The clan Leod or MacLeod is one of
the most considerable clans of the Western Isles, and is divided into two branches
independent of each other, the Macleods of Harris and the Macleods of Lewis.
To the progenitors of this clan, a Norwegian origin has commonly been assigned. They are
also supposed to be of the same stock as the Campbells, according to a family history
referred to by Mr Skene, which dates no farther back than the early part of the 16th
century.
The genealogy claimed for them asserts that the ancestor of the chiefs of the clan, and he
who have it its clan name, was Loyd or Leod, eldest son of King Olave the Black, brother
of Magnus, the last king of Man and the Isles. This Leod is said to have had two sons:
Tormod, prgenitor of the Macleods of Harris, hence called the Siol Tormod, or race of
Tormod; and Torquil, of those of Lewis, called the Siol Torquil, or race of Torquil.
Although, however, Mr Skene and others are of opinion that there is no authority whatever
for such a descent, and "The Chronicle of Man" gives no countenance to it, we
think the probabilities are in its favour, from the manifestly Norwegian names borne by
the founders of the clan, namely, Tormod or Gorman and Torquil, and from their position in
the Isles, from the very commencement of their known history. The clan itself, there can
be no doubt, are mainly the descendants of the ancient Celtic inhabitants of the western
isles.
Tormod's grandson, Malcolm, got a charter from David II, of two-thirds of Glenelg, on the
mainland, a portion of the forfeited lands of the Bissets, in consideration for which he
was to provide a galley of 36 oars, for the king's use whenever required. This is the
earliest charter in possession of the Macleods. The same Malcolm obtained the lands of
Skye which were long in possession of his descendants, by marriage with a daughter of
MacArailt, said to have been one of the Norwegian nobles of the Isles. From the name,
however, we would be inclined to take this MacArailt for a Celt. The sennachies made sad
slips.
Brochs at Glenelg and thanks to David Hammond
for sending in these pictures
Macleod of Harris, originally designated "de Glenelg", that being the first and
principle possession of the family, seems to have been the proper chief of the clan Leod.
The island, or rather peninsula of Harris, which is adjacent to Lewis, belonged, at an
early period, to the Macruaries of Garmoran and the North Isles, under whom the chief of
the Siol Tormod appears to have possed it. From this family, the superiority of the North
Isles passed to the Macdonalds of Isla by marriage, and thus Harris came to form a part of
the lordship of the Isles. In the isle of Skye the Siol Tormod possessed the districts of
Dunvegan, Duirinish, Bracadale, Lyndale, Trotternish, and Minganish, being about
two-thirds of the whole island. Their principal seat was Dunvegan, hence the chief was
often styled of that place.
The first charter of the MacLeods of Lewis, or Siol Torquil, is also one by King David II.
It contained a royal grant to Torquil Macleod of the barony of Assynt, on the
north-western coast of Sutherlandshire. This barony, however, he is said to have obtained
by marriage with the heiress, whose name was Macnicol. It was held from the crown. In that
charter he has no designation, hence it is thought that he had then no other property. The
Lewis Macleods held that island as vassals of the Macdoanlds of Isla from 1344, and soon
came to rival the Harris branch of the Macleods in power and extent of territory, and even
to dispute the chiefship with them. Their armorial bearings, however, were different, the
family of Harris having a castle, while that of Lewis had a burning mount. The possessions
of the Siol Torquil were very extensive, comprehending the isles of Lewis and Rasay, the
district of Waterness in Skye, and those of Assynt, Cogeach, and Gairloch, on the
mainland.
To return to the Harris branch. The grandson of the above mentioned Malcolm, William
Macleod, surnamed Achlerach, or the clerk, from being in his youth designed for the
church, was one of the most daring chiefs of his time. Having incurred the resentment of
his superior, the Lord of the Isles, that powerful chief invaded his territory with a
large force, but was defeated at a place called Lochsligachan. He was, however, one of the
principal supports of the last Lord of the Isles in his disputes with his turbulent and
rebellious son, Angus, and was killed, in 1481, at the battle of the Bloody Bay, where
also the eldest son of Roderick Macleod of the Lewis was morally wounded. The son of
William of Harris, Alexander Macleod, called Allaster Crottach, or the Humpbacked, was the
head of the Siol Tormod, at the time of the forfeiture of the lordship of the Isles in
1493, when Roderick, grandson of the above named Roderick, was chief of the Siol Torquil.
This Roderick's father, Torquil, the second son of the first Roderick, was the principal
supporter of Donald Dubh, when he escaped from prison and raised the banner of
insurrection in 1501, for the purpose of regaining the lordship of the Isles, for which he
was forfeited. He married Katherine, daughter of the first Earl of Argyll, the sister of
Donald Dubh's mother. The forfeited estate of Lewis was restored in 1511 to Malcolm
Torquil's brother. Alexander the Humpback got a charter, under the great seal, of all his
lands in the Isles, from James IV, dated 15th June, 1468, under the condition of keeping
in readiness for the king's use one ship of 26 oars and two of 16. He had also a charter
from James V of lands of Glenelg, dates 13th February, 1539.
