with Edward I. and Robert the Bruce, and was imprisoned in London
1296-97. In 1306 he delivered up to the English King, Robert
Bruce's Queen, Isabella, his daughter Marjory, his sister Mary,
the brave Countess of Buchan, and other ladies of distinction, who
bad for a time found shelter and protection in the Sanctuary of
St. Duthus, at Tain, from the English oppressors of their country.
In 1309 he obtained a new grant of his lands. By his wife, one of
the Grahams of Montrose, he had issue -
1. Hugh, his heir and successor.
2. Sir John, who married his second cousin, Margaret, daughter of
Alexander, Earl of Buchan.
3. Isabella, who married Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick, brother
of King Robert the Bruce.
4. A daughter who, as her second husband, married Malise, Earl of
Stratherne, with issue - four daughters, the eldest of whom married
William St. Clair, Baron of Roslin, whose son Henry afterwards
succeeded in right of his mother to the earldom of Stratherne.
He died at Delny, in Easter Ross, in 1323, and was succeeded by
his eldest son, IV. HUGH O'BEOLAN, EARL OF ROSS. He received
charters, of Strathglass and of the Isle of Skye. He married first,
in 1308, Maud or Matilda, sister of King Robert the Bruce, with
issue -
1. William, his heir and successor.
2. Hugh Ross of Rarichies, from whom the Old Rosses of Balnagown,
of whom the last representative in the male line was the late
George Ross of Pitcalnie. This Hugh obtained the lands of Philorth
in Aberdeen-shire, and between 1362 and 1372 he exchanged them with
his brother, Earl Hugh, for the lands of North Argyle, including
the Castle of Ellandonnan. The territories exchanged included
Strathglass, Kintail, and other lands in Wester Ross.
3. Janet, who married, first, Monimusk of Monimusk and, secondly,
Sir Alexander Murray of Abercairny.
4. Euphemia or Eupham, who married, first, Randolph, Earl of Moray,
who was killed at the battle of Durham, and secondly, her cousin,
King Robert II., grandson of Robert the Bruce and first of the
Stuart dynasty. This marriage being within the prohibited degrees
of consanguinity a special dispensation was obtained from Pope
Innocent VI. for its celebration in 1355. She died in 1372.
Earl Hugh married, secondly, also by dispensation from the Pope,
in 1329, Margaret, daughter of Sir David de Graham.
The Earl was killed at the battle of Halidon Hill in 1333, when he
was succeeded by his eldest son, V. WILLIAM O'BEOLAN, EARL OF
ROSS AND LORD OF SKYE, banished to Norway for some serious
offence, but in 1336 he is found in actual possession of the
earldom. He was afterwards Justiciar of Scotland, and in a charter
of 1374 he is designated "frater Regis," or the King's brother, no
doubt from the fact that his sister Euphemla was the wife of
Robert II. He rebuilt the Abbey of Fearn, and married his cousin
Isobel, daughter of Malise, Earl of Stratherne, Orkney, and
Caithness, with issue -
1. William, who died before his father
2. Euphemia, who became Countess of Ross in her own right on the
death of her father.
3. Johanna, who, in 1375, married Sir Alexander Fraser, Lord of
Cowie and Durris, ancestor of the Frasers of Philorth and Pitsligo,
now represented by Lord Saltoun. Johanna first carried the lands
of Philorth to that family. She has a charter in 1370.
William died on the 9th of February, 1372, without surviving male
issue, when he was succeeded by his eldest daughter,
VI. EUPHEMIA O'BEOLAN, COUNTESS OF ROSS in her own right.
She married first, by dispensation, dated 1367, Sir Walter Leslie,
son of Sir Andrew Leslie, who in right of his wife became Earl of
Ross. They have a charter of the earldom of Ross and of the lands
of Skye dated 1370, two years before Earl William's death, in their
own favour and that of their heirs male and female in reversion.
