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The origin of the Shaws, at one time a most
important clan of the Chattan confederation, has been already referred to in connection
with the Mackintoshes. The tradition of the Mackintoshes and Shaws is
"unvaried", says the Rev. W G Shaw of Forfar, that at least from and after 1396,
a race of Shaws existed in Rothiemurchus, whose great progenitor was the Shaw Mor who
commanded the section of the clan represented by the Mackintoshes on the Inch. The
tradition of the Shaws is, that he was Shaw, the son of James, the son or descendant of
Farquhar; the tradition of the Macintoshes - that he was
Shaw-mac-Gilchrist-mac-Ian-mac-Angus-mac-Farquhar - Farquhar being the ancestor according
to both traditions, from whom he took the name (according to Wyntoun) of Sha Farquharis
Son. The tradition of a James Shaw who 'had bloody contests with the Comyns', which
tradition is forfeited by that of the Comyns, may very likely refer to the James, who,
according to the genealogies both of the Shaws and Mackintoshes, was the son of Shaw Mor.
Mr Shaw of Forfar, who is well entitled to speak with authority on the subject, maintains
"that prior to 1396, the clan now represented by the Mackintoshes, had been (as was
common amongst the clans) sometimes designated as the clan Shaw, after the successive
chiefs of that name, especially the first, and sometimes as the clan of the
Mac-an-Toisheach, i.e., of the Thane's son. Thus, from its first founder,
the great clan of
the Isles was originally called the clan Cuin, or race of Constantine. Afterwards, it was
called the clan Colla, from his son Coll, and latterly the clan Donald, after one of his
descendants of that name. So the Macleans are often called clan Gilleon after their
founder and first chief; and the Macphersons, the clan Muirich, after one of the most
distinguished in their line of chiefs. The Farquharsons are called clan Fhiunla, after
their great ancestor, Finlay Mor. There is nothing more probable, therefore - I should say
more certain - than that the race in after times known as Mackintoshes, should at first
have been as frequently designated as Na Si'aich, 'The Shaws', after the Christian name of
their first chief, as Mackintoshes after his appellative description or designation. It is
worthy of remark, that the race of Shaws is never spoken of in Gaelic as the 'clan Shaw',
but as 'Na Si'aich' - The Shaws, or as we would say Shawites. We never hear of Mac-Shaws -
sons of Shaw, but of 'Na Si'aich - The Shaws'. Hence prior to 1396, when a Shaw so
distinguished himself as to found a family, under the wing of his chief, the undivided
race, so to speak, would sometimes be called 'Mackintoshes', or followers of the Thane's
sons, sometimes the clan Chattan, the generic name of the race, sometimes 'clan Dhugaill',
(Quehele) after Dougall-Dall, and sometimes 'Na Si'aich', the Shaws or Shawites, after the
numerous chiefs who more the name of Shaw in the line of descent. Hence the claim of both
Shaws and Mackintoshes to the occupancy of Rothiemurchus. After 1396, the term Na Si'aich
was restricted, as all are agreed, to the clan developed out of the other, through the
prowess of Shaw Mor".
Shaw "Mor" Mackintosh, who fought at Perth in 1396, was succeeded by his son
James, who fell at Harlaw in 1411. Both Shaw and James had held Rothiemurchus only as
tenants of the chief of Mackintosh, but James's son and successor, Alister
"Ciar" (i.e., brown), obtained from Duncan, 11th of Mackintosh, in 1463-4, his
right of possession and tack. In the deed by which David Stuart, Bishop of Moray, superior
of the lands, confirms this disposition of Duncan, and gives Alister the fen, Alister is
called "Allister Kier Mackintosh". This deed is dated 24th September 1464.
Allthe deeds in which Alister is mentioned call him Mackintosh, not Shaw, thus showing the
descent of the Shaws from the Mackintoshes, and that they did not acquire their name of
Shaw until after Alister's time.
Alister's grandson, Alan, in 1539, disposed his right to Rothiemurchus to Edom Gordon,
reserving only his son's liferest. Alan's grandson of the same name was outlawed for the
murder of his stepfather, some fifty years later, and compelled to leave the country.
Numerous Shaws are, however, still to be found in the neighbourhood of Rothiemurchus, or
who can trace their descent from Alister Kier.
Besides the Shaws of Rothiemurchus, the Shaws of Tordarroch in Strathnairn, descended from
Adam, younger brother of Alister Kier, were a considerable family; but, like their
cousins, they no longer occupy their original patrimony. Tordarroch was held in wadset of
the chiefs of Mackintosh, and was given up to Sir AEneas Mackintosh in the end of last
century by its holder at the time, Colonel Alexander Shaw, seventh in descent from Adam.
Argus MacBean vic Robert of Tordarroch signed the Bond of 1609 already mentioned. His
great-grandsons, Robert and AEneas, took part during their father's life in the rebellion
of 1715; both were taken prisoners at Preston, and were confined in Newgate, the elder
brother dying during his imprisonment. The younger AEneas, succeeded his father, and in
consideration of his taking no part in the '45, was made a magistrate, and received
commissions for his three sons, the second of whom, AEneas, rose to the rank of
major-general in the army. Margaret, daughter of AEneas of Tordarroch, was wife of
Farquhar Macgillivray of Dalcrombie, one of the three officers of the Mackintosh regiment
who escaped from Culloden.
AUneas was succeeded by his eldest son, Colonet Alexander Shaw, lieutenant-governor of the
Isle of Man under the crown. He gave up the wadset of Tordarroch to Sir AEneas Mackintosh,
and died in 1811.
From the four younger sons of Alister Kier descended respectively the Shaws of Dell (the
family of the historian of Moray, the Rev Laclan Shaw); of Dalnivert, the representation
of it devolved in the last century on a female, who married - Clark; the Farquharsons, who
in time acquired more importance than the Shaws; and the Shaws of Harris, who still retain
a tradition of their ancestor, Iver MacAlister Ciar.
Another Account of the Clan
BADGE: Lus nam braoileag (Vaccinium vitis
idaea) red whortle berry.
 THE
Rev. Lachlan Shaw, historian of Moray, declared that he saw no reason to
doubt that all persons of the name, in the south country as well as the
north, were members of this clan. There is reason to believe, however,
that many Shaws in the south take their name from some ancestor’s
residence near a "shaw " or thicket, this being a common local
place-name either alone or with some qualification, as in Pollokshaws,
near Glasgow. The Gaelic name, Na Si’aich, on the other hand, means
"Son of the Tempest" or "Son of the Snow." The same
author, and the Rev. W. G. Shaw, following him, in his Memorials of
Clan Shaw, quote unvaried tradition for the statement that the Shaws
held Rothiemurcus from the Bishops of Moray in undisturbed possession for
a long period prior to 1350. In that year, these writers declare, the
Comyns of Strathdallas obtained a wadset or lease of the lands, and on the
Shaws refusing to give them up, a combat took place in which James Shaw,
the chief, fell. By his wife, a daughter of Ferguson, a baron of Atholl,
this chief, say these writers, was father of a son who, on coming of age,
attacked and defeated the Comyns and killed their leader at a place since
called Laggan na Chuiminaich. He then purchased the freehold of
Rothiemurcus and Baile an Easpuig, and so stopped further dispute.
