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Amelia Volume 1 Chapter 3 |
Sketch of Scottish History, 1285-1390THE period succeeding the death of King Alexander III., in 1285, and of his young granddaughter, the Maiden of Norway, who died in September 1290, was the darkest of Scotland’s history, only illumined by the patriotism of William Wallace, and subsequently of Robert Bruce. After a miserable reign of four years, John Balliol attempted to contend against Edward I. of England, but sustained a severe defeat at the battle of Dunbar, 28th April 1296. Wallace, after a few years of heroic struggles to deliver his country, was eventually captured, and beheaded on the 22nd August 1305. Bruce, King Robert I., was crowned at Scone, 29th March 1306, and gained the victory of Bannockburn 23rd June 1314. After his early death (June 1329) Scotland’s troubles were again renewed, his son, David II., being only four years old at the time. Edward Balliol, son of John Baliol, invaded the country, gaining a victory at Dupplin, 1332, and Edward III. of England coming to his support, won the battle of Halidon Hill, near Berwick, 19th July 1333. But brave and skillful warriors were not wanting in Scotland, and having succeeded in winning back the castles and towns taken from them, they welcomed home in 1341 the young King David, who had taken refuge in France. Having subsequently invaded England, he was made prisoner at the battle of Neville’s Cross, near Durham, 17th October 1346, and remained in captivity till Scotland was able to ransom him in 1359. Peace was at length restored, till the death of David II., February 1370-71. The dynasty of the Stewarts now came to the throne. Walter, the Lord High Steward of Scotland, having married Lady Marjory Bruce, eldest daughter of King Robert I., their son Robert Stewart succeeded his uncle as King Robert II., and reigned till his death, April 1390. [page 25} All that is known of the ClanGregor during this stormy period is ably discussed in a paper by Mr. Donald Gregory, entitled “Historical Notices of the ClanGregor,” which Essay was read to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 22nd March 1830, and printed in the “Archaeologia Scotica,” vol. iv. As this paper is now out of print, and not in general circulation, quotations may here be freely given. [1] “An early, if not the original, seat of the ClanGregor (one of the few families in the Highlands which, so far as male descent is concerned, can be regarded as purely Celtic), a family which is generally allowed to be one of the most ancient and renowned of the Highland tribes, was the valley of Glenurchy, in the district of Lorn. From Glenurchy, accordingly, they took their style for many generations. “It appears that John of Glenurchy - the chief, probably, of the family - was made prisoner by King Edward of England at the battle of Dunbar, anno 1296; and that he had afterwards his lands and possessions restored by order of that monarch, on condition of going to France to serve him in his wars in that kingdom. In the public instruments connected with the fate of those of the Scottish leaders captured at Dunbar, John de Glenurchy is ranked as one of the “Magnates Scotiae,” a proof that his possessions holding of the Crown were far from inconsiderable. This individual had - as would seem - died in France; for his name does not again appear in any of the transactions of the period. He left a daughter and heiress, Margaret, who carried the Barony of Glenurchy to her husband, John, son of Sir Neil Campbell of Lochawe, by Lady Mary Bruce, sister of King Robert. This John Campbell, on whose mother her Royal brother had conferred the Earldom of Athole, became in her right Earl of Athole. He fell in the battle Halidon Hill, anno 1333, leaving issue by his wife, [2] a child, who survived a few years only. On the death of this child, the Barony of Glenurchy appears to have returned to the family of MacGregor, for there is undoubted evidence of the death so late as 1390, of John MacGregor of Glenurchy. I have been thus minute in tracing the history of this barony, as I conceive it to have been the last freehold possession of any consequence held by the name of MacGregor.” In the “Chartulary,” the documents connected with Edward I.’s prisoners are given at full length. “Johannes de Glenurchart, one of several ‘Scottish Magnates’ is taken prisoner in the battle of Dunbar. “Mandate by Edward I. of England, 31st of July 1297, bearing the title, ‘King [page 26} Edward commands that the Scottish Magnates captured in the battle of Dunbar, and about to fight for him in France and elsewhere, be liberated from prison - (Rotuli Scotiae) - 1297, July 31st.’ ‘The King (Edward I.) to the Constable of the Castle of Berkhamsted, greeting. Whereas John de Glenurchart, lately captured in the conflict that took place betwixt us and the Scots at Dunbar, and by our command detained in the prison of the said castle, hath found before our beloved and faithful Walter de Bello Campo (Beauchamp), Steward of our household, sufficient bail that he shall immediately pass with us in our service to the countries beyond seas, and that he shall well and faithfully serve us against the King of France, and other Rebels and Enemies to us in time to come, as in the foresaid Bail Bond, recorded in presence of the said Steward, is fully contained. We command you that ye cause ye body of the foresaid John to be liberated from our prison of the said castle without any delay whatsoever in the foresaid manner.’ ” - Rotuli Scotiae. The following remarks from the “Chartulary” relate to the same personage :- “Charter by King David II. of Scotland ‘To Margaret de Glenurchy and to John Campbell, her spouse’ (Earl of Atholl), ‘of the lands of Glenurchy.’ ” [3] Between 1329, June 28th, death of King Robert Bruce; and 1333 July 19th, battle of Halidon Hill. “John Campbell, younger son of Sir Neil Campbell of Lochaw by Lady Mary Bruce, sister of King Robert I., was created Earl of Atholl on the forfeiture of David de Strathbogie, circiter 1314. He married Margaret, heiress of Glenurchy, daughter, most probably, of John de Glenurchart, captured at the Battle of Dunbar, 1296; who had, in virtue of a warrant by Edward I. of England, 31st July (same year), been ordered to deliver up his eldest son (if he had one) as a hostage. It is unknown whether he had a son. John Campbell, Earl of Atholl, was killed at the Battle of Halidon Hill.” The “Historical Notices” proceed :- “Glendochart is another district with which the Clan appears to have been connected at an early period. John Glendochir witnesses a charter by Malduin, third, [page 27} Earl of Lennox, 3d March 1238, and Malcolm and Patrick de Glendochart, probably sons of John, do homage to Edward I. at Berwick-upon-Tweed, 28th August 1296, being a short while after the disastrous conflict of Dunbar. In the lists of the Scots on this occasion, printed by Prynne, Malcolm de Glendochart is mentioned twice, and in separate places, once as Malcolm de Glendochart simply, and again, in company with amongst others Alexander de Argyle ( Lord of Lorn), as King’s Tenant in Perthshire. From these facts the obvious inference is, that Malcolm de Glendochart held lands both as a free baron and as a kindly tenant. That the individuals designed of Glendochart were MacGregors appears highly probable, when, in addition to the well-known fact of the long settlement of the Clan in this quarter, we find that the names Malcolm and Patrick were common in the tribe. “But these were not the only territories in which the ClanGregor succeeded in gaining a footing. The numbers of the name that have for centuries been found in the adjacent districts of Rannoch, Glenlyon, Glenlochy, Strathfillan, and Balquhidder, and in Breadalbane generally, to all of which there is easy access from Glenurchy, testify the ancient power of the family, and warrant the supposition that parts at least of these ample territories were held as free baronies by the chieftains of the Clan. “If this supposition be thought not unreasonable, it will not be difficult to account for the loss of many of these possessions under the reign of Robert Bruce. “The Lord of Lorn, who married a sister of John Cumin the Black, brother-in-law of King John Baliol, took, as is well known, a very active part in favour of Baliol, and after the dethronement of that unfortunate prince, attached himself to the Cumin party, displaying a constant and energetic opposition to the claims of Bruce. The family of MacGregor, from the situation of their principal property, Glenurchy, in Lorn, and, probably through their possessions in Perthshire also, were necessarily in strict alliance and otherwise closely connected with the house of Lorn, and would naturally follow the fortunes of that very powerful family, in a question more especially admitting of so much dispute as that of the succession to the Scottish Crown. We find, accordingly, that Bruce had no sooner established himself on the throne, than the house of Lorn, with all its followers and allies, suffered severely by forfeiture. Nor were the MacGregors exempted from their share of the loss. Glenurchy could not be forfeited, being the property of an heiress and a minor; but the wardship and the marriage were probably given by the King to Sir Neil Campbell of Lochawe, his brother-in-law. Glendochart was granted to Alexander Menzies, who had married Egidia, sister to the High Steward, husband to the Princess Marjory Bruce. The barony of Fortingal became, by the royal bounty, the property of Thomas Menzies, son, probably, of Alexander; and part of Rannoch fell by the same process to the ancestor of the family of Strowan Robertson, who had been a staunch adherent to Bruce. To the power of