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ORIGIN OF CLAN MAC INTYRE
Meaning of the Name
MacIntyre in Gaelic is Mac-an-t-Saoir
and means Children of The Wright. In ancient Scotland, wright
meant shipwright. Although, saoir also means carpenter, in Scotland
there was no need for someone with special skills to build and furnish a
simple Highland dwelling. Conversely, there was a clear need for the
skills of a wright to build a seaworthy galley.1
This doesn’t
mean that Scots who changed their name when they emigrated to England,
always changed it to Wright. They may have very well changed it to
Carpenter or Joiner, as they moved further south into England.
Traditional Origin Legends
When there is no written history,
weight must be given to the stories passed down through the ages by clan
bards and seanachies because these individuals were held in high esteem
and were trusted with the solemn duty of preserving the history of their
chiefs.2 Although many of these tales sound far fetched, we
know that new clans and surnames were often established after a heroic act
or acquisition of new territory through inheritance or warfare. These
stories had common threads and were important enough to be told and
retold. Assuming the legends are based on facts, or are allegories
representing real events, the following summary seems reasonable.
At the beginning of the 2nd
century, Conn of the Hundred Battles was the High King of Scotia.3
Cabris Riada, a grandson or nephew of Conn, established a colony in Argyll
and the western islands. One of Cabris’s sons, Colla Uais maintained and
enlarged this colony, called Dalriada. Clan Donald and Clan MacDougall
claim to be direct male descendants of the Conn-Cabris-Colla line.
In the latter half of the
4th century, a great ruler in Ulster, Nial of the Nine Hostages, The O’Neill,
came to the rescue of the Dalriada colony in their battle with the Picts.
The MacNeils are the descendants of The O’Neill.
From 800A.D. to1100 A.D.,
the ancestors of those who would eventually be called MacIntyres,
MacDonalds, MacDougalls, and MacNeils, lived on the islands west of
Scotland.4 It was from these early times, before written
history, that the first MacIntyre legends originated.
The Thumb Carpenter.
The origin story favored by Duncan Ban MacIntyre, the Gaelic poet,
concerns these earliest ancestors. As the story goes, an ancestor of a
MacDonald living in Sleat, finding his boat about to sink from a leak,
stuck his thumb in the hole, chopped it off and hammered it firm, so
saving the boat and crew. For this heroic act, he was called the thumb
carpenter or Saor-na-h-ordaig and, according to custom, his son was
the first to be called Mac-an-t-Saoir, son of the carpenter. This
story may have simply been Duncan Ban’s poetic license because an almost
identical story is told of the illegitimate son of a MacDonald King,
Fingal of Islay, who was then called the Thumb Carpenter and whose
descendants were called Sons of the Wright. It is the MacDonald version of
the story, which has given them the notion that MacIntyres are descendants
of the MacDonalds.
Maurice MacNeil and
Somerled. The second tale is later
and the time it occurred can be accurately pinpointed. In the first half
of the 12th century, a man named Somerled was the Thane of
Argyll. Somerled claimed direct descent from Colla Uais in the male line
but had Norse blood as well. Between 1100-1120, a sister of Somerled
married a younger son of the MacNeil chief. From this union of a MacNeil
and his "Colla" wife issued a son, Maurice, who was destined to
be the progenitor of Clan MacIntyre. This story is recounted in Collectanea
de Rebus Albanicis, c. 1450 and is the first MacIntyre legend to be
found in print.5 Of course,
1. The early Highland dwellings
had stonewalls, thatched roofs, dirt floors, and minimal furniture.
2.
being first isn’t proof of truth
or accuracy, especially since it was written three centuries after the
fact. While the account could be partly fictional, the marriage of
Somerled to Ragnhild, daughter of Olav, was real and took place c.1140
A.D. It seems that Somerled wanted to wrest possession of the Western
Isles from his Norse over ruler, Olav, King of Man, and the Western Isles.
Somerled was not strong enough to do this by force so he tried a common
alternative - marriage. He offered to support Olav in a raid on the
English coast in return for the hand of Olav’s daughter, Ragnhild. Olav
refused and Somerled had no choice but to go on the raid anyway.
This is where the story
would have ended except Somerled had a nephew, Maurice MacNeil,1 who just
happened to be Olav’s foster son.2
In this struggle for power,
Maurice had to choose his uncle or to his foster father and he chose his
blood relation, Somerled. Maurice devised a plan that took advantage of
his being stationed on Olav’s galley. The night before they sailed,
while everyone was feasting on the shore, Maurice secretly bored holes
just above the waterline and plugged them with tallow. The fleet of
galleys set sail in the morning and, as expected, they encountered rough
seas just past the point of Ardnamurchan. The strong waves dislodged the
tallow plugs in Olav’s ship and it began to sink. Faced with certain
death, Olav called to Somerled’s galley for help and gave a solemn
pledge of his daughter’s hand in marriage in return for his life. Once
Olav was safely aboard Somerled’s galley, Maurice plugged the holes with
wooden pegs he had made. For this cunning and heroic act, Maurice was
called "The Wright or Saoir" and his descendants were called Mac-an-t-Saoir.
3 Olav died in 1053 and within a few years Somerled was King of the
Isles. Sometime thereafter, Maurice "The Wright" became a clan
chief and his son the first son of The Wright and Chief of Clan MacIntyre.4
False Origins
Books and commercial pamphlets on
clan tartans and histories are replete with false explanations of the
origin of Clan MacIntyre. They often contain a kernel of truth and some of
the explanations even sound plausible, but so did the idea that the sun
revolves around the earth. Nevertheless, these explanations are neither
based on historical fact nor supported by the legends.
Trade Name.
The most common, yet patently false, explanation is that MacIntyres are a
clan of carpenters or shipwrights. In daily conversation, it was normal to
refer to someone by his skill, like "John the Baker." However,
clans were not trade groups or guilds. If MacIntyres were all shipwrights
or carpenters, they would have been found all over Scotland instead of
being concentrated in Argyll. This concentrated distribution continues to
the present day. No one suggests that Clan MacNab (son of the abbot) was a
clan of clergymen although its founder may have been one just as Maurice
MacNeil may have been a shipwright.
Ecclesiastical.
There were a number of famous Scoti ecclesiastics with the name, MacIntyre.
The first to be recorded was Ciaran Mac-an-t-Saoir in 541. Later known as
St. Ciaran, he founded the famous monastery of Clonmacnoise, near Athlone,
Ireland and was called Mac an-t-Saoir simply because his father was a
carpenter or artificicer (one who is skilled in building). St. Ciaran, who
died without issue, could not have been the founder of a hereditary Clan
MacIntyre.5
There was an added religious significance to their name because
Jesus was the son of a carpenter. In the Gaelic New Testament (Matthew
XIII, 55) you will find the question, in referring to Jesus, "Nach
e so mac an t-saoir?" Is not this the carpenter’s son? Two
hundred years later,
1. Maurice is also referred to as
Murdoch, and MacNeil as MacArill or O’Neill.
2. It was a common practice to exchange
children (fostering) or marry into families to ensure peace where there might
otherwise by enmity.
3. Bibliography 11, page 281.
4. Donald J. MacDonald of Castleton in his 1978 history, Clan Donald,
takes his version of this story from an earlier history by the, so-called Sleat
Seanachie. This history corroborates the Maurice MacNeil-Somerled story
with one significant exception. His first reference to Maurice MacNeil is as a
"skillful ship-wright" and a "Saor Sleibhteach (Sleat
Carpenter)" who disabled Olav’s galley to achieve Somerled’s marriage
to Ragnhild. However, when describing Somerled’s death, there is a second
reference to a Maurice MacNeil described as "a near relative" who
murdered Somerled for money or land! So, the seanachies of the Donalds give to
the MacIntyres with one hand and takes with the other! However, neither the
shipwright-hero Maurice nor the murdering relative, Maurice, would qualify
MacIntyres as a sept of Clan Donald. There is some sense to the
shipwright-hero story, since it would take the skill of a wright to quickly
bore the holes in the correct location. For those who would like to think the
worst and who love conspiracies, there is this possibility based on the tale
by the Sleat Seanachie. In this scenario, Maurice would be both the nephew of
Somerled and the skillful shipwright. After developing and executing a daring
plan to secure Ragnhild for his uncle, Somerled failed to reward the "Sleat
Wright" as promised. After waiting for 14 years for his reward, Maurice
accepted a promised of land from King Malcolm III in return for delivering
Somerled to him. According to the Donald historian, Maurice murdered his Uncle
Somerled but when Somerled’s corpse was kicked by one of the King’s men,
Maurice killed the soldier for dishonoring his dead Uncle. Despite this second
murder, King Malcolm III fulfilled his promise to Maurice and gave him his
reward. Could this have been Glenoe and could King Malcolm III be the king (as
told by Duncan Ban) who gave the MacIntyre chiefs their coat of arms? Now that
would be some story! Are there two Maurice MacNeils or only one? Surely, we
shall never know.
5. Nevertheless, it would have been possible for St. Ciaran to be the founder
since the Celtic Church permitted clerics to marry and have families.
in 762, another Ciaran Mac an-t-Saoir was Abbot of
Eanach Dhu in the north of Ireland and just a few years later in 773 a
Conall Mac an-t-Saoir was named an Abbot of Beannchair. Again, three
hundred years, in 1029, another Irish cleric, Mael Brighde was called Mac
an-t-Saoir. By this time, it appears that Mac an-t-Saoir had become a sort
of title within the Church, to denote wisdom or to venerate St. Ciaran,
rather than being a family name.1
Finally, in 1268 there was Michael Mac
an-t-Saoir who was Bishop of Clogher in Tryone. Mac an-t-Saior was his
family name, but there is no evidence that it was a clan name.
Territorial.
