A History of Clan Campbell: From Flodden to the Restoration 9781474408387

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Clan Campbell_Vol 2_text_History Clan Campbell 2 28/10/2014 09:04 Page 1

A HISTORY OF CLAN CAMPBELL VOLUME 2

From Flodden to the Restoration

Clan Campbell_Vol 2_text_History Clan Campbell 2 28/10/2014 09:04 Page 2

A History of Clan Campbell VOLUME I

From Origins to Flodden VOLUME 2

From Flodden to the Restoration VOLUME 3

From the Restoration to the Present (to be published in 2004)

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A HISTORY OF CLAN CAMPBELL VOLUME 2

From Flodden to the Restoration

A LASTAIR C AMPBELL OF A IRDS Unicorn Pursuivant of Arms

Edinburgh University Press

© The Clan Campbell Education Association, 2002 Edinburgh University Press Ltd The Tun – Holyrood Road 12 (2f) Jackson’s Entry Edinburgh EH8 8PJ www.euppublishing.com The right of Alastair Campbell of Airds to be identified as the author of this book has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498). ISBN 978 1 902930 18 3 (hardback) ISBN 978 1 4744 0838 7 (webready PDF) A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library Typeset by Pioneer Associates, Perthshire, and Printed in Great Britain by The University Press, Cambridge

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Contents

Dedication

vii

List of Colour Illustrations List of Black and White Illustrations

viii viii

Introduction to the Organisation List of Patrons List of Underwriters

ix x xii

Chronology Genealogy Family Tree

xiii xix xxii

Introduction and Acknowledgements Maps

xxiii xxv

1

No Time for Mourning Colin, 3rd Earl, 1513–1529

1

2

No Time for Sheathed Swords Archibald, 4th Earl, 1529–1558

15

3

The Reformed Faith Archibald, 5th Earl, 1558–1573

45

4

Promise Unfulfilled Colin, 6th Earl, 1572–1584

78

5 Grim-faced Archie, the Survivor Archibald, 7th Earl, 1584–1638: 1584–1596

91

6 Grim-faced Archie in Control Archibald, 7th Earl, 1584–1638: 1596–1614

118

7 Grim-faced Archie, the Deserter Archibald, 7th Earl, 1584–1638: 1614–1638

158

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A HISTORY OF CLAN CAMPBELL, VOLUME 2

vi

8

For Covenant and the True Religion Archibald, 8th Earl and 1st Marquess of Argyll, 1638–1661: 1638–1645

198

9

The Bitter Harvest Archibald, 8th Earl and 1st Marquess of Argyll, 1638–1661: 1645–1649

223

10 The Bitter End Archibald, 8th Earl and 1st Marquess of Argyll, 1638–1661: 1649–1661

253

APPENDIX 1 Clan Campbell Music APPENDIX 2 Clan Symbols

276 289

Notes

291

Bibliography

322

Index

328

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Dedication

in memoriam

IAN, 12TH DUKE OF ARGYLL, MacCAILEIN MOR Now peace be on your heart Argyll As sunlight on your hills When May’s serene and tender smile The winter’s promise fills . . . No more you’ll climb the heights around Nor watch the seabirds’ flight The winds upon the loch shall sound Your coronach each night You shall not see the myrtle blow Nor the bluebell on the shore But fairer sights than earth can show Are yours Mac Cailein Mor For God but takes that He may give So rest and sleep awhile Till He who died that men might live Enfold your soul, Argyll. – author unknown

vii

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List of Colour Illustrations

To be found between pages 98 and 99 Arms of the Earl of Breadalbane Arms of the Earl Cawdor Arms of the Earl of Loudoun Marquess of Argyll

List of Black and White Illustrations To be found between pages 226 and 227 Lerags Cross Glenorchy Family Tree Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy Finlarig Bonnie Earl of Moray 7th Earl of Argyll Saddell Castle Marquess of Argyll Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan Castle Stalker

viii

Loudoun Mingary Inverlochy (1) Inverlochy (2) Inverlochy (3) Inverlochy (4) Inverlochy (5) Lagganmore Dunoon Dunaverty Dunnyveg

Clan Campbell_Vol 2_text_History Clan Campbell 2 28/10/2014 09:04 Page 8

List of Colour Illustrations

To be found between pages 98 and 99 Arms of the Earl of Breadalbane Arms of the Earl Cawdor Arms of the Earl of Loudoun Marquess of Argyll

List of Black and White Illustrations To be found between pages 226 and 227 Lerags Cross Glenorchy Family Tree Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy Finlarig Bonnie Earl of Moray 7th Earl of Argyll Saddell Castle Marquess of Argyll Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan Castle Stalker

viii

Loudoun Mingary Inverlochy (1) Inverlochy (2) Inverlochy (3) Inverlochy (4) Inverlochy (5) Lagganmore Dunoon Dunaverty Dunnyveg

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Introduction to the Organisation

The Clan Campbell Education Association, Inc. This volume is dedicated to a true leader and friend of the Clan Campbell, Ian Campbell, MacCailein Mor and 12th Duke of Argyll. He was instrumental in the formation of the Clan Campbell Society (USA) and always took a great interest in their activities. Argyll took his position as Clan Chief most seriously, from providing arms for the Clan Societies to establishing a position on appropriate tartans and clan septs. When visiting our meetings, he insisted on putting the clan before other activities and, from this accessibility, many members came to know him for his warmth and humour. He was also a great supporter of the CCEA and, especially, this History of the Clan Campbell. We will all miss him. The Clan Campbell Education Association was founded in 1992 by members of the Board of Directors of the Clan Campbell Society (North America). The Association exists to educate its members and the public about the Scots and Scotland in general and about the Clan Campbell in particular. It promotes the study, health, and perpetuation of Scottish Culture, including music, dance, art, athletics, language, and cuisine and it supports and conducts charitable and educational activities that advance this purpose. The Association also encourages the study of Scottish history and culture by financing scholarships, grants, loans, and the award of incentives at Highland Games and competitions. Its present officers are Joseph McDowell Campbell, Jr – President, John Wendell Campbell – Vice President, Ruby Campbell, PhD – Secretary, and Douglas D. Caddell – Treasurer. In 1997 the Association commissioned Alastair Campbell of Airds to write a three-volume history of the Clan Campbell and thus to fill a large gap in Clan – indeed Scottish – historiography. Funding for the project came from generous donations of Campbells worldwide as well as from other clans, including the Clan Donald. The project was built on earlier research funded by the now inactive Jacob More Society, founded by the late Hugh Purfield Moore. ix

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A HISTORY OF CLAN CAMPBELL, VOLUME 2

Listed below, for the recognition they so richly deserve, are the major contributors who have made this history a reality. They are worthy of our gratitude for making possible a legacy that will last forever. Joseph McDowell Campbell, Jr President, CCEA

List of CCEA Patrons Verda McClung Anderson Dr & Mrs. Stephen S. Bell David & Mary Bernhardt William H. Burns, Jr Charles T. & Nancy J. D. Campbell Clyde H. ‘Bill’ & Paula Campbell Colin D. & Sherie Campbell David R. & Mary E. ‘Betsy’ Campbell Dewey G. & Rosemary H. Campbell In Memory of parents Donald & Betty Campbell – Alan K. & Isabelle Campbell DerKazarian Mr. & Mrs. Donald Draper Campbell Frederick H. Campbell Dr & Mrs. Frederick W. Campbell In Memory of Henry Alexander Campbell, Florida (1901–1977) Mr. & Mrs. Carl A. Guilford, Jr Hyle & Joanne Campbell In Memory of J. Lyle Campbell, Editor Emeritus of the CCS (NA) Journal – V. Wilson & Ruth Campbell J. Richard & Barbara J. Campbell James R. Campbell Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Campbell John A. ‘Scotty’ Campbell Lt. Col. John W. & Mrs. Marilyn A. Campbell, USMC (Ret.) Col. & Mrs. Joseph McDowell Campbell, USAF (Ret.) Kenneth B. & Ruby G. Campbell

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A HISTORY OF CLAN CAMPBELL, VOLUME 2

Listed below, for the recognition they so richly deserve, are the major contributors who have made this history a reality. They are worthy of our gratitude for making possible a legacy that will last forever. Joseph McDowell Campbell, Jr President, CCEA

List of CCEA Patrons Verda McClung Anderson Dr & Mrs. Stephen S. Bell David & Mary Bernhardt William H. Burns, Jr Charles T. & Nancy J. D. Campbell Clyde H. ‘Bill’ & Paula Campbell Colin D. & Sherie Campbell David R. & Mary E. ‘Betsy’ Campbell Dewey G. & Rosemary H. Campbell In Memory of parents Donald & Betty Campbell – Alan K. & Isabelle Campbell DerKazarian Mr. & Mrs. Donald Draper Campbell Frederick H. Campbell Dr & Mrs. Frederick W. Campbell In Memory of Henry Alexander Campbell, Florida (1901–1977) Mr. & Mrs. Carl A. Guilford, Jr Hyle & Joanne Campbell In Memory of J. Lyle Campbell, Editor Emeritus of the CCS (NA) Journal – V. Wilson & Ruth Campbell J. Richard & Barbara J. Campbell James R. Campbell Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Campbell John A. ‘Scotty’ Campbell Lt. Col. John W. & Mrs. Marilyn A. Campbell, USMC (Ret.) Col. & Mrs. Joseph McDowell Campbell, USAF (Ret.) Kenneth B. & Ruby G. Campbell

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List of Patrons

L. Allen & Eileen J. Campbell Levin H. Campbell Marc T. Campbell, Jr Michael J. Campbell Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. Campbell In memory of Samuel Campbell, b. Tarbolton, Ayrshire 1809, d. New York 1885 – H. Cartan Clarke Scott W. Campbell & Amy E. Mueller-Campbell Seth A. & Fern V. Campbell Rev. Thomas W. & Elizabeth T. Campbell Cambelt International Corporation Capital Management Group Mr. Wykoff Myers Edgar T. Cato Clan Campbell Society of Australia, David W. Campbell, President Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. Duplisea Beverly Campbell Griffin Professor Jane Campbell Hutchinson Robert Lamprey Ellice & Rosa Hayward McDonald, Jr Honorary High Commissioner, Clan Donald, USA, Inc. Charmion Randolph & Robert T. McKusick Jennie Howe Merrill Ms Helen Miser Averill Q. & Ann Marie Mix In Memory of Ian Campbell, 12th Duke of Argyll – Marian F. Moore Michael & Mary Moore Jeffrey & Susan Poulin Hugo & Marianne Schumacher Bernard L. & Patricia H. Shaw Roy Campbell Smith III & Annis G. Smith William Campbell & Katherine Iliinsky Snouffer Mr. & Mrs. Charles M. ‘Tommy’ Thomson Mr. & Mrs. Rodney J. Tuttle Elsie M. Whitmarsh

xi

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List of CCEA Underwriters

Lt Col. Ervan L. Amidon, USAF (Ret.) Virginia Campbell Colgan Bruner Drew, Grant & Kyle Caddell Bob & June Campbell Clarence A. & Anita M. Campbell Daniel B. Campbell Diarmid A. Campbell Douglass Campbell John & Bobbi Campbell John A. L. Campbell Lee E. Campbell Leonard B. Campbell Niall Campbell Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas J. Campbell Richard L. Campbell Robert Llewellyn Campbell Col. & Mrs. Robert M. Campbell, USA (Ret.)

In Memory of William Elmer & Bertha Tuttle Campbell Fauntella Campbell Hill Clan Campbell Society, Nova Scotia Patricia & Michael Coller Hope & William Convenience Glenna C. DuMond Walter & Rosemarie Campbell Dunden George & Dorothy Gibbs James W. & Patricia R. Hoffstetter Jean R. Ljungkill Mr. & Mrs. Patrick C. MacCulloch Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Murley Dr & Mrs. Thomas J. Quinlan Ms Dayla Reagan-Buell Robert C. St. John, Jr Mr. & Mrs. James B. Scroggs Mrs. Clifford Withers Walker

xii

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Chronology

1514 Colin, 3rd Earl of Argyll, confirmed as Lieutenant of Western Isles to act against uprising by Sir Donald MacDonald of Lochalsh and Maclean of Duart. 1515 Uprising suppressed. 1517 Sir John Campbell of Lundy appointed Treasurer of Scotland. 1517 Further outbreak of rebellion in the Isles. 1517 Argyll appointed a Vice Regent and Lieutenant of the Kingdom. 1519 Death of Sir Donald Gallda MacDonald of Lochalsh. Rebellion peters out. 1523 Sir John Campbell of Cawdor dirks Maclean of Duart. 1528 Argyll confirmed as Sheriff of Argyll, Justiciar General of Scotland and Master of the Royal Household and these offices are now made hereditary. Also appointed Lieutenant of the Lothians, the Merse and Teviotdale in the Borders. Commands successful expedition against the Douglases. Granted barony of Abernethy as reward. 1528 Renewed trouble in the Isles. Revenge Campbell raids on Mull, Morvern and Tiree. 1529 Death of Colin, 3rd Earl of Argyll. Succeeded by son, Archibald, 4th Earl of Argyll. 1530 Island Chiefs ordered to come to King with their men. 1531 Earl of Argyll leads expedition to the Isles. Counter charged with fomenting trouble, he is stripped of his offices. c.1532 Fight between Campbells of Cawdor and MacDougalls near Taynuilt. 1536 Argyll appointed temporary Regent of Scotland during King’s absence in France. Later accompanies King with retinue of 200. 1539 Rising in the Isles under Donald Gorm MacDonald of Sleat. 1540 Royal expedition to the Isles, under command of King. Argyll not involved. Rebel Chiefs submit. xiii

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A HISTORY OF CLAN CAMPBELL, VOLUME 2

1543 Rebellion in the Isles under Donald Dubh. 1544 King Henry VIII attacks Scotland. Western expedition under Lennox attacks West Coast. Campbells defeated in skirmish at Dunoon. 1554 Huntly and Argyll commanded by Queen Regent to exterminate MacDonalds and MacLeods. 1545 Donald Dubh and MacDonalds to become English subjects. Plan to invade Scotland with Lennox and force of Irish. Expedition a failure. Death of Donald Dubh. 1546 Unsuccessful fresh efforts to renew rebellion under Sir James MacDonald of Dunnyveg. 1547 Scots defeated by English at Pinkie. 1553 Master of Argyll (Archibald, later 5th Earl) marries Lady Jean Stewart, half-sister of Mary Queen of Scots. 1555 Argyll and Atholl given Commission over the Isles. 1555 Calvagh O’Donnell concludes treaty with Argyll. He ravages Tyrconnel with help of Master of Argyll. 1556 Defeat of Shane O’Neill’s ally, James MacDonald of Dunnyveg, by Earl of Ormonde. 1556 John Knox invited to preach at Castle Campbell by Earl of Argyll. 1557 Calvagh O’Donnell defeats Shane O’Neill with help of Campbells. 1558 Slaughter of 1200 Campbells by Earl of Clanricarde in Connaught. 1558 English Expedition from Dublin under Earl of Sussex ravages Kintyre and Arran. 1558 Death of Queen Mary of England. Succeeded by her half-sister, Queen Elizabeth. 1558 Death of Archibald, 4th Earl of Argyll. Succeeded by his son, 5th Earl of Argyll. 1558 Mary Queen of Scots marries the Dauphin of France. 1559 Earl of Argyll signs Band of Maintenance for protection of reformed religion. 1559 Outbreak of Civil War. Argyll and Moray Protestant leaders. 1559 Queen Mother deposed as Regent. Argyll one of new Council. 1560 Scots and English sign Treaty of Berwick. Argyll agrees to serve in Ireland. Death of Queen Mother. 1560 Argyll and Calvagh O’Donnell renew treaty. Earl is courted by Shane O’Neill. 1561 Queen Mary returns to Scotland. 1562 Young Gregor MacGregor of Glenstrae leads Clan in open revolt. 1563 Visit by Queen Mary to Inveraray.

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Chronology

xv

1565 Marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley. Moray rebels but Argyll refuses to join him. 1566 Birth of King James VI. 1567 Death of Darnley. 1567 Earl of Argyll now joins ‘Queen’s Party’ with Huntly and Hamilton against Moray. 1567 Death of Shane O’Neill who is succeeded by Turlough Luineach O’Neill. 1567 Abdication of Mary Queen of Scots. Earl of Argyll temporary Regent until Earl of Moray is persuaded to take the post. 1567 Drowning of the MacArthurs and MacVicars by Campbells of Inverawe. 1568 Queen Mary escapes from captivity in Lochleven Castle. Argyll appointed Lieutenant over whole Kingdom. Commands Queen’s forces at Langside where he is defeated. Queen Mary flees to England. 1570 Regent Moray assassinated. 1570 Gregor MacGregor of Glenstrae captured previous year is executed at Taymouth. 1571 Regent Lennox assassinated. 1573 Earl of Argyll is made Lord Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal. 1573 Earl and Countess (Lady Jean Stewart) of Argyll divorce. 1573 Death of Archibald, 5th Earl. He is succeeded by his brother, Colin, 6th Earl of Argyll. 1574 Quarrel between Earl and Countess of Argyll and Earl of Morton over Crown Jewels. 1576 Appointment of 6th Earl of Argyll as Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. 1581 Trial of Earl of Morton, formerly Regent, for murder of Darnley. Argyll one of the judges. Morton executed. 1584 Death of 6th Earl. He is succeeded by his infant son, Archibald, 7th Earl. 1585 7th Earl and Sir James Campbell of Ardkinglas granted rights of Admiralty in seas from Firth of Clyde to Ardnamurchan Point. 1587 Renewed outbreak of warfare in Western Isles between MacDonalds and Macleans leads to General Band by which Chiefs and Lairds made responsible for good behaviour of their people. 1588 Defeat by the English of the Spanish Armada. ‘The Tobermory Galleon’.

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1591 Reprisal raid by the Campbells into Angus. Burning of Clova Castle. 1592 Assassinations of Campbell of Cawdor and ‘The Bonny Earl of Moray’. 1592 Plan for killing of the young Earl of Argyll and his brother. 1594 7th Earl of Argyll given Royal Commission against Huntly. Defeated at Battle of Glenlivet. 1595 Earl of Tyrone’s Rebellion. Clan Campbell mobilises. 1598 Battle between MacDonalds and Macleans at Loch Gruinart, Islay. Macleans defeated. 1601 Battle of Kinsale. Tyrone and O’Donnell killed. 1602 Campbell of Auchinbreck invades Bute with 1200 men. 1603 Battle of Glenfruin between Colquhouns and MacGregors. 1603 King James succeeds to the English throne. 1606 Earl of Argyll granted Kintyre. 1614 MacDonalds take Dunnyveg Castle from Bishop of the Isles. 1614 Sir John Campbell of Cawdor has Commission to retake the castle after Bishop’s failed attempt. 1615 Sir James MacDonald escapes and makes his way to the Isles. Argyll in command of expedition that retakes Islay and forces Sir James to flee. 1617 7th Earl of Argyll, by now a Roman Catholic, leaves the country. 1618 Earl summoned home but he does not obey. Campbell leaders meet Privy Council in order to organise government of the area in his absence. 1625 Revolt of Clan Ian of Ardnamurchan. 1633 King Charles visits Scotland and approves new liturgy. 1633 Lorne’s research expedition to Hy-Brasil. 1638 Setting up of the National Bond or Covenant. Mobilisation across Scotland. 1638 Death of the 7th Earl of Argyll. Succeeded by his son, Archibald, as 8th Earl. 1640 Expedition against Airlie. ‘The Burning o’ the Bonnie Hoose of Airlie’. 1640 Outbreak of the Second Bishops’ War. 1641 King Charles signs Treaty with the Scots. War ends. 1641 Earl of Argyll created a Marquess. Sir John Campbell of Lawers becomes Lord Loudoun, advanced to Earl of Loudoun and appointed Lord Chancellor. 1641 Revolt in Ulster under Sir Phelim O’Neill. Widespread slaughter of Protestants.

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Chronology

xvii

1642 Raising of Argyle’s Regiment for service in Ulster under Lieutenant Colonel Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck. 1642 Outbreak of the English Civil War. 1643 Trouble in the Western Isles. Assembly of the Army of the Solemn League and Covenant. Marquess of Argyll is President of the Committee with the Army. 1644 Argyll leads Army into England before events require his recall to Scotland. He is appointed Commander-in-Chief and leads successful expedition to suppress Huntly. Landing of Alasdair MacColla in Ardnamurchan. Argyll raises further three Regiments from Clan Campbell. Alasdair MacColla joins Montrose. 1644 Royalist defeat at Marston Moor, 2 July. 1644 Royalist victory at Tippermuir, 1 September. 1644 Montrose and Alasdair MacColla descend on Inveraray, end of December. 1645 Royalists retreat from devastated Argyll. Argyll’s Regiment recalled from Ulster, end of January. 1645 Campbells defeated at Inverlochy, 2 February. 1645 Royalist victory at Auldearn, 9 May. Campbell of Lawers’s regiment suffer heavily. 1645 Royalist defeat at Naseby and Scottish Army invades England, 14 June. 1645 Royalist victory at Kilsyth, 15 August. 1645 Defeat of Royalists at Philiphaugh and flight of Montrose, 13 September. 1645 Second Royalist invasion of Argyll, September. 1646 Surrender of King Charles to Scots, 5 May. 1646 Campbell of Ardkinglas with Campbell force defeated near Callendar. 1646 Ardkinglas and Inverawe lead revenge expedition against Lamonts, May. Burning of Toward and Ascog. Execution of the Lamonts. 1646 Massacre of Campbells at Lagganmore. 1646 Montrose flees to Norway, September. 1647 Campaign against Alasdair MacColla led by General David Leslie. 1647 Battle of Rhunahaorine Point, 24 May. 1647 Siege and Capture of Dunaverty. Pursuit of the Royalists. 1648 Inveraray created a Royal Burgh. 1648 ‘The Whiggamore Raid’. Argyll in control of Scotland. Cromwell arrives in Scotland.

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A HISTORY OF CLAN CAMPBELL, VOLUME 2

1649 January, execution of King Charles I. Succeeded by his son, King Charles II. 1650 Lowland Plantation of Kintyre. 1650 Final defeat of Montrose at Carbisdale and his subsequent flight and capture, April. 1650 Execution of Montrose, 21 May. 1650 Defeat of Scots under Leslie by Cromwell at Dunbar, 3 September. 1651 Coronation of King Charles II, 1 January. Crown placed on his head by Argyll. 1651 Scottish defeat at Worcester and flight of the King, 3 September. 1652 Argyll signs acceptance of Union of England and Scotland, 1 August, and Argyll garrisoned by English troops. 1653 Glencairn’s Rebellion. Royalist intervention led by Earls of Glencairn and Lord Kenmure. 1655 Rebellion suppressed by General Monck with help from Marquess of Argyll. 1660 Restoration of the Monarchy. King Charles returns to London. Marquess of Argyll goes to join him and is incarcerated in the Tower. In December, he is sent back to Scotland to stand trial. 1661 Marquess of Argyll tried by Scottish Parliament and found guilty. 1661 Execution of Archibald, Marquess of Argyll, 27 May.

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Genealogy

ARCHIBALD, 2nd Earl of Argyll, succ. 1493, k. Flodden 1513 m. Elisabeth Stewart, eldest dau. John 1st (Stewart) Earl of Lennox and had: 1. COLIN, 3rd Earl of Argyll. 2. ARCHIBALD of Skipness, m. (ii) Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis. k. 1537. 3. Sir JOHN, m. Muriel, heiress of Cawdor, whence the Campbells of Cawdor. 4. DONALD, Abbot of Coupar, Lord Privy Seal, sired numerous progeny. 5. MARGARET, m. John Erskine, 4th Lord Erskine. 6. ISABEL, m. Gilbert Kennedy, 2nd Earl of Cassilis. 7. JANET, m. John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl. 8. JEAN, m. Sir John Lamont of that Ilk. 9. CATHERINE, m. (i) Maclean of Duart who marooned her to drown and (ii) Campbell of Auchinbreck 10. MARION, m. 1526 Sir Robert Menzies of that Ilk. 11. ELEN, contracted 1521 to Sir Gavin Kennedy of Blairquhan. He also is said to have had MARY, m. James Stewart, 4th of Bute. COLIN, 3rd Earl of Argyll (‘Earl Lumpy-brow’) succ. 1513, d. 1529, m. Janet Gordon, eldest dau. Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly and had: 1. ARCHIBALD, 4th Earl of Argyll. 2. JOHN GORM, k. Langside, 1568, m. Mary Campbell, dau. Colin Campbell, 5th of Ardkinglas, whence the Campbells of Lochnell. 3. Mr. ALEXANDER, Dean of Moray. 4. ELIZABETH / ISOBEL m. (i) James Stewart, Earl of Moray, nat. son of King James IV, and (ii) John, 10th Earl of Sutherland. 5. AGNES, m. (i) Sir James MacDonald of Antrim and (ii) Turlough Luineach O’Neill. xix

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ARCHIBALD, 4th Earl of Argyll, succ. 1529, d. 1558, m. (i) Helen Hamilton, eldest dau. James, 1st Earl of Arran, and had: 1. ARCHIBALD, 5th Earl of Argyll, m. (ii) Margaret Graham, only dau. William Graham, 3rd Earl of Menteith and had: 2. COLIN, 6th Earl of Argyll. 3. MARGARET, m. James Stewart, Lord Doune and St. Colme, ancestor of the Earls of Moray. 4. JANET, m. (i) Hector Maclean of Duart and (ii) John MacIan, 8th of Ardnamurchan. He m. (iii) Katherine Maclean, by whom he had no issue. He also had a natural son: COLIN, m. heiress of Barbreck, whence the second line of Campbells of Barbreck. ARCHIBALD, 5th Earl of Argyll, succ. 1558, d. 1573, m. (i) Lady Jean Stewart, natural dau. King James V by Elisabeth Bethune of Creich, half sister to Mary Queen of Scots, and (ii) Lady Janet Cunningham, 2nd. dau. of Alexander, 5th Earl of Glencairn. The Earl had no legitimate offspring but had several natural children, including: 1. JOHN, Provost of Kilmun. 2. COLIN. 3. JEAN, m. (i) Angus Mackintosh, younger, of Mackintosh, and (ii) Mr Donald Campbell of Barbreck-Lochawe, later Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan. 4. ELSPETH, m. Ian MacFarlane of MacFarlane. 5. Mr DENIS, Dean of Limerick. COLIN, 6th Earl of Argyll, succ. 1573, d. 1584, m. (i) Janet Stewart, dau. Henry, 1st Lord Methven, by whom he had no children, and (ii) Agnes Keith, dau. William, 4th Earl Marischal, widow of James Stewart, Earl of Moray, Regent of Scotland and had: 1. ARCHIBALD, 7th Earl of Argyll. 2. COLIN of Lundy, m. Maria, Countess of Menteith. 3. ANNA. ARCHIBALD, 7th Earl of Argyll (Gillespic Gruamach – ‘Grim-faced Archie’) succ. 1584, d. 1638, m. (i) Agnes Douglas, 5th dau. William, 8th Earl of Morton, and had: 1. ARCHIBALD, 8th Earl and 1st Marquess of Argyll. 2. ANNE, m. George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly.

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Genealogy

xxi

3. ANNABELLA, m. Robert, 2nd Earl of Lothian. 4. JEAN, m. (i) Sir Robert Gordon of Lochinvar, 1st Viscount Kenmure, and (ii) Hon. Sir Harry Montgomery of Giffen, 2nd son Alexander, 6th Earl of Eglinton. 5. MARY, m. Sir Robert Montgomery of Skelmorlie. 6. ELISABETH, d. unm. The 7th Earl m. (ii) Anne, dau. Sir William Cornwallis of Brome, and had: 7. JAMES, Earl of Irvine, Lord of Kintyre and Lundy, d. unm. 8. and 9. HENRY and CHARLES (twins), both d. unm. 10. MARY, m. James, 2nd Lord Rollo. 11. ISABELLA, d. unm. 12. VICTORIA, d. unm. 13. BARBARA, d. unm. 14. ANNE, m. Rev. Mr. Bulleyn. ARCHIBALD, 8th Earl and 1st Marquess of Argyll, succ. 1638, d. 1661, m. Margaret Douglas, dau. William, 2nd Earl of Morton, and had: 1. ARCHIBALD, 9th Earl of Argyll 2. NEIL of ARDMADDY, m. (i) Vere Ker, dau. William, 3rd Earl of Lothian, and (ii) Susan, dau. Sir Alexander Menzies of Weem. 3. ANNE, d. unm. 4. JEAN, m. Robert Ker, 1st Marquess of Lothian. 5. MARY, m. (i) George Sinclair, 6th Earl of Caithness, and (ii) John Campbell of Glenorchy, 1st Earl of Breadalbane. 6. ISABELLA, d. young.

Hector Og Maclean of Duart

m.

Lady Janet Campbell

(ii) m. (ii)

m.

Archibald, 5th Earl of Argyll

1st cousin once removed of Turlough Luineach O’Neill

Shane O’Neill

ravished by Shane O’Neill

Katherine (i) m. (iii) Archibald, Maclean 4th Earl of Duart of Argyll

Mary O’Donnell

Uncle of Hugh O’Donnell k. by Shane O’Neill

Calvagh O’Donnell

Hector Mor Maclean of Duart

‘The Dark Girl’

Ineen Dubh

m.

nephew of Calvagh O’Donnell

Hugh O’Donnell of Tyrconnel

1st cousin once removed of Shane O’Neill

m. (i) Lady Agnes (ii) m. (i) Turlough Sir James Macdonald Campbell Luineach of Dunnyveg O’Neill

Colin, 3rd Earl of Argyll

The Irish Connection

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Introduction and Acknowledgements

Completion of the writing of this book has been overlaid by the desperately sad loss of our Chief, Ian, 12th Duke of Argyll. Much has been spoken and written of his life elsewhere and suffice it to say that he stands worthily among the line of his illustrious forerunners as by no means the least of their number. Once again I pay tribute to the support he has given to this endeavour and mourn his loss as an old and valued friend to whom this volume is specially dedicated. The previous volume ended in 1513 with the Chief and many of his people lying dead around their king on the field of Flodden. This, the second volume of three, tells of the recovery from this low point and takes the story of Clan Campbell forward to the Restoration and the execution of the Marquess of Argyll in 1661. It is a remarkable tale and, whatever the faults in its telling, I have to admit to having found it a fascinating one. I hope this fascination extends to my readers. It is certainly an easier volume to write and to read than Volume One. In the introduction to Volume I, I tried to outline the target readership for this work. I have been much cheered – and reassured – by the reaction of many people in this category who have been kind enough to signify their approval. These include most members of my own family, although several of them, on examination, admitted to having read no further than page eleven! I do assure them that this volume is less soporific than its predecessor. It is a most bloodthirsty tale which clearly demonstrates the brutal nature of the age. Again, I would thank the Clan Campbell Educational Association in the United States for making this possible and for their continuing efforts under the hand of Colonel Joe Campbell. I would also like to thank the Publishers, Edinburgh University Press, for their meticulous overseeing of the production of this work in such handsome form. It has been a revelation and an education – and a pleasure as well – to work with them. xxiii

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I have yet again been much helped by kind friends in the writing of this work. I would particularly like to thank Dr Jane Dawson for all her support and encouragement and for the amount of information both published and unpublished she has been so kind in sharing with me. Professor Allan MacInnes has also been a tremendous fount of information and has allowed me to use a vast collection of research material amassed from many sources. Walking the ground at Inverlochy with Nicholas Maclean-Bristol was a revealing experience – I hope for us both – and I have made much use of his excellent book Murder under Trust. I have also enjoyed an exchange of information on our mutual ancestors, the Campbells of Inverawe with Diarmid Campbell. Kenn Campbell from Baton Rouge has once again produced superlative maps and I am enormously in his debt. I have to thank three people in particular for their help on the appendix on Campbell Music: Miss Jeannie Campbell of the College of Piping, Glasgow, the late great judge and composer of pipe music, Archie Kenneth, Stronachuillin, and Charlie Gore, author of The Scottish Fiddle Music Index – the last two having Campbell mothers, a Graham-Campbell of Shirvan and a Campbell of Cawdor respectively. I have also made good use of information culled from Iain Millington’s The Complete Bagpipe Tune and Drum Score Index. I would also like to thank Mrs Susanna Kerr of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery for her kind help with several of the illustrations and those owners, including the Duke of Buccleuch, who have granted me permission to include their pictures. In addition, I would like to express my appreciation to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments for Scotland. The story is by no means over and a third volume is now to be written to complete the tale. ALASTAIR CAMPBELL OF AIRDS Unicorn Pursuivant of Arms Inverawe Barn, Argyll June 2001

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Map One: ARGYLL

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Map Two: ARGYLL – Main areas of other Clan influence

Map Three: CENTRAL ARGYLL and BREADALBANE

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Map Four: CAMPBELLS IN ANGUS

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Map Five: THE IRISH CONNECTION

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Map Six: CIVIL WAR CAMPAIGNS

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CHAPTER ONE

No Time for Mourning

Colin, 3rd Earl, 1513–1529 he Cross stands on its plinth four-square against the westerly gales. It has been moved from its original position but it still serves to mark the traveller’s route to the ancient chapel of Kilmore in Lorne that nestles in the sheltered dip below it. Deeply engraved with Celtic tracery, its head displays the Campbell gyronny of eight with a boar’s head superimposed on it. A Latin inscription proclaims that it was Archibald Campbell of Lerags who had the cross made in the ‘Year of Our Lord 1516’ and it has been suggested that he had it done as a thank-offering for his safe return from the bloody field of Flodden less than three years before. If this is so, then he had much to be thankful for. His chief, Archibald, 2nd Earl of Argyll, was among the slain, his body lying with many of his kin and followers on the battlefield along with the King and many of the nobility of Scotland. Scotland would never forget their loss and still today, as a lament, we use the haunting tune that commemorates ‘The Flowers of the Forest’ so cruelly cut down before their time. But life is unrelenting. It must go on. As Neil Munro, hurting from the loss of his son centuries later in World War I, was to write:

T

Morvern and Moidart glad, gallant and gay in the sun, Rue naught departed, The moon and the stars shine out when day is done, Cold, stony-hearted. At least Clan Campbell had a leader who could step into his dead father’s shoes. This was Colin, known as Cailean Mailleach or ‘Lumpy Brow’ from the way his forehead knotted when he was in a rage. He also went by the name of Colin of Carrick as, no doubt, he was fostered there. We do not know the date of his birth but he and his wife were granted the lands of 1

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‘Glenuchir’ by his father in 1507. These lands were probably the former MacDougall lands to the south of modern Oban, through which flows the river Euchar. His wife was Janet Gordon, daughter of the third Earl of Huntly, who was to bear him three sons and two daughters. Archibald, his eventual successor, was born in 1498. His other sons were John Gorm, from whom sprang the Lochnell branch of Clan Campbell, and Alexander, later Dean of Moray. Colin of Carrick’s daughters were Elisabeth, who was to marry James Stewart, Earl of Moray, natural son of King James IV, and Agnes, who in a colourful career was to marry both Sir James MacDonald of Dunnyveg and Turlough Luineach O’Neill. By the time of his father’s death, Earl Colin was quite capable of picking up the pieces – indeed, an old family genealogy speaks of him as having ‘strong invincible courage’.1 He was lucky too in having two forceful and effective uncles, Sir John Campbell of Cawdor and Archibald Campbell of Skipness, to support him. And, although the Campbell losses had been heavy, a strong power structure still remained in those lairds who had survived or who had not been involved in the battle. This was just as well since, with the new King James V, a mere 17 months old when he inherited the crown, trouble for Scotland was not far away. Once again the Isles erupted. Although Clan Donald historians claim that Islemen were in the Scottish ranks at Flodden, there is no hard and fast evidence to that effect and certainly no Hebridean chief is known beyond doubt to have been killed there. It seems more than likely that, considering themselves outwith the Kingdom of Scotland, they had deliberately held themselves aloof from the battle, having in mind an agenda of their own. What is certain, however, is that they now saw their opportunity in the inevitable disorganisation that followed the great defeat. As ever, the plot centred on the restoration of the Lordship of the Isles. But internal dissension was rife among the various branches of the Clan Donald2 and, with Donald Dubh the rightful chief still imprisoned in Edinburgh, the mantle fell on the shoulders of his second cousin, Sir Donald MacDonald of Lochalsh who proceeded, with the help of Glengarry and Chisholm of Comar, to capture Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness and devastate the lands of the Laird of Grant. At the same time, Maclean of Duart seized the fortress of Cairnaburg and then, with the help of Alexander Macleod of Dunvegan, the castle of Dunskiath on Skye. Sir Donald was proclaimed Lord of the Isles and adherents flocked to his standard. Once more it was to the Chief of Clan Campbell that the Government turned. Earl Colin, who had already taken oaths of loyalty from his father’s

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people and who had been confirmed as hereditary High Justiciar or Justice General of Scotland,3 was now required by the Scottish Privy Council to raise sufficient men to move against Maclean.4 Early the next year, 1514, the Privy Council’s plans became clearer. While Argyll took action in the South Isles, Mackenzie of Kintail and Munro of Foulis were appointed Lieutenants for Wester Ross and Ewin Allansone, Cameron of Locheil and William Lauchlanson were Lieutenants for Lochaber. At the same time, orders were given to the other mainland lairds to resist any incursion by the Islanders on pain of punishment if they failed to do so.5 By the following year, 1515, Argyll had made considerable progress. The Regent Albany had granted a Commission to MacIan of Ardnamurchan to bring the fringe leaders back into the fold. Excepted from this, however, were the major ringleaders who included, apart from Sir Donald himself, the two Macleod Chiefs, Alexander MacDonald of Islay and Lachlan Maclean of Duart.6 MacKenzie of Kintail, meanwhile, agreed to give up the royal castle of Dingwall, which he had seized in the excitement of the moment, while Argyll and his followers were given remission for the ravages they had committed on the Isle of Bute.7 But, for the moment, the situation had quietened and, in February 1516, Argyll is on record as promising to release Allan, son of James Stewart, and his servants from imprisonment in Kilchurn and to allow them to take their weapons and gear with them. They had been captured by the Earl’s kinsman and servant Archibald Campbell of Lochnell. On their part, the Stewarts promised to return all the goods stolen from the Earl’s people. This must be an earlier family of Lochnell which did not last since it was from the Earl’s son, John Gorm, that the Lochnell family of today is descended.8 That same year, both Argyll and Sir Donald MacDonald of Lochalsh, described as ‘Monsieur de Ylis’, were summoned to join the Royal Army on its way to the Borders. This cooperation was not to last long. Lochalsh was soon in rebellion again – indeed, Gregory suggests that he was in the pay of the English all the time.9 The year 1517 opened with the Earl’s half-uncle, John, later Sir John Campbell of Lundy, being appointed Treasurer of Scotland, one of the major administrative offices in the Kingdom. An illegitimate son of the 1st Earl of Argyll, he and his two sons, both named John were all legitimised in the same year of this appointment.10 He held this post until June 1526.11 A remarkable man, he was to carve out a distinguished career for himself as administrator, courtier, ambassador, justiciar, historian and even as soldier. He was, in due course, to be knighted, made a Member of the Privy Council, Depute Justice General and a Senator of the College of Justice. A soldier scholar, he was of

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major help to Boece in the writing of his History of Scotland and he was also appointed both Keeper of Edinburgh Castle and Captain of all the Bands of Foot in Scotland. Although something of a background figure in our story, his importance to the Earl should not be underestimated. Significantly, he was also granted a considerable estate around Lundy, to the north and west of Dundee in Angus, where there was to be another strong Campbell landholding.12 Then, in March, Earl Colin was granted a Commission as King’s Lieutenant to absolve all those in the Isles who were of good behaviour with the exception of Sir Donald, his brother, and the rest of the Clan Donald. The exact geographical extent of his powers was spelt out in detail. He had control over the whole of the Inner and Outer Hebrides – with the exception of Arran and Bute – together with most of the lands on the mainland previously held by the adherents of the Lordship. Sir Donald’s riposte was to announce that he had been appointed King’s Lieutenant and, as such, he set upon MacIan of Ardnamurchan, against whom he nourished an implacable desire for revenge for the killing of his father. MacIan was driven from the district, which was put to fire and sword, while Mingary Castle was set on fire. But Sir Donald’s followers were aghast at his rashness. They realised the falsehood of his claims and were terrified by his intentions. Maclean of Duart and Macleod of Dunvegan, who had both turned against Sir Donald, failed to capture him, although they did manage to seize his two brothers whom they handed over, professing their own submission.13 Maclean and Macleod, along with Argyll, made various suggestions and demands to the Council, the latter requesting sweeping powers ‘for the honour of the realm and the commonweal in time coming’.14 He first asked for a Commission of Lieutenancy over all the Isles and the adjacent mainland, basing his claim on the following three points: the vast expense he had already incurred; his ability to carry out the task; and the considerable success he had already achieved. For the most part, he received what he wanted under the above headings.15 He went on to ask for the power to take all those who submitted to the King’s Peace and to restore all lands previously held in return for the furnishing of proper guarantees, such as hostages. Sir Donald of Lochalsh and the Clan Donald were not included in this request. Finally, he demanded full powers of ‘Fire and Sword’ against the rebels, as well as the authority to expel them from the Isles and to capture Sir Donald’s castle of Strome in Strathcarron. As regards the Clan Ian Mor, Clan Donald South, they were to produce hostages in order to avoid destruction. If they

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did submit, their leaders, the sons of the late Sir John Cattanach MacDonald of Islay, were to be granted lands in the Isles from the Crown, worth a hundred marks a year. This was to sustain them and keep them out of trouble since they were now destitute due to the forfeiture of their father. The Earl’s requests were granted.16 Lachlan Maclean of Duart’s petition asked for full remission for himself and for his adherents, who were listed as Donald Maclean, his uncle and heir apparent, Gilleonan MacNeill of Barra, Neil Mackinnon of Misnish, Dunslaf MacQuarrie of Ulva and Lachlan MacEwin (Maclean) of Ardgour. He would make good all damages done to the Earl of Argyll and to MacIan of Ardnamurchan, as calculated by certain mutual friends. This was agreed to by the Council on the production of hostages by Duart. Maclean’s next demand was that Sir Donald MacDonald of Lochalsh should be denounced as a traitor and his lands, along with those of his supporters, should be forfeited. He also called for the two brothers of Sir Donald in his hands to be ‘justified’ – that is to say, executed. Promising his own zeal, his final request was for the heritable grant of various lands, including some to the value of 100 marks in Mull and Tiree. All except the last were granted, although he was allowed the lands in question until the King came of age. John Maclean of Lochbuie and Alexander MacLeod of Dunvegan also made demands at this time. They were granted remission for themselves and their followers, for their past misdeeds, in return for the production of suitable hostages. MacLeod’s request for the heritable grant of the lands of Trotternish in Skye was turned down and he remained the King’s tenant as before.17 Argyll’s power was not to be confined to the Isles, however. Later the same year, 1517, he received a Commission as one of the Vice Regents and Lieutenants of the Kingdom. A further mark of his status was the requirement that he should be one of the nobles with whom the infant King should reside for part of each year. It is during the following years that we find a profusion of Bonds of Manrent and of Maintenance in various forms, undertaken chiefly by the Earl of Argyll, by his brother, Cawdor, and by his cousin, Glenorchy. These Bonds were perhaps an obvious evolution from the feudal system with its holding of lands from superiors in return for military service. In most cases lands were not involved directly although they could be. The chief obligation was one of loyal service from one side in return for support and protection from the other. Such agreements had been entered into for some time but, up until this time, they had been infrequent. They were not popular with the Crown who rightly saw in them the threat of the formation of dangerous power

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groups. Indeed, they were banned by the newly returned King James I in 1425, chiefly in order to bring his own family into subjection and to prevent them ganging up against him.18 However, such Bonds did fulfil a function that was seen as desirable and they both returned and increased in number by the following century. The wording of the Bonds was not always the same although certain clauses became virtually standard. They could be altered, and often were, to suit the individual circumstances of the case. In general, their outline was the same, with the inferior party promising complete loyalty to the superior, including the superior’s heirs, kin and friends. Also, the obligation could be for all time or for the life of the parties concerned and exceptions were usually made for a prevailing obligation to serve the King or, in the case of Campbell Bonds, the King and the Earl of Argyll. Bonds of some such kind had already been given by the 1st Earl in 1477 when he promised support to John Scrymgeour of Glassary 19 and twice by the 2nd Earl in 1500 and 1513 to Huchon Rose of Kilravock during the negotiations for the marriage of Muriel, heiress of Cawdor.20 The 2nd Earl, in the year of his death granted a Bond of Manrent to John Kinross of Kippenross.21 Argyll’s first Bond of Manrent was given on 30 August 1517 to his cousin and trusty supporter, Colin Campbell of Glenorchy. Expansion of Colin’s lands continued and, in January 1518, he gained a five-year lease of the lands of Over Kinedder, near Dunfermline, from the Archbishop of St Andrews for a yearly payment of £7 6s 8d,22 while, later that same year and nearer home, Allan Stewart of Appin granted him the reversion of the lands of Glasdrum and Fasnacloich in Appin for the payment of £180 at Ardchattan.23 At the end of the year, he was made Justiciar within the bounds of Breadalbane.24 The Earl’s brother, Sir John Campbell of Cawdor, had also taken advantage of the opportunities offered by the Bond of Manrent although his relationships were naturally at a lower level. In 1516, he signed a Bond of Manrent with Archibald Campbell of Kilmichael, progenitor of the later Campbells of Auchinbreck, with particular reference to support against MacDougall of Dunolly.25 This was followed, in 1517, by a bond given to Gilchrist MacArthur and John MacKerris, members of small Argyllshire families who promised to live on Cawdor’s lands where he pleased.26 In 1518, Sir John gave a Bond of Manrent to eight members of the ‘Clan McDowlean – otherwise known as the MacDunsleaves. This was signed on 16 August on the ‘Isle of Kilmolmolrue’ – a location not immediately identifiable – but, since the document was signed ‘on the Mass Book and on the Arwachyle’ (the Arwachyle being the staff of Saint Maolrubha of Applecross whose name may be discerned in the

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place of signature) it was probably not far from Kilvarie, the Saint’s church south of Connel.27 This crosier was kept by the Campbell family of Dewars – guardians of a Holy Relic – who lived at Balindore near Taynuilt on the other side of Loch Etive from Ardchattan Priory, of which the family were the almoners.28 It was about this time that Huntly, who was having trouble with the Clan Chattan, persuaded the Council to order the Earl of Argyll, Maclean of Duart and others to expel any of the Clan Chattan who took refuge in Argyll’s Lieutenancy.29 The Council had been divided over the fate of Sir Donald MacDonald’s two brothers who were held prisoner by Maclean of Duart although Gregory thinks that the majority were in favour of their disposal, which was duly carried out. For his own part, Maclean now promised his allegiance to the King and the Regent and pledged his assistance to the Earl of Argyll. He also gave his Bond of Manrent to Sir John Campbell of Cawdor.30 Sir John emerges as one of the most active assistants to his elder brother Colin, the 3rd Earl. He certainly appears to have been more active than his elder brother, Archibald of Skipness, while the fourth brother, Donald, was carving out a position in the Church, which was to yield rich dividends as we shall shortly see. The 3rd Earl also had eight sisters and they, too, had their part to play. Marriage was not for love or for a happy and contented conjugal life but for the forging of dynastic alliances and the reaping of political advantage. So local ties were strengthened by Jean’s marriage to Sir John Lamont of that Ilk and by Mary’s union with James Stewart, 4th Earl of Bute. Catherine’s first marriage to Maclean of Duart had been a disaster and she then married Campbell of Auchinbreck. The eastern flank of Campbell dominance was strengthened by Marion’s marriage to Sir Robert Menzies of Menzies and by that of Janet to John, the 2nd (Stewart) Earl of Atholl. Influential husbands were also found for the remaining sisters with Margaret marrying Lord Erskine, Isabel marrying Gilbert, 2nd Earl of Cassilis, and Elena, Sir Gavin Kennedy of Blairquhan.31 Sir Donald MacDonald’s fortunes were now at a low ebb but revenge burnt brightly in his heart and he came looking for MacIan of Ardnamurchan whom he saw as the architect of many of his woes, having killed his father, Alexander of Lochalsh, and Alexander MacDonald of Islay. In this enterprise he was joined by Alexander of Islay who, although he was MacIan’s son-inlaw, was mindful of the death of his father and brothers for which MacIan had been responsible. Helped by the Macleod Chiefs of the Lewes and of Dunvegan, they caught up with MacIan in Morvern where they cornered him and his companions at

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Craiganairgid. In the resulting battle, MacIan was put to the sword, along with two of his sons and many of their men. This poured fresh fuel on the dying embers of the rebellion and many others were encouraged to join Lochalsh.32 The move to have Sir Donald forfeited for High Treason failed, however, much to Argyll’s displeasure. He protested to Parliament that neither he nor his heirs should be held accountable for any future troubles in the Isles since his advice, as King’s Lieutenant, was thus disregarded and he had not been paid the considerable sums of money that the Regent had promised him for his services on behalf of the King. According to Gregory, it was this failure of pledged support with men and money that accounted for the failure to bring Sir Donald to book sooner. As it was, he might have managed to prolong his long campaign had not death intervened – he died only a week or two after his victory in Morvern. Sir Donald had no surviving son to carry on and, with the real leader of the Isles, Donald Dubh, still in prison, affairs in the Western Isles now took a more peaceable turn.33 Both Sir John Campbell of Cawdor and his brother, Earl Colin, took the opportunity, during this respite, to reinforce their position, with the former being particularly active. During the three years from 1519 to 1522, he contracted no less than thirteen Bonds of Manrent. In 1519, Cawdor’s Bonds of Manrent were, for the most part, agreed between locals, with several of them promising their ‘calp’ – the payment made on death to the Chief. For 1520, the number and the quality of those proffering loyalty is considerably greater. They included a Bond of ‘gossipry’ (friendship) with Alexander MacDonald of Dunnyveg, who granted Cawdor his clan’s Manrent for five years together with forty-five merklands in Islay and fifteen in Jura, which, while they were waste, were to be Cawdor’s. Dougal MacRannal of Eilean Tioram, Captain of Clanranald, Neil McNeill, of Gigha, and Alexander Macallan (MacDonald), who had succeeded his nephew, Dougal above, as Clanranald, also gave Bonds of Manrent.34 From his errant uncle, Maclean of Duart, Cawdor had also obtained the various claims held by Maclean to lands in Locheil, Duror and Glencoe. These were violently resisted by the Camerons and the Stewarts but, by transferring his rights to his elder brother, Argyll, Cawdor, managed to exert some influence over the disputed lands and the damages he had sustained were repaid by an amount arbitrated by friends of both sides.35 Cawdor, in fact, remitted three-quarters of the sums involved and, in due course, signed Bonds of Manrent with Ewin Allansone (Cameron of Locheil) and Stewart of Duror, brother of Appin. His final Bonds of this period were with Donald MacDonald Gallich of Dunskaith and with Archibald Campbell of Lerags.36 The question of the Lochaber lands was eventually settled when, in

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1520, Ewen Allansone (Cameron of Locheil) granted Colin, Earl of Argyll, a reversion to them for the payment of 400 merks. This sum was to be paid at the High Kirk of Perth and Ewin was to have a tack of them for five years thereafter. The Earl of Argyll had been previously granted them by his fatherin-law, Alexander, Earl of Huntly. In February 1522, Colin now granted letters of reversion of those same lands back to his father-in-law who finally, in June of the same year, granted a charter of them to the Earl of Argyll, to be held for a penny Scots at Whitsunday if asked for. Not all the lands as set out by the scribes are immediately recognisable but they include the lands of Ballachulish, Culchenna, Sallachail, Stronafyne, Corran, Correychurrachan, Lundavra and Callart, as well as several others all apparently situated between Ballachulish and Fort William.37 A month later, in July 1522, Sir John Campbell of Cawdor received a Royal Charter of a long list of lands in Perthshire and Lochaber, lying along the north side of Locheil, together with half the office of Bailie of Tiree which had been resigned by John Maclaine of Lochbuie.38 Earl Colin’s Bonds served to reinforce his position significantly. In July 1519, a Bond of Manrent, Homage and Fealty was given to him in perpetuity by Lachlan Maclean of Duart, Alexander Macleod of Dunvegan, John Macleod of Mygnish, Gillean MacNeill of Barra, John Maclean of Coll, Ewan MacKinnon of Misnish and Dunsleve MacQuarrie of Ulva.39 This was followed, at the beginning of August, by a Bond of Manrent from Alexander Cam Mc Allene vc Rore, Captain of Clanranald, with Cawdor a witness. In February 1520, a Bond of Manrent from Alastair MacAlastair (MacDonald) of Glengarry and Morar followed40 and, a year later, in March 1521, another, from a list of signatories which included Lachlan Maclean of Duart, Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas, Alan Stewart of Duror and others, was agreed.41 In March 1522, John MacDougall of Raray, second in importance in the MacDougall Clan only to his Chief, signed for perpetuity and, in December of that year, Neil McNeil of Gigha made a similar undertaking. At this point, it is perhaps worthwhile restating the advances made by the Campbells since the death of Sir Donald of Lochalsh. Not only had the Earl of Argyll and his brothers made major increases in land in North Argyll and Lochaber, but the Earl had received Bonds of Manrent promising loyal service from Maclean of Duart, MacLeod of Dunvegan, MacNeill of Barra, McNeill of Gigha, MacQuarrie of Ulva, MacKinnon and the Captain of Clanranald, all whom were clan Chiefs, as well as from a number of lesser, but still highly significant, chieftains such as Maclean of Coll, MacDougall of Raray and Stewart of Duror, most of whom had previously been in arms against the Crown.

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To what extent these achievements were reflected in reality is open to speculation. The holdings in Lochaber did not result in a wholesale change of tenants on the ground and Cawdor and the Earl may not have found it easy to extract their new rents. As for the Bonds of Manrent, even written promises may be broken no matter how fervent the pledge was. However, this is not to say that the Campbell advance was insignificant. The cooperation of the two brothers was formalised in August 1522 by a Bond of Manrent given to the Earl by Sir John of Cawdor but the newly found good behaviour in the west was put under severe pressure during the following year, 1523, when Cawdor dirked his brother-in-law, Lachlan Maclean of Duart, to death in Edinburgh. The details are unclear but the Annals of the Four Masters have it that the killing took place at the King’s Residence.42 The actual circumstances that surrounded the deed are equally opaque – no doubt Cawdor was mindful of his sister’s fate at the hands of her husband Maclean who marooned her to drown in the Firth of Lorne. If it was the spirit of revenge alone that impelled him, it had been kept in remarkable check for a number of years. It may have been a sudden flare-up, stoked by long pent-up resentment, which drove the blade home. The Macleans reacted with fury and the Campbells prepared for war but authority prevailed on both parties to keep the peace.43 The Earl of Argyll continued to enter into Bonds of Manrent and of mutual friendship over the next few years but they were now generally with a different type of partner. Bonds of Manrent were signed with the Sheriff of Bute, Ninian Stewart and other Bute lairds in 1523, with James Kennedy of Blairquhan in 1524 and again with MacLeod of Dunvegan that same year. In addition, the Earl and Cawdor exchanged bonds of friendship with Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, and George Douglas of Pittendreich.44 Sir John Campbell of Cawdor then signed a Bond of mutual friendship with his next-door neighbour in the north, Hucheon Rose of Kilravock.45 In April 1525, a notarial instrument was signed by David Ross of Balnagowan. Ross promised faithful service to Colin Earl of Argyll for his lands, which formerly belonged to Malcolm Macleod of Lewis.46 Later that same year, in June, the Earl of Argyll, together with the Earls of Lennox and of Angus, signed a Bond to uphold the authority of King James V.47 The witnesses to this last document included Master Donald Campbell, described as ‘nominat’ to the abbacy of Coupar, and Master John Campbell of Lundy, King’s Treasurer. Master Donald was the 4th son of the 2nd Earl of Argyll and he was now in line for the influential post of Abbot of Coupar. In June 1526, the King, with consent of the estates, was to send a letter of commendation to the Pope on Master Donald’s behalf but this was not

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confirmed until 1529, although by then he had clearly taken up the post.48 The Earl was also active in affairs nearer home. In August 1523, he gave lands, which included those of Danna, Tontaynish, Barmore and Carsaig south of Crinan, to Dougall Campbell, and his descendents, known as the Sliochd Dhuill Donach. Dougall was the bastard son of Dougall Campbell of Corvarron. The line did not last and the lands reverted to the then Chief, being sold by him in the 1560s to Mr. Archibald Campbell – from whom sprang the House of Kilberrry – on his return from the wars in Ireland.49 The Earl also granted the four merklands of Innellan in Cowal, on the Clyde, to his servitor, Malcolm McEvir McEsaik, a close relation, from his name, to the later Malcolms of Poltalloch. In 1524, the Earl had a reversion from Lamont of Inveryne of the lands of Tollard Fleming in Cowal 50 and, in 1526, he appointed Master Alexander McBrek of Lergachaw as Captain and Keeper of the house and fortalice of Campbell. In January 1527, he sold the lands of Kirktoun and Inchberry in Inverness to Hugh Fraser of Lovat.51 It was in the same year that Sir John Campbell of Cawdor received a remission from the King, with consent of his mother, over the killing of his brother-in-law, Maclean of Duart. He and his followers were also pardoned for their burning and devastating of the Isle of Colonsay.52 It would appear, however, that things at home had not gone as smoothly as might be desired. On 18 March 1524, a Mutual Bond of Support against the Earl of Argyll was signed by his brothers Cawdor and Skipness and by Campbell of Kilmichael (Auchinbreck). They did this under the strictest form of obligation ‘and under the payne of periur and infamate for ever, and never to be rapute as gentillman’, should they fail to observe it in any way, stating that they would not give their service to the Earl unless he remedy any ill done them ‘as ane chief aucht to do to his kynnismen’.53 It has been suggested 54 that this represents a major breakdown within the ranks of the clan and the fact that Cawdor broke his previous Bond of Manrent to his brother certainly does appear to be serious. From the wording, it might seem that the Earl’s main offence was his failure to consider the other members of his family and clan – particularly by not consulting them in the matter. He was, by now, getting on in years and, in January 1525, his son, Colin, received a Royal Charter of all his father’s lands which the Earl had resigned for regrant to his heir. The list given is as follows: the Lordship of Lorne, barony of Kilmun, barony of Lochawe, barony of Glenorchy, Over Cowall, lands of Strathachie, lands of Orchard and Ardmarnock, barony of Otter, lands of Achnagarryn, lands of Coneraw, Kildalwin, Inverneil, le Glak, the lands of Kames and Achtyewin, the lands of Glassary, the lands of Craignish, the lands of Melfort, the lands of Ederline, the lands of Tausnache

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and Stelaig, the lands of Bordland with the Keeping of the Castle of Dunoon, the lands of Ardscotnish, the lands of Tollard-Fleming, the lands of Luing, the lands of Shuna, the lands of Glenshira and Lettir, the lands of Glenaray, the lands of Lochstrivenhead, in the Shire of Argyll, the Office of Sheriff, Justiciar, Coronar and Lieutenant with the advowson of the benefices of the said land in the said Sheriffdom, the lands of South Knapdale – with the custody of Tarbert Castle when it should be built – the barony of Tarbert, the lands of Kintyre the lands of North Knapdale – with office of Justice, Sheriff, Coroner, Chamberlain and Lieutenant with advowson of the benefices of the said lands – the Bailiary of North and South Kintyre – and custody of Dunaverty when it shall be built – the lands and barony of Menstrie in Clackmannan, the lands of Pannell, of Duislettir, the lands of Nether Glenny, the lands of Drumlane and Blairbeuok in Perth, the lands of Gloume with Castle and Fortalice – known as Castle Campbell – the lands of Little and Meikle Pinkerton. Not mentioned is the barony of Rosneath which is, however, contained in another document to the same effect later that year, as are the lands of Pharniskey and Inchberry in Inverness.55 The matter, whatever it was, seems to have been settled by 1529 when Cawdor signed a Bond of Manrent to his brother at Stirling on 29 July. An undated document also signed at Stirling may give a further clue. This confirms an agreement over lands, situated between Loch Awe and Loch Fyne and worth £20, that were in Cawdor’s possession and which, according to the document, he agrees for his lifetime may only be exchanged at Argyll’s request for lands of the same value in the same area.56 Argyll continued to strengthen his position at this period. In April 1525, he had a promise of service from David Ross of Balnagowan for the lands previously in the hands of Malcolm Macleod of Lewis. In July, he received a charter from the King conferring him as Justice within the bounds of Breadalbane, Rannoch and Glenlyon, from the Ford of Lyon to Carndrum (that is, Tyndrum) and to the end of Loch Lomond, together with Balquhidder and Glencoich.57 In 1527, he signed a Bond of Manrent by Hector Macintosh, Captain of Clan Chattan. While, at the same time, Cawdor cemented good relations with his northern neighbours by entering into a Bond of Mutual Friendship with Macintosh, Munro of Foulis, Rose of Kilravock and with MacDonald of Sleat. Argyll signed two other Bonds of Manrent that year – one with James Stewart, Captain of Doune Castle, and the other with James Stewart, brother of Lord Avondale.58 1528 was a momentous year. Argyll was confirmed as Sheriff of Argyll, Justiciar General of Scotland and Master of the Royal Household, offices which his predecessors had regularly held as individuals but which now

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became hereditary.59 The young King now escaped from the power of the Douglasses and, with the Earl of Argyll among his main supporters, he set himself to reign independently. In July, the Earl of Argyll went with the King to Edinburgh where he became a member of the Privy Council. King James next appointed him Lieutenant of the Lothians, the Merse and Teviotdale, in the Borders, an unusual responsibility for a Highland Chief.60 He commanded the expedition against the Douglasses, which forced Archibald Douglas, the 6th Earl of Angus, to take refuge in England. In return, Argyll received the royal gift of the Barony of Abernethy on the Tay, which had been forfeited by the refugee Earl. Cawdor, meanwhile, had resigned his lands in Lochaber and his bailiary of half Tiree, together with the fifty-merk barony of Duror and Glencoe, to his brother and Chief. Argyll then granted these last lands to Allan Stewart of Duror in feu. Cawdor himself received a grant from the King of the hereditary post of Sheriff of Nairn. Sir John Campbell of Lundy, the King’s Treasurer, had also been in the limelight, having being appointed to lead an embassy to Flanders. For this he received a letter of safeguard on 28 April. His party numbered seventy-three and the first name on the list, after Sir John’s own, was Archibald Campbell. Which Archibald Campbell is not clear but James Campbell of Lawers and his brother John were also included. Apart from Campbells, the list was largely made up of Grays, Maxwells and Moffats and lowland lairds of no great distinction.61 The Western Highlands and Isles were, however, again proving to be a source of trouble. During the King’s minority the cooperation of the Chiefs had been bought, after a fashion, by a multiplicity of grants. However, the King was now determined to implement a new policy to bring the Isles under control. All the previous grants were to be rescinded and any future ones would only be awarded on the advice of the Council and of the King’s Lieutenant, the Earl of Argyll.62 Trouble was already brewing in Skye where there was a quarrel between the MacDonalds and the Macleods over the bailiary of Trotternish. It now also broke out in the South Isles, with MacDonald of Dunnyveg being particularly affronted by the change in policy. He was helped by the Macleans, still smouldering after the killing of their Chief, and this resulted in Campbell lands at Rosneath, Craignish and elsewhere being devastated. The Campbells made retaliatory raids on Mull, Morvern and Tiree.63 But Colin of Carrick was now fading and it was his son and heir, Archibald, who was taking an ever-more active part in affairs. In October 1529 – on the ninth of that month, according to some sources, although others claim it was the fifteenth – Colin’s life came to an end.64

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Clan Campbell was indeed fortunate to have, in Archibald, such a strong and capable leader who was able to retrieve the situation so quickly and so well in the aftermath of Flodden. He successfully charted his way through the political minefield of his day, supporting the Crown, as was the family tradition, against the King’s powerful enemies – the Hamiltons and the Douglasses – with his policy of judicious marriage and the establishment of a network of Bonds of Manrent and Mutual Support, which greatly extended the boundaries and influence of Campbell control. ‘Ane Accompt’ refers to him as ‘a man of great action and a gallant captain’ while another account of the family written in the 1600s and held in the British Museum, describes Earl Colin as follows: There was in this earl a strong, invincible courage; a great represser of rebels, he was a very popular man in those times, ever adhering to the authoritie, although the times were dangerous and his tentations very many.65 Perhaps rather surprisingly, he ‘had an affection to learned men and cherish letters’ so the same account has it and, indeed, Hector Boece, the historian, pays full tribute to him in the preface to his Scotorum Historia, saying that the main help he received in the writing of his text was from Earl Colin and his brother, Sir John Campbell of Lundy, and listing the learned books brought to him from Iona by the Earl. So passed Colin, 3rd Earl of Argyll, a Chief who stands to be counted among the line of great leaders of Clan Campbell.

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CHAPTER TWO

No Time for Sheathed Swords

Archibald, 4th Earl, 1529–1558 ith Archibald’s succession to the chiefship as 4th Earl, the fortunes of the House of Argyll took a downward turn. The reasons appear to be several. There was obviously a growing suspicion that the new Earl and his predecessor had been feathering their own nests, rather than attending to the interests of the Crown in whose service they had been well rewarded. Trouble in the area of his jurisdiction required action by the King’s Lieutenant, Argyll. This meant the forfeiture of lands as a punishment and the possibility of these lands being reassigned to the Lieutenant as a reward for his services. To what extent this may have been the case may be judged by the facts given in the previous chapter. There was also, it seems likely, the growing realisation that the danger posed by the old Lord of the Isles and his would-be successors was in danger of being replaced by an equally dangerous new power in the Western Highlands and Isles. The power of Clan Campbell had been steadily growing and their Chief, with his network of Bonds of Manrent and marriage ties, now represented an even more potentially dangerous threat to the Crown. Finally, it seems fair to suggest that the King just did not like Argyll. The writing was on the wall, even before the succession of the new Earl, with the revolt, in 1529, of the Clan Donald South and the Macleans. Their depredations and the retaliation by the Campbells led to the situation rapidly becoming out of hand. In August, therefore, Sir John Campbell of Cawdor, on behalf of his ailing brother, had approached the Council with demands for the necessary assistance to regain control. These were ambitious requests and, to carry them out, he asked that the freeholders in the shires of Dumbarton and Renfrew and those from Kyle and Cunningham should muster at Lochranza, in Arran, fully equipped for twenty days’ service in the Isles, along with the Earl and his own men. The Council refused Cawdor’s

W

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plan – nominally on account of its being harvest time – but they did send a small artillery detachment to Dumbarton to help the Earl should he need them. More significantly, however, they sent a senior Herald to treat with Alexander MacDonald of Islay directly, so bypassing the King’s Lieutenant. As it happened, the resulting meeting was so unsatisfactory that directions were given by the Council for Argyll to resume operations as soon as possible.1 In the meantime, his father died and it was now Archibald, the 4th Earl, who took over command. Called by the by-names of Archibald ‘Roy Oig’ – ‘Roy’ for his red hair and ‘Oig’ for ‘young’ to differentiate him from his grandfather – he was to marry three times. His first wife, whom he married in 1529, was Helen Hamilton, daughter of James, 1st Earl of Arran, by whom he had a son – another Archibald – who was to succeed him in due course. His second marriage, which took place in 1541, was to Margaret Graham, daughter of William, 3rd Earl of Menteith, by whom he had another son, Colin, who was to succeed his brother as 6th Earl of Argyll, and two daughters, Margaret, who, in 1564, married James Stewart, Lord Doune, ancestor of the Earls of Moray, and Janet who became the wife of Hector Maclean of Duart. By January 1547, he was married to his third wife, Katherine Maclean, daughter of Hector Mor Maclean of Duart. They had no children. Archibald was immediately confirmed in the offices of Justice General of Scotland and Master of the Royal Household. In the spring of the next year, 1530, all those holding lands in the Isles were summoned to the King’s Presence on 24 May ‘to commune with His Majesty for good rule of the Isles’. As before, the freeholders were to hold themselves ready for a month’s service when called on, being joined this time by the men of Carrick, Breadalbane, Balquhidder, Rannoch, Apnadull, Atholl, Menteith, Bute and Arran. In addition, the burghs of Ayr, Irvine, Glasgow, Renfrew and Dumbarton were to provide ships laden with the provisions necessary for the army and for this the burghs would be paid. Those who answered the summons would be given full protection against Argyll and anyone else during their journey and the protection would be extended to cover twenty days from the date of their leaving the Court in order to cover their journey home. As an extra guarantee, two hostages for good behaviour would be taken from the Earl of Argyll. These were to come from among Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, Archibald Campbell of Auchinbreck, Archibald Campbell of Skipness and Duncan Campbell of Ellangreig, all of whom were to be kept in Edinburgh Castle. All this took time to organise and, when it was done, the year was well on. It was then decided that operations could not proceed until the start of 1531. Eventually, the host was ordered to meet the King at Ayr, with the men of Perth and Forfar and all the shires to the

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south. Meanwhile, the men of the northern shires mustered under the King’s half-brother and the Earl of Argyll’s brother-in-law, James Earl of Moray, at Kintail or wherever he chose to appoint as a meeting place. The array of force had its due effect on MacDonald and on Maclean, both of whom appeared at Court to make their submissions. This being done, it was thought unnecessary for the King to take part and the command of the southern force fell to the Earl of Argyll. Before setting out, he made a number of requests – as did Moray. Argyll offered to become the King’s tenant for Kintyre and pay the rents, whether the land was waste or not. He also undertook to try to persuade the Islesmen to pay their due rents to the crown and, if they refused, he and his people would then destroy them. Furthermore, he suggested that he should be accompanied by two members of the Royal Household to check that he did not proceed to the extreme of force until all other methods of imposing peace had failed. The Council should be told to consult with him on matters affecting the Isles and, in particular, all questions of punishment and reward. Lastly, he asked for a Commission of Lieutenancy over the South Isles and Kintyre. As Gregory points out, this last condition would seem to imply that the King had revoked all previous commissions along with land grants and it was, certainly, at this time that Argyll, at the King’s request, had resigned his post as Chamberlain of Kintyre. Broadly similar requests were made by the Earl of Moray regarding the Outer Isles.2 Their expeditions were successful. Following the example of the leading protagonists, the Island Chiefs submitted and the insurrection came to an end. This was not to the taste of Argyll who found himself deprived of the chance of action and the resulting possibilities for reward. He apparently took every opportunity of provoking those formerly in rebellion. When this failed, he raised charges against MacDonald of Islay who, much to the Earl’s surprise, not only appeared before the King to answer them but did so in terms which claimed that Argyll was the real transgressor. He offered to serve the King’s cause in all respects, claiming that he could bring more men into the field in the King’s cause than Argyll could. He also offered, should the King so desire it, to drive Argyll out of Argyll, in order that he would have to live in a part of Scotland where the King would find it easier to keep an eye on him. This was a remarkable offer, especially considering the fact that it came from someone whose previous actions had been so hostile to the Scottish Crown and whose forebears had very largely followed the same antagonistic course for the last two centuries and more. A wiser head might have questioned the wisdom of trusting a leopard who professed to have changed his spots so suddenly and so completely. It would not be long before such cynicism

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was to be proved justified. However, for the moment, the Earl of Argyll was very much out of favour.3 The King’s attention was now firmly fixed on his Lieutenant who was summoned to Court to account for his performance in collecting the rentals from the Isles. King James was so incensed by the poor result that he had the Earl of Argyll committed to prison. He was soon liberated but his Offices were taken from him, several being given to MacDonald of Islay and, for the rest of the King’s reign which was to last until his death in 1548, Mac Cailein Mor was largely restricted to the affairs of his own family and clan. The troubled nature of the times gave the Earl plenty to attend to over the next few years. Bonds of Manrent continued to be made but they were of a more domestic nature and their quantity was nothing like that which had earlier taken place in Earl Colin’s time. The Earl had a Bond of Manrent from John Lamont of Inveryne, in 1530, and from Allan Stewart of Duror, in 1531. In 1535 it was Patrick Maxwell of Newark who offered his loyalty to the Earl, in return for protection and, in 1538, it was to Ninian Bannatyne of Kames, in Bute, that the Earl granted a Bond of Maintenance in return for the Bannatyne’s pledge of his calp. This had considerable significance in Gaelic society because it was customary for a gift of the best animal from the owner’s stock to be given to the person he acknowledged as his Chief. An entry of 1530 is of some interest. Lachlan, son of Ian, son of Angus the Leech (‘medico’) of Craigenterive and Margaret Smollett, his wife, are given the family house in Inveraray which had belonged to Ian’s father before him. It is now passed to Lachlan and Margaret and to such of their heirs as are skilled in the medical art. Should the line fail or there be no medical member of the family, the house shall return to the Earl. Lachlan’s performance as the family doctor must have been satisfactory for, later the same year, the Earl grants him for life the lands of Tibbertich, not far from the lands of Craigenterive which, for generations, remained in the possession of the MacLachlan family, in return for their skills as hereditary medical practitioners.4 All was not entirely smooth sailing at home, however. Echoing the trouble he had with Cawdor, Skipness and Auchinbreck in 1524, the new Earl, in 1531, had to submit to an agreement under which all quarrels or ‘displeasures’ between him and Campbell of Glenorchy were to be settled by Donald, Abbot of Coupar, and the Campbell Lairds of Lundy, Skipness, Cawdor, Kilmichael, Corvarron, Ardkinglas, Lawers, Duntroon and Glenlyon. The specific arguments between the two over the lands of Ardentallen and Lochnell – there is no hint as to exactly what they were – were to go to arbitration by any five of Lundy, Lawers, Gray of Buttergask, Cawdor, Master John Letham and Master Robert Galbraith. It is interesting to see who was

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reckoned among the most important of the Campbell lairds of the day and also how, yet again, the extent to which a Chief, however powerful, depended on the agreement of his followers for his actions.5 The Earl’s uncle, Sir John Campbell of Cawdor, was also active and, in 1530, he accepted a Bond of Manrent from MacCorquodale of Phantelans in return for mutual protection.6 In May 1531, the Earl was obliged to enter Cawdor in the lands of Muckairn which had belonged to the Bishopric of the Isles and which had previously been rented by the MacDougalls.7 The MacDougalls obviously reckoned they had been unfairly ousted. It was the custom to pay the rents for Muckairn at Kilmaronaig where a stone on the shore was the traditional spot for the actual payment. When the MacDougalls continued to turn up in an attempt to maintain their rights by continuing to pay, it is said that a number of skirmishes took place. This led to a larger affair, the details of which have come down to us in the form of a tale. Although impossible to confirm, it has the hallmark of truth on it. Apparently, the situation became so strained that it was agreed to settle the matter once and for all by a formal contest between the two sides. To limit the damage, each would be represented by seven champions, ready to fight to the death, and whichever side survived the longest would win the case. A date and a place were agreed and both sides duly turned up. The area was to the west of present Taynuilt, up the road marked to Balindore. The Campbells were placed on the hill known as Tom-a-Phiobair – ‘The Piper’s Hill’ – with the MacDougalls based on another hill to the north-east. At the given signal, both sides engaged. At first, the MacDougalls prospered. Their side consisted of seven brothers who managed to kill four of the Campbells. However, the remaining three Campbells fought back valiantly and, in the end, killed all seven of the MacDougalls. This was too much for the MacDougall spectators, a number of whom rushed down to avenge their fallen men. They were joined in the fight by an equal number of Campbell spectators who defeated them. At this point, a further strong party of MacDougalls, who had been lying in ambush, revealed their presence and joined in the melee. They, too, were defeated by the Campbells and dispersed – so much for solemn agreements! A number of interesting sidelights on the tale have emerged. The MacDougalls, it was said, were helped by the local Sinclairs. They had nothing to do with the northern clan of that name – Sinclair was the local name for a tinker. The Sinclairs were once whitesmiths who were now distrusted as vagabonds and ne’er-do-wells who found the name Sinclair a more respectable and rhyming alternative. Cairns are said to mark the graves of the fallen and, well into the 18th century, the event was apparently celebrated

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annually by the Campbell family in Muckairn, who were called na Goibhnean or ‘the Smith Campbells’. They led a procession, behind pipers, to the spot and, there, they held competitions with bows and arrows. These Smith Campbells were said to descend from a Kilmartin apprentice whose superior skill had so inflamed his master that the latter had decided to kill him. In the resulting fight, it was actually the master who fell. The young apprentice took flight and was pursued up the eastern shore of Loch Awe. He eventually evaded his pursuers and settled on the east bank of the river Nant where he went by the by-name of MacCaillirean. His skill in his trade led to the proverbial saying Ceann o’n ghobhain MacCaillirean – ‘an arrowhead from the smith MacCaillirean’ – becoming a synonym for excellence.8 Although perhaps out of the mainstream, it was by no means an uneventful period for the Earl. In June 1531, he granted a remission to his servant John Lamont of Knockdow for the taking of Neill Bridocht and the slaughter of the men with him at the How of Ardlamont. The King passed through and stayed at Inveraray in September of the following year – he was now taking a much more personal approach to the Isles.9 It may not have been a complete coincidence that, in March 1533, it was the Earl’s turn to receive a Royal Letter of Remission, along with a total of ninety-two others, for their having been to Mull, Morvern and Tiree, with standard displayed, and, there, burning and slaughtering. The reason given, was that, in spite of the regulations against the crime of murder, no complaint had been heard from the friends and relations of those killed. However, this may well be a comment on Campbell thoroughness rather than lack of grounds of legitimate complaint.10 An encouraging sign of Royal favour followed in November 1533 with a confirmation Charter to Earl Archibald of the Lordship of Abernethy, previously granted to Earl Archibald’s father. In 1523, Sir John Campbell of Lundy held the post of Master of Artillery and, in 1528, he was made Keeper of Edinburgh Castle. In the same year as Earl Archibald received his confirmation Charter, Sir John was appointed to command all the Scottish infantry as Captain General of all the Bands of Foot.11 In 1534, an indenture for a contract of marriage was entered into by the Earl between Mariota nic Kane – ‘daughter of Ian’ and Ian MacAlister MacAllan of Eilean Tioram, Captain of Clananald. She was the daughter and heiress of Ian MacIan (MacDonald) of Ardnamurchan and it appears she was also the Earl’s cousin, since she is described as being his father’s sister’s daughter. There seems to be no daughter of an Earl of Argyll on record as having married a MacIan of Ardnamurchan. However, the transient nature of many marriages at the time may account for this – as would her mother being an illegitimate daughter of the 3rd Earl of Argyll. According to the Clan

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Donald historians, Mariota had three brothers of whom the eldest two had died by the time of their father’s death, since, the MacDonalds say, it was the youngest, Alexander, who succeeded to the title. This seems dubious as the following will show.12 The conditions of the contract were that the marriage should take place within three months and Earl Archibald would pay Clanranald lands and money to the total of 120 merks. The lands to the value of forty merks apparently included Kildonan.13 In the event, the marriage did not come off and Mariota married Robert Robertson of Struan instead. In 1538, she resigned her father’s lands to her cousin the Earl of Argyll. These were comprised of the following: 160 merklands in Islay, which included the Rinns and the Oa; the office of Bailie of Islay; a small property in Jura; Colonsay; lands in Morvern; the lands of Sunart; and the whole of the lands of Ardnamurchan, together with Mingary Castle. For the moment, although under the superiority of Argyll, there were no Campbells who actually took possession and whether the Earl ever received any rent from them seems unlikely. We shall hear more of the chequered story of these lands in due course.14 It was at this period that there was much diplomatic activity between Scotland and France, culminating in the marriage of King James V to Madeleine de Valois, daughter of Francois I, on 1 January 1537. It seems strange that the King, with all his distrust of the Campbell chief, did not hesitate to make use of him and his men in the negotiations, which included joint protection against the English.15 In 1535, the Earl’s uncle, Donald, Abbot of Coupar, was given protection and safeguard for himself and fifteen others going abroad.16 Finlay Campbell of Corsewall was among the fifty lowland lairds and relations of William Stewart, Bishop of Aberdeen, who accompanied Donald on his mission, during the same year, on the business of the marriage.17 In July 1536, Argyll was appointed Regent during the King’s planned temporary absence while on a secret visit to France. And when, in September 1536, the King himself went to France to see his proposed bride, he summoned the Earl of Argyll, together with a retinue of 200, to join his party.18 This must have been a sumptuous affair during which the King would have been intent on impressing the French with his wealth and power and the grandeur of his court. His companions were carefully chosen and the Earl of Argyll, too, would have selected his companions to do honour to the House of Argyll and no doubt, in certain cases, inclusion in such a prestigious event would be regarded as a favour. The list is an interesting one, including as it does those who were clearly seen as the leaders of the Clan at the time. The Letter of Safe Conduct is made out to the Earl, together with his kin, friends

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and servants, who are given protection both on the journey and for forty days after they started for home. As might be expected, Campbells are the largest element of the party, with thirty-two out of the 200. At the head of the list are the Earl’s uncles of Cawdor and Skipness, together with the leading Campbell chieftains of Lundy, Glenorchy, and Ardkinglas. Cawdor’s son, Archibald, is included, as is Glenorchy’s brother, Colin. The Glenorchy contingent numbers at least five and possibly nine members, including the lairds of Lawers and Glenlyon. There are a number of client lairds or those who are on the Glenorchy periphery – men such as John MacGregor of Glenstrae, the MacGregor chief, and MacGregor of Roro (the MacGregor element numbers seven), Menzies of Comrie and Toseach of Monzievaird. Ardkinglas was accompanied by Campbell of Drumfad and by Donald Campbell of Ardentinny and his brother, while Donald, the Abbot of Coupar, is represented by Mr. David Campbell in Denhead. Neighbouring Chiefs, with the total number of those of their names, include Walter MacFarlane (five), Lachlan MacLachlan of MacLachlan (three), John Colquhoun of Luss (seventeen), Aulay MacAulay of Ardencaple (two) and George Buchanan of that Ilk (seven). Then there are a number of less obvious friends with their retinues. Patrick Boyle of Kelburn is the leader of eight Boyles; Patrick Maxwell of Newark is one of six Maxwells; Alan, Lord Cathcart, heads fourteen Cathcarts; and John, Lord Lindsay of the Byres, was accompanied by five Lindsays. Patrick, Lord Gray and his son are among nine Grays, while other notables include David Pollock of that Ilk, Richard Leckie of that Ilk and Sir John Stirling of Keir. The range through the classes seems complete. There are great and lesser chiefs, chieftains and lairds, a good number of tacksmen or tenants and a considerable number who are clearly servants to the gentry. Among this last number are four MacCairbres (‘Sons of the Charioteer’), who were members of a Breadalbane sept of great antiquity, claiming descent from Cairbre Ruadh, who appears in the poems of Ossian. They were once quite numerous tenants and their Chief is thought to have been the possessor of Finlarig Castle but they have now apparently disappeared from the area.19 They would have been in the party in attendance on Glenorchy. But perhaps the most surprising thing to note in analysing the structure of party is to find that almost half the Campbell element – fifteen out of the thirty-two – were Campbells of Loudoun, led by Campbell of Cessnock. Cut off from the main stem by time and by geography, it is clear that they were still considered very much part of the team. Also worthy of comment are the Campbell lairds whose names hardly occur at this period. There is very

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little on record in the affairs of Clan Campbell concerning such chieftains as Inverawe, Duntroon, Dunstaffnage, and Craignish.20 There is a brief mention of Argyll himself in a contemporary account where the Earl, ‘richly cloathed’ entered the author’s chamber in Paris ‘who made him to behold all the pieces of gold that were under the cutts of his sattin doublet, desiring to have the favour to number them, which he did, and yrafter conveyed himself to the door’.21 It must have been shortly after his return from France that Archibald Campbell of Skipness met his end. Some time before 1535 he had married Janet Douglas, daughter of George, Master of Angus. In 1527, she had married John, 6th Lord Glamis but he died the following year and his wife was accused of having poisoned him. The trial never took place but, in 1531, she was forfeited for communicating with her forfeited brothers, the Earl of Angus and George Douglas. She was twice summoned to appear before Parliament. In 1537, William Lyon, whom she had refused when he wanted to marry her, brought a charge against her and others of attempting to poison the King. She put up a strong defence and begged for the others to be let off but the King was intent on her being found guilty and, on 17 July 1537, she was burnt to death on Castle Hill, Edinburgh. Her husband Archibald Campbell was still confined in the castle, whence he attempted to escape after his wife’s execution. He went over the wall on a rope in the dark but either he slipped or the rope was not strong enough and he fell to his death on the black rocks far below.22 These were troublesome times and the turmoil was not confined to the West. In October 1534, Sir John Campbell of Cawdor was tried in Inverness for the burning of Dawy Castle and the killing of Hector MacKenzie. However, John Campbell of Lundy, acting as the Earl of Argyll’s depute in his position of Justice-General of all Scotland, ensured his acquittal.23 In August of the following year, Cawdor bought Dawy Castle with the lands of Strathnairn and the advowson of the church of Dunlichity from his kinsman, David, Earl of Crawford.24 There are mentions in the records of repeated outbreaks of violence on various scales, from small numbers of victims being killed in minor scuffles to armed expeditions that were comprised of several score of fully-armed men who descended on their neighbours with the intention of killing people, burning property and driving off beasts. A man who wished to sleep sound would need a thick wall and a stout door. Some would prefer to take to the heather after dark, rolled in their plaids. One night raid was documented in June 1539 and the record states that the Earl of Argyll put in a complaint against Ranald Mor MacAngus MacEwen Dubh, who,

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with thirty armed men ‘in silence of nycht in maner of murthure’, the previous month, had come to a township in Knapdale called Cragnanet and had there murdered Gillecallum MacIan Macneill. Later that month the same gang, along with Alexander MacAlister of Loup, his brother Ranald and 300 of their men, arrived fully armed in their galleys ‘in arrayit battell with displayit baner’ at Kellislate, where they killed several persons, drove off 200 cattle and took gear to the value of 200 merks. William Champneys, Messenger-at-Arms, was sent to proclaim them rebels and was able to seize MacAlister of Loup whose eventual fate is not known. This was a small but bloody affray and one all too typical of the times. In 1539, the Isles rose against the Crown again in a fresh attempt to restore the Lordship since the removal of Argyll had failed to restore their former glories as they had fondly hoped.25 MacDonald of Dunnyveg had been sent with a force of 7–8,000 Highlanders and Islesmen to back the O’Donnells against the English-supporting O’Neills in Ulster, a move which both served to distract the English from any move against Scotland and to extend the MacDonald possessions on the other side of the North Channel. Donald Dubh had been too long in prison and Donald Gorm MacDonald of Sleat, son and successor to Donald Gruamach, now took the lead of Clan Donald.26 In May that year, Donald Gorm with his allies of the Siol Torquil – the MacLeods of Harris – invaded Trotternish on Skye and laid waste MacLeod of Dunvegan’s lands there. MacKenzie of Kintail was away and, in his absence, the force then invaded the mainland, devastated Kinlochewe and besieged the castle of Eilean Donan. Here the rash Donald Gorm, going too close to the castle walls, was shot in the foot by an arrow reputedly shot by the Constable of the castle. Attempting to pull it out, he ruptured an artery and his followers took him to a neighbouring islet where he died. His people returned to Skye, burning all the boats they could find in Kintail.27 This led, in the following year of 1540, to a major royal expedition to the Isles, with no less than twelve ships required to be ready, fully armed and provisioned by 14 May. Six of them would be needed to take the King and his immediate followers, three were for supplies and the remaining three were for Cardinal Beaton and the Earls of Huntly and Arran. Under his command the Cardinal had 500 men from Angus and Fife. Huntly had a retinue of gentlemen and 500 men from the northern shires and Arran had 500 from the West.28 At the end of May, the fleet set sail from the Forth. They staged in Orkney and then rounded Cape Wrath, stopping by Strathnaver, where they picked up Donald Mackay, and then on to Lewis. Ruari MacLeod hastened to join them there, as did Alexander MacLeod when they arrived at Dunvegan on

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Skye. The Island Chiefs came in to submit as the expedition continued. They included Clanranald, Glengarry, MacKenzie and, as they came to Mull and then Islay, they were joined by Maclean of Duart and MacDonald of Dunnyveg. On arrival at Dumbarton, the King disembarked, returning to his Court overland, and the fleet retraced its course round the north of Scotland with the Chiefs captive on board. Throughout the expedition there is no mention of the King’s Lieutenant, the Earl of Argyll, who in all probability played no part in the affair. This would have been seen as a massive snub but one which, by now, could hardly have come as a surprise. Little is known of the eventual outcome, although the likelihood is that the Chiefs were released one by one on promise of good behaviour and the furnishing of hostages. Royal Governors were installed in several of the castles which dominate the western seaboard, among them Dunnyveg itself where Archibald Stewart, of the Bute family, was made Governor. Shortly before the King’s death, he was made Sheriff and Governor of the whole of Islay.29 In March 1540, the Earl of Argyll had come to an official reconciliation with Campbell of Inverawe, somebody with whom he had apparently been on less than amicable terms. The notarial instrument promises that the Earl will forgive and remit ‘all faults, quarrels, claims or crimes and all rancour of his mind that he has or in any time past against him up to the present day and shall loyally and truely cause justice to be done’ particularly in the quarrel between Archibald of Inverawe and Allan Campbell of Lerags concerning various lands, fishings and the office of Marty of Lismore. In October, Sir John Campbell of Lundy, Depute Justice General and ‘beloved familiar servitour’ of the King, was sent on embassy to France with a party 106 strong. However, this was nothing like as glittering an entourage as the one that had accompanied his Chief. There were ten Campbells in the party, including Sir John’s daughter and his son, who was married to the daughter of Finlay Campbell of Corsewell. This Campbell was also one of the party, as was Finlay Campbell of Loudonhill, but the composition appears to have been predominately Lowland rather than Highland.30 Marks of royal favour to the Earl and his clan were not entirely wanting at this period. From the Earl the King purchased MacIain of Ardnamurchan’s inheritance for £5,000 Scots, which was a substantial sum. He also reconfirmed the Earl’s lands and infefted the Master of Argyll with all lands and hereditary offices, thereby remitting the Crown’s feudal casualties. On 30 December 1541, the King appointed Earl Archibald as Keeper of the Royal Forest of Mamlorn 31 and, in March the following year, for his loyal services as Master of the Cellar, Archibald was also given lands at Cardross in

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Dumbartonshire, on the Firth of Clyde. And, in August of that same year, 1542, Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas and his wife, Maud Montgomery, were given a six-year tack or lease of the assize of all herring taken between the Pentland Firth in the north and the Mull of Galloway in the south.32 The years 1541 and 1542 were momentous. In 1541, King Henry VIII of England was determined to bring an end to a problem that had been going on for centuries – a problem, incidentally, that is still with us to this day. He declared himself King of all Ireland and set out to destroy all the old, Irish customs and practices. This was also to have an effect in the West Highlands because of the proximity to Ireland both geographically and culturally. Highland soldiers of fortune were a major part of the Irish military and political scene. For a long time, it was the Lord of the Isles and his domains that provided a regular supply of fighting men to the warring factions in Ireland but, since the forfeiture of the Lordship, it would appear that other clans, notably the Campbells began to play an increasing role in affairs. In 1542, war between the English and the Scots broke out once more. However, the Scottish army was weakened by the disaffection of the Protestant nobles and they suffered a heavy and ignominious defeat at Solway Moss. The defeat weighed heavily upon the mind of King James V and this, combined with the sorrow he felt over the recent deaths of his two infant sons, led, less than a month later, to his own death – the victim, it was said, of a broken heart. He left no male heir, only a daughter. ‘It came wi’ a lass, it shall gang wi’ a lass,’ he is reputed to have said as he passed away. His daughter was to gain fame as Mary Queen of Scots.33 The omens did not look good for her or her people. The country was torn by religious splits, her unity was threatened by competing nobles and, above all, there was the continuing threat of English invasion. James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, a somewhat distant cousin of the late King was appointed regent and Argyll became a member of the Regency Council. Tension was growing in Scotland between the swell of public opinion against old Church and the increasing interest in the teachings of the reformer Martin Luther, which were now gaining wide acceptance in Europe. Luther’s views had already taken root in England where King Henry VIII had received rich pickings from the Church and, having quarrelled with the Pope, declared himself Defender of the Faith in defiance of the authority of Rome. Arran was sympathetic to this new wave and he opposed the faction that supported the old order which was led by Cardinal Beaton. Because of Henry VIII’s stance, the reformers in Scotland found much in common with England and King Henry was in favour of the marriage of his son, Prince Henry, to the Scottish Queen as this would unite the two

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kingdoms. Argyll, however, in spite of his enthusiastic embracing of the Reformed religion was not in favour of the match and campaigned actively against it and, in 1543, he joined the association formed to prevent it. Beaton now engineered the return to Scotland from abroad of Matthew, Earl of Lennox, as a counter-claimant for the regency. But both Arran and the Cardinal were frightened by Henry’s too-obvious enthusiasm and combined against him. The idea of the marriage was dropped, at least by the Scots leaders. Lennox now found himself isolated and the idea that he should marry the King’s widow was also dropped. Support for his claim to the regency dwindled and, feeling thwarted and disappointed, he now joined the English cause.34 The year 1543 started with a truce between the Earl of Argyll and Donald Dubh, who had escaped from his captivity and was back on his home ground – now openly referring to himself as ‘Lord of the Isles’. This was to last until May Day. Both sides used the respite to prepare and, by June, both Huntly in the North and Argyll in the South were fully occupied trying to quell rebellion. The Earl of Glencairn, with whom Argyll had a bitter feud, now suggested to the Regent that the hostages should be released and MacDonald given his head. Arran weakly agreed. On his return to the Isles, Donald Dubh had raised a force of some 1800 men with whom he now invaded the Earl of Argyll’s territories, burning, killing, laying waste and driving off a huge head of cattle. Dealing with this kept Argyll busy during August and meant he had to be at home instead of combining with the Cardinal against the Regent in the final showdown that was daily expected. The Earl was by now fully identified as a major obstacle to English ambitions. The English Privy Council wrote to the Duke of Suffolk requiring him to cause Argyle to be warned that unless he continued to be loyal to the King, the latter would, by sending men from Ireland and employing mercenaries in Scotland, burn his country, when France should have neither power nor leisure to aid him.35 But Arran now turned against the English King and for a time MacDonald of Dunnyveg supported him. The Earl of Argyll continued to build up his own position. In April, his son-in-law, Hector Maclean of Duart, entered into a Bond of Manrent with him, promising to become the Earl’s man and Servant and to give him his best counsel at all times.36 In May, he signed a Bond of Mutual Agreement with Huntly assenting to cooperate in the settling of disorder and to resolve disagreements amongst their own people fairly.37 There were more signs of

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favour from the Regent than had been the case in the King’s time. This took the form of a number of gifts of forfeited lands and goods38 and, in January, a Commission in the Queen’s name to the Captain, Constable and Keeper of the Castle of Dunaverty to deliver the castle, with its artillery and ammunition, to the Earl. In April, he received a twelve-year tack of the lands of North and South Kintyre, including the castle at a new rent 39 and, in May, he and his uncle Cawdor were given the right to lease out and collect the rents of all the Southern Isles and of the Lordship. In December, he received a nine-year tack of all the Queen’s lands in Bute. The church, too, was keen to woo him. In January, he purchased the lands of Balrudry, Pitgober and Blairhill in Muckhart from the Archbishop of Saint Andrews40 and, in August, he was given further lands in Muckhart by the Diocese of Saint Andrews for ‘pleasures, helps, counsels and good deeds’ rendered and for ‘the custody, maintenance and defence of ecclesiastical liberty at this present dangerous time when Lutheran Heresies on all sides swarming are attempting to overturn and subvert ecclesiastical liberty’.41 The following year, 1544, a furious King Henry VIII launched a twopronged expedition against Scotland – one on the east coast, one on the west. The first burnt Edinburgh and Leith and ravaged the southern counties. In August, the western force set out from Bristol under the command of Matthew, Earl of Lennox, who was accompanied by several experienced officers, 200 men armed with hackbuts, 200 archers and 200 pikemen. They attacked Arran, where they captured and burnt Brodick Castle, before sailing to Bute, where they meted out the same treatment to Rothesay Castle. Possession of both castles was taken in the name of the English King.42 Lennox’s main objective was now the castle at Dumbarton, which was in the hands of Lennox’s ally, Glencairn, under the Governor, Stirling of Glorat, who, however, had been subverted by the Queen Mother. The agreement ostensibly made to hand over the castle for a sum of money, in fact, concealed a plot to seize Lennox when he entered it with a small retinue. In the event, Lennox’s suspicions were aroused and he made a rapid retreat to his boats, leaving the bribe to the Governor on the table and narrowly escaping the arrival of a force of 4,000 men under the Earl of Angus and Sir George Douglas, who had had enough of the excessive behaviour of King Henry and who now moved against him.43 The English force then sailed off down the Clyde, passing Dunoon, where Argyll opened fire on them with his artillery. They retired to their base at Rothesay, where Lennox was joined by 140 MacFarlanes under their Chief. These men were described as ‘light footmen, well-armed with coats of mail, with bows and arrows, and two-handed swords . . . speaking both Irish and

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English’. Having reorganised, they returned to Dunoon, where they made an opposed landing under the fire of Argyll’s guns and defeated him in a brief but bloody skirmish that saw the death of some eighty Campbells and their allies, many of them gentlemen. Argyll was forced to retire leaving the town of Dunoon open to the invaders, who burnt it and plundered the church where many of the locals had placed their valuables for safekeeping. They then returned to their ships, beating off an attempted Campbell counter-attack that caused further losses.44 Some days later they repeated the operation, although the exact location is not specified. Argyll and his 2,000 men, probably made up largely from Campbells in Cowal, the Lairds of Ardkinglas’s and Strachur’s men and their allies, were unable to forestall the enemy, no doubt due to the fact that the English forces with their boats were far more mobile round the fiords that penetrate this country than the land-based Campbells, who were faced with long marches. The English then invaded Kintyre, which belonged to MacDonald of Dunnyveg, who, at this point, was on the side of Argyll. They caused a great deal of damage in Kintyre and drove off many cattle. They also focused particular attention on the Earl of Glencairn’s property. Soon the coasts of Ayrshire and Galloway were terrified and many of the local lairds made their peace with the invaders. Lennox also took the opportunity to establish communications with the leaders of the Isles – as ever, he was anxious to employ every means of combating the Earl of Argyll he could and he was quite ready to support the English cause if that was what it took.45 But the campaigning season was now over and Lennox returned to England where his efforts, although not as decisive as they might have been, were well received by the King. Throughout this year, Argyll continued his policy of making alliances and he entered into Bonds of Manrent with the following: John Stewart, Earl of Minto; John Stewart of Appin, the younger, who promised to follow Argyll even against his fathers and brothers should they absent themselves from the Earl’s service; and with Alexander MacGregor of Glenstrae, chief of Clan Gregor, who, in return for the gift of the lands of Glenample, declared himself and his heirs to be ‘man and servant’ to Argyll for ever, also promising never to reveal the Earl’s counsel given them.46 The Earl, with his uncle, Sir John Campbell of Cawdor, also entered into a Bond of Mutual Support with George Douglas, Master of Angus ‘having respect and consideration of the troublous time present and calamities and breks with the realme’. They also ratified and approved all agreements made over the lands of Abernethy and, if there were any disagreement, then the arbiters would be Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas and James Douglas, the

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Laird of Drumlanrig.47 Along with others, he was also given the task of seizing the Earl of Glencairn’s house of Finlaystone, overlooking the Clyde, since the Earl was an accomplice of the Earl of Lennox and excused for the death of any of Glencairn’s men that might result.48 The times were indeed troublous but in spite of everything, the Earl had to continue to look after his people and to administer his lands. There are two charters of some interest this year. One is to Ian MacMolmorie vicKiver of half a merkland in Lismore. These are given ‘for the keeping of the great pastoral-staff of the Blessed Molocus in like manner as the predecessors of the said Ian have heretofore freely possessed them from our predecessors Lords of Lorn as a free and pious gift’. Described as ‘signifero nostro’ – our standard-bearer – Ian is also called Livingstone of Bachuil, whose descendant, the present Baron, today lives on the lands owned by his forebears with the remnant of Saint Moluag’s staff still in his possession.49 The other charter is to another family, generations of whom served Mac Cailein Mor. This was the grant of the lands of Braeleckan and Craeleckan on the shores of Loch Fyne to the south of Inveraray to Dougall M’Ane VcSannane VcClerich whose name is more familiar when anglicised as Clark or Clerk. They were a learned family with skills of writing and knowledge of the law whose signatures as witnesses is often to be found on the Earl’s charters. The same pattern was repeated in 1545 with the Earl, in January, being granted all the goods of the late Sir John Chisholm, Archdean of Dunblane, who died as a bastard and was, therefore, without an official heir.50 In April, he finalised the deal with Lord Lyell by which he purchased the lands of Boquhan in Stirlingshire for 27,000 merks.51 That same month, he was appointed Justiciar within the island of Bute for one year and, thereafter, at pleasure.52 He had previously promised that, in the case of an English attack, he would provide the inhabitants of the island with alternative grazing for their beasts and, should they be stolen, he would exert his utmost endeavours in finding where they had gone and restore them.53 Reforming zeal gave opportunities for rich pickings. It was many years later that John Lockhart of Bar and Charles Campbell of Bargour in Ayrshire were eventually charged with the spoliation and depredation of parish churches, religious houses and chapels throughout Lanark, Renfrew, Kyle, Carrick and Cunningham during the period from 1545 to 1548, by which time they were the possessors of many chalices, altars and ornaments, all plundered in ‘the Name of the Lord’.54 Negotiations now continued between the Clan Donald and the English cause under Lennox, helped by Lennox’s vassal, Patrick Colquhoun, who

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knew the Isles well, having been King’s Chamberlain there in the days of King James V. The commission by Donald Dubh and his councillors for two of their number to treat with Lennox was dated 28 July 1545. Donald Dubh declared his desire to the English King to be revenged on the whole realm of Scotland of which he and his confederates had always been enemies. With mounting fervour, his letters declared that Lennox was ‘the true Governor of Scotland’, with whom he meant to ‘live and die’. In one letter he drew the following analogy: As Christ chose poor fishermen to be his disciples and apostles, so the King had deigned to turn to him [Donald] who in his mother’s womb was carried off to captivity and almost until this time had been kept in prison and fetters.55 Donald’s enthusiasm was no doubt fanned by King Henry’s gift of a thousand crowns with the promise of a pension of double that sum, provided his loyalty to the English was maintained. In front of two of Lennox’s men, Patrick Colquhoun and Walter MacFarlane and various English officials, in the Greyfriars Church at Carrickfergus, MacDonald and his councillors now swore to be the English King’s subjects under command of the Earl of Lennox and to support the King touching the ‘Marriage of the Princess of Scotland and all other affairs’.56 The apparent plan was for the rebels to pass along the Western seaboard wreaking havoc as they went. The force was split and MacDonald was on the Irish coast with a fleet of 180 galleys and 4,000 men, while a similar number remained on the Scottish side in order to contain Argyll. MacDonald’s remit was to pass along the coast doing as much damage as he could to Henry’s enemies. Three thousand of his men were described as ‘very tall men’ in habergeons of mail with long swords and longbows and a few guns.57 Lennox meanwhile would prepare to lead an invasion of Scotland assisted by 2,000 Irish ‘of the most savage sort’ under the Earl of Ormond, to be joined by the Clan Donald and their adherents. It had been agreed that all 8,000 men should remain at Lennox’s disposal while he was in Argyll and, if he were to go to another part of Scotland, then 6,000 should go with him, the remainder staying behind to keep the Earl of Argyll and his Campbells in check.58 A march on Stirling seemed a good idea. Wages would be guaranteed by the English for 3,000 of the force ‘who being gentlemen must be sustained and helped’,59 MacDonald being responsible for the payment of the remainder. If successful, King Henry would, on no account, treat with the Earl of Argyll until the latter had handed back all lands belonging to the MacDonald Chief that he had seized.

