1300s: Emergence of Clan Alasdair
— “This important family [i]s one of the earliest branches to assert its independence from the
great Clan Donald” [Clan, p. 204]; the clan appears in the mid-14th century: a little clan, senior
cadets of Clan Donald who acquire a separate identity [DMM; Stevenson, Highland Warrior,
stem” of the Clan Donald [Castleton, p. 163; Keay, p. 643; Grant, p. 148; Clan, p. 204].
—“[T]he MacDonalds had established several branches that took on much of the individuality of clans, and during the period before the Lordship of the Isles, the MacAlisters, the MacIans and the MacDonalds of Glencoe had been established” [Grant/Cheape, p. 70]. However, “[t]he fortunes of the McAlestor’s [sic] are closely linked to the ebb and flow of Clan Donald’s reign up to the loss of the Lordship of the Isles” in 1493 [CMS, intro.].
—“The possessions of this tribe appear to have been, from the first, in Kintyre, and were never very extensive” [Gregory, p. 68]; indeed, “it seems impossible to associate Clan Alasdair as a Highland family with any other region” [Castleton, pp. 163, 165; CMS, p. 27]. Later the MacAlas-
dairs are “numerically strong in Bute and Arran” [CMS, p. 27; Grant, p. 41; DMM; Keay, p. 643]. Strategic location makes the MacAlasdairs influential, but they are “by no means a numerous clan, and therefore s[eek] to secure their position by alliances with other houses” [Clan, p. 204].
—Many of this clan serve in Ulster as galloglasses; see 1260; 1360; 1493ff., #3; 1500s, #2.
1306: Robert Bruce crowned King of Scotland at Scone in a secret ceremony attended by only a handful of people. Pursued by Edward’s forces, he escapes first to Dunaverty Castle, then to Rathlin Island (Ireland): Angus Og gives Bruce “refuge and hospitality in his Castle of Dunaverty” [McKerral, p. 5]. Some MacDonald accounts hold that he was sheltered by Donald of the Isles, son of Alasdair Mòr, during his flight [personal correspondence with Vance McAlister, CMS historian, and Kathan McCallister of Texas, July 2001]; certainly the evidence now available suggests that, contrary to the traditional view of Clan Donald historians, Donald supported Robert Bruce (see 1307; 1309; 1314, #2). “In the series of struggles for Scottish independence, which mar[k] the close of the thirteenth and the opening of the fourteenth centuries, the Lords of Lorn, who [a]re closely connected by marriage with the Comyn and Balliol party, naturally arra[y] themselves in opposition to the claims of Bruce. On the other hand, the houses of Isla and the North Isles suppor[t], with all their power, the apparently desperate fortunes of King Robert I” [Gregory, p. 24].
1307: Donald mac Alasdair supports Edward Bruce (brother of Robert) in his Galloway campaign. According to Barbour, Fordun, Bower[1], and the Lanercost Chronicle, “Edward Bruce was supported by Donald of Islay (who may have been a cousin of Angus Og)” [McNamee, p. 44; emphasis mine], which Donald mac Alasdair certainly was. Donald of Islay is one of only three Highland supporters of Bruce to be named in the chronicles [Grant/Cheape, p. 62].
