by Anne Ross
9Map of the distribution of the highland clans in the sixteenth century, the clans emerging AD 1150-1350. After W.H.S. Sellar 1983
For this reason, the Western Highlands and Islands were, for centuries, ruled by petty sovereigns, and the king’s writ simply did not apply. Inter-clan relations tended to be unstable — leading to inter-tribal strife as in ancient Gaul and Ireland — and this had tragic consequences for Highland history. The story is one of petty jealousies, bitter quarrels, constant raiding of land and plundering of goods, cattle and women, and many atrocities were committed by all parties.
The clan was by no means a democratic organisation; like all Celtic society, it was highly aristocratic. The various offices were hereditary; the chief was the commander of the clan in war; the oldest member of the cadet branch was lieutenant-colonel and he commanded the right wing. The youngest member of the cadet branch commanded the rear. Every head of a distinct family was captain of his own tribe. Every clan had its standard-bearer, likewise an hereditary post. Every chief had his poet or bard, to praise him in life and to lament him in death. The bagpipe was the military instrument for war-music and also much favoured in the chieftains’ residences. The pipers were instructed in special piping-schools; one of the most famous of these was that of the MacCrimmons, pipers to the MacLeods of Dunvegan, with their school at Borreraig nearby. Each clan had a special place of meeting; people were summoned to it in times of emergency by the Fiery Cross. Two men, each carrying a pole with a cross of fire-blackened wood attached to the end, ran through the clan territory shouting the military slogan of the clan; if they tired, others took their place. Everyone would arm at once and go to the traditional meeting-place to take orders from their chief. Every clan had a special war-cry; for example, the Grants shouted ‘Stand fast Craigellachie’, the Camerons, ‘Sons of Dogs come hither and you shall get flesh’, and so on. Every clan had a distinguishing badge; the notion that the clans were recognisable to each other by their gaudy individual tartans is a modern one; they were known by their badges, which were plain and worn in their bonnets. The MacDonalds (10), for example, wore heather, which was also their war-cry (fraoch); the Grants fir (giuthas); the MacIntoshes holly (cuileann). To a certain extent the choice of badge would be determined by what was available in a given locality, but it is likely that the chosen plant would also have a magical and evil-averting significance.
Another custom in the ancient Celtic world was the careful study of omens when the clan was leaving on some foray; it was a good omen, for example, to meet an armed man. If a bare-footed woman crossed the path in front of the soldiers, she would be seized and blood drawn from her forehead in order to avert evil. If a deer, fox, hare or some other game animal was seen and not killed, it was an ill omen. There was also a clan custom known as cuid-oidhche, ‘a night’s share or portion’. This was provided for the chief, when he was going hunting or on a raid, by the tenant who lived near the hill or place he reached by nightfall, and consisted in hospitality for the lord and his men, and food for his dogs and horses for one night.
10Leather front of a targe (sgiath), probably late seventeenth-century, with the double-headed eagle emblem of the MacDonalds. After S. Maxwell 1983, 10
Martin Martin (c.1660-1719), living in the decades before the clan system became redundant, has some interesting details to add to our knowledge of its functions. He records that every heir or young chieftain was obliged to give a public exhibition of his valour before he was acknowledged and declared leader of his people who, if satisfied, then vowed to follow and obey him. This again is an archaic custom of initiation rite with its origins far back in the Celtic world. Writing in 1703, Martin notes that he had heard no instance of this practice for some 60 years. He says that a heap of stones in the shape of a pyramid was erected. The young chieftain-elect was placed on this and his friends and followers stood in a circle about him, his elevated position signifying his authority over them. One of his oldest friends then handed to him the sword worn by his father and a white rod was given to him at the same time; the giving of the white rod as a symbol of authority is also found in the earliest Irish traditions. Then the chief Druid (as Martin calls him) or orator stood beside the cairn and eulogised the ancestry and noble deeds of the family and its magnificent traditional generosity — a virtue always highly prized by the Celts. Martin also notes that when any chieftain went on a military expedition, blood was drawn from the first animal met with on enemy territory and some of this was then sprinkled on the colours; this was considered to be a good omen. There was always a sentry on top of the houses in Barra, even in Martin’s time, called Gockmin (Cockman). Before the clan engaged in battle the chief bard addressed the army, exhorting it to courage and praising the prowess of its forebears. When the bard had completed his oration the men would give a great shout and rush into the fray. In similar fashion, two ancient Celtic warriors about to engage in single combat would revile their enemy and eulogise their own ancestors. Martin says that this speech was known as Brosnichiy Kah (Brosnachaidh Catha), ‘Incentive to Battle’. He records that every great family in the Isles had a chief Druid who foretold future events and decided all causes. It is against the broken remnants of this once-rigid clan structure that the extant traditions of the Highlands must be viewed, and clan legends form a major tale type. A few stories from this huge repertoire are given as examples, many of which can still be heard today.