Her first husband predeceased her in 1382, whereupon she married,
secondly, Alexander, Earl of Buchan, better known in history as
"The Wolf of Badenoch." He died, without issue, in 1394. She died
Abbess of Elcho in 1398, and was buried in Fortrose Cathredral. By
Sir Walter Leslie she had issue -
1. Sir Alexander Leslie, who became Earl of Ross in right of his
mother.
2. Margaret Leslie, who married Donald, second Lord of the Isles,
who in her right, after fighting the battle of Harlaw, succeeded to
the earldom of Ross, and carried it to a new family, the Macdonald
Lords of the isles.
When the Countess Euphemia died, in 1398, she was succeeded by
her only son,
VII. SIR ALEXANDER LESLIE, EARL OF ROSS, who married Isabella,
daughter of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, Governor of Scotland,
and by her had issue an only daughter, Lady Euphemia, or Mary, who
became a nun, and resigned the earldom in favour of her maternal
uncle, John, Earl of Buchan. Donald, Lord of the Isles, who married
her father's sister, Margaret, disputed Euphemia's right to put the
earldom past her aunt, and the battle of Harlaw was fought in 1411
to decide the issue, which, as already stated, turned, so far as the
possession of the great earldom was concerned, in favour of the Lord
of the Isles, since known as Donald of Harlaw. From this point the
history of the earldom falls properly to be dealt with and is given
at length in 'The History of the Macdonalds and Lords of the Isles.'
But thus far it cannot fail to be extremely interesting to all the
members of the clan Mackenzie, whether they believe in the
Gillanders and O'Beolans or in the Fitzgeralds as the progenitors of
the race; for in any case the clan was in its earlier annals closely
allied with the O'Beolan Earls of Ross by descent and marriage.
It has been established that Gillanders and O'Beolan were the names
of the ancient and original Earls of Ross, and they continued to be
represented in the male line by the Old Rosses of Balnagowan down
to the end of the eighteenth century, when the last heir male of
that family, finding that the entail ended with himself, sold the
estates to General Ross, brother of Lord Ross of Hawkhead, who,
although possessing the same name, was of a different family
and origin. It will, it is believed, be now admitted with equal
certainty that the Rosses and the Mackenzies are descended from
the same progenitor, Beolan or Gilleoin na h'Airde, the undoubted
common ancestor of the old Earls of Ross, the Gillanders, and the
Rosses. The various steps in the earliest portion of the genealogy
connecting the Mackenzies with the common ancestor will be given
with the same detail as that of the Rosses, and it will be stated
with sufficient accuracy to justify the conclusions at which, in
common with Dr Skene and all the best authorities on the subject,
we have arrived. The genealogy of the Clan Andres or Rosses in
the manuscript of 1467, is as follows:
"Pol ic Tire, ic Eogan, ic Muiredaigh, ic Poil, ic Gilleanrias,
ic Martain, ic Poil, ic Cainig, ic Cranin, ic Eogan, ic Cainic,
ic Cranin, McGilleoin na h'Airde, ic Eirc, ic Loirn, ic Fearchar,
Mc Cormac, ic Abertaig, ic Feradaig."
Dr Skene's translation -
"Paul son of Tire, son of Ewen, son of Murdoch, son of Paul, son
of Gillanrias, son of Martin, son of Paul, son of Kenneth, son of
Crinan, son of Ewen, son of Kenneth, son of Crinan, son of Gilleoin
of the Aird, son of Erc, son of Lorn, son of Ferchar, son of
Cormac, son of Oirbeirtaigh, son of Feradach."
The Mackenzie genealogy in the same MS. is -
"Muiread ic Cainig, Mc Eoin, ic Cainig, ic Aengusa, ic Cristin,
ic Agam, Mc Gilleoin Qig, ic Gilleon na h'Aird."
Skene's translation follows -
"Murdoch son of Kenneth, son of John, son of Kenneth, son of Angus,
son of Cristin, son of Adam, son of Gilleoin Og, son of Gilleoin
of the Aird."
Skene makes an important correction on this genealogy in his
later work, 'Celtic Scotland,' Vol. III., p. 485, by substituting
Cainig - Kenneth, for Agam - Adam, in his original reading. In
this form the genealogy of 1467 corresponds exactly, so far as it
goes, with that given by MacVuirich in the Black Book of Clanranald.
In 1222 "Gilchrist filius Kinedi," Gillecriosd son of Kenneth, is
on record as a follower of MacWilliam. Cristean is the ordinary
Gaelic form of Christopher, otherwise Gilchrist, or Gillecriosd.
There is thus no doubt that the "Cristin" of the Gaelic genealogy
is the same name as Gillecriosd, Gilchrist, and Christopher.
In the MacVuirich manuscript, however, several names are given
between Gilleoin Og and Gilleoin na h'Airde which are absent from
the manuscript of 1467; for while we have thirteen generations in
the Clan Anrias or Ross genealogy in the latter between Paul Mac
Tire and Gilleoin of the Aird, we have only eight in the Mackenzie
genealogy between Murdoch of the Cave, who was contemporary with
Mac Tire, and their common ancestor Gilleoin of the Aird, or
Beolan. In the MacVuirich manuscript there are fifteen generations,
translated thus -
"Murdoch son of Kenneth, son of John, son of Kenneth, son of Angus
'crom,' or the hump-backed, son of Kenneth, son of Gilleoin Og,
son of Gilleoin Mor, or the Great, son of Murdoch, son of Duncan,
son of Murdoch, son of Duncan, son of Murdoch, son of Kenneth,
son of Cristin, or Christopher, son of Gilleoin of the Aird."
The genealogies of the three families as brought out by these
manuscripts, are shown in the following table:--
GILLEOIN OF THE AIRD.
|
+------------------------------+------------------+
|CLAN ANRIAS. | MACKENZIES. |
+------------------------------+------------------+
| Crinan | Cristin |
| Kenneth | Kenneth |
| Ewen | Murdoch |
| Crinan | Duncan |
| Kenneth | Murdoch |
| Paul | Duncan |
| Martin | Murdoch |
| Gillanrias | Gilleoin Mor |
+---------|--------------------| Gilleoin Og |
| | Kenneth |
+-------------------+------------------+ | Angus Crom |
| EARLS OF ROSS | ROSSES | | Kenneth |
+-------------------+------------------+ | John |
| The Priest-"An | Paul | | Kenneth |
| Sagart" | Murdoch | | Murdoch of the |
| I. Ferquhard "Mac | Ewen | | Cave who died |
| an t'Sagairt" | Tire | | in 1375 |
| II. William | Paul Mac Tire | +------------------+
| III. William | who has a |
| IV. Hugh | charter of the |
| V. William who | lands of |
| died in 1372 | Garloch from |
| | the Earl of |
| | Ross in 1366, |
| | confirmed in |
| | 1372. |
+-------------------+------------------+
There would seem to be no doubt that "Tire" or Tyre, stands here
and elsewhere for "An t'Oighre," or the Heir, and Paul "Mac Tire"
for Pol " Mac-an-Oighre," or Son of the Heir. It will be observed
that Colin does not appear once in these early genealogies, and it
has been already pointed out that no trace of it is found anywhere
as a family name until the middle of the sixteenth century, when
it was introduced by the marriage of one of the Mackenzie chiefs
to a daughter of the Earl of Atholl, whose mother was Lady Mary
Campbell, and who, calling her second son after her own uncle
Colin, third Earl of Argyll, for the first time brought that name
into the family genealogy of Kintail.
It will also be seen as we proceed, although the Earls of Ross were
superiors of the lands of Kintail as part of the earldom, and that
it was therefore impossible that Colin Fitzgerald or any other person
than those earls could have had a gift of it from the Crown, that
the Mackenzies occupied the lands and the castle, not as immediate
vassals; of the King, but of their own near relatives, the O'Beolan
Earls of Ross and their successors, for at least two hundred years
before the Mackenzies received a grant of it for themselves direct
from the Crown. This is proved beyond dispute by genuine historical
documents. Until within a few years of the final forfeiture of
the Lords of the Isles in 1476, the Mackenzies undoubtedly held
their lands, first from the O'Beolan Earls and subsequently from
the Island Lords as Earls of Ross; for the first direct Crown
charter to any chief of Kintail of which we have authentic record,
is one dated the 7th of January, 1463, in favour of Alexander
"Ionraic," the sixth Baron.
