Clan Lore

In order to fully understand the nature of surviving tradition in Gaelic Scotland, social, as well as historical factors must be taken into account. Until the final breakdown of the clan system in the eighteenth century, after the disastrous Battle of Culloden in 1746, Highlanders were organised in tribes or clans {from clann, 'children'}, as were the Celts from time immemorial. After the defeat of Prince Charles Edward Stuart by the Duke of Cumberland and his troops, this ancient system ceased to function officially, although it has survived vestigially unti the present day, having acquired a certain glamour with the establishment of Balmoral as a royal residence and the interest of the Royal family in things Highland.

Nearly all the Highland clans traced their origins back to Ireland; genuine clan names appear in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centruies. Most of the genealogies are traced back to Loarn, son of Erc, one of the three brothers who esablished the kingdom of Dalriada in Argyllshire in the late fifth century AD. The Lords of the isles, the MacDonalds, however, trace their ancestry back to Colla Uais of Ireland. The Campbells seem to have a purely fictitious origin, and the MacLeods and Nicholsons have a strong Norse element in their genealogy. The concept of clan differed from that of tribe in that the central feature of the clan was consanguinity or kinship; that of the tribe, tuath, had a territorial basis. As the word clann means 'progeny, children', the members of any clan, from the chief down, were bonded together by blood relationship, the degree of which varied; the chief of the clan and the heads of the various branches or septs were closely related, but there were, of course, accretions to the clan who could, strictly speaking, claim no blood relationship. But the clansmen bore a common name, and this name was derived from a common ancestor who may, in certain instances, have been a pagan deity rather than a historical character. In the later Middle Ages, the feudal system was extended in Scotland and the clans were confined to the more inaccessible districts; and, as we have seen, this archaic system lasted until the eighteenth century, when it was ended as a result of Culloden Moor. The chief was believed - like the old pagan kings - to be semi-divine, in that he could do no wrong and loyalty to him was absolute. The clan chief was the real owner of the clan territory; the clansmen got their land from him and in return they gave him goods in kind and military service. Early records make it clear that the clan as a functioning organisation in Scotland existed as early as the sixth centruy AD. If a clansman had to obey a feudal superior and his orders were at variance with those of his chief, then the feudal lord, or king, would be ignored; when the clans were sufficiently isolated to make punishment for this too difficult to enforce, then they could escape retribution.

For this reason, the Western Highlands and Islands were, for centuries, ruled by petty sovereigns and the king's writ simply did not apply. Inter-clan relations tended to be bad - like inter-tribal strife in ancient Gaul and Ireland - and this had tragic consequences for Highland history. The story is on of petty jealousies, bitter quarrels, constant raiding of land and plundering of goods, cattle and women, and many atrocities were committed by all parties. The clan was by no means a democratic organisation; like all Celtic society, it was highly aristocratic. The various offices were hereditary; the chief was the commander of the clan in war; the oldest member of the cadet branch was lieutenant-colonel; he commanded the right wing. The youngest member of the cadet branch commanded the rear. Every head of a distinct family was captain of his own tribe. Every clan had its standard-bearer, likewise a hereditary post. Every chief had his poet or bard, to praise him in life and to lament him in death. The bag-pipe was the military instrument for war-music and also much favoured in the chieftains' residences. The pipers were instructed in special piping-schools; one of the most famous of these was that of the MacCrimmons, pipers to the MacLeods of Dunvegan, with their school at Borreraig nearby. Each clan had a special place of meeting; people were summoned to it in times of emergency by the Fiery Cross. Two men, each carrying a pole with a cross of fire-blackened wood attached to the end, ran through the clan territory shouting the military slogan of the clan; if they tired, another took their place. Everyone would arm at once and go to the traditional meeting-place to take orders from their chief. Every clan had a special war-cry; for example, the Grants shouted 'Stand fast Creageallachaidh', the Camerons, 'Sons of Dogs come hither and you shall get flesh', and so on. Every clan had a distinguishing badge; the notion that the clans were recognisable to each other by their gaudy individual tartans is a modern one; they were known by their badges, which were plain and worn in their bonnets. The MacDonalds, for example, wore heather, which was also their war-cry {fraoch}; the Grants fir; the MacIntoshes holly. To a certain extent the choice of badge would be determined by what was available in a given locality, but it is likely that the plant chosen would have a magical and evil-averting significance also.

Omens were very much regarded when the clan was leaving on some foray - another ancient Celtic custom; it was a good omen, for example, to meet an armed man. If a bare-footed woman crossed the path in front of them, she was seized and blood drawn from her forehead to avert evil. If a deer, fox, hare or some other game animal was seen and not killed, it was an ill omen. There was also a clan custom known as cuid-oidhche, 'a night's share or portion'. This was provided for the chief, when he was going hunting or on a raid by the tenant who lived near the hill or place he reached by nightfall and consisted in hospitality for the lord and his men and food for his dogs and horses for one night.

Martin Martin, living in the decades before the clan system became redundant, has some interesting details to add to our knowledge of its operation. He records that every heir or young chieftain was obliged to give a public exhibition of his valour before he was owned and declared leader of his people who, if satisfied then vowed to follow and obey him. This again is an archaic custom of initiation rite with its origins far back in the Celtic world. Writing in 1703, Martin notes that he had heard no instance of this practice for some 60 years. He says that a heap of stones in the shape of a pyramid was erected. The young chieftain-elect was placed on this and his friends and followers stood in a circle about him; his elevated position signified his authority over them. One of his oldest friends then handed to him the sword worn by his father and a white rod was given to him at the same time; the giving of the white rod as a symbol of authority is also found in the earlies Irish traditions. Then the chief Druid {as Martin calls him} or orater stood beside the cairn and eulogised the ancestry and noble deeds of the family and its magnificent traditional generosity - a virtue always highly prized by the Celts. Martin also notes that when any chieftain went on military expedition, blood was drawn from the first animal met with on enemy territory and some of this was then sprinkled on the colours; this was considered to be a good omen. There was always a sentry on top of their houses in Barra, even in Martin's time, called Gockmin {Cockman}. Before the clan engaged in battle the chief bard addressed the army, exhorting them to courage and praising the prowess of their forebears. In similar fashion, two ancient Celtic warrors about to engage in single combat would revile their enemy and eulogise their own ancestors. When the bard had completed his oration the men would give a great shout and rush into the fray. Martin says that this speech was known as Brosnichiy Kah {Brosnachaidh Catha}, 'Incentive to Battle'. He records that every great family in the isles had a chief Druid who foretold future events and decided all causes. It is against the broken remnants of this once-rigid clan structure that the extant traditions of the Highlands must be viewed, and clan legends form a major tale type. A few stories from this hugh repertoire are given as examples, many of which can still be heard today.

One of the most famous clan legends, which is based on a real event, is that of the Eigg massacre. In 1577, 350 Macdonalds - men, women and children - were allegedly suffocated in a cave in the island of Eigg by the MacLeods; the brutality of this murder shocked even the tough Highlanders, accustomed as they were to violence and brutal death, and the story has remained in the oral repertoire of the islanders. Bones were found in the cave as recently as 1800, while contemporary accounts testify to the truth of this incident.

There are many stories extant about the more famous clan battles, some of which have given rise to proverbial sayings. One of these concerns the Battle of the North Inch which took place at the end of the fourteenth century. The MacIntoshes were a powerful clan and known as the Clan Chattan. In the fourteenth century they owned the greater part of Badenoch; their crest was the cat, their motto 'Touch not the Cat Gloveless'. A feud developed between them and the Clan Kay; the Earls of Crawford and Moray, by commission, attempted to reconcile them, but failed. They then proposed that 30 men from either clan should meet in the North Inch of Perth and decide the quarrel by the sword in the presence of the king, Robert the Third and all the nobles. In 1396, when they met on the appointed day, one of the Clan Chattan was absent; a smith from Perth, known as Henry Gow, or Hal o' the Wynd, offered to take his place for the sum of seven shillings and sixpence. It was a fierce battle. Twenty-nine of the Clan Kay were killed; the thirtieth man escaped by swimming across the Tay. Nineteen of the Clan Chattan perished. Their victory was due to the phenomenal strength and courage of the Perth smith {always a craftsman held in high esteem in the Celtic regions}; as a result a local proverb came into being ' He did very well for his own hand, as Hengy Gow did'. His descendants becameknown as Sliochd a' Ghobhair Chruim, 'the Progeny of the Stooping Smith' and they were incorporated into Clan Chattan.

Cattle-raiding was one of the favourite pastimes of the Highlanders, and this led to many a clan battle and bitter feud. Certain characters became famed throughout wide areas for their skill in raiding and evading capture. One of these was Auchry Malcolm of Poltalloch. He was known as Big Auchry and was the best swordsman in the entire countryside. The cattle-raiders were all terrified of him. The MacFies of the island of Colonsay habitually came to lift cattle from Argyll, and Big Auchry was their sworn enemy. The hero used to wear a helmet and a coat of mail, according to tradition. He made a little bothy or hut for himself on the hill above his home at Baile-ghuirgean; he taught his dog not to bark, but to warn him of approaching strangers by scratching his ear. One day the MacFies surprised and killed the dog. Before he died he managed to bark a warning to his master, who advanced upon the MacFies and killed many of them. In the end, however, their superior numbers prevailed and Big Auchry was slain.

Another story is told as to how the Camerons got their clan slogan. Lochiel and the Duke of Athol had a dispute about the ownership of Aird-Raineach; they frequently met and argued about the possession of this piece of land and often came to blows, but no decision. They agreed to meet alone, without their followers, at Aird-Raineach and fight it out between themselves. It was also agreed that each of them would take his own piper. Lochiel met the famous witch Gormla as he set out on his journey; she warned him that Athol meant treachery and advised him what to do. He took his men and kept them hidden until he should make a certain sign; the Duke had likewise hidden his men, and when they emerged, so did Lochiel; the Camerons {Lochiel's clan} were victorious. From this encounter the slogan and the Cameron pipe tune are said to have originated:

Come hither, Come hither
You shall get flesh, you shall get flesh
Come Sons of hounds, you shall get flesh
You shall get flesh

One tradition pertaining to the clan system concerns the lands of Arrochar which were the property of Lord Lennox, who lived at Dumbarton. He owned the lands of Kilmarnock, and the territory from the River Clyde to the region of Kilpatrick, and the lands between Loch Lomond, the Clyde and Loch Long known locally as the 'Isle' above Leven; his extensive territory came within sight of Loch Fyne and extended as far north as the northern end of Loch Lomond. In the east they bordered on the lands of the notorious MacGregors, at Inversnaid. The rich lands of Lenox were much plundered by their cattle-raiding neighbours. There were no proper roads, only footpaths, and whenever he could, Lord Lennox travelled by boat. If freebooters passed throught he territory with loot from other clan lands tribute used to be extracted from them {staoigcreiche}; the laird of Arrochar had a watchman who used to keep guard from the top of Stronafian; his house was called Tigh a' Bheachdachain, Watchman's House, and can still be seen at the roadside at the foot of Stronafian. Legends of Norse raids into the lands of Lennox were current until recent times; one tells of a king of Norway who once invaded Scotland. He allegedly sailed up Loch Long with a fleet and landed at a point close to where Arrochar Castle now stands. He and his followers dragged their ships from Loch Long to Loch Lomond. A battle ensued and the men of Arrochar were defeated. The Norwegians then sailed down Lomond to Luss and many people were slaughtered. The day of the battle was remembered locally as the Black Monday of Arrochar.

Clan legends are to be found all over the Highlands. One concerns Cameron free-booters from Sunart who carried off spoil from Lennox again. MacFarlane, laird of Arrochar, was at that time the official guardian of the lands of Lennox. He sent his officer, Calum Garbh MacEwen with a party of men in pursuit of the spoil. Calum had a clever lad with him - a very popular theme in Gaelic stories. The boy cut a brier and fashioned it into a walking stick. He overheard a conversation by the men of Sunart concerning the stolen beasts. It was decided that the lad should pretend to have the second sight and should appear to find the stolen cattle by supernatural means. Calum Garbh quartered his men in Sunart, after complaining to the laird about the theft and pretended that he could not trace the cattle. He told his Cameron hosts however that his boy had magic powers and could find them by means of the rod which he held in his hand. The boy is of course able to find all the booty and the laird of sunart had to pay for the total number of cattle lifted.

Another legend pertianing to Arrochar tells how MacFarlane of Arrochar was once grazing a herd of cattle on Ben Voirlich; the herd was stolen. MacFarlane sent Calum Garbh MacEwen and a band of men in search of the thief and the cattle. They went north of Inverness and one night, in a wood, they heard a drunken man singing:

I took booty from Ben Voirlich,
When the people were sleeping;
I gained much wealth for them:
It is a joy to me to mention it.
Some I spent on crowdie
And some on oat-cake;
I would not complain of my foray
Had not my boots become hard.

The Arrochar men seized the thief and recovered their cattle; treachery, if it was clever, was never rejected by the lawless Gaels and the thief was told that if he handed over the beasts, or the money he had got for them, they would not hang him. When he had complied, they did proceed to hang him, but not for the crime he had committed, as they had promised, but in order to make sure that he could never repeat it! Under the clan system, life cannot have differed much from life in the Iron Age in Britain, when tribe warred against tribe, the fittest and cleverest members of a community survived, and when cattle raiding and stories telling of the skill and adventures of the raiders were the normal, everyday pursuits.

One late clan story, also concerning Arrochar and the rich lands of Lennox which were such a temptation to raiders, tells of an episode that is alleged to have taken place a short time after the adventures of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. A farmer called James Turner lived in Arrochar about two miles from the head of Loch Long. He was rich both in cattle and in money. Some of his relations lived in Sunart. One of these planned to go with a group of men and rob him. It was in the spring of the year and they reached Turner's house just before daybreak; the people of the house were already up. Men, known as Sturdy Beggars used, at the time, to go from house to house, begging for alms. One of these had been telling the farmer and his family stories all night long - a common enough phenomenon in the Highlands, and such itinerant men had a great store of tales and traditions. The farmer's wife had a big pot of water boiling over the fire. A fight broke out between the raiders and the farmer's people; the Sturdy Beggar was the best fighter of all, but he fell, and the farmer himself was badly wounded. The Sunart men made a hole in the door and put their gun-muzzles through, but the farmer's wife poured boiling water on them making them useless. A neighbour ran to the minister. He put on his kilt and armed himself with gun and sword. The fiery cross was sent out through Arrochar and the war-cry of 'Loch Sloy' called. The men of the countryside were immediately armed and the raiders fled. The men were caught and sentenced to slavery ona man of war, but they managed to escape and fled back to Sunart.

There is a hughe repertoire of legend about individual clans, and a large number of tales about famous or notorious characters belonging to some clan or other. One of the best-known of these is the wild Rob Roy MacGregor round whom a huge body of folklore has developed. Before the rising of 1745, Highland gentlemen used to run schools in order to instruct the youth of their own district in swordsmanship. The boys were given bannocks and cheese, and they had to run up a hill to eat thesea. Charles, the son of Stuart of Ardshiel, was educated in Aberdeen. After a long period of education, the boy could still neither read nor write. Ardshiel was going to thrash the boy, but he prevented him because he confessed that he had not been learning education, but the arts of war, which greatly pleased the father. When Ardshiel was dead, Charles went to Lanark to seek the hand of the daughter of the laird there. As he and his men were crossing the moor a vicious bull was let loose on them. Charles killed the bull with his sword, and he and his companions continued on their journey. The laird of Lanark refused to give his daughter to young Ardshiel, and the men set off for home via Balquhidder and they stopped at an inn there. Rob Roy MacGregor heard that they were there. He went to see them and they began to drink whisky together. When they were somewhat drunk they began to talk of the battle of Sheriffmuir; Rob began to criticise the men of Appin for their part in it. A furious argument developed and the two men agreed to meet and fight at sunrise next day. The sun was shining in Charle's eyes; he cut Rob's ear; Rob was then cut in the throat and the fight ended. Rob stated that Charles was the best swordsman he had ever encountered - high praise from the notorious MacGregor. The laird of Lansrk was so pleased to hear that Charles had worsted Rob that he gave him the hand of his daughter after all. Rob entertained them. He died shortly after that and he gave orders before his death that the men of Ardshiel were not to be molested.

Another story which took its place in the great body of Gaelic oral lore concerns the Battle of Clachnaharie in 1454. This fight was between the MacIntoshes and the Munroes. John Munro was returning to the Highlands from Edinburgh with his followers. They rested in a meadow in Strathardle and fell asleep. The owner of the land, resenting their intrusion, had the tails of their horses cut off - a bitter insult. He went home, and returned to Strathardle with 350 men and laid waste to it and drove away the cattle. As he was passing Loch Moy in Strathearn he was noticed by MacIntosh of Moy who sent to ask him for the fee that was his due, for it was a custom among the Highlanders that when any spoil of cattle was driven through a gentleman's land, he should be given a proportion of the spoil. Munro offered what he thought was a fair amount, but it was less than that requested. MacINtosh, annoyed by what he took to be an insult to his emissary, gathered a body of men, pursued the Munroes, and at Clachnaharie near Inverness a fierce battle was fought. Men were slain on either side, including Moy himself, John Munro was lamed and was ever after known as Iain Bacach, 'Lame John'.

These are but a few examples of one type of tale told widely in the Highlands long after the lawless and wild clan system had disintegrated, stories much relished by the people whose immediate ancestors were concerned in the exploits and battles that formed the everyday life of the Gaels down the centuries.