Still another statement was
made, in a Genealogie of the Farquharsons, written about the year
1700. The writer of that document derived his clan and that of the Shaws
from Shaw, third son of Macduff, who, he says, "took his proper name
for his surname, came north, and possessed himself of Rothiemurcus, which
was a part of his father’s inheritance."
All these writers appear to
have been misled by the occurrence of the Christian name Seth or Scayth in
early documents. As a matter of fact, down to the seventeenth century the
owners of Rothiemurcus were known as Mackintoshes, and only then took the
Christian name of their doughty ancestor Shaw Mackintosh for a family
name. The entire matter is clearly discussed and set forth in The
Machintoshes and Clan Chattan, by Mr. A. M. Mackintosh.
The Mackintoshes themselves
claim descent from Shaw Macduff, son of the Earl of Fife, in 1163. The
early chiefs of the Mackintoshes in the thirteenth century were
alternately named Shaw and Ferquhard, and according to the Kinrara MS.,
Shaw the fourth chief obtained in 1236 from Andrew, Bishop of Moray,
founder of Elgin Cathedral, a lease of Rothiemurcus in Strathspey. Angus,
sixth Mackintosh chief, in 1291 married Eva, only daughter and heiress of
the head of the "old " Clan Chattan, and he and his descendants
became on that account Captains of Clan Chattan. According to the Kinrara
MS., the founder of the family afterwards known as Shaws was a
great-grandson of this pair. In modern tradition he is called Shaw Mor, or
"the Great "; by Bower and Major he is designated Shaw Beg, or
"Little," probably from his stature; and otherwise he is known
as Shaw Sgorfhiaclach or Coriaclich, the Buck-toothed. The Mackintosh
tradition is that his father’s name was Gilchrist, but that of the Shaws
runs that his father was James. The latter tradition seems the more
likely, as Shaw Mor’s son was named James, probably so called in
Scottish fashion, after his grandfather. In this latter case the tradition
would agree with the account already mentioned of the fall of James, an
ancestor of the Shaws, in the struggle with the Comyns for possession of
Rothiemurcus, and Shaw Mor would be the son who, on coming of age, avenged
his father’s death at Laggan na Chuiminaich. A little later he was to
appear as a leader in a more extended warfare.
When Duncan, natural son of
the Wolf of Badenoch, following his father’s lawless and evil ways,
swept down upon the lowland district of Angus in 1391, destroying and
murdering with reckless cruelty, and overthrowing the royal forces under
Ogilvie, Sheriff of Angus, at the bloody battle of Gasklune, near the
Water of Isla, the Mackintoshes were led by Shaw Mor. Among the persons
put to the horn for that raid of Angus the Act of Parliament of the time
mentions "Slurach and the haill Clan Qwhevil." The "Slurach"
is obviously a mistranscription of Sheach, or Shaw, while the Qwhevil of
the Act is, of course, the Clan Qwhewyl mentioned in Wyntoun’s Chronicle
as taking part five years later in the famous combat of the "
threttie against threttie " on the North Inch of Perth. Rothiemurcus
was at the time under the overlordship of the lawless son of Robert II.,
and a good deal of interesting matter regarding Shaw Mor is to be found in
Sir Thomas Dick Lauder’s romance, The
Wolf of Badenoch.
It was probably by reason
of the reputation he had gained in these affairs that Shaw Mor was chosen
by his chief, Mackintosh, as captain of the picked warriors of the clan
who took part in the battle on the North Inch in 1396. On a Monday
morning, the day before Michaelmas, in the September of that year, a
mighty multitude gathered to see that fight to the death within the
barriers on the river side. King Robert III. was there, with his queen,
Annabella Drummond, and his crafty brother, the Duke of Albany, in the
Gilten Arbour specially built for the occasion, as well as many of the
nobles of Scotland and even visitors from France. All the world is
familiar with the scene, as depicted in Sir Walter Scott’s Fair Maid
of Perth. At the last moment Clan Quhele was found to be a man short.
His place was filled by an armourer of Perth, Hal o’ the Wynd, otherwise
the Gow Crom, or bandy-legged smith, who for his hire was to have a piece
of silver and maintenance for life if he survived. Tradition runs that no
sooner was the signal given than this doughty individual drew his bow and
shot an enemy dead. He seemed disposed to make no further effort, and, on
his captain demanding why, declared he had earned his day’s wage. "
Fight on," cried Shaw, "and your wage shall not be
stinted." At this the smith rushed again into the battle, and by his
fierce valour did much to win the fight. When all was over, and the only
survivor of their opponents had plunged into the Tay and escaped, there
were only eleven of Clan Quhele left, and all except the smith were
wounded. According to the Kinrara MS., the stout armourer went home with
the clan he had supported, and became the ancestor of the Gows or Smiths,
who are counted a sept of Clan Chattan. At the same time, according to the
same authority, the captain of the victorious party was handsomely
rewarded by the Mackintosh chief: "Lachlan gave to Shaw possession of
the lands of Rothiemurcus for the valour he showed that day against his
enemies." In the quiet graveyard which surrounds the little kirk of
Rothiemurcus the grave of Shaw Mor may still be seen. For centuries it was
marked by a grey stone on which were laid five roughly rounded smaller
stones. But about 1870 an American individual of the name of Shaw, who
claimed to be a grand-nephew of Farquhar Shaw, shot as a deserter from the
Black Watch in 1743, laid on the grave a modern slab in which the deeds of
Shaw Mor are attributed to a Farquhar Shaw!
James, the son and
successor of Shaw Mor, took part in another and yet more important
conflict. When Donald, Lord of the Isles, was being ousted by his uncle
Robert, Duke of Albany, from his claim to the Earldom of Ross, and set out
on his great raid across Scotland, he was followed, among other vassals,
by Malcolm, tenth chief of the Mackintoshes, and his clan. They played
their part valiantly in the great battle of Harlaw, fought on 24th July,
1411, and among those who fell in the struggle, both the ancient ballad
and the historian Boece enumerate the Mackintosh chief. There is evidence,
however, in the Kinraira MS., in charters and in the MS. History of the
Macdonalds, that the chief survived till 1457. The leader who really fell
was James of Rothiemurcus. The fact that he was called Mackintosh in the
ballad and by Boece merely shows that the Rothiemurcus family were still
known by that name.
