Clan Donald

MacDonald ( " son of Donald " ) is the name of one of the largest Scottish clans. It comes mainly from the Western Highlands and the Hebrides, as of Skye, Uist and other islands of the Inner Hebrides.

History

Progenitor of the Clan Donald was a grandson of King Somerled of the Isles, who built a power base with his inheritance, Islay and the Kintyre peninsula. His son Angus mor submitted to 1263 only reluctantly to the crown; John MacDonald of Islay took in 1354 did the title Dominus Insularum ( " Lord of the Isles " ) and thus directly provoked the Scottish court. At this time, the MacDonalds were already the most powerful clan in Scotland and controlled large parts of the western coast and the offshore islands. Donald, 2nd Lord of the Isles, allied himself with the King of England and claimed the title of Earl of Ross, a claim that he wanted to put 1411 in the Battle of Harlaw. He became a vassal of the crown by the unclear outcome of the battle. 1493 sparked James IV to the title of Lord of the Isles, which today is nominally connected with the Prince of Wales.

The name of the clan is ubiquitous in the history of the Highlands - the massacre of Glencoe, when British troops tried as a criminal action to wipe out an entire family, to escape his pursuers to Flora MacDonald, who helped the fugitive Bonnie Prince Charlie. The motto of the clan is Per mare per terras ( "By sea and by land").

Ranald, younger son of the first Lord of the Isles, formed his own branch of the Clan Macdonald of Clanranald. The clan is known for their internal disputes, which are mostly focused on the internal hierarchy. The MacDonalds of Clanranald remained the Stuarts during the civil wars of the 18th century loyal, so was the 13th Chief in 1715 at the Battle of Sheriffmuir; Also Bonnie Prince Charlie began his Jacobite rebellion in Glenfinnan on Clanranald territory, from where he fled again after the suppression of the uprising. The family motto is My hope is constant in thee ( "My hope in you is resistant ," meaning God).