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[This book was digitized by William James Mackenzie, III, of
Montgomery County, Maryland, USA in 1999 - 2000. I would
appreciate notice of any corrections needed. This is the edited version
that should have most of the typos fixed. May 2003. wjm10@juno.com]
The book author writes about himself in the SLIOCHD ALASTAIR CHAIM
section.
I have tried to keep everything intact. I have made some small
changes to apparent typographical errors. I have left out the
occasional accent that is used on some Scottish names. For
instance, "Mor" has an accent over the "o." A capital L preceding a
number, denotes the British monetary pound sign.
[Footnotes are in square brackets, book titles and italized words in
quotes.]
Edited and reformatted by Brett Fishburne william.fishburne@verizon.net
HISTORY OF THE MACKENZIES WITH
GENEALOGIES OF THE PRINCIPAL FAMILIES
OF THE NAME.
NEW, REVISED, AND EXTENDED EDITION.
BY
ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, M.J.I.,
AUTHOR OF "THE HISTORY OF THE MACDONALDS AND LORDS OF
THE ISLES;" "THE HISTORY OF THE CAMERONS;" "THE HISTORY OF
THE MACLEODS;" "THE HISTORY OF THE MATHESONS;" "THE HISTORY
OF THE CHISOLMS;" "THE PROPHECIES OF THE BRAHAN SEER;" "THE
HISTORICAL "TALES AND LEGENDS OF THE HIGHLAND CLEARANCES;"
"THE SOCIAL STATE OF THE ISLE OF SKYE;" ETC., ETC.
LUCEO NON URO
INVERNESS: A. & W. MACKENZIE. MDCCCXCIV.
PREFACE.
-:0:-
THE ORIGINAL EDITION of this work appeared in 1879, fifteen years
ago. It was well received by the press, by the clan, and by all
interested in the history of the Highlands. The best proof of
this is the fact that the book has for several years been out of
print, occasional second-hand copies of it coming into the market
selling at a high premium on the original subscription price.
Personally, however, I was never satisfied with it. It was my
first clan history, and to say nothing of inevitable defects of
style by a comparatively inexperienced hand, it was for several
other reasons necessarily incomplete, and in many respects not
what I should wish the history of my own clan to be.
This edition, which extends to close upon two hundred pages more
than its predecessor, has an accurate and well-executed plate of
the clan tartan, and a life-like portrait of the Author; has been
almost entirely re-written; contains several families omitted from
the first; has all been carefully revised; and although not even
now absolutely perfect, I believe it is almost as near being so
as it is possible for any work which contains such an enormous
number of dates and other details as this one to be.
The mythical Fitzgerald origin of the clan, hitherto accepted by
most of its leading members, is exhaustively dealt with, I venture
to hope effectively, if not completely and finally disposed of.
That it is now established beyond any reasonable dispute to have
been a pure invention of the seventeenth century may, I think, be
safely asserted, while it is, with almost equal conclusiveness,
shown that the Mackenzies are descended from a native Celtic chief
of the same stock as the original O'Beolan Earls of Ross, as set
forth in the Table printed on page 39.
My list of subscribers, for a second edition, shows in the most
gratifying form that the work is still in active demand, and I am
sanguine enough to expect that as soon as it is issued to the
public the remaining copies will be quickly disposed of.
I am indebted to a young gentleman, Mr Evan North Burton-Mackenzie,
Younger of Kilcoy, of whom I venture to predict more will be heard
in this particular field, for valuable genealogical notes about
his own and other Mackenzie families, while for the copious and
well-arranged Index at the end of the volume - a new feature of this
edition - I have again to acknowledge the services of my eldest
son, Hector Rose Mackenzie, solicitor, Inverness.
A. M.
PARK HOUSE, INVERNESS,
March 1894
THE HISTORY OF THE MACKENZIES.
ORIGIN.
THE CLAN MACKENZIE at one time formed one of the most powerful
families in the Highlands. It is still one of the most numerous
and influential, and justly claims a very ancient descent. But
there has always been a difference of opinion regarding its original
progenitor. It has long been maintained and generally accepted
that the Mackenzies are descended from an Irishman named Colin or
Cailean Fitzgerald, who is alleged but not proved to have been
descended from a certain Otho, who accompanied William the Conqueror
to England, fought with that warrior at the battle of Hastings,
and was by him created Baron and Castellan of Windsor for his
services on that occasion.
THE REPUTED FITZGERALD DESCENT.
According to the supporters of the Fitzgerald-Irish origin of the
clan, Otho had a son Fitz-Otho, who is on record as his father's
successor as Castellan of Windsor in 1078. Fitz-Otho is said to
have had three sons. Gerald, the eldest, under the name of Fitz-Walter,
is said to have married, in 1112, Nesta, daughter of a Prince of South
Wales, by whom he also had three sons. Fitz-Walter's eldest son, Maurice,
succeeded his father, and accompanied Richard Strongbow to Ireland
in 1170. He was afterwards created Baron of Wicklow and Naas
Offelim of the territory of the Macleans for distinguished services
rendered in the subjugation of that country, by Henry II., who on
his return to England in 1172 left Maurice in the joint Government.
