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away large numbers of cattle. After the forfeiture of the Earldom of Ross, Allan's younger brother, supported by a faction of the tenantry, rebelled against his elder brother, and possessed himself for a time of the Moydart estate. John of the Isles, unwilling to appear so soon in these broils, or, perhaps, favouring the pretensions of the younger brother, refused to give any assistance to Allan, who, however, hit upon a device as bold as it ultimately proved successful. He started for Kinellan, "being ane ile in ane loch," where Alexander (of Kintail) resided at the time, and presented himself personally before his old enemy, who was naturally much surprised to receive a visit from such a quarter, and from one to whom he had never been reconciled. Allan coolly related how he had been oppressed by his own brother and his nearest friends, and how he had been refused aid from those from whom he had a right to expect it. In these circumstances he thought it best to apply to his greatest enemy, who, perhaps, might in return gain as faithful a friend as he had previously been his "diligent adversary." Alexander, on hearing the story, and moved by the manner in which Allan had been oppressed by his immediate relatives, promised to support him, went in person with a sufficient force to repossess him, and finally accomplished his purpose. The opposing party at once represented to the King that Alexander Mackenzie invaded their territory as a "disturber of the peace, and ane oppressor," whereupon he was cited before His Majesty at Edinburgh, "but here was occasion given to Allan to requite Alexander's generosity, for Alexander having raised armies to assist him without commission, he found in it a transgression of the law, though just upon the matter; so, to prevent Alexander's prejudice, he presently went to Holyrood House, where the King was, and being of a bold temper, did truly relate how his and Alexander's affairs stood, showing withal that he, as being the occasion of it, was ready to suffer what law would exact rather than expose so generous a friend to any hazard. King James was so taken with their reciprocal heroisms that he not only forgave, but allowed Alexander, and of new confirmed Allan in the lands of Moydart."*

In 1501 Allan was, with several others of the Clan, summoned before the Lords of Council to exhibit the rights by which he held his lands. He refused to attend, and on the 10th of December in the same year a decreet was pronounced against him and the others as follows:-The Lords of Council decreets and delivers, that the said Ewen MacEachainn, does wrong in the occupying of the lands of Ardtornish, in the Morvern; Allan Kory's son, and Alexander Allan's son in the occupying of the lands of Moydart, &c.; Allan Ranald's son Mac Ian's son, in the occupying of the lands of Knoydart, &c.; and therefore ordains them to desist and cease therefrom, to be enjoyed, &c., by the King's Highness.

In addition to his other possessions, Allan Mac Ruari claimed the whole of the district of Suinart as tenant under John Cathanach of Isla, Allan never obtained charters for his lands, though he ultimately became on very good terms with the King, to whose influence in the Highlands he latterly, in a great degree, contributed. His heir, Ranald, was actually in high favour at court, and succeeded, in 1505, to bring a feud between

History of the Mackenzies, pp. 51-52, quoting the Earl of Cromartie's MS. of the Mackenzies.

his family and the Macdonalds of Sleat to a successful issue, for in that year, on the 23d of August, he obtained a charter from John Macdonald of Sleat for the lands so long in dispute between them.*

He accompanied his father in a raid against Hucheon, the Ross of Kilravock, and, his father having been in consequence summoned before the King and Council, Ranald the heir had to be given up as a hostage for the father's good behaviour in future. While in Edinburgh in this position he was highly esteemed by all who knew him, and it was on the same occasion he got so much into Court favour. He is in trouble, however, in 1503, for in the Acts of Parliament for that year appears, under date of 19th March, a memorandum by which it is declared that he and several others named have been "forfaulted" in their persons and goods. On the 23d of August 1505, however, he received a Precept "Viginto octo mercatis terrarum de Sleit cum castro et fortalicio de Dunskahay, et sexaginta mercatis terrarum in Capite Boreali de Ewest, cum pertinen," which had belonged to John of Sleat. On the 7th of June 1507, the King addressed a letter to him and Alexander Macleod of Dunvegan, authorising them to let the lands of Lewis and Waternish, which were then under forfeiture--a further proof of the confidence at that time reposed in him by James IV.

Allan Mac Ruari was the dread and terror of all the neighbouring clans. He "had at one time three powerful chiefs as prisoners in his fortification of Castleterrim-Macleod of Macleod, Mackay of Strathnaver, and Mackintosh of Mackintosh. The two first had in all probability quarrelled with him for being in arms against John, Earl of Ross, but the cause of his disagreement with Mackintosh is curious, and strongly descriptive of the manners of the times. Mackintosh had built for himself a castle in an island in Loch Moy (now Moyhall). On the day on which he first took possession of this castle, he summoned all his friends and vassals to partake of a banquet at which an Irish harper (in those days. constantly strolling about the country) was present. After carousing for a considerable time, and supporting the ancient hospitality of the country, he rose from the table, and, before retiring to rest, expressed his happiness at being now, for the first day of his life, free of the dread of Allan Mac Rory, of whom he then considered himself quite independent. The Irish harper, in the course of his peregrinations, went to Castletirrim, and reported the words of Mackintosh. This was sufficient to rouse the spirit of the chief; he immediately summoned his vassals and travelled by night and rested by day, till he came to Lochmoy; he had carried with him several boats made of hides, and easily transported; these he launched under night and stormed the castle. Mackintosh was seized in bed, conveyed to Castletirrim, and kept in confinement for a year and a day. When he got his liberty, Allan advised him never to be free from the fear of Macdonald,' and gave him one of his vassals, named Macswein or Macqueen, as a guide. This man was possessed of great prowess and personal strength, and Mackintosh prevailed on him to remain with him, and gave him a grant of the lands of Coryburgh, which his posterity at this moment enjoy.

"Some time after this, Allan required to visit his possessions in the

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Islands, and sailed from Castletirrim with one vessel only; he was, at the time, on the very worst terms with Maclean, the chief of the Clan Maclean, and had been engaged in hostilities with him; he unfortunately observed him approaching with a fleet of ten sail, and seeing no possibility of escape, he ordered his men to stretch him out as a corpse, and directed them to bear down without any concern towards Maclean's squadron. On reaching it, his men communicated the melancholy tidings of the death of their chief, whom, they stated, they were conveying to be interred with his ancestors in Iona, and they were allowed to pass; but before Maclean's return, Allan had overrun a great part of his lands, carried away the most valuable part of his effects to Castletirrim, and laid waste the country.'

Allan married, first, Florence, daughter of Donald Macian of Ardnamurchan, with issue

1. Ranald, his heir, generally known as "Ranald Bàn Allanson."

2. Alexander, "Portioner of Muidwort," whose son, “Ian Muidartach," afterwards became Captain of Clanranald. Alexander, according to the History of Clanranald, married a daughter of Farquhar XII. of Mackintosh, described as a "celebrated beauty." In the recently published History of Clan Chattan, p. 169, we are told that a daughter of this Farquhar married "Alaster Mac Alan, captain of Clan-Ranald." Alexander's son, John Moydartach, is, however, deseribed as a "bastard" in that work throughout, and even in the Clanranald History it is curious to notice that while in all other instances the chiefs are said to have had their sons "by" their wives, in the case of Alexander it is said, after describing the marriage, that "He left three sons and a daughter," of whom John Moydartach is one. It is not said that all or any of these were by his wife. This apparently slight, but very important, distinction would probably escape the ordinary reader; but there it is, and it shows that the author had slight scruples in stating that John Moydartach was by Alexander's lawful wife.

Allan married, secondly, late in life, Isabella, daughter of Thomas, fourth Lord Lovat, with issue—

3. Ranald Gallda, who fought and was overthrown at the Battle of Blarleine by his nephew, John "Muidartach," when the latter became de facto Chief and Captain of the Clan.

Allan MacRuari was tried and executed before King James IV. at Blair Athole (where he was also buried) in 1509. This sentence is supposed to have been for the part he took in a raid upon Athole under Donald Dubh of the Isles, who made such a stout claim for the Lordship of the Isles, as already fully described.

He was succeeded by his eldest son,

XII. RANALD BAN ALLANSON MACDONALD, fifth of Moydart, who, as we have seen, took a prominent part in public affairs during the life-time of his father. He was very popular, and much esteemed by his vassals, and is highly praised by the author of the Red Book of Clanranald, the family historian, for his excellent qualities.

He married "a daughter of Roderick Macleod, surnamed The Black, tutor to the lawful heir of the Lewis," with issue, an only son

* History of Clanranald-pp. 82-81.

+ Hugh Macdonald's MS.--Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis.

1. Dugall, who succeeded him.

Ranald, like his father, was tried in presence of the King and executed at Perth, for some unrecorded crime, in 1513, when he was succeeded by his son,

XIII. DUGALL MACRANALD MACDONALD, sixth of Moydart, who, for his extreme cruelty and crimes against his own kindred, became detested by the clan. He was in consequence assassinated, and his sons were formally excluded from the succession. He was married, and had several lawful sons. (6 Allan, the eldest son of Dougal, and the undoubted heirmale of the Clanranald, acquired the estate of Morar, which he transmitted to his descendants. He and his successors were always styled 'MacDhughail Mhorair,' i.e., Macdougal of Morar, from their ancestor, Dougal MacRanald."* On the death of Dugall MacRanald, the command of the clan, with the family estates, was given to Alexander Allanson, second son of Allan MacRuari, fourth of Clanranald, and uncle of Dugall MacRanald, assassinated as above. This position Alexander held until his death in 1530. On the exclusion of Dugall's heirs, Ranald Gallda, son of Allan MacRuari by Isabella Fraser of Lovat, became the nearest male heir, but he seems to have taken no steps to assert his rights. This is perhaps not to be wondered at, for he and his friends might naturally conclude that if the clan passed over the nearest legal heirs-male -the sons of Dugall MacRanald-they might with equal justice at least refuse to receive and acknowledge as their chief one whose claim was legally not so good, and whose reputation, in so far as it had reached them, was not such as they would admire in a Chief of Clanranald. Indeed, once the clan had deposed the legal representative and heir-male, we do not see why they were not just as much entitled to choose the elder uncle Alexander and his natural son, John "Muidartach," as they were to choose the younger uncle Ranald Gallda and his successors, who so long as any of Dugall's lawful representatives remained had no legal right to succeed, and of whom they knew nothing, as he had from his youth. been brought up with his mother's family at Lovat, from which circumstance they called him Gallda, or the Foreigner.

John "Muidartach," Alexander's son, was a man of unsurpassed capacity and talent in diplomacy and war. His "mental endowments, with his great physical prowess, made him so popular that the circumstance of his illegitimacy was ignored, and on the death of his father, he was unanimously elected by the clan to be their captain and chief—to the exclusion of cousins and his uncle Ranald Gallda, any of whom had legally a preferential claim." A full, graphic, and exceedingly interesting account of the Battle of Blarleine, in which Ranald Gallda was overthrown and slain by John "Muidartach" and his followers, by the Rev. Allan Sinclair, M.A., Kenmore, appeared in the Celtic Magazine,+ and it is therefore unnecessary to repeat the particulars in detail here; but a short quotation may be given from Gregory (p. 158):-"On the death of Allaster (second son of Allan MacRuari), which took place in 1530, his bastard son, John Moydertach, a man of uncommon talent and ability, was acknowledged by the whole clan as their chief; and he even succeeded in procuring charters to the estates. These he possessed without interrup

* Gregory's Highlands and Isles, p. 158.

† pp. 89-94, vol, vi,

tion, till, with other chiefs, he was apprehended by James V. in the course of that King's voyage through the Isles in 1540, and placed in prison. Lord Lovat and the Frasers then bestirred themselves for the interest of their kinsman, Ranald Gallda, and made such representations on the subject, that the charters formerly granted to John Moydertach were revoked, and the lands granted to Ranald Gallda, as the heir of his father, Allan MacRuari. The existence of prior legal heirs (the sons of Dougal) seems to have been carefully concealed; and, by the assistance of the Frasers, Ranald was actually placed in possession of the estate, which he held only as long as John Moydertach remained in prison; for immediately on the return of that chief to the Highlands he was joined by the whole of the Clanranald, including the sons of Dougal, and again acknowledged as their chief. Ranald, who had lost favour with the clan by exhibiting a parsimonious disposition, was expelled from Moydart, and forced to take refuge with Lord Lovat, who once more prepared to assert the rights of his kinsman. The Clanranald, however, did not wait to be attacked, but, assisted by Donald Glas of Keppoch and his tribe, and by the Clanchameron, under their veteran leader, Ewin Allanson of Lochiel, they carried the war into the enemy's country." They soon over-ran the lands of Stratherrick and Abertarff, belonging to Lord Lovat, the lands of Urquhart and Glenmorriston, belonging to the Grants, and even possessed themselves of the Castle of Urquhart. They plundered indiscriminately the whole district, and even aimed at a permanent occupation of the invaded territories. The Earl of Huntly was ultimately sent against them with a large force, among whom we find Lovat, the Laird of Grant, and Ranald Gallda. On the approach of this strong force, the Highlanders of Clanranald retreated to their mountain fastnesses, leaving Huntly and his followers to penetrate through the country without any opposition. Ranald Gallda was again, without opposition, put in possession of Moydart, while their lands were at the same time restored to those who were driven from them by Clanranald and their allies. Huntly now returned with his followers, accompanied out of compliment by Ranald Gallda. The Clanranald kept a close watch upon their movements, followed them at a distance, overtook them at Kinlochlochy, where the desperate Battle of Blarleine was fought, on the 15th of July 1544. Lovat, the Master of Lovat, and Ranald Gallda, with almost all their followers, were slain; the result being that the Clanranald maintained in possession of the estate and chiefship a distinguished leader of their own choosing, the famous John "Muidartach," against one who possessed greater legal claims, and who was supported by all the influence of the feudal law. John "Muidartach afterwards transmitted to his descendants, without serious difficulty, the great possessions which he had so bravely won by the sword.

Regarding the parsimony and alleged effeminacy of Ranald Gallda we find the following in the Clanranald Family History (pp. 92-93):-"This interference of Lovat could ill be brooked by the Macdonalds, and the unlimited control which they observed the former to have over his young friend, convinced the clan that what they had heard of his effeminacy, was but too true, for it was circulated in the country that he was a boy, unfit for command or rule. A circumstance, trifling in itself, tended to strengthen this conviction. A day or two after Ranald's arrival at Castletirrim, preparations were made for a feast to be given to the clan on

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