the ClanGregor these various grants must have given a fatal [page 28} blow; and it is from this reign that we must date the downfall of this ancient tribe. “Some of the Clan however appear to have taken the other side, for in 1293 John Baliol, then King of Scotland, issued a mandate to Alexander de Ergadia (Lord of Lorn), and to the Bailie of Lochawe, charging them to summon ‘Sir Angus MacDonald, Knight, Lawmund MacGregor, and Angus, son of Duncan MacGregor,’ to appear in the royal presence on a specified day, to do homage, and various other things obligatory upon them. The first of these three individuals is evidently the son and heir of the Lord of the Isles, and the same as he who proved afterwards so steady a friend to Robert Bruce. It would thus seem that Sir Angus; and the two MacGregors mentioned along with him, and who, from the terms of the writ, are evidently free barons holding their lands of the Crown, had not acquiesced in the award which placed Baliol on the Scottish throne; an inference which, as it seems perfectly legitimate, will serve to account for Glenurchy’s being, as we have seen, in 1390, the property of John MacGregor. This, however, did not prevent the chiefs of the Campbells who, by their close alliance with the new dynasty, had now commenced that rise which has not been less permanent than it was rapid, from acquiring a superiority over the MacGregors, which was improved by every succeeding generation.” Dr. Joseph Anderson has the following remarks or “resumé” on this subject :- [4] “The earliest notice of the ClanGregor shows them settled in Glenurchay, Glendochart, Breadalbane, Glenlochy, Glenlyon, Rannoch, and Balquhidder, but not holding their lands of the Crown. Before the date of Robert Bruce there are incidental notices of the MacGregors of Glenurchay, but the forfeiture of the House of Lorn, with all its followers and allies, with whom undoubtedly the MacGregors were closely allied, deprived them of their possessions. Glenurchay was at that time. the property of an heiress and a minor, and the ward and marriage of Margaret de Glenurchay [5] seems to have been given to John Campbell, [6] son of Sir Nigel (or Neil), who was created Earl of Atholl, and fell at Hallidon Hill, 1333. There was one child of the marriage, who survived a few years only, and the Barony of Glenurchay seems to have returned to the MacGregors, for there is a John MacGregor of Glenurchay in 1390. [page 29} “Immediately after this we find the Campbells of Lochaw in possession of Glenurchay and a family of MacGregors as vassals of the Earl of Argyle in Glenstrae. There is no evidence to show how the barony of Glenurchay passed from the MacGregors to the Campbells, but in the Black Book of Taymouth. . . it is stated that Colin Campbell, second son of Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochaw, was the first Laird of Glenurchay of the line of Lochaw. In point of fact he had a charter from his father in 1432 of the barony of Glenurchy, and afterwards, by marriage with the heiress, acquired a third of the great Lordship of Lorn. This Sir Duncan Campbell was King’s Lieutenant in Argyleshire.” Continuing the Historical Notice of the Clan, the account of their possessions may now be followed :- “At what time the barony of Glenurchy was finally lost to the MacGregors by becoming, as it did, the property of the Campbells, is a point on which, so far as I can learn, there is no extant evidence. Nor is it certainly known how the change took place. It has been stated from good authority that John MacGregor of Glenurchy died in 1390; this individual was contemporary with Sir Colin Campbell of Lochawe, of whom I find it said, in a manuscript history of the Campbells, that he added greatly to the property of his family. The words of the manuscript are :- ‘But never any of that family showed himself a more worthy man than he’ according to the times he lived to see; and although, by every one of his predecessors, some lands were added to the estate and honours of that family, yet none of them purchased more of both than he. In effect, he it was (as the proverb is) who broke the ice and opened a door to all the after grandeur of the family, by suppressing the Islanders and curbing all oppressors.’ Duncan, first Lord Campbell, son of Sir Colin above mentioned, married a daughter of Robert, Duke of Albany, brother of King Robert III., and many years Governor of Scotland. This Duncan, Lord Campbell, long known as Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochawe, was one of, the wealthiest and most powerful of the Scottish barons. He held, under the Jameses I. and II., the office of King’s Lieutenant in Argyleshire, which invested him with very extensive powers against rebels to the King’s authority. Whether he exercised those powers to strip the MacGregors of the territory of Glenurchy, or inherited this possession from his father, are points on which it is impossible to come to a decision. This much however is certain, that he possessed, Glenurchy, and gave it in patrimony to a younger son, Sir Colin, founder of the House of Breadalbane, who is mentioned in a Charter by the style of Glenurchy, anno 1442. “I have now brought down the history of the ClanGregor to the time when I find them in a situation totally different from that of any other Clan in the highlands, namely, without an acre of land held free of the Crown. Although, however, this was a [page 30} very singular situation for a Clan so numerous, and so long and extensively established, I have not discovered, from any authentic source whatever, that they had at this time become distinguished any more than the neighbouring tribes for a predatory disposition. In Perthshire the Crown still possessed extensive lands on which the Chieftains of the tribe were seated, nominally as Crown tenants, but in reality, from the unsettled state of the country, as absolute proprietors; their numbers, and their warlike habits, making it very difficult, or next to impossible, for the Crown to enforce payment of their rents. Such a state, of things could not last. During the government of Albany accordingly, and in the minorities of the four immediate successors of James I., owing to the above, and other causes not less important, these lands gradually passed into the possession of the various powerful barons in that part of the country whom it was the interest of a weak government to conciliate. “Although it be well known that the Duke of Albany, in order to strengthen his party during the captivity of James I., dilapidated the royal revenues to a very great extent by bribing the most powerful families with grants of the Crown-lands on very favourable terms in every part of the kingdom; yet I have not been able to trace any such transactions relating to that part of Perthshire of which we speak, while he held the government. It appears, however, that the Governor himself, besides the lands which he held in the Highlands as Earl of Menteith, and as heir to the earldom of Fife, [7] acquired extensive possessions in Breadalbane. He had, in 1375, a royal charter of the lands and barony of Glendochart, proceeding on the resignation of Alexander de Menzies. A large portion of this territory, comprehending Glenfalloch, Strathfillan, and the upper half of Glendochart, was held under Albany, by Arthur Campbell of Strachur, [8] the representative of a family which had long been seated in this part of the country. The lands conveyed to Campbell (afterwards erected into the barony of Glenfalloch) were in later reigns, and we may therefore presume, at this time also, almost exclusively occupied by the ClanGregor. “The mischievous system, introduced by Albany, of granting the Crown-lands to those whose support he wished to gain, without reference, as may be easily supposed, to the antiquated claims of the Celtic occupants, was checked for a time under the active and vigorous sway of James I,, but during a century after the untimely death of that monarch, and particularly under the long minorities with which Scotland was afflicted during this melancholy period of her history, we can trace the rise of several distinguished families, through their acquisition, principally, of the hereditary property of the Crown. A contemporary writer of undoubted authority says, under the [page 31} year 1452, ‘Ther wes sindrie landis gevin to sindrie men oe the Kingis Secreit Counsall, the quhilk men that is to say, the Lord Campbell, to Schir Colyne Campbell, to Schir Alexander Hwme, to Schir Dauid Hwme, to Schir James Keyr, and to uther sindrie; quha wer rewardit be the said Secreit Counsall, the quhllk men demyt wald nocht stand.’ [9] Many such grants having been made during the minorities of the respective sovereigns were, on their attaining their majority, revoked; whilst others, according to the influence of the grantees, were confirmed. The uncertainty attending these new titles to the Crown-lands must doubtless have encouraged the actual occupants to despise the authority of the charters by which overlords were imposed upon them, and in many cases, from families with whom they had long been at mortal feud. The MacGregors, as may be supposed, soon rendered themselves obnoxious to such of the families as had been fortunate enough to obtain charters to any of these lands; and consequently it became, in almost every instance, an object of the new proprietors to expel them. Resistance, though natural enough, became in the end ruin to the weaker party; and it may, I think, be safely affirmed that, in proportion as the MacGregors, from being kindly tenants of the Crown, became subject to their neighbours, who had a greater interest and better opportunities, and were consequently more successful than the King and his Bailies