With the macdonalds of Sleat, the Harris macleods had a feud regarding the lands and
office of bailiary of Trotternish, in the isle of Skye, held by them under several crown
charters. The feud was embittered by Macleod having also obtained a heritable grant of the
lands of Sleat and North Uist; and the Siol Torquil, who had also some claim to the
Trotternish bailiary and a portion of the lands, siding with the Macdonalds, the two
leading branches of the Macleods came to be in opposition to each other. Under Donald
Gruamach ("grim-looking") aided by the uterine brother of their chief, John
MacTorquil Macleod, son of Torquil Macleod of the Lewis, forfeited in 1506, the Macdonalds
succeeded in expelling Macleod of Harris or Dunvegan from Trotternish, as well as in
preventing him from taking possession of Sleat and North Uist. The death of his uncle,
Malcolm Macleod, and the minority of his son, enabled Torquil, with the assistance of
Donald Gruamach, in his turn, to seize the whole barony of Lewis, which, with the
leadership of the Siol Torquil, he held during his life. His daughter and heiress married
Doanld Gorme of Sleat, a claimant for the lordship of the Isles, and the son and successor
of Donald Gruamach. An agreement was entered into between Donald Gorme and Ruari or
Roderick macleod, son of Malcolm, the last lawful possessor of the Lewis, whereby Roderick
was allowed to enter into possession of that island, and in return Roderick became bound to
assist in putting Donald Gorme in possession of Trotternish, against all the efforts of
the chief of Harris or Dunvegan, who had again obtained possession of that district. In
May 1539, accordingly, Trotternish was invaded and laid waste by Donald Gorme and his
allies of the Siol Torquil; but the death soon after of Donald Gorme, by an arrow wound in
his foot, under the walls of Mackenzie of Kintail's castle of Ellandonan, put an end to
his rebellion and his pretensions together. When the powerful fleet of James V arrived at
the isle of Lewis the following year, Roderick Macleod and his principal kinsmen met the
king, and were made to accompany him in his farther progress through the Isles. On its
reaching Skye, Alexander Macleod of Dunvegan was also constrained to embark in the royal
fleet. With the other captive chiefs they were sent to Edinburgh, and only liberated on
giving hostages for their obedience to the laws.
Alexander the Humpback, chief of the Harris Macleods, died at an advanced age in the reign
of Queen Mary. He had three sons, William, Donald and Tormod, who all succeeded to the
estates and authority of their family. He had also two daughters, the elder of whom was
thrice married, and every time to a Macdonald. Her first husband was James, second son of
the fourth laird of Sleat. Her second was Allan MacIan, captain of the Clanranald; and he
third husband was Macdonald of Keppoch. The youngest daughter became the wife of Maclean
of Lochbuy.
Willian Macleod of Harris had a daughter, mary, who, on his death in 1554, became under a
particular destination, his sole heiress in the estates of Harris, Dunvegan, and Glenelg.
His claim to the properties of Sleat, Trotternish, and North Uist, of which he was the
nominal proprietor, but which were held by the clandonald, was inherited by his next
brother and successor, Donald. This state of things placed the latter in a very anomalous
position, which may be explained in Mr Greogory's words: "The Siol Tormod," he
says, "was now placed in a position, which, though quite intelligible on the
principles of feudal law, was totally opposed to the Celtic customs that still prevailed,
to a great extent, throughout the Highlands and Isles. A female and a minor was the legal
prepretrix of the ancient possessions of the tribe, which by her marriage, might be
conveyed to another and a hostile family; whilst her uncle, the natural leader of the clan
according to ancient custom, was left without any means to keep up the dignity of a chief,
or to support the clan against its enemies. His claims on the estates possessed by the
Clandonald were worse than nugatory, as they threatened to involve him in a feud with that
powerful and warlike tribe, in case he should take any steps to enforce them. In these
circumstances, Donald Macleod seized, apparently with the consent of his clan, the estates
which legally belonged to his niece, the heiress; and thus, in practice, the feudal law
was made to yield to ancient and inveterate custom. Donald did not enjoy these estates
long, being murdered in Trotternish, by a relation of his own, John Oig Macleod, who,
failing Tormod, the only remaining brother of Donald, would have become the heir male of
the family. John Oig next plotted the distruction of Tormod, who was at the time a student
in the university of Glasgow; but in this he was foiled by the interposition of the Earl
of Argyll. He continued, notwithstanding, to retain possession of the estates of the
heiress, and of the command of the clan, till his death in 1559". The heiress of
Harris was one of Queen Mary's maids of honour, and the Earl of Argyll, having ultimately
become her guardian, she was given by him in marriage to his kinsman, Duncan Campbell,
younger of Auchinbreck. Through the previous efforts of the earl, Tormod Macleod, on
receiving a legal title to Harris and the other estates, renounced in favour of Argyll all
his claims to the lands of the Clandonald, and paid 1000 merks towards the dowry of his
niece. he also have his bond of service to Argyll for himself and his clan. Mary Macleod,
in consequence, made a complete surrender to her uncle of her title to the lands of
Harris, Dunvegan, and Glenelg, and Argyll obtained for him a crown charter of these
estates, dated 4th August, 1579. Tormod adhered firmly to the interest of Queen Mary, and
died in 1584. He was succeeded by his eldest son, William, under whom the Harris Macleods
assisted the Macleans in their feuds with the Macdonalds of Isla and Skye, while the Lewis
Macleoads supported the latter. On his death in 1590, his brother, Roderick, the Rory Mor
of tradition, became chief of the Harris Mcleods.
In December 1597, an act of the Estates had been passed, by which it was made imperative
upon all the chieftains and landlords in the Highlands and Isles, to produce their
title-deeds before the lords of Exchequer on the 15th of the following May, under the pain
of forfeiture. The heads of the two branches of the Macleods disregarded the act, and a
gift of their estates was granted to a number of Fife gentlemen, for the purposes of
colonisation. They first began with the Lewis, in which the experiment failed. Roderick
Macleod, on his part, exerted himself to get the forfeiture of his lands of Harris,
Dunvegan, and Glenelg, removed, and ultimately succeeded, having obtained a remission from
the king, dated 4th May 1610. He was knighted by King James VI, by whom he was much
esteemed, and had several friendly letters from his majesty; also, a particular license,
dated 16th June, 1616, to go to London, to the court, at any time he pleased. By his wife,
a daughter of Macdonald of Glengarry, he had, with six daughters, five sons, viz, John,
his heir; Sir Roderick, progenitor of the Macleods of Talisker; Sir Norman of the Macleods
of Berera and Muiravonside; William of the Macleods of Hamer; and Donald of those of
Grisernish.