1308: MacDonald chief forfeited
1. “Alasdair Og, nephew of Alasdair Mòr, . . . join[s] the Macdougalls against Robert Bruce”, for which his lands are forfeit; Alasdair Og is attacked in his principal stronghold of Castle Sween, forced to surrender, and dies a prisoner in Dundonald Castle, Ayrshire [“Fortiter”, Jan. 1982, p. 2; McKerral, p. 4; Grant/Cheape, p. 64]. The New Statistical Account for the parish of North Knapdale reports:
When the Bruce obtained possession of the crown, he found himself threatened by the strength of the descendants of Somerled, as by that of an enemy who had gradually grown up into the possession of a power which frequently defied royal authority, and which had more than once shaken the stability of the Crown under Somerled. He therefore deter-'mined to proceed in person into Argyleshire for the purpose of crushing the power of the Lord of Lorn [i.e., the Mac-
Dougall], which he soon effected. After the defeat of the Lord of Lorn at Lochawe, King Robert besieged Alexander of the Isles [Alasdair Og] in Castle Swe[e]n, his usual residence. Alexander, for some days, defended himself with the most determined bravery, but was obliged to surrender himself to the King, who forthwith imprisoned him in Dundonald Castle, where he died. [NSA: N. Knapdale, p. 637]
Alasdair Og’s possessions and title are granted to his brother Angus Og [Grant/Cheape, p. 70; Beaton, p. 14; Feud, p. 14; McKerral, p. 4]. His “six surviving sons escap[e] to Ireland where they [form] the nucleus of the future MacDonald/MacDonnell clan of Ulster” [Feud, p. 14; Genealogy]; Alasdair Og’s descendants “are distinctly traceable in the North of Ireland” as the MacDonalds of Ulster and Leinster [Beaton, p. 14].
2. “At the end of the first War of Independence, Bruce ma[kes] grants and confiscations that materially chang[e] the pattern of land-holding in the Highlands” [Grant/Cheape, p. 65]. However, “he [i]s too sensible of the weakness of Scotland on the side of the Isles, not to take precautionary measures against the possible defection of any of the great families on that coast, who might with ease admit an English force into the heart of the kingdom.” As a result, he require[s] Angus to resign to the Crown his lands in Kintyre [Gregory, p. 25; McKerral, p. 4].
1309: Donald of the Isles attends Robert I’s first Parliament[2]
This parliament, held in March at St. Andrews, was a small gathering of supporters who had proven themselves loyal to Bruce; see 1307; 1314; 1315.
1314: 1. 25 March entry in the Rotuli Scotiae records the commissioning of John of Argyll to take
Douenaldus de Insula and Gotheris (Godfrey, another of Alasdair Mòr’s sons) “into the peace
of” Edward I of England[3]. Until recently, this has been taken to mean that these men opposed
Robert Bruce, but there is in fact no record of their ever actually being taken into Edward’s peace
at this time, as is usually assumed [Vance McAlister correspondence, 2001]; and most of the
evidence that does exist suggests that Donald supported the Bruce; see 1306; 1307; 1309; 1315,
#1. It is interesting to note that part of Edward’s plan for defeating Bruce was an “attempt to re-
cruit men there [in the Isles] to fight . . . the lord of the Isles, to keep the Bruce from melting away
into the protection of the Islesmen” [Aryeh Nusbacher, The Battle of Bannockburn, 1314 (Tempus Publishing Ltd., 2000), p. 52]. Attempts to take these Western lairds into his peace appears to be
part of this strategy.
2. Bannockburn
—The Clan Alasdair supports Robert Bruce in this conflict and is later rewarded by him [Mac-
Kinnon, p. 256[4]].
—Angus Og, chief of the Clan Donald, supports Bruce in battle, commanding a body of cavalry [Tytler, p. 65; Feud, p. x]; his loyalty to Bruce is rewarded with large grants of land in Western Scotland [Ian MacDonald correspondence]; these include, in addition to the lands forfeited by his brother, lands previously held by the MacDougalls of Lorn [McKerral, p. 4].
1315: 12 March entry in the Rotuli Scotiae records a second commissioning of John of Argyll to winDonald and Godfrey mac Alasdair to “the peace of” Edward I; at the time, Edward is planning an
“expedition against the Scots” [McNamee, p. 169], which suggests that the first attempt was un-
successful and Edward is again trying to win over those likely to shelter Bruce; again, there is no
record of Argyll’s success.[5]
1320: Oliver Thomson gives this as the year of Angus Og’s death, but it was more likely 1330, qv.