James left two infant sons,
Alexander Keir (ciar, brown) and Ai or Adam, ancestor of the Shaws
of Tordarroch. At that time the Comyns, who had once been lords of
Badenoch and of vast territories elsewhere in Scotland, were still
numerous in the region, and they seem to have taken advantage of the
infancy of the holders to take possession of Rothiemurcus. On coming of
age, however, Alexander Ciar gathered his friends, surprised and destroyed
these Comyn enemies, and cleared his territory. His father and grandfather
had merely held the lands as duchas, but Alexander secured the
permanent rights. According to the Kinrara MS., the eleventh Mackintosh
chief, Duncan, disponed his right of possession and tack of Rothiemurcus
to his cousin, Alister Keir Mackintosh, alias Shaw, and the conveyance was
confirmed by the Bishop of Moray, feudal superior of the lands, who in
1464 gave "Alexander Keyr Mackintosy" a feu charter. The bishop
was to receive an annual rent of twenty-four merks till Alister or his
heirs should infeft him in lands of ten pounds annual value nearer Elgin,
after which the payment for Rothiemurcus was to be a fir cone annually, if
demanded. Some trouble took place with the Mackintosh chief over this
charter, but in the end Alister Ciar secured possession, and so became
feudally independent of Mackintosh. From that time onward he seems to have
acted as an independent chief, to have given bands of manrent direct to
the Earls of Errol and Huntly, and to have been recognised as the equal of
the thanes of Cawdor and the lairds of Kilravock.
While John, his eldest son,
succeeded him in Rothiemurcus, Alexander Ciar’s younger sons became the
ancestors of the Shaws of Dell, the Shaws of Dalnavert, the Farquharsons
of Deeside, and the Maclvers of Harris and the Western Isles.
John’s son Alan succeeded
in 1521. Three years later Lachlan, chief of the Mackintoshes, was
murdered while hunting at Raigmore on the Findhorn. Shortly afterwards the
murderers were captured, and kept in chains in the stronghold of Loch-an-Eilan
in Rothiemurcus till 1531, when they were tried by the Earl of Moray, and
duly executed. At the same period when Clan Chattan was bringing trouble
upon itself by raiding and slaughtering on the lands of the Earl of Moray,
who had assumed the guardianship of his nephew, their infant chief, and by
supporting the Earl of Angus in his too close guardianship of his stepson,
the boy king, James V., "Allan Keir" is found concerned. So
serious was the trouble that a mandate of extermination was issued against
Clan Chattan. Among others, Grant of Freuchie was commissioned to pursue
the offenders.
These acts seem to have
undermined the fortunes of the house of Rothiemurcus. In 1539 Alan
disposed of the property to George Gordon, governor of Ruthven Castle. and
son of the Earl of Huntly. From the Gordons the lands passed to the Grants
in 1567. This alienation of the lands was a bitter regret to the
Mackintosh chief. He appealed to Grant’s generosity to let him have his
"own native country of Rothiemurcus " for the price he had paid
for it. But Grant was adamant, and a feud began in consequence, which
continued till 1586. Some of the popular stories of that feud are
recounted in Memoirs of a Highland Lady, one of the Grants of
Rothiemurcus. The authoress describes how the new owner repaired the ruins
on Loch-an-Eilan in case of mishap, and destroyed the old fort of the
Shaws on the Doune Hill, " leaving his malediction on any of his
successors who should rebuild it." One rather gruesome story is of
the slaying of one of the leaders of the Shaws. His followers "had to
bury him, and no grave would suit them but one in the kirk-yard of
Rothiemurcus beside his fathers. With such array as their fallen fortunes
permitted of, they brought their dead, and laid him unmolested in
that dust to which we must all return. But, oh, what horrid times! His
widow next morning, on opening the door of her house at Dalnavert, caught
in her arms the corpse, which had been raised in the night and carried
back to her. It was buried again, and again it was raised, more times than
I care to say, till Laird James announced he was tired of the play. The
corpse was raised, but carried home no more. It was buried deep down
within the kirk, beneath the laird’s own seat, and every Sunday when he
went to pray he stamped his feet upon the heavy stone he had laid over the
remains of his enemy."
Alan, who sold the estate,
reserved possession to himself during his lifetime, and his son James and
James’s son Alan continued in the district after him. In 1620 appears
the first instance of the use of Shaw as a family name, when Alexander
Shaw in Dalnavert witnesses a Mackintosh sasine, but by 1640 the name was
in full use. In 1645, the time of Montrose and the Civil War, the chief,
as Alan Shaw, witnessed a bond of defence against the king’s enemies.
According to tradition,
Alan was outlawed for the slaughter of his stepfather, Dallas of Cantray,
and having been seized and imprisoned in Castle Grant, died there soon
afterwards.
The Rev. Lachlan Shaw, in
his History of Moray, states that Alan’s brother and associates
"exiled into the Western Isles and Ireland," the main line of
the family thus becoming extinct in the country. To the present day there
are many Shaws in Skye and Jura, who may be descendants of these
"exiles." The Rev. W. G. Shaw, however, in his Memorials of
Clan Shaw, quotes the tradition of an Alasdair Ruaidh Shaw who
resisted all the attempts of the Grants to eject him from his tenancy of
Achnahaitnich, laughing at legal processes, and resisting with sword and
gun. This Alasdair he makes out to have been Alan’s brother, and to have
continued the main line of the family at Crathinard in Braemar and
Crandard in Glenisla. But the evidence seems doubtful. Sir Robert Sibbald
in 1680 described Rothiemurcus as formerly belonging to "the Schaws,
who still possess (i.e., occupy) the parish, Alexander Schaw of Dell being
head of the tribe."
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Another account of the clan...
The origin of the name Shaw is uncertain but it may derive from the old
Gaelic personal name Sithech, that is first recorded about the 12th century. The Clan Shaw
were one of the principal clans of the confederation of Clan Chattan and a sept of the
Mackintoshes. The home of Clan Shaw was Rothiemurchus, part of the Mackintosh patrimony
and according to tradition was bestowed upon Farquhart Shaw, Shaw "Mor",
great-grandson of Angus, 6th Chief of Mackintosh and Eva of Clan Chattan, who lead Clan
Chattan to battle on the North Inch Perth in 1396. However, there is also the possibility
that these lands may have been received earlier from the Bishop of Moray in 1226. James
Shaw of Rothiemurchus was killed at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411, his son Alasdair
"Ciar" succeeded him and recovered their lands from the Comyns. His brother,
Adam (Ay) was the founder of Clan Ay, and his sons, Alexander, was ancestor of the Shaws
of Dell, James of the Shaws of Dalnavert, Farquhar, progenitor of Clan Farquharson and the
fifth was ancestor of the Shaws of Harris and the Isles. Although the Shaws were still a
significant element of Clan Chattan, by the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 they had lost hold
of Rothiemurchus to the Grants long before, when they were forfeited by the Crown
following the murder of the stepfather of the Chief of Shaw by the Chief himself. Although
Clan Chattan tried to regain their lands, Rothiemurchus has remained with the Grants ever
since. The Lowland Shaws originate from the place name of the south-west, with a William
de Shaw appearing on the Ragman Rolls of 1296. The Shaws of Sauchie and Greenock are
important branches of the family. The 21st Chief of Clan Shaw, John Shaw of Torrdarroch
was matriculated in 1970 by the Lyon Court after a vacancy of 400 years.
