewel of the Estate. It looks as if it had been let down from Heaven by the four corners to be the residence of a Chief. Were I the Laird of MacLeod I should be unhappy if I were not on it.' ' Madam,' said Johnson, with a strong voice and most determined manner, ' rather than quit the rock, Boswell would live in the pit ; he would make his bed in the dungeon.'

The West Front of the Castle The South Wing This wing was built by Ian Breac between 1684 and 1686. Pennant's picture shows that this wing was originally roofed with a slated gable. The twenty-first Chief raised the walls, put on the flat lead roof, and broke out the large windows about the year 181 2.

The west wall of Rory Mor's wing was built by the

1 88 THE MACLEODS OF DUN VEGAN

twenty-second Chief in 1840 about six feet outside Rory Mor's wall in order to gain more space inside. On the west side of the keep this new wall only rises to the level of the first floor.

The Sea-Gate

About half-way up the rock on its western side opens the old sea-gate. It is approached by a flight of steps. The outside of it, with work of three periods visible upon it, I have already described. The inside is no less interesting. Indeed this is perhaps the most romantic part of the castle. Its hoary antiquity appeals to the imagination ; and one pictures to oneself the many striking scenes which it must have witnessed when it was the only entrance to the castle, and more full of life than any other place in the country.

Imbedded in the masonry behind the door are old hinges so completely eaten away by rust that it has been neces- sary to replace them at some period with new ones. This is a sign of antiquity which I have never observed in any other old building. A little above the door are the grooves in which once rose and fell a portcuUis. Above this one finds oneself in a passage with high walls on either side, from the top of which missiles could be flung on the heads of any foes who had forced the gate. In this passage Ian Dubh murdered his brother and nephew (see page 95). On the right is the opening of the old well which still contains water. One ascends partly by steps, partty by an inclined plane to the courtyard, so an enemy who had forced the gate would still have to make his way into the keep. Boswell says that a ruined wall covered with ivy ran round the edge of the rock in 1773. The General repaired the wall in 1790. Standing beside it is a small stone figure. This is variously said to repre- sent Mary, daughter of the ninth Chief, and Margaret, wife of Rory Mor. I think the latter supposition more

DUNVEGAN CASTLE 189

probable. Tradition says that Rory Mor put effigies of himself and his wife on the wing which he built. His is lost, this is probably hers.

The North End of the Castle In 1790 the General did a great deal of work. He repaired the keep, and put a flat lead roof on it at a cost of £1384 ; he put a sort of dome over the tower which, curiously enough, only cost £39, he broke out the large windows of the keep, which cost £97, and he built an ugly and unattractive house at the north-west angle of the rock, on ground not previously covered with any building. This was known as the north wing. It cost about £750. About 1840 the twenty-second Chief made alterations which have very materially changed the appearance of the castle. He took down the dome and built the upper part of the tower, and puUing down the north wing, on the foundation he built the two low towers which now cover the north-west angle of the rock.

On the north side of the tower is an aperture cut through masonry 5 feet 2 inches thick. It is not at all splayed inside. It measures 3 feet 6 inches high by I foot 6 inches wide. It is close to the ground on the top of the rock. Round its top and sides runs an ogee moulding. After careful consideration I have arrived at the conclusion that the aperture is not earlier than the end of the seventeenth century, and that it was opened out when the lower dungeon was made into a small room (see page 204) .

It should be noticed that the north-east angle of the tower is chamfered off, evidently because there was not room on the rock to build a rectangular tower.

The East Front of the Castle In this view we lose the impression that the castle is built on a rock, but we realise better the history of the

190 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

building. I have already dealt with the history of the keep and tower.

As far as we know, after the completion of the keep and sea-gate, no further building work was carried out at Dunvegan till the end of the fifteenth century. Pro- bably about 1490 the Fairy Tower was built by Alastair Crottach on the south-east corner of the rock. Tradition says that the lime used in its erection was slaked upon the point which has thus got its name, Ard nan Athan, ' the Point of the Kilns.' It is a small tower with a gabled roof and walls six feet thick, in the thickness of which a winding stair ascends to the top. There is only a single room on each of the four floors. Lofty loop-holed battle- ments protect the narrow passage which runs along the top of the wall below the gable. From the drains on the floor of this passage gargoyles project. The windows which light the rooms in the Fairy Tower have certainly been enlarged in modern times, but three of the original fiat-headed windows remain. Two of these light the winding stair, and the third lighted the room now known as the business room.

RoRY Mor's Wing

This extends northward from the Fairy Tower. It was a long, low, narrow building, and was probably roofed with a flat lead roof. Among Rory Mor's receipts is one, dated 1623, for a thousand stones of lead at 4s. sterling a stone. Rory Mor did not join his new building on to the keep, but left a passage between them. He did not open any door, nor did he insert any windows on the east side of his new wing, but I think it probable that he put some steps up the face of the rock, and that he built the small tower which appears in Grose's picture to defend this new approach.

This wing has undergone many alterations. Ian Breac's contract with a master mason in 1664 shows that

DUNVEGAN CASTLE 191

he built the great ' lummie,' the tourelle, the small hall between Rory Mor's wing and the keep, as well as the very beautiful balcony with stone guns below which still remains. He also put on a gabled roof. In 1665 he paid a man named MacWilliam a bill for carting ' 12,700 sleats, and thatching your house with them.' He also did something to improve the steps up the face of the rock. In 1790 the General built a hall on the small space avail- able and, a more important job, joined the keep to Rory Mor's wing. The small tourelle must have been removed at this time. In 1840 the twenty-second Chief carried out even more important alterations. He took away the lummie and the gabled roof, he raised the walls and put on a flat lead roof with battlements around it, and he broke out the large windows which now light the long passage.

The Front Hall and Drive

I have already described the making of a rude and inconvenient approach to the castle on the east side. About 1812 the twenty-first Chief made very important improvements, most of which stiU remain. He levelled the rough ground which appears in Grose's picture, and made a carriage drive. He made the battled mound on which carriages drive up to the front door. This was approached over a sham drawbridge, which was taken away by the twenty-second Chief. The twenty-first Chief also built the hall and flanking towers at the same time. These project some distance from the rock, and their foundations are laid in the ground below. His porch was flanked by a number of columns which were taken away by his son. With the exceptions mentioned above, the front hall and drive remain as he left them. The coat of arms has been placed over the porch in recent times. One change which affects the whole castle remains to be noted.

