Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, also known as Clan Ranald of Knoydart & Glengarry () is a Highland Scottish clan and is a branch of the larger Clan Donald. The clan takes its name from River Garry where the river Garry runs eastwards through Loch Garry to join the Great Glen about 16 miles (25 km) north of Fort William, Highland. The progenitor of the MacDonells of Glengarry is Donald, son of Reginald, 4th great-grandson of the warrior Somerled and ancestor of Clan Macdonald of Clanranald.
The MacDonells of Glengarry have historically possessed land holdings in the districts of Ross-shire and Lochaber in the Scottish Highlands. Their territories occasionally resulted in land disputes with other clans, most notably Clan Mackenzie. The clan supported the House of Stuart during the Jacobite rebellions, pledging their allegiance to the Jacobite cause. After the Jacobite Uprisings, the clan suffered during the Highland Clearances.
The clan chief is traditionally designated as the "Son of Alexander's son" (Scottish Gaelic: Mac Mhic Alasdair). Clan MacDonell of Glengarry has a chief that is recognized by the Court of the Lord Lyon, and the Lord Lyon King of Arms, who is the heraldic authority in Scotland.
History of the MacDonells of Glengarry
Origins
The MacDonells of Glengarry are one of the branch clans of Clan Donald—one of the largest Scottish clans. The eponymous ancestor of Clan Donald is Donald, son of Reginald, son of Somerled. Somerled, son of Gillebride was a 12th-century leader, styled as "King of the Isles" and "King of Argyll".Brown 2004: p. 70. Through ambitious military conquest, Somerled rose in prominence to create the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. However, his origins and ancestry are obscure. King Robert the Bruce granted a charter of many lands to Aonghus Óg of Islay, including half the Lordship of Lochaber. Angus Og's son John was the first Lord of the Isles. John's first marriage was to Amie MacRuari, heiress of Clann Ruaidhrí. John later divorced Amie and married Margaret, daughter of King Robert II. The children from John's first marriage became the main succession of the chiefship of Clan Donald and the later Macdonald Lords of the Isles would go on to descend from John's second marriage.Eyre-Todd 1923, 2: pp. 269–270. The MacDonells of Glengarry and MacDonalds of Clanranald both descend from John and Amie's eldest son, Reginald.
14th century Reginald, 1st of Clanranald and Glengarry, inherited most of the former lands of Clann Ruaidhrí through his mother, Amie MacRuari.Macdonald; Macdonald 1900, 3: pp. 226–238. He married Lady Fiona Stewart, daughter of Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, and had five sons, including Alan, progenitor of Clan MacDonald of Clanranald, and Donald, 2nd of Glengarry. Little is known of Donald’s life. During his time, the lands of Glengarry were temporarily taken into Crown control but were later secured by the clan through a royal charter, restoring legal ownership despite earlier forfeiture by their feudal superior, Godfrey of Garmoran. Donald married twice: first to Laleve, daughter of the chief of Clan MacIver, with whom he had a son, John; and secondly to a daughter of the chief of Clan Fraser of Lovat, with whom he had two sons, Alexander and Angus. Donald died in Lochaber in 1420 and was buried at Rollaig Orain. He was succeeded by his son.
The first son, John 3rd of Glengarry, died without heirs and was therefore succeeded by his half-brother Alexander "of the Woods", 4th chief of Glengarry, progenitor of Glengarry. Alexander is sometimes considered the first true chief of Glengarry but is usually regarded as the fourth of Glengarry. From Alexander, the clan takes the Gaelic patronymic of Mac Mhic Alasdair, meaning "son of the son of Alexander".
15th century According to Angus and Archibald MacDonald, the MacVuirich family seanachie recorded the death of Alexander “of the Woods,” described as a powerful warlike lord of Clanranald, who died on the Isle of Abbas in 1460. Contemporary Crown records, however, make no reference to his territorial holdings. He was succeeded by his son, John MacAlister Ranaldson, 5th of Glengarry, who inherited the lands of Glengarry. During this period, the clan formed part of the MacDonalds of Clanranald and supported Aonghas Óg MacDonald in his claim to the Lordship of the Isles, fighting at the Battle of Bloody Bay and later at the Battle of Lagabraad against Clan Mackenzie, where Clan Donald was victorious. In 1501, John MacAlister Ranaldson was killed by Fraser of Lovat after being lured to a meeting at Achteraw in Abertarff. This led to a conflict between the MacDonells of Glengarry and the Frasers of Lovat, ending with the Frasers’ defeat and the surrender of Abertarff to Glengarry. Legal proceedings were later brought before the Lords of Council by Alexander MacIain of Glengarry against those responsible for his father’s murder.
Alexander Ranaldson, 6th of Glengarry, was considered to be a rebellious chief. The MacDonells of Glengarry did not play an important part in the politics of Clan Donald until the late 15th century. Traditional rights of the chiefs were being replaced with feudal relationships in which the Crown was the ultimate superior, as part of the royal policy to pacify the Scottish Highlands, including taking charters from lands formerly held by the Lords of the Isles. The lands of Glengarry were leased to the Earl of Huntly, and the Camerons of Lochiel. Most of the chiefs submitted to James IV of Scotland, and even the MacDonalds of Clanranald accepted charters in 1494. Alexander Ranaldson did not receive a charter, suggesting that he continued to have a rebellious attitude at this time after the fall of the Lords of the Isles. In response, James IV tasked the Earl of Huntly and the Duke of Argyll in carrying out his policy in dividing the territories that once belonged to the Lordship of the Isles for their own holdings for their own clan lands.