had been formerly, in depriving them of lands to which they could produce no better title than occupancy, the Clan grew remarkable for opposition to law and order. “This position will appear to have a better foundation if we enter a little more into detail as regards the history of the Campbells of Glenurchy, the family of Menzies, and of others of the Perthshire families closely connected, in one way or another, with the ClanGregor. “In the reign of James III., but in what year is uncertain, Sir Colin Campbell, first of Glenurchy, acquired the large barony of Lawers, on Loch Tay, in the hands of the Crown since the forfeiture of Thomas Chalmer, who had been executed for aiding in the murder of James I. He acquired also the lands of Achriach or Achinrevach [10] in Glendochart, which, along with Lawers, he gave to his youngest son John, ancestor of the Campbells of Lawers. “In 1473 John Stewart of Fortingal, and Neil Stewart [11] his son and heir, had from the King a nineteen years lease of the lands and lordship of Apnadull, Glencoich, [page 32 Glenlyon, Strathbrawin, and Rannoch, all in Perthshire. [12] They had, besides, a royal grant, for the same term, of the office of bailiary of those lands; and it was at the same time provided that they should have the lands of Rannoch free of all duties and services during the whole of the period above mentioned - a plain proof that so far as Rannoch was concerned it was not expected to prove, in any other way at least, beneficial to the lessees. This lease expired in 1492, and, to Stewart's mortification, was not renewed. A great part of the power which it had conferred on this family passed, as we shall have occasion to see, into the hands of Glenurchy. “In the minority of James IV., anno 1488, being the first of his reign, a Parliamentary Act was passed for the ‘stanching of thift, reiff, and uther inormiteis throw all the realme ;’ and amongst others of the barons, the following became bound to seek out and punish such as should be guilty of those crimes in the districts over which their authority in cumulo extended, and they were for this purpose furnished with extensive powers - viz., Duncan Campbell of Glenurchy, Neil Stewart of Fortingal, and Ewyne Campbell of Strachur (proprietor of Glenfalloch). The districts were Disher and Toyer, [13] Glenurchy, Rannoch, Apnadull, Glenlyon, and Glenfalloch. It is evident that if this Act was enforced at all, it must have fallen with accumulated severity upon the landless and consequently desperate ClanGregor. It is much to be doubted, however, if the morals of this now obnoxious race would be greatly improved by such discipline; and whether it was not rather to be expected that their feelings, in the situation in which they found themselves placed relatively to these powerful barons, must, in even a people far less high-spirited, have been indignation and the thirst of vengeance. “Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenurchy, in this reign, made vast additions to the property of his family in Perthshire. He acquired the King’s lands of Balloch (now Taymouth), and others on Loch Tay, in 1492. About the same time he obtained the important office of Bailiary of the Crown-lands of Disher and Toyer, Glenlyon and Glendochart, in most of which he was moreover the principal tenant. The acquisition of the office of bailiary was in this, as in most other cases, merely a prelude to the lands becoming hereditary in his family. Accordingly, in 1502, he had a charter of the lands of Glenlyon, Which he gave to his son Archibald, founder of the family of Campbell of Glenlyon. Some years later he acquired, from private individuals, the [page 33} barony of Fynlarig, at the west end of Loch Tay; the lands of Scheane (Shian) and others, and the lands of Crannych - all in the same district; so that before his death (in the battle of Flodden) in 1513, he had undoubtedly become one of the most influential barons of Perthshire; and if we take into account his possessions in Argyle, there were few barons of greater power in Scotland.” “Whilst the Laird of Glenurchy was thus extending the influence of his house in the one part of the territory occupied by the ClanGregor, the head of the ancient family of Menzies followed his example in another. Robert Menzies of that Ilk had (1502) a royal charter of what remained to the Crown of the lands of Rannoch, a district claimed by the Clan as more peculiarly their own. “It may naturally be supposed that these proceedings were not viewed with a favourable eye; neither by the MacGregors (the actual occupants) nor by the Stewarts of Fortingal, so lately all but proprietors of Glenlyon and Rannoch. Deadly feuds immediately arose; and the ink on his charter of Rannoch had scarcely dried when Menzies’s Castle of Weyme was burnt to the ground by Neil Stewart and his associates, and all his lands laid waste. [14] “These