The tourelles or pepper-pots at the angles of the towers

192 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

were put on in 1840. The thirteen cost ;^ioo each. If we compare the old prints, in which they do not occur, with modern photographs in which they do appear, in my opinion they are a great improvement.

From what I have written it clearly appears that during the last four hundred years six Chiefs have left enduring monuments for themselves in the work they did on the castle.

We cannot guess what Alastair Crottach and Rory Mor spent on the castle. The receipts still preserved in the muniment room induce me to think that Ian Breac spent at least the equivalent of £5000 in modern money. The stone which, with a transcript and translation of the in- scription, is now built into the wall in the long passage shows that he felt an honest pride in his work. The General's bill to Mr. Boak, his architect, amounted to £3()4i, IIS. I id. His son spent about ;^40oo. The twenty-second Chief spent £8000. The present Chief has spent large sums in repairs. I add a table of dates : The keep and lower part of tower (re- stored 1790) and the sea-gate . 9th century The upper part of the tower . . . 1840 The two low towers at the north end of

the rock on site of the north wing of 1790 1840 The Fairy Tower .... 1490

Rory Mor's wing (altered 1665, 1790. and

1840) 1620

The south wing (flat roof in place of a

gable, 1812) 1685

The drive and front hall . . . 1812 The tourelles or pepper-boxes . . 1840

The battlements round the courtyard . 1790 The bridge below the south end of the rock 1790 The space left by Rory Mor between the

keep and his wing filled in . . . 1790

f -5 1 2 i i I

Q 75 H C s: « i-

72 (2 '-^ -

o Q C

DUNVEGAN CASTLE 193

The Interior

As we have seen, the front hall is not more than a hundred years old, but it is a dignified entrance to the castle. It is a lofty weU-lighted chamber with a flat roof of panelled wood. A wide stair occupies the whole breadth of the haU. On either side are balconies. On the oak banisters of these are hung the skins of animals, among them bears, lions, leopards, spotted deer, sambur, pookoo, springbok, and monkeys. On the walls are many horns, the Neelgherry ibex, the koodoo, the springbok, the roan antelope, the eland, the hartebeest, the Indian bison, the wapiti, also the tails of several giraffes. All of these are trophies of the twenty-third Chief's prowess as a big-game sportsman, excepting one wapiti head. This was given by a M. MacLot, a descendant of George, third son of William, the fifth Chief. About the end of the four- teenth century George went to France and settled in Lorraine. His descendants became men of wealth and consideration in France, attaining the rank of marquis. Losing everything at the Revolution, they went to Canada whence M. MacLot came and called on the twenty-second Chief, giving him this head. One of George's descendants may have been David MacLot, who in 1550 belonged to the Scottish guard of the French King, from whom was descended Jean Nicolas de MacLot, Seigneur de Terreigne Pierreville in 1794.

The Keep

On the ground floor all the walls are nine feet thick, but on the upper floors the west wall is only six feet thick, though the other walls retain their full thickness. As is usual in ancient castles, staircases, passages, and small chambers are sunk in the massive walls. In the north wall is a broad stone stair which led from the old ' re- tainers' hall ' to the banqueting-hall. This, unlike many

N

194 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

such stairs, is straight, not spiral. It is lighted by a window at its east end, its sides are formed of very rough rubble masonry, the steps are of stone, excepting where the old worn stones have been replaced by bricks, pro- bably in recent times. Overhead are signs which seem to show that there is another stair buried in the wall at a higher level, but it is doubtful whether this stair really existed.

In the south-west angle of the banqueting-hall is a recess which it has been thought was a secret chamber or hiding-place. More probably it was the place whence a stair in the west wall started. The window which lighted this stair may still be seen.

Behind the mirror at the south end of the room is a blocked-up door. Behind this there must be another small chamber, and it is probable that in these massive walls are concealed other stairs and rooms.

The old banqueting-hall is now used as a drawing- room. When the windows were mere slits in the wall it must have been very dark. It is now well lighted by four wide windows, each of which, so thick are the walls, forms a small room. Though the furniture is modern, and electric light has been installed, the old room is full of historical associations. Here Ian Dubh murdered the envoys of the Campbells (see page 96).

Here were gathered the clansmen on that memorable night when the Chief's infant heir was brought down wrapped in the mystic fairy banner, and the song of the fairies was heard by mortal ears. Here have innumer- able banquets been held at which were gathered all the nobles of the Isles, and at which the MacCrimmons and O'Murgheasas, the hereditary pipers and harpers of the clan, poured forth floods of melody, while the bards and seannachies recalled the valiant deeds of the host, and of his guests, as well as those of their ancestors.

Here are preserved relics of the past which are abso-

DUNVEGAN CASTLE 195

lutely priceless. Between the windows on the west side is the relic case, in which the fairy flag, the horn, and the cup are kept.

The Fairy Flag

The fairy flag is now a piece of brown silk, square in shape, and measuring about eighteen inches each way. It is very fragile and requires careful handling. Indeed, it should never be handled at all.

It is certain that it was originally larger than it now is, and that it has lost some of its distinguishing marks. Dr. Norman MacLeod, the famous ' Caraid nan Gaidheal,' was present when it was exposed to view in 1799, and gives the following description of it. ' The flag consisted of a piece of very rich silk, with crosses wrought on it with gold thread, and several elf spots stitched with great care on different parts of it.' Although, as Dr. Norman says, 'after being carefuUy examined, it was restored to its case as before, bits were taken away from time to time, and I imagine that now none of it is left.' In this he was happily mistaken. Some of the flag remains, the elf spots are on what is left, but the crosses worked in gold thread have disappeared. One or two tears have been carefully mended with red thread.

Tradition says that it came into the possession of the MacLeod family about the end of the fourteenth century, in the time of John, the fourth Chief.

There are no less than three stories concerning the fairy flag. Differing as they do, widely from each other, all agree that it was given by the fairies, with a promise that on three occasions the waving of the flag should bring the aid of the donors to save the clan in great emergencies.

The First Tradition

One of the MacLeod Chiefs married a fairy ; after twenty years of married life with him she was forced to

196 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

return to fairyland ; on saying farewell to him at ' Fairy Bridge ' (which crosses a burn about three miles from Dunvegan), she gave him the flag with the promise that, when it was waved in times of danger and distress, fairy help would be forthcoming to save the clan on three occasions. This tradition that one of the MacLeod Chiefs married a fairy seems to be connected with the other tradition about the fairy lullaby.