To show the intimate relations which existed between the original
Earls of Ross and the ancestor of the Mackenzies, a quotation
may be given from a manuscript history of the clan written by Dr
George Mackenzie, nephew of Kenneth Mor, third Earl of Seaforth,
in the seventeenth century. Although he is a supporter of the
Fitzgerald origin, he is forced to say that, "at the same time
(1267) William, Earl of Ross, laying a claim of superiority over
the Western Isles, thought this a fit opportunity to seize the
Castle of Ellandonnan. He sent a messenger to his Kintail men to
send their young chieftain to him as being his nearest kinsman by
marriage with his aunt." He then goes on to say, that Kenneth,
not Colin, was joined by the MacIvers, Macaulays, MacBeolans, and
Clan Tarlichs, "the ancient inhabitants of Kintail," and refused to
surrender, when "the Earl of Ross attacked them and was beaten."
Had there been no previous kinship between the two families - and
no one will now attempt with any show of reason to maintain
that there was not - this marriage of William, the second Earl, to
Kenneth's aunt would have made the youthful Kenneth, ancestor of
the Mackenzies, first cousin, on the maternal side, to William
O'Beolan, the third Earl of that line, whose wife and therefore
Kintail's aunt, was Joan, sister of John, the Black Comyn, Lord
of Badenoch. It has further been proved to a demonstration, and
it is now admitted by all the best authorities, that the O'Beolan
Earls of Ross were descended from Gilleoin na h' Airde; and so are
the Mackenzies, who from the first formed an integral and most
important part of the ancient powerful native Gaelic tribes of
which the Earls of Ross were the chiefs.
It has been shown that Kenneth, from whom the Mackenzies take
their name, was closely allied by marriage with William, second
Earl of Ross, the latter having married Kenneth's maternal aunt.
This fact by itself would be sufficient to establish the high
position, which even at that early period, was occupied by Kenneth,
who was already very closely connected with the O'Beolan Earls of
Ross by blood and marriage.
Kenneth himself married Morna or Morba, daughter of Alexander
Macdougall, styled, "De Ergedia," Lord of Lorn by a daughter
of John, the first Red Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, who died in 1273.
Kenneth's wife was thus a sister of John, the Black Comyn, who
died about 1299, having married Marjory, daughter of John Baliol,
by whom he had John, the second Red Comyn, one of the competitors
for the Scottish Crown, killed by Robert the Bruce in the Church
of Dumfries in 1306. Kenneth's issue by Morna or Morba of Lorn was
John Mackenzie, II. of Kintail, who was thus, through his mother,
third In descent from John, the first Red Comyn, who died in 1273,
and sixth from the great Somerled of the Isles, Thane of Argyle,
progenitor of the Macdougalls of Lorn and of all the Macdonalds,
who died in 1164.
John made even a more illustrious alliance than his father, by
which at that early date he introduced the Royal blood of Scotland
and England into the family of Kintail. He married his relative,
Margaret, sister of David, twelfth Earl of Atholl, slain in 1335,
and daughter of David, the eleventh Earl, who died in 1327 (whose
estates were forfeited by Edward I.), by Joan Comyn (died 1323),
daughter of the Red Comyn killed by Robert the Bruce, and great
granddaughter of John Baliol. Margaret's father, David, eleventh
Earl of Atholl who died in 1327, was the oldest son of John de
Strathbogie, tenth Earl, hanged by Edward I. Earl John's mother
was the Countess Isabel de Dover, who died at a very old age in
1292, daughter of Richard Fitzroy de Chillam (died 1216), a natural
son of King John of England.