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This was the last occasion on which the Council of the Isles acted in concert. Their names of the participants are given as follows: Hector Maclean of Duart; John (MacDonald), Captain of Clanranald; Rory Macleod of Lewis; Alexander MacLeod of Dunvegan; Murdoch Maclean of Lochbuie; Angus, brother of James MacDonald; Allan Maclean of Torloisk, brother of Duart; Archibald MacDonald, Captain of Clan Huistein (Sleat); Alexander MacIan of Ardnamurchan; John Maclean of Coll; Gilleonan MacNeill of Barra; Ewan MacKinnon of Strathardle; John MacQuarie of Ulva; John Maclean of Ardgour; Alexander Ranaldson of Glengarry; Angus Ranaldson of Knoydart; and Donald Maclean of Kingairloch.60 It is to be noticed that Argyll’s son-in-law, James MacDonald of Dunnyveg, was not among them. He had been given a Royal Charter of much land in Kintyre, Islay, Jura, Rathlin, Colonsay and Morvern which were all now erected into the Barony of Bar, a reward by Arran for his service against the English, but it was now only a matter of time before he joined them once more.61 The east of Scotland was now being invaded by Hertford who required Lennox to join him. Growing impatient, Donald Dubh returned to the Scottish mainland with his troops. Meanwhile, a shipment of gold from England did arrive but was intercepted by Maclean of Duart. The resulting quarrel over its distribution or, quite possibly, non-distribution broke up the Island forces who returned home with their chiefs in high dudgeon.62 The year was well on by the time Lennox got back to Ireland. In spite of the changed situation, he decided to set sail for Scotland with his Irish force and the Earl of Ormond. He sent Patrick Colquhoun ahead to investigate the Isles and sent his brother, the former Bishop of Caithness, as an emissary to try to subvert Stirling of Glorat, the Constable of Dumbarton. This alarmed Arran, Argyll and Huntly who now besieged the castle but to no avail. Glorat, having first sworn that he would hold the castle against all-comers until the Queen was of an age to claim it herself, eventually succumbed to a counter-bribe. Meanwhile, the Bishop was promised that his former see would be returned to him and the castle passed into the hands of the Regent. Thoroughly discouraged, Lennox returned to Ireland where Donald Dubh caught a fever and died at Drogheda in December 1545. He was buried with great ceremony and the bill which Lennox sent to King Henry for Donald Dubh’s funeral expenses was to cost the English monarch £400, a very considerable sum in those days. The death of Donald Dubh brought the demise of his line. Leadership of the Clan Donald should have then passed to the family of Sleat but their representative, the son of Donald Gorm, was merely an infant. It was, therefore, James MacDonald of Dunnyveg, also referred to as ‘of Islay’ or ‘of Antrim’,

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who now took over that role. His position, however, did not meet with universal approval and he was spurned by the MacLeans and by the MacLeods and even by such lesser clans as the MacKinnons, the MacQuaries and the MacNeills.63 Needless to say this breakdown in the cohesion of the Isles was eagerly seized on by Clan Campbell.64 As a reward for his services, many of the forfeited lands of the rebel Earl of Lennox were granted to the Earl of Argyll. They included Arrochar, Balloch, Tullichewan, Bonhill-Lindsay, Ardardan-Noble, Ardardan-Macaulay, Galbraith, Kilmahow, Darleith, Colgrain, both Camuseskans, Ardenconall, Kilmichael, Meikle Drumfad, Buchanan, Blarnern, Kirkmichael-Stirling, Stucklecky and Little Drumfad, Finnart, Portincaple, Feorlingbrek, Auchinvynnal, Lagary, the lands and barony of Glenfruin and Rosneath, together with the lands of the Island of Inchmurrin. All of these lands constituted a vast sweep of territory around Loch Lomond and the north bank of the Clyde.65 Meanwhile, Dunoon had been repaired and the Earl paid Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas £136 6s 8d, which included the cost of an iron yet, for the castle.66 The year 1545 ended happily for the Earl who, on 12 December, at Kilmartin, signed a final agreement to marry his third wife, Katherine, daughter of Hector Maclean of Duart, his former uncle by marriage. They were now set to marry ‘in face of Haly Kirk now instantlie’. Her father had to produce a tocher of 3,000 merks and the Earl had to give her the lands of Gleneuchar, Kilbride, Barranreach in Lorne and Fynknockan and Ballemeanoch in Lismore. Two days later he made a major grant of lands in Lorne to his new father-in-law which included Kilchattan, Adlarach, Luing, Torsa, Ardluing and Shuna in return for service by land and by sea.67 This marriage meant that the Macleans, who were already bound by a Bond of Manrent to Argyll that was signed two years previously, were useful allies to the Clan Campbell. Hector Mor of Duart’s seal, on record in 1546, indeed displays a remarkable series of charges. Only one is on a shield which is surrounded by the later Maclean heraldic charges of the tower, the galley, the red hand and the two eagles’ heads. But the shield itself displays the Campbell gyronny of eight and this would have been seen as a very clear political statement of adherence to Mac Cailein Mor. With the death of Donald Dubh and the falling into disarray by the Islesmen, 1546 was largely a year for tidying up. Efforts to renew the rebellion were fruitless. James Macdonald of Dunnyveg, in spite of his grant of lands from the Crown made the previous year and his position as Argyll’s brother-in-law, now conspired against the Queen. His approach to the English Depute and Council of Ireland offered fresh cooperation with

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Lennox, suggesting a rendezvous at Sanda, the little island and anchorage conveniently placed off the Mull of Kintyre.68 His offer met with little enthusiasm as King Henry was less than satisfied with the efforts previously made. He was also not impressed by this new leader whose emissaries, Patrick Maclean and the Bishop-elect of the Isles, appear to have been imprisoned by their hosts.69 Locheil was also in touch with the Irish Council, pointing out that he had taken preys from both Huntly and Argyll – no doubt in the hope of gaining suitable recognition for himself.70 Others saw discretion as a better course. Allan Stewart of Appin, in March 1546, signed a Bond of Submission to Argyll, promising to release the eight people held by him and his ‘bairns’,71 while, in April, William MacLeod of Harris signed a Bond of Manrent.72 Earl Archibald continued to reap the rewards of his enemies’ misbehaviour. In August 1546, he received the gift of all goods belonging to Walter MacFarlane, together with ninety-seven of his men, because they killed fifty people in Dumbarton, stole eighty horses and helped the English burn Dunoon.73 That same month, he was given further lands belonging to Matthew, Earl of Lennox. He got Craigneilston in Renfrew in one charter74 and, in another, the islands of Inchdamanoch (Inchtavannach) and Craveniche (Creinch) in Loch Lomond 75 were made over to him. He and his second son, Colin, were made Keepers of the Forest of Glenfinglas, in Menteith, during the Queen’s lifetime.76 Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas was also rewarded with the gift of the lands in Bute formerly owned by Lennox’s accomplice, Archibald Stewart of Largeane.77 January 1547 saw the death of the English King Henry VIII, who left behind him the infant King Edward VI as his successor. Both Scotland and England were now ruled by regents acting in place of the monarch – Arran in Scotland and Somerset in England – but there was scarcely a pause in the hostilities between the two countries. That same month, Argyll received the gift of the ward and rents of the lands of the late Alexander MacLeod of Dunvegan and he also signed a mutual Bond of Friendship with William, Earl of Montrose. Archibald, the Earl’s son and the Fiar (the owner of a fee-simple of a property) of Argyll, confirmed a list of lands in Craignish given by his father to his wife, Katherine Maclean. In a potent reminder of the spirit of the age, he mentions ‘innumerable spoliations, rapes, insults, murders and horrible homicide had been committed and perpetrated of which none is ignorant between our dearest father . . . and Hector Maclean of Duart’.78 In April, the Scots army was summoned to meet at Haddington with 20 days’ victual. Both Huntly and Argyll were said to be coming on foot, with all

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their power, and the latter, it was said, would be accompanied by 4,000 archers. They were less than popular and not all the Highlanders fell in under the Earls’ banners. Later that year, Ewen Cameron, described as ‘Captain’ of Clan Cameron and twenty-nine of his followers had their escheated goods given to the Earl of Argyll as a punishment for failing to muster with the army which, by then, was awaiting the English advance at Musselburgh.79 It was there that the two forces faced each other, on 10 September 1547. The English army was some 16,000 strong, including a force of 4,000 cavalry, and they occupied the high ground of Carberry Hill and Fawside on the ridge overlooking the flat plain behind Musselburgh. The Scots army, said to number some 25,000, but markedly inferior in both cavalry and artillery, waited for them with their left flank on the sea at Musselburgh and most of their position protected by the River Esk. The river is now a muddy brook but back then it was a considerable body of water, quite capable of drowning a man. Had the Scots held their position, events would, in all probability, have turned out differently, but the sight of a large detachment of the English moving down and across their front in order to occupy the hill feature of Inveresk, directly above Musselburgh, was too much for the Highlanders under the Earl of Argyll and they abandoned their position in order to cross the river and engage the advancing English in flank. The rest of the Scots army now followed their example and moved from behind the river obstacle to the open plain. Here the English cavalry had full play and the Scots were decisively defeated. The Highlanders, who were widely dispersed by now – probably plundering the dead – thought they saw the beginning of a Scots withdrawal and fled the field, spreading panic in their wake. No less than 10,000 Scots are said to have paid the price that day and, among them, no doubt, many of the men of Argyll who had been the first to break ranks and engage.80 Argyll is said ‘to have distinguished himself ’ but his people can hardly be said to have covered themselves in glory. The disaster at Pinkie required Scotland to regroup and lick its wounds. In the West Highlands and Isles, with the attention of James MacDonald increasingly focussed on affairs in Ireland, the situation was allowed to calm down with the minimum amount of retribution on those lately in rebellion. The Earl had plenty to occupy him in the following months. In July 1549, after protracted negotiations, he signed an agreement with Huntly for the marriage of his son and heir, Archibald, Master of Argyll, to Huntly’s daughter, Janet Gordon, to go ahead. By the terms of the deal, Argyll would grant the young couple and their heirs his lands in Muckhart and Menstrie as well as the Lordship of Lorne, a package that was worth at least 600 merks

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a year. Huntly would pay Argyll 5,000 merks in return.81 But the marriage never came off. In August, he received by Royal Charter the lands resigned by Allan Stewart of Appin. These comprised the lands of Duror, including Keills, Glencannichin, Ardsheal, Lagnahow, Ballachulish, Auchindarroch, Acharne, Achechar, Auchinblair and Glencoe. Once again, there appears to have been no question of Campbells moving in to take over the actual lands concerned. The sitting tenants remained but now held their lands from Argyll. It was about this time that Charles Campbell, son of Campbell of Craignish, killed Gillies of Glenmore in a scuffle and, to escape retribution, he fled to Ardeonaig, on the banks of Loch Tay, where he founded a notable branch of the Campbells of which we shall hear more anon.82 The process of pacification continued the following year with William MacLeod of Dunvegan and John, son of Tormod MacLeod, and John’s son, John Og, agreeing to settle past troubles between them through the arbitration of four ‘honourable men’. These ‘honourable men’ were Hector Maclean of Duart, John Campbell of Lochnell, John MacDougall of Dunolly and Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas, with Dougall Campbell, younger of Auchinbreck and Lachlan MacLachlan of that Ilk standing as reserves.83 MacLachlan and the Auchinbrecks, father and son, were also there when, in July of that year, at Rothesay, Argyll, as Queen’s Lieutenant, proclaimed an act under which he ordered the arrest of all those who had taken part in wrongdoing – fire, slaughter, murder and sorning – on the island. Those who were guilty were to be apprehended and handed over by the local lairds.84 In October, he gave a grant of Mingary Castle and the lands of Ardnamurchan to James MacDonald of Dunnyveg for a sum of money ‘in consideration of the good, faithful and thankful service paid to the Earl [by James] in times bygone’.85 Two other noteworthy increases in Campbell influence followed in 1551 with the confirmation to Colin Campbell of Glenorchy of Finlarig and lands along Loch Tay resigned and then regranted as the Barony of Finlarig. The Earl’s second son, Colin (who was in due course to succeed his brother as 6th Earl), and his wife, Janet Stewart, received from her father, Henry, Lord Methven, the lands and lordship of Balquhidder to be held from the Queen for the usual services.86 When the marriage that Argyll and Huntly had planned failed to take place – for reasons that are unclear – another marriage contract was signed, on 1 July 1553. This time it was between Archibald, Master of Argyll, and Lady Jean Stewart, natural daughter of the late King James V. Her tocher was to be 5,000 merks, to be paid by the Queen Dowager, the Lord Regent and

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her brothers, the Lord Commendators of St Andrews, Kelso, Holyroodhouse and Coldingham. Her jointure was to be the Lordship of Lorne, now said to be worth 500 merks annually.87 This was followed in August by a charter of sale by her husband to Janet of the lands of Lorne and of Menstrie to be held from the Queen for life.88 By now, the health of the Earl of Argyll would seem to be failing and the affairs of his son and eventual successor, Archibald, the Master of Argyll, were conducted with the agreement of Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas, who is described as his ‘Curator’ or ‘Tutor’. In 1554, The Queen Mother, Mary of Guise, took over control of Scotland and she determined to bring the Islanders to heel. In June, Huntly and Argyll were commanded to proceed by land and sea to exterminate the Clan Donald and the Macleods because none of them had produced hostages when required to do so. A ship and artillery were supplied for Argyll’s use and Huntly was given a force of Lowlanders to aid his attack on Clanranald. Neither was successful. Huntly could hardly be blamed as the Lowlanders’ insisted on bringing their horses which were unsuitable for campaigning in the Highlands. On top of this, Huntly had recently executed the Chief of Mackintosh, an act that was duly judged illegal, and he was, therefore, unwilling to go with Highlanders alone, so his expedition failed. On his return, he was arrested and imprisoned. In order to secure his release, he had to renounce various grants made to him, including the Earldoms of Mar and of Moray and the wardship and marriage of the infant Mary Macleod of Dunvegan of whom we shall soon hear more. Sentenced to five years’ banishment in France, he managed to escape his fate by payment of 5,000 merks.89 That same year, young Archibald, Master of Argyll, with the consent of his father and his Curator, Ardkinglas, sold the lands of Stronmilchan, Edendonich, Craig and Kindrochat, together with the castles at Duilletter, Tullich and Myane, to Colin Campbell of Glenorchy. This was followed – after the death of Ian MacGregor of Glenstrae and the marriage of his son and heir, Gregor – by Archibald’s granting the various dues consequent on Gregor’s ward. These included relief, marriage and non-entry to Colin Campbell of Glenorchy as well. Throughout, Argyll retained the superiority of these lands which lie from the mouth of Glenstrae along the lower reaches of the River Orchy at the head of Loch Awe. These transactions highlight the relationship between the Campbells and the Clan Gregor which were now to present a lurid strand in the weave of history. The Clan Gregor, whose chief took the designation ‘of Glenstrae’ was a junior line of the ancient family de Glenorchy. This family took their name, it would appear, from one ‘Gregor of the Golden Bridles’ who flourished

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around the mid 1300s. The de Glenorchy family had ended with an heiress, Mariota of Glenorchy, whose lands went with her marriage to John Campbell who was, it was suggested in Volume I, the son of Sir Dougall Campbell and grandson of Sir Cailean Mor.90 Several generations later, Colin Iongantach of Lochawe’s marriage to his cousin, Mariota Campbell brought the lands of Glenorchy into what, by then, was the main line of the Campbell Chiefs. Colin Iongantach was succeeded as Chief by his son, Sir Duncan, and Duncan granted these lands of Glenorchy to his younger son, Colin ‘of Rome’, and he founded the branch of Clan Campbell known as the Campbells of Glenorchy – later of Breadalbane – in the mid 1400s. From now on, the MacGregor Chiefs were vassals of MacCailein Mor and they held their lands from him, as did Campbell of Glenorchy. Having lost the ancient designation of Glenorchy, they used Glenstrae or Stronmilchan as the designation of their Chief – the River Strae being the somewhat grandiloquent name for the burn which empties into the extreme north of Loch Awe, to the west of the outflow of the River Orchy. Stronmilchan is the name of the hill that divides the two river valleys. Unlike the more frequent later trend, which often tended to leave the pattern of settlement relatively undisturbed, the Campbells did move in to the area, with Colin building the Castle of Kilchurn in Loch Awe. The exact location of the MacGregor dwelling places and how these were shared with the Campbells is unclear. The white-painted farm of the castle is easily visible from the main road, set back as it is on the west side of Glenstrae. Its name derives from the significant Dun some hundred yards from today’s farmhouse, which is close to the site of a much later seventeenth-century tower, also built by the Campbells. Then, on the other side of the Strae, several hundred feet up, on the slopes of Stronmilchan, there are the foundations of a large hall, the Tigh Mor or ‘Big House’, whose outline is clearly visible in the close-cropped turf. Use of dowsing rods reveals a complex of adjoining walls, of open cattle pens or huts, perhaps, while the many grassy mounds on the surrounding face of the hill seem to show the outlines of many huts, which may someday be confirmed as such by actual excavation. If not an early mediaeval dwelling house of stature, then the building may be a granary for the collection and storage of rent in kind. Then, almost due south and in a field just below the loop road between Loch Awe and Dalmally, next to the relatively modern White House, the outline may be seen of what the RCAHMS Inventory of Argyll describes as ‘a moated grange’. This, too, is clearly a building of stature and it is probably no coincidence that the traditional sites of ‘Hanging Trees’, where extreme baronial justice could be dispensed, exist near both locations. They are to be

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found on a knoll just by the old bridge over the River Strae and by Edendonich on the slopes above the moated grange. It is tempting to suggest that these may be the sites of the houses of Stronmilchan and of Glenstrae mentioned in the charters but the exact pattern of occupancy is unclear. But what is beyond doubt, if somewhat surprising in view of later events, is that the early relationship between the MacGregors and the Campbells was an entirely friendly one. The MacGregors who were notable warriors supporting and spearheading the Campbell of Glenorchy Drang nan Osten. Even though the Tigh Mor with its magnificent view down the Loch overlooks Kilchurn it is the castle that dominates the whole area. It is of great significance that the Campbells of Glenorchy entrusted the keeping of this stronghold to a family of MacGregors – the MacGregors of Bracklie – who held the post for generations. When the Campbells of Glenorchy began their eastward expansion, over into Breadalbane and along the banks of Loch Tay, the MacGregors went with them as allies and supporters. But the death of Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy at Flodden in 1513 virtually stopped this momentum. His two sons who succeeded him in turn were ‘great justiciares’ rather than ruthless exploiters but, when the third son, Cailean Liath – ‘Grey Colin’ – succeeded his brother, the speed of Campbell of Glenorchy expansion resumed and intensified. By now the MacGregors had almost taken over the initiative and were beginning to act for themselves, notably with their penetration into Rannoch. It was time to rein them in and to remind them that they were vassals of Argyll and allies of the Campbells of Glenorchy who now became their masters. From now on, the transformation of the MacGregors from loyal friends to bitter enemies was inexorable. In 1555, the Queen Mother made renewed attempts to bring the Isles under control. In April, a process of treason was commenced against Ruari MacLeod of Lewis and, in June, Argyll and Atholl were given a Royal Commission over the Isles. MacLeod made various proposals for his future good behaviour through the Earl of Argyll and was given a respite in September. Clanranald and his sons were also persuaded by Atholl to submit. They were pardoned by the Queen Mother but failed to obey her command to stay away from the Isles.91 During this year, the Earl of Argyll became closely involved in the affairs of Ireland. It has already been commented how close Ireland is to the Western Highlands and Isles both physically and culturally. It was after all, from Ireland that the first Scots colonised the western shores of Argyll. Many later great Chiefs in Scotland were directly descended from Irish roots and much, if not all, of the Scottish social structure derived from and coexisted

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with the pattern set in Ireland. Ireland was long the cradle of Celtic Christianity, with a rich patchwork of magnificent cathedrals, abbeys, churches and the affiliated arts of writing, illustration and music. Alongside this bright, shining magnificence of civilisation existed a long history of continual internecine, bloody warfare, which the military might of the Northmen, the Normans and the English all failed to contain. The native Irish chiefs fought both the intruders and each other. The English soon found themselves contained within the Pale. The Scots hardly exercised more mastery when Edward Bruce, brother of King Robert, was proclaimed King of Ireland than when King Henry did the same thing in 1541. Later settlers in Ireland, Scottish and English, found the native Irish similarly intractable. All this gave great opportunities for freelance military intervention from the Western Highlands. At first, this took the form of whole tribes and families of professional mercenaries or galloglaich crossing the North Channel to sell their swords to the local warring Chiefs. Most prominent among them were the MacDonalds, their offshoots, the MacSheehys, the MacDougalls, the MacCabes and, perhaps the most famous of all, the MacSweeneys who, having been driven from their lands in Knapdale, crossed to Ireland where they became the leading galloglas family, being richly rewarded with lands, titles and much wealth. The earlier galloglas had for some time now been replaced by mercenaries who went by the name of ‘Redshanks’. They did not come primarily to settle but, every year, when the raiding season began, set sail in their galleys to sell their swords in Ireland. To start with, they had been made up largely of members of the Clan Donald and their satellites since the Lordship of the Isles was the largest source of manpower in the area and, indeed, Clan Donald South spanned the North Channel with bases both in Islay and the Glens of Antrim. As the efforts of the Tudors to subjugate Ireland intensified from 1541, with an almost ceaseless series of expeditions, so the value of the available manpower which could be hired from the West Highlands and Isles increased, both as a help or hindrance to the English and to the Irish chieftains, who endlessly warred among themselves. The market for these troops had earlier been supplied almost exclusively by the sons of Somerled but, after the forfeiture of the Lordship in 1493, other clans increasingly took a part, notably the Campbells and the Macleans. The men who made up these mercenary forces represent an ancient and important strand in Gaelic society and these forces have not received the attention they deserve. The warrior was a member of a distinct class and he was set aside from normal work in order that he could be kept in constant

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readiness for war. As such, he was looked after and nourished but did no labour for his keep and, while he himself might be the object of admiration, the burden he represented was highly unpopular, particularly in Ireland where the outlay involved was the major load the community had to bear. In Islay, ilk merkland man [must] sustein daylie and yeirlie ane gentleman in meit and clayth, quhilk dois na labour, but is haldin [regarded) as ane of their maister’s household men, and man [must) be sustenit and furneisit in all necessaries be the tennent, and the man (must) be reddie to his maister’s service and advis [orders].92 Meanwhile the tenants and labourers on the land had the prime duty of looking after the beasts and bringing in the crops. They were not permitted to steir furth of the cuntrie quhatevir thair maister have ado except only gentlemen quhilk labouris not . . . Ofttimes it happins quhen ony of thair particular Ilands hes to do with Irland or neighbours, that the haill cuntriemen bides furth watching thair enemies ane zeir, half ane zeir, or thairby, as thai please.93 Given that most tenancies were more than one merkland in value, the services of the tenant himself would not suffice to fulfil the obligation, even if he were to go on expedition himself and it would seem likely that this all-too-often ignored warrior class was made up of the younger sons of the gentry and those of gentle birth on the wrong side of the blanket for whom manual labour was deemed unworthy. This may well account for the large numbers of younger sons who appear briefly in the genealogies and who are on record, perhaps only once or twice, before disappearing from view. In real life, of course, they were far from invisible and it seems fair to suggest that their descendants may be found in the extraordinary number of Highland officers who served in the ranks of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British Army to an extent that was well out of proportion to their numbers in the population as a whole – a phenomenon that is even traceable, I believe, today. W. C. Mackenzie is probably right in describing them as ‘birds of passage (and birds of prey)’. But, as he admits, they may have contributed a small extent to the economy with booty and cash and they certainly acquired training and experience that would be of considerable value to their own Chiefs. To follow Mackenzie and damn them as ‘drones in the economic hive and a nuisance to the nation’ is, in this author’s eyes at least, going too far. Popular they were not, in view of the burden they imposed, but they enjoyed a warrior status deeply rooted in the culture of their people.94

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Clan Campbell now began to play a significant part in this trade of swords. Traces of their settlement in Ireland may be seen in the form of families who have long been established there. They do not always bear the name of Campbell or, if they do, it may be as descendants of Cathmhaoil as has already been discussed. For this reason, no doubt, the Campbells are usually referred to by the surname MacCailein – a practice that is further complicated by the cavalier attitude of the time to anything approaching standardised spelling so that this later name often appears as Mac Ailin – more correctly rendered as ‘Son of Allan’ rather than ‘Son of Colin’ and this was used on occasion by MacDonalds of Clanranald and by some Macleans. Other variations of the name include MacAllion, MacAllen, MacAllon, McEllin and MacEllen. In 1555, Calvagh O’Donnell arrived in Argyll from Ulster and concluded a treaty with the Chief of Clan Campbell. They agreed to maintain the traditional friendship between the two families and that Argyll would help O’Donnell retain his lands. The terms were that Argyll would supply O’Donnell with men and a formidable cannon on the understanding that O’Donnell in turn would pay the Earl 1,000 merks and maintain 500 ‘billeted soldiers’ for his use.95 The Annals of the Four Masters record that, in 1555, Calvagh went to Scotland and obtained ‘auxiliary forces’ from Mac Cailean under the command of ‘Master Arsibel’ (Archibald, Master of Argyll). He afterwards came back with a great body of Scots to ravage Tyrconnel. It was on this occasion that Calvagh brought with him from Argyll a gun called the Gunna Cam – the Crooked Gun – which was used to demolish Newcastle, in Inishowen, and the castle of Eanach. He took his father, Manus O’Donnell, captive and, taking over the O’Donnell chiefship, O’Donnell retained the Scottish troops from the All Hallowtide, when they arrived, to the Feast of St Brendan following year.96 But now, in 1556, Shane O’Neill, in attempting to emulate his ancestors and obtain the High Kingship of Ireland, overreached himself and the newly installed English Lord Deputy, Thomas Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwalter, soon to be Earl of Sussex, moved against Shane and his temporary ally James MacDonald of Dunnyveg, who, by now, had some 7,000 men from the Hebrides under his command, plus the forces of the neighbouring MacQuillans and O’Kanes from Ulster. Under the Earl of Ormonde, the English Forces defeated the rebels, killing some 200 of them and forcing James MacDonald and his brother to flee in their galley. The MacDonald lands in Antrim were ravaged with the help of a contingent of Skye MacDonalds from Sleat. During this, Alasdair Carrach, James MacDonald’s son, was captured. A party of around eighty Scots ‘mostly gentlemen’ was

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cornered on the rocks of the seashore and slaughtered. The threat of an alliance between rebel Irish, Highlanders and French was averted – for the moment.97 The following year, in 1557, Shane O’Neill assembled an army from the people of Oriel and, with English support, moved against Tyrconnel. Calvagh O’Donnell, whose forces were much smaller, had no option other than to fight a defensive campaign. O’Donnell was with two companies of MacSweeney galloglaich when he learned of the enemy approach and sent forward scouts under two of his friends, Donough Oge Maguire and Maurice MacAilin. Who exactly the latter was is unclear but, from his name, it would seem that he was one of the Campbell troops sent by Argyll to help Calvagh. Thanks to the information they obtained, Calvagh’s small force then let loose a successful but very bloody assault which shattered Shane’s force.98 It was either later the same year or, more probably, the following year, 1558, that Clan Campbell received a significant reversal of fortune. This came about when a party of Campbells ventured down from Donegal, where they had been in the service of O’Donnell, and went in a large party to Connaught. They were encouraged in this by Clan William Burke and they were obviously intent on what fortune might bring them, although the Annals of the Four Masters say they were motivated ‘by extraordinary vigour and bravery’! They were under the command of Domnall mac Dubgaill mic Giollaespuicc mic Ailin and Dubgall mac Donnchada mic Giollaespuicc mic Ailin – otherwise Donald, son of Dougall, son of Gillespic MacCailein, and Donough, son of Duncan, son of Gillespic MacCailein and, while the Annals of the Four Masters does not identify them further, it is clear that they are Campbells of social stature. From their patronymic is seems fair to suggest they may have been grandsons of the 2nd Earl of Argyll – probably from the wrong side of the blanket since there is no record of his having had sons called Dougall or Donough. The latter was styled Donough Cam – ‘Crooked Donough’, according to a later reference.99 When this invading host reached the Earl of Clanricarde’s country, the Earl gathered a force against them and put them to the sword, with some 1200 Scots being slain, including both of the ‘brave young constables’ who led them. Their standing is further underlined by the Four Masters who comment that the victory would have been even greater had they survived and been ransomed.99 Even allowing for numerical exaggeration and for the likelihood that not all of the forces were from Clan Campbell, it seems clear that a significantly large number of Campbells were, indeed, slain. The importance of the loss may be judged from the estimate, by Duncan Forbes of Culloden in his report to Government in 1745 on the Highland Clans, when the Campbell

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power was at its height, that the strength of the Duke of Argyll’s clan was some 3,000 and that of Lord Breadalbane’s a further 2,000. The Campbells, who were lost in Donegal, it has been suggested, came from those who had been sent over to help Calvagh O’Donnell and it is further suggested that the Campbell families who became settled in Tyrconnel derived from the same source. To this nucleus, no doubt, others had been added from less permanent visitors to Ireland and the number lost, even allowing for the factors above, represents a major depletion of Clan Campbell numbers of which no word exists in any histories of the Clan that have been written heretofore. Ireland was not the only scene of conflict that year. The Earl of Sussex, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, now determined to destroy the source of so much trouble in the Western Isles. On 14 September 1558, he sailed from Dublin, while James MacDonald, who had received a confirmation of his grant of the barony of Bar, was in Ireland. Some five days later, he arrived at Campbeltown, in Kintyre. ‘The same day,’ he tells his Queen, ‘I landed and burned eight miles and therewith James McConell’s chief howse called Saudell (Saddell), a fayre pyle and a stronge.’ The next day he burned ‘twelve myles’ on the other side of the Loch, including James MacDonald’s house of Machriemore and the castle of Dunaverty. On the third day, he ‘returned an other way to the shipps’ after burning ‘the hole countrye’. From Kintyre, he sailed to Arran, where he ‘did the lyke then to the Cumbraes, whyche [he] also burned, and ryding at anker between Combras and Bute (where [he] also thought to have landed) there rase suddenly a terrybell tempeste in whiche [he] susteyned sume losse’. The storm did, indeed, cause such damage to the fleet that Sussex felt unable to continue and carry out his plan to burn Bute and Islay. He, therefore, returned to Ulster on 5 October, with the intention of ridding the province of the troublesome Highlanders.100 The year, however, was to be further marked by two dates of great significance. On 17 September 1558, Queen Mary of England died, to be succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth. Some time shortly after 21 August, a charter to the Earl of Argyll’s son reveals that the Earl is still alive at that time but a later charter, dated December of that year, states that Archibald, 4th Earl of Argyll, did, indeed, die during the month of August.101 On his deathbed, the 4th Earl commended the new religion to his successor. He had already made the great change which was to prove such a major strand of the subsequent story of the House of Argyll and of the clan they led. It will be given the attention it deserves in the chapter that follows.

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CHAPTER THREE

The Reformed Faith

Archibald, 5th Earl, 1558–1573 rchibald – Gillasbuig Donn as he was called in the Gaelic, due to his brown hair – now succeeded his father as the 5th Earl of Argyll. Born around 1530 he was an experienced leader, having taken a strong contingent of his clan into Ulster with Calvagh O’Donnell in 1555. An attempted marriage with Huntly’s daughter did not come off and he went on to marry Lady Jean Stewart, the illegitimate daughter of King James V, around 1561. It was not to be a happy union and it ended in divorce in 1573. The Earl almost immediately got married again, this time to Janet Cunningham, daughter of the 5th Earl of Glencairn, but a mere matter of days later he was dead of ‘the stone’, the contemporary name for gallstones. There were no children from either marriage although he did sire a number of illegitimate children, among them John Campbell, the Provost of Kilmun, Jean Campbell, wife in turn of the heir to the Chief of Mackintosh and of Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan, and Elspeth or Elizabeth, who was married to the Chief of the MacFarlanes. If the career of the 4th Earl had been muted by his lack of credibility with King James V, his son’s story displays no such impediment but bursts on, with the full force of the stream of history behind it. It is a complicated tale, made up of several strong strands, which, at times, intertwine and, at others, separate, but it is seldom short of drama. The strongest strand is that of the new religion, the Reformed Faith, which had spread through Europe and which had already come to Scotland. Like his father before him, Earl Archibald, the 5th Earl of Argyll, was a staunch supporter of Protestantism. This, in turn, led to strong tension in his relations with his monarch, the charismatic but doomed Mary, Queen of Scots, who also plays a major part in the story. His position as the Queen’s Lieutenant in the Western Highlands and Isles was now without serious competition and the strength of his armed forces, both on land and sea and

A

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backed by his own artillery, was unmatched by any private individual in either Scotland or England. This ensured that he had to be taken into account in any action of the state and not only in Scotland alone. He was well known in the Courts of both France and England. His position was further enhanced by the major Campbell involvement in Ireland, a source of continued concern to England and a pawn in the international game of power which was there to be exploited. At home, he carried out his duties as a great Chief, regulating the affairs of his kin and his neighbours while, at the same time, still strengthening his position of power with a network of marriages, Bonds of Manrent and reward from the Crown. And the breakdown of the old church, with many senior Campbells holding positions of influence within it, ensured a flow of rich pickings from former Church lands. However, not everything went smoothly. It was at this time that the Clan Gregor, former friends and allies, were deemed to be out of control and a long and bloody feud began. The Chief and Clan Campbell played a major part in the establishment of Protestantism in Scotland. The 4th Earl had been much influenced by his son’s tutor John Douglas and, in 1556, he had invited John Knox to come and preach at Castle Campbell. His son Archibald, the 5th Earl, was now a committed supporter of the new order and placed his full weight behind its establishment. He influenced his clan to do likewise and, indeed, it has been suggested that they played a key role in the arrival and growth of the Kirk in the Highlands, being the first kin group to side openly with the Protestant cause, in the late 1550s, and following their Chief at every level from the lower lairds and their kin and retinue upwards.1 It was a gradual process. As late as 1555 Sir Colin Campbell and his wife, Katherine Ruthven, received a Papal Indulgence.2 Yet, the following year, 1556, he is on record as trying to persuade Knox to return to Scotland from Geneva.3 It was not unconnected. The rich pickings from the old Church were no longer to be had since much of the Church’s wealth had already been taken over by the nobility, either in the form of grants or purchases. This was facilitated by the members of the family who were well placed in high positions in the old Church and by the adoption of the system of Lay Commendators who were able to take over many of the positions of power within the Church hierarchy without the necessity of being themselves in Holy Orders. This, of course, brought Argyll into conflict with the religious views of the young Queen. For the first time, the struggle to reconcile strongly held religious views with loyalty to his monarch raised its head. And it would not be the last time. However, the Queen and the Earl were both young and, indeed, they were connected by marriage – Archibald’s first wife was the

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Queen’s half-sister, Jean, daughter of King James V by Elizabeth Bethune who, herself, was the daughter of Sir John Bethune of Creich.4 The Queen was clearly fond of both the Earl and his wife. The marriage, however, was not a success. They quarrelled, both were unfaithful and they were eventually divorced on 22 June 1573.5 In April 1558, when the Queen married the Dauphin, heir to the throne of France, Scotland’s liberties and independence had been formally guaranteed. In fact, Mary had promised in secret that, should she die without an heir, Scotland would be apanaged to the French Crown. In October, Mary’s mother, the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise, requested the reconvened Parliament to send the Crown matrimonial of Scotland to her daughter’s husband in France. Alarm among the Protestant Lords was assuaged by Mary’s promise that, if they agreed, their freedom of worship would be guaranteed. Argyll and the Queen’s half-brother, Lord James Stewart, agreed to go but the mission was cancelled because of the uncertainty of the situation at home in Scotland.6 Early in February the next year, 1559, a number of ‘the Lords, Barons and honourable men . . . special friends to my Lord Archibald, Earl of Argyll . . . of their own free and benevolent motive’ agreed to help the Earl in his expenses for this trip by a tax of 20 shillings on each merkland they owned. A condition was laid down that the Earl should not engage the subscribers in hosting or any other such thing during the time of his absence. The signers included: John Campbell of Lochnell; Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas; John Campbell, Bishop elect of the Isles and Commendator of Ardchattan; John Campbell of Skipness; John Lamont of Inveryne; John Stewart; Duncan Lamont; Archibald MacLachlan; Gorrie Macalister of Tarbert; Colin Campbell of Barbreck; Duncan Campbell, the younger, of Duntroon; Iver MacIver of Lergachonzie; Colin Campbell of Blarquhan; Dougall Campbell, the younger, of Auchinbreck; and John MacDougall of Dunolly. The composition of this list, no doubt, depended on who happened to be with the Earl in Glasgow at the time and it is likely that all other members of the clan and retinue in Argyll also agreed to pay the stent, their feelings probably being a mixture of dismay at its severity and pride and pleasure in the cause. In the event, it was not required since the Earl decided not to go. History does not tell us whether or not the tax was actually collected and, if it was, whether or not the subscribers got their money back.7 An early mark of the Queen’s favour came in December 1558 when the Earl of Argyll was granted the lands of Craigneilston in Renfrewshire, together with the 4 merklands of Garelochhead, which was at the time in the Crown’s hands because they had been forfeited by Matthew, Earl of Lennox. This was

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followed, in January 1559, by a renewal of Argyll’s appointment as Justice General of all Scotland, both to the north and south of the Forth, and the post was to be held all the days of his lifetime.8 The following Easter, 1559, the Queen Regent demanded that all Scotland should conform to the rites of Rome. Argyll and John Knox were among those who refused, saying they would rather die than do so.9 The Queen was sufficiently provoked to take action against the ministers at Perth as they had been particularly troublesome. The Lords of Congregation, the leaders of the new Faith sprang to their defence. The Queen sent Argyll and Lord James Stewart, to treat with them. Led by Knox, the reply was that they would surrender if she would keep her former word and safeguard Protestantism. Argyll, torn by conflicting loyalties, now found himself in a dilemma. On 31 May 1559, Knox drew up another Band of Maintenance for the protection of the Reformed Religion and both Argyll and Lord James signed it.10 Argyll, in fact, did attempt to defuse the political situation by accepting a Commission to negotiate a truce, if possible. He and Moray, however, openly sided with the Protestant leaders and obtained the assistance of the English Queen Elizabeth, who had succeeded her sister the previous November. Meanwhile, the Queen Mother brought over troops from France and began the persecution of the dissidents from Rome and, by doing so, she went back on her word to safeguard the Protestants. Civil War was now inevitable and, in due course, it broke out with Argyll and Moray the chief leaders of ‘the Lords of the Congregation’.11 It was at this time that monastic life was brought to an end at that old Cistercian House of Coupar where the former Abbot, Donald Campbell, now put on secular weed and embraced the new religion. Other conditions demanded by the congregation included the putting down and burning of all idols, images and tabernacles, together with the destruction of the altars. The monks with their robes and ceremonies were to go and all prayers were, henceforth, to be in the English tongue.12 As it happened, old Abbot Donald furnishes a good – or, some might say, bad – example of what had been going on in the Church for some time now. The fourth son of the 2nd Earl of Argyll, he was the 5th Earl’s great-uncle. He had been the Abbot of Coupar since 1526 when, although not then a member of any religious order, he had, nevertheless, been appointed head of the Abbey, the monks’ own nominee having been passed over. A repeated candidate for various bishoprics in which he had been disappointed, he had devoted himself to the family’s interests as much as to those of the Church. A large number of Campbells had benefited from the rich lands of the Abbey and, by the time of his death in 1562, he had provided for a large clutch of

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illegitimate offspring. His sons were given the properties of Croonan, Arthurstone, Boat of Islay – the river not the island – and Keithock and, so, yet more landed families of Campbells derive from their descendants.13 But the unsettled situation led to unhappiness. Hitherto, the Pope had legitimated children who were either born out of wedlock or born within the forbidden degrees of consanguinity. Now who would to do it? In October 1559, the task fell to the Earl of Argyll when he declared the children of John Lamont, the younger, of Knockdow, and Marjory, daughter of Duncan Campbell of Ellangreig, as lawful – even although they had not received papal dispensation for their marrying within the third and degree of consanguinity. At least this brought partial reassurance.14 Another prominent churchman who plays a growing part in the clan’s affairs at this time was John Carswell. His origins are unclear. His name may derive, it has been claimed, from Corsewell, in Dumfries where lands were held by a family of Campbells. It has been suggested that he may have been one of them, using a different surname. The evidence for this seems convoluted to say the least since he was born in Kilmartin. Be that as it may, he was an early member of the 5th Earl’s household, acting as his chaplain. He appears to have made the change from the old church to the new without difficulty, having been appointed, in 1560, as one of the five superintendents who ruled the former dioceses of Argyll and the Isles. Back in February 1559, as the Earl’s ‘familiar servitor’, he was given a grant of the eight merklands of the two Carnasseries, with the custody of the castle, and the six merklands of Auchinellan, as well as other lands in the same area to be held in blencheferme. The following month, in March 1559, for a certain sum of money and for services rendered and to be rendered, the 5th Earl sold Carswell the following: one merkland of Pennycastle; the islands called ‘the Three Resyis’; the custody and captaincy of the Castle of Craignish; and the offices of Marty (maor tigh) and Brewster for all Craignish.15 In 1567, John Carswell was appointed Bishop of the Isles, a position he held until his death in 1572 when he was a very old man. He was buried at Ardchattan Priory after an eventful last voyage across Loch Etive, during which a sudden tempest blew up and severed the towrope of the funeral barge which, to the consternation of the mourners, vanished in the murk. Several days later, the wind had gone, the loch was mirror-calm and the coffin was found washed up on the point some three hundred yards from the Priory, which goes by the name of ‘Carswell’s Point’ to this day. The incident is well remembered and particularly filthy weather is still known in the area as ‘Carswell’s weather’. He was immured in the chapel attached to the priory. He was an extremely

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tall man, known widely as ‘the Crane’ – but without much affection since he was notorious for the strictness with which his rents and dues were collected. In the early 1900s, when workmen were carrying out alterations to the east end of the Priory, they uncovered a skeleton said to be at least seven foot tall, which caused the workmen to drop their tools and flee. I have always imagined this to have been Bishop Carswell but the idea was very firmly rebutted by the late Colonel Bobby Campbell-Preston, Laird of Ardchattan, who insisted that the actual site was ‘just this side of the washing-up machine in the scullery’! Carswell’s greatest claim to fame was his translation of the Book of Common Order into Gaelic as Foirm na n-Urrnuidheadh, to which was added the Catechism. This was the first book to be printed in Gaelic. Another monument he left behind was the castle of Carnasserie, a mile or so to the north of Kilmartin, built on a spur of the hill and overlooking the conjunction of the routes down what is now referred to as Kilmartin Glen. This is the pass that leads to Ford and the southern end of Loch Awe and the route over to Kintraw to the head of Loch Craignish. It had long been a site of strategic importance – the outline of an earlier earthwork is to be seen just a few yards from the present castle – and local tradition claimed that the Carswell family had owned the lands for some generations before the arrival of Bishop John. It was he, however, who – some time around the middle of the 1500s – built the castle which served as his base and which still stands there today. Whether he built it for himself or for his Chief is unclear but his allegiance is beyond doubt as the carved panel above the door shows. It displays the arms of Mac Cailein Mor impaled with the Royal Arms of Scotland, which is a reference to the 5th Earl and his wife. Below is the inscription in Gaelic Dia le ua nduibh(n)e, translated as ‘God be with O’Duibhne’. The castle was to remain in the hands of the Bishop’s son and grandson before passing to the Campbells of Auchinbreck in 1643.16 Here may also be mentioned Carswell’s daughter Christian. She married Mr. Neil Campbell, later vicar of Kilmartin, and they produced a remarkable family. Two of their sons were bishops, one of Argyll and another of the Isles, while the third followed in his father’s footsteps as vicar of Kilmartin. They were proprietors of the lands of Kilmartin until 1674 when they became owners of Auchinellan. They themselves claim to be descended from Neil, Dean of Argyll, son of Colin Iongantach, but, although supported by ‘Ane Accompt’ and quite possibly true, the exact details cannot be substantiated. In any case they were a remarkable race of churchmen, long known as Slioch an Easbuig, ‘the Descendants of the Bishop’.17 Sadly, their line would appear to have become extinct in the current generation.

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The first essential for the supporters of the Reformed Faith was to seize St Andrews, which was under threat of capture by the Archbishop who had the aid of French troops. Argyll immediately made use of the family connections and contacted Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, Glenorchy’s brother-in-law, Patrick Lord Ruthven, Glenorchy’s uncle, Sir William Murray of Tullibardine, and Sir John Graham, the 4th Earl of Menteith, whose sister had been married to the 4th Earl.18 They were able to consolidate the position in St Andrews and, there, Argyll and Moray opened negotiations with Hamilton and the French Commander, d’Oysel. But, as the truce and negotiations proceeded, the strength of the Protestants steadily grew until the Queen’s forces, in turn feeling themselves threatened, withdrew first to Edinburgh and then to Dunbar.19 A new covenant was now drawn up and Argyll’s signature was the first one on it. Following this, negotiations with the Queen Regent commenced. The Protestant force withdrew to Stirling leaving Edinburgh to the Queen. She had managed to stir up trouble between the Macleans and the MacLeods and Argyll withdrew to his own country to sort things out.20 At the end of the summer he was back again and, on 10 September 1559, he and Hamilton drew up a protest to the Queen Mother over her use of French troops to garrison Leith. An army gathered against her and it included a sizeable contingent of Argyll’s Highlanders.21 On 16 October, Argyll and Hamilton joined them and advanced on Edinburgh once more. The Lords of the Congregation, now acting as the Scottish Parliament, proceeded to depose Mary of Guise as regent. A Council was formed and the 5th Earl was one of its leading members. There was a shortage of money to pay the troops of the Congregation and a fight nearly broke out between them and the Highlanders after one of the children of one of Argyll’s own household had been killed – a fight which was only stopped by the courageous and adroit intervention of Argyll himself.22 And, when the French made a sally from Leith, it was Argyll’s calmness that prevented a rout. The situation was saved but the Protestant forces thought it safer to retire, once more, to Stirling. During this time, Argyll and his colleagues were still in touch with Elizabeth, requesting help in driving out the French but, at the same time, taking pains to explain that this was their sole purpose and that they were not in rebellion against the Scottish Crown. That November, at Stirling, Argyll decided to transfer the Bond of Manrent, which included the grant of their chief ’s calps given him by the MacLarens, to Colin Campbell of Glenorchy whose territory was closer to Balquhidder.23 The following year, on 27 February, the Treaty of Berwick was signed with the English. Argyll’s was among the signatories. The main

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object of both parties was the expulsion of the French. Article nine was the one that particularly affected Argyll – it was ‘the only clause to England’s advantage’ – and, under it, he agreed to help subdue Northern Ireland in order to release English troops to serve in Scotland.24 This is what it said: The erle of Argyill sall imploy his force and guid will wher he sal be requyrd by the quenis majestie to reduce the north partis of yrland to the perfyt obedience of england conform to ane mutual and reciprok contract to be past betwix the lord depute of yrland . . . and the said erle.25 In return, Argyll asked for, and was granted, the gift of artillery. He was also to be given a castle on the Ulster coast to serve as a firm base for both his land and sea forces. He was to be allowed to uplift the buannacht or military tax that was previously collected and used by O’Neill. Queen Elizabeth also promised Argyll 300 harquebusiers and the use of a large cannon at her expense, whenever and wherever he should need them. It was only the clause pertaining to Argyll and his men retaining the Irish lands of the rebels that was not accepted. The military help of Clan Campbell was welcome but their settlement on the Irish shores was a step too far.26 In the event, the English offer was not put into force. If it had been, Argyll’s power would have been still further extended, with a firm foothold on both sides of the North Channel. He would have been in the position of being both a major power in his own country and a leading ally of Scotland’s more powerful neighbour to the south. Scottish hostages were sent south in pursuance of the Treaty. One of them was Mr. Alexander Campbell, described as father’s brother’s son to the Earl. He was sent to study at Cambridge so that his visit to England, although a forced one, was at least not a waste of time.27 At the end of March, the English army entered Scotland and were joined by the Scottish forces, which included Argyll and his contingent of Highlanders. The combined force set siege to the French force in Leith – without much success, in spite of their increased strength. Argyll offered another thousand of his clan. He was now engaged in negotiation with French envoys, sent from France to try and extricate their countrymen.28 The Queen Mother, now on her deathbed, summoned her erstwhile enemies, Argyll amongst them, to her bedside to make her peace. She died on 11 June 1560. Shortly after her death, Cecil, who came to Edinburgh to negotiate the subsequent peace treaty, wrote to Queen Elizabeth ‘Argyll is a goodly gentleman of person, and universally honoured here of all Scotland’.29 His potential usefulness was totally clear to the English. The 5th Earl’s attention was, accordingly, now focussed on Ireland. With

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both English and Scottish approval and having concluded an agreed plan with the former, he was now virtually in control of the supply of Scottish Redshanks across the North Channel. He was also in a position to significantly increase the extent of Campbell power. The situation in Ireland was confused as ever and the English, even centuries after the establishment of the Pale round Dublin, were still trying in vain to get the Gaelic hinterland under their control. Henry VIII’s initiative of 1541 had centred around the wholesale removal of all ancient chiefships, with their attendant rights and customs, and their replacement by feudalism, which would offer selected favourites peerage titles in place of their ancient tribal honorifics. This, in itself, was the cause of much unrest and dissension for it blithely assumed there would be unquestioned acceptance of the substitution of feudalism’s law of succession by the eldest son. This was to replace the old, Celtic custom of the derbhfine, under which the former Chief ’s nominated successor was either accepted or there was an election process. This had proved a dangerous assumption and, in spite of continued and repeated efforts to bring peace, Ireland was still rent by conflict. Ulster was identified as the heart of unrest and the main aim of the English was to bring it under control. The chief cause of the trouble there was the ancient enmity between the O’Neills and the O’Donnells with the MacDonalds (I have maintained this spelling throughout for clarity and have not adopted the current spelling of MacDonnell) of Dunnyveg who had made significant strides in extending their landholding in the north-west tip of the island, notably at the expense of the O’Neills of Clandeboye and the MacQuillans of the Route. The 5th Earl was already a friend of Calvagh O’Donnell, leader of the O’Donnells, and had come over to Ireland while his father was still alive to fight on behalf of his Irish ally. In 1560, he renewed his father’s Treaty with Calvagh.30 But the real target was Shane O’Neill – ‘Shane the Proud’, as he was known – who had been elected Chief of the O’Neills according to the old system. His father, Con Bacach O’Neill had, in 1541, accepted the Peerage of the Earldom of Tyrone from King Henry VIII in return for his ancient Irish title. He had had a son, Matthew, by the wife of a Dundalk carpenter, called Kelly, whom Kelly accepted as his own. Matthew was officially recognised as his natural father’s heir and given the title of Lord Dungannon. But Shane had never accepted Matthew, whom he always called ‘Matthew Kelly’. He asserted his father was always too much the gentleman to argue with a woman who claimed to have had a child by him. Having at least retained the chiefship of his clan through the old custom, Shane’s ambition centred on achieving the position once held by his forebears as High Kings of Ireland. Shane now found himself isolated with every man’s hand turned against

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him. He sought a pact with the Earl of Argyll, to whom, in 1560, he sent an ambassador with a letter, asking for the hand in marriage of the Earl’s halfsister, whose name is thought to have been Janet. The envoy caused something of a sensation. Of immense height and with wild, shaggy locks, he arrived on foot having had to sell his saffron shirt on the way for food. Before seeing him, Argyll had him fitted out in a clean set of clothes but all efforts at giving him a shave failed. He spent most of his time in the inglenook by the fire where his chief sustenance was brandy and milk. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his mission did not succeed. But the situation calmed and the Earl of Argyll, for the moment, made no major move across the North Channel. James MacDonald of Dunnyveg, meanwhile, was brought into the fold by an offer of confirmation of his lands in Ulster, which were to be run by his brother, Sorley Buy, who, as James’s official deputy, was to take English nationality. The Earl’s offer of 3,000 men would effectively treble the available forces of government. By summer 1560, the English authorities might be pardoned for thinking that the Ulster problem had been settled.31 Back in Argyll, there were other matters of interest. The Earl concluded various further Bonds of Manrent in addition to those he had already entered. On 1 March 1560, he had agreed a Bond of Manrent from the young Tormod MacLeod of Harris who was not to go to the Outer Isles without the Earl’s permission.32 On 25 July, he renounced his rights of bailerie of South Kintyre to his uncle, James MacDonald of Dunnyveg, promising to defend James who, in turn, pledged obedience by himself and his people.33 Before leaving Stirling, Argyll gave a Bond of Manrent to Adam Boyd of Pinkill, on 30 July, and, at the end of the following month, on 29 September, he gave a Bond of Maintenance to his ‘cusing and servant’ Archibald MacLachlan of that Ilk, promising to maintain and defend him ‘sicklyk as any Lord aught to doe to his man.’34 Ten days later, on 8 October, it was the two Hector Macleans of Duart, father and son, who concluded a Bond of Friendship and Maintenance, apologising for the contract signed earlier that summer with James MacDonald of Dunnyveg, which they now renounced, reaffirming their loyalty to the Earl of Argyll who forgave them.35 In Argyll, the new religion continued its advance, with the Earl’s active encouragement, and a good number of the local clergy transferred their loyalties. Among those on record were the following: John Cameron of Dunoon; James MacWattie of Rothesay; Alexander MacAlister of Kilmorie in Arran; Gilbert Malcolm of Craignish; Ninian MacVicar of Glenaray; John MacCallum of Glenorchy; Henry Balfour of Kildalton; James Lindsay of North Knapdale; and Colin Campbell of Lismore.36 The following year, 1561, saw the start of a major scandal in Ulster. Shane

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captured Calvagh O’Donnell, together with his wife, Katherine Maclean, who was formerly the wife of the 4th Earl of Argyll. Argyll brought pressure on the English to enforce Calvagh’s release but his good lady, far from pining away at this misfortune, fell for her captor and became his mistress. Over the next three years, she bore Shane several sons before her eventual release. It was claimed that, during this time, she had been kept in chains but this would seem a sop to propriety.37 She was a remarkable lady, able to speak Latin, good French and a little Italian. Next the English made several ineffectual attempts to kill Shane by poison.38 In May, the Privy Council ordered Argyll and Arran to take action against the Western Abbeys of Paisley, Failford, Kilwinning and Crossragruel. This was done and the acts of smashing every sort of object which could remotely classified as idolatrous went on. However, the great event of 1561 was the return of the young Queen Mary to Scotland in August. A recent widow, she now faced a situation, with a powerful nobility and a rampant new clergy regarding her with suspicion if not downright hostility, that would surely have daunted a less valiant spirit. Argyll was summoned to Edinburgh and the Queen appointed him to her Privy Council. Before she had left France, she had already heard good things about him, to the effect that, along with her half-brother, Lord James, Argyll was one of the nobles she knew she could trust. Argyll was, therefore, well received by the Queen and his connection through his marriage to her halfsister already made him a member of the family. It is clear that the Earl, in common with many others, was respected and, indeed, loved by his monarch. Argyll had already received a mark of her favour, when, in January, he had been regranted the post of Justice General of Scotland. Along with Lord James and Maitland of Lethington, he was now to become one of Mary’s principle advisors. A further order from the Queen revoked several commissions of justiciary that had been issued by her mother when the Earl was sick and which were prejudicial to his rights.39 The following year, 1562, the Macleans continued their efforts to get Katherine released from the embrace of Shane O’Neill. Their solution was that Shane should have James MacDonald of Dunnyveg’s illegitimate daughter as his wife, while James’s son, Sorley Buy, should foster with Shane. Shane should also be provided with a large number of kine and four to five thousand men for every journey. Two indentures were drawn up. One was signed by Queen Elizabeth of England and the other by MacDonald, despite the fact that there was no love lost between him and Shane who had killed two of MacDonald’s kinsmen. Nevertheless, he signed and Shane fell in with the plan, stipulating, however, that he should have an English wife

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and the grant of the Earldom of Tyrone. He had already gone in person to London to receive the Earldom, where his appearance and that of his wild and savage retinue caused great astonishment. If his envoy to Argyll caused comment, the scale of reaction in London to his followers can be imagined. The visit of the wild Irish to London would not soon be forgotten40 but the problem of Ulster did appear to be at an end and all that now remained to be done was to get rid of the troublesome Scots there. In August, the 5th Earl was appointed to sit on a small council who would attend the Queen on a rota at all times. It would appear that Argyll overstayed his appointed tour of duty and it may well be due to the genuine friendship that the Queen felt for him. Writing to him at this time, the Queen addresses Argyll as ‘brother’ and signs herself ‘your richt good sister and best friend for ever’. She was also worried about the relationship between her half-sister and her husband, which had not been good for some time. In 1563, she asked John Knox to take part in an attempt at reconciliation. Knox was flattered and agreed. He wrote to the Earl, pointing out that, if his Countess had indeed been faithful since their last reconciliation, there were no grounds for divorce and that, anyway, the Earl’s conduct had been far from spotless.41 In a further attempt to heal matters, the Queen and her court came to Inveraray on a famous visit. We have few exact details but it is not hard to envisage the scene. Argyll’s kinsmen and clansmen would have attended in full array, to support their Chief. Inveraray would have been full to bursting and no doubt some had to live under canvas. Great would have been the feasting at the castle – venison from the hill, salmon from Aray and Shira, beef and mutton of the best quality and a great array of grouse, swans, geese and duck from the shore and the lochs. The family harpers would have played as the flames lit up the rafters. The Queen and her Court, we are told, had donned Highland attire for the occasion and, no doubt, the locals were clad in their best, which, in the case of the Lairds, would have been the attire of any European Court. All was colour and festivity. The high point of the visit was the tinshel or deer-drive laid on for her Majesty’s delectation. For days, hundreds of Argyll’s men and their neighbours had been driving the herds of deer in, from miles around, concentrating them at last at the head of Glenshira. Then on the appointed day, the visitors and other invited guests assembled at Elrig, in a narrow part of the glen with steep slopes on either side – the name Elrig may be discovered in spots used for the same purpose across the Highlands. The deer would have been started and in small herds would have moved down the glen to their fate, egged on by the shouts of the men and the excited barking of the dogs. Herd would

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have mingled with herd and the pace increased, a rumble and then a thunder of hooves as the trickle became a stream and the stream a torrent. Then at full gallop they would have been in the ambush where excited nobles, fitting arrow to string, let fly at the flying beasts as they poured past. Most, of course, would have escaped but the toll would have been high enough. Swords and spears would have despatched the wounded and there would be food for all for many miles around at the end of the day. It was an occasion that was to last long in story. Affairs of State were not neglected and the Queen signed a number of measures at Inveraray on 24 and 26 July, as well as on 27 June at Dripp on the other side of Loch Fyne as she began her trip back to the lowlands. These were directed against the MacGregors who had committed a string of crimes and required Archibald Earl of Argyll and Colin Campbell of Glenorchy to search out these rebels and bring them to justice. Noting that they had been hindered on their expeditions by the locals’ refusal to supply them with food and drink, the measures now empowered the forces of the law to take what they needed when on duty for which they would not be held criminally responsible.42 Then, in October 1563, the Earl of Lennox returned to Scotland and received a pardon. Argyll handed back the Lennox lands that had been granted to him during the latter’s forfeiture.43 His own hand was heavy over any trouble breaking out near home. In May 1564, the 5th Earl granted a commission to James Campbell of Ardkinglas, John Carswell, Superintendent of Argyll and John Campbell of Inverliver to obtain custody from John Stewart of Appin of the four men agreed to have been molesting Argyll’s officials whom they were to incarcerate in Innischonnell, now used as a prison.44 John Carswell continued to increase his personal landholding. He had already been granted the MacKellar lands of Euroch in Ardscotnish and more lands on Lochaweside including Ardachyne and Inishail and now, on 26 May, he received a charter from the Earl of Ardenslate in Stratheck, previously occupied by James Stewart of Ardgowan and by John MacBaxter.45 The MacGregor problem became ever more acute and, on 9 July, the Earl, his brother, Colin Campbell of Boquhan, Dugall Campbell of Auchinbreck, James Campbell of Ardkinglas, John Campbell of Lochnell, Ewir Campbell of Ardgartan, Colin Campbell of Barbreck, John Campbell of Inverliver on the one part signed a contract of mutual support with Colin Campbell of Glenorchy against all men and especially against Gregor MacGregor, son and heir to the late Alexander MacGregor of Glenstrae, who was now the Chief of his clan. The bond was to cover all the landed men of the Earl of Argyll’s surname whether they had signed or not.46

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Within the month, Glenorchy received another commission against the Clan Gregor. Gregor and his men had fled to Ireland and now ‘when the nights are drawing in’ they intended to return and harry the poor tenants of Glenorchy. All the lieges dwelling in the west who possessed boats were accordingly strictly forbidden to transport the MacGregors or to allow them to land.47 The MacLarens were nervous and Argyll gave them another Bond of Maintenance. The MacGregors accordingly made it home only with great difficulty. Another transaction of considerable interest took place on 10 August 1564, when the 5th Earl resigned to Iver MacIver of Leargachonzie (whose descendants were to become known by the designation of Asknish) the calp payable by the Clan Iver to the Earl of Argyll. Much has been made out of this transaction, purporting it to mean that there was a separate Clan Iver, nothing to do with Clan Campbell, and that their loyalty was to their own Chief and henceforth not to Argyll. This is a clear misunderstanding of what was taking place. Clan as already stated very often meant, as here, no more than a family grouping and we have had numerous cases – the Clan Dhonnachie Campbells of Inverawe being a convenient example – for this usage. The calp was indeed given to your chief or superior but those who argue for a greater significance suppress or are unaware of the key phrase in the agreement which reads ‘providing yat we haif the said Ever’s Calpe and his airs and successouris quhatsumever.’48 In other words this was purely an administrative reorganisation and the MacIvers who had previously paid their individual calps direct to Mac Cailein Mor would henceforth pay it to their own chieftain who would, however, continue to pay his own increased calp to Argyll. The point is made at some length since there has recently been a move to claim that there was a separate Clan Iver which embraced all those of the name in the Western Highlands and Isles. The book written by Principal MacIver Campbell in support of his unsuccessful claim to be its chief is brought forward as evidence but while bits of it are most interesting it is written as a means to an end and needs to be read as such. This modern requirement that every name should be a clan is something which has no base in history and its disregard of reality makes it a travesty. His role in Ireland opened up fresh fields of influence for Argyll. Within Ulster itself there was the three-cornered struggle for power between Shane O’Neill, his traditional foes the O’Donnells and the MacDonalds, part of Clan Donald South, Clan Ian Mor, whose chief was James MacDonnell of Dunnyveg. James, who had relinquished local command in Ulster to his younger brother Sorley Buy, had long been, in effect, a vassal of the House of

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Argyll to which family he was bound both by marriage and by Bonds of Manrent.49 However, his loyalty was never beyond doubt. It was the Campbell Chief who increasingly found himself the fulcrum of power on both sides of the North Channel. The 5th Earl’s friendship with Calvagh O’Donnell and his influence over Clan Donald South now allowed him to control the supply of redshanks into Ireland and to contribute to it men of his own clan from the major military resources at his disposal. England’s overall strategy remained the same, the subduing of opposition in Ulster, with Shane O’Neill initially seen as being the major threat but then supplanted by the English realisation that it was the constantly refreshed presence of Scottish mercenaries in the area that prevented any prospect of peace. The MacDonalds with their landholdings in Ireland itself were now seen as enemy number one and even Shane O’Neill was employed in service against them. Constant changes of policy in detail if not in general, led to a series of changing alliances. Argyll himself, whose feelings for the English had grown considerably colder, was keen to exploit the situation as might best increase his power and influence both in Ireland and outside it, over a much wider area. Control over the Clan Ian Mor increased his overall power in Scotland and his ability to treat both with Crown and with the Protestant party. A leaning towards the former might open up opportunities with France, ever anxious to support the cause of Queen Mary. Leaning the other way opened the door to England, keen both to support the Protestant Faith in Scotland and to employ the earl’s military power in bringing about a satisfactory solution to the Ulster problem. But now, early in 1565, the MacDonalds were in retreat in face of an advance by Shane O’Neill who was, for the moment, backed by the English. In the strategically important pass of Knockboy, the MacDonalds were defeated on 29 April – twenty men were killed and the remainder took to the woods. Sorley Buy realised that he was in real trouble and the signal fires were set alight on Fair Head, Murlough Bay and Torr Head to call the galleys from Islay and Kintyre.50 They came just in time and James and Sorley joined forces on the first of May. The following day, Shane was upon them and in the engagement at Glentaisie or Glenshesk, just outside Ballycastle, the main port used by the redshanks from Argyll, he inflicted a heavy defeat upon Clan Donald, killing, it is thought, between 300 and 500 of them, although some estimates are considerably higher. Nor was this all. James MacDonald was mortally wounded and taken into captivity while his brother Angus Og was killed and Sorley Buy taken prisoner. With James dead, it was left to another brother, Alasdair Og, to

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takeover the leadership of the momentarily shattered Clan Donald South. Back in Argyll, the momentum of the campaign against the MacGregors intensified and on 16 June 1565, at Dunstaffnage, Letters of Fire and Sword against Clan Gregor were issued by Argyll with others of his kin and friends present ‘to subjects, barons, gentlemen and tenants within bounds of Argyll, Lorne, Knapdale and other his bounds’.51 On the 18 June, Donald Gormeson MacDonald of Sleat now signed a Bond of Manrent to Argyll, promising to obey him.52 That summer, another event with momentous consequences took place. On 29 July 1565, Queen Mary was married to Henry, Lord Darnley, son and heir of Matthew Earl of Lennox. Enough has been written of her husband’s character and the reasons which led to this doomed match for it not to be repeated here. Argyll had openly stated his opposition to the match but had managed to remain in favour. The Queen’s half-brother Lord James, now Earl of Moray, however, made no secret of his intense opposition to the marriage and his standard was raised in rebellion. He was joined by the Earl of Rothes and Kirkcaldy of Grange. His erstwhile ally, Argyll, however, held aloof. The rebels held Edinburgh while the Queen and her supporters were in Glasgow. On her approach, the rebels who lacked a force of arquebusiers to match those of the Queen’s took flight, thus giving the soubriquet of ‘The Chaseabout Raid’ to the episode. Moray fled to England and took refuge with Elizabeth. It appears that Argyll was not involved but he was classed as an ‘abettor’ and the Council summoned him to appear. He refused.53 By October, Argyll had retreated to his own country. It was an unsettled time and his people were attacking both Lennox’s and Atholl’s lands. He was repeatedly ordered to appear before the Queen on pain of being declared a rebel if he failed to do so but all summonses were ignored. Johnny Brand, the Queen’s Messenger who tried to deliver one of the summonses was seized and thrown into Innischonnel for 5 months.54 By the beginning of November 1565, the Council were able to report that the whole of Argyll had been sealed off from supplies of food and weapons. Argyll stated that his refusal to submit was due to a lack of any guarantee for the maintenance of the Protestant Religion, a cause for which he was prepared to lose both his life and his lands. He now attempted to bring pressure on the English to improve their treatment of Moray, threatening to take Shane O’Neill’s part and help him seize freedom and independence from the English. Shane was taken with the idea and even talked of becoming a Scottish subject with Argyll doing the necessary negotiation. Argyll offered O’Neill 4,000 redshanks. The English were unhappy at this contact

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across the North Channel which they suspected had the connivance of Queen Mary.55 Queen Mary was far from happy and became intent on exacting revenge on her recalcitrant Lords. Neither of them having answered repeated summonses to appear before the Privy Council, the Queen called a Parliament, for 12 March 1566, to declare both Argyll and Moray traitors and their lands forfeit. But this was a step too far. Mary’s support started to come apart as Argyll and Moray gathered the nobles behind them, including the Queen’s husband Darnley. Argyll and Shane agreed to support each other. A week before the parliament was due, it was clear the Queen’s plans could not be implemented. Then, to add to her woes, on 9 March 1566, her favourite Rizzio was murdered before her eyes. Neither Argyll or Moray was present although both were in all probability aware of the plan and approved of it. The Countess of Argyll, however, was also in the room when it happened. The Queen was enraged and all else was submitted to the pursuit of the murderers. Moray surrendered but mistrusting her brother, the Queen took refuge in Bothwell’s castle. Argyll advanced with an army from the West and was joined at Linlithgow by Moray when he sent the terms for their submission to the Queen. They included the removal of her force of arquebusiers – presumably his own force was deficient in this weapon and the English offer to supply them had never born fruit. The Queen agreed.56 That summer, on 19 June 1566, the future King James VI was born in Edinburgh Castle. Argyll now announced to Queen Elizabeth that, if she would not show active support for the reformed religion in Scotland, he would aid and abet Shane O’Neill’s rebellion. Queen Mary, misunderstanding his true motives, authorised Argyll to give Shane what help he could. From now on, Argyll acted against the English interest.57 Argyll travelled west to meet representatives of both the O’Donnells and the O’Neills whom he tried to reconcile. The O’Neills offered him generous grants of land and cattle if he would help them. Shane already had between 6 and 7,000 redshanks from the Isles in his ranks but he needed more and he was prepared to pay Argyll. By the end of June, Argyll had sent some 1,200 men to parley with Shane over the O’Donnell lands that he had seized. Even if agreement was achieved, no troops were to be sent without Argyll’s concurrence. Argyll let it be known that he himself might follow with a large force. The rumour was duly picked up by the English.58 Elizabeth now brought pressure on Moray who remonstrated with the Earl. Argyll replied that he would turn on O’Neill and block all communications

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between Mary and the English Catholics if Elizabeth for her part would support Protestantism in Scotland and would help to have the Scottish Lords who had fled after the Chaseabout Raid brought back from exile. He demanded an answer within fourteen days which presumably he did not get and so, in spite of Mary’s ban, his force of 1,000 left for Ireland in their galleys.59 The English now turned on Shane O’Neill who had dealt so successfully with his O’Donnell and MacDonald enemies the previous year. He was by now clearly identified as the dominant threat against them – ‘the only strong and rich man in Ireland’. He had committed a major breach of Celtic tradition and had armed his un-free men, the lowest level of society. By doing this, his forces now numbered some 5,000 and he was even bold enough to start raiding against the Pale.60 Early in that autumn of 1566, Sir Henry Sidney, the newly appointed Deputy, led an expedition into Ulster. Calvagh O’Donnell was with him, having been released eventually by Shane along with his errant wife Katherine, the erstwhile Countess of Argyll, who was eventually to marry Stewart of Appin. Calvagh lasted for a month before falling dead from his horse in a fit. Shane and his forces largely kept out of the way. The English established a garrison at Derry under Randolph against which Shane did make a major attack. His superiority in numbers availed him nothing, however, and he fell back severely mauled. The garrison was short-lived as, in April the following year, 1567, a spark set fire to the powder store which exploded, killing several men and destroying all the accommodation. The discouraged survivors set sail for Carrickfergus. At the beginning of 1567, Argyll was still active on the Privy Council where he was among one of five members whose task it was to summon the burghs and raise taxes. Argyll, Moray and Atholl kept in close contact and banded against Mary’s principal co-religionists and supporters, Bothwell and Huntly. Darnley and his father, Lennox, were disregarded by both sides. But the Queen, feeling isolated with such a narrow base now managed a reconciliation between Argyll and Bothwell, to whom she had by now seemingly transferred her affections. On 10 February 1567, Darnley met his end in Edinburgh at Kirk o’ Field, a story of which the details need no retelling. Argyll was almost certainly in the know and had given at least tacit approval. As Justice General, he tried and let off the Queen’s paramour, Bothwell. He would have been quite powerful enough to have found Bothwell guilty but a confession by Bothwell would have been highly incriminating to too many.61 On 12 April, Bothwell was formally acquitted and two days later he was made a Lord of the Articles.

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A week later, on 19 April, Bothwell gave a supper at which a large number of nobles, including Argyll and Moray, signed a bond with Bothwell, asserting his innocence and promising support, should he marry the Queen. On 24 April, Bothwell kidnapped the Queen and took her first to Dunbar and then back to Edinburgh. Ten days later he was divorced from his wife, Janet Gordon, the Consistory Court declaring their marriage null and void.62 On 15 May 1567, the marriage of the Queen and Bothwell, now created Duke of Orkney,63 duly took place in spite of the open opposition of the nobles, among them Argyll, who had formed the intention of ‘rescuing’ the Queen. There was great excitement. Men were to be raised in the West and the support of the English Queen was enlisted. A party, led by Moray, now took the Queen into captivity and imprisoned her in Lochleven Castle. This was too much for Argyll who now joined in an opposing bond with Hamilton, and Huntly, with John Carswell also among the signers. This was the formation of the ‘Queen’s Party’ whose aims were the liberation of the Queen, retribution on the murderers of Darnley and the guaranteed safety of the future King James. Facing them were the ‘King’s Party’ led by Moray, supported by John Knox and with many of the burgesses who could supply money when needed. They also had a preponderance of artillery.64 The 5th Earl now retreated to Argyll where he could concentrate on the progress of the reformation in his own lands. Carswell was appointed the first Superintendent of the Isles and his position played a strong role in filling the parishes of Argyll with suitable ministers. Campbells suitably placed in the church ranks continued to produce advantageous land deals for their Chief and their kin. Among them was John Campbell, Provost of Kilmun, one of the several illegitimate children of the 5th Earl, who in June 1566 had granted the two merkland of Craigawish in Cowal to Ardkinglas. Another good source was Alexander Campbell, younger brother of Ardkinglas, Bishop of Brechin, who, in the same month, sold a rich swathe of Church lands round the Montrose basin to the 5th Earl, adding still further to what were to become very considerable Campbell landholdings in Angus.65 The following year, he granted the Earl discharge on payment of £500 for the annual rent of the whole lands, teinds (tithes) and kirks of the Bishopric of Brechin, of which he had given the Earl a nineteen-year tack during his (the Bishop’s) lifetime. As well as greater matters further afield, the Earl had to keep a tight grip on affairs at home during this period. Although the references are few, it was clearly a time, yet again, of bloodshed and strife. ‘So unsettled was the country that no-one went to church without his armour, company and weapons.’66

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In June 1566, John Stewart of Appin had appeared in front of the Privy Council and obliged himself and his people to pay the 5th Earl and his followers all the goods and gear taken off them since the previous month.67 In April 1567, the Earl was given a Commission of Lieutenancy against the two Hector Macleans of Duart, father and son, for their burning of houses and barns and stealing cattle belonging to inhabitants of Gigha and for killing and imprisoning others.68 Shane now saw his opportunity and, in May 1567, he advanced upon the O’Donnells with a force several thousand strong. Crossing the Swilly at Farsetmore near Letterkenny, he was faced by a desperate Hugh O’Donnell, now leader of the O’Donnells. Arrogant with their overweening numbers, the O’Neills kept no watch and the O’Donnells fell upon their drunken foes without warning. A terrible killing ensued. The survivors retreated to the Ford but the tide was now in and the killing continued. Shane escaped but his army was shattered. In desperation, he considered making peace with the English but, perhaps misled by Sorley Buy, he invited Alastair Og from Kintyre to discuss plans. Hearing that he had landed with a strong force of MacDonalds at Cushendon, Shane determined to throw himself on their mercy. With the remnants of an escort, he rode into their camp. He had with him, as captives and peace offerings, the widowed sister-in-law and brother of Alasdair Og, Lady Agnes Campbell and Sorley Buy. At first they were well received and it appears the MacDonalds listened to Shane’s proposals. But then one evening when the drink had flowed and spirits had over-heated, a chance remark caused a flare-up and the MacDonalds, mindful that Shane had killed their former Chief, turned upon him and dirked him to death. His head was cut off and pickled and sent to Dublin where it was displayed above the castle gate as a terrible warning to all. On 18 June 1567, Sidney took the submission of Turlough Luineach O’Neill, Shane’s successor but a very different character, whom the English found little threat. Their chief aim was now the expulsion of the Scots from Ireland. But that was to be far from easy. The following month, on 24 July 1567, Mary Queen of Scots abdicated in favour of her infant son, now King James VI. Argyll was appointed temporary regent until Moray, the Queen’s half-brother, had made up his mind about the matter. At Argyll’s urging, Moray accepted the post 69 and, five days later, the thirteen-month-old James was crowned King. A triumphant sermon was preached by Knox during the ceremony, at which Argyll held aloft the Sword of State.70 The question of the Queen’s fate now arose. Some nobles and John Knox

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pressed for her execution. The Queen’s party naturally opposed this suggestion and persuaded Moray to take a gentler line. This had the effect of uniting the country behind the regent. On 2 December, Dougall Campbell, fiar or heir of Inverawe, obliged himself to obey the decision of the judicial panel made up by the Earl’s brother, Colin of Boquhan, Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, James Campbell of Ardkinglas and John Campbell of Inverliever, with the Earl himself as oversman. The panel was called after the drowning of Clan Arthur and Clan MacVicar on Loch Awe by himself and his father, Archibald Campbell of Inverawe. Inverawe and his son were ordered to resign and renounce the office of Bailie of all the lands on Lochaweside belonging to the Clan Arthur, together with other lands they were to hand over as a penalty. A later document of 1569 in the Monzie Inventory apparently refers to the same incident: ‘Letters of Slain and Discharge for Drowning Clan Arthur. John Campbell of . . . Archibald and John Campbell his sons, Patrick McTaylor, John Dow . . . and others – John Makfinla McArthur of Terawadych, William McVicar and James Campbell of Ardkinglas being . . . next of kin.’ 71 This is a somewhat enigmatic entry but it does clearly show that John MacArthur of Terivadich was among the victims. What had happened, it would seem, is that, after the initial grant of Terivadich, the MacArthur family had been very successful in extending their landholdings in the area – whether by grant or purchase or both – to the mounting annoyance of the Clandonnochie Campbells of Inverawe and they had eventually taken matters into their own hands. The Earl and the adjudicators clearly found them in the wrong. The site of the skirmish is unknown. Much weight has been put upon the reference to the MacArthurs as ‘Clan Arthur’ and we now have the modern Clan of that name recognised as such.72 It is, however, interesting and I believe, significant, to note the accompanying reference to the ‘Clan MacVicar’. There has never been a suggestion, as far as I know, of there ever having been a full-blown Clan of this name which very much leads to the supposition that the word Clan in both cases was being used in no more than its meaning of ‘family’ rather than that there was a completely separate political/military grouping involved. Duke Niall was of the opinion that the two families were of the same stock or, if this were not the case, that the MacVicars were probably MacNaughtons.73 Meanwhile the pot was kept boiling in Ireland where, on 17 November 1567, Sorley Buy MacDonald, for the moment recognised as the leader of Clan Ian Mor – that is, the Clan Donald South – had landed in Antrim with a force of 600 or 700 Redshanks, many of them Campbells. These incomers were now added to the thousand or so mercenaries who were already in

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Ulster with the various chieftains – one of them named, if not identified, as Lachlan MacAllan, a Campbell of Argyll, who was in the service of O’Cahan. This must have been with the tacit approval of the 5th Earl and with Turlough Luineach, with whom O’Neill had spent much of the summer seeking to make alliance. This must have been much to the disquiet of the English who faced a possible tripartite alliance in Ulster between the O’Neills, the O’Donnells and the MacDonalds, who now had control of the North Channel and access to almost limitless reinforcements that were available from Kintyre and the Argyll coastland under the control of the Campbell Chief.74 Turlough, inadequate in the face of a dilemma and accused of treating with the Scots, protested his loyalty and offered to raise an army for the English who, on 1 December 1567, sent what forces they could assemble in a hurry against the Clan Donald. It was, however, too late. On 2 May 1568, Queen Mary escaped from her prison in Lochleven Castle. Argyll and the Hamiltons rallied to her side. Dunbar Castle resisted capture and, with Hamilton providing no refuge, it was then decided to make for Dumbarton where the castle was held for her by Lord Fleming. Shortly after her release, the Queen had given Argyll a Commission as Lieutenant of the whole kingdom75 and on 8 May, a Band was signed by the Queen’s supporters with Argyll’s name at the head of the list. On 13 May, the Queen and her army were heading for the safety of Dumbarton. Their route lay around Glasgow and along the south bank of the Clyde. At a little village called Langside to the south of Glasgow, the army of the King’s party, led by Moray, was waiting. A quick rush by his sharpshooters enabled them to occupy the houses between the opposing forces. Argyll formed his army on a small hillock to the east of the village, where he found that, although he had sixteen cannon, the artillery was out of range of the main body of the enemy. He advanced to force the passage but was met in the village by his opponents. The two sides were too tightly jammed together to be able to do much harm to each other until a charge by Moray’s Horse, under Kirkcaldy of Grange, crashed into the Queen’s men who broke and fled. There was no great desire to slay and the casualties were light – the Queen’s army sustained some 300 killed, while on the other side there was only one man dead. The whole affair lasted less than an hour.76 As the line broke, Queen Mary saw what was about to happen and, with a small band of followers, she galloped from the field on the first stage of a fatal journey into England that was to end, eventually, on the scaffold. Argyll was left behind, having sustained some sort of seizure at the start of the battle – there has been the suggestion that he had some form of epileptic fit or a stroke. One account says he was captured and deliberately allowed to escape.

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Whatever the case, he was permitted to make his way back to his Highland fastness in Argyll. This may be the point at which to look further on this ignominious breakdown at such a crucial moment and the possible reasons for it. Argyll’s conduct in deserting the King’s party for that of the Queen has caused much comment – by no means all of it favourable. He had, in fact, been in an excruciating quandary, his loyalties torn between the reformed religion, in which he had been brought up and for which he had striven so manfully, and the Scottish Crown, to whose cause his family had long shown loyalty and to which they owed their position. With the Queen his loyalties had undoubtedly been further strained by her femininity and the fact that they were really good friends to each other. Suggestions that he was moved by self-interest hardly stand scrutiny. The easy way would surely have been to stay with Moray and the party of the reformation. It would have been a terrible choice for many a lesser man and its true import must have been the final straw for the unfortunate Mac Cailein Mor as he faced his old friend, brother-in-law and ally across the field of battle.77 The Queen’s Party decided to fight on in her absence, with Argyll as their leader. On 28 July 1568, at Largs, Argyll, as the Queen’s Lieutenant, issued orders for a muster at Glasgow, armed and with twenty days’ provender, for a campaign against the enemies of the Queen. Early the next month 2,000 of Argyll’s men were transported to Glasgow in the commandeered Clyde Fishing Fleet. Argyll began building more galleys, in spite of an order from English Dublin forbidding the export of Irish timber.78 Moray’s Parliament responded by forfeiting the lands of ten men, including Carswell. Argyll and some of the other leaders were called to submit, with the threat of severer penalties if they did not. Argyll and Huntly’s siege of Glasgow was now lifted by Moray’s men and Argyll and his supporters were reduced to mounting an anti-Moray campaign, claiming that the country should be governed by the next-in-line to the throne – that is to say, Hamilton, followed by Huntly and then Argyll. Argyll meanwhile mounted various raids against Lennox’s lands.79 In February 1569, Nicholas Whyte, on his way to Ireland met and talked with the captive Queen Mary and made so bold as to reply, when the Queen commented on his going to that troublesome country Ireland, ‘I do so, madame and the chiefest trouble of Ireland proceeds from the north of Scotland, through the Earle of Argile’s supportation’. Queen Mary said nothing.80 The statement would seem to have been a justified one. Argyll, licking his wounds after Langside and still determined to do what he could for his

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Queen, was seen as having the potential to cause much trouble by importing the Roman Catholic counter-reformation into Irish politics. Clan Donald South were operating, for once, alongside the Campbells and he had previously received a Bond of Manrent from Donald MacDonald Gorm of Sleat in 1565, which was repeated in 1567 and again, in 1571.81 But that is not to say that all was peaceful in the area or that all was under control. Argyll’s attempt, that summer of 1568, to unite the Island Chiefs had been a failure. Sorley Buy and the young chief of Clan Donald South, Alasdair Og, were at loggerheads and there were squabbles among the others, the Chiefs of Duart, Lochbuie, Sleat, and Dunvegan, whose meeting had been an acrimonious one with little achieved.82 The knowledge that he could not count on a united front and resolute action by both Moray and Elizabeth weakened his resolve. On 16 August, Moray ordered the Privy Council to forfeit both Argyll and Huntly, while the English Queen wrote, in threatening vein to the former, warning him to desist or take the consequences.83 Faced with an uncertain situation at home, the resolute stances of both Moray and the English Queen and with no real prospect of success, Argyll’s resolve now weakened. On 24 August 1568, he wrote a placating letter to Queen Elizabeth and determined that his only course was to make peace with Moray. On 8 March of the following year, 1569, Moray summoned the army to meet him at Glasgow. Mary’s reply was to appoint Argyll, Huntly and Hamilton as her Lieutenants to rule the country and summon another army.84 But Argyll’s spirit was broken. The Queen’s cause, by now, was hopeless and, by the end of May, both he and Hamilton submitted, followed shortly afterwards by Huntly. A frail peace was established. At the end of July, Moray called a special convention at Perth. Argyll did not attend but Carswell did. Mary’s reinstatement and her divorce from Bothwell were both refused. All present signed a Band in support of the infant King James of which a special copy was made for Argyll to sign. On 12 August 1569, the Earl levied another stent or tax on his people. It appears to have been the second that year since reference is made to a previous one in May. The Earl was clearly now running out of resources with which to sustain his various campaigns. The rate demanded was two merks for every merkland and thirty pence for every cow liable as grassum – the tax payable on renewal of a feu or rent. If money was lacking, then payment could be made in kind with cows at five merks and sheep at five shillings. Responsibility for the collection of these moneys were as follows: Dougall Campbell of Auchinbreck was to be responsible for all Argyll between

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Amalagayn (sic) and Loch Fyne; Dougall MacDougall of Dunolly for Lorne; and James Campbell of Ardkinglas for Cowal, Glenshira and Glenaray.85 In August 1569, both Sir James MacDonnell of Dunnyveg’s widow, Lady Agnes Campbell, and their daughter, Finola, the Ineen Dubh – the ‘Dark Girl’ – were married on Rathlin Island. Lady Agnes, not without some difficulty, had been persuaded to marry Turlough Luineach O’Neill, successor to Shane O’Neil, the slayer of her former husband, Sir James MacDonnell, while Finola married Hugh O’Donnell, now Chief of the O’Donnells of Tyrconnell. Both ladies were given handsome dowries of armed men, numbering some 400 or 500 Campbells and 700 MacDonalds from Kintyre.86 Turlough had already that year, in January, received some 100 Campbells to help him. They were referred to in the Calendar of State Papers as members of the Clan O’Duine, which puzzled historians since English scribes had converted them into Verguinbh or Meguibhne. With what force he had under arms already, which included a body of Macleans, he now disposed of as many men as an O’Neill had ever done. In addition, he had a fleet of thirty-two galleys, many boats and a further large force of Islay MacDonalds in reserve. He now broke out into open rebellion. Mother and daughter were not seen as good influences by the English. John Smith, in his ‘Advice for the Realme of Ireland’, described them as ‘trayners of all skotts into Ireland as allso conveyors of all commodities oute of the realme, so that by these twoo woomen arriseth all mischief against thinglishe Pale for by these meanes onell and odonill are specyall frends’.87 The 5th Earl was now able to threaten Queen Elizabeth that he would invade Ireland with 5,000 men unless she helped her cousin, Queen Mary. Mercenaries from the Western Highlands and Isles were anyway pouring into Ulster.88 No doubt, among them, there were many Campbells who joined those already in Ulster. Among the latter, were the eighty-eight Campbells formerly employed by Sorley Buy MacDonald. He had dismissed them in June and they had immediately been taken on by the Irish chieftain MacMahon. On 23 January 1570, the luckless Moray was assassinated at Linlithgow at the hands of Murray of Bothwellhaugh. Argyll’s hopes were raised and he and his supporters entered into negotiations with Morton and Maitland of Lethington over the possibility of taking over the government. He also redoubled his efforts to bring pressure on the English. An English army, however, now massed on the Border. The tide had passed and most people now had little feeling for Queen Mary. In spite of all Argyll’s efforts, on 12 July, Lennox took over as regent. His party was backed by the English and adamant in their insistence that Mary should not return. Carswell, attempting

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to negotiate with the English, found them far from sympathetic. Their terms included Mary’s renunciation of all claim to the English succession, a guarantee to exclude all foreign troops, the handing over of any English Roman Catholic rebels and Scottish hostages to be provided. The question of Scottish mercenaries in Ulster loomed large in the discussion and the demand was made that none should go there without the Lord Deputy’s express permission. To aid control, the English should garrison a castle, either in Kintyre or Galloway. Protestantism was to be guaranteed and Lennox retained as regent. Argyll and Huntly kept the talks going but they soon realised their cause was without hope and eventually signed an agreement with Sussex to accept Lennox as regent and to hand over the English rebels. But manoeuvres still continued. The English made overtures to Donald Gormeson MacDonald of Sleat, seeking to enlist his aid against Argyll and the regent. The former, in October 1570, infuriated them by sending 700 men – under the command of his illegitimate son, John Campbell, Provost of Kilmun – to Ulster to help the O’Neills.89 Meanwhile, the pressure against the MacGregors had been intensifying. Their depredations had caused Atholl to turn against them and, in March 1570, at Huntly’s desire, Argyll and Atholl signed an agreement. Apart from settling squabbles over the destination of the Abbacy of Coupar and the Bishopric of Dunkeld, the main content was to agree over their treatment of the Clan Gregor. In the next six weeks, Argyll was to expel all malefactors from the Clan Gregor and would prevent their return. Neither party would maintain or defend MacGregors or any other broken men but should punish all offenders and, should any of their own people transgress against the other, they should either be expelled or handed over for punishment. Finally, both Earls agreed to forget all past depredations and slaughters committed against each other and henceforth ‘to stand in all mutual kindness and assistance’.90 The campaign against the MacGregors, who had long been the scourge of their neighbours, culminated in the execution of Gregor Roy of Glenstrae, the MacGregor Chief. There was irony as well as tragedy in the act. On the death of his father, the young Gregor’s guardianship had been assigned to Duncan Ladasach – ‘the Bold’ – MacGregor, whose forty-year career had led to his description as ‘the terror of the Central Highlands’.91 In prison and about to be executed at Finlarig, the death of Glenorchy at Flodden had saved him for a long career of rapine and murder. Eventually captured by Grey Colin of Glenorchy, Menzies of Rannoch and Duncan Roy Campbell of Glenlyon in 1552, Duncan Ladasach and his two sons were formally executed. Young Gregor was taken into Campbell care and looked after in

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the family of Campbell of Glenlyon, whose daughter, Marion, he fell in love with, eventually marrying her against all the odds. When Gregor came of age in 1562 and asked for a tack of his family lands of Glenstrae, he was rebuffed. The terms laid down by Grey Colin included the surrender of several of his men who were held guilty of murder and the acceptance of heavy, if unspecified, conditions to be laid down by Glenorchy. The insulted Clan Gregor rose in revolt and resumed their terrorist campaign. On the night of 7 December that year, 120 MacGregors, bristling with weapons and led by their young Chief descended on the Inn at Allt Girnaig, just above Killiecrankie. Lodging here were nine men, five of whom were Campbells, among their number being the sons of Campbell of Oib and Campbell of Barbreck. They were just turning in for the night when the MacGregors arrived, giving them no chance. The MacGregors surrounded the house and then set fire to it. Alastair, Barbreck’s son, was pieced by an arrow in the stomach and all the others were also killed. Their work accomplished, the MacGregors rode south to Kincraigie, near Kindallachan in Strathtay, where Duncan Roy of Glenlyon’s brother, Patrick Campbell, and several others were known to be sleeping in a barn. Again the place was surrounded and set on fire, forcing out the people inside. This time, they took them prisoner, with the exception of one Lachlan Campbell who was killed, although the MacGregors had promised him his life if he surrendered.92 This provoked government reaction in the form of a Commission of Fire and Sword against the MacGregors. All men’s hand was now against them and, in spite of several attempts by Gregor Roy to gain remission, Glenorchy was implacable and, in 1569, having obtained the authority to pursue and slay young Gregor, he enlisted his neighbours and even Gregor’s father-in-law, Duncan Campbell of Glenlyon, in the task. A long pursuit by bloodhounds from one refuge to the next has given rise to many a tale and the place where the fleeing Gregor jumped the abyss of the River Lyon to escape his pursuers is pointed out today. The chase eventually resulted in his capture in August 1569 and his incarceration in the dungeon at Taymouth before, in April 1570, he was led to the Hanging Hill, Tom na Croiche, at the head of the Loch and there put to death, being beheaded by the seventy-year-old Grey Colin in person, in front of an audience which included the Earl of Atholl and various other noblemen.93 He is commemorated in one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all, Gaelic laments, ‘Griogal Cridhe’, which was composed by his Campbell wife in her bitter grief. Even today to hear its raw sorrow is to have the hairs at the nape of the neck stand on end. The Campbells, to aid their pursuit of the MacGregors, were said to have trained special bloodhounds, the Coin

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Dhubh – or ‘Black Dogs’–by nurturing them as puppies on the milk of MacGregor women from which they were ever thereafter able to scent a member of that race.94 In March 1571, the Queen’s party once more opened negotiations with the English, their terms centring on the restoration of Mary to the Scottish throne in return for hostages, who would include Hamilton, Huntly, Argyll and the child, King James VI. Morton’s attempts to open a dialogue with Argyll failed but the French now intervened, Henry III sending an envoy with money and promising that he would do all in his power to restore Mary and to persuade her to forgive and forget all that was past. Unfortunately, Lennox intercepted all four coffers with not only the money but also the letters written to the French by Argyll, asking for men and money. By now, there was a general wish for peace. The Queen’s party was on its last legs, with only Edinburgh Castle in the hands of Kirkcaldy of Grange still holding out for her. On the 4 August 1571, parliament convened and demanded the surrender of the castle, which, otherwise, would be taken by force and general forfeitures imposed. On 12 August, Argyll, Cassilis and Eglinton finally gave in. Argyll’s overt support of Queen Mary was finally at an end.95 The day after, he wrote a letter of explanation to Hamilton, stating that the country was in a state of complete anarchy and young James was, in effect, King. Queen Mary was helpless and so he considered it his duty to sue for peace. Hamilton and Huntly invited him to Edinburgh to discuss the future but Argyll did not go – indeed he did not appear until after both Huntly and Hamilton had been forfeited. But by now, the 5th Earl had lost his credibility and was thought to be prepared to do anything to avoid forfeiture. He offered to relinquish his Lieutenancy from the Queen, if he were to be given the lands of Dunkeld instead. Drury, the English emissary summed him up, saying he was ‘very inconstante and respecteth no promyss’.96 Then on the 4 September 1571, it was the turn of Matthew, Earl of Lennox, the regent, to be shot.97 Argyll, now reconciled to the ruling party, was considered as a replacement but the final choice fell on the Earl of Mar, Argyll being made a Privy Councillor. There was a general desire to restore peace and stability. This was reflected in Ireland where Lady Agnes wrote to Queen Elizabeth, offering an end to hostilities and promising the loyalty of her husband Turlough O’Neill. The latter also wrote to the English Queen promising peace, providing he was allowed to retain his sub-chieftains, at least, under command. A treaty was concluded and O’Neill dismissed his mercenaries. He was not entirely in control of events, however, and, in February 1572, there was a skirmish between the MacDonalds and the

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English garrison of Carrickfergus. Sorley Buy took part and Ewan MacIan dubh Macalister, Laird of Loup and a considerable figure in Clan Donald South, was killed.98 The 5th Earl was now active in seeking peace, requesting that the Islesmen come in and that Edinburgh Castle be handed over. He, himself, received remission for all past crimes but the war dragged on. However, the remnants of Mary’s supporters held on desperately in Edinburgh Castle and were described as ‘the focal point of infection’. Argyll brought over 300 of his people to help in the siege. They were billeted in the surrounding villages with the task of cutting off all supplies to the castle but their efforts met with little success A meeting of the King’s party was held in Perth but it was less than successful because tension had developed between Argyll and Atholl over the grant to the former of the lands of the Bishopric of Dunkeld of which Atholl had in fact been receiving the rents for some time. The French now promised various pensions and the 5th Earl, who was to be among the recipients, went to France to ensure the undertaking was carried out.99 It would seem that his finances, much depleted by his efforts on behalf of the Queen for so long, were in a parlous state. On 28 October 1572, the death occurred of the Regent Mar. Argyll was an obvious contender to succeed him but he was not popular. He was still considered as one of those responsible for the murderer of Darnley and his general conduct was thought to be too erratic. The position went to the Earl of Morton who now did his best to bring Argyll and Hamilton into the fold. But he was not a well man and, towards the end of the year, he too fell ill and died. Once again Argyll was considered for the post and the English now reckoned a pension from them would be a good idea as a counter to the offer of pensions by the French. The sum was not great – no more than £200 for Argyll – but it seems to have been accepted and, thereafter, Argyll was loyal to the interests of Queen Elizabeth. The following year, on 17 January 1573, as Justice General of the Kingdom, he was made Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal by a charter in the name of King James VI.100 An Act of Oblivion was passed and all concerned, including Argyll, were cleared of any past crimes they might have committed, including the murder of Darnley. Argyll managed to negotiate the surrender of Edinburgh Castle at last and the unfortunate Kirkaldy of Grange, commander of its garrison, was hanged for treason. Huntly and Lord John Hamilton submitted and the former became a Protestant. Only George Douglas and Lord Sempill maintained a token resistance, holding Paisley Abbey until August, when Argyll, as Justice General, subdued them. In spite of all these momentous events, Argyll had been far from idle in his

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own backyard during these last few years. He had continued to receive Bonds of Manrent – from William Stewart of Ambrismoir in Bute in 1567 101 and from the Clan Fergus, the Fergusons of Glensellich, in 1568. In November 1571, he received a Bond of Manrent from John MacAlastair MacDonald, Captain of Clanranald, and his son, Alan,102 and, a bare month later, another from Sir John Stewart of Bute, who was to perform the normal services owed at his own expense as well as becoming part of the Earl’s household for which the Earl would be responsible.103 Lesser Bonds of Manrent were received by John Campbell of Cawdor, from the MacFaills or MacPhail family of clerics104 and from John Mc achopich and his sons.105 Both Bonds included the giving of calp, which acknowledged the recipient as chief. One ploy that failed to come to full fruition was the marriage of the heiress Mary MacLeod to a Campbell. For a considerable time, she had been in the sights of the 5th Earl who clearly saw an opportunity to repeat the success of the Cawdor marriage. Only child of William MacLeod of Dunvegan, she was heiress to his lands of Duirinish, Minginish, Glendale, Bracadale, Harris and Glenelg which, under the terms of a previous charter of 1540, could be inherited by either a male or a female. She was not eligible for Macleod’s other disputed lands, Trotternish, North Uist and Sleat, as these could only go to a male heir.106 William died in 1551, at which point Mary was only some seven years old. The 4th Earl had thought he had managed to acquire the lands of Glenelg in 1555. They had been in MacLeod hands since the mid 1300s107 until, in 1553, Queen Mary had granted to Huntly the ward and dues of Glenelg and all the other MacLeod lands whether they were destined to heirs male only or not.108 Huntly agreed to resign the grant to Argyll two years later, in 1557, for 1200 merks but somehow the deal was never finalised109 and, in 1559, Huntly was forced to resign, instead, to the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise, who then sold the non-entry and dues to James MacDonald of Dunnyveg, the 5th Earl’s uncle by marriage. MacDonald of Dunnyveg tried to obtain actual possession of the girl but was diverted by his marriage to Lady Agnes Campbell, at which point he granted Mary’s ward and marriage to Argyll. In 1567, Argyll contracted with her uncle, Tormod Macleod, to procure her infeftment in Glenelg and her other lands, if charters could be found, and, if they could not, to get the Queen to grant a new infeftment. Once Mary had her infeftment, she should infeft Tormod in the same lands, and he, in turn, would then infeft Argyll. Argyll would provide Mary with a husband and Tormod would pay her a sum of £1,000 or renounce all right to the lands.110 In 1569, Mary was duly married to Duncan Campbell of Castle

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Sween, second son but eventual successor to Campbell of Auchinbreck. Tormod was nominally Chief but the lands of Uist, Trotternish and Glenelg were Argyll’s. As with the Cawdors over sixty years before, the situation was not at all to the liking of the male members of the MacLeod clan, now led by Mary’s cousin, Iain a Chuail Bhain, in place of his father, Tormod, who, in due course, returned from abroad to claim his inheritance. Tormod was not in a happy situation since his grandson Black John (Iain Dubh), son of Iain a Chuail Bhain, had already murdered his uncle, Tormod’s brother Donald. Black John is said to have attempted the murder of his grandfather in Glasgow but to have been prevented by Argyll. Argyll was able to make further capital out of the marriage. He had received several Bonds of Manrent from Donald MacDonald of Sleat, in 1565 and in 1567, when the 5th Earl promised to obtain heritable possession of the lands of Trotternish, Sleat and North Uist for Donald, to be held directly from the Queen. In return, Donald would agree to hold these lands in feu farm from the Earl, to whom he agreed to pay 1,000 merks Scots as well as 500 merks towards Mary MacLeod’s marriage.111 There was a further Bond in 1571, when the Earl forgave Donald for having broken the previous ones. Donald was to be a good friend to Torquhil Macleod of Dunvegan and his friends, who were dependents of the Earl, and he was never to recognise any other authority than that recognised by the Earl. On his part, the Earl promised to try to get Donald made a free baron, to give him the same status as the other Barons of the Isles. He was also to include Donald in any discussions he had with the Queen and, with Donald in his service, he would try to ensure he was rewarded as well, as he was promised by the Earls of Moray and Lennox. He would redeliver Colin Campbell to him for fosterage.112 These deals would have given the 5th Earl effective control over Skye, as well as much of both the Outer Isles and the mainland. It was too much for the MacLeods and the MacDonalds to thole and, in 1580, Mary, with consent of her husband, Duncan Campbell, younger of Auchinbreck, resigned the lands to her uncle, Tormod MacLeod. One side effect of this failed attempt to duplicate the successful Cawdor marriage was the establishment of Campbell families on Skye and in Uist. Again, following the example of the Cawdor marriage, a bodyguard was deemed advisable to ensure the young heiress came safely of age and a party, traditionally said to be Campbells of Barbreck, were sent north to maintain her safety. They stayed on and the families of Campbells, both on Skye and Harris, are said to be descended from them. They included the families of Strond, who provided chamberlains for the Macleods of Dunvegan and of

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Scalpay, as well as the Campbell family who held the hereditary post of falconers to the Macleod Chiefs. It was also at this time that the first family of Barbreck came to an end with the death of Colin Campbell of Barbreck who only left a daughter. It may be remembered that the progenitor of the family was John Annam, quite possibly the eldest son of Colin Iongantach, who had been passed over for the succession in favour of his younger brother. In view of this, there was clearly no question of allowing this symbolically significant property out of Campbell hands and the heiress, Katherine, was promptly married to Colin Campbell, styled of ‘Craiginche’ or Craignish. This Colin was one of the 5th Earl’s illegitimate sons for whom he obviously felt affection since, apart from his apparent temporary possession of the lands of Craignish, as well as further grants of land, he also appointed him to the financially rewarding post of Coroner over Glenorchy, Lochawe, Glenaray, Glenshira, MacNachtan’s lands, Ardscotnish and Melfort.113 In 1572, there also occurred the death of the Earl’s long-term ally and assistant, John Carswell. He was succeeded by John Campbell of Ardchattan as Bishop of the Isles. A younger son of Muriel and Sir John Campbell of Cawdor, Bishop John sired an illegitimate son, Alexander, to whom, in 1580, the post of Commendator or Lay Abbot of Ardchattan was to be given, together with a secular grant of the property, thus founding the family of the later Campbells of Ardchattan. The 5th Earl was finally divorced from Jean Stewart in June 1573. A few weeks later, in August, he married again, this time Janet Cunningham, second daughter of Alexander, the 5th Earl of Glencairn. Their wedded happiness was brief since, on 12 September, the Earl was dead, killed by a stone in the kidney, a cruelly painful end. There was no child as a result of this brief marriage and the new Countess was herself dead some eighteen months later.114 ‘Mac Ailin (Gillespick the son of Gillespick, by no means the least distinguished of the Gaels of Scotland) died’ – in this somewhat understated fashion, the 5th Earl’s death was recorded in The Annals of the Four Masters. It was a remarkable career that saw Mac Cailein Mor as again one of the great leaders, not only of his clan but also of a power which could treat on equal terms, so great was his strength in arms, with the Crowns of England, Scotland and France. His military might and diplomatic prowess combined to make him the dominant figure in the Western Highlands and Isles to an extent as yet unrivalled by any of his ilk and, for a long time, he held the balance of power in the troubled land of Ireland. He was a major figure, perhaps the chief one, in the establishment of the Reformed Religion in Scotland and yet managed to serve his sister-in-law, the Queen.