We owe this tradition and the lullaby itself to Mr. Neil MacLeod, the clan bard in the latter half of the nineteenth century. He obtained the version given below from several old women in the MacLeod country, and pub- lished it in the Gael in October 1878.

According to the tradition, on a fine evening in autumn a beautiful fairy paid a visit to Dunvegan Castle. With- out any difficulty she passed through several closed doors, and made her way to the nursery where the infant heir of the Chief was lying in his cradle. With him was his nurse, but if she had wished to oppose the fairy's entrance, she would have been powerless to do so, for some potent spell made it impossible for her to move.

Taking no notice of the nurse, the fairy went straight to the cradle, took the child on her knee, and sang to him the famous lullaby. Both the words and the tune were so remarkable that they impressed themselves on the nurse's memory, and from that time forward she habitu- ally lulled the child to sleep by singing to him the fairy's lullaby.

As time went on it came to be believed that any infant of the Chief's family over whom this lullaby was sung would be protected by the fairies in any dangers which might assail him during his life and, for a long time, no nurse was engaged to take charge of the Chief's children who could not sing the lullaby to them.

Possibly because for something like two hundred years

DUNVEGAN CASTLE 197

no child of a Dunvegan Chief was born in the castle, the custom ceased to be observed, but the lullaby was not forgotten, and when Sir Reginald was born at Dunvegan in 1847, it was sung to him by his nurse, Ann MacLeod's mother. It has also been sung to my grandson, Ian Breac, my daughter's son.

It is not possible to say when the lullaby was composed, but as many of the words used are obsolete, it must date from a very early period. That such words should have been preserved by oral tradition indicates the wonderful accuracy with which that agency has preserved the records of the past.

The expense of printing music is considerable, and for that reason I do not give the tune. The Gaelic is so difficult to read, from its obsolete character, that it seems hardly worth printing it, for even good Gaelic scholars can make very little of it. My venerable friend Miss Tolmie has, however, made a paraphrase of it, and this my readers will be able to understand.

MISS TOLMIE'S VERSION

I

Behold my child, limbed liked the roe or fawn, Smiting the horses,

Seizing the accoutrements of the shod horses, Of the spirited steeds, Behold my child.

Oh, that I could see thy cattle folds, High up upon the mountain side, A green shaggy jacket about thy white shoulders, And a linen shirt, My little child.

THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

Oh, that I could behold thy team of horses,

Men following them,

Serving women returning home.

And the Catanaich sowing the corn.

Oh, tender hero, whom my womb did bring forth, Who didst swallow from my breast, who on my knee wast reared.

My child it is, my armful of yew [bow and arrows],

Merry and plump, my buUrush, my flesh and eggs, that will

soon be speaking. Last year thou wast beneath my girdle, Plant of fertility, and this year fair and playful on my

shoulder, thou wilt be going round the homestead, My little child.

VI

Oh, let me not hear of thy being wounded. Grey do thou become duly ; May thy nose grow sharp [with advancing years], Ere the close of thy day.

VII

Oh, not of Clan Kenneth [MacKenzie],

Oh, not of Clan Conn [MacDonald],

Descendant of a race more esteemed.

That of the Clan Leod of swords and armour,

Whose father's native land was Scandinavia [Lochlann.]

It may be observed that the very ancient and emphatic statement as to the Norse descent of the MacLeods is strong evidence that the theory I have set forth in Chapter L is correct.

DUNVEGAN CASTLE 199

The Second Tradition

According to this, the flag is of Eastern origin. A MacLeod joined a crusading army in the Holy Land. He was sent on some mission which involved a long and lonely ride through the desert. After relating an ad- venture in which he narrowly escaped from the wiles of a wicked old witch, which is described at some length and in much detail, the story goes on to relate how he came to a river and proceeded to cross it by a ford. A fairy maiden rose from the water and opposed his passage. After a severe struggle he overcame her, and made good his passage over the river. After this he made friends with the maiden, and before they parted, she gave him a box of scented wood. In this, she told him, were several smaller boxes, each of which exactly fitted the one outside it. In the inmost box was a magic banner, the waving of which would bring forth a host of armed men to help its owner. ' Take it home with you,' the fairy said, ' and wave the banner in danger's hour ; but in any case do not dare to open the box for a year and a day. If you do, for another year and a day no crops will grow in your land, no sheep or cattle will produce their young, no children will be born.'

The young man came home to Skye and presented the box to the Chief's wife, warning her that it must not be opened before the appointed day. The lady's curiosity was so strong that she opened the box at once. Im- mediately a host of armed men appeared, and all the other results foretold by the fairy followed. The magic powers of the flag profoundly impressed the Chief, and it was preserved, to be used when such an army might mean salvation from some great peril.

It is thought probable that the banner was really brought from the East by some valiant crusader.

200 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

The Third Tradition

This relates the events which happened on the day when an heir to one of the MacLeod Chiefs was born. There were great rejoicings at Dun vegan, and the nurse, anxious to join in the festivities, left her charge quietly sleeping in a remote and quiet chamber in the castle. The blanket which was laid over the child fell off, and he awoke crying with the cold. No human help was near, but a host of fairies hovered round his cradle. They brought this fairy banner and wrapped him in it.

Meanwhile the clansmen, banqueting in the hall below, demanded permission to see the child. The nurse was found and sent to fetch him. She brought him down arrayed in this mystic robe, and then, as men gazed in wonder on the child and the garb he wore, their hearts were thrilled by the fairies' song which filled the room with melody, and set forth the mighty power of the flag which should save the clan three times in days of dire need.

Then silence fell on the crowded room. The flag was taken from the child and put in a place of safety till an iron chest could be made. When this was done, the flag was placed in the chest and carefully preserved from generation to generation.

I gather from the Bannatyne MS. that the flag was frequently, if not always, taken out to the battlefield when the clan went out to war.

The greatest possible precautions were taken to protect the precious banner on the field of battle.

The Chief marched before it, and was bound to lay down his life in its defence. The standard-bearer carried it, and round him were twelve men chosen for their pre- eminent valour. The manuscript says each of these held the flagstaff in one hand and his naked blade in the other. It strikes me that it would be difficult for twelve men

DUNVEGAN CASTLE 201

to hold one staff ; possibly cords were attached to the staff, and each man held one of these.

