The Highland Clans

[clansman]

I've been meaning tae start this thread fer a while..So i thought noo is a guid time tae start it....I will begin with Clan Malcolm..in memory of a friend.

The surnames Malcolm and MacCallum are both derived from the Gaelic word "calaman" which means a dove; this came to symbolise the Holy Spirit and the Latin equivalent was "columba" - the name of the Irish Saint Columba who established the monastery on Iona. Followers of Columba were "maol Chaluim" which gradually became the name Malcolm. While the two names may be from the same roots, there was no genealogical relationship between the two (although an early MacCallum chief did change his name to Malcolm, confusing the situation).

From the 10th century onwards, there were four kings named Malcolm and there were three landowners named "Maucolum" ( from Berwick, Perth and Montrose) who were signatories to the Ragman Roll in 1296.

The clan MacCallum became established in northern Argyll and in 1414 Sir Duncan Campbell granted lands to them at Craignish peninsula, not far from Kilmartin where family legend says one of the early branches of the name became established. The Campbells also made Ranald MacCallum hereditary keeper of Craignish castle. The Campbells also granted land to Donald, son of Gillespie MacCallum, another branch of the clan in Duntrune, adding to property already owned at Poltalloch in Argyll. The Poltalloch MacCallums have held the chieftainship of the clan from that time but later adopted the name Malcolm. The 15th Laird of Poltalloch was raised to the peerage as Lord Malcolm of Poltalloch late in the 19th century. However, the home of the present clan chief is now Duntrune Castle.



In the middle of the 17th century, Zachary MacCallum met a party of MacDonalds (enemies of the Campbells) and killed seven of them before being scythed down. Neil MacCallum, a nephew of Zachary, served in the French navy and is reputed to have been the father of the Marquis de Montcalm, who defended Quebec against the Highlanders who scaled the Heights of Abraham there, bringing to an end French rule in Canada.

The surname Malcolm is associated initially with Dunbartonshire and Stirling in the 14th century and later in Dumfriesshire. In the 18th century, George Malcolm of that county had three sons, all of whom became Knights of the Order of the Bath, two as generals and one as an admiral. General Sir John Malcolm was the British representative in the court of the Shah of Persia and published a history of that country in 1815 which is still highly regarded. His brother, Admiral Sir Pultney Malcolm commanded St Helena during Napoleon's exile there after the Battle of Waterloo.

The Malcolm/MacCallum clan motto is "In ardua tendit" which means "He has attempted difficult things".

Malcolmson is regarded as a sept (sub-branch) of the Malcolm/MacCallum clan.

[Guest]

Wonderfull post clans,

were does Stewart derive from

[clansman]

Wonderfull post clans,

were does Stewart derive from

The name "Stewart" was taken from the word "steward" - the protector and caretaker of an estate. In this case, the estate was the Kingdom of Scotland. The official in charge of the Scots household and treasury was given the title Steward, which became the name Stewart possibly as far back as the 12th century.

When one branch of the Stewart migrated to live in France, the spelling "Stuart" came about as there is no "w" in the French alphabet. Adopted there by Mary Queen of Scots during her exile, it became fashionable when she returned to Scotland. The variation "Steuart" was a compromise between the two spellings.

[Winston]

Hi Clans,

I remember telling you on EoE that several generations back my family came from Scotland , so I just Googled the name!
I love finding out the origins of words and names, thanks for the thread!!

The name MacBain and variants has its origins in the Gaelic "betha" or "beatha" meaning "life" (similar to "uisge-beatha" the water of life, or whisky). It may have been, however, that it was from the Gaelic "bheathain" meaning "lively one". An early version of the name was Mac'ic'Beatha or Macbeth - who was later to gain fame when William Shakespeare wrote about him. Like Macbeth, many of those with this name came from Moray and the northern Grampian mountains.

