| In Gaelic,
Mac-an-t-sagairt means 'son of the priest', which in the case of Ferquhard Macintaggart
meant the lay abbot of the monastery of Applecross. In 1215 he thwarted a rebellion,
beheaded its leaders, and presented their heads to King Alexander II who knighted him and
later made him Earl of Ross. The name appears in Dumfries in 1459. Elsewhere, in 1583
three MacTaggarts were charged with arson, and in 1688 Catherine McTarget was accused of
witchcraft. |
