Clan Maclean
Clan Maclean is a Highlands Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early Macleans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in clan skirmishes with the Mackinnons, Camerons, MacDonalds and Campbells, as well as all of the Jacobite risings.
History
Origins of the Clan
There are several different origins for the surname Maclean, however, the clan surname is an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic MacGilleEathain. This was the patronymic form of the personal name meaning 'Servant of Saint John', thus 'Son of the Servant of John'. The clan's rise to power began in 852 with a Papal Bull of Charter and Protection for the Iona Abbey, issued by Pope Leo IV. Marriages with Clan MacDonald in the late 1200s, Clan Bruce in the 1300s, and Clan MacKenzie in the 1400s brought Clan Maclean into the Scottish royal sphere.Early Clan Chiefs
The founder of the clan was a Scottish warlord named Gillean of the Battle Axe. There are stories of Gillean being descended from the FitzGerald dynasty. He was a judex and councillor to King David I of Scots. Gillean fought at the Battle of Largs in 1263 during the Scottish–Norwegian War, in which the Scottish were victorious.Gillean's son Malise mac Gilleain was thought by some to have taken the name Gillemor in 1263 and is also said to have led his followers at the Battle of Largs in 1263. He wrote his name as "Gillemor Mcilyn, County of Perth" on the third Ragman Rolls of 1296, swearing fealty to Edward I of England.
Gillean's grandson, Malcom, was the third chief. He fought at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 in the Wars of Scottish Independence. He commanded troops alongside Robert Bruce and over a dozen other Scottish clans to victory over the English. He died during the reign of King David Bruce and had three sons: John, Donald, and Neil.
Iain Dhu Maclean, son of Malcom, was the fourth chief. He settled on the Isle of Mull. One of his sons was Lachainn Lubanach who was the progenitor of the Macleans of Duart and the other son was Eachainn Reafanach who was the progenitor of the Clan Maclaine of Lochbuie. The Macleans of Duart married into the family of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles. By the end of the 15th century, the Macleans owned the isles of Mull, Tiree, Islay, and Jura, as well as the mainland provinces of Knapdale and Morvern in Argyll, and Lochaber in what was later Inverness-shire.
The Early Macleans at Duart
By the 14th century, the Clan Maclean had become a dominant force in the Western Isles. In about 1364 Lachlan Lùbanach Maclean of Duart, 5th Chief, solidified the Maclean alliance with the Macdonalds through marriage. His bride, Mary Macdonald, was not only the daughter of John Macdonald, first Lord of the Isles, but also the granddaughter of Robert II, King of Scots. The families were close enough related that the approval of the church was sought. The papal dispensation issued by Pope Urban V on 3 May of 1367 approving the already consummated marriage is the first mention of a Maclean in any official records.. The papal dispensation blessed the marriage retroactively as insurance that it could not be annulled for political purposes. Mary's marriage dowry included Duart Castle and much of Mull. Lachlan Lùbanach also was granted the hereditary position of Lieutenant-General of the Isles. He was recognized as the superior Maclean on Mull by the Lord of the Isles. Hector, his younger brother, was in the late 1300s given Lochbuie by the Lord of the Isles.Fifteenth century and clan conflicts
During the 14th and 15th century many battles were fought between the Clan Maclean and Clan Mackinnon.Battle of Harlaw
In 1411, Clan Maclean fought with Donald Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, to claim the earldom of Ross, which was his by right of his wife, Mariota Leslie, countess of Ross. Robert Stewart, the ambitious the Duke of Albany, had denied Donald's claim because he wanted Ross for himself. The Battle of Harlaw took place near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire on 24 July 1411 against a mounted army of knights led by Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar. The Macleans were led by Hector Roy Maclean, "Red Hector of the Battles", the 6th Chief, and nephew of Donald Macdonald. Hector commanded the right flank of Donald Macdonald's army. Hector engaged in single combat with the chief of Clan Irvine, Sir Alexander Irvine. After a legendary struggle both died of the wounds inflicted upon each other.Origins of the Macleans of the North (Clan Tearlach)
Tearlach Maclean, eldest son of Hector Maclean, 1st of Lochbuie, brother of Lachlan Maclean, 1st of Duart. Tearlach was part of the vanguard but following this battle, he sought protection within the Clan Chattan Confederation. His son Hector subsequently married a daughter of the Chief of the Mackintoshes. Despite the active support of Clan Chattan, these Macleans lost ownership of Urquhart Castle by 1509, and settled nearby at Dochgarroch, though they still managed to lease much of Urquhart. In 1609 Alexander Maclean of Dochgarroch signed the Clan Chattan Bond.Battle of Corpach
The Battle of Corpach took place in 1439. It was fought between the Clan Maclean and the Clan Cameron.Battle of Bloody Bay
In 1484 the Clan Maclean fought at the Battle of Bloody Bay on the side of the Lord of the Isles, chief of Clan Donald.In 1493 the Lordship of the Isles was abolished and Duart and Lochbuie Macleans held their lands by charter directly from the king, thus Lochbuie became a clan independent of Duart.