Some references falsely state that MacIntyres are descended from
MacDonalds of Kintyre. Indeed, there was a MacDonald of Cean-Tire
(pronounced Kintyre and meaning headland) because he possessed land in
Kintyre. This MacDonald had a son with land near Ben Cruachan and he was
known as Donald Mac-Cein-Teire-Cruachan. While this derivation has an
English language, "sounds-like" plausibility, the Gaelic
spelling is completely different. With few exceptions, clan names were not
derived from place names except to distinguish branches of the same clan
e.g. Stewart of Appin vs. Stewart of Atholl.
Where From and Where To?
Because the name MacIntyre,
was easily derived as the son of a wright or carpenter, it is certainly
possible that it could have developed independently in Ireland and
Scotland, just as it is also possible that after it was established in
Scotland, the name came back to Ireland during multiple waves of
immigration from Scotland.
In about 300 A.D., the
Scoti came from northeast Ireland to colonized Argyll and the Western
Islands including Sleat. These people would have included the ancestors of
the MacIntyres as well as the MacDonalds, MacDougalls, and MacNeils. At
that time, these clans were not known by these names, with the possible
exception of the MacNeils.2 In fact, the use of surnames did not develop
until c. 1000. The MacIntyre oral tradition places the homeland of the
ancestors of Clan MacIntyre in Sleat at the southern tip of the Isle of
Skye. There are two legends about how the MacIntyre’s arrived on the
mainland and eventually at Glenoe.
Two Brothers.3,4
Two brothers - one the ancestor of the MacDonalds and the other the
ancestor of the MacIntyres - sailed in their galleys from one of the
northern islands of Skye. When in sight of the mainland they agreed that
the country should be named and owned by the one who should first touch
it. They were pretty well matched sailing side by side. When they were
nearing the shore, Donald was ahead but his boat sprung a leak. In order
to win, he stuck his finger in the hole, cut it off with his dirk, and
continued sailing.5 Upon seeing that he was about to lose, the other
brother, the Saoir or Wright, cut off his left hand and threw it on the
land, thereby claiming first possession. A similar story is found in the
MacDonald legends, and before that in the Irish Scoti legends. Let us hope
that these heroic amputations were merely allegories representing the
separation of the cousins or twins into separate clans.6
Second Sight and Mountain
Spirits. An ancestor of the
MacIntyres lived in Sleat and was constantly harassed by Viking raids.
After one such raid, a white cow was spared, having been overlooked in the
snow. In desperation, he sought advice from an old lady gifted with
second-sight.7
She told him that he would find peace and
happiness if he left Sleat and settled his family where the cow would
first lie down after landing. MacIntyre, his wife, two sons, and the white
cow (who fortunately was in calf) left Sleat in a galley and landed on the
mainland. The well-known Gaelic poet, Ailein Dall of Glencoe said:
MacIntyres were bold,
hardy, and fleet,
Though they lost what belonged to the Clan when in Sleat8
The Wright arrived on the
mainland with his family at a place called Cown-na-Gara 9 where
they stayed quite a few years until their white cattle became so numerous
that they had to find a place with more pasture.
1. Analysis by John MacLaughlin and
Brian McIntyre (Internet correspondents).
2. It is said that we all have a common ancestor named Adam who lived in the
Garden of Eden; yet, we all don’t have the surname MacAdam, unless we have
the time and knowledge to recite the names of each generation back to Adam and
Eve.
3. From an unpublished manuscript dated 1852, by James, fifth Chief of Record.
4. Bibliography
5. When Clan Donald tell this story it is the ancestor of the MacIntyres who
cuts off his thumb (hence the thumb carpenter) and it is the ancestor of the
Donalds who cuts off his hand and wins the land. In the Donald’s version the
land is Sleat and the MacIntyres have to seek land elsewhere.
6. There are multiple versions of the thumb and hand story with opposing views
as to who cut off a hand or thumb and whether is was the right or left. This
would change who won the race and claimed the land. The stories also vary as
to what land they were trying to reach, Ireland or Sleat or Glenoe.
7. Traditionally Scots have been believers in spirits, fairy-lore, and
second-sight.
8. I need the reference to this poem.
9. The location of Cown-na-Gara is unknown.
Arriving at the side of
Ben Cruachan on Loch Etiveside, they tried to drive their cattle through
several passes but were each time prevented by the Mountain Spirit.1 They
persevered until the spirit finally let them pass through an opening (larig)
to Glenoe, a beautiful rich grazing valley northeast of the mountain. The
Spirit told them to stop and build their house where the cow should first
lie down.
In another version, the
MacIntyres first landed on the mainland at Bagh-na-Torrach
(castle bay) near Dunollie (Fort of Olav) and then followed the
shores of Loch Etive until they came to Ben Cruachan. At first, the
Mountain Spirit turned them back but let it be made known that it was not
from ill will that he repulsed them. He then told them that if they went
to the other side of the mountain they would find a habitation where they
could settle under his guardianship.2 It was to be called,
Glenoe.
Summary
The legends suggest that the
ancestors of the MacIntyres came from the islands off the western shore of
Scotland and eventually to Glenoe on the mainland. Combining the legends
with known historical facts, gives credence to the idea that around 1150
Clan MacIntyre was formed by Maurice MacNeil, The Wright. We can also be
fairly sure that by 1314 there was a recognized Clan MacIntyre, because
pipers identified by the Menzies as MacIntyres led them into battle for
King Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn.3 Supplying hereditary
pipers to another clan suggests that MacIntyres were a well-established
clan that existed for many generations before 1314. In dealing with
traditions such as these, one must give or take a couple of hundred years.4
This scenario gives ample time for the large body of legends to develop
and age, like a fine single-malt Scotch in a seasoned oak barrel.
(Photos)
MacIntyre Falls on the River
Noe at Glenoe, September 1994
Meadow at Glenoe on
Lochetiveside
Cairn at Glenoe to the
memory of MacIntyre Chiefs and Chieftains
(Illustration – Map)
Glenoe and the surrounding
area
GLENOE - HOME OF THE MAC INTYRES
Glenoe
The spot where the cow first lay
down to rest was at Glenoe, Loch Etiveside, at the base of Ben Cruachan.
The place is still known as Larach-na-ba-Baine, meaning the Site of
the White Cow. Glenoe is about three miles long by three broad on the
north face of Ben Cruachan. In Gaelic, Glenoe is Glenna Nodha
meaning speckled or brindled valley. 5 The origin of this name
suggests a variety in the color of the trees including the yew and alder
trees that could give this speckled appearance when seen from a distance.
6 Snow from the corries of Ben Cruachan feed the River Noe, which runs
down the west side of the glen. Two-thirds of the way down is a beautiful
waterfall, which is nameless on the survey map. I have taken the liberty
of naming it MacIntyre Falls. Where the River Noe enters Loch Etive, is
called Invernoe. Going along the shoreline toward the head of Loch Etive,
one comes upon a small meadow where sheep may be grazing. Near the shore
is a mound of stones, a memorial cairn that was raised in 1976 to honor
the MacIntyre Chiefs. Over the years, visitors have added stones to the
cairn from a ready supply on the shore and it has become so large that it
is identified on the official 2000 ordinance survey map. Continuing along
the shore is a small jetty followed closely by forested hillock covered
with alder trees. On the other side of the hillock is a stone house built
in1858. This may have been the site of Larach-na-ba-Baine, where
the Chief built his first dwelling. Another possible site is
1. Bibliography 13,
page 198?
2. According to Alexander James MacIntyre of Inveraray, Argyll.
3. From the Red and White Book of Menzies page 52 on the Battle of Bannockburn,
Monday 24, June 1314. "In front of them (the Menzies) were played the
bagpipes by their hereditary pipers, the MacIntyres."
4. Assuming 25 years per generation, the year 1314 would be twenty-eight
generations ago and 1150 would be eight generations more, for a total of
thirty-four generations.
5. This is only one definition of the meaning of Noe or Nodha, but it makes
the most sense to the author. Other meanings ascribed by various authors are:
new, verdant, virgin, and north. All of these definitions could apply, since
the glen was at one time new to the inhabitants with a green, virgin forest
and it is on the North side of Ben Cruachan. However, at one time these other
definitions would have applied to thousands of Scotland’s many glens. The
special coloration of the variety of trees that were once abundant in this
small glen could have inspired the name, Glenoe.
6. When viewed from above on Ben Cruachan or from the other side of Loch Etive.
the remains
of a stone structure a short distance up the glen. This ruin could have
been a holding pen for livestock but the Highland house served both man
and beasts on cold winter nights.1
Loch Etive
Loch Etive is a narrow sea loch2
that enters the Firth of Lorn next to Loch Linnhe. Loch Etive is
easy to see on a map because it looks like a bird in flight, a boomerang,
or a bent arm depending on your imagination. It is a sea loch, which means
it has both fresh and salt water. The fresh water comes from small rivers
and streams that enter along its shoreline, starting at its head,
Inveretive, where the River Etive enters the loch. Another major source of
fresh water is at the elbow (Inverawe), where the River Awe discharges
into Loch Etive.
The salt water in Loch
Etive comes from a unique opening to the sea at Connel. Twice a
day, as the tide comes in, the salty seawater rushes over a natural rock
dam into Loch Etive creating the Falls of Lora. Boats and sea life
can enter and exit only during the few hours of high tide. The presence of
seawater is evidenced by the seals sunbathing on rocky islands in the
middle of Loch Etive and sheep eating seaweed on the shoreline.
Ben Cruachan
At 3689 feet, Ben Cruachan is the
tallest mountain in Argyll. The large cup-shaped depression on the
northwest side above Glenoe is probably from a glacial flow as the ice
receded to the North at the end of the last Ice Age. It is from Ben
Cruachan’s snow pack that the River Noe originates and flows down to
Loch Etive. Even in the early summer, you can find snow deep in the
crevices that never see the light of day. Viewed from the south or north,
the distinctive twin peaks of Ben Cruachan were formed long before man
arrived. In Gaelic, Cruachan mean pointed or conical. With Ben
Cruachan on one side and Loch Etive on the other, Glenoe was fairly well
protected from the prying eyes of both strangers and neighbors.
KIN3
The First MacIntyres
We can’t verify when the first
MacIntyres arrived in Glenoe or even if they were known as MacIntyres.