When the powerful families of Moray were eventually made to acknowledge the authority of the Scottish monarch in the reign of Malcolm IV, many of them moved to other areas in the north. Legend has it that a MacBean settled in Petty, near Inverness in the 14th century and established his family under the protection of the clan Macintosh. The MacBeans also joined the Chattan confederation of clans, of which Macintosh was a major part.


Fierce Fighters
To survive, the Highland clans had to be able to fight both to defend their land and property and, in time of need, to raid the territory of other clans. But some gained a reputation for being doughty fighters and this certainly applied to the MacBeans. They were supporters of Robert the Bruce but although many of their specific fighting exploits would go unrecorded, the MacBeans (and Macintoshes) are said to have supported Donald, Lord of the Isles in the Battle of Harlaw in 1411 against the Earl of Mar - and lost many men.

The Macbeans supported the Jacobite rising of 1715 and many were transported to the plantations of Virginia, Maryland and South Carolina as a result. Despite this, Gilleis Mor Macbean, a grandson of the 12th chief, who was at least 6 feet 4 inches in height, became a major in the 1745 Jacobite Uprising. At Culloden, he tried to plug a gap created by government dragoons and with his back to a wall, cut down thirteen or fourteen of them. A chivalrous Hanoverian officer was so impressed by his bravery that he tried to pull back his men, but they pressed forward, mortally wounding him.

Later MacBeans who earned military honours were Lieutenant General Forbes MacBean who was commander of artillery in Canada in 1778 and William MacBean who rose from private to major general in the Sutherland highlanders and earned Britain's highest military medal, the Victoria Cross, during the Indian Mutiny of 1858. A MacBain commanded the Gordon Highlanders against the Boers in South Africa in 1881.

Away from the battlefields, Alexander MacBean was one of the compilers of Dr Samuel Johnson's dictionary.

Loss of Clan Lands
Paul MacBean, the 12th chief, fell into debt and was forced to sell clan lands around 1685. His younger brother is the ancestor of the present chief as Paul McBean's line ended in a daughter. After Culloden, the chief tried to retain the remaining clan lands but they were finally sold in 1760

The chief of the clan moved to Canada and the present chief lives in Tucson, Arizona. The MacBean clan association is based in Denver, Colorado. But the recent clan chiefs have retrieved some of the ancient clan lands and there is a Macbain Memorial Park on the hills above Loch Ness.

Clan Motto
The MacBean clan motto is "Touch not a catt bot a targe" which means "Don't touch a cat without a shield".

[clansman]

I remember Winston...The MacBeans were one of 16 Clans that made up the Chattan confederation(Clan of the Cats);

•Clan Shaw
•Clan MacBean
•Clan MacPhail
•Clan Davidson
•Clan MacQueen
•Clan MacThomas
•Clan Mackintosh
•Clan MacPherson
•Clan Farquharson
•Clan MacGillivray
•Clan Macintyre of Badenoch
•Clan MacLean of Dochgarroch

[clansman]

this poem by Lord Byron tells the tale of Gillies MacBean;


Though thy cause was the cause of the injured and brave,
Though thy death was the hero’s and glorious thy grave,
With thy dead foes around thee, piled high on the plain,
My sad heart bleeds o’er thee, my Gillies MacBain !

How the horse and the horsemen thy single hand slew!
But what could the mightiest single arm do?
A hundred like thee might ‘the battle regain;
But cold are thy hand and heart, Gillies MacBain!

With thy back to the wall and thy breast to the targe,
Full flashed thy claymore in the face of their charge;
The blood of their boldest that barren turf stain,
But alas! thine is reddest there, Gillies MacBain!

[Winston]

I guess he lost then!!

[clansman]

I guess he lost then!!

Depends on how ye regard 'lost'...MacBean is remembered,his killers are not!

