Clan MacFarlane (Scots Gaelic: Clann Mhic Pharthalain) is a Highland

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

 Scottish clan

Scottish clan

Scottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...

. The clan claims a descent from the old line of the Earls of Lennox. For some time there had been some controversy as to the descent of these earls, with both Gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

 and Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...

 origins given. Though today it is accepted that Clan MacFarlane is of Gaelic descent. The clan takes its name from a Malcolm MacFarlane, who lived in the fourteenth century. Clan MacFarlane took part in several conflicts including brutal fighting for Scottish Independence alongside Robert The Bruce. The clan was also noted for its daring night time raiding on English army divisions, and as such, it is said that the full moon became known throughout the highlands as "MacFarlane's Lantern". For many years Clan MacFarlane was one of the most respected and feared clans in the highlands until the clan was denounced by the English government. The ancestral lands of the clan were Arrochar, located at the head of Loch Long

Loch Long

Loch Long is a body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The sea loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end. It measures approximately 20 miles in length, with a width of between one and two miles...

 and further northwest of Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...

. The lands of Arrochar were first granted to an ancestor of the clan in the thirteenth century, and were held by the chiefs until they were sold off for debts, in 1767. The last descendant of the chiefs, in the direct male line, died in 1886. Since the modern clan is without a chief it can be considered an Armigerous clan

Armigerous clan

An armigerous clan is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognized as such by Lyon Court...

.

Origins

Clan MacFarlane claims descent from the original Earls of Lennox, though the ultimate origin of these earls is murky and has been debated. The nineteenth century Scottish antiquary George Chalmers

George Chalmers

George Chalmers was a Scottish antiquarian and political writer.-Biography:Chalmers was born at Fochabers, Moray, in 1742. His father, James Chalmers, was a grandson of George Chalmers of Pittensear, a small estate in the parish of Lhanbryde, now St Andrews-Lhanbryde, in Moray, owned by the family...

, in his Caledonia, quoting the twelfth century English chronicler

English historians in the Middle Ages

Historians of England in the Middle Ages helped to lay the groundwork for modern historical historiography, providing vital accounts of the early history of England, Wales and Normandy, its cultures, and revelations about the historians themselves....

 Symeon of Durham

Symeon of Durham

Symeon of Durham was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. When William of Saint-Calais returned from his Norman exile in 1091, Symeon was probably in his company...

, wrote that the original Earls of Lennox descended from an Anglo-Saxon – Arkil, son of Egfrith. This Arkil, a Northumbrian chief, was said to have fled to Scotland from the devastation caused by the Harrying of the North

Harrying of the North

The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, and is part of the Norman conquest of England...

 by William the Conqueror, and later received control of the Lennox

Lennox (district)

The district of Lennox , often known as "the Lennox", is a region of Scotland centred around the village of Lennoxtown in East Dunbartonshire, eight miles north of the centre of Glasgow. At various times in history, the district has had both a dukedom and earldom associated with it.- External...

 district from Malcolm III of Scotland

Malcolm III of Scotland

Máel Coluim mac Donnchada , was King of Scots...

. However, today it is generally thought that the original Earls of Lennox were of Gaelic descent.

Clan MacFarlane claims its descent from the original line of the Earls of Lennox, through Gille Chriosd, brother of Maol Domhnaich, Earl of Lennox

Maol Domhnaich, Earl of Lennox

Mormaer Maol Domhnaich was the son of Mormaer Ailín II, and ruled Lennox 1217–1250.Like his predecessor Ailín II, he showed absolutely no interest in extending an inviting hand to oncoming French or English settlers...

, who received in charter, "de terris de superiori Arrochar de Luss", the lands of Arrochar which the MacFarlanes held for centuries until the death of the last chief. Gille Chriosd's son, Donnchadh, also obtained charters for his lands from the Earl of Lennox, and appears in the Ragman Rolls

Ragman Rolls

Ragman Rolls refers to the collection of instruments by which the nobility and gentry of Scotland subscribed allegiance to King Edward I of England, during the time between the Conference of Norham in May 1291 and the final award in favor of Baliol in November 1292; and again in 1296...

 as "Dunkan Makilcrift de Leuenaghes" (Duncan son of Gilchrist of Lennox). Donnchadh's grandson was Parlan (or Bartholomew), from whom the clan takes its name from. Maolchaluim Mac Pharlain, the son of Parlan, was confirmed the lands of Arrochar and others, and "hence Maolchaluim may be considered as the real founder of the clan". Maolchaluim, in turn, was succeeded by his son, Donnchadh, who obtained by charter the lands of Arrochar, dated in 1395 at Inchmurrin

Inchmurrin

Inchmurrin is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is the largest fresh water island in the British Isles.- Geography and geology :...