The history of the Siol Torquil, or Lewis Macleods, as it approached its close, was most
disastrous. Roderick, the chief of this branch in 1569, got involved in a deadly feud with
the Mackenzies, which ended only with the destruction of his whole family. He had married
a daughter of John Mackenzie of Kintail, and a son whom she bore, and who was named
Torquil Connanach, from his residence among his mother's relations in Strathconnan, was
disowned by him, on account of the alleged adultary of his mother with the breve or Celtic
judge of the Lewis. She eloped with John MacGillechallum of Rasay, a cousin of Roderick,
and was, in consequence, divorced. He took for his second wife, in 1541, Brbara Stewart,
daughter of Andrew Lord Avondale, and by this lady had a son, likewise named Torquil, and
surnamed Oighre, or the Heir, to distinguish him from the other Torquil. About 1566, the
former, with 200 attendants, was drowned in a tempest, when sailing from Lewis to Skye,
and Torquil Connanach immediately took up arms to vindicate what he conceived to be his
rights. In his pretensions he was supported by the Mackenzies. Roderick was apprehended
and detailed four years as a prisoner in the castle of Stornaway. The feud between the
Macdonalds and Mackenzies was put an end to by the mediation of the Regent Moray. Before
being released from his captivity, the old chief was brought before the Regent and his
privy council, and compelled to resign his estate into the hands of the crown, taking a
new destination of it to himself in liferent, and after his death to Torquil Connanach, as
his son and heir apparent. On regaining his liberty, however, he revoked all that he had
done when a prisoner, on the ground of coercion. This led to new commotions, and in 1576
both Roderick and Torquil were summoned to Edinburgh, and reconciled in
presence of the
privy council, when the latter was again acknowledged as heir apparent to the Lewis, and
received as such the district of Cogeach and other lands. The old chief some time
afterwards took for his third wife, a sister of Lauchlan Maclean of Dowart, and has by her
two sons, named Torquil Dubh and Tormond. Having again disinherited Torquil Connacnach,
that young chief once more took up arms, and was supported by two illegitimate sons of
Roderick, named Tormod Uigach and Murdoch, while three others, Donald, Rory Oig, and
Neill, joined with their father. He apprehended the old chief, Roderick Macleod, and
killed a number of his men. All the charters and title deeds of the Lewis were carried off
by Torquil, and handed over to the Mackenzies. The charge of the castle of
Stornaway, with
the chief, a prisoner in it, was committed to John Macleod, the son of Torquil Connanach,
but he was attacked by Rory Oig and killed, when Roderick macleod was released, and
possessed the island in peace during the remainder of his life.
On his death he was succeeded by his son Torquil Dubh, who married a sister of Sir
Roderick Macleod of Harris. Torquil Dubh was by stratagem apprehended by the breve of
Lewis, and carried to the country of the Mackenzies, into the presence of Lord Kintail,
who ordered Torquil Dubn and his companions to be beheaded. This took place in July 1597.
Torquil Dubh left three young sons, and their uncle Neill, a bastard brother of their
father, took, in their behalf, the command of the isle of Lewis. Their cause was also
supported by the Macleods of Harris and the Macleans. The dissensions in the Lewis,
followed by the forfeiture of that island, in consequence of the non-production of the
title-deeds, as required by the act of the Estates of 1597, already mentioned, afforded the
king an opportunity of trying to carry into effect his abortive project of colonisation
already referred to. The colonists were at last compelled to abandon their enterprise.
The title to the Lewis having been acquired by Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Kintail, he lost no
time in taking possession of the island, expelling Neill Macleod, with his nephews,
Malcolm, Willian and Roderick, sons of Rory Oig, who, with about thirty others, took
refuge on Berrisay, an insulated rock on the west coast of Lewis. Here they maintained
themselves for nearly three years, but were at length driven from it by the Mackenzies.
Neill surrendered to Roderick Macleod of Harris, who, on being charged, under pain of
treason, to deliver him to the privy council at Edinburgh, gave him up, with his son
Donald. Neill was brought to trial, convicted, and executed, and is said to have died
"very Christianlie" in April 1613. Donald, his son, was banished from Scotland,
and died in Holland. Roderick and William, two of the sons of Rory Oig, were seized by the
tutor of Kintail, and executed. Malcolm, the other son, apprehended at the same time, made
his escape, and continued to harass the Mackenzies for years. He was prominently engaged in
Sir James Macdonald's rebellion in 1615, and afterwards went to Flanders, but in 1616 was
once more in the Lewis, where he killed two gentlemen of the Mackenzies. He subsequently
went to Spain, whence he returned with Sir James Macdonald in 1620. In 1622 and 1626,
commissions of fire and sword were granted to Lord Kintail and his clan against
"Malcolm MacRuari Macleod". Nothing more is known of him.
On the extinction of the main line of the Lewis, the representation of the family devolved
on the Macleods of Rasay, afterwards referred to. The title of Lord Macleod was the second
title of the Mackenzies, Earls of Cromarty.
At the battle of Worcester in 1651, the Macleods fought on the side of Charles II, and so
great was the slaughter amongst them that it was agreed by the other clans that they
should not engage in any other conflict until they had recovered their losses. The Harris
estates were sequestrated by Cromwell, but the chief of the Macleods was at last, in May
1665, admitted into the protection of the Commonwealth by General Monk, on his finding
security for his peaceable behaviour under the penalty of £6,000 sterling, and paying a
fine of £2,500. Both his uncles, however, were expressly excepted.
At the Revolution, Macleod of Macleod, which became the designation of the laird of
Harris, as chief of the clan, was favourable to the cause of James II. In 1715 the
effective force of the Macleods was 1,000 men, and in 1745, 900. The chief, by the advice
of President Forbes, did not join in the rebellion of the latter year, and so saved his
estates, but many of his clansmen, burning with zeal for the cause of Prince Charles,
fought in the ranks of the rebel army.