Various accounts place the MacIntyre settlement of Glenoe from as early as
c.800 A.D. The oldest written surviving contemporary document is from 1556
and it refers to an event involving MacIntyres in 1440 at Glenorchy, on
the other side of Ben Cruachan from Glenoe. We do know that MacIntyres
eventually lived at Glenoe on Loch Etiveside and in the adjoining glens
where they were probably the hereditary foresters to those who ruled Lorn.
It is likely that the 1314 pipers for the Menzies originally came from
Glenoe.
The only information
by a member of the Chief’s family is a statement by Mary MacIntyre, a
surviving younger sister of the MacIntyre Chief, James (III). She said,
"James McIntyre of Gleno . . . with his predecessors … resided upon
the farm at Gleno for about 700 years past . . ."4 This is the only
account of a member of a MacIntyre Chief’s family that states the
approximate length of time that MacIntyres were in Glenoe. She could have
said any number of years but she said 700, which would take us back to the
1100s, exactly when Somerled ruled Argyll and could have given Glenoe as a
reward to Maurice MacNeil, The Wright. Coll MacDonald of Dalness, 5 a
Writer to the Signet6
Signet6
in Edinburgh, said he found documents in the
Lyon Registry Office showing that the MacIntyres had occupied Glenoe for
upwards of 1000 years. The poem in the dedication to this book says that
the apple tree and MacIntyres of Glenoe are the oldest farmers in
Scotland, which suggests an early origin. For those who would like to
imagine what it might have been like to be a MacIntyre living at Glenoe c.
800-1200 A.D., Alexander James MacIntyre has written an unfinished
1. The Glenoe property is presently
owned by Mr. Heriot-Maitland.
2. A sea loch is subject to tidal changes and the Falls of Lora is a tidal
fall created by a rocky area at the narrow mouth of the loch where it enters
the sea. When the tide is out, the rocks are a visible barrier to entering or
leaving the loch. When the tide comes in, the seawater rushes over the rocks
creating the Falls of Lora. At high tide, the water level is above the top of
the falls and it is possible to see how small boats can cross in and out over
the falls if the boat’s draft is shallow. When the crossing hasn’t been
timed correctly with the tides, the results have been disastrous with
foundering of the boat and loss of life.
3. Kin
are relatives by blood or marriage. They include those who came before
(ancestors) and those who came after (descendents). Kith are unrelated
neighbors.
4. From an appeal for assistance to Lord Glenorchy in 1810.
5. In 1962, the author (L.D. MacIntyre) saw the tomb of Coll MacDonald of
Dalness surrounded by an iron fence and padlocked in the fashion of that
period to discourage grave robbers seeking cadavers to sell to medical
students for dissection.
6. A judicial officer who prepares warrants, writs, etc; originally a clerk in
the office of the Secretary of State.
historical novel based on the stories he was told as a child by his
grandmother and great-aunt. Here is a brief excerpt from the story, which
is in Part V:
The Tale of the Mystic
Brindled Stone
Chapter I - Introduces
the reader to three of the principal characters
Alert and eagerly
the man and boy searched the rock-strewn shore near high water mark.
Now, at the water’s edge, each followed his own path, never uttering a
word. They both carried long cromacks in their hands, which they used
with a peculiar twist to turn over large stones or to search below the
sea tangle. It was evident that a very diligent search was being made
for something which they knew was there but was seemingly very difficult
to find. Behind them right to the shore stretched the impenetrable
Caledonian Forest, tall firs, birches, and ancient oaks mingling
together in a confused mass. Complete solitude and utter desolation were
it not that in the distance, rising above the trees, could be seen a
slight wisp of blue wood smoke almost obscured by the mist, proclaiming
that even in the midst of this wilderness of forest, mountain and sea,
cosy fires burned to welcome the wanderers home. The short winter’s
day was fast drawing to a close; the note of the sea bird’s cry had
changed. No longer was the search for food possible; their cry was the
roosting cry as they settled to rest in sheltered corners of the shore.
Down the steep sides of Cruachan echoes the sharp bark of the she-wolf
gathering the pack before setting out to their nightly hunting ground.
The searchers continued on their quest (continue in Part V.
Legends and Stories)
Ancestors
In studying a Scottish
clan, you can go both forward and backwards from the time of the person
identified as the progenitor. For the MacIntyres, that person is Maurice
MacNeil, The Wright, and the time is c.1150 A.D. The legend of Maurice and
Somerled explains how a new chief and clan could be peacefully established
on territory already under Somerled’s control. It is important to trace
the blood relationships before the time of Somerled in order to understand
what happened afterwards.
The table, MacIntyre
Ancestors, shows the blood relationships before the clans were formed
under their present names. This demonstrates that MacIntyres are cousins
to the MacDonalds and MacDougalls on the female side prior to
establishment of these names as independent clans. Their common ancestor
was Gillebride, father of Somerled, who was paternal grandfather of Dougal
(MacDougall), maternal grandfather of Maurice, The Wright (MacIntyre) and
paternal great grandfather of Donald (MacDonald). This makes sense of the
story about the boat race between the ancestors of the MacDonalds and the
MacIntyres but instead of the story being titled "Two Brothers,"
it should be "Two Cousins." MacIntyres are also cousins to the
MacNeils on the male side.
In discussing the origins
of Clan MacIntyre, Duncan McIntyre of Australia uses the most conservative
criteria -- only what can be safely stated without direct denial. He
concludes that Clan MacIntyre developed parallel with the MacDonalds, and
therefore, not as their sept or branch. He dates the beginning of Clan
MacIntyre as "...not later than 1400", because he feels sure
there was a Clan MacIntyre at the beginning of the 1400s, but he feels he
can’t accurately say how much earlier. Of course, this does not rule out
the possibility that it could be c.1150, in keeping with the Somerled
connection, espoused by other clan historians. The location of the Thumb
Carpenter legend on the Isle of Skye and its allegorical nature suggests
an even earlier origin but there is no way to prove it or date it. The
most plausible argument against an earlier date is the fact that Clans
Donald and MacDougall were named after ancestors living in the 1100s.
table 1. One Version of the MacIntyre
Ancestry
MacIntyre Cadets
After a clan became
established, there were situations in which it became necessary or
desirable to form a cadet or branch. Cadets were headed by a younger son
of the chief who wanted to establish his own identity or had acquired his
own land through marriage or inheritance. If this occurred more than once,
the first cadet is referred to as the senior cadet and the later ones as
junior cadets. Cadets are within the heraldic system and require the same
process of recognition and documentation of inheritance. The head of a
cadet is usually called a chieftain or representer.
The House of
Camus-na-h-Erie is the senior cadet
of Glenoe and is presently in its seventeenth generation. It originated
before written records when a younger son of an unnamed MacIntyre chief
moved to Loch Leven and established himself as a cadet of the House
of Glenoe. The Lord Lyon, King of Arms, recognized the Camus-na-h-Erie
cadet in 1955 when he awarded Arms to Alastair MacIntyre, as sixteenth
Chieftain of the senior cadet of Glenoe.
The House of Stranmore
is reputedly the Glenorchy cadet of Glenoe that produced Duncan Ban
MacIntyre, the famous MacIntyre Gaelic poet, and James Alexander MacIntyre,
a clan historian/storyteller in the first half of the twentieth century.
This cadet has not been recognized by the Lyon Court and has no known
living descendant.
The House of Etive, if
it actually ever existed, would have been located at Dalness near the site
of the encampment of Deirdre of the Sorrows. This cadet is not recognized
by the Lyon Court and has no known living descendant.
MacIntyre Septs
All of the reasons for
calling a group a sept of a clan apply to septs of Clan MacIntyre. In this
second edition, Wrightson has been added the list of septs because it
means, son of the wright. Of course, Wrightson or Wright could be of
English origin, but if the family originated in Scotland, the presumption
is that they are MacIntyres. Well-known septs will be discussed with the
stories associated with their origin and existence.
MacIntyres of
Glenorchy. Glenorchy is on
the other side of Ben Cruachan, southeast of Glenoe and north of Loch Awe.
Whether they were a sept or a cadet of Clan MacIntyre is not known at this
time. However, we do know that they were a large enough to have their own
identity and tartan. They were also known as Clan Teir and from a feudal
standpoint were under the sway of Campbell of Glenorchy. There is a
question as to whether Clan Teir was synonymous with Clan MacIntyre of
Glenoe. Even if they owed a feudal allegiance to Glenorchy, they still
owed their Gaelic family allegiance to MacIntyre of Glenoe.
A feudal superior held the
power of life and death over his subjects. Lord Glenorchy, when he became
the Earl of Breadalbane, held court at Taymouth Castle where he gave
summary judgment of guilt, which could be quickly executed, from The
Hanging Tree. There is an entry in The Black Book of Taymouth1
regarding Clan Teir under date of June 4, 1556. This agreement, called a
Bond, was a written confirmation of an oral agreement made between 1410
and 1453. It states that during the minority of King James I or II,2 a
person known as Johne Boy M`Ynteir committed cruel slaughter of Johne
M`Gillenlag, a foster brother of Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy. As
punishment, Lord Glenorchy decided that Clan Teir must elect him and his
heirs as their feudal chiefs and masters. One hundred and sixteen years
later, on June 4, 1556, a meeting was held at the Castle of Glenorchy to
have Clan Teir ratify this bond in writing and to pledge to keep the
peace. Present as witnesses were the chiefs of two neighboring clans,
Alexander Menzies of Rannoch and John MacGregor of MacGregor.3
BOND TO GLENORCHY
Duncan M’Olcallum, V’ane
V yntere, Gillecrist M’Corkill V Inteir, Johne M’Corkill V. Ynteir,
Torkill M’Ane V Inteir, Johne Glas M’Olvorie V. Inteir, and Johne
M’Ewin V.Oldouuycht V Inter
. . .foresamekill as
our predecessouris for the tyme happinit to commit slauchter upon
wmquhile [the late] Sir Colyne Campbell of Glenurquhay, knycht in
the minority and less aige of Kyng James the First in the cruel
slauchter of ane fostir brothir of the said Sir Colyn callit John M’Gillenlag
for sythment and recompens of the said slauchtir our saidis
predecessouris to eschew the hatrint and pirsute of the said Sir
Colyn deliverit to hym ane of the principile committaris of the said
slaughter callit Johne Boy M’Ynteir to be pwnesit at the will of
the said Sir Colyne. And may rouer that thai and thair posterite
mycht remaine in favouris of the said Sir Colyne electit and tuke
hymn and his airis for thair chieffis and masteris … and ….. gev
…. to the said Colyn and his airis thair calpis … quhilkis
calpis the said Sir Colyne Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenurquhay knycht
his sone that decessit at Flowdown and all utheris lardis of
Glenurquhay sen syne tuk lirk wp: the Said Clan Teir of new ratify
the said Bond in favour of Colyne now of Glenurquhay. Dated at the
castle of Glenurquhaybefore witnesses Alexander Menzis of Rannoch,
Johne M’Conachy Gregour, John M’Conachy Roy, and Sir Malcum
M"Gillequhonill
4 June 1556
1. Bibliography #, p 167
2. Two individuals have made copies of the original
document and after the name "King James" one has "the [blank}
and the other has "the First." If it was King James I then it was
from age one in 1395 to 1413 at age 18, and if it was James II then it was
between 1431 and 1448. The significance of this is discussed in the body of
the text.