Sent in by
William G. A. Shaw, Seannachaidh of the Clan
THE CLAN SHAW :
Meaning of Name: First,
Foremost, or Leader. Possibly Tempest, Storm or the Wolf.
Gaelic of Name: Na Si’each, or Mhic Sheaghd.
Family Slogan: Fide et Fortitudine. (By Faith and by Fortitude. We force
nae friend, we fear nae foe.)
Clansfolk’s Crest Badge: A Dexter Arm, the hand holding the dagger,
pale, proper (The crest of the personal Arms of John Shaw of Tordarroch)
Plant Badge: Red Whortleberry or Boxwood (By old tradition, also a sprig
of fir.)
Pipe Music: The Rothiemurchus Rant, The Shaws March.
Areas of Influence: Rothiemurchus, Strathnairn, Upper Glengairn,
Deeside, Nr. Crathie, Glenshee and Glenisla, Harris and Jura.
My Personal Mission:
During the past two thousand
years of Gaeldom, it has been the task of the Seannachaidh (tribal
historian/genealogist, bard, poet and storyteller) to do many things to
augment the cohesiveness of the clan and tribe.
As the Seannachaidh of the Chief and the worldwide clan family, my personal
mission is to globally facilitate a greater extending of the collective
knowledge, understanding and preservation of our rich Celtic and Gaelic clan
ethos, customs, traditions, language and (oral and written) history.
It is also part of my mission to help foster a modern version of the very
ancient and evergreen links to our Clan Shaw tribal enclaves and lands of
old . . . connecting us through time as it were, with the deep love and
sacred symbiotic relationship toward the land and its seasonal rhythms that
our ancestors entwined within them.
…I will bring them in from
every nation, gather them in from other lands,
and lead them home to their
own soil.
- Ezekiel, ch. 34, vs 13
…Every man of the Children of
Israel shall pitch his tent, each under his own Standard,
with the Ensigns of his
father’s House.
- Numbers, ch. 2, vs 2
Fide et Fortitudine ~ Suas Na Si'each!
Yours aye,
Bill
William G.A. Shaw of Easter Lair
Seannachaidh and Bard to John Shaw of Tordarroch
US Member of Council –
Clan Chattan Association, Scotland.
A BRIEF OVERVIEW:
From Our Common
Background within the Clan Mackintosh and the gre at Clan Chattan
Confederation of tribes, the never-ending Clan Shaw family story begins
at the ancient hill-fort at The Doune in Rothiemurchus Forest in the
late fourteenth century. The early Mackintosh Shaws, or "Ciars"
(nickname for swarthy or brown) soon sprouted a vigorous northern branch
or sept in Strathnairn in 1468 called Clan Ay. A generation later, the
main chiefly stem family established other vigorous and powerful septs
in Rothiemurchus at Dell and Dal navert.
and established a branch
in the Western Isles on Skye, called the Clan Mhic Iver. This sept
quickly spread to Harris and Jura. During this time of consolidation, a
branch was also started over the Cairngorms in Deeside, settling
eventually at Invercauld. This eastern branch of the family quickly
became a powerful and independent clan in their own right, the Clan
Fhionnlaigh, later called Clan Farquharson.
Because Of Tribal And National Geopolitics, by the close of the
sixteenth century, the main Mackintosh Shaw chiefly family at the Doune
of Rothiemurchus had lost its position of eminence and hegemony.
Eventually, the second and now senior branch of the Clan Shaw up north
at Tordarroch began to act as Heads of the Shaws within the Clan Chattan
Confederacy. By 1629, our Clan Farquharson cousins were joined by a
scion of the Shaw of Dell Chieftains. This Shaw established a new branch
of the clan at Crathienaird in Deeside under the territorial hegemony of
the Chief of Clan Farquharson. This semi-independent sept, called Clan
Seumas also spread north of Crathienaird to Glengairn and south to
lovely Glenshee and Glenisla.
From These And Many Other septs, branches and families, the Clan Shaw
has spread throughout Scotland Eire and England, scattering during the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries 'to all the Airts' throughout the
world. This is your story!
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
Parting The Mists Of Time
~ Our Earliest Roots
The Bloodline of the ancient
and honorable Highland Family and Name of Shaw reaches back beyond the turn
of the first millennia. Entwined via the Chiefs of Mackintosh and the Mac Duff
Earls of Fife to the Kings of Moray and Fife, it descends from the crown of
Scotland back to the Kings of DalRiada to the ancient High Kings of Eire and
to the blood royale of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of the
Cruitne-tuath, or the Picts.
At that time, Alba or
Albany (later called Scotland) was divided into seven kingdoms: Moray,
Ath-fhotla, or Atholl, Fife, Cirech, Ce, Fortrenn and Strath-Cluaidh.
The Ard-Righ na Alba, or High Kingship of Alba alternately revolved
between two of the strongest and most prestigious royal houses of these
kingdoms, of Atholl and Moray. Although closely related, these two
houses were also rivals for the throne.
The Thanes Of Fife
Our earliest ancestor was Aethelred, the first Earl of Fife. Aethelred,
or in Gaelic: Aedh was the eldest son of Malcolm (III) Mac Duncan (also
known as "Malcolm Ceann-Mhor"), High King of Alba. Aedh's royal sire was
of the line of Kenneth Mac Alpin (died 858), the Dal Riadic King of
Albany, who through his grandmother was also a claimant to the High
Kingship of the ancient Cruithne, earlier called Picts by the invading
Romans. Now Aedh Mac Malcolm was made hereditary Abbot of Dunkeld, and
because of his important ecclesiastical position, was barred from the
throne (His younger brothers were Kings Alexander I and David I). In the
Celtic "Culdee" Church, (a gentle blend of Christian and Druidic
tradition) priests were allowed to marry and pass on their religious
duties down to through their family lines. A leading personage in the
kingdom, Aedh married the sister and heiress of Mael Snectai, the King
of Moray. Mael Snectai was also the Chief of Clan Duff as grandson of
Queen Gruoch (Gruoch was also the wife the good King Mac Beth, who was
both the rightful king of Celtic Scotland, and one of the country's
better monarchs), herself heiress of the line of King Duff, which was
apanaged in the ancient 'Kingdom of Fife.' Aedh's father Malcolm III
(who was raised in England since he was nine and later with English
military assistance usurped Mac Beth's crown) was swayed by his own
ambition and by the Norman and feudal influence of his new wife
Margaret, herself a Saxon Princess in exile. "Ceann Mhor" altered the
system of revolving kingship in Alba and (illegally) decreed that the
High kingship would forever stay with his line, the House of Atholl.