. Donnchadh seems to have married Christian, daughter of Sir Colin Campbell of Loch Awe, as stated in a charter of confirmation by Donnchadh, Earl of Lennox

Donnchadh, Earl of Lennox

Donnchadh of Lennox was the Mormaer of Lennox, 1385-1425. He was a son of Baltar mac Amlaimh and Margaret, daughter of Domhnall, Earl of Lennox....

, also dated in 1395. Iain Mac Pharlain, in 1420, received confirmation to his lands of Arrochar.

In support of the Stewart earls of Lennox

Not long after, the ancient line of the Earls of Lennox died with the execution of Donnchadh, Earl of Lennox, by James I of Scotland

James I of Scotland

James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...

 in 1425. After the earl's death it seems that the MacFarlane's claimed the earldom as heirs male. This claim though, proved disastrous, and the family of the chief were murdered, with the clan's fortunes suffered severely. The destruction of the MacFarlanes would have been inevitable but for an Anndra MacFarlane, who married Barbara, daughter of John Stewart, Lord Darnley

John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox

John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox. was known as Lord Darnley and the Earl of Lennox. Stewart was the son of Catherine Seton and Sir Alan Stuart, a great-great-great-grandson of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland....

, who had been created Earl of Lennox in 1488. Skene claimed that even though Anndra Mac Pharlain, through his marriage, had saved the clan from destruction, he still was refused the chiefship of the clan. Skene also showed that even his son, Sir John MacFarlane, assumed the subordinate designation of "Capitaneus de Clan Pharlane" (Captain of the clan). Though Alexander MacBain

Alexander Macbain

Alexander Macbain was a Scottish philologist, best known today for An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language .-Early life and education:...

, in a later edition of Skene's work, pointed out that Capitaneus was really Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 for Chief. From this period on the clan appears to have loyally supported the Stewart Earls of Lennox, and for several generations there is little history attributed to the clan.

Battle of Glasgow Muir

In the mid sixteenth century, Donnchadh Mac Pharlain of Mac Pharlain, appears to have been a steady supporter of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox

Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox

Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox was the 4th Earl of Lennox, and leader of the Catholic nobility in Scotland. He was the son of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox. His grandson was James VI of Scotland....

. In 1544, Mac Pharlain lead three hundred of his men, and joined Lennox and Glencairn at the Battle of Glasgow Muir, where they were narrowly defeated. The Mac Pharlains were affected by the forfeitures that followed, though were saved by their very powerful friends, and the chief obtained a remission for his lands. After the defeat, the Earl of Lennox was forced to flee to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, and married a niece of Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

, and afterward returned to Scotland with a huge force supplied by the English king. For fear of further repercussions, the chief of the clan didn't personally support Lennox, but instead sent a relative, Bhaltar MacFarlane of Tarbet, with four hundred men, in support of the Earl. The MacFarlane clansmen are said to have acted as light troops, and as guides to the Earl's main force. The sixteenth century, English chronicler, Raphael Holinshed

Raphael Holinshed

Raphael Holinshed was an English chronicler, whose work, commonly known as Holinshed's Chronicles, was one of the major sources used by William Shakespeare for a number of his plays....

 described this MacFarlane force as follows: "In these exploytes the Erle had with him Walter McFarlane of Tarbet, and seven score

20 (number)

20 is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score.-In mathematics:*20 is the basis for vigesimal number systems....

 of men of the head of Lennox, that spoke both Irishe

Erse

Erse can be:*an alternative name for any Goidelic language, especially Irish, from Erische.*a 16th-19th Century Scots name for Scottish Gaelic...

 and the English Scottish

Scots language

Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...

 tongues very well, light footmen

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 very well armed in the shirtes

Hauberk

A hauberk is a shirt of chainmail. The term is usually used to describe a shirt reaching at least to mid-thigh and including sleeves. Haubergeon generally refers to a shorter variant with partial sleeves, but the terms are often used interchangeably.- History :The word hauberk is derived from the...

 of mayle

Mail (armour)

Mail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....