It has been mentioned that the bad treatment which a daughter of the chief of the Macleods
experienced from her husband, the captain of the Clanranald, had caused them to take the
first opportunity of inflicting a signal vengeance on the Macdonalds. The merciless act of
Macleod, by which the entire population of an island was cut off at once, is described by
Mr Skene, and is shortly thus. Towards the close of the 16th Century, a small number of
Macleods accidentally landed on the island of Eigg, and were hospitably received by the
inhabitants. Offering, however, some incivilities to the young women of the island, they
were, by the male relatives of the latter, bound hand and foot, thrown into a boat, and
sent adrift. Being met and rescued by a party of their own clansmen, they were brought to
Dunvegan, the residence of their chief, to whom they told their story. Instantly manning
his galleys, Macleod hastened to Eigg. On descrying his approach, the islanders, with
their wives and children, to the number of 200 persons, took refuge in a large cave,
situated in a retired and secret place. Here for two days they remained undiscovered, but
having unfortunately sent out a scout to see if the Macleods were gone, their retreat was
detected, but they refused surrender. A stream of water fell over the entrance to the cave,
and partly concealed it. This Macleod caused to be turned from its course, and then
ordered all the wood and other combustibles which could be found to be piled up around its
mouth, and set fire to, when all within the cave were suffocated.
The Siol Tormod continued to possess Harris, Dunvegan, and Glenelg till near the close of
the 18th century. The former and the latter estates have now passed into other hands. A
considerable portion of Harris is the property of the Earl of Dummore, and many of its
inhabitants have emigrated to Cape Breton and Canada. The climate of the island is said to
be favourable to longevity. Martin, in his account of the Western Isles, says he knew
several in Harris of 90 years of age. One Lady Macleod, who passed the most of here time
here, lived to 103, had then a comely head of hair and good teeth, and enjoyed a perfect
understanding till the week she died. Her son, Sir Norman Macleod, died at 96, and his
grandson, Donald Macleod of Bernera, at 91. Clenelg became the property first of Charles
Grant, Lord Glenelg, and afterwards of Mr Baillie. From the family of Bernera, one of the
principle branches of the Harris Macleods, sprung the Macleods of Luskinder, of which Sir
William Macleod Bannatyne, a lord of session, was a cadet.
The first of the house of Rasy, the late proprietor of which is the representative of the
Lewis branch of the Macleods, was Malcolm Garbh Macleod, the second son of Malcolm, eighth
chief of the Lewis. In the reign of James V he obtained from his father in patrimony the
island of Rasay, which lies between Skye and the Ross-shire district of Applecross. In
1569 the whole of the Rasay family, except one infant, were barbarously massacred by one
of their own kinsmen, under the following circumstances. John MacGhilliechallum Macleod of
Rasay, called Ian na Tuaidh, or John with the axe, who had carried off Janet Mackenzie,
the first wife of his chief, Roderick Macleod of the Lewis, married her, after her
divorce, and had by her several sons and one daughter. The latter became the wife of
Alexander Roy Mackenzie, a grandson of Hector or Eachen Roy, the first of the Mackenzies
of Gairloch, a marriage which have great offence to his clan, the Siol vie Gillechallum,
as the latter had long been at feud with that particular branch of the Mackenzies. On
Janet Mackenzie's death, he of the axe married a sister of a kinsman of his own, Ruari
Macallan Macleod, who, from his venomous disposition, was surnamed Nimhneach. The latter,
to obtain Rasay for his nephew, his sister's son, resolved to cut off both his
brother-in-law and his sons by the first marriage. He accordingly invited them to a feast
in the island of Isay in Skye, and after it was over he left the apartment. Then, causing
them to be sent for one by one, he had each of them assassinated as they came out. He was,
however, balked in his object, as Rasay became the property of Malcolm or Ghilliechallum
Garbh Macallaster Macleod, then a child, belonging to the direct line of the Rasay branch,
who was with his foster-father at the time. Rasay no longer belongs to the Macleods, they
having been compelled to part with their patrimony some years ago.
The Macleods of Assynt, one of whom betrayed the great Montrose in 1650, were also a
branch of the Macleods of Lewis. That estate, towards the end of the 17th century, became
the property of the Mackenzies, and the family is now represented by Macleod of Geanies.
The Macleods of Cadboll are cadets of those of Assynt.
Another Account of the Clan
BADGE
MacLeod of
Harris: Craobh aiteann (juniperis communis) juniper
bush.
MacLeod of Lewis: Lus
nam Braoileag (Vaccinium vitis idea) red whortleberry.
PIBR0CH:Iomradh Mhic Leoid.
MANY hundreds of visitors
to the Outer Hebrides to-day —yachtsmen and
passengers by Messrs. MacBrayne’s steamers—are familiar with the noble
old towers of Dunvegan at the head of Loch Bracadale on the western side
of Skye. The ancient seat of the MacLeods towering on its rocks is not
only the most romantic dwelling in the Isles, but the oldest inhabited
mansion in Scotland, having been one of the sea-eyries built by the Norse
rovers in the ninth or tenth century, and continuously inhabited to the
present day. Nothing more picturesque could well be imagined than its
cluster of square towers and embattled walls rising above the wild crags
of the shore, and there is nothing more interesting in the record of the
Western Isles than the story of the chiefs of MacLeod who, for so many
centuries, have made it their stronghold and home. Probably no better
description of the castle is to be found than that given by Sir Walter
Scott in his diary of the voyage he made in the yacht of the Lighthouse
Commissioners in August, 1814. This runs as follows:
"Wake under the Castle
of Dunvegan in the Loch of Folliart. I had sent a card to the Laird of
MacLeod in the morning, who came off before we were dressed, and carried
us to his castle to breakfast. A part of Dunvegan is very old; ‘its
birth tradition notes not.’ Another large tower was built by the same
Alister MacLeod whose burial-place and monument we saw yesterday at Rodel.
He had a Gaelic surname, signifying the Humpbacked. Roderick More
(knighted by James VI.) erected a long edifice combining these two ancient
towers; and other pieces of building, forming a square, were accomplished
at different times. The whole castle occupies a precipitous mass of rock
overhanging the lake, divided by two or three islands in that place, which
form a snug little harbour under the walls. There is a court-yard looking
out upon the sea, protected by a battery—at least a succession of
embrasures, for only two guns are pointed, and these unfit for service.
The ancient entrance rose up a flight of steps cut in the rock, and passed
into this courtyard through a portal, but this is now demolished. You land
under the castle, and, walking round, find yourself in front of it. This
was originally inaccessible, for a brook coming down on the one side, a
chasm of the rocks on the other, and a ditch in front, made it impervious.
But the late MacLeod built a bridge over the stream, and the present laird
is executing an entrance suitable to the character of this remarkable
fortalice, by making a portal between two advanced towers and an outer
court, from which he proposes to throw a drawbridge over to the high rock
in front of the castle. This, if well executed, cannot fail to have a good
and characteristic effect."
On the first night of his visit Scott slept
in the haunted chamber of the castle, which is still pointed out, and he
gives an account of his impressions in the last of his "Letters on
Demonology and Witchcraft." He had previously slept in the haunted
chamber of the ancient castle of Glamis in Strathmore, and his impressions
here were somewhat similar. " Amid such tales of ancient
tradition," he says, "I had from MacLeod and his lady the
courteous offer of the haunted apartment of the castle, about which, as a
stranger, I might be supposed interested. Accordingly I took possession of
it about the witching hour. Except, perhaps, some tapestry hangings, and
the extreme thickness of the walls, which argued great antiquity, nothing
could have been more comfortable than the interior of the apartment; but
if you looked from the windows, the view was such as to correspond with
the highest tone of superstition. An autumnal blast, sometimes clear,
sometimes driving mist before it, swept along the troubled billows of the
lake, which it occasionally concealed, and by fits disclosed. The waves
rushed in wild disorder on the shore, and covered with foam the steep pile
of rocks, which, rising from the sea in forms something resembling the
human figure, have obtained the name of MacLeod’s Maidens, and, in such
a night, seemed no bad representative of the Norwegian goddesses, called
Choosers of the Slain, or Riders of the Storm. There was something of the
dignity of danger in the scene; for, on a platform beneath the windows,
lay an ancient battery of cannon, which had sometimes been used against
privateers even of late years. The distant scene was a view of that part
of the Quillen mountains which are called, from their form, MacLeod’s
Dining-Tables. The voice of an angry cascade, termed the Nurse of Rorie
Mhor, because that chief slept best in its vicinity, was heard from time
to time mingling its notes with those of wind and wave. Such was the
haunted room at Dunvegan."
Among the characteristic relics in the
castle, which Scott saw, and which are still treasured there, were the
drinking horn of Rorie Mhor, an ox’s horn tipped with silver, which each
chief of the MacLeods, on coming of age, was expected to drain at a single
draught; the Dunvegan cup, a beautifully chased and ornamented silver
chalice of the fifteenthcentury, which Scott by a misreading of
the inscription round its rim made out to date from 500 years earlier; and
the famous Fairy Flag said to have been given to a Chief of the MacLeods
either by an Irish princess or a fairy bride, but which is most likely a
trophy brought home from one of the crusades by some early warrior.
"It is a pennon of silk with something like round red rough berries
wrought upon it, and its properties," as, described by Scott, were
that "produced in battle it multiplied the number of the MacLeods;
spread on the nuptial bed it ensured fertility; and, lastly, it brought
herring into the loch." According to tradition the flag has already
been twice displayed, and produced its expected results. When displayed
for the third time it will have the same effect, but it and its bearer
will forthwith disappear from earth.
The Chief of MacLeod of Scott’s time was
busily engaged in planting trees and improving his estate. "If he
does not hurry too fast," said the novelist, "he cannot fail to
be of service to his people. He seems to think and act much like the
chief, without the fanfaronade of the character." When Scott and his
party left they were accompanied to the yacht by MacLeod himself, with his
piper playing in the bows in proper style, and were sent off with a salute
of seven guns from the castle. The episode concludes with the entry,
" the Chief returns ashore with his piper playing ‘The MacLeods’
Gathering,’ heard to advantage along the calm and placid loch, and dying
as it retreated from us."
Fifty years before Scott’s time Dunvegan
was visited by Dr. Samuel Johnson and his biographer Boswell, both of whom
have left characteristic records of their impressions of the place. Also
at a more recent day a brief visit was paid by the poet Alexander Smith,
who has left some account of it in his well-known book, A Summer in
Skye. More recently still, a very full and excellent account of the
castle and its chiefs is to be found in Canon MacCulloch’s charming
volume, The Misty Isle of Skye.
According to popular tradition, cited in
Douglas’s Baronage, the MacLeods were descended from the
Norwegian kings of Man; but there is equally strong reason to believe
that, in the male line at least, they belonged to the ancient Celtic
inhabitants of the country. They come first out of the mists of the past
as allodial owners of Glenelg, the possession of which was confirmed to
them in the person of Malcolm, son of Tormod, by David II. in the
fourteenth century, in a charter under which the chief obliged himself to
provide a galley of thirty-six oars for the king’s use when required.
Dunvegan and the lands of Skye came into MacLeod’s possession by
marriage with a daughter of MacRaild, the heiress of a Norwegian chief. At
the same time, the MacLeod chiefs appear to have been owners of lands in
Harris and the Lewis.
A younger brother of Tormod, already
mentioned, Torquil MacLeod of the Lewis, married the heiress of the Chief
of the MacNicols, and through her came into possession of the district of
Assynt and other lands in Wester Ross, for which he obtained a charter
from David II. His descendants became independent chiefs, and were known
as the Siol Thorcuil or Race of Torquil, while the descendants of his
elder brother were known as the Siol Thormod or Race of Tormod. At a later
day the MacLeods of Assynt were represented by MacLeod of Raasa. These
MacLeods of Lewis and Assynt had their own history, which was stirring
enough. There is in particular the much-disputed episode of the arrest of
the great Marquess of Montrose in 1651, which by some is held to have cast
a stain upon the name, and by others is believed not to have been the work
of MacLeod of Assynt at all, but of his wife or one of his clansmen in the
ordinary course of duty in his absence.