This is in opposition to the ancient Celtic laws Tanistry: whereby
succession or election of the next king or chief is chosen from the best
or most able person from within the derb-fine, or chiefly family. Queen
Margaret also influenced her husband to encourage various 'reforms' at
court: Norman French over Gaelic, the abandonment of the ancient and
noble Celtic Brehonic Laws – the oldest codified legal system in
Europe. Margaret also forced the country's elite to begin to adopt the
tenets of feudalism over tribalism. These personal, cultural and
geopolitical moves did much to alienate the independent clans and tribes
of Moray (formerly part of the Pictish Northern kingdom) against the
central government. Aedh's son Duff Mac Aedh, predeceased his father,
but not before having children of his own, Ghillemicheal and Constantine
Mac Duff. After Aedh's death in 1128, the kingdom of Moray rose in
several rebellions to rightly establish these two grandsons to the High
Kingship of Scotland. Ghillemichael's son Duncan, 5th Toiseach (Gealic
for Thane, Saxonised as Earl) or Earl of Fife was Regent of Scotland in
1153. The Mackintoshes and Shaws t race descent from Duncan's second
son, Shaw Mac Duff. A scion of the royal derb-fine line of the King of
Scots, the loyal Shaw Mac Duff rode north in 1160 with his cousin and
friend Malcolm IV to calm the rising emotions and military gatherings of
his rebellion minded tribal cousins in Moray. The Moraymen, unhappy with
the gradual loss of their little kingdom's independence were calling for
yet another rising against the King of Scots. Shaw Mac Duff ‘the Thane’
(an Toiseach) was made the Keeper of the Royal Castle at Inverness. Who
better to settle down the local tribes of Moray than a grandson and
great nephew of the men they once wanted as kings? His progeny, later
called ‘Mhic an Toiseach’, grew in size and power, receiving possession
of the lands of Petty and Breachley with the forest of Strathdearn in
the valley of the Findhorn. Despite their remoteness, the Mackintoshes
continued to loyally support the royal government down south.
The Land Of The Wildcat
Shaw Mac Duff's grandson, Shaw Mac William acquired the strategically
important lands of Rothiemurchus from the Bishopric of Moray in 1236.
Rothiemurchus was part of the ancient Caledonian Forest. Part of it also
consisted of the oft-flooded and very fertile Strathspey farmlands.
Neighbored by the belligerent Clan Comyn, Shaw Mac William's son
Ferquhard allied his little clan with the powerful Mac Donald Kings of
the Isles. Streng thening this northwestern alliance, he married Mora,
daughter of Angus Mhor, the Lord of Islay (the Lord or King of the
Isles). During their son Angus's minority, the Mackintosh castles of
Meickle Geddes and Rait were seized and held by Clan Comyn. In 1291,
Angus Mac Ferquhard married Eva, daughter of Dougall Dall, 6th Chief of
Clan Chattan, or "Clan of the Cats". The Chiefs of Clan Chattan descend
from Ghillechattan Mhor (ca 1075), the Great Servant or Devotee of Saint
Cattan, a descendant of the ancient Dal Riadic Kings of Lorne. Also
loosely allied with the Mac Donald Kings of the Isles, 'old' Clan
Chattan's original country was at Glenloy and Loch Arkaig, with its main
tribal center at Torcastle. With this marriage, t he Clan Chattan and
Clan Mackintosh were intertwined into an even stronger and larger tribal
Confederation, now Captained by the Chief of Mackintosh. Because of
their feud with the Comyns over Rait and Meickle Geddes, Clan Chattan
backed the Earl of Carrick, Robert the Bruce in his fierce dynastic
struggles with the Red Comyn. Angus Mac Ferquhard was one of the Earl of
Moray's chief officers at Bannockburn in 1314. He also raised a
contingent of Clan Chattan confederation for the Scottish invasions of
England in 1318 and 1319.
The Children Of The Pine
Forest
Clan Shaw, or the Children of Shaw stem from Shaw Mac Ghillechrist Mhic
Iain, a great grandson of Angus a nd Eva. Also known as Sheagh Bheagh,
or Little Shaw’, and Coriacalich, or ‘Buck-tooth’, Shaw was raised with
his chiefly cousins at the Mackintosh seat at Moigh. During Shaw's
youth, the encroaching power of the Clan Cameron was felt when their Mac
Millan, Mac Gillonie or Mac Martin septs took the old Mackintosh lands
of Torcastle by the sword. This long feud resulted in the seesaw
skirmish and eventual Mackintosh victory at Invernahavon in 1370 or
1386, which Shaw and his father Ghillechrist would have taken part.
Shaw, (latterly called Shaw Mhor), was elected Captain of Clan Chattan
in the legendary Raid of Angus in 1391. Le d by the Wolf of Badenoch (a
bastard son of Robert II) Shaw and Clan Chattan joined an army of rowdy
Highlandmen who descended from the Cairngorm Mountains to raid, loot and
plunder the fertile plains of Angus. Just for fun, to make a point on a
long-simmering side-feud (over a woman) with the Bishop of Moray, they
also took a swipe at the town of Elgin, putting the Cathedral to the
torch on their way home! This wild raiding party routed the forces of
the Sheriff of Angus and David Lindsay of Glenesk.
Despite the earlier Mackintosh victory at Invernahavon, the
long-standing feud with the tribes of Clan Cameron continued. This feud
so threatened the fragile stability of the Highlands that the Earl of
Moray and Lindsay of Glenesk decreed that a trial by combat settle the
matter. On behalf of the Chief of Mackintosh, Shaw again led Clan
Chattan in the Battle of the Clans on 28, September 1396 at the North
Inch near Perth. Shaw and his 29 warriors battled 30 Camerons in front
of wooden bleachers packed with local citizenry, Scottish nobility, King
Robert III and even the Dauphin of France. When the slaughter was over,
Shaw and 10 of his men stood over 29 slain Camerons. As a reward for his
courage, leadership and fighting abilities, his grateful cousin and
Chief, Lachlan Mackintosh gave Shaw the lease of the lands of
Rothiemurchus. Our main tribal seat was at the ancient and strategic
timber hill fort at the Doune. Shaw died approx. ten years later and
was succeeded by his son Seumas, or James.