Kenneth Mackenzie, III. of Kintail, the issue of this marriage, was
sixth in descent from John Baliol of the Royal line of Scotland
and sixth from King John of England.
The Norwegian blood of the Kings of Man was brought into the family
by the marriage of this Kenneth to Finguala, daughter of Torquil
Macleod, I. of Lewis, who was the grandson of Olave the Black,
Norwegian King of Man, who died about 1237, by his wife Christina,
daughter of Ferquhard "Mac an t'Sagairt," first O'Beolan Earl of
Ross.
The Royal blood of the Bruce was introduced by the marriage of
Murdoch Mackenzie, V. of Kintail, to Finguala, daughter of Malcolm
Macleod, III. of Harris (who has a charter in 1343), by Martha,
daughter of David, twelfth Earl of Mar, son of Gratney, eleventh
Earl (whose sister Isabel married Robert the Bruce) by his wife
Christina, daughter of Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, and sister
of King Robert the Bruce.
The Plantaganet blood-royal of England was introduced later by the
marriage of Kenneth Mackenzie, X. of Kintail, to Lady Elizabeth
Stewart, daughter of John, second Earl of Atholl, fourth in descent
from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, son of Edward III., and
father of Henry IV. of England, and this strain was strengthened and
continued by the marriage of Kenneth's son, Colin Cam Mackenzie,
XI. of Kintail, to his cousin Barbara, daughter of John Grant of
Grant by Lady Marjory Stewart, daughter of John, third Earl of
Atholl. It scarcely needs to be pointed out that, through these
inter-marriages, the Mackenzies are also descended from the
ancient Celtic MacAlpine line of Scottish Kings, from the original
Anglo-Saxon Kings of England, and from the oldest Scandinavian,
Charlemagne, and Capetian lines, as far back as the beginning of
the ninth century.
The origin of the O'Beolan Earls of Ross and the Mackenzies from
the same source is strikingly illustrated by their inter-marriages
into the same families and with each other's kindred. Both the
O'Beolans and the Mackenzies made alliances with the Comyns of
Badenoch, with the MacDougalls of Lorn, and subsequently with the
Macleods of Lewis and Harris, thus forming a network of cousinship
which ultimately included all the leading families in the Highlands,
every one of which, through these alliances, have the Royal blood
of all the English, Scottish, and Scandinavian Kings, and many of
the earlier foreign monarchs, coursing in their veins.
Surely this is a sufficiently ancient and illustrious origin and
much more satisfactory to every patriotic clansman than an Irish
adventurer like the reputed Colin Fitzgerald, who, if he ever
existed, had not and never could have had any connection with the
real origin of the Mackenzies, which was as purely native of the
Highlands as it was possible for any Scoto-Celtic family in those
days to be. The various genealogical steps and marriage alliances
already referred to will be confirmed in each individual case as
we proceed with the succession and history of the respective chiefs
of the family, beginning with the first of the line,
I. KENNETH, OR COINNEACH,
Who gave his name to the clan. His is the fourth ascending name
in the manuscript genealogy of 1467, which begins with Murdoch
of the Cave. Murdoch died in 1375, and was thus almost
contemporaneous with the author of the Gaelic genealogy, which,
translated, proceeds up to this Kenneth as follows: Murdoch, son
of Kenneth, son of John, son of Kenneth, and so on, as already
given at page 39 to Gilleoin of the Aird.
At this interesting stage it may be well to explain how the name
Mackenzie came to be pronounced and written as it now is. John,
the son of this Kenneth, would be called in the original native
Gaelic, "Ian Mac Choinnich," John, son of Kenneth. In that form
it was unpronounceable to those unacquainted with the native tongue.
The nearest approach the foreigner could get to its correct
enunciation would be Mac Coinni or Mac Kenny, which ultimately came
to be spelt Mac Kenzie, Z in those days having exactly the same
value and sound as the letter V; and the name, although spelt
with a Z instead of a Y would be pronounced Mac Kenny, as indeed
we pronounce in our own day, in Scotland, such names as Menzies,
Macfadzean, and several others, as if they were still written with
the letter Y. The two letters being thus of the same value, after
a time came to be used indiscriminately in the word Kenny or
Kenzie, and the letter z having subsequently acquired a different
value and sound of its own, more allied to the letter S than to the
original Y, the name is pronounced as if it were written Mackensie.
