Eilean Donan
Encyclopedia
Eilean Donan is a small island in Loch Duich
in the western Highlands
of Scotland
. It is connected to the mainland by a footbridge and lies about half a mile from the village of Dornie
. Eilean Donan (which means simply "island of Donnán") is named after Donnán of Eigg
, a Celtic
saint martyred in 617. Donnán is said to have established a church on the island, though no trace of this remains.
The island is dominated by a picturesque castle which is widely familiar from many photographs and appearances in film and television. The castle was founded in the 13th century, but was destroyed in the 18th century. The present buildings are the result of 20th century reconstruction. Eilean Donan Castle is the home of the Clan Macrae
.
Eilean Donan is part of the Kintail
National Scenic Area
, one of 40 in Scotland. In 2001, the island had a population of just one person.
was recorded on the island in 1912, though the nature of any early fortification is uncertain. In the 13th century, a large curtain-wall castle (wall of enceinte
) was constructed. At this time the area was at the boundary of the Norse-Celtic Lordship of the Isles
and the Earldom of Ross
: Eilean Donan provided a strong defensive position against Norse expeditions. By the late 13th century it had become a stronghold of the Mackenzies
of Kintail (later the Earls of Seaforth
), who were vassals of the Earls of Ross. A tower house or keep was built at the north-east corner in the 14th century, and in the 15th century a smaller defensive enclosure. Having lost control in the 14th century, the Mackenzies obtained a charter of Eilean Donan in 1509, and in 1511 the Macraes
, as protectors of the Mackenzies, became the hereditary Constables of the castle.
In 1539 Iain Dubh Matheson, chief of the Clan Matheson
, died whilst defending the castle against the Clan MacDonald of Sleat
on behalf of Clan Macrae and Clan Mackenzie.
, the Jacobites, supporters of the exiled James Stuart
, the "Old Pretender", sought new support from Spain
. An advance party of 300 Spanish soldiers arrived in Loch Duich
in April 1719, and occupied Eilean Donan Castle. The expected uprising of Highlanders did not occur, and the main Spanish invasion force never arrived.
At the beginning of May, the Royal Navy
sent ships to the area. Early in the morning on Sunday 10 May, HMS Worcester
, HMS Flamborough
, and HMS Enterprise, anchored off Eilean Donan, and sent a boat ashore under a flag of truce to negotiate. When the Spanish soldiers in the castle fired at the boat, it was recalled and all three ships opened fire on the castle for an hour or more. The next day the bombardment continued while a landing party was prepared. In the evening, under the cover of an intense cannonade, the ships' boats went ashore and captured the castle against little resistance. According to HMS Worcesters log, in the castle they found "an Irishman, a captain, a Spanish lieutenant, a sergeant, one Scots rebel and 39 Spanish soldiers, 343 barrels of powder and 52 barrels of musquet shot". The naval force spent the next two days demolishing the castle (it took 27 barrels of gunpowder). The Spanish prisoners were put on board HMS Flamborough and taken to Edinburgh
. The remaining Spanish troops were defeated on 10 June at the Battle of Glen Shiel
.
, as the reigning king at the time of building held a sword with his left hand. Another distinction of the castle today is the grey field gun
from World War I
, positioned outside the building by a war memorial
and fountain dedicated to the men of the Macrae clan who died in the war.
(1970), Highlander
(1986), Mio in the Land of Faraway
(1987), Loch Ness
(1996), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
(1998), Entrapment
(1999), The World Is Not Enough
(1999), Kandukondain Kandukondain
(2000), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Made of Honor
(2007) and in the television series The New Avengers (1976) and Oliver's Travels
(1995).
It also appears on the cover of Secret Garden
's album Dreamcatcher (2000) and the Brandywine Celtic Harp Orchestra's CD, Celtic Journeys (2008).
The castle is also featured in several of BBC One
's famous "Balloon" network ID clips.
Loch Duich
Loch Duich is a sea loch situated on the western coast of Scotland, in the Highlands.-History:In 1719, British forces burned many homesteads along the loch’s shores in the month preceding the Battle of Glen Shiel....
in the western Highlands
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...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is connected to the mainland by a footbridge and lies about half a mile from the village of Dornie
Dornie
Dornie is a small former fishing village in the Kintail district in western Ross-shire Highlands of Scotland, with a population of 360 .It is near the meeting point of Loch Duich, Loch Alsh and Loch Long....
. Eilean Donan (which means simply "island of Donnán") is named after Donnán of Eigg
Donnán of Eigg
Saint Donnán , also known as Donan and Donnán of Eigg, was a Gaelic priest, likely from Ireland, who attempted to introduce Christianity to the Picts of north-western Scotland during the Dark Ages. Saint Donnán is the patron saint of Eigg, an island in the Inner Hebrides...
, a Celtic
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...
saint martyred in 617. Donnán is said to have established a church on the island, though no trace of this remains.
The island is dominated by a picturesque castle which is widely familiar from many photographs and appearances in film and television. The castle was founded in the 13th century, but was destroyed in the 18th century. The present buildings are the result of 20th century reconstruction. Eilean Donan Castle is the home of the Clan Macrae
Clan MacRae
The Clan Macrae is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan has no chief; it is therefore considered an Armigerous clan.-Surname:The surname Macrae is an Anglicisation of the patronymic from the Gaelic personal name Macraith. This personal name means "son of grace"...
.