Meanwhile the MacLeods of MacLeod, the race
of Tormod, with their seat at Dunvegan, played a most notable part in the
history of the Western Isles. They were among the chiefs who fought on the
side of Bruce, and a son of the Chief accompanied Donald of the Isles in
the raid which ended at the battle of Harlaw in 1411. A typical incident
of that history was the feud with the MacKays, of which the most
outstanding incident was a bloody battle on the marches of Ross and
Sutherland in the first years of the fifteenth century, from which the
only survivor on MacLeod’s side was a solitary clansman who made his
way, seriously wounded, home to his native Lewis, told his tale and died
in the telling of it. Another famous feud was that which followed the
marriage of MacLeod of the Lewis with the widow of the Chief of the
Mathiesons of Lochalsh, executed by James I. at Edinburgh in 1427.
Disputes arose between MacLeod and his stepsons, the young Mathiesons.
John, the elder of these, sought the protection of his maternal
grandfather, Chief of the MacIntosh’s, and by and by, with the help of
the latter, returned to claim his possessions. He attacked the castle of
Lochalsh in which MacLeod and his wife defended themselves. When the
stronghold was set on fire Mathieson, anxious to save his mother,
stationed himself at the gate, and gave orders that she was to be allowed
to pass. When she did so in the darkness and tumult, it was not noticed
that she was taking with her, hidden under the wide folds of her arisaid
or belted plaid the person of her husband, MacLeod himself. Presently the
latter returned with a force of his own men from the Lewis, but was
repulsed by young Mathieson, chiefly by the help of his bowmen, from which
fact the battle is still called Blar nan Saigheadear. Making still another
attempt to recapture the castle, MacLeod was slain and the feud ended.
One of the great battles in which the
MacLeods engaged with their enemies of the Isles is commemorated in the
name of the Bloody Bay, on the coast of Mull, two miles north of Tobermory,
where the Macdonalds, under Angus Og, son of the last Lord of the Isles,
about 1484, overthrew the fleet of James III., fitted out by the Earls of
Atholl and Argyll, and Macleod of Harris was slain.
The MacLeods, however, were still to
perform an act of friendship towards the MacDonalds. At the end of the
fifteenth century, when James IV. was endeavouring to put an end to the
constant clan troubles in the Hebrides, caused by the efforts to revive
the broken power of the Lord of the Isles, Torquil MacLeod of the Lewis
was the most notable of the chiefs who resisted the efforts of the
king’s lieutenants, first the Earl of Argyll and afterwards the Earl of
Huntly. It was only by the efforts of James IV. himself that the Islesmen
were finally brought to peaceful submission. Last of them all, Torquil
MacLeod—who, by the way, was Argyll’s brother-in-law, and had been
forfeited by command of Parliament—retired to his stronghold of
Stornoway Castle. He had with him his relative, Donald Dubh, son of that
Angus Og who had won the battle of the Bloody Bay, and claimant of the
Lordship of the Isles. But in the end Stornoway Castle was captured by the
Earl of Huntly, Donald Dubh driven to Ireland, and the insurrection of the
Islesmen brought to an end.
Perhaps the most tragic incident connected
with Dunvegan took place in the middle of the sixteenth century. In 1552
William, the ninth chief, died. In the absence of his two brothers, Donald
and Torquil, the clansmen acknowledged as chief Ian the Fair-haired, a
descendant of the sixth Chief of the MacLeods. On the return of Donald a
meeting was held at Lyndale, when Ian the Fair-haired was again chosen
chief. Donald thereupon retired to Kingsburgh. Here he was approached by
Ian Dubh, a son of Ian the Fair-haired, with offers of friendship, and,
being enticed to a meeting at midnight, was forthwith slain, with six of
his followers. Ian the Fair-haired ordered the arrest of Ian Dubh, but
died before it could be effected. His eldest son Tormod was dead, but had
left three sons, to whom Donald Breac, the brother of Ian Dubh, was
guardian. When Donald Breac and the three boys returned from the funeral
they found Dunvegan in possession of Ian Dubh, with the boys’ mother a
prisoner within. On Donald demanding possession, the doorway at the top of
the narrow stair above the landing-place opened, and Ian Dubh appeared in
full armour. Donald rushed up to the attack, but was presently slain. The
three sons of Tormod were also put to the sword by Ian Dubh, who proceeded
to shut up his remaining brothers, with the wives and children of the
other leaders of the clan, in the castle dungeons.
The Campbells now stepped in as guardians
of Mary, the only child of the ninth chief, William. They landed with a
large force at Roag in Loch Bracadale, met Ian Dubh in the church of
Kilmuir, and arranged terms. Ian Dubh then invited the eleven Campbell
chieftains to a feast at Dunvegan. The feast is said to have taken place
in what is now the drawing-room of the castle. There each Campbell found
himself seated between two MacLeods. At the end of the feast, instead of a
cup of wine, a cup of blood was set before each guest, and forthwith at
the signal each Campbell was stabbed in the throat by a MacLeod.
The final scene in the drama took place in
1559. Torquil MacLeod, brother of the ninth Chief, then arrived to claim
the chiefship, and a warder, Torquil MacSween, was induced to betray the
castle. Hearing a noise, Ian Dubh sprang from bed. Seeing all was lost he
fled to his galley and escaped to Harris. Thence he made his way to
Ireland, where presently he was seized by the O’Donnell chief, and
horribly slain by having a red-hot iron thrust through his bowels.
But the main feuds of the MacLeods were
with the MacDonalds of the Isles, who were their own near neighbours in
Skye. Already in the days of King Robert III. they had signally defeated
that powerful clan, but it was towards the close of the sixteenth century
that the most notable events in the feud occurred. In the latter part of
the century the MacLeans of Mull were at bitter feud with the MacDonalds
of Islay. In that feud they were generously helped by the MacLeods. One of
the traditions of Dunvegan of that time is told in A Summer in Skye. On
a certain wild night MacDonald of Sleat was driven on his barge into the
loch, and forced to ask shelter from MacLeod. He was admitted with his
piper and twelve followers, but at dinner, noticing the ominous boar’s
head upon the table, refused to leave his men and sit above the salt. Over
the wine after dinner some bad blood was occasioned by MacDonald’s
boasting about his dirk and his powers of using it, and a serious tragedy
might have occurred but for a sweetheart of one of the MacDonalds, who, as
she passed her lover with a dish, whispered to him to beware of the barn
in which he was to sleep. The man told his master, and, instead of going
to sleep on the heaps of heather which had been prepared for them in the
barn, the MacDonalds spent the night in a cave outside. At midnight the
barn was a mass of flame, and the MacLeods thought they had killed their
enemies; but presently, much to their astonishment they saw MacDonald
march past the castle with his twelve men, his piper playing a defiance to
Dunvegan, and, before anything could be done, the barge set sail and sped
down the loch.