Maurice married Alicia, daughter of Arnulph de Montgomery, brother
of Robert Earl of Shrewsbury, and by that lady had four sons. The
eldest was known as Gerald Fitz-Maurice, who in due course succeeded
his father, and was created Lord Offaly. Having married Catherine,
daughter of Hamo de Valois, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, he had
a son, named Maurice after his grandfather. This Maurice died
in 1257, leaving two sons, Thomas and Gerald. Thomas, generally
called "Tomas Mor," or Great Thomas, on account of his great valour
and signal services in the battlefield, succeeded his father as
Lord Offaly. He married the only daughter of Thomas Carron. This
lady brought him the Seigniory of Desmond as a dowry. By her
Thomas Lord Offaly had an only son, John, who, according to Colin
Fitzgerald's supporters, was first Earl of Kildare and married
first, Marjory, daughter of Sir Thomas Fitz-Antony, by whom he had
issue - Maurice, progenitor of the Dukes of Leinster. John married,
secondly, Honora, daughter of Hugh O'Connor, by whom he had six
sons, the eldest of whom, according to the Irish-origin theory, was
Colin Fitz-Gerald - but who, if the Fitzgerald theory had not been
a pure invention, really ought to have been called Colin Fitz-John,
or son of John - the reputed ancestor of the Mackenzies.
This, briefly stated, is the genealogy of the Fitzgeralds as given
by the supporters of the Irish origin of the Mackenzies, and it
may be right or wrong for all we need care in discussing the origin
of the Mackenzies. Its accuracy will, however, be proved impossible.
According to the true genealogy, Thomas, who was the third son of
Maurice, married Rohesia, heiress of Woodstock, near Athy, and
daughter of Richard de St. Michael, Lord of Rheban. By this lady
he had an only son, John, who succeeded as 6th Baron Offaly, and
was in 1316 created 1st Earl of Kildare. John married Blanche,
daughter of John Roche, Baron of Fermoy; not the two ladies given
him in the Fitzgerald-Mackenzie genealogy.
The real authentic genealogy of the Fitzgeralds, from whom the
Dukes of Leinster and other Fitzgerald families are descended, is
as follows: The first,
I. OTHO, known as "Dominus Otho," belonged undoubtedly to the
Gherardini family of Florence. He passed into Normandy, and in 1057
crossed into England, became a favourite with Edward the Confessor,
and obtained extensive estates from that monarch. He had a son
II. WALTER FITZ OTHO, or son of Otho. He is mentioned in Domesday
Book in 1078 as being then in possession of his father's estates. He
was Castellan of Windsor and Warden of the Forests in Berkshire. He
married Gladys, daughter of Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn, Prince of North
Wales, and had three sons, the eldest being
III. GERALD FITZ WALTER, or son of Walter, who was appointed by
Henry I. to the Constableship of Pembroke Castle and other important
offices. He married Nesta, daughter of Rhys ap Gruffyd, ap Tudor
Mawr, Prince of South Wales, and had issue by her, three sons, the
eldest of whom was
IV. MAURICE FITZ GERALD, or son of Gerald. This, it will be noticed,
was the first Fitzgerald of which we have any record, and he was the
progenitor of the Irish Fitzgeralds. He accompanied Richard de Clare,
Earl of Pembroke, popularly known as "Strongbow," to Ireland, and there
highly distinguished himself, having, among other acts of renown,
captured the city of Dublin. He died at Wexford in 1177. He married
Alice or Alicia, daughter of Arnulph de Montgomery, fourth son of
Roger de Montgomery, who led the centre of the Norman army at the
battle of Hastings, and by her had issue - five sons, the eldest
of whom was William, Baron of Naas, not Gerald as claimed by the
supporters of the Colin Fitzgerald theory.
Thus far the two genealogies may be said to agree, except in a few
of the marriages.
V. GERALD FITZ MAURICE, the second son, in 1205 became first
Baron Offaly. The third son, Thomas, was progenitor of the original
Earls of Desmond, who have long been extinct in the male line, the
present Earldom, which is the Irish title of the Earl of Denbigh,
having been created in 1622. Gerald Fitz Maurice married Katherine,
daughter of Hamo de Valois, who was Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
in 1197, and by her had a son,
VI. MAURICE FITZ GERALD, second Baron Offaly, one of the Lord
Justices of Ireland. Maurice died in 1257, having married Juliana,
daughter of John de Cogan, who was Lord Justice of Ireland in 1247,
and by her had three sons, Maurice, Gerald, and Thomas. Maurice
Fitzgerald has no wife given him in the Colin Fitzgerald genealogy.
Thomas, the youngest son, had a son John, who ultimately, on the
death of Maurice, fifth Baron Offaly, without issue, succeeded as
sixth Baron, and was, on the 14th May, 1316, created the first Earl
of Kildare. Maurice Fitz Gerald was succeeded by his eldest son,
VII. MAURICE FITZ MAURICE, as third Baron Offaly. He married
Emelina, daughter of Sir Stephen de Longespee, a rich heiress, and by
her had a son and two daughters. He was succeeded by his only son,
VIII. GERALD FITZ MAURICE, 4th Baron Offaly, who died without issue
in 1287, when he was succeeded by his cousin Maurice, only son of
Gerald, second son of Maurice Fitzgerald, second Baron Offaly, as
IX. MAURICE FITZGERALD, 5th Baron Offaly, who married Agnes de
Valance, daughter of William Earl of Pembroke, without issue, when he
was succeeded by his cousin John, son of Thomas, third son of Maurice
Fitzgerald, second Baron Offaly, as
X. JOHN FITZ THOMAS FITZ GERALD, sixth Baron Offaly, and first
Earl of Kildare. From him, by his wife Blanche, daughter of John
Roche, Baron of Fermoy, are descended the present Duke of Leinster and
other Irish Fitzgeralds. He died on the 10th November, 1316.