dissensions attracted the attention of the Government, and in 1504 the Earl of Athole, a near kinsman of Stewart, Stewart himself, and the Lairds of Glenurchy and Strowan Robertson, with MacGregor, were summoned to attend Parliament on a charge of treason. What the final result was does not appear. Rannoch was still the theatre of intestine broils, nor could the chartered holder make good his title by actual possession. To strengthen himself, he, in 1505, entered into a contract with the Earl of Huntly, which contained, among others, the following stipulations :- (1) Menzies’s eldest son, Sir Robert, became bound to marry Lady Jean Gordon, the Earl of Huntly’s daughter. (2) The lands of Rannoch were by Menzies let to Huntly for five years, the latter binding himself to stock it with the best and most obedient tenants that could be found; and also to assist and maintain the Laird of Weyme and his son in the peaceable enjoyment of their lands in Perthshire, to aid them in all cases of need, and to help them in getting tenants for their lands.” [page 34} The “Chartulary” gives, under date 1504-5, March 15th, the following :- “In the actioun and causs persewit be Robert Menzies of that Ilk Knyt, aganis Nele Stewart of Fothergilt, for the wranguss destruction and down casting of his Mansion place and Fortalice of the Weme, and for the burning and destruction of “divers vittualles in sicht gudes &c.” - with details of the same. The “Chartulary” remarks of another Decreet (“No MacGregors unless Duncan Patrikson be one.”) [15] “About this time Neil Stewart resigned his lands of Fortingal to Huntly. [16] All the power, however, of this nobleman, which the acquisition of Fortingal tended to increase in relation to the projected settlement of Rannoch, failed to put his ally Menzies in quiet possession of this turbulent territory. In 1523, Menzies having by Janet, Countess of Athole, [17] been charged to expel thence the Laird of MacGregor and his Clan, on account of some depredations alleged to have been committed by them upon the Countess’s tenants, stated to the Lords of Council that it was impossible for him to comply, ‘seeing that the said MacGregor on force enterit the said Roberti’s landis of Rannoche, and withhaldis the samyn from him maisterfullie, and is of fer gretar powar than the said Robert, and will nocht be put out be him of the saidis landis.’ [18] Upon this statement he was absolved from all liability till the matter should be further investigated. Several years appear to have passed over before any very vigorous measures were taken against the ClanGregor in this quarter. In 1530 the Laird of Enoch, Menzies of that Ilk, ‘askit instrumentis that without sum gud rewle be fundin for the ClanGregor, he may nocht ansuer for his landis nor be bundin for gud rewle in the samin as he allegit.’ It was probably in consequence of this representation that, in 1531, John, Earl of Athole, was sent by the King against the offenders, and succeeded in taking the Castle in the Isle of Loch Rannoch, and in expelling thence the ‘brokin men of the ClanGregour.’ The negligence of the government, however (which can only be accounted for from the King being engaged at this time in reducing the Islemen to obedience), neutralised any good effects that might have been expected to result from Athole’s success; for in December 1531 we find the Earl complaining that his expenses in this expedition, which he states to have been very high, had not been reimbursed to him, and that the whole charge of [page 35} garrisoning and keeping the Castle, from the time, of the siege in October preceding, had been defrayed by him in addition, notwithstanding repeated applications to the Council on the subject; and finally, making a solemn protest that any inconvenience that might arise from the Council refusing or delaying to receive the Castle from him should not be laid to his charge. It may be presumed that his complaints still passed unheeded, and that the Earl in disgust left the Island Fortress to be occupied by the former inhabitants; for no great time elapsed before the Laird of Weyme found himself under the necessity of obtaining an exemption from answering for the police of his lands of Rannoch, on the score of the alleged untamable insubordination of the ClanGregor dwelling therein. This state of things was in full force so late as the year 1684, when Sir Alexander Menzies of Weyme obtained an exemption of this kind, which refers to two former exemptions granted by Mary of Guise, Queen-Regent, and by her daughter, Queen Mary, respectively. It was long after even this late period ere the family of Menzies succeeded in enforcing all the rights of free property in this large barony.” [19] |