The standard-bearer was a person of great importance in the clan. The office was hereditary, and is known to have remained in one family for nearly three hundred years. The first concerning whom any record remains was Murcha Breac, who was killed at the Battle of the Bloody Bay in 1480. He was buried at lona, in the same grave as the Chief, who was also killed in this battle. This was the greatest honour which could be bestowed on his remains.

It is quite certain that the flag was waved twice, and twice only, in early times, but different traditions record its being waved four times.

The Bannatyne MS. says that it was waved at the Battle of the Bloody Bay in 1480, and at the Battle of Glendale about 1490. A circumstantial tradition says it was waved at a battle in Waternish about 1580, and a somewhat vague tradition says that it was waved when a cattle plague was raging, and that it stopped the murrain.

It is difficult to say on which two occasions it was really waved, but I incline to reject the first, because on that occasion it did not turn defeat into victory, and the last because it is so very vague. Therefore, I incline to the opinion that the flag was waved at the Battle of Glendale, about 1490, and at the battle in Waternish about 1580.

It must have been a thrilling sight to see it waved on the field of battle.

One rather wonders that it was not waved in the year 1600 when the clan was in such a desperate state during the last war with the MacDonalds of Sleat, but it is said that there was a fear in the minds of men that its third waving might bring about some irretrievable disaster.

202 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

Probably Coinneach Odhar's prophecy was known, and this fully accounts for the unwillingness of the Chief to risk waving it for the third time. Anyhow it reposed undisturbed in its iron chest for more than two cen- turies. The remarkable story of how it was taken out for the third time, and of the fulfilment of the famous seer's prediction, has been related on pages 110-113.

The description of the horn will be found on page 40, and that of the cup on pages 42-43.

On either side of the relic case hang letters. One is the letter Dr. Johnson wrote in 1773 (see page 177). In this he says that he remembers his hostess and her daughters with great tenderness and great respect. The late Miss Emily MacLeod told me that the young ladies, her aunts, did not entirely reciprocate the Doctor's feel- ings. They thought him an old bear. One of them, however, took up some gruel to his room, as he was suffering from a cold. She found him in bed with his wig on inside out. After this she made him a nightcap. It was possibly this kindly gift that won the old gentle- man's heart. The same young ladies told Miss MacLeod another story about Dr. Johnson's visit. One evening their famous guest drank so many cups of tea that his hostess suggested that she might use the slop basin instead of a cup for him. He was much annoyed and said, ' When will these ladies cease making impertinent remarks ? ' Close by hangs the picture of Johnson which Reynolds painted for their mutual friend Bennet Langton, and which the latter sold to the General. Mrs. Langton, whose husband was a descendant of Bennet Langton, told me this. This proves that the picture is by Reynolds. The other letter is from Scott. He visited Dunvegan in 1815, and afterwards became an intimate friend of the family. This is one of several letters from him which are preserved at Dunvegan.

Various curiosities are kept in cabinets in this room ;

DUNVEGAN CASTLE 203

among them a number of miniatures, and a very curious labradorite locket, which formerly belonged to some lady of the MacLeod family. The possession of this, but not the wearing of it, is supposed to bring good fortune. It was returned anonymously some years ago.

RoRY Mor's Gourd

This interesting relic of the past, which I found in a cupboard in the muniment room, is kept with many other curiosities in a cabinet which is placed in one of the deep window embrasures. It must have been pressed into its present shape when soft. It is mounted with silver. This bears no hall-mark, but it must date between 161 3, when Rory was knighted, and 1626, when he died, as it bears his initials, S. R. M., for Sir Rory MacLeod. I am informed that gourds were frequently used as flasks at this period. It also bears a coat of arms which closely resembles that on the plate given by Sir Rory to the church. The gourd no doubt terminated with a silver top. This is lost, though the screw by which it was secured remains.

The Retainers' Hall

This room is narrower than the hall above, because the west wall is nine feet thick on the ground floor and only six feet above this level. Its roof is not a vault but an arch springing from the floor. This arch was probably built by the General as a support to the floor of the room above.

This room was used for three purposes in old days :

1. It was the retainers' hall where the clansmen in attendance on the Chief gathered.

2. It was the kitchen. The old fireplace and chimney still remain.

3. It was the entrance hall. There is but little evidence to show where the door was, but I incline to the opinion

204 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

that it was where the door of the furnace room now is. This doorway is rather widely splayed. Not from the room but from the splay, and at right angles to it, a passage-like recess runs into the wall. This indicates that in ancient times the doorway was here, and that the recess was not a passage but a small guard-room or porter's lodge.

The North End of the Keep and the Tower

The wall is nine feet thick, the tower projects fourteen feet. In this space of twenty-three feet on the upper floor is a chamber known as the upper dungeon, though it is not certain that it was ever used as a dungeon. It has been suggested that it was a chapel.

Below this is the dungeon. Both the walls and vault are built of very rough rubble masonry. It is at least possible that there was a window in the recess at the north end, and another in the recess on the west, and from this it has been argued that it was never used as a dun- geon at all. But dungeons were not necessarily dark. There is a dungeon lighted by a window at Chateaudun in France, and the dungeons of Ludovic Sforza and of Philippe de Comines at Loches are not dark.

On the floor are two very heavy iron weights, and a bit of chain with very curious links. Prisoners were pro- bably secured to the weights by the chain. Also in the floor is the hole which gives access to the bottle-neck dungeon below. This is thirteen feet deep from the vault to the floor ; it is about six feet long and four feet six broad. The lower four feet have been excavated out of the rock. When we descended into it in 1925 we found indi- cations that even here prisoners were chained, for we found an iron bar which had evidently fitted into two broken holes in the stone, and a piece of chain similar to that in the dungeon above.

DUNVEGAN CASTLE 205

This dungeon is now lighted by the aperture described on page 189, but it is probable that this was only opened out in the seventeenth century, when a door was broken through the wall from the old stair, and the dungeon made into a small room. It has now been restored to its earlier condition except that the aperture remains.

Beyond the dungeon is the billiard room in which are some fine pictures, notably the twentieth Chief and his wife, by Zoffany, and John, first Marquis of Atholl, by an unknown artist.

RoRY Mor's Wing The Long Passage

This was taken off the dining-room in 1840, when extra space was gained in this wing by throwing out the western wall.

This made it possible to add a passage on each floor. The passage on the ground floor is on the west side, and here Rory Mor's wall remains, serving as a partition between the passage and some rooms used for the accom- modation of servants. On the first floor the passage is on the east side. As the walls are six feet thick the sides of the windows afford ample space for the display of curiosities. On the left side of the north window are a number of St. Kilda curiosities, including the lamp used by Lady Grange while on the island. On the right side are South African curiosities brought home by the twenty-third Chief.