1325: 1. In this year, “Bruce commence[s] the building of Tarbert Castle” [Mitchell, p. 16; McKerral, p. 4]. The Exchequer Roll, “which details the expenses connected with Bruce’s castle, also mentions the repairing of houses, ‘placing a new vat in the brew-house, making a new kitchen, lime-kiln,’ &c., points in the direction of former ones having existed” [Mitchell, p. 17], perhaps indicating that some sort of stronghold was already standing at this location.[6] In fact, Gregory says that Bruce about this time “greatly enlarged and strengthened” the “fortifications of the Castle of Tarbert” [p. 25], which certainly suggests that such a fortress was already standing. See mid–1200s. Of the castle “[i]t is said that it was supplied with water by a submarine passage in pipes across the harbour; a circumstance which, if true, shews that our ancestors were better acquainted than we suppose with the laws of hydrostatics” [Stat. Acct.: Kilcolmonnell & Kilberry, pp. 55–6].
2. Roderick MacAlan, to whom Bruce had given the estates of Lorn, is forfeited and “it is probable that Angus Oig, whose loyalty never wavered, received further additions to his already extensive possessions” [Gregory, pp. 25-6].
1326: (20th July) Exchequer Roll accounts rendered by the Constable of Tarbert; it would seem that although “the castle, as at first designed, appears never to have been quite completed”, by this time “almost all that was then purposed being done was finished” [Mitchell, p. 20].
1329: Death of King Robert I; by now “the house of Isla [i]s already the most powerful in Argyle and the Isles” [Gregory, p. 26].
1330: 1. Establishment of the Alexanders in Stirlingshire: Gilbert Alexander (son of Donald of the Isles) is given the lands of Glorat in the parish of Campsie, Stirlingshire; the Alexanders of Men-
strie are among his descendants (see 1500s, #1). Some authors place Gilbert among a group of dispossessed clansmen—“the Disinherited”—who petition for restoration of their land rights after forfeitures stemming from Bannockburn [CMS, p. 42; “Fortiter”, June 1982, p. 2; “News”, no. 31, p. 1; Clan, p. 209; Castleton, p. 173], although there is no mention of Gilbert in documents related to the Bruce struggle, and his family as a whole appears to have supported Bruce. In any case, “the Alexanders of Menstrie . . . clai[m] relationship with the MacAlastairs in Kintyre” [Donaldson/ Morpeth, p. 5; Montcreiffe, p. 63], although Lowland Alexanders in general have other origins. Gilbert and his immediate descendants appear to have used MacAlasdair or MacAlexander[7] if they regularly used a surname at all; the “mac” was dropped in later generations.
2. death of Angus Og, chief of Clan Donald and younger brother of the late Alasdair Og, oc-
curs about now [Ian MacDonald correspondence; Feud (p. 15) puts it at 1320, but Gregory has
Angus still alive in 1325, qv.]. Angus’s son John succeeds him and manages to lose most of his
father’s lands by siding with Balliol; he is later restored by David I, who is anxious to bring the
kingdom together [Gregory, pp. 26-7].
1346: Amie Macruairi, wife of John mac Angus Og, inherits lands held by her brother from the Earl of Ross; John adds these lands to his own possessions. “Thus was formed the modern Lordship of the Isles, comprehending the territories of the Macdonalds of Isla, and the Macruaries of the North Isles, and a great part of those of the Macdugalls of Lorn” [Gregory, pp. 27-8; Barrow, p. 134].
1354: John MacDonald assumes the title of Lord of the Isles (the title is not actually granted to this family until his grandson is in power). “There were four Lords of the Isles, whose rule spanned 150 years. . . . Their possessions includ[e] all the islands to the north and west of the peninsula of Kintyre, excepting Skye and Lewis which they later obtai[n] as part of the Earldom of Ross. Their mainland possessions includ[e] Kintyre and Knapdale, Morvern, Ardnamurchan, Lochaber, Gar- moran, and other lands to the north of Loch Ness. . . . [A]ll four Lords, when circumstances [a]re in their favour, adop[t] the position of semi-independent rulers. They [a]re in fact in frequent colli- sion with central authority and seldom . . . on cordial terms with it. They establis[h] contacts with England and in acting in this way [a]re obviously well aware that they came of royal stock” [Grant/ Cheape, p. 72]. The Lords of the Isles “maintai[n] large and powerful fleets and navies, and ha[ve] their own judges and judicial system. . . . All the Stewart kings, from James I down to James IV, endeavou[r] to curb their power” [McKerral, p. 4]. However, “[i]t is of the greatest importance to realise that all up the eastern side of the Highlands, clans [a]re building up who [a]re unaffected by the culture of the Lordship of the Isles”, and even “[w]ithin the Lordship itself, there [a]re rivalries between the great branches founded by members of the family and such favoured supporters as the MacLeans.” [Grant/Cheape, pp. 68-9]. Note: Feud [p. x] says that John became Lord of the Isles in 1336
, but this is anachronistic, as his father, whom he succeeded in that year, did not use this title.