One of the most popular, if distasteful, of such tales is the well-known story of the Appin murder. The episode upon which this story is based is known to have taken place after the clan rebellion known as the Rising of 1745-6. Many of the Highland lairds had been deprived of their lands and possessions — and even their lives — and factors had been sent by the crown to administer the estates and to take rent from the tenants. One such factor was Colin Campbell of Glenure, known as ‘the Red Fox of Appin’. In 1748, he was appointed factor to the estate of Ardshiel and other neighbouring territories. James Stewart was the unofficial laird of Ardshiel and at first cooperated with Campbell, but Campbell was accused by his masters of being a Jacobite sympathizer, particularly since his mother was a Cameron. Feeling that he had to take decisive action to dispel these suspicions he rounded on James Stewart and demanded back rents as far as 1745, money which had already been made over to the lairds. This caused tension between the two men, and when, in 1751, James Stewart was compelled to give up his farms, his hatred of Campbell increased and intensified and he made many threats against Campbell, particularly when he had, as became his wont, drunk too much.
When yet more tenants were evicted James Stewart took up their cause and the situation became volatile. On 11 May 1752 Campbell left for Fort William in order to carry out evictions on the Lochiel estate (even though Lochiel was his cousin) and this done, on the 14th he left for Appin in order to carry out further evictions. He never reached Appin. He was killed by two bullets from a gun; these pierced him in the chest and he died half an hour later. One Allan Breck Stewart was famously accused of the murder (see Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Kidnapped’ and ‘Catriona’) but fled to France, where he continued to declare his innocence. James Stewart, because of his frequent threats and protestations of hatred for the Red Fox, was hanged for the murder on 8 November, although he was innocent. The real perpetrator of the deed seems to have been one Donald Stewart, who was selected by a number of Jacobite aristocracy as the best shot. He was given a gun which was the best of all the arms they had. When Donald Stewart heard that James Stewart was to be hanged, he wished to give himself up but was persuaded by his fellows not to do so, for that would only lead to both being hanged.
Another account states that Allan Breck, instead of declaring his innocence, had himself confessed to murdering the Red Fox in order to draw attention away from the real perpetrator, but that had made no difference to the case against James Stewart.
One of the most famous clan legends which is based on a real event is that of the Eigg massacre
. In 1577, some 350 MacDonalds — men, women and children — were allegedly suffocated in a cave in the island of Eigg by the MacLeods; the brutality of this outrage shocked even the tough Highlanders, accustomed as they were to violence and bloodthirsty death, and the story has remained in the oral tradition of the islanders. Bones were found in the cave as recently as 1800, while contemporary accounts testify to the truth of this incident.
The terrible massacre of the MacDonalds of Glencoe — a narrow glen running down between the mountains from Rannoch Moor to Loch Leven, Argyllshire — initiated by the Campbells on the orders of William III, still fills the reader with horror at the nature of the treachery which gave rise to this order (11). Briefly, these are the events which preceded the infamous occurrence. King William III, who had great difficulty in imposing his law upon certain of the Highland clans, issued a writ pardoning all who submitted to his jurisdiction before 1 January 1692. The MacDonald of Glencoe, who had not yet complied, journeyed to Fort William on 31 December 1691, in order to make his submission. However, one Sir John Dalrymple, later Earl of Stair, who was an enemy of the MacDonalds, prevented information of MacDonald’s submission from reaching the sheriff, and moreover, obtained an order which would lead to the massacre of the Glencoe MacDonalds. The Campbells, who hated the MacDonalds, were employed to commit an act of the most heinous treachery upon the unsuspecting clansmen. The Campbells, together with some 120 men, descended on Glencoe in a friendly fashion and were given generous hospitality and lodging by the open-handed MacDonalds. When the Campbells received word that the passes through which the MacDonalds might escape were secured, they fell upon the MacDonalds in the dead of night, slaughtering the men and leaving the women and children to die of exposure. This barbarous event was abhorrent even to other Highland clans, accustomed as they were to hostility and bloodshed, and led to lasting antipathy between the MacDonalds and the Campbells. Even today, traces of this old enmity survive in Scotland and wherever Scots have colonised.