3. The 1556 meeting was most unusual because the representatives of Clan
Teir were being held accountable for a crime committed at least 116 years and
four to six generations earlier!
The following is a
non-literal (but hopefully accurate) translation.
Duncan son of Malcolm
son of Joh MacIntyre, Gillecrist son of Torkill MacIntyre, John son of
Torkill MacIntyre, and Torkill son of John MacIntyre, and grey-haired
John son of Olvorie MacIntyre, and John son of Ewan son of Oldouycht
MacIntyre,
For our ancestors, who
in the minority of King James I, committed a crime against the late
Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, by killing his foster brother, John
MacGillenlag, and to compensate for this crime and to relieve the
hatred and pursuit of Sir Colin, our ancestors delivered to him the
main perpetrator, called John Boy M’Ynteir, to be punished at the
will of Sir Colin. And moreover, (agreed) that they and their
descendents would remain in favor of Sir Colin and elect and take him
and his heirs for their chiefs and masters and give to Sir Colyn and
his heirs death duty, the same death duty that Colin, Sir Duncan
Campbell of Glenorchy, his son who died at Flodden, and all other
Lords of Glenorchy have required since then; the said Clan Teir renews
this Bond in favor of Colin, now of Glenorchy. Dated at the Castle of
Glenorchy before witnesses Alexander Menzies of Rannoch, John M’Conachy
Gregour, and Johne M’Conachy Roy, and Sir Malcolm M’Gillequhonill.
4 June 1556
There is a story that may
be connected to this event and could explain why there were so many
MacIntyres in the Campbell territories of Glenorchy. The story is about
Duncan, a MacIntyre Chief of Glenoe, whose two sons drove their white
cattle from Glenoe to Tyndrum, in Glenorchy. They were planning to sell
the cattle to some Campbells but a dispute arose in which one or more
Campbells were killed. One of the punishments was an annual death duty
that was not specified but may have been the snowball and white calf. But
there was a more onerous punishment -- the MacIntyre chief’s two adult
sons and their families were required to live in Glenorchy under the thumb
of the Campbells! WARNING: The rest of this story is in Part V and has a
"PG" rating. It is somewhat gruesome and parents should read it
first to determine if it is suitable for their children.
This story and the Bond to
Lord Glenorchy both deal with the relationship between the MacIntyres and
the Campbells. Since the Bond is the first that identifies a Clan Teir or
MacIntyre, three writers, Alexander James MacIntyre, L. D. MacIntyre, and
Duncan McIntyre, have analyzed its significance with varied
interpretations. Each variation will be summarized followed by a fourth
one by this author.
In 1936, Alexander of
Inveraray copied the Bond in long hand from the original document. He was
also the writer who recounted the story of Chief Duncan of Glenoe and his
two sons, as told to him by his father.. He treats the story and the Bond
as two versions of the same events. Alexander copied that it was during
the minority of King James the First (between 1395 – 1412). At that
time, MacIntyres at Glenoe were not under the territorial or judicial
control of the Campbells. Nevertheless, the Campbells apparently were able
to insist on a death duty (calps) to atone for this killing by MacIntyres.
Even then, possession was nine parts of the law and they probably
possessed the Chief’s sons, which Johne Boy was able to escape. The Bond
say that Johne Boy was the primary perpetrator, and the legend suggests
that the Chief’s sons were involved and their punishment was permanent
house arrest in Glenorchy for them, and their families. Alexander felt
that the calps referred to in the Bond may have been the snowball and
fatted calf on Midsummer’s Day between Glenoe and Glenorchy at the pass
near the summit of Ben Cruachan. Alexander made no mention of the
continuing obligation of man-rent or the loss of MacIntyre’s
independence or MacIntyres becoming a sept of the Campbells. He does say
that this incident was the beginning of the Glenorchy MacIntyres and in a
separate place said that it was the end of any chance for MacIntyres to
become a powerful Clan. He also tells a number of stories that indicate
MacIntyre independence and mutual mistrust between the MacIntyres and the
Campbells. In one of these, Donald Fraich (Duncan’s second son and
eventually a Chief) was insulted by the Campbells when he delivered the
snowball and calf and he never deliver it again. This would have been less
than one generation after the death duty was imposed.
In 1987, L. D. MacIntyre
used Alexander’s text, but came to a somewhat different conclusion.
First, he did not connect the Bond with the Legend of Duncan and his sons.
He said that "some of the MacIntyres forfeited their allegiance to
the Chief Glen, but while the word Chief is used in the bond, it could be
construed to mean that this is a bond of man-rent . . ." This was why
Archibald MacIntyre fought along side Sir Colin Campbell at Flodden and
brought back his body. He doesn’t acknowledge that Clan Teir is the same
as Clan MacIntyre but by putting their under MacIntyres of Glenorchy as in
this edition as well, is suggesting that Clan Teir is a Glenorchy sept and
the main Clan MacIntyre, is in Glenoe. This interpretation permits the
MacIntyes of Glenoe to remain independent while the MacIntyres of
Glenorchy may have lost their independence by becoming a sept of Clan
Campbell.
In 1991, Duncan MacIntyre
of Australia, asserted that the Bond meant that the MacIntyre Chief of
Glenoe forfeited his clan’s independence in favor of Clan Campbell, and
thenceforth, Glenoe would have only have been a chieftain of a sept of
Clan Campbell. This is based on the use of the word chief in
describing the relationship of Lord Glenorchy to the members of Clan Teir.
It also is based on the assumption that Clan Teir is synonymous with Clan
MacIntyre of Glenoe. The bond of man-rent would have required the
MacIntyres of Glenorchy and Glenoe to furnish men upon demand to the Lords
of Glenorchy.1 It is a matter of record that MacIntyres did fight in the
Clan Battles in 1445 and at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. Finally, Duncan
of Australia read the original Bond and his copy has one major difference
from Alexander’s copy. Where Duncan’s says, "King James the
[blank]", Alexander has "Kyng James the First." Duncan
feels certain that it was James II and not James I, based on other
historical facts, specifically, the date of the first Lord
Glenorchy(1432). King James II was in his minority from 1431 to 1448,
which would suggest James II. It is also on the basis that Glenoe became a
part of Lord Glenorchy’s holdings by 1457 and the Lordship of Lorn
became Campbell in 1469.
In 2001, six hundred years
after the event, and 450 years after the document was signed, I (the
author of the second edition) will make yet another attempt to explain the
relationship between the MacIntyres and the Campbells by using the Bond,
the legends, historical facts, logic and common sense as guides. There are
important questions to be answered. Was the first name on the Bond the
name of the MacIntyre Chief (chieftain) of Glenoe? Did his ancestor
forfeit the clan’s independence? and if yes, when? after the murders in
the 1400s or only after the Bond was signed in 1556? Was Clan Teir
synonymous with Clan MacIntyre? Was there a direct connection between the
events cited in the Bond and the Legend of Chief Duncan? Why was a written
document required for something that the parties agreed happened more than
one hundred years earlier and had been faithfully adhered to since that
time? Finally, was this event during the time of the minority of James I
or James II? Let’s start with the last question first.
Whether it occurred in the
minority of James I or II is very important in determining what actually
happened and perhaps why a written document was needed over one hundred
years later, in 1556. The answer to this question can be further defined
by the fact that the person who was murdered was the foster brother of Sir
Colin Campbell, the aggrieved party listed in the Bond. We know that Sir
Colin could not be born before????. We can assume that his foster brother
was younger than he and was of an age when he might be hot headed (16 to
20) and thought he should be shown deference by the older, but less well
connected, MacIntyres. The question is, could this have occurred before
1412 or after 1431 and if both, which is more likely? Based on the birth
date of Sir Colin and the likely age of his foster brother being over
sixteen and under thirty, it is highly unlikely ,if not altogether
impossible, for it to be during the minority of King James I. If
James II, then the original agreement was under the jurisdiction of Lord
Glenorchy who was installed in 1432 and the likely date for the
altercation and agreement would be c.1440. Even in 1440, Lord Glenorchy
did not have control over Glenoe, which was still under the jurisdiction
of the Stewarts of Lorn. This might have been reason enough for the Lord
Glenorchy in 1556 to decide to "put it in writing" now that he
controlled both Glenoe and Glenorchy. He might have also wanted to force
other Clans that bordered on and had prior claims to Glenorchy (especially
the MacGregors) to be witness and therefore warned of the consequences if
they were to get out of line (as if they needed to be reminded). Why the
document was [blank] is not known but it may be possible to check if the
size of the blank space is more consistent with the five letter word,
"First" or six letter word, "Second."