On the sides of other windows are hung a great variety of weapons, small-swords and rapiers of the time of Louis XV., a Morocco horseman's outfit, and weapons from Burmah and India.

In the window recesses are preserved a number of suits of very rusty coats of mail. Mr. Clepham, a distin- guished authority to whom I submitted photographs of

2o6 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

these, thought that they might date from the early twelfth century. If he is right they may have belonged to some ancestor of MacCrailt Armuinn.

In the same recesses are an old spinning-wheel, a huge elephant tusk weighing ii6 pounds, some other curiosities, and cases of stuffed birds which were shot in Skye.

In one space between the windows are the original colours of the 2nd Battalion of the Black Watch. This was raised in 1779 by the twentieth Chief. He was the first colonel, and went with them to India, where he soon became a General in command of a gallant army. Tippoo Sahib gave him a sword with a jewelled hilt. The hilt has disappeared, but the blade still hangs in the passage. Here also hangs a great two-handed broadsword. This is said to have belonged to Rory Mor, 'but,' says Mr. Clepham, ' the date is probably fifty to a hundred years earlier than 1590. It would be interesting to find an armourer's mark on the blade, but these are often absent.' It is so in this case. It may be the identical weapon which is sculptured on Alastair Crottach's tomb at Row- dell, and have descended to Alastair's grandson as an heirloom. Beside this great sword hang two claymores. One belonged to Sir Norman of Bernera, who led the clan at the fatal Battle of Worcester. The other appears in Allan Ramsay's picture of the nineteenth Chief. The old key of the castle, some curious old guns, one with a square barrel, and some Zulu shields complete the list of curiosities preserved in this passage. On the wall facing the light are a number of portraits. One, I think, is probably Ian Breac, the sixteenth Chief. Another is the portrait of Norman, son of the twentieth Chief, the fourth Norman of Coinneach Odhar's prophecy. It is said to be by Raeburn. Another interesting portrait is one of the Lord President Forbes of Culloden, whose influence did a great deal to prevent the Western Chiefs from joining Prince Charles Edward in 1745.

DUNVEGAN CASTLE 207

Doors from the passage open into the library and dining- room. Before 1840 these formed one long room. The only really priceless book in the library is an old Scottish armorial, which contains the arms of all Scottish families of note at the time it was compiled. The coats borne by peers and Highland Chiefs each occupy an entire page. The blazons of those borne by other families are much smaller, and there are eight coats on each page. Of these there are two hundred and forty-one. In England there are armorials extant of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In Scotland the earliest is that of Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount, dated 1542, preserved at the Lyon | Office. The date of this armorial is 1584. In the dining- \ X room is a fine sideboard bearing the date 1603, and some ' curious relics of Flora MacDonald and Prince Charles Edward, which were given by Flora's daughter to the wife of the twenty-first Chief. These include a portrait of Flora herself, copied by Mrs. MacLeod from one in the donor's possession, some lace which belonged to Flora, her pincushion with the names on it of all who suffered after the 'Forty-five, and her stays. Beside these are the waistcoat which Prince Charles wore at the ball the night before the Battle of Prestonpans, and two glasses, one broken, which bear his portrait.

The beautiful casket which the Bibby of Cananore gave the General in 1783 is also preserved in this room. Here also are many fine family portraits: among them the nineteenth Chief and his second wife by Allan Ramsa3^ the twentieth Chief and his wife by Raeburn, the twenty- second Chief by Archer, his wife by Swinton, the twenty-third Chief by Sir George Reed, and his wife by Guido Schmitt.

The Fairy Tower In the business room on the first floor are preserved a most interesting set of old bagpipes which originally

2o8 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

belonged to the MacCrimmons. A winding stair, the entrance to which opens outside the business room door, leads to the rooms above and to the roof.

Climbing this stair one comes to the Fairy Room. This room was Rory Mor's bedroom, and here his slumbers were soothed by the sound of the waterfall, which is described by Scott in The Lord of the Isles as his ' nurse, a torrent's roaring might.' When Johnson was at Dun- vegan Sir Rory's bed, with an inscription on it, ' God give good rest,' was still preserved. Unhappily this is lost, as is also Sir Rory's bow, which is referred to by Boswell, who says, ' No one could now bend it.'

It is said that Johnson and Scott both slept here. But the following passage from Boswell under date of Monday, September 13, 1773, shows that Johnson did not sleep here. ' After dinner we retired to the drawing-room. This room had formerly been the bedroom of Sir Roderick MacLeod, one of the old lairds, vj^ho chose it because behind it there was a considerable cascade, the sound of which disposed him to sleep.' This fixes the identity of the room. It must be remembered that in 1773 the present drawing-room was not habitable.

Above this room is the muniment room, where are preserved all the old charters and other documents. Two typewritten volumes in the library contain full details of these.

Having given a detailed account of Dunvegan as we see it to-day, I shall conclude with the descriptions which Boswell and Johnson gave of it at the time of their visit in 1773. Writing on the night of his arrival, Monday, September 13, Boswell says : ' The great size of the castle, which is partly old and partly new, and is built upon a rock close to the sea, while the land around it presents nothing but wild, moorish, hilly, and craggy appearances, gives a rude magnificence to the scene.' On Saturday, September 18, he writes : ' Though the situation of

PhotQ. by R. C. MacLeod 0/ MacLeod.

Room in the Faery Tower— where the romance of the nmlh century vies with the luxury of the twentieth.

See page 208.

DUN VEGAN CASTLE 209

Dunvegaii is such that little can be done here in garden- ing or pleasure ground, yet, in addition to the veneration acquired by the lapse of time, it has many circumstances of natural grandeur suited to the seat of a Highland Chief. It has the sea, islands, rocks, hills, a noble cascade, and when the family is again in opulence, something may be done by art.'

On Tuesday, September 21, the day of their departure, he writes ' a short description ' : ' Along the edge of the rock there are the remains of a wall which is now covered with ivy. A square court is formed by buildings of different ages, particularly some towers said to be of great antiquity, and at one place there is a row of false cannon of stone. There is a very large unfinished pile four stories high, which we were told was here when Leod, the first of this family, came from Man, and married the heiress of the MacCrailts, the ancient possessors of Dun vegan.'