11Dirk (biodhe), seventeenth-century; two-handed claymore, sixteenth-century. After S. Maxwell 1983, 9, 11
Another example of treachery on the part of the royalists is evidenced by the fact that the clansmen of Urquhart and Glenmoriston, who had fought against the government (been ‘out’, as the expression went) and surrendered on the promise of protection, were betrayed. The promise was broken; the men were taken and imprisoned within the Gaelic Church, Inverness, and were then sent to London by sea and transported to Barbados and the Carolinas, having been denied trial of any kind.
There are many stories extant about the more famous clan battles, some of which have given rise to proverbial sayings. One of these concerns the Battle of the North Inch of Perth which took place at the end of the fourteenth century. The MacIntoshes were a powerful clan and were known as the Clan Chattan. In the fourteenth century they owned the greater part of Badenoch; their crest was the cat, their motto ‘Touch not the Cat Gloveless’. A feud developed between them and the Clan Kay; the Earls of Crawford and Moray, by commission, attempted to reconcile them, but failed. They then proposed that 30 men from either clan should meet in the North Inch and decide the quarrel by the sword in the presence of the king, Robert III and all the nobles. In 1396, when they met on the appointed day, one of the Clan Chattan was absent. A smith from Perth, known as Henry Gow, or Hal o’ the Wynd, offered to take his place for the sum of seven shillings and sixpence. It was a fierce battle. Twenty-nine of the Clan Kay were killed; the thirtieth man escaped by swimming across the Tay. Nineteen of the Clan Chattan perished. Their victory was due to the phenomenal strength and courage of the Perth smith (always a craftsman held in high esteem in the Celtic regions); as a result a local proverb came into being:‘He did very well for his own hand, as Henry Gow did’. His descendants became known as Sliochd á Ghobhair Chruim, ‘the Progeny of the Stooping Smith’, and they were incorporated into Clan Chattan.
Another important Highland clan was that of the Grants. This consisted of several separate septs whose identity was distinguished, as are the larger of the other clans, by the name of the lands over which they held sway; for example, the Grants of Glenmoriston, the Grants of Freuchie, the Grants of Strathspey — from whom I am directly descended, my maiden name having been Anne Grant. My earliest memories are of my father, Alexander Grant, urging me on with any task which I found distasteful or simply boring, and exhorting me to persist with the rousing words of the clan slogan, ‘Stand Fast Craigellachie!’ (12). Related as they may have been by blood and kinship, that did not necessarily ensure peaceful living. Petty feuds and battles occasioned by jealousy over the superior dwellings and possessions of the stronger of the septs ensured that they were never really at peace for long. One example of this debilitating state of affairs is described in a long and somewhat complex story set in the mid-sixteenth century. As the legend has it, the feud originated when Grant of Ballindalloch tried to deprive young Patrick Grant of Glenmoriston (13) of his right to the Glenmoriston inheritance. John Roy Grant of Carron somewhat altruistically intervened on Patrick’s behalf, and the ensuing quarrel which developed into a bitter battle brought about the death of Ballindalloch. This caused a festering resentment which increased with time. In 1615 a son of Grant of Carron was treacherously attacked by one of the Ballindalloch Grants during a fair held at Elgin. Carron’s brother James, enraged by this barbarous act, retaliated by killing the assailant outright. James Grant was subsequently charged with murder but managed to escape and became an outlaw, inconveniencing both those who dwelt in the wider area of Strathspey, and the House of Ballindalloch in particular. James Grant proved to be an elusive quarry and much bloodshed resulted from attempts to capture him.