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[1] Taken from M.S. copy of this essay presented to Sir Evan Murray MacGregor in 1830. [2] Margaret de Glenurchy must have been his first wife. – see page 28. volume 1 chapter 2 [3] Index of missing charters by William Robertson, Esq., one of the Deputies of the Lord Clerk-Register for keeping the Records of Scotland, 1798. The terms of this missing charter are not known. All the charters extant in the General Register House, Edinburgh, in the reigns of Robert I., David II., Robert II., and III., and in the regency of Robert, Duke of Albany, have since been printed. The charter quoted in the text is not among them. Those reigns, and that regency, comprehend the period over which Mr. Robertson’s index extends. A MS. index in 1629 is the source of the information regarding this missing charter. - Note in “Chartulary.” [4] Copied by permission from a note-book of Dr. Joseph Anderson in connection with the “Chartulary.” [5] After the death of this Margaret de Glenurchay, the Earl of Atholl must have married again, for Mr. Skene quotes a “dispensation in 1339 for the marriage of Joanna, Countess of Stratherne, widow of John, Earl of Atholl, to Maurice de Moraira.” - Celtic Scotland, vol iii. [6] 5th April 1357-58 - Charter of whole lands of Glenurchy by King David II. in favour of Mariota de Glenurchy, daughter of John of Glenurchy, and spouse of John Campbell. - Dr. Anderson. [7] Isabell, Countess of Fife, resigned into the hands of King Robert II., (amongst other lands) the barony of Strathurd, Strathbrand, Discher, Toyer, with the Isle of Loch Tay, in Perthshire, 22nd June 1389. Note in “Historical Notices.” [8] See Charters on page 23. volume 1 chapter 2 [9] Short chronicle, chiefly of the reign of James II., by a contemporary author, in the archives of Boswell of Auchinleck, printed by Thomas Thomson, Esq., Deputy Register of Scotland. - Note in “Historical Notices.” [10] Malcolm Johnsoun of Auchinrevach (supposed to be a MacGregor) disponed his lands of Auchinrevach, lying in the barony of Glendochir and shire of Perth, to Colin Campbell of Glenurchay, Knight, by charter dated 6th July, 1463. - Chartulary. [11] The father died at Garth, 10th December 1475, and the son at the same place, 31st Jan. 1499-1500. - “Chronicle of Fortingal.” The Stewarts of Fortingal were descended from a natural son of the celebrated Wolf of Badenoch, by Johaneta de Menzies, heiress of Fortingal. [12] Mag. Sig - The lands of Rannoch mentioned here must not be confounded with that part of the ancient Lordship of Rannoch granted by Robert Bruce to the ancestor of Robertson of Strowan, the former being in fact what remained to the Crown of the Lordship after that grant, and comprising (probably) the greater part of it. [13] The Lordship of Disher and Toyer comprehended the lands on both sides of Loch Tay (with some exceptions), and likewise the rich valley of Glenlochay, lying between Glenlyon and Glendochart. Disher and Toyer are Gaelic, the former signifying a tract of country having a southern exposure, the latter a northern. The three last notes occur in the “Historical Notices.” [14] Chronicle of Fortingal. (1502, September - Weym was burned by Neil Stuart of Gart.) The Lord High Treasurer’s books contain the following entry under 12th October 1502 :- “Item to Robert Wallace, Messengeir to pass in Stratherne to warne the Lordis of the country to pas to freithe the Lord of Weyme quhen Neill Stewart segit him, vij. s.” - Note in “Highland Notices.” [15] Mr. Duncan Campbell, in the “Lairds of Glenlyon,” gives further explanations, of which the following is an abridgement :- “In 1473, John Stewart of Fortingall and Neill, his son, had a nineteen year lease from James III. of the Royal lands and lordships of Apnadull, Glenquaich, Glenlyon, Strathbrawin, and Rannoch. The MacGregors of Roro, and others of the Clan, aided Neil Stewart in his struggles in aid of the King, after whose death he attacked some of the Barons who had sided with the Prince against his father. On the accession of James IV., Neil Stewart’s lease was not renewed, the Barony of Glenlyon was given to the Laird of Glenurchy, and the north side of Loch Rannoch to Sir Robert Menzies of Weem. Neil Stewart died at Garth, early in 1499, and his son “Niall Gointe of Garth,’ burnt Weems Castle and took Sir Robert Menzies prisoner in September of October 1502.” [16] “The person who burned the Castle of Weyme, and who resigned Fortingal to the Earl of Huntly , was grandson to John and son to Neil Stewart of Fortingal.” - “Historical Notices.” [17] “This lady is omitted in both editions of Douglas’s Peerage.” She was apparently Janet, youngest daughter of sixth Lord Forbes, second wife of John Stewart, third Earl of Atholl, who died 1542; but as the Earl’s first wife, Grizel Rattray, did not die before March 1537, there seems to be an error in dates. - Ed. [18] “Full Transcript,” Chapter viii. volume 1 chapter 8 [19] The “Historical Notices” are continued in Chapter XIV. volume 1 chapter 14 |