There are things that can
be extrapolated from the Bond, that aren’t controversial or muddled. For
example, at the time of the murder, there was a distinction between Glenoe
and Glenorchy. It speaks of handing over the principle perpetrator, which
means he escaped to a place from which he needed to be extradited (Glenoe?)
1. In 1595, MacDonald of
Keppoch, because he was on the losing side of a battle, had to enter into
a bond of service and protection with Campbell of Argyll and surrender his
son Angus to ensure compliance. This lasted only two years, the time that
the balance of power was in Argyll’s favor.
It also seems curious that in 1556, the Bond makes no mention of Glenoe or
a chief/chieftain but it does mention Clan Teir. This suggests that Clan
Teir may have been separate from or only a sept of Clan MacIntyre back in
1440 and still in 1556. Finally, there is no evidence that after 1556,
MacIntyres from Glenoe were required to fight for the Campbells although
MacIntyres of Glenorchy seemed to have done so. It is my conclusion that
there was a murder c.1440 involving the MacIntyres of Glenoe and the
Campbells of Glenorchy. That MacIntyres were detained in Glenorchy and
held accountable for this murder, possibly by house arrest (as in the
legend) and certainly by death duties (probably the snowball and fatted
calf). The death duty was delivered by the MacIntyre Chief or his heir, on
Mid Summer’s Day at the border of Glenoe and Glenorchy. That for an
indeterminate period, MacIntyres in Glenorchy and perhaps Glenoe were
required to fight at the call of Lord Glenorchy. Finally, these
requirements, did not alter the position of the Glenoe, as the Gaelic
Chief of Clan MacIntyre. Other than the 1556 Bond, to this present day
Clan Campbell has never claimed Clan MacIntyre as one of their septs, and
there is no other evidence in the historical documents of Clan Campbell
that MacIntyres are their sept.
The 1556 Bond to Glenorchy
has some significant historical meaning. First, it is evidence that
MacIntyres, or a sept of the MacIntyres, were recognized as a distinct
clan as early as 1440 and undoubtedly much earlier. Second, it indicates
that they had a significant number of able-bodied men who the Campbells
wanted to be on their side in times of trouble. Finally, the need for this
document and the attendant meeting, show the importance of MacIntyres to
the Campbells.
It has been said that the
MacIntyres of Glenorchy, at the height of their strength, could produce
200-300 fighting men. There was occasion to test their prowess when Sir
John Campbell of Glenorchy (1635-1716), known as John Glas or Grey, had a
dispute with the heir of George Sinclair, sixth Earl of Caithness, whose
name and arms he had seized upon Sinclair's death as a settlement of debt.
To enforce his claim he sent the fiery cross around Loch Tay to assemble
the clansmen to make good his claims. The test of qualification for this
expedition was the ability of each man, with full equipment and in
marching order, to leap over a double plaid -- a height of 4 feet 9
inches. After this rigorous selection, Sir John had an army of 700 to 800
men with which he invaded Caithness and dispossessed Sinclair of Keiss,
the lawful successor.1
There is an old song,2
composed in 1677 on the defeat of the Sinclairs near Wick, in which the
MacIntyres are singled out for distinction. The English translation is as
follows:
Glenorchy's bold MacIntyres,
true shots that will not miss,
Bullets sure hitting that
fast slay the carles
There where the river
bends, arrows fast pierced you quick,
Many's the house-head that
rests without waking.
The full song contains a
derisive remark about the Sinclairs – they, being on horseback, wore
trews (trousers).
Duncan McIntyre‘s Clan
history contains a report by Alexander James MacIntyre of Inveraray, an
earlier historian, that there is an unrecognized MacIntyre cadet of Glenoe
in Glenorchy called, the House of Stranmore. Among it clansmen were the
18th century Highland bard, Duncan Ban MacIntyre, who will be discussed in
detail in Part IV.
MacIntyres of
Badenoch. As a rule, those
who sought the protection of Clan Campbell were absorbed into the clan and
frequently were forced to change their name to Campbell. Examples of this
are Clan MacIver, and the MacEacherns of Craignish who were originally a
branch of the MacDonalds of the Isles, yet all became Campbells. To avoid
such a fate, the Clan Chattan Confederation officially came into being in
1337. It consisted of the MacIntoshes3 and the MacPhersons plus smaller
clans who, over the years, joined the confederation for mutual strength
and defense without sacrificing their individual identities. An example of
this was Bard MacIntyre who, in the year 1496 or 1497, fled the Camerons
and sought the protection of William, 13th Chief of Clan MacIntosh, and
14th Chief of Clan Chattan. This family of MacIntyres became the
hereditary bards of Clan Chattan while remaining a sept of the MacIntyres
of Glenoe. The MacIntyres of Badenoch prospered with land on the sides of
Loch Laggan and were the last clan to be admitted to the Clan
1. Note: Upon
"gross and false representation Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy was created
Earl of Caithness, Viscount of Breadalbane, etc. with `the name and arms of
Sinclair'". King Charles II annulled the patent and reconfirmed Sinclair of
Keiss. In 1681 Sir John was issued a new patent as Earl of Breadalbane, Lord
Glenorchy, etc. but not Earl of Caithness, though he married George
Sinclair's widow in that hope!
2. In L.D.’s earlier research regarding the MacIntyres of Glenorchy, he found
a statement that their marching song was The Bold Bad MacIntyre, but the
song quoted above is the only reference that he have found that might give color
to that assumption.
3. Clan Chattan was a clan in its own right and continues to this day. However,
a daughter inherited the chiefship and when she married the MacIntosh Chief,
their son embodied two chiefships, Chattan and MacIntosh. When other clans began
to associate themselves with Chattan, it became a confederation of clans, many
of who had no blood relation to Chattan or MacIntosh.
Chattan
Confederation, as No. 16, Clan Intier. MacIntyres are still a member of
the Clan Chattan Confederation.
MacIntyres of
Craignish. These MacIntyres
lived in the same area as the MacEacherns who were mentioned previously as
becoming Campbells. The MacIntyres kept their identity even though they
were under the necessity of signing a bond of man-rent in 1612 to Campbell
of Barrichbyan. This obligated them to give service in time of trouble.
While they were, strictly speaking, feudal dependents of the Campbells,
they were still a sept of Clan MacIntyre. Malcolm, who signed the bond of
man-rent, signed for Clanntyre Vc Coshem as Malcolm M'Donchie (Duncan) Vc
Intyre Vc Coshem.1 These MacIntyres have been made famous in literature by
Duncan Ban MacIntyre, who called his gun Coshem's Daughter, because
he bought it from a kinsman living in Glen Lochay. The name MacCoseam was
still known in 1893, so the tradition may be true.
MacIntyres of Rannoch.
MacIntyre pipers from Badenoch left to live in Rannoch where they became
hereditary pipers for Menzies of Menzies. They had in their possession a
set of pipes (or, by this time. portions of pipes) played at Bannockburn
in 1314. However, it was more than 300 years after Bannockburn before we
know the name of the piper holding this position. He was Donald Mor
MacIntyre, piper to Sir Alexander Menzies of Menzies in 1638. Donald Mor
took the seven-year course in harmony and composition at the celebrated
pipe school of the MacCrimmons at Borreraig in Glendale in the Isle of
Skye.2
At the same school, his son
John studied under the famous Patrick Og MacCrimmon and composed a salute
to Clan Menzies about 1715. John composed the Field of Sheriffmuir
and My King Has Landed in Moidart on the landing of Prince Charlie
in 1745. These pipe compositions are to be found in Angus MacKay's Collection
of Piobaireachd, first published in 1838.3 He also composed Failte
Phrionnsa, the Prince’s Salute, on the landing of H.R.H. James,
Prince of Wales, in Britain, ANNO 1715. This will be found in Donald
MacDonald’s Collection of Pipe Music.
Four hundred years after
Bannockburn, John's son, Donald Ban, continued as Menzies’ hereditary
piper. He had two sons, Donald and Robert, who were pipers. Robert became
were hereditary pipers to W. Robertson MacDonald, 19th Chief of Clan
Ronald,4 when the MacIntyres of South Uist, who had filled this position,
probably were left without a son. On the death of this Chief, Robert
emigrated to America in 1793. He left his bagpipes with Donald MacDonald
of Loch Moidart and Mrs. MacDonald-MacVicker of Invermoidart returned them
to Clan Menzies.
Meanwhile, Robert’s
father, Donald died in Rannoch in 1834 or '35, leaving his eldest son
Donald to continue as the hereditary piper to Sir Neil Menzies until 1840,
when Donald left his farm Allarich at the top of Loch Rannoch and
sailed for America. This ended a hereditary piping position that lasted
over 500 years!
MacIntyres of Cladich.
There was a colony of weavers, almost all of them named MacIntyre, in the
village of Cladich, on the eastern shore of Loch Awe. Their specialty was
fine hose and garters, woven in the various clan tartans. At one time, no
Highland costume was complete without a pair of Cladich garters, as they
were called. The last MacIntyre weaver in Cladich died about 1870. Perhaps
these garters were the inspiration for the diamond pattern Argyle socks,
that young ladies in the 1940s and 1950s knitted for their sweethearts.
The Cladich MacIntyres were probably a sub-group of the MacIntyres of
Glenorchy and the source of the MacIntyre tartans.
Other MacIntyres of
Argyllshire and Lorn
In the 1600s, the name
MacIntyre was so numerous in Argyll that it was second only to Campbell.
In the Argyllshire list of fencibles (fighting men) in 1685, MacIntyre
comprised over thirty percent, while only six percent had the name
Campbell.5 In those days, you could pay someone to take your
place and many Campbells could afford to do just that. Among those listed
for "Glenoa" were "Duncan MacIntyre, past sixty"
Duncan (I), first Chief of record and his son "Donald, younger,"
later Donald (II).
There were groups of
MacIntyres all around Loch Etive and at the head of Loch Awe and in
Dalness, the land held by a cadet branch of the MacDonalds of Glencoe. In
1463, after his father was murdered, the recently legitimized Dugald Stewart,
under threat from the Campbells, gave up the Lordship of Lorn and was left
with
1. Coshem in Gaelic is spelled Coiseam and is
known among obsolete names derived from St. Constantin -- in Gaelic Gille-Constantin.