Several important particulars bearing on the points in dispute are
noticeable in this genuine Fitzgerald genealogy, a few of which may be
remarked upon. (1) There is no trace of a Colin Fitzgerald, or of any
other Colin, in the real family genealogy from beginning to end, down
to the present day. (2) Gerald, the 4th Baron Offaly, died in 1287.
He was succeeded by his cousin Maurice, as 5th Baron, who in turn
was succeeded by his cousin John Fitz Thomas Fitz Gerald, who died
comparatively young in 1316. According to the Colin Fitzgerald
theory, this John, first Earl of Kildare, was twice married, and by
his second wife had six sons, of whom Colin Fitzgerald, who really
ought to have been described as Colin Fitz John - for it will
be observed that the Chiefs in the real genealogy are invariably
described as Fitz or son of their fathers - was the eldest. This
was impossible. How could John Fitz Thomas Fitzgerald, who died
at a comparatively early age in 1316, have had a son by his second
marriage, who must have arrived at a mature age before he "was
driven" from Ireland to Scotland in 1261, and be able to fight, as
alleged by his supporters, with great distinction, as a warrior
who had already an established reputation, at the battle of Largs,
in 1263? Let us suppose that Colin's reputed father was 70 years
old when he died. He (the father) must thus have been born as
early as 1246. Let us take it that his eldest son, the reputed
Colin, by his second wife, was born when his father was only 24
years of age - say in 1270 - and the result of the Fitzgerald origin
theory would be that Colin must have fought at the battle of Largs
7 years before, according to the laws of nature, he could have
been born. In other words, he was not born, if born at all, for
seven years after the battle of Largs, four years after the reputed
charter of 1266, and 40 years subsequent to 1230, the last year
in which either of the witnesses whose names are upon the alleged
charter itself was in life. (3) But take the genealogy as given by
the upholders of the Colin Fitzgerald origin themselves Maurice,
who died in 1257, had, according to it, two sons - Thomas and Gerald.
This Thomas, they say, succeeded his father as third Lord Offaly,
and had a son, John, who, by his second wife, had Colin Fitzgerald.
That is, Maurice, who died in 1257, had a great grandson Colin,
who, as a warrior of mature years and experience, fought at the
battle of Largs only six years after his great-grandfathers death.
But there was in fact no Earl of Kildare at this early date. That
title was, as already stated, not created until 1316, twenty-eight
years after his son Colin Fitzgerald was, according to the testimony
of his supporters, buried in Icolmkill. It is surely unnecessary to
add that such a consummation is absolutely impossible; and these
facts alone, though no other shred of evidence was forthcoming,
would dispose of the Colin Fitzgerald origin of the Mackenzies for
ever.
Colin's five brothers are given by the upholders of the Fitzgerald
origin as Galen, said to have been the same as Gilleon or Gillean, the
ancestor of the Macleans; Gilbert, ancestor of the White Knights;
John, ancestor of the Knights of Glynn; Maurice, ancestor of the
Knights of Kerry; and Thomas, progenitor of the Fitzgeralds of
Limerick. But it is quite unnecessary to deal with Colin's brothers
and their descendants here. It will be sufficient if we dispose of
Colin himself, who, according to the genealogy given to him by those
who claim him as their progenitor, was really not Colin Fitz-Gerald
but Colin Fitz-John. He must, however, be dealt with a little more at
length; for, whoever he may have been, and however mythical his
personal history, his name will always command a certain amount of
interest for members of the Clan Mackenzie, and those who have become
allied with them by marriage or association.
Most of us are acquainted with the turbulent state of the West
Highlands and Islands in the reign of Alexander II., when the
Highland Chiefs became so powerful, and were so remote from the
centre of Government, that they could not be brought under the King's
authority. His Majesty determined to make a serious effort to
reduce these men to obedience, and for this purpose he proceeded, at
the head of a large force, but died on his way in 1249, on the Island
of Kerrera, leaving his son, Alexander III., then only nine years of
age, with the full weight and responsibility of government on his
shoulders.
Shortly after the King attained his majority, Colin Fitzgerald,
correctly speaking Fitz John is said to have been driven out of
Ireland and to have sought refuge at the Scottish Court, where he was
heartily welcomed by the King, by whom his rank and prowess well
known to him by repute, were duly recognised and acknowledged.
At this time Alexander was preparing to meet Haco, King of Norway,
who, on the 2nd of October, 1262, landed with a large force on the
coast of Ayrshire, where he was met by a gallant force of fifteen
hundred knights splendidly mounted on magnificent chargers - many
of them of pure Spanish breed - wearing breastplates, while their
riders, clad in complete armour, with a numerous army of foot armed
with spears, bows and arrows, and other weapons of war, according
to the usage in their respective provinces, the whole of this valiant
force led by the King in person. These splendid, well-accoutred
armies met at Largs two or three days after, and then commenced that
sanguinary and memorable engagement which was the first decisive
check to the arrogance of the Norsemen who had so long held sway
in the West Highlands and Isles, and the first opening up of the
channel which led to the subsequent arrangements between Alexander
III. of Scotland and Magnus IV. of Norway in consequence of which
an entirely new organisation was introduced into the Hebrides, then
inhabited by a mixed race composed of the natives and largely of
the descendants of successive immigrant colonists of Norwegians
and Danes who had settled in the country.