Another member of the clan, of the same name, Gillies MacBean of Free, formerly of Falie, also fought at Culloden, but under the banner of Lochiel. He received two bullets in his leg, but was able to leave the field. Coming up with Lochiel, who had been wounded in both ankles, and was being carried out of action by two near relatives, MacBean undertook to convey him to a place of safety whence he might easily get to his own country. On crossing the Nairn at Craigie they were intercepted by some of Cumberland’s men. Compelled to fight, they killed some of their opponents and the others made off. At home the wife of Gillies dressed Lochiel’s wounds, and with a pair of scissors extracted the bullets from her husband’s leg. MacBean lived to be an old man, and has his virtues recorded in a Gaelic inscription in the churchyard of Moy.

Still another gentleman of the clan, AEneas MacBean, whose son was afterwards Secession minister at Inverness, was pursued from the battlefield by two dragoons. His path was barred by a torrent, and he was about to be cut down when by a tremendous effort he leaped across. The dragoons followed, but the fugitive making a circuit, again leapt the chasm, and with tremendous exertion he repeated these tactics till his pursuers tired of the effort, and gave it up. He also lived long afterwards to tell the tale.

[Winston]

Hey Clans...........Maybe that's where I get my resilience??!!

Thanks for the story!!

[Guest]

love your stories clans...

mary queen of scots ...just a week old

sent to france at the age of 6....

[clansman]

Gilchrist, the younger son of Alwyn, the Celtic Earl of Lennox, settled on the shores of Loch Long at Arrochar at the end of the 12th century. His grandson Malduin assisted Robert the Bruce when he was evading pursuit in that area and later fought at the Battle of Bannockburn. It was Malduin's son, Parlan (the Gaelic equivalent of Bartholomew), whose name began the Macpharlain or, later, MacFarlane clan.

King James I executed the last Celtic Earl of Lennox but instead of granting the earldom to the MacFarlanes, it was awarded to John Stewart, Lord Darnley. Initially the clan opposed the Stewarts but later the 10th chief married a younger daughter of Lord Darnley.

The 11th clan chief fell at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. His son Andrew earned the nickname of "The Wizard" because of the sleight of hand tricks which he learned on the Continent. It is Andrew who is credited with composing the clan pibroch "Thogail nam bo theid sinn" (Lifting the cattle). The clan's abilities as cattle rustlers led to the moon being called "MacFarlane's Lantern" in the area.

The Earl of Lennox at one stage supported King Henry VII of England and the MacFarlane's loyally did the same but later opposed the English at the Battle of Pinkie where the 13th chief and his brother were killed.

The MacFarlanes opposed Mary Queen of Scots and fought gallantly at the Battle of Langside in 1568, capturing three of the Queen's standards. The role played by the clan defending the crown of the infant King James VI, Mary's son, is shown in the clan crest which illustrates a crown being defended by a swordsman . Continued loyalty to the Stuart descendants resulted in them joining the Marquess of Montrose in support of King Charles I. They participated in the victory at Inverlochy in 1645. But Cromwell later destroyed the clan castle of Inveruglas, on an island in Loch Lomond.

The 20th chief, Walter MacFarlane, was a scholar and historian and spent much of his life in Edinburgh, which may explain why the Macfarlanes did not participate to any great extent in the Jacobite Uprisings of 1715 and 1745. Even so, Walter was very much a Highland chief and objected to being called Mr MacFarlane by General Wade - "Mr MacFarlane may be said with equal propriety to many; but I and only I, am MacFarlane". When he died in 1767, the clan lands at Arrochar were sold. The direct male line of chiefs died out in 1886.

There was a branch of the clan in Aberdeenshire, in Braemar and into Strathspey.

The MacFarlane clan motto is "This I'll Defend".

[clansman]

Scottish history has its fair share of deeply unpleasant characters, but Alexander Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan is a strong contender for the title of least pleasant of the lot, another contender being his brother Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany. But for very different reasons: while Robert Stewart managed to gain a grip on ultimate power in Scotland by devious or violent means during the reign of three different Scottish kings, Alexander Stewart simply abused his power on a systematic but more regional scale, maintaining a rule of terror across much of the Highlands by imprisoning and murdering those who offended him and pillaging the countryside. His behaviour led to him being censured by the King's Council in 1388, and to his being known to history as the Wolf of Badenoch, though he has also been called the Celtic Atilla.