Johnson gives the following description : ' Dunvegan is a rocky prominence that juts out into a bay on the west of Skye. The house, which is partly old, partly modern, is built on the rock, and looks upon the water. It forms two sides of a small square. On the third side is the skeleton of a castle of unknown antiquity, supposed to have been a Norwegian fortress, when the Danes were masters of the Isles. It is so nearly entire that it might easily have been made habitable, were there not an ominous tradition in the family, that the owner shall not long outlive the reparation. The grandfather of the present laird, in defiance of prediction, began the work, but desisted in a little time. This house was accessible only from the water till the last possessor opened an entrance by stairs upon the land.'

APPENDIX

THE ARMS BORNE BY THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN IN ANCIENT DAYS

There are three sources of infonnation concerning the arms which Scottish families are entitled to bear.

1. First in the point of time, possibly also in the point of importance, are the coats of arms found on old seals, old stones, and old plate.

2. There are in existence a number of illuminated annorials. The earliest of these was the one compiled by Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount in 1542. Sir J. Balfour Paul mentions eight others compiled in the sixteenth century, and there are others of a later date.

3. A record of Matriculations is kept in the Lyon Office at Edinburgh. This, which has been published by Sir J. Balfour Paul, gives the arms which Scottish families are legally en- titled to bear. It only commences in 1672, but the arms recorded in it were probably taken from the earlier illumi- nated manuscript.

I shall endeavour to lay before the reader all the infor- mation I have been able to gather together as to the arms borne in ancient times by the MacLeods of Dunvegan from these three sources.

I. The Evidence of Old Stones, Seals and Plate

I. The earliest stone I have been able to discover is a tomb- stone which bears the name of MacLeod at lona. This is generally supposed to be the tomb of one of the sixteenth- century MacLeods of the Lewes, but in my opinion the style of ornamentation on this stone stamps it as earlier than this. It is a modification of the leaf scroll which was so common in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Its boldness of out- line contrasts in a very remarkable way with the more

APPENDIX 211

elaborate, but more finicking, character of sixteenth-century stones at lona, notably with the one called the tomb of the four priors. Taking the ornamentation alone, I should assign it to the fourteenth century. The interesting figure on the stone might afford some further evidence of date if submitted to an expert. A careful examination of the stone confirms this opinion as to its date. The inscription on the top of the stone is obviously much contracted. The last part of the first line is clearly a date. Remarking that b and v are interchangeable, I read it as follows : IMIV XIV. 1414. The first part of the first line I take with the second and read it H.I.C. N.T.I. IDM. LEOID. This extended may be ' Hie jacet corpus notati Johannis Domini MLeoid,' translated : ' Here lies the body of the distinguished John Dominus M'Leoid.' The title of Dominus was reserved in later times for peers, but would probably be applied in the early fifteenth century to a powerful Chief.

If I am right, this is probably the tomb of Ian, fourth Chief. He died in the reign of Robert iii., who ascended the throne in 1390. The date on the stone may record the time when it was erected, possibly some years after the Chief's death.

The arms on the stone are clear. First comes the lymphad or galley. Its appearance in the MacLeod arms is probably due to their descent from the Norwegian kings of Man, The lymphad was certainly the arms of Man during the Norse occupation. Seals, now lost, were extant in Camden's time of Godred Crovan and of Olaf the Black, Both bear the galley. There are two documents extant to which are attached seals bearing a galley with a lion on the obverse. These are grants by Harold, King of Man, dated 1245 and 1246, One is a galley in full sail, the other a galley with sails furled. This instance shows that the form of galley bears little signifi- cance. I have dealt elsewhere with the bearing this has on the question of the descent of the MacLeods.

Below the galley are four animals standing erect. The two on the left are, I think, certainly meant for lions, possibly derived from the lion on the obverse of Harold's seal in 1246, As they are facing one another, they are probably the sup-

212 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

porters. Lions, according to all the authorities, are the supporters of the MacLeod amis.

The third animal is certainly meant for a stag. This is clearly shown by the horns. The fourth animal I cannot identify. It may have been some device taken from the arms of John's wife. She was one of the Irish O'Neils, but the arms of that family, as given in the Peerage, give no clue to the identification of this animal.

This stone shows that in the early fifteenth century the MacLeods of Dunvegan bore in their arms a lymphad and a stag. Probably the stag was courant, and was placed upright to save space. It shows also that they bore lions as supporters. This is an early instance of the use of supporters.

These appear as early as the middle of the fourteenth cen- tury, but their use did not become general till the middle of the fifteenth century. It may be observed that Highland Chiefs are one of the classes which are entitled by right to have supporters to their anns.

2. The next piece of evidence is a seal of Alexander MacLeod of Dunvegan (succeeded 1480, died 1547), which is preserved in the British Museum. On this is a stag's head. This may be derived from the stag on the stone at Zona. My friend Mr. MacKenzie believes that this Alexander MacLeod was appointed by James v. to be ranger of the royal forest of Harris, and that there was granted to him, as an honourable augmentation of his anns, a stag's head and a lion rampant, both of which we shall see were borne by his grandson. Sir Rory MacLeod. There is, however, no evidence in the Lyon Office of the truth of this story.

3. The third piece of evidence is the tomb of this same Alexander MacLeod, commonly known as Alastair Crottach, at Rowdell (see page 83). Though he did not die till 1547, the date on the tomb is 1528, fourteen years before the first armory was compiled. On this the lymphad appears over the inscription, and is certainly, I think, the arms borne by this Chief. In one of the panels are three stags. It is possible that these are merely a fanciful design, like those which appear in other panels, but it is also possible that they are connected with the stag's head which, as the seal proves, this

APPENDIX 213

Chief bore on his coat of arms, and with the stag on the lona stone.

4, 5, and 6. I take the next three pieces of evidence together, as they represent the arms of the thirteenth Chief. The first shows his arms on the gourd, which he probably used as a hunting flask. Here we find the lion rampant, the stag's head, the lymphad, and the castle. I conjecture that he bore the first three as the ancient insignia of his family, and that, having discovered that a castle was the coat assigned to him by the heralds in Edinburgh (as we shall see later on), he added that to the arms which his forefathers had borne. His identity is proved by his initials, S. R. M., for Sir Rory MacLeod. As he was knighted in 1613, the date of the gourd lies between 1613 and 1626, the year of his death.