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It was not a career without blemish or failure, however. His armies needed paying and, as the old family record has it, ‘he was at so high charges, that he was forced almost to feu the whole earldom of Argyle’. He only survived with the help of his clansmen and followers who suffered heavy rents and levies. Whatever it was that struck him down at Langside must have been a bitter blow to him, with the severe hurt to his military reputation and the loss of his Queen. Because of his perceived political twists and turns, his reputation with the country’s other leaders also suffered. He cannot have been an entirely happy man when his last painful illness took over. He died at Barbreck Craignish and was buried at Kilmun.115 Had he survived, it is tempting to speculate what might have been – was his credibility so hurt that he could not have regained his former position? But he still had his clan behind him. With them and his allies, he had at his disposal a power that was unmatched in the land and he was still the dominant power in the Western Highlands and Isles. The game was all to play for and there is abundant evidence of an attractive and strong character. But it was not to be.

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CHAPTER FOUR

Promise Unfulfilled

Colin, 6th Earl, 1572–1584 ith Archibald, the 5th Earl of Argyll, having died without issue, the title and leadership of Clan Campbell now passed to his half-brother, Sir Colin Campbell of Boquhan. Known as Cailean Teach from his upbringing in Menteith – his grandfather, it will be remembered, was William Graham, 3rd Earl of Menteith – much of his early life seems to have been spent in that part of the world, where his property of Boquhan was situated, immediately adjacent to today’s village of Kippen, halfway between the foot of Loch Lomond and Stirling. He had received a charter of these lands in 1546, when he appears to have been but an enfant, and, two years later, he had a charter of Easter Leckie or Shirgartan just to the east.1 For a time, it seems that the area was being organised as yet another area of Campbell concentration with Touch and Arngibbon being among Campbell holdings in the area. Described as being ‘of fair complexion, tall of stature, modest and just’,2 he first married Janet Stewart, daughter of Henry 1st Lord Methven, some time after the marriage contract of 14 October 1553, when Colin engaged to marry her as soon as he and she were of full contracting age.3 At the same time, they were given a charter of the £20 lands of Balquhidder, lands which were swapped, in January 1563, in an agreement with his brother the Earl, who gave him various lands in Craignish, including Barrichbeyan and Barbreck, in exchange.4 He seems to have got on well with his brother and supported him in his endeavours. He carried his brother’s message of loyalty to Mary Queen of Scots in 1561, just before her return from France.5 As illness overtook his brother, Colin assumed responsibility and, by the time of Earl Archibald’s death, he was firmly in control. One of his first acts was to hold regality courts on a progress through Lorne, Cowal and Mid-Argyll, which saw some 160 people, regardless of rank, hanged in Lorne alone for the crimes of slaughter, murder, theft and sorcery.6

W

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Argyll had not been directly involved recently in affairs of state. The Earl of Morton was regent and, for the time being, for Scotland as a whole at least, as Hume Brown has it, ‘there is hardly an important event to chronicle’.7 Shortly after he succeeded, the 6th Earl received a Bond of Manrent from Patrick, Lord Drummond, a repeat of that made to his brother only a few weeks earlier. In early November, he received another, this time from Malcolm Carswell, Captain of Craignish, and his brother, Mr. Donald Carswell, vicar of Kilmartin. This followed the death, in 1572, of Bishop Carswell. He was eventually to be followed in the Bishopric by John Campbell, Commendator of Ardchattan since 1545, and a younger son of Muriel of Cawdor. John Campbell, in 1580, made his illegitimate son, Alexander, his successor as Commendator of Ardchattan, for which he was given secular tenancy and thus founding another landed branch of the clan. In December 1573, the Earl was given the post of Justice General of Scotland for life. Early good relations with the Regent Morton were not to last – indeed, they were now irrevocably poisoned by the following extraordinary series of events involving the Earl and his second wife. Early in February 1574, the Earl and Countess of Argyll were denounced, at Morton’s instance, for ‘retaining’ certain of the Crown Jewels. In particular, it was claimed, the Countess had in her possession three great rubies and three great diamonds set in the form of an ‘H’ and she was refusing to hand them over. They were accordingly put to the horn and declared to be rebels. On the twentieth of the same month, Earl Colin replied at length and with considerable bitterness. He complained they had been given no time to explain and had been ill used. The late Regent Moray – his wife’s first husband – had been put to enormous expense in serving the crown and was owed vast sums for which the jewels were a security. They would be returned to the King when the latter was of age and able to recompense Moray’s children for these debts, incurred as they were in royal service, and for their father’s death.8 This was followed by a counter-charge by Argyll against the regent. Firstly, on the death of the 5th Earl, Morton had broken into Argyll’s locked rooms at Holyrood in order to remove various coffers of his. Secondly, the regent, having promised the new Earl that he would take over all his brother’s offices, then gave the Chancellorship to another. He also claimed that, having been left with major financial problems due to the debts incurred by his brother and therefore constricted, the regent had, nevertheless, pursued the 6th Earl over certain jewels to the extent of having him put to the horn. After the return of the jewels, the regent broke his promise to return the Earl’s seized goods nor had he made any effort to settle the debts of his

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step-children, that had, indeed, been incurred in royal service. He further claimed that Argyll had been unfairly treated during the divorce of his brother from Janet Stewart and that Morton had supported Donald Gormeson of Sleat against Tormod MacLeod of Harris, the rightful owner of Glenelg and gave commission to Clanranald to take up his escheat, whereupon there resulted ‘cruel slaughter and hership’. On top of all this, he said that his counsel against John MacDonald Grumach had not been listened to. From an endorsement to the document at Inveraray, it would appear that this memorial was taken by Mr. Robert Fletcher and submitted to the regent who at first refused to accept it, on the grounds that the Earl of Argyll was a rebel. However, he relented in so far as to say that, if Argyll appeared at an appointed day and handed over the jewels, this would be the only chance of his release from the horn.9 At the same time, on 14 February, the 6th Earl received a Bond of Manrent from Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg.10 This meant, with the Clan Donald South now under command, that the Campbell Chief largely controlled the supply of armed mercenaries for Ulster, thereby still further reinforcing his potential importance on the international scene. In Ulster itself, Turlough Luineach O’Neill was continuing to cause major trouble to the English authorities and, in the autumn of 1574, the Earl of Essex mounted an expedition against him but without any visible success.11 The following year, however, it was Turlough who caved in. Having been deserted by Sorley Buy MacDonald and O’Donnell, he was forced to sue for peace with the English in June. A truce was eventually concluded but not before Essex, infuriated by Scottish interference, had sent Captain John Norris in three frigates, later reinforced by a further three and 300 troops, to the Scots’ base on Rathlin Island. Here, the fort was successfully defended by the Scots but they eventually negotiated a surrender on terms. These were shamefully betrayed and some 600 Scots were massacred, including women and children, and eleven galleys were torched. Meanwhile, an impotently raging Sorley Buy watched from the mainland. Even the distant English Queen was shocked and Essex was recalled, while Sorley Buy, in revenge, attacked and captured Carrickfergus a few weeks later, where he duly killed the garrison of between forty and sixty English who had also trusted themselves to his word. That autumn both Sorley Buy and Agnes Campbell submitted to Sir Henry Sidney, who was now in charge, and their example was, in turn, followed by Turlough. He was permitted to retain a personal bodyguard with the proviso that they should be Campbells and no MacDonalds were allowed. But the peace was no more than a pause. Until Ulster was overrun and taken, there was no prospect of keeping out the Scots whose services were

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now in demand to take part in the insurrection far furth of the north of the country, as far south as Mayo.12 The following year, 1575, was chiefly notable for the birth of the Earl’s first son, another Archibald, who, in due course, was to succeed him as the 7th Earl. Some time during the following year, 1576, the Earl signed a Bond with the Regent Morton promising advancement of God’s true religion and preservation of King James VI.13 On 17 January 1576, the Regent, in the name of the infant King and for loyal and signal services rendered on several occasions, appointed Earl Colin Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. Argyll’s pleasure was mitigated by resentment that he had not been given the position immediately on the death of his brother.14 On 4 May, a complaint was submitted against him to the Privy Council by John Maclean, younger of Duart, claiming that he had been imprisoned without cause in Innischonnel and no charges laid against him.15 The following month, on the 2 June 1576, the Bishop of the Isles, Commendator of Iona, in return for money paid and for protection against marauders, granted the 6th Earl lands in Kintyre which included Langall, Drum and Putechan.16 A fortnight later, on the eighteenth, he was given a Commission of Lieutenancy over Lanark, Renfrew, Dumbarton, Stirling, Kyle, Carrick and Cunningham, in order to reduce the rebels, under Lord Semple, who had dispossessed Claud Hamilton, the Commendator of Paisley.17 During this period, there had been a mounting series of incidents between the Earls of Argyll and Atholl. The Campbells of Breadalbane were moving steadily towards and into Atholl’s sphere of influence and the situation had not been helped by the depredations of the MacGregors. On 20 July, Argyll gave an undertaking not to harm the lands or the people of Atholl. Two days later, a similar bond in reverse was signed at Dunkeld by the Earl of Atholl.18 That was not the end of the story, however. One specific point at issue, which nearly led to open warfare, was over jurisdiction in Atholl itself, where Atholl claimed the right on the grounds of a Commission of Justiciary that was given to him by Queen Mary. Argyll, on the other hand, claimed his Justiciary General overrode the lesser Commission given to Atholl. The row came to a head when Atholl refused to give up two of his Stewarts, who were charged by Argyll with various crimes, and seized two Camerons, accused of murdering their Chief, whom he imprisoned in spite of Argyll claiming them as his dependants. A fight was about to break out but on 16 November, both parties were summoned to appear before the Privy Council with no more than sixty followers each.19 Early in 1577, Argyll and Atholl duly appeared in Edinburgh with large,

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armed retinues. A Proclamation was issued, enjoining the Earls to refrain from hostilities and banning the carrying of any arms.20 But they now learned that Morton’s true intention was to charge them both with treason. In face of this danger, they sank their differences and combined forces against Morton who was forced to back down. Morton’s loss of face was a severe blow and one that directly contributed to his eventual downfall.21 Meanwhile, the Earl, of course, had been carrying out his normal duties at home, attending to the administration of the estate, overseeing law-keeping in the Western Highlands and Isles and, no doubt, law-breaking when it suited Campbell interests, for, by now, there was little authority to question the near-regal status of Mac Cailein Mor. He continued to issue Bonds of Manrent, with one, in December 1574, being issued to Hector Maclean of Ardluing, otherwise Hector Allansoun Maclean, the illegitimate son of the notorious Ailein nan Sop Maclean of Gigha, which served as ratification of similar Bonds from the 4th and 5th Earls of Argyll.22 On 12 April the next year, 1575, Hector Allansoun signed another Bond, this time with Hector Maclean of Duart, promising to repay Duncan Campbell, son of Master Archibald, for cattle taken from him during the siege of Loch Gorm Castle in Islay, where a Campbell contingent had aided Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg in the continuing wars between the Macleans and the MacDonalds over possession of the Rinns of Islay. The Macleans’ excuse was that they did not know whose cattle they were. ‘Master Archibald’ was the popular name for the future 5th Earl and this Duncan was probably one of his several illegitimate children.23 That December, Duncan Campbell, younger of Glenorchy, made an interesting addition to his lands with the purchase of the forty shilling lands of Ewich and Creitindewar in Glendochart from the owner, Donald Dewar, to be held for the crown, whose remote ancestors had given it to one of the five families of Dewars as a reward for their guardianship of one of the relics of Saint Fillan.24 The following year, on 14 September 1576, the 6th Earl received the Bond of Manrent of John MacDonald, captain of Clanranald, along with that of his son, Alan, who also agreed to demit the lands of Glenelg to Tormod MacLeod. This was done in order that they could ally themselves with the Macleans and refer all matters to do with Macleod of Harris to the Earl. That November, the Earl also signed a Bond of Friendship with the Earl of Glencairn. Two more Bonds followed during the following year of 1577. On 12 August, Donald Macintyre, son of John Roy Macintyre, Commissioner in Innerkip, and Duncan Macintyre, Commissioner in Tulloch, were sent from

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the whole of the surname of Clan Tyre to give the Manrent and service of their clan, including all the calps of those of their name both present and future, to the Earl of Argyll to whom, as their good lord and master, they promised to be loyal and true servants for all time.25 Then, on 26 September, the Earl received the Bond of Manrent of John Dubh Maclean, uncle and counsellor to Lachlan Maclean of Duart, the young chief, who had been released from captivity in Innischonnel, the year before.26 On 8 November 1577, the Earl was again at odds with the Privy Council – this time due to the complaint of John MacDonald, son of James MacDonald of Castle Camus, Bailie of Sleat, who, having been summoned by the Earl for reasons to be revealed on his arrival, was thrown into Innischonnel without having committed any crime.27 The Earl, at this period, seems to have become used to behaving in a highly imperious fashion, which reflected very clearly his actual power and disregard for any rival authority. Following this last complaint, a Messengerat-Arms, one David Harper, was sent from Edinburgh. He caught up with the Earl and his entourage near Loch Eck, in Cowal, where he attempted to serve his summons, relating to this wrongful detention, on the Earl, along with another, relating to the complaint made against him by James Richardson of Smeton, that demanded his appearance before the Regent and the Privy Council. The Earl was out hunting, surrounded by a hundred men of his household, his tenants and servants, all ‘Hieland men’, as the account has it. The Messenger tried to deliver his letters but the Earl spurred past him, refusing to accept them. But then, reining in, he spoke to some of his followers who returned, grabbed Harper and tore his insignia from him. They put a withy noose round the neck of his unfortunate companion and threatened to finish him if he did not reveal any other letters, directed at the Earl, that he had on him. They took off his clothes, sword and purse, which contained six pounds worth of silver. They then beat him up before eventually returning his gear and twenty-three shillings of the silver and sent him on his way, threatening to hang him if he ever came that way again on a similar errand. This was naked defiance of the law and, the following year, the Earl was duly proclaimed rebel at the market crosses of Dumbarton and Stirling which were declared to serve as the Earl’s dwelling-place – the authorities were clearly not going to try again at Inveraray!28 1578 was the year King James, now in his twelfth year, nominally assumed the reins of government. The strongest influence, however, was that of Captain James Stewart, son of Lord Ochiltree, who was created Earl of Arran in 1581.29

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Already in trouble over the Harper affair, the month of February saw the 6th Earl again at serious odds with the authorities and a Proclamation was issued against the Earl for assembling his people for an expedition against Glengarry, on the pretext of pursuing six people over whom he had no authority. Taking no chances this time, the Proclamation was posted at the crosses of Dumbarton and Stirling. It also demanded the assembly, under arms of the men of Moray, Ross, Badenoch and Balquhidder, to aid Glengarry in resisting Argyll, who was threatened with treason if he proceeded any further. Specific orders not to help the Earl were also sent to Maclean of Duart and MacKinnon of Strathordill.30 The Earl may have been somewhat consoled at this troubled time by two letters from Queen Elizabeth of England, one in February 1578 and one in May 1579. Both addressed him as ‘Right trusty and right well belouid cousin’ and were signed ‘Your loving cousin and friend’. In November, the Earl replied to Robert Bowes, the agent of the English, that, although the traditional family agreement with the O’Neills had included a pension (a pretty obvious hint), he was prepared to break his Irish connection in Queen Elizabeth’s interest. Apprehension was rising in England as the potential use of Ireland as a base for a Spanish invasion of England became ever clearer.31 Among those affected by this realisation was Lady Agnes Campbell whom Sidney now regarded as a potential asset. At his urging, Queen Elizabeth now sent Lady Agnes one of her own cast-off gowns! It can only have been well worn since Gerrard, the English Lord Chancellor, had to have a new forepart made for it before it was handed over. What Lady Agnes’s reaction was to this history does not relate.32 Meanwhile, Turlough Luineach was continuing to gather his strength. But Morton’s time as Regent was coming to an end and, on 12 March 1578, he resigned. His unpopularity was overwhelming and the combination of having both Argyll and Atholl against him was something he had been unable to face. The young King was firmly in the hands of his enemies and he felt his only course was to go. A new Privy Council was formed, of which the principal members were the Earls of Argyll, Montrose, Glencairn, Atholl, Eglinton and Caithness, the last three of whom were Roman Catholics.33 But Morton realised he needed to protect himself and, gathering a band of followers, he took over Stirling Castle. Here the nobility were to meet on 10 June, when the Privy Council was to be reconstructed and the next parliament held. This was not acceptable to his enemies and both sides assembled their forces for a face-to-face meeting at which the argument over conditions continued.34 On 26 November, the Earl signed a Bond with Duncan Campbell, fiar of Glenorchy, to protect him against his father who was intent on taking back all

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his lands.35 On the following day, he signed a Bond of mutual defence and friendship with the young Earl of Mar.36 A few weeks later, it was Maclean of Duart who now complained against Argyll to the King and the Privy Council. According to him, Argyll had committed the following offences: he had conspired with Duart’s uncle to kill him and destroy Duart; he had incited Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg, who, with 1200 of his men including some from Ireland, had besieged the castle of Loch Gorm in the Rinns of Islay with the help of 200 armed men under command of Lochnell’s brother and Johne Mc Condochie of Inneraw;37 and he had also supplied a galley with certain people in it together with the promise of further support. The previous July, Duart’s servant, Fergus MacBrayne, passing through Argyll on his lawful business, was taken at the Earl’s command by Archibald Campbell in Lochgoilhead and incarcerated in Carrick Castle for six hours. Likewise he had stopped all Duart’s people passing through Argyll with their goods and cattle, proclaiming the ban at all ports and landing-places and throwing them in irons until they ransomed themselves. This resulted in the Macleans being cut off from the lowlands and being unable to trade or pay their taxes. Furthermore, in December, Argyll had come to the Isle of Luing with 200 fully armed companions and had seized 500 cattle, 200 horses and 1200 sheep. He and his men had seized the clothes from women and children and had taken three men prisoner, only releasing them on payment of fifty marks each. On 18 December, he had taken three more of Maclean’s men, who were on their way to Stirling, and had put them in irons. There they remained, together with Maclean of Ardgour, Fergus MacBrayne and Donald MacLucas.38 The Earl was ordered to appear before the Privy Council the next day, to answer the complaint. Needless to say, this was only half the story – Maclean’s misdoings had been equally outrageous and, as there is no further mention of it, it would appear that the charge was dropped.39 In what appears to be deliberate defiance, on 4 January 1579, Ian Dubh MacConnachie, the Tutor of Inverawe, with the Earl’s backing, invaded Luing once more – this time with sixty followers ‘boden in feir of war with bows dorlochs haberschouns and other weapons invasive’. They killed one Robert Taylor and his servant and laid violent hands on George Smollett, Captain of the island. Smollett was severely wounded and then imprisoned at Innnischonnell. Maclean of Duart complained to the Privy Council on 16 February but, while Argyll was represented before the council by his legal representative, Maclean did not appear and so the case was again dropped.40 In April, the Earl of Atholl died in suspicious circumstances, immediately after a banquet at Morton’s table. It was suspected that he had been poisoned.41 In May, the Earl of Argyll was given a six-month Commission over the

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shire of Moray in order to deal with thefts and murders committed there, particularly on the lands of his wife.42 This was followed in August of the same year, 1579, by his appointment as Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, a position that should, in theory at least, have reined in the Earl. It no doubt did give him pleasure and was marred only by his resentment at not having been appointed immediately on the death of his brother.43 It was now Argyll’s turn to move against Lachlan Maclean of Duart. At a meeting of the Island Chiefs, called by Argyll at Inveraray, Maclean was made to pledge that he would appear before the 6th Earl by the tenth of December, 1579, bringing with him hostages and forty merks of land of the Earl’s choice. There would be fifteen days’ notice before his presence was to be required in Glasgow or wherever and there Maclean would have to account to the Earl and his principal friends among the Campbells for the damage he had done to the lands of Shane O’Docherty in Ireland. Failure to do so would result in an invasion of Maclean’s lands.44 The following year, events in Ireland began to stir once more. Lady Agnes was about to visit Argyll and the Scottish Court. Captain Crawford, a professional soldier, appeared with Sorley and, with the apparent tacit approval of Argyll and of Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg, they set about the refortification of Rathlin with a contingent of what are described as ‘inland Scots’ – the inference being that, instead of the usual local troops, these were properly disciplined and trained troops from the Lowlands. The English, already alarmed, protested violently to the Scottish King but Crawford denied any ulterior motive. In April 1580, Turlough began to move, coming south towards Newry with a force of 1900 Scots and 4,000 Irish. He loudly stated his admiration of the young King of Scots to whom, not long before, he had sent a present of horses and hawks and, when in his cups – a not infrequent occurrence – used to boast of his intention of bringing King James to Ireland as his foster-son.45 In May, Lady Agnes arrived in Stirling and talked with the government about her Scottish lands – or so Argyll assured Bowes, requesting him at the same time to ask Queen Elizabeth, as a special favour to himself, to allow Turlough Luineach to hold his Irish lands in peace. On his wife’s return to Ireland, Turlough received messages from several rebellious Chiefs, while Lady Agnes herself dealt with one of the O’Neill chieftains who was causing trouble. Notwithstanding the defects of his character as a leader, Turlough now found himself under pressure. He appears to have been unaware of the implications of the fact that general revolt was now breaking out in Ireland while he had the largest numbers of Scots in Ulster since his marriage in 1569. He

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went as far as to state to the English Captain Piers, in secret, that he was only intent on imposing obedience on his own sub-chiefs and that, if only Queen Elizabeth would help him in this, he would follow the example of Shane O’Neill and turn on the Scots to drive them all out of Ireland.46 The 6th Earl’s Commission of Lieutenancy, meanwhile, showed almost instantaneous results when, on 2 June, Lachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh bound himself to be of good behaviour and to accept the Earl’s findings on the wrongs done to his wife and step-children, and to Campbell of Cawdor and his people. Less favourable was the Royal Decree, on the eighth of the same month, which demanded that Argyll give up all Kintyre and Islay, including Loch Gorm Castle, to Angus MacDonald and his mother Lady Agnes Campbell.47 This was followed up, on 25 July, by a contract, signed in Edinburgh by Argyll with MacDonald of Dunnyveg, under which the Earl confirmed his renunciation of the Bailiary of South Kintyre and the two Chiefs swore mutual support in all actions, saving those concerning the King‘s service. The witnesses included the following: John Campbell, Bishop Elect of the Isles; Dougall Campbell; Archibald Campbell of Auchinbreck; Ian Campbell of Skipness; and John MacAlister of Loup.48 That same year, Argyll was appointed Warden of the West Marches of the Borders.49 On 12 September, what had long been feared happened, when, during the wilful absence of the Admiral commanding the English blockading squadron, 700 papally-sponsored French and Italian troops landed at Smerwick on the Dingle Peninsula, in County Kerry, in the southwest of Ireland. They were swiftly surrounded, besieged and induced to surrender, whereupon, following what was the all too common practice of the times, they were promptly put to the sword and massacred. Although the incident had a satisfactory outcome as far as the English authorities were concerned, it can hardly have decreased their sensitivity on the subject of major Scottish military involvement in the north.50 On the twenty-seventh of that month, the Earl resigned all his lands to the King for regrant to his infant son, Archibald.51 The year ended with the summons before the Privy Council for ‘herships and burnings’ of Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg and Lachlan Mor Maclean of Duart, the former, it may be remembered, was first cousin to the Earl and the latter his nephew. They were summoned to appear on 24 January the following year.52 However, before that could happen, a further complication in the Earl’s relationship with his nephew of Duart arose when the Privy Council gave the Earl a Commission to proceed against Lachlan Mor Maclean of Duart and take him

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prisoner for the pirating of an English ship, The White Hart of Norham, which belonged to William Nicolas.53 In June of that year, 1581, Morton was, at last, brought to trial, charged with being art and part in Darnley’s murder. Among his judges were the Earls of Argyll, Montrose, Sutherland, Rothes and the Lords Ogilvy, Maxwell and Seton, most of whom were no friends of the former Regent. Morton swore he had no part in the deed itself, although he knew of the plan. But this amounted to a technical admission of guilt to the first part of the charge and the following day he was executed at the Tolbooth. The Roman Catholic Earl of Lennox, who by this time had been promoted to a Dukedom, and the Earl of Arran were now the major powers in the political landscape. Lord Morton was now given the Earldom of Morton and made Warden of the West Marches.54 In October 1581, a further quarrel broke into bloodshed – this time in Angus, where David Lindsay of Edzell killed John Campbell of Lundy, the young grandson of the King’s Treasurer. Shortly after the killing, Edzell’s brother, Lord Menmuir, warned him that Ardkinglas’s account of the murder had so incensed Argyll that a plan was in hand to descend on Glenesk with several hundred armed MacGregors and utterly destroy it.55 In the event, the despoiling of Glenesk never happened – Argyll had his mind on other things and, in 1583, David Lindsay of Edzell and other members of his family were granted remission for the killing of Lundy and for the wounding of John Lyon of Cossins, a member of a clan with whom the Lindsays had long been at feud.56 The incident was symptomatic of the growing antagonism that was felt to wards the ever-increasing Campbell grasp on the area. For years, it had been held in check to an extent by Katherine Campbell, daughter of John and Muriel Campbell of Cawdor, who had been left a widow when her first husband, the Master of Ogilvy, had been killed at the Battle of Pinkie. She subsequently remarried and became the Countess of Crawford. She was the niece of Mr. Donald Campbell, the Abbot of Coupar Angus, and, therefore, in a unique position to influence the situation. It was, no doubt, she who, in 1557, persuaded him to sell the lands of Forter to her son, James, 5th Lord Ogilvy. James subsequently built the castle of Forter there, pushing out the Campbell allies, the MacKerrows, and blocking up a major line of communication between the Angus Campbells and their homelands.57 Young John Campbell of Lundy had three elder married sisters and they now inherited their murdered brother’s lands. In the same year as the killers were pardoned, the 6th Earl entered into an arrangement with them and

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purchased the Lundy estates in the name of his second son, Colin. There was more trouble to come. The English, by now, had decided to make peace with Turlough O’Neill in order to enlist his aid against the Scots.58 By August 1582, his already considerable numbers were boosted by the arrival of another 2,000 Scots, with a further 400 following in October. He and Hugh O’Donnell were now established on either shore of Loch Foyle, threatening any approach to Derry. Dublin offered him English soldiers in place of his Scots and he did dismiss some of them but they merely went to Clandeboye where they settled. Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg also arrived there and his men fell on Hugh MacPhelim O’Neill, the local chieftain. The English sent seventy troops to Hugh and, together with another party, they attacked the MacDonalds who were forced to leave and return to Scotland. A storm was blowing but there was no option but to set sail and 140 of Angus’s men were drowned.59 The following year, the MacDonald leaders were back again. This time, Hugh MacPhelim and the chieftain MacQuillan combined against the Scots but they were defeated and seventy English troops, who were aiding them, were killed. This stung Queen Elizabeth into complaining to King James and further increased the English mistrust of the Scots in Ireland.60 The Earl’s health was beginning to fail and he clearly felt it necessary to make provision for his younger son, Colin. Colin had been fostered by Dougall Campbell of Auchinbreck who, in his will of 4 February 1583, left Colin all his cattle, horses and bestial. It is interesting to note that even now, of all the people signing the document, only Auchinbreck’s servitor, Adam MacIver, and Thomas Auld, the notary, are actually capable of signing their own names unaided.61 Another opportunity of looking after Colin’s interests came in the following August when, in an agreement between Earl Colin and Lachlan Maclean of Duart, it was agreed that Duart should pay Colin the sum of 5,000 merks at a rate of £500 a year.62 This was mainly in recompense for Lachlan’s having married without permission of the Earl who held his ward and marriage.63 In due course, Colin was to be granted the lands of Lundy and to become known by that designation.64 Another charter of the day that is worth a passing mention is that of 16 August 1583, by which Ian McAlexander VcPersoune, alias Campbell, gives sasine of Carnasserie to his brother Mr. Niall Campbell. Mr. Niall, later Bishop of Argyll, married Bishop Carswell’s daughter, Christiane. Their names may be seen carved above the door of their mausoleum in Kilmartin churchyard which now houses a collection of tombstones. Among the witnesses are Archibald McDonald VcPersoune, Duncan McAne

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VcPersoune, and Niall McDonchie Cleryche. The first two are clearly members of the family of Campbells of Auchinellan and the charter is interesting in that it shows the use of the name MacPherson by Campbells.65 On 1 August, the Earl signed a renewal of the old Bond of Mutual Protection and Friendship with the new Earl of Huntly and on 26 October, his name appeared on the letter of congratulation sent by King James VI to the King of France, celebrating the ancient alliance between the two countries and now seeking to secure the bonds of friendship.66 The next year, 1584, saw the Earl taking part in the trial of the Earl of Gowrie for his part in the Ruthven Raid, during which the young King had been abducted by a ring of ultra-Protestants and kept in their power for some ten months. The Earl received a Commission to journey abroad to France both on certain special affairs relating to the King’s honour and for his recovery from a dangerous disease. The Commission was to last for three years and during that time, the King was to take the Earl’s servants and kin under his special protection, his attendants not being landed men.67 But it was not to be. By May 1584, Argyll’s health was clearly failing. Arran was appointed Chancellor in his absence from the Parliament in Edinburgh and on 10 September, at Darnaway, the seat of his wife’s former husband in Moray, Earl Colin’s life came to an end. A few weeks later, on 2 October, King James took Archibald, the 7th Earl, under his special protection as his father had requested in his will.

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CHAPTER FIVE

Grim-faced Archie, the Survivor

Archibald, 7th Earl, 1584–1638: 1584–1596 he death of the 6th Earl left the headship of Clan Campbell in the hands of his elder son, Archibald, born in 1575 and, therefore, only some nine years of age when his father died. The problems that came with the inheritance of a child to a position of power had only too often been demonstrated by the Scottish Crown and Clan Campbell was to show itself no exception, as competing barons struggled to fill the power vacuum created by an infant Chief. To start with, the new Earl was in the hands of his mother, a powerful woman. She was, it will be remembered, Agnes Keith, daughter of the 4th Earl Marischal and widow of the Regent Moray, to whom she had already borne children when she married Colin 6th Earl of Argyll as his second wife. She bore Argyll two sons and a daughter, Annas, of whom little is known. The old account of the family describes her husband as ‘Colin Campbell, a man religious and of good nature but weak in judgement and overmuche ledd by his wyef ’. Her second son was another Colin, styled after his lands in Angus as ‘of Lundy’. The former line of the Campbells of Lundy had died out with the killing of the original Sir John’s grandson in October 1581 in a row with the Lindsays.1 David Lindsay of Edzell, who was responsible for his death, was later warned by his brother, Lord Menmuir, that Campbell of Ardkinglas’s malicious tongue had so incensed Argyll that a plan was set afoot to harry all Glenesk with 600 armed MacGregors. In the event, the raid never took place as the Earl’s attention was directed elsewhere.2 Before he died, the 6th Earl had placed his elder son in the hands of six trustees. They were: Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy; Dougall Campbell of Auchinbreck; James Campbell of Ardkinglas, the King’s Treasurer; Archibald Campbell of Lochnell; Neil Campbell, Bishop of Argyll; and John Campbell of Cawdor. A condition was that, on matters of importance, two

T

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out of the three senior trustees – who were the Bishop, Ardkinglas and Cawdor – must give their agreement.3 Perhaps in this stipulation lay the seeds of future disaster. In any case, Glenorchy and Ardkinglas were clearly increasingly infuriated by their exclusion from the final decision-making, which they saw as a deliberate plot. They may have been right for, not long after the 6th Earl’s death, Cawdor signed a deed acknowledging his borrowing of the Earl’s best two-handed sword to be handed back whenever required under pain of infamy and perjury forever.4 A sword like this played a major ceremonial part in courts applying formal justice. Cawdor was hardly borrowing the weapon for military purposes and it may well be that his aim was to gain control of the sword as an important symbol of power. On 3 April 1585, the 7th Earl and Sir James Campbell of Ardkinglas were given Rights of Admiralty over the waters contained by the Firth of Clyde – from the Water of Denny to the Mull of Kintyre and from there to the Point of Ardnamurchan – for one year by the Earl of Bothwell, Admiral General of Scotland.5 Ardkinglas may have engineered this as a sop to his young master. This was followed immediately after by another deed extending the grant for a period of nineteen years and further at will. In this deed, the Earl and Ardkinglas are referred to as ‘Admirals-Depute’ and they are given power to appoint deputies and to hold admiralty courts for the punishment of trespassers and pirates.6 On 1 June 1585, William Macleod of Dunvegan hastened to renew his Bond of Manrent to the young Earl.7 Meanwhile, in Ulster, skirmishing continued between the Scots and the English garrisons. Rathlin Island was again taken by the English and both Sorley Buy and Donald Gorm MacDonald retired to Scotland, leaving James MacSorley in charge in Ireland.8 Sorley Buy’s ability to move at will between Kintyre and Antrim made him a difficult foe to deal with and when, in August, with the Scottish momentum building, he demanded to hold the Glens from the English Queen, it was thought better to accede to his request which could not, anyway, be denied. Perrott’s thirteen companies of English troops were virtually powerless and, in November that year, when the Scots attacked Dunluce Castle, they captured it and killed the Warder and many of his men. But the skirmishing between the O’Donnells and the O’Neills had in fact been dying down now for the last couple of years and only the Scots were causing real trouble. They were beginning to spread out across Ireland and, the following year, in September 1586, Bingham caught and slaughtered over a thousand men and the same number of women and children at Ardnarea in Connaught.9

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In March 1586, Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, James Campbell of Ardkinglas and Lachlan Mor Maclean of Duart signed a Bond of friendship, both because of past amity and because of the impossibility of entering a Bond of friendship with the young Earl without his mother’s consent, as his curatrix, and that of his friends. The Campbells promised to do their utmost to obtain such a Bond when the Countess was once more back in Argyll.10 Maclean was at continual loggerheads with the Clan Donald and blood was spilt on both sides. In July 1586, he came to settle the question of possession of the Rinns of Islay with Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg, taking up his position in the ruined castle of Eilean Loch Gorm. His roofless abode and the Argyllshire weather made MacDonald’s invitation to come and stay with him at his house of Mullindry sufficiently attractive for Lachlan Mor to accept. Very dubious, he went to Mullindry accompanied by eighty-six of his kin and his servants. His doubts proved justified – MacDonald surrounded the house with between 300 and 400 of his men and the Macleans had no option but surrender. They were then taken out for execution at the rate of two a day until only Lachlan himself remained. His death was only averted when MacDonald, mounting his horse in order to view the spectacle in style, was thrown and broke a leg. Word by now had reached King James who was horrified and issued immediate orders for Lachlan’s release. Eventually, in April the following year, Angus agreed, on condition his crimes received the royal pardon and he was given hostages in Lachlan’s place. The incident so exercised the King that the Ordinance ‘Murder Under Trust’ was hurried through parliament. Under this, any hurt done to a guest by his host ranked as High Treason – we shall meet it again. Once freed, Lachlan Maclean, ignoring the hostages he had given, raised his clan and fell on Islay, wasting, burning and killing all in his path. On his return from Ireland, MacDonald, leaving the hostages he held unharmed, collected a force with which he retaliated on the Islands of Mull and Tiree, slaughtering all who fell into his hands. Maclean, meanwhile, had moved across to Kintyre where he continued his bloody progress. This dispute was now spreading throughout the Isles, as the various chiefs took the side of one or other of the rivals, until the authorities were finally spurred to take decisive action.11 This took the form of what was known as the General Band or Bond, designed to make it imperative for all chiefs, landlords or their bailies to find large sums as surety in proportion to their wealth and the number of their dependents for whose good behaviour they would be held responsible. Should their people misbehave, those injured, if not immediately recompensed, might bring a case for damages to be paid out of

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the surety, with the superior concerned being liable, in addition, to a heavy fine.12 This led to two interesting lists. In July 1587, the Act of Parliament for ‘the quieting and keping in obedience of the disorderit subjectis inhabitantis of the Bordouris, Hielandis and Ilis’ had attached to it ‘The Roll of the names of the landislordis and Baillies of the landis duelland on the Bordouris and in the Hielandis quhair broken men hes duelt and presentlie duellis’. It contains many names including the following: the Earl, Glenorchy, Lawers, Colin Campbell of Ardbeith (Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy’s brother), Lochnell, Cawdor, Inverawe, Auchinbreck, Ardkinglas, Ellanegreig, Otter, Barbreck, and Duntroon. In total, there were thirteen Campbells out of the 111 names. This was followed by ‘The Roll of the Clannis that hes Capitanis, Chieffis and Chiftennis, quhomeon they depend, oftymes aganis the willis of thair Landislordis, alsweill on the Bordouris as Hielandis, and of sum special presonis of branches of the said Clannis’. This was designed to bring under control the ‘Broken Men’ – those who had no chief and who were often outlaws. This list included, under Highlands and Isles, the Campbells of Lochnell and Campbells of Inverawe.13 Under the Act, the following were required to find surety within fifteen days for the sums shown for the good behaviour of all broken men dwelling on their lands:14 Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy John Campbell of Lawers Colin Campbell of Ardbeith Ewir Campbell of Strachur Sir John Campbell of Cawdor Ardkinglas

20,000 merks £5,000 (sic) £5,000 £2,000 £5,000

That October, Glenorchy and Ardkinglas signed a Bond of Friendship in the Earl’s name with John Earl of Montrose.15 Duncan of Glenorchy had previously, in 1586, entered into bonds with the Shaws of Knockhilll and of Cambusmoir, in Strathgartney, and with Reddoch of Cultybraggan, in Strathearn, promising to help them against sorners and thieves and to support these lairds with any removal of their tenants. He was later to acquire most of these lands – probably due to the reluctance of their previous owners to accept responsibility under the new ordinance for the MacGregors who were settled there. For probably the same reason, he was to obtain possession of Wester Morenish from Menzies of Weem and of Culdares and Duneaves from Moncreiff of that Ilk, both of

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whom were either unwilling or unable to control their unruly MacGregor tenants.16 Early the following year, on 21 March, John Campbell of Cawdor found himself producing caution for £500 each for Allan MacDougall of Raray and Duncan Campbell of Danna, both of whom had had charges laid against them.17 1588 was, of course, the year of the abortive attempt by the Spanish Armada to invade England. Panicked by the fireships, a great storm took them up the North Sea, until the survivors were left with no alternative but to take a route home round the north of Scotland and down the West Coast of Ireland. The weather was still a danger and several of the great ships were wrecked. One of them, lacking victuals and with her spars and rigging needing urgent repair, took refuge in Tobermory Bay in Mull, much to the excitement of the Macleans. She contained a strong force of well-armed troops and was well appointed, being much admired by the locals who went on board her. In return for helping her, Maclean of Duart obtained the assistance of a strong company of her troops who were with him when he ravaged Rum and Eigg, belonging to Clanranald, and Canna and Muck, belonging to MacIan of Ardnamurchan, before moving on to the mainland to besiege Mingary Castle for three days. He was forced to withdraw in the face of the threat presented by a superior force hastily assembled by the Privy Council. Meanwhile, the MacDonalds had been taking their revenge on Maclean lands with the help of hired English troops from Ireland. Eventually, both sides were exhausted and hostilities came to an end – for the moment – with an exchange of hostages with the MacIans.18 The actual identity of the Tobermory galleon is still disputed and is it not known whether she was actually carrying a great treasure with which to pay the expedition. This is because on 1588 a great explosion rent the air and the ship sank to the bottom of Tobermory Bay where her remains are still, buried in the muddy ooze. What actually caused the explosion is not at all clear either. It may have happened when her crew were shifting her powder to dry it out or it could have been due to a candle being knocked over in a drunken revel shared between some of her officers and the local magnates. Be that as it may, the right of salvage of the wreck became the property of the 7th Earl and Ardkinglas in their capacity as Admirals-Depute – a right which, after a series of vicissitudes, remains in the Argyll family to this day. Meanwhile Janet Campbell, Lachlan Mor Maclean’s widowed mother, daughter of the 4th Earl of Argyll was sought in marriage by MacIan of Ardnamurchan. Hardly surprisingly, Lachlan Mor at first refused to countenance such an idea but, as its possibilities became clearer to him, he changed

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course and welcomed it. MacIan and his friends were invited to Torloisk on Mull where the festivities duly took place. The guests were accommodated in a nearby barn which was surrounded that night by the Macleans who put the entire contingent to death. The bridal chamber was invaded where MacIan stood ready to sell his life dearly but his wife’s imploring led to him being spared. He was put in a prison where he was subjected to daily torture.19 The following year, the Maclean and MacDonald Chiefs, together with their principle followers, were given remission and went to Edinburgh, where, however, MacDonald of Sleat, MacDonald of Dunnyveg and Maclean of Duart were all incarcerated in Edinburgh Castle. It would give a totally false impression to imply that Clan Campbell, compared to its neighbours at this period had a blameless record. The Register of the Privy Council is full of a series of complaints made against various members of the clan. On 25 September 1587, Colin Campbell of Glenlyon was put to the horn at the instance of Agnes Sinclair, Countess of Errol and Alexander Gordon of Strathdon, her husband, for not appearing to answer various complaints and for stealing certain goods from her. Glenlyon managed to get a royal letter of relaxation without the King knowing. In 1591, the complainers managed to get the horning reinstated and Glenlyon was ordered to present himself at Blackness Castle for imprisonment.20 In 1589, at Ardeonaig on Loch Tay, Donald Campbell, who conducted a long quarrel with Ian Dubh MacConnachie, the Tutor of Inverawe, complained that he and his sons had been ejected from Carie. The following year, he complained that Agnes Graham, his second wife, had absconded with the Tutor, taking his goods with her, and she had later borne a son to Ian Dubh.21 In February 1590, Sir James Campbell of Ardkinglas had to produce a bond for £1,000 for Donald Campbell of Kilmory and for £500 for his son, Dougall, to the effect that they would not harm James Lamont of Inchirin, Archibald MacAllister, apparent of Tarbert, John MacSorley of Moneydrain and their tenants and servants.22 On 13 March 1590, Cawdor had to find caution for Duncan Campbell of Danna to the sum of £1,000 against his harming the minister at Rothesay, Patrick MacQueen, his bairns, tenants or servants.23 And, in 1591, Charles Campbell, servant to the laird of Abercairney and presumably son of the above Donald, complained against the Tutor of Inverawe, Ian Dubh MacConnachie, and Patrick M’Awishe (MacTavish), who had occupied his and his father’s place at Ardeonaig and had stayed there ever since. The Tutor and his men were eventually found guilty. His sons, Duncan and Patrick, were also in trouble. On 10 September

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1590, under command of Menzies of Comrie with other broken men, they broke the fold dykes of Sir William Bandane of that Ilk and took 192 cattle and 180 sheep.24 While, two years later, in 1590, they lifted ‘4 oxen, 2 horses, 6 kye, 6 mares and their followers’ from Christian Moyle in Berriehill and Allaster M’Duff her spouse.25 But it was over in Angus that the big raid of the summer of 1591 took place. This was a reprisal against Lord Ogilvy of Airlie and the Ogilvys. For some time now, the steady spread of Campbell influence and landholding in the area had given offence to the earlier occupiers. Lord Ogilvy, a supporter of the restoration of Roman Catholicism, was seen as a major threat, while his sons were a wild lot and much given to reiving in the Highlands.26 The affair seems to have been sparked off by rivalry between Argyll and Ogilvy for the control of Cupar Abbey, where the Dean of Brechin supported the Campbell cause. Airlie’s son and heir, the Master of Ogilvy, ‘did take and ruffle the Dean with such disgrace’ that some Campbells in revenge killed fifteen or sixteen of the Ogilvys. In retaliation, the Master of Ogilvy and his brothers then killed Robert Campbell in Milhorne, William Campbell in Soutarhouse, Thomas Campbell, portioner, in Keithick and John Campbell in Murestoun.27 This was too much for the Campbells and, five days later, a strong party of 500 invaded Glenisla and Glenclova, where they burnt and slew and drove off all the cattle and sheep. Airlie’s complaint to the Privy Council specifically mentions their leaders as being the following: John Campbell, brother to Lochnell; John dow M’Condoquhy in Inneraw, the Tutor; Neil Leich in Lochaber; Donald MacCairlich in Glenorchy’s lands; Allan Roy M’Ian Og, son of Laird of Glencoe; Archibald Campbell of Persie; Colin Campbell of Glenlyon; his brother, Archibald Campbell and John MacRanald in Lochaber.28 They were accused of entering Glenisla, under cover of night, and of killing between eighteen and twenty people, women and children included. They withdrew to the nearby hills where they remained lurking, in spite of a royal command to desist. They then descended on the glens again, this time killing three or four people and driving off a great prey as before. They also burnt Lord Ogilvy’s Clova Castle before eventually departing.29 Meanwhile, on 23 April, the Earl of Argyll reached the age of fourteen and passed from the stage of being cared for by Tutors. He now appointed a new board of Curators who would guide him and help him to handle his affairs until he came of age at twenty-one. The Curators were: John, Earl of Mar; Sir John Maitland of Thirlstane; Chancellor and Secretary, John Campbell of Cawdor; James Campbell of Ardkinglas; Archibald Campbell of Lochnell; Master Neil Campbell; Bishop of Argyll, George Keith; Earl Marischal,

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Robert Lord Altrie; and the Master of Glamis. A minimum of four should be confirmed in the appointment, with Cawdor, Lochnell and the Bishop being included. The agreement of these three had to be obtained in all matters but, if the matter concerned the disposal of any property, then the consent of all curators was required.30 Auchinbreck and Glenorchy, who had been among the original six Trustees, were now excluded and Glenorchy, a man of high ambition, was particularly very far from pleased. Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy was born sometime before 1555 31 and he was eighty-one when he died in June 1631. He was the eldest son and heir of Grey Colin, whom he succeeded in 1583. He was knighted c.1590, on the occasion of the King’s marriage. The Black Book of Taymouth lists the lands he bought during his lifetime – no dates are given – and they are listed here, together with the sums he paid for them, as evidence of a remarkably successful career: £5 land DUNFALLANDY, Strathtay 13 merklands DRUMNOQUHEILL and DRUMQUHASSIL, Atholl £10 lands MOCHASTER, DUILETTIR, PORTBANK, PORTINELLAN, TARNEDOUN, LOCHBANCHER 1/2 merkland CAIRNDOIRE, Kilmahug (Kilmahog) 4 merklands KANDKNOQUHANE, Menteith 26 merklands BARONY of GLENFALLOCH EASTER MONZIE, in Strathearn 10 merklands FINTOLLICH, with the pasturage of Glascorren and Beinguguk in Glenlednock 2 merklands MURLAGANBEG, Glenlochy

4,000 merks 7,000 merks 10,000 merks

500 merks 4,000 merks 24,000 merks 4,000 merks 7,000 merks

2,000 merks

As well as these, he inherited the following lands in Lorne from his brother Patrick: 12 merklands AUCHINRYRE, CONDALICT, DRUMNAVOKE 8 merklands AUCHNACROICRE, PENNIFURT, TIREWIN, Killen He also regained possession of all the following Charterhouse lands in Breadalbane which had belonged to his father but were repossessed by the Crown:

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ARMS OF THE EARL OF BREADALBANE

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ARMS OF THE EARL CAWDOR

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ARMS OF THE EARL OF LOUDOUN

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MARQUESS OF ARGYLL

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Grim-faced Archie, the Survivor 10 merklands BRAYGLENIS in Lorne 4 merklands COWLEBALLOCH (from Lord Drummond) 18 merklands TENNASSIS and COULEDAIRIS, Breadalbane, now joined to barony of Glenfalloch 6 merklands EASTER and WESTER CREICHANS, Strathyre 8 merklands MIDDLE STUIKIS in Glenquoich also superiority of GARROWS in the same 40/– WESTER STUIKIS GLEBELAND OF MONZIE 54 merklands CRANNICH, MOIRINCHE, AUCHMOIR, KANDNOK, all on Loch Tay Pendicle and EASTER LEDCHROSK sheiling Patronage of Inchadden Teinds of vicarage and parsonage of Kirk of Glenorchy ISLE OF INISHAIL 13 merklands LARG, ILEMULLOCH, BRANQUHAILZIE, EDDRALECKABETH, STRONGARWALD, ARDMOKMONANE, Menteith 4 merklands LEATTER, Menteith 34 merklands LUDE 4 merklands PITNACREE in Atholl 5 merklands BALLYGRUNDLE in Lismore 2 liferents and 19 years there-after of Dysart Kirk

99 2,000 merks 2,500 merks 15,000 merks

3,000 merks 5,000 merks 5,000 merks 3,000 merks 28,000 merks

600 merks 2,000 merks 3,000 merks 1,000 merks 13,600 merks

2,400 merks

1,500 merks 1,500 merks

But he was chiefly known for his building of castles. During his lifetime, he was responsible for the building of four. These were: Finlarig, at the west end of Loch Tay; Achalader, on the north end of his lands, guarding the entrance to Rannoch; Lochdochart, on an island in the loch of that name, near today’s Crianlarich; and Barcaldine, in Benderloch. In addition, he repaired and added to Kilchurn Castle. Because of this, he went by the name of ‘Duncan of the Castles’.

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All this meant that his outgoings were huge: he spent 15,000 merks on Finlarig; 1,000 merks on Achalader; 2,000 merks on Lochdochart; and 15,000 merks on Barcaldine. And this was not all – he found the wherewithal to spend 10,000 merks on embankments to prevent the Tay washing away the Balloch (Taymouth) gardens and policy, 40,000 merks paid for the time he was in royal custody and 3,000 merks paid for the repair of the old Laigh Hall of Glenorchy. Further large sums were paid as tocher to various sisters and daughters as listed below: His sister Marie on her marriage to Earl of Menteith His sister Annas on her marriage to Campbell of Ardkinglas His daughter Margaret on her marriage to Menzies of Weem His daughter Jean on her marriage to Campbell of Cawdor His daughter Annas on her marriage to Inchmartine His illegitimate daughter Catherine on her marriage to MacArthur of Terivadich His illegitimate daughter Margaret on her marriage to MacCorquodale of Phantelands

8,000 merks 5,000 merks 7,000 merks 23,000 merks £10,000 (15,000 merks) 1,100 merks 1,200 merks

On top of all this, in 1603 and 1604, he was to undergo loss assessed at £100,000 due to the depredations of the Clan Gregor, on whom he visited dire retribution. He was one of the Lords of the Articles representing the barons in the parliament that was held in Edinburgh in 1592. The following year, 1593, he was a Commissioner to Parliament representing the smaller barons of Argyll, a task he repeated at the Convention of Estates of Parliament in 1599. He was one of the first Scottish Baronets of Nova Scotia, for which he must have produced the large sum of money required and died in 1631 aged 81. Such was the person who now reckoned himself to have been excluded from his rightful place as a senior and influential member of the clan. He identified Cawdor, whose influence was the greatest with the young Earl, as his chief rival. Cawdor and Duncan of Glenorchy did not get on in any case. Duncan suspected Cawdor of helping the MacGregors and of being too friendly with the Ogilvys – Lord Ogilvy’s grandmother had been a Campbell of Cawdor.32 It seems likely that his mistrust of Cawdor was well justified –

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the borrowing of the young Earl’s sword has already been commented on. But Duncan’s ambitions did not stop there. At what point is uncertain, but it occurred to him that Cawdor was not the final objective. If the young Earl and his brother could be removed, then Campbell of Glenorchy could take over – not the Earldom of Argyll, since that was bound by strict laws of succession, but the chiefship of Clan Campbell. Mac Cailein ic Donchaidh – the Gaelic patronymic of his house – could rule in place of Mac Cailein Mor. An obvious ally was the Earl of Huntly who had no love at all for Cawdor, who was an active supporter of James, Earl of Moray, with whom Huntly was constantly at odds in the north-east. ‘The Bonnie Earl of Moray’ was added to the hit list. Huntly then brought in his ally, John, Lord Thirlstane, the Lord Chancellor, along with John, Lord Maxwell, soi-disant Earl of Morton. They would ensure that the Highlanders who were actually tasked with the killing would be safe from the law thereafter. Nearer to home, Glenorchy recruited John Stewart of Appin and Lachlan Maclean of Duart, together with Duncan MacDougall of Dunolly. There were other hangers-on and the plan seems to have been given a remarkably wide airing but these were the chief partakers, along with Lochnell and John Campbell of Ardkinglas, Glenorchy’s brother-in-law, who succeeded his father, Sir James, in 1591. And it was among them that Argyll’s possessions were to be shared out, with Lochnell’s agreement to take ‘upon himself the full burden for the Clan Campbell’.33 This is how their gains were to be apportioned: the Chancellor was to receive the lands of Pinkerton; Stewart of Appin was to get the Earl’s share of the Lordship of Lorne, of which the family regarded themselves as having been unjustly deprived; and MacDougall was to be given the island of Luing. Ardkinglas was to be given Boquhan and lands in Rosneath, a pale shadow of his formidable father, he apparently jibbed at first and threatened to unveil the plot but he was eventually cajoled into joining. As to Lochnell and Glenorchy himself, the former, who had acquiesced in the share-out of much of his assumed inheritance as described above, would be happy with the remainder and the inheritance of the Earl’s title, to which he was next in line. Glenorchy himself could not aspire to this, since the laws of succession to a peerage were clear and lay in Lochnell’s favour, but his claimed reward was to be the barony of Lochawe, the ancient fiefdom of the Chiefly line and it is pretty clear that he had no doubt as to who was going to be the de facto Chief of Clan Campbell. The full story came out in due course, with confessions from various participants. Ardkinglas and Glenorchy were each charged to produce two assassins. Ardkinglas had no love for Cawdor. Mutual dislike had simmered

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between them ever since, when Ardkinglas was a small boy, his father had fallen out with Cawdor, whose Ogilvy relations had long been at odds with Ardkinglas’s uncle, the Bishop of Brechin. Glenorchy also thought Cawdor was supporting the MacGregors against him. They had quarrelled at Tarbert, on the expedition against MacDonald of Dunnyveg in support of Maclean. After coming home, the Campbells of Achawillan and George Balfour planned Cawdor’s murder. Glenorchy spent much time recruiting and, in June 1591, he again put pressure on young Ardkinglas, whose father had recently died. Ardkinglas demurred that the plot would get out after the murder but Glenorchy was more sanguine. If the man quho shoot sall eschape efter the deid done zou and I are not worthie to lieve if we cannot cut him away directlie and if he be presently slain we have the less ado sae that nae man sall know quhow has done it.34 All this was spoken at the sauchen trees at the Lochead. These are the willow trees by Kilchurn at the head of Loch Awe and they are there to this day. Old Ardkinglas’s death delayed the plot but, when the quarrels with Cawdor continued, the Achawillan Campbells wanted to resume the plan. At first, the new Ardkinglas refused, saying he could not take on such a feud, but, on being mocked as ‘ane bag full of fears in place of the laird of Ardkinglas’, he asked them what help they might give. Patrick of Achawillan and John of Achawillan, his brother, said they would die with him in the attempt and, when Balfour promised twenty horsemen from his own friends while Ardkinglas was at court or in the Lowlands, Ardkinglas decided to proceed. Duncan Campbell of Achawillan was tasked to shoot Cawdor in Dunoon but failed on several occasions. Ardkinglas had plotted the actual killing with Maclean of Duart and had gone with him to Dunolly. Here, while John Campbell of Achawillan had kept the door with a white wand of office in his hand, they successfully co-opted the MacDougall chief. That night, at Dunstaffnage, Ardkinglas brought in John Oig Campbell of Cabrachan, a younger brother of Lochnell, whose mother had been a Campbell of Ardkinglas. Also, John Oig’s wife, Margaret Campbell, was the sister of Ian Dubh, the Tutor of Inverawe. The Macleans would happily have done the job but they did not know the country and the task fell to Cabrachan. Cabrachan asked his servants to do the deed – first, Duncan Campbell Donaldson who refused and then Gillemartin Mackellar who likewise would have none of it. However, Mackellor’s brother, Gillepatrick Og MacKellar, agreed, provided he was promised an officiary when John MacEwan died,

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along with the merkland that went with it, to add to the yearly £20 he already had from Ardkinglas’s lands of Ardno. On the night of 4 February 1592, Cawdor was at Knipoch, the house on Loch Feochan belonging to Dougall MacConnochie of Stronchormaig – otherwise known as Campbell of Glenfeochan – sitting before the fire. Gillepatrick Oig, meanwhile, was lurking outside in the darkness. He had been given a red-stocked hagbut by Ardkinglas but the matter had been rushed and the bullets did not fit the barrel and Gillepatrick had to chew them into shape until they did. It worked, however. Gillepatrick aimed through the window into the lit room and fired. The three bullets with which the gun was loaded lodged in Cawdor’s body and killed him. McIntourner the night watchman was also disposed of and the killers ran off into the night.35 Two of MacDougall’s men were also there, keeping an eye on things. Once they were satisfied that the deed was done, they crept away – one returning to Kerrera and the other to Dunolly, while Cawdor’s body lay slumped in front of the fire. Three nights later, on the other side of Scotland, it was the turn of the Earl of Moray. This was James Stewart, eldest son of Lord Doune. James had been given the job of arranging the marriages of the daughters of the late Regent Moray and had promptly married the elder girl himself, thereby acquiring the Earldom of Moray and much rich land. This was in 1580 when he was only thirteen years old and his wife just fifteen. A tall and remarkably handsome man, he has come down to the present day as ‘The Bonnie Earl of Moray’, as celebrated in the song of that title, but there is nothing to support the implication made in that ballad that he was the Queen’s lover. His connections with the house of Argyll were close – his mother was Lady Margaret Campbell, eldest daughter of the 4th Earl of Argyll and sister of the 5th and 6th Earls. In addition, his mother-in-law had, of course, been married to the 5th Earl. That January, Moray had been on his way to Edinburgh to make up with Huntly at the command of the King. A false rumour was put about that he had been seen at Holyrood with his outlawed cousin, the Earl of Bothwell. This was used by Chancellor Maitland as an excuse to issue a commission to Huntly to apprehend the Bonnie Earl. It has been claimed that Huntly paid money to obtain it.36 A possible obstacle was presented by Moray’s friend, Lord Ochiltree, going to visit him at Moray’s house at Donibristle, on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, with a train of fifty mounted men. They would have given him powerful protection but the King, whose role seems ever more sinister the closer it comes under scrutiny, stopped Ochiltree on some excuse and turned him back.

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That evening, the seventh of February, as darkness was falling, Huntly arrived at Donibristle with some forty men and demanded Moray’s surrender. Moray refused and opened fire. Captain John Gordon, brother of Gordon of Gight, who had been sent forward with the King’s warrant was wounded and fell. The Gordons surrounded the house and set it on fire. The Sheriff of Moray made a plucky attempt to cause a diversion and darted out. There was confusion as he was hunted down and slain. Eventually, Moray himself made a break for it. He dashed through the cordon and ran down the garden to take refuge among the rocks on the seashore. Unfortunately the tassel of the cloth covering of his helmet was smouldering and its sparks gave his position away. The Gordons fell on him and he died in a flurry of pistol shots and stabbing. His actual killers were probably Sir Thomas Gordon of Cluny, whose brother had been recently killed at Darnaway, and William Gordon of Gight, whose brother had just been wounded. Some accounts claim it was Huntly himself who despatched him and that Moray’s last words, spoken to Huntly, were ‘You have spoilt a better face than your own!’. Huntly now departed at speed for the north, sending Gordon of Buckie, Keeper of the King’s Household, to report to his master. The King was sufficiently unmoved by the whole affair to go hunting, as planned, near Donibristle, the day after the killing. Meanwhile, Captain John Gordon, dying of his wounds, was taken across the water to Edinburgh, where, in order to pacify the mob who had been enraged by the sight of the Earl’s and the Sheriff ’s bodies, he was summarily executed. This was insufficient and the King and his Court were forced to take refuge in Glasgow. Moray had been widely loved and his distraught mother was by no means going to let the affair go by default. While her son’s body lay unburied, she engaged the noted heraldic artist, James Workman, and he produced a lifesize portrait of the Earl’s naked corpse, disfigured by its hideous wounds. She displayed it to the King and she also gave him one of the three pistol bullets that had been dug out of her son’s corpse, reserving one for herself and one for ‘him who hindereth justice’.37 King James might well have ended up with a second bullet. Her grief was too much for Lady Margaret and she died, some days later, of a broken heart. Huntly was, in fact, incarcerated in Blackness Castle – for all of nine days – before being released to return to the north where his enemies were up in arms against him. The Bonnie Earl’s body was kept as a constant reminder of the need for his revenge and it was only buried, in St Giles Cathedral, six years later. His portrait hangs today in Darnaway Castle, its horrific details shielded from the common gaze by a hinged cover. Such was the disaster that fell upon the families concerned, upon the Clan

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Campbell as a whole and upon much of the Highlands. The Campbells of Cawdor were hard hit. The son and heir who now succeeded his dead father was but a boy. Into the breach now stepped a remarkable young man. Donald Campbell was aged around twenty-two – the murdered Cawdor’s illegitimate son by a mother whose identity is unknown but who has been described as ‘a lady of Quality’.38 As often happened with offspring from the wrong side of the blanket, he was trained for the Church and his title of ‘Master’ Donald Campbell indicated that he had matriculated at University. He had been given the living of Dunlichity in Strathnairn, Inverness-shire, not far from Cawdor, by his father. Here, the cornerstones of the old church still display the gouges made by the swords of the local warriors who sharpened them there before going off to foray or to war. Although he was a churchman, Mr. Donald had inherited the martial bravery and vigour of his race, as he was now to demonstrate in full measure. It was he who now stepped in to manage the affairs of his family and to uncover and wreak due vengeance on his father’s murderers. In so doing, he also came to the attention of Argyll himself, who increasingly came to rely on him. From now on, until the end of his long life in 1652, Mr. Donald was never far from the right hand of the chief of the day. It is not hard to envisage the general feeling of uncertainty and mistrust amongst the Clan Campbell at this time. Today, they are often praised for their cohesion, which, it is claimed, gave them an advantage over so many other clans. However, it was a completely different situation that had they now found themselves facing and this was to persist for the best part of a generation. It is hardly surprising that the young Earl, who was still in his teens, went by the name of Gillespic Gruamach or ‘Grim-faced Archie’. It must have been a totally daunting experience to be able to trust no-one and to find that, one after another, the people he had been brought up to lean most heavily on were secretly arrayed against him. No wonder that his character appears to be twisted and cruel. Nowadays we talk of child-abuse and its effect on the character – the 7th Earl of Argyll is an extreme example of its effects. For the moment, in the spring of 1592, however, all efforts were concentrated upon the murderers of Cawdor. Ardkinglas’s part seems to have been pretty well known or at least suspected. Glenorchy’s part was less certain and the plotting for the next move against the young Earl and his brother continued apace. The moves against Ardkinglas seem to have been halfhearted at best, in spite of the strenuous efforts of Mr. Donald to bring his father’s murderers to book. There were too many people, from the King downwards, involved in what was going on. Glenorchy was a power in the

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land and Ardkinglas’s wife was a Hamilton – albeit from the wrong side of the blanket – whose family’s power he was able to call on. In fairness, too, it has to be admitted that Margaret Campbell’s evidence, although it appears to be conclusive, is seldom more than second-hand. It was not until October 1595 that her confession was to come out. She, it turns out, was a witch, one of several in the area whose services were in constant demand.39 It appears that Ardkinglas was aware of the danger he was in. Some months after the murder, in June 1593, he sent for Margaret and warned her that Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg had been ordered to intercept and kill her husband. The next morning he came to her and said that he was accused of the murder and that as the witches of Lorne were much wiser than those of Argyll, would she spare nothing to avert Argyll’s anger and gain his favour. Her reply was that the witches could accomplish nothing unless they knew the whole story. Ardkinglas lost his temper. Surely her husband who loved her had told her the entire plot? She admitted he had but only as far as he knew it and she needed the full details of all those involved. She did, however, promise to consult a witch on Ardkinglas’s behalf and, on her return home, sent her servant to Morvern to consult a witch called Nic Achairne (daughter of Achairn), who declared that Ardkinglas and MacDougall should go to Edinburgh as ordered. There, they would be arrested but would then be released unharmed. She would say no more, except that MacDougall would pay for it in the end and that Maclean of Duart was also involved. However, she also warned that the conspirators should avoid Dunoon and that, if John Oig left Lismore, he would never return. Margaret did not like the MacKellars so she suppressed this message and, when Ardkinglas asked whether he should take the MacKellars with him to Edinburgh, she said he should. A couple of days before Ardkinglas’s arrest she enlisted the help of two people. They were Efric Nichol, who consented to avert Argyll’s enmity, and Dougall Macaurrie, who would put a spell on Ardkinglas and his companions so that no weapon should harm them. There was also a second spell and the only one not to be protected by this spell was Ardkinglas himself. John Oig Campbell of Cabrachan had frequently consulted witches before leaving home and several had promised to get him the Earl’s favour. They included Katherine NicClaartie (Maclaverty) in Blargoir and Nichachlerich (Clark), wife to John Glas MacKellar’s son, who was insistent that John Oig should go to Dunoon and that nothing should harm him there. Euphrick Ninichol Roy – the same Efric Nichol in Lismore – had counselled John Oig to leave the country quickly as she saw an evil hour come upon him. Christian Nicean vic Couil vic Gillespie in Lismore also sought to do good

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to John Oig, while the messenger from the witch in Morvern, although not a witch herself, had the second sight. Her name was Mary Voir Nicvolvoire vic Coil vic Neil. John Oig, therefore, fled to Ireland. The addition of the supernatural to what is already a dark tale of conspiracy and murder is disturbing to say the least. Margaret and her accomplices appear to have been ‘white’ rather than ‘black’ witches. In several cases, heir names suggest a connection with many of the old, learned families of the area and they may have added this rather sinister adjunct to their other ancient skills. At first glance, their practices seem to be benign enough and, indeed, Efric Nichol claimed to have been taught her spells by ‘Auld MacKellar of Cruachan’ – a kenspeckle enough Argyllshire laird – who himself had learnt them from the monks of Iona. At least they did invoke the name of the Almighty in their incantations, unlike the altogether more sinister Mr. Patrick MacQueen, a name hiding a MacGregor identity,40 who was a former minister of Rothesay. Now minister of Monzie in Perthshire, he was described as a debauched and deprived man, whose altogether stronger enchantments were hampered by this reputation. Mr. Patrick, who had enlisted other ministers of the church to his arts, had seven devils at his command and could weave a spell to build a castle between dusk and dawn. To impress Ardkinglas, he foretold that Argyll’s wife should have first a daughter and then a son and that the Earl himself would take the field in a battle in which the next best to the boar’s head should fall (a prophesy said to have been fulfilled by Lochnell’s death at Glenlivet, as next in line to the Boar’s Head crest of Argyll.) The sorcerer foretold that both Ardkinglas and Glenorchy would be arrested but would later escape and that, if he himself were taken and was given the chance, he would call on his personal seven devils and would also escape. Mr. Patrick promised that, given seven years, he would make Argyll repent of his doings and would drive him from place to place before encompassing his death in Edinburgh. He would also bring about the fall of the whole name of Campbell in Argyll, with the exception of the houses of Ardkinglas and Glenorchy, who would divide the spoil before they fell out among themselves and finally settle the matter by the sword.41 Margaret Campbell may not have been all that innocent herself. A few years ago, the late Misses Campbell of Barbreck donated a copy of ‘Letter of Mrs. Campbell of Barbreck containing an account of the Campbells of Barbreck from their first ancestor to the Present Time’, written by Frederick W. Campbell of Barbreck and printed by R. Deck, Cornhill, in 1830. It makes mention of ‘an extraordinary instance of Highland superstition, called the Taghairm (or yell of cats) [which] was performed, for the last time, in the seventeenth century, in the island of Mull.’ The revolting practice is well

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recorded. It involved spitting a live cat – replaced at intervals when necessary – over a fire. The wretched animal’s shrieks brought every cat in the neighbourhood to its side, among them several gigantic cats who were, in fact, emanations of the devil. Two boons could then be demanded. Cameron of Locheil had, some time before, performed this rite and had been granted a small silver shoe which was to be put on the left foot of every son born into that family. This custom was carried out by every succeeding generation, until the loss of the shoe when Achnacarry was burnt down by government forces in 1747. It had fitted all but one and he had turned his back on the foe at Sheriffmuir, having inherited a large foot from his mother who was of an alien clan. What is interesting is that some unknown hand has scored out ‘the island of Mull’ and has inserted ‘Inverawe’ in its place.42 Ardkinglas now turned against Glenorchy who had sent him the contract for the murder of the Earl and his brothers in order that he should sign it along those who had already done so. Ardkinglas managed to get it out of the hands of its bearer, Mr. John Archibald, Glenorchy’s procurator, promising he would sign it and sending Archibald home empty handed. In fact, his intention, far from adding his signature, was to produce it as a piece of damning evidence which would deal with his erstwhile colleagues and procure his pardon for any involvement in Cawdor’s death. The very day that John Oig was taken from Innischonnel to Dunoon, his wife met two of Ardkinglas’s servants who told her to cheer up since Ardkinglas had a contract that would get them out of trouble. She passed this message on to her husband. Ardkinglas had, in fact, ordered the document to be delivered to Margaret by the hand of his servant, Gillechallum MacChlerich, sending him with the key to his brother, Colin, to get the document. Colin handed it over and accompanied the boy on his way but, when he found out where the contract was going, he flew into a rage and took it back from Gillechallum, saying that Ardkinglas should suffer for his own fault and the plot should not be revealed to the wreck of the whole name of Campbell, as would surely happen if Margaret got her hands on it. The wretched Gillechallum returned home without the vital paper. Ardkinglas now tried desperately to get it back and wrote a sharp letter to Colin and to his uncle Alexander, Bishop of Brechin, threatening to tell ‘my lord’, as Argyll at this time is constantly referred to, that they had it. The Bishop obtained permission from Argyll to see Ardkinglas in his captivity in Carnasserie Castle on the pretext of talking to him but he then lost his nerve and, instead, sent Gillechallum MacKellar to Margaret Campbell with the document. Margaret’s servant, one Mackoell or Mackeoll – both spellings are given – met the messenger by chance on the hill a mile from the house and

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told him that John Oig had been tortured and had revealed all. MacKellar swore and reproached himself that he had not come sooner with something that would have saved both Ardkinglas and John Oig and then told the boy, as he loved them, not to reveal he had met him. The contract contained the names of all those involved. It had first been sent by Huntly to Lochnell by the hand of four or five Macphersons – Huntly’s men – who Lochnell made out were Macdonald of Dunnyveg’s men, as he had spent four days with them on Eilan-an-Abb in Loch Etive. Margaret learned the true story from one Maconoquhy Reyoch, who lived at Connel and who had taken the men to the island and who then repented of having told her the story since, if they knew, Lochnell and his wife would hang him. He gave the names of those who had signed the contract – Maclean of Duart, Campbell of Glenorchy, MacDougall of Dunollie, Stewart of Appin and various lowland noblemen, together with Donald Campbell of Kilmory (the text says Kilmore – Donald Campbell of Kilmory, who was a younger son of Auchinbreck, died in 1593). Following Cawdor’s death, the Register of the Privy Council gives the Earl’s curators as John, Lord Thirlestane, Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, John Earl of Mar and George, Earl Marischal.43 His situation was unenviable to say the least, since half those put in charge of him at this time were intent on his death. Whether aided by the witches or not, affairs at first appeared to be going in Ardkinglas’s favour. On 9 June 1592, while all this plotting was going on, caution to the sum of £10,000 was given by George Buchanan of that Ilk and John Livingstone, heir apparent of Dunipace, for the Earl of Argyll, that he would not harm Campbell of Ardkinglas – the Earl’s curators becoming sureties in relief.44 On 21 June, the Bishop of Argyll issued a decree requiring Mr. Donald to be examined on his suitability for the appointment of Dean of Lismore, following the late Mr. Nicol Campbell.45 There were also domestic ructions to be sorted out. The Inverawe boys, Duncan and Patrick, were again causing trouble, this time for stealing four oxen, two horses, six kye and six mares from Christian Moyle and Allaster M’Duff, her spouse, in Berriehill.46 And in October 1592 John Stewart of Bute’s men carried out a night raid on Auchinbreck’s house at Loch Gair. The invaders, as well as Stewarts, included Patrick Campbell, son of Donald Campbell of Kilmory.47 The next year, 1593, saw the Earl entering into various Bonds of Manrent. Significant signings were those with the men of Balquhidder, who were nearly all Stewarts, Macintyres and MacGregors and none of whom could write, and with Lachlan Mackintosh of Dunachton, the Chief of Mackintosh,

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whose son, Angus, around this time, married Jean Campbell, illegitimate daughter of the 5th Earl and Jean, sister of the murdered Cawdor.48 On 12 April, Ardkinglas, John Campbell of Auchawillan, Mr. Dougall Campbell, the Dean of Brechin, and Patrick and Robert Campbell, brothers of the late Duncan Campbell, all complained to the Privy Council. Together with Ardkinglas, they had been on their way to appear before the Privy Council. They dined at Dumbarton before resuming their journey but, as they did so, they were ambushed by a party of some two dozen horse and foot, under John Buchanan of Drumfad and James Buchanan, both sons of Buchanan of Blairlosk. Ardkinglas’s party was led by Duncan Campbell and one of the servants. The ambushers thought one of them must be Ardkinglas and discharged a dozen hagbuts. Duncan was wounded in the head before the ambushers put an end to him with their swords, before cutting off his head. They had then realised their mistake and went after Ardkinglas, firing eight or nine times at him, but he managed to escape in the dark. In June 1593, Ardkinglas and Glenorchy were formally accused of the murder of Cawdor but nothing further then took place.49 Following on from this, however, at the end of that year, the Earl entered into an obligation with Glenorchy, which was formally signed on 4 January 1594. Certain rumours had been spread by evil disposed persons and these had led to a coldness between The Earl and ‘his loving kinsman’, Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy but now, under the terms of the obligation, he promised never to use Glenorchy deceitfully and, should any rumour arise, to give Sir Duncan fifteen days warning before he need answer it at a suitable place in the Lowlands. The answer should be to the Earl and his friends, together with the Earl of Mar and the Sheriff of Ayr, Sir Hugh Campbell of Loudoun, who is among the witnesses to this Bond, together with his Ayrshire kinsman George Campbell of Cessnock.50 But then, on 21 May 1594, Ardkinglas, being held a prisoner in Carnasserie Castle, broke down and confessed. He had been interrogated by the Provost of Kilmun, John Campbell, Commissar of Inverness and Mr. Donald Campbell and their methods appear to have been ruthless.51 He admitted the existence of a contract between him and Glenorchy to kill Cawdor and Moray and do away with the Earl and his brother. He also gave up Gillepatrick Oig MacKellar as the actual murderer, and revealed the names of the other signers of the contract and the share each was to have in the spoil.52 He admitted that Glenorchy had continued to press him to sign the band for the Earl’s murder, even as late as the previous June when he was facing charges for Cawdor’s murder. He had been going to warn the Earl at Dunoon

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but Glenorchy had got word to him from Carrick Castle, through Macaulay of Ardencaple, warning him not to do so.53 Glenorchy was not slow to react. On 28 June 1594, he issued a full denial of any complicity in such a plot and protested his innocence. He must have brought strong pressure on Ardkinglas who, on 1 July, went back on his confession, claiming that the existence of the band to murder Argyll was an invention and that Glenorchy was completely guiltless, saying that the only people involved in Cawdor’s murder were Cabrachan, the MacKellars and Duncan Campbell.54 It would appear that some time that summer, Earl Archibald married Agnes, fifth daughter of William Douglas, 8th Earl of Morton. Their first child, Anne, was born before the end of the year. At about the same time, at Stirling, it would seem that a serious attempt was made by the same plotters, including such personages as Mr. James Kirk, later the Earl’s Chamberlain, to poison the Earl and his brother. The Earl was extremely ill as a result but did survive the attempt on his life.55 However, at least temporarily, other matters were to engage the young Argyll’s attention this year. In May, Bowes reported to Burghley that ‘Mar has returned from Argyll and has prevailed on him to stay his personal invasion of Huntly. Nevertheless, MacConnochie gathers Argyll’s forces with purpose . . . to ride against Huntly’.56 This was followed, on 3 June, by the forfeiture of the three Roman Catholic Earls by Parliament, along with MacDonald of Dunnyveg and Maclean of Duart. Huntly had already assembled his forces and had freed several imprisoned Roman Catholics held by the authorities in Aberdeen.57 It would appear from a further despatch that month from Bowes that Ian Dubh MacConnochie had carried out a pre-emptive strike against Huntly’s lands and had driven off a prey of cattle, which had then been retaken by the Gordons.58 Then, on 15 July 1594, a Royal Commission of Fire and Sword was issued to the Earl of Argyll, Lord Balveny, and John, Lord Forbes, over Aberdeen, Banff, Elgin, Forres, Nairn, Inverness, Cromarty and Tarbet, against all traitors to the true religion, in other words, the Papists in the north-east, whose leader was, of course, Huntly.59 The King’s Commission was not given with unalloyed support. He did not like the young Earl whom he considered ‘bot a youth and not broken to business’ and he also feared ‘the insolency which he thought natural to all Hylanders’.60 Mr. Robert Bruce, representing the General Assembly of the Kirk and bringing much needed cash with him, travelled to Inveraray to persuade the Earl to accept the Royal Commission. In return, he promised to convince the King to grant Argyll Huntly’s lands in Lochaber.

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Argyll’s force was badly organised. It was described as ‘five thousand naiked Heeland men’. There were few trained leaders and they presented a raggle-taggle appearance. This did not help in an area where there was an inherited fear of Highland invaders and this may have persuaded more people to join Huntly.61 Argyll’s army included Lochnell, Auchinbreck, the Tutor of Inverawe, a party of Glenorchy’s men, but not Glenorchy himself, and a party of Cawdor Campbells under Mr. Donald Campbell. Lachlan Mor of Duart was there, together with MacNeil of Barra. O’Donnell is said to have sent 500 harquebusiers from Ireland.62 Others arrived too late. Angus MacDonald, with 500 archers also from Ireland, Mackenzie, Lovat, Balnagowan and Foulis, all failed to make the rendezvous by the due date.63 MacGregor of Glenstrae came and Atholl sent his son-in-law, Murray of Tullibardine. Significantly, Glenorchy stayed aloof from the expedition that was forming. On 26 September, the official Royal Licence to him was signed, allowing him to stay at home on account of the ‘grite disease and infirmities of his body’.64 The King had not been happy with Maclean’s inclusion but Argyll explained he was not able to leave Maclean behind as he might join with Glenorchy and trouble the country.65 At Blair, Argyll appointed Maclean as ‘general under him of his army’, which was now 7,000 strong. Huntly sent Cameron of Locheil to plead for peace and to ‘spare the spoil and slaughter of his poor tenants and that all griefs and quarrels betwixt them be compounded by the award of the King’.66 Argyll, however, intent on revenge, continued his advance on Badenoch. At the head of the Spey, there was a short delay while the Castle of Ruthven, garrisoned by the Macphersons, was dealt with. Here Argyll was probably now joined by the Mackintoshes and the Grants. However he was still without any cavalry as the country became firmer and better going for mounted troops. The column was several miles long when the army turned aside from the Spey up Glen Avon, hoping to meet Forbes who was to join him with a much-needed force of cavalry. According to Gordon accounts, Argyll came on, laying waste the country with fire and sword and murdering all, including women and children and the aged and infirm.67 Huntly’s army was very different in composition. Only 1200 to 4000 in number, but with a high percentage of horsemen, it contained a considerable number of professional soldiers and six guns, under Sir Andrew Gray, who later distinguished himself fighting in Bohemia. On 1 October, the Gordons camped overnight at Cabrach on the headwaters of the River Deveron, where they held a council of war. The next day,

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the army was drawn up at daybreak. The vanguard, only 200 strong, was commanded by the Earl of Errol; Gordon of Cluny had the left wing and Gordon of Abergeldie the right. Huntly himself commanded the rear-guard, again only 200 strong. Before moving off, the Roman Catholics took the sacrament and then the whole army set out, in battle formation. That day, they marched some five miles across rough going, over the hill to Glen Fiddich and the castle of Auchindoun, where they camped for the night. The next morning, again fortified by the Rites of Holy Church before setting out, they made better going and, by noon, they were six miles up Glen Rinnes, following much the same route as the present Dufftown-Glenlivet Road. Meanwhile, Argyll and his troops spent the night of 2 October at Huntly’s castle of Drumin, where his Council of War was held. Lochnell asked to be given the vanguard but it was only a matter of weeks since Lochnell’s brother, John Oig, had been put to death for Cawdor’s murder and the Earl no doubt thought it safer to keep his kinsman near to him where he could keep an eye on him. There are rumours of treachery on all sides. It may have been at this time, if indeed the tale is true, that Lochnell got a messenger to Huntly telling him to direct the fire of his artillery on the yellow standard that would mark the Earl’s position. Mackintosh and Grant are also said to have offered to change sides.68 Argyll was not ready for a fight. He was under orders to await the arrival of Forbes and his cavalry who had still not appeared. Meanwhile he was cheered by a witch in his train, who foretold that, on the Friday, Argyll’s harp should be played in Buchan and his pipes sounded in Strathbogie.69 Argyll was not looking for a fight and his vanguard took up position on the high ground on the western slopes of Tom Cullach, which were probably too steep for cavalry. Huntly’s force, due to the impetuosity of the vanguard, was strung out and visibility was poor due to fog. But he struggled on and his vanguard began to climb Tom Cullach, possibly in order to cut off any arrival of Forbes and his mounted men. As they panted upwards, they became aware that Argyll’s men were already there. The battle now began and Sir Andrew Gray opened fire with the artillery. The Macleans saw the first round shot coming and divided in front of it, watching as it passed harmlessly through their ranks. Excited by this, MacNeill of Barra’s brother, Gilleonan, advanced in front of the line, waving his sword and shouting abuse at Huntly’s troops in a typical act of Highland braggadacio. He did not see the second shot coming and it ripped off his head. The Islanders took this as a bad omen and were seen ‘to stagger and

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reel to and fro in great disorder’. The third shot hit no-one but the entire vanguard fell to the ground and refused to stand up until Argyll came forward and beat and kicked them to their feet.70 One of the shots duly landed near Argyll’s standard and, with an element of poetic justice, it killed Lochnell who was standing by his chief. Meanwhile, the main body pressed on and became entangled with the vanguard in front. Captain King asked Errol to charge but Errol refused. Huntly sent a message saying that he would charge if Errol refused. Errol was furious and, with the war cry ‘The Virgin Mary’, led the vanguard in a charge with their spears levelled. The first discharge of Campbell arrows is said to have darkened the sky, so thick was it.71 That and the rough going diverted Errol and his men. They wheeled in an attempt to break the Campbell main body and rearguard. The Macleans were able to take Errol in flank and almost surrounded their attackers. Errol was twice wounded by arrows – one in his left arm and another in his leg – but he survived. Less lucky was Gordon of Auchindoun whose horse bolted and threw him. The exultant Campbells dirked him to death and later cut off his head, which they displayed in triumph. Auchindoun’s horse had already stumbled and thrown him as the army left camp. This was taken as a bad omen and his fate was not unexpected. Huntly, seeing the Macleans distracted, now put in a charge against the vanguard who broke and fell back on the main body of Argyll’s force who took refuge in flight. Argyll was distraught. He wept and cursed with rage, shouting at his fleeing troops that they were nothing but traitors. Some of the Campbells, using the bushes of Allt Cullach as cover, turned and fired at their pursuers before being ridden down. At one point, Argyll himself was cornered. Huntly saw this and spurred forward but a handful of his companions saved the Earl as Huntly’s horse was shot from under him. However, seeing that the situation was hopeless, his friends led the bitterly disappointed Argyll away to safety. Among the victims on the Campbell side was the luckless Robert Fraser, Unicorn Pursuivant, whose tabard with the Royal Lion Rampant, instead of striking fear of the Royal Authority that it personified in all who saw it, on this occasion merely marked him out as a prime target. ‘Have at the Lyon!’ was the cry and, with three lance thrusts, the Gordons killed him.72 There were those who distinguished themselves, however, on the losing side; the Macleans behaved well and their Chief, Lachlan Mor of Duart, took Huntly’s personal standard, axing down a half dozen men on his way to the standard-bearer’s side where he stuck the spike of his axe into his victim’s horse before cutting him in half at the waist.73 Mr. Donald Campbell also took an enemy standard. In a letter, Bowes wrote to Cecil:

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In this conflict, Argyll was left with Tullibardine, Maclean and some others–under twenty persons, whereupon Tullibardine with great difficulty persuaded him to take horse, and with a few with him [he] passed in to a wood adjoining . . . Maclean and Donald Campbell entered into the fight and won two guydon, with high praise and commendation.74 Argyll’s losses were said to be some 500. They included Auchinbreck, Lochnell and his brother and the Earl’s Master of the Household, as well as Tullibardine’s third son. Only fourteen Gordons were slain but they were all men of standing, among them were eleven who had been concerned in the murder of Moray. Argyll gathered his scattered forces and sent them all home, apart from 600 who were chosen to stay under Mackintosh. Meanwhile, the witch’s prediction had come true – Argyll’s harp was indeed played in Buchan and his pipes sounded in Strathbogie but not by his musicians.75 Argyll was in disgrace. A beaten man who had disobeyed his instructions to wait for cavalry support, he had been soundly routed by a force much inferior in numbers. On his appearance in Edinburgh, he was briefly imprisoned in the castle, on the grounds of illegal depredations by his army in the north. But, on giving his personal security for any claims found genuine, he was released. Meanwhile Lachlan Mor boasted that, given 500 of Argyll’s men, he would bring Huntly to the capital in chains. It was the end, however, of the Papist faction in the north-east. The King had now arrived in Aberdeen with a strong force. Both Errol and Huntly fled into exile, while Angus had to lurk in the wilds of Douglasdale. The King destroyed both Slains and Strathbogie Castles – the seats respectively of Errol and of Huntly. His attitude to the Earl’s defeat was ambivalent to say the least. He had been infuriated by the Earl’s arrogance in not having had the courtesy to ask for Huntly’s Lochaber lands himself and clearly considered the Earl a young pup, too full of himself by far, as his famous exclamation – ‘Fair fa’ ye, Geordie Gordon, for sending him back looking sae like a subject!’ 76 – shows, when the chastised Argyll appeared before him at court after his Glenlivet defeat. His trials were not yet over. That winter, Ardkinglas and Glenorchy nearly succeeded in poisoning the Earl and his brother at Stirling. Also implicated were Mr. James Kirk, the Earl’s secretary and later chamberlain, and George Balfour. Their attempt failed – the Earl was extremely ill but he survived. Even now, those closest to him in his own household were trying to kill him and it is worthwhile remembering that at this time he was just a youth, not yet twenty years of age. But time had run out for John Oig Campbell. He was incarcerated, first at Innischonnel and then at Dunoon, before, at Mr. Donald’s instigation, being

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put to the boot. Under this excruciating form of torture he then confessed and both he and Gilpatrick MacKellar were in due course summarily executed. On 30 May 1595, Ardkinglas again made a declaration, ‘for relief of his conscience’ before the ministers of Glasgow, that his previous confession had all been made up and, by that time, John Oig was referred to as umquhile or ‘the late’.77 It was Lochnell who now panicked and attempted to remove the lands of Cabrachan from his widowed sister-in-law, presumably to avoid their being forfeited after his brother’s death. Margaret herself now turned for help to her colleagues in witchcraft. She inveighed the help of one Nicholchannich dwelling in Dunach to remove Lochnell’s animosity and also brought in two more powerful aides, who are said to have engineered MacDougall’s release from custody. They were the two Nicricherts – daughters of Richard – one from Dunach and one from Soroba, who were so powerful, it was claimed, that, if Argyll and Cawdor were to appear in Lorne with banners flying, they could not overcome MacDougall who could defy them with these women.78 The timing seems odd but on 4 July, John Oig’s son and heir, Donald Campbell of Cabrachan, was given a Royal Grant of the three merkland of Tirlagan, the one merkland of Tirefour, and the island of Garrilen, all on the Isle of Lismore and once part of the patrimony of Bishop of Argyll.79 Not for the first time, King James was giving out conflicting messages and his motives at this time are to be questioned. In October 1595, Margaret Campbell confessed and most of the story became known. It is surprising that so little then happened. It was not until 6 April 1596 that Ardkinglas was eventually arrested and charged with Cawdor’s murder. Those charged were Ardkinglas, the late John Oig Campbell of Cabrachan (his mother was an Ardkinglas), the late Gillepatrick Oig MacKellar, his servant, the late Gillemartin MacKellar, Gillepatrick’s brother and the late Duncan Campbell, Ardkinglas’s servant.80 In spite of the evidence, nothing much seems to have happened. For the moment, the Cawdor Campbells carried little weight when faced by the interests of Glenorchy. Ardkinglas himself was of little political relevance and his marriage to a Hamilton would involve that powerful family should there be proceedings against him. The pot clearly contained so many nasty things, as yet not divulged, that it made stirring it an exercise of dubious benefit. Mr. Donald was only able to make a token gesture to show that things would not be forgotten. On 8 August 1596, Ardkinglas’s wife, Jean Hamilton, was on her way to Ardkinglas. Mr. Donald – described as ‘servitor to the Earl of Argyll’ – along with John MacNaughton of Dunderave,

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Duncan, his brother, Alexander Campbell, Prior of Ardchattan, John Campbell, his brother, Colin Campbell, son of the Bishop of the Isles, Duncan Garve MacDonochie, servitor to the said Earl, Alexander Campbell of Torrens and their accomplices to a total of fifty persons, all, according to a complaint, ‘umbeset the said Dame Jeane within tua pair of butt lenthis of the said place of Ardkinglas and there violently spuilyied from her and her servants their horses, habilments, her own chain, their purses and certain gold and silver therein, tore the servants’ clothes and made them beat each other with belts and bridles’. They took John MacGregor, one of the Jean Hamilton’s servants, prisoner to Inveraray and kept him there for three or four days. This complaint, however, did not come before the Privy Council until October 1596, when, since none of the accused put in an appearance, all those complained against were declared to be rebels.81 The date for Ardkinglas’s trial was eventually fixed for 17 September 1596. It was twice postponed and then abandoned on 22 September when nobody turned up – ‘nane of the kingis advocattis comperit to persew him’.82 Outwardly the matter was now at an end, although, in his deathbed confession before his execution in 1604, Alasdair Macgregor of Glenstrae claimed that Argyll had tried to persuade him to kill Ardkinglas.83 It was not to be the end of the tale for the fabled cohesion of the Clan Campbell was almost fatally ruptured and they now had a Chief, who, if he managed to survive, was deeply scarred by the horrendous events he had undergone. The story is a quite extraordinary one. Most of the papers from which it derives were at one time, according to the 10th Duke,84 in the charter chest of Mr. Donald Campbell, the chief prosecutor of his father’s killers. On his death, they passed to his heir, George Campbell of Airds, and the author still has what remains of the family charters in his possession. They are nothing like as comprehensive as they once were and the historian, Gregory, makes constant references to sources which were once in the Airds Charter chest, now to be found in the Advocates’ Library Collection – a case, which is by no means unknown today, of historical researchers failing to return what they have borrowed. It was the late Hugh, Earl Cawdor, who has suggested that Shakespeare, who wrote his Macbeth in 1606, inserted the line ‘Is execution done on Cawdor?’ to get the King on to the edge of his seat, a notoriously difficult thing to do at the theatre.85

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CHAPTER SIX

Grim-faced Archie in Control

Archibald, 7th Earl, 1584–1638: 1596–1614 ife, however, had to go on – it brooked no time for brooding. Ireland now was, once more, a major component of the scene. The English authorities were in a weak state – their Queen had little to spare them and Deputy Fitzwilliam, after a period of relative tranquillity, had an army that numbered fewer than a thousand.1 Meanwhile, the Chiefs of Ulster, as well as their own people, had thousands of mercenaries from the Western Highlands and Isles at their disposal. The English were keeping a close eye on the situation. John Colville, the English intelligence officer, now set up a system to bring reliable news of what was in the wind in Argyll and the Isles, his chief agent being James Campbell, younger of Lawers. Unrest was beginning to stir and, in 1594, an English force was defeated in a skirmish near Enniskillen at the ‘Ford of the Biscuits’. This was the first spark in a growing conflagration. In January 1595, a messenger came to enquire as to the Earl of Argyll’s situation after Glenlivet, hoping that the Earl would be able to send troops to Ulster later in the spring. He was also charged to enquire particularly after Ian Dubh MacConnachie, Tutor of Inverawe, whose previous exploits in Ireland had won him a reputation among the Irish Chiefs who hoped that he had survived Glenlivet and that reports of his death were false.2 Messengers had also been sent to the Isles to enlist support and Donald Gorm MacDonald of Sleat and Macleod of Harris were organising their men to go to Tyrone’s aid. Double pay was offered to anyone in Argyll who would come and fight in Ireland.3 But Argyll, for the moment, was not keen to commit himself, while King James saw the Irish situation as a valuable bargaining point with his southern neighbours.4 Lawers offered to go to the Isles himself to sound out the intentions of Donald Gorm MacDonald, Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg, Lachlan Maclean of Duart and of Clanranald and to try to dissuade them from any expedition.

