![]() On one occasion King James 1st had Alasdair MacDonald kidnapped and imprisoned in a dungeon in Tantallon Castle on steep cliffs overlooking the Firth of Forth, east of North Berwick, about as far away from the chieftain’s followers that it was possible to get while still staying in Scotland.īut Alasdair’s men continued their fight against the King’s men and a cousin of his led a successful attack against a Royalist regiment garrisoned at Inverlochy Castle. The MacDonalds were also involved in constant running battles and ambushes with Royalist forces keen to impose the shackles of centralised government on them. In the 1300s Robert the Bruce had granted lands of Lochaber to Angus Og of the Isles in recognition of the part played by the MacDonalds at the battle of Bannockburn but later their claim to these lands were disputed by rival clans and they had to fight tooth and nail to hold onto them.īut the MacDonalds also had territorial ambitions of their own and on one memorable occasion sailed galleys up Loch Ness to storm Urquhart Castle. After such a bloodletting and the result inconclusive with both sides having fought themselves to a standstill it merely led to further raids and vendettas in the years ahead until the MacDonalds by sheer numbers got the upper hand. Lady Mackenzie arranged a funeral appropriate for such an honoured foe. Angus was among the casualties and did not recover. The battle early in the following year was fought bitterly for days and even at times in the moonlight. ![]() Lady Mackenzie gave her followers two brass cannon, lead and gunpowder. Mackenzie also prepared for battle and from his headquarters at Eilean Donan Castle sent out a call to other friendly clans for support. The Mackenzie boat was sent in pursuit while fighting men sped overland, catching the MacDonald galley by surprise and in the ensuing fight killing their enemy’s leader.Īngus, the leader of the MacDonalds, vowed revenge and planned a naval engagement for the coming Spring. In the late 16th century rhythmic oars under a square sail were still roving the Hebridean seas as they had done since the days of the Vikings and many were the stories told of the rovers’ prowess.įor instance, the Mackenzies received reports of a MacDonald fleet of over 30 galleys having set out to harry the coast of their lands and a woman gathering shellfish near Applecross told of a “great galley” which had recently disappeared round an arm of the land nearby. Visitors to Scotland incline to picture the Highlander of old as a man solely of the heather-clad mountains but the MacDonalds, as with other clans based to the west, were also seamen. ![]() One of his grandsons, Donald, gave his name to the whole clan (“Mac” meaning in Scots ‘the son of’) and their loyalties were divided during the Wars of Independence with most of them supporting Robert the Bruce and prospering accordingly. One of their heroes was the mighty and ferocious warrior, Somerled, who fought the Norsemen (carrying off and marrying Eric the Red’s daughter) before being slain by the Scottish king Malcolm IV in 1164. They also became earls of Ross and were the great rivals of the Campbells of Argyll. They held the Western Isles in an iron grip and their territories extended as far south as the Isle of Man. The MacDonalds have their ancestors in the renowned Lords of the Isles who viewed themselves as laws unto themselves outwith the rule of the sovereign on the mainland.
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