The next illustration shows the arms of the same Chief on a piece of plate which he presented to the Church. This bears the hall-mark of 1612. It also bears his initials, and the arms are the same as those upon the gourd, except that on the gourd the lymphad is on the third quarter and the castle on the fourth, while on the plate the castle is on the third quarter and the lymphad on the fourth.

On Sir Rory's tomb at Fortrose the castle and the lymphad are seen, and on the left is a right hand, the open palm ex- tended towards the observer. This closely resembles the red hand of Ulster, which appears in the arms of English baronets, but Sir Rory was not created a baronet in 1613 but knighted, and it is more probable that the hand is a modification of the hand which is one of the insignia of the MacDonalds, Sir Rory's wife having been a daughter of Glengarry. In any case a hand was never borne in the MacLeod arms before or since.

To sum up the evidence concerning the arms borne by the MacLeods of Dunvegan, it is certain that, before any of the armories were compiled, they bore the lymphad, a stag or a stag's head, and probably a lion rampant, with lions as sup- porters, while in the early seventeenth century they added a castle. In none of these is any trace of a crest or a motto. The sun on the tomb at Rowdell is probably an emblem of Christ, and not the crest of the Lewes branch of our family.

7. The last stone to be mentioned is the one over the front 02

214 THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

door at Dunvegan. On this we have the arms of Ian Breac, sixteenth Chief, with those of his wife, Florence MacDonald of Sleat, impaled.

The stone, which is a large one, has on it many fanciful designs, such as the angels above, the thing like a coronet above the shield, the dog and horse in the lower left-hand comer. But the bull's head to the right of these, and the stag in the bottom right-hand comer, are certainly armorial in character. The homs of the latter are clearly visible amidst the ornamentation above. The supporters are probably meant for lions. Tuming to the shield, the arms of Florence MacDonald on the sinister side are properly quartered, but upon the dexter side are three emblems, one above the other. In the middle is a castle, not triple-towered, as in Sir Rory's arms, but a single tower. Below is a mysterious device which is repeated larger towards the right of the stone. It appears to be a winged figure rising above a mountain. It may possibly be connected with the crest of the Lewes family, a sun rising above a mountain, but one can only guess at its meaning. Above are the legs of Man. This is the earliest appearance of these on the MacLeod shield. It may be that Ian did not know that the lymphad had been the arms of Man during the Norse occupation, and, knowing that he was entitled to quarter the arms of Man, he put the only Manx arms of which he knew, the legs, on his shield. Or it may be that he knew himself, but realised that a great many people did not, and substituted the legs for the Ij/inphad in order to make his descent from the Kings of Man clear to those who were ignorant of what the arms of these potentates had been.

In later times we find the legs of Man frequently appearing in the coats of different branches of the family. In 1719 MacKenzie of Scotwell matriculated amis, including the legs, MacLeod of Cadboll did the same in 1726, as did MacLeod of Muiravonside in 1731, while, though they have never matriculated a coat including the legs, the MacLeods of Dun- vegan have used this device quarterly in their arms since 1784, and still continue to do so.

The following photographs show what amis the family have bome since this.

APPENDIX 215

The first is a photograph of a piece of needlework preserved at Dun vegan.

In this the legs are in the first and fourth quarters, the castle in the second and third quarters. In the bookplate of the twenty-first Chief, the castle is in the first and fourth quarters, the legs in the second and third. In the first the lions bear the daggers in their paws. In the second the daggers are on either side of the crest. In the second the word ' aheneus ' in the motto is misspelt ' ahentus.'

This coat of arms also appears in the bookplate of Norman, twenty-third Chief, which shows that these are the arms borne by the family at the present day. As the wife of this Chief was an heraldic heiress, her arms appear on a scutcheon of pretence in the middle of the shield.

II. The Evidence of the Illuminated Armorials

I have not been able as yet to examine all of these, but there seems little doubt that in them a new device appeared in the latter half of the sixteenth century- which had not been used at an earlier period in the MacLeod arms. This was the castle which, we have already seen. Sir Ror^- added to his coat about 1620.

I think it is probable that, when dealing with the arms of Lowland families, whose arms, as borne in early times, were known to the compilers of these sixteenth-century armorials, these were incorporated in their coats, but that, when dealing with Highland families whose homes were in a remote part of the kingdom, they had no means of knowing what arms they had borne in the past, and assigned new devices to them.

It is possible that the fame of Dunvegan, which was cer- tainly one of the most important strongholds in the Highlands, may have even then reached Edinburgh, and that for that reason the heralds assigned a castle as his arms to MacLeod. It is certain that, in some of these books at all events, a castle appears as the only device on the family shield.

The first illustration is a photograph of the MacLeod arms given in the Manuscript preserved at Dunvegan. This book was derived from the Breton MS., and was compiled between

2i6 THE MACLEODS OF DUN VEGAN

1582 and 1584. It shows the castle triple towered on the shield, and lions as supporters which bear swords in their paws. There is no crest or motto. There is, however, a helmet above the shield. This is not an esquire's helmet, as might be expected, but it is of the peculiar form allotted to princes and nobles (see Boutell's Heraldry, page 129). It is set in profile and shows five bars. From this I gather that in the sixteenth century Highland Chiefs, though they were not peers of Parliament, were regarded as nobles, and entitled to bear the helmet allotted to that class.

In Stoddart's seventeenth-century armorial, the helmet is an esquire's helmet. A crest is added, a bull's head between two flags, and a motto ' be hald fast.'

I imagine that, if the other armorials which give the MacLeod arms were examined, it would be found that in them also the castle, and the castle alone, was assigned to the family of Dun- vegan as their anns. But there is one remarkable exception. In a book called the ' Gentlemen's Book,' which dates from the early seventeenth century, a coat of amis is given which shows that by the time it was compiled some knowledge of the anns borne in ancient times had reached the heralds in Edinburgh, and had been accepted by them as reliable evidence.

I have not a photograph of this coat, but I can give a description of it. A castle is in the first quarter, a lion ram- pant in the second, the lymphad in the third. The last quarter is coloured azure, but there is no device upon it. As the arms in the first three quarters tally with those on Sir Rorj^'s gourd and plate, we may assume that it was intended to paint in a stag's head.

This is valuable confirmation of the evidence given under the first source of infonnation.

HI. The Evidence from the List of Matriculations IN THE Lyon Office

I have searched Sir J. Balfour Paul's book, and the only matriculation made by MacLeod of Dun vegan was in 1753. The blazon of arms then given is preserved at Dun vegan.