1360: “. . . Chief of Clan Alisdair is found leading galloglass forces for the O’Niell [sic] in Ulster”
[“News”, no. 35, p. 2.]. Note: this is probably Ranald (see 1366).
1366: son of Ranald, 4th chief, killed in Ireland fighting for The O’Neill.[8] Irish annalists report that Ranald came from the Hebrides to fight for the O’Neill and one of his sons was killed [Cas-
tleton, p. 165; “Fortiter”, Dec. 1981, p. 6; Jan. 1982, p. 2].[9]
1384: By this year, according to Fordun, “the manners and customs of the Scots vary with the diversity of their speech. For two languages are spoken amongst them, the Scottish and the Teutonic; the latter of which is the language of those who occupy the seaboard and plains, while the race of Scottish speech inhabits the highlands and outlying islands. . . . The highlanders and people of the islands . . . are a savage and untamed nation, rude and independent, given to rapine, ease-loving, of a docile and warm disposition, comely in person but unsightly in dress, hostile to the English people and language, and, owing to the diversity of speech, even to their own nation, and exceed-
ingly cruel. They are, however, faithful and obedient to their king and country and easily made to submit to law if properly governed” [quoted in Grant/Cheape, p. 34].
1385: French nobles visiting Scotland in this year to seek military help against the English report that the
clans are "engaged in prolonged vendettas of organized cattle-raiding, wife-stealing, betrayal, and
murder" [Barbara W. Tuchman, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century (New York: Alfred Knopf, 1978), p. 441].
1400s-1500s: To these centuries belongs the “extraordinary rise of the Campbells to Dominance in
the south-west highlands” [Barrow, p. 136].
1400: 1. Records mention Alexander mac Ranald MacAlasdair, 5th chief of the Clan Alasdair (I have no details).
2. Some descendants of Godfrey, second son of Alasdair Mòr, are settling in the Carrick district of Ayrshire at about this time; like the Stirlingshire Alexanders (see 1330), these MacAlasdairs become MacAlexanders, dropping the mac in later generations [Black, p. 16].
3. Power base of Clan Donald South begins to shift to Northern Ireland
John Mòr Tanister[10], brother of Donald, second Lord of the Isles, marries Marjorie Bisset, heir-
ess of lands in the Glens of Antrim. This “territorial expansion, . . . reinforced by subsequent intermarriages, open[s] up the Glens as a place of refuge and resettlement for Clan Donald and its associate families right down to its disintegration in the seventeenth century” [Martin, p. 93; McKerral, p. 7[11]; Grant/Cheape, p. 72]. Thus begins “a gradual shift, increasingly impelled by political and social pressure, of the southern confederacy of Clan Donald in Argyll” [Martin, ibid.]. Note: These are the MacDonalds of Dunnyveg, or Clan Iain Mhor; Clan Alasdair is one of the main ‘associate families’ of this branch of Clan Donald, and many MacAlasdairs do in fact follow the MacDonalds to Antrim.
1411: Battle of Harlaw
“Donald the 2nd Lord of the Isles invade[s] the northeastern plain of Scotland in an attempt to secure the earldom of Ross. He [i]s halted at Harlaw by the Earl of Mar, and a particularly savage battle save[s] Aberdeen. Donald and his west Highland men and islesmen retir[e] back into the Highlands” [MacKinnon, p. 257; Grant/Cheape, pp. 73-4]. Gregory says that “the whole array of the Lordship of the Isles followed him on that occasion” [p. 31], which suggests that members of Clan Alasdair were probably involved.
c. 1417: death of Dugald Campbell, Dean of Argyll and bastard son of the Campbell chief; his wife is the
daughter of an Abbot MacAlaster [Feud, p. 26].
1427: Menstrie, the old family seat of the Campbells, is traded by them for another property [Feud, p. 27]; however, the Campbells seem to still have ownership of Menstrie in the next century (see 1517; 1526, #2).
1429: Under Alexander, third Lord of the Isles, the campaign to win back the Earldom of Ross resumes. MacDonalds lay waste to Crown lands in Inverness and burn down the town itself before being defeated at Lochaber; here again, Gregory suggests that most of Alexander’s vassals are involved [Gregory, pp. 36-7], which would include members of the Clan Alasdair. MacDonald’s allies, the Camerons and MacIntoshes, desert him, but beyond this no details of the battle are known. At this point, King James I “take[s] some steps towards dismembering the lands of the Lordship” [Feud, pp. x, 30–31]. Alexander is forced to submit in humiliation and is put under lock and key [Gregory, p. 37].
1431: Battle of Inverlochy: Though the Lord of the Isles is still imprisoned, his kinsman Donald Bal- loch (son of John Tanister and Marjorie Bisset) surprises the royal forces occupying Lochaber and defeats them, killing many, including the Earl of Caithness; the Earl of Mar is badly wounded, and the king is not at all pleased about it. Donald Balloch flees to Ireland, but “[t]he other leaders of the insurgents, dreading the determined character of [King] James, c[o]me to meet him at Dunstaff- nage, eager to make their submission, and to throw the whole blame of the insurrection upon Donald Balloch, whose power, as they affirmed, they had dared not resist” [Gregory, p. 38]. Whether or not there were MacAlasdairs involved is not clear, although there is no doubt they were involved in all the mischief Balloch’s clan got into after 1493. It is also not clear whether or not Balloch truly acted on his own. As Alexander MacDonald is pardoned for all his crimes later the same year, he is clearly not seen by the king as responsible for Balloch’s insurrection [Greg-
ory, p. 39; Kintyre Rentals, p. 1], but he certainly causes more grief later; see 1445.
1439: Alexander MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, is granted the Earldom of Ross [Feud, p. x].
1445: Alexander MacDonald, Earl of Ross and, under James II, Justiciar of Scotland north of the Forth, “enter[s] into a secret and treasonable league with the Earls of Douglas and Crawford. The details of this instrument have not been preserved; but there is little doubt that the confederate nobles . . . agreed to the dethronement of James II. . . . [B]efore any overt acts of treason [a]re committed in consequence of this conspiracy, the Earl of Ross die[s] at his castle of Dingwall” [Gregory, pp. 39-40].
1452: John MacDonald, 4th Lord of the Isles, joins the murdered Earl of Douglas’s successor in rebellion against James II; he “lead[s] a force of some 10,000 MacDonalds onto the mainland and [i]s de- feated by the Earl of Sutherland amid considerable slaughter” [Feud, p. 25].
1455: 1. Ranald Makalestyr (aka Ranald Alexandri, Reginald McAlestir [McAlestere, McAlestre]) obtains a lease of lands in Arran [Black, p. 449]. Fraser-Mackintosh calls these lands “considerable” [p. 34], but he seems to indicate that the Clan Alasdair beag on Arran might not be connected to the MacAlasdairs of Kintyre. (See however 1505, #1.)
2. John, Lord of the Isles, and Donald Balloch lead a joint rebellion against James II. Balloch raids and plunders the Isle of Arran and parts of Ayrshire, but accomplishes little; the Earl of Douglas then leaves for England, and MacDonald, finding himself alone in rebellion, appeals for forgive-
ness from the king [Gregory, p. 44].
1456: Lord of the Isles “submit[s] to the king and [i]s pardoned for both his own and Donald Balloch’s invasions”; Castle Urquhart and Greenan Castle are restored to him [Feud, p. 35; Gregory, p. 45; Feud puts this in 1455].
1457: In this year, John MacDonald is “one of the Wardens of the Marches, an office of great trust and importance, but obviously intended to weaken his influence in the Highlands and Isles, by forcing him frequently to reside at a distance from the seat of his power” [Gregory, p. 45].
1459: John MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, and 3,000 of his men (possibly including MacAlasdairs) fight with the king against the English at Roxburgh [Gregory, p. 46; Feud, pp. 35–36].
1460: John MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, and some of his men (possibly including MacAlasdairs) are part of the Scottish force that retakes Berwick after almost a century of English control [Feud, pp. 35–36].
1461: The Earl of Ross, along with “all the Island chiefs”, according to Tytler and the Auchinleck Chron-
icle, attends a Parliament at Edinburgh. “Apparently, Ross perceive[s] that the new government [i]s not strong enough to command his obedience, and th[inks] this a favourable opportunity to pursue his schemes of personal aggrandisement” [Gregory, p. 46].
1462: 1. Treaty of Westminster-Ardtornish: John MacDonald, along with the banished Douglas family, secretly negotiates this treaty with Edward IV of England; this eventually costs him most of his lands [Keay, p. 548; Grant, p. 157]; see 1475–6. Also involved in this treaty are Donald Balloch and his son, John [Gregory, pp. 46-7].
2. John MacDonald takes the castle of Inverness; he and his kinsmen “procee[d] to issue procla-
mations, in the name of the Earl of Ross, to all the inhabitants of the sheriffdoms and burghs of Inverness and Nairn, couched in such a manner as to show that Ross . . . [has] already assumed the powers of a king in the north” [Gregory, p. 48; Feud, p. 37]. It is unclear how this rebellion is suppressed. “It is certain, however, that the Earl d[oes] not, at this time, receive an unconditional pardon, although allowed to retain the undisturbed possession of all his vast estates” for another fifteen years [Gregory, p. 49].
1475–6: 1. First submission of the Lord of the Isles to the Scottish King [Keay, p. 643; Feud, p. x;
McKerral, p. 4]: After discovery of the 1462 Ardtornish Pact, “John MacDonald [i]s pardoned but
deprived of the Earldom of Ross and control of Kintyre and Knapdale” [Feud, p. 37; Mitchell, p. 38;
Kintyre Rentals, p. 2]. At this time the “Earldom of Ross [i]s . . . inalienably annexed to the Crown,
and a great blow [i]s thus struck at the power and grandure” of the MacDonalds [Gregory, p. 50].
2. “The sacrifices made by [John MacDonald] in 1476, when he gave up the Earldom of Ross and the lands of Kintyre and Knapdale, [a]re very unpopular among the chiefs descended of the family of the Isles, who further alleg[e] that he . . . impaired his estate by improvident grants of land to the Macleans, Macleods, Macneills, and other tribes. Thus the vassals of the Lordship of the Isles c[o]me to be divided into two factions—one comprehending the clans last mentioned, who adher[e] to the old lord—the other consisting of the various branches of the Clandonald, who ma[k]e common cause with the turbulent heir of the Lordship”, John’s son Angus [Gregory, p. 61].
1478: (11 Aug.) Lands of Loup included in the Kintyre lands granted by James III [1452–88] to John MacDonald, Lord of the Isles. “[T]hese bec[o]me the initial lands occupied by the McAlesters.” They are Ardpatrick (3 merklands[12]), Cuildaynoch (1 merkland), Barnellan (4 merklands), Culnashemrog (1 merkland), and Balliner, Balliemeanoch, & Glenralloch (totalling 3 merklands) [CMS, p. 29].
late 1470s: Apparently to spite his wife and his (illegitimate) heir-apparent, “John sign[s] over some
MacDonald properties in Kintyre and Knapdale, which [a]re not legally his anyway, to the Camp-
bells” [Feud, p. 38].
1480s: 1. This decade is not well documented and the dates are unsure. Angus MacDonald “behave[s] with great violence to his father, [and] involve[s] himself in various feuds, particularly with the Mackenzies”. He undertakes another invasion of the Earldom of Ross, and after being driven back to the Isles engages in “a sea-fight between the contending factions in the Isles, in which the adherents of John [a]re routed with great loss by Angus and his followers”, a battle known in tradition as the Battle of the Bloody Bay [Gregory, pp. 52-3].
2. Donald Dubh, the infant son of Angus MacDonald, heir to the Lordship, is carried off by the Earl of Athole and given into the custody of Angus’s father-in-law, the Earl of Argyll. This puts Angus on the warpath again, going after the Earl of Athole with great destruction [Gregory, pp. 53-4].
1481: (10 July) "Charter to Tearlach MacAlexander for his lifetime of the stewardship of the lands of Kintyre": James III, redistributing some of the lands confiscated from the MacDonalds after the submission of the Lord of the Isles in 1475, puts Charles MacAlister in charge of the area [Munro, p. 218; Keay, p. 643; McKerral, p. 5; Kintyre Rentals, p. 2] (this appointment does not appear to include control of the castle, which at this point is badly in need of repair [MacDougall, p. 104]); Charles is later appointed Sheriff of south Kintyre, with Dunaverty Keep as his HQ [DMM; CMS, p. 27; McKerral, p. 6]; at the same time, he receives a charter for “a considerable grant of lands in that district” [Castleton, p. 165]; the 40 merklands granted him include “Machrimore of Dunaverty, (Glen) Remuil, Eden, Knockstapplemore, Kerranbeg, Glenmucklach, Kildavie, Polliwilline, Gartnagerach, Eardale, Socach, Glenehervie, Feochaig, Corphin, 'Barfarnay', Achaleck, Kilmichael, and Craig." [Munro, ibid.]. See mid-1500s.
late 1480s: Angus MacDonald “assassinated by an Irish harper” according to contemporary records. “The aged Lord of the Isles [John] . . . resume[s] possession of his estates, from which he ha[s] been for some time excluded by the unnatural violence of his eldest son, Angus”. John’s nephew, Alexander of Lochalsh, becomes the heir and, “apparently with the consent and approbation of his uncle, . . . place[s] himself at the head of the vassals of the Isles, and, with their assistance, en-
deavour[s] . . . to recover possession of the Earldom of Ross” [Gregory, pp. 54-5]. Kintyre Rentals says Angus was assassinated in 1490 [p. 3].
1493(ff.): Forfeiture of the Lordship of the Isles
1. “King James [IV, 1473–1513] decide[s] that . . . John of the Isles c[an] no longer control his vas-
sals[13] and step[s] in to strip him of all his remaining titles” [Feud, pp. 40–41; Stat. Acct.: Camp-
belton, p. 531]; “all the extensive possessions of that nobleman f[a]ll into the hands of the Crown” [Gregory, p. 86].
2. Campbells make use of royal favour to extend their Highland territories more aggressively in the power vacuum that results from the forfeiture [Feud, p. 43]. James IV appoints Argyll[14] King’s Chamberlain over all lands claimed by the MacDonalds, and a period of conflict is unleashed on Kintyre [McKerral, p. 9; Kintyre Rentals, p. 2]. MacLeod says that the forfeiture was followed by “a century of virtual anarchy” in the Highlands & Islands [MacLeod, p. 7].
3. Several principal Clan Donald families take refuge in the Glens of Antrim, “br[inging] with them MacNeills, MacAllisters, Mackays, and Macrandalbanes from Kintyre and Gigha.” Others of these clans “rang[e] backwards and forwards from the Isles to serve as mercenaries for the Gaelic lords of Ulster” [Bardon, p. 68, emphasis mine].“By the sixteenth century there [a]re num- erous Highland mercenaries or galloglasses in the service of the Irish in their struggle against Tudor military expansionism. The most noteworthy group among these mercenaries [i]s the Mc- Donnells from Kintyre, who went to fight and remained as settlers. The McDonnell migration [i]s a combination of blood links and their failure in a power struggle with the government in Edinburgh and its Campbell allies, which caused them to be dispossessed of their traditional homelands in Kintyre” [Dobson, Scottish Emigration, pp. 13-14].
