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The Highlanders of Scotland - Clan Strachan Society

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AND NOTES] OF SCOTLAND 421<br />

In 1292, Thomas Cambel held lands in Kintyre, and about the same time<br />

Dugald Cambell is connected with Dumbarton Castle as governor. <strong>The</strong><br />

relationship <strong>of</strong> these several Cambels, and <strong>of</strong> Sir Arthur Cambel, it seems<br />

impossible now to define. Cailin Mor's son was Sir Neil, who married<br />

Bruce's sister. <strong>The</strong> Cambells are usually regarded as interlopers in Argyle<br />

(see Brown's Memorials <strong>of</strong> Argyle), but, if they did not originally belong to<br />

Argyle, we must not go further than Dumbartonshire for their habitat. <strong>The</strong><br />

old genealogies trace them to the British King Arthur, a tradition which may<br />

indicate that the Cambells originally lived on the borderland <strong>of</strong> the Strathclyde<br />

Briton and the Gael. <strong>The</strong> name Arthur is common among them. <strong>The</strong><br />

Cambells rose then on the ruins <strong>of</strong> the families <strong>of</strong> Lorn and <strong>of</strong> Alexander,<br />

lord <strong>of</strong> the Isles, partisans <strong>of</strong> the English. <strong>The</strong> Cambells <strong>of</strong> Lochow soon<br />

became masters <strong>of</strong> Argyle ; they were a race <strong>of</strong> statesmen, with high literary<br />

talent, as old Gaelic poetry shows, and they still manifest the same<br />

characteristics. Skene's severe censures are undeserved ; because the<br />

Campbell chiefs nearly always trod a path <strong>of</strong> level-headed common sense,<br />

must they be declared cunning and unscrupulous ?<br />

Page 357, middle paragraph. <strong>The</strong>re was no sheriffdom <strong>of</strong> Argyle till 1292.<br />

Page 359. Caithness. <strong>The</strong> old province <strong>of</strong> Cat (so named from the<br />

Catti or Cat-tribe) included Caithness and Sutherland. In the restricted<br />

sense, Caithness meant in the Sagas, modern Caithness, but they also used it<br />

to mean the whole Cat province, save Sutherland. <strong>The</strong> province Ness meant<br />

strictly and always modern Caithness ; it was the Ness <strong>of</strong> Cat. Skene's<br />

attempt to make Ness mean the Cape Wrath district is entirely against the<br />

evidence (p. 366) ; it is abandoned in Celtic <strong>Scotland</strong>.<br />

Page 360, line 5 from bottom. "Gaddgedli"; this is simply a corruption<br />

<strong>of</strong> Gall-Gaidheil, later reduced to mean Galloway. <strong>The</strong> text <strong>of</strong> the Saga here<br />

is corrupt (Anderson's Orkn. Saga, p. 28).<br />

Page 361. '<strong>The</strong> Mackays. <strong>The</strong> name Aodh or Aed, so troublesome to<br />

Sassenach scribes, was once the most popular <strong>of</strong> Gaelic names. We ha\ e<br />

already dealt with the Mac-Heths <strong>of</strong> Moray ; then there were the powerful<br />

Mackeths, or Mackies, <strong>of</strong> Galloway ; Mackays <strong>of</strong> Ugadale ; Mackays <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Rinns in Islay; and the Morgan Mackays <strong>of</strong> Sutherland. <strong>The</strong>re is, <strong>of</strong> course,<br />

no connection between these clans. <strong>The</strong> Inverness-shire Mackays are usually<br />

called in Gaelic, Mac-ai, that is, Mac Dhai or Davidson ; they formed a<br />

branch <strong>of</strong> <strong>Clan</strong> Chattan. It is remarkable that the Sutherland Mackays claim<br />

kinship with the f'orbcs's <strong>of</strong> Aberdeenshire, and about 1608 actually adopted<br />

Lord Forbes' arms, with cadet differences (by permission <strong>of</strong> Lord Forbes, whom<br />

Hugh Mackay <strong>of</strong> Mackay calls his "dear chief") ; but it is also remarkable<br />

that the name Morgan exists, or in historic times existed, nowhere else than<br />

in Aberdeenshire and among the Sutherland Mackays. <strong>The</strong> name is Pictish<br />

—Morcunn (Book <strong>of</strong> Deer), "Sea-bright." Perhaps the explanation lies in<br />

the fact that the Earl <strong>of</strong> Ross held lands in Buchan— indeed, he was entitled<br />

to half the earldom, and the last lord <strong>of</strong> the old line died in asserting his<br />

claims, and the first <strong>of</strong> the Macdonald lords suffered at Harlaw in the same<br />

cause. Now, the lands <strong>of</strong> Strathhalladale and Ferrincoskry (Skibo, Creich,<br />

&€.), and probably more, belonged to the Earl <strong>of</strong> Ross. <strong>The</strong> former lands<br />

were granted or re-granted to Angus Du Mackay in 141 5 by Donald <strong>of</strong> the

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