It was transmogrified as a personal name.
2. The MacCrimmon era, 1570-1825, represents the classical solo (Piobaireachd)
period of the great Highland bagpipe.
3. Bibliography 20.
4. Clan Ronald is MacDonnell of Keppoch and is not
the same as Clan Ranald
5. Sheila MacIntyre of Inveraray from Inveraray historical
records.
Appin. "When the rest of Lorn fell to the hated Campbells, the
people left the country in such numbers that the event became known as Imeach
Mor, or the Great Flitting of Lorn.1 Since the relations
between the Stewarts and the MacIntyres had usually been cordial, some of
those who "flitted" were MacIntyres. Clan Campbell knew of this
tie and how much they were disliked, so they kept a close watch on comings
and going of the MacIntyres. The following illustration is taken from the
unpublished manuscript of Alexander James MacIntyre of Inveraray:2
"On a certain
evening, several of the Glenorchy MacIntyres made up their minds to
visit their friends in Cladich. They had not long started when
Glenorchy (Campbell) was informed that several members of Clan
MacIntyre were on the move. He sent several of his men to stop them,
with the result that a free fight ensued, but the MacIntyres kept to
the highway and had a jolly evening with their clansmen in Cladich. On
their way home, they were headed by a piper who hurled defiance at the
Campbells by playing Gabhaidh Sinn an Rathad Mor (MacIntyre
March). From this example among others which could be cited, it is
evident that the Campbells did not trust Clan MacIntyre very
much."
KITH
The clans surrounding the
MacIntyres of Glenoe were always more populous and more powerful. No
matter what the conflict, the MacDonalds were on one side and the
Campbells on the other. The MacIntyres at Glenoe were caught in the middle
between the warring parties. Just as important, MacIntyres had connections
with both sides: marital and feudal connections with the Campbells, but
blood and cultural connections with the MacDonalds. Ignoring either of
these powerful clans could have been fatal.
This predicament was
ultimately to the MacIntyres’ benefit because these two clans kept each
other occupied and didn’t have time to trouble the MacIntyres, at least
not enough to eliminate them. They may have even viewed MacIntyre as a
buffer and honest broker -- friendly to all, beholden to none, and always
surviving . . . Per Ardua. At the end of the day, the chiefs of
surrounding clans acknowledged MacIntyre of Glenoe as chief of Clan
MacIntyre.
MacDonalds
As is befitting even
distant cousins, MacIntyres and MacDonalds had a friendly relationship and
expectations of mutual aid. Among the purely Highland clans descended from
the Scoti, Clan Donald (MacDonalds) was pre-eminent in strength and
numbers. They took their name from Donald, the grandson of Somerled. It
was the power of the MacDonalds, from 1200 – 1400, that allowed them to
claim so many other clans as their septs. But their cousins, the
MacIntyres of Glenoe, were not, never have been, and are not now a sept of
Clan Donald or, for that matter, any other clan.3 The nearest MacDonalds
were at Glen Coe, site of the infamous massacre.4 The MacIntyre’s
involvement in this event is described in Part V. MacDonell of Keppoch5
played an important part in the continuation of the MacIntyre chiefship as
described in Part III.
MacDougalls
The MacDougalls were just
as close distant cousins of the MacIntyres as the MacDonalds. The
connection is through Gillebride, their common grandfather. Beginning with
Dugall, their progenitor, they were the Lords of Lorn and the adjoining
islands for 300 years. They built two castles; Dunollie at Oban and
Dunstaffnage, near the entrance to Loch Etive. They also built the Priory
at Ardchattan c. 1230 on the north shore of Loch Etive. This is where the
MacDougall chiefs were buried until 1737 and where Duncan (I), the
MacIntyre chief, was buried around 1722. The MacDougalls lost Lorn
in 1318 for opposing Robert the Bruce, but regained it
1. Bibliography 6,
page 153.
2. Bibliography 8.
3. At Highland games, Clan Donald often lists MacIntyre as one of their septs.
This probably started when there was no recognized Chief of Clan MacIntyre and
it looked ripe for the picking. This was a less violent way to do what
would have been done by force in the past. However, the Court of the Lord Lyon
and the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs recognize the Chief of Clan
MacIntyre as an equal of the Chief of the MacDonalds. Published histories of
Clan Donald make no claim and present no evidence that MacIntyres are a sept or
cadet. The only connection is through a common relative in the female line,
which was before the birth of the progenitor of the Donalds. It would make more
sense to say that all clans are septs of Clan MacAdams!
4. It is significant that massacres and hospitality were part of the same
culture and there was a massacre that required the qualification,
"infamous."
5. Another reminder that spelling was not hard and fast in those days,
especially family names, so MacDonnell or MacDonald are the same. Even first
names such as Donald or Daniel, Peter or Patrick were interchanged just as we do
today e.g., Katherine, Kathrine, Catherine or William, Will, and Bill.
in 1344 by marrying
The Bruce’s granddaughter. The last MacDougall, Lord of Lorne died in
1388 without a male heir and the Lordship passed through marriage to the
Stewarts.
Stewarts
The Stewarts originally
came from Brittany with the Norman conquest of England. When King David
the First claimed the Scottish throne in 1124, he created an inheritable
position of High Steward of Scotland. The first Steward was a military
commander in King Malcolm IV’s defeat of Somerled in 1164. Many
generations later, one of the Steward’s male descendants married Robert
the Bruce’s eldest daughter, Marjory. The only child from this marriage,
Robert Stewart, became first Stewart King of Scotland when Bruce’s
grandson, David I, died without a son.1 The Stewarts of Appin were
descendants of the fourth High Steward but didn’t obtain Appin until the
late 1400s. Thus, the Stewarts were not associated with the Highlands by
descent but via land obtained through their royal connections and as a
reward for their loyal opposition to rival claimants to the Scottish
Crown. In 1463, Sir John, the last Stewart Lord of Lorne, was assassinated
and by 1470, it belonged to the Campbells.2
Although MacIntyre of
Glenoe was now surrounded by Campbells, his position as forester of Lorn
remained unchanged.
Campbells
Like the Stewarts, the
Campbells were neither of Scoti nor of Highland origin. They were most
likely descended from the Britons which they claim to be King Arthur They
always seemed to pick the winning side at the most important times. They
sided with Robert the Bruce in the early 1300s and later with the English
in the 1745 rebellion. They were equally good at marrying into land,
money, and titles, resulting in their eventual control of most of Argyll.
The losers were the MacDougalls, the MacGregors, the Stewarts, and
eventually the MacDonalds.
The important Campbells
were, Neil Campbell, who fought with Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn and
against the MacDougalls; Sir Duncan of Lochawe, who married Marjory
Stewart, descendant of the Bruce; his grandson, Sir Colin, First Earl of
Argyll, 1457 and of Lorn, 1470 and Sir Duncan of Lockawe’s brother, also
Sir Colin, First Lord of Glenorchy, later Earls of Breadalbane; and
Patrick Dubh Beag of Barcaldine, a son of Lord Glenorchy- 1620s.
Despite being surrounded by
the Campbells, with their well-deserved reputation as both acquisitive and
ruthless, MacIntyre chiefs were able to retain their name and status as an
independent clan. It is probably no accident that MacIntyre chiefs often
married the younger daughters or granddaughters of Campbell chiefs.
MAC INTYRES AT GLENOE
Before the MacIntyres
We don’t know who the
first inhabitants of Glenoe were but there are archeological sites of the
Neolithic Stone Age peoples located all over Lorn.3 The next group was
probably the Picts. The first literary mention is by a Scoti girl, Deirdre
of the Sorrows who came to Loch Etive in Alba from Ireland (Scotia). She
stayed for a number of years before returning to Ireland. As her galley
left the shores of Loch Etive and passed over the Falls of Lora, she
looked back for the last time at the majestic Ben Cruachan and sang this
lament "Farewell to Alban."
Glen Eta (Etive), yes! Glen
Eta,
garbed in radiant beams;
Where first my virgin home was
proudly raised;
Thy leafy woods and Cruachan's
grandeur viewing;
Flooded with sunshine rays,
made glorious, my Glen Eta.
. . . .
Thou virgin glen! my beauteous
green Glen-o (oigh);
To sleep serene embower'd mid'st pastures
quiet;
Fish, venison, with rare salted
boar our fare;
Plenteous my lot was, in grand
tho' lone Glen-o.1
1. The spelling for this Royal
Branch was changed to Stuart from the French influence. It has also been spelled
Steuart for the same reason.
2. Sir John Stewart also had one natural (illegitimate) son by his mistress. He
wanted to prevent his Campbell sons-in-law from inheriting his lands and title
so when his first wife died, he decided to marry his mistress and legitimize
their son. During the ceremony, Sir John was murdered (by a Campbell or some
say, a MacDougall). Regardless, with his dying breath, the groom said, "I
do", completing the marriage vows. The Campbells got the land anyway from
Sir John’s brother ,Walter. Only Appin was retained by his newly legitimate
son. So, in the end, all we can say for poor Sir John is, "Good try old
chap."
3. Reference the MacDonald book on Lorn.
Before Written History
For up to a thousand years,
MacIntyres lived around Ben Cruachan and Loch Etive.2 There are graves and
monuments, particularly at the 13th century Priory of Ardchattan, where
Duncan, the first Chief of record is buried. Other graves can be found in
Kilchrenan, Glenorchy, Dalness, and Glen Kinglass. The center of this
circle was Glenoe and MacIntyre of Glenoe was always the chief of Clan
MacIntyres.3 There is evidence of this in the history of other clans with
which MacIntyres were associated, including the MacDonald, the Campbells,
the Clan Chattan Federation, and the Menzies.
The MacIntyres prospered at
Glenoe with their herds of white cattle. These white cattle did not look
at all like the typical longhaired, red cattle associated with the
Highlands. They had high-bridged noses and curly ringlets on their
foreheads, making them look like mythical beasts. This unusual physiognomy
is still found in white cattle this author has seen near Glenoe. These
same white cattle can be found in Ireland, another sign that ancestors of
both these cattle and the MacIntyres originated in Ireland. Cattle were a
measure of wealth, as it is in most tribal societies. In both the Scot’s
and Brehon law, death duties for an unjust killing were usually paid in
cows, depending on the station of the deceased.4 White cattle
also played an important part in both Druid and Christian ceremonies.5
(PHOTO) A white bull resting
on the roadside near Ardchattan Priory, circa 1989.
Snowball and Fatted Calf
This is the best known and
most established legend associated with MacIntyres after they were at
Glenoe. In the 1400s, following the ascendancy of the Campbells in Argyll,
something happened that caused the MacIntyres at Glenoe to make an annual
payment to the Campbells. Although there are no written records
establishing this payment, there is evidence that it was based on fact.
What happened and why was discussed earlier under Glenorchy and will be
discussed in detail in Appendix I, Tenure of Glenoe. For the moment, we
will concentrate on the payment itself – a snowball and a fatted calf
delivered on Midsummer’s Day6
at a place called Clach-an-Laoigh-Bhiat,
(Stone of the Fatted Calf). This unusual stone is still at the top of
Glenoe in Lairig Noe, the pass that leads from Glenoe to Glenorchy.7
Even in early summer, snow could be found in the deep corries at the back
of Ben Cruachan, and a fatted calf could be obtained from the MacIntyres’
fine herd of white cattle.
(PHOTOS) Clach-an-Laoigh-Bhiat
or Stone of the Fatted Calf
Snow within sight of the
stone on Midsummer’s day, June 24, 2000
According to the legend,
the payment of a snowball and calf continued until the early 1700s when
John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane, suggested to Donald (II), the
MacIntyre Chief, that there might come a year when there would not be a
white fatted calf in the herd and he would lose his rights to Glenoe. It
is alleged that the Chief "foolishly" agreed to replace the
in-kind payment with a small payment in coin. Unlike a snowball and fatted
calf, money rent can be "adjusted" upwards and the amount was
raised to the point where the family of the MacIntyre chief had to
emigrate to the United States. The factual basis for this story will also
be discussed in detail under "Tenure of Glenoe."
1. Cruachan Vistas: Angus
Macintyre (Fraoch Geal) John Menzies & Co., Ltd. Edinburgh and
Glasgow. Pages 43 and 42.
2. There are those who assert that the Livingstons occupied Glenoe in the
early 1300 before moving away.
3. See Part III.
4. Brehon Law is the oral law passed down in the Celtic tradition from the
Irish Gaels and brought with them to Scotland. Scot’s Law is the
incorporation of portions of the Brehon Law and put into writing. It is
called Scot’s law because it differs from the new laws passed by the
Scottish Parliament or incorporated from the English Law. The Scot’s Law
required giving one cow for the death of a person of the lowest station up
to 16 for a prince. Encyclopedia American, 1945.
5. The Story of the Irish Race, p?
6. Midsummer’s Day is June 24th
and is the day when rent was paid or property vacated. Each year had four
of these business days, which coincided with religious, seasonal, and
astrological events. Midsummer’s Day was close to the summer solstice.
7. The stone has been broken in ha lf by the weather. Taken
together the stone is about 9 feet wide, 14 feet long and 3 feet high with
a flat top. The largest section looks like it is two flat stones one
placed on top of the other. The perfectly straight horizontal line that
goes completely around the middle of the stone could be a natural crack
but certainly looks man-made. It is said that the calf was slaughtered
followed by a feast. Could this have been an altar or sacrificial stone of
the Glenoe stone-age inhabitants? The photographs, courtesy of Colin and
Ross McIntyre, were taken on Mid-summer’s Day, June 24, 2000.
Early MacIntyre Chiefs
In the midst of all the
momentous changes that took place over the centuries, the MacIntyres
continued to live as others did, doing their best to keep up with the
times, wending their way through the minefields of clan feuds, and most of
all, trying to survive. Many other clans, chiefs, and their clansmen did
not survive, -- perishing on the battlefields, succumbing to diseases
(especially mothers and newborns in childbirth). They frequently failed to
have a living descendant, and this would allow their clan to be swallowed
up by a more powerful clan according to the survival of the fittest.
Considering these possibilities, the MacIntyre chiefs did very well for
their clan.
Almost nothing is known
about the MacIntyre chiefs before 1700 because there are almost no
records. The few records we do have are of the legal type and they often
record unpleasant events, like murder. Perhaps the sparsity of this type
of record explains why the MacIntyre chiefs survived.
A table of possible
MacIntyre Chiefs according to different sources is in Appendix A. Since
the oral tradition is the major source of information, there is both
agreement and disagreement among the sources. An analysis shows a
repetition of names like Malcolm, Duncan, Ian, Donald, and Angus but these
are common given names.
The first MacIntyre chief
mentioned in the legends is Maurice, who was to become known as "The
Wright" and gave that name to his descendants as Clann Mac an-t-Saoir,
descendants of The Wright. If the legend is true, then we can date this in
the mid-twelfth century, 1140-1164, between the marriage of Somerled and
Ragnhild to the death of Somerled. This early origin of Clan MacIntyre is
supported by Mary MacIntyre (a younger sister of James, Third Chief of
Record) who wrote in 1810, "that MacIntyres had been at Glenoe for
700 years."
The next name of a
MacIntyre chief comes from a legend about a Chief Duncan and his two sons,
Duncan Og and Donald Faich. This story is in Part V. Because this story
involves the Campbells of Glenorchy, we can assume that it was after 1432
when the Campbells displaced the MacGregors of Glenorchy.
Written History
Due to a tradition of
keeping only oral accounts of historical events, written records were a
relatively recent practice in the Highlands of Gaelic Scotland.1
In the 14th century, clans began to keep records in a
book that was referred to by the color of its binding, usually black.2 The
Black Book typically included births, marriages, and deaths. Later, this
information was kept in parish church records. The clan book also
contained information about important events, both positive and negative.
For example, if there were a fatal altercation that required death duties
and other penance, it might be in the records of the clan that was
wronged. Unfortunately, the MacIntyre’s Black Book of Glenoe was
lost. Perhaps some day, it will be found under dusty records in a
solicitor's office! This will be discussed later under the history of the
individual MacIntyre chiefs.
MacIntyre Chiefs.
Without the Black Book of Glenoe, the genealogy of the chiefs of
Clan MacIntyre cannot be stated with accuracy before Duncan (I), so
called, because he is the first chief for whom a written record is
available.3
However, the records of other clans in the neighborhood
indicate that the MacIntyre Chiefs and their sons and daughters were
connected with many of the Highland families by marriage or descent prior
to Duncan (I). There are also legal contracts with their names. There is a
record in the 1400s of the marriage of a Fingula MacIntyre to the Chief of
the MacGregors, an ancestor of Rob Roy.4 Prior to 1432, the
MacGregors controlled Glenorchy, which is on the other side of Ben
Cruachan. It was common practice for a chief to marry the daughter of a
neighboring chief to maintain peaceful relations. So, by deduction,
Fingula MacIntyre was probably a daughter of the unnamed MacIntyre chief.
The first written record
that might identify a MacIntyre chief or chieftain by name is the 1556
"Bond to Glenorchy." In this document, the first, and probably
most important, MacIntyre listed is Duncan son of Malcolm son of
Ian. If Duncan were the Glenoe Chief, then his name tells us the names
of the two preceding chiefs, i.e., Malcolm and Ian, his father and
grandfather. This would make Ian the first MacIntyre Chief of record and
would takes us back two more generations (approximately fifty years) to
about 1500.
The next persons we might
identify as Chiefs are Donald and Duncan, around the turn of the 16th
century. They were the father and grandfather of Duncan (I),
1. In the 1500s.
2. The book was commonly black and was referred to as "The Black Book
of (Clan Name)." The Menzies had a red and white book.
3. See Genealogy chart, Part III on page?.
4. The entire MacGregor Clan was outlawed and Rob Roy was their champion,
made famous by his physical prowess and as the leading character in Sir Walter
Scott’s novel of the same name. His piper was a MacIntyre.
the first
chief of record. In a 1682 document, Duncan (I) is identified as Duncan,
son of Donald, son of Duncan. He is further identified as "of Glenoe".
His name identifies his father as Donald (f) as and his grandfather as
Duncan (gf). By the same reasoning as before, this would make Duncan (gf)
as the first Chief of record and his father, Donald (f) as the second
Chief of record, and Duncan (I) would become Duncan (III). Because of the
lack of information on births and deaths for these individuals, the system
for numbering the chiefs will be left unchanged from the first edition.
This is not the only confusing factor in the numbering system for the
chiefs, as you will see in Part III.1 The other reason for not changing the
numbering system is that Duncan (I) was the first Chief of record
documented as having Glenoe as a freehold. This is signified by the chief
being called, "of Glenoe," rather than "in" Glenoe.
"Of" means you possesses the land and "in" means you
only live on it. The type of tenure the MacIntyre chiefs had at Glenoe is
an important part of the MacIntyre history and is covered in the section
"Tenure of Glenoe."
Although we know very
little about Duncan (gf) and Donald (f) we can infer that they were
relatively well off because Donald (f) made a large "wadset"
loan to the eldest son of Lord Glenorchy, his feudal superior. To do this
would have required saving substantial amounts of money over a number of
generations, presumably from selling their prized white cattle. There were
no get-rich-quick schemes in those days, except by "marrying into
money."
Of course, the legends tell
us that Clan MacIntyre had possession of Glenoe at some earlier time,
which was long before the 1432 date that the Campbells came on the scene.