In this memorable engagement, we are told, the Scots commenced the
attack. The right wing, composed of the men of Argyle, of Lennox, of
Athole, and Galloway, was commanded by Alexander, Lord High Steward,
while Patrick Dunbar, Earl of March, commanded the left wing,
composed of the men of the Lothians, Berwick, Stirling, and Fife.
The King placed himself in the centre, at the head of the choice men
of Ross, Perth, Angus, Mearns, Mar, Moray, Inverness, and Caithness,
where he was confronted by Haco in person, who, for the purpose
of meeting the Scottish King, took post in the Norwegian centre. The
High Steward, by a dexterous movement, made the enemy's left give
way, and instantly, by another adroit manoeuvre, he wheeled back on
the rear of Haco's centre, where he found the two warrior Kings
desperately engaged. This induced Haco, after exhibiting all the
prowess of a brave King and an able commander, to retreat from the
field, followed by his left wing, leaving, as has been variously
stated, sixteen to twenty-four thousand of his followers on the field,
while the loss on the Scottish side is estimated at about five
thousand. The men of Caithness and Sutherland were led by the Flemish
Freskin, those of Moray by one of their great chiefs, and there is
every reason to believe that the men of Ross rallied round one of
their native chiefs. Among the most distinguished warriors who took
part in this great and decisive victory for the Scots, under the
immediate eye of their brave King, was, it is said, Colin Fitzgerald,
who is referred to in a fragment of the Record of Icolmkill as
"Callenus peregrinus Hibernus nobilis ex familia Geraldinorum qui
proximo anno ab Hibernia pulsus opud regni benigne acceptus hinc
usque in curta permansit et in praefacto proelio strenue pugnavit."
That is, "Colin, an Irish stranger and nobleman, of the family of the
Geraldines who, in the previous year, had been driven from Ireland,
and had been well received by the King, remained up to this time at
Court, and fought bravely in the aforesaid battle." This extract has
often been quoted to prove that Colin Fitzgerald was the progenitor of
the Mackenzies; but it will be noticed that it contains no reference
whatever to the point. It merely says that Colin, an Irishman, was
present at Largs.
After the defeat of Haco the King sent detachments to secure the
West Highlands and Isles, and to check the local chiefs. Among the
leaders sent in charge of the Western garrisons was, according to
the supporters of the Irish-origin theory, Colin Fitzgerald, who,
under the patronage of Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith, was settled
in the Government of the Castle of Ellandonnan, the well-known
stronghold of the Mackenzies, in Kintail, situated on a small
rocky island at the junction of Lochalsh, Loch Duich and Loch Long.
Colin's jurisdiction, it is said, extended over a wide district,
and he is referred to in the fragment of the Record of Icolmkill,
already quoted, as he "of whom we have spoken at the battle of
Largs, and who afterwards conducted himself with firmness against
the Islanders, and was left a governor among them." Sir George
Mackenzie, first Earl of Cromartie, who will be proved later on
to have been the inventor of the Fitzgerald theory, says in a MS.
history of the clan, that Colin "being left in Kintail, tradition
records that he married the daughter of Mac Mhathoin, heritor of
the half of Kintail. This Mhathoin," he continues, "is frequently
identified with Coinneach Gruamach Mac Mhathoin, Cailean's
predecessor as Governor of Ellandonnan Castle. The other half of
Kintail belonged to O'Beolan, one of whose chiefs, Ferchair, was
created Earl of Ross, and his lands were given to Cailean Fitzgerald."
It will be proved by incontestible public documents still in
existence, that these identical lands were, except that they once
for a time exchanged them with a relative for lands in Buchan,
uninterruptedly possessed by the Earls of Ross, the descendants
of this Ferchair, or Farquhar, for two centuries after the battle
of Largs.
While the Earl of Cromartie and other clan historians accept the
Fitzgerald origin by marriage with a daughter of Kenneth Matheson of
Lochalsh, the Mathesons maintain that the first Mackenzie, or Mac
Choinnich - the actual progenitor of the clan - was a son of their
chief, Coinneach Gruamach, and that the Mackenzies are thus only a
sept, or minor branch of the Mathesons. It must in fairness be
admitted that the latter contention is quite as near the truth as
the Fitzgerald theory and it must have already occurred to the
reader, how, if the Fitzgerald origin of the Mackenzies had been
true, has it come about that the original patronymic of Fitzgerald
has given way to that of Mackenzie? It is not pretended that it
was ever heard of after Colin himself.
This difficulty occurred even to the Earl of Cromartie, and this
is how he attempts to dispose of it. Cailean, he says, had a son
by the daughter of Kenneth Mac Mhathoin, or Matheson, whom he named
Coinneach, or Kenneth, after his father-in-law Kenneth Matheson;
Cailean himself was killed in Glaic Chailein by Mac Mhathoin,
who envied him, and was sore displeased at Colin's succession to
Matheson's ancient heritage; Colin was succeeded by his son Kenneth,
and all his descendants were by the Highlanders called "Mac
Choinnich," or Kenneth's son, taking the patronymic from Mac Mhathoin
rather than from Cailean, whom they esteemed a stranger. Of the two
theories the Matheson one is by far the more probable; but they are
both without any real foundation.
The Fitzgerald theory has, however, until recently, been accepted
by all the leading Mackenzie families and by the clan generally.