12Piper to the Laird of Grant, 1714. After R. Cannon 1983, 18
13Shinty player, Grant of Glenmoriston, 1847. After H.D. MacLennan 1983, 267
Grant of Ballindalloch bitterly hated James Grant of Carron and was much inflamed when he heard of John Grant of Carron and some of his followers cutting timber at Abernethy. Grant of Ballindalloch managed to kill John Grant, which outraged James Grant of Carron whose depredations thereafter greatly increased. At length James was captured and succeeded in escaping in 1632, and returned to his savage ways. Grant of Ballindalloch made every effort to recapture him but was unfortunate enough to fall into a cunning trap which had been laid for him by James. Nevertheless, against all probability, he managed to regain his freedom and continued to pursue James. A number of his followers were killed but success eluded him and James was never recaptured. Eventually James obtained a full pardon and died peacefully in his bed in 1639.
A further legend of Grant of Ballindalloch concerns the building of his castle there. He attempted to site his stronghold in a prominent position, high above the River Aven (now Avon), which runs into the River Spey. This was in order to keep a watchful eye on the activities of his bitter enemies, the Grants of Tullochcarron. But though building had begun, the next day there was nothing to be seen on the site. For three nights the same thing happened. Ballindalloch went to the building site, only to find it in the same state as it had been at the beginning of the work. He was much annoyed and when his men gave him an account of the supernatural and fearsome happenings that had occurred during the night, he determined to keep watch himself. This he proceeded to do the following night. For the first few hours all was quiet. Then a fearful wind rose from the distant summit of Ben Rinnes, throwing him and his henchman down from the site, and the building into the River Aven. The men landed in a holly bush from which they could not extricate themselves. Next followed terrifying peals of unearthly laughter and a voice instructed Grant to build his castle on the site of the Cow-haugh, which was situated down between the Aven and the Spey. The shaken laird followed these instructions and no further problems occurred.
Another Grant story, one of many which space does not allow to be included in the present book, concerns the last Grant of Tullochcarron. He was the laird of his property and
had no offspring, only a nephew, Lachlan Dhu, on whom he lavished great affection and planned to make the boy his heir. But Lachlan had an evil nature and Tullochcarron, despairing of him, decided to take a wife and, having done so, she bore him a son, Duncan Bane, who was everything Tullochcarron could have hoped for. Lachlan, being a crafty boy, appeared to change his nature and treated the child with loving affection; secretly he was plotting his destruction. Having reached the age of 17, Duncan Bane had fallen in love with Anna Gordon, a girl of great beauty, but lacking in riches. Duncan was careful to tell no one of their love. Meanwhile, Tullochcarron was planning an advantageous marriage for his son. Lachlan declared his love for the beautiful Anna, who told Duncan but swore him to secrecy. Duncan was very angry and began to suspect that Lachlan’s friendliness was insincere. Having decided to kill both Duncan and his father, Tullochcarron, Lachlan went to Tullochcarron’s long-standing enemy, Ballindalloch. He requested Ballindalloch’s support in his treacherous plan to kill Duncan and his father, in return for which he would be Ballindalloch’s vassal and guarantee the friendship of the lands of Tullochcarron in the future. Ballindalloch was non-committal, but he was in fact profoundly shocked and immediately wrote to Tullochcarron in order to warn him of this plot.
Tullochcarron did not entirely believe this warning, coming as it did from his sworn enemy, and thus only took half-hearted precautions. He did not suspect Lachlan’s intense jealousy of Duncan, being ignorant of his desired liaison with Anna Gordon. Duncan and Anna Gordon had given Duncan’s bodyguard the slip so that they could spend some time together. They were saying goodbye to each other on a precipice and as soon as Anna had left, Lachlan leapt out of the bushes and pushed poor Duncan over the precipice onto the rocks of the River Aven, where he immediately died. Anna Gordon went mad. Lachlan told Tullochcarron that there had been a serious accident, but Tullochcarron knew that Lachlan was the guilty party. He had him locked up immediately, and he was tried and hanged on that same evening. Tullochcarron now had no heir, so he bequeathed his lands and title to Ballindalloch, thus ending many years of feuding between the Grants of Tullochcarron and the Grants of Ballindalloch.