, with bows

Bow (weapon)

The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.-Description:A bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles by means of elastic energy. Essentially, the bow is a form of spring powered by a string or cord...

 and two-handed swords

Claymore

The term claymore refers to the Scottish variant of the late medieval longsword, two-handed swords with a cross hilt, of which the guards were in use during the 15th and 16th centuries.-Terminology:...

; and being joined with the Scottish archer

Archery

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...

s and shotte, did much avayleable service in the streyghts

Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...

, marishes

Marsh

In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....

, and mountayne countries".

Battle of Pinkie Cleugh

At Irwine in 1545, a bond of manrent

Manrent

Manrent refers to a Scottish mid 15th century to the early 17th century type of contract, usually military in nature and involving Scottish clans...

 was granted to Hugh, Master of Eglinton to Duncan, uncle of the Laird of MacFarlane. Later in 1547 the clan suffered grievously at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh

Battle of Pinkie Cleugh

The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland on 10 September 1547, was part of the War of the Rough Wooing. It was the last pitched battle between Scottish and English armies, and is seen as the first modern battle in the British Isles...

, in which the chief, Duncan was slain along with many of his men. The clan, led by Duncan's son, Andrew, fought under the Regent

Regent

A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

 James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray , a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V, was Regent of Scotland for his nephew, the infant King James VI of Scotland, from 1567 until his assassination in 1570...

, against the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, at the Battle of Langside

Battle of Langside

The Battle of Langside, fought on 13 May 1568, was one of the more unusual contests in Scottish history, bearing a superficial resemblance to a grand family quarrel, in which a mother fought her brother who was defending the rights of her infant son...

 in 1568. The clan's part in the battle is related to by Holinshed: "In this battayle the vaiancie of an Hie-land gentle-man named M'Farlane, stood the Regent's part in great steede; for in the hottest brunte of the fight, he came in with three hundred of his friends and countrymen, and so manfully gave in upon the flanke of the queen's people, that there was great cause of the disordering of them". After the battle, the clan also boasted of capturing three standards of the Queen's army, which were preserved as trophies for a long time afterwards. For his clan's aid, Andrew was awarded the crest of a "demi-savage proper, holding in his dexter hand a sheaf of arrows, and pointing with his sinister to an imperial crown, or, with the motto, This I'll defend", by the Earl

Earl of Moray

The title Earl of Moray has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland.Prior to the formal establishment of the peerage, Earl of Moray, numerous individuals ruled the kingdom of Moray or Mormaer of Moray until 1130 when the kingdom was destroyed by David I of Scotland.-History of the...

. The crest bestowed on the MacFarlane chief alludes to the defence of the Crown and Kingdom of Scotland, as Mary was seen as rebellion against the Crown.

Nothing is known of Andrew's son, though his grandson, Walter MacFarlane was a staunch supporter of the King. In his time, he was twice besieged in his house, and his castle of Inveruglas was later burned down by English forces.

Fall of the clan

The clan was denounced by the English Government in 1594, to have committing theft, robbery, murder, and tyranny. Later, in 1624, many members of the clan were tried and convicted of such acts, with some being pardoned and others executed. Many others were removed to Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire

Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...

 and Strathaven

Strathaven

Strathaven is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The town was granted a Royal Charter in 1450, making the Town of Strathaven a burgh of barony. The town's principal industry was primarily weaving in the 19th and early 20th centuries, however this declined when faced by...

 in Banffshire

Banffshire

The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own county council between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff although the largest...

, where they assumed the names M'Caudy, Greisock, M'James and M'Innes. Most were forced to flee to Ireland to escape where the surname would evolve to McFarland.

According to the International Clan MacFarlane Society website, the last descendant of the chiefs, in the direct male line, died in 1886. Most of the clan left and settled in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, during the reign of James VII, and the leading representative of this branch, McFarland of Hunstown House, from Dublin, claim to be the chiefship of the clan. Today the chiefship of the clan is dormant, and the clan can be considered an Armigerous clan.

Clan profile

• Clan Badge: Two plant badges have been attributed to the clan.
  • Cranberry
    Cranberry
    Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
    
    . The clan shares this badge with Clan MacAulay
    Clan MacAulay
    Clan MacAulay is a Scottish clan. The clan was historically centred around the lands of Ardincaple, which are today consumed by the little village of Rhu and burgh of Helensburgh in Argyll and Bute. The MacAulays of Ardincaple were located mainly in the traditional county of Dunbartonshire, which...
    
