Children of the Mist: The Story of the Scottish Highlanders!

All of Scotland is divided into three parts -- three distinct and easily discernible geographical regions that have provided three distinct types of Scotsman. It is important to keep this in mind because most people imagine Scotland as being divided across the center into Highlands in the north and Lowlands in the south.

The southern part of Scotland, where it borders with England, is the easiest to describe, because this is a region much less elevated and rugged than the Highlands. It consists largely of a wild moorland plateau traversed by rolling valleys and broken by mountainous outcroppings that rise to substantial heights. A few summits in this area exceed 2,500 feet in elevation. The border, which is marked mainly by the Cheviot Hills, has been a remarkably stable one over a long period of history.

While the border itself has been stable, the inhabitants of this hilly border region have not! The borderers, as they were known, a hardy fighting people who guarded Scotland's frontier with England, were always feuding and fighting among themselves when they were not harassing the English across the border. They have provided some of the best known Scottish surnames -- the Armstrongs, Elliots, Kers, Scotts, Douglases, Hepburns, Bruces and Johnstons among them. While their role in Scottish history was crucial, they do not concern us directly because they are different people to the Highlanders.

Beyond the border region lie the Scottish Lowlands. This area is usually described as a narrow belt running east-west and comprising about one tenth of the area of Scotland. However, it also sweeps northwards up the east coast of the country. The Lowland border with the Highlands begins in the west at Dumbarton (on the north bank of the River Clyde) and progresses northwards and eastwards to embrace an eastern plain which stretches from Fife. It then passes through the rich Carse of Gowrie, up past Aberdeen and then sweeps round the northeast shoulder of Scotland and along the edge of the Moray Firth. It continues on past Nairn right up to Inverness itself, which is (and always has been) a "frontier" town, where Highlanders were not particularly welcome.

This triangular Lowland area made up the heartland of Scotland, and contained the national capital from the days of Kenneth MacAlpin onwards, who moved his seat of government from the western Highlands to Scone in Perthshire. Later it was moved to Dunfermline and finally to Edinburgh, which lies at some distance from the Highlands. The Highlanders always resented this movement of their royal line to what they considered an alien environment and inferior people.

The third geographical region was the great mountainous mass commonly called simply the Highlands. More than one half of the surface of Scotland is occupied by this region -- the most rugged landscape on the island of Great Britain. Consisting of parallel mountain chains with a general N.E. - S.W. trend and broken by deep ravines and valleys, the Highlands of Scotland are noted for their scenic grandeur. Precipitous cliffs, moorland plateaus, mountain lakes, sea lochs, swift flowing streams, and dense thickets are common to the Highlands, the most sparsely inhabited section of Scotland. Of the two dominant mountain ranges, one runs north-south along the axis of Scotland from Loch Lomond up to the Pentland Firth and forms the great backbone of Scotland. The other is a range curving off northeastwards to form the Grampians.

The Grampian range was never a formidable barrier to those penetrating the Highlands, because of the number of passes over it. The east end of the range opens onto a plain, thus making it very easy to simply bypass it.

The central Highlands, however, were much more formidable; and the only practical way to penetrate them was through the Great Glen, which runs from Inverness in the northeast to Fort William -- further south on the west coast. While it was comparatively easy to penetrate up into the north of Scotland along its low-lying east coast, it was a different story to venture into the Great Glen. Traveling this route led the fearless explorer further and further away from civilization and safety, and into an unknown world which basically remained cut off from the rest of Scotland until the aftermath of the Jacobite uprising of 1745-46.

The people who inhabited this remote wilderness were known as the Highlanders -- a self-sufficient and independent breed that eyed the rest of the country with some suspicion. Because of their remoteness from the trade routes, and the fact that they normally did not have much money, the Highlanders developed a close knit clan system and became proficient cattle breeders. Their wealth lay in the clan, its fighting force, and their cattle.

Although there is much evidence that in the Moray Firth area and in Western Ross the climate was surprisingly mild and agreeable, and although the entire Highland area was well forested and full of game, the Highlanders were the poorest inhabitants of the three divisions of Scotland.

In spite of this, author Charles MacKinnon notes that they were not poor in everything:

Although the lochs and rivers of Scotland abounded in fish, the Highlanders preferred meat and regarded fish as a rather poor substitute for it. It is noteworthy that PORK WAS ABSOLUTELY DETESTED, and pigs were rarely to be found in the Highlands. They were considered UNCLEAN and anybody raising them was looked upon in the same light. This disgust, of course, reflected the attitude of the Israelites towards unclean meat, particularly pork, which was FORBIDDEN in the food laws of Leviticus 11.

Highland clothing was of necessity more basic the further removed the Highlander was from contact with the outside world, but it was warm, comfortable and well adapted to his needs. He wore the SAFFRON SHIRT OF THE IRISH, a warm garment reaching to the knee and belted at the waist.

To the shirt was added the great tartan plaid, known as the "great kilt." This was laid on the ground and gathered into folds in the center. The wearer lay down on top of it and gathered the loose ends across his stomach, fastening them there with a belt, and then stood up. He now had a short kilt reaching to slightly above the knee and a great length of material hanging from the belt that he gathered up behind and fastened to his shoulder with a large metal brooch. This great kilt was a kilt and plaid in one -- and was an excellent sleeping bag at night!

Tartans, as we know them today, were haphazard. The different tartans were NOT heraldic badges indicating name or clan, as modern custom has tried to make them. The clan tartans were a LATE development, proliferating greatly AFTER the 1746 ban on Highland dress was lifted. At this time the Highlanders rushed to make clan identifications again. Before this time there were indeed tartans, but they INDICATED RANK rather than clan. Like the saffron shirt, the tartan came from the Highlanders Celto-Irish ancestors.

In the Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland, by the Four Masters, we learn that Tighearnmas, the ninth Milesian king of Ireland (1354-1278 B.C.), introduced to Ireland the art of dying clothes. "It was by him that clothes were dyed purple, blue, and green." In the reign of the following king -- Eochaidh Eadghadhach -- these colors were used to distinguish rank. "He was called Eochaidh Eadghadhach because it was by him the variety of colour was first put on clothes in Ireland, to distinguish the honour of each by his raiment, from the lowest to the highest. This was the distinction made between them: ONE colour in the clothes of slaves; TWO in the clothes of soldiers; THREE in the clothes of goodly heroes, or young lords of territories; SIX in the clothes of ollavs [poets, sages]; SEVEN in the clothes of kings and queens." The Book of Lecan adds that ALL these colors were later used in the dress of Bishops.

The REAL origin of Tartan, however, is found in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. In chapter 37 we read how the brothers of Joseph sold their younger brother into slavery in Egypt. This brother was the favorite son of Israel or Jacob, and verse 3 mentions that his father gave him "a tunic of MANY COLORS." This "tunic" or "coat" of MANY COLORS is also mentioned in verses 23 and 31-33. It seems fitting that JUDAH, who was responsible for turning his brother over to the Midianite traders (see verse 26), should have descendants wearing clothes of "MANY COLORS". Down through their long history in the British Isles this appeared as a token of shame for the reprehensible thing he had done.

The Highlander went barelegged and often barefooted, which caused the curious description of the Highlanders as "redshanked." This does not mean that they were red-haired. The true Highlander is predominantly DARK:

It is a mistaken concept that all those living in Scotland are "Scots." The name "Scots" more correctly belongs to the Highlanders, people quite different to the Lowlanders -- as we have just seen. L. G. Pine understands this distinction:

The Scots of the Highlands were a different CLASS of people to those living in the Lowlands. When talking of the Irish Scots (from whom the Highland Scots came) Dr. Moore, in his History of Ireland, notes a CLEAR DISTINCTION: "It is indeed evident that those persons to whom St. Patrick applies the name SCOTS, were all of THE HIGH AND DOMINANT CLASS; whereas, when speaking of THE GREAT BULK OF THE PEOPLE, he calls them HIBERIONACES, -- from the name Hiberione, which is always applied by him to the island itself" (p. 72).

Similarly, Dr. Wylie mentions that there were TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLES dwelling in Ireland -- the HIBERNI and SCOTI. There was a MARKED DISTINCTION between the two. "The SCOTS ARE THE MILITARY CLASS; THEY ARE THE NOBLES....The latter [the Hiberni] are spoken of as the COMMONALITY, the sons of the soil." (History of the Scottish Nation, Vol. i., p. 281).

Raymond McNair, in his unpublished manuscript, states that "the main difference between these peoples is that the Hiberni are descendants of Dan by Jacob and his concubine Bilhah [I disagree with this -- see later]. The PEOPLE OF SCOTI [SCOTA -- wife of Gathelus] ARE DESCENDANTS OF JUDAH by Jacob and his wife, Leah. Many Scots today [the Highlanders] contain tribal elements of ZARAH-JUDAH....The majority of Scots [the Lowlanders] appear, however, to be descendants of Joseph. It was only the descendants of Joseph who were to be blessed with the birthright blessings (I Chronicles 5:2). JUDAH WAS TO BE THE REGAL TRIBE." (In Search of the Lost Ten Tribes. Copyright 1981, p. 146).

The nineteenth-century Jewish Prime Minister of Great Britain -- Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81) -- understood the truth about the background of the Scots: "It was the 'sword of the Lord and of Gideon' that won the boasted liberties of England; and the SCOTS upon their hillsides achieved their religious freedom CHANTING THE SAME CANTICLES THAT CHEERED THE HEART OF JUDAH AMID THE GLENS." (Tancred, quoted in the magazine "Wake Up!" Nov/Dec. 1992, p. 143).

Dr. Wylie goes on to say: "St. Patrick often uses SCOTI and REGULI as equivalent terms. To the term SCOTTUS he adds often the word NOBILIS; whereas he has no other appellative for the NATIVE IRISH but HYBERIONE, or HYBERNI GENAE, THE COMMON PEOPLE." (History of the Scottish Nation, fn. p. 282).

McNair states that such names as IBER, EBER, HEBER, EBORNES, and HIBERONES, are all words designating the ancestor HEBER -- from whom the HEBREWS have all descended.

Joseph Ritson, in the Annals of the Caledonians, Picts, and Scots, also notes this distinction amongst the Irish:

This distinction was TRANSFERRED to Scotland when the Irish Scots established the colony of Dalriada in Argyllshire. The Highlanders (Irish-Scots descent) became the SCOTTUS NOBILIS in their new land, and the Lowlanders (of Scythian or Gothic descent), who arrived later, were the "common" or "ordinary people" of the land.

There is yet another distinction that must be made: That of SCOTI and SCYTHAE. Many historians claim that the Scots and the Scythians are the same people, that Scoti derives from Scythae. This simply is NOT true. Evidently this practice originated with the British (Welsh) historian Nennius. Joseph Ritson notes that "there is, however, NO IRISH WRITER of any antiquity or repute, who maintains this opinion; and with respect to Nennius, who seems to be the father of it, his work is justly characterized by Mr. Pinkerton himself 'as the weakest that ever bore the name of history....' " (Ibid., p. 6 ).

Ritson goes on to say that "the remark of Reincrus Rinectius, 'that at this day the name of the Scythians survives in that of the Scots,' is a FALSE AND ABSURD CONCEIT....These HIGHLANDERS, or IRISH SCOTS, cannot, therefore...be a race of Scythians, as he elsewhere asserts, and pretends to prove, that the SCYTHAE AND SCOTI...are one and the same people...." (Ibid., footnote pp. 6-7).

Elsewhere in his book, Ritson says the following:

Sharon Turner, in his History of the Anglo-Saxons (quoted by Raymond McNair in "In Search of the Lost Ten Tribes"), clearly shows which peoples are descended from the Scythians:

Even the Bible itself delineates between those descended from Judah and the Scythians! Notice: "There is neither Greek nor JEW, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, SCYTHIAN, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all." (Colossians 3:11). The Highlanders, being descended from Judah, are DIFFERENT to the Lowlanders, who are descended from the Scythians. ALL, however, are Israelites!

A correct understanding of the DIFFERENT arrival times of these groups into Britain is expressed by W.H. Bennett:

Since the Scots of Ireland and Scotland do not derive their name from Scythae, from where, then, do they receive it? The answer to this is surprising! Notice: "The ninth name [of Ireland] was SCOTIA; and it is the sons of Mileadh [Gathelus] who gave that name to it, FROM THEIR MOTHER, WHOSE NAME WAS SCOTA, DAUGHTER OF PHARAO NECTONIBUS...." (The History of Ireland, by Geoffrey Keating. Vol. I. The Irish Text Society, London. 1902. P.103). Seumas MacManus adds that "it will be remembered that our MOST ANCIENT poets and seanachies claimed that an early name for Eirinn, SCOTIA, was derived from SCOTA, QUEEN-MOTHER OF THE MILESIANS...." (The Story of the Irish Race. The Devin-Adair Co. N.Y. 1949, p. 192).

Actually, the name Scota or Scotti was first applied to the people Gathelus brought with him to Spain from Egypt. This fascinating story is related by E. Raymond Capt:

Such is the influence of a woman!

There were roughly THREE classes in Highland society -- a society that was not at all class-conscious. There was the chief and his immediate family, followed by the chieftains or the tacksmen who were the principal landholders under the chief and the military leaders of the clan. Equal with the chieftains were certain individuals such as the hereditary seanachaidh, or bard, who always stood high in the clan hierarchy. It was he that guarded the clan history and traditions, and the chief's complicated genealogy. Finally come the ordinary clanspeople who might be young warriors, crofters, or the crippled and elderly of the clan who did what work they could on the land.

It is difficult to generalize about clan chiefs -- they were the leaders and varied greatly in character as people usually do. The HALLMARK of the clan was its interdependence. Obviously some chiefs were worse than others, just as some kings were, but there was a BUILT-IN SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES created by the self-interest and mutual dependence of the clan members. It is important to remember, however, that no Highland chief ruled except by the general consent of his clan. Chiefs who failed to please the clan could be deposed and even killed. In clan histories there are many instances of CLAN-POWER as opposed to chief-power.

The bard was one of the most important members of the clan. Each clan bard was its historian and, as such, he detailed every event in verse, as well as learning the verses of all his predecessors. And many of the clansmen themselves could match the bard in remembering the verses themselves. Since little or nothing was written down, the bard's memory was the most important tool of his trade.

The oral traditions passed down by the bards are EXTREMELY RELIABLE -- far more so than many of the extensive written histories penned by the monks of the Catholic Church. The monks were UNCRITICAL historians and based their chronicles on little more than RUMOR and the monk's own strong imagination! Opposed to this, the bard could not twist facts to suit himself because he was dramatizing real events and there were just TOO MANY EYEWITNESSES for him to tamper with the truth.

The bard was the clan's news reporter, and when anything of interest occurred, he was expected to produce a poem or song or lose his hereditary office to somebody better equipped for the job. He could dramatize, but only WITHIN PERMITTED LIMITS.

One of the favorite clan recreations was the reciting of Gaelic poetry. At any ceilidh (evening entertainment) this was always a highlight, and the clanspeople would listen to it for hours. As well as recounting the clan's prowess, the bard also spoke of the Gaelic greatness when the kings had lived in the Highlands. He fostered a belief, very STRONG among the clans, that their long-gone greatness would one day return. There is a large amount of evidence showing that the bardic poetry ENCOURAGED A KIND OF MESSIANIC BELIEF THAT ONE DAY A GOLDEN-HAIRED YOUNG MAN WOULD RETURN TO RESTORE THE FORTUNES OF GAELDOM AND BECOME THEIR HIGH KING, LIVING AMONG THEM.

Everybody had an important role to play in clan life that was usually dictated by their abilities and not much else. There was a great mixing of social rank: Clansmen could and did rise to prominence by their military prowess; and chiefs' sons and the sons of tacksmen could DESCEND in the social scale. It was essentially a fluid society, not a rigid and stratified one.

ALL OF THEM, of course, looked upon themselves as being the CHIEFLY OR ROYAL BLOOD. This was undoubtedly TRUE at any given time due to the great amount of intermarriage. Within the clan structure the poorest, most infirm clansmen shared in the clan's ancient and proud heritage. There was no caste system, for such a system was unworkable within the limits that bound the clan together; and evidently the clansman had nothing in common with a Lowland peasant. "He was proud, independent and at the same time interdependent, himself relied upon by others, and he was secure and relatively well fed. He lacked worldly goods; his life was essentially simple and pastoral; he certainly presented a peculiar appearance when he emerged into the Lowlands among his civilized 'betters' -- whom he in any case despised, but on the whole he was a good deal more fortunate at any given time...than any peasant outside the Highlands." (Scottish Highlanders, p. 82).

The people of Scotland descend from varied racial stocks, including the Picts, Celts, Scandinavians, Normans and Romans. The "Scots" divide themselves into Highlanders, who consider themselves of purer Celtic blood and retain a stronger feeling of the clan, and Lowlanders, who are largely of Teutonic blood.

The Picts were the earliest inhabitants of Scotland, and arrived in Ireland from the Continent during the reign of Heremon (1433-1418 B.C.). According to tradition they landed in the southwest of Ireland, at the mouth of the river Slaney (Inver Slaigne). A tribe of Britons who fought with poisoned arrows was at the time ravaging that part of the island. The Picts helped to drive out the marauders, and in reward were granted a settlement there by Crimthann, the chief of the area. According to Seumas MacManus, "they [afterwards] had an outfall with Crimthann -- and it was decided that they should be passed INTO ALBA (SCOTLAND). The three Pictish chiefs were given Irish wives to take to Alba with them, on condition that henceforth their royal line should descend according to the female succession -- which, it is said, was henceforth the law among the Alban Picts." (The Story of the Irish Race. The Devin-Adair Co. N.Y. 1949, pp. 11-12).

The Picts became so troublesome to the later Roman provinces in Britain that in 208 A.D. the Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus traveled to Britain and vainly attempted to subjugate them. The Picts also figured prominently in the campaigns of Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus in Britain in 296 and 306 A.D. The Romans were forced to build huge walls to keep the Picts out of the conquered provinces. In time the northern Picts in Scotland were converted to Christianity (probably in the 4th century); and the southern Picts were converted in the 5th century. When the Saxons arrived in Britain they kept clear of the Picts, but when the former finally pushed further northward they, too, encountered these northern Picts and were defeated by them in 685. For a long time thereafter border warfare was carried on; and the Picts also fought continually in Scotland with the Scots who had settled there in the 4th century. In 850 the Picts were finally defeated by Kenneth I, King of Scotland, and mysteriously disappeared from the scene. Where they disappeared to is another story. A few remained in the land, however, and the clans of BRODIE, MACNAUGHTON, MURRAY AND MACKAY are descended from this remnant.

The Scandinavians arrived in Scotland with the Norse incursions of the 9th Century. The more congenial climate of Britain drew more Norsemen who settled in the Shetland and Orkney Islands, where they absorbed the remaining Celtic population. To this very day they are almost entirely Norse, and the people of these islands are proud of their Norse descent and refuse to be called Scots. Both the Shetlands and the Orkneys remained part of Norway until 1468, when they were ceded to James III of Scotland by Christian I of Denmark and Norway.

E. Raymond Capt notes that "Between A.D. 800 and 900, Norse and Danish raiders plundered the coast lands of Britain and Ireland, spreading havoc and destruction on all sides. They not only burned the churches and destroyed cities, but perpetrated the most barbarous cruelties upon the inhabitants. Encouraged by the rich booty the raids produced, the Norsemen, for over thirty years, regularly swarmed down the west coast of Scotland." (Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets. Artisan Sales, Thousand Oaks, CA 1985, p. 179).

By the end of the 9th century the Norsemen were masters of Caithness, Sutherland, Ross, Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles. The Norse settlers married into the local races and established clans such as the MACLEODS, MORRISONS, GUNNS AND HENDERSONS.

"In A.D. 853 another group of Norsemen left Scandinavia under the leadership of ROLLO (Rolf the Ganga), and invaded the north of France. The territory which they acquired was called 'NORMANDY' (Northman's Land) and the Norsemen themselves who settled that part of France became known as 'Normans.' (A softened form of the word 'Northman'). In a short time these colonists adopted the French tongue and French customs. They adopted the growing feudal practices of France and developed them...into a harmonious system." (Missing Links Discovered in Assyrian Tablets, p. 183).

In 1066 these Northmen or "Normans" invaded Britain, landing on the Sussex coast. An English (Saxon) army led by Harold the Saxon, claimant to the English throne, met the Norman invaders under William the Conqueror at Hastings. In the ensuing battle Harold was killed and the Saxon government ended. In the days that followed the English estates were divided among the Norman conquerors, who gradually became absorbed into the peoples of Britain. Eventually the Norman influence reached up into Scotland where new clans were formed based on Norman blood. The BRUCES, CHISHOLMS, COMYNS (CUMMINGS), FRASERS, GORDONS, GRAHAMS, HAYS, KERRS, LINDSAYS, MAXWELLS, MENZIES, MONTGOMERYS, RAMSAYS, ROSES, SINCLAIRS AND THE STEWARTS can be traced back to the Norman invaders.

In the Highlands of Scotland are SEVEN CLANS that claim descent from the royal line of King Alpin I who was the 28th and last king of the Dalriadic Scots. This Alpinian family, better known as the SIOL ALPIN, is one of the least discussed and more mysterious of the clan alliances in Highland history. The seven families or clans that make up this confederation are the MACNABS, the MACGREGORS, the MACKINNONS, the MACQUARRIES, the GRANTS, the MACAULAYS and the MACFIES.

There has never been a Clan MacAlpin living on its own clan lands, and with its own hereditary chiefs and chieftains. The present-day MacAlpin (with or without the e) almost certainly belongs to one of the above-mentioned clans of the Siol Alpin.

According to Charles MacKinnon:

Early Highland histories tended to dismiss the Siol Alpin as a fanciful, if not fictitious, piece of Highland boastfulness and nonsense. The reason for this is quite obvious -- they searched the clan histories for the Siol Alpin and found absolutely nothing. They tried to compare it to another great confederation -- the Clan Chattan -- and could find no similarity. Based on this, they dismissed the Siol Alpin altogether. The evidence for the common descent of these SEVEN CLANS from the House of Alpin is traditional -- as is the greater part of Highland history. However, bardic traditions (as we have seen) are far more ACCURATE than the garbled history of the early chronicles written by the Catholic monks. Any historian who summarily dismisses the traditions of a people is simply a FOOL. There is NO DOUBT that these clans shared the same COMMON ORIGIN; and the fact that it was ROYAL is nothing out of the ordinary! Most of the west Highland Celtic clans were CLOSELY CONNECTED WITH BOTH IRISH AND DALRIADIC (ARGYLL) ROYALTY.

The royal House of Alpin, which lasted down to the reign of Malcolm II (1005-34), gave widely separated grants of land to the younger sons of the family, thus keeping them well separated. This old and effective policy of divide and rule prevented the younger sons and their descendants from combining to put one of their number in place of the current ruler. Only a fool allowed younger sons and cousins to congregate together. Because of this policy the seven clans were widely scattered: Three are Hebridean and lived on islands, three are west Highland, and the Grants settled in the other side of Scotland -- to the northeast.

According to this arrangement the original MacKinnon lands were in Mull; and from here they spread to Arran and Skye. The Grant lands were in Strathspey and Glenmoriston, while the MacNab lands were in Perthshire on the western shore of Loch Tay. The MacAulays had their seat at Ardincaple in Dumbartonshire; the MacFies in Colonsay, and the MacQuarries had lands in Mull near the MacKinnons. The MacQuarries also owned the island of Ulva, to the west of Mull. The proud MacGregors had a number of possessions, their early principal seat being Glenarchy. They also had estates at Glenstrae, Glenlyon, Glengyle, Glenlochy and Balquhidder -- most of which was taken by the Campbells.

The clans of the Siol Alpin share a common plant badge -- the pine. The MacFies and the MacKinnons have the same Alpin war cry of "Cuimhnich bas Alpein," meaning "Remember the death of King Alpin." The MacGregors were more boastful, adopting as their motto "S Rioghal mo dhream" -- which means "ROYAL IS MY RACE." However, they are not alone in royal ties, nor are the rest of the Siol Alpin clans.

Scottish poet and author Sir Walter Scot called them "The Children of the Mist." This was a fitting name for a people who from 1488 to 1775 were stripped of all rights as Scottish citizens, and had to avoid all areas of population. The name MacGregor comes from the Gaelic "MacGrioghair" meaning "Son of Gregory." With the motto "Royal is My Race," this proud clan continually boasted of their ROYAL ancestry. They claim direct descent from Griogar, the son of KING ALPIN (833-841 A.D.), and have never failed to assert their seniority in the Alpinian "family."

The clan's earliest lands were in Glenorchy, as we have already noted, and date as far back as the reign of Malcolm Canmore (1058-1093). JOHN OF GLENORCHY, who was MacGregor chief in 1292, was captured by the English in 1296 when King Edward I conquered the land; and his successor in the chieftainship, MALCOLM, fought for Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn in 1314. Afterwards Malcolm accompanied Edward Bruce to Ireland, where he was wounded at the battle of Dundalk and known thereafter as "the Lame Lord."

Despite his support for Bruce's cause, King David II (Bruce's son) gave the Campbell clan title to the MacGregor's Glenorchy lands. The MacGregors did not take this sitting down and refused to quit their land. To evict them, the powerful Campbells used every legal process to obtain their ends and the MacGregors had to leave. IAIN DUBH, the second son of Iain of Glenorchy, then founded the Glenstrae branch of the MacGregors, which succeeded to the chieftainship when the Campbells ousted the house of Glenorchy.

Charles MacKinnon tells the story:

In 1589 the MacGregors murdered John Drummond of Drummond Ernoch, forester of the Royal Forest of Glenartney. This was an offense against the King himself and, as a result, fresh letters of REPRISAL were issued. The King declared it AN OFFENSE TO SHELTER MACGREGORS or even to have any sort of dealings with them. This was just the beginning!

In 1602 the MacGregors raided and killed a number of the Clan Colquhouns, and drove off some cattle. Alexander, the 17th Colquhoun chief, furious because he was given little protection against such raids, decided to obtain letters of reprisal against the MacGregors. Enacting a clever subterfuge to convince the King, he and a number of Colquhoun women presented themselves before the King at Sterling (James VI of Scotland who soon became James I of Great Britain). The women each carried a bloodstained shirt, claiming it to be the shirt of their murdered husband.

James VI, notoriously terrified by the sight of blood, immediately issued the necessary authority to Sir Alexander to rout out and kill the MacGregors.

On February 7, 1603, Alexander and his clan set out to destroy the MacGregors, who apparently got wind of the threat and decided to set a trap for the Colquhouns. Assisted by the Camerons, the MacGregors set up an ambush at both ends of Glen Fruin. When Alexander's force entered the glen they found their exit blocked by a strong force of MacGregors, and at the same time the other half of the raiding force had followed them into the glen and now fell on them from behind. They were trapped with enemies in front and at the rear, and the steep slopes of the glen on either side. The Colquhouns were completely routed with much slaughter, and Alexander barely managed to escape with his life.

As a result of the slaughter the Privy Council passed, on April 3 of the same year, an Act PROSCRIBING the MacGregor name. " 'Proscribe' sounds innocent, but what it actually meant was that anybody bearing the name MacGregor could be beaten up, robbed and killed by anybody who felt like it, with total impunity. Nobody with the name MacGregor could be baptized, married or buried by the Church, nor could they hear Mass or receive Communion. All Macgregor charters (what few of them the MacGregors had troubled to obtain) were automatically voided. All debts due to MacGregors were cancelled." (Ibid., pp. 181-182).

From this time on the Government took perverse delight in persecuting the Clan MacGregor. Despite these persecutions, however, the clan somehow managed to retain its identity -- even though they were reduced to outlaws by an Act of Parliament.

When King Charles I ascended the throne, he renewed the Acts against them. In 1644-1645 the clan followed Montrose when he fought for the King against the Covenant, despite the King's animosity towards them. Since they could not have been inspired by love for the King, one would have to assume they took this stand to hit back at the Campbells. Of course, there was always the chance the King would relax the penalties against the clan if they helped win the King's cause.

All did not work out as the MacGregors thought. It was not until 1661 (after the restoration of Charles II) that the Acts were finally repealed, only to give them relief for thirty-two short years. In 1693 William III RENEWED the Acts with full vigor.

Considering this, it is not surprising the MacGregors supported the Stuart cause in 1715 and 1745. In 1775 the Acts against the clan were finally repealed for all time.

Probably one of the most famous members of the MacGregor clan is ROB ROY -- an outlaw whose prowess is the theme of one of Sir Walter Scott's novels. He received the name Roy from his red hair, and adopted Campbell as his surname because of the acts proscribing the name of his own clan. His father -- Donald MacGregor of Glengyle -- was a lieutenant-colonel in the service of James VII and II. His mother was a sister of Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon who commanded the Government troops in the massacre of the MacDonalds at Glencoe. The exploits of Rob Roy's full and swashbuckling life read like a Hollywood film script and would fill a book!

ROBERT, the chief of the clan, was imprisoned after the battle of Culloden and died in 1758. His brother EWEN, who succeeded him, served with distinction as an officer in the 41st Regiment in Germany. EWEN'S SON JOHN was a general in the service of the East India Company and was rewarded with a baronetcy in 1822. His only son was MAJOR-GENERAL SIR EVAN MACGREGOR, Governor of the Windward Isles, whose son in turn, SIR JOHN (the 3rd baronet), was Lieutenant-Governor of the Virgin Islands.

SIR WILLIAM MACGREGOR (1825-1919) was Governor of New Guinea, Lagos, Newfoundland and Queensland, Australia. SIR GREGOR MACGREGOR (d. 1845) was a General in the Venezuelan army under the famous Simon Bolivar.

Once the Acts against the clan were lifted, the MacGregors served their country well, underscoring the fact that brothers and sons of "wild primitive savages" outside the "laws of civilization" do not overnight make outstanding generals and administrators! The story of the MacGregors also underlines the WASTE of valuable manpower that the British Government either neglected or provoked over the centuries.

This proud clan of the Siol Alpin is descended from JUDAH through the Irish-Milesian kings, their family crest being the LION OF JUDAH with the ROYAL CROWN upon its head.

A member of the Siol Alpin, the Clan MacKinnon is considered to be one of Scotland's oldest clans.

Counting KING ALPIN as its founder, the clan slogan or war cry is "Cuimhnich bas Alpein," -- "Remember the death of Alpin," who was beheaded in 841. In memory of this event the MacKinnon chiefs have a second crest showing a severed head wearing an antique crown.

FINDANUS, the 4th MacKinnon chief and great-grandson of King Alpin, gave the clan chiefs their Gaelic patronymic of MacFhionghuin -- sons of Fingon of Findanus -- which is now the clan's surname. It was this Findanus who brought castle Dunakin into the clan's possessions around the year 900 by marrying a Norse princess nicknamed "Saucy Mary." The castle, also known as Dun Haakon, commanded the narrow sound between the island of Skye and the mainland, through which all shipping had to pass or else attempt the longer, stormy passage of the Minch. According to tradition Findanus and his bride ran a heavy chain across the sound and levied a toll on all shipping passing by!

Like all the Hebridean clans, the MacKinnons were vassals of the Lords of the Isles, and they were made hereditary custodians of the standards of weights and measures.

From the very beginning the clan had very strong links with the sacred island of IONA, where for centuries a branch of the chiefly family were hereditary abbots -- a position of great prestige in the Highlands. It is certain that the MacKinnons belonged to the kin of ST. COLUMBA, whom was himself of the royal line of Irish kings and had a legitimate right to the throne of Ireland. Iona is the burial ground of the MacKinnon chiefs as well of Scottish kings. There was an abbot of Iona in 966 known by the name of FINGON; and the last abbot of this holy island was JOHN MACKINNON who died in or around the year 1500.

During the time of the Lordship of the Isles, the MacKinnons were often feuding with the MacLeans; however, after the fall of the Lordship of the Isles, the MacKinnons and the MacLeans generally acted in concert and were frequently linked by marriage ties.

The MacKinnons were always a small clan but enjoyed a prestige far greater than one would expect, probably because of their Iona and Columban connection. Sir Iain Moncreiffe described them as a "sacred" clan.

They supported Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, when Edward II of England was decisively defeated and the tide turned in the favor of Scotland. The MacKinnons also supported Montrose in 1644-45 during the war between King Charles I and the Scottish Covenantors. With the help of this clan Montrose won decisive victories at Tippermuir, Inverlochy, Auldearn, Alford and Kilsyth, but was surprised and routed at Philiphaugh on September 12, 1645, while most of his army was dispersed.

A few years later, in 1650-51, the MacKinnons took part in the attempt to restore the STUART monarchy. Fighting at Inverkeithing and Worcester, they were defeated by Oliver Cromwell and Charles was forced into exile where he remained until 1660. At Worcester SIR LACHLAN MOR, the 28th chief of the MacKinnons, was created a knight banneret on the field of battle. This was in appreciation of service rendered to Charles II and was the last or second-last such investment ever made.

A famous chief of the Clan MacKinnon was IAIN DUBH MACKINNON of MacKinnon, who exemplified the indomitable Highland spirit. Born in 1682 on the same day that his father died, he succeeded his grandfather Sir Lachlan Mor as 29th chief of the clan when he turned 18. He married a daughter or granddaughter of Archbishop James Sharpe of St. Andrews and was involved in the Jacobite movement from a young age -- as his grandfather had been before him.

Derived from the name of James II, King of England, the term "Jacobite" was given to adherents of the House of Stuart after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when James was dethroned and exiled. After apparently accepting the change of dynasty, the Jacobites engaged for some years in minor, futile plots against the new order. Then, in 1715, a group of Jacobite nobles led an uprising (which included the MacKinnons) in Scotland and in the English Border country in favor of the son of the king's son, James Francis Edward Stuart, who was known as the Old Pretender.

At the Battle of Sheriffmuir the Earl of Mar and the Jacobites defeated the Marquis of Argyll and the Government troops near Dunblane in Stirlingshire. Unfortunately, the victory was short-lived because the Jacobites did not exploit it and the cause dissipated. As a result Iain Dubh's estates were put under an Act of Attainder, but the chief of the Clan Grant came to his rescue buying up the land and then selling it to Iain's heirs who were not included in the Act of Attainder! Therefore, despite the Government's action against him, Iain Dubh retained the entirety of his estates.

Following the death of his first wife, Iain married a daughter of MacLeod of Ramsay in 1743 at the age of sixty-one. When the second Jacobite uprising of 1745 broke out, he was well into his sixties and hemmed in on either side by the Skye MacLeods and MacDonalds -- powerful neighbors who refused to bring their men out in support of Bonny Prince Charles Stuart.

Iain was unable to join the clans present at Glenfinnan for the raising of the standard, but on October 13, 1745, he and about two hundred of his clan joined Prince Charles in Edinburgh. The stoic old man accompanied the Jacobite army all the way to Derby in England and back. With MacDonald of Glencoe he shares the surprising honor of being one of the only two clan chiefs whose clan strength increased on the march south into England. All the other clans suffered losses by desertion because no Highlander enjoyed being so far from home.

Iain himself witnessed the disaster at Culloden Moor when the forces of Prince Charles were finally routed on April 16, 1746, in the last pitched battle fought on British soil. On the following day Iain took part in the meeting of chiefs to decide what they could do to re-rally the clans behind the Stuart. Most of his clan, however, was off on an expedition with the Earl of Cromartie to recover some Jacobite gold.

For some time he continued to be active in various meetings to try and rally the clans again and, when it became obvious that nothing could be done, he returned home to the island of Skye.

In July 1746, after escaping capture at Culloden, Prince Charles finally reached MacKinnon country in Skye and was given shelter there. The haunting refrains of the Skye Boat Song tell of the storm-tossed crossing to the island. On the evening before Iain, and his nephew John, were to convey Charles to safety on the mainland, the Prince was entertained to a feast in a cave near Elgol.

For twelve days the MacKinnons accompanied the Prince, finally delivering him into the safekeeping of MacDonald of Morar. The following day Iain and John and their boatmen were taken prisoner and flogged when they refused to divulge the whereabouts of the Prince for the huge reward of 30,000 pounds. They were put aboard the notorious hell-ship Furnace and taken to Tilbury on the north shore of the River Thames near London. The old man somehow managed to survive the voyage and was imprisoned in the Tower of London for eighteen months.

At the end of 1747 he was put on trial for his life and was quite obviously guilty of aiding and abetting Bonny Prince Charlie's bid for the throne. However, in view of his advanced age and his "mistaken sense of chivalry," he was pardoned by the court. Before he left the court, the Attorney-General, Sir Dudley Ryder, asked him what he would do if Prince Charles were again in his power. The old man dryly replied that he would "do as you have done this day to me. I would send him back to his own country."

Iain immediately left London and returned to his home at Kilmorie in Skye. In 1753 his wife died, and he was childless because his son had also died. At the age of seventy-one he remarried and managed to father a son, Charles, who succeeded him as chief, and another boy and a girl.

He died in his seventy-fifth year, on May 6, 1756. At the time of his death a notice in the newspapers told how he used to love to go and sit in the cave where he and the Lady MacKinnon had entertained Prince Charles Stuart to a feast, and daydream about his exciting past.

Since the Stuarts were lineal descendants of Fergus Mor MacErc and of Kings Alpin and Kenneth MacAlpin, it seems more than probable that they (and all the other clans that took part in Jacobite uprisings) saw in the Stuarts their ONLY hope of this Highland "restoration." And in Prince Charles Stuart they undoubtedly saw the golden-haired youth of whom the bards had spoken for centuries. The importance of this Messianic tradition and its influence on the Highland clans cannot be overstated.

Despite the alleged Norman descent given in the book of The Chiefs of Grant, most authorities are of a different opinion. According to James Robertson: "The origin of this clan, whose territory has always chiefly been in Strathspey, is PURELY GAELIC. As to the chiefs being of French descent, it may be dismissed, as the clan themselves have always, from the most remote times, acknowledged they are of the same stock as the MacGregors."

The Grants are said to descend from GREGOR MOR MACGREGOR who lived in the twelfth century. Their clan lands were in Strathspey, and the name Grant may derive from a moor called Griantach, which would explain the early surname of de Grant which so many earlier historians tried to relate to the le Grands of Anglo-Norman England!

The first recorded Grant is GREGORY DE GRANT who was Sheriff of Inverness in the reign of Alexander II (1214-49).

Gregory's son, SIR LAWRENCE DE GRANT, obtained lands in Strathspey by marriage; and his son, SIR JOHN, supported both William Wallace and Robert the Bruce against the English.

This was a distinct honor and basically meant that the Grants now legally ruled over what was, in effect, their very own kingdom -- subordinate only to the Crown but in most day-to-day affairs entirely independent. This has been described as "Home Rule for the Grants," which in fact it really was, with the chief ruling through a council exactly as the king did. Not only did the chief have powers of punishment, but he was also allowed to regulate his own weights and measures. This "regality" of the Grants lasted until after the Battle of Culloden when the English Government abolished it.

The Grants supported Mary, Queen of Scots, and fought with Montrose as well as for James VII at Killiecrankie and Cromdale. During the Jacobite uprisings of 1715 and 1745, the Grants of Glenmoriston fought for the Stuart cause and provided a considerable clan army of about 800 men on both occasions.

As a result of their defeat at Culloden Moor in 1746, eighty-four of the Glenmoriston Grants, who laid down their arms the following month, were transported by the English to the Barbados Islands -- in violation of their terms of surrender -- and sold as slaves.

The Clan Grant is subdivided into a number of branches that often pursued quite separate and independent policies, when it suited them. The chiefly branch is Freuchie, but other important branches were Glenmoriston, Ballindalloch, Tullochgorum, Monymusk and Dalvey.

Many famous men in the history of the English speaking people have come from this clan. SIR PATRICK GRANT (1804-95), second son of MAJOR JOHN GRANT, entered the Bengal (India) native infantry in 1820 and became captain in 1832. He served in Oudh from 1834-38 and raised the Hariana Light Infantry. By the age of 42 he was adjutant-general and served under Sir Hugh Gough at the battles of Maharajpur, Moodkee (1845), Ferozshah (1846) and Sobraon (1846) in India. He was decorated for his service in India and became lieutenant-colonel, following which he was appointed aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria.

From 1856 to 1861 he was commander-in-chief of the Madras army, and in 1857 succeeded General Anson in command of the British army in India. He directed operations from Calcutta until the arrival of Sir Colin Campbell.

He left India in 1861 and was promoted lieutenant-general in 1862, whereupon he was appointed governor of the island of Malta -- a post he held from 1867-72. He was promoted general in 1870, field marshal in 1883, and colonel of the Royal Horse Guards and gold-stick-in-waiting to the Queen in 1885. From 1874 he was governor of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, where he died in 1895.

Another distinguished member of the Clan Grant was SIR JAMES HOPE GRANT (1808-75), British general and brother of the famous Scottish portrait painter SIR FRANCIS GRANT. Grant enlisted in the British army in 1826, advancing to the rank of captain in 1835. In 1842 he was brigade-major to Lord Saltoun in the Chinese War, and received the rank of major and the C.B. for his bravery at the capture of Chin-Kiang. He fought in the first Sikh War (India) of 1845-46 and in the Punjab campaign, winning further promotion. He took a leading role in the suppression of the Indian mutiny of 1857, and after the recapture of Lucknow was appointed to the command of the force employed for the final pacification of India.

Before this task was complete, Grant was created K.C.B. and placed in command of the British land forces in the French and British expedition against China. In 1859 he occupied Peking within three months of landing at Pei-tang -- brilliantly accomplishing the main objective of the campaign. For his conduct in leading this expedition (which has been called the "most successful and the best carried out of England's little wars"), he received the thanks of the British parliament and was gazetted G.C.B.

In 1861, as lieutenant-general, Grant was appointed commander-in-chief of the army of Madras, and on his return to England in 1865 was made quartermaster-general at headquarters, and in 1870 he was transferred to the command of the camp at Aldershot. He took a prominent part in the reform of education and training methods of the British military after the Franco-German war, and was largely responsible for the introduction of annual army maneuvers. In 1872 he was gazetted general and died in London in 1875.

Still another famous Grant was ROBERT -- British astronomer and author born at Grantown, Scotland in 1814. Becoming interested in astronomy at an early age, and after working in a counting house in London, he conceived the idea of writing a history of physical astronomy.

The History of Physical Astronomy from the Earliest Ages to the Middle of the Nineteenth Century was published as a whole in 1852. The book immediately became an authority in the field of astronomical literature. As a result of the fame this book produced for its author, Grant succeeded J.P. Nichol as professor of astronomy at the University of Glasgow in 1859. In his new post Grant's work consisted primarily of determining the positions of a large number of stars using the Ertel transit-circle of the university observatory. The results, extending over 21 years, are contained in the Glasgow Catalog of 6,415 Stars, published in 1883. This was followed in 1892 by the Second Glasgow Catalogue of 2,156 Stars, published only a few weeks after his death in October of the same year.

Probably the most famous Grant of all was ULYSSES SIMPSON -- American soldier and 18th president of the United States. He was born at Point Pleasant (Ohio) in 1822, a descendant of Matthew Grant of Scotland who settled in Dorchester (Mass.) in the year 1630. In 1839 Grant was appointed to the military academy at West Point where he became the best horseman of his class. He took a respectable place in mathematics, but at his graduation in 1843 ranked only 21st in a class of 39.

In September of 1845 he was sent with his regiment to join the forces of General Taylor in Mexico. There he took part in the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterey. After his transfer to General Scott's army (which he joined in March 1847), he served at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and at the storming of Chapultepec. He was breveted 1st lieutenant for gallantry at Molino del Rey and captain for gallantry at Chapultepec.

After the close of the war with Mexico, Grant resigned his commission and lived in St. Louis for a number of years. In 1860 he moved to Galena, Illinois, and he was living here when the Civil War broke out. Grant promptly answered the "call to arms" of 1861 and, after a struggle of four years with character and command, was able to bring the war to a successful conclusion and was universally regarded as the savior of the Union.

There were soldiers more accomplished, as was McClellan; more brilliant, as was Rosecrans; and more exact, as was Buell; but it would be difficult to prove that these generals -- or indeed any others in the service -- could have accomplished the task which Grant brought to complete success. And Grant learned much from his three years' campaigning in high command. There is less in common than is supposed between the buoyant energy that led to Shiloh and the grim, plodding determination that led him to Vicksburg and to Appomattox. But then, the Civil War had this effect on many men.

Shiloh revealed to Grant the intensity of the struggle and, after that battle, appreciating to the full the material and moral factors with which he had to grapple, he gradually trained his military character on those lines which alone could produce ultimate success. Singleness of purpose, and relentless, driving vigor in the execution of that purpose, were the qualities necessary to the conduct of the vast enterprise of subduing the Confederacy. Grant possessed or acquired both to such a high degree that he proved fully equal to the emergency. If in technical finesse he was surpassed by many of his predecessors and his subordinates, he had the most important qualities of a great leader -- courage that rose higher with each obstacle, and the clear judgment to distinguish the essential from the minor issues of the war.

After the assassination of President Lincoln a disposition was shown by his successor, Andrew Johnson, to deal severely with the Confederate leaders, and it was understood that indictments for treason were to be brought against General Lee and others. Grant, however, insisted that the U.S. Government was bound by the terms accorded to Lee and his army at Appomattox. He went so far as to threaten to resign his commission if the President disregarded his protest. This energetic action on Grant's part saved the United States from a dirty stain upon its credibility and showed this Civil War hero to be a man of honesty and compassion.

In July of 1866 the grade of general was created for the first time since the organization of the government, and Grant was promoted to that position. In the following year he became entangled in the deadly quarrel between President Johnson and Congress. As a result of ensuing events leading Democrats, in the beginning of 1868, hoped to make Grant their candidate in the election of that year; but the effect of the controversy with President Johnson was to bring Grant forward as the candidate of the Republican Party. At the convention in Chicago on May 20, 1868, he was unanimously nominated on the first ballot; and in the election of that year received 214 electoral votes out of 294.

After serving two terms as President, Grant went on a world tour in 1877. He was received with honor in England and the Continent, India, China and Japan. Returning to the U.S. in September 1880, he went back to his old home in Galena.

Some members of the Republican Party attempted to secure his nomination for a third term as president, and in the convention at Chicago (in June 1880) he received a vote exceeding 300 during 36 consecutive ballots. His opponents, however, made such effective use of the popular prejudice against third terms that the scheme was defeated and Garfield was named in his stead.

In August 1881, Grant bought a house in the city of New York. Since his income was insufficient to support his family, he became a partner in a banking house in which one of his sons had an interest. The ex-president invested all of his available property in the venture but, unfortunately, paid no attention to the management of the business. His proclivity of giving confidence to unworthy people was now to inflict him with disaster: In 1884 the firm became bankrupt and it was discovered that two of the partners had been involved in systematic and gigantic fraud. This blow left Grant penniless, just at the time when he was beginning to suffer acutely from the disease that finally caused his death.

Up to this time the ex-president had never shown any literary talent but, on being approached by the Century Magazine with a request for some articles, he undertook the work to feed his family. Grant evidently had a hidden talent, and this task led to the writing of his Personal Memoirs -- a book that was received favorably by the literary critics of the time. This work ranks among the best military biographies of all time, and earned for the general and his family something in the order of half a million dollars -- a princely sum in those days.

The circumstances in which this book was written made it an act of heroism comparable with any that Grant ever displayed as a soldier. During most of the time he was racked with pain from cancer of the throat, and it was only four days before his death that he finished the manuscript. In the spring of 1885 Congress passed a bill creating him a general on the retired list; and in the summer he was moved to a cottage at MT. M'GREGOR, near Saratoga. Here he passed the last five weeks of his life, dying on July 23, 1885. His body was placed in a tomb monument on Riverside Drive, New York City -- overlooking the Hudson River.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "Grant showed many admirable and lovable traits. There was a charming side to his trustful simplicity. He abounded in kindliness and generosity, and if there was anything especially difficult for him to endure, it was the sight of human suffering, as was shown on the night at Shiloh, where he lay out of doors in the icy rain rather than stay in a comfortable room where the surgeons were at work. His good sense was strong, as well as his sense of justice, and these qualities stood him in good service as president, especially in his triumphant fight against the debasing of the U.S. dollar. Altogether, in spite of some shortcomings, Grant was a MASSIVE, NOBLE AND LOVABLE PERSONALITY, WELL FIT TO BE REMEMBERED AS ONE OF THE HEROES OF A GREAT NATION." (1943 edition, vol.10, p.641).

Ulysses S. Grant exemplified all the noble qualities of the Clan Grant, and was the epitome of the Highland spirit that stirred the Scots down through the centuries as they fulfilled their part in God's plan for his people Israel. Grant was indeed worthy of the royal blood of Judah that flowed in his veins, and there is little doubt that God used this man of indomitable spirit -- along with Abraham Lincoln -- to preserve and protect the United States during its darkest hour.

The name of this clan is correctly spelled with a small n as it is not MacNab ("son of Nab") but Mac-'n-Abba ("son of the abbot").

The Clann an Aba, "children of the abbot," are, according to the traditional Alpinian descent, the senior of the four stem clans in the Siol Alpin family of seven. Like the MacKinnons, they were one of the ancient "sacred" clans and were hereditary Abbots of Glendochart and the heirs of St. Fillan, who was one of the DALRIADIC PRINCES, as indeed were several of the early hereditary abbots. Like the other clans which were founded by the close descendants of King Alpin, they were equally descended from all Alpin's Scottish ancestors back to the first Dalriadic king and beyond. The Dalriadic kings, of course, traced their line back through the Irish kings to Gathelus, who was none other than the son of Calcol who was the son of Zarah (see I Chronicles 2:6).

The clan's possessions from an early time were on the shores of Loch Tay, and the Macnabs were friendly with their neighbors the MacDougal lords of Lorn and supported them (and the Comyns) against Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn. As a result, much of their land became forfeit to Bruce after having been ravaged and burned.

The clan survived Bruce's revenge, however, and GILBERT MACNAB of Bowain managed to obtain a charter for his barony of Bowain lands from Bruce's son, King David II, in 1336.

Gilbert's son FINLAY, who died in the reign of James I (1406-37) was a well-known bard who is said to have composed some of the Gaelic poems later attributed to Ossian (and which, strangely enough, were constantly read by Napoleon Bonapart!).

Finlay -- the bard's grandson -- (FINLAY THE 4TH) was able to expand the clan's possessions and obtained charters from James III and James IV.

FINLAY MACNAB THE 5TH witnessed a charter in 1511, and FINLAY THE 6TH unwisely mortgaged some of his lands to an ancestor of the Campbell Earls of Breadalbane in 1552. This move led to trouble with the Campbells, who tried to use the mortgage to turn the Macnabs into a Campbell sept.

FINLAY THE 7TH was the Macnab who signed a bond of manrent with Lachlan MacKinnon of Strathardale in 1606, setting out their COMMON ANCESTRY among other things. He is also the subject of a grim clan story:

What happened next is found in the Antiquities of Stratearn:

This Iain Mion or SMOOTH JOHN became chief and supported Charles I and Montrose, and fought for Charles II at Worcester in 1651. He was killed in 1653 attacking Cromwell's troops in Breadalbane. Earlier, he had a lucky escape from execution following the Battle of Kilsyth in 1645.

Author Menteith, in his History of the Troubles, notes that when Montrose was under arms for the King in 1645 "the clans of Mackgregor and Macknab, with a good number of the Farquharsons of the shire of Mar" joined him at Fordoun in 1645. In the following year JOHN MACNAB, with his clan and with Lord Napier and Drummond of Balloch, garrisoned Montrose's patrimonial Castle of Kincardine for the King. Hearing of this, Major-General Sir John Middleton surrounded the castle with a body of infantry and cavalry as well as a battering train from Sterling, and trained the guns on the castle from the opposite side of the glen. For 14 days the Macnabs held out and defended the castle, until the concussion of their firearms caused the water in the castle's well to subside. On the night of March 14, cutting their way through Middleton's guards, they escaped from the castle to join Montrose. John Macnab was captured by Middleton's soldiers and sent to Edinburgh where he escaped to die on the field of Worcester.

During Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth the Campbells finally managed to gain possession of the Macnab estates. Some of the lands were recovered in 1661 after the restoration of Charles II, and ROBERT MACNAB of Macnab poured oil on troubled waters by marrying Anne Campbell, thus intelligently playing the Campbells at their own game.

The eldest son of Robert was an officer in the Black Watch (a famous Scottish infantry regiment raised by the British army in 1725 to control lawlessness in the Highlands). This put him on the Hanoverian side during the Jacobite uprisings, and he was taken prisoner by the Jacobites at the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745. The clan, However, did not share his politics and fought for the Stuarts under Macnab of Inshewan.

Probably one of the most spectacular of the Macnab chiefs was certainly FRANCIS, who died on May 15, 1816. He was the complete Highland chief of fiction -- tall and immensely strong. He was full of self-esteem and vinegar, as befitted the descendant of ancient kings, a man born out of his time! He is said to have wooed one lady with the boast that he had the most beautiful burial ground in the world -- the island of Innis Bruie in the River Dochart -- which was the burial place of Macnab chiefs.

Charles MacKinnon mentions two stories that illustrate the character of this man:

Francis, typical of his style, let others pay for his fun. At his death he left numerous illegitimate children and debts amounting to 35,000 pounds.

A prominent Macnab (of infinitely better character!) -- SIR ALLAN -- became Prime Minister of Canada in the 19th century. ARCHIBALD MACNAB of Macnab (born in 1881) became a distinguished ambassador and Governor in India. The last descendants of the ancient chiefs are now settled in Canada.

The old burial place of this clan on the island in the River Dorchart, picturesque with its shady pine trees and grassy spaces, contains the remains of an ancient chapel. But, save one, no stone or memorial can be found there. It is a little marble slab built into the wall, to the memory of a son of Macnab -- FRANCIS MAXIMUS MACNAB -- Lieutenant of the Gordon Highlanders, killed at Almeida in Portugal during the Peninsular War.

The MacQuarries are one of the four stem clans of the Siol Alpin family of seven. The name, "son of Guaire," means "son of the proud one," and refers to their progenitor who was the brother of Findanus or Fingon who gave the Clan MacKinnon its name. Like their kinsmen the MacKinnons, the MacQuarries are said to have been KINDRED OF ST. COLUMBA. Like all the Siol Alpin clans, they are descended through the line of Dalriadic kings from Niall of the Nine Hostages, who reigned at TARA in 400 A.D. while the Romans were still in Britain.

The early MacQuarrie lands were on Ulva -- an island near Iona -- and in Mull, which they shared with the MacKinnons in early times. The two clans are closely linked from the earliest times by place of residence as well as of descent.

In 1249 CORMAC MOR, the chief of Ulva (ancestor of the "Lord of Ulva's Isle" made famous by novelist Sir Walter Scott), supported King Alexander II against the Norse invaders and was killed by Haco of Norway.

HECTOR MACQUARRIE of Ulva supported Robert the Bruce and fought at Bannockburn with his clan. JOHN MACQUARRIE of Ulva, who died in 1473, was a follower of the MacDonald Lords of the Isles and was a member of the Council of the Isles, and his name appears on a MacDonald charter of 1463. Under his son DUNSLAFF, the clan became independent following the forfeiture of the Lordship. Thereafter, the clan supported the MacLeans (as did also the MacKinnons -- which again points out the very close relationship between the chiefs of these two clans).

In 1504 the chief of the MacQuarrie clan was accused of treason by the Scottish Parliament and was summoned repeatedly to appear before the Privy Council, but as was the habit with many of the island chiefs, he contemptuously ignored the summons. Eventually, in 1517, he and Lachlan MacLean of Duart were pardoned for their offenses.

When, in the end of July 1609, the Bishop of the Isles, Andrew Knox (first Protestant Bishop of this see), went to Iona as Commissioner for King James VI, among the chief men of the Isles who submitted themselves to him as the Royal representative were MacQuarrie of Ulva, MacKinnon of that Ilk, MacFie of Colonsay and nine others.

ALLAN MACQUARRIE (the 13th lord of Ulva) was killed at Inverkeithing on July 20, 1651 -- fighting alongside the MacLeans for Charles II against the army of Cromwell and the English. The clan was no badly mauled at this battle that it was in no state to support the Jacobite cause actively in the following century. As a result the MacQuarries did not take part, as a clan, in the uprisings of 1715 and 1745.

LACHLAN MACQUARRIE of Ulva entertained the famous British writers Johnson and Boswell during their much heralded tour of the Hebrides in 1773. Five years later, because of debt, he was forced to sell Ulva. Then, at the advanced age of sixty-three, he joined the Argyll Highlanders (74th Regiment) which was raised by Colonel Campbell of Barbreck in 1777. Lachlan obtained a commission in this regiment and served in the American War. He lived for 103 years, finally passing away at Glenforsa, Mull in 1817. He was the last of a proud line of Lords of the Island of Ulva, and was a descendant of Judah through the Irish and Scottish royal line.

A kinsman of his -- GENERAL LACHLAN MACQUARRIE -- succeeded Captain Bligh of the Bounty as Governor of New South Wales, Australia, and became known as the "FATHER OF AUSTRALIA." For twelve years General MacQuarrie's wise leadership of the colony produced a spurt of growth in the new nation as he built roads and bridges and opened up a route into the interior of Australia, beyond the Blue Mountains. In honor of this farsighted governor MacQuarrie River, Port MacQuarrie, MacQuarrie Island and MacQuarrie County are all named. He was highly respected and loved by all in the colony. He died in 1824 and was buried on the island of Mull in his beloved Scotland. Again, a descendant of Judah was instrumental in establishing a part of Israel in their new heritage across the seas.

The MacAulays are a part of the Siol Alpin "family" of seven clans, being an offshoot of the Clan MacGregor -- as the MacAulay bonds of manrent of 1591 and 1694 plainly state.

The clan's seat from early times was Ardincaple in Dumbartonshire, and many of the early clan histories had difficulty in reconciling the clan's claims to MacGregor (and therefore Alpinian) descent with its links to the Earls of Lennox. However, the two things are not irreconcilable, for the MacAulay clan was always subordinate to the Earls of Lennox and were evidently related to them by marriage. Others of the Alpinian clans were vassals of the Lords of the Isles.

The son of AULAY DE ARDINCAPLE, who lived during the reign of James V (1513-42), was ALEXANDER DE ARDINCAPLE. This son seems to have been the first of the clan to start using the surname "Mac Aulay," which subsequent chiefs used instead of "de Ardincaple."

SIR AULAY MACAULAY, who died in 1617, started the gradual decline of the clan. Unfortunately he and his successors lived in great extravagance and piece by piece they had to sell or auction off their possessions to keep up their lifestyle.

The MacAulays did not seem to have any enthusiasm for the Jacobite cause and instead raised a fencible regiment in 1689 to support William and Mary. The 12th chief of the clan -- AULAY MACAULAY -- sold the last of the clan lands and died in 1767 "having seen the patrimony of his house sold, and his castle roofless." Ardincaple had been sold to the 4th Duke of Argyll.

This clan, too, produced men of great statue and ability during the rise of the British Empire. ZACHARY MACAULAY (1768-1838) was governor of Sierra Leone (a nation in West Africa), and in 1800 became secretary to the chartered company which had founded that colony. He was an ardent philanthropist and one of the group who worked for the abolition of the slave trade in Africa. For many years Zachary edited the group's newspaper -- the Christian Observer.

His son, THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY (1800-59), was a noted British statesman, historian and essayist. Born in Leicestershire he was a precocious child and a literary prodigy. He began to write poetry and a history of the world before the age of ten. At the University of Cambridge he became known as an able debater, a conversationalist and a classical scholar. His essay on the English poet John Milton was published in 1825 in the Edinburgh Review -- one of the most notable literary magazines of the period. MacAulay was thereafter one of the best known and most popular contributors to that publication. In 1826 he was called to the bar but practiced little -- preparing instead to follow literary pursuits and politics.

In 1830 MacAulay entered the British House of Commons where he quickly became a celebrity in the Whig Party, showing great skill an as orator in the House. Following the passage of the Reform Bill of 1832, he was appointed a commissioner of the Board of Control of Indian Affairs. Two years later, he became a member of the Supreme Council of India, created by the India Act of 1834. He spent four years in India, devoting most of his time to reforming the criminal code of the British colony and instituting an educational system based on that of Great Britain.. Upon his return to England in 1839, MacAulay resumed his political career and was again elected to Parliament. He also served as secretary of war from 1839-1841.

During his period of political service MacAulay wrote continuously and in 1842 completed Lays of Ancient Rome, a collection of poems in ballad form retelling the legends of the origins of the Roman republic. The most famous of these poems is the ballad entitled "Horatius at the Bridge" -- an account of a Roman defense against an attack by the Etruscan king Lars Porsena. MacAulay subsequently published his Essays (1843) in three volumes, reprinted from the Edinburgh Review and other periodicals. They included his review on the Life of Johnson (1831) by the Scottish author James Boswell, and one (1840) on the British general and statesman Robert Clive. During the succeeding years he worked on a comprehensive history of England from the accession of James II, King of England. He devoted much of his time, as a member of Parliament, to aiding the Liberal Party that was then in the minority.

When the Liberals returned to power in 1846, MacAulay was appointed paymaster general for the armed forces. A year later, however, he lost his seat in Parliament and thereafter concentrated on writing. The first two volumes of the History of England from the Accession of James the Second were finished in 1848 and at once achieved a huge success. In 1852 MacAulay was again voted into Parliament but, because of heart problems, he took little part in the day-to-day political activities of government. Instead he continued to spend most of his time writing. The third and fourth volumes of his history were published in 1855 -- bringing him even greater success than the first two. He was created Baron MacAulay of Rothley by Queen Victoria in 1857, and two years later died of his heart condition. He was buried in Westminster Abbey alongside all the notable men and women who contributed much to the cause of Britain and her empire down through the ages. The last completed volume of his history, relating events until 1702, was published posthumously in 1861.

MacAulay was not widely read as a poet, but was a brilliant essayist and is best remembered for his History of England. "Because of his coverage of a vast wealth of material, his use of vivid details, and his brilliant, rhetorical, narrative style of writing, the history is still considered one of the GREATEST LITERARY WORKS OF THE 19TH CENTURY." (Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, Vol.15, p. 356).

It should be noted that there was an entirely separate clan by the same name of MacAulay in Lewis -- descended from Olav the Black, the brother of Magnus, last king of Man and the Isles. This Hebridean clan apparently has NO CONNECTION AT ALL with any of the Siol Alpin clans, and certainly NONE with the MacGregors from whom the Ardincaple MacAulays were descended. They were settled at Uig in Lewis and generally followed the Lewis MacLeods, frequently feuding with the Morrisons. A branch of this clan lived on the mainland and followed the MacKenzie Earls of Seaforth.

With this clan the story of the Siol Alpin closes with a sad note. The clan lands of the MacFies consisted of the island of Colonsay, and they were hereditary Keepers of the Records to the Lords of the Isles. Like most of the Hebridean clans, the MacFies followed the Lords of the Isles.

The chiefs, following a normal Highland custom, styled themselves Captain of MacFie, as well as MacFie of Colonsay.

They are believed to descend from the MacKinnons, and one of their clan was Lector of Iona in 1164, during the time of the hereditary abbacy of the "sacred" clan MacKinnon. This strongly suggests that there was a family relationship since the MacKinnon abbots were not likely to bestow such offices outside their own number.

Following the fall of the Lords of the Isles, the MacFies of Colonsay continued to follow the MacDonalds of Islay. In the year 1463 DONALD MACDUFFIE (another name for the same clan) witnessed a charter at Dingwall, and in 1531 MURDOCH MACFIE of Colonsay was accused of treason because of his continued support of the MacDonald pretender to the forfeited Lordship.

The clan's continued alliance with the MacDonalds eventually caused their downfall. They supported Sir James MacDonald of Islay after his escape from Edinburgh Castle in 1615, and the Campbells had been promised the island of Islay as a reward for getting rid of Sir James and his troublesome followers. Somehow the Campbells forced Coll Mac Gillespick MacDonald, who later won fame with Montrose under his nickname "Colkitto," to take their side, and it was this Colkitto, a MacDonald chief, who captured Malcolm MacFie of Colonsay and his followers and handed them over to the Campbells. In 1623 Colkitto finally slew the MacFie chief and annexed Colonsay for himself!

The clan MacFie became a broken clan (a clan without land and therefore without shelter) and without a chief. The clansmen dispersed and the name is now to be found all over the Highlands.

Again, a clan of the Siol Alpin produced a man instrumental in the growth of modern-day Israel! GEORGE MCDUFFIE, an American statesman of South Carolina, was born in 1788, the son of John and Jane McDuffie -- unspoiled Scots of great energy and intelligence who had migrated to Georgia after the Revolution.

In 1804 he was employed as a clerk by Calhoun and Wilson of Augusta; and in 1810 William Calhoun, brother of James and John C. Calhoun, took him under his wing and sent him to Willington academy. George McDuffie more than fulfilled the expectations of his patron, graduating from South Carolina college in 1813. He was called to the bar in 1814, and in 1818 secured election to the State Legislature, and to Congress in 1821.

McDuffie won distinction in the national House of Representatives, serving continuously on important committees until 1834. While he was strongly influenced by the Calhouns, McDuffie forged a vigorous, intellectual independence that made him stand out in the political sphere.

In 1834 he denounced the Jackson administration, retired from Congress, and served as governor of South Carolina from 1834 to 1836. He was a highly effective governor, giving particular attention to the compilation of the statue laws of the State and to the reorganization of South Carolina college.

George McDuffie was elected to the U.S. Senate in December 1842, where he helped to bring about the ANNEXATION OF TEXAS, the "AMICABLE ADJUSTMENT" OF THE OREGON QUESTION WITH GREAT BRITAIN and the passage of the low Walker tariff of 1846 -- displacing the high Whig tariff of 1842 almost in conjunction with the repeal of the British corn laws. During this period of intimate relations between the free traders of the U.S. and Great Britain, McDuffie's bust, along with that of Calhoun's, was sent to the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England.

McDuffie's public life ended with this note because of an old spine wound he received during a duel in 1822. He was compelled to resign his seat in the Senate on August 17, 1846 and died five years later at Cherry Hill, South Carolina.

The last official outlaw in Scotland is said to have been a MacFie -- a sad ending for an ancient clan belonging to the family of the first kings of Scotland, and descended from the early kings of Dalriada and their ancestors the Milesian Scots of Ireland.

Researching and writing this article turned out to be, for me, a tremendous lesson in faith. To see the hand of YEHOVAH God in the affairs of His people Israel down through the ages -- fulfilling prophecies written down in the Bible centuries before this Common Era -- is so inspiring and breathtaking that it can't help but strengthen my faith in the promises of the Eternal.

In Genesis 49:10 we read: "The SCEPTER shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet"; and YEHOVAH God has not been slack in this promise. All through the growth of Britain and her empire, and the young republic which became known as the United States of America, men of the royal line of Judah answered the call of their God and country and served with brilliance and determination to make the descendants of Jacob the most powerful nation and company of nations that this world has ever seen!

I hope that you, the reader, will also be moved by the hand of YEHOVAH God to fully appreciate the marvels He has wrought for His people Israel as they migrated from the Middle East to their preordained home in the British Isles and in colonies across the seas.

The seven clans of the Siol Alpin produced outstanding men precisely when needed -- men who won wars and ruled with wisdom at critical times, thus ensuring the preservation and growth of modern Israel. These seven clans, however, are not the only Highlanders that have served when needed. The great Clan Chattan confederation, consisting of the MacIntoshes, MacPhersons, Davidsons, Shaws, Farquharsons, MacGillivrays, MacBeans, MacQueens, MacPhails and others trace their history back to Dalriada and thus to the royal Irish line.

Other clans such as the MacNeils, Robertsons, MacLarens, MacArthurs, MacInnes and MacDonalds also derive their origins from the royal stock that founded the Scottish colony in North Britain, and are therefore also DESCENDED FROM JUDAH through the Milesian royal house of Ireland.

The Scots of the Highlands are indeed the "ROYAL RACE" -- the "SCOTTUS NOBILIS" -- the ROYAL TRIBE OF JUDAH!