It has been adopted in all the Peerages and Baronetages, and by
almost every writer on the history and genealogy of the Cabar feidh
race.
The main if not the only authority of any consequence in favour of
this Irish origin is the charter alleged to have been granted by
Alexander III. to Colin in 1266, of which the reputed original runs
as follows:-
"Alexander, Dei Gracia, Rex Scottorum, omnibus probis hominibus
tocius terre sue clericis et laicis, salutem sciant presentes et
futuri me pro fideli seruicio michi navato per Colinum Hybernum
tam in bello quam in pace ideo dedisse, et hac presenti carta
mea concessisse dicto Colino, et ejus successoribus totas terras
de Kintail. Tenendas de nobis et successoribus nostris in liberam
baronium cum guardia. Reddendo servicium forinsecum et fidelitatem.
Testibus Andrea episcopo, Moraviensi. Waltero Stewart. Henrico de
Balioth Camerario. Arnoldo de Campania. Thoma Hostiario,
vice-comite de Innerness. Apud Kincardine, IX die Jan.: Anno Regni
Domini, Regis XVI."
This is a literal translation of the document:-
"Alexander, by the Grace of God, King of Scots, to all honest men
of his whole dominions, cleric and laic, greeting: Be it known to
the present and future that I, for the faithful service rendered to
me by Colin of Ireland, in war as well as peace, therefore I have
given, and by this my present charter I concede to the said Colin
and his successors, the lands of Kintail to be held of us in free
barony with ward to render foreign service and fidelity. Witnesses
(as above.) At Kincardine, 9th day of January, in the year of the
reign of the Lord the King, the 16th."
The Kincardine at which this charter is alleged to have been signed
is supposed to be the place of that name situated on the River
Dee; for about this time an incident is reported to have occurred
in the Forest of Mar in connection with which it is traditionally
stated that the Mackenzies adopted the stag's head as their coat
armour. The legend is as follows:
Alexander was on a hunting expedition in the forest, near Kincardine,
when an infuriated stag, closely pursued by the hounds, made
straight in the direction of the King, and Cailean Fitzgerald, who
accompanied the Royal party, gallantly interposed his own person
between the exasperated animal and his Majesty, and shot it with
an arrow in the forehead. The King in acknowledgment of the Royal
gratitude at once issued a diploma in favour of Colin granting him
armorial bearings which were to be, a stags head puissant, bleeding
at the forehead where the arrow pierced it, to be borne on a field
azure, supported by two greyhounds. The crest to be a dexter arm
bearing a naked sword, surrounded by the motto "Fide Parta, Fide
Acta," which continued to be the distinctive bearings of the
Mackenzies of Seaforth until it was considered expedient, as
corroborating their claims on the extensive possessions of the
Macleods of Lewis, to substitute for the original the crest of that
warlike clan, namely, a mountain in flames, surcharged with the
words, "Luceo non uro," the ancient shield, supported by two savages,
naked, and wreathed about the head with laurel, armed with clubs
issuing fire, which are the bearings now used by the representatives
of the High Chiefs of Kintail.
The incident of the hunting match and Colin Fitzgerald's gallant
rescue of Alexander III. was painted by West for "The last of the
Seaforths" in one of those large pictures with which the old
Academician employed and gratified his latter years. The artist
received L8oo for the noble painting, which is still preserved in
Brahan Castle, and in his old age he expressed his willingness to
give the same sum for it in order to have it exhibited in his own
collection.
The first notice of the reputed charter to Colin Fitzgerald is in
the manuscript history of the Mackenzies, by George, first Earl
of Cromartie, already quoted, written about the middle of the
seventeenth century. All the later genealogists appear to have
taken its authenticity for granted, and quoted it accordingly. Dr
Skene, the most learned and accurate of all our Highland historians,
expresses his decided opinion that the charter is forged and
absolutely worthless as evidence in favour of the Fitzgerald origin
of the clan. At pages 223-25 of his 'Highlanders of Scotland,'
he says -
"The Mackenzies have long boasted of their descent from the great
Norman family of Fitzgerald in Ireland, and in support of this
origin they produce a fragment of the Records of Icolmkill, and
a charter by Alexander III. to Colin Fitzgerald, the supposed
progenitor of the family, of the lands of Kintail. At first sight
these documents might appear conclusive, but, independently of
the somewhat suspicious circumstance that while these pages have
been most freely and generally quoted, no one has ever seen the
originals, and the fragment of the Icolmkill Record merely says
that among the actors in the battle of Largs, fought in 1263, was
`Peregrinus et Hibernus nobilis ex familia Geraldinorum qui proximo
anno Hibernia pulsus apud regni benigne acceptus hinc usque in
curta permansit et in praefacto proelio strenue pugnavit,' giving
not a hint of his having settled in the Highlands, or of his having
become the progenitor of any Scottish family whatever while as to
the supposed charter of Alexander III., it is equally inconclusive,
as it merely grants the lands of Kintail to Colin Hiberno, the
word `Hiberno' having at the time come into general use as denoting
the Highlanders, in the same manner as the word 'Erse' is now
frequently used to express their language; but inconclusive as it
is, this charter," he continues, "cannot be admitted at all, as
it bears the most palpable marks of having been a forgery of a
later time, and one by no means happy in its execution. How such
a tradition of the origin of the Mackenzies ever could have arisen,
it is difficult to say but the fact of their native origin and
Gaelic descent is completely set at rest by the Manuscript of
1450, which has already so often been the means of detecting the
falsehood of the foreign origins of other clans."
Cosmo Innes, another high authority, editor of the 'Orgines
Parachiales Scotia,' the most valuable work ever published dealing
with the early history of Scotland, and especially of the Highlands,
came to a similar conclusion, and expresses it even more strongly
than Dr Skene. At pages 392-3, Vol. II., he says "The lands of
Kintail are said to have been granted by Alexander III. to Colin, an
Irishman of the family of Fitzgerald, for services done at the battle
of Largs. The charter is not extant, and its genuineness has been
doubted." In a footnote, this learned antiquarian gives the text of
the document, in the same terms as those in which they have been
already quoted from another source, and which, he says, is "from
a copy of the 17th century." "If the charter be genuine," he adds,
"it is not of Alexander III., or connected with the battle of Largs
(1263). Two of the witnesses, Andrew, Bishop of Moray, and Henry de
Baliol, Chamberlain, would correspond with the 16th year of
Alexander II." He further says that "the writers of the history of
the Mackenzies assert also charters of David II. (1360) and of
Robert II. (1380) to `Murdo filius Kennethi de Kintail,' but without
furnishing any description or means of testing their authenticity.
No such charters are recorded."
This is emphatic enough and to every unprejudiced mind absolutely
conclusive. The sixteenth year of the reign of Alexander II. was
1230; for he ascended the throne in 1214. It necessarily follows that
the charter, if signed at all, must have been signed thirty-three
years before the battle of Largs, and thirty-six years earlier than
the actual date written on the document itself. If it had any
existence before it appeared in the Earl of Cromartie's manuscript
of the seventeenth century, it must have been written during the
lives of the witnesses whose names attest it. That is, according to
those who maintain that Colin Fitzgerald was the progenitor of the
Mackenzies, thirty-one years before that adventurer ever crossed the
Irish Channel, and probably several years before he was born, if he
ever existed elsewhere than in the Earl of Cromartie's fertile
imagination.
But this is not all. It has long been established beyond any
possible doubt that the Earls of Ross were the superiors of the
lands of Kintail during the identical period in which the same lands
are said to have been held by Colin Fitzgerald and his descendants
as direct vassals of the Crown. Ferchard Mac an t-Sagairt, Earl
of Ross, received a grant of the lands of Kintail from Alexander
II. for services rendered to that monarch in 1222, and he is again
on record as their possessor in 1234, four years after the latest
date on which the reputed charter to Colin Fitzgerald, keeping
in view the witnesses whose names appear on the face of it, could
possibly have been a genuine document. Even the most prominent of
the clan historians who have so stoutly maintained the Fitzgerald
theory felt bound to admit that, "it cannot be disputed that the
Earl of Ross was the Lord paramount under Alexander II., by whom
Farquhard Mac an t-Sagairt was recognised in the hereditary dignity
of his predecessors, and who, by another tradition," Dr George
Mackenzie says, "was a real progenitor of the noble family of
Kintail." That the Earls of Ross continued lords paramount long
after the death of Colin Fitzgerald, which event is said to have
taken place in 1278, will be incontestibly proved.
But meantime let us return to the 'Origines Parochiales Scotiae.'
There we have it stated on authority which no one whose opinion
is worth anything will for a moment call in question. The editor
of that remarkable work says:- "In 1292 the Sheriffdom of Skye
erected by King John Baliol, included the lands of the Earl of Ross
in North Argyle, a district which comprehended Kintail and several
other large parishes in Ross (Acts of Parliament of Scotland, Vol.
1. p. 917). Between 1306 and 1329 King Robert Bruce confirmed to
the Earl of Ross all his lands including North Argyle (Robertson's
Index, p. 16, No. 7; Register of Moray, p. 342). In 1342, William,
Earl of Ross, the son and heir of the deceased Hugh, Earl of Ross,
granted to Reginald, the son of Roderick (Ranald Rorissoune or
MacRuaraidh) of the Isles, the ten davochs (or pennylands) of
Kintail in North Argyle (Robertson's Index, p. 48, No. 1; p. 99;
p. 100, No. 1). The grant was afterwards confirmed by King David II.
(Robertson's Index). About the year 1346 Ranald was succeeded by his
sister Amie, the wife of John of Isla (Gregory p. 27). Between the
years 1362 and 1372, William, Earl of Ross, exchanged with his
brother Hugh of Ross, Lord of Phylorth, and his heirs, his lands of
all Argyle, with the Castle of Ellandonnan, for Hugh's lands in
Buchan (Balnagown Charters). In 1463 the lands of Kintail were held
by Alexander Mackenzie (Gregory, p, 83)," when the Mackenzies
obtained the first authentic charter on record as direct vassals from
the Crown.
During the whole of this period - for two hundred years - there is
no trace of Colin Fitzgerald or any of his descendants as superiors
of the lands of Kintail in terms of Alexander III.'s reputed charter
of 1266, the Mackenzies holding all that time from and as direct
vassals of their relatives, the Earls of Ross, who really held
the position of Crown vassals which, according to the upholders
of the Fitzgerald theory, had that theory been true, would have
been held by Colin and his posterity. But neither he nor any
of his reputed descendants appear once on record in that capacity
during the whole of these two centuries. On the contrary, it has
now been proved from unquestionable authentic sources that Kintail
was in possession of the Earls of Ross in, and for at least two
generations before, 1296; that King Robert the Bruce confirmed
him in these lands in 1306, and again in 1329; that in 1342 Earl
William granted the ten davochs or pennylands of Kintail - which
is its whole extent - to Reginald of the Isles; that this grant
was afterwards confirmed by David II.; and that between the years
1362 and 1372 the Earl of Ross exchanged the lands of Kintail,
including the Castle of Ellandonnan, with his brother Hugh for
lands in Buchan.