    , which tradition gives a descent from the old Earls of Lennox.
  • Cloudberry
    Cloudberry
    Rubus chamaemorus is a rhizomatous herb native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest, producing amber-colored edible fruit similar to the raspberry or blackberry...
    
    . (Attributed to the clan by Skene).
• Clan Slogan
  Slogan (heraldry)
  A slogan is used in Scottish heraldry as a heraldic motto or a secondary motto. It usually appears above the crest on a coat of arms, though sometimes it appears as a secondary motto beneath the shield...
  
  : Loch Sloidh (Anglicised as: Loch Sloy) (translated from Gaelic: The Loch of the Host).
• Clan Motto: This I'll Defend.
• Clan Crest: A demi-savage brandishing in his dexter a broad sword Proper and pointing with his sinister to an Imperial Crown
  Imperial crown
  An Imperial Crown is a crown used for the coronation of emperors.- Imperial Crowns with Mitre :-Legal usage:Throughout the Commonwealth Realms, The Crown is an abstract concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government...
  
   or
  Or (heraldry)
  In heraldry, Or is the tincture of gold and, together with argent , belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". In engravings and line drawings, it may be represented using a field of evenly spaced dots...
  
   standing by him on the wreath.
• Clan Pipe Music (Pibroch):
  • 'Thogail nam bo (translation from Gaelic: Lifting the cattle). or, Thogail nam Bo theid sinn (translation: To Lift the Cows We Shall Go).
  • Spaidsearachd Chlann Pharlain (translation from Gaelic: MacFarlane's march).
  • Saved from extinction by Robert Macfarlan in the late 1800's.
• Clan Tartan: There are six reported MacFarlane tartans: Red (Modern, Ancient, Weathered); Hunting (Modern, Ancient, Weathered); Black & White / Mourning (Modern, Ancient), Black & Red; Dress; and Lendrum.

Origin of the name

The surname MacFarlane, and other variations of the name, are Anglicisations of the Gaelic patronymic Mac Pharlain, meaning "son of Parlan". The Gaelic Parlan or Parthalán is likely an Gaelicisation of the Latin Bartholomaeus. In Moncreiffe's opinion the name was linked with Partholón

Partholón

Partholón, in medieval Irish historical tradition, was the leader of the second group of people to settle in Ireland, supposedly first to arrive after the biblical Flood. They arrived in 2680 BC according to the chronology of the Annals of the Four Masters, 2061 BC according to Geoffrey Keating's...

 of Irish mythology

Irish mythology

The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...

, writing: "Par-tholon or 'Sea-Waves' appears in Irish mythology as the first to take possession of Ireland after the flood".

Associated Names

The following names are considered, by the International Clan MacFarlane Society, to be associated with the clan. Note that the prefixes Mac, Mc, and M are interchangeable. Many of the associated names listed are claimed by other clans.

Associated names of Clan MacFarlane

• Condey / Condie / Condy.
• Gruamach.
• MacCondey / MacCondie / MacCondy.
• MacIock / MacJock.

• MacInally.
• MacNide / MacNite.
• MacNoyer / MacNuyer.
• MacWalter.

• Monach / Monnock.
• Parlane
• Weaver.
• Webster.

• Weir.

Associated names of Clan MacFarlane that are also claimed by other clans

• Allan / Allen.
• Allanach.
• Allanson.
• Allison.
• Arrell / Arroll.
• Barclay.
• Bart.
• Bartholomew.
• Bartie/y.
• Bartson.
• Brice / Bryce.
• Caa / Caw.

• Calla/ende/ar.
• Cunnison / Kennison.
• Galbraith.
• Galloway.
• Grassick / Griesk.
• Greusaich.
• Knox.
• Lea/iper.
• Lenox / Lennox.
• MacAllan / MacAllen.
• MacAndrew.
• MacAndro.

• MacCaa / MacCaw.
• MacCause.
• MacEa/och.
• MacEachern.
• MacEoin.
• MacErrachar.
• MacFarquhar.
• MacGaw.
• MacGreusich/k.
• MacInstalker.
• MacJames.
• MacKin(d)la/ey.

• MacNair / MacNayer.
• MacRob / MacRobb.
• MacWilliam.
• Michie.
• Millar / Miller.
• Rob / Robb.
• Spruell.
• Stalker.
• Williamson.
• Wilson
• Wylie / Wyllie.

External links

• The Homepage of Clan MacFarlane Worldwide, Inc.
• The Clan MacFarlane Society, Australia Inc.
• The Homepage of the International Clan MacFarlane Society, Inc.