Alexander was made Lord of Badenoch and granted large estates in the Highlands by his father Robert II on 30 March 1371. In 1382 he was made 1st Earl of Buchan (there had been earlier Earls of Buchan, but he was the 1st Earl of the title's second creation), and he also served as Justiciar, or the Crown's Chief Law Officer, in northern Scotland: in effect he exercised the full authority of the Scottish Crown throughout the Highlands. The Wolf of Badenoch had a number of lairs. The most notable was Lochindorb Castle on an island in Lochindorb, north of Grantown-on-Spey, but he was also associated with Drumin Castle near Glenlivet, Castle Garth near Glen Lyon, and Ruthven Castle near Kingussie, a site occupied since the early 1700s by Ruthven Barracks.

Alexander added considerably to his landholdings by marrying Eupheme de Ross, Countess of Ross in July 1382. They had no children: a fact that Alexander blamed on his wife (and, to be fair, as he was by then well on his way to fathering his total of around 40 illegitimate children by a large number of different women, he was probably right). In 1389 Alexander sought the intervention of the Bishop of Moray, Bishop Alexander Bur, to bring his marriage to an end. The Bishop came down on the side of Eupheme, and when Alexander then expelled her to make way for his mistress of the moment, Mariota Athyn, he was excommunicated by the Bishop of Moray.

It was Alexander's response to his excommunication that resulted in his label as the Wolf of Badenoch. First, the monk who came to Lochindorb castle with the news of Alexander's excommunication was consigned to the castle's bottle pit. Many Scottish castles had these deeply unpleasant dungeons accessible only by a trap door in the roof. Not many could also boast three feet of water covering the floor because of their island location.

Then, in May 1390, Alexander descended on Moray at the head of a large number of "wild, wykked Hieland-men." Alexander sacked the town of Forres, before heading east, destroying Pluscarden Abbey en route to Elgin where he arrived in 17 June 1390. Here he burned much of the town and destroyed Elgin Cathedral, the second largest cathedral in Scotland, widely known as the Lantern of the North.

Alexander's older brother, Robert III, who had only just succeeded to the throne and had yet to be crowned, called upon him to do penance for his crimes and pay significant reparations: then pardoned him. Whether the Wolf of Badenoch's attack on Moray had simply been a case of getting even with the Bishop: or whether it was in reality intended to be the start of a power play for Scotland more widely, immediately after the death of his father Robert II, is a matter of debate among historians. No-one for a moment, however, believes that he was truly repentant afterwards.

Alexander Stewart died in 1394 and he was then buried in Dunkeld Cathedral. His tomb, topped by an effigy in armour, is one of the few Scottish royal monuments to have survived from the Middle Ages. The details of the death of the Wolf of Badenoch are unclear. Perhaps it is best to stick with the popular legend: that on 24 July 1394 a visitor dressed all in black arrived at Ruthven Castle and challenged the Wolf of Badenoch to a game of chess. That night the castle was beset by a terrible storm of thunder and lightning. The following morning there was no sign of the visitor, but the castle servants were discovered outside the castle Things that Clans slides down when he\'s pissed, apparently killed by lightning. The Wolf of Badenoch himself was found in the banqueting hall: his body unmarked, though the nails in his boots had been torn out. Such, it would seem, are the perils of playing chess with the Devil.



Lochindorb castle

[Guest]

lovely old pic there clans...thanks for your knowledge ...

[Winston]

I love the fact that you are so interested in your countries history!!

And a pretty interesting history it is!

[Olay]

I read the history and then see the pics and it does make me wonder why some of the really terrible men didnt stop and take a look around them. The beauty of scotland should stop any man in his tracks.
You are so lucky Clans to live in such a picturesque country.