These historical events could never have occurred had the Mackenzies
occupied the position as immediate vassals of the Crown contended
for by the supporters of the Fitzgerald theory of the origin of
the clan. It is admitted by those who uphold the claims of Colin
Fitzgerald that the half of Kintail belonged to Farquhar O'Beolan,
Earl of Ross, after what they describe as the other half had been
granted by the King to Colin Fitzgerald. But as it is conclusively
established that the ten pennylands, being the whole extent of
Kintail were all the time, before and after, in possession of the
Earls of Ross, this historical myth must follow the rest. Even the
Laird of Applecross, in his MS. history of the clan, written in 1669,
although he adopts the Fitzgerald theory from his friend and
contemporary the Earl of Cromartie, has his doubts. After quoting the
statement, that "the other half of Kintail at this time belonged to
O'Beolan, whose chief, called Farquhar, was created Earl of Ross, and
that his lands in Kintail were given by the King to Colin Fitzgerald,"
he says, "this tradition carries enough of probability to found
historical credit, but I find no charter of these lands purporting
any such grounds for that the first charter of Kintail is given by
this King Alexander to this Colin, anno 1266." That is, Alexander III.
But enough has been said on this part of the subject. Let us, however,
briefly quote two well-known modern writers. The late Robert
Carruthers, LL.D., Inverness, had occasion several years ago to examine
the Seaforth family papers for the purpose of reviewing them in the
'North British Quarterly Review.' He did not publish all that he had
written on the subject, and he was good enough to present the writer,
when preparing the first edition of this work, with some valuable MS.
notes on the clan which had not before appeared in print. In one of
these notes Dr Carruthers says -
"The chivalrous and romantic origin of the Clan Mackenzie, though
vouched for by certain charters and local histories, is now believed
to be fabulous. It seems to have been first advanced in the 17th
century, when there was an absurd desire and ambition in Scotland
to fabricate or magnify all ancient and lordly pedigrees. Sir
George Mackenzie of Tarbat, the Lord Advocate, and Sir George
Mackenzie, the first Earl of Cromartie, were ready to swear to the
descent of the Scots nation from Gathelus, son of Cecrops, King
of Athens, and Scota his wife, daughter of Pharaoh, King of Egypt;
and, of course, they were no less eager to claim a lofty and
illustrious lineage for their own clan. But authentic history
is silent as to the two wandering Irish Knights, and the reputed
charter (the elder one being palpably erroneous) cannot now be found.
For two centuries after the reigns of the Alexanders, the district of
Kintail formed part of the lordship of the Isles, and was held by the
Earls of Ross. The Mackenzies, however, can he easily traced to
their wild mountainous and picturesque country - Ceann-da-Shail -
the Head of the two Seas."
This is from an independent, impartial writer who had no interest
whatever in supporting either the one theory or the other.
Sir William Fraser, the well-known author of so many valuable private
family histories, incidentally refers to the forged charter in
his 'Earls of Cromartie,' written specially for the late Duke of
Sutherland. He was naturally unwilling to offend the susceptibilities
of the Mackenzie chiefs, all of whom had hitherto claimed Colin
Fitzgerald as their progenitor, but he was forced to admit the
inconclusive character of the disputed charter, and that no such
charter was granted to Colin Fitzgerald by Alexander III. Sir
William says:- "In the middle of the seventeenth century, when
Lord Cromartie wrote his history, the means of ascertaining, by the
names of witnesses and other ways, the true granter of a charter
and the date were not so accessible as at present. The mistake
of attributing the Kintail charter to King Alexander the Third,
instead of King Alexander the Second, cannot be regarded as a
very serious error in the circumstances." Sir William, it will
be observed, gives up the charter from Alexander III. The mere
admission that it is not of Alexander III. is conclusive against
its ever having been granted to Colin Fitzgerald at all, for, as
already pointed out, that adventurer, if he ever existed, did not,
even according to his stoutest supporters, cross the Irish Channel,
nor was he ever heard of on this side of it, for more than thirty
years after the date written on the face of the document itself
could possibly have been genuine, the witnesses whose names
appear as attesting it having been in there graves for more than
a generation before the battle of Largs was fought.
When the ablest upholders of the Colin Fitzgerald theory are obliged
to make such admissions and explanations as these, they explain
away their whole case and they must be held to have practically
given it up; for once admit, as Sir William Fraser does, that the
charter is of the reign of Alexander II. (1230), it cannot possibly
have any reference to Colin Fitzgerald, who, according to those
who support the Irish origin of the clan, only arrived in Scotland
from Ireland in 1262 and it is equally absurd and impossible to
maintain that a charter granted in 1230 could have been a reward
for services rendered or valour displayed at the battle of Largs,
which was fought in 1263, to say nothing of the now admittedly
impossible date and signatures written on the face of the document
itself; and Sir William Fraser having, by the logic of facts,
been forced to give up that crucial point, should in consistency
have at the same time given up Colin Fitzgerald. And in reality
he practically did so, for having stated that the later reputed
charters of 1360 and 1380 are not now known to exist, he adds, "But
the terms of them as quoted in the early histories of the family
are consistent with either theory of the origin of the Mackenzies,
whether descended from Colin Fitzgerald or Colin of the Aird."
In this he is quite correct; but it is impossible to say the same
thing of the earlier charter, which all the authorities worth
listening to now admit to be a palpable forgery of the seventeenth
century; and Sir William virtually admits as much.
There is one other fact which alone would be almost conclusive
against the Fitzgerald theory. Not a single man of the name Colin
is found, either among the chiefs or members of the clan from their
first appearance in history until we come to Colin cam Mackenzie
XI. of Kintail, who succeeded in June, 1568 - a period of three
hundred years after the alleged date of the reputed charter to
Colin Fitzgerald. Colin Cam was a second son, his eldest brother,
Murdoch, having died during his father's life and before he attained
majority, when Colin became heir to the estates. It was then, as
now, a common custom to name the second son after some prominent
member of his mother's family, and this was, no doubt, what was
done in the case of Colin Cam, the first Colin who appears - as
late as the middle of the sixteenth century - in the genealogy of
the Mackenzies. His mother was Lady Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of
John, Earl of Atholl, by Lady Mary Campbell, daughter of Archibald,
second, and sister of Colin, third Earl of Argyll. Colin Cam
Mackenzie, XI. of Kintail, and the first of the name in the family
genealogy, was thus called Colin by his mother, Lady Elizabeth
Stewart, after her uncle Colin, third Earl of Argyll.
It scarcely needs to be pointed out how very improbable it is that,
had Colin Fitzgerald been really the progenitor of the Mackenzies,
his name would have been so completely ignored as a family name for
more than three hundred years in face of the invariable custom among
all other notable Highland houses of honouring their direct
ancestors by continuing their names as the leading names in the
family genealogy.
It is believed that no one who brings an independent, unprejudiced.
mind to bear upon the question discussed in the preceding pages can
help coming to the conclusion that the Colin Fitzgerald theory is
completely disposed of. It is indeed extremely doubtful whether
such a person ever existed, but in any case it has been conclusively
proved by the evidence of those who claim him as their ancestor
that he never could have been what they allege - the progenitor
of the Mackenzies, whom all the best authorities now maintain to
be of purely native Celtic origin. And if this be so, is it not
unpatriotic in the highest degree for the heads of our principal
Mackenzie families to persist in supplying Burke, Foster, and other
authors of Peerages, Baronet ages, and County Families, with the
details of an alien Irish origin like the impossible Fitzgerald myth
upon which they have, in entire error, been feeding their vanity
since its invention by the first Earl of Cromartie little more
than two hundred years ago. For be it remembered that all these
Norman and Florentine pedigrees and descents are supplied to
the compilers of such genealogical works as those by members of
the respective families themselves, and that the editors are not
personally responsible for nor do they in any way guarantee their
accuracy. It is really difficult to understand the feeling that
has so long prompted most of our leading Highlanders to show such
an unnatural and unpatriotic preference for alien progenitors -
claiming the Norman enemies and conquerers of their country, or
mythical Irish adventurers, as ancestors to be proud of. Writing of
the clans who claim this alien origin the late Dr W. F. Skene,
Historiographer Royal for Scotland, says -
"As the identity of the false aspect which the true tradition,
assumes in all these cases implies that the case was the same
all, we may assume that wherever these two circumstances are to be
found combined, of a clan claiming a foreign origin and asserting
a marriage with the heiress of a Highland family whose estates
they possessed and whose followers they led, they must invariably
have been the oldest cadet of that family, who, by usurpation or
otherwise, had become de facto chief of the clan, and who covered
their defect by right of blood by denying their descent from the
clan, and asserting that the founder had married the heiress of
its chief." ['Highlands and Highlanders.']
In his later and more important work the same learned historian
discusses this question at great length. He analyses all
the doubtful pedigrees and origins claimed by the leading clans.
Regarding the Fitzgerald theory he says, "But the most remarkable
of these spurious origins is that claimed by the Mackenzies. It
appears to have been first put forward by Sir George Mackenzie,
first Earl of Cromarty," who, in his first manuscript, made Colin
a son of the Earl of Kildare, but in a later edition, written in
1669, "finding that there was no Earl of Kildare until 1290, he
corrects it by making him son of John Fitz-Thomas, chief of the
Geraldines in Ireland, and father of John, first Earl of Kildare,
who was slain in 1261." Dr Skene then summarises the story already
known at length to the reader, quotes the Record of Icolmkill
and the forged charter, and concludes -
"The same mistake is here committed as is usual in manufacturing
these pedigree charters, by making it a crown charter erecting the
lands into a barony. Kintail could not have been a barony at
that time, and the Earl of Ross and not the king was superior,
for in 1342 the Earl of Ross grants the ten davochs of the lands
of Kintail to Reginald, son of Roderick of the Isles, and we
find that the Mackenzies held their lands of the Earls of Ross
and afterwards of the Duke of Ross till 1508, when they were all
erected into a barony by King James the Fourth, who gave them a
crown charter. An examination of the witnesses usually detects
these spurious charters, and in this case it is conclusive against
the charter. Andrew was bishop of Moray from 1223 to 1242 and
there was no bishop of that name in the reign of Alexander the
Third. Henry de Baliol was chamberlain in the reign of Alexander
the Second, and not of Alexander the Third. Thomas Hostarius
belongs to the same reign, and has been succeeded by his son Alan
long before the date of this charter."