In the course of the warfare with the
MacDonalds the most terrible event took place on the Isle of Eigg. The
tradition runs that a small party of MacLeods had landed on that island,
and ill-treated some of the women. They were seized, bound hand and foot,
and set adrift in their own boat, but managed, to reach Dunvegan.
Forthwith, to avenge them, the MacLeod Chief sailed for Eigg. Seeing his
overwhelming force the inhabitants of the island, some 200 in number, took
shelter in a great cave which had a single narrow entrance. Their plan
seemed successful. Macleod searched the island, but failed to find them,
and at last set sail. Looking back, however, the MacLeods spied a man on
the top of the island. Returning immediately, by means of his footsteps in
a sprinkling of snow which had fallen, they traced him to the mouth of the
cave. There they demanded that the persons who had set their men adrift
should be given up for punishment. This was refused; whereupon MacLeod
ordered his men to gather heather and brushwood. This was piled against
the mouth of the cave and set on fire, and the blaze was kept up until all
within were suffocated to death.
By way of retaliation for this massacre, on
a Sunday when the MacLeods of Vaternish were at service in the church at
Trumpan, a body of MacDonalds from Uist, having landed at Ardmore, set
fire to the fane, and burnt it with all its worshippers except one woman,
who escaped through a window. The MacDonald galleys, however, and the
smoke of the burning, had been seen from Dunvegan, and MacLeod had sent
out the Fiery Cross. As he came within sight, the MacDonalds rushed to
their boats; but the tide had left them high and dry, and as they
struggled to launch them the MacLeods rushed to the attack, and everyone
of the MacDonalds was slain. The bodies of the dead were laid in a long
row beside a turf dyke at the spot, and the dyke was overthrown upon them,
from which fact the battle is known as Blar Milleadh Garaidh, the Battle
of the Spoiling of the Dyke. A few years later the MacDonalds made another
raid and swept off all MacLeod’s cattle; but they were overtaken near
the same spot, a terrible fight took place, and nearly everyone of the
MacDonalds was killed. It is said that on each side, on this last
occasion, a blacksmith remained fighting in full armour. The MacLeod
blacksmith was beginning to faint from loss of blood when his wife came
upon the scene, and with a cry struck the enemy with her distaff.
MacDonald turned his head, and at the moment was run through and slain. In
the same battle a son of MacLeod of Unish was fighting valiantly when a
MacDonald rushed at him, and hewed off his legs at the knees. Nevertheless
MacLeod continued to fight standing on his stumps, and the spot where at
last he fell is still known after him as the Knoll of the Son of Ian.
Again, at Cnoc a Chrochaidh, the
hanging-hill in the same neighbourhoed, another act of justice took place.
A son of Judge Morrison of the Lewis had been on a visit to Dunvegan, and
afterwards on Asay island had killed some MacLeods. He was pursued and
overtaken here, and hanged on three of his own oars. Before the hanging he
was told to kneel and say his prayers, and long afterwards some silver
coins found in a crevice of the rocks were believed to have been treasure
concealed by him during his devotions.
It was at one of the battles near Trumpan
that the fairy flag is believed to have been last displayed.
Perhaps most famous of the MacLeod chiefs
was Roderick or Ruarie More of Dunvegan, from whom the waterfall beside
the castle takes its name. Along with his contemporary, Roderick MacLeod
of the Lewis, he had resisted the order of King James VI. that all
landowners in the Highlands must produce their charters. Accordingly the
property of the two chiefs was declared forfeited, and an attempt was made
to settle Lewis and Skye by a syndicate from the East of Scotland. The
Fife Adventurers reached the Western Isles late in 1598, but they were not
long allowed to remain at peace. In the Lewis, Neil MacLeod rushed the
settlement at dead of night and slew fifty of the colonists, and after a
renewed attack and slaughter the rest were forced to depart home. A second
attempt of the same kind was made in 1605, and a third in 1609, with the
same disastrous consequences. Also in 1607 an attempt was made to form a
contract with the Marquess of Huntly to effect the civilisation of Lewis
and Skye by exterminating the inhabitants, and it only failed because the
Privy Council would not accept Huntly’s offer of £400 Scots for the
island. At the same time, Spens of Wormiston, who had received a grant of
Dunvegan, was prevented by the MacLeod chief from obtaining possession,
and at last in 1610 MacLeod was enabled to procure a free pardon, and was
knighted by King James. It was this Chief who built Rorie More’s Tower,
and placed on it the effigies of himself and his lady, a daughter of
Glengarry. He also added much to the family estates, and did his best to
put an end to the ancient feuds with his neighbours.
In the Civil Wars the clan fought on the
Royalist side, and at the battle of Worcester it suffered so severely that
the other clans agreed it should not be asked to join any warlike
expedition until its strength was restored. As a result of his loyalty, in
1655 MacLeod was fined £2,500, and obliged to give security to the amount
of £6,000 sterling for his obedience to the Commonwealth.
The MacLeods were reported by General Wade
in 1715 to be 1,000 strong; and in 1745MacLeod, it was said, could
put 900 men in the field. He did not, however, join Prince Charlie, though
many of his clansmen fought on the Jacobite side.
A strange episode of that time, in which
MacLeod was concerned, was the abduction of the unhappy Lady Grange. The
lady’s husband, a judge of the Court of Session, was a brother of the
Jacobite Earl of Mar. The marriage was most unhappy, and the lady is said
to have threatened to reveal her husband’s Jacobite plots. Then in 1731
it was given out that Lady Grange had died, and there was a mock funeral
in Edinburgh. Meanwhile, with the aid of the MacLeod Chief and Lord Lovat,
she was carried off, kept first on the Isle of Heiskar, to the west of
North Uist, and afterwards at the lonely St. Kilda. In 1741 she managed to
send letters to her law agent, Hope of Rankeillor, and the latter fitted
out an armed vessel for her rescue. MacLeod, however, was forewarned, and
had Lady Grange removed first to Harris and afterwards to Skye, where she
wandered imbecile for some seven years. At last, in 1745, the year of
Charles Edward’s landing, she died. Another mock funeral then took place
at Durinish, but she was really buried at Trumpan, where the Earl of Mar
set up a monument to her memory a few years ago. Among the papers at
Dunvegan are still extant the accounts of the unfortunate lady’s board
and funeral.
In later days the MacLeod chiefs have been
noted for their benevolence, their endeavours for the improving of their
estates, and their interest in the welfare of their clansmen. Among them
none has been held in more affectionate regard than the present owner of
Dunvegan. No Chief in the Highlands more faithfully cherishes the best
traditions of the past, or more faithfully fulfils the obligations of the
present, and none is more beloved by his people, or more worthy of their
affection and esteem.
Septs of Clan MacLeod of Harris: Beaton,
Bethune, Beton, MacCaig, MacClure, MacCrimmon, MacCuaig, MacHarrold,
Macraild, Norman.
Here is part of an interesting letter from Dave McLure...
I am a McClure of Oregon, of the Sept MacClure of MacLeod, of the Clan
Macleod of MacLeod, whose ancestral home lies in Castle Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye in
Scotland. I wear the tartan of MacLeod of Macleod, and hold to the battle cry of the
Clan MacLeod, "Hold Fast!"
After the troubles of the late 1700's, in which Scotland again tried to free itself from
the oppression of the English Kings (see historical references in the movie, "Rob
Roy"), many of the nobles of Scotland fled to Ireland for their lives. . .only to
find, once they were settled and had married a wee lass (which is how MacClure became
McClure!) that the potato famines (said to have been caused by the selfsame English Kings)
drove them out of Ireland. Like millions of other Irish, the sons of Scotland
emigrated. . .many to the New World in the early to mid 1800s. Many went as
indentured servants (slaves), for which Ireland and Scotland are still awaiting President
Clinton's apology.
Unlike most Irish, who emigrated to New York or Boston, the Scots went primarily to
Philadelphia. From there, they split into two groups. One went west, through
Pennsylvania to settle the rich bottom lands of the Ohio Valley, then onward into Iowa,
then across the plains to settle in the forests of Oregon. These are the families of
Clan MacLeod in Oregon, the furthest descendents of the Clan in the Colonies, and my own
family through Ralph McClure of Salem, a direct descendent of Robert McClure of MacLeod,
who first came to America and established McClure's Gap in Western Pennsylvania.
The other half went south, through Alexandria, VA. . .to North Carolina... onward to South
Carolina and eastern Tennessee. There, they were directly responsible not only for
what we think of as "southern hospitality," but also for the US Civil War.
Okay, that requires some explanation. The southern
culture we can easily understand. . .civility, respect for women, honor and chivalry were
directly from Scotland and Scottish tradition, which merged into the South to give us
Martha Stewart and Jesse Helms today. And also, perhaps, Newt Gingrich.
But few Americans today understand that the US Civil War never was about slavery. . .which
became an issue only in 1863, after the battle of Gettysburg, when Lincoln freed the
slaves (but only in the southern states). The Civil War actually was begun two years
earlier over the issue of state's rights against a powerful central government. The
Republicans under Lincoln had decreed that the sovereignty of states was forfeit, and that
the central government would rule. The Scots of the south took exception.
The Scots had heard all that before, in 700 years of tyranny under the English Kings.
So it was no mistake that the Scots of South Carolina, led by Sen. Calhoun, led
that state to be the first to succeed, and to fire upon Fort Sumpter, beginning the Civil
War. The rest is history, and the love of Scots to fight for a lost cause. . .
Grandfather Mountain Highland Games 2024
As honored Clan for 2024, Clan MacLeod welcomed John MacLeod, 18th Chief of
Raasay, who flew in all the way from Tasmania, Australia. We had a jam
packed 4 days of activities, setting up both tent areas, MacLeod reception
on Thursday evening was well attended & Calling of the Clans following.
Friday’s opening ceremony & I co-hosted Coinneach MacLeod, The Hebridean
Baker’s 5:30pm event! (So fun!!) Saturday’s games were amazing! MacLeod
competitor, Champion Adrienne Wilson, was amazing! The MacLeod dinner was
attended by 100+ and we were honored to have Colin Grant Adams, Coinneach
MacLeod, Hebridean Baker & The Brothers MacLeod! Sunday was closing
ceremonies & the Parade of Tartans. Poor Chief John has got to be so tired,
he was in high demand all weekend & undoubtedly the most photographed person
in North Carolina. Clan MacLeod welcomed over 50 new & renewing members!
.JPG)
MANY hundreds of visitors
to the Outer Hebrides to-day —yachtsmen and
passengers by Messrs. MacBrayne’s steamers—are familiar with the noble
old towers of Dunvegan at the head of Loch Bracadale on the western side
of Skye. The ancient seat of the MacLeods towering on its rocks is not
only the most romantic dwelling in the Isles, but the oldest inhabited
mansion in Scotland, having been one of the sea-eyries built by the Norse
rovers in the ninth or tenth century, and continuously inhabited to the
present day. Nothing more picturesque could well be imagined than its
cluster of square towers and embattled walls rising above the wild crags
of the shore, and there is nothing more interesting in the record of the
Western Isles than the story of the chiefs of MacLeod who, for so many
centuries, have made it their stronghold and home. Probably no better
description of the castle is to be found than that given by Sir Walter
Scott in his diary of the voyage he made in the yacht of the Lighthouse
Commissioners in August, 1814. This runs as follows: