Bidh 'n uiseag's an smeorach, Feadh lointean nan driuchd, 'Toirt failte le'n orain Do'n og mhadainn chiuin; Ach tha'n uiseay neo-sheolta, 'S an smeorach gun sunnt, 'Nuair 'thoisicheas m' eudail Air gleusadh a ciuil. Nuair thig samhradh nan neoincan 'S gach eoinean 's a chrochd-choill' Bi' dh mise gu h-eibhinn, A leumnaich's a ruaig, Fo dhluth-mheuraibh sgaileach, The mavis and lark, When they welcome the dawn, To resound through the lawn; When summer bespangles The landscape with flow'rs, Sing soft from the bow'rs, And feast unrestrained NOTE.-Relative to the above song and translation, John Mackenzie, in the "Beauties of Gaelic Poetry," has the following foot-note :-"The chorus and first stanza of this song are not Maclachlan's. They were composed by Mrs Mackenzie of Balone, at a time when, by infirmity, she was unable to attend the administration of the Lord's Supper in Strathmore of Lochbroom, and ran word for word the same, except the last two lines of the verse, which are slightly altered. Our talented author got them and the air from some of the north country students in Aberdeen. All the other stanzas, however, are original, and worthy of the poetic mind of Maclachlan. The following translation of it, by the celebrated author, we subjoin for the benefit of the English reader." The air is one of the sweetest and most popular of our Highland melodies.-W. M'K PROFESSOR BLACKIE ON THE CELTIC CHAIR.-The following appeal has appeared in the Scotsman:-"To Highlanders and Friends of the Highlanders at Home and Abroad.- Fellow-Scots,—It is now three years since I addressed a letter to you in the columns of this paper, requesting you to gird up your loins to have some suitable representation of the language and records of the Celtic races of the British Islands, in the metropolitan University of your native country. With characteristic promptitude you responded to the call; and I write this short note that you may perceive more distinctly how the matter now stands. The sum already paid up, and bearing interest from landed security of from 4 to 4 per cent., along with other sums which are coming in, will by the term of Martinmas next year certainly amount to £11,000. There are, therefore, only £1000 wanted in order to endow the Chair in a gentlemanly way with a salary of £500 a year. If you choose to let the matter sleep for three years, the capital of £12,000 will be achieved by the natural increase of the invested money; but if you do your duty, as I have no doubt you will, and collect the remaining £1000 with the same zeal that has animated your exertions up to this point, you will have the Chair formally instituted next year. This is all I have to say. You see where the blow is to be delivered; and, when that is clear, the swing of the Highland broadsword is not slow to follow.-I am, yours, with faithful service, JOHN STUART BLACKIE." University, Edinburgh, November 9, 1877. THE CELTIC MAGAZINE. No. XXVII. JANUARY 1878. VOL. III. HISTORY OF THE CLAN MACKENZIE, WITH GENEALOGIES OF THE PRINCIPAL FAMILIES. [CONTINUED.] IN the preceding pages, which are merely introductory to the general history, it has been shown from authentic records that Kintail was in possession of the Earls of Ross in and before 1296; that King Robert Bruce confirmed him in these lands in 1306-29; that in 1342 Earl William granted the ten pennylands or davachs of Kintail to anotherReginald of the Isles; that this grant was confirmed by the King; and that in 1362-72 Kintail was, "with the Castle of Eileandonan," exchanged by the Earl with his brother Hugh for lands in Buchan. How could these lands be possessed by the Mackenzies and the Earls of Ross at one and the same time is a question which the upholders of the Irish origin are bound to answer. The Mackenzies could not have possessed a single acre of it, for there are only ten davachs or pennylands in Kintail altogether. It cannot be assumed that the Earl of Ross had taken illegal possession, for in the Acts of Parliament in 1296 Kintail is mentioned as "the lands of the Earl of Ros," and these possessions are later on confirmed to him by the King. These facts, which are founded on authentic records (see page 46), must be disposed of before we can accept the reputed charter to Colin Fitzgerald, even were it possible any longer to attach any importance to it, after it has been shown that it must have been written at least thirty-three years before the Battle of Largs was fought, and thirtysix before the date of the charter itself. Mr William Fraser, in his "Earls of Cromartie," published last year, admits that the charter is not of Alexander the Third, and says "In the middle of the seventeenth century, when Lord Cromartie wrote his history, the means of ascertaining, by the names of witnesses and otherways, the true granter of a charter and the date were not so accessible as at present. The mistake of attributing the Kintail charter to King Alexander the Third, instead of King Alexander the Second, cannot be regarded as a very serious error in the circumstances." When the upholders of the Fitzgerald origin are compelled to make such admissions and apologies as these, their case G must be considered as practically given up; for, once admit, as is here done, that the charter is of Alexander the Second (1230), even if genuine, it cannot possibly have any reference to Colin Fitzgerald, who, according to his supporters, only came over from Ireland about 1261 ; and it is simply absurd to maintain that a charter granted in 1230 can be a reward for valour displayed at a battle fought in 1263; and Mr Fraser, having given up that point, was in consistency bound to give up Colin Fitzgerald. Mr Fraser further informs us that the charters of 1360 and 1380 are not now known to exist. "But the terms of them as quoted in the early histories of the family are consistent with either theory of the origin of the Mackenzies, whether descended from Colin Fitzgerald or Colin of the Aird." Another very significant fact to which no attention has been hitherto directed by any writer is that from 1263 down to 1568-a period of three centuries-not a trace of the name Colin is to be found in any of the family genealogies. Cailean Cam, who became chief in the latter year, is the first of the name. He was, on the mother's side, descended from the houses of Athole and Argyll; and being a second son, he was, no doubt, according to the almost universal custom, named after some of her numerous relatives of that name. Is it at all probable, if Colin Fitzgerald had really been the progenitor of the family, that his name would have been totally ignored for 300 years in the face of the invariable practice among the other Highland families to honour the names of their ancestors by continuing them in the family names? Keeping all this in view, we have no hesitation in commencing the general History of the Clan Mackenzie with the first of the name, I. COINNEACH, or KENNETH, according to our view and the MS. of 1450, was the eldest son of Angus, a scion, and near relative of the O'Beolans, the ancient Earls of Ross, who before and during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were the superior lords of Kintail. Kenneth was in all probability a nephew of Earl William. From all accounts it appears that Kenneth, whose followers were already powerful, succeeded his father in the government of Eileandonnan Castle, garrisoned by his own immediate relatives, the Macraes and the Maclennans. The Earl of Ross of the day (William, the third Earl) found his subaltern and relative getting too powerful and influential for his own comfort and satisfaction as supreme lord of the district. About this time he laid claim to the superiority of the Western Isles, which he and his father Fearchair had recently been chiefly instrumental in wresting from the Norwegians; and he naturally considered it safer to have the stronghold of Eileandonnan in his own possession than in that of a dependant who was rapidly rising in influence among the surrounding tribes; who had given unmistakable indications already of a disposition not to be treated contemptuously even by such a powerful superior; and who might, backed up by a powerful and loyal garrison, at any moment assert his rights as hereditary governor of the Castle, and from self-interest and other considerations act contrary to those of his superior. He might even go the length of supporting the other side, on condition that the prospects of his own house and those of his more immediate kindred would be advanced. The Earl, in these circum stances, demanded possession of the young governor of the fortress,* which demand was peremptorily refused; and, finding that Kenneth was determined to hold the stronghold at all hazards, the Earl sent a strong detachment to take the castle by storm, and, if possible, to carry away the governor. Kenneth was, however, so very popular, among the surrounding tribes that he was promptly reinforced by the Macivers and brave Macaulays of Lochbroom, and by their aid he was able, in spite of a desperate and gallant onset by the followers of the Earl, to maintain his position, and drive back the enemy with great slaughter. The hitherto generally successful Earl felt so exasperated by this defeat that he at once decided upon returning to the attack with a largely increased force, threatening the young governor with vengeance and extirpation. Before he was in a position, however, to carry out his threatened retaliation, he found himself in the clutches of another-a more powerful— enemy. The king of terrors had now taken him in hand to settle his final account, and having been conquered, he succumbed and died about 1291-2. His son Hugh, the fourth Earl, was diverted from carrying out the intentions of his father against the gallant defender of Eileandonnan, in consequence of the distracted state of the nation, brought about by the recent death of Alexander III., which took place in 1286. This state of affairs proved advantageous to Kenneth, for in the general chaos which followed he was able to strengthen his position among the local tribes, and, through a combination of native prudence, popularity, and power, heightened by the eclat of his having defeated the powerful Earl of Ross, was able to keep order in the district, while his influence was felt over most of the adjoining isles. He was married to Morba, daughter of Macdougall of Lorn; died about 1304, and was succeeded by his son, II. IAIN,+ or EOIN MACCHOINNICH-John, son of Kenneth, regarding whom we find little in history; it has, however, been pretty well established that he, almost alone among the Western Chiefs, befriended Robert Bruce while wandering in the Western Isles, after his defeat by and escape from Macdougall of Lorn, who tenaciously adhered to the cause of Baliol, probably in consequence of the murder of his cousin, the Red Comyn, by Bruce in the Greyfriars of Dumfries. Bruce would certainly not be safe anywhere else in the Western Isles until after the defeat of the Lord of the Isles in Buchan by his brother Edward in 1308, and the discomfiture of Lorn, and the imprisonment of the Earl of Argyll in 1309. After Bruce left the Island of Rachrin, in the north of Ireland, he was for a time lost sight of many supposing that he Dr George Mackenzie, in his History, says that "at the same same time [1296] William, Earl of Ross, laying a claim of superiority over the Western Isles, thought this a fit opportunity to seize the Castle of Eileandonan. He sent a messenger to the Kintail men to send their young chieftain to him as being his nearest kinsman by his marriage with his aunt ;" and the Doctor goes on to inform us that Kenneth, "joined by the Macivers, Macaulays, Macbollans, and Clan Tarlichs, the ancient inhabitants of Kintaile, all descended from Norwegian families, refused to deliver him up-in short, the Earl attacked them and was beaten." + We have come across genealogies in which this chief is not included. His successor, Coinneach na Sroine is made to succeed the first Kenneth, and to occupy the period of the two reigns; but most of the family genealogies follow the Earl of Cromartie, and present us with three Kenneths in immediate succession. In view of such differences as these among the authorities, we prefer the genealogy of the MS. of 1450. * had perished in his wanderings from the hardships which he had to endure in his various contrivances to escape the vigilant look-out and rigid search made for his capture. The traditions of Kintail has it that he was concealed and protected by the Chief of Clan Kenneth, in the stronghold of Eileandonnan, until he again found a favourable opportunity to take the field against the enemies of his country; and this tradition, which we record as a proud incident in the history of the Clan, is supported by the family historians. Sir George Mackenzie of Tarbat writing on the subject says:"Kenneth (John?) did owne ye other partie, and was one of those who sheltered the Bruce in his retreat, and assisted him in his recovery." The Laird of Applecross, writing in 1669, says :-" He married Morba, daughter to Macdougall of Lorn, yet albeit Macdougall sided with the Baliol against the Bruce. Kenneth (John ?) did own the other party, and was one of those who sheltered the Bruce, and assisted in his recovery. I shall not say he was the only one, but this stands for that assertion, that all who were considerable in the hills and isles were enemies to the Bruce, and so cannot be presumed to be his friends. The Earl of Ross (William) did, most unhandsomely and inhumanely, apprehend his lady at Tain, and delivered her to the English, anno 1305. Donald of the Isles, or Rotholl, or rather Ronald, with all the Hebrides, armed against the Bruce, and were beat by Edward Bruce in Buchan, anno 1308. Alexander, Earl of Argyll, partied (sided with) the Baliol; his country, therefore, was wasted by Bruce, anno 1304, and himself taken prisoner by him, 1309. Macdougall of Lorn fought against the Bruce, and took him prisoner, from whom he notably escaped, so that there is none in the district left so considerable as this Chief (Mackenzie), who had an immediate dependence on the Royal family, and had this strong fort (Eileandonnan), which was never commanded by the Bruce's enemies, either English or Scots; and that his shelter and assistance was from a remote place and friend is evident from all our stories. But all their neighbours, being stated on a different side from the Mackenzies, engendered a feud betwixt him and them, especially with the Earl of Ross and Donald of the Isles, which were ended but with the end of the Earl of Ross, and lowering of the Lord of the Isles." We find that the Laird of Applecross quotes the above extract—as he indeed does largely throughout his work-verbatim from his noble kinsman, the Earl of Cromarty, whose manuscript, he informs us, he had seen and perused. † We can fairly assume, from subsequent events in the history of these powerful families, as well as from the united testimony of all the genealogists of the Mackenzies, that their Chief did really befriend Robert Bruce against the wishes and united power of his own immediate superior, the Earl of Ross, and the other great families of the Western Isles and Argyll; and here we discover the true grounds of the local rancour which afterwards existed between them, and which only terminated in the *This is a mistake; she was his mother. Regarding the Earl of Cromarty's MS., the Laird of Applecross says:-"It was communicated to me by that noble Lord and excellent antiquary, the Earl of Cromarty, who wrote an essay on his own name and family of the Mackenzies, which is in my hands in MS. The most exact copy I have seen of these memoirs is in the custody of Mr John Mackenzie of Delvin." |