In 1411, the Chief of Mackintosh raised Clan Chattan to back the Mac
Donald Lord of the Isle's claim to the Earldom of Ross. His chief
officer was Shaw's son James Mackintosh. As this large army, consisting
primarily of Clan Donald and its supporters and allies, plundered its
way into Aberdeen shire, they were met by the Earl of Mar and his well
equipped forces at "Red" Harlaw on 24, July. In the ensuing battle,
James was killed.
The Struggles
With our fourth Chief's untimely death, various scattered branches of
Comyns, probably from their local lair at Altyre, invaded Rothiemurchus
and took it by fire and sword. They burned the timber and earthwork fort
at the Doune and refortified the old island keep at Loch an Eilean.
During this time of strife, James's two young sons were taken away to
safety: The eldest son Alasdair to his mother's family in the south
central Highlands at Strathardle, and young Aedh up north to his
cousin's castle at Moigh. After over ten years of dominance, at last the
power of the Comyns began to wane. Many Comyns were drowned as their own
floodgates were sabotaged as they attempted to flood the besieged Moigh
Castle. While treacherously luring the Clan Chattan Chieftains to
slaughter at a conciliatory feast at Rait, at the sign of the t oken
black bull's head, the Comyns were themselves killed by the forewarned
men of Clan Chattan.
When James's sons Alasdair and Aedh grew to manhood, they gathered their
Mackintosh relations and Clan Chattan friends and avenged their father
in a wild ambush and skirmish at Lag na Cuimenach at Loch Pityloulish,
ten miles no rth of Loch an Eilean. In light of his success at clearing
the area of treacherous Cuimenach, Duncan, the 11th Chief of Mackintosh
gave to Alasdair ‘Ciar’ ( A Gaelic family nick-name for swarthy or
brown) the temporary lease of Rothiemurchus. The Bishop of Moray
however, granted Alasdair the permanent ownership of the land on 4,
September 1464. This ownership of the important timber and Speyside
farmlands was opposed by the Mackintosh, and caused a ten year rift in
relations between the two Chiefs. This family dispute was finally
settled by the direction of James III in 1475. Their territorial
differences resolved, and holding Rothiemurchus direct from the crown,
Alasdair Ciar, now Thane of Rothiemurchus, acted on several occasions to
represent his cousin the Chief of Mackintosh on many important matters
legal, feudal, and of security within and without Clan Chattan.
After helping his brother retake the tribal lands of Rothiemurchus from
the usurping Comyns, Aedh Mackintosh settled near his boyhood home of
Moigh leasing Tordarroch in Strathnairn from the Mackintosh in 1468.
Occupying a pivotal, strategic site above the ford of the river Nairn,
this northern branch of the Mackintosh Shaw family soon became a
powerful little tribe in their own right, acting prim arily as a cadet
family of the Mackintosh, and later as representatives of the entire
Shaw branch of the Mackintosh family. The Shaws of Tordarroch became
known as the Clan Aedh, or Ay.
Expansion
While Alasdair Ciar's eldest son Iain or John ‘Ciar’ Mackintosh
continued the Chiefly line of Thanes of Rothiemurchus, Iain's younger
brother Alasdair ‘Og’ was the progenitor of another branch of the family
at nearby Dell. This active branch of the Rothiemurchus family soon
became a powerful tribe in their own right, soon having their own septs
at nearby Guislich and Kinrara na Choille. Alasdair Ciar's third son,
James, established another branch of the family at Dalnavert, north of
Glenfeshie. Led by the main Chiefly line at the Doune, these branches
were quite influent ial in local and family affairs. Their younger
brother Farquhar emigrated over the gloomy pass of Lairig Ghrue,
settling with his "considerable possessions" in upper Deeside. The
Earldom of Mar having been earlier annexed to the Crown in 1435,
Farquhar was eventually made Chamberlain of Mar. His progeny were later
called Clan Fhionnlaigh, after the 5th Chief, Finlay Mhor, who died at
the Battle of Pinkie, carrying the Royal Standard in 1547. Clan
Farquharson remained in close alliance with their Mackintosh Shaw
cousins just over the mountains in Rothiemurchus, and remained a part of
the great Clan Chattan Confederation. The Clan Farquharson was soon a
power to be reckoned with in Aberdeen shire. Iver, Alasdair Ciar's
youngest son, immi grated to the Isle of Skye. His progeny, called Clan
Mhic Iomhair, later spread to Harris, Jura, Islay and Mull in the
Western Isles.
While the Clan Shaw families were consolidating in Rothiemurchus,
Strathnairn and beyond, in 1524 the Chief of Mackintosh wa s murdered
while hunting on the Findhorn, leaving his infant son William as Chief.
To the outrage of the Clan Chattan Chieftains, the Earl of Moray
forcefully acted as "custodial guardian" of little William. During the
young Chief's captivity, his cousin Hector Mackintosh captained Clan
Chattan. Our 7th Chief, Alan Ciar Mac Iain Mackintosh, was a very close
friend and associate of Hectors. With his Mackintosh Shaws of
Rothiemurchus, he and his kinsmen joined in Hectors retaliatory raids on
the Earl of Moray's lands. In 1528, Hector and Alan Ciar supported the
Earl of Angus, infamous captor of the boy-king James V. Because of these
raids, and of the support of Angus, Alan Ciar was fined quite heavily
for his "Treasonable Acts". Foiled in his attempts to capture the wily
Hector, in 1531, the Earl of Moray raided Clan Chattan country, and
summarily tried and hung 18 Mackintoshes from the rafters of the Tithe
Barn at Tordarroch. Because of his fines, in 1539, Alan Ciar was forced
to sell the feu of Rothiemurchus to George Gordon, son to the Earl of
Huntly. Alan though, retained the life rent of the farm and lands of the
Doune, which were passed to his young son James at Alan's death in 1542.
On 22, May 1543, a Clan Chattan Band was signed at Inverness by most of
the tribes of Cla n Chattan. As Chieftain of Clan Ay, the senior sept of
the Mackintosh Shaws, Angus Mac Robert of Tordarroch signed on behalf of
his southern cousin, then an infant Chieftain in Rothiemurchus.
Meanwhile, from their castle at Freuchie, the powerful Chiefs of Clan
Grant had long coveted and plotted to gain the rich Rothiemurchus timber
and fertile Speyside farmlands to the south. On 14, July 1567, Iain
Grant of Freuchie purchased the Deed of Rothiemurchus from the Earl of
Huntly. In February two years later, Lachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh
wrote to the Chief of Grant that he wanted to repurchase his "own native
country of Rothiemurchus for which sums of money as he gave for same".
His entreaties to Grant ignored, the Mackintosh then threatened to raise
the ten tribes of Clan Chattan against him, but to no avail. Indeed, the
Mackintosh Shaws, greater Clan Mackintosh, and all of Clan Chattan did
much to make life quite difficult for the Grants in Rothiemurchus and
elsewhere for nearly twenty years. As the Grants harried and evicted the
Shaws with sword and legal writ, the Shaws and Mackintoshes gleefully
countered with retaliatory cattle lifting, the occasional assault and
roof, grainery and crop burning.
Consolidation
Although the Mackintosh
Shaws of Doune remained an important local family, and still acted in a
prominent role in family affairs on occasion, after 1543, the Tordarroch
and Dell bra nches of the clan had gained additional power and influence
within and without Clan Mackintosh and Clan Chattan. On 4, April 1609,
as the senior Chieftain within the family, Ay or Adam Mac Bean Mac
Robert signed for Clan Ay and on behalf of the Rothiemurchus tribes in
the Great Clan Chattan confederation Band of Union and Manrent at Termit.
Off our west coast, John Shaw of Trumpan in Skye, 4th Chieftain of Clan
Mhic Iomhair and 40 armed friends and kinsmen captured a merchant vessel
off the Isle of Lewis . In 1616 he was briefly imprisoned for said
piracy, murder and robbery. Later, John of Trumpan and his brother
Donald Shaw of Harlosh signed a Band of Maintenance with John
Farquharson of Cloak (a.k.a. the powerful Farquharson of Invercauld)
acknowledging common Mackintosh Shaw tribal kinship, allegiance and
mutual protection. In 1628, James Mackintosh, 8th of Doune died, leaving
a young son Alan. That same year, James Mackintosh ‘alias Shaw’, a
descendant of the chiefly line of Shaws of Dell lived firstly at
Kinveachie in Rothiemurchus, and then at Tullochgrue, just north of Loch
an Eilean. An important man in Rothiemurchus, James of Tullochgrue
married a daughter of his kinsman Robert Farquharson of Invercauld.
Because of pressures from the Grants increasing their hold on the area,
their son, James ‘Og’ Shaw left Rothiemurchus and emigrated over the
Lairig Ghrue to upper Deeside, settling in with his mothers family and
Farquharson cousins. By 1 633, James ‘Og’ lived at Crathienaird near
Balmoral, his progeny later called Clan Seumas. Allied with their
cousins the Farquharson Chiefs, this pithy little branch of Clan Shaw
eventually generated a power base of its own and soon spread north to
Glengairn and Glen Avon and later south to Glenshee and Glenisla.
As late as 1645,
the last of the Chiefly line of Rothiemurchus, Alan Shaw, 9th of Doune
signed a Bond between Grant of Freuchie and many powerful Badenoch
Chiefs. As evidence of his local familial stature, Alan signed below Mac
Pherson of Cluny and two important Mackintosh Chieftains and above the
Sha w Chieftains of Dell and Dalnavert. Sometime later, in a fit of
hot-blooded anger, Alan beheaded his cruel stepfather Dallas of Cantray,
who legend has it killed Alan's dog. Alan then hurled Dallas's head at
his mother's feet. As Dallas was quite unpopular, although now outlawed,
local feeling was in Alan's favor. He quickly gathered many kinsmen and
friends who enjoyed robbing, raiding and plundering his enemies,
primarily of Clan Grant. Eventually, Alan was captured and taken to
Castle Grant for ‘trial’ where he mysteriously died as he was being
"civilly entertained". To this day, the Grants (still in Rothiemurchus)
protest their innocence . . . (We know better! -WSEL.) Up north in Clan
Ay country, Robert Shaw of Tordarroch had built a sturdy tower or
fortalice on a st rategic knoll just west of Tordarroch House. He also
surrounded it by a stone wall. A Jacobite supporter of the Marquis of
Montrose, Robert and his kinsmen and Strathnairn friends defiantly
resisted with bow, pistol and firelock the Cameronians who regularly
attempted to capture the fort. By 1691, over the Lairig - in Deeside,
Captain Duncan "Riem Aon" Shaw, 2nd of Crathienaird was Chamberlain to
the Earl of Mar and Factor to his cousin the Farquharson of Invercauld.
Ever a busy man, Duncan also raised, armed and commanded a local "Watch"
of 20 men, charged to protect the neighborhood from cattle raiding
caterans who descended from their lairs in Glenavon. Duncan later leased
Crandard Castle in Glenisla, while his eldest son James lived at
Crathienaird. James later lived at Daldownie in Glengairn. Duncan's
other sons and grandsons soon settled comfortably throughout upper
Glenshee and Glenisla. On 19, May 1711, Alexander Shaw of Tordarroch,
Duncan Shaw of Crathienaird and John Shaw of Guislich at Culloden
witness a Band and Tack between Lachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh and
James Shaw of Dell.
The Fifteen Rising
Under the command of William Mackintosh of Borlum, the tribes of Clan
Chattan rose for the exiled King James VIII on 15, September 1715 near
Tordarroch at Farr. Led by Robert Shaw, Younger of Tordarroch, with his
brother Angus as Lieutenant, the Shaw contingent of Clan Chattan was
often noted for being the most resolute, the best armed, equipped and
composed in the Earl of Mar's army. After the collapse of the rising at
Preston, both Robert and Angus were cruelly abused at the infamous
Newgate Prison. Because of the severe tortures inflicted on him, Robert
Shaw died soon after his release in 1718. Angus Shaw was transported to
Virginia Colony where he lived and worked as an "indentured servant" or
slave until he was ransomed by several Clan Chattan gentlemen and
pardoned in 1722. On his return to the Highlands, he was forced to sign
an oath of loyal ty never to raise arms against the Hanoverian
government again. Angus Shaw spent much of his adult life enlarging and
improving Tordarroch.
The Forty-Five ~ The Last Rising Of The Clans
At the commencement of the Rising of 1745, Angus Shaw of Tordarroch
never forgot the harsh suffering he and his brother had undergone in
prison after 'the Fifteen. Long did he remember the agonies of
transportation and servitude in the Americas. Although sorely tempted,
he forbid Clan Ay from taking up arms against the Government. Following
Tordarroch's example, the elderly James Shaw of Dell remain ed at peace
as well. As late as 1750, it was reported that …the Shaws have two
Chieftains of equal degree, Shaw of Tordarroch in Strathnairn and Shaw
of Dell in Rothiemurchus, neither of whom were in arms, but some of
their men were sent out under command of some gentlemen who had nothing
to lose*". Over in Deeside however, the Farquharson of Invercauld's
nephew, Francis Farquharson of Monaltrie ignored his uncle and Chief's
wishes and raised over 300 Farquharsons as a semi-independent battalion
of Ogilvie of Airlie's Deeside Regiment. Monaltrie's neighbors, cousins
and friend, *James Shaw of Crathienaird and his sons John and Duncan
Shaw acted as Captains in the Farquharson battalion. James's you nger
brothers from Glenshee and Glenisla, John and Donald served as Ensigns
in the Farquharson unit while the youngest brother William acted as
Captain in Ogilvy of Airlie's 2nd battalion. A tiny branch of the
Crathienaird sept, the proud and war-like Shaws of Inchrory, also took
up arms for Prince Charles.
As the Rising progressed, Lady Anne Mackintosh, Invercauld's daughter
(therefore of the blood line of the Clan Shaw Chiefs herself), raised
the Clan Chattan confederation for Prince Charles in defiance of her
husband the Chief of Mackintosh's loyalties and bidding (In fairness,
The Mackintosh of Mackintosh was an officer in Lord Louden’ Regiment and
held his to his oath and word as an officer and as a Highland
Gentleman). Two of Lady Anne’s trusted Lieutenants were James and John
Shaw of Kinrara. In early April 1746, as the two opposing forces marched
into Clan Chattan country, Angus Shaw of Tordarroch's sworn oath of
loyalty to the Hanoverian government was near the breaking point. On the
bitter morning of the 16th, with the two armies nearby at Culloden,
Angus was prevented from fighting under the yellow banner of Clan
Chattan only by the courage and common sense of his wife Isabel, who
hid his weaponry, accoutrements and clothing and locked and bolted him
in a sturdily secured closet.
Together forming the centre and right of Prince Charles' force at
Culloden, both Clan Chattan and Clan Farquharson charged as one through
murderous English grapeshot to briefly inflict a wild desperate melee of
claymore, dirk and pistol upon the English regiments before dying on
bayonets of the second line. Seriously wounded, both James and John Shaw
of Kinrara retreated with what was left of the shattered Clan Chattan.
James died that day. Found wounded in a nearby hut, John was summarily
executed three days later. Charging with Clan Farquharson, the six Shaw
of Crathienaird officers from Glenshee were able to escape in the smoke
filled confusion after the battle. After several dangerous adventures
they spent several harrowing months "lurking" in the country near their
homes in Glengairn, Glenshee and Glenisla.
Diaspora
When the smoke cleared after the battle of Culloden, the Hanoverian
Government undertook efforts to wipe out the Celtic/Gaelic tribal
culture and language from the Highlands forever. After burning many
Highlanders ' homes and farms and driving most of the cattle and sheep
south to the Lowlands and England, whatever tribal or military spirit
the people had left was broken by a combination of hunger, pistol shot,
rifle butt, and the threat and carrying out of rape, prison,
transportation, hanging or worse. The power of the now scattered Chiefs
and Chieftains was put to an end by military piquet and with harsh
legislation from London. Another aspect of this cultural destruction was
the eradication of the traditional Highland dress. It was punishable by
death or imprisonment to wear arms, or even the tartan, kilt, plaid or
hose. School children were forced to learn English. The clan system was
eradicated with a finality that only the Romans or Normans could admire.
This repression was carried out on an economic scale into the Industrial
Age with the hated Clearances. To survive, many were soon forced to
immigrate to the Lowlands, to Canada, America, India, and Australia and
beyond.
Ancestral Memory Awakened
Although scattered thousands of miles from our sacred tribal tuaths, we
of Clan Shaw always knew from whence we came. Much of this memory the
modern day clan owes to the Bards, historians and storytellers of old -
the Seannachaidhean. Throughout the late 1700's and 1800's they gathered
and cherished our genealogies, histories and fostered our Gaelic
language and culture.While doing so they told and remembered us to our beloved
lands of old . . . Rothiemurchus, Strathnairn, the Western Isles,
Deeside and Glenshee. Drawing the Shaws together from around the world,
their oral and published works also acted as bright fires of tribal
warmth, comfort and family togetherness. In a swiftly changing world.
Long will their names be honored: the Rev William G. Shaw, Alasdair
Mackintosh Shaw Mackintosh, Norman Rhymer Shaw, our late Chief, Major
"Iain" C.J. Shaw of Tordarroch and his ever-talented Seannachaidh Edward
John Redshaw, and more recently the late St.Clair Shaw.
We Gather Again
In 1970, the Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms for Scotland
recognized the late Major "Iain" Charles John Shaw of Tordarroch, the
16th Chieftain of Clan Ay as the 21st Chief of the Highland Clan, Family
and Name of Shaw. On his death in 1978, Iain was succeeded by his son,
our 22nd Chief, John Shaw of Tordarroch. The headquarters of the clan is
at Newhall on the Black Isle in Ross, near Inverness. Our Chief, John
Shaw of Tordarroch lives with lovely and gracious Lady Silvia in Majorca
. Their son and Tanist, Iain Shaw, Younger of Tordarroch lives in
Norway.
The late William Iain Gordon Shaw of Easter Lair (1915-1997), the senior
armoral Representer/chieftain of the Shaws of Crathienaird and Glenshee
was succeeded on his death by his Tanist, this writer who achieved a
Grant of Arms in the Court of Lord Lyon King of Arms for Scotland on
Beltaine, 2002.
Present Armigers of the
Highland Clan Shaw:
John Charles Shaw of
Tordarroch - 13th Chieftain of Clan Ay, 22nd Chief of Clan Shaw :
Newhall, Ross-shire, Scotland. Tanist is Iain Shaw, Younger of
Tordarroch.
Thomas Donald MacKay
Shaw, 3rd Baron Craigmyle – London and Knoydart, Inverness-shire,
Scotland. Tanist is Thomas Columba Shaw, Younger of Craigmyle.
William Shaw of Easter
Lair - 12th Representer of the Territorial House of Shaw of Easter Lair.
(The Senior armiger of the Shaw of Crathienaird sept) : Wester
Crathienaird, Squak Mountain, Issaquah, WA. USA. Tanist is Liam David
Shaw, Younger of Easter Lair.
Iain Farqhuar Shaw -
Mount Blair, Glenshee, Perthshire, Scotland. A younger line of the
Crathieniard sept in Glenshee, Mr. Shaw Inherited Arms and lands as
Tanist/heir of his uncles: MacKenzie Smith Shaw of Achenleish and Little
Forter, WS (who matriculated Arms in Lyon Court in March 1930) and
William Thomas Shaw of Tenandry nr. Killiecrankie, WS (who matriculated
Arms in Lyon Court in March 1927). Tanist is William James Shaw. Both
men line at Mount Blair, Glenshee, Perthshire.
Robert James Shaw -
Tintenbar, New South Wales, Australia.
Nota Bene:
Per the Court of the Lord
Lyon, HM King of Arms for Scotland, all Arms are the personal heritable
property of the above persons and are not to be used by anyone else in
any form. The appropriate form for a clansman or clanswoman is to bear
the crest of the Chief of Chieftain within a strap and buckle.
All written content
copyrighted by William G.A. Shaw of Easter Lair ~ May 2000/March 2008.
No part of this website can be used in entirety or in part or in
reference or in paraphrase without proper credit to the author, or if
republished in print or on other web sites, without prior permission of
the author. Tapadh Leit. WSEL
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