Another sign was the large number of MacIntyres in comparison with their
position in the pecking order. There are no legends about losing Glenoe to
the MacDougalls, Stewarts, or MacGregors. In fact, there was a story that
the MacIntyres regained Glenoe from the Stewarts without a story about how
they lost it.
|
Approximate Line and
Dates of Accession for MacIntyre Chiefs before Duncan (I)
1432. Duncan (of Duncan and his two sons)
1440 Altercation with
Campbells identified in the Bond to Glenorchy and in, Duncan
and his Two Sons
1455. Duncan Og
1470. Donald Faich
1500. Ian (son of
either Donald Faich or Duncan Og)
1525. Malcolm (if he is MacIntyre in
Glenoe and not a MacIntyre in Glenorchy)
1556. Duncan (listed in the Bond to Lord
Glenorchy)
1590. Malcolm
(important enough to require a bond to guarantee his appearance)
1610. Duncan
(identified as grandfather in 1656 wadset agreement)
1635. Donald
(identified as father in 1656 wadset agreement)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1650. Duncan (I)
[First chief documented as "of Glenoe." In 1656 wadset
agreement]
|
MacIntyres in the Highland
Wars
Fortunately, the
MacIntyre Chiefs were never adversely affected by the many clan feuds,
civil wars, and rebellions. This is despite the fact that geographically,
as well as ideologically, they were usually caught in the middle. It is
equally true that the MacIntyre Chiefs never gained from the Highland
wars.
Civil War.
In 1644, James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, gathered MacDonalds, Camerons,
and Stewarts in a royalist army on behalf of Charles I, opposing the
Covenanting Army2
led by Campbell of Argyll. Montrose sent a detachment3 under Alastair MacColla Ciotach MacDonald to ravage the Campbell
territory around Loch Etive with fire and sword. His English name was Sir
Alexander MacDonald but he was popularly known by his father's nickname
‘Colkitto’ meaning left-handed Coll or Colla.4
One of his soldiers was
about to put a hot coal to the thatched roof of Duncan’s (gf) house at
Glenoe, when Colkitto asked to whom the house belonged. When told that it
was MacIntyre of Glenoe, he cried out, "Let be, let be, he is of our
own blood" and Glenoe was spared. Many MacIntyres joined Colla's army
even though (or perhaps because) it was against the Campbells. Among them
was the MacIntyre Chief's own piper, whose piping Colla had praised at
1. Although this numbering system for
the MacIntyre Chiefs is not factually correct, it is used in this book to aid
the understanding of a genealogical conundrum which will be explained in Part
III.
2. They were called "Covenanters" for their support of the National
Covenant of the Church of Scotland, which outlawed Episcopacy, the governing
form of the Church of England in favor of the more local and democratic form
called Presbytery. This put the Scottish Parliament in direct opposition of
Charles I, the Stuart King of England and Scotland. As a result, the Covenanters
invaded England in 1640 and they entered into combat within Scotland against
those clan who supported the King, regardless of all previous alliances. On the
surface, it was a religious war, something that Scotland had avoided previously.
However, beneath the surface, it was about governance and not dogma, so it was
really a political war in the guise of religion.
3. This detachment was composed of MacDonalds from Ulster (Ireland) furnished by
the Irish, Earl of Antrim, for the benefit of his Scottish brethren.
4. Named Colla in honor of their claim to descent from Colla Uais, the third
century, High King in Ulster.
an
entertainment given him by the Chief of Clan MacIntyre. The Chief was
honored to have his favorite MacIntyre piper, lead the great Colla into
battle. It was probably for this reason rather than the distant blood
relations between the MacIntyres and MacDonalds, that Glenoe was spared
while the surrounding properties of the Campbells were destroyed. Although
Colkitto won the initial battles, the Campbells, in support of the
Covenanters, won this segment of the war. During a lull in the fighting,
it is said that the Chief of Clan MacIntyre was summoned by Campbell of
Glenorchy to explain his assistance to Colla. Failing this, he was sent to
Inveraray to explain his conduct to the great Colin, Marquis of
Argyll and Chief of all the Campbells. No one knows what was said, but the
MacIntyre Chief returned safely to Glenoe.1
However, one may hazard a
guess, for at the Battle of Inverlochay in February 1645, Donald
(f), the Chief’s son and heir apparent, was fighting side by side with
Colin Campbell, the son of Patrick Campbell of Barcaldine. The Marquis of
Argyll lost half of his army in this battle and his nephew, Colin, was
badly wounded. Colin was carried to Glenoe and Duncan (gf) MacIntyre gave
him refuge from the MacDonalds in the same house that earlier had been
spared by the MacDonalds! Such were the vicissitudes of Highland life in
those times. There is no records of the Glenoe MacIntyres involvement in
the fighting to retain James II as King of Scotland, after he was deposed
in England by William III of Orange. But Duncan (I) was Chief in 1692 when
the Glencoe Massacre took place at the top of Glen Etive when McIain,
Chief of the MacDonalds of Glencoe was slaughtered along with most of his
clan, supposedly for being late in asking William III’s pardon. (See
Part V – Clach Nodha).
The ’15 & ’45
Rebellions. The 1715 rebellion didn’t
last long and there is no evidence that the MacIntyre Chief, Duncan (I),
age 75 or his heir, Donald (II), age 50, took part in the fighting.
However, there is evidence that the Stranmore, the cadet of Glenoe in
Glenorchy, were certainly involved in support of the Campbells, who this
time chose the wrong side and the MacIntyres paid dearly for it with their
lives. According to the genealogy of Alexander James MacIntyre of
Inveraray, five of the six sons of Archibald MacIntyre died in this brief
rising. This Archibald was the g,g,g,g,g,g-grandson of the Archibald who
two hundred years earlier in 1513, had brought back the body of the 2nd
Duke of Argyll from Flodden.2 The last great rebellion, known as the ‘45,
was an attempt to return to the throne Charles James Stuart, Bonnie
Prince Charlie, as Charles III.3 For the Highlanders, it was their
final attempt to free Scotland from English domination by force. The
MacIntyre Chief, Donald (II) had just died and his son and heir, James
(III), was just age eighteen. James (III) wisely chose to remain neutral
although he was old enough to bear arms and may have had sympathies for
the cause of young Prince Charles.
In the midst of a
rebellion, the young James (III) had to manage a farm that was on the
border between the warring parties and to carefully consider his divided
loyalties. His clan heritage linked him to the Gaelic Highlands and his
neighbors, the MacDonalds and Stewarts of Appin, who were primary
supporters of Prince Charlie. At the same time, James was surrounded by
Campbells, who were the leading clan supporting the Hanoverian government
in opposition to the Prince. He was also indebted to them for sponsoring
his education. There was one further complication in the form the "wadset"
loan made by his grandfather, Duncan (I) to the Campbells. If James chose
to side with the Prince and lost, then the loan, which gave him possession
of Glenoe would be lost, not to mention his life and his family’s
well-being. If he fought for the Crown and lost, he might have been
treated more kindly, but his sympathies lay with the Prince.
James (III) had a herd of
valuable white cattle and probably some sheep. Because he inherited the
Glenoe Wadset, James didn’t pay rent. Compared to his peers he was in a
sound financial condition and he would have risked a great deal if he
actively supported either side. His mother and two older sisters were
totally dependent on him. Being neutral was not treasonous since there
were MacIntyres fighting on both sides for reasons of a bond of man-rent
or economic gain, and possibly their political or religious persuasions.
James’ best bet was to lay low and wait it out, which is exactly what he
did.
If James (III) had sided
with Prince Charles, the end of the direct line of MacIntyre Chiefs might
have been his death at Culloden. At best, James (III) his Glenoe Wadset
would have been forfeited and he would have been forced into exile or,
like so many others, transported overseas.
1. In the first
edition of this book, Duncan (I) was identified as being involved in Civil war
of 1644-45. It is now clear that this was incorrect since he was only around
four years old in 1644. If his grandfather, Duncan (GF) were still alive, he
would have been age 55-60, and his father Donald (F) at a "fighting"
age of 30-35. We are pretty sure that Duncan (I) was age twenty-one in 1661, so
if his father, Donald (F) married about age twenty five and Duncan (I) was born
shortly thereafter, then Donald (F) was born c.1610-15 and would have been
thirty to thirty-five years old in 1644. This same method was used to determine
that Duncan (GF) would have been 55 - 60 years old during the 1644 battles. If
Donald were involved in the fighting, as it seems he was, then he was the last
MacIntyre Chief to fight in a Highland war.
2. The remaining son, Alexander, established a business in Inveraray, seat of
the Dukes of Argyll and one of his descendants has a business, the MacIntyre
Warehouse, in Inveraray.
3. He was known as Prince because his father was still alive. Otherwise, he
would have been called King Charles III even if in name only.
On the other side of Ben
Cruachan, his cousins in Glenorchy were under pressure to support the
Campbells and fight against the rebels. This was a war in which brother
fought against brother, either knowingly or unknowingly. In spite of the
Campbells, the MacIntyres were found fighting on the side of Prince
Charlie at Culloden. It is a matter of record that among the Stewarts of
Appin regiment, five MacIntyres were killed and five wounded. D. MacDonell
MacDonald reported in Scotland's Magazine of November 1973
that in the 1745 Rising, there were nine prisoners from Clan MacIntyre,
including two named Ann MacIntyre and Mary MacIntyre who were "taken
at Carlisle." Both women were transported to Antigua in the Caribbean
Islands in 1747.
There were some MacIntyres,
probably from Glenorchy, who fought beside the Campbells for Hanover King,
George II. We know that Duncan Ban MacIntyre of Glenorchy, our famous
Gaelic poet, was one of them and was in the Government’s first major
battle against the "rebels" at Falkirk. His reasons for fighting
were money and a future consideration of employment by Lord Glenorchy,
rather than a conviction that one side or the other was in the right.
Fortunately for Duncan Ban and for our literary history, Falkirk was
Duncan Ban’s first and last battle. From his poems, it would appear that
his sympathies were with the Highland way of life, but that way of life
had changed forever and probably was gone forever even if Bonnie Prince
Charlie had triumphed.
The experiences of Duncan
Ban and James (III) and the earlier experiences of the MacIntyre Chiefs
during the 1644 civil war and the 1715 rising are evidence that
the1440/1556 summary j |