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If this failed, he could at least find out the details of their plans. He also suggested using the Tutor of Inverawe as a spy in their ranks. At the worst, he himself could go to Ireland with 500 men in the English Queen’s service.5 A key figure now emerged in the person of this John Dubh MacConnochie, otherwise Campbell, Tutor of Inverawe. As his title shows, he was, for the time being, in charge of the affairs of the Campbells of Inverawe, while his young nephew was a minor. The role was not necessarily an easy one – particularly for one who, like John Dubh, clearly had ambitions to carve out a patrimony for his own family. He and his sons had been in constant trouble with the authorities, lifting cattle in many a bloody affray so that neither Argyll nor Glenorchy would willingly own him to be their man because they would then have to bear the responsibility. As a broken man himself, he had little alternative but to turn to the life of a mercenary Redshank. It is difficult not to feel some sympathy for those who found themselves in the situation of being Tutor – temporarily having the full power of the leader but knowing that all one’s efforts and responsibilities would count for nothing when the young heir came of age. John Dubh was a fierce character in any case and it was realised that he hungered for land of his own. In March 1594, young Lawers had written to Colville, saying ‘to hold MacConnochie to order I have caused my brother-in-law Glenlyon to give him dwelling in his lands’.6 As 1595 dawned the pace quickened. Tyrone, who was well supplied with powder and shot by the merchants in Glasgow, rose in rebellion and took Blackwater Fort and, with this, the English had to take the situation seriously. At last they received King James’s reply to Queen Elizabeth’s earlier letter which had promised to impose good neighbourliness on Argyll, who, at the time, was in prison following his defeat at Glenlivet.7 On 7 March, young Lawers wrote ‘I past to Tabard quhair sum twa or thre cumpanis wer in readines to pas to Ireland’. With some difficulty, he managed to dissuade them from moving.8 News then came from John Achinross, servitor to Lachlan Maclean of Duart, that Tyrone had engaged 6,000 men from the Clan Donald but they had not yet left because of fear of what Maclean might do in their absence – pressure was being put on Maclean to come with his men so that the MacDonalds might feel free to move. Huntly was with them and, if Maclean were to join them, the MacDonalds would give up the lands in Islay in dispute between them. Maclean, however, had other fish to fry. He suggested that he and Argyll should be employed by Elizabeth to block the MacDonalds’ passage to Ireland, while a joint Campbell-Maclean force should itself cross over to Ulster where they would pin the rebels between themselves and the Deputy’s forces.9

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Earl Archibald was being courted by both sides. An agent had visited him, on behalf of O’Neill and O’Donnell, offering the Earl their future services provided he sent help to Ireland now. The Earl prevaricated, hoping for a better offer from the English. If he did not receive this offer by 22 May, he was of a mind to unleash his people across the North Channel.10 Meanwhile, the Irish and the English redoubled their efforts to enlist troops from the Highlands and the Isles. For a time, the former were helped because young Lawers had fallen sick and was refusing to do any more work for the English until he was paid. They managed to get as far as Argyll, agreeing that those of his people who wished to volunteer might cross to Ulster under Duncan Campbell of Danna, who was already outside the law and who had little to lose.11 The MacDonalds took advantage of this and the northern part of that clan moved south to join up with Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg. Argyll sent the Provost of Kilmun to Bute, where the MacDonalds had assembled in order to set up a meeting with both the latter and the Macleans. Angus lost his temper with the Provost – quite why is unclear – and the only result was an agreement between the two of them to resolve their quarrel by meeting and fighting it out, in single combat, in front of their respective supporters.12 On 23 June 1595, Nicolson wrote to Bowes, saying ‘Argyll tells me that MacConnochie has gone from him and intends to go to Ireland’. The Earl had summoned him but Ian Dubh refused to come until he had been assured that, outside the law as he was, no harm would come to him. The meeting was not a success. The Earl thought that he had won over John Dubh by giving him some handsome armour but, when he suddenly demanded land – which was what he really wanted – the Earl did not accommodate him and the Tutor left on the spot, much to the fury of Argyll, who would have detained him. The Earl described John Dubh as ‘a most brave governor for the Highland service’ and he was sure that those making their way to Ireland had persuaded John Dubh to act as their leader. It was possible that young Lawers was keeping him for his own use – certainly they were very close.13 In June, Argyll was at the court in Stirling and Nicolson took the opportunity of confronting both him and the King about the impending situation in Ireland. Both the King and the Earl were non-committal – the King pointed out that the Clan Donald were already rebels because they had refused to obey his commands. In principle, he and Argyll were on the English side but it was wily persuasion (in other words, bribery) rather than force that would be most likely to succeed. The Macleans were seen as a key factor. The Maclean Chief was now awaiting the Earl’s return. On 4 July, he

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wrote to Bowes and Sir Robert Cecil. He had, he said, kept a garrison of 600 men under arms for three months to keep the MacDonalds in check but, as this was a costly proceeding and there had been no sign of recognition from the English Queen, he had now disbanded them. This had encouraged the mobilisation of the MacDonalds in the north, where the money offered by the Earl of Tyrone now interested the MacLeods. Maclean was, however, still ready to serve the Queen and asked that some of her ships be sent forthwith to Duart, in which case, he might still manage to hamper the full joining of the two halves of Clan Donald.14 The eighth of July 1595 was the date fixed for the single combat between the Provost of Kilmun and Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg. The Earl had already sent orders for Clan Campbell to assemble and had ordered the Macleans to be on hand to assist at sea. Kilmun, therefore, set out for the rendezvous with 2,000 Campbells at his back. If the MacDonalds failed to show, they planned to go on and ravage their territory and, if they did appear, there was the chance of a general battle in which other Island chiefs might be involved. In either case, the MacDonald descent on Ulster would be hampered. In the event, Angus MacDonald failed to face the challenge and sent an apology to Argyll for any insult. The Campbells remained unsatisfied and under arms but they resisted destroying Kintyre.15 On 11 July, MacLeod of Dunvegan and MacLeod of Lewis appeared off Mull with a fleet of galleys and 2,500 of their men. At first, Maclean of Duart was very alarmed, thinking they had come to invade the island, but he conferred with them and very nearly persuaded Dunvegan to turn back. Dunvegan was, however, overruled by his companions but Maclean at least extracted a promise from the MacLeods that they would never join the MacDonalds in an attack on the Macleans. The MacLeods reassured him that they were only in it for the money on offer from Tyrone and went on their way.16 The juncture was duly made and, while Angus of Dunnyveg remained behind with a force to watch the Macleans, the remainder, some 3,000 strong, were at sea off the Mull of Kintyre, under the Macleod Chiefs and Donald Gorm MacDonald of Sleat, with no very clear idea of what they were to do. While Argyll hastened home to muster his people and to fortify Dunoon, the fleet sailed for Arran where they held a council of war. Three options were considered – an attack on Argyll and the Macleans, the capture of the Isle of Man or an immediate descent on Ireland.17 On 22 July, the expedition, consisting of a hundred galleys and now to be joined by Angus of Dunnyveg, set sail for Ireland. Maclean of Duart, meanwhile, managed to capture a force of 900 MacDonalds, under Clanranald,

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Knoydart and Ardnamurchan, who landed on the Isle of Mull on their way south to join in. He imprisoned the leaders and ferried the men across to the mainland and allowed them to return to their homes. Argyll claimed the credit for this achievement and was duly rewarded for it by the King.18 The actual landing in Ulster seems to have taken place in a rather haphazard fashion. The main body made for Belfast Lough where, at Clandeboye, Tyrone had been gathering in cattle for their feeding. HMS Popinjay and HMS Charles set sail to intercept them and, in due course, overtook half a dozen galleys – several of them Clanranald’s – and sank two of them with great loss of life. The remainder took refuge with the main fleet in the Copeland Islands where, after a further engagement, several more of the Scottish fleet were driven ashore, while the rest remained bottled up by the English ships until a truce was negotiated. The MacDonalds gave hostages and promised to return to the Isles and even offered their services for English pay! Captain Thornton, the senior officer, accepted the proposal and the Scots dispersed, for the moment, while their galleys were repaired. A further letter from Donald Gorm repeats the offer of service and clearly shows the motivation of the Clan Donald and their allies to have been entirely driven by money.19 With the expedition to Ireland having now dispersed, Argyll and the Macleans were able to concentrate their attentions on Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg and Clan Donald South. In August, Maclean proposed to attack him, helped by his captives Clanranald and MacIan of Ardnamurchan, together with MacLeod of Lewis, in return for a substantial sum from the English Queen. In spite of the opportunity offered and by warnings that, if she failed to pay, Argyll would never again be prepared to serve her interests, the English Queen did nothing. The historian, Dr G. A. Hayes-McCoy claims that Campbell eyes were already firmly fixed on the seizure of Islay and Kintyre and that ‘Maclean was a Campbell dupe and no match for the subtlety of Argyll’.20 The Irish were also unsuccessful in their attempt to obtain the services of the Tutor of Inverawe, who was kept back by Campbell of Lawers in the equally unsatisfied hope of English gold. Early in August 1595, Captain Thornton arrived off Duart where he repeated his offer to go to Ireland with 2,000 of his own men, plus the same number of Campbells, and there fall on Tyrone’s rear. On 9 September, the Earl of Argyll was reported by Nicolson as having sent a message – for the third time – to the Tutor of MacLeod of Harris, commanding his return from Ireland and this time he sent a galley to bring him back. Captain Thornton was anchored off Duart and had summoned Lachlan Mor to return from Inveraray to confer with him over the Irish

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situation, as directed by the Lord Deputy of Ireland. He wrote: ‘Now it rests to be understood whether her Majesty is settled sufficiently in her affairs of Ireland or if the earl of Argyll’s employment shall continue any longer, which is doubtful if the said earl, in respect the coldness of Her Majesty’s proceeding with him and the employment of others is set abroad already.’ 21 Meanwhile, in an offer to the English, young Lawers said he was willing to send over an ‘Irish Captain’ who could be entirely trusted with 500 men, ostensibly for Tyrone’s service but actually in the pay of Queen Elizabeth.22 Having seen Captain Thornton, Maclean of Duart returned to Inveraray. It had been confirmed that Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg was in Ireland with 500 men and the Tutor of Harris and his men, assisting the Irish rebels with Donald Gorm and the rest, was hovering, still keen on the rewards offered by Tyrone. Maclean was also still keen to engage in the English Queen’s employment. On 12 September, he was writing to Bowes that Queen Elizabeth should first confirm the Earl of Argyll’s friendship for herself and then ‘set down with his Lordship and with me, his second in this action, a settled course whereby such enormous storms may be dissolved as have already threatened your jurisdiction’. That same day, he wrote to Cecil underlining the service he had performed in stopping the 900 men from the Isles going to Ireland.23 On 3 October, Sir William Russell, the Lord Deputy, sent a letter to Bowes reporting that Captain Thornton had passed on the offers made by Argyll and Maclean, saying they ‘are both very forward to have revenge upon the Earl of Tyrone for the hanging of their kinsman Hugh O’Neil’. Maclean had offered 3,000 of Argyll’s and his own men, should the Queen so desire and should the English ships cover their landing and guard their home base from enemy interference. In return, they would require ‘the normal entertainment of the Irish Scots allowed them in the north of Ireland, this being: 24 Item, every Scot that is to serve with long bow, long sword, or halberd is to have by the quarter Item, every Scot that is to serve with a piece is to have by the quarter Every man for his victuals by the month is to have 3 madders of butter and 6 madders of oatmeal for want of the victuals The pay of him who is no shot for his wages and victuals for a month of 30 days is The pay of a shot by the month

10s sterling 20s sterling 10s sterling, by the month 13s 4d 16s 4d

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But there was now a temporary lull in proceedings. A truce was agreed between the English and the insurgents in October that was to last until February. Maclean reported from Inveraray that Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg had come there and submitted to Argyll on his knees. Donald Gorm MacDonald had been summoned to do the same. Meanwhile, Tyrone had sent his agent Francis Mumford to Spain to seek assistance. That autumn there occurred the death of Turlough Luineach O’Neill. In January 1596, there was further parley and the truce was prolonged. But, behind the scenes, there was much manoeuvring to gain support. However, there was a lack of the essential lubricant required to actually set the wheels in motion – money. The English were still trying to gain the services of the Tutor of Inverawe and the Earl was still smarting after his defeat by Huntly. Having Maclean’s support by sea, he sent a force of 2,000 by land to deal with Locheil and Clanranald.25 Maclean was complaining about the thousand crowns he had been promised as reward for his efforts to aid the English, which had still not arrived. Meanwhile, O’Donnell wrote to the Earl (in Gaelic) quoting the ancient friendship that had long existed between their houses and asking for a shipload of powder and lead. They had it in mind to grant lands in Ireland to the Scottish King and, if he would agree, they would get others to do the same. Meanwhile, Angus MacDonald was busy shipping 1,000 men to Tyrone.26 On Christmas Day, 1595, Argyll petitioned the King since, after the introduction of the General Band which made him responsible for all his people, he was being prosecuted for every slight misdeed for as little as the sum of £10. He begged that the rule should only be applied to the kind of major depredations that gave rise to trouble for the King, his realm and his lieges. The Privy Council agreed.27 On 13 February 1596, Duncan MacIver of Stronshira, Captain of Inveraray Castle, with his grandson, Malcolm, resigned to the Earl the four merkland of Inveraray with houses, yards and orchards, custody and keeping of the castle, its mayoralty and chamberlainry, along with the fisherland of Inveraray, fishing on the Aray, the lands of Auchinriochs, all rights to the salmon fishing at the head of Loch Fyne and the offices of bailie, brewster, etc. These were exchanged, it appears, for lands in Craignish.28 During that spring, although peace still ostensibly reigned in Ulster, the Irish were negotiating for further assistance. The Isles prepared for further expeditions, while O’Neill was in touch with King Philip II of Spain. On 16 May 1596, a letter was sent to Spain, asking for 6,000 troops to be sent and offering the Irish Throne to the Archduke of Austria.29 King James, meanwhile, had determined to ‘draw the Isles of Scotland to his good obedience’

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using Argyll, Maclean and MacKenzie to this end.30 The English were encouraged by Argyll’s expressed readiness to serve the Queen’s interest, by Maclean’s favourable attitude and by young Lawers’s offer to enlist the help of the Tutor of Inverawe. But Argyll was much occupied with the aftermath of the murder of Cawdor and both he and Maclean were becoming increasingly disillusioned by the non-appearance of any English gold.31 On 16 March 1596, Bowes wrote the following to Cecil: The young laird of Lawers offers to procure MacCondochy to do special service for Her Majesty in Ireland either personally with his own companies against the rebels there or else by secret policies and discoveries to give advantage to her Majesty’s forces for the surprise of the rebels; and for the accomplishment of the same with all sincerity MacCondochy will deliver his only son in hostage to young Lawers. Upon the execution of this service MacCondochy looks to be bountifully rewarded in regard that thereby he shall sell Ireland and all his friends therein and live in dangerous feud at home. The same day he wrote to Burghley that: The trial of Ardkinglass by assize is put over to a new day, in regard that no assise could be found to pass thereon . . . Hamilton begs Mar to mitigate his passion and to entreat Argyll to do the same otherwise Hamilton will take it unfriendly. Mar and Argyll are still like to proceed in their former course against Ardkinglass, who still passes over these great storms against him.32 Two days later, the Maclean Chief made a specific offer to Bowes. He said that the MacDonalds ‘are presently making preparations for the mending of their galleys and other vessels appointed for transporting of their armed men’ but he was in a position to stop them since all in the area were either friends of his or else his enemies, in which case, they dare not leave their lands unguarded. He would produce 2,000 of his own people and would require a further 1,000 from the Earl of Argyll and 2,000 from Queen Elizabeth. His force would be made up of 1,500 bowmen – very meet for that country’ – and 500 ‘fyrmen’ and that: in this number we will not want our two-handed swords and armour of mail to be used if battle be offered to us; at which time we will change some of our bowmen to use their two-handed swords the time of battle. As for Argyll’s men, they are welcome as they come. He wanted the English contingent to be split equally between ‘fyrmen’ –

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musketeers and pikemen – if at full strength. If the Queen was unable to furnish the full number, then there must be at least be 1,000 to 1,200 men, with two-thirds of them musketeers and one-third pikemen. The contingent should be properly officered and not by those from Ireland who merely want to continue the war. The Highland troops would provision themselves, while the Queen’s men should be rationed for six days, after which they would live off the country. In addition, Lachlan Mor asked for 100 longbows, a supply of powder and for the ships used to transport the English to stay and guard the Highland galleys. He also demanded a pension.33 In mid April 1596, in spite of the truce, Tyrone and O’Donnell were writing to the Tutor of Inverawe, inviting him to bring over the companies, totalling some thousand men, which he had in readiness. The Clan Donald had also produced several hundred mercenaries who found a ready market for their services. O’Donnell, meanwhile, had appointed thirty-six people to honours and titles, which the English had suppressed, thereby increasing the enthusiasm of his followers.34 It was now that Denis Campbell, Dean of Limerick and brother to the Provost of Kilmun, produced his ‘Observations for the West Isles of Scotland’ for the English authorities. He was an illegitimate son of the 5th Earl and, therefore, a cousin of the 7th Earl. His writings form a most interesting contemporary view of the situation and of the people involved. According to the Dean, Scottish troops were worth double the same number of Irish – their swordsmen were excellent in the assault, their bowmen good for loose skirmishing and they were well suited for the local terrain. The Islanders, he said, were more valorous in their galleys at sea than on land. He confirmed that the House of Argyll had set jealous eyes on the MacDonald tenure of Islay and Kintyre. As regards Clan Campbell, key to the problem, he notes that: there have been no principal septs to my knowledge these 30 years experienced in the service of Ulster or thoroughly acquainted with the state of that country, save the Campbells and MacConnells of Kintyre with their followers, the first being commonly entertained by O’Neale, the last by O’Donnell . . . the better sort of the Campbells are of an honourable disposition, favourers of religion, trusty, valiant and civilly inclined.35 In order to use Clan Campbell, it was essential to find the right leader: For procuring the greater number out of Argyll and the confines, who indeed are best acquainted with the service of Ulster, it were very requisite that some one chief man of ability and credit in that country

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(the nearer the Earl in blood the better disposed) should be secretly solicited with all expedition and very good entertainment allowed him and his under captains, the soldiers having the allowance of the islanders . . . James Campbell, the young laird of Lawers, of no great experience or deep judgement to be a chief commander, yet valiant and forward for himself, whereof he made good proof in the troubles betwixt his uncle and others, his credit and acquaintance, though he be a Campbell, is not great in Argyll for his father’s inheritance is somewhat remote from thence.36 It was obviously necessary, too, to gain the Earl’s participation: An inducement to move Argyll against Tyrone may be to inform him by the Ambassador of the continual intercourse and practices between Tyrone and Huntly with his confederate Papists, Argyll’s greatest enemies, and for proof thereof that some of Tyrone’s horsemen which served against him in that encounter with Huntly: the confirmation thereof by the Ambassador’s speeches may be referred unto me.37 On 18 May, Bowes wrote to Sir Robert Cecil that: the young laird of Lawers has assured me that O’Donnell has desired to have 2,000 men, promising pay to them, and for a greater number if they can be levied; that O’Donnell has contracted with Archibald Rowe (base son of Angus MacConnell) for the levy and sending over of these 2,000, with greater force if they can be levied. It is accorded that Archibald Rowe shall be the general colonel of all these companies to be brought by him, and that macCondochy shall have the leading of 1,000 thereof; that 1,000 are already passed into Ireland to O’Donnell, whereof some pertaining to young Lawers are gone with them of purpose to know and discover their proceedings; that macCondochy is still pressed to come with all expedition and before the full end of this month, otherwise the place and pay reserved for him will be lost.38 King James now entered the picture with his decision to move against the Isles to bring them to order. Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg was his chief target since the other chiefs had submitted. A Proclamation for the Reduction of the Isles and Highlands of Scotland was disseminated, with letters sent to all freeholders aged between sixteen and sixty and worth a yearly sum of 300 merks or more requesting all burgesses of the realm to meet the King at Dumbarton on the 1 August. Lachlan Maclean of Duart was given a lease of the Rinns of Islay.39 The King then decided to hold back himself until required. Command of

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the expedition was given to Sir William Stewart of Houston, Commendator of Pittenweem, who was given a Commission of Lieutenancy and Justiciary – which must have annoyed Argyll. In particular, he was ordered to seize and garrison the principle castles in the area. The response to the summons was good and a further decree was made in August 1596, reducing the demands made. Instead of a full turnout, each county was now required to produce twenty horse and thirty foot and the whole of the Burghs were tasked with mustering 500 men. Berwick, Roxburgh and Selkirk were exempted, to keep peace on the Borders, and Inverness was exempted for the time being but warned to be ready for service the following spring. The whole of Tarbert and Bute were called out on personal service without any room for exemption. The Burghs were also commanded to produce three medium-sized ships with plenty of ammunition. Penalties to be paid in case of non-compliance were set out.40 Yet another proclamation authorised Houston to raise 1,000 men for service in the isles and to appoint officers.41 The Earl of Atholl, Mackenzie and Maclean were ordered to join the expedition. By 5 September, Houston had concentrated his forces around Glasgow and was preparing to make the crossing on the eighth. Angus MacDonald, from his base in Bute, was rumoured to be planning to bring 3,000 men from Ireland to resist and to take his revenge on Maclean, who had recently killed twelve MacDonalds in return for the killing of Maclean’s servant at Inveraray. There seems to be little on record thereafter about the expedition, which never reached Ireland. Money to pay the troops was a problem and, later that month, Lennox was asked for £4,000 and for 200 of his own men for the expeditionary force. Argyll appears to have taken no part in affairs and avoided prosecution for his non-appearance by the plea that he was sick.42 The royal army never reached the Isles but a part of it diverted, it seems, to Kintyre. Argyll was asked to cooperate with the Lieutenant and sent 200 men to Kintyre, under Campbell of Auchinbreck.43 There, on 1 November, Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg duly submitted and was then regranted most of his former lands.44 At the same time, a roll was made of the inhabitants of Kintyre, along with their landholdings and a list of lands wasted. In North Kintyre, the wasted lands totalled thirty-six and a half out of 139 merklands and in South Kintyre it was forty-five out of 205 – a proportion respectively of twenty-seven per cent and twenty-two per cent and a clear indication of the ravages suffered by the inhabitants of this part of the world at this troubled time.45 By contrast, the year 1597 provided something of a lull before the storm broke out once more with increased fury. Early in the year, Angus MacDonald came to Edinburgh to finalise the terms of his submission. Heavily behind

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with his rents, he was required to remove from Kintyre and the Rinns and to hand over the castle of Dunnyveg before 20 May to the person nominated by the King. He then left for home to set these affairs in train while his son, Sir James, stayed at court. Meanwhile, MacDonald of Antrim made an attempt, on the grounds of Angus’s bastardy, to have Kintyre and Islay made over to him. He was invited over from Ireland and made a considerable impression at the Scottish Court. He did not get what he asked for but he was given thirty merklands in Kintyre, was knighted as Sir James MacDonald of Dunluce and received a salute of guns as he left.46 That January, the Earl granted the Keepership of the Forest of Cruachan to Glenorchy and, in February, he gave the Keeping of the Forest of Ben Buie to Ian MacNaughton of Dunderave.47 He also signed a Bond of Manrent and Protection with ‘The Clan Lauchlane of the Feyart alseweill in Lochabre as in Lorne’.48 These MacLachlans are said to have been an offshoot of the Innischonnel MacLachlans whose descendants, in Lochaber, the MacLachlans of Coruanan, provided Locheil with his hereditary standard-bearer.49 Glenorchy was also the Keeper of the Forest of Mamlorn and, as such, in July 1596 had entered a complaint against his cousin, Campbell of Glenlyon, who was wont to go to the Forest each year with a gang of friends and install themselves in the sheilings there, spending most of the summer, during which they cut down growing trees and killed many deer. The Privy Council found in favour of Sir Duncan who was given leave to demolish the sheilings.50 Another seeking protection was Ian Dubh, the Tutor of Inverawe, who also took burden on himself for his three sons, presently minors, as well as for Dougall (Duncan) Lachlan and for Ian Dubh’s brother, Patrick Campbell in Auchreoch. Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, to whom this petition was addressed, gave his promise that he would give his Bond of Manrent to Ian Dubh once he was within the Law again.51 The Tutor, it appears, was still in contention over the lands of Ardeonaig on Loch Tay and, on 4 August 1597, he delivered seven writs pertaining to that property to the 7th Earl.52 An Act of Parliament of December 1597 threw a large stone into the already troubled pool of the Highlands and Islands. By its decree, all those holding property in the area were required to produce their charter deeds before the Lords of Exchequer by 15 May 1598. They were also required to find bail for the punctual payment of their rents and for their good behaviour. Failure to do so was to result in forfeiture. King James knew well that many would find this impossible to carry out but saw the opportunity of replenishing his empty coffers by the addition of many forfeited estates.53 At the same time, he erected three burghs – Campbeltown in Kintyre, Fort William in Lochaber and Stornoway in Lewis – that would also add to his

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revenues. Finally, he appointed a special committee to oversee the affairs of the Highlands and Isles. The Earl of Argyll was not among the members. The exact outcome of the fifteenth of May is not clear but, thereafter, the Isles of Lewis and Harris, along with Dunvegan and Glenelg, were said to have been at the King’s disposal. This led, in due course, to the grant of Lewis to the Lowland Adventurers whose attempt to civilise and settle the island was thwarted by MacKenzie of Kintail and by MacDonald of Sleat. Trouble now broke out again in Clan Donald South. Gorrie Macalister of the Loup had killed his tutor whose sons sought refuge with Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg. Loup secured the support of Sir James MacDonald, Angus’s son, who now proceeded against his father. He burnt the house of Askomel, knowing full well that his parents were inside. Eventually, his father escaped, badly burned, and was imprisoned in the castle of Smerby. Sir James then took over Clan Donald South, thereby, with his much more aggressive stance, provoking another royal expedition to Kintyre in June 1598. The King ordered the muster to take place at Dumbarton and command was given to Lennox. Before that could happen, the long awaited showdown between the Macleans and the MacDonalds took place in Islay. Lachlan Mor had set out from Duart intent on gaining final possession of the Rinns. On 5 August 1598, he landed at Loch Gruinart at the head of which the MacDonalds found him and his men. Before the battle was joined, so goes the story, Lachlan Mor had been approached by Dubh-sidh or Shaw of Jura. Shaw was a small man and his offer of service was contemptuously rejected by the Maclean Chief. This did him no good at all since the insulted Shaw waited until he had his opportunity and shot Lachlan Mor with an arrow in his chest and killed him. Seeing their leader fall, the Macleans broke and ran. The survivors took refuge in the Church of Kilnave, overlooking the broad sands of the bay. But their refuge availed them nothing as the triumphant MacDonalds set fire to the church and burnt alive all those sheltering within it. The Maclean Chief was, anyway, doomed according to the subsequent story. He had been told by a witch on Mull that he must do three things: firstly, there was a knoll near Duart Castle and he must go three times round it, clockwise, before setting out; secondly, he must avoid Nostaig, a bay on Islay; and, thirdly, he must not drink from the well of Niall Neonach. Lachlan Mor ignored all three, going three times widdershins around the knoll, landing at the very spot against which he had been warned and, as it was a hot day, taking a drink as he was passing a convenient well without checking that it was the Well of Niall Neonach! (There is another similar tradition concerning

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the rocky islet called Eilean Amalaig in Loch Spelvie which the Macleans of Duart, who anchored their galleys nearby, were required to circumnavigate clockwise three times before setting out for war.)54 The death of the Maclean leader was felt nowhere more strongly than Ireland. Just before the Traigh Gruinart battle, Nicolson had written to Sir Robert Cecil reporting that any Irish developments were postponed until the spring. There was still time for Maclean to show what he was capable of, but he did require the promised English money and pension. O’Donnell, meanwhile, had sent him a gift of nineteen horses.55 Meanwhile Nicolson had also reported that he had met secretly with Campbell of Glenorchy who was very ready to serve the Queen in whatever capacity and for whatever reward.56 On 8 August 1596, there was another Royal Proclamation against the helping and supplying of the rebels in Ireland. This was particularly directed towards the Burghs bordering the Clyde and towards Inverness and Cromarty, although nowhere in Argyll was mentioned. Certainly it appears that the merchants of Glasgow and the Clydeside burghs had not hesitated to supply the Irish with anything they required, as long as they could pay.57 Accounts of the death of Lachlan Mor varied. According to Nicolson’s letter of 16 August to Sir Robert Cecil, treachery was involved. Maclean had landed with only 200 men. He was dressed in silk and armed only with a rapier and pistol given him by Argyll. At first, the meeting went well until around 7pm a message came and the MacDonalds attacked. Lachlan killed three men himself with the rapier and told his son to flee. Meanwhile, he and his men fought it out with the MacDonalds, killing some forty of them. Had the Maclean bowmen stood their ground, they might have accounted for more but, at the sight of Lachlan’s fall, they broke and fled. Lachlan’s son and heir, Hector, now wrote to the King, complaining of his treatment, demanding justice and asking the King to resume his expedition to Kintyre. He asked James to bring Campbell of Auchinbreck and other named barons with him but to leave Cawdor behind with others who were friends of the MacDonalds. The King, typically, said that it had been a fair fight and that he did not believe Maclean had been murdered under trust, nevertheless he expressed pity for the young Hector, before brushing the letter aside, unread. Justice would be done, said he, and so passed on his way to Dalkeith.58 Meanwhile, on 14 August, the Irish rebels had caught the English under Bagenall as he marched north from Armagh to revictual Blackwater Fort. They inflicted a crushing defeat – the biggest for generations – on his force at Beal an Atha Buidhe or the Yellow Ford. The rebels’ star was now at its zenith.59 Glenorchy became the chief hope of the English but most of the ideas he

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put forward required too much time, apart from the sending of John Dubh MacConnochie to Ireland. If this was carried out, they promised him £1,000.60 Towards the end of the year, Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg and Hector Maclean of Duart did, in fact, manage to patch up an ostensible truce and made preparation for a joint expedition to Ireland to help Queen Elizabeth with between 2–3,000 of their people. John Dubh MacConnochie was still a long way from being brought in from the cold, although in November a court at Kenmore did find that he was owed seventy merks by John McConnell vic Tierlich, a member of the Clan Tearlach Campbells with whom he had long been at odds over Ardeonaig. Unfortunately, there was also a long list of complaints by people who had been robbed of their beasts by the Tutor, acting in concert with Donald Campbell of Cabrachan, MacDonald of Glencoe, Mackintyre of Glenno and others, who brought their spoil to John Dubh’s base at Ardeonaig.61 In the following April of 1599, the Tutor was again in trouble. He and his brother, Patrick, killed Patrick, brother of Thomas Campbell of the Clan Tearlach, cutting his head off and carrying it on a staff in front of them in triumph.63 In July 1599, a new Commission of Lieutenancy over the Isles and the Highlands of Inverness-shire was given by King James to Lennox and to Huntly, who was now back in favour. The Commissioners appointed a Council made up of the northern Earls and Barons to help them but nothing is known of their progress.64 Sir James MacDonald offered to hand over Dunnyveg to a Royal Governor and garrison and to evacuate Kintyre. He would be given the 300 merklands in Islay left him after he had ceded the sixty merklands immediately adjoining the castle of Dunnyveg, for which he would pay a rent of £2 a merkland. He would give his father an annual pension of £1,000, wherever he should settle, and would hand over his brother as a hostage and he would also financially support him. The Privy Council gave their approval to the plan but, by general consent, nothing came of it due to the persuasion of Argyll and Cawdor. Cawdor was Sir James’s brother-inlaw, whom he trusted, and who secretly encouraged James in further acts against the Royal authority and, thereby, they were themselves responsible for the lack of good behaviour in the area over the next fifteen years or so. The year saw another abortive attempt at mounting an expedition to the Isles by King James. A large assembly of the lieges had been summoned to meet him at Dumbarton on 10 July and others were to be in Kintyre two days later. The boatmen of the Clyde were to transport the army. The necessary numbers did not appear, in spite of several new proclamations, and the King had no alternative but to abandon his plan–foolish as it made him look–and he never again attempted such an undertaking.65

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On 13 September, John Auchincross wrote to Cecil suggesting he should have 150 Islesmen on Lough Foyle with their galleys. The English were pinned down at the moment but the rebels had no boats and no base within ten miles of the coast with which to resist such a move.66 The English Privy Council approved the move in November as Auchincross, being close to the late Lachlan Maclean, was to raise 150–200 Scots, who were to be suitably armed and dressed at their own expense and properly officered. On arrival, they were to report to the Governor of Lough Foyle. For every hundred thus properly commanded Auchincross was to have £120 a month, up to a maximum of 300 men.67 The effect of even a few hundred Highlanders was not to be under-estimated. As Auchincross had written to Cecil, reminding him that he knows how abundant in people Argyleshire is, and how many men yearly and daily go thence to aid Tyrone. They are like the Irish in suffering of cold, hunger and long marches and are a great deal more desperate . . . without all doubt, two regiements of Scottish Irishmen with English leders should be more easily maintained nor one English regiment . . . The earl of Tyrone keeps a guard of two hundred musketeers about himself who will run afoot all the day long with their furniture as hard as the earl can ride; of which guard the better part are Argyle men, naturally avaricious, bloody and covetous; who for money to enterprise or perform no murder, without respect to father, bother, master or friend whatsoever.68 The following year, 1601, was no more efficacious. A Royal Commission was again given to Huntly and Lennox but this time Argyll and the South Isles were included and Lennox was placed in charge of these additions. They were given wide powers and promised generous reward, particularly if they undertook the initial expense. In fact, little happened and this attempted expedition was no more effective than its predecessors. The 7th Earl seems to have continued on his business of cementing his lines of influence in the area. On 8 January 1601, he received a Bond of Manrent from Lachlan Mackinnon of Strathordill.69 And, at the end of the year, the Earl was again in trouble over the provisions of the General Band. He had been ordered to produce two of his men, Alastair MacIan Og of Glencoe and Ian Galt Macgregor, before the Privy Council but neither he nor they appeared and the Earl was denounced as a rebel.70 Duncan Campbell of Glenlyon was also in trouble. He had kept Alan MacRanald in Sunart captive overnight at his house of Meggernie in Glenlyon, before releasing him the following morning. The unfortunate Alan had gone

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no more than a mile when he was set upon and dirked to death, while the substantial purse of gold and silver, worth £1,000, was lifted from him.71 Queen Elizabeth was, of course, ageing and King James was increasingly aware that, before long, if all went well, he would find himself King of both England and Scotland. This would clarify his attitude to Ireland as he soon realized that the problems suffered by the English would soon become his own. That autumn, arrangements were set in train for a major force to go to Ireland in support of the English against the rebels. On 7 November, Roger Aston wrote to Henry Lock that: The King’s mind is not to employ any but such as he will be answerable to her Majesty for. I thought good to let you understand such as are in speaking of here. First, there is the laird of Auchinbreck. He is of surname Campbell and of the chiefest and greatest under Argyll and his standard bearer. He is a very brave man and has married Sir Thomas Erskine’s sister. He may make 5 hundred brave Highlandmen.72 Others being recommended were young Hector Maclean of Duart, who was intent on revenge for his father as well as a younger brother of MacGregor, ‘a very brave and expert man for those services’.73 Before this could take effect, affairs changed dramatically in Ireland, where Tyrone and O’Donnell had gone south to raise the siege of the Spanish in Kinsale by the English under Mountjoy. On 23 December, they got lost on their final approach and stumbled into the English. A momentary hesitation turned to panic and the English horse charged. The retreat turned into a rout and the Irish lost heavily. Relatively few redshanks were involved under Ranald MacSorley, who is said to have lost 370 of his own 400 men, but there was a great killing of galloglaich, thirteen of whose captains were among the slain. As Hayes-McCoy has it: Thus was Kinsale lost and won. In so far as the history of Ireland is concerned, it is the decisive battle. With the defeat of Tyrone and O’Donnell, perished alike the organisation of Ireland as a Gaelic nation, the institutional system, the mercenary scheme – the entire gamut of Gaelic social establishments. Henceforward, military aid from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland could mean nothing to the Irish.74 The effect was not immediately so apparent. On 31 January 1602, details were sent out for the muster that was to take place in early March. The list of leaders and the men required was as follows: Duke of Lennox, under the son of

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Grim-faced Archie in Control Andrew Dow Macfarlane Colquhoun, younger son of Camstradden Earl of Argyll, with Glenorchy and John dow Macconochie of Inverawe Alasdair MacDonald of Glencoe, Patrick Campbell, brother to Glenlyon, and the Abbot of Inchaffray, Tullibardine and Lundy

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Others not present were ordered to produce men as follows:75 Captain of Clanranald Atholl, Huntly, McIntosh, Grant, Balnagowan, Caithness, Glengarry and Mackenzie MacGregor, Lovat, Foulis, Sutherland, Mackay MacEan duy and MacRanald

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With the real effect of Kinsale becoming apparent and with the King’s altered view of his own interests in Ireland, the expedition never took place. On 5 February 1602, because the Act that required parties at feud to submit to arbitration had not been followed between Huntly and Argyll, James, Earl of Moray, John, Earl of Mar, and Andrew, Lord Stewart of Ochiltree, these last four were summoned to appear before the Privy Council on 12 February, prepared to sign a submission under pain of rebellion.76 This meeting was subsequently postponed, to 20 April and then to 20 May. Argyll was ordered to hold a wappenshaw on 1 March – this was a muster of his men to check and train them in their weapons. He and Glenorchy were ordered to produce 300 men to help ‘our dearest sister Queen Elizabeth’ in Ireland against the rebels.77 Some of those called out had mixed feelings, as George Nicolson reported to Sir Robert Cecil: One of his country whom he (Glenorchy) meant to have employed had plainly protested though the King, Argyll and he should force them to go, yet they would not be sent against that people they were come of and whose language was one with theirs, but be true to them against the Saxons.78 Keen to remove the source of potential trouble, King James now sought to reconcile Argyll and Lennox. Lennox was to remain titular Lieutenant and Admiral in the Isles but would delegate these offices to Argyll. Campbell of Auchinbreck had been charged with the spoliation of Bute and the lands of Macaulay of Ardencaple. His case was now to be settled and, meanwhile,

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Argyll was made to shake hands in front of the King with Stewart of Bute and Macaulay.79 On 3 September 1602, it was MacIan of Ardnamurchan who signed a Bond of Manrent with the Earl of Argyll, promising to produce his charters for the eighty merklands of Ardnamurchan which he would then hold from the Earl for an annual rent of 13s/4d and, should his heirs fail, the lands were to revert to the Earl.80 The General Bond was still causing Argyll trouble. The Tutor of Inverawe was an ambivalent figure – at one moment in serious trouble, which involved the Earl, as he was officially responsible for the Tutor’s good behaviour, and, at the next moment, playing his part as an agent of law and order. So it was that, on 9 September, John Fraser of Lochans, the Earl of Mar’s man, was called on to prove the quantity and value of goods seized from him by MacConnochie of Inverawe, who had proved to be the Earl’s man as far back as October 1594. The Earl was now desperately trying to carry out the responsibilities laid upon him. On 20 September, he issued mandates concerning the Clan Ean duy VcAllister (MacIans of Glencoe?) to Mr. Donald Campbell and the Tutor of Inverawe who were to seek out this clan and bring them to trial with their goods and gear. The inhabitants of Appin, Duror, Glencoe and Benderloch were warned to give Mr. Donald every assistance and to bring any goods handed over to them to Inveraray.81 The twenty-fourth of September was not a good day. The King summoned the Earl as having had his Commission of Lieutenancy against the whole name of MacGregor and for having stood guarantee for their good behaviour. There then followed a long list of MacGregor depredations from Rannoch to Tay and from the Lairds of Buchanan and Luss. And that was not all. The Tutor, described as ‘McCondoquhy Campbell of Inneraw man tenant servant ordinary and proper dependar upon the said earl’ was charged with having come, with 600 Highlanders, to the lands of Over Elrick, belonging to Archibald Herring of Drummore, where they killed two men and drove away his beasts. In addition, there followed a list of crimes committed by the Tutor, his sons and his servants, together with others of the Earl’s dependants. Even such a trusted figure as Campbell of Auchinbreck was involved. Just about the time the Earl was having to make up with Stewart of Bute and Macaulay of Ardencaple, Auchinbreck, another of the Earl’s men with 1200 men armed with hagbuts and pistols, invaded the Island of Bute, on 19 November 1602, and there they started killing and burning. Auchinbreck was accompanied by a long list of Argyllshire gentlemen and members of Clan Campbell which included: Donald Campbell of Duntroon;

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Colin Campbell of Barbreck; Archibald Lamont of Silvercraigs; Campbell of Inverliever, the younger; Donald Campbell of Oib; Neill McNeill of Taynish and three of his brothers; Ranald MacAllister and his son Koll; Colin Campbell, the younger, of Kilberry; Angus Campbell, the younger, of Danna; Donald Campbell, Auchinbreck’s brother; Campbell of Knap and his brother and uncle; Eachan Bronach MacNeill; John Lamont, son of the late Lamont of Achachyll; Dougall Campbell of Kilmorie and others. None of them appeared when summoned and all were put to the horn and declared rebels.82 It was in February the following year, 1603, that the Clan Gregor surpassed itself, even among the long tale of its misdeeds. For some time, there had been no love lost between them and the Loch Lomondside Colquhouns. Alexander MacGregor came to settle matters with Colquhoun of Luss with some 200 of his men who set up a base on the fringe of Colquhoun territory. Suspicious of the real intentions of a meeting, Colquhoun mustered the Buchanans with his own men, to the number of some 300 cavalry and 500 foot. The meeting duly took place and the discussions proved abortive. The parties separated but Colquhoun set off in pursuit of the MacGregors with the intention of taking them by surprise. Alexander MacGregor, however, was made aware of the plan and set an ambush in Glenfruin, splitting his force into two and taking command of one himself and delegating the other to his brother, John Glas. The stratagem worked and the pursuing Colquhouns were taken by surprise and slaughtered to the number of two hundred, with many more taken prisoner. Something of the flavour of the times is to be gleaned from the tale of the boys from Dumbarton Academy, a party of whom had come to see the meeting. For their safety, the Colquhouns corralled them in a barn. When the MacGregors discovered them there, they set fire to the barn, roasting alive no fewer than eighty victims.83 Another version – or perhaps it is another incident – has the wretched boys dirked by their gaoler, a Glencoe man. Be that as it may, the Clan Colquhoun was nearly destroyed and, in a splendid piece of what is now known as ‘spin’, a long line of sixty Colquhoun widows set off to petition the King for justice, carrying with them 220 bloodied shirts, displayed on poles. Scurrilous – no doubt – tales have it, that much of the blood was applied en route and that, after the audience with His Majesty was over, the party refreshed themselves so enthusiastically at Drymen, on the return journey, that quarrels broke out in their ranks and several women had to be carried home. But, on 5 April, the Privy Council issued Letters of Fire and Sword to the Earl of Argyll against the Clan Gregor, having resolved ‘that this viperous and unhappy generation shall be followed, hunted and pursued with fire and

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sword ay and quhill they be extirpated and rooted out and expelled the haill bounds of our dominions’. As Justice and Commissioner of Argyll and Tarbert, the Earl was empowered to call out all the inhabitants in areas where the Clan Gregor dwelt. He was to raise 100 fully armed men for full time service who, on the ninth of April, were to meet with similar bodies from other affected areas at the head of Loch Rannoch. All members of the levy who might be outwith the law were to be pardoned. The very name MacGregor was to be abolished. A price was put on the heads of between seventy and eighty members of the clan, with as much as £1,000 for named leaders and 100 merks for lesser lights.84 This was the start of an intensified campaign against the luckless Gregorach and there are many grisly tales of the fierce cruelty that attended their hunting down. And this was not one-sided – the MacGregors, as we have seen, were a tough lot and they had little to lose. One picture, however, which should be dismissed, is of them as an innocent band of romantic Robin Hoods, the so-called ‘Children of the Mist’ – they were neither romantic nor innocent. They continued to give as good as they got and their hunting down was by no means an easy or a safe task. Some measure of their doings can be gained from the list, produced by Campbell of Glenorchy, of the losses he had sustained at the hands of Clan Gregor during the years of 1603–4, when the Earl’s commission was in force. They included the wholesale burning and spoliation of the Barony of Monzie, the Barony of Culdares and Tinnaiss, the twelve merklands of Crandich, the £10 land of Boquhassil in Menteith and of the House of Achalader, a destruction that totalled at £100,000. At the burning of Achalader and Glenlochy, those slain by the MacGregors included the three young daughters of John MacIsaac, which was followed by 120 kye and oxen being driven off by the MacGregors as they made their way back through Glenlyon.85 The MacGregors would strike by night and then vanish. Only occasionally was there a stand-up fight. One rare example being that of 1604 when Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, with a party of some 200, which included Camerons, Macnabs and Clanranald MacDonalds, caught some sixty MacGregors at ‘Binbtoig’ in Glenorchy. The MacGregors fought a rearguard action for some considerable distance to Ranefray, by which time Sir Duncan had killed Duncan Abroch MacGregor, his son Gregor in Ardchyle, Dougal MacGregor in Glengyle and Charles MacGregor in Bracklie, together with some twenty of their men. Further to the south, another Campbell to suffer was Colin Campbell of Aberuchill, where the marauders burnt the whole settlement, as well as the house, killed several, including children, and drove off 120 horses, 160

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sheep and goats and 360 cattle. Their methods were not subtle and Allaster MacGregor was had up for the murder of the chapman, Neil MacEwan, whom he met by chance and killed by striking him in the belly with his own knife. The charges against the various MacGregors are not pretty and, without exception, they end with the perpetrators being taken out to the Borroughmuir of Edinburgh and there hanged.86 On 3 April, King James VI left Scotland, never to return. His assumption of the English throne, as King James I, brought both kingdoms under the same head, although it was to be over a century before full union was to come about. Nevertheless, there was one major change – from now on, the line taken by England and Scotland was the same. Although it had been foreseen for some time, having both Scotland and England under the same ruler particularly affected Ireland – no longer was Scotland able and willing to play the Irish card with the English and no longer were such potentates as the Earl of Argyll and Macdonald of Dunnyveg able to sell themselves to the highest bidder since, from now on, the English and the Scottish interest was the same. The result was felt on both sides of the North Channel – in Ireland, where a major part of the fighting forces was no longer available, and, equally, in the Western Highlands and Isles where annual employment for several thousand semi-professional warriors was no longer available. This had been a useful source of revenue – at least it kept them off the back of the people on whom they would have relied for subsistence at home and kept them usefully employed and out of the way. Now all that was changed and the full burden was felt by those responsible for the upkeep of the fighting men of the clan who now found themselves without their former employment, confined as they now were to the Scottish side of the divide. They were not, however, left idle. Apart from operations against the Clan Gregor, there was internal strife in the Western Isles. Sir James MacDonald, who had been indulging in further plots against his father, was taken by Auchinbreck, at the latter’s instigation, and was handed over to Argyll.87 In June 1603, Colin Campbell of Lundy, the Earl’s brother, managed a claim for apprizement against Maclean of Duart and Campbell of Ardkinglas, who had fallen into debt over the non-payment of the yearly rent of £500 for the lands of Luing which now passed to Lundy on payment of the sum of £8,000. This was followed by a warning to the inhabitants to move.88 And, in October, the Earl was given another Commission of Fire and Sword as His Majesty’s Commissioner within all the Isles in order to pursue MacDonald of Dunnyveg, Maclean of Duart, MacDonald of Sleat, Macleod of Harris, MacLeod of Lewes, the Captain of Clanranald and other inhabitants of the

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Isles. The Keepers of all castles were to render them to Argyll under pain of being declared rebel. Here are the Keepers and their respective castles: Macdonald for Dunnyveg; Maclean for Duart and Carnaburgh; Maclean of Coll for Breachachadh; Donald Gorm MacDonald for Duntulm; and MacKinnon of Strathardill for Kyle.89 October was getting on in the year and there is nothing noted of importance until March the next year, 1604, when Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg resigned the lands of Kennacraig and Sanaig in Jura, amounting in all to £10, to the Earl of Argyll. That May the Earl was ordered to produce Sir James MacDonald who was still in his keeping. On his doing so, the Council incarcerated the luckless captive in the castle of Blackness. A plot by his clan to liberate him was discovered and Sir James was transferred to the greater security of Edinburgh Castle where he was to languish for many years. It does not appear that the Commission of the previous year had been all that effective. Maclean of Duart was now ordered by the Council to yield up Duart castle to the King’s nominee at twenty days’ notice.90 This appears to have been put in operation on 8 May, when the Privy Council issued a warrant to the Earl of Argyll for payment by Maclean and by Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg of £1,000 each for the keeping of their houses by the Earl.91 On 19 July, he also received a nineteen-year tack or lease for the Admiralty of the Western Isles from the Duke of Lennox for the payment of a single Rose Noble at Martinmas each year.92 On 9 April 1605, the Earl was given a Commission by the Privy Council to grant remission to those MacGregors who had changed their names and who had found people to guarantee their good behaviour under the law.93 Progress in bringing the Isles under control seems to have been indecisive. Lord Scone, Comptroller of Scotland, was ordered to go to Loch Kilkerran, or Campbeltown as it was to become, and there to receive the obedience of the principle men in the South Isles who were also required to produce surety for the payment of their rents and duties. As well as the Island chiefs south of Ardnamurchan, Cameron of Locheil, MacDonald of Keppoch, MacIan of Ardnamurchan, MacIan of Glencoe, Stewart of Appin, MacDonald of Largie and MacAllister of Loup were all required to appear at Loch Kilkerran on 20 July with their charters. Those who failed to appear were to be pursued with Fire and Sword and their charters declared null and void. To enable Lord Scone to carry out this task, the fencible men – those of age for military service – of the Western Shires and Burghs were called out, fully armed and with 40 days’ provisions, to support him. Robert Hepburn, Lieutenant of the King’s Guard, was sent to recover Dunnyveg and Duart,

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while the inhabitants of the Western Isles and Kintyre were ordered to hand over all their boats.94 The Lowlanders by now, however, were fed up and in no mood to cooperate. The expedition was postponed to August and again to September. When it eventually did take place, the only people to turn up were Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg and the Kintyre lairds – the MacAlisters, MacNeills, MacEachearns and Mackays. As before, a list was made of King’s lands in Kintyre and the proportion laid waste was now as follows: in North Kintyre, it was sixty-two out of 1511⁄2 merklands; and in South Kintyre, it was fifty-one out of 203 merklands. Archibald MacDonald of Gigha, illegitimate son of Angus, was taken as hostage and incarcerated in Dumbarton.95 In July of the following year, 1606, the Privy Council appointed a Committee to hear Lord Scone and the offers of obedience made by the Islanders. No comment was made by the Council and Angus MacDonald was forbidden to appear in person in front of the King. As the historian Gregory has it: It was undoubtably the influence of the Earl of Argyle that guided the Council in slighting these offers, and in the measures afterwards pursued with regard to the South Isles, as it had now been, for some time, his principal aim to procure for himself the King’s lands of Kintyre.96 Argyll now proposed himself as the tenant of the King’s lands of Kintyre and held several conferences with Lord Scone. On 12 July, he gave a Bond to the Comptroller, promising to pay rent for all the lands in Kintyre which formerly belonged to Angus MacDonald and which, through MacDonald’s forfeiture, were now in the King’s hands.97 In November 1606, it was agreed that he should take Kintyre with, in addition, as many lands in the South Isles as the Comptroller should require, paying rents at the rate set during the time of King James V. Shortly afterwards, Argyll had the receipt for the initial payment of 3,500 merks in gold and silver.98 The luckless Sir James MacDonald, Angus’s son and heir, hearing what was going on made a desperate attempt to escape from Edinburgh Castle, the only result of which was that he was now put in irons.99 So it was that the Campbell Chief made the largest single land acquisition in his family’s history and there was nothing particularly underhanded in the transaction. The troublesome behaviour of the previous owner and his kin had long been a thorn in the side of authority and this produced the opportunity that the Earl of Argyll was not slow to exploit. The extent and quality of the land, although ravaged by warfare, was potentially the jewel in

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the Campbell crown. It was to be years before the rents were paid in regular fashion and the land realised its full value but, when at last the 11th Duke of Argyll sold the Kintyre estate for a niggardly sum, in 1955, the sale consisted of over 250 farms. The King, whose shortage of money was a major factor, was happy with the sure payment of his rent and both he and Argyll were far from sorry to see yet another blow dealt to the most persistent source of trouble in the Western Isles. On another front, the Earl found himself in trouble with the law – not that it caused him much concern. John Fraser in Lochans had still not received compensation from Argyll for depredations caused by John Dubh, the Tutor of Inverawe, in spite of a Decreet in his favour made as far back as 1602. Argyll was now required to produce the same within fifteen days. When he paid no attention, Patrick Ross, Messenger, was sent to arrest him. This he duly did, in the presence of Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, his eldest son, and Colin Campbell, brother of the laird of Lawers. The Earl had him thrown out so Ross went to Perth – Inveraray was too dangerous – where he duly had Argyll proclaimed rebel at the Mercat Cross with three blasts of the horn.100 The matter appears to have been settled on 12 July that year, 1606, when James Campbell of Lawers agreed to pay John Fraser £20 each for fourteen horses and mares and 20 merks each for sixty kye stolen from him by ‘the late’ Tutor of Inverawe. However, the Earl was still not happy and he was later to protest that the Tutor had not been his man but the Earl of Moray’s.101 This reference marks the end of one of the Clan’s most colourful and sinister members. A ruthless and ferocious man, no stranger to the black arts, he had even entered, for a time, the international scene, as a noted leader of mercenary troops, while, at home, he and his sons had gained notorious reputations as being consistently in trouble over their depredations. But, regardless of his exploits, he died a bitter man since he had failed, in spite of all, to establish a landed base for himself and his offspring. What must have made this failure even more bitter was his position as Tutor when only his young nephew stood between him and his heart’s desire. Indeed, this was the cause of his end if we accept the traditional tale. From the start of his Tutorship, the temptation it offered to a man of his temperament was obvious and the enfant Inverawe’s foster-mother fled with the child to Carnasserie, where he was brought up safe from his uncle’s attentions. When nearly of age to succeed, his uncle invited him to Inverawe where the young man is said to have spent the day hunting the deer on Cruachan. On his return, the table was set for a meal when two fighting dogs dragged aside the tablecloth, revealing a hidden dagger by the Tutor’s place. This was noticed by the young laird’s servant who warned his master.

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The two slipped out, saddled their horses and made off, fording the River Awe below the house and heading over the shoulder of the hill into Glen Nant. Their departure did not long escape the Tutor who set off in furious pursuit, gaining on the escapers rapidly, as they climbed the wooded glen. According to the story, the servant said to Inverawe, ‘Yonder is your uncle coming in pursuit of us; if you do not kill him, he will kill you.’ The young man with reluctance drew his bow for there was no doubt of the truth of his servant’s remark and a well-aimed arrow brought the Tutor down. The modern road in Glen Nant diverges from the old one, which climbs away to the left someway up the glen. If, however, you follow its path, which is still clearly visible, a short climb brings you to a cairn of stones. This marks Carn Mhic Dhonnachaidh – MacConnochie’s Cairn – the spot where the Tutor died.102 His place as the ‘heavy’ man of Clan Campbell – if such a modern colloquialism may be employed – was taken increasingly by Mr. Donald Campbell of Barbreck-Lochawe, the illegitimate son of Cawdor, whom we have already met as the chief protector of his family’s interests after the murder of Cawdor in 1592. Like John Dubh, his birth did not confer much status upon him but, having started as a mere churchman, he, in fact, achieved the success that had eluded the Tutor of Inverawe. Shortly after distinguishing himself at Glenlivet Mr. Donald married the widow of Angus Mackintosh of Torcastle, heir to the Chief of the Mackintoshes. She was Jean Campbell, daughter of the 5th Earl of Argyll by Jean, daughter of Archibald Campbell of Cawdor, and, therefore, Mr. Donald’s first cousin. Whether she was actually illegitimate or whether some form of marriage between her parents existed is unclear as both parties went on to marry other people – the Earl married the Queen’s half-sister, while Jean married Grant of Glenmoriston. Jean brought with her her marriage portion of the house of Dunachton, which would have suited them well, while Mr. Donald was minister of the nearby church of Dunlichity. But the ownership of the house by Campbells enraged the Mackintoshes who did all they could to force them out, along with their people. Matters had come to a head in 1599 when, after several incidents involving bloodshed, William Mackintosh of Essich, the Chief ’s second son, at the head of 200 ‘broken hielandmen’ all armed to the teeth appeared at the house of Dunachton at 6am. They put the house under siege and several lives were lost before the Campbells agreed to surrender on promise of quarter. Thereupon, the Mackintoshes ‘cruellie durkit and slew’ all those of lesser degree. Mr. Donald’s legitimate half-brother, Colin Campbell of Clunes, brought his

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complaint to the Privy Council. His life was spared but all his possessions were taken off him and he was kept a prisoner for a fortnight, all the while in fear for his life. He was then forced to sign all sorts of injurious agreements. It is probably to this same incident that a written history of the Mackintoshes refers when it says that Mr. Donald and Colin were taken prisoner to the Chief ’s abode at Culloden House where old Mackintosh was so horrified at the effect this would have on Argyll that ‘he took the fact so grievousely and passionately that his sons durst not come into his presence for a long time thereafter’.103 That same year, Mackintosh was bound over to keep the peace to the sum of 20,000 merks – a process which had little effect since, the following year, in 1600, he was fined 5,000 merks which went to Mr. Donald. Finally, the matter was settled by arbitration with Irvine of Drum, Ogilvie of Findlater and Angus Williamson in Termit representing Mackintosh and Fraser of Lovat, Fraser of Strichen and Mr. John Campbell, Commissary of Inverness, acting for Mr. Donald. An agreement was eventually struck by which Jean Campbell and her husband dropped their claim for the lands that had formed her jointure in return for payment of the sum of 10,000 merks. An old manuscript history of the Campbells of Cawdor in the Argyll archives tells the tale thus. Having come to demand his wife’s jointure ‘in a peaceful legal manner’, Mackintosh first apprehended Mr. Donald and held him prisoner at Dunachton, before killing ten or twelve of his men. Mr. Donald escaped, went to Edinburgh and raised letters of Fire and Sword against his persecutor and his clan and then invaded Mackintosh’s territory with a strong body of men from Argyll. He took the old man prisoner and made him sell Culloden, where he lived, to pay off the jointure at so many years’ purchase. Finally, in return for Mackintosh having killed his men, he hanged the same number of Mackintosh’s tenants, fixing their heads on stakes as decoration round his garden at Dunachton!104 For some time previously, Mr. Donald had held the lucrative post of Dean of Lismore and also had received a grant of the lands of Barbreck-Lochawe near today’s Kilchrenan. Here, he held autocratic sway and, on one occasion, according to local story, hanged seven tinkers who had trespassed on his lands. From now on, he appears in our story as one of the most loyal, close servants of the Campbell Chief of the day.105 In February 1607, the Earl made an agreement with Campbell of Cawdor who had had the demission of the Abbacy of Iona granted to him by his kinsman Alexander Campbell, the Prior of Ardchattan, and who intended, at the first opportunity of a parliament, to purchase the erection of the Abbacy into a temporal Lordship. Argyll was to help him achieve this and, in return,

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Sir John agreed to set the whole Abbacy, or part of it as agreed by various lawyers, at his Chief ’s disposal.106 In March, the Countess of Argyll produced a son and heir, named Archibald like his father. Sadly she survived the birth for only a few weeks and the 7th Earl was left both a new father and a widower. On 30 May, he received the actual charter for the lands of Kintyre that were formerly possessed by Angus MacDonald. These lands were described as: having been possessed for a long time by rude and barbarous people destitute of all fear of God and respect for their princes and who were so cruel that they did not only ruin themselves by their own private feuds and animosities but were likewise so inhumane that no stranger could travel among them without the most imminent dangers of their lives.107 The rent was considerable, a great part of it to be paid in kind but with a sizeable reduction in return for his services against the Clan Gregor.108 The Earl’s finances continued to be a problem although the grant of Kintyre must have been a help. During the year of the grant, the Comptroller received the Royal command that the Earl should be excused the payment of rent of sufficient land as to produce for him twenty chalders of meal and that he should be paid 20,000 merks by Martinmas, in recognition of his services against the Clan Gregor. For these lands, the Earl should only pay blencheferme – a symbolic penny.109 A further deal was carried out with Ardkinglas’s brother-in-law, Sir John Hamilton of Lettrick, from whom Argyll had borrowed £5,000, with a penalty of a thousand merks should he fail to repay by Whitsunday 1608. Sir John offered to forego this if the Earl would formally renounce any civil or criminal action against Ardkinglas for being an accessory to the murder of Cawdor, with the same agreement applying to Sir John Campbell of Cawdor and ‘his brother german and brother natural’ – who presumably were Colin Campbell of Clunes and Mr. Donald Campbell of Barbreck-Lochawe.110 The remnants of this quarrel were to persist, however, and, in May 1608, the Earl received a receipt from Ardkinglas for half the sum of £10,000. This was to be paid to him under a decree, of 31 December 1597, for spoliation of his goods and gear in his houses at Ardkinglas and Rosneath at various times, during which his tenants’ estates were also devastated and for which Argyll and MacNaughton of Dunderave were held responsible.111 But, at any rate, on 6 November 1607, the Earl was able to give a Commission to his servitor, Mr. James Kirk, to pay off his creditors. A few days later, he made provision for his daughters – the

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Lady Annabel was to have the baronies of Skipness and Kellislate and Lady Jean the baronies of Ardscotnish, Glenaray and the lands of Glenshira.112 The Earl already seems to have been spending more and more time south of the Border. There was still trouble in the Isles and, in July, he received a fresh remit as Commissioner and Justiciar for the South Isles, giving him the power to call out the inhabitants of the shires of Argyll and Tarbert. In effect, this only meant mainland Argyll since the remainder was occupied by the people he was to proceed against. Angus MacDonald refused to hand over the castle of Dunnyveg and Argyll did not have the forces to take it. Carrick and Galloway were in a state of fear and their men were needed to guard their own shores.113 At same time, Huntly was given a Commission over the North Isles, except Skye and Lewis. He was to be given these islands on condition he extirpated the present inhabitants within the year.114 The Protestant members of the Privy Council mounted a successful campaign to have him confined to within eighteen miles of Elgin and to be heavily sermonised at by ministers of the Kirk. The massacre, therefore, never took place but, had it done so, it would have far surpassed the later Massacre of Glencoe as an example of stateinspired genocide and one beside which Glencoe would have been dwarfed into oblivion.115 In August 1607, Argyll received a Commission as Lieutenant and Justiciar within all the Isles, except for Uist, Eigg, Canna, Rum, Skye and Lewis.116 It does not seem to have produced any result since, by November of that year, the Earl of Dunfermline was writing to the King in London complaining of lack of progress in the campaign against the Clan Gregor, which was partly due to the late season of the year and partly to Argyll’s absence.117 Meanwhile, Sir James MacDonald, increasingly desperate at the turn of events, had made another attempt to escape from Edinburgh Castle, this time with Lord Maxwell who actually succeeded in getting away. Sir James, however, fell and broke his ankle. He was captured and reinstalled in his former prison.118 The following year, in 1608, he was eventually bought to trial. The burning of Askomel was one of the charges. This was an event in which, at his instigation so the charge claimed, burning brushwood had been piled up against the door to prevent his parents’ escape so that they would be burnt alive. But the trial was postponed until May 1609.119 In March 1608, the militia was called out from Argyll, Tarbert, Renfrew, Ayr and Galloway. They were ordered to be in Islay on 1 June, where they were to be met by an additional detachment of troops from Ireland. Command was to be split between the Lieutenants in the North and the South.

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Andrew, Lord Stewart of Ochiltree, and Andrew Knox, Bishop of the Isles, were commanded to meet Angus MacDonald and Hector Maclean of Duart and to receive offers of submission from them. A month later, Sir James Hay of Beauly was also appointed as a Commissioner. The following statutes were to apply: 1. Security for royal rents. 2. Obedience to the laws by all Chiefs and followers. 3. Handover by Chiefs of all places of defence, strongholds and crannogs which were to be placed at the King’s disposal. 4. Renunciation of all jurisdictions and submission to officers appointed by the crown. 5. Acceptance of lands and possessions as appointed by the king. 6. Destruction of all lymphads, galleys and birlinns apart from those required for transporting the King’s rents to the mainland. 7. Chiefs and those of their kinsmen who could afford it to send children to school as directed by Privy Council. 8. Abstention from use of two handed swords, guns and bows and use of single-handed swords and targes only. Angus MacDonald was ordered to hand over Dunnyveg to the King’s appointee within twenty-four hours of his arrival. The date of the muster was put back to 1 July to accommodate the addition of militias from other lowland counties. Expedition preparations were pursued with vigour and ships fitted out with provisions by the Burghs. A single Lieutenant was now appointed, Lord Ochiltree, for whose protection 500 soldiers were levied as a personal guard.120 The expedition met off Islay in August where the Scots were joined by an Irish contingent, under Sir William St John, and, later, by an English galley and another ship carrying an artillery train. Faced with this display of military might, Angus MacDonald hastily surrendered Dunnyveg and also the fort on the island in Loch Gorm and, on 17 August, Duart was handed over.121 The chiefs were summoned to meet at Aros. When they did, considerable resistance was displayed to the statute that demanded the destruction of all boats, as this would leave the islanders at a major disadvantage compared to their mainland neighbours. Lord Ochiltree asked for powers to mete out the same fate to boats on the mainland and these were granted in September.122 Angus MacDonald was allowed to return home on promise of good behaviour, while the remainder of the Chiefs were invited on board the Royal Navy ship, HMS Moon, to hear a sermon by the

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Bishop and to have dinner. History had taught them nothing and, having accepted, they were all made prisoner and taken off to be delivered to the King’s mercy. Their number included Hector Maclean and his brother, Lachlan, as well as Macdonald of Sleat, Clanranald and Macleod of Harris.123 King James now had the Isles in his power but, in contrast to his previous year’s plan for total extirpation of the inhabitants to Ireland, where he was planting English and Protestant Scots as settlers, he planned to curb the power of the chiefs by a drastic curtailment of their estates.124 In July, the King made an interesting grant to the Earl that was dependent on the situation in the Isles. This grant consisted of the lands of Locheil, formerly held by Hector Maclaine of Lochbuie, who had subsequently surrendered them into the King’s hands. King James now erected them into a free barony, which he gifted to Argyll.125 On 4 March 1609, the Earl of Argyll accepted an obligation, with Cawdor and his brother Lundy producing guarantee as cautioners, for the building of a burgh within Kintyre within five years, on penalty of repaying to the King all duties and rents remitted to the Earl for carrying out the task, should it not be completed by the due date. The new town was to be inhabited by Lowlanders and trafficking burgesses and to be a good, convenient harbour for ships.126 The introduction of a good, douce, population, who would engage in trade, was seen as an effective way of civilising an unruly area. Elsewhere, the Earl seems to have been removing the former inhabitants to allow the introduction of his own people. He applied this drastic stricture to the island of Luing, previously a Maclean stronghold, during this year and also to his new lands of Locheil, the latter with doubtful success. At the end of July, he moved against his tenants in Kintyre.127 In May, to aid discussions with the captured chiefs and pour encourager les autres, the wretched Sir James MacDonald was brought from prison and submitted to trial at last. He was found guilty of the burning of Askomel and of having attempted to escape. He put up a spirited defence, producing a warrant from King James, approving his conduct in apprehending his father. He also protested that no evidence against him from the Earl of Argyll should be admitted since the Earl was his enemy and the enemy of his clan. He was, however, convicted on the evidence of his parents, which was not delivered in person but in writing that was set down and transmitted through Argyll. Sir James was found guilty and was sentenced to be beheaded as a traitor. Yet again, he was taken back to prison where he was to remain with the prospect of imminent execution hanging over his head for six long, frightening years. The embarrassing existence of the King’s Warrant, it is thought, enabled him to purchase his life, although he was described as ‘a monster of

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barbarity from his youth upwards’.128 Sheriff J. R. N. MacPhail, editor of Highland Papers and no lover of Campbells, however, found it necessary to say that ‘the proceedings were characterised by scandalous irregularities, and he was found guilty by a low country jury, with the unscrupulous Ochiltree as Chancellor, and sentenced to death as a traitor’.129 In summer 1609, new regulations, now well known as the ‘Statutes of Iona’ – the designation is a relatively modern one – were introduced. They extended those of the previous year in more detail and are interesting as indicating the areas of Highland life thought to be a danger to good law and order. The Statutes laid down the following: 1. There was to be proper establishment of clergy, ruined churches were to be re-built and the rules of the reformed Church were to be obeyed. Marriages contracted for a set period of years only were declared illegal. 2. Inns were to be set up at most convenient places. 3 Idlers and hangers-on were to go and no man was to live in the Isles without sufficient income or a trade to support him. Chiefs’ households were to be limited in number and paid for by them and not by their tenantry. 4. All sorners were to be tried as thieves and oppressors. 5. Strong drink was an evil and trading in it was to cease. Anyone found buying liquor was to be liable to a fine of £40. A household was to be allowed to brew its own needs and no more, while gentlemen might buy wines etc. from the Lowlands. 6. Every gentleman or yeoman, having sixty cattle or more, must send their eldest child for education in the Lowlands and to learn English there. 7. There was to be a total ban on firearms. 8. Bards were not to be encouraged but threatened with stocks and banishment. On 24 June, the Earl had his Commission of 1594 ratified and was discharged from all slaughter, mutilation, bloodshed, fire raisings and other crimes committed in its pursuance.130 That same day, he received a Bond from Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy for the post of Keeper of Ben Buie Forest. Another local appointment at the same time was the charter granted under the Great Seal by King James to Fergus MacBeath or Beaton for all his lifetime of the lands of Ballinaby, How and Saligo in Islay, as Principal Physician within the Isles of Scotland.131 And on 17 August 1609, Alexander

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Campbell, Captain of Dunstaffnage, resigned all his lands to his Chief for a regrant in favour of his son Archibald. The charter spells out the responsibilities of the Captain who shall always have six good, armed men, together with a competent doorkeeper and watchman – at least eight persons in all – in time of peace. Should war break out and more be required, the Earl will pay for half. Dunstaffnage is required to find fuel for chambers, kitchen, bakehouse and brewhouse and whatever is needed in the hall on the first night whenever Argyll or his heir should be at the castle. The Captain and his successors are not to marry without the Earl’s consent – permission which is still sought today. Finally, Dunstaffnage and his successors were granted ‘the office called Mairnychty’.132 The exact derivation of this title has long been a puzzle. When, in the 1970s, a great Clan Gathering was held at Inveraray, in the wake of the fire that had devastated the castle, the organisation was placed in the hands of the late Michael Campbell of Dunstaffnage ‘as the Duke’s Marnichty’ – the spelling varied. This implied a clan-wide office but in fact the word does crop up from time to time elsewhere and appears to be much more local in application, suggesting more the steward of castellan of some important stronghold – in the sense of the appointment of Maor-tighe, which also appears and which would seem the same as Major-domo. On 8 July 1609, the Earl of Dunfermline wrote to the King with little to report on the state of the Kingdom apart from that, on the last Council day, ‘the Erle of Erguyle caused present the heades of twa notable malefactours in the hielands whoe had done manye ewill turnis and wrangis yir yeares bygane’. He spares the king their unpleasant, unworthy and ungodly names! 133 They were, of course, MacGregors and the unpleasant but usual Celtic custom of decapitation had been once more resorted to in order to produce proof and claim the price that had been laid on the Clan Gregor. It has even been claimed that corpses were disinterred and similarly treated by the least scrupulous in order to claim the reward. It must have been around this time that Duncan Campbell in Drumcrask in Glenlochy acquired his unsavoury nickname of Donacha nan ceann – ‘Duncan of the Heads’ – from the trade he carried on in these grisly relics. He is said to have met his end while carrying a cargo of MacGregor heads to the authorities in Edinburgh when he fell in with a stranger to whom he incautiously revealed the nature of his horse’s load. The enquirer was, in fact, himself a MacGregor who immediately lashed out at Campbell and laid him on the ground. His whistle brought up three followers who looked into the panniers and, seeing their content, killed Campbell on the spot before taking and burying the heads of their kinsfolk in secrecy.134

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The Earl, meanwhile, was attempting to replace the former displaced tenants of his in Kintyre. On 31 August 1609, he gave a charter of Askomilbeg to John Boyle, younger of Ballochmartin, with the stipulation included that no part of the lands should be sublet to anyone of the names MacDonald, Maclean, MacAlister or MacNeil. Sasine, the actual taking over of the property, did not take place until 1618, an indication that the process of civilising his new lands was not an easy one.135 The following year, on 30 March 1610, he received a Royal grant of the lands of Ardnamurchan, now erected into a barony with its principle messuage at Mingary.136 In June of 1610, the Earl had a pleasanter charter to grant when he gave lands, including Menstrie, Pannells, Duiletter, Glenny, Little Sauling and Bordland, Rosneath and Boquhan, to his intended new spouse. She was Anne, daughter of Sir William Cornwallis of Brome, from whom the Marquess Cornwallis is descended. They were married in London later in the year, on 20 November, at the parish church of Bishopsgate, St Botolph’s. Argyll’s new bride, by whom he was to have a further eight children, was a Roman Catholic.137 The Island chiefs, Maclean of Duart, MacDonald of Sleat, Clanranald and Mackinnon of Strathordill, had appeared that June before the Privy Council, together with Locheil. They promised fervidly to obey the law and live in peace, leaving large sureties for their reappearance in May 1611 and, before they departed, Locheil and Clanranald made up in public. The following month the Bishop of the Isles received the King’s Commission as Steward and Justice of all the Northern and Western Isles (but not Orkney or Shetland) with the homage and service of all the King’s tenants. All previous commissions over the area were revoked – a reflection on Argyll’s continued absence – with the Bishop also being made Constable of Dunnyveg, which was to be handed over by Ochiltree’s garrison on 10 August.138 As a result of these moves, 1611 was a relatively quiet year in the Highlands with Argyll’s chief interest being the prosecution of the campaign against the Clan Gregor, for which, on 29 April, he received a fresh Commission. He was, by now, employing both Locheil and MacDonald of Keppoch against them.139 Various MacGregors were coming in from the cold and changing their names. The Tutor of Glenstrae, Duncan Macewin MacGregor, did so, as did Duncan McRobert MacGregor, who gave a Bond with Colin Campbell of Lundy as his guarantor, promising to live in peace and quitting the name of MacGregor in favour of that of Stewart, which he and his children were to use from then on.140 On 24 May, MacFarlane of MacFarlane was ordered by the Privy Council to hand over his ‘house’ – actually a fortified stronghold on Loch Lomond – to the Earl.141

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On 12 January 1611, the 7th Earl made a significant move when he resigned all the lands and offices of the earldom into the King’s hands for regrant to himself in liferent and to his son, Archibald, in fee.142 1612 was likewise a relatively tranquil year. The Earl was not without his troubles, however. Money was a major problem and, on 1 January, he borrowed 10,000 merks from John Hamilton, Merchant Burgess of Edinburgh, with guarantee or caution being given by the Earl of Lothian, Auchinbreck, Lundy, Cawdor, Lawers, MacDougall of Raray, William Stirling of Achyll and Archibald Campbell of Glencarradale.143 During the same month, he borrowed a further 3,000 merks from Robert Campbell, Captain of Dunoon.144 These borrowings enabled him to pay the first 10,000 merks out of the 30,000 promised to his second daughter, Annabelle, who had married Robert, 2nd Earl of Lothian, the previous year.145 His troubles were by no means over and, on 20 November, he was put to the horn by David Rollok of Power for the sum of 3,000 merks owed him by the Earl.146 That same month, January 1611, the Earl appointed his henchman, Mr. Donald Campbell of Barbreck-Lochawe, as Keeper of Mingary Castle and to garrison it at the Earl’s expense.147 Later, in August, he granted the lands of Locheil to the Cameron Chief who was, henceforth, to hold his lands from the Earl as superior.148 However, the MacGregors continued to be a problem. They were now widely spread across Scotland and it was becoming ever more difficult to proceed against them and, showing pity for their plight, people were, in certain cases, taking them in and ‘resetting’ them. In April, Sir John Campbell of Cawdor, in company with Sir John Gordon of Buckie and George Munro of Tarrell, held a court in Inverness to deal with a long list of those charged with this crime. They included Patrick McEan Roy Grant in Urquhart, Duncan Mackintosh, the brother of Borlum, William MacCondochie vcWilliam in Laggan, Thomas MacKynnich in Auchnahannett, Robert McPatrick in Finlarig, Thomas Bennet in Cromdell, James McTolcheir and several others in Newtown of Abernethy.149 In December, the Earl himself moved against John MacCorquodale for the reset of Duncan MacGregor.150 In May, there was more trouble when the hall and kitchen of Clunes, near Cawdor, belonging to Colin Campbell of Clunes, were burnt by a party made up of several Calders who were aided by Robert Abroch MacGregor. This was on 21 May and, on the twenty-fourth, they returned again and burnt all the houses in the vicinity and slaughtered or houghed thirty cattle belonging to William Campbell of Bracklie. It was something of a family affair and it may be that lingering resentment at the Campbell takeover was still behind it – certainly one of the perpetrators had a Campbell as cautioner.151 There

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was also trouble with Argyll’s own people in the persons of the lairds of Auchinbreck and Barbreck-Craignish. On 23 October 1612, Sir Dougall Campbell of Auchinbreck was summoned before the Privy Council, at the insistence of the inhabitants of Knapdale and Glassary, on the charge of oppression. The following day, the Earl raised a summons of improbation (a claim of proof of forgery or other falsity) against both Auchinbreck and Barbreck against certain parts of their evidence.152 On 2 December, the former was arrested at the house of James Ewat, maltman burgess of Edinburgh, and ordered to appear before the Privy Council on 17 December. The next day, the Earl of Argyll, as Justiciar and Sheriff Principal of the Shires of Tarbert and Argyll and superior of the lands involved, submitted his Complaint. According to the Earl’s Complaint, in spite of the ordinances against it, a great many vagabonds and limmers had been dwelling in the lands belonging to Archibald Campbell of Barbreck, who had, for some years, ‘most heavily soirnit, troublit and opprest’ the Earl’s vassals and poor tenants of his lands of Loch Awe not onlie by comeing thamselfis in companyis to the said Erllis tenentis housis and soirning upoun thame dayis and nichtis so lang as thair is only victuallis furnesing, and provisioun in thair housis, they compell the said Erllis poore tenentis to furneis thame with money, and to tak in hirding and keiping thair horse, swyn, dogis, and uther bestiall, sua that nomberis of the siad Erllis tenentis who wer honnest householderis have been forceit to skailll their housis and ar put to beg thair meate.153 Nor was this all. Barbreck himself had been lifting blackmail from his neighbours, charging them one silver mark for every merkland in a long list of lands of which the Earl was superior. Details were given of his excursions, with his company of sorners, to exact the blackmail and his excesses in taking beasts on a nightly basis. In one instance, at Corribuie, the wretched tenant, Duncan MacKellar, whose wedders were judged not fat enough, had been forced to purchase and pay for others whose weight was judged sufficient for tribute! Rather surprisingly, in spite of this long list of misdemeanours, the Privy Council, having listened to the defence, judged that the Earl had not made his case.154 Then, on 12 December 1612, Angus Macdonald of Dunnyveg, father of Sir James, decided to sell his lands in Islay to his son-in-law, Sir John Campbell of Cawdor. Some warning of this may have come to his son in his prison in Edinburgh Castle for, in July, John Rollock, Commissary of Dunblane, had seen Sir James and they had discussed the exchange of Islay for the northern estates of Cawdor. Islay was firmly and clearly set in Cawdor’s

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sights and Angus was no doubt bowing to the inevitable, while also spiting the son who had tried to kill him not many years before. This acquisition, together with Kintyre, added another major spread of territory to Campbell power. It was, however, a mixed blessing for it was to be many years before anything like the correct rents were to be paid. The existing tenantry were far from well disposed and, in the case of the Cawdor family, the expenses involved in the purchase and running of the estates was to prove a poisoned chalice.155 The deal was finalised on 1 January 1613 when MacDonald of Dunnyveg sold his lands in Islay to Sir John Campbell of Cawdor for 6,000 merks. There was now trouble over the lands of Locheil. In the reign of King James V, the 3rd Earl of Argyll had obtained the lands, which had been purchased by Sir John Campbell of Cawdor from Maclaine of Lochbuie. Little had been done to take advantage of possession of the charters but now the 7th Earl decided to move against Huntly who claimed superiority over the lands of Locheil. Argyll paid Lochbuie a small sum to confirm that he no longer had any claims to the land for which he then obtained a fresh charter of confirmation from the King. He then instituted legal proceedings to evict Locheil. The Cameron Chief was astounded and hastened to Edinburgh to obtain legal advice from his lawyers. There, he met Argyll with whom he agreed to undergo the arbitration of the lawyers from both sides. Their finding was in favour of the Earl. Cameron, therefore, took a grant for his lands of Locheil from the Earl, as vassal of Argyll. Huntly, who held the superiority of the Forest of Mamore and of much of the rest of Lochaber, was duly furious at the inroad of Argyll into his territory. He tried in vain to make Locheil rescind the agreement, the latter promising that his former loyalty to Huntly would be unaffected. This did not satisfy Huntly who attempted to stir up unrest by taking the Cameron lairds of Erracht, Kinlocheil and Glennevis as his direct vassals, by-passing Locheil in the process. He sent his son with an armed party to support them. Locheil arranged a meeting with the three lairds, at which he asked them to revert to the former system. They at first agreed but then required him first to meet with the Marquess of Huntly with whom they would effect a reconciliation. Locheil parted with them on good terms and went to Edinburgh to consult. While there, he learned that his enemies were holding a meeting. He returned home with all speed and summoned the loyal lairds of Callart, Strone and Letterfinlay with their men to come with him. He placed the main body of men in hiding before approaching the meeting with six men and inviting a similar number to treat with him. But the temptation was too

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great and his foes immediately fell on the small party. They, in turn, were attacked by Locheil’s hidden force who killed some twenty and took another eight prisoner. The members of the Privy Council were not amused and Locheil and his adherents were declared rebels. A price was put on their heads and a Commission of Fire and Sword against them was given to Huntly. Although under threat for several years, the influence of the Earl of Argyll protected them.156 Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg was dead and Sir Ranald MacDonald, afterwards first Earl of Antrim who had been granted a lease, now began negotiations with the Privy Council over a possible heritable grant of the King’s lands in Islay. Any progress on this plan was interrupted by a fresh outburst of disorder on the island, where Sir Ranald’s attempt to introduce various Irish Laws and Customs had proved extremely unpopular, and the Privy Council were forced to tell him to desist. Donald Gorm of Sleat, Macleod of Harris, Maclean of Duart and Clanranald all now settled their accounts with the Exchequer and remained obedient to the laws. But another plan, which did not come to fruition this year, was that by which Sir James Campbell of Lawers was to be granted the lands of Morvern. It was feared that the present possessors, the Macleans, would rise in rebellion, in which case, it would be incumbent on Sir James and his Chief, Argyll, to restore order at their own expense, while the lands would revert to the King if they failed. In the event the deal went no further.157 The new Countess of Argyll had produced a son, James, for whom the Earl now made provision. On 5 January 1613, he resigned the lands of Kintyre into the King’s hands for regrant to James and his heirs, reserving the right, however, during his lifetime to redeem the lands for a single golden Rose Noble. The seal on the charter is of some interest. It displays the Earl’s normal arms with the addition of a hand couped in pale fesse-wise holding a cross crosslet patée fitchée in an obvious reference to the lands to which the charter referred.158 Members of the Clan Gregor were continuing to cause trouble. On 26 January 1613, a petition was placed before the Privy Council by Campbell of Glenorchy, Colquhoun of Luss, Campbell of Aberuchill and by the inhabitants of Dumbarton, complaining that the MacGregors, who had committed the killing at Glenfruin, were continuing to band together in armed companies in which they roamed and terrorised the countryside. The Privy Council ordered that any of them found in arms should be condemned to death, the sole exception allowed being a knife without a point with which to eat their food.159 One of the moves adopted was the collection of young MacGregor

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children, ‘the bairns’, to keep them out of trouble. This had been undertaken by Campbell of Lawers who found that, when the time came for their return, he was left, literally, holding the baby. His complaint to the Privy Council resulted in those concerned being fined 20 merks out of each merkland they owned in order to pay for their upkeep. People were continuing to aid the fugitives and there are constant references to fines for those resetting MacGregors. On 10 August 1613, Letters were directed against Donald Gorm, at Argyll’s prompting, for actually bringing some of them into the presence of the Privy Council.160 But when, on 30 November that year, the Earl appeared before the Privy Council, he was able to report that, in the previous June, there had been thirty MacGregor leaders at large but this number was now reduced to twelve who were to be declared outlaw and prosecuted with fire and sword. Apart from this number, there were two more in the hands of the Laird of Grant and one held by the Earl of Enzie, Huntly’s son. Fresh proclamations against resetters were issued, along with charges against the Earl of Perth and Lord Maderty to produce Robert Abroch MacGregor and Gregor Gar M’Phadrick VcConill MacGregor because they had not yet submitted nor found caution. Conditions were laid down for the distribution of the MacGregor ‘bairns’ and their keeping. Among these were the rule that any child under fourteen should be branded on the cheek for the first escape and hanged for the second but, if they were over that age, the first escape would result in hanging. These requirements caused outcry among the lairds to whom they were addressed. Several points were raised – resetters should be responsible for those to whom they gave shelter and the previous cautioners were to be absolved from further responsibility. Death of the cautioner was not the end of his responsibility, which then passed to his heir. They also expressed unease over several of the cautioners and with the Earl of Argyll over his conduct of the campaign. They were satisfied on the first point by the directions given for the renewal of these cautions and, as for the Earl, they were told he was the best option available.161 With his finances under severe strain, on 2 September, Argyll gave a bond to Ardkinglas’s brother Dougall from whom he had borrowed 5,000 merks Scots.162 A further important acquisition came on 20 November with the resignation of the Garvelloch Isles and the fortress of Dunchonnel by Hector Maclean of Duart to Archibald Campbell of Kilmelfort.163 Another change came at the end of the year when, on 9 December 1613, King James issued a charter to Donald MacLachlan of Craigenterive, as the 7th Earl’s vassal, of the lands of Ardchonnel, Culchonnell, Dufferen and Balegpoun on the shores of Loch Awe, all of which had fallen to the King by the forfeiture of

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Duncan MacArthur, Captain of Innischonnell, who had been convicted of theft.164 Quite what was the nature of his crime is unclear but it resulted in the ignominious displacement of the MacArthurs from this post and their replacement by a branch of another local professional family who took over the Captaincy of the former main Campbell fortress.165

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CHAPTER SEVEN

Grim-faced Archie, the Deserter

Archibald, 7th Earl, 1584–1638: 1614–1638 arly in the spring of the next year, 1614, Dunnyveg Castle in Islay, which had been garrisoned by the Bishop of the Isles, was surprised and taken by Ranald Oig, illegitimate half-brother of Sir James MacDonald. News of this reached Sir James’s legitimate brother, Angus, who mobilised the locals in order to retake the castle for the King, before handing over the task to Coll Mac Gillespic MacDonald, alias Colkitto or ‘Left-handed Coll’. After a siege of six days, the latter succeeded in regaining the castle and Ranald Oig escaped by sea. The Bishop suspected that Angus had been behind the original plot. He was now in possession of the castle and had further fortified it.1 Angus later took Ranald Oig prisoner and, in a letter that failed to reach the authorities, offered to hand the castle back. Sir James now made an abject plea to the Privy Council. He detailed the misery and stress under which he was labouring and pleaded for the freedom to live anywhere at all where he might be given the opportunity of serving the King. Since he was under sentence of death, the Privy Council referred to the King in London. As they waited for a reply, the news came that the Bishop of the Isles, attempting to retake the castle, had found Angus Oig fully prepared for a long siege. A search of Sir James’s effects found that, far from encouraging his brother, he had in fact been trying to persuade him to surrender. A letter was also found from Angus to the Privy Council, which had not yet been passed on by Sir James, offering to yield the castle to the Bishop provided his conduct was approved.2 To test his intentions, the Privy Council ordered Angus Oig to give up the castle immediately. In case he did not, the Bishop was given a Commission of Fire and Sword against him, with a proclamation to raise the locals for service if necessary. The MacDonalds continued to hold the castle throughout the month of August 1614 and the Bishop returned to Edinburgh to report. He obtained a pardon for Angus Oig, conditional upon his immediate surrender.

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This was sent to Islay and was answered by an agreement to yield the castle but only to the Bishop in person and with the demand of a letter promising friendship.3 When the Bishop eventually arrived back on the island, his force was woefully weak in numbers. It consisted of fifty soldiers, hired at his own expense, together with twenty of MacAulay of Ardencaple’s men. Donald Gorm MacDonald of Sleat, on his way home from Edinburgh, offered to use his personal influence and other MacDonalds joined him. Things changed with dramatic suddenness on 21 September when Ardencaple and Sleat, who had been sent on ahead, returned to report that the garrison had flatly refused to give up Dunnyveg and his MacDonald allies left him en masse. The Bishop was now in a highly uncomfortable situation. He had only a small force and was surrounded by a growing number of the hostile Clan Donald. The peril of his situation was increased by the capture and destruction of his four boats which left him stranded. In order to extricate himself, he was forced to agree to try and obtain a seven-year lease of the crown lands of Islay for Angus Oig, in place of Sir Ranald MacSorley MacDonald of Antrim who was the current holder.4 He was also to get a charter of the castle of Dunnyveg for Angus Oig and a pardon for all his and his adherents’ crimes. The Bishop was forced to leave his son, Mr. Thomas Knox, and his nephew, John Knox of Ranfurlie, as hostages. The MacDonalds agreed to safeguard the hostages and, if the Bishop did his part, even if he did not secure agreement, they would release the hostages on payment of a ransom. They would also defray the Bishop’s expenses in negotiations, should he be successful. Before he left, the Bishop wrote to the Privy Council to underline his relatives’ dangerous situation in the hands of the ‘pestiferous’ MacDonalds who had treacherously deceived him. He reported that the MacDonalds had built a fort on an island in Loch Gorm, which they had provisioned and fortified. The Bishop wrote that: Angus Oig, their captain, affirms, in the hearing of many witnesses, that he got directions from the Earl of Argyll not to surrender the castle and that he (the Earl) should procure for Angus the whole lands of Isla, and the house of Dunyveg.5 On further examination by the Lord Advocate, it appeared that Angus Oig had been told by Malcolm MacNeill, uncle of MacNeill of Taynish, that he had heard the Earl of Argyll say that ‘he was afraid Angus Oig and his friends would give up the castle and that, if they did so, it would turn to their utter wreck’. MacNeill then asked the Earl if he might tell Angus Oig, to which the

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Earl replied that he had spoken thus in order that his words would be repeated to Angus. One George Graham, later employed to procure the release of the hostages, stated that Angus Oig had declared he would never have meddled with the castle but that ‘he was induced thereto by the Earl of Argyle and that he would justify this with his sword against the Earl’.6 ‘It would hence appear,’ says Gregory, ‘that Argyle, afraid of the Clandonald at last coming to terms with the Government and procuring a new grant of Isla, had, by various artful representations, induced that unfortunate tribe to rush into a new rebellion’.7 This opinion was shared by others at the time. On 21 December 1615, Sir Alexander Hay, Clerk Register, wrote to Mr. John Murray that ‘by many it is thought that if good will did second the duty which they [Argyle and others employed in the Isles] are bound to do, these frequent Island employments would not occur so often’.8 Rather than give in to Angus Oig’s demands, the Privy Council now issued a Commission to Sir John Campbell of Cawdor who agreed to take on the task, provided that artillery and the necessary ammunition for the reduction of Dunnyveg were provided at public expense. The Clan Donald were furious at the intrusion of the Campbells into the affair and the hostages were given a rough time. The Bishop was not in favour of the planned expedition because the resultant trouble and expense would outstrip many years of Islay rents. He said: Neither can I, nor any man who knows the estate of that country [the South Isles] think it either good or profitable to his Majesty, or this realm, to make the name of Campbell greater in the Isles than they are already; nor yet to root out one pestiferous clan, and plant in another little better . . .’ His preferred solution was the plantation of a colony of law-abiding settlers protected by a force from the West of Scotland and North of Ireland.9 Sir James MacDonald, now seeing the situation slipping from his hands, came in with his own offers. He would pay 8,000 merks a year rent for a trial period of seven years – this matched Angus Oig’s suggestion. If the King wished to retain Islay, then he should make the island worth 10,000 merks and transport Sir James and his clan to Ireland, or anywhere else he might wish to appoint, giving them one year’s rent with which to buy lands. Failing all else, he begged the King for a free pardon and he, his brother, his family and his clan would remove, with a letter of recommendation, to the States of Holland and permission to raise men in Scotland for the Dutch service if employed by them.10 Among the guarantors of this offer, he listed his

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brother-in-law, Sir John Campbell of Cawdor, apparently unaware of Cawdor’s involvement in the situation. On 28 January 1614, letters of horning were issued against the 7th Earl by Andrew Creich, merchant burgess of Edinburgh, for 10,000 merks principal and 1,000 merks penalty, should payment not be made within six days.11 It was clearly not a good year for the Earl who, on 7 November, issued an Instrument of Intimation to his daughters, Mary and Elisabeth, requiring them to appear at the tomb of the Earl of Moray at the Kirk of Saint Giles in Edinburgh. There, each of them were to receive a gold Rose Noble or £9 Scots. This was the redemption price for the tochers of Mary’s Baronies of Knapdale and Craignish and Elizabeth’s lands of Luing and Seill.12 Astonishing as it may seem, there was time for other, more peaceable, pursuits in these troubled times. Glenorchy had a warrant from the Earl for a day’s hunting in the Forest of Ben Buie and in the Earl’s other forests, as specified by the warrant which required him to be careful that the deer in the forests were untouched.13 On 14 September, Sir Dougall Campbell of Auchinbreck complained against a long list of people in Glassary of which he and his predecessors had been heritable bailies since past the memory of man. They had been interfering with his rights by cutting down his woods and killing his deer, roe, blackcock and ‘muirhen’ or grouse.14 On 28 September 1614, Lord Binning wrote the following to his brother, Mr. Patrick Hamilton: Brother – The bearer hereof Archibald Campbell [Lawers’ brother, of Glencarradale] having tane earnis trauellis to moue the Laird of Cadell to consent to accept the few of Ila upon condicions far aboue any thing that that ony responsall man of qualitie did euer to my knowledge offer for it, he hes also persuaded Cadell to undertake the recouerie of Dvneveg if be his owine forces and at his privat chairges.15 On 1 October, however, the Privy Council were less sanguine. They reported to the King that they had discussed the reduction of Islay with Cawdor but he had demurred on the grounds that he might be seen by other nobles to be receiving preferential treatment. He was also worried what effect any offensive action might have on the Bishop’s pledges. Having said this, as proof of his devotion, he declared himself happy to undertake the task, if given artillery, two cannoneers and two experts in battering down houses. With them, he would undertake to subdue the rest of the island and would do his best to capture Dunnyveg, which might take some time.16 At the end of October, Cawdor received his Commission of Lieutenancy

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against Angus Oig, Colkitto and the other rebels, having undertaken to be in Islay with a thousand men by 10 November. Two hundred men were to be sent from Ireland, along with six cannon, to help him. Men were only to be raised from the shires of Argyll and Tarbert and the Earl was urged to commence operations as early as possible to try to save expense by completing it before the arrival of these levies. He was also instructed to free the hostages as soon as possible. A free pardon was offered to all MacDonalds who had left Angus Oig within 24 hours of the proclamation. A remission would be offered Angus on the surrender of the castle, release of the hostages and provision of two hostages of equal rank for himself. Thereafter, the wearing or use of pistols or hagbuts by the inhabitants of Islay was to be banned.17 While Cawdor was organising his force, an unlooked-for complication was provided by the Earl of Dunfermline, the Scottish Chancellor, who, on his own initiative and without the knowledge of the Privy Council, sent one George Graham of Erynes, in Ross-shire, to treat with the rebels for the release of the prisoners. Graham secured Angus Oig’s agreement, claiming he had the authority to cause the King’s Lieutenant to desist. He obtained the two hostages and ‘redelivered’ the castle to Angus to hold until he received further orders from the Chancellor. Angus agreed somewhat dubiously and, on asking what he should do if the King’s Lieutenant arrived, Graham replied that he should hold on at all costs. He also advised Angus that he should kill the Royal Herald accompanying the Lieutenant rather than let him approach the castle, even though this would mean the wholesale execution of the garrison if the castle fell. All this was done in the presence of Duncan Campbell of Danna (Angus Oig’s wife was a Campbell of Danna) and Donald and Colin Campbell, his sons.18 On the approach of Cawdor, Graham intercepted the Herald and tried to turn him away. When the summons came, Graham urged Angus Oig to defy it. Colkitto manhandled the Herald and the Campbell Prior of Ardchattan who accompanied him. Graham then departed with the hostages, leaving the islanders to face the Royal Lieutenant’s wrath. His final act was to send a letter to Angus, urging him to hold on at all costs. Quite what caused this ill-starred intervention is unclear – perhaps the Chancellor saw a chance of obtaining Islay for himself. His reputation was, anyway, a high one, given that he had obtained the release of the hostages, while the Campbells – ‘who were already sufficiently obnoxious to the Western Clans’ – were left to sort out the situation.19 Cawdor himself reached the island at the end of November 1614, encamping on two small islets near Dunnyveg. He found no progress had been made in the campaign – his provisions had been diminished and no sign of troops

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from Ireland. At least on the twenty-first of the month he received a Charter, under the Great Seal, of the heritable grant of the lands of Islay and the Rinns.20 But this left much to do. In mid-December, he went back to Duntroon to obtain more supplies and to await the arrival of the Irish reinforcements. Two days later, Sir Oliver Lambert appeared with Archibald Campbell of Glencarradale and four ships including HMS Phoenix. Lambert now summoned him to the castle and Angus Oig replied that he had a warrant, which he would show on demand, allowing him to hold it from the Privy Council and from the Lord Chancellor and that he would complain to the Privy Council if attacked. Sir Oliver was given a copy of the warrant but refused to accept it as valid. He announced that the siege would proceed when Sir John Campbell of Cawdor arrived. In the event, contrary winds held Cawdor back and he did not manage the crossing to Islay until 5 January 1615. Archibald Campbell of Glencarradale, brother of Sir James Campbell of Lawers, was clearly in favour for his services at this time. Appointed Prior of Strathfilllan and Bailie of Kintyre, on 18 October 1614, he received a Licence, superscribed in the King’s own hand, for the control of all making of red and dried herring in the kingdom, from Tweedmouth to the Mull of Galloway, for twenty-one years. This was dependent on his ability to defray all charges upon the inbringing of strangers and other craftsmen, looking after them and on the building of houses and the provision of the wood that was necessary ‘for sik ane greit wark quhilk may spend no litilll tyme and amount to greit chairgis befoir any profitable perfectioun’. Despite this, it was clearly an opportunity for great profit.21 Glencarradale was also appointed Preferrer of Suits to His Majesty from those rebels in the Highlands and Isles who wished to obtain remission but who were prevented from doing so by legal considerations – no doubt another opportunity for the acquisition of wealth.22 He was afterwards knighted.23 On 6 January 1615, Cawdor arrived back in Islay, bringing with him 200 men. The following day, they were joined by a further 140 and, two days later, the artillery was landed and the castle of Dunnyveg invested by an advance party of 160 men, under the command of Glencarradale and Mr. Donald Campbell of Barbreck-Lochawe.24 The next day, the Irish troops landed. The Lieutenant provided them with horses and, the following day, they set off, in progressive stages, to join the siege of Dunnyveg.25 Several of the rebels now came in. They included Angus Oig’s uncle, Ranald MacJames, who, with his son, surrendered the fort on Loch Gorm on 21 January.26 The ships, meanwhile, arrived with all the stores necessary for a long siege. A storm hampered the unloading but this was at last accomplished satisfactorily.

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By 27 January, the artillery battery was ready to open fire. In the early exchanges, one of Lambart’s officers and one of Cawdor’s Highlanders were killed. The garrison attempted a parley but with no successful outcome. Cawdor was worried that they would attempt to escape by sea, under cover of darkness. Mr. Donald and other special gentlemen were ordered to watch the seaward flank. Also with them was Captain Button who spent the night in his longboat.27 The next day, Angus Oig himself came out to talk. He explained that he had been duped by Graham and promised to surrender. On his return to the castle, however, he was persuaded by Colkitto to change his mind. Eventually, after the resumption of cannon fire and after several attempts to gain more favourable terms, Angus Oig and a number of his principle followers did surrender. That night, however, Colkitto made good his escape by boat through the rocky reefs that surround Dunnyveg. His boat leaked and he was forced ashore on Islay. He got away but six of his companions were captured and summarily executed.28 By 3 February, Cawdor was in possession of the castle where he held a justice court. Fourteen of the rebels were found guilty and hanged. Another six, who had been in the fort on Loch Gorm, were also condemned and dealt with. Angus Oig and his lieutenants were spared – for the moment – and held for examination by the Privy Council. The rebels were completely dispersed and Archibald Campbell of Glencarradale roamed the island destroying several popish images. Only one of the locals had obeyed the command to join Cawdor and none of the boats furnished with provisions that had been demanded by the Council had been produced. Because of his seizure of Dunnyveg and his more recent conduct, Angus Oig was brought before the Privy Council. For the first charge he blamed the Earl of Argyll and his evidence on the second brought the spotlight of suspicion on the Chancellor who denied all. Graham was totally discredited.29 During the remainder of February and the months of March, April and May 1615, Colkitto, with other MacDonalds and Malcolm MacRuari MacLeod, ranged the western coasts committing acts of piracy along the shores of Argyll. Although some claim it was during the time of Colkitto’s son, Alasdair MacColla, I think it was most likely at this time that the famous episode of ‘The Piper’s Warning to his Master’ took place. The story seems to be that, during this period, the Campbells of Duntroon laid a trap for Colkitto and his band by leaving the castle open and apparently unoccupied. On the approach of the MacDonalds, however, Colkitto’s piper, who had been captured a few days before, escaped from his prison and struck up a tune from the battlements. The place was clearly garrisoned and, instead of walking into the trap, the now alerted MacDonalds

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laid siege to the castle. The Campbells were not unnaturally furious with the piper who had given the game away. They punished him by cutting off the lower joints of his fingers so he would never be able to play the pipes again. And nor did he for, under these tender ministrations, the poor wretch died. To get rid of the body, the garrison buried it in the only place they could, under the bottom floor of the castle. Thereafter, goes the tale, the piper could be heard on windy nights, walking the battlements and playing his ghostly tune. This was the case until the middle of the nineteenth century when the then Malcolm of Poltalloch’s Factor, Mr. Elder, was given Duntrune as a house for himself and his family. During the course of their move, various alterations were made, one of which involved the lifting of the stone flags that formed the floor of the ground-floor kitchen. Under one of them was duly found a skeleton with its lower finger joints missing. It was taken out and laid to rest some distance from the castle and the piper’s tune was heard no more. I first came across this story as a small boy when I knew the very ancient Miss Elder who claimed, as a young child, to have been there when the stone was lifted. This is the origin of the pibroch, ‘The Piper’s Warning to his Master’, named above, whose theme is also to be heard in the reel, ‘The Sound of the Waves against the Castle of Duntroon’. The pibroch, which is still very much current today, is apparently an oddly constructed tune and there are many who claim that it was composed on the spot by the piper. There is also a belief that it was its irregular construction that would have immediately given warning to someone who was used to the intricacies of Ceol Mor that all was not as it should be. I have even seen claims that words can be made from the notes which give explicit warning and by which Coll would have been instantly alerted. It seems to be de rigueur for all happenings that are commemorated in Highland lore to be wondrously girt about with imaginative elaborations. But none of them are necessary in this case where the mere sound of the pipes would reveal the fact that the castle was occupied and I fear, on this particular point, I think it much more likely that the tune, remarkable as it is, is commemorative of the event rather than immediately contemporary.30 In April 1615, a further Commission was given to eight of the island Chiefs with the support of a Royal Navy ship and pinnace. Sir James MacDonald now at last managed to escape from Edinburgh and made his way to the Western Isles. When accused, later, with being behind the rebellion, he claimed to have been terrified by the belief that Cawdor had obtained a warrant for his execution.31 With the help of Keppoch, Keppoch’s son and Clanranald’s son, he crossed the Forth by boat and made his way into Perthshire.

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Atholl and Locheil were ordered to stop him at all costs and a price of £2,000 was put on his head, dead or alive. He and his companions had several close shaves but managed to evade capture. The rumour was that the fugitives were going to burn Cawdor’s lands of Muckairn on Loch Etive but, in fact, they made their way to the island of Skye.32 Here, Sir James conferred with Donald Gorm of Sleat before crossing to Eigg where Colkitto and his band were awaiting him. He received a rapturous reception, with Colkitto’s men processing round him in a celebratory circle, firing their weapons in the air for a good half hour. Now numbering some 300 and with more joining every day, they set sail for Islay. Many of the new men came from Ardnamurchan, where Donald MacIan MacDonald, the Tutor, had been charged with treason by the 7th Earl, having already refused an order to remove from Mingary Castle, and they now fortified it with men, powder and provisions as a base for Sir James. On 8 June, Robert Wynram, Albany Herald, was ordered to go to Mingary and summon the castle to yield.33 With the Earl of Argyll again absent in England, the Privy Council were at a nonplus. The Earl’s brother, Colin Campbell of Lundy, refused to act without a Commission from him. Cawdor and Auchinbreck were already fully engaged in Argyll’s service. On 20 June, the Privy Council wrote to the King asking him to command Argyll to return home ‘as being the special person of power and friendship in the Highlands’ or to authorise one of his principle kinsmen to act in his place. They reckoned the rebel strength at some 300 men and that they would require 500 troops to deal with them. The troops would have to be transportable by vessels and fully armed and provisioned for forty days. They suggested this force should be made up of the following: Argyll, Duart and Lochbuie were to produce 250; Coll and MacKinnon, 100; Macleod of Harris, fifty; and Donald Gorm and the Tutor of Kintail, twenty-five each.34 Cawdor now offered to hold Dunnyveg and defend Islay at his own expense. At this stage, neither he nor the Privy Council had any idea of Sir James’s whereabouts nor that his arrival in Islay was imminent. They contented themselves with increasing the price on his head to £5,000, with lesser rewards to be paid for his followers. Argyll’s continued absence demanded action. Cawdor and Lundy, received a licence to go to court to consult with Argyll over his debts and their liabilities for him, under penalty of £1,000 each, to return to Scotland on or before 25 July. They were away from the eighth to the twenty-second of June and when they returned, they were still alone. That day, the Privy Council summoned several of the principle leaders of Clan Campbell to appear for consultation as to how to proceed. Lundy,

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Cawdor, Craignish, Auchinbreck, Lawers and his brother, Colin Campbell of Aberuchill, duly turned up. A plan was worked out for the defence of the coastline south from Skye. Auchinbreck, with 200 men, would take responsibility for mid-Argyll, Knapdale and Kintyre. Ardkinglas, with 100 men, was placed in charge of Cowal. Lochnell and Mr. Donald Campbell of BarbreckLochawe would defend Lorne and they would have all of Cawdor’s men who were not engaged in Islay and 150 others from Lorne and Glenorchy. While the Macleans of Duart, Lochbuie and Coll and MacKinnon of MacKinnon, with 200 of their men, were given the task of defending the area from the Point of Ardnamurchan south to Lorne. Further to the north, Huntly’s son, the Earl of Enzie, was told to defend Lochaber with 100 men and MacLeod of Harris, MacDonald of Sleat and Clanranald were made responsible for the safeguarding of their own estates, each having a force of 200 men. All were to be in position by 6 July with sufficient boats for transport and provisions for forty days. The Royal Navy would conduct operations by sea, while the Marquess of Hamilton and the Sheriff of Bute were to keep Arran and Bute clear of rebels and to cooperate with forces in Argyll as and when the situation demanded.35 Sir James had arrived on Colonsay on 18 June. His party killed a number of cattle for food and built a fortified base on an island in the inland Loch an Sgoltaire. Four or five days later, he arrived on Islay, stealthily investing the castle of Dunnyveg, whose Constable, MacDougall of Raray’s brother Archibald, he successfully enticed into an ambush. Twelve of the garrison, including the Constable, were killed but the remainder managed to regain the castle where Sir James and his men established themselves in the outer courtyard. The MacDonald’s now found the water supply, as ever the castle’s weak point, and cut it off. Next day, the remnants of the garrison, seeing no alternative, surrendered. Sir James behaved well. He released Campbell of Ardchattan and his two sons and sent them, with Cawdor’s surviving men, back to the mainland.36 At the beginning of July, Sir James now sent a series of letters to friends and acquaintances in high places, in an attempt to avert the wrath of the authorities. On 1 July 1615, he wrote the following to Lord Binning: ‘My Lord – if his Maiestie be not willing that I sall be his heighnes tennent in Ila, for Goddis cause let his Maiestie hauld it in his awin haund; for that is certane, I will die befoir I sie a Campbell posses it.’37 And, on 3 July, he wrote to the Earl of Crawford, saying ‘I trest in God that all the Campbelles in Scotland, without his Maiesties powar, shall not recouer it [the castle of Dunnyveg] so long as they live.’38 Undated, but clearly from the same period, is his letter to the Bishop of the

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Isles: ‘And now if your lo may get me fauorable conditiounes be his Maiestie ze may assuir zour self I will give yow the Hous, provyding it be in your handis, and nane of the Cambellis to gett it.’39 Sir James now sent Colkitto to Kintyre to raise men from his ancient retainers there, while he himself went to Jura. His total force was now some 400 strong. The Privy Council wrote again to the King, strongly urging him to send back Argyll, particularly since the whole trouble had stemmed from the granting of Kintyre and Islay to the Campbells. They had promised to keep the whole area subjected to law and order with no government involvement, a promise they had failed to carry out.40 Auchinbreck was released from prison where he had been immured, due to his engagements as cautioner for Argyll. Until the arrival of Argyll, who was expected by 6 August, the men of the shires of Argyll and Tarbert were placed under Auchinbreck’s command as Lieutenant. Sir James, realising the limitations of Dunnyveg, turned his attention to the fort on Loch Gorm, which was further strengthened by the building of a turf bawn, and there he awaited the arrival of the Kintyre reinforcements. MacDuffy of Colonsay and Donald Gigach MacIan, the chief man on Jura, joined him here with sixty-four men. Meanwhile, Ardchattan and his son reported to the Privy Council that the people of Argyll and Lorne were refusing to move until the arrival of the Royal Lieutenant. They were already disheartened by rumours that the island chiefs were rising. The Privy Council now issued a Proclamation, calling out the men of Ayr, Renfrew, Dumbarton, Bute and Inverness in addition to those of Argyll and Tarbert. The Marquess of Hamilton and Paul Hamilton, Captain of Arran, were given a commission to keep Clan Donald out of Arran. The King had decided to rely on Argyll to pacify Clan Donald and also to take over the Western Isles. At the end of July, he declared that all forfeitures in Argyll and Kintyre should belong to the Earl who should exercise his task with restraint. No cattle should be taken apart from beasts belonging to people actually in rebellion or helping the rebels. All prisoners were to be tried by jury. Those inhabitants who had fled Islay were instructed to return and the Earl was ordered to proceed in order ‘that civil manners and customs might be established in these Isles, and all their old, barbarous customs utterly abolished’.41 Leaving his illegitimate son, Donald Gorm, in charge of Dunnyveg, Sir James crossed to Kintyre where the castle of Kilkerran had already been captured by a detachment of twenty-four of his men. With him went ‘the speccial men of Islay’, Donald Gigach MacIan from Jura, Keppoch and a body of men from the Outer Isles. From Kilkerran, the fiery cross was sent

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out to summon the locals who were invited to take fresh charters of their lands from Sir James. At the end of July 1615, he moved up the peninsula to Tarbert.42 At first, the number of men who turned out to defend Argyll had only been forty but now Auchinbreck had some 300 men – a force still only able to maintain a defence with difficulty. He wrote to the Chancellor requesting an extension of his Commission until the arrival of Argyll. The men of Argyll and Lorne were still proving very reluctant to come forward. The Privy Council thanked him for his efforts and confirmed that defence was all that was required. Ardkinglas and Lord Lorne were ordered to join him with the men of Cowal and Lorne and Maclean of Duart was ordered to stand by to muster if needed. The rebels were even more badly organised and made no move until the eventual arrival of the Earl in Argyll in September.43 On 3 August 1615, Angus Oig MacDonald and his followers were found guilty of high treason and executed. Argyll eventually arrived in Edinburgh in mid-August, where he consulted with the Privy Council. They allowed him pay for forty troops with their officers (which amounted to £4,800 altogether). They were to muster at Castle Sween on 2 September when their pay would begin. The price of victuals was arranged and agreed. There would be daily reports from the Earl to the Privy Council and vice versa. Two hundred pound of gunpowder were to be furnished immediately. The Lord Deputy of Ireland was to prevent the rebels landing there. The Earl’s Lieutenancy was extended to cover all of the Western Isles and the rest of Scotland if in hot pursuit. All the lieges were charged to assist and to have nothing to do with the rebels.44 By early September 1615, the Earl had arrived with his forces and they assembled at Duntroon. They had ships on both sides of Kintyre. An amnesty was offered to the rebels and spies located the MacDonald camp on the west side of Kintyre opposite the island of Cara where their galleys lay at anchor. The enemy now numbered nearly a thousand men. Argyll’s first action was to detach two companies of the hired troops under MacDougall of Raray and Mr. Donald Campbell of Barbreck-Lochawe, together with Cawdor, Lochnell and MacDougall of MacDougall with their people – a total of between 700 and 800. They were to embark and sail directly to Cara in an attempt to take the MacDonald fleet by night. If this failed, they were to retire to Ardrishaig and there await the Earl who was to march down the east side of Knapdale/Kintyre with the remaining two hired companies, under Captain Boswell and Robert Campbell, Captain of Dunoon, together with Colin Campbell of Kilmichael, Ardkinglas, Lamont of Lamont and MacLachlan of that Ilk – in total, another 800 men. Argyll

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then set off from Duntroon and, that evening, arrived at Tarbert where he joined up with Auchinbreck. Sir James MacDonald, meanwhile, had sent his uncle Ranald with some 400 men to block any move from Tarbert by Auchinbreck. Colkitto with sixty men and three boats were sent from Cara to West Loch Tarbert to reconnoitre. Learning of Argyll’s imminent approach, he departed in a hurry, taking with him Colin Campbell of Kilberry who had fallen into his hands. On his way back to the anchorage, news reached him that Cawdor and his detachment were at Gigha. This seemed so unlikely that Colkitto went to see for himself. He sailed too close, was chased by the Campbells and only escaped with difficulty, having to abandon his boats but holding on to his prisoners. A division of Cawdor’s force now set sail to attack Cara but the Clan Donald galleys were warned by beacons lit by Largie’s folk on Kintyre. Keppoch fled to the Mull of Kintyre where he was pursued by Mr. Donald and Lochnell. He made a narrow escape, losing some of his men and all his boats. Sorley MacJames made a run for Islay and just managed to close the gate of Dunnyveg in Cawdor’s face.45 On the eastern coast of Kintyre, Sir James also made a hurried retreat. Ardkinglas was told to follow up with 400 men and to continue the chase to the very end of Kintyre and, if necessary, on to Islay. While camping on the MacDonalds’ previous base, word came that Sir James had fled to Rathlin Island, off the Ulster coast, so Argyll changed his plan and went with his whole force to Jura where he was shortly after joined by ships of the Royal Navy sent from England. From Rathlin, Sir James reorganised his scattered adherents and, once more, crossed to Islay, setting up his base on the small island of Orsay, near Portnahaven in the Rinns. His example was followed by the Earl of Argyll who landed on the south of the island where he was joined by Cawdor and his troops. Sir James now found himself greatly outnumbered and unable to resist the Royal Lieutenant or to escape in his galleys to the Outer Isles. He, therefore, sent an envoy asking for a four-day truce, at the end of which he would surrender unconditionally. Argyll replied, aware of the possibility that this was merely a ruse to gain time and a favourable wind, accepting with the condition that all forts held by the MacDonalds should be rendered within twenty-four hours. Sir James gave the order to this effect to Colkitto who flatly refused it. Sir James reported, accordingly, to Argyll while Colkitto assured the Earl he was ready to yield. Argyll then sent Cawdor with Captain Boswell and a thousand men in a night-time sea borne expedition to surprise Sir James and take him whether afloat or ashore. The moon was a full one and

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their embarkation was seen by the people on the Oa of Islay to the south who lit signal fires to warn Sir James who, along with Keppoch, Sorley MacJames and other leaders, was able to escape to the island of Inchnadoll off the Irish coast. Before he left, several of his followers, among the principle tenants on Islay, begged him to stay, saying they had risked all for him and they now expected no mercy, preferring to die at his feet. Sir James left them behind him, never to return to the Hebrides again. Duke Niall’s White Pedigree Book contains an interesting entry for 1615: On 22 June 1615 he [Sir Ian Campbell 7th of Ardkinglas who was concerned with the murder of Campbell of Cawdor in 1592 and the attempted assassination of the young Earl and his brother.] was ordered to raise 100 men out of Cowal and galleys etc. etc. and 40 days victual to pursue the rebellious Sir James MacDonald of Dunivaig. The Earl of Argyll went with him with 400 men to Islay and Rathlin. Here the atrocities of Ardkinglas are still recalled and a precipice is to be seen down which he flung the women and children. This he was said to have done in revenge for the burning of the women-weavers at Bachiban by the MacDonalds which was but 1/2 a mile from his own castle. Sir Iain was drowned on his way home from Rathlin off Strone of Glen Siora, his son was saved by McDougal a vassal of his. This event is said to have been the result of the curse pronounced by a spae-wife and it occurred before 21 December 1615. He was buried at Lochgoilhead Church.46 Wallace Clark quotes this and suggests that it may have been Colkitto who had been forced out of his pirate base on Rathlin earlier that year and that he was ‘determined to singe the Earl of Argyll’s beard’. He could have come in, disguised as a merchantman, stormed ashore and burnt the first buildings he came across. The remainder of the rebels took to the hills. The next day, Colkitto surrendered on terms agreed with Argyll who was anxious to bring matters to a conclusion because the season was well on, sickness was rife and provisions dwindling. To curry favour, Colkitto now became an active aid to the Earl against his former friends. He captured Malcolm MacPhee of Colonsay and eighteen others, whom he handed over. Argyll himself caught ten of the principle tenants of Islay who, after summary trial by virtue of his powers as Lieutenant, were summarily executed.47 MacDuffy or MacPhee’s fate was a particularly unlucky one; hounded by Colkitto and his men, he took a last desperate refuge on the tidal islet of Oronsay where he hid himself under the seaweed covering the rocks. The MacDonalds searched in vain and, indeed, had given up their quest and were leaving the island when one of

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them looked back and saw the seabirds circling above and diving on something. A further nine rebels were despatched when Argyll handed over the forts to Cawdor. At the end of October, he himself went to Kintyre where he dealt with the MacDonalds there in the same way. By mid November, he was still in Kintyre but relinquished two out of the three King’s ships, which had been supporting him. Sir James MacDonald, meanwhile, had managed to make his way to Galway with Donald Gorm and one or two others. From there, in spite of efforts to apprehend them by Argyll, who sent some thirty men in two ‘onsets’ to find him and the Lord Deputy, he and his companions escaped to Spain.48 Some of the other MacDonald leaders found refuge in their lands in Antrim, while Keppoch and some of the MacAlisters and MacKays from Kintyre were given refuge in Lochaber. It was not until the middle of December that the hired troops were dismissed after three months in service.49 On the thirteenth of the same month, a charter was given by the Earl to Mr. Donald Campbell of Barbreck-Lochawe and to his heirs-male of the castle of Mingary and the surrounding lands in Ardnamurchan. Mr. Donald was also made hereditary Keeper of the castle.50 On 21 December, the 7th Earl appeared before the Privy Council anxious to dispose of his obligations imposed by his Commission and to get back to England. The Council somewhat churlishly, in view of the satisfactory outcome of the mission, while thanking him for his services, expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the troops had been kept on after the date set for their disbandment and the Earl was forced to pay some £7,000 out of his own pocket. But matters were eventually settled and, by the end of the year or very early in 1616, he was back in England.51 So ended the active career of Sir James MacDonald of Dunnyveg who, for so long, had been a threat to law and order in the West. With his defeat, the area relapsed into a period of relative tranquillity and it was some time before the next major upheaval took place. But, if it was the end of an era on one side, it was so, no less, on the other. The 7th Earl of Argyll, whose affections were now firmly rooted in the South and whose religious loyalties had been transferred, following his wife’s predilections, to the Roman Catholic faith, was shortly to be seen no more in the land of his fathers. His absence left an enormous gap, which, as we will see, was only filled with difficulty, if at all. The year 1615 was a momentous one and any other occurrences during it pale into relative insignificance. There were one or two, however, which deserve mention. On 16 May, Donald McKilchyniche vcDonell VcKyniche, alias MacCallum, only son of the late Gilechyniche VcDonnell in Craigdow and Janet Turnour,

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his widow, discharged Colin Campbell of Strachur for the killing of his father. In October 1613, when afflicted by a heavy fever and thereby bereft of his senses, Strachur, whose attendant was momentarily absent, seized the loaded gun kept in his bedroom and shot the first person to enter. Then, convalescing and bitterly sorry for what had happened, he paid large sums in compensation to his luckless victim’s widow and family who now formally absolved him.52 The same year, on 26 August 1615, Ronald Campbell of Barrichbeyan received the Bond of Manrent, homage and calp of Dougall McMinister, alias McGra and his family, sometime resident in Ireland, as native men and servants to Ronald. From this, it has been claimed on occasion that the Macraes were of Campbell blood, although there is, in fact, nothing in the above Bond to suggest that such is the case.53 In April 1616, Ronald also received a similar Bond from another old family when Donald McIgeall gave him his calp and that of his heirs, Ronald promising to do all that a Chief and master should do to their native men, according to the custom of Argyll.54 In January 1616, Huntly’s son, Lord Gordon, was given a Commission to clear the rebels in Lochaber and the surrounding districts of Argyll and Inverness. A price of 5,000 marks was put on the head of Keppoch and his son, alive or dead.55 In March, with Argyll himself still at the court in London, the Privy Council summoned Lundy to be given orders for the final suppression of the remnants of rebellion. A Commission was prepared in the names of Lundy, Auchinbreck and Ardkinglas but Lundy refused to accept it. He received permission to go to London to confer with his brother. Meanwhile, a new Commission was given to Lord Gordon and to his father.56 Lundy returned from London in July 1616. He still refused the Commission for which action he had given, he claimed, ample reason to both the King and his brother. The latter would soon be in Scotland, anyway. For the moment, the Privy Council were no further forward.57 Not long afterwards, however, the Chiefs of Harris, Clanranald, Duart, Lochbuie, Coll and MacKinnon all appeared before them and were bound by a number of demands for their good behaviour, including conditions for the annual provision of hostages, limitations on the bearing of arms, the consumption of wine, the number of boats in service and the education of their children.58 On 12 December 1616, a voluntary stent or tax of 3s/4d per merkland was agreed by the Bishop of Argyll, Cawdor, Lawers, Ardkinglas, MacDougall of Raray, Otter, Dunderave, Kilberry, Barichbeyan and Mr. Neill Campbell, vicar of Kilmartin, on behalf of the friends of Argyll, for the building of a three- or four-arched bridge over the River Aray in the spates and floods of

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whose tempestuous waters sundry gentlemen had perished at various times and which hindered the parishioners getting to their church at Kilmalieu. Although enthusiastically entered into, this agreement was not followed up and in 1622 Mr. James Kirk, Sheriff Depute of Argyll had all those involved charged with refusing, postponing and deferring their payments, for which they were given six days’ grace before being put to the horn.59 The bridge was eventually built some 100 yards upstream of the present bridge and its foundation piles, usually invisible, were displayed some years ago during a long period of drought which had left the river abnormally low. The Earl’s financial affairs were no better and, on 16 December 1616, he had to redeem the gifts of the baronies of Skipness and Killeslate from his daughter Annabel, Lady Lothian, and of the baronies of Loch Awe, Ardscotnish, Glenaray and Glenshira from his daughter, Jean, for the token single Rose Noble coin specified in the original agreement.60 On 19 January 1617, the Commissioners of His Majesty’s Rents refused him permission, for a further three years, to build a town in Kintyre, although this may have been held up by military as well as by financial reasons.61 In July, the government put a further limitation on the power of the chiefs with the abolition of the calp – the custom by which, on his death, a clansman’s best beast was paid in tribute to his Chief or superior. The custom had become a considerable oppression with some families forced to pay four or five calps on various pretexts.62 The Earl was back in Scotland, for the last time in 1617, for the King’s visit. In September, he finally quitted Inveraray, having gained permission to go to Spa for his health. The Privy Council were most unhappy and complained that his Argyllshire estates had been left without the necessary guardianship.63 Before he went, the Earl had confirmed the financial arrangements which were to pass the most part of his lands over to his son, Lord Lorne, while Kintyre went to his younger son, James, and provision was also made for his wife and other members of the family. A few weeks after his departure, Duncan Stewart, younger of Appin, and John Stewart of Ardsheil, who had failed to pay back to the Earl the £1,000 they owed him, were put to the horn with the regulation three blasts being sounded at the mercat cross of Inveraray.64 It did not take long for the Earl’s departure to have its effect. The Privy Council, sitting on 19 July 1618, having been ‘suirlie informed that some insolent personis of the name of Campbell hes laitlie broken lous and gois athorte the cuntrey in companyis sorning and oppressing his Majesteis guid subjectis in all pairtis quhair they may be maisteris’, sent letters to the leaders of the clan to appear before them on the 19 August to explain to which ‘raice

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and branche’ of Clan Campbell these broken men belonged and to take responsibility for them. Those summoned were Glenorchy, Cawdor, Lawers, Lundy, Auchinbreck and Glenlyon.65 Cawdor had already petitioned the Council at the beginning the year, complaining about the number of lawless and broken men preying upon his lands on Islay and asking for a passport be made necessary for all coming to the island, stating under whose command they were.66 The King was taken aback to find that the Earl had left Scotland without making due provision for the running of his territory. It now appeared that the Earl was not in Spa but had gone to Spain where he was in contact with Keppoch and with his old foe, Sir James MacDonald.67 On 22 October 1618, a letter was sent to King James by various Campbell leaders, thanking him for his love and care of their Chief and of themselves and making Sir George Erskine responsible for the escheat and liferent of the departed Earl ‘for the better contentment of his creditouris and releif of ws that ar cautionaris’. The letter was signed by Lundy, Auchinbreck, Lawers, Colin Campbell of Kilew (sic), Mr. Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan and by Cawdor.68 On 7 November, the King revoked the licence for the Earl of Argyll to go abroad and he was summoned to return within sixty days and appear before the Privy Council.69 The following month, the Council now summoned the leaders of the Clan Campbell in order to organise the good government of the country in the absence of their Chief. The Earl’s brother, Colin of Lundy, was put in overall charge. The area was split up by districts. Campbell of Lochnell was placed in charge of Lorne and North Argyll, with MacDougall of Dunollie, MacDougall of Raray, Stewart of Appin, Dunstaffnage, Mr. Donald Campbell of Barbreck-Lochawe and Campbell of Glenfalloch to aid him. Campbell of Auchinbreck was given Argyll Proper – we would now say Mid-Argyll – with the Campbell lairds of Duntroon, Barbreck-Craignish and Craignish as his aides. And Ardkinglas was given responsibility for Cowal, with Ellangreig and Otter to assist him. Finally, Campbell of Kilberry was placed in charge of Kintyre, including the castle of Kinloch at Campbeltown, with MacDonald of Largie, the MacAlister lairds of Loup and of Tarbert and the MacNeill lairds of Taynish and Carskey to help him in what must have been a difficult task.70 But there was, yet, unfinished internal business within the Clan Campbell to be settled. On 12 January 1619, a Bond was signed among the barons of Argyll. It proclaimed that the barons and gentlemen of the name of Campbell who had been maintaining law and order in the absence of their Chief, considering the unrest and enmity caused by the slaughter of the late Sir John Campbell of Cawdor of which the late Sir John Campbell of Ardkinglas,

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father of the present Sir Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas was held to be art and part – now both had forgiven each other and Cawdor had accepted Ardkinglas in brotherly love, amity and friendship. The document is signed by the two protagonists and by the Campbell lairds of Auchinbreck, Duntroon, Lochnell, Dunstaffnage, Barbreck, Ormidale, Strachur, Barrichbeyan, Otter, Strondour, Kilmichael, Kilbride, and Mr. J. Campbell, as well as by MacDougall of Raray, MacNeill of Taynish and MacAllister of Tarbert.71 The Campbell lairds were, in fact, feeling uneasy as to their own position, given their Chief ’s uncertain standing. On 2 February 1619, as feuars and vassals of Argyll, they sent a letter to the King, asking for confirmation of the lands they held of the Earl. They felt the request a fair one, since Lord Lorne was in fact now the heritable possessor of the lands, with his father only the liferenter.72 Their disquiet was not unjustified. Just two days later came the news that Argyll was actually now in the Spanish Netherlands where he had entered the service of the King of Spain. The news of his apostasy was also now made official.73 With the due date for his appearance having passed on 16 February 1619, to the sound of trumpets, he was declared traitor and rebel by the Heralds of Arms at the Mercat Cross of Edinburgh.74 Popular feeling ran high against him and one Alexander Craig was moved to pen the following lines: Now earl of Guile and lord Forlorn thou goes, Quitting thy prince, to serve his Spanish foes. No faith in plaids, no trust in Highland trews, Camelion-like, they change so many hues.75 From what has already been seen, it is pretty clear that the Earl had planned this move for some time. He was faced by insurmountable financial problems and was lured by the faith he shared with his new wife and by the chance of a fresh start. He had also been soured by years of dealing with a King and government whose attitude was seldom more than ambivalent and, with a clan whose members had done their best to kill him in his youth and had all but succeeded, it is little wonder that he found the temptations offered overseas impossible to resist. For some time now he had been making arrangements to pass on his possessions and responsibilities to his son and heir, Lord Lorne. He performed several notable actions in the Spanish service, being given a command in West Flanders and taking part in the reduction of several places of strength that had previously been in the hands of the States of Holland. He remained abroad until shortly before his death. In 1638, he

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returned quietly to London where he lived for the final few months of his life. So passes from our pages the baleful figure of Gillespic Gruamach – ‘Grim-faced Archie’. He was not an attractive character but full allowance should be made for the nightmare character of his youth and upbringing, that almost incredible saga of betrayal and despair. This is not to excuse him entirely – such episodes as the execution of the MacGregor Chief are beyond pardon – but his background may go some way to explain the ferocity of his character and the determination he displayed to obtain his end by whatever means. His achievements were not few – survival being not the least – and, during his time, his standing was such that he played a part on the international scene. He made several major additions to his family’s territory, the most notable being, of course, Kintyre, and it was during his time, too, that Islay was added to the Campbell dominions. His financial affairs were never less than disastrous and it may well be that, in spite of the torrent of obloquy directed against him, it was only during his final years, when he had managed to discard all the trappings of his former life, that some measure of peace and contentment was vouchsafed him at last. The departure of the Earl of Argyll at least swung favour in the direction of Sir James MacDonald and of Keppoch who, in 1620, were recalled to London. There, Sir James was granted an annual pension of 1,000 merks sterling and Keppoch one of 200 merks. In June 1621, they were both granted remission by the King – Sir James for breaking out of his prison in Edinburgh Castle and Keppoch for helping him do it and both for fireraising at the taking of Dunnyveg and for the killing of Maclean. The Privy Council in Scotland were not entirely happy with this act of royal clemency, complaining that no surety had been taken for their future good behaviour and warning of the consequences if they were permitted to return to the Highlands. In fact, although Keppoch was given six months’ leave to return home in October 1621, it was thought wiser not to extend the same privilege to Sir James who died in London five years later, in 1626.76 Meanwhile, it would appear efforts were made to persuade the errant Argyll to return. On 18 April 1621, the Earl of Morton, who had seen the King’s Licence to Mr. Alexander Colvill by which the friends of the House of Argyll might try to wend the Earl from his wicked ways, now asked permission, having had an ineffective reply to his letter to the Earl, to go and see the Earl and remonstrate with him in person.77 The attempt, if it were ever made, produced no result. With the ending of Sir James MacDonald’s rebellion and with the Earl of Argyll absent abroad, affairs in the Western Highlands and Isles were, for the next few years, relatively quiet. There were plenty of minor brushes with the

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law while all this was going on – on 24 July 1618, Patrick Campbell, natural son of Glenorchy, and his son, Patrick Beg, were among a large number of Glenorchy’s men who were had up for the illegal possession of firearms and for shooting wildfowl. Patrick denied the charge but admitted that he had shot deer in order to provide venison for the King at his master’s command. He seems to have got off but his son was fined £10.78 Alexander MacAulay of Ardencaple complained that his people who had been catching salmon at the head of the Gareloch, where he held the fishing rights, and salting it in barrels, had been attacked by a party of armed men under Archibald Campbell, Provost of Kilmun, who assaulted them and stole the salmon.79 In Edinburgh, at the parliament of 1617, which was attended by the King in person and where Argyll carried the crown, an act was passed, authorising the dissolution of the Lordship of Kintyre from the crown and its settlement on Argyll and James, the six- year-old eldest son of his second marriage to Anna Cornwallis. This division of the Argyll estate was not well received by those who saw it as unfair on the son and heir, Lord Lorne, as well as being unfair to the Earl’s creditors. The matter was left alone for some years.80 As far back as 20 February 1614, Duncan Campbell of Lerags had made disposition to Alexander Campbell, the Prior of Ardchattan, concerning his lands of Over and Nether Lerags.81 On 31 July 1616, he took action against Duncan Campbell, alias Garrow, of Auchnagoul and his tenants in Lerags for removal. The Lords of Session found in his favour.82 This Duncan Campbell of Auchnagoul would seem to have been a prosperous Inveraray merchant and a man of business, to whom, it seems safe to assume, Duncan of Lerags was seriously in debt – hence Duncan Garrow’s occupation of Lerags. On 12 December 1618, he was still in Lerags when he took out an action against Duncan Campbell of Lerags for suspension of horning. This petition, however, was disallowed by the Lords.83 This was followed, in March 1619, by Duncan of Lerags bringing a successful action against Duncan Garrow for wrongful occupation of the lands of Over and Nether Lerags and asking for the decree of removal against him to be enforced.84 The Campbells of Ardchattan, whose patience by now must have been wearing very thin, now decided on direct action. In June 1619, Duncan of Lerags, accompanied by Ewin Campbell of Fanans, the Prior’s son-in-law, Alexander Campbell, the Prior of Ardchattan, John Campbell, his eldest legal son and John and John, both natural sons to the Prior (whose predilection for the name John is clear), with Patrick and Niall MacArthur, his servants and others, all fully armed, broke into the house of Lerags, left several of the occupant’s family and servants for dead and broke open eight of Auchnagoul’s chests, whence they removed 50 merks ready money, smashed

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the timberwork of the house and took away or destroyed much stored food.85 That same month, Archibald MacPryor, the Prior of Ardchattan’s second lawful son, together with the two illegitimate Johns already mentioned, had ambushed and wounded Gilchrist M’Chaig and Alaster MacEan Dubh, Auchnagoul’s servants, who were transporting some horse loads of timber from his house to Lochaweside where he was erecting a house.86 This was followed in October 1619 by more violence when John, Archibald and William Campbell, lawful sons of the Prior of Ardchattan, John McAlester VcEane VcDonald in Sonachan, Donald Campbell, his brother, John Campbell Craig and John Campbell Balloch, natural sons of the Prior, Patrick and Niall MacCarter, his servants, Patrick MacCondochie MacArthur in Blarcreen, John MacBreachane in Inveresragan, Duncan Campbell of Lerags, John Campbell nevic Angus, servant to the Prior and Duncan Oig MacCondochy came by night to the house of Lerags, broke in and wounded Duncan Campbell of Auchnagoul in the leg and wounded his wife thrice, once across her stomach and twice in the thigh.87 Auchnagoul took legal action against his attackers but, when the trial was set, he was persuaded by them to delay it, on promise of no further harm coming to him, until such time as the Earl of Morton could visit Argyll in person. The Ardchattan boys were clearly a wild lot. On 15 November 1619, the Prior of Ardchattan had brought an action against Hew MacDougall of Creaganiche for non-payment of twelve bolls of meal, the annual teinds and duties of the church of Kilbrandon.88 On 18 December, the two illegitimate Johns were charged, in return, by Hew MacDougall over the spoliation of some horses from his lands and woods of Sellachan. For this they were ordered to make restitution.89 On 17 July 1621, Duncan Campbell of Lerags, ‘finding himself weak of nature’ issued an interdiction to his friends, Mr. William Campbell of Geddes, Alexander Campbell of Ardchattan and John Campbell, his son.90 An interdiction such as this was a voluntary undertaking, with the full force of the law, not to do anything that might affect the granter’s estate without the consent of the other people named in the deed.91 In spite of their promise, on 3 August 1621, John Campbell, fiar of Ardchattan, and his brothers, Niall MacArthur, Kennacraig, John MacBethan in Inveresragan, Duncan Campbell of Lerags, Sorley MacEwin VcEane in Cadderliebeg and others descended once more on the luckless Duncan Campbell – this time at Auchnagoul to the south of Inveraray, whence they removed 120 cattle, twenty-four calves, sixty two-year-old and thirty oneyear-old cattle, thirty horses and all the butter, cheese and general goods belonging to Duncan and his tenants that they could lay their hands on. But

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even this was not the end of the story and, a fortnight later, it was Archibald Campbell, son of the Prior, who came to the house of Lerags and ravaged it, also wounding Anna Campbell. At the end of the month, possibly helped by Ardchattan, Duncan Campbell of Lerags settled all his debts with Duncan Campbell of Auchnagoul. If this was intended to release him from the latter’s grasp, it did not last long for, the following day, 29 August, he gave Auchnagoull a bond for 400 merks.92 By March the following year, he had resumed trading and there is a record, on 26 March 1622, of a further bond by Duncan of Lerags to Auchnagoul of the delivery of some victual.93 Poor Duncan of Lerags, he was clearly easily led astray. On 7 June 1623, he was again taken to court by the Prior and his son and Mr. William who demanded from him and from Auchnagoul all the writs the former had issued after he had submitted the interdiction above in their favour.94 On 19 November 1624, the two Duncans were also again brought to court, this time for breach of inhibition – the prohibition of contracting any debt against the inhibited party’s estate. Clearly, Duncan of Auchnagoul was not letting go. The Lords of Session granted another term for the production of writs,95 before what appears to be the final step, when, on 7 July 1625, Mr. William and Ardchattan and his son, with Duncan of Lerags now on their side, brought their action against Duncan Garrow of Auchnagoul, requiring him to cancel all deeds and bonds granted contrary to the inhibition. The Lords found against Duncan Garrow 96 and, by 1631, Lerags was in the hands of Archibald Campbell, a younger son of the Prior of Ardchattan.97 This somewhat convoluted tale can hardly be said to rank high among the important deeds of the Clan Campbell but it does highlight the atmosphere of the time, when people of the highest rank in society, when thwarted, did not hesitate to take the law into their own hands, often in a savage and uncivilised way. It also shows the beginning of the ceaseless dealing over land and money which was, from now on, to become almost a sport among the Highland gentry who lent, borrowed and squabbled endlessly over what was, in effect, virtually non-existent money which they managed to raise on the somewhat dubious value of their property. The cycle was to become an endless one and it was accompanied, so it would appear, by a magnificent disdain for the reality of financial affairs. Many an ancient house came to eventual ruin when its lands had finally all been pledged in debt by owners whose common usage was merely to request some more money from their man of business whenever they needed it, without questioning its source, until, one day, they were told that there was no more to come and their lands had gone from them for ever. Such a process might seem incredible to

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our modern eyes but I have actually seen it happen to a friend of mine. Needless to say, the legal profession flourished on the natural profligacy of the Highland lairds and Edinburgh, even today, must surely have a greater proportion of lawyers per head of population than any other city in Europe. It was at this time that the Loudoun title passed to another branch of the Campbells. Sir Hugh Campbell of Loudoun, Sheriff of Ayr, had had a successful career, being elected Provost and Member of Parliament for Irvine, before being elected to the Privy Council in 1601. At the same time, he was created Lord Campbell of Loudoun. But, in spite of two marriages, he produced only a single son, George, Master of Loudoun, who, in 1612, died before his father, leaving a couple of daughters behind him. When Sir Hugh died, in December 1622, it was the elder of his two granddaughters, Margaret, who, as Baroness of Loudoun, succeeded him.98 In October 1619, Lord Loudoun wrote to the King, asking to accept his resignation of the lands and title of Loudoun and, his son having been taken from him, to confer it on young Campbell of Lawers who was to marry his granddaughter. He wrote, ‘and so be that meane [if it may please god], I intend to preserue my houss to do your Majestie good seruice.’ 99 Sir John Campbell of Lawers had been born in 1598 and had already been knighted by the time of his marriage. He was descended from John Campbell of Auchreoch who fell with his father, Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy on the fatal field of Flodden in 1513. He now became Lord Loudoun and was later, in 1633, to be advanced to be Earl of Loudoun. The estate and designation of Lawers passed to his younger brother, Sir Mungo, of whom we shall hear more anon. By this marriage, the lands and title of Loudoun remained in Campbell hands and it is claimed that the marriage was an arranged one of convenience and design. For the next few years, there seems to have been somewhat of a lull. The last expedition against the Clan Donald seems to have been effective in damping down the fires which lurked never far below the surface in the Western Isles and, in the absence of the 7th Earl of Argyll, the arrangements that were made to govern the Clan Campbell seem to have worked effectively. The Clan Gregor, as ever, were a cause of trouble and a new generation of young bloods were now bringing further notoriety to the name. Sometime in 1621, Alastair MacPatrick MacGregor and his accomplice, John MacDonald Glas, had been taken by Alexander Campbell, the Prior of Ardchattan, his son John and his servants. The Privy Council gave elaborate instructions for the carriage of the prisoners to the care of Sir Dougall Campbell of Auchinbreck who would pass them to the Provost of Dumbarton. The Provost would then pass them down the chain of his colleagues in Glasgow

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and Linlithgow until they arrived, under guard, in Edinburgh for the administration of justice. In the event, only Alastair got that far. He was then tried and summarily executed. His companion had been killed resisting arrest and the Privy Council duly exonerated Ardchattan’s son and his servants, who were responsible for this, and they were thanked for their good services. As well as sorning and oppression, the entry mentions that the two MacGregors were guilty of forcing and deflowering women – there were scores to settle nearer home than Edinburgh.100 On 29 August 1621, the Privy Council, in session, declared that renewed action must be taken against the MacGregors. The Earls of Perth, Tullibardine and the Lairds of Glenorchy and Lawers, along with Menzies of Weem, were all ordered to check their people, while anyone setting lands to MacGregors would be held accountable for them. The leaders Robert Abroch and Patrick Aldoch were identified as the ringleaders and a reward offered for their heads. As regards lesser members of this unfortunate race, the edict pronounced against those who had been at Glenfruin, that they should go unarmed apart from a pointless knife with which to cut their meat, was now extended to cover all of the Clan and all men’s hands were to be set against them.101 The MacGregor plight did attract sympathy and resetting or helping members of the clan was a prevalent misdemeanour. In September 1621, Campbell of Duntroon was required to pay a fine of 3,000 merks and, on 21 October, Archibald Campbell of Inverawe gave a bond for £1,000 owed by Archibald M’Lauchlan Ochallum VcDoniche for the same reason. Duncan O’Conachar Leitch in Ardchonnel, a member of the medical family, was also fined, as were a considerable list of others across the central Highlands. But the pages of the Register of the Privy Council continue to record the outrages carried out by the so-called ‘Children of the Mist’ whose outrages continued, in spite of the efforts made to bring them to order. The MacGregors were not alone in their crimes. In April 1622, Robert MacPhatrick Campbell, brother of Patrick Campbell in Kenderoche and Malcolm MacColl were killed at Duchally on Lochaweside by a party – which included ‘the Five Men of Balquhidder’ – of Stewarts, under James Stewart, Steward depute of Menteith.102 But now there arrived on the scene one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all, of the Campbell Chiefs. Lord Lorne had been born in 1607 and, on 15 January 1622, he arrived to matriculate at St Leonard’s College, St Andrews, where he was to remain as a student for three years. During his time at the university, his most notable achievement would seem to have been the winning of the archery medal there, in 1623.103 In 1621, having attained the age of 14, he passed from the care of his guardians in to the hands of curators. A year

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later, in March 1622, these guardians are listed as the following: the Earl of Mar, Lord High Treasurer; the Earl of Morton; the Earl of Moray; Lord Enzie, the Earl Marshal; the Earl of Lothian; Campbell of Lawers; Campbell of Lundy; the Master of Loudoun; Campbell of Glenorchy; Campbell of Cawdor; Campbell of Auchinbreck; Campbell of Ardkinglas; and Campbell of Lochnell.104 In 1624, Sir John Campbell of Cawdor was visited at Muckairn by two Franciscan Brothers. Learning that Cawdor was a lover of poetry, one of them presented himself as a poet, writing a praise poem to Cawdor in Gaelic with which Cawdor was much taken. In this guise and with the accompaniment of a singer and harper, he became a close confidant of Sir John and succeeded in persuading him to follow his Chief and adopt the Roman Catholic faith.105 The following year, 1625, saw the last serious outbreak in the Highlands during the reign of King James VI, with the revolt of another branch of Clan Donald – the Clan Ian of Ardnamurchan.106 It was the 4th Earl who had gained the superiority of that territory which had been resigned to him by Mariota, daughter and heiress of John MacIan of Ardnamurchan, when she married Robert Robertson of Struan. Her husband had agreed to the new arrangement. In fact, rather than the lands being transferred to a new line of Clan Donnachie owners, the male heirs of Clan Ian continued to be in place and, in 1602, it was John MacAllaster vic Ian of Ardnamurchan who confirmed the former agreement, producing his charters for the 7th Earl of Argyll who duly regranted Ardnamurchan to MacIan as his vassal for an annual rent of a single, symbolic mark. In 1605, when all proprietors were required to produce their charters, MacIan was unable to do so. Had the regrant been fully formalised? Alexander MacIan died in 1611 and, the following year, as already mentioned, the 7th Earl installed Mr. Donald Campbell of Barbeck-Lochawe as Keeper of the Castle of Mingary and as tacksman, or leaseholder, of the lands of Ardnamurchan. This clearly was not to the taste of the MacDonalds and Mr. Donald had enormous trouble in introducing his own people to the area and extracting the rents he was owed. In 1615, he was advanced to the status of full proprietor of Ardnamurchan – for his lifetime. His character was one that brooked no argument and the severity of his actions was such that it led Clanranald, to whom the MacDonalds had turned in the absence of an adult chief, to write to Argyll in protest. This even called forth a rebuke from the Earl’s man of business, William Stirling of Auchyle, who wrote to Mr. Donald that: It is not without reason and some foreknowledge in preventing further inconvenience I have written to you which I am assured ye will consider

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out of your own wisdom. I hope ye will press to win the people with kindness rather nor with extremitie speciallie at the first. His temper can hardly have been improved by the extraordinary action of the Earl who, in 1617, gave a nineteen-year tack or lease of Ardnamurchan to Clanranald, apparently completely ignoring Mr. Donald. This action appears explicable only as a monumental piece of incompetence or a deliberate intention to stir up trouble. It certainly succeeded in the last for, in May 1618, a numerous force of MacIans, under the command of Clanranald, fully armed and ‘with grite pypis blawing afore them’, invaded Mr. Donald’s lands, despoiling his people and besieging him in the castle before, eventually, withdrawing to Moidart with their prisoners and spoil. In April 1619, Mr. Donald’s bitter complaint to the Privy Council resulted in Clanranald and the Clan Ian being denounced as rebels and put to the horn.107 Ignoring the command to surrender themselves, the Privy Council then granted a commission against the MacDonalds to Auchinbreck, Lochnell and Ardkinglas.108 In order to minimise the risk of disorder, setting the West ablaze, the Privy Council persuaded Clanranald and Mr. Donald to accept arbitration over their rival claims when they decided in favour of Mr. Donald as being the proprietor of Ardnamurchan and Sunart. MacIan was left in possession of a part of the lands which the Privy Council decided had not been included in the grant to Mr. Donald and his people were given time to remove their beasts and to take one more crop from the land.109 In 1618, Glenlyon, his son, his nephew and John Campbell, brother of Lawers, were also in trouble, being charged, at the instance of Toiseach of Monzievaird, along with several others, for keeping the peace.110 The Clan Ian now withdrew to the Rough Bounds from where they continued to make life as difficult as they could. In January 1622, the Privy Council gave a Commission against them to Sir Rory MacLeod of Harris, Lochnell, Dunstaffnage, Maclean of Coll and Maclean of Ardnacross. The threat grew as other broken men joined the MacIan ranks, among them the notorious Robert Abroch MacGregor. At the end of February 1622, Mr. Donald put in yet another complaint and, this time, the Privy Council ordered Clanranald to produce a list of the leaders by 10 July.111 This produced little effect and trouble continued with little respite as Mr. Donald and his people struggled against the depredations of the dispossessed MacDonalds. Mr. Donald was not in a strong moral position. In 1623, MacDougall of Dunolly brought a complaint against him to the Privy Council. The previous May, at two o’clock in the morning, at the instigation of Mr. Donald, twenty of his men went to Dunolly, broke into MacDougall’s

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byres and beat up the two servants they found there, nearly suffocating them by stuffing plaids in their mouths to silence them. They then drove off twelve cows with their calves, together with the two captives whom they then abandoned in the middle of nowhere, leaving them ‘in grite danger of thair lyves’, while Mr. Donald kept the cattle. Neither he nor his servants appeared to answer the charges and they, too, were duly denounced rebel. This is the situation that, in 1625, was to lead to the extinction of the Clan Ian. It is difficult to refute the charges that the whole affair was deliberately engineered by Campbell interests. The apparent inability of MacIan to produce his charter, in 1605, after he had been induced to resign his lands to the 7th Earl of Argyll, suggests deliberate procrastination on the part of the latter in producing formal evidence of the promised regrant. The leasing of Ardnamurchan to Clanranald, when it had already been set to Mr. Donald Campbell of Barbreck-Lochawe, can only have been a deliberate attempt to stir up trouble for due exploitation after the 7th Earl had, in fact, quit the scene. Such then was the situation in 1625 when, on 13 April, the Friends of the House of Argyll convened at Inveraray to make arrangements for the safekeeping of Argyll’s country against the Clan Ian of Ardnamurchan. Auchinbreck, as Commissioner for Mid-Argyll and Knapdale, was given the task of setting watches at strategic points along the coast to give warning of sea borne invasion, while Lochnell was required to carry out the same task in the district of Lorne. The inhabitants of Mid-Argyll, Lorne and Cowal were to be given immediate warning to make ready their galleys, boats and birlinns according to their obligations to Argyll’s and the King’s service. To the north, Mr. Donald Campbell of Barbreck-Lochawe undertook to defend the castle of Mingary, until the following 1 January and, thereafter, Lord Lorne would furnish men and provision for its guarding. In April 1625, the Privy Council ordered the Archbishop of Glasgow and Sir William Livingstone of Kilsyth to go to Ayr to organise a ship and pinnace, fully victualled, for service against the Clan Ian of Ardnamurchan. On the twenty-first of the same month, a Commission of Fire and Sword was given against them to Lorne, Cawdor, Auchinbreck, Lochnell and Ardkinglas or any three of them, provided the eighteen-year old Lorne was one. By now, the MacDonalds were out of control and their acts of piracy were striking terror into the whole west coast, from Islay northwards.112 On 4 May, the five Commissioners ordered that the Commission be published at the Mercat Crosses of Inveraray, Tarbert and Inverness. They also decreed that 300 men should be summoned under arms, ‘quha salbe gentilmen and of ye ablest men in the countrie’. They were to be assembled

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at Dunstaffnage, under Lord Lorne, by the last day of May and they should be equipped with one month’s provisions.113 The call-out was quickly effective and, by 15 May, the Commissioners were already making plans to cater for the needs of the troops, levying a stent or tax on the country of half a boll of meal, two stone of cheese and 2 merks money from every merkland in Argyll, Cowal and Lorne. If the expedition lasted for longer than expected, a further stent would be levied.114 In the event, it was not needed. The MacIans were chased from Skye by Sir Rory MacLeod of Dunvegan, whose people they had been plundering, and, hotly pursued, took refuge in the woods of Moidart which belonged to their ally, Clanranald. But Argyll and his forces made contact with the MacLeods and, together, they hunted down the remnants of the MacDonalds, banishing the survivors of those that were not killed. Thereafter, Clan Ian of Ardnamurchan was no more and, in succeeding centuries, scattered individuals emerge the length and breadth of Scotland, claiming descent from their vanished clan. Shortly after the end of the rebellion, the young Lord Lorne went to London to pay his respects to the new King. His stock was high since, although he was only eighteen, he had played a respectable part in the suppression of the Clan Ian. The King had the idea of marrying Lorne to his distant cousin, Lady Elizabeth Stewart, sister of the Duke of Lennox. She, however, had ideas of her own and married her love, Lord Maltravers, whose unfortunate father, the Earl of Arundel, was rewarded with three months in the tower when he broke the news of his son’s marriage to the King.115 Lorne was soon consoled, if indeed he was in need of consolation, by his marriage, four months later on 6 or 7 August 1626, to his cousin, Margaret Douglas, second daughter of William, 2nd Earl of Morton. Aged nineteen himself, his bride was only sixteen years of age. Their first child, Archibald, the future 9th Earl, was born at Dalkeith on 26 February 1629. He was followed by another son, Neil of Ardmaddie, and four daughters – Anne, who was to die unmarried, Jean, the future wife of Robert Kerr, 1st Marquess of Lothian, Mary who was to marry, firstly, George Sinclair, 6th Earl of Caithness, and, secondly, John Campbell, the 1st Earl of Breadalbane, and, finally, Isabella, who was to die young. The year had started less happily, when, on 12 February, the absent 7th Earl had finally received a Royal Charter ratifying his resignation of the lands and Lordship of Kintyre in favour of James, his first son by his second marriage to Anna Cornwallis. Kintyre, being a recent acquisition, was not included in the entail of the Argyll estates and so the Earl was able to make this move, one which was bitterly resented by his eldest son.116 He did not

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get on with his own father and it is clear that, at this time, the young Lord Lorne found great support in his father-in-law, the Earl of Morton, a bond that, sadly, was not to survive the political strains placed upon it in the years ahead. It was in 1625 that King Charles extended his father’s new Order of Knights Baronet to Scotland with the establishment of the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. The possessors of this dignity held what was, in effect, akin to a hereditary knighthood, which would pass to their eldest sons or successors. Based somewhat shakily on the appointment to this rank on the field of battle of knights, who particularly distinguished themselves in earlier times, the Baronetcy was ranked immediately below the Peerage. It gave social cachet and, when instituted in its modern form by James VI, it had been a useful aid in the plantation of Ulster, a grant of land together with the title being exchanged for a large sum of money. The same formula was now to be employed with the Plantation of Nova Scotia being used as the excuse for a significant addition to the depleted royal coffers – with each successful applicant receiving a grant of some 16,000 acres of dense forest in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, Gaspe or Anticosti, in the mouth of the St Lawrence. Each was erected into a free barony, part of the regality of Nova Scotia, granted to Sir William Alexander, later Earl of Stirling, as hereditary Lieutenant General. From 1625 until the death of King Charles I, 122 Baronets of Nova Scotia were appointed. Few, if any, ever went to visit their new domains and the ceremony of taking sasine, normally carried out on the lands concerned, was, on this occasion, carried out, symbolically, on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. The original number of Baronetcies of Nova Scotia to be issued was limited to 150 but, by the time of the King’s death in 1649, 122 had been awarded. Two Campbells were among those elevated in 1625 – the 7th Earl’s brother, Sir Colin Campbell of Lundy, and Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy. In 1627, they were joined by Dougall Campbell of Auchinbreck and Mr. Donald Campbell of Barbreck-Lochawe who, henceforth, went by the style of Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan. That year, Donald MacGillemorie VcPhedran entered an obligation to get himself seized in the 20/–s land of Port Sonochan, with the hereditary office of Ferryman of all Loch Awe. This having been done, he bound himself to infeft Duncan Campbell of Sonachan in the above lands and to give him first refusal should he decide to dispose of the lands in any way. Sonachan later complained that this agreement was being disregarded and that Donald MacPhedran was planning to sell the lands elsewhere, without

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reference to him.117 Bad blood had existed for some time between the two families and, on at least one occasion, they are said to have come to blows, in a sanguinary encounter, over the burn between Upper Sonachan and what was to become the modern Port Sonachan Hotel. This may have been around November the following year, 1628, when Duncan Campbell of Sonachan complained about Donald and various MacPhedrans who were daily and continually molesting him and his tenants as they went about their business.118 On 4 August 1627, Lord Lorne further extended the family’s sphere of influence with a Bond of Manrent from Lachlan MacKinnon of Strathordill, who had lands both in Mull and Skye.119 The Isle of Canna was also added to his holdings at this time, when he received a charter of feu farm of the Island of the Bishop of the Isles, which made him its hereditary owner. This he passed on to Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan as a lifetime tenancy. Sir Donald’s star was very much in the ascendancy at this time. He spent much time in the company of Lord Lorne, on whose charters he is a frequent witness, and he was the recipient of several favours which increased his landholdings in various parts of the area. On 15 December 1627, he signed a contract of wadset with Lachlan Maclean of Coll and his son, John, by which, in return for 3,500 merks, they sold the lands of Drimnin in Morvern to Sir Donald, with warrandice or guarantee provided by the third part of the lands of Quinish in Mull.120 Sir Donald’s most notorious land transaction must also have taken place around this time. He had recently acquired, so the story goes, an attractive new boat, which caught the eye of Stewart of Appin, with whom he was drinking. Duncan Stewart was known by the epithet Baothaire or weak-minded and he was much taken by the boat, for which he offered Sir Donald anything he wanted. More as a joke than anything, Sir Donald suggested Castle Stalker and was astonished when Stewart agreed. The next morning, sober once more, Stewart tried to renege on the deal but Sir Donald held him to it and Castle Stalker passed into Campbell hands. The story is a good one and it exists with variations. Of course, Sir Donald is made out to be the villain, ruthlessly entrapping the guileless Stewart. Be that as it may, the extent of the subsequent grant is much more than the castle alone, which may shed some doubt on the tale, which has lost nothing in the telling. At the end of August 1628, Sir Donald had sasine from Duncan Stewart of Appin, who held his lands from Argyll as superior, of Portcharron, Killandreist and of the dominical lands of Appin that is to say Shuna and Inveresragan etc. with the tower and fortalice of Eileanstalker, the lands of Duror and the lands of Glencoe which included Larach, Bracklet, Pollinaig,

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Innervey, Achnacon, Laikintorie, Acchabrechattan, Kyllisnacoan, Kinlochleven, Camusnamuick, and Strone.121 The Stewarts of Appin, needless to say, were furious at the loss of Castle Stalker and Duncan was nearly deposed as Chief. With one brief interlude, Castle Stalker, thenceforward, belonged to the Campbells of Airds – this being the designation adopted by Sir Donald’s successors until Airds was sold up in the 1850s. It is interesting to note that, in spite of endless references to Stalker as the castle belonging to the Stewarts of Appin, it had actually, by that time, been in Campbell hands for a longer period than in those of the Stewarts. In 1628, at the age of twenty-one, Lord Lorne was sworn of the Privy Council and now conducted his own affairs, although, like his predecessors, he made full use of the counsel of the ‘Friends of Argyll’. That same year, Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan married again, his first wife having died. Like her predecessor, his new wife, Anne Campbell, was an illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Argyll, this time the 7th Earl, and, therefore, the half-sister of Lord Lorne, who paid the sum of 8,000 merks for his sister’s tocher.122 The payment was made in consideration of yat ye former custom of ye payment of ye tochirgood of ye dochters of ye houss of Argyll hes bein in us and custome to be purchassit and peyit by ye assistour and concurrence of ye frends of ye houss with ye supple and goodwill of ye country pepill.123 Sir Donald, in return, gave his future wife a liferent of 1,000 merks a year from his lands in Appin, Duror, Lismore and Gleneuchar, which he now held in addition to Canna and his former property of Barbreck-Lochawe. Lord Lorne now continued the expansion of the territory over which the House of Argyll could exert influence – either in the form of a Bond of Manrent with the owner or the acquisition of the superiority of the lands in question. Most of these deals were perfectly straightforward – either a guarantee of protection and of mutual service or a change in the pattern of landholding by which the participant held his lands, not from the King, as before, but from Lorne. In time of trouble, this meant a much closer source of help than a remote monarchy with bigger things to worry about on one side and, on the other, an increase in rent and, more importantly, an increase in influence and, at least in theory, in strength, since the new tenant was supposed to follow his master with all his following. One arrangement, however, which had more sinister undertones, was that by which, on 4 December 1629, Lachlan Maclean of Coll and his son, John, now consented, in settlement of the large sums of money Lachlan owed, to

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hand over, in repayment, the lands of the third part of Quinish in Mull, the Isle of Rum and the lands of Auchinellan and Drimnin in Morvern, with all the relevant charters, to Lord Lorne. Lachlan admitted that he had stood guarantee as cautioner for the good behaviour of the Clan Ian of Ardnamurchan, who had then broken out into open rebellion, both by sea and by land, and it caused Lorne and his friends great expense to restore order. Lord Lorne, as the Macleans’ superior, would then feu the lands to the Macleans for £24 Scots, every Whitsunday, and for their due service as his vassals. Two weeks later, the Macleans sold the lands of Quinish, which included Torosay and Dervaig, and the lands in Morvern to Sir Donald in blencheferme – a penny if asked for.124 This extraordinary ‘double-booking’ of Ardnamurchan by the 7th Earl takes on a much more dubious aspect. As a result of this action, the Clan Ian was destroyed, the Campbells were confirmed as the rightful proprietors of Ardnamurchan and now had gained a considerable amount of territory from Maclean of Coll, as well as his formal allegiance. Since the original action took place in the time of Lord Lorne’s father, when he himself was but a youth, he cannot be blamed for the original plot – if plot it was. However, he did carry it through to its extremely fruitful conclusion. The figure involved throughout, who was also a major beneficiary, was, of course, Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan. This enigmatic figure, a trusted confidant of both father and son, was always, it seems, lurking at the right hand of his Chief. On 3 April 1628, Lord Lorne resigned the hereditary office of Justice General of all Scotland to the King, reserving, however, for himself and his successors, the office of Justiciar of Argyll and the Western Isles and wherever else he had lands in Scotland.125 Most moves were expansionary rather than regressive. On 19 May 1629, MacDonald of Largie, an important Clan Donald chieftain with extensive lands in Kintyre, entered into a Bond of Manrent with Lorne, promising to follow and assist him and his heirs.126 In September that year, for the payment of 3,200 merks, Fergus MacBeath – or Beaton – one of the famous medical family, sold the superiority of his lands of Ballinaby, Saligo, How and Arisett in Islay to Lord Lorne who then settled them on Fergus’s son, Ian.127 More land continued to come into Campbell hands or under their superiority. On 5 October 1629, Lorne had the disposition of Oronsay, which he resigned to the King for a regrant in his favour.128 On 17 December, Lachlan Maclean of Coll sold the lands of Auchinellan and Drimmin, in Morvern, and the third of Quinish, in Mull, to Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan for the rent of a penny, when asked for.129 On 23 January 1629, Lorne entered into an agreement with Allan Mac-

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Donald, younger of Morar, acting for himself and his old father, Alexander, who, since their lands of Arisaig, the Isle of Eigg and fourteen merklands on the Isle of Uist had been taken from them by people who had no right to them, now resigned these lands to Lorne and gave him their charters. On his part, Lord Lorne bound himself to recover these lands by all lawful means and set them in feu farm (that is, heritable possession) to Allan, in return for a yearly rent of 4 merks per merkland and the services of a fully furnished galley in time of hosting and other lawful occasions, as did the rest of the Argyll vassals.130 In June 1630, Lord Lorne purchased the lands of Kilchammig, Gartnagreinach and Muchtrie in Knapdale, the four merklands of Cour and Sunadale, in Killean at the north end of Kintyre, from Archibald Campbell of Kilmun for 7,500 merks. Later that month, he obtained the disposition of the lands of Kames, in Jura, together with the offices of Bailie, Coroner and Officer there, for the sum of 1,200 merks, from Archibald Campbell of Kilmelfort and Colin his son.131 Later the same year, in August, Lorne obtained the superiority of these lands from his man-of-business, William Stirling of Auchyle. Along with that, he got the Isle of Colonsay, further lands in Jura, the third quarter of Quinish in Mull, the Isle of Rum, Auchinellan and Drimnin in Morvern, Kilchammaig, Gartnagreinach and Muchtrie in Knapdale, Cour and Sunadale, Mulbuie in Scarba, Garvalt, Dunamoltach and Rannochan in Kilcalmonell, Auchatimullan, Balweill, with the manor-place of Woodend and Over and Nether Ballendries in Gleneagles and Auchraig in the barony of Ruskie. All these lands were now erected by Royal Charter into the free barony of Balweill with sasine to be taken at the manor-place of Balweill.132 In December 1631, Allan Maclean of Ardgour came to Lord Lorne. Having been dispossessed of his lands, he had gone to the 7th Earl for help and, for several years, had remained in his household. He now resigned the lands of Ardgour to Lorne, in return for a heritable feu to him and his successors.133 Later that month, Lachlan Maclean of Coll got back the Isle of Rum and the third of Quinish holding. This, however, was on a feu from Lord Lorne.134 During this period, a considerable number of evictions were carried out in order to let Campbell tenants in – often in the face of lengthy resistance and refusal to remove. One such – luckily a peaceable one – was the Decreet of Removal in January 1631 in favour of Mr. Colin Campbell, parson of Craignish and son to Craignish. This happened when Neil MacVicar, Messenger, went to Dunchonnel in the Garvelloch Islands and ejected the sitting tenant Macgilleheanich, his wife, bairns, men and tenants.135

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The following month, February 1631, Lord Lorne received a charter, under the great Seal, of the lands and baronies of Gigha, Locheil, and Ardgour and of the lands of Macrihanish and Inneramblein Kintyre, Ballinaby in Islay, and Kames in Jura – all to be erected into a free barony of Gigha, with the manorplace of Gigha as principal messuage.136 June the twenty-third of 1631 saw the death of Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy – ‘Black Duncan of the Castles’ – died at the age of eighty-one. During his time, the family estates had been greatly extended and, as his by-name implies, he had, as we have seen, built or extended the castle of Finlarig, the Tower of Achalader, Loch Dochart and Barcaldine Castles, together with another great house in Lorne. He had been knighted, made a baronet and had, on various occasions, served in parliament. He was one of the chief, if not the chief, architects of the murder of Cawdor in 1592 and clearly had the young Earl and his brother in his sights at the time. His later relationship with his Chief was somewhat equivocal but he retained the royal favour, not least for the quality of the venison he produced and for the welcome he gave the royal hunter, John Scandoner, who was sent, in 1622, to bring the White Hind of Black Mount, a notable beast, to the King. He was, in spite of all, a famous improver of his lands. He encouraged the growing of trees and planted several impressive avenues around Taymouth. He also introduced fallow deer and rabbits into the country, planting them first upon his island of Inishail in Loch Awe, and he was a serious breeder of horses, so much so, that, in 1609, Prince Henry sent him one of the best stallions in the royal stables. The horse, however, only lived there for two years before being killed, along with forty brood mares, in yet another raid by the MacGregors.137 On 29 August 1631, Lachlan Maclean of Duart now came to Lord Lorne and signed a Bond. Like his predecessors, he had been driven out of various lands belonging to him in Islay, Gigha, Knapdale, Lochaber, Tarbert, Argyll and Inverness. He now bound himself to take legal action to recover them before the time of prescription had elapsed and, if successful, agreed to resign them to Lorne in return for Lorne’s regranting the lands to him. Lachlan was not to treat with any of the present occupiers of any of the lands without Lorne’s consent – if he did so, the penalty was to be the resignation of lands corresponding in value from the rest of his heritage to Lorne.138 Later that next month, on the twenty-third, Lorne had a Royal Charter of Macarioch and other lands in Kintyre which had formerly belonged to John MacDonald, son of Angus MacDonald of Dunnyveg’s natural son, Archibald.139 One family under pressure from Lorne was that of the MacDougall Chief,

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Ian, who was now old and decrepit. Found rebel and put to the horn for certain debts, he had failed to appear to answer before a Justice Court held at Dunstaffnage. Lord Lorne had then set out to find him at Dunolly and, finding him absent, went to Kerrera where he found MacDougall at Gylen. The old man was judged unfit to travel and so his son Alexander bound himself to remove from Gylen and allow Lorne and his men to remain there and keep it until his father was well enough to journey to a ‘public ward house’. Alexander, meanwhile, was given the care and upkeep of Dunolly, which he would render on demand, while Lorne promised to hand back Gylen to him when his father was well enough to move, promising a sum of money as penalty, should he fail to do so.140 This was at the end of October 1631. On 21 August, the following year, 1632, Sir Ian MacDougall, with the consent of his eldest son, Alexander, signed a deed relieving Lord Lorne of all damages he may suffer by setting Sir Ian at liberty and promising to repay all his creditors. Should he fail to do so by 1 January following, he would wadset the lands of Glensellach, Ballimore and Barnabock in Kerrera to Lorne, under reversion, for 16,000 merks.141 Shortly after, this was followed by the resignation by the MacDougalls, father and son, to Lorne of Achinard, in Lismore, and the lands of Sondachan, Caddiltoune, Barinhurich, Degnish and Kilchoan, in Lorne. The reason of this is not stated but it may be in return for Lord Lorne’s ‘services’ in looking after old MacDougall.142 In 1632, Lorne gave Hector MacNeill a charter of the barony of Gigha, and with it the office of Toiseachdeor of all Kintyre.143 Archibald MacDonald of Sanda, during that same year, resigned both his island and mainland possessions into the hands of Lord Lorne for a regrant 144 and John Graham of Bracklie and his son, James, who were in fact MacGregors, were given a Bond of Maintenance. But the even wider extent of Lorne’s territorial ambitions was fully revealed the following year, in 1633, when, on 14 March, a contract was drawn up between him and Captain David Alexander in Anstruther for a voyage to be made in search of an island which, Lord Lorne had been creditably informed, lay beyond the Hebrides but which had not yet been exactly located or planted. This was the legendary Hy-Brasil, the goal of Saint Brendan, supposedly seen by both the 1st and 2nd Earls of Argyll. By 20 April, Captain Alexander undertook to set out from Anstruther in the ship Unitie, fully manned, with an expert skipper, master’s mate and ten sailors, and to sail thence to the Hebrides and the open sea beyond. And, by 1 August, he would produce a comprehensive report on the location, extent and potential of the island. He would be accompanied by Captain William Campbell, as the guide through the Hebrides, and he would be landed on

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return on Canna or some such spot in order to make an immediate report to Lord Lorne. Captain Alexander was to be paid £800 Scots for fitting out his ship and £400 on return for expenses. His reward for a successful mission was to be at Lord Lorne’s discretion.145 But, on this occasion, alas, the expansionary ambitions of the Campbells were to be disappointed. It was in 1633 that King Charles I paid a visit to Scotland and, there, he took a decision that was to have far-reaching results when he approved the production of a new book of Canons for the Church in Scotland and a new Liturgy.146 Lord Lorne continued in favour and, in April the same year, he received a Royal Charter of the Forest of Benmore near today’s Crianlarich.147 On 28 June, an Act of Parliament transferred Ardnamurchan, Sunart, Locheil, Ardgour, Kingairloch, Morvern and the Isles of Canna and Rhum from Inverness to Argyll, appointing Inveraray to be the ordinary place for the administration of Justice.148 The following day, Lorne signed a contract with Clanranald, who resigned Arisaig, Boisdale, Morar, Eigg, North and South Uist and Benbecula to him with a guarantee that they were worth a yearly sum of 2,692 merks. Lorne was to leave the present holders in place and then set the whole to Clanranald in feu for a rent of 322 merks.149 On 4 October, Alexander Menzies of Kinnedie in Dull was given a Bond of Maintenance and, on 31 December, Lord Lorne bought the lands of Saddell in Kintyre from James, Marquess of Hamilton and Earl of Arran, for 50,000 merks – also, thereby, becoming the Captain, Constable and Keeper of Saddell.150 The year 1634 opened with the resignation of the lands and barony of Glenelg by Ian MacLeod of Dunvegan in favour of Lord Lorne, on 6 January. Lorne then infefted MacLeod in them, as his superior. The same day, a Royal Charter to Lorne incorporated the lands of Glenelg into the barony of Lundy. Five days later, another Royal Charter, under the great seal, granted the lands of Lundy to Lorne, following the resignation of his uncle, Sir Colin, and incorporated the lands resigned by Clanranald the previous year into the same barony.151 On 14 January 1634, Lord Lorne was appointed one of the Extraordinary Lords of Session. By convention, the King was empowered to appoint three or four of his leading Counsellors or Lords of Parliament to sit on the Bench in the Court of Session, with the fifteen judges who made up its Ordinary members.152 On 27 March, he summoned to appear a number of proprietors in Appin in Edinburgh. These proprietors, by making deals on their lands without his consent as their superior, had forfeited their rights to ownership. Those summoned included Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan,

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Stewart of Invernahyle, Stewart of Lettershuna, Stewart of Achnacone and MacIan of Glencoe and the lands involved amounted to more than half the total of Appin, Duror and Glencoe. What the settlement was is not recorded but the position of Lorne as their superior was well made.153 In September, Lachlan Maclean of Duart resigned the twenty-five merklands of Aros, with Mulbuie in Scarba, various lands in Jura and the teinds of the parish of Kilcalmonell to Lorne who, once again, regranted them in feu for a rent of 545 merks.154 In November, he made another attempt to evict the sitting tenants on Luing, Torsa and Shuna. The Lords of Session ordered their removal and letters to be served if necessary.155 The same month, the Privy Council gave Lorne a commission to apprehend Gillespic MacDonald for the murder of John Donaldson of Glenairnie in Co. Antrim.156 In January 1635 and again in July, Letters were sent out to Messengers and Sheriffs and the Privy Council charged Malcolm MacNaughton, Bailie of Kintyre, James Steuart, Chamberlain and Hew Campbell, Commissar of Kintyre, not to allow the Earl of Antrim, Lord Dunluce or any of their name to enter the House of Kinlochkilkerran.157 Old Sir Ian MacDougall of Dunolly, having died, his son Alexander was officially recognised as his successor in the lands of the family which now consisted of the twenty-nine merklands of the Isle of Kerrera, the six merkland of Dunolly, the eight merklands of Glensellach, the ten merklands of Gallanach and Colgin, the eight merklands of Ardnahuy, the eight merklands of Duacha, the six merklands of Soroba and the ten merklands of Moleigh less the two merklands of Sondachane, together with the office of Bailie of all the lands of Lorne, which were all held from Lord Lorne representing his father, the Earl of Argyll. Although a substantial property, the lands are nothing compared to the former possessions of the family that were once the most powerful in Argyll and the Isles. That autumn, Lord Lorne paid his father £12,000 at his house in Drury Lane.158 Colonsay was the next target where Lord Lorne had obtained a Decreet of reduction against Coll MacGillespic, otherwise Colkitto, removing all his previous infeftments, rights or securities in Colonsay, Oronsay and Ardnamurchan. This was now followed, in March 1636, by a lifetime tack to Coll of Colonsay in return for which, Coll was to ‘contribute his best help and assistance in all things tending to the honor, profit and advancement of the house of Argyll’.159 That same month, Lorne scored a notable success with the capture of the noted freebooter Patrick MacGregor, known as Gilderoy, together with ten of his band. The Privy Council passed an act approving of Lorne’s services in the matter and all the captives were executed

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in Edinburgh on 26 July.160 Gilderoy was something of a romantic hero and his death produced the famous eponymous ballad: Gilderoy was a bonnie boy, Had roses till his shoone; His stockings were o’ silken soy, Wi’ garters hanging doune. That autumn, Maclean of Coll sold the lands of Auchinellan and Drimnin in Morvern outright to Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan, with the lands of one third of Quinish as guarantee. That same month of October 1636, Lorne paid MacIan of Glencoe 9,300 merks for the superiority of Glencoe,161 while Stewart of Appin sold him the superiority of the lands of Appin, along with the castle of Eilean Stalker, all the lands in Duror, Glencoe and Killandreist, except for Shuna, belonging to Appin and Blarnaloy, and lands of Coull and Sallachin.162 Finally, at the end of the year, Lorne came to a final agreement with his brother over the lands of Kintyre taking them over in a swap for the barony of Lundy, inherited from his uncle, which now included Eigg, Arisaig and Glenelg. On 12 December 1636, Lorne received a charter, under the Great Seal, of the newly erected Lordship and Barony of Kintyre, listing his rights therein as ‘pit and gallows, sock, sack, toll, thame, wrack, wair, venison, infang and outfang theiff ’. Dunaverty was to be the principal and sufficient messuage for the whole.163 James now disappears from our story. He is supposed to have spent the next few years as a soldier in France, gaining considerable renown in the French Army. He was created Earl of Irvine and Lord Lundy on 28 March 1642. At the same time, he was given leave by the King to raise a regiment 4,500 strong for the French service. The Regiment des Gardes Éscossais, as it was known, saw much service under Lord Irvine’s successor, Lord Teviot, before being incorporated in the famous Regiment de Douglas. He himself was back in this country in 1644 and died in London of an apoplectic fit around early 1646.164 In 1637, Lorne had a new charter of the lands that had previously belonged to Sir Lachlan Maclean of Duart. They included Aros, Brolas, Scarba and lands in Jura which were now erected into the barony of Aros.165 He had twelve merklands in Morvern that were resigned to him by Murdoch Maclean of Lochbuie later the same year. A memo among the Kintyre rentals records that: ‘In this year Malcome McNachtane entered upon his guid and loveabill service as the Chamberlain of Kintyre to the Lord Marquis of Argyll.’166 Coal was now coming into the picture in southern Kintyre and had already featured in two of the tacks there. Lord Lorne now entered into a deal

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with Alexander Osbourne, in Ramwilling in Ireland, by which the latter was given leave to set up four saltpans and houses anywhere he wished on the Kintyre estate with a ten-year tack for salt and the extraction of coal, with the instruction that the ‘coal is to be properly worked, leaving stoups and pillars etc’.167

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CHAPTER EIGHT

For Covenant and the True Religion

Archibald, 8th Earl and 1st Marquess of Argyll, 1638–1661: 1638–1645 here is a strong strand in the make-up of the Scottish nation which might be described by that good old Scots word ‘thrawn’ – a particularly marked form of bloody-mindedness which manifests itself when people sense their feelings are insufficiently taken into account and they are being patronised – particularly from south of the Border. A distant monarchy is, to this day, not unfamiliar with the phenomenon and King Charles’s determination after his Scottish coronation to introduce a new Book of Canon Law to regulate the Church and a new Liturgy or Form of Worship for all provoked it in extreme form, in a quarrel which, building on a general feeling of resentment against England over taxation and a dismissive throne, resulted in riots and near rebellion. On 28 February 1638, a Bond or National Covenant was set up to preserve the existing Protestant religion, while safeguarding the King’s person and authority. It was signed with enormous popular enthusiasm in Edinburgh and copies were forthwith despatched for signing the length and breadth of the country.1 Mr. In April 1638, Lorne visited London at the King’s invitation. His position was not eased by the knowledge that his father, back in London and still alive, was a staunch Roman Catholic and violently opposed to his son’s religious views. King Charles very soon realised that his idea of appointing Lorne as his Commissioner in Scotland would have to be abandoned but he ignored his father’s suggestion that Lorne, who had told the King in no uncertain terms of the Scottish grievances, should be arrested ‘or else he would wind him a pirn’. Lorne left safely and returned to Scotland. Meanwhile, Lord Antrim saw his opportunity and pointed out to the King that none of Clan Donald had signed the Covenant. The King assured him that none who had done so would receive any favour and, as for Lorne, ‘when he comes next to court he will do no harm to you thereafter’. The sub-

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sequent discovery of a plan between Antrim and the King for the former to lead an Irish invasion of Argyll with possession of Kintyre as the prize did nothing to endear the Royalist cause to Lorne who now, on the death of his father, succeeded as Mac Cailein Mor.2 There was now to be general arming throughout the kingdom with the muster of Clan Campbell at Inveraray on 2 August leading the way. Plans were drawn up for defence of the shire. Musters were to be held with wappenshaws to establish the number of fencible men and the quantity of arms available. All were to be provided, as soon as possible, with guns, bows, swords and targes. Pikes were to be distributed and fletchers and smiths were to get to work on the production of arrows, while trained soldiers were to be hired in Edinburgh as instructors. The gentlemen of the shire were to make ready their boats and the landward approaches were to be guarded, while a system of beacons was to be set up to warn of invasion from the sea.3 Two commissioners from the shire were appointed and sent to Edinburgh. The first two chosen were Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan and Archibald Campbell of Kilmun. One of their tasks was to obtain the instructors, three ‘experimentit’ soldiers, one for Mid Argyll, one for Lorne and one for Cowal, for drilling and training ‘the gentlemen and others’ within the shire in all points of military discipline. To pay for all this, a contribution of 6s 8d from every merkland was to be levied. Auchinbreck was to collect it from Mid Argyll, Ardkinglas from Cowal and Lochnell from Lorne. The Committee was to be made up of Auchinbreck, Duart, Sir Donald, Ardkinglas, Lamont, Raray, Lochbuie, the Provost of Kilmun, Barbreck and Taynish, with a minimum of any four of them being required at any meeting.4 The calling of the General Assembly, later in 1638, with delegates elected ‘in the teeth of the King’s Commissioner’, was a major landmark in the history of Scotland. More of a revolutionary gathering than a meeting of a Church Council,5 it met in Glasgow Cathedral on 21 November, its members armed with swords and pistols and their supporters thronging the streets of the city. Lord Lorne sat as an Assessor. The meeting was determined on the abolishment of Episcopacy but the King’s Commissioner dissolved the Assembly before it could do so. He achieved his aim on the second day but those congregated determined, by a huge majority, to carry on in his absence. As an Assessor, Argyll was permitted to speak but not to vote. Just before the departure of Lord Hamilton, the King’s Commissioner, he had come forward and, having been granted permission to speak, in a quiet voice, which carried throughout the cathedral to the silent audience, he expressed his support for the legality of the Assembly and its claim to represent the people of the country.6 Thereafter, to their great appreciation, he continued to attend and

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take part in the meetings of the Assembly – the only member of the Privy Council permitted to do so. In this fashion, he assumed the effective leadership of the movement, to the eminent hurt of his relationships both with the King and with the Marquess of Hamilton. However, he was always careful to admonish his hearers that they should, at all times, speak with respect of the King and his authority. In spite of the above clause, the challenge to the King’s authority was clear and events moved inexorably to war with the King and England. Scotland also had its Royalist supporters in the three Marquesses of Hamilton, Douglas and Huntly, who was Argyll’s brother-in-law. Antrim hovered off the west coast, his plans for invasion frustrated by the unwillingness of Wentworth, the English Chief Governor of Ireland, to help. It was at this time that a major problem hit the Campbells of Cawdor when, on 12 August 1638, John, the son and heir of the family, was diagnosed as suffering from acute melancholia, which made him incapable of managing his own affairs. His younger brother, Colin of Arderseier, was appointed the Tutor or Guardian of Cawdor. The certificate was signed first by Duncan O’Conchoir, fissistioner, a member of the O’Conachar medical family, who was backed by the names of the leading members of the Cawdor family, including old Sir Donald of Ardnamurchan who once more – this time in the character of elder statesman – found himself shouldering much responsibility in the management of Cawdor affairs.7 Early in 1639, Scotland was on the way to war. On 1 February, the fencible men were called out. The Covenanters seized Inverness. An abortive rising by Huntly in the north-east, in April, was swiftly brought under control when his forces were disbanded and Huntly himself, although under a safe conduct, was apprehended by the Marquess of Montrose. On 26 March, the Covenanters, in the person of the Provost of the Burgh, took Dumbarton Castle to prevent its being used as a base for an Irish invasion and, at the instance of the Earl of Argyll, MacAulay of Ardencaple was installed as Keeper with a garrison of forty men.8 By now, Argyll had mustered a regiment of some 900 men from Argyll, Perthshire and Dumbarton. The Campbells of Glenorchy had shown themselves very reluctant to sign the Covenant and mutiny was brewing. Argyll, however, threatened heavy punishment to those who refused the pledge and the matter was settled.9 The new regiment had an early success in April, when MacDonald of Sanda, his son and two of Antrim’s agents were caught. At the same time, Auchinbreck was sent to Kintyre with 500 men to complete the building of the long promised fort at Lochhead (now Campbeltown), which he was then to defend. Argyll eventually submitted his accounts for the

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completion of this task, in 1640, for a total of £467 13s 4d.10 As a result of Auchinbreck’s move, Sir James MacDonald of Sleat, with some 300 MacDonalds from Islay and Kintyre, was forced to retreat to Ireland.11 The Earl himself landed on Arran where he forced the inhabitants to sign the Covenant. Meanwhile 500 men, including a proportion of Glenorchy Campbells under Mungo Campbell of Lawers, had reached Aberdeen where Montrose, the Covenanting commander, ordered them quartered at Drum and Pitfodels. His force occupied Aberdeen on 11 April until leaving on the thirteenth. Strict discipline was maintained and, on their leaving, payment of £333 6s 8d was received from the grateful burgh. On 2 May, the King issued an order to Mackintosh of that Ilk ordering him not to obey Argyll and promising to release him from all feudal obligation to the Earl. Instead, he was to obey Huntly or the commander of any force sent from Ireland. In all probability, similar letters were sent to the other neighbouring Chiefs.12 Two days later, on the fourth, Argyll, on the other hand, issued a Commission as having the right to the escheat and liferent of Alexander MacDonald of Largie. He was an important MacDonald chieftain in Kintyre, whose misbehaviour to Sir Duncan Campbell, younger of Auchinbreck, it was stated, was known to the whole country. The Commission also gave Argyll the right to take over all Largie’s lands, goods and gear, including his House of Rhunahaorine (otherwise known as Largie Castle) and there to appoint a deputy Keeper and the necessary number of men at Argyll’s expense.13 This was followed, on 5 June, by the issue of Royal Commissions to Antrim and to MacDonald of Sleat, as the King’s Lieutenants in the Highlands and Islands. For their services, Antrim was to receive Kintyre and MacDonald Canna, Rum, Muck and Strathordill, together with Ardnamurchan and Sunart on the mainland, on the forfeiture of Argyll, Sir Donald Campbell and John Mackinnon. The King also promised MacDonald a ship and arms for 1,000 men.14 Meanwhile, in May, Scotland was threatened by the approach of King Charles with an English army. Their probing incursion across the Border led General Leslie to take up his position on the eminence of Duns Law. With him were the Earl of Argyll and his regiment. They attracted much curiosity and their ‘dress, weapons, and foreign tongue excited as much curious attention among many who visited Duns Law as if they had been Indian warriors from the wilds of North America’. A contemporary account describes them thus: They were all, or most part of them, well-timbered men, tall and active,

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apparelled in blue woollen waistcoats and blue bonnets, a pair of bases of plaid and stockings of the same, and a pair of Pumps [brogues] on their feet, a mantle of plaid cast over the left shoulder and under the right arm, a pocket before for the knapsack, and a pair of dirks on either side the pocket. They are left to their own election (choice) for their weapons. Some carry only a sword and targe, the greater part, bow and arrow, with a quiver to hold about six shafts, made of the mane of a goat or colt, with the hair hanging on, and fastened by some belt or suchlike, so as it appears almost a tail to them. These were about a thousand, and had bagpipes, for the most part for their warlike [musical] instruments. The Lord Buchanan was their leader. Their ensigns had strange devices and strange words, in a language unknown to me, whether their own or not I know not.15 Lord Loudoun was also at Duns Law in command of some 1200 men. His own regiment of foot, raised from Ayrshire, would, no doubt, have had a number of Campbells in it. MacDonald of Sleat now attempted to set up a Royalist confederation and obtained the signatures to a Bond of Loyalty to the King. Those signing included Lamont of Lamont, Sir James Stewart, Sheriff of Bute, Sir Archibald Stewart of Blackhall, Sleat, Clanranald, Seaforth, Dunvegan and Duart. Argyll’s offices were to be divided up, with Seaforth becoming Justice General of the Isles and Sleat the Lieutenant.16 In the event, nothing happened. The invasion from Ulster never took place and the Royalist plans were later given away by Lamont.17 That June, the Campbells in Islay were also mustered. They were 700 strong and were led by Colin Campbell of Arderseier, Tutor of Cawdor. With Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan, Colin went with a detachment to Colonsay where they succeeded in capturing Coll MacGilleasbuig MacDonald, the famous Colkitto or ‘Left-handed Coll’. Sir Donald took him back to the mainland by 25 June. While the expedition was away, Islay had been left under the command of the Tutor’s brother, William. Misadventure befell him when he was lured aboard one of Wentworth’s ships, from Ireland, under the command of Captain Richard Owen. On Colin’s return, he, too, was captured but Owen’s attempts to intercept the boats bringing plunder back from Colonsay failed because they kept close in to the shore, under the covering fire of those on land. Argyll obtained the release of the prisoners in August later that year.18 Sir Donald, meanwhile, was sent back to Islay to take command and guard against the threatened invasion from Ireland. Campbell of Lawers’s Regiment, clad all in red trousers, were also marching south from Aberdeen to join the Scottish army at Duns Law.19 They were

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still on the way when negotiations between the two sides brought hostilities – known as ‘The First Bishops’ War’ – to an end with The Pacification of Berwick on 18 June.20 Intimation of the peace arrived in Aberdeen just in time. The town had once more been taken by the Covenanters in the face of Royalist opposition and was in danger of being sacked when a ship arrived with the news. By 4 July, Argyll had begun to disband his regiment while the garrison at Lochhead (the later Campbeltown) was reduced to 200.21 The MacDonalds still represented a threat in Kintyre. The Earl invited another potential danger to Inveraray in the person of Sir Lachlan Maclean. He had been among those written to by the King and was to be kept captive for over a year in the castles of Carrick and Dunstaffnage.22 That autumn, the islands of Colonsay and Oronsay were granted by the Earl to Colin Campbell of Arderseier.23 And, on 23 December, in reward for his services, Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan was given grants of lands in both Appin and Lismore.24 On 12 June the following year, 1640, Argyll received a Commission from the Estates to pursue the Earl of Atholl, Lord Ogilvie and the MacPhersons, with fire and sword, and to bring them to their ‘bounden duty’ to King and Country.25 He, thereupon, on 18 June, sent out the Fiery Cross through his lands, summoning his barons and vassals to assemble under his banner – the men from Cowal to muster at Inveraray, the men of Glassary, Ardscotnish, Lorne and Lochawe to meet at Clachandysart (Dalmally). On the day, 4,000 men duly turned up at the two venues.26 The impending arrival of the Campbell Chief and his troops caused great alarm in Angus. Montrose, still a Covenanter, was raising troops for the invasion of England and he attempted to diffuse the situation by taking Airlie Castle and then telling Argyll there was now no need for him to proceed further.27 But the opportunity of settling old scores was too good to miss and Argyll and his men proceeded to devastate the Airlie Estates. The story of the ‘Burning o’ the Bonnie Hoose o’ Airlie’ is well known. The Campbells also ravaged Alyth, Lintrathen, Cortachy and Glen Isla, not leaving ‘in all the lands a cock to crow day’. Argyll himself was reported as having taken part in the actual work of demolition, perspiring as he wielded a sledgehammer in his own hands. Dougall Campbell of Inverawe was sent with a detachment to destroy Forter Castle at the head of Glen Isla. His instructions from the Earl have survived: Dowgall, I mynd, God willing, to lift from this the morrow, and therefor ye shall meitt me the morrow at nicht at Stronarnot in Strathardill: and caus bring alonges with you the hail nolt and sheipe that ye have fundine

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perteineing to my lord Ogilbie. As for the horss and mearis that ye have gottine perteineing to him, ye shall not faill to direct thame home to the Stranemoor. I desyre not that they be in our way at all, and to send thame the nearest way home. And albeit that ye shoulde be the langer in followeing me, yeit ye shall not faill to stay and demolishe my lord Ogilbies hous of Forthar. Sie how ye can cast off the irone yeattis and windowis; and tak doun the roof: and if ye find it will be langsome, ye shall fyre it weill, that so it may be destroyed. But you neid not to latt know that ye have directions from me to fyir it; onlie, ye may say that ye have warrand to demoleishe it, and that to mak the work short, ye will fyir it. Iff ye mak any stay for doeing of this, send fordwart the goodis. So referring this to your cair, I rest, your freynd Argyll28 It appears that the House of Airlie met the same fate as, according to Spalding this is what happened: Argyle most cruelly and inhumanly enters the house of Airly, and beats the same to the ground, and right sua he does to Furtour; syne spoiled all within both houses, and such as could not be carried they masterfully brake down and destroyed. Thereafter they fell to his ground, plundered, robbed, and took away from himself, his men, tenants, and servants, their haill goods and gear, cornes, cattle, whatsomever that they could get, and left nothing but bair bounds of sic as they could carry away with them, and what could not be destroyed they despitefully burnt up by fire.29 The devastation was complete and it was three years before the Earl of Airlie was able to pay rent for his lands. The episode was commemorated in song, of which various versions exist: It fell on a day, a bonnie summer day, When the corn was brearin’ fairly, That there fell oot a great dispute Atween Argyll and Airly. Argyll has taken a hunder o’ his men, A hunder men and mairly’ And he’s awa’ by the back o’ Dunkeld To plunder the bonnie house o’ Airly. Needless to say, Argyll is cast in the role of villain. He forces the Lady Airlie to yield the house to him – some versions claim that was not the only

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thing he demanded of her but she was by now aged a mature forty-four and it is generally held that it was her daughter-in-law, Lady Ogilvie, who gave up the castle. The implied charge of rape may be taken as just another example of the demonisation of the Campbells and an embellishment on the basic story as is the following verse: Had my ain Lord been at his hame, As he’s awa’ wi’ Charlie, There’s no’ a Campbell in all Argyll Daur hae trod in the bonnie green o’ Airly. It was, of course, a century afterwards that a later Earl of Airlie was to follow Prince Charles Edward. But it is quite possible that, in spite of her protests, the lady had no alternative but to see the burning of her home: But sen we can haud oot nae mair, My haun I offer fairly, Oh! lead me doon to yonder glen That I may na see the burnin’ o’ Airly. He has taken her by the trembling haun, But he’s no taken her fairly, For he’s led her up to a hie hill tap, Where she saw the burnin’ o’ Airly. Clouds o’ smoke and flames sae hie Soon left the wals but barely, And she’s laid her doon on that hill to dee, When she saw the burnin’ o’ Airly. It is a dramatic story but, in fact, although heavy with child and forced to take refuge with her children in Dundee, Lady Ogilvy was to survive for another quarter century, as did her mother-in-law, Lady Airlie.30 With the Ogilvies sorted out, Argyll and his army now moved into Atholl. The Earl of Atholl, hearing of his approach, sent forty-eight leading gentlemen of the district, Stewarts or Robertsons, to meet him. Argyll received them but then ‘sent them to the tables’ where, under the influence of that Committee, they duly signed the Covenant, a proceeding which scandalised Spalding who protested that ‘this was not fair play’.31 The Earl then came down through Lochaber, plundering and spoiling all that lay in his path,

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including the House of Keppoch which he burnt. Behind him, he left a garrison of two hundred men, under a captain, for the superiority of Lochaber had now passed from Huntly to him and the land was, at least on paper, now Argyll’s. But he also left a legacy of bitter hatred and his captain and garrison were killed off by the locals.32 The campaign was over by the beginning of August 1640 and Argyll disbanded most of his men, retaining some 1,400 with whom he set off east down the line of the Dee. His forceful enlistment of the gentlemen of Atholl to the Covenant had repercussions some two years later when the Marquess of Montrose was seeking to justify himself and implicate Argyll. According to the testimony of Mr. John Stewart, Argyll had announced that one of his predecessors had been Earl of Atholl and that he himself was the eighth man from King Robert the Bruce, both of which statements were true but assumed a somewhat sinister import when combined with the habit of his soldiers who announced themselves as ‘King Campbell’s men, no more King Stewart’s’. Mr. John, who was to lose his head because of his part in the affair, also quoted the translation of a poem in Gaelic that was circulating: I gave Argyle the praise, becaus all men sies it is treuth; For he will tak geir from the lawland men; And he will tak the Croun per force; And he will cry King at Whitsonday.33 There was, indeed, at this time, consideration of appointing a military commander to rule Scotland with the Earl of Argyll clearly intended as the person concerned. In the event, it was not proceeded with, although the Bond, which would have put it into effect, was actually circulated. When it was placed before Montrose, he not only refused to sign it but was induced to produce a Bond of his own, the Bond of Cumbernauld, which was signed by his supporters and which gave early warning of the impending change of his loyalties from Covenant and King to King alone.34 But peace was of short duration. On the 20 August 1640,what became known as The Second Bishops’ War broke out, when the Scottish army, under General Alexander Leslie, crossed the Tweed at Coldstream and invaded northern England, their objective being Newcastle. King Charles, rather than give in to the demand for a resumption of parliament, came north to take command of his army, with Wentworth, now Earl of Strafford, as his Lieutenant General. The Earl of Argyll and his men remained behind in Scotland. On 27 August, he received the surrender of Dumbarton Castle and, on 15 September,

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Edinburgh Castle also surrendered.35 On 1 October, Argyll commissioned Sir Robert Campbell of Glenorchy and Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan to proceed against the MacDonalds in Lochaber and Glengarry, along with Donald Robertson, the Tutor of Struan, all of whom who were causing a great deal of trouble. In mid November, Alasdair MacColla and his brother came from Ireland and raided Islay with a force of eighty men. They tried to capture George Campbell, the progenitor of the Airds family, who, following the death of his elder brother, Colin, was now Tutor of Cawdor and in charge of Islay. Success would have given the MacDonalds a hostage for the return of old Colkitto, Alasdair’s father, and his younger brothers, who were in Campbell hands, but the attempt failed.36 On 16 December, Argyll received a Commission for the Keeping and Governorship of Dumbarton Castle.37 A remarkable example of how the old Highland custom of fosterage was regarded dates from this time when, on 1 May 1641, Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan gave a Bond of 6,000 merks, as his foster father, to Lord Neil Campbell, second son of the Earl, payable in 1646, when the boy attained the age of fourteen. It was common practice to hand over children to other families for rearing, thus forging a bond which, in many instances, was even stronger than those of natural blood. Foster parents were usually rather lower in the social scale than the real parents and the granting of the privilege, for it was regarded as such, was an opportunity of showing favour which was eagerly sought after and much prized. In this instance, Sir Donald, due to the troubled times, had not been able to take the child into his care but he was still anxious to give him the usual gift in cash or kind, in order to be seen as his foster father. Here he explains the situation: but in regaird to the troubles of the tyme, the said Neill could not convenientlie be in my cumpany lykeas now he is to be put to the schooles; alwayes the said noble lord, his father, is content that he be repute as my fostar, whereof I do verie gladlie accept.38 On 10 August 1641, King Charles signed a treaty with the Scottish Estates. In it, he agreed to ratify the acts previously passed by them. In spite of the dire warnings of his court, he insisted on coming to Scotland in person. He did so, passing through the English Army confronting the Scots and they received him with much deference. On the fourteenth, he was in Edinburgh, in residence at Holyrood from where, the following Tuesday, he went in full pomp and ceremony in procession to the Parliament House, the crown being carried before him by the Marquess of Hamilton and the sceptre by the Earl of Argyll. The Earl of Sutherland carried the sword of state. The sessions that followed clearly showed the pre-eminent position

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of the Earl of Argyll in Scottish affairs and the eclipse of the party led by Montrose.39 At first relationships between King Charles and Argyll were cordial enough. The plan of keeping at least part of General Leslie’s army in being for the use of the King in England had been discussed and the King was extremely conciliatory in his dealings with the Scottish government. The mood changed, however, when the army was disbanded and the King saw the chief hope of his visit north of the Border dissolved. At the same time, he became even more aware of Argyll’s power. This was not beyond threat, however, and efforts were made by Montrose, from within prison, and by his adherents, outside it, not only to blacken the names of Argyll and Hamilton, but to do them bodily harm as well. There was a rumour of a plot by the Earl of Crawford, a Roman Catholic veteran of the Thirty Years’ War, to kidnap them on board a ship and to kill them, if their rescue was attempted. This led both nobles to flee the capital and the King, on his way to parliament to exonerate himself from any part in the plot, allowed himself to be accompanied by 500 armed, ultra-loyal supporters. The King, with tears in his eyes, protested his innocence of any complicity. An enquiry, set up by the Committee of Estates, confirmed this. Argyll returned to Edinburgh, his position stronger than ever, and was most graciously received by the King who, shortly afterwards, advanced him to the rank of Marquess with a pension of £1,000 sterling a year. His Patent is dated 15 November 1641.40 He was also granted the whole rents and duties belonging to the Bishopric of Argyll and the Isles.41 Another beneficiary of the King’s good will at this period was Sir John Campbell of Lawers who, in 1620, had married Margaret, Baroness Loudoun in her own right and who had succeeded his father-in-law, Lord Loudoun, in 1622. In 1633, he had been advanced to the rank of Earl of Loudoun but, being perceived as hostile to the crown, his Letters Patent were deliberately held back and it was not until now that he was given his due rank. At the same time, he was appointed Lord High Chancellor of Scotland and First Commissioner of the Treasury.42 In the same month, November 1641, on receiving the news of the revolt in Ulster, the King returned to London. The Roman Catholics had risen under Sir Phelim O’Neill and had fallen upon the Protestants, inflicting terrible casualties upon them – the figure of ten thousand dead has been given and rumour in England made it much greater. Ethnic cleansing is no new phenomenon.43 This gave the King the opportunity of raising a Scottish army for services in putting down the rebellion. His detractors were sure it was for his own

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purposes but, in fact, it was raised and it did serve in Ireland. Two of the regiments were raised by Campbells and contained many of the clan. The Marquess’s regiment was given a Royal Commission on 18 March 1642 – the only one to be personally honoured by the monarch – and, straightaway, the Marquess set in hand recruiting men, under the command of Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck. His Major was William Campbell and most of the Company Commanders and other officers were also Campbells. Among those who, on 12 April 1642, gave receipts for their companies’ pay to the Marquess were Captain Duncan Campbell of Innellan, Captain Colin Campbell of Barbreck and Captain George Campbell, brother of Cawdor,44 as well as Captain Duncan Campbell of Innellan, the Captain of Dunoon.45 George Campbell, who was to become the progenitor of the family of Campbell of Airds, had to give up his company on the death of his elder brother, Colin, at which time he became, in turn, the Tutor of Cawdor. This meant that he was forced to stay behind to organise the family’s interests in Islay. Among the other Company Commanders was Matthew Campbell of Skipness. There was also a company of Macleans under Hector Maclean of Kinlochaline and another company from the Lennox clan, under Captain Alexander MacAulay.46 Quite who William Campbell was is unclear but he was probably the ‘Captain William Campbell’ who appears as a witness and one of Lord Lorne’s servitors on a charter of 31 May 1630.47 The lack of any obvious military command locally for him to hold, at this date, may suggest that he was a professional, trained soldier of fortune. It should, perhaps, be stressed that this was no mere rabble of ragged clansmen but a properly organised, armed and disciplined infantry regiment of the period. The Regimental staff contains many posts which exist today. The Regimental Sergeant Major was Alexander Campbell, the RMO, or Chirugeon as he was styled, was James Jackson and one of his two assistants was Archibald Campbell. The Drummer Major is instantly recognisable and it takes little effort to equate the Waggonmaster with today’s MTO or Motor Transport Officer. The ‘Provost Marshall’ and Quartermaster would be familiar figures and the ‘Clarke to the Regiment’, Alexander Campbell by name, would find common ground with today’s ORQMS – the Orderly Room Quartermaster Sergeant. And, of course, extremely important in the armies of the Covenant, there was the minister, in this case Mr. Dougall Campbell.48 The weapons were the pike and musket, the former giving protection to the short-range, given the slow reloading rate of the latter. As a nation, the Scots included many professional officers who had seen long service on the Continent in foreign armies or in Ireland. In principle, while

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regimental and company commanders were Chiefs and lairds, their secondin-commands were supposed to be trained professionals. This was clearly the theory rather than practice in all cases and it is not easy to spot imported expertise in the ranks of the Marquess’s regiment. Apart from William Campbell, relatively few Campbells had Continental experience – as West Highlanders, their service was much more likely to have been in Ireland.49 There is one other point worthy of comment regarding this regiment and that is the claim, by today’s Scots Guards, to be descended from it. This is based on the Commission for its raising being the only one of the ten regiments sent to Ireland to be personally signed by the King. This, it is claimed, is because he intended the Marquess of Argyle’s Regiment to be his personal guard and a regiment of special status. The other claim is based on continuity of service from 1642. Modern scholarship has comprehensively demolished both of these claims – which have never been accepted either by the army or the rest of the Brigade of Guards who have always ranked the Scots Guards behind both the Grenadier and the Coldstream Guards in seniority. The actual document, signed by King Charles, is among the papers at Inveraray Castle.50 There was one other Campbell regiment among the ten raised at this time. Sir Mungo Campbell of Lawers’s regiment was already in Ireland. Although only three companies were obviously Campbell ones and Sir Mungo had been given a considerable sum to pay off the old soldiers from former corps who rejoined his regiment, there seem to have been enough Campbells in its ranks for Montrose’s men to have singled it out for special treatment at the Battle of Auldearn. When it reached Ulster on 10 April 1642, it was 932 strong.51 Argyle’s first objective was the island of Rathlin. The Commission had given it to the regiment as its base and had specifically stated that all rebels occupying the island were to be expelled or killed. The regiment took on the task with enthusiasm, since the island had, for some time, been the base of their old foes, the Clan Donald South.52 The Clan Donald mustered some 200–300 men. They stood no chance against Argyle’s forces – all of 1100 strong – and were comprehensively destroyed when the two bodies met in on a spot in the centre, of the island, whose Gaelic name translates as ‘The Place of the Great Battle’. Overlooking the site is the hill similarly known as ‘The Hill of Screaming’ from which the MacDonald women watched as their men folk were cut down. There is nothing so pitiless as a mission carried out in the name of religion and those still alive after the battle, men women and children, were thrown to their deaths from the high cliffs in the southwest of the island on to the black

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rocks far below. Rathlin was another place where, for centuries, the name Campbell was anathema.53 The King’s summons to the Privy Council to enlist the aid of Scotland against his English enemies attracted a large assembly in Edinburgh. Rumour was rife that the lives of both the Marquess of Argyll and of Lord Loudoun, the Lord Chancellor, were in danger. But the majority clove to Argyll and the answer was given to the King that no comfort could be looked for from Scotland. On 22 August, the King raised his standard at Nottingham and the English Civil War began. The first warning of trouble nearer to home came on 24 March 1643, when Sir James Lamont was given a Commission to proceed against Argyll. Antrim and Seaforth were to be Lieutenant Generals and Justiciars ‘with power to invade the coutrie and bounds of Archibald Marques of Argyll ane principall and most ungratefull promoter of these odious practizes against ws’.54 On 10 April, the Earl of Irvine renounced the income from his lands of Kintyre to his brother. This was a payment of some 112,500 merks in return for the annual rent of 9,000 merks. At around the same time, he also gave him power to manage and take the rents from his lands of Lundy since he himself was planning to go abroad.55 This was James, the eldest son of the 7th Earl’s second marriage, who, on 28 March 1642, had been created Earl of Irvine and Lord Lundy. Three weeks later he had received the Royal Assent to the raising of a regiment of 4,500 men for the French service and this was the reason for these arrangements with the Marquess. The tension was increasing and on 18 August 1643, all fencible men – those of age for military service – were put on a forty-eight-hour stand-by. In November, Alasdair MacColla raided the Western Isles and recaptured Colonsay with 300 Irish – all Papists. Two priests and his brother, Ranald, were to follow up with further reinforcements and shipping, according to the Commission issued to the Marquess of Argyll, dated 24 November. The Commission empowered him, as Lieutenant in the Western Highlands, to deal with the invasion until 1 June 1644.56 He was given 20,000 merks, as pay for 600 men for two months, and a further 1,200 merks for the hire of a ship. The burgh of Irvine was to produce 1,000 pounds of gunpowder. On 6 December, Argyll appointed Campbell of Ardkinglas to raise and command the force which, in the event, was on active service for four full months out of the next seven.57 That autumn, the Army of the Solemn League and Covenant assembled. Fresh Campbell involvement seems to have been limited, although there are traces of a somewhat mysterious ‘Argyll’s Regiment’ over the next few years. The Marquess himself was appointed President of the Committee with the

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Army 58 and, as such, it was deemed expedient that he should have a Life Guard of Horse. This unit was raised under the command of Archibald Campbell with some of the troop made up of Campbell gentry. Patrick Campbell of Innerzeldies (progenitor of the Campbells of Barcaldine) was given £666 13s 14d by his half-brother, Sir Robert Campbell of Glenorchy, to outfit him for membership and give him spending money. Four other gentlemen were given £333 6s 8d for the same purpose. By May 1644, the troop was some sixty strong.59 On 19 January 1644, Argyll crossed into England with the Army. The Royalist force fell back before his advance on Newcastle, where, encouraged by their reinforcement by the Marquis of Newcastle and his men, they returned in defiance to Argyll’s summons to surrender. Rather than tie up his entire army in this task, General Leslie left part of it behind to conduct the siege and, with the remainder, crossed the Tyne into Durham. He continued to operate around the mouth of the Tyne until the eventual fall of Newcastle, which did not take place until October that year. Long before then, on 20 March, Argyll had been recalled to Scotland where the situation was becoming dangerous. A week before he reached Edinburgh by sea, the Marquess of Huntly had raised the Royal Standard in the north and had taken the city of Aberdeen. Next, Argyll received a Commission as Commander-in-Chief of the force now to be raised to suppress this rebellion.60 By 17 April, he had raised some 5,000 men, of whom some 1,000 were from his own clan. A further 800 were to be sent from the army in Ireland. The force assembled at Dunottar on 26 April and, on 2 May, it arrived at Aberdeen. The Royalist leaders had abandoned the city and had moved to Drum. Leaving part of his army as garrison, Argyll pressed on with 400 horse. Huntly’s situation was now hopeless. In January, the King had instructed Antrim to raise an army of 10,000 men to go to England to counter the Scots army there, while 2,000 were promised for the invasion of Scotland. Letters had been sent to all the Highland Chiefs who had a grudge against the Campbells. Antrim himself had been appointed General in the Highlands and Isles and, in that capacity, had made plans with Montrose as the King’s Lieutenant General for all Scotland.61 But Antrim had once again proved to be a broken reed. Not only were there were no troops from Ireland, but Montrose’s operation in the southwest of Scotland had also proved of short duration. The odds were too much and Huntly took refuge in Sutherland, leaving the Covenanters in possession of the field. Much plunder resulted and the usual horror stories about the Campbells recount that, in their search for booty, they dragged ponds and opened graves.62

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On 16 June, Argyll’s Commission was extended until 1 November and he was given even greater powers. These included the right to raise a levy, appoint officers and provide them with arms, victuals and ammunition. All debts incurred in the service were to be taken as public debts and repaid after due accounting.63 On 28 June, he reported to the Privy Council that all the rebels in the north-east, except for thirteen who had escaped to the Outer Isles, had been killed or captured. In addition to the 600 men allowed him, he had had to raise a further 500 from his lands and employ galleys, boats and birlinns to carry them through the isles.64 On 1 July, the march homewards began. Four days later, on 4 July 1644, Alasdair MacColla’s ships anchored in the Sound of Islay where he heard news of the Rathlin massacre. The locals received him well but he decided to sail on and, the following day, he arrived at Duart where, however, the Maclean Chief declined to join him. He sailed on up the Sound of Mull. On the way, he captured two English ships full of useful supplies. The ships were on their way to Londonderry and had been blown off course. On 7 July, he landed Magnus O’Cahan with 400 men to besiege Kinlochaline Castle. He himself went on and, the following day, landed his troops on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. On the tenth, Mingary Castle was invested and its Campbell garrison found itself facing 1,400 of the enemy.65 His force was largely made up of three regiments of Irish who were to provide the mainstay of Montrose’s army, although, in number, they did not surpass 2,000. They were well disciplined and well trained as musketeers, although it may be over-egging the pudding to suggest, as John Buchan does, that they may have been the best infantry of their time in Britain.66 They were, however, very far from being a motley crew of desperadoes. Colonel James Macdermott’s regiment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John MacDonnell, Colonel O’Cahan’s regiment by Lieutenant Colonel Donoghue O’Cahan and Lieutenant General MacDonnell’s regiment by Lieutenant Colonel John MacDonnell. In addition to their officers, the first two were some 500 strong and the last had 1,030 because it included a portion of Colonel Stewart’s regiment (the Scottish Highlanders), which went over to the insurgents in 1641 and which included Islesmen and Highlanders. The officers included six MacDonnells (sic), a Maclean, a MacColl, a McAlaster and a MacDaniel – this last name was an anglicisation of MacDonald.67 Alasdair’s landing was accompanied by many strange portents – the sun shone at midnight, battles were seen in the sky, drums beat and trumpets, accompanied by the noise of musketry sounded in lonely places and a ghostly choir and orchestra were heard in the church of Rethine in Buchan.

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This plethora of supernatural warnings came to a head with a loud explosion that was heard across the kingdom at the very moment when Alasdair MacColla, with his Irish, landed upon the mainland. They ‘ware the first that begane the ware that afterward opened all the wines (veins) of the kingdome, and drewe furth oceanes of blood’.68 The siege commenced with Alasdair driving off the cattle gathered for protection under the castle walls. Then bundles of wood were thrown into the ditch and piled up against the door and set ablaze. After three hours, the gate was on fire and the garrison half choked, having tried to extinguish the blaze by pouring ale on it. A local woman revealed the source of the water supply and the castle’s surrender became inevitable. It duly happened at midday when the Campbells surrendered on terms and six men came out fully armed, the remainder having to leave their weapons behind them.69 The Scottish parliament had been warned of Alasdair’s invasion. On 9 July, they received a letter from MacNeil of Taynish who had written to Ardkinglas warning him that Dunkirk raiders had arrived in the area, while, a day later, Sir Archibald Campbell of Dunstaffnage reported that four ships and a pinnace had landed 200 Clanranald MacDonalds, under Alasdair’s brother, Alexander.70 Other reports followed, giving widely diverging and exaggerated accounts of the scale of the invasion. Armed with the power of his new Commission, the Marquess of Argyll proceeded to raise a levy of 2,600 men from Argyll, from his friends, vassals, tenants and followers and, on 22 July, they all rendezvoused at Dunstaffnage, where they were divided into three regiments – a total of twenty-six companies. They were now to be engaged in the public service for five weeks from 22 July until 2 September 1644, their first target being the Irish incursion in Ardnamurchan. His army was properly organised according to the standard rules of the day. Captains of companies were paid £100, Lieutenants got £45, while Sergeants received £15. Corporals, Drummers and Pipers got £12 and common soldiers got £9. The rank of ‘Captain at arms’ is not one that has survived and his pay of £12 seems small. It is possible that he was an experienced soldier, employed as some sort of drill instructor. It is also interesting to note the mention of pipers as an integral part of the company, at this very early date. At regimental level, the Colonel received £1,000, the Lieutenant Colonel, who actually commanded the regiment in the field, got £200 and the Quartermaster, the Provost Marshal and the Surgeon all received £45. The Minister was paid £40, the ‘Regimental Scryver’ got £30 and the Drum Major £18. Needless to say the opportunity for plunder, whether licensed or unofficial, offered a considerable bonus.71

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Alasdair MacColla now sent out copies of his Royal Commission to the neighbouring Chiefs, hoping for support. None came and Argyll and his men closed in. Rather than be hemmed in with all his force, Alasdair now set off for the interior, leaving behind a garrison to confront the approaching Campbells. On 8 August 1644, the new siege of Mingary began. Argyll had five ships and plenty of boats,72 which gave him easy superiority over the Irish fleet. Indeed, some accounts have it that Alasdair lost all his transport to the Covenanter’s ships. These were under the command of Captain Swanley. Earlier in the year, Swanley had intercepted a ship that was en route for England. The vessel was laden with troops who were intending to fight for the King and Swanley separated out the Irish among them and had them bound back to back in pairs before throwing them overboard in mid ocean, thus drowning some seventy men and two women.73 Alasdair’s march took him through Kintail and down to Kilcumin and thence over the Corrieyairack Pass down into Badenoch and so to Blair Atholl. Having devastated Sir Donald Campbell’s tenants in Ardnamurchan, he was careful that his army did not mistreat the lands through which they now marched. But the Fiery Cross he sent out in the King’s name brought relatively little response and he had to use threats to force the locals to produce some 500 men. Young MacPherson of Cluny did bring a force of 300 and MacDonald of Keppoch joined with his men. The Covenanter garrison of Blair gave up. But then came the great moment when Montrose, who had been in hiding near Perth, managed to meet up with Alasdair MacColla, to the latter’s utter delight and relief. His men also saluted the King’s Lieutenant General, who had now arrived in their midst, by throwing their caps in the air and discharging their pieces into them – much to the alarm of the nervous men of Atholl who were in the other part of the camp and who thought they were under attack. Reassured, some 700 of them also pledged their loyalty to Montrose, swearing that ‘they would have no more of King Campbelles Government; they would either loose their lives, or have King Stuart to his owne place againe’.74 Argyll left his men on 20 August and went by himself to Edinburgh. Compared to the problems elsewhere, the siege of Mingary was now no more than a sideshow.75 On the twenty-eighth, the government took steps to counter the threat. Lothian’s regiment headed for Perth where it was to serve as the base for the muster of all fencible men from the shires of Perth, Stirling, Angus and Fife. Argyll was to take command of the force and the plan was to crush Montrose between his own regiments and this newly assembled command.

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Montrose, however, moved first and now decided to attack the nearest of the armies that threatened him. This army had been hurriedly assembled at Perth under the temporary command of Lord Elcho. On Sunday, 1 September, the armies met at Tippermuir, just to the west of Perth. Although the Covenanters were more than twice the number of Montrose’s troops, they were no match either for his Highlanders or for his disciplined Irish Regiments. In the rout that followed the first shock of the encounter, some 2,000 Covenanters were cut down and slain for a negligible loss among the Royalists. An Irish officer boasted afterwards that it had been possible to walk the three miles to Perth on the strewn corpses. His men had shown no mercy. Montrose did not tarry at Perth but, conscious of Argyll’s pursuit, moved in the direction of Aberdeen, picking up eager recruits on the way. His plan was to deal with the Covenanters in the north-east before they could be joined by the Marquess. Argyll’s troops headed to join him on 2 September, moving towards Stirling, Perth and then the north-east. He himself reached Stirling on the fourth and there he took command. There were one or two local lessons to be taught and James Stewart of Ardvorlich, who had joined Montrose, had his lands devastated, although, in principle, Argyll expressed himself as against such indiscipline. He ordered John Campbell, younger of Glenorchy, to punish any of his men found guilty of robbery or plundering by death for, he said, robbery and the destruction of houses ‘are thingis you kno I hate’.76 On the twenty-second, they rendezvoused with Lothian’s and Lawers’s regiments at Drum. Here, the Marquess selected twelve of the companies from his three regiments – a total of 1200 men – and sent the rest back to Argyll. With this reduced force of two regiments he was to be in the field from 22 September to 22 November, 1644.77 On 2 September, the day after the defeat, the Estates had ordered the Lowland shires to raise all their fencible men and march them to Perth while the remnants of the army that were still in England were hastily ordered home.78 Montrose, by now, had reached Aberdeen, taking the city in the face of an ineffectual attempt to stop him by Burleigh at the head of the local Covenanters who, on this occasion, included a number of Gordons. The victorious Royalists proceeded to sack the city, taking much booty – their richer victims were made to undress before being killed so that their clothes would not be spoilt by bloodstains, while the wearing of the Royalist badge of a twist of oats in the hat was given short shrift.79 But Argyll was approaching and Montrose did not want to face him so he withdrew to Kintore and then over to Badenoch and down to Blair Atholl again. Argyll followed him. He arrived at Aberdeen on 18 September and, on

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the twenty-third his men burnt Bog o’Gight and Strathbogie. He met the remnants of the northern Covenanters at Forres and, thence, moved to Inverness where Lawers was appointed the Governor and given the task of fortifying the town with the help of his regiment, which had been recalled from Newcastle.80 From Inverness, the Marquess followed Montrose to Badenoch and then to Blair Atholl, both of which districts he burnt, before returning to Aberdeen. He then sent 1,000 of his Campbells home via Strathspey, Badenoch and Lochaber, telling them to plunder and devastate what they could. He himself now set out for Edinburgh where he laid down his commission. By now, Alasdair MacColla and Montrose had split – the former, with his men, heading west to Ardnamurchan, while Montrose retraced his steps to try his fortune in Huntly’s country.81 The Campbells, back on home ground once more, concentrated at Dunstaffnage, which they made their base for operations and supply depot for rations and armaments from the Lowlands.82 Alasdair’s objective was the besieged castles. At Mingary, the prisoners had gradually been released. They included Mrs. Weir, the expectant wife of one of three Kirk ministers who had been incarcerated there, together with six Campbell officers who had been part of the original garrison. By 30 September, only the three ministers remained as possible hostages to be traded for old Colkitto and his two sons. The night of 5/6 October saw the hurried departure of Sir Donald and his men who had heard the news of Alasdair’s approach. On the seventh, the delighted garrison sent out a force to meet him and the next day Mingary was relieved. The Campbells had driven off all the cattle and the garrison could only round up all the goats in the neighbourhood for food. Alasdair made first for Kinlochaline as it was the more vulnerable – indeed, he decided it was indefensible and so removed his garrison before burning the castle to prevent its future use. On the sixteenth, the wretched ministers heard the noise of his guns announcing Alasdair’s arrival. One of their number, the Rev. John Weir, was at the point of death. He died aged thirty-four, while the Rev. David Watson died from his privations the following April, leaving his son-in-law, the Rev. Mr. Hamilton, the only survivor.83 The Campbells, at this time, had three ships in service – the Swan, under Captain James Brown, the Antelope of Glasgow, under Captain Richard Willoughby, and The Globe, which was based on Dunolly. In mid November 1644, Alasdair rejoined Montrose in Blair Atholl, where he had returned after a chase by Argyll through the north-eastern lowlands. At Fyvie, he was nearly caught, escaping only after some fierce skirmishing. He had received little encouragement, as regards being reinforced by the

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locals, and several of his lowland officers had succumbed to offers of pardon by Argyll. Thanks to Alasdair, however, he had a force of some 3,000 men under his command.84 But the nights were drawing in, winter was upon them and the campaigning season well over. The problem now was how to keep the Royalist army in existence. The Highland contingent was only too keen to return home with what they had managed to accumulate during the months of hard service. Montrose knew only too well that, if this was permitted to happen, they were unlikely to be seen again. A Council of War was held at which Montrose expressed his preference for the Lowlands as a winter base but now a dramatic counter-proposal was made, with the MacDonalds insisting they should make Argyll and the homeland of the Campbells their target.85 Montrose was highly dubious and he stressed the geographic advantages Argyll had, separated from the rest of the country by a continuous ridge of high, craggy and inaccessible mountains, the straight passes of which might be easily kept by five hundred against 20,000. This was an important consideration because: if the Cambelles had but the least notise of ther intention, as they could not but haue notice befor they could passe Glenwrchie, they could both keepe the passes of the montaines, cutte of from them all prouision, and, if they ware but of ordinarie witte and policie, altho they wanted wallour, they could bloke them upe in thewaist bouelles of those desertes till famyne had consumed them euery man.86 The decision was swayed by one Angus MacAllan Dubh, a MacDonald of Glencoe, who, when asked if he was acquainted with Argyll’s lands and if the army could get victuals and shelter in them in winter, answered that: there was not a town under the lordship of MacCailin but was known to him, and that if staunch horses, and fat cattle as victuals to feed upon, in them would answer their purpose, that they would procure them for them.87 The die was cast and the Royalist army set off for the west. In fact, in spite of their fears, the country that faced them presented no great obstacles for an army familiar with such terrain. There were no very high passes to negotiate and the real obstacle was the winter weather, which could vary from balmy to sub-arctic, with every permutation in between. Thick snow could slow them right down and, indeed, stop them altogether and heavy rain could transform every small burn into a raging torrent, difficult, if not impossible, to cross. The cumulative effects of weather on ill-clad troops with no proper provision

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for spending nights in the open and with no food supply, beyond the scanty ration of oatmeal they carried with them, were certainly a risk, given the long tracts of open country to be negotiated. But, this time, the gods smiled on Montrose and his men. Their route in was through Menzies country, which they devastated yet again. They split to cover both sides of Loch Tay, which they systematically burnt and, here, the MacGregors and later the MacNabs joined them. By 11 December, they were past the west end of Loch Tay, where Clanranald and the men from Keppoch split off from the main body. They went on a great plunder into Argyll and did not meet with Montrose again until the rendezvous at Kilmartin in Glassary, when Clanranald brought in a thousand cows with him.88 Only when they reached Loch Dochart did they falter. The castle on the island in the middle of the Loch had a Campbell garrison with guns that could command both shores and prevent the passage of an army. John MacNab, younger of MacNab, however, went down to the lochside with some of his men, shouting that they had a letter from the Marquess. He was recognised and the Campbells, taking him as their friend and ally, sent a boat across for him. Once in the castle the MacNabs turned on the garrison and the way was open. Shortly afterwards, Montrose’s army split into three and went its separate ways in order to spread ruin and destruction as widely as possible. Clanranald would have followed the line of today’s main road from Tyndrum down to Loch Awe and then along its banks, all the way to Glassary. The other two detachments were under Alasdair MacColla and Montrose himself, with their objective the Campbell headquarters at Inveraray. Various routes have been suggested for them – down to Loch Lomond and then over the hill to the head of Glen Fyne or, perhaps, down to Loch Awe, with Clanranald, but then separating near Cladich and taking the route followed by today’s road over Accurach and down Glen Aray. This, however, is to ignore the most direct and obvious route, past the site of Bruce’s skirmish at Dalrigh towards the western flank of Ben Buie and the head of Glen Shira.89 Whatever the full story, it seems certain that one part of the Royalist force came by this last route. At the head of the glen stands a hillock known as Tom a Phiobaire – ‘The Piper’s Knoll’ – with a trace of ruined buildings. Here there was a guard post whose occupants were charged to signal the approach of an enemy whether by pipes or, as some would have it, a trumpet signal or, quite possibly, a horn whose notes would be picked up and relayed down the glen to give warning to Inveraray itself.90 Perhaps the sentinels were asleep or perhaps the weather had closed in, preventing any action before the

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MacDonalds were upon them – in any case, the story is that they were dirked and the enemy were within a mile or two of the castle before anyone knew they were there. There was instant panic and men ran to shouted orders as the castle was thrown into a state of hasty defence. And Argyll himself, taken rudely by surprise, only just had time to get on board a ship – some say it was no more than a lowly fishing boat – and set sail down the loch, as the triumphant MacDonalds swept into the town behind him. Gordon of Ruthven described what happened: The passage thus obtained, they mairch in to Ardgyll. And first at Inverrara, the principall seat of Macallan, they stay to refreshe themselfes, and because the generall thought it not worth his paines to waire out a lingering seidge for gaineing of the castell, the toune and all the countray round about is consumed with fyre; for although out of a generall and merciefull disposition, he would have spared the people, yet the clan Donald whersoeuer they fand any that was able to cary armes, did without mercie dispatch them. They stay in Ardgyll a good pairt of the vinter, where they hade abundance of cues, sheip, and other prouision for the armie, but litle drinke, except cold water, and whan they remoued from one pairt to ane other, they brunt what they had left behind them.91 The devastation was appalling and so was the killing. Where they could, men took refuge in the castles and defendable places and those left outside were at the mercy of the invaders. The devastation was described thus: ‘In short, all the territories of MacCailin were spoilt and burnt on that occasion, and eight hundred four score and fifteen men were killed in these countries without battle or skirmish having taken place in them.’92 As the Decreet of forfeiture against Clanranald was later to have it: ‘They burnt wasted and destroyed 18 parishes in Breadalbane, Argyll and Lorne.’93 It was now that Alasdair was given his by-name Fear Thollaidh nan Tighean – ‘The destroyer (literally Piercer) of Houses’.94 The account of the campaign sent to Dublin – perhaps by Alasdair himself – boasted that ‘throughout all Argyle, we left neither house nor hold unburned, nor corn nor cattle, that belonged to the whole name of Campbell’.95 And it was not just the merciless killing. The figure of 895 from a relatively restricted area, with the population the size it was then, is a shocking figure but the survivors, chiefly women and children, were also left destitute, without cattle or sheep, without food, without seed corn and without shelter, especially when, as a result of this meticulously deliberate devastation, they still had the worst of the winter to

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face. When ‘they hade waisted Ardgyll, and leaft it lyke ane deserte, they mairch to Lorne’.96 By the end of the month, the Royalists were keen to get back to their own territory. They drew away, not in the direction of Kintyre, where they could have been bottled up, but northwards via Benderloch and Appin and the lands of clans who might be persuaded to join them. In the way, Loch Etive had to be avoided and this entailed a long march round the head of the loch. All the boats in the area had been removed to safety and to prevent their use. However, Campbell of Ardchattan, whose mother was a MacDonald of Antrim and who could, therefore, claim distant kinship with Alasdair MacColla, provided enough boats to transport the army across the loch, not only ensuring the safety of his Priory but hastening the departure of the enemy from Argyll. The cattle taken as booty were swum across the loch at the narrows, where the fierce currents swept many of them away. Many were drowned but a good number were washed ashore at Dunstaffnage, where, no doubt, they were welcomed by the garrison. Further north, in Appin, the Stewarts, as Royalists, were spared plundering and Appin, with 150 of his men, joined Montrose. Argyll and the Estates now took action. Early in January 1645, Argyle’s regiment was recalled from Ulster. General Bailie was brought back from England and appointed Commander-in-Chief in Scotland. At Dumbarton he met Argyll and loaned him a force of some sixteen companies, formed into two provisional regiments – a total of some 1,100 men.97 He himself did not accompany the Marquess, with whom relations were somewhat strained – apart from yielding the chief command, Argyll was anxious to restore his reputation after his inglorious flight from Inveraray. He did not welcome outside interference and, in any case, the invaders had left no food behind them on which to feed an army.98 He now moved, with his forces, into Argyllshire where the survivors of the holocaust crept out of their fastnesses. In the Argyll Archives there are receipts from Ensign Thomas Gourlay for the cattle needed to feed the men – for example, on 13 January for ‘31 of the Marquess’s kye since the regiment passed Loch Fyne’ and on 18 January for ‘6 kye for 22 officers of the Regiment in Glenshira from the 10th to the 22nd January; 2 kye for officers and soldiers of the party sent out on the 10th January and 15 kye for 300 men from 18th January to 22nd January, the said men lying in Glenshira’.99 Meanwhile, as Montrose moved northwards up the Great Glen, the Covenanters of the north hastily assembled in Inverness to oppose him. As they passed near their homelands, he inevitably lost a number of his men

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determined to drive their booty home, but Glengarry had come to join his people in the army and several of the leading Macleans had also joined, although without a full turnout of the clan.100 On 22 January 1645, Argyll mustered his force at Castle Stalker where his regiment joined him from Ulster, under the command of Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck. On 31 January, he reached Inverlochy, close by today’s Fort William.

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CHAPTER NINE

The Bitter Harvest

Archibald, 8th Earl and 1st Marquess of Argyll, 1638–1661: 1645–1649 ontrose by now was at Kilcumin (Fort Augustus) where he entered into a Band with his principle Highland followers against the power of Argyll. Among the signatories were Duart, Grant of Freuchie, Clanranald, Lochbuie, MacGregor of Glenstrae, the Fiar of Appin, the Tutor of Struan, the Tutor of Locheil, as well as, rather surprisingly, Patrick Campbell of Edinample, Glenorchy’s son, who was to die fighting for the Covenant at Kilsyth and must have been pressurised to sign as a prisoner.1 Mr. The pause at Kilcumin gave Montrose a moment to take stock. Ahead of him, the garrison of Inverness was being added to by local Covenanting clans. Behind him came the vengeful Argyll who, by then, had reached Inverlochy near today’s Fort William. After calling a council of war, he decided he must act before he was caught inextricably between the two and decided on Argyll as his first target.2 He therefore turned about but, instead of retracing his footsteps down the Great Glen, he led his force up the steep Glen Tarff and then over the watershed and through the passes that brought him down by the head of Glen Roy to Roy Bridge on the River Spean. His men had to contend with knee-deep snow and flooded burns but the night march was nothing out of the ordinary for the troops he commanded. Nor, by itself, could it really qualify for John Buchan’s breathless encomium as ‘one of the greatest exploits of British arms’. The move that brought Montrose down to Roy Bridge was hardly a brilliant one – it might have qualified as such if Argyll had been further up the Great Glen, around the site of the present Commando Memorial, say, in which case Montrose would have successfully outflanked him and taken him in rear. But Argyll and his forces were much further back, camped round Inverlochy Castle on the outskirts of modern Fort William and Montrose’s forces were no better off

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than if they had just retraced their footsteps back down the Great Glen which they could have done, without serious opposition. The second day after leaving Kilcumin, they made contact with an outpost of Argyll’s and, it seems, they succeeded in convincing them that they were no more than a raiding party. That day was spent in advancing towards the enemy while successfully hiding the full scale of their presence. The army was still spread out after its march and the stragglers eventually caught up. Saturday night was bright and clear with a good moon. Montrose’s men came quietly forward and got to within a short distance of the Covenanters’ position. Their presence, if not their full strength, was known and, throughout the night, the Covenanters stood to arms as sporadic outbursts of firing broke the quiet. Montrose was anxious to keep Argyll’s force in contact and had detailed a force of musketeers to skirmish in front of his advance – neither side got any sleep that night.3 The route of Montrose’s final advance is disputed. The most direct way is down the line of the Great Glen from Spean Bridge. That is, not along the floor of the Glen itself but skirting the northern flank of Ben Nevis broadly in line with the present-day main road to Spean Bridge and Inverness. The ground is broken and there is more than one approach in dead ground from the valley floor, while the amount of scrub and wood would make observation far from easy, even in daylight. By night, it would seem possible to bring forward even a large force with little danger of being spotted at any distance. Spalding says Montrose’s final advance brought his force to within half a mile of the Covenanters the night before the battle.4 Even if Argyll had patrols out further up the Glen, given these factors and, particularly, if the final advance was under cover of darkness – the distance from Spean Bridge is not excessive – then there is little difficulty in seeing how the full strength of the Royalist advance came as a surprise to their opponents. It is the very ease of the second day’s march in contradiction to the Homeric scale of the accounts of it that has caused an alternative to be sought and there were, apparently, local traditions that the second day had taken Montrose and his men round the southern, rather than the northern, side of the Ben Nevis massif.5 This certainly would have fitted in better with several of the details given in Montrose’s account of the march in his letter to the King,6 while increasing its length by no more than some ten miles and that over a surprisingly untaxing route which, at its highest point, is only just over a thousand feet. If this was, indeed, the case, then Montrose would have approached the Covenanters from the south, down Glen Nevis – a direction which would certainly have been an unexpected one. The claim that it gave a better-covered approach is difficult to see since the broken nature of the

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area and the degree to which it was almost completely covered by birch scrub and wood would give a degree of cover from either direction. There is, however, the interesting detail that a stone exists at the head of Glen Nevis that was known as ‘Montrose’s Seat’.7 In any case, it seems clear that the Royalists achieved a large measure of surprise. Their full presence in strength was finally revealed by the famous trumpet salute to the unfurled Royal Standard, as dawn broke, with battle being joined soon after. Argyll himself was not there. It is claimed that his fall from his horse some weeks before was giving him pain and he was incapable of taking part in the fight. He had, accordingly, embarked on his galley the evening before the battle, together with the representatives of the Estates who had been sent as observers to accompany the Covenanter army. Actual command was exercised by Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck whose regiment, recalled from Ireland, formed part of the Covenanters’ force. Sir Duncan was an experienced professional soldier and, even if Argyll had been there, he would have, in all probability, deferred to Auchinbreck’s superior military knowledge and handed over the actual command of the battle to him. As well as his own regiment, Sir Duncan had with him the sixteen companies of Bailie’s troops. In addition, he had a number of other Campbells, including Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan’s force from the siege of Mingary. His whole force is said to have numbered some three thousand, double that of Montrose. Montrose’s force was drawn up in four divisions with Irish troops on the two flanks, the left under Colonel O’Cahan and the right under Alasdair MacColla. Montrose himself commanded the van in the centre and this was made up of the men of Atholl, Glencoe and Lochaber, along with the Stewarts of Appin, while, most important of all, the MacDonalds of Keppoch and of Clanranald, under Colonel James MacConnell, brought up the rear. There was a small force of Gordon cavalry but their numbers were scant and insufficient to form a major tactical consideration. Auchinbreck, too, had his force divided in four, with the two regiments of Lowland troops on the flanks and a vanguard of Highlanders, armed with guns, bows and axes in front of the main body, which was largely composed of Campbells. They had, it appears, two guns with them, while a body of fifty Lowland troops was detached and placed in the actual castle of Inverlochy.8 If the organisation of the opposing forces is well documented, their actual positions are rather less clear. Just to the south of Inverlochy Castle, some hundred yards away from it, there is an eminence forming the northern end of a ridge, rising from the flat plain, and known as Tom na Hara. The ridge

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runs from the castle end, some six hundred yards to the south-west, with a distinct hillock some fifty feet above the general run of its height, two thirds of the way along its length from the northern extremity, as the dominant feature. There is a commemorative plaque on its summit. To the north the ridge is backed by flat fields bordering the river which is nearly at its entry into Loch Linnhe. The western half of the ridge falls away steeply on its north face, probably rather more precipitately today than at the time of the battle, due to the construction of the railway depot just below it. It looks, however, as if it must have earlier been a steep drop none the less. This south-western end drops sharply down to the modern motor inn hotel. On its southern face, the descent is gentler. Today’s main road to Inverness runs along below the ridge on this side and the dip continues for another hundred yards or so, before starting to climb, equally gently, towards the Ben Nevis massif in the general direction of today’s aluminium works. The ridge forms such a natural feature that it seems clear that it formed the main characteristic of the Covenanters’ defence. This is more or less borne out by Spalding who says Sir Duncan’s reserve was placed upon ‘a pretty ascent where they had a piece of ordinance’. He also says that the main Battle of Sir Duncan’s force was based on a pretty eminence, ‘a pistol shot’ from the castle.9 Ian Lom, the MacDonald poet, sang in exultation: ‘Whoever should climb Tom-na-h-Aire [would find there] many a freshly hacked paw badly pickled, and the film of death on their lifeless eyes from the slashing they had from sword-blades.’10 The alignment of the Tom na Hara ridge lends itself to defending an attack from the south, rather than directly from the north-east. Supporters of the direct approach route point out the existence of Tom na Brataich – ‘The Hill of the Banner’ – just by the main road some 4,000 yards to the north-east, opposite the turn-off to Auchindaul Farm. Here, it is claimed, Colonel James MacDonald, in command of Montrose’s reserve, planted his standard.11 This is so far away, given the restricted area covered by battles of the period – the musket ceased to be accurate at under a hundred yards – that I think it can be disregarded. It would, anyway, have been impossible for anyone stationed there to be able to keep in touch with what was happening on the actual battlefield, thus rendering the reserve useless. Finally, any final advance from this direction would have had to cross two large burns. In winter, they might have posed obstacles because, even if it were possible to cross them, doing so would have broken the formation of the Royalist army. So, even if the line of the approach march is disputed, the line of the final attack would seem most likely to have been from the higher ground to the

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LERAGS CROSS Carved by Archibald Campbell of Lerags in 1516 as a thank-offering for his safe return from Flodden, the cross still stands on a ridge overlooking the old Chapel and burial ground of Kilmore, in Lorne.

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GLENORCHY FAMILY TREE George Jamesone’s famous Family Tree of the Campbells of Glenorchy. (©The Scottish National Portrait Gallery)

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SIR DUNCAN CAMPBELL OF GLENORCHY b. ante 1555, d. 1631. ‘Black Duncan of the Castles’ plotted the murder of the 7th Earl of Argyll and the takeover of Clan Campbell. (© The Scottish National Portrait Gallery)

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FINLARIG Situated on an ancient site at the west end of Loch Tay, near Killin, the castle was built by Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy and was long a stronghold of the Campbells of Glenorchy whose mausoleum is also here. In front of the castle is the notorious ‘Beheading Pit’ which saw the summary end of many MacGregors.

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BONNIE EARL OF MORAY As part of a Scotland-wide plot in 1592, aimed ultimately at the young 7th Earl of Argyll and his brother, both Campbell of Cawdor and the Earl of Moray were assassinated, the latter by Huntly’s men at Donibristle. His mother, sister of the 6th Earl of Argyll, had this picture painted, showing all her son’s wounds, in order to force the King to implement justice and revenge. She died from the shock of the killing before the terrible portrait could have its effect. It is normally kept from public gaze in a special cabinet. (Private Collection)

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7th EARL OF ARGYLL Archibald, 7th Earl of Argyll, Gillespic Gruamach – ‘Grim-faced Archie’ – 1575–1638. He succeeded his father in 1584 and was subsequently the intended victim of a murder plot. The ribbons decorating his outfit gave rise to the claim of an early chiefly tartan with a white stripe. (Private Scottish Collection)

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SADDELL CASTLE The castle was built c. 1508 by the Bishop of Argyll. In 1558 it was burnt by the Earl of Sussex during his Kintyre invasion, by which time it was in the hands of MacDonald of Dunnyveg. After the MacDonald forfeiture, it passed into the hands of the Earl of Argyll and eventually became the property of the Campbells of Glensaddell.

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MARQUESS OF ARGYLL The Marquess of Argyll, by Scougall. The Marquess had a natural squint which, when accurately portrayed as here, gave his face a distinctly shifty look – something eagerly seized on by his enemies. (© The Scottish National Portrait Gallery)

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SIR COLIN CAMPBELL OF GLENORCHY Son of Sir Duncan, he succeeded his father aged 54. He had no heir and the chieftaincy passed to his brother Robert. (© The Scottish National Portrait Gallery)

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SIR DONALD CAMPBELL OF ARDNAMURCHAN ‘Fleshed in Blood from his verie infancie’. Avenger of his father Cawdor’s murder in 1592, he was a devoted and ruthless servitor to the 7th Earl and his son, the Marquess.

CASTLE STALKER Built by Stewart of Appin, Castle Stalker has actually been in Campbell hands for longer than in Stewart possession, Sir Donald Campbell having reputedly swapped it for a new boat with Stewart of Appin in around 1620. It remained in the hands of his descendants, the Campbells of Airds, until that property was sold in the 1860s.

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LOUDOUN John Campbell, 1st Earl of Loudoun, after Jamieson. Born in 1598 as Campbell of Lawers, he married Margaret Campbell, daughter of Lord Loudoun and Baroness Loudoun in her own right. He was created Earl of Loudoun in 1633 but, as he was then in opposition to the Royalists, his title was delayed until 1641 in which year he was appointed Lord High Chancellor of Scotland (© The Scottish National Portrait Gallery)

MINGARY Gazing out over the northern entrance to the Sound of Mull, Mingary Castle and the surrounding lands of Ardnamurchan were taken from the MacIans and granted for life to Sir Donald Campbell. On his death in 1652 it passed to Campbell of Lochnell.

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INVERLOCHY Inverlochy Castle is on the banks of the River Lochy, fifty yards outside the extremity of the Campbell left wing. Some fifty Lowland soldiers were stationed in the castle. They surrendered and were spared but others, who attempted to take refuge in the castle, were not so lucky.

INVERLOCHY A monument marks the highest point of the Campbell position and their left wing extended from the crest of the ridge down the slope to the left. Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck would no doubt have surveyed the field from this high vantage point as Montrose’s attack came in from the left.

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INVERLOCHY The view looks across the Goirteann Odhar to the flank of Ben Nevis with the Great Glen stretching away to the left and the chemical works in the trees to the right. The Royalist attack came in across the low ground to shatter the Campbells and their allies.

INVERLOCHY The right-hand end of the Campbell position would have looked along the ridge of Tom na Hara, up the Great Glen to Spean Bridge. Montrose and his men attacked from the right of the picture while, not seen in this photograph, a precipitous slope to the left in their rear may have given the Campbells severe problems at the outset of the battle.

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INVERLOCHY By the side of the modern ‘West Highland Way’ – some eight miles along the old drove road from Fort William to Kinlochleven – a lonely cairn marks the spot where the MacDonalds finally gave up the chase and the slaughter of the fleeing Campbells. Inverlochy was the worst disaster ever sustained by Clan Campbell.

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LAGGANMORE This quiet road leads to Loch Scammadale in Lorne but there is no trace today of the big barn that once stood here at the road-end to Lagganmore, in which, in 1646, Alasdair MacColla and his MacDonalds shut up a hundred Campbells – men, women and children – and burnt them alive.

DUNOON Dominating the narrows at the entrance to the Clyde, Dunoon Castle, once towering above the grassy mound of today, came into Campbell hands in 1473. Essex burnt the surrounding town in 1544. During the Civil War it saw the fearsome Campbell vengeance on the Lamonts who had changed sides to follow Montrose. (National Monuments Record of Scotland)

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DUNAVERTY Little now remains of Dunaverty Castle, destroyed after its capture by Leslie in 1647 when the garrison were massacred by the Covenanters. Looking out to Ireland in one direction and to the Ayrshire Coast and the Clyde Approaches in the other, there is little refuge from the weather. Sanda Island in the background, however, provided a sheltered fleet anchorage.

DUNNYVEG Perched on its promontory on the southern shores of Islay. Dunnyveg provided the northern base of the Clan Donald South the leading branch of Clan Donald after the forfeiture of the Lords of the Isles. Local knowledge was essential to navigate the rocky skerries which guarded its seaward approach. (RCAHMS)

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south of the castle, more or less at a right angle against the line of the Tom na Hara ridge. Again, Ian Lom, it may be remembered, was, along with Montrose, actually at the battle and his account should be given due weight: ‘Were you familiar with the Goirteann Odhar? Well was it manured, not by the dung of sheep or goats, but by the blood of Campbells after it had congealed.’12 The Goirteann Odhar – the ‘Brown, Arable Ground’ – is now occupied by the carbon factory,13 directly opposite and below the ridge to the southeast. It would seem likely that the main fight took place on the slopes of Tom na Hara, immediately above the Goirteann Odhar. Battle was joined as the sun rose, soon after the shock of the peal of trumpets, which revealed the presence, at close range, of Montrose’s whole force. It may well be that the Covenanters were in disarray since some lastminute panic and consequent disorganisation would help to explain what was to follow. Montrose’s letter to the King actually suggests that the Campbells, in the centre, were the first to engage.14 Gordon of Ruthven, however, states that it was O’Cahan on the left flank who first fell on Auchinbreck’s right,15 closely followed by Alasdair MacColla on the Royalist right. In the heat of battle, such niceties are not easy to judge, particularly, as is probably the case here, when the onset was a general one, right along the front. By all accounts, the Lowland regiments on Auchinbreck’s flanks failed to withstand the Irish attack. The Irish were disciplined troops of good quality, well drilled and skilled in the tactics of the day. On this occasion, at Auchinbreck’s behest, they employed the tactic which, it has been claimed, was the particular brainchild of Alasdair MacColla and is referred to today as ‘The Highland Charge’. This meant withholding fire until right up at close quarters with the enemy, when a devastating volley was followed immediately by throwing down their muskets and following on with sword and dirk. The musketeer of the day had no bayonet and relied on the detachments of pikemen to keep the enemy at arm’s length. So it was that the Irish advanced without giving shot until they were right on the Lowland regiments and the first volley ‘fyred their beards’.16 The Covenanter flanks were broken and thrown into disarray. The Campbell vanguard was also thrown back on the main body in the centre. They, it appears, seeing the fearful disorder on either side of them, with their flanks now unprotected and with the van thrown back on them, instead of holding their ground and opening ranks to let the van pass through them to form up again in the rear, themselves fell back in panic-stricken disorder, many of them seeking refuge in the castle.17 Montrose, in his letter to the King, in fact pays them the following credit.

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A little after the sun was up both armies met, and the rebels fought for some time with great bravery, the prime of the Campbells giving the first onset, as men that deserved to fight in a better cause. Our men, having a nobler cause, did wonders, and came immediately to push of pike, and dint of sword, after their first firing. The rebels could not stand it, but after some resistance at first, began to run; whom we pursued for nine miles together, making a great slaughter, which I would have hindered if possible, that I might have saved your Majesty’s misled subjects.18 Montrose, in fact, would seem over generous to the prowess of Clan Campbell for the casualty figures suggest it was otherwise. Out of a force numbering three thousand, all the accounts indicate that no less than 1500 or more of the Covenanters were slain. Gordon puts the figure at 1,700 with only some 200 Royalists wounded and no more than four of them killed.19 The author of the Red Book of Clanranald puts the number of Royalists killed at eight but these figures may be deliberately understated.20 This imbalance is quite astonishing. Montrose’s strength was little, if at all, more than half that of his enemy. These casualties can only have been produced in a situation in which the Covenanting forces had lost all cohesion and were cut down individually as they fled. Tradition claims some remarkable feats of individual prowess. Three men from Atholl are said to have accounted for sixty victims between them.21 Some 200 of the Campbells attempted to gain the shelter of the castle. They were, however, chased away down the riverbank towards the Loch and were slain to a man.22 Here, the principle Royalist casualty, Sir Thomas Ogilvie, brother of Airlie, fell. He was wounded in the leg and succumbed some days later.23 The fifty Lowlanders forming the garrison of the castle were spared, as were their regimental comrades who were given quarter once they surrendered. It was the members of Clan Campbell who were the real target for the vengeance of Clan Donald and there must have been a good thousand of them either killed in the onslaught or chased down and slaughtered as they fled. Campbell graves are said to be in Glen Nevis, up which some apparently fled, and others are believed to be in today’s Fort William. But it was the drove road to Kinlochleven, by Achintore and Lundavra, that seems to have been their main route to safety – there was the need for boats to cross the narrows at Ballachulish but this was unfriendly territory, offering them no path to safety – and here the major killing took place. It is some six miles up this road that a cairn by the side of the rough track – Clach nan Caimbeulach – ‘the Stone of the Campbells’ – is to be found, now sunk deep in a dark conifer plantation,

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by the side of the recent West Highland Way. The pile of stones long marked the site where the MacDonalds, weakened by their long march and lack of food, eventually gave up the chase and the killing of Campbells came to an end.24 A few did attempt the Ballachulish route and were ferried across Loch Leven. When they arrived on the south shore, Stewart of Ballachulish intercepted them but took pity on the disarmed, exhausted fugitives. The Weirs and the MacColls of Laroch, had no such scruples, however, and killed the lot of them, burying them at a spot thereafter known as ‘The Campbell’s’ Burying Ground’.25 Accompanying the Royalist army had been the famous poet Ian Lom MacDonald who, so says tradition, had been the guide for the march through the mountains. When offered a sword by Alasdair he refused, saying, ‘No, I shall be a spectator of your prowess and if you do well today, I will tell it as well as I can tomorrow.’ After this, he climbed to a vantage point on the hill from where he could see the impending battle.26 A walking stick, reputed to be his – and a splendidly gnarled and knobbly staff it is – is in the West Highland Museum in Fort William. What he saw moved him to flights of unparalleled venom, as he rejoiced in the destruction of his hated foes: The most pleasing news every time it was announced about the wrymouthed Campbells, was that every company of them as they came along had their heads battered with sword blows . . . When the great blood-letting came to a height at the time of unsheathing swords, the claws of the Campbells lay on the ground with sinews severed . . . Numerous are the naked unclothed bodies which lie on Cnoc an Fraoich, right from the battlefield on which the heroes were urged onwards to the far end of Blar a Chaorainn . . . Perdition take you if I feel pity for your plight, as I listen to the distress of your children, lamenting the company which was in the battlefield, the wailing of the women of Argyll.27 The long trail of death marked the biggest slaughter ever sustained by Clan Campbell – greater even than that caused by Montrose’s recent reign of terror in Argyll. Together, the effect on the clan was little short of catastrophic. Cowal would seem to have been the area least affected but elsewhere the devastation and the loss of life produced a situation which even the horrific losses of World War I could not equal. The Royalist accounts boast that fourteen principal barons of the name

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of Campbell were among the slain,28 several of them ‘close in blood to the Marquess’,29 but, in fact, closer examination of the list reveals a rather different picture. The chief victim was Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck who was taken prisoner and hauled in front of the Major General Alasdair MacColla who offered him the choice of being hanged or executed. He is said to have exclaimed, ‘Da dhiu gun aon roghainn!’ – ‘Two evils and but a single choice!’ – a saying which has become proverbial in the Highlands. In the event, he was not given the chance to choose since the exalted Alasdair took it upon himself to inflict instant execution on his hated foe. With his drawn sword he attempted to decapitate the wretched Campbell but, in his state of excitement, his aim was diverted and he is said to have split Sir Duncan’s skull in two above the ears.30 Others who died in the conflict included: the Laird of Glencarradale; the Provost of Kilmun; Campbell of Lochnell; Colin Campbell, brother of Lochnell; Lochnell, the younger; MacDougall, the younger, of Raray, his eldest son; Major Menzies, Campbell of Ardchattan’s brother; and Campbell of Barbreck-Craignish. In addition, Colonel Cockburn and a number of professional officers also died.31 There were almost certainly more. Campbell of Glenfeochan’s widow, a daughter of Campbell of Dunstaffnage, gave the following heart-wrung lament: They slew my father and my husband and my three fine young sons; my four brothers hewn asunder, and my nine comely foster-brothers. O, I am despoiled on account of the rider of bridled and pillioned horses who fell in battle with his followers. Great MacCailein took himself off to sea, and he let this stroke fall on his kin.32 According to the story, Glenfeochan had been killed by Alasdair MacColla who cried out to his foe to look behind him and as Glenfeochan, distracted, turned his head, Alasdair launched a fearsome blow at him.33 There may well have been more, as the lament of Glenfeochan’s widow would indicate, but few, if any, of them appear in the printed genealogies. Some indeed may have been illegitimate half-brothers. But, in any case, battlefield identification of the dead would not be easy. It would be weeks before the names of the slain would become apparent and there was little to be gained in adding still further to the pain and the shame of such a defeat by listing the full total. A number of the Covenanter leaders were taken prisoner. Among them was Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan now approaching, if not already in, his eighties and Sir James Lamont of that Ilk. Also listed were Campbell

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of Glencarradale, the younger, MacIver of Pennymore, Campbell of Innerea, Lamont of Silvercraigs, The Captain of Dunstaffnage and his son.34 Sadly some of the Campbells sought to purchase their safety by blaming it all on their Chief. One of these, apparently, was Campbell of Skipness,35 a company commander in Argyle’s regiment, whose life had been saved by his brother-officer of the same corps, Ewen Maclean of Treshnish, a seasoned professional soldier whose career had included ten years’ service in the armies of France.36 Treshnish is said to have taken Skipness by boat to Ardgour, the night after the battle, and, thence, to Castle Stalker and Dunstaffnage. At both of these places, they were denied admittance in the general panic so that Treshnish eventually took his friend all the way back to Skipness.37 The mystery remains. What caused this one-sided slaughter? It must surely have come about as a result of the Covenanters breaking and attempting to flee. This is borne out by mention of large Campbell graves in various locations along the route to safety and by such a place name as Achan a’Chath – ‘the Battlefield’ – above Achintore, on the road to Kinlochleven, where some fleeing Campbells turned for a stand.38 There is also the mention of many further Campbell graves at Ach an Todhair, further down the lochside from Achintore, by Ian Lom.39 No-one, and that includes Montrose himself, questioned the bravery of the Campbells, fired, as it must have been, by recent MacDonald atrocities against their own people in Argyll, which must at least have equalled the Clan Donald desire for revenge. But, if that was the manner in which such wholesale killings were achieved, what caused the collapse of the Campbell line of battle? If troops armed with muskets had no effective answer to the Highland Charge, what of the detachments of pikemen with which the line was interspersed? Would they have been similarly vulnerable? Perhaps there were not enough of them or, maybe, the flying wedges, into which the Highland Charge tended to form, merely avoided them? Even if the Lowland troops on the flanks did not have their heart in it, why should the Campbell centre have collapsed so comprehensively? Was the collapse of the Campbell centre a result of their being pushed over the edge of the sharp declivity to the north of much of the ridge as the vanguard fell back, thereby losing their formation? Was it impossible for the demoralised vanguard to pass through the ranks of the main body for the same reason and did they, therefore, get in the way and cause fatal confusion? One unknown factor is the behaviour of the Campbell allies in the Covenanters’ ranks. Had the Maclean Company switched sides before the battle, as has been claimed? How was this done, if the regiment was moving

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as a body? Why did their colleagues allow it? Or did the change of allegiance take place on the actual field of Inverlochy? Similarly, it is worthwhile noting the fact that there were MacDougalls and Lamonts in the Campbell ranks. The young MacDougall of Raray was killed and Lamont of Silvercraigs taken prisoner. All three clans became enemies of the Campbells after Inverlochy and the last two were soon to receive exemplary punishment at Dunaverty and Dunoon for their perceived treachery. Could they have changed sides at a crucial point with fatal results? Such a charge has also been laid against the 300 Camerons at Inverlochy who, it is claimed, were initially on the side of the Covenanters but switched during the battle. Their aged chief is also said to have been with Argyll in his galley.40 Such a supposition of treachery is no more than that as there is no hard evidence nor, in all probability, will we ever know. But something vital afflicted Campbell morale at a crucial stage in the battle and the results were nothing short of totally disastrous. And what of MacCailein Mor, Chief of the Clan Campbell? Safe on his galley, he had heard the sound of battle and had seen the fleeing figures of his clan as they ran, only to be cut down by the fury of their foes. There was nothing he could do and, no doubt appalled and sick at heart, he sailed away down the Loch. He has been hardly judged – better for him as Chief of Clan Campbell had he died with his people on the stricken field. However, it would have been worse for his cause and worse for Scotland – he was yet to render great service to both. Perhaps he should be compared with someone like General Douglas MacArthur – a fellow clansman by descent – who left his men behind him to the mercy of the Japanese and slipped away from the island of Corregidor to fight again. The choice was not an easy one – agonising is not too facile a description. Ironically, Montrose also had to face a similar decision and, on two occasions, at Philiphaugh and at Carbisdale, under the pleadings of his companions, he left his men behind and quitted the battlefield. And Alasdair MacColla, himself, abandoned the remnants of his men to Leslie in Kintyre. But, for Argyll, it was a dreadful blow and, many a time, he must have wished that he, too, was stiff and stark in the heather among the bodies of his slaughtered clan in Lochaber. Clan Campbell had now lost some 2,000 of its fighting strength. A century later, they were to put some 2,400 men into the field, when Forbes of Culloden estimated the total strength of the Campbells to be just over double that. As we shall see, Clan Campbell continued to provide troops for the war but they were desperately hard hit and men were needed, not only to fight, but also to restore the devastated lands in order that their families did not starve to death.

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Montrose resumed his move up the Great Glen. The Covenanters in the north were in dismay and every time children saw but a few goats on the skyline at dusk, it was the bogeyman ‘Coll Coll Mackoll’.41 From the Aird, the Royalists bypassed Inverness and moved into Badenoch. From here, on 4 March, they moved to Aberdeenshire while Bailie’s deputy, Sir John Hurry, was moving up the east coast. On the eighteenth, Montrose set off south but found himself blocked. He, therefore, sidestepped westwards to Dunkeld. Deceived by the report that Hurry and Bailie had withdrawn south of the Tay and in order to make his mark, Montrose attacked Dundee and was very nearly caught by the main Covenanter army, just managing to extricate himself. At Kirriemuir, he divided his army. Lord Gordon and his brother, Lord Lewis Gordon, were sent home to keep the Gordons organised, while Alasdair MacColla was despatched to the eastern Highlands to recruit. Montrose himself moved west to the Trossachs, hoping for reinforcement by the long-promised body of 500 horse sent north by the King but they never came. Alasdair’s plundering on Deeside and Donside distracted Bailie and allowed Montrose to slip away through Atholl to Deeside, where the Royalists concentrated once more. Bailie, meanwhile, in response to calls for help from the northern Covenanters, sent a detachment to Inverness under Hurry.42 On 12 February, ten days after the battle, Argyll appeared before parliament in Edinburgh, his arm tied up in a sling. His report was a short one and he made the least possible out of the sorry tale of Inverlochy. Lord Balmerino, indeed, went so far as to claim that the story was an invention of the malignants and that no more than thirty of the Marquess’s troops had been killed in the battle. The parliament returned their public thanks to him for his services.43 On 24 March, they permitted him to repair to the west of the country for making up his regiment and declaires that as manie of them as have been kept up this times past shall have their maintenance allowed to them as others in the country. The numbers being given up by each of the heritors. And in time coming as any of them shall be levied and gathered together they will be bestowed and maintained as the rest of the forces within this kingdom and recommend the Marquess to return this twelve days or thereabout.44 On 1 May, the exchange of Colkitto and his two sons at last took place. In return, the captives in Mingary Castle were released, with only the Rev. Mr. Hamilton, together with Campbell of Glencarradale, being kept back, on Montrose’s orders, for further bargaining.45 On the ninth, Montrose and

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Alasdair inflicted another major defeat on the Covenanters at Auldearn, near Nairn. Hurry’s army, on this occasion, with detachments of the northern Covenanter clans, included four experienced infantry regiments including those of Lord Loudoun and Campbell of Lawers. This last was singled out for special treatment as it was made up largely of Campbells and the regiment was heavily punished. Campbell of Lawers himself was killed in the fight and his brother, Captain Archibald Campbell, was taken prisoner. Four of his captains and two of his lieutenants were also killed, together with 200 soldiers, who were all buried at Cawdor.46 Once again, the charge of the Irish seemed to be irresistible. Lawers’s estates had previously been devastated by the Royalists and, with the loss of so many of their men folk, the surviving inhabitants were in a bad way. After Auldearn, the Estates voted to give the family 10,000 merks for support and ordered 3,000 bolls of meal for the starving women and old people, while the younger men folk that remained were to be formed into a company for home defence.47 As the Royalists drew off, they burnt and plundered the lands of Campbell of Cawdor.48 Their way was to the south, once more, to threaten the new Covenanter army but, having got as far as Angus, Montrose found himself threatened in the rear by Hurry. On 1 June 1645, Montrose sent Alasdair back to Argyll to recruit more men. He would see his father and brothers after six years of captivity. As a result, he missed the Battle of Alford on 2 July, when Montrose, in spite of his depleted forces, inflicted another defeat on Bailie. A fortnight earlier, the King had been defeated at Naseby and urgent action was required if the Royalist cause was not to collapse completely.49 When Alasdair returned, he brought some 1,400 men with him. Duart had produced 700 Macleans and Glengarry, together with the Appin Stewarts, the Macnabs and the MacGregors, had added to the number. On 5 July, Argyll wrote from Kilchurn to his subordinates in Argyll. They were to draw their companies together and send out sentries and watchers to the borders of the shire. He told them: ‘Bot I desyre not that at this tyme thir be any great actis of hostilitie done againes nichbouris quho have joyned with the enemie unles you sie it for the good of the service.’ Instead, the neighbours were to be persuaded to remain peacefully at home.50 Moving south, Montrose and his army passed by Dollar where the Macleans took delight in ravaging the lands of Dollar and Muckhart belonging to the Marquess. They hurled insults at the garrison but the story that they burnt Castle Campbell on this occasion is inaccurate.51 On 15 August 1645, Montrose inflicted his final defeat on the Covenant. The Battle of Kilsyth was the largest, as regards numbers taking part,

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although the casualties were less heavy. Bailie was discouraged. He had been constantly interfered with by members of the Estates and, on this occasion, when asked for his plans, he replied that he had none but would merely do what he was told. This proved no more of a formula for success and once more, his troops were cut down as they most unwisely marched across Montrose’s front, allowing his Highlanders to charge them in flank.52 Once more, the Covenanters were put to flight. According to the Book of Clanranald, Argyll was closely pursued by Glengarry and had to change his horse three times as he fled.53 This time, he found refuge on board a ship at Leith and it took him to Newcastle – England being the only source for future action as there was now no Covenanting army left in Scotland.54 The victorious Royalist army now marched to Glasgow and, in late August, Alasdair was unleashed on Ayrshire to plunder and to teach this part of the country a lesson. This had its due effect and, among others, Loudoun House was surrendered to Alastair by the Countess who was charged with having entertained him sumptuously and agreeing to pay him 8,500 merks in order to avoid the devastation of the parishes of Loudoun, Galston and Mauchline, in which lay the majority of the Campbell of Loudoun lands.55 On 26 August, Montrose met Sir James Lamont at Bothwell. Lamont’s loyalties had been turned and he now received a Commission in the King’s name enjoining him to raise the fencible men of Argyll – those between the ages of sixteen and sixty – and to employ fire and sword against the King’s enemies.56 That September, Alasdair rejoined Montrose, in camp at Bothwell, to find the Highlanders in a state of near mutiny because hey had been denied the sacking of Glasgow. Montrose had little option but to give in and allowed them forty days freedom, after which they were to return. They promised to bring more men with them and placed Alasdair, nothing loth, at their head. With him he took 3,000 Highlanders and, without permission, 120 of the Irish as a personal life guard. Alasdair did not come back. He never saw Montrose again and his leaving at this moment has been much blamed for the defeat of the Royalist cause that was shortly to follow.57 This took place at Philiphaugh, near Selkirk, on 13 September 1645, as Montrose’s depleted army sought to repulse General David Leslie’s move northward from Newcastle. Leslie was now returning home with the Scots army that had been in England. Leslie’s force was overwhelmingly strong in cavalry and they fell like a steel torrent out of the morning mist on the unprepared Royalists. The carnage was terrible, both in the field of battle itself and afterwards, when the wretched Irish who had surrendered on terms, including 300 women and children, were brutally massacred.58

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Montrose himself, with a few companions, slipped away and, although pursued, managed to extricate himself to eventual safety in the north-east. His behaviour can well be compared to that of Argyll at Inverlochy but the treatment of it by his many supporters among the historians is very different – ‘this pursuit served only to dignify the flight of the hero of his country and age . . . [and he had] conquered from Dan to Beersheba [and] destroyed the military sway of Argyle and his clan in arms for ever’.59 Having left Bothwell on 3 September, Alasdair moved to Argyll by way of Dumbarton. Here the castle garrison refused to surrender and, rather than be held up by a long siege, Alasdair contented himself with devastating the lands of the castle’s commander, Semple, before moving on. They were ferried from Rosneath across to Cowal, in boats organised by Lamont of Stillaig, and moved, thence, to Strachur and down Glendaruel to Auchinbreck. This was to be a much lengthier occupation of Argyll than the previous Royalist incursion. Many of Alasdair’s Highlanders melted away home but he was left with a hard core of several hundreds and the Campbell fighting strength was grievously weakened. They were incapable of little more than defending their castles and places of strength, leaving most of the country to the tender mercies of the Clan Donald and their allies. Sir James Lamont was among those who had switched allegiance with his clan. He was married to the sister of James Campbell of Ardkinglas and had been Tutor to Archibald Campbell of Kilmun but now, when the latter’s men garrisoning the Tower of Kilmun were persuaded to surrender on terms, the Lamonts cut them down.60 When Lamont’s young brother-in-law, Archibald Campbell of Coillessan, aged fourteen, fled to him for safety, Lamont handed him over to Alasdair, with the recommendation (as sworn later by Archibald) that he be hanged or kept prisoner. He was subsequently kept in irons in Tarbert for a month, before being sent to join other Campbell prisoners at Mingary where he remained, almost starving, for a year before being exchanged.61 Lamont now joined Alasdair and, together, they swept through Cowal, Argyll, Lorne and Kintyre for five weeks, meeting little or no resistance. Lamont succeeded in persuading several of the local Chiefs to switch allegiance, if they had not already done so. Among them were MacLachlan of MacLachlan, MacNeill of Taynish and MacDougall of Dunolly.62 The latter brought a force of some 500 men into the field. Then on 6 October 1645, Campbell of Glenorchy reported from Balloch that 600 men – Camerons, MacDonalds of Clanranald, Glencoe and Glengarry – had been ravaging Glenfalloch, Glenlochy and Glendochart for a week, with the Campbells receiving no help from their neighbours in resisting them. ‘Now, as in 1644,

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invasion from outside Campbell territory might have been defeated if those the Campbells had confidently believed to be their friends and allies had remained loyal.’63 On 27 November 1645, Argyll was commissioned by the Estates to raise another regiment for service in Scotland with the particular aim of dealing with the Irish invaders and Highland insurgents, who could be tried in Courts Martial. On its establishment, the regiment was to consist of 932 men, of whom 300 were to come from the shire of Argyll, 200 from Glenorchy, 100 from Menzies of Weem, and 100 from Campbell of Lawers, while smaller detachments were to be raised from the lands of other Chiefs and lairds in Strathearn, Atholl and the Lennox, including men from the MacFarlanes, the Buchanans and the Stewarts of Ardvorlich. They were, in due course, given a number of possible places to garrison in the central Highlands. These included the castle on the isle of Loch Tay, Finlarig, Garth and Weem but, for the next eighteen months, they seem to have performed most of their service in and around Aberdeen.64 In December, a meeting was held at Kilmore, south of Oban, between the tormentors of the Campbells where Alasdair and Maclean got together. Here, a Bond was signed by the leaders and, although it has not survived, it is described as ‘a most cruell horrid and bloody band’ for ‘rooting out the name of Campbell’.65 There was little the Campbell remnants could now do except hold grimly to their garrisons. Here, they were relatively safe, although food supplies were a mounting problem as the months went by. Barcaldine ran out of grain and asked for help from Dunstaffnage. From here, too, Sir Donald was resupplied at Castle Stalker, in his ‘extreame necessitie’.66 In January 1646, Sir James Lamont, with 600 of his men, returned to Cowal. As he passed his brother-in-law’s place of Ardkinglas, he dealt with it faithfully, looting and burning all and, when he came to Strachur, he laid about him in no uncertain fashion, killing thirty-three men, women and children, by his own account, butchering 340 horses and cattle and 400 sheep as well as destroying all the meal he could lay hands on and burning twenty-one houses and barns to the ground. At Dreip, the wretched MacPhun of Dreip, bedridden for nine months, was stripped of his clothing and turned out of doors to freeze to death in the snow. 67 It was at this time that Campbell of Ardkinglas led a force against the Royalists in Menteith. On their way south, they recaptured the castle on the island in Loch Dochart and lay siege to Edinample Castle. The Menzies and the Stewarts from Ardvorlich joined the Campbells and, by the time they reached Callandar, they were some 1,200 strong. Here, they were taken by

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surprise and routed by 700 Athollmen, under Graham of Inchbrakie. The battle took place on the lands, owned by Lord Napier, near Thornhill and many were drowned in the Water of Goudy. According to the letter written by Montrose to Huntly, among the prisoners was ‘Makondochy of the Reau, Argyle’s great champion’, otherwise known as Dougall Campbell of Inverawe.68 The survivors fled to Stirling whence they were sent to Renfrewshire and then quartered in the Lennox.69 Argyll met them on his way to Ulster. He actually arrived there on 2 April, hoping to persuade Munro to release a strong enough force to retake Argyll. In this he was disappointed, being given only his own old regiment from Ulster. Under the command of Campbell of Skipness, they duly attacked Islay but were repulsed by the MacDonalds, under Clanranald. The regiment was back in Ireland by 31 May.70 In April 1646, Clanranald was among 1,000 men sent by Alasdair from Kintyre to burn Inveraray.71 But the Clan Donald and their allies did not have it all their own way. They do not seem to have had much success in the besieging of the various Campbell castles, although Castle Sween is said to have been taken and burnt, possibly in the spring of 1647.72 But Kilberry held out. The siege was lifted after two weeks when the garrison successfully persuaded the besiegers that they did not lack supplies and, as proof, offered them a cask of ale. And Craignish, held by the Tutor of Craignish, with 250 men, defied Alasdair himself, the Tutor taunting MacColla with repeated challenges to single combat. Without artillery, Alasdair’s troops were largely ineffectual this time – as they were on other occasions. But here he was defied by the Tutor who, occasionally, disdained the drawbridge and would leap over the sixteen-foot-wide Green Moat that surrounded the castle, in order to get at Alasdair and his men. Alasdair was sufficiently annoyed to prolong the siege for three weeks, with his whole force, of which he is said to have lost 300, before declaring: ‘This is a sharp castle of whelks, the wind itself is the only thing that will keep up a constant fight with it. We will leave it.’73 Nor did they have any better luck at Skipness, which was defended by Malcolm MacNaughton of Dunderave. This was in spite of the fact that, according to a poem among Duchess Ina’s papers at Inveraray, they had some siege engine or gun called the Muc Nimhe or ‘Deadly Sow’. The poem is said to have been written by a woman called nic ion m’huire and part of it reads: That was the hand, that did the exploit, That put the bullet in Lasbuig.

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This refers to the killing there of Alasdair’s brother, Archibald or Gilleasbuig. The hero of the hour was a MacTavish – perhaps the laird of Dunardry, perhaps not – who destroyed the Muc Nimhe. The Thomson who was in the castle Was the best of their Thomsons, He set the Muc Nimhe in a blaze And he brought the crushed iron home. Here is a rare and interesting mention of the name. Also mentioned – among the besiegers – are Macalister of the Loup, MacDonald of Largie and the laird of Kintarbert. Although only in what is described as ‘a close translation’, the words retain their original venom. I’d rather than all the bread I’ve eaten And than all the gold of the stranger That your blood were flowing to the seashore As runs the black river water. There are plenty of stories that have come down to us from this period. As usual, while they are based on undoubted fact, generations of storytellers have improved and refashioned the original occurrence, which ends up in various versions with a whole variety of details that were often conflicting. Occasionally – very occasionally – there is a streak of mercy in the story, such as the one about the woman at Stronachuillin, between Ardrishaig and Tarbert, whose house was spared from burning because she had given Alasdair a glass of milk. And above Loch Melfort, is Tom a Chrocaidh – the Hill of Hanging – which does not mark a baronial place of judicial execution but the spot where two MacDonalds were hanged by Alasdair, for burning the home of Campbell of Melfort. Campbell of Melfort’s wife had put a meal on the table as an ingratiation, before disappearing into the woods and Alasdair had eaten the food. Thereafter, he issued orders that the house was to be left untorched. But two of his men had not heard of this command and, when Alasdair looked back on the place where he had taken hospitality and saw the smoke rising, he lost his temper. MacCorquodale of Phantelans was also unlucky. Alasdair, with a marauding force, had come marching past the shores of Loch Tromlee in which the Baron MacCorquodale’s castle stood. The MacCorquodales were not unfriendly, although they had stood aloof, and Alasdair had ordered their castle and lands left alone. The Baron had his men standing to but with orders not to open fire. Unfortunately, one of them

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was tempted by such a good target and his trigger finger slipped. One of the MacDonalds was killed and Alasdair turned aside and reduced the castle to a pile of rubble. Every now and again there were attempts to drive off the invaders and certain figures are given heroic stature. One such is Zachary Malcolm of Poltalloch, a legendary swordsman, who is said to have defeated even Alasdair in a fight, breaking his sword and making him run.74 The Malcolms or, more correctly, the MacCallums, were practically alone in remaining loyal to the Chief of the Campbells – indeed as Alasdair himself commented ‘none remained loyal to Argyll but stone and lime and MacCallum’.75 Zachary fell eventually – again the stories of his death vary. Then there was Little John Campbell of Bragleen – Ian Beg – at the head of Loch Scamadale, who resisted and was captured. There are several legends of his escapes and perhaps they all happened. Certainly Professor David Stevenson has made a valiant effort in knitting them all into a logical sequence but there are other versions yet and I suspect they all refer to, at most, a couple of occasions.76 On one occasion, John escapes his waiting enemies with a peat creel over his head for protection. On another, he throws his sword high in the air above the ring of enemies that encircle him and, while they are looking anxiously upwards to judge its fall, he breaks through their line and escapes. He is then pursued; on one occasion he takes refuge, pretending to be a shoemaker, but is recognised by his lack of expertise in threading a piece of leather. In yet another, he hides in his mother’s house, further up the glen, where she hid him in the roof. There were six herrings laid out on the table and he was famished. ‘Cook those,’ said he. But she only cooked one. And, when Montrose’s men came searching, they thought they would catch Ian Beg’s mother out. One of them got on the roof and made a hole so he could spy into the interior of the house. There was only one herring cooking. ‘There’s nobody else here,’ he said and they went on their way.77 It was certainly at Lagganmore, down the glen of the River Euchar from Loch Scamadale, that the MacDonalds, possibly after a fight with the Campbells, under Donald Campbell of Lochnell and Little John of Bragleen, herded a hundred men, women and children into a barn and set fire to it. Only two escaped – one was Bragleen, with the peat-creel over his head, and the other was a woman who got out through the roof. Zachary MacCallum may have met his end here. One story has him ringed by his foes with his back to the wall. They managed to knock down the wall and hough him from the rear but he still killed another five men before he died.78 But the central core of the story – that the MacDonalds deliberately killed a hundred souls of both sexes and all ages, burning them alive – is beyond doubt.

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This is a mere incident in the long, bloody tale of the seventeenth century but it is hard for a Campbell – so long and so often excoriated for what happened at Glencoe a half century later – not to dwell somewhat wryly upon the two happenings, with one so luridly portrayed and its popular version so well known to almost everyone, while few have even heard of the other. Fittingly enough, there is nothing to see here, today, at the spot by the roadside just beside the entrance to Lagganmore Farm where the massacre took place, although it is said that the neighbouring farmer, digging here over a century ago, unearthed a great pile of bones. It was around this time that his Campbell neighbours had a score to settle with Sir James Lamont and on 17 May 1646, he was attacked by a force of Campbells, under Ardkinglas and Inverawe. Toward was the first target and, there, Ardkinglas induced the garrison to capitulate upon terms – that is to say they would have their lives spared. This document – it was afterwards averred in the charge brought against the Marquess – was signed by Ardkinglas, Inverawe, Strachur, the fiar of Dunstaffnage, Ellangreig, Lochnell’s uncle, and John MacLachlan, fiar of Craigenterive. This done, the Campbells plundered the house and took all the contents and cattle to the value of £50,000. They killed all those who tried to interfere, including several women, and their bodies were left as prey for ravenous beasts to devour. Under the direction of Ardkinglas, Inverawe, Strachur, Ellangreig, Lochnell’s uncle, and the fiar of Dunstaffnage, 200 of the surrendered Lamonts were then bound, in spite of the terms of their surrender. After some days of misery at Toward, the main body of the Campbells took Sir James with them to Ascog, already invested by Campbell of Ormsary, where, as at Toward, the garrison were prevailed upon to surrender on terms. Lamont of Silvercraigs, who just over a year before had been in the Campbell ranks at Inverlochy, was among their number. They were then plundered and robbed and several were killed, including children of under a month old. They then took the survivors to Toward but, before leaving Ascog, they burnt it and destroyed all the orchards and plantings there. Various Lamonts were sent to Inveraray from Toward, to the tender mercies of George Campbell of Kinnochtree, the Sheriff Depute. The remainder were then embarked in boats and taken to Dunoon. Before they left, the Campbells burnt Toward as well. The total of cattle driven off as prey was some 3,000. Once at Dunoon, the Lamonts were systematically dealt with. The change of sides after Inverlochy, Lagganmore, Lamont’s treatment of his brotherin-law, the killing of the Kilmun garrison, the destruction of Strachur and Ardkinglas were, no doubt, much in the minds of those concerned and these

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events may go far to explain, if not to excuse, what followed – the Campbells had a score to settle and they settled it in full. Thirty-six of the captives, ‘most of them being special gentlemen of the name of Lawmond’, were taken and hanged from a single tree. A further thirty were dirked or pistolled. They included the eighty-yearold John Lamont of Auchinshelloch, who was suffering from the flux, and John Jamison, the Provost of Rothesay, who, although he had been shot three times through the body, still showed signs of life. He was repeatedly stabbed and had his throat cut with a long dirk. Others were cut down half hanged and buried alive in pits already prepared, in spite of their struggles against the earth thrown in on them. The total of those killed was around a hundred. The tree on which the hanging had taken place died and when it was cut down, its roots were found to be ‘bleeding’ with a sticky red substance – an extraordinary tale which was, however, confirmed by a contemporary account of 1661, signed by the minister of Dunoon, the Provost of Rothesay and by one of the burgesses, and, on subsequent occasions by many others. Various explanations for this phenomenon, which undoubtedly occurred, have been put forward. These range from a special algae to a chalybeate well, of which there are several in the area.79 Those Lamonts who had escaped the massacre fared little better. Sir James was taken to Inveraray where the Marquess, Inverawe and others pressurised him to resign his life and fortune. He refused, on the grounds of the Royal Commission he held and because ‘he, being a King’s Baron, could not be judged by them, none of them being such’. This counter, being true of such people as Inverawe and George Campbell, must have been particularly galling. The latter replied that Sir James ‘was a false knave and that he would judge him whether he would or not’. Sir James was then sent as a prisoner to Dunstaffnage. While he was there, in 1647, the Marquess sent a deputation, consisting of Dunstaffnage, Lochnell and Inverawe, with the proposal that Sir James should renounce all rights in his property and estates and his superiority over his vassals. If he agreed, he would then leave the area forever, the Marquess giving him a considerable sum of money. If he refused, ‘so long as the Marquess had a house in the world, the said Sir James should be prisoner therein and should torment him with pain and misery till the marrow should rot within his bones’. The Marquess also boasted that he held Sir James’s estates and would keep them, come what may. Sir James, reasoning that what a prisoner did under duress was null in law, agreed and was taken to Inveraray where he duly signed a paper agreeing to most of the above. But, instead of being released, he was sent back to the misery of Dunstaffnage.

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The final straw came in 1649 when, at the Marquess’s instigation, Dunstaffnage forced Sir James to sign a bond for nearly 4,400 merks for four years’ ‘entertainment’ at Dunstaffnage. Nor was Sir James alone. Sometime in 1647, Patrick Lamont, fiar of Ascog, and John Lamont of Auchingyll were tried at the instance of George Campbell, the Sheriff Depute at Inveraray. Patrick was found guilty but John was let off for favours received. According to the later charges laid against him, George Campbell, then declaring ‘it was not fit that one man should die alone’, caused both to be hanged. Their lands were seized by the Marquess and by Ardkinglas, while John’s two children, the eldest not yet two years old, were left to live on the charity of their neighbours, the Marquess refusing them any support. In 1648, after Patrick Lamont’s murder, the Marquess and George Campbell ordered his uncle to appear before them. Duncan Lamont of Stronalbanach was an old man, held prisoner in Castle Lachlan, and they threatened him with hanging if he did not hand over his lands of Kames, held from Sir James. Duncan gave in under the threat and the Marquess took the lands.80 During that same year of 1646, the Campbells took their revenge on the MacDougalls, 500 of whom had risen in arms for the King. The Marquess, Ardkinglas, Dougall of Inverawe, Dunstaffnage, Archibald Campbell of Baringar (sic) and Archibald, uncle of Campbell of Barbreck-Craignish, all officers of the Marquess’s regiment, went to Kerrera where they killed fourteen of the MacDougalls and took a further six, as prisoners, to Inveraray where they were subsequently hanged.81 Dougall MacDougall of Dunach was seized and incarcerated in Innishconnell, where he was kept in chains with heavy irons on his arms and legs in great pain. As Captain of the Castle of Dunolly, MacDougall was forced to surrender, on terms, to the Marquess and was only released when he resigned his lands of Ballicharry and made payment of a thousand merks in cash to the Marquess. John MacDougall of Raray, whose eldest son was among the Campbells slain at Inverlochy, had his lands invaded and destroyed. He received some relief from the Duke of Hamilton and went home in 1648, at which point, he was arrested, aged eighty, and imprisoned at Inveraray, being forced to resign his house and ninety merklands of Ardmaddy.82 But, at last, the tide was on the turn. In September 1646, Montrose fled to Norway, Alasdair’s allies were beginning to fall away from him and several of them had received pardons. As with his arrival on the mainland months before, his progress was marked by the supernatural. When he was a child,

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his nurse had predicted that his fortunes would change when he reached a place called Gocam-Go. Here, when he placed his standard in the ground, it would twist to the left and a coin would jump out of the earth. This apparently did happen, near Ederline at the south end of Loch Awe, and Alasdair was duly disconcerted when he was told that the Mill nearby was, indeed, called Gocam-Go.83 In January 1647, petitions to parliament revealed that neither Argyll nor Cawdor had received any rent from their lands for the past three years and no labour or savings could be looked for this coming year. Parliament authorised the huge sum of £15,000 to Argyll himself and a further £30,000 to the heritors – the landowners – of Argyll for the task of reconstruction. A tax was laid on all Scottish churches to raise money for the starving refugees and the widows and orphans of Breadalbane. A large part of this money would be needed for buying seed corn.84 On 29 January, Argyll was given a Commission to raise yet another regiment for the New Model Army, made up of eight companies, each comprised of 133 men. The Lieutenant Colonel was to be James Menzies and the Major, Matthew Campbell of Skipness. His earlier regiment, which had also been under Menzies’s command as Lieutenant Colonel, was the chief provider of men and, to it, were to be added men from Tullibardine’s regiment and, again, men from the lands of Glenorchy and Weem. By mid April, it was quartered in Ayrshire.85 The same day, James Campbell of Ardkinglas was also given the Colonelcy of a new regiment in the New Model Army by the estates. It was to be 800 strong, formed in eight companies and he was given the right to nominate the officers. Like Argyll, he was told to recruit the necessary extras from Tullibardine’s regiment and from Weem and Glenorchy.86 That spring of 1647 saw the rounding up and execution of the remnants of the Irish in the rest of Scotland. It was now that Alasdair carried out a pre-emptive campaign to spoil the lands through which Leslie must advance. Archibald MacDonald of Sanda and Duncan MacDougal led some 400–500 men through Kilmartin, Kilmichael and Kilberry, destroying the little that remained, while Angus MacDonald of Largie, with 1,000 men, burned Inveraray. The MacDonalds were gathering again in the north. Alasdair was in touch with Huntly, Duart and Lochbuie, causing Cowal and Lorne to cower in expectation of new attacks.87 On 5 May 1647, Alasdair officially appointed his father, Colkitto, to command Islay and the other islands. He was to defend Dunnyveg until ordered otherwise by Antrim or by Alasdair. It looks as if he himself had relinquished

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any idea of possessing Kintyre in favour of Antrim and was planning a strategic withdrawal to Ireland, where 5,000 men had been promised to him.88 On 17 May, the campaign for the recapture of Argyll commenced under General David Leslie, accompanied by Argyll, in his capacity as a member of the Committee of War and Colonel of his regiment which, like that of Ardkinglas, formed part of the force involved. Both regiments were still under strength. Before he left Edinburgh, Argyll had lost his temper with the French Agent, Jean de Montereuil, who tried to persuade him to let Alasdair depart in peace – possibly with an eye to recruiting him for the French service – ‘the only agreement he would come to was whether they were to make him shorter or longer than he was’.89 Leslie had 2,000–3,000 men, with a good force of cavalry. Alasdair had some 1,400 foot, with two troops of horse. The weather was unseasonably bad for May and Leslie lacked tents but he wanted to surprise Alasdair and, on top of this, the bubonic plague was getting closer. He ordered the advance. By 21 May, his men were at Inveraray and, on the twenty-third, they commenced the march to Kintyre. On 24 May, they surprised Alasdair at Rhunahaorine, south of Tarbert. He clearly had no idea that his foes were so close and, needless to say, there is a story to account for this. One of his men, a seer, looking at the shoulder blade of a cow they had just eaten, warned that they were being pursued. Another, similarly gifted, said, ‘Yes, indeed, and they are at this moment crossing a bridge made of stone and lime.’ To Alasdair, that meant the bridge at Arrochar. Leslie and his men, however, were crossing the recently built bridge over the Water of Douglas, south of Inveraray, many miles closer.90 Be that as it may, the Royalists were caught on the hop. They had lost the chance of exploiting the natural defences of the peninsula and Alasdair’s 1,300 foot were unprepared and no match for Leslie’s horse. For the loss of only nine wounded, the Covenanters killed sixty-eight of the enemy, captured three of their leaders and cleared the way into the south of Kintyre.91 If his cavalry had not gone forward too eagerly, Leslie might have destroyed the entire force there and then. That was enough for Alasdair. He is said to have panicked and killed his favourite mare, rather than let her fall into enemy hands, and some people, attempting to get into the boat with him, had their fingers chopped off on the gunwale.92 He then slipped across to Gigha. This was not without remonstrations from his officers, whom he left under the command of MacDonald of Sanda. His excuse was that he was going to fetch reinforcements. Sanda ordered his men to light fires – to persuade the enemy they were still

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there – while they withdrew quietly in the darkness to the south. Most of his men melted away but, with the remnant, he took up post in the castle of Dunaverty.93 The day after the battle, Dougall Campbell of Inverawe was ordered to take 300 men and go after Alasdair. There was a great shortage of boats and it was not until 19 June that he was eventually able to make the crossing, along with 220 foot and eighty horse, to Gigha where Leslie and the rest of the army joined him on the twenty-third. But much had happened before then.94 On 26 May 1647, Leslie occupied the abandoned fort at Loch Head (Campbeltown). He then moved south to Dunaverty, now garrisoned by some 200 men – although another report puts the number at 500.95 It may be that the larger figure includes women and children. At first, the defence was successful but then Leslie’s men attacked and took the trench protecting the castle’s water supply. In the skirmish, they killed some forty of the Royalists, losing five or six of their own, including Matthew Campbell of Skipness, the Major of Argyll’s regiment. Without water, the defenders were doomed and duly came to parley. They were offered terms, although Leslie made it clear that they were yielding to the kingdom’s mercy and not to his. The distinction boded ill and, after two days’ irresolution, according to Sir James Turner, veteran soldier of fortune, who was there, the Church’s representative, one Mr. John Nevoy, had his way and persuaded the hesitant Leslie, threatening him with the fate of Saul for sparing the Amalekites. The captives were thereupon butchered. Those who were not cut down were roped together in pairs and thrown from the high rock on which the castle stood. At the end of the slaughter, Leslie, the Marquess and Mr. Nevoy, according to the story, were walking in blood over their ankles. A document at Inveraray gives the name of some ninety of the slain – this being only a partial list of the victims. Of the ninety listed, forty-nine are MacDougalls, including two of the Chief ’s brothers, three of his first cousins, the nephew of MacDougall of Raray, together with the lairds of Ardmore and Degnish. There was a handful of survivors, for whom Sir James Turner interceded, as well as 100 ‘country fellows’ – locals who had been smoked out of a cave where they had taken refuge. This cave was possibly one of those in the cliff behind Columbkille, at the far end of the beach beside Dunaverty. They were handed over to Loudoun’s brother, Lawers. MacDonald of Sanda, commander of the garrison, was killed but his grandson, the infant John MacDougall, younger of Dunolly, the future MacDougall chief, was rescued by his nurse who escaped with the baby and hid in a cave

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on the Mull of Kintyre. Angus MacEachran of Killellan was killed but, before being despatched, managed to pass his title deeds in a small box to Sir James Turner. These were passed, as he had requested, to the Marquess who, years later, confirmed the rights of Angus’s son to the ancient family lands. But hundreds died without any mercy. The story has it that the relatives of those killed at Lagganmore now took their revenge. It is not, perhaps, without significance that it is the MacDougalls who are listed in detail. They had fought with the Campbells at Inverlochy but had deserted them thereafter. The bones of the leaders are said to lie in the small stone enclosure on the machair, between Dunaverty and the present village of Southend. Well over a hundred years later, a low tide would reveal, below the castle rock, the skulls and bones of those who had died.96 Years later, in 1661, the then MacDougall of MacDougall, the child in arms of the above story, claimed that the slaughter of the garrison of Dunaverty was at the instigation of the Marquess. His father had been followed by 500 of his men out under arms against Argyll who had burnt and devastated all the MacDougall lands.97 Called as a witness at the eventual trial of the Marquess, however, Sir James Turner went out of his way to exonerate the Marquess on this charge.98 After the fall of Dunaverty, Leslie returned first to Loch Head and then to Tarbert. At Loch Head, there were executions. Macalister of Loup and two of his sons were despatched on Whinny Hill. According to the later indictment of the Marquess and various Campbells, they had surrendered to Leslie on terms and had gone home, from where they were seized and despatched. From Tarbert, Leslie set sail for Islay via Gigha. There was a shortage of boats again and he could only take half his infantry and some eighty cavalry with him. The remainder were left on the mainland, under Colonel Robert Montgomery. He went off, according to Turner, to besiege MacDougall of MacDougall, presumably at Dunolly. On 24 June, they landed on Islay, four miles from the castle of Dunnyveg, and advanced to set siege to it. A week later, the castle governor, old Colkitto, was captured. He was an old friend of his erstwhile gaoler Campbell of Dunstaffnage and really very naively came out of the beleaguered fortress ‘on some parole or other’ to have a chat with Dunstaffnage when he was taken prisoner – ‘not without some staine’, as Turner observes, ‘to the Lieutenant Generall’s honor’. The fortalice on the Isle of Loch Gorm held out for some days in a desultory siege but Leslie had left with the main body for Jura ‘a horride ile, and a habitation fit for deere and wild beasts’, as Turner has it, where he met Major General Middleton with two regiments of foot and some horse.99 Mull was the next objective. Sir Lachlan Maclean of Duart submitted,

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saving his lands ‘with the losse of his reputation, if ever he was capable to have any’. Not only did he offer his eldest son as hostage but he handed over fourteen Irishmen who had all along been faithful to him and forthwith they were hanged by Leslie. Turner notes that, ‘It was not well done to demand them from Macklaine, bot inexcusablie ill done of him to betray them.’ Maclean and Leslie were not alone in attracting Turner’s disfavour. Here I cannot forget one Sir Donald Cambell, a very old man, fleshed in blood from his verie infancie, who with all imaginable violence pressd that all the whole clan of Macklaine sould be put to the edge of the sword; nor wold he be commanded to forebeare his bloody sute by the Lieutenant Generall and the tuo Generall Majors, and with some difficultie was he commanded silence by his chiefe the Marques of Argile. Old Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan, although approaching eighty, had lost none of his aggression against the enemies of Clan Campbell.100 The army crossed to the mainland and took Clanranald’s Castle Tioram. In early August, Leslie returned to Stirling with the army. With him he took old Colkitto who was, however, returned to Argyll a few weeks later at the Marquess’s request.101 Once back in Argyll, the old man was delighted to be sent as a prisoner to his great friend Dunstaffnage. He lived at Dunstaffnage in great comfort, his captivity being only nominal. Indeed, word of this reached the Marquess at Inveraray who sent one of his people to find out the situation. By great good fortune, MacKillop, Dunstaffnage’s standard-bearer and henchman, was at Inveraray on an errand and overheard the conversation. By dint of going as hard as he could he arrived back at Dunstaffnage with Argyll’s emissary too close behind him for comfort. As he suspected, Colkitto, far from being locked up in some place of confinement, was enjoying the sunshine in front of the castle. He could only shout from across the bay but, happily, his cry of ‘Coll in chains! Coll in chains!’ was understood and, by the time the Marquess’s inspector had arrived, Colkitto was suitably incarcerated. Sadly this idyll came to an end when with the enforcement of due legal process, Colkitto was taken out and hanged, it is said, from the mast of his own galley. He had asked to be buried near to his old friend and was duly buried under the flagstone at the entrance to the Chapel of Dunstaffnage a few hundred yards from the castle.102 On 14 September 1647, the Marquess, as Lieutenant of the Committee of War, met with the lairds and gentlemen of Argyll at Dunstaffnage. Taking into account the state of the shire at that time, they made the following agreement:

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1. Ministers of the Church to be restored, together with all civil officials, bailies coroners and the like. All vagabonds, robbers, etc were to conform to the laws of the kingdom. 2. The present regulations forbidding the sale or export of any cattle furth of the shire was to stand, with weekly markets to be set up as follows:

3.

4. 5.

6.

Area

Site

Day

Lorne

both sides of the Connell

Tuesday

Argyl

Anagra (probably Kilmichael Glassary)

Wednesday

Glenorchy and Braes of Lorne

Moor beside the Kirk of Glenorchy

Wednesday

Cowal

Strachur Kirk

Thursday

Those who had goods to sell were to remain for three hours from 10 a.m. Any unsold goods might be brought to the general market of the shire at Inveraray every Friday. Prices were set as follows: for a great cow/best mart, 25 merks, with younger beasts priced in proportion; for sheep, 40/–; for horses and mares, the price was to be moderate but unspecified; for goats, 21⁄2 merks. Those who ignored the regulations were to be punished. No more wandering around at pleasure. By the start of the following November, all men were to have attached themselves to a master, from whom they took land in one form or another, and they should have a written certificate to that effect. Importing from Lochaber and the Isles was to be allowed under licence. Because many who had had tacks before the troubles and burning of the country had been removed and some had been killed, within a month, all landlords were to instruct all those who were alive, or the next of kin of those deceased, to come and take possession, preference being given to kindly tenants who should have as much land as they could work at a reasonable rate. All were to be in readiness to rise in arms in defence of the shire and those who failed to do so would be punished. It was appointed that the Laird of Glencarradale, in the absence of the usual person, shall be in charge of Argyll proper. In the absence of Ardkinglas, the Captain of Carrick should be in command of Cowal. If Glenorchy, father or son,

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were absent, then Lochnell would take responsibility for the whole of Lorne and the Marquess was to appoint a deputy for Kintyre. 7. All former rebels who were now pardoned to be properly treated. 8. The Marquess was to arrange that the commanders of the two Highland regiments should send a strong company to guard the braes between the head of Loch Leven and the head of Loch Long. Meanwhile, all concerned were to keep watch seaward against invasion. 9. Acts of parliament and laws against theft, sorning, oppression, cutting and destroying woods, slaying deer, roe and keeper fish, etc were to be observed.103 So things slowly and painfully started once again towards normalcy. Men were still away in the ranks and labour was very short. The Marquess’s regiment was still under arms. That winter of 1647, it was quartered in Ayrshire, with detachments manning garrisons at Comrie, Finlarig, Balloch, Isle of Loch Tay, Weem and Ruthven, until September 1648. Although the provisions of the Solemn League and Covenant were still the guiding light of the Scots, they had increasingly become under strain. The evolution of politics in Cromwell’s army and its growing influence seemed to threaten the future position of the King. The safeguarding of this led, in December 1647, to the signing of the Engagement by which Charles promised to have the Solemn League and Covenant confirmed by parliament, and to give the Presbyterian system of government a trial of at least three years in England, Scotland and Ireland. The Committee of Estates and the Scottish parliament were persuaded by Hamilton to give their support, leaving Argyll and the Kirk in isolation and the clergy without their former dominion over the nobility. The existence of the Engagement also brought to an end the cooperation that had been developing between the Scots and the English army. On 28 January 1648, Inveraray received the accolade of promotion to a Royal Burgh. Apart from the increased status, benefits were limited since most of the privileges were already held and none brought any increase in income, while the Burgh’s financial obligations were increased. For the first fifty years of its new identity, Inveraray was to struggle to make ends meet.104 On 5 April 1648, 600 men from Argyll’s and from Ardkinglas’s Highland regiments received orders to proceed against Clanranald and his Irish allies in the Islands of Skye, Rum, Eigg, Uist and Barra. No more details exist but, a year later, Clanranald’s lands were duly forfeited.105 That same month, Argyll and his supporters drafted a petition of the officers in support of the Kirk and against the Engagers. This was followed

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by the decision of the Scots parliament, in which the Marquess and his friends were now in a minority, to raise a Scots army for the invasion of England. Thirty thousand was the targeted strength but, in fact, a mere third of that number was successfully recruited. Argyll retired to Inveraray and took no part in the undertaking, in spite of his having been named as colonel of one of the regiments to be raised. It is thought that, in fact, he contacted Cromwell with the suggestion that he send a detachment into Scotland against Hamilton.106 Then, in June, a party of West Lowland Covenanters, headed by their ministers, was defeated at Mauchline in Ayrshire by the government force under General Middleton.107 On 3 July 1648, Argyll received a further Commission for a regiment of 800 foot to be raised from his section of Inverness-shire.108 This was, presumably, in addition to his existing regiment but to what extent the provisions of the Commission were put into effect is not clear, although a later reference to the Marquess’s three regiments would imply that it existed at least in part.109 On the eighth, the new Scots army crossed the Border and set course to descend through the sympathetic north-west of England. But they were badly caught by Cromwell at Preston on 17 August 1648 and, again, at Winwick, near Warrington, two days later, before finally surrendering to the English at Uttoxeter, on 25 August. Some of Argyll’s existing regiment in Scotland did go with Hamilton into England and fifteen officers and men surrendered with the remainder of the Scots infantry at Warrington.110 Ardkinglas’s regiment had also declared for the Kirk against the Engagers. They refused to come out and remained in their quarters until September when the regiment may have become part of the Army of the Covenant.111 The news of the Duke of Hamilton’s defeat and capture by the English once more left Argyll in control of Scotland. The Covenanters in the southwest now rose in force – six thousand strong – and, under Lord Eglinton and the Campbell Lord Loudoun, Chancellor of Scotland, they marched east to Edinburgh which they took on 5 September 1648, in what became known as the ‘Whiggamore Raid’. Argyll mustered 300 Campbells at Dumbarton, together with the same number from the Lennox and West Stirlingshire, plus 100 horse, and marched to Stirling, arriving there on 10 September. The Earl of Leven once more took over the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Covenanter army with his nephew, General Sir David Leslie, as his Lieutenant General.112 Meanwhile, the Committee of Estates, with their few remaining forces, retired to Stirling and they very nearly caught Argyll there on 12 September, on his way to the capital. The Marquess was dining with Mar when the news arrived of the approach of Munro and Lanark. Munro had previously landed in late July

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from Ulster with 1,900 men, and now he was at the gates with a force 4,000 strong. Argyll’s forces panicked. The Marquess himself fled with the horse. He was pursued all the way to North Queensferry, where he took to a boat that transported him to Leith and safety. The foot had fled back, meanwhile, across Stirling Bridge but Munro caught them and 100 were killed, including forty men from Glenorchy, under command of William Campbell of Glenfalloch. Still others were taken prisoner. But the Engager cause was hopeless and, on 26 September, the Committee of Estates formally surrendered, leaving the Marquess of Argyll de facto head of the government of Scotland.113 As such, it fell to the Marquess to open communications once more with Cromwell, whom he went to meet just north of Berwick-on-Tweed. On 1 October, both sides in Scotland, faced by the intervention of the more powerful English, agreed to lay down their arms.114 The Whiggamores would continue to rule until the elections of fresh Parliament and General Assembly early the following year.115 Cromwell himself came to Edinburgh, on 4 October 1648, where he was well received. The Marquess and Lord Warriston dined with Cromwell that first night in his lodging in Moray House, where he was guarded by a detachment of his own troops. It would appear that it was their conversation that led to Cromwell’s request, the next day, to the English Parliament that anyone who had supported the Engagement should be excluded from all public life or position of trust. Argyll and Warriston were to carry a similar resolution into effect at the first meeting of the new Scottish parliament in January of the following year, 1649.116

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CHAPTER TEN

The Bitter End

Archibald, 8th Earl and 1st Marquess of Argyll, 1638–1661: 1649–1661 n the last day of January 1649, an event took place that was to leave its indelible mark on both the English and Scottish nations, when King Charles stepped from the window of the Banqueting Hall in Whitehall to lay his head upon the block. It was severed at a single blow and the groan that rose involuntarily from the bystanders was to echo down the centuries. Mr. There was more general sympathy in Scotland for the monarchy than had long been the case. The Kirk party gave their allegiance, providing the new King agreed to the Covenant and promised security for the Kirk. Argyll now found his position in jeopardy due to his recent support for the English troops. He sent Sir Joseph Douglas to Holland to treat with the new King but the latter preferred the scheme put forward by the Marquess of Montrose. By the summer of 1650, the Kirk party found itself in danger of being isolated between resisting a Royalist landing, led by Montrose, and invasion by the English.1 Argyll’s regiment (the regiment raised in 1647 which went with the Marquess and General Leslie into Kintyre) was ordered to produce two companies who were to march north, at the end of February, with a detachment of Colonel Holbourn’s, in order to suppress Pluscarden’s mutiny. In June, they were to be found manning the garrisons of Blair Atholl, Garth and Ruthven with the main body under Lieutenant Colonel Menzies based on Glasgow. On 6 July 1950, a detachment was ordered to march to Tarbert.2 This appears to have been part of the general cleaning up process after the previous decade, with the lands of Argyll still ruined by the devastation they had suffered and a general shortage of manpower, due to losses and continued service in the ranks, On 26 February 1650, as part of this process, Angus MacDonald of Sanda had a Decree of Reduction against him, as the heir of his grandfather, Angus,

O

253

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who had been executed at Dunaverty under Martial Law, for engaging in rebellion and hence all his charters from the Marquess were now declared null and void.3 On 18 April, the Marquess had sasine of all the sixty-four merklands of MacDonald of Largie, which had now been erected into a Free Tenandry, following Largie’s forfeiture for burning houses on the Marquess’s lands and killing his tenants. It was at this time that the Marquess began the process of introducing Lowland settlers into his lands of Kintyre to replace the former occupiers who had been his foes. They were men of rank, mainly from Ayrshire, being either lairds themselves or the sons of lairds. Later, they were joined by others who included a number of Campbells. The initial dozen were: William Ralston of Ralston; the Laird of Dunlop; Mr. Cuthbert Cunningham, son of Sir Alexander Cunningham of Corsehill; James Hamilton of Aitkenhead; the heirs of the late John Porterfield of Hapland; James Hamilton of Ardoch; Robert Montgomery of Hazelhead; John Cunningham of Hill of Beith; Cornet Alexander Mure and Colonel Robert Mure – both sons of the Laird of Rowallan; Captain Patrick Montgomerie, later of Blackhouse, Largs; and Captain James Forbes. Between them, they were granted tacks over some 111 merklands.4 Ralston of Ralston received a tack of the lands of Saddell, amounting to 231⁄2 merklands in all. On 30 April 1650, he signed an agreement with the Marquess over the rebuilding of the castle there. Part of the agreement read as follows: as weill in hewen work, bartizane and other wayes as it was first contryved and shall putt on ane sufficient rooff of firr and sklaitt on the said hous and lay all the loftis thereof with sufficient firr restis and daillis an putt up the partitione walls . . . and to have the said hous sufficientlie and compleitlie outraid and perfytted at the sight of craftesmen of skill before the 1 Nov 1652. And all the work was to be done for the sum of 5,000 merks.5 On 27 April 1650, the Marquess’s arch-enemy, Montrose, was finally defeated at Carbisdale on the border of Sutherland and Easter Ross. He had landed from the Orkneys with a body of foreign troops together with some of the local Orcadians and a body of mounted friends. His march south had provoked a swift response and he found himself in face of a greatly superior force which had little difficulty in disposing of his scanty band. Montrose himself fled from the field, together with the Earl of Kinnoul and two Sinclairs. Wounded, he took the first chance of swapping his clothes for the garb of a peasant and struggled on up the course of the River Oykel. Lord

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Kinnoul could go no further and collapsed – his body was never found. But the starving Montrose staggered on until he fell into the hands of MacLeod of Assynt who delivered him to the authorities. After an almost triumphal journey to Edinburgh, Montrose stood trial and was condemned to be hanged. On 21 May, his last walk down the Canongate to the place of execution was made into an affair of high drama, as, so it is claimed, he passed under the triumphant gaze of Argyll who was hiding behind the blinds of Moray House. After he had been killed, he was cut down and his head and limbs severed from his trunk for public exhibition in the chief places of the kingdom.6 The process of pacification of the western Highlands and Isles continued. On 9 May 1650, Donald Maclean of Ardtornish, Charles Maclean of Fiunary, John Maclean of Kinlochaline, Daniel Maclean, Duart’s uncle, and Allan MacQuarie, fiar of Ulva, all submitted.7 On 19 June 1650, Argyll’s regiment was ordered to Edinburgh, leaving behind garrisons in Ruthven (thirty men), Inverlochy (twenty men) and Duart (twenty men).8 But affairs were now coming to a head on a national scale. On 24 June, King Charles II, having signed the Covenant, landed in Scotland. The following day, the mobilisation of the Scottish army began under the 2nd Duke of Hamilton whose qualifications, such as they were, included service in the Low Countries under Gustavus Adolphus.9 Forming the army had been slow and there were many opposed to the enterprise. Argyll himself had withdrawn to Inveraray to avoid signing the Bond for the army’s maintenance and, although named as a colonel in the army, in spite of himself, he did little to aid it. Only some ten thousand strong, instead of the projected thirty thousand, the army contained many levies from those clans opposed to the Campbells in the recent internal conflicts.10 On 3 July, Argyll received a further Commission for a regiment of 800 foot, to be raised from his section of Inverness-shire.11 This was, presumably, in addition to his existing regiment but to what extent the provisions of the Commission were put into effect is not clear. On 22 July 1650, Cromwell crossed the Tweed with an army 16,000 strong. Facing them, the Scots army, under the two Leslies, fell back to Dunbar, employing a scorched earth policy to make supply of the invaders more difficult. The Scots morale was low, the army having undergone several purges of less politically correct elements.12 But, at first, they held the English and, if anything, actually had the better of it. On 6 August, the Marquess’s son, Lord Lorne, was given the King’s Commission ‘for his eminent loyalty and courageous valour’ as Captain of His Majesty’s Life Guards with the power to appoint all his subordinate officers.13

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Then on 3 September, Cromwell, who had looked as if he was going to have to evacuate his troops by sea, fell upon the Scots in a surprise dawn attack and shattered them. Among the Scots regiments most heavily engaged and suffering severe casualties was that of Campbell of Lawers, who himself commanded a brigade at the battle. Indeed, Lawers’s brigade was, by now, the most battle experienced and battle-scarred of all the Covenanting units. Other Campbell involvement included Lord Mauchline, heir to Loudoun, who commanded a regiment of horse from Ayrshire and Renfrew and Lord Lorne, in command of the Life Guard of Foot. Lawer’s force was particularly mentioned by the English: onely Lawers his regiment of High-Landers made a good defence, and the chief officer, a Lieutenant Colonel being slain by one of the Generals Sergeants, the Colonel was absent of the name of the Campbells, they stood to the push of the pike, and were all cut in pieces those were all the Foot that ingaged. The English now took over virtually the whole of south and east of Scotland including the capital, Edinburgh, whose castle surrendered on 23 December. A new ‘Western Army’ was formed from extreme elements of the Scots Kirk. In spite of their views, they determined to continue the fight against the English but when they attacked the enemy at Hamilton, they, too, were defeated.14 Among those who rejoiced in the defeat at Dunbar was, it is claimed, King Charles himself who saw himself freed from his virtual captivity in the hands of the Scots. Argyll, who had for sometime been in amicable contact with Cromwell, now found himself the leader of the Scots with, behind him, a nation that was divided between extreme Covenanters and the Royalist faction. The King lost no time in attempting to bind him safely to his cause, writing, on 24 September, a letter which promised Argyll for his ‘faithful endeavours . . . for restoring me to my just rights’ a dukedom, the Knighthood of the Garter, the post of Gentleman of the Bed Chamber and the repayment of the £40,000 he was due.15 While doing this, he was simultaneously negotiating with a party of Royalists to rendezvous with them, the King declaring himself as having been badly treated since his arrival in Scotland, particularly by the Marquess of Argyll. On 4 October, the King, nominally engaged on a hawking party from his residence in Perth, set spurs to his horse and galloped for the west but either the date was wrong or the promised support never turned up. In any case, a night on the hill persuaded him of the superior comforts of Perth to which he returned, making the troop of horse Argyll sent after him superfluous.16

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The incident, however, caused Argyll and his party considerable alarm. An ill-judged rising in favour of the King could not but bring the full weight of the English down upon them with fatal results. There was a growing tide of opinion that the King had been poorly treated and, as a concession, it was decided to call a parliament at which he should preside, while preparations went ahead for his coronation. On 1 January 1651, the coronation took place. By all accounts, compared with the splendours of the previous occasion, it was a drab affair, preceded by days of fasting and other humiliations, which included a public admission by the King of his own sins and those of his forebears. There was some pomp and ceremony, however, and the crown itself was placed on the King’s head by the Marquess of Argyll after a lengthy sermon and the signing of the National Covenant, at the end of which the Marquess placed him on the throne.17 It was at this time that Argyll’s position of influence in Scotland was such that the suggestion was made and discussed that King Charles should marry one of his daughters – the Lady Anne Campbell. King Charles, indeed, did discuss it with his mother but the question then seems to have become a means of keeping the Marquess on friendly terms, without any real intention of pushing matters to a conclusion.18 Argyll now found himself increasingly isolated between the two extremes into which Scottish political opinion was now divided – the fanatical Covenanters on the one hand and the equally committed Royalists on the other. He showed little enthusiasm for either. On 29 April, the Committee of Estates wrote to complain because he had not sent out his share of men levied from Argyll and Lochaber nor, as Sheriff of Argyll, had he submitted the costs of the levy for that area.19 Around the same time, a Petition to the King and to the Estates was submitted by Robert Campbell of Achawillan and Alexander Campbell of Pennymore against the Laird of Lamont and Archibald, his brother, for the malicious burning and destruction of all their houses, the theft of goods and the murder of their people. They had been taken to Stirling Castle where they should now be kept until the day of their trial. The memorandum is endorsed that nothing, in fact, followed, with and the King’s going to England so soon and the taking of the castle by the English who set the two captives at liberty.20 In July, Cromwell, finding himself faced by the King and his Scottish army south of Stirling, executed a flanking move, sending a force under Colonel Lambert across the Forth to Fife on 17 July. Three days later, on the twentieth, they inflicted a major blow on the Royalists at Inverkeithing. Particularly hard hit were the Macleans – from their 800-strong regiment, only thirty-five reached home again.21 Cromwell now ranged through Fife and on 2 August,

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Stirling town surrendered, followed on the fifteenth by the castle. At the end of the month, Colonel Matthew Alured succeeded in capturing the Committee of Estates at Alyth. But, by now, the Scots had seen an opportunity. With Cromwell having moved into Fife, the way south stood open and the invasion of England commenced. Marching via the north-western route, the Scots reached Worcester on 22 July. Here, the English army, under Cromwell, caught up with them and the King and his Scots suffered their final defeat on 3 September 1651. It was a comprehensive one – out of 13,000 Scots, 2,000 were killed and 10,000 taken prisoner and King Charles began his celebrated flight to nine years of exile on the Continent. Leslie, fleeing north with the remnants of the horse, was taken prisoner outside Manchester. The Campbells were relatively untouched. Argyll had taken no part in the invasion – he had been able to use his wife’s dangerous illness as an excuse for withdrawing, with the King’s permission, to Inveraray.22 Lord Lorne, with his Life Guard, took part in the battle and one or two individual Campbells fell at Worcester but, as already mentioned, most of the Scots army there was made up of the Royalist faction. Loudoun summoned the remnants of the Estates to meet at Killin on 5 September. He had persuaded his kinsman to return from isolation and to take over the reins of what remained of Scotland. A meeting of the Scots parliament was summoned to convene in November at Finlarig, in Campbell country. But the English were in no mood to recognise such a body. On 9 September, the English parliament resolved to settle lands in Scotland upon the victorious commanders. This broke down as follows: £1,000 worth to Major General Lambert; £500 to Lieutenant General Monck; £300 to Lieutenant Colonel John Okey; and £200 to Colonel Matthew Alured. The original plan was for Scotland to become a province of England but this was replaced, in October, by the intention to make it part of the English Commonwealth.23 Argyll now moved to make overtures to the English. He wrote thus to Monck: I desire to know from you, as one having cheife trust in this kingdome; if it were not fit that some men who have deserved Trust in both Kingdomes may not meet to good purpose in some convenient place, as a meanes to stop the shedding of more Christian blood? Monck replied that he could not move without the agreement of parliament.24 Argyll now proceeded to make his own, personal peace with the new regime. He was given a pass to go to Perth to meet Colonel Brayne and Major

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Pierson, on 19 November, and he also got permission to take a thirty-strong personal bodyguard with him.25 It was later reported, with considerable unease, that a thousand Campbells had gathered at Inveraray for Argyll to make his choice.26 Cromwell’s troops now bore all before them. Immediately after the battle of Worcester, they took Montrose and Aberdeen. Huntly surrendered on 21 November. They closed in on Moray and Inverness, crossing the Spey on 1 December. Lord Balcarres surrendered on 3 December, Inverness fell and, by the end of December 1651, the English were into Ross, Sutherland and Caithness, whence a party crossed to subdue the Orkneys. On 29 December, Dumbarton Castle gave in after a siege. During this period, various clans had risen but had failed to achieve anything and only Argyll’s refusal to be backed into a corner by the English and his and Loudoun’s attempts to convene a Scottish parliament in various Highland fastnesses represented any resistance on the part of the Scots.27 Sometime during that year, Glenorchy compiled a list of his friends, relations, tenants and servants who had been killed during the recent troubles while they were serving under him in the public interest. They were: Patrick Campbell of Edinample, the Laird’s brother, who was killed at Kilsyth with various followers; Captain Lieutenant Duncan Campbell, fiar of Edinchip, who was killed at Philiphaugh; Alexander Campbell, his brother, who was killed in England; common soldiers in Glenorchy’s company of Lord Bask’s regiment, eighteen of whom were killed in England; John Campbell of Craichens and John Campbell, captain of the Garrison of Finlarig, who were both nephews of the Laird, Captain Hugh Campbell; Duncan MacArthur, brother of Inistrynich, Colin Campbell of Murlagganmor, all of whom were killed, on 4 June 1646, by the men of Lochaber, and a further twenty-one men who were dangerously wounded; five of the Laird’s company in Argyle’s regiment, killed at Dumbarton in Kintyre – five from the same company killed in North – three tenants and servants at various times – nineteen tenants in Glengarry who were killed by men of Mull and Ardgour.28 The Black Book of Taymouth gives further details of the load laid upon Glenorchy and his men by the Civil Wars in terms of men and money. In 1643, he had paid 520 merks for the eighty men that went to England to fight under Captain Alexander Campbell. The previous year, 1642, he had given his son, John, who went to England with Argyll, the sum of a thousand merks. In 1643 again, it had been the turn of Patrick Campbell of Innerzeldies, forbear of the Campbells of Barcaldine, to go there, fully clothed, equipped and mounted as a member of Argyll’s Troop of Life Guards, at a cost of a further thousand merks, with another 500 merks going to four other members of his

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clan, similarly employed. In 1644 and 1645, the whole of his lands between the Ford of the Lyon and the Point of Lismore were burnt by the Royalists so that the total losses sustained by him and his people in Perthshire and Argyll was assessed at the huge sum of 1,200,000 merks. The list of the fallen above does not mention Sir Robert’s son, William Campbell of Glenfalloch, who was killed at Stirling, with forty of his men who are added to the further 200 Glenorchy men killed in the campaigns in both England and Scotland. Many of the fallen must have been from his lands in Argyll since the 1638 Muster reckons that Glenorchy’s men of military age in the parishes of Killin and Strathfillan, Dull and Weem and Inchaddin only number around a hundred.29 The losses sustained both in men and in goods were nothing short of appalling. On a happier note, on 13 December, Dougall Campbell of Inverawe was given a nineteen-year tack of the fifty-three merklands of Largie in Kintyre. The eventual rent was to be 50 merks per merkland but, due to the devastated state of the lands, this would not be payable until 1564 with the initial payment only a fifth of that. A condition was that Inverawe was not to set any part of the lands to anyone named MacDonald, Macalister, MacKay or MacEan or any islander without the Marquess’s written consent. He was also to repair ‘the Laigh House of Rownaherin’ and he or his brother were always to reside there and to keep the woods of Rhunahaorine and Leargnahension in good order, as well as acting as Keepers of the Isle of Cara and of any wild beasts or goods that the Marquess should put there. For these services he agreed to pay Inverawe an annual pension of 600 merks.30 In January 1652, the English Commissioners met at Dalkeith in order to organise the governance of Scotland. The Marquess failed to attend. At the end of the month, however, the gentlemen of Argyll appointed Archibald Campbell of Drimsynie to represent them as their Commissioner at the parliament in England and they also took the opportunity of asserting that, because of all the troubles they had undergone, they were in no state to pay the assessment or any other tax. They also promised to release Drimsynie from his post once he had reported back to them – unless he wished to carry on.31 The sending of a representative from Argyll placated the English for the moment and they agreed to another meeting with the Marquess at Dumbarton on 17 March.32 The Marquess now made provision for his daughters. On 16 March, he decreed that Lady Anne should receive a tocher of 2,000 merks a year, Lady Mary, 1,800 merks a year, and Lady Jean and Lady Isobel, each 1,200 merks a year. Lord Lorne could, if he so wished, redeem these payments by cash sums of £40,000 to his eldest sister, £30,000 to Lady Jean, and £20,000 to

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each of the youngest ones.33 His charter to his younger son, Lord Neil, of the lands of Barbreck-Lochawe marked the passing of one of the most remarkable Campbells of his own or any other age. Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan, whose first lands these had been, had begun life as an illegitimate son of Campbell of Cawdor. Bred to the church, in which he attained useful rank as Dean of Lismore, he made his name when his father was assassinated in the plot of 1592 and his ferocious pursuit of his father’s killers brought him into close contact with the threatened young Earl of Argyll. Thereafter, he seems to have never been far away from his Chiefs, marrying two illegitimate daughters of the house of Argyll and ever ready to help his patron slit a throat or engage in a deal. ‘Ane terrible old man, fleshed in blood from his very infancie’, as Sir James Turner described him, he had amassed a considerable fortune and, for a considerable period, was one of the leading members of the clan. Now well into his eighties, he had been failing for some time, according to his detractors. ‘As for Sir Donald trewlie latt noe man think of him that he is now adayes as he hes bein in power of judgement or soe circumspect in his awine affairis or utheris’, as Archibald Campbell of Lerags had written as early as 1642.34 Sir Donald’s brother, Colin Campbell of Clunes, had long been his heir, since his only son had predeceased him, but, towards the very end, he changed his mind and made his nephew George Campbell, Tutor of Cawdor, his heir. George, son of Sir John Campbell of Cawdor, was married to Sir Donald’s granddaughter, Janet Campbell of Dunstaffnage, and, although Ardnamurchan reverted to the Marquess and Barbreck-Lochawe went to Sir Donald’s wife in liferent and then to Lord Neill, George and his wife founded the family of the Campbells of Airds with Sir Donald’s considerable possessions in Appin and Lismore. Donald’s funeral, said to have been at Ardchattan but no identifiable stone to him survives there, was a grand affair. During it, a whole cow was consumed, together with two stone of cheese, fifty-two gallons of ale and five gallons and a quart of whisky.35 Scandal attended him even on his deathbed, where he called repeatedly for MacOnlea or Livingstone, Baron of the Bachuil, whose lands and title derived from his hereditary post of Keeper of the Bachuil or Crozier of St. Columba’s contemporary Saint Moluag. His lands on Lismore had been much diminished by a stratagem of Sir Donald who, having summoned the whole parish to a service in the church of Appin, managed to insinuate the fleece of a prized black lamb into the Baron’s Barn where it was duly ‘discovered’. Faced with hanging for sheep stealing or handing over a large part of his lands, the wretched Baron made the obvious choice. Now Sir Donald wished to make amends but it was too late and,

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when he died, his accomplice and servant is said to have hurled himself from the neighbouring cliffs.36 Between March and June 1652, the English now set in train a fortressbuilding programme across Scotland. That at St Johnstone (Perth) was complete and others were planned for Inverlochy, Inverness, Ayr and Leith.37 The English garrison in Scotland now numbered five regiments of horse and eleven regiments of foot. On 17 March, Argyll met the English Commissioners at Dumbarton. He did not fall in with all their demands but did agree to have his lands garrisoned and to send properly elected deputies from the shire to the parliament in Dalkeith.38 On 26 April 1652, the Marquess gave Lochnell a fifteen-year tack of Ardnamurchan and Sunart, together with the castle of Mingary. The rent was to be 4,500 merks a year and there were restrictions on subletting to anyone who was called MacDonald, MacRonald, Macalister, MacEan or Mackay.39 On 30 December, he sold Sunart to Lochnell outright.40 Late in June, Monck commenced his campaign to subdue the Highlands. Faced with force majeure the Marquess invited the English to his country. An attempt to land forces in Kintyre from Ayr by Colonel Overton was unsuccessful. Had it not been for Argyll’s intervention, the whole force would have had their throats cut. There were divisions appearing, however. Ralston remained loyal to the Marquess and the English party. Lilburne, indeed, reported to Cromwell that Ralston was to raise three troops of horse – of whom no more is heard – and MacNaughton, swearing vengeance on Ralston, was dismissed as Chamberlain of Kintyre by the Marquess.41 In July, the army was back again in Kintyre. This time, the Marquess made a great show of welcoming them and, although the officers were distinctly mistrustful of his motives, they led the force to Dunstaffnage, Dunolly and Inveraray itself.42 On 1 August 1652, Argyll signed a formal agreement of acceptance of the Union of England and Scotland and pledged himself to live quietly ‘under the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England and their authority’, at the same time inserting a clause which reserved his demands in favour of Kirk and Covenant. He agreed that either he or his son would serve as hostage, if required, and that the agreement should cover his clansmen. The English agreed to leave him in situ, provided his taxes were paid and that he allowed English garrisons in all of his houses except Inveraray and Kintyre. There was a contretemps when the Marquess was welcomed aboard ship by Major General Deane, whose salute of guns was taken to be hostile. The rumour immediately spread that the Marquess had been taken prisoner whereupon ‘the fires were made and the red Ribands sent from Clan from Clan’. Between

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1,000 and 1,500 Highlanders gathered and the garrisons of Tarbert and Loch Kilkerran were taken, while those of Dunolly and Dunstaffnage were put under siege. Colonel Overton’s regiment, who had marched from Kintyre, establishing the above garrisons, were now at Inveraray, under orders to leave for the south. It was not going to be easy. The country was up in arms, under the impression that Argyll was indeed held captive. A large force of Highlanders were waiting for the departing regiment at the Pass of Restand-be-Thankful at the head of Glen Croe which the English could only get through by a narrow and vulnerable path. Their fate would have been extreme, had not the Marquess intervened, claiming that they had been given safe conduct. ‘Yet God, who restrains the fury of the most savage beasts, doth also muzzle the mouthes and stop the outrages of bloody-minded men’, as the letter reporting their safe arrival in Paisley has it.43 Early in October, Captain Mutloe, who had recently been revictualled by sea, sallied out from Dunstaffnage and fell on his tormentors, killing several. The ship that brought the supplies landed on an island adjoining Kintyre and burnt corn and houses. Thereafter, the besiegers of Dunolly and Dunstaffnage kept a more respectful distance.44 The situation was finally sorted out at the end of October, when Argyll signed a new agreement which provided, inter alia, that garrisons were only to be at Dunolly and Dunstaffnage and that Argyll was to return sixteen brass guns from Carrick Castle and 500 muskets, in return for the sum of £1,000 on landing them at Ayr.45 Cynics were later to point out that ‘that great Polititian’ had a further forty-four pieces of brass cannon lying buried in Kintyre within the sea mark and recoverable within forty-eight hours!46 Any English officers or soldiers held prisoner should be set at liberty, together with ammunition, horses and provisions. The gentlemen of Argyll were to return home and live peaceably, paying cess as they could, in return for which they would be left in possession of their lands. Dunstaffnage and Dunolly garrisons would behave well, paying for all their needs and with their strength not to be increased from the present level of 120 foot and twelve horse with their officers.47 But, on the whole, Argyll came out well from these negotiations, being left as a quasi-independent potentate in the Western Highlands. By December 1652, King Charles had begun to realise that the Royalist clans now represented his best hope. He appointed Lieutenant General Middleton as Commander-in-Chief of his forces in Scotland and, while he was still in Saint Germains, on 20 December, signed a Commission to the Chiefs of Sleat, Glengarry, Locheil and Keppoch and to Donald Gorm MacDonald to act as his Council of War. Monck, meanwhile, had been

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ordered to return to London and temporary command of the English forces was turned over to Colonel Lilburne.48 In January 1653, Lilburne reported a rumour to Cromwell that Glengarry had captured Argyll’s frigate with all its guns.49 In March, King Charles wrote to the Chiefs, recommending the Earl of Glencairn as their leader, pending General Middleton’s arrival.50 His appointment caused dissension. He was challenged by Lord Balcarres, while Lord Lorne, who opposed his father, quarrelled with Kenmore, Glengarry and Glencairn.51 In early summer, however, the rising took off, Glengarry having mustered a force of between 1,500 to 2,000 men.52 Argyll held aloof, acting as something of a counterweight but not completely trusted by the English. That summer, the Royalists invaded Kintyre. Their force was led by Lord Kenmure, accompanied by MacNaughton of Dunderave, the former Chamberlain, and by Lord Lorne. Kenmure was a notorious drinker who had carried in front of him a barrel of brandy known as ‘Kenmure’s Drum’. Ralston took post in the castle at Loch Kilkerran and refused the invaders’ demands for arms, ammunition and horses, although, as a sop, they were given, on their departure, a half dozen muskets and four to five pounds of powder. When they attacked the Lowland settlers and took their cattle, Ralston made a sally and captured MacNaughton. But no help was forthcoming from Argyll or the English and Ralston was forced to surrender to Lorne. Kenmure was furious at the lenient treatment given the defenders and went with incensed complaints to Glencairn. On 15 July 1653, Lilburne wrote to the Marquess, saying he had information of the Highlanders massing and that he desired Argyll to keep the shire free from commotion and suppress anyone engaged in the rising.53 In return, Argyll reported: McNachtane his returne to ane hous of his within tuo myles of this with Sir Arthur Forbes on Captaine Gerard who was taken prisoner at Worcester and released since and some othires. Wherupone I have takine sum men into my cumpanie for defence of my awine persone. On returning home, he summoned Lorne who, on being asked if he was involved with these people now astir, answered that he had no intention of joining them. On being pressed, however, for a definitive negative, he did not give it and, on leaving his father’s presence, he took horse for Glenorchy ‘where it seems he had appoynted a meiting with Auchinbreck, McNachtane, Sir Arthur Forbes and such as are of that crew’. Argyll reckoned they had no-one with them but their own servants and would have trouble if they tried to raise the country – ‘I know thair is not any at all that concearnes this sheir

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that countenances him in his present course and resolutions except Achinbreck, Mcnachtaine, Straquherre and Ardchattane.’54 Argyll and his son and heir were now completely at loggerheads. That same month of July 1653, the Marquess wrote to his son: and as you desire any thing is mine, or would eshue to deserve my curse, that you will hearken to my counsell to forebeare such courses . . . and let all the curse and judgements pronounced in God’s word against disobedient children to parents come upon you and pursue you til they overtake you, and let nothing you take in hand prosper, for you are a crosse (I may say a curse) to your father and hevinesse to your mother, if you continue in your waies.55 At the same time, no doubt at Argyll’s urging, a letter was sent to Lorne from his ‘affectionate friends and cousins’ in Inveraray, beseeching him to return from his expressed destination of Lochaber, whither he had gone to rise in arms.56 In August, Lilburne sent a letter to Colonel Cobbett in the Orkneys, outlining a plan of action. Cobbett was to sail south with his main body, capture Eilean Donan and leave a garrison there, before contacting Captain Mutloe at Dunstaffnage, with whom he should attack the hostile Island of Mull and put a company into the captured castle of Duart. Once this had been achieved and he had met Captain Drew, who would be sent to him at Dunstaffnage with another ship and a further company of troops, he was to withdraw, via the Lewes, and make his way, as fast as possible, to Dundee.57 Captain Drew’s orders were to proceed first to Dunstaffnage where, having loaded 100 soldiers of Colonel Alured’s regiment, he was to proceed to Knapdale where, it was rumoured, there were certain great guns lying between Castle Sween and Ross. The Sheriff of Bute would provide a guide to the exact location of the guns. Having done this, he was to return to Colonel Cobbett and, once the expedition had left the Lewes, he was to proceed with the captured guns and any prisoners to Ayr.58 Meanwhile, as Lilburne now reported to Cromwell, there were accounts that, on 3 August, the Irish had landed in Lochaber, where they had been joined by Lord Lorne and MacNaughton of Dunderave. Argyll declared that his son and his adherents were traitors and he was trying to keep all quiet.59 On 29 August, it was to Glenorchy that Lilburne wrote, telling him that, although the Highlanders were now said to have dispersed, for better security he should place garrisons in his defensible houses.60 Lorne and Kenmure were lurking with some 250 men in the west of Stirlingshire, where they were obviously planning to spend the winter, after several skirmishes with the

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English troops, while Glencairn appeared to have taken refuge on the Isle of Mull.61 On 12 September, it was reported that Lorne and Glengarry had fallen out. In a furious quarrel, they had drawn their swords upon each other. Friends had to part them and they left as mortal enemies.62 On 23 September, a sudden storm caught the ships of Cobbett’s expedition off a lee shore, under Duart Castle, and three ships, the Swan, a small man-o’-war, the Martha and Margaret and the Speedwell went down, while others were damaged.63 But, with the assistance of the Marquess, as Lilburne reported to Cromwell, Mull was taken by the English. The following month, the Marquess had a six-week pass to go to Dalkeith.64 At this time, the Royalists had found boats on Loch Lomond to ferry them across to Loch Long, where they were threatening Argyll’s country, which was in no state to resist them.65 Some of the Marquess’s people, indeed, had been helping Kenmure and Glencairn by ferrying them across to plunder Ayrshire and Renfrew and Lilburne threatened that, if they were not brought under control, he would confiscate all the boats in the area.66 In November, Colonel Cobbett arrived safely at Dumbarton. He lost his ships at Duart and had been forced to return overland, having been shipped across to Dunstaffnage. The journey had not been an easy one. He and his troops had been waylaid en route by Glencairn and Kenmure and only the Marquess’s intervention had saved them.67 By the end of 1653, the English position had weakened. Glencairn and his supporters were concentrated in Badenoch, where their numbers had grown to around 5,000 – although much higher claims were being made. The English were increasingly being forced back into their garrisons while their men, travelling on their own, were ever more frequently failing to arrive.68 December saw another quarrel between Lorne and Glencairn. Badenoch belonged to Huntly but, as the latter was heavily in debt to his uncle, Argyll, Lorne now claimed that all men raised in the area should be given to him. When this was refused, Lorne was furious and, after storming out of the camp, he tried to betray Glencairn to the English. But his letter to Colonel John Hill, Governor of the Castle of Ruthven, was intercepted and Lorne himself captured. The quarrel was patched up but, two weeks later, the Campbell contingent left the Royalist camp. Colonel Ogleby’s later account claims that, a few days before, the above the Marquess was in Edinburgh, where the Earl of Callendar tried to persuade him to join the King’s party and rid the country of the rebels, to which the Marquess replied that he was never for the King nor would he ever be. Ogleby said that Lorne had tried to persuade a Lieutenant Colonel under

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his command to assassinate Glencairn so that he might take over command but, on the Colonel’s refusal, he privately left the company, stealing away with only eight horses. Glencairn then asked Lorne’s 550 men – mostly from Badenoch – whom they would prefer to command them and they chose the Marquess of Montrose.69 Glencairn now sent a memo to Major Strachan. The first need was to obtain a warrant, signed by the King, declaring Argyll a traitor. The main ground for this was his taking Duart and making all the common people swear allegiance to the Commonwealth of England, as well as his more general opposition to those under arms in the Highlands. Some blank letters of encouragement to the various Chiefs were also required, assuring them the King would deliver them from any bonds or suchlike purchased by Argyll over their heads. There were various commissions and a discharge to all within Argyll and the Isles from paying rents to Argyll, which should be paid to Glencairn instead.70 Middleton, the designated Royalist commander, arrived in Scotland in February 1654. He brought with him some eighty men, together with Sir George Monro, Lord Napier and Major General Dalziel. The insurrection took on fresh impetus. Middleton gathered between 2,000 and 3,000 at the initial rendezvous in Sutherland, which, together with the number of Glencairn’s men already under arms, brought the Royalist total to some 6,000. Lilburne now urgently requested reinforcements both by sea and by land.71 The same month, the shire of Argyll formally agreed not to take part in the rising. On the approach of the enemy, the heritors and gentlemen would muster with as many men as they could gather, each fully equipped and provisioned for twenty days. They would then decide what might best be done for the well-being and safety of the House of Argyll, His Lordship’s person and everyone of them, in particular.72 Lilburne, on 7 February, told Captain Mutloe to relinquish his command of Dunolly, if he thought it necessary, and to hand it over to the Marquess or his representative, to be returned to English possession on demand.73 Before leaving, Captain Mutloe detailed a party from both Dunolly and Dunstaffnage and they fell on Ardchattan Priory, which had been fortified. There was a sharp skirmish in which three of Campbell of Ardchattan’s men were killed before the house was surrendered to the English, who took several prisoners, including a Lieutenant, and also captured the arms and ammunition there.74 Nor was this all – the English attempted to destroy the house, they took the roof off the adjoining chapel, leaving it open to the skies, they destroyed ornaments and images and then set fire to the building. Happily they did not succeed in

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their aim of total destruction but the old roof timbers remain badly charred to this day. John Campbell of Ardchattan was later, in July 1661, to claim 8,000 merks as compensation for the burning of his houses of Ardchattan, together with the loss of all his household goods and furnishing. Campbell of Lerags also claimed for the loss of his charters to Over and Nether Lerags, which had been placed in Ardchattan for safekeeping and which were to be replaced by fresh charters from King Charles II.75 Argyll met Lilburne at the end of March and, keen to protect his own country, welcomed the idea of an English garrison. He offered his own house of Inveraray which, as Lilburne wrote to General Lambert, having two churches near it and being surrounded by a stone wall, would make a good base had they the troops to fill it. ‘I wish a regiment might be sent ther from Irleand,’ he wrote.76 This plan was followed up by Monck when he came to take command on 22 April. One thousand infantry would be brought from Ireland and placed under the command of Colonel Matthew Alured. By 14 June 1654, they were at Inverlochy but Alured had been sacked on suspicion of disloyalty and he was replaced by Colonel William Brayne.77 Monck’s plan was to pacify the Lowlands, establish a firm base and then block up the Highland passes and fords and take control of all boats, before advancing into the hills. In this, he would be much helped by Brayne’s force at Inverlochy and by the Marquess’s support. On arrival, therefore, he made a point of sending a polite greeting to Argyll from whom he expressed his hope for support in the forthcoming campaign.78 In June 1654, Argyll was allowed to raise and arm 100 men for the defence of the shire.79 But the Marquess’s lands had already been burnt by the time Monck started his campaign on the ninth of the month, marching from Perth with two regiments of horse and three and a half regiments of foot. On his way, he burnt all the land that could supply the enemy. His route took him to the east end of Loch Tay, where he reduced the fortress on Island Loch Tay, which was garrisoned by Captain Robertson. Robertson surrendered on 14 June and Monck left a garrison of forty men there and also garrisoned Balloch (Taymouth) and Weem. The Royalist garrison at Garth took to the hills, leaving the English to take possession. At this point, Monck received word that a general muster of the Highlanders was taking place on the banks of Loch Ness. He, therefore, broke off and moved north at speed, his troops performing prodigies of marching as their route took them through Ruthven and Badenoch and as far north as Kintail. At the head of Loch Lochy, on 23 June, he met Argyll who informed him that the Camerons had killed sixty

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of the soldiers who had been sent from Ireland. In spite of all their effort, the English failed to catch Middleton who had doubled back south again, with the English once more in pursuit. In fact, the devastation of the lands on which his army depended for food now made his cause hopeless.80 On 12 July, Monck made for the west end of Loch Tay. At Lawers, he found Middleton had been at Finlarig the previous day. On 14 July, Monck continued west through Glen Dochart to Glen Lochy, above Loch Awe, and scouts found the Royalists about five miles away over the hill in Glen Strae. Contact was made and the Royalists hurriedly dispersed, losing some baggage horses and provisions in the process. Although they scattered, their main body made for Badenoch. On 15 July, Monck again met Argyll at Strathfillan.81 By 19 July, Monck had moved from Glen Dochart to Kinnell, at the west end of Loch Tay. He was now able to guard Argyll’s territory from further depredations but he was also squeezing Middleton between himself and Colonel Morgan who had remained in the north. The latter met Middleton at Dalnaspidal on 19 July. The Royalists were routed and Middleton, who was said to be badly wounded, took refuge in Sutherland.82 Monck now concentrated on mopping up, devastating areas of possible supply to Royalists in the southern Highlands and placing garrisons in houses around the country. These included Inveraray. This happened after an unfortunate incident in which Monck’s supply ship, with ammunition and food for the five companies of foot and four troops of horse, stationed at Inveraray, was caught by Lorne and a party of horse who attacked as the ship was being unloaded and captured the crew and some of the cargo – the remainder being disposed of in short order by the impoverished locals. Monck was furious and strongly suspected Argyll of double-dealing. The country people were made to pay and Argyll’s men, recently raised for public service, were to be disbanded.83 The campaign was not yet over and, on 29 July, Monck reported to Cromwell from Stirling that: We are now come hither where we shall stay some few days for refreshment. Some small parties of the Enemy are abroad in the country and on Monday and Tuesday nights last burnt castle Campbell an House belonging to the Marquesse of Argyll, and Dunblain a Garrison kept by us last Winter, and say they have orders from Middleton to burne all the stronge Houses neere the Hills.84 That summer, Scotland was put under a cess or tax demand of £10,000. Monck realised that this was not only impossible but, highly unwise.

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Abatements were made, particularly to supporters of the English regime. These included John, Fiar of Glenorchy, and Sir James Campbell of Lawers.85 Payments were also made in reparation of losses suffered and young Glenorchy was awarded £200. The Marquess made great efforts to have the burden on his people raised since they were in no state at all to undergo further burdens of any sort, after the losses they had already suffered. That August of 1654, the first election took place of Scottish members to sit in Westminster. Of the thirty seats allocated, only twenty-two were taken up, of which nine were filled by Englishmen. Sir James Hamilton of Orbiston was elected for the shires of Argyll, Dumbarton and Renfrew.86 By November 1654, as operations against the Royalists continued, Middleton was down to some 300 men and was receiving no support from the Highland Chiefs. With the help of Captain Nicholls and the garrison of Inveraray, the Marquess had succeeded in driving his son out of the shire. He was now back in favour with the authorities and received a letter of commendation from Cromwell. Monck urged a reconciliation with Lorne but matters had gone so far as to make this well-nigh impossible.87 The year 1655 saw the final collapse of the Royalist attempt. Monck made full use of the Chiefs to influence each other. Seaforth surrendered on 10 January. In April, Monck asked Argyll to tell his son that, if he brought in MacNaughton, he would improve his own fate. They both came in on 17 May, followed by Reay on the eighteenth, Selkirk on the nineteenth and MacLeod at the end of the month. The latter had, at first, held out and Sir James Lawers had to be sent to treat with him. The final persuader came when his own people refused to follow him any further.88 That autumn, after the rising was over, a number of lairds were allowed to raise watches for community defence. These included Duncan Campbell of Auchlyne, with ten of his men, who were given a roving commission to apprehend robbers in the Highlands and the Lowlands.89 The perils of war having receded, the Marquess still found himself in dire straits. His financial situation was a disaster after long years of little or no rents coming in and vast expenditure, either on his own or on official business. In the summer of 1654, when agreeing to meet General Lilburne at the place of his choice, he was forced to include the proviso that he be protected from the violence of his creditors. He was safe enough on his home ground but, once out of Argyllshire, the circling vultures dived. In November 1654, when visiting Monck at Dalkeith, he was insulted in public, with his horse and its saddlery and his other possessions being pounded at Dalkeith and Newbattle and taken into Edinburgh, where they were sold for debt at the Mercat Cross.

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The Marquess was reduced to taking refuge in a recent act that suspended the debts of certain distressed people in extremis, which, in Scotland at any rate, gave him temporary relief. But, in 1657, when he was in London seeking from Cromwell’s Government the payment of the debts promised him by the Scottish Government, he found himself in peril at the hands of the Dowager Countess of Dirleton for a debt of £1,000 sterling, incurred by the supply of meal to the Scots army during the campaign of 1644–5. The Marquess’s plea that only the Scottish courts were competent in the matter was accepted but the Countess was relentless, until she was paid off by Colonel Cobbett who felt his life was owed to the Marquess’s intervention during the perilous retreat of the English through the mountains of Argyllshire. The Protectorate Government eventually promised the Marquess the sum of £12,000 sterling owed him and payment was arranged at a rate of not more than £3,000 a year from the excise on wine in Scotland.90 Even this was but a small proportion of the money he had spent from his own coffers in the service of the state. He had given large sums of money to King Charles in person and it was later calculated that the sum involved was as great as £40,000. And getting in his own rents from the torn and devastated countryside was still a major problem, even if his tenants were willing. In July 1657, the Marquess had to bring legal action to bear against the inhabitants of his lands in Uist, Arisaig, Eigg and Moidart, who had left the rent of previous years unpaid and who were now intending to pay it to someone else.91 They were not alone. As late as 1659, the Marquess had obtained a Decree of Arrestment until sufficient cautioners were found for the payment of rent owed by a long list of debtors, who included all the Macleans in Mull, many MacDougalls and even some Campbells.92 By now, the Marquess was increasingly overtaken by events. There was little place for him in the high politics of the realm, although he accepted the charge of representing Aberdeen in parliament, for a brief spell, and he also became the spokesman of the Remonstrant or extreme Kirk party. But he was a pale shadow of his former self. While he was a member of that parliament, the Marquess also played his part in the negotiations that led to the King’s return. When King Charles was in London once more, Argyll went to meet him, despite having been advised by some of his friends to lie low and keep out of the way. Mindful, however, of correspondence between them and of his having actually crowned the King at his coronation, the Marquess arrived in London on 8 July 1660. Once again, the date was not short of evil portents. At Rosneath, it was noted that ‘all the dogs that day did take a strange yowling and glowring up

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to my Lord’s chamber windows for some houres together’. Others had had visions of the Marquess with his head off, drenched in blood, and dumb men and lunatics were quoted as having given warning of his impending fate.93 He himself must have had some inkling of it when Clarendon, the Lord Chancellor, repeatedly brushed aside his request for an audience with the King. Instead, Garter King of Arms was given the task of arresting him in public and he was hauled off, to be incarcerated in the Tower of London. His requests to see and speak to the King were refused, as were the same requests made on his behalf by the Countess who hastened to her husband’s side. For five months, Argyll was kept a prisoner in the Tower, occupying his enforced leisure by penning his book Instructions to a Son, which was published the following year. Eventually, on 7 December, along with Sir John Swinton of that Ilk, he was sent, by sea, to stand trial in Edinburgh. The weather was extremely stormy and the man-o’-war, the Eagle, nearly came to grief. They reached Leith, however, where they were received by troops drawn up with colours flying, and the Marquess was lodged in Edinburgh Castle. On 31 January 1661, a tabarded herald came to Argyll to announce the details of his trial. It was to be in front of Parliament, rather than a Court of Law. Argyll’s request for trial by a court of justice, rather than by Parliament was turned down – there were plenty of recent precedents for the latter. His first choice as defence leader, Sir John Nisbet, refused to act in that capacity but six well-regarded advocates were appointed to the task, one of them being Mr. George Mackenzie, later Sir George, the ‘Bloody Mackenzie’. On 13 February, the Marquess was brought down in a coach from the castle, with three of the Edinburgh magistrates and accompanied by the Town Guard to Parliament House, where the Earl of Middleton, as Royal Commissioner, awaited him. The charges laid against the Marquess were many. They went right back to the time of the Civil War and included charges relating to the actions of those under his command, as well as those concerning his conduct in support of Cromwell, including one alleging that, with the latter, the Marquess had plotted the trial and execution of King Charles I.94 Every obstacle was placed in front of the Marquess’s preparation of his own defence but, after his request to throw himself upon the Royal Mercy was refused, he had no option but to answer the multifarious accusations as best he might. For his conduct during the Civil War, he cited the authority of the various Acts of Parliament under which he had acted and the Acts of Indemnity of 1641 and 1651 which further absolved him. For the misdeeds

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of his followers he alleged the same justification and the heat of revenge. Besides this, he was able to show that many of the charges contained gross exaggerations if not downright misrepresentation. While this was going on, Lord Lorne was working to advance his father in the King’s eyes. The King was, indeed, persuaded to write Middleton a letter commanding him to drop all charges prior to the Act of Indemnity of 1651 against the Marquess. This reduced the extant charges to those incurred by the Marquess’s actions during the Cromwellian period. To the specific charge of having failed to give help to Glencairn and Middleton during their Highland Rising, the Marquess was able to quote, in defence, the terms of his surrender treaty with General Deane. In addition, he was able to point out that he had never received a formal summons from the two Royalist leaders – a point of considerable weight in legal terms. To the charge of cooperation with the English by sitting as a member of parliament he answered that he took it as an opportunity to protect the interest of himself, his people and the people of Scotland, together with the chances it offered of promoting the King’s interests. This left the charge of having, with Cromwell, plotted the death of the King. For this charge there was absolutely no evidence and, in spite of Middleton’s and his friends’ efforts to the contrary, the Parliament overwhelmingly voted to acquit Argyll. By now, the prospects looked much brighter for the Marquess but such optimism was short-lived. The Earls of Rothes and of Glencairn, two of his most bitter foes, had gone to London to confer with the King and to advise on the future. At this period the idea of a possible escape from the castle was raised and, at one point, the Marquess went so far as to dress in his wife’s clothes with the aim of replacing her in the covered chair in which she had been paying him regular visits. But, for whatever reason – it was hardly consonant with his dignity – he turned away from the idea. His cause seemed, in a fair way, to succeed when letters were produced from General Monck. The fact that they were brought by one of the Marquess’s own clan, at first, led to their being expected to be in Argyll’s favour. But Monck was intent on the Marquess’s destruction and the letters were those sent by the latter to Monck and to Lilburne during the period of Glencairn’s rising. These were taken as showing that the Marquess had done more than the minimum necessary and had, to a degree, collaborated with the English regime. He himself admitted to having written them and, although the proofs on both sides had now been closed, they were taken into account when the moment for deciding on a verdict arrived. The Marquess’s friends left the court in protest but those remaining voted unanimously and

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condemned the Marquess to death. There was one exception. The young Marquess of Montrose abstained on the creditable grounds that his animosity to Argyll was such that he could not be reckoned an impartial adjudicator. On the next day, Saturday 25 May 1661, the Marquess received his sentence. He stood at the bar as it was read out. His fate was to be execution as a traitor by beheading at the Cross of Edinburgh the following Monday. His head was to be exhibited in the same place as that of Montrose had formerly been displayed. His heraldic arms were to be formally torn in pieces at the Cross and also in Parliament. Argyll asked for a ten-day stay of execution, in order that the King might be made aware of his plight. This was refused and he knelt as the sentence was formerly read out by the Earl of Crawford, President of the Parliament, who did so in tears. The Marquess attempted to speak but his voice was drowned by a peal of trumpets. When he could be heard, he said, ‘I had the honour to set the Crown on the King’s head, and now he hastens me to a better crown than his own.’ He then turned on the members of the parliament who had condemned him, saying: You have the indemnity of an earthly King among your hands, and you have denied me a share in that, but you cannot hinder me from the indemnity of the King of Kings and shortly you must be before His tribunal. I pray He mete not out such measure to you as you have done to me, when you are called to account for all your doings and this among the rest. The Marquess bore his last hours with all the staunch courage and pride of the devout Christian and great Highland Chief that he was. Imprisoned in the Tolbooth to await his fate, his wife and friends around him were in tears. He urged them thus: Forbear, forbear! Truly I pity them, they know not what they are doing: they may shut me in where they please, but they cannot shut out God from me; for my part I am as content to be here as in the castle and as content in the castle as in the Tower of London and as content there as when at liberty: and I hope to be as content upon the scaffold as any of them at all. He took time to settle his affairs and wrote a last letter to the King in which he reiterated his innocence of all the charges laid at his door, with the exception of his having collaborated with Cromwell, which he described as ‘an epidemic disease and fault of the time’. He begged the King to extend his protection to his widow and children who had done nothing to incur the Royal wrath. And he wrote to the King that:

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Since my family have had the honour to be faithful subjects and serviceable to your royal progenitors, I humbly beg my faults may not extinguish the lasting merit and memory of those who have given so many signal proofs of constant loyalty for many generations. On the day of his execution, he remained of good courage and dined with his friends and relations, after which he lay down for a short nap. He was ready when word came that the bailies sent to conduct him to the scaffold were below. ‘Now let us go and God go with us,’ said he, bidding farewell to those who were not to accompany him. Together with his ministers and physicians, he walked out with the Earls of Caithness and Lothian, his sonsin-law, and Chancellor Loudoun and Montgomery of Skelmorlie. All were wearing mourning and the sight of him calmly walking the length of the street, on his way to death, so upset the authorities with the effect it might have on the onlookers that orders were given for those condemned in future to be pinioned and bareheaded. He was escorted by a mounted troop of Life Guards, while troops under arms lined the street. They were not necessary. While many had reason to hate the Marquess, none of them remained unmoved by the dignity and courage of his demeanour and the crowds were silent. The Marquess mounted the scaffold and, after prayers, he addressed the crowd. He spoke at some length – for half an hour or so – reviewing and vindicating his past conduct and giving stern warning about the conduct of those who remained behind. While he spoke, it was noticed that he played with the buttons of his doublet and that he moved around the platform but these were the only slight signs he gave of any inner tension. When he had finished the minister prayed again, after which the Marquess bade farewell to his close friends, giving each some small memento, his silver watch, long promised, went to his son-in-law, Caithness, and his silver pen to Chancellor Loudoun. To the executioner, he gave a sum of money, which done, he removed his doublet and approached the ‘Maiden’, the Scots guillotine. ‘My Lord, hold now your grip sicker,’ said the minister. ‘Mr. Hutcheson,’ answered the Marquess, ‘you know what I said to you in the chamber, I am not afraid to be surprised by fear.’ After a few final words to his friends, he knelt down cheerfully and prayed for a little before giving the signal by raising his hand. When the heavy blade was released, it fell with a crash and Archibald Campbell, Marquess of Argyll and Chief of Clan Campbell was no more.95

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A PPENDIX I

Clan Campbell Music

A Collection of Tunes with Clan Campbell Connections he list that follows is by no means a complete one but it does give some idea of the wide range of tunes associated, by their names, with members of Clan Campbell. The naming of a tune by that of a place of strong associations or with a person or event is very much a feature of Highland music and it plays a strong part in the effect produced. That effect can be a dramatic one and there are tunes to mirror every human feeling. There are many strands which go to make up what is referred to as ‘Highland music’ – in general musical critics do not rate it very highly in terms of its sophistication but few, if any, of its competitors can claim to raise such emotions in their hearers. As an example, it might be countered that few oboists or whatever other musicians have been able to win the Victoria Cross inciting their men on the field of battle as a number of pipers have! The name of the tune, with all its associations, is a powerful part of the magic involved. What follows is not a fully comprehensive list but it does give some idea of the huge Campbell connection with Scottish music. It has been compiled with the help of Miss Jeannie Campbell of the College of Piping (for whom the late Pipe Major Angus Macdonald, Scots Guards, wrote ‘Jeannie Campbell’s Lullaby’), the late Archie Kenneth, of Stronachuillin, himself half a Campbell, and the invaluable Complete Bagpipe Tune and Drum Score Index by the Canadian Lt Iain G. Millington. For Fiddle music I have relied on the encyclopaedic Scottish Fiddle Music Index by Charles Gore, again half a Campbell through his mother. For Pipers I have included a single source for the actual musical score but for a complete list of available sources, the reader will have to refer to the two above-named volumes which, anyway, ought to be in every Scottish musician’s library. Some of the tunes date back over three hundred years to the seventeenth century when the ancient music of the clarsach or harp was taken over by the bagpipe. The rebec or viol, ancestor of the violin, is said to have come in at the time of Queen Mary and, with the spread of popularity in polite eighteenth

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century society of Balls and the dancing of the contre-danse or country dance, a whole new range of tunes were composed primarily by then for the fiddle. While the fiddle could play all tunes composed for the pipes, pipers, with their restricted scale, cannot always return the compliment. No such limitation affects the accordion in its various forms, a nineteenth century importation from Germany, which is, however, limited by its inability to lessen or increase its volume. And now, of course, increasing use is made of the electronic keyboard which can reproduce virtually any sound known to man! The purest form of Highland music for some is the Piobaireachd, the Ceol Mor or ‘great music’. In general terms, this follows a set progression in its composition, a subtle and even complicated arrangement which breaks in on the seventeenth century scene, apparently already fully formed. This has led to the suggestion that it was to the harp that this form owed its development and the pipes then took over. The range of tunes includes laments, salutes, gatherings, marches and descriptive pieces, many of them contemporary and possible to date at least approximately. Thus ‘The Marquess of Argyle’s Salute’ refers to the Great Marquess who is dealt with in this volume and the alternative title to ‘Lord Breadalbane’s March’ – ‘The Carles wi’ the Breeks’ – is a reference to the battle of Altimarlach, in 1680, when Campbell of Glenorchy and his men defeated the trews-wearing Sinclairs in a quarrel over the Earldom of Caithness. The composition of Piobaireachd comes right down to the present day, with, for example, the two tunes composed in honour of the great piping expert James Campbell of the Kilberry family. One was composed by his great friend Archie Kenneth and the other by Pipe Major Donald Macleod, ‘Wee Donald’, who also composed the Strathspey ‘Captain Colin Campbell’ in honour of Colin Campbell of Kinloch, lately an officer of the Black Watch. It may be a surprise to find some of these pibrochs classed as marches but, of course, it is only relatively recently that troops marched in step over even roads – for marching over rough grass and heather no such attempt to march in time could be made and it was not until much later still that they did so to the sound of drums and pipes in concert. There is a strong, military theme running through much Highland music and there are many tunes named after heroic figures. Examples include ‘Sir Colin Campbell’s Farewell to the Crimea’ and ‘Brigadier Lorne Campbell VC of Akarit’ – it should really be ‘of Airds’ but Wadi Akarit was where he won his Cross – this tune is by the famous Angus Macpherson, of Invershin. The wholesale adoption of the contre-danse in polite society led to a huge number of compositions often named for patrons and patronesses and their children. No doubt it was a source of pleasure and competition to have a tune named after one, as well as being a source of income to the composer. Someone, like Angus Mackay born in 1775 in Islay, made a good living from the local

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families, notably from the otherwise not particularly prominent Campbells of Ardmore most of whom figure in the titles of various tunes, including ‘Mr. John Campbell Ardmore’s Favourite’ which was written for the future, not altogether loved, Duke’s ‘Factor Mor’ on Mull. Several of these tunes have alternative names as composers with a good tune have an uncanny habit of renaming it. One good example of this is late Pipe Major John Maclennan, DCM of the 8th Argylls, who originally named his tune ‘The Bens of Jura’ after his mother’s birthplace. This then became ‘The Burning Sands of Egypt’, ‘The Highland Brigade’s March to Heilbronn’ and finally the name by which it is best known, ‘The Road to the Isles’. As such, it is still in common use today, unlike his tune ‘Colonel Ian Campbell of Airds’, a charming pipe march which never really caught on. Few tunes have done so and several of them deserve a better fate – of rediscovery and resurrection. But there is a rich seam of allusion in the titles – to people like the great antiquarian Lord Archibald Campbell, younger son of the 8th Duke and father of the 10th, who raised a pipe band of his own in Inveraray and, on one long-remembered occasion, sailed with it up to Ballachulish where they disembarked in order to play through Glencoe. They were well received by all accounts and the event is commemorated by the tune ‘Lord Archibald Campbell’s March to Glencoe’. Lord Archie’s daughter, later Lady Elspeth Campbell, a formidable character, was herself an enthusiastic piper and she is referred to in such tunes as ‘Hon. Miss Elspeth Campbell’ and ‘Hon. Elspeth Campbell’s Welcome to Quebec’. People talk of ‘clan music’ and, in one sense, all the tunes below have a Campbell connection but, in the more formal sense, apart from such great tunes as ‘Clan Campbell’s Gathering’ and ‘Salute to the Duke of Argyle’, the only air that can claim to be the clan anthem is the song/march ‘The Campbells are Coming’. Otherwise known as ‘The Inveraray Wedding’ or ‘Baile Inneraora’ (‘Inveraray Town’), the song achieved its Campbell connection due to the words which are probably not nearly as old as the tune. The words are hardly remarkable: Chorus: The Campbells are Coming, Oho, Oho! The Campbells are Coming, Oho, Oho! The Campbells are Coming to bonnie Lochleven The Campbells are Coming, Oho, Oho!

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Verses: Upon the Lomonds, I lay, I lay Upon the Lomonds, I lay, I lay I looked down to bonnie Lochleven And saw three bonnie perches play. Great Argyll he goes before He makes his cannons and guns to roar Wi’ sound o’ trumpet, pipe and drum The Campbells are Coming, Oho, Oho! The Campbells they are all in arms Their loyal faith and truth to show Wi’ banners rattling in the wind The Campbells are Coming, Oho, Oho! What exactly a ‘perch’ is, no one knows for sure. Nor can the tune be dated with great surety. It was certainly in use by the ’45 rebellion and some say it was composed for the ’15 rebellion. But it is a fine, vaunting air and one which, by the mid eighteenth century, was firmly identified with the Clan. It was later adopted by the 91st Argyllshire Highlanders as their march and is still played as their march past by today’s Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. In 1942, when Churchill flew out to Tunis to review the victorious 8th Army, the 51st Highland Division formed the main part of the parade which marched past the Prime Minister. Each Battalion in the Division had a contingent on parade and all were led by the Massed Pipes and Drums of the Division who wheeled in beside the saluting base and played each Battalion past to its own tune. There was only one Battalion of the Argylls in the Division at the time. This was the 7th Battalion, commanded by my father. As the junior Battalion in the junior Brigade they were the last contingent and the pipers of the Seaforth, Camerons and Gordons, whose recruiting areas had largely been those of the Jacobite clans, all refused to play the tune on the grounds that it was a Campbell one! On being told to soldier up, they then all claimed they did not know how to play the tune and it was only the full threat of military discipline that brought them to heel. And even then there was a distinct diminution of sound as the Argylls went past. The Black Watch, of course, is a Campbell Regiment and there was no trouble with them. As already stated, this list is by no means a comprehensive one but, with its wide range of tunes, it may interest Campbell musicians and the titles of the tunes may be of some interest to the more general reader. I intend to deal with Campbell musicians and composers in a later chapter.

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Pipe Tunes Piobaireachd Clan Campbell’s Gathering PS7 Marquess of Argyll’s Salute PS10 Carles wi’ the Breeks (Lord Breadalbane’s March) PS8 Lament for Lord Breadalbane PS12 Lament for Lochnell PS13 Lament for Airds PS13 Lachlan MacNeill Campbell of Kintarbert’s Fancy PS8 Lachlan MacNeill Campbell of Kintarbert’s Salute PS15 Lord Colin Campbell’s Salute Donald McPhee 2 Young George’s Salute (4th son Hugh 14th Cawdor) PS9 The Marquess of Lorne’s Salute Donald McPhee 2 Campbell of Cawdor’s Salute D. Glen, Ancient Piob. 1 Lord Breadalbane’s Gathering Campbell Canntaireachd Captain Archibald Campbell of Glenlyon’s Lament Campbell Canntaireachd Lord Breadalbane’s Welcome to Scotland Campbell Canntaireachd Argyle’s March Campbell Canntaireachd Salute for the Duke of Argyle Don. Macdonald MS A Lament for John Campbell of the Lovat Scouts Glen’s Edin. Coll. Bk 2 Captain John Campbell of Kilberry’s Salute Royal Coll. A Lament for Angus Campbell 20th Century Lord Archibald Campbell’s Salute Royal Coll. Salute to James Campbell (i) A. G. Kenneth Bk 1 Salute to James Campbell (ii) P. M. D. Macleod Bk 1 Marches The Campbells are Coming (alt. Baile Inneraora or The Inveraray Wedding’) Glen Bk 5 Brig. Gen. N. R. Campbell, CBE, MC, TD Queensland Bk 1 Another Twin, Craig Campbell A. G. Kenneth Bk 4 Campbell’s Farewell to Redcastle Wm Ross Coll. (1868) Captain Campbell’s March Wm Ross Coll. (1868) Captain Campbell of Glendaruel’s March Wm Ross Coll. (1868) Captain Colin Campbell’s March Wm Ross Coll. (1868) Johnny Campbell Wm Ross Coll. (1868) Marchioness of Lorne’s March Wm Ross Coll. (1868) Walter Campbell Glen Bk 11

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Appendix I: Clan Campbell Music Captain Campbell of Drumavuick Glen Bk 2 A. Campbell Glen Bk 9 Duncan Campbell’s March Glen’s Edin. Coll. Bk 1 Mrs. Campbell’s Quickstep Glen’s Edin. Coll. Bk 1 Colin Campbell Henderson’s Tutor/Coll. Angus Campbell’s Farewell to Stirling Glen Bk 13 Hon. Miss Elspeth Campbell Henderson’s Tutor/Coll. Lord Archibald Campbell’s March to Glencoe Henderson’s Tutor/Coll. Lt Col. J. A. Campbell’s Farewell to the 72nd Highlanders R. MacKinnon Coll. Colonel Ian Campbell of Airds 8th Argylls’ Coll. HRH Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll 8th Argylls’ Coll. Miss Joan Campbell 8th Argylls’ Coll. Sheriff MacMaster Campbell 8th Argylls’ Coll. Colonel E. P. Campbell of South Hall Cowal Bk 2 Brig. Gen. Lorne Campbell VC of Akarit Wm Ross Bk 1 Archibald Campbell of Kilberry Wm Ross Bk 4 Sir Colin Campbell’s Farewell to the Crimea Scots Guards Bk 1 Murdo Campbell Gordon Hldrs Bk 1 Sir Colin Campbell Army Manual Bk 2 Colonel Robin Campbell DSO 8th Argylls’ Coll. Donald Campbell’s Welcome to Glendale Logan’s Tutor Mrs. Campbell of Dunstaffnage Glen’s Edin. Coll. Bk 7 Cathal Campbell of Achbrea Logan’s Bk 7 Colonel Campbell of Inverneil’s Farewell to the Argylls Logan’s Bk 7 Mrs. John Campbell’s March Logan’s Bk 7 Hon. Elspeth Campbell’s Welcome to Quebec Glen’s Bk 15 Donald Campbell Minard Castle Coll. Danny Campbell’s Walkaround D. MacLeod Bk 3 Joe Campbell S. MacAulay Coll. Clan Campbell Pipe Band Dunvegan Coll. Miss Jessie Campbell’s Welcome Home New Zealand Coll. Bk 1 John Campbell from Skye Cleary John Campbell Glen Bk 9 Adam Campbell’s Farewell to the Argentine New Zealand Coll. Bk 1 Argyll Is My Name Glen Bk 9 Campbell’s Farewell to Canada Cowal Bk 3 Father Leo Campbell International Bk 2 Lt Col. E. O. Campbell’s Welcome to the 8th Seaforth Highlanders Pipes of War John Campbell of the Bank (alternative titles The Rock and the Wee Pickle Tow or Black Eyed Biddy) Glen Bk 5

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Marchioness of Lorne Ross’s Pipe Music Marchioness of Lorne Henderson’s Tutor/Coll. Mrs. John Campbell Logan Bk 7 Pipe Major Sandy Campbell of Brisbane Queensland Bk 1 Waltzes, Slow Airs, Slow Marches Archibald Campbell of Kilberry’s Slow March Henderson’s Tutor/Coll. Miss Jean Campbell New Zealand Coll. Bk 1 Jeannie Campbell’s Lullaby Angus Macdonald Bk Andrew Campbell’s Lullaby M. Grey Bk 1 Strathspeys A’n Caimbealach Dubh (alternative title Roy’s Wife of Aldivalloch) Thos Glenn Bk 2 Robert Campbell Seaforth Collection Mrs. Campbell’s Favourite Glen Bk 10 Johnnie Campbell, Luing Henderson’s Tutor/Coll. Captain Campbell of Glendaruel Henderson’s Tutor/Coll. Lucy Campbell Henderson’s Tutor/Coll. Miss Louisa Campbell’s Delight (alternative title Lady Loudoun) Angus Mackay’s Piper’s Assistant The Marquess of Lorne’s Strathspey Wm Gunn’s Cal. Dep. Princess Louise D. McPhedran’s Coll. Mrs. Alexander Campbell Logan Bk 3 Jean Campbell John McFadyen Bk 1 Captain Colin Campbell Donald Macleod Bk 3 Donald Campbell’s Strathspey Grey and Seton Coll. Sandy Campbell’s Old Fiddle Logan Bk 7 Mungo Campbell’s Strathspey Logan Bk 6 Louisa Campbell Donald Macleod Bk 5 Jane Campbell M. Grey Coll. Bk 1 Kilberry Cowal Bk 5 Duke of Argyll’s Strathspey Cowal Bk 2 Archibald Campbell James Bett Coll. Marchioness of Lorne’s Strathspey Wm Ross (1868) Coll. Marquess of Argyll’s Strathspey Wm Ross (1868) Coll. Marquess of Lorne’s Strathspey Wm Ross (1868) Coll. Miss Lucy Campbell’s Strathspey Wm Ross (1868) Coll. The Campbells of Canna S. Williams Bk 4 Lady Campbell of Longsdale Gordon Hldrs Bk 2

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Appendix I: Clan Campbell Music Mrs. Campbell’s Favourite Glen Bk 10 Mrs. Mary Campbell New Bagpipe NS Bk 1

Reels Lady Glenorchy Glen Bk 8 Jamie Campbell New Zealand Coll. Bk 1 Lachlan Campbell New Zealand Coll. Bk 1 Miss Campbell of Glendaruel’s Reel Wm Ross (1868) Coll. Roddy Campbell Dunvegan Coll. Neoinean Chaimeul’s Latha-breith Cowal Bk 2 Donald Campbell’s Farewell to Nigg Grey and Seton Tutor Donnie Campbell of Glendale N. A. MacDonald Coll. Mungo Campbell’s Reel Logan Bk 6 Walter Douglas Campbell’s Reel Henderson’s Tutor/Coll. Miss Campbell’s Reel Glen Bk 2 Lady Elizabeth Campbell Glen Bk 8 PM Calum Campbell, Gordon Highlanders Angus Macdonald Bk 2 Alexander Campbell’s Favourite Glen Bk 4 Mrs. Campbell of Dunstaffnage Edinburgh Bk 11 Pipe Major Danny Campbell Ailean Nicolson Bk 3 Pipe Major Calum Campbell Scots Guards Bk 2

Hornpipes Archie Campbell of the 51st Highland Division Caber Feidh Coll. Dugald Campbell (Knapdale) Glencoe Coll. P. M. Calum Campbell’s Caprice Gordon Highlanders Bk 1 Polkas Angus Campbell’s Favourite Clanranald Coll. Bk 1 Miss Campbell’s Polka Henderson’s Tutor/Coll. Jigs Archibald Campbell Henderson’s Tutor/Coll. Archie Campbell Glen Bk 12 Miss Campbell of Sheerness R. Mathieson Bk 1 Kenny Campbell Edcath Coll. Bk 3

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Ian Campbell’s Stick M. Grey Bk 4 Archie Campbell’s Jig Glen Bk 12 Inspector Donald Campbell J. Wilson Bk 1 Roddie Campbell J. Wilson Bk 1 D. A. Campbell’s Jig G. S. McLennan Coll. Fiddle Music Strathspeys Miss Campbell of Monzie’s Strathspey Miss Campbell of Saddell’s Strathspey Miss Campbell of Shawfield’s Strathspey Miss Campbell of Smiddygreen’s Strathspey Miss Campbell, Sunderland’s Strathspey Miss Campbell’s Strathspey (various tunes under this title) Miss Catherine Campbell Ardmore’s Strathspey Miss Eleanora Campbell of Kilbryde’s Strathspey Miss Grace Campbell’s Strathspey Miss Jane Campbell of Monzie’s Strathspey Miss Jane Campbell’s Strathspey (two tunes under this title) Miss Kitty Campbell’s Strathspey Miss Caroline Campbell Captain Campbell of Carfin’s (Carwhin’s?) Strathspey Captain Dougal Campbell Kilmartin’s Strathspey Captain Walton (Walter) Campbell’s Strathspey Colin Campbell Colonel Campbell of Kingsburgh’s Strathspey Colonel Campbell of Shawfield’s Strathspey Colonel H. F. Campbell General Campbell of Monzie’s Strathspey General Campbell’s Strathspey Lady Campbell Ardkinglas’s Strathspey Lady Charlotte Campbell’s Strathspey (various tunes under this name) Lord John Campbell Lord John Campbell’s New Strathspey Major Archibald Campbell of Askomel’s Strathspey Miss Anne Campbell Balmartin’s Strathspey Miss Betty Campbell of Fairfield’s Strathspey Mrs. Campbell Fairfield’s Strathspey Miss Campbell of Kilbride’s Strathspey Miss Campbell of Monzie’s Strathspey

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Appendix I: Clan Campbell Music Miss Peggy Campbell’s Strathspey Miss Susan Campbell, Monzie Mr. A. Campbell’s Strathspey Mr. Alexander Campbell’s Strathspey Mr. Colin Campbell’s Strathspey Mr. Dougal Campbell of Ballinaby’s Strathspey Mr. Farquhar Campbell’s Strathspey Mr. James Campbell’s Strathspey Mr. John Campbell Ardmore’s Strathspey Mrs. Archibald Campbell of Askomel’s Strathspey Mrs. Campbell of Monzie Mrs. Campbell of Ormidale’s Strathspey Mrs. Garden Campbell of Troup and Glenlyon’s Strathspey Mrs. P. Campbell’s Strathspey Mrs. Robert Campbell of Skipness’s Strathspey Sir James Campbell’s Strathspey W. F. Campbell of Shawfield and Islay’s Strathspey Reels Colonel Campbell’s Reel Miss Campbell of Monzie’s Reel Miss Campbell of Saddell’s Reel Miss Campbell of Shawfield’s Reel Miss Campbell, Park Place’s Reel Miss Campbell, Silvercraig’s Reel Miss Campbell’s Fancy Miss Campbell’s Reel (various tunes under this title) Miss Caroline Campbell Miss Eleanora Campbell of Kilbryde’s Reel Miss Elizabeth Campbell’s Reel Miss Jean Campbell Ardmore’s Reel Miss Jean Campbell of Airds’s Reel Miss Jess Campbell’s Reel Miss Jessy Campbell’s Reel (three tunes under this name) Miss Kitty Campbell of Shawfield’s Reel Miss Lucy Campbell’s Reel Miss Margaret Campbell of Saddell’s Reel Angus Campbell (two versions) Campbell’s Reel Captain Campbell of Ormidale’s Reel Captain Campbell of Sunderland’s Reel

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Captain Campbell’s Reel Captain Colin Campbell of Shawfield’s Reel Colonel Campbell’s Reel Hon. Mrs. Campbell of Lochnell’s Reel Lady Archibald Campbell’s Reel Lady Charlotte Campbell (various tunes under this name) Lady Eleanor Campbell of Shawfield’s Reel Lady Elinor Campbell’s Reel Lady Elizabeth Campbell Lady Georgina Campbell Lord John Campbell Miss Anne Campbell Balmartin’s Reel Miss Betty Campbell’s Reel Miss Campbell Jura’s Reel Miss Campbell Lochend’s Reel Miss Margaret Campbell of Saddell’s Miss Mary Campbell Miss Marion Campbell Ardmore’s Reel Miss Nancy Campbell’s Reel Mr. Archibald Campbell Ardmore’s Reel Miss Sophia Campbell of Saddell’s Reel Mr. C. Campbell’s Reel Mr. Campbell Craignish Mr. Campbell of Glenlyon’s Reel Mr. Campbell Younger of Craignish’s Reel Mr. Duncan Campbell Rockside’s Reel Mr. E. Campbell Ardmore’s Reel Mr. F. G. Campbell of Troup and Glenlyon’s Reel Mr. Campbell of Glenlyon’s Reel Mr. John George Campbell’s Reel Mr. Richard Campbell’s Reel Mr. William Campbell Ardmore’s Reel Mr. William Campbell Balmartin’s Reel Mrs. Campbell Ardmore’s Reel Mrs. Campbell of Ballinaby’s Reel Mrs. Campbell of Lochnell Mrs. Campbell of Treesbank’s Reel Mrs. Campbell’s Reel Mrs. Colonel Campbell of Ballochyle’s Reel Mrs. General Campbell’s Reel (also played as a Strathspey) Mrs. Garden Campbell of Troup and Glenlyon’s Reel Mrs. James Campbell

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Appendix I: Clan Campbell Music Jigs Miss Campbell of Smiddygreen’s Jig Miss Campbell’s Jig Miss Helen Campbell Ardmore’s Jig Miss Jean Campbell Ardmore’s Jig Dougal Campbell Esq. of Ballinaby’s Jig Lady Campbell of Ardkinglas’s Jig General Campbell’s Jig Miss B. Campbell of Shawfield’s Favourite Miss B. Campbell’s Bumpkin Miss Barbara Campbell’s Jig Miss Campbell of Combie Miss Campbell of Melford Miss Campbell of Monzie Miss Mary Campbell Ardmore’s Jig Miss Sophia Campbell Mr. Dugald Campbell Ardmore’s Jig Mrs. Campbell Ardmore’s Jig Sir Archibald Campbell’s Jig Sir James Campbell’s Jig Hornpipes Miss Garden Campbell of Troup’s Hornpipe Mr. Campbell’s Hornpipe Others Miss Campbell of Shawfield’s Valz Miss Campbell’s Minuet Captain Campbell of Shawfield’s Valtz Lady Charlotte Campbell’s Valz Lady Charlotte Campbell’s Waltz Miss Barbara Campbell’s Minuet Miss Betsey Campbell of Shawfield’s Minuet Miss Bell Campbell of Kingsburgh’s Scots Measure Marches Captain Campbell of Airds’s Quickstep Captain Campbell of Lochnell’s Quickstep

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Captain Campbell of Melford Captain Campbell Captain Campbell of Ardgarten’s March Colonel Archibald Campbell’s Quickstep General Campbell of Monzie’s Welcome Home Major James Campbell’s Quickstep Miss Andy Campbell’s Scots Measure Unclassified Miss Isabella Campbell’s Delight Campbell of Duntroon’s Welcome Campbell’s Allemande (two versions) Captain Campbell of Blythswood’s favourite Colonel Campbell of Monzie’s Favourite Sir Archibald Campbell’s Favourite Miss Campbell of Jura’s Allemande Miss Marion Campbell Ardmore’s Favourite Miss Nancy Campbell’s Scots Measure Miss S. Campbell of Saddel’s Allemande Miss Sophia Campbell Mr. Campbell of Achnabreack’s Salutation Mr. Campbell of Kinloch Mr. Dugald Campbell Ardmore’s Favourite Mr. James Campbell Balmartin Mr. John Campbell Ardmore’s Favourite Mr. R. Campbell of Shawfield’s Allemande Mrs. Captain Campbell

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A PPENDIX II

Clan Symbols

t has been suggested that, in very early times, primitive tribes adopted both animals and plants as symbols. This practice antedates the emergence of the clans as we know them today by several thousand years. The clans, however, continued the custom. The extent of this continuity is uncertain but some, such as the wild cat of Sutherland and of Clan Chattan (‘Touch not the Cat but a Glove’), are well known. Clan Campbell’s symbol is said to be a bird – the magpie. Why this is so or when the affiliation was made is unknown. The only possible link I can discern is between the black and white plumage of the bird and the original heraldic tinctures of argent and sable of the chief ’s arms. The gyronny of eight did not assume its now familiar colours of black and gold until around 1600. This may, of course, be no more than coincidence but, since heraldry is thought not to have evolved here until around 1150 at the earliest, this might give some idea of the date of its adoption. Alternatively, supporters of the primeval origin theory might like to consider the possibility that the Campbell colours were adopted due to the magpie and not the other way round! Certainly the thievish propensities of the magpie with its murderous attention to the eggs and young of other species of bird has not escaped the notice of enemies of the Campbells! The need for identification has long been a feature of the battlefield. Tartan only assumed clan significance relatively recently and, before that, much use was made of a device worn in the bonnet. Most often and for obvious reasons, this could apply to a whole army made up of various clans in which case something like a sprig of oats, a piece of paper or, in the case of the supporters of Prince Charles Edward, a bunch of white ribbon, the famous ‘White Cockade’, would be used. Individual clans did, however, it seems, use a plant badge in the bonnet but the idea that all clansmen could afford the heraldic badge worn today does not stand up to inspection – this is, like so much else, a product of Victorian romanticism. In the case of Clan Campbell, it is bog myrtle that is,

I

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above all, the badge of the clan. There is no lack of it to be found in the wet bogs of Argyll but it does have one disadvantage – it drops its leaves in winter. No doubt for this reason, its alternate is Fir Club Moss which can be worn at any time of year. Clans also adopted a rallying point and a war cry. In very many cases the rally place was the location where the clan assembled before going off to foray or to war – examples include Tullach Ard for the MacKenzies, Craigellachie for the Grants, Cnoc Ealachain for the Colquhouns and even the galleyborne Clan Donald had such a place at Fraoch Eilean (the Heathery Isle) in the Sound of Islay. The Campbell war cry is Cruachan! and this refers not, however, as has long been assumed, to the mountain which dominates Loch Awe and much of Argyll besides but to the farm of the same name on the west bank of Loch Awe directly opposite Innischonnell Castle. This is an obvious place for a rallying point. The slogan is also used by the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

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Notes

Chapter 1 No Time for Mourning 1. Lord Archibald Campbell, Records of Argyll, William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 1885, p. 7. 2. Rev. A. Macdonald and Rev. A. Macdonald, The Clan Donald, 3 vols, Northern Publishing Co. Ltd, Inverness, 1896, vol. 1, p. 312 et seq. 3. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, 9 vols, David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1904–1914, vol. 1, p. 337. 4. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, Hamilton, Adams and Co., London and Thomas D. Morison, Glasgow, 1881, p. 115; Rev. A. Macdonald and Rev. A. Macdonald, The Clan Donald, vol. 1, p. 320. 5. Ibid., p. 115. 6. Ibid., p. 116. 7. Ibid. 8. Niall, 10th Duke of Argyll, The Argyll Transcripts. All further references to these will be given as A/T. 9. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 118. 10. Regesta Regum Scottorum, 8 vols, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, vol. 1, p. 2910. Herbert Campbell, the noted genealogist, has him as the son of the second Earl but he may not have seen the above RSS entry. (See Herbert Campbell, unpublished Campbell Genealogies.) D. E. Easson (ed.), Charters of the Abbey of Coupar Angus, 2 vols, Scottish History Society, Third Series, 1947, vol. 2, pp. 276–7. 11. E. B. Fryde, D. E. Greenway, S. Porter and I. Roy (eds), A Handbook of British Chronology (3rd edn), Royal Historical Society, London, 1986, p. 188. 12. Edward J. Cowan, ‘The Angus Campbells and the Origin of the CampbellOgilvie Feud’, Scottish Studies 25, 1981, pp. 28–9. 13. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 117–18. 14. Ibid., p. 118. 15. Ibid., p. 120 16. Ibid., pp. 120–1. 17. Ibid., p. 122. 18. J. Wormald, Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of Manrent 1442–1603, John Donald, Edinburgh, 1985, p. 46.

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19. A/T. 20. Ibid., p. 177; A/T; and C. Innes (ed.), The Book of the Thanes of Cawdor, Spalding Club, Edinburgh, 1859, pp. 102–3. 21. J. Wormald, Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of Manrent 1442–1603, p. 178, quoting Argyll MSS, vol. 1, p. 38. 22. A/T. 23. Ibid. 24. Ibid. 25. J. Wormald, Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of Manrent 1442–1603, p. 253. 26. Ibid., p. 253. 27. A/T; J. Wormald, Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of Manrent 1442–1603, p. 253. 28. A/T; J. Wormald, Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of Manrent 1442–1603, p. 253. 29. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 123. 30. A/T. 31. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, pp. 336–7. 32. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 125. 33. Ibid., pp. 125–6. 34. J. Wormald, Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of Manrent 1442–1603, pp. 254–5; A/T. 35. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 127. 36. J. Wormald, Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of Manrent 1442–1603, p. 256. 37. A/T. 38. The list of lands is as follows: Banry mik canich, Fielin, Creglong, Corpich (Corpach), Innerinate, Achids, Kilmalge, Achmoliag, Drumsare, Mollach, Sane Wor Wille, Fassfarna (Fassifern), Stronfouleak, Conebeg (Corriebeg), Achitolleon, Keanloch (Kinlocheil), Drumnafalze, Culenape, Nahoacha, Clerechaik, Mischesollach, Trewsalachan, half of Lyndaly in Locheil in Lordship of Lochaber. 53 merklands of Durgwyn and Gleneole in Perth; A/T. 39. Full text in A/T. Endorsed Manrent to E. Colin Lumpie. 40. J. Wormald, Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of Manrent 1442–1603, p. 179; A/T. 41. J. Wormald, Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of Manrent 1442–1603, p. 179; not in A/T. 42. Annals of the Four Masters, 7 vols, de Burca Rare Books, Dublin, 1990, vol. 5, p. 1365. 43. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 128. 44. A/T. 45. Ibid. 46. Ibid. 47. Ibid. 48. Ibid. 49. Ibid. 50. Ibid. 51. Ibid. 52. The list of Cawdor’s accomplices is as follows: Angus Campbell Makalexander Makane; Niall Campbell and Duncan Campbell, his brother; Donald McNeill Makane; Alexander Mac cawis; John Malsorlye; John Montgomery and Walter Montgomery, his brother; Donald Makconell; Duncan Makfarson; Alexander Makcorlye; Donald Dow Makcorlye; Iain Maklucas; Finlay dow Makallister;

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Notes

53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65.

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Andrew Campbell; Hugh MakDouill Makdunlane; Niall Makconchy; Iain Makgillicrist Maklaferdich; Malcolm MakKlaren; Iain Masoun; Andrew Masoun; Iain Maktorcull Macloid; Donald MacDouill Gallach; and Donald Macincardain. A/T. C. Innes (ed.), The Book of the Thanes of Cawdor, p. 146. J. Wormald, Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of Manrent 1442–1603, p. 85. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. J. Wormald, Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of Manrent 1442–1603, pp. 180 and 181. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 337. A/T. Regesta Regum Scottorum, vol. 2, p. 59. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 129. Ibid., p. 132. A/T. Lord Archibald Campbell, Records of Argyll, p. 7, from 17c MS in British Museum.

Chapter 2 No Time for Sheathed Swords 1. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 132–3. 2. Ibid., pp. 136–7. 3. Ibid., pp. 137–43. 4. A/T. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid. 7. Ibid. 8. Lord Archibald Campbell, Records of Argyll, William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 1885, pp. 147–8. 9. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 143. 10. M. Livingston et al. (eds), Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scottorum, Edinburgh, 1908, vol. 2, p. 1525. 11. Edward J. Cowan, ‘The Angus Campbells and the Origin of the CampbellOgilvie Feud’, Scottish Studies, 25 (1981), pp. 25–38. 12. A/T; Rev. A. Macdonald and Rev. A. Macdonald, The Clan Donald, 3 vols, Northern Publishing Co. Ltd, Inverness, 1896, vol. 1, p. 211. 13. A/T. 14. M. Livingston et al. (eds), Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scottorum, vol. 3, p. 166. 15. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol.1, p. 23. 16. M. Livingston et al. (eds), Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scottorum, vol. 2, p. 1725. 17. Ibid., vol. 2, p. 1745. 18. Ibid., vol. 2, p. 2152; A/T. 19. G. F. Black, The Surnames of Scotland: their Origin, Meaning and History, New York Public Library, New York, 1946, p. 462.

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294 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57.

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A/T. Lord Archibald Campbell, Records of Argyll, pp. 6–7. Sir William Fraser, The Douglas Book, 4 Vols, Edinburgh, 1885, vol. 2, p. 174. C. Innes (ed.), The Book of the Thanes of Cawdor, p. 162. A/T. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 143. Ibid., p. 145. Ibid., pp. 145–6. Ibid., pp. 146–7. Ibid., p. 149. M. Livingston et al. (eds), Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scottorum, vol. 3, p. 3666; Edward J. Cowan, ‘The Angus Campbells and the Origin of the Campbell-Ogilvie Feud’, pp. 25–38. M. Livingston et al. (eds), Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scottorum, vol. 2, p. 4363. Ibid., p. 4826. Ibid. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 152–3. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, quoted in Dean Gunter White, ‘Henry VIII’s Irish Kern in Ireland and Scotland 1544–45’, Irish Sword, vol. 3, Winter 1958, no. 13, p. 214. A/T. Ibid. M. Livingston et al. (eds), Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scottorum, vol. 3, pp. 287, 350 and 539. Ibid., vol. 3, p. 249. A/T. Ibid. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 164. Ibid., p. 165. Ibid., p. 166. Ibid., p. 167. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. M. Livingston et al. (eds), Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scottorum, vol. 3, p. 1034. A/T. Ibid. Ibid.; Sir Norman Lamont of Knockdow (ed.), An Inventory of Lamont Papers, Skinner & Co., Edinburgh, 1914, p. 54. R. Pitcairn, Criminal Trials in Scotland, 3 vols, Edinburgh, 1833, vol. 3, p. 353. W. C. Mackenzie, The Highlands and Isles of Scotland, Moray Press, Edinburgh, 1937, p. 143. Ibid. Ibid., p. 144.

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58. ‘Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII’, quoted in Dean Gunter White, ‘Henry VIII’s Irish Kern in Ireland and Scotland 1544–45’, Irish Sword, vol. 3, Winter 1958, no. 13, pp. 213–226. 59. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 173. 60. Ibid., p. 170. 61. Ibid., p. 171. 62. Ibid., p. 174. 63. Ibid., p. 177. 64. Ibid., p. 180. 65. A/T. 66. Ibid. 67. Ibid. 68. W. C. Mackenzie, The Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 148. 69. Ibid., p. 149. 70. Ibid. 71. A/T. 72. Ibid. 73. M. Livingston et al. (eds), Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scottorum, vol. 3, p. 1831. 74. A/T. 75. Ibid. 76. Ibid. 77. Ibid. 78. Ibid. 79. M. Livingston et al. (eds), Registrum Secreti Sigilli Regum Scottorum, vol. 3, p. 2936. 80. William Seymour, Battles in Britain, 1066–1746, Sidgwick and Jackson, London, 1989, pp. 208–23. 81. A/T. 82. Ibid. 83. Ibid. 84. Ibid. 85. Ibid. 86. Ibid. 87. Ibid. 88. Ibid. 89. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 184. 90. Alastair Campbell of Airds, A History of Clan Campbell, vol. 1, Polygon, Edinburgh, 2000, p. 101. 91. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 185. 92. W. F. Skene, Celtic Scotland, 3 vols, reprinted by Books for Libraries Press, New York, 1971, vol. 3, p. 438. 93. Ibid., vol. 3, pp. 439–40. 94. John Mackechnie, ‘Treaty between Argyll and O’Donnell’, Scottish Gaelic Studies, vol. 7, pt i, May 1951, pp. 94–103 and full text in A/T. 95. Annals of the Four Masters, vol. 5, p. 1541. 96. W. C. Mackenzie, The Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 150–1.

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97. Annals of the Four Masters, vol. 5, p. 1553. 98. Ibid., vol. 5, p. 1849. 99. Ibid., vol. 5, pp. 1565–7; Hayes-McCoy, p. 110, quoting SP, Eliz., Ireland I, 15; Loch Ce, 1557. CSP Ireland, vol. 1, p. 152. 100. W. C. Mackenzie, The Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 152–3. 101. RMS vol. 5, p. 1326 and pp. 295–6.

Chapter 3 The Reformed Faith 1. Jane Dawson, ‘Clan, Kin and Kirk: The Campbells and the Scottish Reformation’, pp. 211–42, in Scott, Pettegree and Van Nierop (eds), The Education of a Christian Society, Ashgate, Aldershot, 1999, pp. 215 and 217. 2. A/T. 3. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, Scottish Tradition, vol. 17, 1992, pp. 1–50. 4. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 342. 5. Ibid. 6. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, pp. 13–14. 7. A/T. 8. Ibid. and see also Reports of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, London, 1870–date, 4th Report, p. 485. 9. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation, Scottish Tradition’ p. 14; CSP Scot i, 455. 10. Ibid., p. 15. 11. Ibid. 12. A/T. 13. Alastair Campbell of Airds, A History of Clan Campbell, vol. 1, Polygon, Edinburgh, 2000, p. 209. 14. A/T. 15. Ibid. 16. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Argyll Inventory, 7 vols, HMSO, Edinburgh, 1975–92, vol. 7, pp. 218 and 224; Derick S. Thomson (ed.), The Companion to Gaelic Scotland, Blackwell, Oxford, 1983, p. 36. 17. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, Argyll Inventory, p. 129; Alastair Campbell of Airds, A History of Clan Campbell, vol. 1, pp. 106 and 198. 18. Jane Dawson, Clan, Kin and Kirk: the Campbells and the Scottish Reformation, p. 220. 19. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 15. 20. Ibid., p. 16. 21. Ibid. 22. Jane Dawson, ‘The Fifth Earl of Argyle, Gaelic Lordship and Political Power in Sixteenth-Century Scotland’, Scottish Historical Review, vol. 67:1, no. 183 (April 1988), p. 26. 23. A/T. 24. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 18.

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25. Jane Dawson, ‘Two Kingdoms or Three?: Ireland in Anglo-Scottish Relations in the Middle of the Sixteenth Century’, in Roger A. Mason (ed.), Scotland and England 1286–1815, John Donald, Edinburgh, 1987, p. 119. 26. JD Book. JD5E 7; Jane Dawson, ‘Two Kingdoms or Three?: Ireland in AngloScottish Relations in the Middle of the Sixteenth Century’, p. 121. 27. A/T. 28. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, pp. 18–19, quoting CSP Scot, vol. 1, pp. 743, 751 and 786. 29. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 19, quoting CSP Scot, vol. 1, pp. 734 and 821. 30. A/T, original in Gaelic with the English translation from the Inventory of Old Manrent Bonds at Rosneath. 31. Jane Dawson, ‘Two Kingdoms or Three? Ireland in Anglo-Scottish Relations in the Middle of the Sixteenth Century’, p. 122. 32. A/T. 33. Ibid. 34. Ibid. 35. Ibid. 36. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 21. 37. Jane Dawson, ‘Two Kingdoms or Three? Ireland in Anglo-Scottish Relations in the Middle of the Sixteenth Century’, p. 123. 38. W. C. Mackenzie, The Highlands and Isles of Scotland, Moray Press, Edinburgh, 1937, p. 155. 39. A/T. 40. W. C. Mackenzie, The Highlands and Isles of Scotland, Moray Press, Edinburgh, 1937, p. 157. 41. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 24. 42. A/T. 43. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, 9 vols, David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1904–14, vol. 5, p. 353. 44. A/T. 45. Ibid. 46. Ibid. 47. Ibid. 48. Ibid. 49. J. Michael Hill, Fire and Sword, Sorley Buy MacDonnell and the Rise of Clan Ian Mor 1538–90, Athlone Press, London, 1993, p. 32. 50. Ibid., pp. 88–9. 51. A/T. 52. Ibid. 53. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, pp. 29–30. 54. Jane Dawson, ‘The Fifth Earl of Argyle, Gaelic Lordship and Political Power in Sixteenth-Century Scotland’, p. 1. 55. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, Burns, Oates and Washbourne, Ltd, Dublin, 1937, p. 91. 56. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, pp. 31–2. 57. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 33; CSP Scot, vol. 2, pp. 381, 386; Jane Dawson, ‘Campbell, Archibald, 5th Earl of Argyll’, Dictionary of National Biography (forthcoming).

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58. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 33. 59. Ibid., p. 34. 60. Jane Dawson, ‘The Fifth Earl of Argyle, Gaelic Lordship and Political Power in Sixteenth-century Scotland’, p. 25. 61. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 35. 62. Ibid. 63. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 26. 64. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 36. 65. Ibid., pp. 27–8; A/T. 66. I. F. Grant, The MacLeods [1959], Spurbooks, 1981, p. 127. 67. A/T. 68. Ibid. 69. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 26; Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 36. 70. Ibid., p. 37. 71. A/T. 72. Alastair Campbell of Airds, A History of Clan Campbell, vol. 1, Polygon, Edinburgh, 2000, pp. 222–7. 73. A/T. 74. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, p. 96; J. Michael Hill, Fire and Sword, Sorley Buy MacDonnell and the Rise of Clan Ian Mor 1538–90, pp. 123–5. 75. A/T. 76. John Hill Burton, History of Scotland, vol. 4, pp. 374–7. 77. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 38. 78. Ibid., pp. 37–9; Jane Dawson, ‘The Fifth Earl of Argyle, Gaelic Lordship and Political Power in Sixteenth-Century Scotland’, p. 5. 79. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 40. 80. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, p. 105. 81. A/T. 82. J. Michael Hill, Fire and Sword, Sorley Buy MacDonnell and the Rise of Clan Ian Mor 1538–90, p. 134. 83. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, p. 102. 84. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 41. 85. A/T. 86. Jane Dawson, ‘Two Kingdoms or Three? Ireland in Anglo-Scottish Relations in the Middle of the Sixteenth Century’, p. 129. 87. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, 1937, p. 346. 88. W. C. Mackenzie, The Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 165. 89. Ibid., p. 167. 90. A/T. 91. Rev. William A. Gillies, In Famed Breadalbane, Munro Press, Perth, 1938, p. 126. 92. Ronald Black, from his unpublished notes. 93. Martin MacGregor, from his unpublished doctoral thesis, passim. 94. Ronald Black, from his unpublished notes. 95. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 44. 96. Ibid., p. 45; CSP Scot vol. 3, pp. 892, 895, 898 and 911. 97. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 27.

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Notes 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115.

299

G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, p. 117. Stanford Reid, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, p. 46. 1A/T. J. Wormald, Lords and Men in Scotland: Bonds of Manrent 1442–1603, p. 186. Ibid., p. 187. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. I. F. Grant, The MacLeods [1959], Spurbooks, 1981, p. 117. C. Innes (ed.), Origines Parochiales Scotiae, Bannantyne Club, Edinburgh, 1865, vol. 2, p. 208. I. F. Grant, The MacLeods, p. 120. The Iona Club (ed.), Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis, Thomas G. Stevenson, Edinburgh, 1847, pp. 138–48. A/T. The Iona Club (ed.), Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis, pp. 147–9; A/T. Ibid. Ibid. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 343. Lord Archibald Campbell, Records of Argyll, William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 1885, p. 6.

Chapter 4 Promise Unfulfilled 1. J. M. Thomson (ed.), Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scottorum – The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, 11 vols, Scottish Record Society reprint, Edinburgh, 1984, vol. 4, p. 56. 2. Lord Archibald Campbell, Records of Argyll, William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 1885, p. 7. 3. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, 9 Vols, David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1904–14, vol. 1, 345. 4. A/T. 5. Jane Dawson, ‘Campbell, Archibald, 4th Earl of Argyll, Dictionary of National Biography, forthcoming. 6. N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder under Trust, Tuckwell Press Ltd, East Linton, 1999, p. 58. 7. P. Hume Brown, History of Scotland, 3 vols, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1911, vol. 2, p. 126. 8. A/T. 9. Ibid. 10. Ibid. 11. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, Burns, Oates and Washbourne Ltd, Dublin, 1937, p. 120. 12. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, pp. 121–3; W. C. Mackenzie, The Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 167–8. 13. A/T. 14. Ibid. 15. Ibid. 16. Ibid.

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300 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57.

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Ibid. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 344; A/T. Ibid., vol. 1, pt i, p. 344. Ibid. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, Hamilton, Adams and Co., London and Thomas D. Morison, Glasgow, 1881, pp. 214–15. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid; N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder Under Trust, p. 65. A/T. Ibid. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 215. A/T. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, pp. 126–7. Ibid., p. 129. P. Hume Brown, History of Scotland, pp. 129–30. Ibid., pp. 135–6. A/T. Ibid. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 217. A/T. Ibid.; N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder under Trust, Tuckwell Press Ltd, East Linton, 1999, pp. 66–8. Douglas Wimberley, Memorials of the Campbells of Kilmartin, privately printed, Inverness, 1894, p. 10. P. Hume Brown, History of Scotland, vol. 2, p. 136; Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 444. A/T. Ibid. Ibid.; N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder Under Trust, p. 71. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, pp. 131 and 137. Ibid., p. 132. A/T. Ibid. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 345. Cyril Falls, Elizabeth’s Irish Wars, Methuen & Co. Ltd, London, 1950, pp. 138 and 144. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. P. Hume Brown, History of Scotland, vol. 2, pp. 142–3 and 145. Edward J. Cowan, ‘The Angus Campbells and the Origin of the CampbellOgilvie Feud’, Scottish Studies, 25, 1981, pp. 33–4. Ibid., p. 32. Ibid., p. 34.

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Notes

301

58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65.

W. C. Mackenzie, Highlands and Isles, pp. 168–9. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, p. 145. Ibid., pp. 147–8. A/T. Ibid. N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder Under Trust, p. 74. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 344. A/T.; Alastair Campbell of Airds, A History of Clan Campbell, vol. 1, Polygon, Edinburgh, 2000, p. 198. 66. A/T. 67. Ibid.

Chapter 5 Grim-faced Archie, the Survivor 1. Edward J. Cowan, ‘The Angus Campbells and the Origin of the CampbellOgilvie Feud’, Scottish Studies, 25, 1981, p. 32. 2. Ibid., pp. 33–4. 3. Hugh Earl of Cawdor, The Murders of Lord Moray and the Thane of Cawdor, privately printed, 1985, p. 12. 4. A/T. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid. 7. Ibid. 8. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, Burns, Oates and Washbourne Ltd, Dublin 1937, p. 163. 9. Ibid., p. 174. 10. A/T. 11. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, Hamilton, Adams and Co., London and Thomas D. Morison, Glasgow, 1881, pp. 233–5; N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder Under Trust, pp. 92–3. 12. Ibid., p. 237. 13. J. Burton et al. (eds), Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1877–date, vol. 4, pp. 781–2. 14. Ibid., vol. 4, pp. 802–3. 15. A/T. 16. Author’s notes from a lecture by Martin MacGregor. 17. J. Burton et al. (eds), Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 4, p. 263. 18. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 239–40. 19. Ibid., pp. 238–9. 20. J. Burton et al. (eds), Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 4, pp. 656–7. 21. Acta Domini Consilii, vol. 16, pp. 237 and 273–4. 22. J. Burton et al. (eds), Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 4, p. 457. 23. Ibid., p. 468. 24. Douglas Wimberley, Memorials of the Campbells of Kilmartin, privately printed, Inverness, 1894, p. 10. 25. Ibid., pp. 11–12. 26. Edward J. Cowan, ‘The Angus Campbells and the Origin of the CampbellOgilvie Feud’, p. 37.

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27. Ibid., p. 35. 28. Douglas Wimberley, Memorials of the Campbells of Kilmartin, pp. 10–11; A/T, quoting R. Pitcairn, Criminal Trials in Scotland, 3 vols, Edinburgh, 1833, vol. 1, pp. 263–4. 29. Edward J. Cowan, ‘The Angus Campbells and the origin of the Campbell-Ogilvie Feud’, pp. 25–38. 30. A/T; Highland Papers, vol. 1, p. 179. 31. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 2, p. 184. 32. Ibid., vol. 1, p. 118. 33. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 248–50. 34. Highland Papers, vol. 2, p. 180. 35. Hugh, Earl of Cawdor, The Murders of Lord Moray and the Thane of Cawdor, p. 15. 36. Ibid., p. 7. 37. Ibid., p. 10. 38. Alexander Nisbet, A System of Heraldry, Speculative and Practical, 2nd edn, Alex. Lawrie, Edinburgh, 1804, p. 232. 39. Highland Papers, vol. 1, pp. 159–75. 40. Rev. William A. Gillies, In Famed Breadalbane, Munro Press, Perth, 1938, p. 139. 41. Highland Papers, vol. 1, pp. 168–9. 42. Alastair Campbell of Airds, ‘A Horrible Tale’, West Highland Notes & Queries, series 2, no. 1, March 1988, p. 17. 43. Highland Papers, vol. 1, p. 179, see note quoting J. Burton et al. (eds), Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 4, p. 756. 44. J. Burton et al. (eds), Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 4, p. 756. 45. A/T. 46. Douglas Wimberley, Memorials of the Campbells of Kilmartin, pp. 11–12. 47. A/T. 48. Ibid. 49. Highland Papers, vol. 1, p. 149. 50. A/T, quoting BBT, p. 252. 51. Highland Papers, vol. 1, p. 191. 52. Ibid., pp. 149 and 175. 53. Ibid., p. 178. 54. Ibid., pp. 189–90. 55. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 252; Highland Papers, vol. 1, pp. 173–4. 56. CSP, pp. 1591–7. 57. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 256–7. 58. Calendar of State Papers, pp. 1591–7. 59. A/T, quoting Reports of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, London 1870–date, 4th Report, pp. 488–9. 60. N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder Under Trust, Tuckwell Press Ltd, East Linton, 1999, p. 125. 61. Ibid., p. 126. 62. Calendar of State Papers Relating to Ireland, vol. 11, p. 453.

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63. N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder Under Trust, p. 126. 64. A/T. 65. N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder Under Trust, p. 127; Calendar of State Papers Relating to Scotland, vol. 2, p. 432. 66. Calendar of State Papers Relating to Scotland, vol. 2, p. 453. 67. N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder Under Trust, p. 127. 68. Ibid., pp. 128–9. 69. Calendar of State Papers Relating to Scotland, vol. 2, p. 129. 70. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 258; R. MacNeil of Barra, The Clan MacNeil, Scotpress, 1985, p. 61. 71. Alastair Campbell of Airds, The Life and Troubled Times of Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan, SWHIHR, date unknown, p. 7. 72. Ibid. 73. N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder Under Trust, p. 133. 74. Alastair Campbell of Airds, The Life and Troubled Times of Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan, p. 8. 75. N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder Under Trust, p. 129. 76. Ibid., p. 133. 77. Highland Papers, vol. 1, pp. 190–3. 78. Ibid., p. 167. 79. A/T. 80. Highland Papers, vol. 1, p. 153. 81. Ibid., pp. 193–4. 82. Ibid., p. 150. 83. Hugh, Earl of Cawdor, The Murders of Lord Moray and the Thane of Cawdor, p. 24. 84. Highland Papers, vol. 1, p. 151. 85. Ibid., p. 25.

Chapter 6 Grim-faced Archie in Control 1. Edmund Curtis, A History of Ireland, reprinted by Routledge, London, 1996, p. 210. 2. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, Burns Oates and Washbourne Ltd., Dublin, 1937, p. 234. 3. Ibid., p. 231. 4. Ibid., p. 234. 5. Ibid. 6. Dairmid Campbell, unpublished paper, quoting Calendar of State Papers. 7. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, p. 236. 8. Ibid., p. 237. 9. Ibid., p. 238. 10. Ibid., p. 240. 11. Ibid., pp. 242–3. 12. Ibid., p. 243. 13. Dairmid Campbell, unpublished paper, quoting Calendar of State Papers. 14. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, p. 245. 15. Ibid., pp. 245–6.

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304 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57.

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Ibid., p. 246. Ibid., pp. 249–50. Ibid., p. 251. Ibid., pp. 252–3. Ibid., p. 255. Calendar of State Papers, vol. 12, p. 9. Ibid., p 11. Ibid., pp. 14 and 15. Ibid., p. 27; G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, p. 256. Calendar of State Papers, vol. 12, pp. 44 and 59. Ibid., p. 103. A/T. Ibid. Edmund Curtis, A History of Ireland, Routledge, London, 1996, p. 211. Calendar of State Papers, vol. 12, p. 149. Ibid., p. 157. Ibid., p. 168. Ibid., pp. 169–72. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, pp. 273–4; Calendar of State Papers, vol. 12, p. 188. Calendar of State Papers, vol. 12, p. 209. Ibid., p. 209. Ibid., p. 211. Ibid., p. 220. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, Hamilton, Adams and Co., London and Thomas D. Morison, Glasgow, 1881, pp. 264 and 265. Ibid., p. 266. Ibid., p. 267; Calendar of State Papers, vol. 12, p. 209. Calendar of State Papers, vol. 12, p. 311. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 267. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, p. 280. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 269. Ibid., pp. 273–4. A/T. Ibid. Rev. Somerled Macmillan, Bygone Lochaber, printed privately, Glasgow, 1971, p. 102. J. Burton et al, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1877–date, vol. 5, p. 302. C. Innes (ed.), The Black Book of Taymouth, Constable, Edinburgh, 1855. A/T. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 276–7. N. Maclean-Bristol, Murder under Trust, pp. 245–8. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, p. 249. Calendar of State Papers, vol. 13, pt i, p. 241. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, pp. 253–4.

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Notes 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95.

305

Calendar of State Papers, vol. 12, pt ii, p. 262. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, pp. 299–300. Calendar of State Papers, vol. 12, pt ii, p. 265. Scottish Records Office, Gifts and Deposits, 112/17/2 200. A/T. Dairmid Campbell, unpublished paper. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 287. Ibid., pp. 292–3. Calendar of State Papers, vol. 13, pt ii, p. 708. Ibid., p. 724. Calendar of State Papers Relating to Ireland, vol. 7, 1598–9, p. 436. A/T; The Iona Club (ed.), Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis, Thomas G. Stevenson, Edinburgh, 1847, pp. 201–2. A/T, quoting J. Burton et al, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 6, pp. 320–1. R. Pitcairn, Criminal Trials in Scotland, 3 vols, Edinburgh, 1833, vol. 3, p. 481. Calendar of State Papers Relating to Ireland, vol. 12, pt ii, p. 896. Calendar of State Papers, vol. 13, pt ii, p. 896. G. A. Hayes-McCoy, Scots Mercenary Forces in Ireland, p. 334. Calendar of State Papers, vol. 3, pt ii, p. 917. A/T, quoting Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 6, pp. 346–7. A/T, quoting Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 6, p. 343. Calendar of State Papers Relating to Scotland and Mary Queen of Scots, 1547–1603, vol. 2, p. 937. Calendar of State Papers Relating to Scotland and Mary Queen of Scots, 1547–1603, vol. 2, pp. 927 and 976–7. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. K. McLeay, Rob Roy and his Times, William Brown, Edinburgh, 1881, pp. 76–82; James Browne, History of the Highland Clans, vol. 1, pp. 233–5; Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 6, pp. 534–5. A/T. C. Innes (ed.), The Black Book of Taymouth, Constable, Edinburgh, 1855, p. 39; R. Pitcairn, Criminal Trials in Scotland, vol. 3, pp. 232–3. Ibid., passim. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 305. A/T. Ibid. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 306. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 306–7. Ibid., p. 308.

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306 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104.

105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 127. 128. 129. 130.

A HISTORY OF CLAN CAMPBELL, VOLUME 2

Ibid., p. 310. A/T. Ibid. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 310–11. A/T. Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 7, pp. 373 and 644. Lord Archibald Campbell, Records of Argyll, William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 1885, p. 130. Alexander Mackintosh, The Mackintoshes and Clan Chattan, Edinburgh, 1903, pp. 274–5. Alastair Campbell of Airds, The Life and Troubled Times of Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan, SWHIHR, date unknown, p. 10; Alexander Mackintosh, The Mackintoshes and Clan Chattan, pp. 184 and 190–1; Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, 9 vols, David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1904–14, vol. 1, p. 343. Alastair Campbell of Airds, The Life and Troubled Times of Sir Donald Campbell of Ardnamurchan, p. 14. A/T. Ibid. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 311. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 311. Ibid., pp. 313–14. Ibid., pp. 312–13. A/T. Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 96. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 317. Ibid., p. 318. Ibid., pp. 318–20. Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 112. Ibid., pp. 112–30. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 323. Ibid., p. 325. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 328. Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 92. A/T.

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Notes 131. 132. 133. 134. 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143. 144. 145. 146. 147. 148. 149. 150. 151. 152. 153. 154. 155.

156. 157. 158. 159. 160. 161. 162. 163. 164. 165.

307

both A/T. Ibid. Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 117. K. Macleay, Rob Roy and his Times, William Brown, Edinburgh, 1881, pp. 86–7. A/T. Ibid. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, 9 vols, David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1904–14, vol. 1, p. 350. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 339–40. A/T; Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 341. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. R. Pitcairn, Criminal Trials in Scotland, 3 vols, Edinburgh, 1833, vol. 3, pp. 257–8. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. Abridgement in TC, p. 226, described by J. R. N. MacPhail ‘it is very curious that only an abridgement is printed in the Thanes of Cawdor’ (p. 226) and that ‘the original’ cannot be found; Scottish History Society, Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 92. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 345–6. Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 129; Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 348. A/T. Highland Papers, vol. 3, pp. 125–6. A/T. Highland Papers, vol. 3, pp. 135–8. A/T. Ibid. A/T, quoting from old inventory of Innischonnell writs in General Register House. A/T.

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Chapter 7 Grim-faced Archie, the Deserter 1. Scottish History Society, Highland Papers, 4 vols, Edinburgh, 1914–34, vol. 3, p. 144. 2. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, Hamilton, Adams and Co., London and Thomas D. Morison, Glasgow, 1881, pp. 350–1. 3. Ibid., p. 351; Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 145. 4. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 352; Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 150. 5. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 354. 6. Ibid., p. 355. 7. Ibid. 8. Ibid., quoting Denmylne MSS in Highland Papers, vol. 3, pp. 90–320. 9. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 356; Highland Papers, vol. 3, pp. 161–2. 10. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 357–8; Highland Papers, vol. 3, pp. 165–6. 11. A/T. 12. Ibid. 13. Ibid. 14. Ibid. 15. Highland Papers, vol. 3, pp. 156–7. 16. Ibid., pp. 157–8. 17. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 358–9. 18. Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 198; Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 360. 19. Ibid., p. 361. 20. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 361, note. 21. A/T. 22. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 359. 23. Herbert Campbell, Campbell Pedigrees, unpublished typescript. 24. Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 179. 25. Ibid., p. 180. 26. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 363. 27. Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 183. 28. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 364; Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 184. 29. Ibid., p. 366. 30. Ibid.; Alexander J. Haddow, The History and Structure of Ceol Mor, privately printed, date unknown, pp. 38–55. 31. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 367. 32. Ibid., p. 368; Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 218.

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309

33. A/T. 34. Highland Papers, vol. 3, pp. 245–6. 35. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, pp. 371. 36. Ibid., pp. 372–3. 37. Highland Papers, vol. 3, pp. 263–4. 38. Ibid., p. 267. 39. Ibid., p. 269. 40. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 373. 41. Ibid., p. 378. 42. Ibid., p. 379. 43. Ibid. 44. Ibid., p. 382. 45. Ibid., p. 384. 46. Argyll Archives, Duke Niall’s white pedigree notebook, Campbells of Ardkinglas, p. 70. 47. Highland Papers, vol. 3, pp. 287–8; in Criminal Trials in Scotland, Pitcairn gives the number as fifteen. 48. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 387. 49. Ibid., p. 388. 50. A/T. 51. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, 9 vols, David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1904–14, vol. 1, p. 348. 52. A/T. 53. Ibid. 54. Ibid. 55. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 391. 56. Ibid., p. 392. 57. Ibid. 58. Ibid., pp. 393–5. 59. A/T. 60. Ibid. 61. Ibid. 62. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 398. 63. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, p. 348. 64. A/T. 65. J. Burton et al (eds), Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 11, p. 404. 66. Ibid., p. 624. 67. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 399. 68. Highland Papers, vol. 3, pp. 305–6. 69. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 348. 70. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 400; J. Burton et al (eds), Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 11, pp. 487–9.

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71. A/T; C. Innes (ed.), The Book of the Thanes of Cawdor, Spalding Club, Edinburgh, 1859, pp. 243 and 244. 72. Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 308. 73. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 348. 74. Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 94. 75. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier, Edinburgh and London, 1903, p. 9; James Grant, The Scottish Soldiers of Fortune, Routledge, Glasgow, 1889, p. 133. 76. Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 312. 77. Ibid., p. 310. 78. J. Burton et al (eds), Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 11, pp. 415–16. 79. Ibid., 411. 80. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 5, p. 22. 81. Sir Duncan Campbell of Barcaldine, Clan Campbell: Abstracts of Entries, 8 vols, privately printed, 1913–22, vol. 6, p. 177. 82. Ibid., vol. 3, p. 207. 83. Ibid., pp. 213 and 216. 84. Ibid., p. 219. 85. A/T. 86. Ibid. 87. Ibid. 88. Sir Duncan Campbell of Barcaldine, Clan Campbell: Abstracts of Entries, vol. 3, p. 229. 89. Ibid., p. 224. 90. Ibid., vol. 6, p. 176. 91. George Watson, Bell’s Dictionary and Digest of the Law of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1882, p. 515. 92. Sir Duncan Campbell of Barcaldine, Clan Campbell: Abstracts of Entries, vol. 6, p. 183. 93. Ibid., p. 180. 94. Ibid., vol. 3, p. 240. 95. Ibid., p. 243. 96. Ibid., p. 247. 97. Ibid., vol. 6, p. 295. 98. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, pp. 497–9. 99. Highland Papers, vol. 3, p. 309. 100. J. Burton et al (eds), Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vols 12 and 50–2, pp. 578–9 and 665–6. 101. Ibid., pp. 565–7. 102. R. Pitcairn, Criminal Trials in Scotland, 3 vols, Edinburgh, 1833, vol. 3, p. 554. 103. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, p. 351. 104. A/T. 105. Edward J. Cowan, ‘Clanship, Kinship and the Campbell Acquisition of Islay’, Scottish Historical Review, LV3, pp. 132–57. 106. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 405. 107. J. Burton et al (eds), Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 11, pp. 463–4 and 643. 108. Ibid., pp. 643–4.

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Notes 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 127. 128. 129. 130. 131. 132. 133. 134. 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143. 144. 145. 146. 147. 148. 149. 150. 151. 152. 153.

311

Ibid., vol. 12, pp. 39–49 and 47–53. Ibid., vol. 11, pp. 438–9. Ibid., vol. 12, pp. 655–6 and 661–2. Donald Gregory, The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland, p. 410; A/T. A/T. Ibid. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, p. 18. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, p. 351. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Rev. William A. Gillies, In Famed Breadalbane, Munro Press, Perth, 1938, pp. 135–42. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Reports of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, London, 1870, Appendix to 6th Report, p. 631. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, p. 36. A/T. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 351; A/T. A/T.

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312 154. 155. 156. 157. 158. 159. 160. 161. 162. 163. 164. 165. 166. 167.

A HISTORY OF CLAN CAMPBELL, VOLUME 2

Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. A/T; Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 5, p. 24. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 5, pp. 24–5. A/T. Ibid. Ibid.

Chapter 8 For Covenant and the True Religion 1. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier, Edinburgh and London, 1903, 43; John Spalding, The History of the Troubles and Memorable Transactions in Scotland in the Reign of Charles I, p. 62. 2. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, 9 vols, David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1904–14, vol. 1, pp. 351–2. 3. C. Innes (ed.), The Black Book of Taymouth, Constable, Edinburgh, 1855, pp. 394–7. 4. Ibid., p. 397; A/T. 5. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, p. 50. 6. Ibid., p. 55. 7. A/T; J. Burton et al (eds), Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 7, p. 462. 8. I. M. M. MacPhail, Dumbarton Castle, John Donald, Edinburgh, 1979, pp. 110–11. 9. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, John Donald, Edinburgh, 1990, p. 16. 10. Argyll Archives, bundle 7/139–41. 11. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 17. 12. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, John Donald, Edinburgh, 1980, p. 71. 13. A/T. 14. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 71. 15. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, p. 77. 16. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 71. 17. Ibid., p. 71; Hector MacKechnie, The Lamont Clan, Neill & Co., Edinburgh, 1938, pp. 155–9. 18. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 19. 19. Ibid., p. 17.

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313

20. Ibid., p. 29. 21. Ibid., p. 17. 22. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 72. 23. Ibid. 24. A/T. 25. Ibid. 26. Ibid. 27. Edward J. Cowan, ‘The Angus Campbells and the Origin of the CampbellOgilvie Feud’, Scottish Studies, 25, 1981, p. 25. 28. Reports of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, London, 1870, 6th Report, p. 616. 29. John Spalding, The History of the Troubles and Memorable Transactions in Scotland in the Reign of Charles I, George King, Aberdeen, 1829, p. 180. 30. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, pp. 125–6. 31. John Spalding, The History of the Troubles and Memorable Transactions in Scotland in the Reign of Charles I, p. 180. 32. Ibid., p. 180. 33. Mark Napier, Memorials of Montrose and his Times (2 vols), Maitland Club, Edinburgh, 1848–50, vol. 2, p. 477. 34. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, pp. 112–14. 35. Ibid., p. 121. 36. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, pp. 72–3. 37. A/T. 38. Ibid. 39. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, pp. 134–5. 40. Ibid., 141–3; Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 1, p. 353. 41. A/T. 42. Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots Peerage, vol. 5, pp. 506–7. 43. Edmund Curtis, A History of Ireland [original date], Routledge, London, 1996, p. 244. 44. Argyll Archives, Bundle 6/121. 45. A/T. 46. Public Record Office, State Papers 28/120/ and LO 8704. 47. A/T. 48. Public Record Office, State Papers 28/120/ and LO 8704. 49. S. Reid and G. Turner, Scots Armies of the English Civil Wars, Osprey, Oxford, 1999, p. 13. 50. David Stevenson, ‘The Myth of the Founding of the Scots Guards in 1642’, Scottish Historical Review, vol. 1, pt vi, no. 161 (April 1977), p. 114. 51. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, pp. 88–93; David Stevenson, Scottish Covenanters and Irish Confederates, Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast, 1981, p. 335. 52. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 80. 53. Wallace Clark, Rathlin – Its Island Story (3rd edn), Impact Printing Ltd, Coleraine, 1996, p. 120.

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54. A/T. 55. Ibid. 56. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, pp. 199 and 407; David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 99; A/T. 57. Ibid.; Argyll Archives Bundle 7, pp. 139, 140 and 141. 58. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 111. 59. Ibid., pp. 110–11. 60. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, pp. 156–9. 61. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 103; Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 409. 62. Ibid., p. 199. 63. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 124; Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 199. 64. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 101. 65. Ibid., p. 110. 66. John Buchan, Montrose, pp. 264 and 289. 67. Caoimhin O’Danachair, ‘Montrose’s Irish Regiments’, Irish Sword, vol. 6, no. 14 (Summer 1959), pp. 61–7. 68. Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, A Short Abridgement of Britane’s Distemper, 1639–1649, Spalding Club, Aberdeen, 1844, pp. 62–3. 69. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, pp. 111–12. 70. Ibid., p. 123. 71. Argyll Archives, bundle 7, pp. 139, 140, 141. 72. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 199. 73. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 113. 74. Ibid., p. 121. 75. Ibid., p. 120. 76. Ibid., p. 129; Scottish Records Office, Breadalbane Muniments GD 112/ 39/ 854, 855 and 860. 77. Argyll Archives bundle 7, pp. 139, 140, 141. 78. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 129. 79. Ibid., p. 134. 80. Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, A Short Abridgement of Britane’s Distemper, 1639–1649, p. 88. 81. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 137. 82. Ibid., p. 138. 83. Ibid., p. 140. 84. Ibid., p. 142.

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Notes

315

85. Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, A Short Abridgement of Britane’s Distemper, 1639–1649, pp. 94–6. 86. Ibid., p. 95. 87. Rev. Alexander Cameron, Reliquiae Celticae, 2 vols, ed. Alexander Macbain, Inverness, 1894, vol. 2, p. 181. 88. Ibid., pp. 182–3. 89. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 150. 90. From a conversation the author had with Mrs Rae MacGregor who was brought up in Glen Shira. 91. Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, A Short Abridgement of Britane’s Distemper, 1639–1649, p. 98. 92. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 147; Rev. Alexander Cameron, Reliquiae Celticae, p. 183. 93. A/T. 94. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 148. 95. Ibid., pp. 147–8. 96. Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, A Short Abridgement of Britane’s Distemper, 1639–1649, p. 98. 97. Mark Napier, Memoirs of the Marquis of Montrose, vol. 2, p. 475. 98. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 152. 99. A/T. 100. Ibid.

Chapter 9 The Bitter Harvest 1. Mark Napier, Memorials of Montrose and his Times, 2 vols, Maitland Club, Edinburgh, 1848–50, vol. 2, pp. 172–4. 2. Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, A Short Abridgement of Britane’s Distemper, 1639–1649, Spalding Club, Aberdeen, 1844, p. 99. 3. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, John Donald, Edinburgh, 1980, p. 472. 4. Ibid., p. 471. 5. Donald B. MacCulloch, Romantic Lochaber, Arisaig and Morar, Lines Publishing, Spean Bridge (3rd edn) 1996, pp. 91–8. 6. Mark Napier, Memoirs of the Marquis of Montrose, 2 vols, Thomas G. Stevenson, Edinburgh, 1856, vol. 2, pp. 484–5; Mark Napier, Memorials of Montrose and his Times, 2 vols, Maitland Club, Edinburgh, 1848–50, vol. 2, ibid., pp. 175–9. 7. Donald B. MacCulloch, Romantic Lochaber, Arisaig and Morar, p. 98. 8. Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, A Short Abridgement of Britane’s Distemper, 1639–1649, p. 99; John Spalding, The History of the Troubles and Memorable Transactions in Scotland in the Reign of Charles I, George King, Aberdeen, 1829, p. 471. 9. John Spalding, The History of the Troubles and Memorable Transactions in

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Scotland in the Reign of Charles I, p. 471. 10. Annie M. Mackenzie (ed.), Orain Iain Luim, Scottish Gaelic Texts Society, Edinburgh, 1964, p. 23. 11. Edward J. Cowan, Montrose – for Covenant and King, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1977, p. 183. 12. Annie M. Mackenzie (ed.), Orain Iain Luim, 23. 13. Donald B. MacCulloch, Romantic Lochaber, Arisaig and Morar, p. 82. 14. Mark Napier, Memoirs of the Marquis of Montrose, vol. 2, pp. 484–5; Mark Napier, Memorials of Montrose and his Times, vol. 2, pp. 175–9. 15. Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, A Short Abridgement of Britane’s Distemper, 1639–1649, p. 101. 16. Ibid., p. 101. 17. Ibid., p. 101. 18. Mark Napier, Memoirs of the Marquis of Montrose, vol. 2, pp. 484–5; Mark Napier, Memorials of Montrose and his Times, vol. 2, pp. 175–9. 19. Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, A Short Abridgement of Britane’s Distemper, 1639–1649, p. 102. 20. Rev. Alexander Cameron, Reliquiae Celticae, 2 vols, ed. Alexander Macbain, The Northern Counties Newspaper and Publishing and Printing Co., Inverness, 1894, p. 185. 21. Lord Archibald Campbell, Records of Argyll, William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh, 1885, p. 209. 22. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 471. 23. Ibid., p. 472. 24. Donald B. MacCulloch, Romantic Lochaber, Arisaig and Morar, pp. 5–6. 25. Marquis of Lorne, Adventures in Legend, Archibald Constable, London, date unknown, pp. 225–6. 26. Edward J. Cowan, Montrose – for Covenant and King, p. 183. 27. Annie M. Mackenzie (ed.), Orain Iain Luim, pp. 23–5. 28. Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, A Short Abridgement of Britane’s Distemper, 1639–1649, pp. 101–2. 29. Mark Napier, Memoirs of the Marquis of Montrose, vol. 2, pp. 484–5; Mark Napier, Memorials of Montrose and his Times, pp. 175–9. 30. Angus Mathieson, Traditions of Alasdair MacColla, Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Glasgow, vol. 5, 1958, p. 35; Marquis of Lorne, Adventures in Legend, pp. 222–4; Campbell, Lord Archibald, Records of Argyll, pp. 210–11; Nicolson, Alexander, Gaelic Proverbs, Caledonian Press, Glasgow, 1951, p. 161. John Spalding, The History of the Troubles and Memorable Transactions in 31. Scotland in the Reign of Charles I, pp. 471–2; Rev. Alexander Cameron, Reliquiae Celticae, pp. 185. 32. Edward J. Cowan, Montrose – for Covenant and King, p. 186. 33. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 190; Lorne, Marquis of, Adventures in Legend, p. 224. 34. Rev. Alexander Cameron, Reliquiae Celticae, p. 185; S471; Hector McKechnie, The Lamont Clan, Neill & Co., Edinburgh, 1938, p. 167. 35. Edward J. Cowan, Montrose – for Covenant and King, p. 186. 36. National Library of Scotland MS/3018/47; my thanks to Nicholas MacleanBristol for this reference.

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37. J. P. Maclean, A History of the Clan Maclean, Robert Clarke and Co., Cincinnati, 1889, pp. 276–7. 38. Rev. Somerled Macmillan, Bygone Lochaber, privately printed, 1971, p. 252. 39. Annie M. Mackenzie (ed.), Orain Iain Luim, p. 23. 40. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier, Edinburgh and London, 1903, p. 174; Marquis of Lorne, Adventures in Legend, p. 223. 41. William Mackay (ed.), Chronicles of the Frasers: the Wardlaw Manuscript, Scottish History Society, 1st series, vol. 47, 1905, p. 289. 42. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, pp. 168–71. 43. Mark Napier, Memoirs of the Marquis of Montrose, vol. 2, pp. 489–90. 44. A/T. 45. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 195. 46. Ibid., p. 188. 47. Ibid., p. 189. 48. Ibid., p. 196; Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, A Short Abridgement of Britane’s Distemper, 1639–1649, p. 494. 49. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 198. 50. Ibid., p. 213. 51. S. Cruden, Castle Campbell, Historic Scotland/HMSO, Edinburgh, pp. 22–3; Mark Napier, Memorials of Montrose and his Times, vol. 2, p. 253. 52. Willcock, John, The Great Marquess, p. 183. 53. Rev. Alexander Cameron, Reliquiae Celticae, p. 195. 54. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 202. 55. Ibid., p. 205. 56. Hector McKechnie, The Lamont Clan, p. 168. 57. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 207. 58. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, pp. 184–5. 59. Mark Napier, Memorials of Montrose and his Times, vol. 2, pp. 577–8. 60. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, John Donald, Edinburgh, 1990, p. 207. 61. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 214. 62. Ibid., p. 214. 63. Ibid., p. 215. 64. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, pp. 201–2. 65. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, pp. 215. 66. Ibid., pp. 215–16. 67. Hector McKechnie, The Lamont Clan, pp. 174–5. 68. Mark Napier, Memoirs of the Marquis of Montrose, vol. 2, p. 624. 69. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 416.

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70. Ibid., pp. 82 and 416; David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 221. 71. A/T – Decreet of Forfeiture against Clanranald 22 May 1649. 72. Argyll Inventory, vol. 7, p. 259. 73. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 208; David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, pp. 217–18; Reports of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, 6th Report, London, 1870, pp. 246–7; Angus Mathieson, Traditions of Alasdair MacColla, vol. 5, 1958, p. 47. 74. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 218. 75. Ibid., p. 219; Marquis of Lorne, Adventures in Legend, p. 234; Angus Mathieson, Traditions of Alasdair MacColla, vol. 5, p. 71. 76. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, pp. 218–19. 77. This comes from a story told to the author in 1999 by the Rev. Lindsay Robertson, Bragleen, who is a descendant of Ian Beg. 78. Angus Mathieson, Traditions of Alasdair MacColla, vol. 5, pp. 9–93 and 65. 79. Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk, The Highland Clans (revised edn), Barrie and Jenkins, London, 1982, p. 111; Angus Mclean, The Lamonts and the Campbells, unpublished MSS. 80. The Charge of High Treason, Murders, Oppressions and other Crimes, exhibited to the Parliament of Scotland against the Marquess of Argyle and his Complices. Printed for Richard Lowndes, London, January 23rd, 1661. 81. Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. 7, p. 337. 82. Ibid., pp. 339–40. 83. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 219; other locations are given but this seems to be the most popular version. 84. Ibid., p. 229. 85. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 246. 86. Ibid., p. 245. 87. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 230. 88. Ibid., pp. 230–1. 89. Ibid., p. 232. 90. Mathieson, Angus, Traditions of Alasdair MacColla, vol. 5, p. 75. 91. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 418. 92. Angus Mathieson, Traditions of Alasdair MacColla, vol. 5, p. 83. 93. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 235. 94. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 255. 95. Sir James Turner, Memoirs of his Own Life and Times, Edinburgh, 1829, p. 46; Scottish History Society, Highland Papers, vol. 2, p. 248, quoting Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. 7, p. 338. 96. Highland Papers, vol. 2, pp. 248–60; David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, pp. 232–7; Sir James Turner,

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Memoirs of his Own Life and Times, pp. 45–7. 97. Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. 7, pp. 337–9. 98. Sir James Turner, Memoirs of his Own Life and Times, pp. 46–7. 99. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 418; Sir James Turner, Memoirs of his Own Life and Times, p. 48. 100. Ibid., pp. 48–9. 101. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, pp. 218 and 246. 102. Lord Archibald Campbell, Records of Argyll, p. 98. 103. A/T. 104. A. Fraser, The Royal Burgh of Inveraray, Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, 1977, p. 18; A/T. 105. David Stevenson, Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the 17th Century, p. 240; Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 246. 106. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, p. 211. 107. Ibid. 108. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 247. 109. Ibid. 110. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, p. 212; Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 247. 111. Ibid., p. 246. 112. Ibid., p. 213. 113. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, p. 213. 114. S. Reid and G. Turner, Scots Armies of the English Civil Wars, Osprey, Oxford, 1999, p. 8. 115. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, p. 214. 116. Ibid., pp. 214–15.

Chapter 10 The Bitter End 1. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, John Donald, Edinburgh, 1979, p. 7. 2. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, John Donald, Edinburgh, 1990, p. 247. 3. A/T. 4. Andrew McKerral, Kintyre in the Seventeenth Century, Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1948, pp. 80–6. 5. A/T. 6. Wishart, Rev. George, The Memoirs of James Marquis of Montrose 1639–1650, Longmans Green & Co, London 1893, pp. 322–34; Napier, Mark, Memoirs of the Marquis of Montrose, 2 vols, Thomas G. Stevenson, Edinburgh, 1856, vol. 2, pp. 737–47 and 769–809. 7. A/T. 8. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 247. 9. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier, Edinburgh and London, 1903, p. 211.

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10. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, pp. 360–402. 11. Ibid., p. 247. 12. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 8. 13. A/T. 14. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 9; John Grant, British Battles on Land and Sea, Cassell, London, 1897, pp. 257–68; Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, pp. 92–3, 317 and 339. 15. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, p. 253. 16. Ibid., p. 254. 17. Ibid., pp. 259–62. 18. Ibid., pp. 264–5. 19. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 247. 20. A/T. 21. Edward M. Furgol, A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies 1639–1651, p. 386. 22. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, pp. 273–4. 23. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 30. 24. C. H. Firth, Scotland and the Commonwealth, 1651–53, Scottish History Society, 1st ser., vol. 18, Edinburgh, 1895, pp. 333 and 335. 25. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, p. 278. 26. C. H. Firth, Scotland and the Commonwealth, p. 29. 27. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, pp. 16–20. 28. Scottish Record Office GD 112/1/567. 29. C. Innes (ed.), The Black Book of Taymouth, Constable, Edinburgh, 1855, p. 394. 30. A/T. 31. Ibid. 32. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 63. 33. A/T. 34. C. Innes (ed.), The Book of the Thanes of Cawdor, p. 290. 35. Ibid., p. 310. 36. Rev. Ian Carmichael, Lismore in Alba, privately printed, date unknown, p. 129. 37. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 64. 38. Ibid., p. 63. 39. A/T. 40. Ibid. 41. Andrew Mckerral, Kintyre in the Seventeenth Century, Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1948, p. 100. 42. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 65. 43. Ibid., p. 65; Firth, C. H., Scotland and the Commonwealth, pp. 366–7. 44. Ibid., p. 53. 45. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 66; C. H. Firth, Scotland and the Commonwealth, pp. 57–8. 46. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 91. 47. C. H. Firth, Scotland and the Commonwealth, pp. 55–7 and 59. 48. Ibid., pp. 55–7 and 59.

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Notes 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95.

321

Ibid., p. 80. Ibid., pp. 99–102. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 81. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, pp. 78–9. C. H. Firth, Scotland and the Protectorate 1654–59, Scottish History Society, 1st series, vol. 31, Edinburgh, 1899, pp. 161–2. A/T; C. H. Firth, Scotland and the Commonwealth, pp. 165–6 and 168–9. Ibid., pp. 166–7. Ibid., pp. 167–8. Ibid., pp. 187–8. Ibid., pp. 188–9. Ibid., pp. 192–3. Ibid., pp. 197–8. Ibid., pp. 202–5. Ibid., p. 220. Ibid., p. 238. Ibid., pp. 239–40. Ibid., p. 241. Ibid., p. 244. Ibid., pp. 274–5. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 85. C. H. Firth, Scotland and the Protectorate 1654–59, p. 53. Ibid., pp. 308–10. C. H. Firth, Scotland and the Protectorate 1654–59, pp. xviii–xx. Ibid., pp. 37–8. Ibid., p. 40. Ibid., pp. 43–4. Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. 7, p. 284. C. H. Firth, Scotland and the Protectorate 1654–59, pp. 63–4. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 118. Ibid., pp. 124–5. Ibid., p. 125. Ibid., pp. 126–7. Ibid., p. 128. Ibid., pp. 129–30. Ibid., p. 133. S. Cruden, Castle Campbell, Historic Scotland/HMSO, Edinburgh, p. 23. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 154. Ibid., p. 150. Ibid., p. 137. Ibid., pp. 137 and 139; C. H. Firth, Scotland and the Protectorate 1654–59, pp. xxviii. F. D. Dow, Cromwellian Scotland 1651–1660, p. 188. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, pp. 294–6. A/T. Ibid. John Willcock, The Great Marquess, p. 301. Ibid., pp. 310–11. Ibid., pp. 308–30.

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Dawson, Jane, ‘Campbell, Colin, 3rd Earl of Argyll’, Dictionary of National Biography, forthcoming. Dawson, Jane, ‘Campbell, Archibald, 4th Earl of Argyll’, Dictionary of National Biography, forthcoming. Dawson, Jane, ‘Campbell, Archibald, 5th Earl of Argyll’, Dictionary of National Biography, forthcoming. Dawson, Jane, ‘Campbell, Colin, 6th Earl of Argyll’, Dictionary of National Biography, forthcoming. Mackechnie, John, ‘Treaty between Argyll and O’Donnell’, Scottish Gaelic Studies, vol. 7, pt i (May 1951), pp. 94–103. Matheson, Angus, ‘Traditions of Alasdair MacColla’, Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Glasgow, vol. 5, 1958, 9–93. O’Danachair, Caoimhin, ‘Montrose’s Irish Regiments’, Irish Sword, vol. 4, No. 14, Summer 1959, 61–7. Reid, Stanford, ‘The Earls of Argyll and the Reformation’, Scottish Tradition, vol. 17 (1992), pp. 1–50. Stevenson, David, The Myth of the Founding of the Scots Guards in 1642’, Scottish Historical Review, vol. 56, pt 1, no. 161 (April 1977), pp. 114–18. White, Dean Gunter, ‘Henry VIII’s Irish Kern in Ireland and Scotland 1544–45’, Irish Sword, vol. 3, No. 13 (Winter 1958), pp. 213–26.

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Index Airlie - Countess of, Helen Ogilvy, Lady Ogilvy at Burning of the Bonnie Hoose o’ Airlie, wife of 2nd Earl, 205 - James, 7th Lord Ogilvy and 1st Earl of, 204 - James, 7th Lord Ogilvy and 2nd Earl of, 203–4 Albany, John, Duke of, Regent of Scotland, 3, 7–8 Alexander, Captain David, 193–4 Allansone, Ewine see Cameron of Locheil Altrie, Robert, Lord, 98 Alured, Colonel Matthew, 258, 265, 268 Angus - Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of, 10, 13, 22, 28 - George Douglas, Master of, 29 Antrim see MacDonald of Antrim Archibald - Master see Archibald, 5th Earl of Argyll - Mr. John, 108 Argyll - Agnes Keith, Countess of Argyll, wife of 6th Earl, 91 - Agnes Douglas, Countess of Argyll, dau. of 8th Earl of Morton, wife of 7th Earl of Argyll, 111, 145 - Anne Cornwallis, Countess of Argyll, 2nd wife of 7th Earl, 151, 155 - Archibald, 2nd Earl of, 1, 6 - Archibald, 4th Earl of, 2, 13–15, 18–21, 23–31, 33–7, 46, 55, 183 - Archibald, 5th Earl of, 16, 34–5, 37, 42, 46–54, 57–70, 72–3, 80 - Archibald, 7th Earl of, Gillespie Gruamach, 81, 87, 90–2, 94–5, 97, 100–1, 105, 108–10, 112–15, 118–33, 135–56, 159–62, 166, 168–72,

174–9, 181, 186, 189, 192, 199 - Archibald, 8th Earl and Marquess of, 145, 152, 169, 174, 176, 178, 182–3, 186–96, 198, 201, 203–9, 211–15, 217, 220–3, 225, 230, 232–3, 235–8, 240, 242–8, 250–75 - Archibald, 9th Earl of (Lord Lorne), 255–6, 258, 260, 264–6, 269–70, 273–5 - Colin, 1st Earl of, 6 - Colin, 3rd Earl of, 1, 4–6, 8–14, 20 - Colin, 6th Earl of, 16, 34, 36, 80–8, 90–1 - Ian, 11th Duke of, 142 - Lady Jean Stewart, Countess of Argyll, natural dau. of King James V, wife of 5th Earl of Argyll, 47, 61 - Lady Margaret Douglas, wife of 8th Earl of Argyll, daughter of 2nd Earl of Morton, 186, 272–3 - Niall, 10th Duke of, 65, 171 Arran - James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of, 24, Regent of Scotland, 26–8, 34, 51, 55, 66, 68, 72–3, 88 - Earl of, 125 Arundel, Earl of, 18 Arwachyle –the staff of St. Maolrubha of Applecross, 6 Atholl, Earl of, 128, 203, 205 - John Stewart, 3rd Earl of, 39 - John Stewart, 4th Earl of, 71, 73, 81, 84–5 - John Stewart, Lord Innermeath, 166 Auchinross, John, servitor to Maclean of Duart, 119, 133 Auld, Thomas, notary, 89 Bailie, General, 221, 233–5

328

Balcarres, Lord, 259, 264 Balfour - George, 102 - Mr. Henry, minister of Kildalton, 54 Balmerino, Lord, 233 Balveny, Lord, 111 Bandane of that Ilk, Sir William, 97 Bannatyne of Kames, Ninian, 18 Baronetage of Nova Scotia, 187 Battles, skirmishes, engagements - Alford, 234 - Atha Buidhe, Yellow Ford, 131 - Auldearn, 210, 234 - Carbisdale, 254 - Craiganairgid, 8 - Dunaverty, 246 - Glenfruin, 137 - Glenlivet, 111–15 - Inverlochy, 223–32 - Kilsyth, 234–5 - Naseby, 234 - Philiphaugh, 235 - Pinkie, 35 - Rathlin, 210 - Rhunahaorine, 245 - Solway Moss, 26 - Stirling Bridge, 252 - Tippermuir, 216 - ‘Whiggamore raid’, 251 Beaton (Bethune, MacBeth) - Cardinal, 24, 26–7 - Fergus, 149, 190 - Ian, son of Fergus, 190 Binning, Lord, 161, 167 Boece, Hector, Historian, 14 Boswell, Captain, 169–70 Bothwell, Earl of, 62–3, 68; Admiral General of Scotland, 92 Bowes, Robert, English agent, 84, 86, 111, 114, 120–1, 123, 125 Boyd of Pinkhill, Adam, 54 Boyle - of Ballochmartin, John, 151 - of Kelburn, Patrick, 22 Brand, Johnny, Queen’s Messenger, 60

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Index Brayne, Colonel William, 258, 268 Brechin, Dean of see Campbell, Mr. Dougall Brechin, Bishop of see Campbell, Donald Bridocht, Neill, 20 Brown, Captain James, 217 Bruce, Mr. Robert, 111 Buchan, John, 223 Buchanan - of Blairlosk, 110 - of Drumfad - James, 110 - John, 110 - of that Ilk, 202 - George, 22 - George, 109 Burghley, 111, 125 Bute, Earls of see Stewart Cairbre Ruadh, 22 Caithness, Earl of, 84, 275 Callendar, Earl of see Livingstone Calp of the Clan Iver, 58 Cameron - of Locheil, 108, 124, 140, 151–2, 154–5, 166, 263 - Ewan, 34, 35 - Ewine Allansone, 3, 8, 9 - Tutor of, 223 - Mr. John, minister of Dunoon, 54 Campbell - of Aberuchill, Colin, 166 - of Achawillan - John, 110, 125 - Patrick, 102 - Robert, 257 - of Airds - George, Tutor of Cawdor, 117, 207, 209, 261 - Janet, daughter of Dunstaffnage, wife of George, 261 - of Ardbeith, Colin, brother to Glenorchy, 94 - of Ardchattan, 162, 167–8, 221, 265, 267 - Alexander, Prior of Ardchattan, 117, 144 - Archibald, Prior of Ardchattan, 180, 181 - John, Bishop of the Isles, 47, 80, 87 - John, 268 - Lt-Colonel Bobby Campbell- Preston, 50 - of Ardgartan, Ewir, 57 - of Ardentinny, Donald, 22 - of Arderseier, Colin, Tutor of Cawdor, 200, 202–3, 207 - of Ardkinglas, 88, 211, 236, 241, 243

329 - Colin, 9, 18, 22, 25, 29, 33–4, 36-7, 47, 63, 65, 176 - James, 57, 67, 69, 91–7, 101–2, 108–9 - James, 244–5, 249 - John, 101–3, 105–11, 116–17, 139, 145, 167, 169, 171, 173, 175, 183, 199 - of Ardmaddie, Lord Neil, son of 8th Earl of Argyll, 186, 207, 261 - of Ardnamurchan (of Barbreck-Lochawe, Dean of Lismore) (Mr.) Sir Donald, 105, 109–10, 112, 114–17, 136, 143–5, 152, 163–4, 167, 169–70, 172, 175, 183, 187–90, 194, 196, 199–201, 203, 207, 215, 217, 225, 230, 237, 248, 261 - of Auchinbreck - Archibald, 7, 11, 16, 18 - Archibald, 87 - Sir Dougall (1st Bt.), 36, 47, 57, 68, 75, 87, 89, 91, 94, 98, 112, 115, 128, 131, 135–6, 153, 161, 166–9, 173, 175–6, 181, 183, 187, 199–200 - Sir Dougald (3rd Bt.), 264, 265 - Sir James, 139–40, 152 - Sir Duncan, 201, 222, 225–7, 230 - of Auchinellan, Slioch an Easbuig - Mr. Neil, vicar of Kilmartin, 50, Bishop of Argyll, 91, 92, 97, 98, 116, 173 - Christian, dau. of Bishop Carswell, wife of Mr. Neil Campbell, 50 - of Auchlyne, Duncan, 270 - of Auchnagoul, Duncan, merchant in Inveraray, 178–80 - of Auchreoch, John, 181 - of Barbreck (Craignish) 71, 94, 176, 199, 230 - Archibald, 153 - Colin, 47, 57 - Colin, 137 - Colin, Captain in Argyle’s Regt., 209 - Frederick, W., 107 - The Misses, 107 - of Barbreck-Lochawe see Campbell of Ardnamurchan - of Barcaldine, Patrick of

Innerzeldies, 212, 259 - of Bargour, Charles, 30 - of Barrichbeyan, Ronald, 173, 176 - of Boquhan, Colin, later 6th Earl of Argyll, 57, 65 - of Bracklie, William, 152 - of Bragleen, ‘Little John’, 240 - of Cabrachan - John Oig, brother to Lochnell, 102, 106–9, 111, 113, 116 - Donald, 132 - of Carrick, 249 - of Castle Sween (later of Auchinbreck) Duncan, 75 - of Cawdor - Archibald, 22, 143 - Hugh, 6th Earl of, 117 - Sir John, son of 2nd Earl of Argyll, 2, 5–13, 15, 18–19, 22–3, 28–9 - Muriel, heiress of, wife of Sir John, 6 - John, 73, 87, 91–2, 95–8, 101–3, 110 (assassinated 1592) - Sir John, 131–2, 145, 148, 152–4, 160–4, 169, 173, 175, 183, 234, 244, 261 - John, fiar of (a lunatic), 200 - of Cessnock, 22 - George, 110 - of Coillessan, Archibald, 236 - of Clunes, Colin, 143–5, 148, 152, 261 - of Corsewall, Finlay, 21, 25 - of Corvarron, Dougall, 11, 18 - of Craichens, John, 259 - of Craignish, 23, 36, 167, 175 - Tutor of, 238 - of Danna - Angus, 137 - Duncan, 96, 120, 162 - of Drimsynie, Archibald, 260 - of Drumfad, 22 - of Dunoon, Robert, Captain, 152, 169 - of Dunstaffnage - Angus, 150 - Archibald, 23 - Archibald, 175–6, 214, 231, 241–3, 247 - Michael, 150 - of Duntroon, 18, 23, 94, 175–6, 182 - Donald, 136 - Duncan, 47 - of Edinample, Patrick, 223, 259 - of Ellangreig, 94, 175, 241 - Duncan, 16 - Marjory, dau. of Duncan, 49

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330 - of Geddes, William, 202 - of Glencarradale, 230, 234, 249 - Archibald, 152, 161, 163–4 - yr. 230 - of Glenfalloch, 175 - William, 251, 260 - of Glenfeochan, 230 - of Glenlyon, 22, 175 - Colin, 96, 97, 119, 129 - Duncan, 133 - Duncan Roy, 70 - Marion, dau. of Duncan Roy, wife of Gregor MacGregor of Glenstrae, 71 - of Glenorchy - Colin, 5, 6, 181 - Colin Liath, 36–7, 46, 51, 57, 67, 70–2, 98 - Duncan, 16, 18 - Sir Duncan, 82, 84, 91, 93–4, 98, 101–2, 105, 107–12, 116, 119, 129, 131, 135, 138, 142, 149, 155, 161, 175, 182–3, 187, 192 - John, 216 - John, 270 - Sir Robert, 207, 212, 236, 249, 259, 265 - of Innellan, Duncan, Captain in Argyle’s Regt., 209 - of Innerea, 231 - of Innerzeldies see of Barcaldine - of Inverawe - Archibald, 23, 25, 65 - Archibald, 142–3 - Archibald, 182 - Dougall, 65 - Dougall, 203, 238, 241–3, 246, 260 - Iain Dubh, Tutor of, 85, 94, 96–7, 111–12, 118–19, 122, 125, 127, 129, 132, 136, 142–3 - of Inverliver, 137 - John, 57, 67 - of Inverneill, Charles, a quo, 36 - of Irvine, Earl of, James, 186, 196, 211 - of Kilberry - Mr. Archibald, 11 - Colin, 137, 170, 173, 175 - of Kilbride, 176 - of Kilmelfort - Archibald, 156, 191 - Colin, 191 - of Kilmichael (later Auchinbreck), 176 - Archibald, 6, 11, 18

Index - Colin, 169 - of Kilmory - Donald, 96, 109 - Dougall, 96, 137 - of Kilmun, Archibald, 191, 236 - of Kinnochtree, George, Sheriff Depute of Argyll, 241–3 - of Knap, 137 - of Lawers, 94 - James, 13, 18, 22 - Sir James, 118–20, 122–3, 125, 127, 152, 155, 163, 167, 173, 175 - Sir James, 270 - Sir John see Loudoun, 1st Earl of - Sir Mungo, 181, 183, 201, 210, 217, 234, 237, 246, 256 - of Leargachonzie, Iver (MacIver), 58 - of Lerags, 268 - Allan, 25 - Archibald, 1, 8 - Archibald, 261 - Duncan, 178–80 - of Lochgoilhead, Archibald, 85 - of Lochnell, 167, 169–70, 175–6, 183, 230, 250, 262 - Archibald, 3 - Archibald, 91, 94, 97–8, 101, 107, 109, 112–13, 115–16 - Donald, 240, 242 - John, 36, 47, 57 - John Gorm, 2–3 - of Loudoun, 22 - 1st Earl of, Sir John, formerly of Lawers, 181, 202, 234, 251, 258–9, 275 - Countess of, 235 - Sir Hugh, Sheriff of Ayr, 110, 181 - Margaret, Baroness Loudoun, 181, 208 - Master of, George, 181, 183 - Mauchline, Lord, heir to Loudoun, 256 - of Loudounhill, Finlay, 25 - of Lundy - Sir Colin, 89, 91, 101, 111, 139, 151–2, 167, 173, 175, 183, 187, 192, 194, 196 - Sir John, 3, 10, 13–14, 18, 20, 22–3, 25 - John, 88 - of Melfort, 239 - of Murlagganmor, Colin, 259 - of Oib, 71

- Donald, 137 - of Ormidale, 176 - of Ormsary, 241 - of Otter, 94, 173, 176 - of Pennymore (MacIver) Alexander, 230 - of Persie, Archibald, 97 - of Scalpay, 76 - of Skipness - Archibald, son of 2nd Earl of Argyll, 2, 7, 11, 16, 18, 22–3 - John, 47, 87 - Major, 244, 246 - Matthew, Captain, Argyle’s Regt., 231, 238 - of Sonachan, Duncan, 187–8 - of Strachur, 265 - Colin, 173 - Iver, 94 - Neil, 29 - of Strond, Chamberlains to MacLeod of Harris, 75 - of Stronchormaig (Glenfeochan) Dougall, 103 - of Strondour, 176 - of Stronshira (MacIver) Malcolm, Captain of Dunoon, 124 - of Torrens, Alexander, 117 - in Auchreoch, Patrick, brother to the Tutor of Inverawe, 129 - in Balloch, John, nat. son of Alexander, Prior of Ardchattan, 179 - in Craig, nat. son of Alexander, Prior of Ardchattan, 179 - in Denhead, Mr. David, 22 - in Drumcrask, Duncan, Donnacha nan Ceann, 150 - in Kenderoche, Patrick, 182 - in Milhouse, Robert, 97 - in Murestoun, John, 97 - in Soutarhouse, William, 97 Lady Agnes, dau. Colin, 2nd Earl of Argyll, wife of Sir James MacDonald of Dunnyveg and of Turlough Luineach O’Neill, 2, 69, 72, 74, 80, 84, 86–7 Alastair, son of Campbell of Barbreck, 71 Mr. Alexander, Dean of Moray, son of 3rd Earl of Argyll, 2, 52 Mr. Alexander, brother of Colin Campbell of Ardkinglas, Bishop of Brechin, 63, 108

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Index Alexander, RSM, Argyle’s Regt., 209 Captain Alexander, 259 Alexander, brother to Edinchip, 259 Anna, 181 Lady Annabel, daughter of 7th Earl of Argyll, wife of Earl of Lothian, 146, 152, 174 Lady Annas, dau. of 6th Earl of Argyll, 91 Annas, sister of Sir Duncan of Glenorchy, wife of Campbell of Ardkinglas, 100 Annas, dau.of Sir Duncan of Glenorchy, wife of Iinchmartine, 100 Lady Anne, dau. of 7th Earl of Argyll, 111 Lady Anne, dau. of 8th Earl of Argyll, 186, 257, 260 Archibald, 13 Archibald, Provost of Kilmun, 178, 230 Archibald, son of Alexander, Prior of Ardchattan, 179–80 Archibald, Assistant Surgeon, Argyle’s Regt., 209 Archibald, Officer Commanding Life Guard of Horse, 212 Captain Archibald, brother to Lawers, 234 Archibald, uncle to Barbreck Craignish, 243 Catherine, dau. of 2nd Earl of Argyll, wife of Maclean of Duart and Campbell of Auchinbreck, 7 Colin, 75 Colin, brother to Glenorchy, 22 Colin, brother of Alexander, Prior of Ardchattan, 117 Colin, brother to Lawers, 142 Colin, brother to Lochnell, 230 Mr. Colin, minister of Lismore, 54 Mr. Colin, Parson of Craignish, 191 Colin, son to Danna, 162 Denis, Dean of Limerick, 126 Donald, 96 Mr. Donald, Abbot of Coupar, 10, 18, 21–2, 48, 88 Donald, Bishop of Brechin, uncle to Ardkinglas, 102 Donald, son to Danna, 162 Dougall, bastard son of Dougall Campbell of Corvarron, 11

331 Mr. Dougall, Dean of Brechin, 97, 110 Dougall, brother to Ardkinglas, 156 Mr. Dougall, Minister, Argyle’s Regt., 209 Duncan, 110 Duncan, son of ‘Master Archibald’ (later 5th Earl), 82 Duncan, son of the Tutor of Inverawe, 96 Duncan, brother to Patrick Campbell of Auchawillan, 102 Duncan Donaldson, 102 Lady Elizabeth, dau. Colin, 2nd Earl of Argyll, wife of James Stewart, Earl of Moray, 2 Lady Elizabeth, dau. of 7th Earl, 161 Family of Dewars of the Arwachyle, 7 Helen, dau. of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, 1st wife of 4th Earl of Argyll, 16 Hew, Commissar in Kintyre, 195 Captain Hugh, 259 Lady Isabel, dau. of 2nd Earl of Argyll, wife of 2nd Earl of Cassilis, 7 Lady Isabella, dau. of 8th Earl of Argyll, 186, 260 Lord James, later Earl of Irvine, 155, 174 Lady Janet, dau. of 2nd Earl of Argyll, wife of 2nd Earl of Atholl, Lady Janet, dau. of 4th Earl of Argyll, wife of Hector Maclean of Duart, 16, 54, 95 Janet, dau. of George Douglas, Master of Angus, wife of Archibald Campbell of Skipness, 23 Janet, dau. of Henry Stewart, Lord Methven, wife of Colin, 6th Earl of Argyll, 36, 80 Lady Janet Gordon, dau. 3rd Earl of Huntly, wife of Colin, 3rd Earl of Argyll, 2, 35, 63 Lady Jean, dau. of 2nd Earl of Argyll, wife of Sir John Lamont of that Ilk, 7 Jean, dau.of Sir Duncan of Glenorchy, wife of Campbell of Cawdor, 100 Jean, sister of Cawdor, 110

Jean, nat. dau. of 5th Earl, wife of Mackintosh of Dunachton, Campbell of Ardnamurchan, 110, 143–4 Jean Hamilton, wife of Ardkinglas, 116–17 Lady Jean, daughter of 7th Earl of Argyll, 146, 174 Lady Jean, dau. of 8th Earl of Argyll, 186, 260 John, brother to Lawers, 13 Mr. John, Provost of Kilmun, natural son of 5th Earl of Argyll, 63, 70, 110, 120–1 John, brother to Patrick Campbell of Auchawillan, 102 Mr. John, Commissary of Inverness, 110, 144 John, brother of Alexander, Prior of Ardchattan, 117 John McConnell vic Tierlich (Campbell), 132 Mr. John, Bishop of Argyll, 173, 176 John, son of Alexander, Prior of Ardchattan, 178–9 John, nat. son of Alexander, Prior of Ardchattan, 178–9 Katherine, dau. of Hector Mor Maclean of Duart, 3rd wife of 4th Earl of Argyll, wife of Shane O’Neill, 16, 32, 34, 55, 62 Katherine Ruthven, wife of Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, 46 Katherine, dau. of John and Muriel Campbell of Cawdor, wife of Master of Ogilvy and later of Earl of Crawford, 88 Lachlan, 71 Margaret, dau. of 2nd Earl of Argyll, wife of Lord Erskine, 7 Lady Margaret, dau. of William Graham, 3rd Earl of Menteith, 2nd wife of 4th Earl of Argyll, 16 Lady Margaret, dau. of 4th Earl of Argyll, wife of James Stewart, Lord Doune, later Earl of Moray, 16, 103 Margaret, dau. of Sir Duncan of Glenorchy, wife of Menzies of Weem, 100 Margaret, wife of John Oig of Cabrachan, sister to Tutor of Inverawe, 102, 106–9, 116

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332 Marie, sister of Sir Duncan of Glenorchy, wife of Earl of Menteith, 100 Lady Marion, dau. of 2nd Earl of Argyll, wife of Sir Robert Menzies, 7 Lady Mary, dau. of 2nd Earl of Argyll, wife of James Stewart, 4th Earl of Bute, 7 Lady Mary, dau. of 7th Earl of Argyll, 161 Lady Mary, dau. of 8th Earl of Argyll, 186, 260 Mr. Nichol, 109 Patrick, 110 Patrick Roy, brother to Duncan Roy of Glenlyon, 71 Patrick, son of the Tutor of Inverawe, 96 Patrick, brother of Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, 98 Patrick, son of Kilmory, 109 Patrick (VicTeirlich) brother to Thomas, 132, Patrick, nat. son of Glenorchy, 178 Patrick Beg, son of above, 178 Peter MacIver, Principal, author of The Clan Iver, 58 Robert, 110 Robert MacPhatrick, 182 Smith Campbells, Taynuilt, 19–20 Thomas, portioner in Keithick, 97 Thomas (VicTeirlich) brother to Patrick, 132 Mr. William, son of Alexander, Prior of Ardchattan, 179–80 Captain William, 193 Campbell, alias MacPersone (MacPherson) - Archibald, MacDonald, 89 - Duncan McAne, 89 - Ian MacAlexander, 89 Carswell - John, Bishop of the Isles, 49–50, 57, 63, 67–9 - Christian, dau. of Bishop John, wife of Mr. Neil Campbell, 50 Cassilis, Gilbert Kennedy, 2nd Earl of, 7 Cassilis, Gilbert Kennedy, 4th Earl of, 7 Castles, fortresses - Achalader, 99 - Airlie, 203 - Balloch, 268 - Barcaldine, 99, 237

Index - Blackness, 96, 104, 140 - Breacachadh, 140 - Brodick, 28 - Cairnaburg, 2, 140 - Campbell, 11–12, 234 - Carnasserie, 50, 108, 110 - Carrick, 85, 203, 263 - Carrickfergus, 80 - Clova, 97 - Craignish, 49, 238 - Darnaway, 104 - Dawy, 23 - Dingwall, 3 - Drumin, 113 - Duart, 140, 147, 265–6 - Dumbarton, 28, 141, 200, 206, 236, 259 - Dunaverty, 12, 28, 196, 232, 246–7 - Dunbar, 66 - Dunluce, 92 - Dunnyveg, 13, 22, 140, 147, 151, 158–61, 163, 168, 170, 177, 247 - Dunolly, 243, 263, 267 - Dunoon, 232 - Dunskiath, 2 - Dunstaffnage, 150, 203, 231, 242–3, 263, 265–7 - Duntroon, 165 - Duntulm, 140 - Edinample, 237 - Edinburgh, 4, 16, 72–3, 96, 140, 153, 177, 207, 272 - Eilean Donan, 265 - Finlarig, 22, 99, 237 - Forter, 88, 203 - Garth, 237 - Innischonnel, 85, 108 - Inveraray, 124 - Kilberry, 238 - Kilchurn, 38–9, 99, 234 - Kilkerran (Lochhead) (Campbeltown), 169, 200, 246, 263 - Kinlochaline, 213–14 - Kilmun, Tower of, 236 - Kyle, 140 - Lachlan, 243 - Largie, 201 - Lochdochart, 99, 237 - Loch Gorm, 82, 85, 87, 93, 147, 159, 164, 168, 247 - Loch Tay, 237, 268 - Mingary, 4, 36, 95, 151–2, 166, 172, 183, 213, 215, 217, 233, 236, 262 - Rathlin, 80 - Rothesay, 28 - Ruthven, 112 - Skipness, 231, 238 - Stalker, 196, 222, 231, 237 - Stirling, 84, 257

- Strome, 4 - Sween, 238, 265 - Tarbert, 12, 263 - Tioram, 248 - Toward, 241 - Tower of London, 272, 274 - Weem, 237, 268 Cathcart, Lord, 22 Cecil, Sir Robert, 52, 114, 121, 125, 131, 133, 135 Champneys, William, Messengerat-Arms, 24 Chisholm - of Comar, 2 - Sir John, Archdean of Dunblane, 30 Clan Lachlan of the Feyart see MacLachlan Clan Tyre, 83 Clarendon, Earl of, English Lord Chancellor, 272 Clark, Clerk, MacClerich - of Braeleckan, Dougall Mc’ Ane VcSannane VcClerich, 30 - Niall McDonchie, 89 - Nicachlerich, wife of John Glas MacKellar, a witch, 106 - Gillecallum MacClerich, 108 - Wallace, 171 Cobbett, Colonel, 265–6, 271 Cockburn, Colonel, 230 Coin Duibh, the Black Hounds, 72 Colquhoun of Luss - John, 22 - Patrick, 30, 32 Colvill, Mr. Alexander, 177 Colville, English intelligence officer, 118 Craig, Alexander, 176 Crawford - David, 8th Earl of, 23 - Henry, 12th Earl of, 167 - Ludovic, 16th Earl of, 208, 274 - Captain, 86 Creich, Andrew, merchant burgess in Edinburgh, 161 Cromwell, Oliver, 251–2, 255–8, 264–5, 269–70, 272–4 Cunningham - of Hill o’Beith, John, 254 - Mr. Cuthbert, 254 Dalziell, Major-General, 267 Darnley, Henry Stewart, Lord, husband of Queen Mary, 60–2, 73 Deane, Major-General, 262, 273 Dewar, Donald, 82 Dirleton, Dowager Countess of, 271

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Index Donaldson of Glenairne, John, 195 Douglas - of Drumlanrig, James, 29 - of Pittendreich, George, 10, 22, 28 - George, 73 - Sir Joseph, 253 Dumbarton, Provost of, 181 Dunfermline, Earl of, 146, 150, 162 Dunlop of Dunlop, 254 Dunluce see MacDonald of Antrim Duntroon, ghost piper of, 165 Eglinton, Earl of, 72, 84 Elcho, Lord, 216 Elder, Mr., Factor to Malcolm of Poltalloch, 165 Enzie, Earl of, son of Huntly, 156, 167, 183 Errol - Agnes Sinclair, Countess of, 96 - Earl of, 112 Erskine - Lord, 7 - Sir George, 175 - Sir Thomas, 134 Essex, Earl of, 80 Fitzwilliam, Lord Deputy, 118 Fleming, Lord, 66 Fletcher, Mr. Robert, 80 Forbes - of Culloden, Duncan, 43, 232 - Sir Arthur, 264 - Captain James, 254 - Lord John, 111 Fraser - of Lochans, 136 - of Lovat, 112, 135 - Hugh, 11 - of Strichen, 144 - in Lochans, James, 142 - Robert, Unicorn Pursuivant, 114 Galbraith, Master Robert, 18 Galleon, Tobermory, 95 Garter King of Arms, 272 Gerard, Captain, 264 Gillespie, Christian nicEan vicCouil vicGillespie, a witch, 106 Glasgow, Archbishop of, James Law, 185 Glencairn - William Cunningham, 4th Earl of, 27, 28, 29, 30 - William Cunningham, 6th Earl of, 80, 84 - William Cunningham, 9th Earl of, 264, 266–7, 273

333 Gordon - of Abergeldie, 112 - of Auchindoun, 114 - of Buckie, 104 - Sir John, 152 - of Cluny, 113 - Sir Thomas, 104 - of Gight, William, 104 - of Ruthven, Patrick, 220, 228 - of Strathdon, Alexander, 96 - Janet, dau. 3rd Earl of Huntly, wife of Colin, 3rd Earl of Argyll, 2, 35, 63 - Lord, son of Huntly, 173, 233 - Lord Lewis, 233 - Captain John, 104 Glamis - John, 6th Lord, 23 - Master of, 98 Gourlay, Ensign Thomas, 221 Gowrie, Earl of, 90 Graham - of Bracklie see MacGregor - of Erynes, George, 160, 162, 164 - of Inchbrakie, Patrick, 238 - Agnes, wife of Donald Campbell, 96 Grant - of Glenmoriston, 143 - of Grant (Freuchie), 112, 156, 223 - in Glenurquhart, Patrick, 152 Gray - of Buttergask, 18 - Sir Andrew, 112–13 Gregory, Donald, historian, 117, 160 Griogail Cridhe, Lament for Gregor of Glenstrae, 71 Gunna Cam, ‘the Crooked Gun’, 42 Hamilton - Duke of, 243, 250–1, 255 - of Aitkenhead, 254 - of Ardoch, James, 254 - of Lettrick, Sir John, 145 - of Orbiston, Sir James, 270 - Claude, Commendator of Paisley, 81 - Lord John, 73 - John, 152 - Marquess of, formerly Earl of Arran, 167–8, 194, 199–200, 207 - Mr. Patrick, brother to Lord Binning, 161 - Paul, Captain of Arran, 168 - Rev. Mr., 217, 233 Harper, David, Messenger at Arms, 83

Hay - of Beauly, Sir James, 147 - Sir Alexander, Clerk Register, 160 Henry of England, Prince, 26 Hepburn, Robert, Lieutenant of the King’s Guard, 140 Herring of Drummore, Archibald, 136 Hill, Colonel John, 266 Holbourn, Colonel, 253 Huntly - Alexander, 3rd Earl of, 9 - George, 4th Earl of, 24, 27, 34, 36–7, 62, 67–8, 70, 72–3 - George, 6th Earl, later 1st Marquess, 101, 104, 109, 111–14, 132–3, 135, 146–7, 155, 200–1, 212 - George, 2nd Marquess of, 238, 259, 266 Hurry, Sir John, 233–4 Hutcheson, Rev. Mr., 275 Hy Brasil, Island of, 193 Inchaffray, Abbot of, 135 Inveraray, promoted to Royal Burgh, 250 Irvine of Drum, 144 Jackson, James, Surgeon in Argyle’s Regt., 209 Kenmure, Lord, 265 Kennedy of Blairquhan - Sir Gavin, 7 - James, 10 Kilmun, Provost of, 200 King (Queen) of England - Henry VIII, 26–8, 31–2, 34 - Edward VI, 34 - Elizabeth, 48, 52, 55, 61, 68–9, 73, 80, 84, 86–7, 89, 119, 121–3, 125–6, 132, 134–5 - Mary, 62 King (Queen) of Scots - King Charles I (and of England), 186–7, 189–90, 194, 198, 200, 206–8, 210–11, 212, 227, 233–4, 250, 253, 272–3 - King Charles II (and of England), 255–8, 263–4, 267–8, 271, 273–4 - James I, 6 - James V, 10–11, 13, 15–18, 20–1, 25–6 - James VI (King James I of England), 61, 63–4, 67, 72, 81, 83–4, 87, 89–90, 93, 96, 104–5, 111,

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334 116–8, 120, 122, 124–5, 127, 129–32, 134, 137, 139, 142, 146, 148–9, 152, 156, 158, 160–1, 166, 168–9, 173, 175–6, 180, 183, 187 - Mary, 26, 33, 46, 55–7, 59–64, 66–7, 69–70, 72–3, 81, 103, 143 King of France - Henry III, 72 King of Spain, 176 - Phillip II, 124 King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus, 255 Kinnoul, Earl of, 254–5 Kinross of Kippenross, John, 6 Kirk, Mr. James, servitor to 7th Earl of Argyll, 111, 145; Sheriff Depute of Argyll, 174 Kirkaldy of Grange, 60, 66, 72–3 Knox - of Ranfurlie, John, 159 - Andrew, Bishop of the Isles, 147–8, 151, 158–61, 167–8 - John, 48, 63–4 - Mr. Thomas, son of the Bishop, 159 Lachlanson, William, 3 Lambert - Colonel (Major-General), 257–8, 268 - Sir Oliver, 163 Lamont - of Ascog, Patrick, fiar of, 243 - of Auchingyll, Patrick, 243 - of Auchinshelloch, John, 242 - of Inveryne, 11 - James, 96 - of Knockdow, John, 20 - of Lamont, 169, 199, 202 - Sir James, 211, 230, 235–7, 241–3, 257 - Sir John, husband of Lady Jean Campbell, 7, 18 - of Silvercraigs, 231–2, 241 - Archibald, 137 - of Stillaig, 236 - of Stronalbanach, Duncan, 243 - Archibald, brother to Lamont, 257 - John, son of Achachyll, 137 Leckie of that Ilk, Richard, 22 Leich, in Lochaber, Neil, 97 Lennox - Earl of, 128, 130, 132–3 - Esme Stuart, 1st Duke of, 88, 135

Index - Ludovic, 2nd Duke of, 135, 140 - Matthew Stewart, 14th Earl of, 27–34, 47, 57, 60, 62, 69, 70, 72, 75 Leslie - General Alexander, later Earl of Leven, 201, 206, 208, 212, 251, 255 - General David, 235, 244–7, 251, 253, 255, 258 Letham, Master John, 18 Leven, Earl of see Leslie Lilburne, Colonel, 265, 267–8, 270, 273 Lindsay - of the Byres, John, Lord, 22 - of Edzell, David, 88, 91 - Mr. James, minister of North Knapdale, 54 Livingstone - of Bachuil, 261 - Ian MacMolmorie vicKevir, 30 - of Callendar, 1st Earl, James Livingstone, 266 - of Dunipace, yr., John, 109 - of Kilsyth, Sir William, 185 Lock, Henry, 134 Lockhart of Bar, John, 30 Lothian, Earl of, 152, 183, 275 Lyell, Lord, 30 Lyon - of Cossins, John, 88 - William, 23 Macahopich, John, 74 MacAilin - Donald, redshank leader, 43 - Dougall, redshank leader, 43 - Maurice, 43 MacAilin, MacAllan, MacAllen, MacAllion, MacAllon, MacEllen, MacEllin, variations used for Campbell in Ireland, 42 MacAllan, Lachlan, a Campbell redshank leader, 67 MacAlister - of Loup, 175, 239, 247 - Alexander, 7 - Ewan MacIan Dubh, 73 - Gorrie, 130, 142 - John, 87 - of Tarbert, 175–6 - Archibald, 96 - Gorrie, 47 - Mr. Alexander, minister of Kilmorie in Arran, 54 - Koll, son of Ranald, 137 - Ranald, 137 MacArthur - of Terivadich

- Catherine, illeg. dau. of MacArthur of Terivadich, 100 - John MacFinlay, 65 - of Innischonnell, Duncan, Captain, 157 - in Blarcreen, Patrick MacCondochie, 179 - General Douglas, 232 - Drowning of Clan Arthur, 65 - Duncan, brother to Innistrynich, 259 - Gilchrist, 6 - Niall, servant to Ardchattan, 178–9 - Patrick, servant to Ardchattan, 178–9 MacAulay - of Ardencaple, 111, 135–6, 159, 200 - Alexander, 178 - Alexander, Captain in Argyle’s Regt., 209 - Aulay, 22 Macaurrie, Dougall, a witch, 106 MacBaxter, John, 57 MacBrayne, Fergus, servant to Duart, 85 MacBreachane, in Inveresragan, John, 179 McBrek, Master Alexander, of Lergachaw, Captain of Castle Campbell, 11 MacCabes, 40 MacCaillirean see Smith Campbells MacCairbre family, 22 MacCairlich (Campbell) in Glenorchy’s lands, 97 MacCallum -in Craigdow, Gillechyniche VcDonnell - Donald McKilchyniche, 172 - Mr. John, minister of Glenorchy, 54 MacClerich see Clark MacColl, Malcolm, 182 MacConoquy Reoch, 109 MacCorquodale of Phantelans, 19 - Margaret, illeg. dau. of MacCorquodale of Phantelans, 100 McCoy, Hayes-, Dr. G. A., historian, 122 MacDonald - of Antrim - 1st Earl of Antrim, Randal, 195 - 2nd Earl, 1st Marquis, of Antrim, Randal, 195, 198, 200–1, 212, 244 - Sir James of Dunluce, 129 - Sir Ranald MacSorley, 152, 159

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Index - Sorley Buy, brother of Sir James of Dunnyveg, 54–5, 58–9, 64–5, 69, 73, 80, 86, 92 - of Clanranald - Alexander, 183–6 - Alexander Macallan, 8–9 - Allan, 74, 82 - Sir Donald, 118, 121–2, 124, 139, 148, 151, 155, 167, 173 - Dougal, 8 - John, 21, 24, 32, 39 - John, 202, 219–20, 238, 250 - John MacAlasdair, Moidartach, 74, 80, 82 - of Dunnyveg (Islay) - Alasdair Og, brother of Sir James, 59, 64, 68 - Angus, 80, 82, 85–7, 89, 93, 96, 102, 106, 109, 111–12, 118, 120–4, 127, 132, 139–41, 145–7 - Angus Og, brother of Sir James, 59, 169 - Sir James, husband of Lady Agnes Campbell, 2, 13, 24, 27, 35–36, 55, 58–9, 69, 130, 141, 146, 148, 158, 160, 165–6, 168–72, 177 - of Dunskaith - Donald Gallich, 8 - of Gigha, Archibald, nat. son of Angus of Dunnyveg, 141 - of Glengarry - Alastair MacAlastair, 2, 9, 24, 32 - Angus, 234–5, 263–4 - Donald, 135, 222 - of Islay (Dunnyveg) - Alexander, 3, 7, 8, 17–18 - Angus, 132, 152, 155 - James, 24–5, 32–3, 42, 54–5, 74 - Sir James, 132, 165 - Sir John Cattanach, 5 - of the Isles - Donald Dubh, 2, 8, 27, 31–3 - of Keppoch - Alasdair, 140, 165, 170–1, 177, 263 - Donald Glas, 215 - of Knoydart - Angus Ranaldson, 32 - of Largie, 140, 175 - Angus, 239, 244, 254 - of Lochalsh - Alexander, 7 - Sir Donald, 2–4, 7–9

335 - of Sanda - Archibald, 193, 200, 244–6, 253 - of Sleat, 12 - Archibald, 32 - Archibald Rowe, son of Angus of Dunnyveg, 127 - Donald Gorm, 24 - Donald Gorm Mor, 118, 121–4, 130, 139, 148, 151, 155–6, 159, 166–8, 172 - Donald Gormeson, 60, 68, 70, 74, 80, 92, 96 - Donald Gruamach, 24 - Sir James, 201–2, 263 - Alasdair Carrach, son of James MacDonald of Islay, 42 - Alasdair MacColla, Montrose’s Major-General, 164, 207, 211, 213–15, 217–18, 220, 225, 227, 230, 232–40, 244–6 - Alexander, brother to Alasdair MacColla, 214 - Angus, brother to James MacDonald of Islay, 32 - Angus Oig, brother to Sir James of Dunnyveg, 159–60, 162–4 - Archibald, brother to Alasdair MacColla, 239 - Coll MacGillespic, ‘Colkitto’, 158, 162, 164–5, 168, 170–1, 195, 202, 207, 217–18, 220, 244, 247, 249 - Donald Gear, 139 - Donald Gorm, 263 - Donald MacIan, the Tutor, 166 - Finola, Ineen Dubh, dau. of Sir James MacDonald of Dunnyveg, 69 - Gillespie, 195 - Ian Lom, poet, 226–7, 229 - James MacSorley, 92 - Colonel James, 226 - John, 192 - John, son of James of Castle Camus, Bailie of Sleat, 83 - Lieut. Colonel John (MacDonnell), 213 - Lieut. Colonel John (MacDonnell) (bis), 213 - Ranald Oig, illegit. halfbrother to Sir James of Dunnyveg, 158 - Ranald MacJames, uncle to Angus Oig of Dunnyveg, 163 - Sorley MacJames, 170–1 MacDermott, Colonel James, 213

MacDonochie, Duncan Garve, 117 MacDougall - of Ardmore, 246 - of Creaganishe, Hew, 179 - of Degnish, 246 - of Dunach, Dougall, 243 - of Dunolly (of MacDougall), 6, 169, 173, 175; 1623, 184–5, 236 - Alexander, 193, 195 - Dougall, 69 - Duncan, 101, 106, 109 - Sir Ian, 192–3, 195 - John, 36, 47 - John, 246 - of Raray, 152, 169, 173, 175–6, 230 - Allan, 95 - John, 9 - John, 243 - Archibald, brother to Raray, 167 - Duncan, 244 MacDuff, Alaster, 97 MacDuffy (MacPhie) of Colonsay, 168 MacDunsleave, Clan, 6 MacEachran of Killellan, Angus, 246 McEsaik, Malcolm McEvir, 11 MacEwan, Neil, 139 MacEwen dubh, Ranald Mor MacAngus, 23 MacFail, Clan, 74 MacFarlane of MacFarlane, 151 MacGillecheanich, in Dunchonnel, 191 MacGregor, Clan, origins of, 38 MacGregor - of Bracklie (later took name of Graham) Keepers of Kilchurn Castle, 39 - James (Graham), 193 - John (Graham), 193 - of Glenstrae (Chiefs of Clan Gregor), 112, 135, 223 - Alexander, 29, 57 - Alasdair (Alexander), 117 - Alexander, brother to John Glas, 137 - Gregor, 37, 57–8, 70–1 - John, 22, 37 - John Glas, brother to Alexander, 137 - Walter, 22, 28, 31, 34 - of Roro, 22 - in Ardchyle, Gregor, son of Duncan Abroch, 138 - in Glengyle, Dougall, 138 - Alastair MacPatrick, 181–2 - Alexander, 137 - Duncan Ladasach, 70

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336 - Duncan, Tutor of Glenstrae, 151 - Duncan MacRobert, 151 - Gregor of the Golden Bridles, a quo, 37 - Gregor Gear M’Patrik, 156 - Ian Galt, 133 - John, servant to Lady Ardkinglas, 117 - John MacDonald Glas, 181 - Marion, dau. of Duncan Campbell of Glenlyon, wife of Gregor, 71 - Patrick Aldoch, 182 - Patrick ‘Gilderoy’, 195–6 - Robert Abroch, 152, 156, 182, 184 Macguire, Donough oge, 43 MacIan (MacDonald) - of Ardnamurchan, 3–4, 7–8, 95–6, 136, 184–5 - Alexander, 21, 32 - Ian, 20 - John, 140, 183–5 - John Og, 122 - Mariota, daughter of Ian, 20–1, 183 - of Glencoe - Alan Roy MacIan Og, 97 - Alasdair MacIan Og, 132, 135 - Alasdair Ruadh, 195–6 - Ian Og, 140 - in Cadderliebeg, Sorley MacEwin, 179 - Angus MacAllan Dubh, 218 - Donald Gigach, 168 McIgeall, Donald, 173 MacIsaac, John, 138 MacIver and see Campbell - Adam, 89 MacIver, of Leargachonzie, Iver, 47 Mackay, of Strathnaver, Donald, 24 Mackay of Strathnaver, 135 MacKellar - of Cruachan, 107 - in Corribuie, Duncan, 153 - Gillechallum, 108–9, 111 - Gillemartin, 102, 116 - Gillepatrick Oig, 102–3, 110–11, 116 Mackenzie, 112, 128 - of Kintail, 3 - Mr. (Sir) George, Advocate, ‘The Bluidy Mackenzie’, 272 MacKerris, John, 6 MacKerris, Fergus, Ferguson, Clan, 74 MacKerrow, Clan, 88 MacKillop, standard-bearer to Campbell of Dunstaffnage, 249

Index Mackinnon - of Mackinnon, 9, 166–7, 173 - of Mishnish - Ewan, 9 - Neil, 5 - of Strathardle, 84, 133, 140, 151 - Ewan, 32 - John, 201 - Lachlan, 188 Mackintosh - of Dunachton, Lachlan, 109–10, 113, 144 - of Essich, 143 - of Mackintosh, 135, 201 - Hector, Captain of Clan Chattan, 12 - Lachlan, 87 - of Torcastle, Angus, 143–4 - Duncan, brother to Borlum, 152 Mackintyre - of Glennoe, 132 - Donald, son of John Roy, 82 - Duncan, Commissioner in Tulloch, 82 - John Roy, Commissioner in Inverkip, 82 MacLachlan - of Craigenterive - Donald, 156 - John, fiar of, 241 - Lachlan, 18 - of the feyart, Clan Lachlan, 129 - of MacLachlan, 169, 236 - Archibald, 47, 54 - Lachlan, 22, 36 MacLaverty, Katherine, a witch, 106 Maclean, 223 - of Ardgour, 85 - Allan, 191 - John, 32 - Lachlan MacEwin, 5 - of Ardnacross, 184 - of Ardtornish, Donald, 255 - of Coll, 140, 166–7, 173 - John, 9, 32, 189 - Lachlan, 184, 188–91, 196 - of Duart - Donald, 5 - Hector, 134, 139–140, 147–8, 151, 155–6, 166, 169, 173, 199, 202 - Hector Mor, 17, 27, 32–34, 36, 54, 64 - Hector Og, 54, 64, 82, 84 - John, 81 - Lachlan, 2–5, 7–11 - Lachlan Mor, 83–7, 89, 92, 95–6, 101, 106, 109,

111–12, 114, 118, 120–8, 130–1, 133 - Sir Lachlan, 192, 195–6, 203, 223, 234, 237, 244, 247–8 - of Fiunary, Charles, 255 - of Kingairloch, Donald, 32 - of Kinlochaline - Hector, Captain in Argyle’s Regt., 209 - John, 255 - of Lochbuie, 223, 244 - Hector, 148, 152, 166–7, 173, 199 - John, 5, 9 - Murdoch, 32 - Murdoch, 196 - of Torloisk, Allan, 32 - of Treshnish, Ewin, 231 - Ailein nan Sop, 82 - Daniel, uncle to Duart, 255 - Hector Allansoune, 82 - John Dubh, Tutor to Lachlan of Duart, 83 - Lachlan, brother to Hector of Duart, 148 - Patrick, 34 Macleod - of Assynt, 255 - of Dunvegan (Harris), 24, 118, 121, 155, 166–7, 173, 194, 202, 270 - Alexander, 2, 4–5, 9–10, 24, 32, 34 - John, son of Tormod, 36 - Mary, heiress of, 37, 74–5 - Sir Rory, 184, 187 - Tormod, 36 - Tormod, 54, 74, 80, 82 - Torquhil, 74 - William, 34, 36, 74, 92 - of Harris see Dunvegan - of Lewis, 148 - Malcolm, 10, 12 - Ruari, 24, 32, 39 - of Mygnish - John, 9 - John Og, son of John, 36 - Donald, 75 - Iain a Chuail Bhain, son of Tormod, 75 - Iain Dubh, son of Iain a Chuail Bhain, 75 - Malcolm MacRuari, 164 - Tutor of Harris, 122–3 MacLucas, Donald, 85 MacMahon, Irish chieftain, 69 McMinister alias McGra (Macrae) Dougall, 173 MacMolmorie vicKevir, Iain see Livingstone of Bachuil Macnab of Macnab, James, yr., 219 MacNaughton

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Index - of Dunderave, 116, 145, 173, 262, 264–5, 270 - Ian, 129 - Malcolm, 238 - John, brother of Dunderave, 117 - Malcolm, Bailie of Kintyre, 195 MacNeill - of Barra, 112 - Gilleonan, 5, 9, 32 - of Carskey, 175 - of Gigha (Taynish), 175–6, 214, 236 - Eachan Bronach, 137 - Gillecallum MacIan, 24 - Hector, 193 - Neil, 8–9 - Neil, 137 - Gilleonan, killed at Glenlivet, 113 - Malcolm, uncle of Taynish, 159 - Mary, 107 MacPhail, Sheriff J. R. N., 149 MacPhederan of Sonachan, Donald MacGillemorie, 187–8 MacPhee of Colonsay, 171 MacPherson and see Campbell MacPherson of Cluny, yr., 215 MacPhun of Dreip, 237 Macquarie of Ulva - Allan, 255 - Dunslaf, 5 - John, 32 MacQueen (recte MacGregor) Mr. Patrick, Minister of Rothesay, a witch, 96, 107 MacQuillan of the Route, 53, 89 MacRanald (MacDonald of Clanranald) - in Lochaber, John, 97 MacSheehys, 40 MacSorley of Moneydrain, 96 MacSweeneys, 40 MacTavish (M’Avishe) - of Dunardry, 239 - Patrick, 96 MacVicar - Clan, drowned on Loch Awe, 65 - Neil, Messenger at Arms, 191 - Mr. Ninian, minister of Glenaray, 54 - William, drowned with the Clan Arthur, 65 MacWattie, Mr. James, minister of Rothesay, 54 Maderty, Lord, 156 Maitland - of Lethington, 55, 69 - of Thirlstane, Sir John, 97

337 Malcolm see also MacCallum Malcolm - of Poltalloch, 165 - Zachary, 240 - Mr. Gilbert, minister of Craignish, 54 Maltravers, Lord, 186 Mar, Earl of, 72, 85, 183 - John, 97, 109–10, 125, 135–6 Marischal, Earl, 183 - George Keith, 97, 109 Mary of Guise, Queen Mother and Queen Regent of Scotland, 36–7, 39, 47–8, 51–2 Massacres - Dunoon, 242 - Lagganmore, 241 Maxwell - Lord, 88, 146 - of Newark, Patrick, 18, 22 Menmuir, Lord, 88, 92 Menteith, Sir John Graham, 4th Earl of, 51 Menzies - of Comrie, 22, 97 - of Menzies (Weem), 94, 182, 237 - Sir Robert, 7 - in Dull, Alexander, 194 - Lt. Colonel James, 244, 253 Middleton, Major-General, 247, 251; Lt. General, 263–4, 267, 269–70, 272–3 Minto, John Stewart, Earl of, 29 Monck, Lt. General, 258, 268–70, 273 Moncreiffe of that Ilk, 94 de Montereuil, Jean, French Agent, 245 Montgomery - of Blackhouse, Captain Patrick, 254 - of Skelmorlie, 275 - Colonel Robert, 247 Monro, Sir George, 267 Montrose - James Graham, 1st Marquess of, 200–1, 203, 206, 208, 212, 215–19, 221, 223–5, 227–8, 231–6, 238, 243, 253–5 - James Graham, 2nd Marquess of, 267, 274 - John Graham, 4th Earl of, 84, 88 - William Graham, 3rd Earl of, 34 Moray, Earl of, 183 - James Stewart, Earl of, husband of Lady Elizabeth Campbell, 2, 17,

47, 48, 51, 55, 60–5, 67–9, 75 - James Stewart, the ‘Bonnie Earl’, 101–4 - James Stewart, Earl of, 110, 135 - Sheriff of, 104 Morton - Earl of, 69, 73, 80–2, 84–5, 88, 176, 179, 183 - John, Lord Maxwell, 101 Moyle, Christian, in Berriehill, 97 Mumford, Francis, 124 Munro - of Foulis, 3, 12, 112, 135 - of Tarrell, George, 152 Mure (later Moore) - Cornet Alexander, son of Rowallan, 254 - Colonel Robert, son of Rowallan, 254 Murray - of Bothwellhaugh, murderer of Moray, 69 - of Tullibardine, 112 - Sir William, 51 - Mr. John, 160 Mutloe, Captain, 263, 267 Napier, Lord, 238, 267 Nevoy, Mr. John, 246 Newcastle, Marquis of, 212 Nichol, Effric, a witch, 106–7 Nicholas, William, owner of the White Hart, 88 Nicholls, Captain, 270 Nisbet, Sir John, Advocate, 272 Norris, Captain John, 80 O’Cahan - Lt. Colonel Donoghue, 213 - Colonel Magnus, 213, 225, 227 O’Conachar (Leche) in Ardchonnel, Duncan, physician, 182, 200 O’Docherty, Shane, 86 O’Donnell, 24, 80 - Calvagh, 42–3, 53, 55, 59, 62 - Hugh, 64, 69, 89 - Manus, 42 - Earl of Tyrone, 112, 118–21, 123–4, 126–7, 134 O’Neill, 24 - 1st Earl of Tyrone, Con Bacach, father of Shane, 53 - of Clandeboye, 52 - Hugh MacPhelim, 89, 123 - Matthew, Lord Dungannon, son of Con Bacach, 53 - Sir Phelim, 208

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338 - Shane, 42–3, 52–5, 58–62, 64–5, 87 - Turlough Luineach, 2, 64–5, 69, 72, 80, 84, 86, 89, 120, 124 Ochiltree - Andrew Stewart, Lord, 135, 147, 149 - Lord, 104 Ogleby, Colonel, 266 Ogilvy, James, 5th Lord, 88, 97, 100 - Master of, later, 6th Lord, 97 - of Findlater, 144 - Lady, 204 - 7th Lord see Airlie, 1st Earl of - 8th Lord see Airlie, 2nd Earl of - Sir Thomas, brother to Airlie, 228 Okey, Colonel John, 258 Ormond, James Butler, 10th Earl of, 31, 32, 42 Osbourne, Alexander, 197 Overton, Colonel, 262 Owen, Captain Richard, 202

Scandoner, John, King’s Hunter, 192 Scone, Lord, Comptroller of Scotland, 140–1 Scrymgeour of Glassary, John, 5 Seaforth, Earl of, 202 Seaton, Lord, 88 Selkirk, Earl of, 270 Sempill, Lord, 73, 81 Shaw or Dubhsidhe, Jura, 130 Shaws of Knockhill and Cambusmoir, 94 Sidney, Sir Henry, Deputy of Ireland, 62 Sinclairs, help the MacDougalls, 19 Smollett, Captain, Captain of Luing, 85 Somerset, Edward Seymour, 9th Earl of, 34 Spalding, historian, 224, 226 Stewart - of Achnacone, 195 - of Ambrismoir, William, 74 - of Appin, 101, 109, 144, yr. 223–4 Perth, Earl of (Drummond), 156, - Allan, 6, 34, 36 182 - Dougall, 174–5 Piers, Captain, 87 - Duncan, 140 Pierson, Major, 259 - Duncan Baothaire, 188–9, Pollock of that Ilk, David, 22 196 Porterfield of Hapland, John, - John, 29 254 - John, 64 - of Ardgowan, James, 57 - of Ardshiel, John, 174 Queen Mary see Kings of Scots - of Blackhall, Sir Archibald, 202 Ralston of Ralston, William, 254, - of Bute, 109, 136 262, 264 - James Stewart, 4th Earl of, Reay, Lord, 270 7 Richardson of Smeton, James, - Sir James, Sheriff of, 202 83 - Sir John, 74 Riddoch of Cultybraggan, 94 - Sheriff of, 167, 265 Rizzio, David, 61 - Ninian, Sheriff of, 10 Robertson - of Darnley, Henry, 88 - of Struan, Robert, 21, 183 - of Duror, Alan, 8, 9, 13, 18 - Captain, 268 - of Houston, Sir William, - Tutor of Struan, Donald, 207, Commendator of 223 Pittenweem, 128 Rollock, John, 153 - of Invernahyle, 195 Rose of Kilravock, Hucheon, 6, 10, 12 - of Largeane, Archibald, 34 - of Lettershuna, 195 Ross, of Balnagowan, 112, 135 - Allan son of James, 3 - David, 10, 12 - Archibald, Governor of Rothes, Earl of, 60, 88, 273 Dunnyveg, 25 Russell, Sir William, Lord Deputy, 123 - Lady Elizabeth, sister to Duke of Lennox, 186 Ruthven, Patrick, Lord, 51 St. John, Sir William, 147 - James, Captain of Doune

Index Castle, 12 - James, brother to Lord Avondale, 12 - Captain James Stewart, son of Lord Ochiltree, 83 - James, Steward Depute of Menteith, 182 - James, Chamberlain of Kintyre, 195 - Lady Jean, natural dau. of King James V, 36 - Mr. John, 206 - William, Bishop of Aberdeen, 21 Stirling - 1st Earl of, Sir William Alexander, 187 - of Auchyle, William, man of business to 8th Earl of Argyll, 183, 191 - of Glorat, 28, 32 - of Keir, Sir John, 22 Strachan, Major, 267 Sussex, Thomas Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwalter, 1st Earl of, 42, 70 Sutherland, Earl of, 88, 207 Swinton of that Ilk, 272 Sydney, Sir Henry, 80 Taylor, Robert, 85 Teviot, Lord, 196 Thirlestane, John, Lord, 101, 109 Thornton, Captain, 122–3 Toiseach of Monzievaird, 22, 185 Treaty of Berwick, 51 Tullibardine - Earl of, 182 - Lord, 114, 135 Turner - Sir James, 246–7, 261 - Janet, wife of Gillechyniche MacCallum in Craigdow, 172 Tyrone, Earl of see O’Donnell de Valois, Madeleine, dau. of King Francois I of France, wife of King James V, 21 Wentworth, Thomas, later Earl of Strafford, Governor of Ireland, 200, 206 Williamson, in Termit, Angus, 144 Workman, James, 104 Wynram, Robert, Albany Herald, 166