16th century In 1501, Alexander Ranaldson was summoned for occupying lands in Morar without legal title, while parts of Glengarry were granted to the Earl of Huntly’s son. He later supported the nsurrection cof Domhnall Dubh, though he did not take part directly. Further grants of Glengarry were made to Huntly in 1510. Following the death of James IV at the Battle of Flodden, Ranaldson supported Donald Gallda’s claim to the Lordship of the Isles, leading to conflicts with Clan Grant and the occupation of Urquhart Castle. After these rebellions failed, Ranaldson submitted to the Crown and was pardoned in 1531. In 1539, Ranaldson received a Crown charter confirming Glengarry, Morar, and other lands, but he continued to support efforts to restore the Lordship of the Isles, including the failed rebellion of Donald Gorm of Sleat. He was imprisoned by James V in 1542. Members of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry later supported Clan Cameron in raids of Urquhart in 1544 and 1545, prompting petitions from Clan Grant for royal protection. In response, royal letters were issued in 1567 ordering neighboring chiefs to defend Grant lands. Alexander Ranaldson also fought at the Battle of the Shirts in support of John Moidartach and the MacDonalds of Clanranald and Clan Cameron against Clan Fraser of Lovat. He died in 1560.
Angus MacAlester, 7th of Glengarry, used his father-in-law, the chief of Clan Grant, to secure a charter from James VI of Scotland, reclaiming his ancestral lands in 1574. A 1571 bond of manrent between MacAlester and Clan Grant included an exception recognizing the authority of Clanranald, implying Glengarry's acknowledgment of Clanranald as his chief.
Donald MacAngus, 8th of Glengarry, succeeded Angus, who was reputed to have lived over one hundred years. In February 1576, Donald MacAngus successfully complained to the Privy Council after Hugh Fraser, 5th Lord Lovat blocked his timber transport on Loch Ness towards Inverness, and Lord Lovat was ordered not to interfere. Known for his law-abiding nature, Donald MacAngus sought protection from the Privy Council in 1577 when Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll, upon succeeding as chief of the Campbells in 1577, invaded and plundered the lands of the MacLeans and the MacDonalds, including making preparations for an invasion of the mainland, with the lands of Glengarry as his principle attack. The Council declared Donald MacAngus a "good subject," prohibiting Argyll’s attack and rallying local clans to defend Glengarry, and forbidding any further attacks against Glengarry under pain of treason. The Earl of Argyll conceded and abandoned his plans for invasion.
17th century
Bitter feuding with the Mackenzies of Kintail
The feud with Clan Mackenzie began in the late 16th century after Angus MacAlester inherited lands in Wester Ross. The conflict escalated when two of his cousins burned a house of a murderer in Applecross, killing a Mackenzie, leading Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Lord Mackenzie of Kintail to accuse the MacDonells of the murder to the Privy Council, prompting Angus MacAlester to flee Edinburgh. In November 1601, Angus MacDonell, son of Donald MacAngus, led a raid on Mackenzie lands in Torridon. A complaint was filed with the Privy Council, but neither Angus nor his father appeared in court. On 9 September 1602, Donald MacAngus was declared an outlaw. In response, the Council acquired Kenneth Mackenzie a commission of "fire and sword", and procured through the interest of the 1st Earl of Dunfermline by invading Glengarry's lands of Morar. Similarly, the MacDonells raided the Mackenzies and wasted the lands of Lochalsh and Applecross. The escalation came to head at the Battle of Morar, where the Mackenzies laid siege to Strome Castle, causing the MacDonells to surrender, and the Mackenzies demolished the castle by gunpowder. The clan soon built Invergarry Castle in the Great Glen. The conflict intensified when Glengarry allied with MacDonald of Moidart. While Kenneth Mackenzie sought support from Hector Og MacLean of Duart in Mull, Angus MacDonell raided Lochcarron. The MacDonells loaded their boats with plunder, but the MacKenzies intercepted the MacDonells in small rowing boats, overturning the boat, and killing many men, including Angus. The survivors swam to the Isle of Skye and escaped, leaving their pillaged plunders behind. The following year, Allan Dubh MacRanuil of Lundie launched a fiercer raid on the Mackenzies by burning an entire congregation of Mackenzie clansmen in the church in Kilchrist. According to tradition, a bagpiper for the MacDonells of Glengarry marched around the burning church playing a spirited tune, which was later known as "Cillechriost". However, the MacDonells, despite their sanguinary excesses, were no match for the politically astute Mackenzie, who succeeded in obtaining a crown charter to the disputed districts of Loch Alsh, Lochcarron and others, and who steadily bought up the claims of third parties against Glengarry in 1607. Their differences were eventually settled by an arrangement which secured absolutely to Mackenzie all Glengarry's lands in Ross-shire and the superiority of all his other possessions, but Glengarry was to hold the latter, paying Mackenzie a small feu as superior. Donald MacAngus was later compensated with Knoydart from the Camerons of Lochiel in 1611.
Mid-17th century Donald MacAngus was briefly imprisoned by Lord Ochiltree, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, in 1626, but secured a charter in 1627 that made Glengarry a free barony. At the outbreak of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in 1639, he passed his duties to his son, Aeneas, 9th of Glengarry. Aeneas was a committed Royalist and fought under James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose during the 1644–1645 campaign, including actions following the Battle of Philiphaugh. Montrose’s forces defeated the Covenanters under the Marquess of Argyll at the Battle of Inverlochy in 1645, an event later commemorated in verse by the Keppoch bard Iain Lom.