APPENDIX ■ 217

I give the blazon : ' Azure, a castle triple tower'd and em- battled argent, massoned sable, windows and ports gules, supporters, two lions regardant of the last, each holding a dagger proper. Crest, a bull's head cabossed between two flags. Motto " mums aheneus," and for device " hold fast." ' The motto ' murus aheneus ' appears for the first time, and Stoddart's ' be hald fast ' becomes ' hold fast.'

From this it is obvious that the arms given in the ' Gentle- men's Book ' had been forgotten, and that the only arms of the MacLeod family known at the Lyon Office at that date consisted of the castle. The crest is the bull's head, the ' be hald fast ' of Stoddart is modified to ' hold fast,' and a new motto is given. ' murus aheneus,' which, however, has the word ' esto ' added in later times.

This was the coat. which Norman, the nineteenth Chief, bore, as appears in his bookplate, though he did not use the motto ' hold fast,' and this, whatever devices they bore in the past, is the only coat of arms to which the MacLeods of Dunvegan are legally entitled, though I imagine that there is little doubt that the Lord Lyon, if applied to, would assign to them a coat of arms containing the insignia which they undoubtedly bore in the past.

INDEX

Alexander, 8th Chief, 70, 72-S9. Angus a Eneis, 108. Argj'll, 5th Earl of, 91.

7 th Earl of, 132, 146.

Armorial bearings, 214-217.

Bannatyne, Sir William, xi. Battle of the Bloody Bay, 70.

Broadford, 47.

Cailus, 61.

Carinish, 127.

Coolins, 128.

Fiorlig, 62.

Glendale, 73.

Harlaw, 64.

Lochaber, 65.

Pinkie, 87.

Sligachan, 57.

Trumpan, 104, 105.

Worcester, 154.

Began, 27, 185. Binning, Lord, 137. Black Watch, 178, 206. Bonds of friendship, 134, 135. Boreraig, 161.

Boswell, 187, 209.

Charles i.. King, 149, 153.

II., King, 153, 156.

Charles Edward, 170-176. Charters, 39, 75. Coinneach Odhar, 109- 114. Cup, the, 42-46.

Donald, loth Chief, 94-97.

Balloch, 65.

Maclan Vich Shamuis, 124,

128. Dundee, Viscount, 162-165. Dunvegan Castle, 27, 184-209.

Eigg, the massacre at, 76-79.

Fairy flag, the, no- 113, 195-202.

Lullaby, the, 196.

Finlay of Galtrigil, 100, 103.

Fishing Industry, the, 145. 'Forty-five, the, 170- 1 76. Fosterage, 151. Eraser Highlanders, the, 178. Erasers, wars with the, 42, 46, 56. Fullartons, the, 32.

Gesto, the MacLeods of, 49. Glenelg, 29, 80, 119, 146. Gourd, Rory Mor's, 203. Grange, Lady, 171.

Handfasting, 134.

Harris, ancient possessors of, 25.

Hastings, Warren, 179.

Henry viii., 86.

Horn, the Dunvegan, 40, 107.

Ian, 4th Chief, 51-55, 211. Borb, 6th Chief, 60-67.

Mor, 14th Chief, 143-152.

Breac, i6th Chief, 151, 158-169.

a-Chuail-Bhain, 94.

Dubh, 95-97.

Mishealbhach, 60-62.

Installation of a Chief, xiv. lona, tomb at, 30.

statues of, 132.

Ireland, expeditions to, 86, 124. Ivar the Boneless, 18.

James iv., 80.

v., 80-84.

VI. and I., 117, 129, 136.

VII. and II., 162, 166.

Johnson, Dr., 177, 187, 202, 210.

Kerry, Lord of, 32. Kilbride MS., 8, 10.

Leod, descent of, i, 23.

1st Chief, 24, 33.

Lewes, the, 28, 125. Lochiel, 173.

220

THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN

'Lord of the Isles,' Scott's poem, 35. I Norman, 19th Chief, 170, 173.

Lovat, 3rd Lord, 100. i 20th Chief, 177-179.

6th Lord, 119. 22nd Chief, 179-183.

MacCaskills, the, 47, 61. MacCrailt Armuinn, 26. MacCrimmons, the, 160, 170. MacDonalds of Clan Ranald, 75,

103, 173-

of Islay, 126.

Lords of the Isles, 57, 60, 63,

65, 68, 70, 72.

• of Sleat, 127-129, 134.

MacDonald, Flora, 176, 207. MacFirbis MS., 9, 15. MacGhittichs, the, 25, 52. Maclans, the, 137. MacKenzies of Kintail, the, 125. MacLeod country in early days, 23,

61, 72, 121-123.

W. Bannatyne, xii.

Donald, the Prince's pilot, 174,

176.

George, 59, 193.

Ian lireac, 113.

Sir John, 32.

Malcolm, 3rd Chief, 39-50.

• Mary, the poetess, 58, 157,

160. — — Mary, d. of 9th Chief, 91.

Neil, 125, 126.

Dr. Norman, no.

Sir Norman, of Bcrnera, 141,

153. 154- 157- Sir Rory, of Talisker, 141, 153,

154, 157- Mac(^ueen, Angus, 155. MacSweyn, Torquil, 96. Mac Mhic Alastair Ruaidh, 58. Malcolms, the, 41, 50. Middleton, General, 155. Murray of Broughton, 170.

Ochiltree, Lord, 181. Olaf the Black, 4, 6, 7. Olaf, Saint, 17. Olver, 12. O'Murgheasas, 13S. Orkneys, 69.

Paal Baalkeson, 24.

Crupach, 107.

Potato famine, 179-183.

Ragnar Lodbrok, 18. Rob Roy, 159.

Rory Mor, 13th Chief, 84, 119- 142.

the witty, 15th Chief, 153-157.

Dall, 114, 159.

Rowdell, St. Clement's, 53, 83, 87.

St. Kilda, 64, 137.

Sigurd Ring, 18.

Skye, early possessors of, 24.

Sliochd Ian Mhic Leoid, xiii, 66,

lOI.

Spirit armies, 105. Standard-bearers, 71, 74.

Tormod, 2nd Chief, 34-38.

nth Chief, 96, 98- n6.

Traditions, value of, xiii. Trotternish, 24, 72, 120.

Waternish, 24, 120.

William Cleireach, 5th Chief, 52

56-59-

Dubh, 7th Chief, 68-71.

na h'Uamha, 9th Chief, 79, 90-

93-

I2th Chief, 117-nS.

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