Sixteenth century and the Anglo-Scottish Wars
In 1513 during the Anglo-Scottish Wars, Lachlan Maclean of Duart was killed at the Battle of Flodden. The clan extended its influence to other Hebridean islands such as Tiree and Islay and onto the mainland. In 1560 the Clan Maclean, joined by their allies the Clan Mackay and Clan MacLeod became part of the Gallowglass, who were ferocious mercenaries of Norse-Gaelic descent who served in Ireland for the chief of Tyrone, Shane O'Neill.The rising power of the Clan Campbell during the sixteenth century brought them into opposition with the Macleans. Several marriages were arranged between Macleans and Campbells to avoid feuding, however one of these went badly wrong when chief Lachlan Maclean married Lady Elizabeth Campbell, daughter of the Earl of Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell. The match was not a happy one and Maclean took drastic action by marooning his wife on a rock in the sea, leaving her to drown. However she was rescued by some passing fishermen who took her back to her kin and Maclean was later killed by her brother in Edinburgh in 1523.
The Battle of the Western Isles was fought in 1586, on the island of Jura, between the Clan MacDonald of Sleat and the Clan Maclean. In 1588 the Clan Maclean attempted to capture Mingarry Castle seat of the chief of the Clan MacDonald of Ardnamurchan, using Spanish mercenaries from the San Juan de Sicilia.
One thing that did unite the Macleans and the Campbells was their Protestant faith as well as their dislike for the MacDonalds. Sir Lachland Maclean harried the MacDonalds of Islay causing so much carnage that both he and the MacDonald chief were declared outlaws in 1594 by the Privy Council. However Lachlan redeemed himself when in the same year he fought for the king at the Battle of Glenlivet, on the side of the Earl of Argyll and Clan Campbell, against the Earl of Huntly and Clan Gordon.
Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean
The Battle of Traigh Ghruinneart took place on 5 August 1598. It was fought between the Clan Donald and Clan Maclean on the Isle of Islay. Chief Sir Lachlan Mor Maclean was killed. After Sir Lachlan Maclean's death in 1598, his sons took revenge on his suspected murderers, the MacDonalds, by carrying out a massacre of the people of Islay which lasted for three days. After obtaining "Letters of Fire and Sword" he was assisted in this by the MacLeods, MacNeils, and Camerons. The quarrel between the Macleans and the Macdonalds of Islay and Kintyre was, at the outset, merely a dispute as to the right of occupancy of the crown lands called the Rinns of Islay, but it soon involved these tribes in a long and bloody feud, and eventually led to the near destruction of them both. The Macleans, who were in possession, claimed to hold the lands in dispute as tenants of the crown, but the privy council decided that Macdonald of Islay was really the crown tenant.Seventeenth century and Civil War
On 3 September 1631 Sir Lachlan Maclean created a Baronet of Nova Scotia. Later during the Scottish Civil War he was devoted to Charles I of England and called out his clan to fight for James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose who was the king's captain general. The Clan Maclean fought as royalists at the Battle of Inverlochy, Battle of Auldearn and Battle of Kilsyth, alongside men from Clan MacDonald, and other allies from Ireland raised by Alasdair MacColla. Their enemy was the Scottish Argyll government forces of Clan Campbell, led by Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll. Through cunning tactics the Royalist force of 1500 MacDonalds and Macleans defeated the Argyll Campbell force of 3000.In 1647 the Maclean's Duart Castle was attacked and laid siege to by the Argyll government troops of Clan Campbell, but they were defeated and driven off by the royalist troops of Clan Maclean. The Battle of Inverkeithing took place in 1651 where Sir Hector Maclean, 18th chief was killed.
Archibald Campbell the 9th Earl, son of the Marquess of Argyll, invaded the Clan Maclean lands on the Isle of Mull and garrisoned Duart Castle in 1678. The Campbells had control of Duart and most of the Maclean estates by 1679. When the Stuarts again called for support the Macleans hurried to their standard and Sir John Maclean, fifth Baronet fought at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689, in support of John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee.