Which was the most feared Highland clan?
Violence and barbaric treatment was meted out by many, finds Alison Campsie but the Campbells and Macgregors rank highly
The violence meted out by Highland clans reached epic proportions as honour, power and territory were pursued and defended in equal, often barbaric, measure.
The stakes were high as the territorial warlords fought for their reputation, wealth and survival against both rival clans and a state sometimes aided by senior clan figures within its fold.
While the clan system offered kinship and security on one level, beheadings and mass graves are also part of the clan story.
But which was the most feared of all the clans?
The answer does not come easily given shifting loyalties and Scotland’s turbulent political and religious landscape.
John Thor Ewing, a writer and historian who is researching the history of his own clan, said: “One of the fascinations of clan history is that each clan has its won history of feuds and alliances, so that one family’s trusty friend is often their neighbour’s treacherous foe.
“Then move forward fifty years, and the situation may be reversed.”
According to Sir Malcolm Macgregor of Macgregor, convener of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, there are a number of possible contenders for the title of the most feared clan.
Number one is Clan Campbell of Breadalbane.
The feud between the Macgregors and the Campbells is well documented but Sir Malcolm said this strand of the Campbells was particularly feared given its dominance over a large swathe of Scotland – and its will to defend it at all costs.
Sir Malcolm said the Campbells of Breadalbane were “particularly violent”. He said: “The Earl of Breadalbane was incredibly powerful and held land from coast-to-coast, from the mouth of the River Tay to the Argyll Coast.
“He had huge influence and was determined to hold that land against the Macgregors and others.
“To people like the Macgregors, the clan was incredibly feared and there was a lots of beheading and lynching going on. You wouldn’t want to get captured by the Campbells of Breadalbane.
“That is not to say, however, that the Macgregors didn’t give as good as they got. They were also quite capable of beheadings.”
Sir Colin Campbell, Earl of Breadalbane – known as Grey Colin – personally beheaded the Clan Chief of Gregor on 7 April 1750 at Balloch Castle, now the site of Taymouth Castle in Perth and Kinross.
He claimed to hold “the power of pit and gallows” – or the heritable privilege to imprison and execute.
Over time, the Campbells were “very much encouraged by the king” to stamp out people like the Macgregors, Sir Malcolm said.
Headdedthat “duplicity,double crossing and theft” was very much part of the story of Highland clans.
“And the Campbells were very good at it,” Sir Malcolm added.
Seafaring clans, such as the Macdonalds of the Isles, a group of “independent princes” who were not subject to the Scottish King, and the Macneils of Barra, should also be counted among the most feared, Sir Malcolm said.
The Macneils were notorious pirates, who launched attacks from Kisimul Castle in Birlinn Boats and survived chiefly on the rewards of their water borne raids. DNA testing has revealed a proven Norse lineage.
Sir Malcolm said the Border clans – such as the Armstrongs and the Elliots – should also be remembered given their role in fighting the English over the “debatable lands”.
Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie was once one of the most popular, powerful, and feared clan chiefs in the Scottish Borders.
In 1530, he and around 30 to 40 of his men, were executed after being ambushed by James V’s army at Carlenrig.
They were all taken out and anged from the trees, and then buried in a mass, unmarked grave.
“The King was really as violent as anyone else,” Sir Malcolm said.