Kenneth was the son and heir of Angus, the direct representative
of a long line of ancestors up to Gilleoin na li'Airde, the common
progenitor of the O'Beolan Earls of Ross, the Clann Ghille-Andrais,
who about the end of the fourteenth century called themselves
Rosses, and of the Mackenzies. The close connection by blood and
marriage between the O'Beolan Earls of Ross and Kenneth's family
before and after this period has been already shown, but the ancient
ties of friendship had at this time become somewhat strained.
Kenneth succeeded to the government of Ellandonnan Castle, which
was garrisoned by his friends and supporters, the Macraes and the
Maclennans, who, even at that early date in large numbers occupied
Kintail. Kenneth, in fact, was Governor of the Castle, and was
otherwise becoming so powerful that his superior, the Earl, was
getting very jealous of him.
At this time the first Earl William laid claim to the superiority
of the Western Isles, which he and his father, Ferchair
Mac an t'Sagairt; were chiefly instrumental, among the followers
of Alexander III., in wresting from the Norwegians, and he was
naturally desirous to have the government of Ellandonnan Castle
in his own hands, or under the charge of some one less ambitious
than Kenneth, and on whom he could implicitly rely. Kenneth
was advancing rapidly both in power and influence among his more
immediate neighbours, who were mainly composed of the ancient
inhabitants of the district, the Mac Beolains, who occupied
Glenshiel and the south side of Loch Duich as far as Kylerhea; the
Mac Ivors, who inhabited Glen Lichd, the Cro of Kintail, and the
north side of Loch Duich; while the Mac Tearlichs, now calling
themselves Mac Erlichs or Charlesons, occupied Glenelchaig.
These aboriginal natives naturally supported Kenneth, who was one
of themselves, against the claims of his superior, the Earl, who
though a pure Highland Celt was less known in Kintail than the
Governor of the Castle. This only made the Earl more determined
than ever to obtain possession of the stronghold, and he peremptorily
requested the garrison to surrender it and Kenneth to him at once.
The demand was promptly refused; and finding that the Governor
was resolved to hold it at all hazards the Earl sent a strong
detachment to take it by storm.
Kenneth was readily joined by the surrounding tribes, among whom
were, along with those whose names have been already given, the
brave Macaulays of Lochbroom, who were distantly related to him.
By the aid of these reinforcements Kenneth was able to withstand
a desperate and gallant onset by the Earl and his followers, who
were defeated and driven back with great slaughter. This
exasperated the enemy so much that he soon after returned to the
charge with a largely increased force, at the same time threatening
the young governor with the utmost vengeance and final extirpation
unless he immediately capitulated. But before the Earl was able to
carry his threats into execution, be was overtaken by a severe
illness of which he very soon after died, in 1274. His son, the
second Earl William, did not persevere in his father's policy
against Kintail, and it was not long before his attention was
diverted into another channel. On the death of Alexander III., in
1286, the affairs of the nation became confused and distracted.
This was rather an advantage to Kenneth than otherwise, for, in the
general disorder which followed he was able to strengthen his
position among the surrounding tribes. Through a combination
of native prudence, personal popularity, and a growing power and
influence heightened by the eclat of his having so recently defeated
the powerful Earl of Ross, he succeeded in maintaining good order
in his own district, while his increasing influence was felt over
most of the Western Isles.
Kenneth married Morna or Morba, daughter of Alexander Macdougall
of Lorn, "de Ergedia," by a daughter of John the first Red Comyn,
and sister of John the Black Comyn, Earl of Badenoch. He died
in 1304 and was buried in Icolmkill, when he was succeeded by his
only son,
II. JOHN MAC KENNETH, OR MAC KENZIE,