4. Holding a parliament in Kintyre, James IV "emancipate[s] part of the vassals of the Macdonalds in Argyll, and grant[s] them, de novo, charters holding of the Crown” [Stat. Acct.: Campbeltown, p. 531; Gregory, p. 59]. Many MacDonald kindreds establish themselves as independent clans at this point, including the Clan Alasdair, whose reigning chief is Iain Dùbh[15] [CMS, p. 27; Grant, p. 157; Gregory, ibid.]; his seat is at Ardpatrick, S. Knapdale [MacKinnon, p. 162].
1494: 1. Royal visits to Tarbert: In the course of this year, James IV “visit[s] the Isles no fewer than three times, so great [i]s his anxiety to establish the authority of law and government in these remote districts. On two of these occasions, at least, James reside[s] at Tarbert for a time” [Mitchell, pp. 32–33]. “[N]otwithstanding the frequent efforts then made for the pacification of the rival clans, Kintyre and the Southern Hebrides continu[e] in a state of lawlessness and bloodshed” [ibid., p. 35].
2. During his first visit to Kintyre, King James knights John Cathanach Macdonald of Dunyveg, “who apparently t[akes] this honour as a portent that his lands in Kintyre . . . as also the keeping of the Castle of Dunaverty, [a]re to be restored to him” [McKerral, p. 5].
3. (April) Second royal visit; “extensive repairs” are made to Tarbert Castle by James IV, who also provides the castle “with artillery and skilful gunners” [Mitchell, p. 33; Gregory, p. 88].
4. During a visit to Kintyre, King James stays at Dunaverty Castle. “[F]ar from returning it to Mac-
donald [of Dunnyveg], he install[s] his own governor. . . . At this Sir John appears to have taken mortal offence, and when the King [i]s in his boat, preparatory to his departure, . . . Macdonald t[akes] the Castle by surprise and hang[s] its governor over the walls in sight of the King” [McKer-
ral, p. 5; Stat. Acct.: Campbeltown, pp. 531–2[16]].
1495: Dunnyveg (MacDonald) family outlawed[17]; John and some of his sons are executed for treason in Edinburgh [Feud, pp. 42–43; Bardon, p. 68; MacDougall, p. 178; McKerral, p. 8]. Two of his sons escape to the family’s lands in Antrim [McKerral, p. 14; Gregory, p. 90], but for some time they have no lands in Scotland [Gregory, p. 108].
1497: Fall of Lochalsh: Alexander MacDonald of Lochalsh invades Ross. He attempts to raise sup-
port among the Islesmen, but is unable to do, possibly because the execution of John of Dunny-
veg was sufficiently recent to act as a deterrent. Lochalsh is pursued by Macian of Ardnamurchan (who apprehended John of Dunnyveg) and, oddly enough, John’s eldest surviving son Alexander. (Might this have been an attempt to prove that, unlike his father, he was loyal to the Crown?)
1498: King James revokes all charters granted in the previous five years to the vassals of the Lord of the Isles. The reasons for this are obscure, but it represents a sharp change in policy after a year or two of relative tranquility in the Highlands [Gregory, pp. 94-95; DMM]. It might have something to do with further rebellion by the MacDonalds (see below).
1499–1500: 1. After being “repaired at considerable cost” [MacDougall, p. 104], “[t]he Castle of Tarbert [i]s used by James IV as a naval supply base during his campaign to suppress” the outlawed but still rebellious MacDonalds [Clan, p. 204; DMM]. He gives Argyll and others (including Duncan Stewart of Appin and the eldest son of the Earl of Huntly) a commission to let on lease the entire lands of the Lordship at the time of forfeiture “both in the Isles and on the mainland, excepting only the island of Isla and the lands of North and South Kintyre”. Of the Islanders, only Macian of Ardna-
murchan is still in favour [Gregory, pp. 94-5].
2. (1500) An Alexander Makalester is on record in the Black Isle [Black, p. 450].