Eilean Donan is part of the Kintail
Kintail
Kintail is an area of mountains in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It consists of the mountains to the north of Glen Shiel and the A87 road between the heads of Loch Duich and Loch Cluanie; its boundaries, other than Glen Shiel, are generally taken to be the valleys of Strath Croe and Gleann...
National Scenic Area
National Scenic Area
National Scenic Area is a designation for areas of natural beauty used by more than one nation.* National Scenic Area * National Scenic Area * National scenic areas in Taiwan* National Scenic Area...
, one of 40 in Scotland. In 2001, the island had a population of just one person.
Eilean Donan castle
Early history
The presence of a vitrified fortVitrified fort
Vitrified fort is the name given to certain crude stone enclosures whose walls have been subjected in a greater or lesser degree to the action of fire. They are generally situated on hills offering strong defensive positions. Their form seems to have been determined by the contour of the flat...
was recorded on the island in 1912, though the nature of any early fortification is uncertain. In the 13th century, a large curtain-wall castle (wall of enceinte
Enceinte
Enceinte , is a French term used technically in fortification for the inner ring of fortifications surrounding a town or a concentric castle....
) was constructed. At this time the area was at the boundary of the Norse-Celtic Lordship of the Isles
Lord of the Isles
The designation Lord of the Isles is today a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It emerged from a series of hybrid Viking/Gaelic rulers of the west coast and islands of Scotland in the Middle Ages, who wielded sea-power with fleets of...
and the Earldom of Ross
Earl of Ross
The Mormaer or Earl of Ross was the leader of a medieval Gaelic lordship in northern Scotland, roughly between the River Oykel and the River Beauly.-Origins and transfers:...
: Eilean Donan provided a strong defensive position against Norse expeditions. By the late 13th century it had become a stronghold of the Mackenzies
Clan MacKenzie
Clan Mackenzie is a Highland Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire.-Origins:The Mackenzies, a powerful clan of Celtic stock, were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestry. Descendants of the long defunct royal Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, they...
of Kintail (later the Earls of Seaforth
Earl of Seaforth
Earl of Seaforth was a title in the Peerage of Scotland and Peerage of Great Britain. It was held by the family of Mackenzie from 1623 to 1716, and again from 1771 to 1781....
), who were vassals of the Earls of Ross. A tower house or keep was built at the north-east corner in the 14th century, and in the 15th century a smaller defensive enclosure. Having lost control in the 14th century, the Mackenzies obtained a charter of Eilean Donan in 1509, and in 1511 the Macraes
Clan MacRae
The Clan Macrae is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan has no chief; it is therefore considered an Armigerous clan.-Surname:The surname Macrae is an Anglicisation of the patronymic from the Gaelic personal name Macraith. This personal name means "son of grace"...
, as protectors of the Mackenzies, became the hereditary Constables of the castle.
In 1539 Iain Dubh Matheson, chief of the Clan Matheson
Clan Matheson
Clan Matheson is a Highland Scottish clan.-Origins of the clan:The name Matheson has been attributed to the Gaelic words Mic Mhathghamhuin which means Son of the Bear or Son of the Heroes...
, died whilst defending the castle against the Clan MacDonald of Sleat
Clan MacDonald of Sleat
Clan Macdonald of Sleat, sometimes known as Clan Donald North and in Gaelic Clann Ùisdein , is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald — one of the largest Scottish clans. The founder of the Macdonalds of Sleat is Ùisdean, 6th great-grandson of Somhairle, a 12th century Rì Innse Gall...
on behalf of Clan Macrae and Clan Mackenzie.
Jacobite rising and destruction of the castle
Following the failure of the Jacobite rising of 1715Jacobite Rising of 1715
The Jacobite rising of 1715, often referred to as The 'Fifteen, was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart.-Background:...
, the Jacobites, supporters of the exiled James Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
, the "Old Pretender", sought new support from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. An advance party of 300 Spanish soldiers arrived in Loch Duich
Loch Duich
Loch Duich is a sea loch situated on the western coast of Scotland, in the Highlands.-History:In 1719, British forces burned many homesteads along the loch’s shores in the month preceding the Battle of Glen Shiel....
in April 1719, and occupied Eilean Donan Castle. The expected uprising of Highlanders did not occur, and the main Spanish invasion force never arrived.
At the beginning of May, the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
sent ships to the area. Early in the morning on Sunday 10 May, HMS Worcester
HMS Worcester (1698)
HMS Worcester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Southampton on 31 May 1698.She underwent a rebuild according to the 1706 Establishment at Deptford Dockyard, relaunching on 31 August 1714. Worcester was broken up in 1733....
, HMS Flamborough
HMS Flamborough
Three vessels of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Flamborough, after the English town: was a 24-gun post ship launched at Chatham Dockyard in 1697 and captured by the French ship Jason near Cape Spartel on 10 October 1705. was a 24-gun post ship launched at Woolwich Dockyard on 29 January...
, and HMS Enterprise, anchored off Eilean Donan, and sent a boat ashore under a flag of truce to negotiate. When the Spanish soldiers in the castle fired at the boat, it was recalled and all three ships opened fire on the castle for an hour or more. The next day the bombardment continued while a landing party was prepared. In the evening, under the cover of an intense cannonade, the ships' boats went ashore and captured the castle against little resistance. According to HMS Worcesters log, in the castle they found "an Irishman, a captain, a Spanish lieutenant, a sergeant, one Scots rebel and 39 Spanish soldiers, 343 barrels of powder and 52 barrels of musquet shot". The naval force spent the next two days demolishing the castle (it took 27 barrels of gunpowder). The Spanish prisoners were put on board HMS Flamborough and taken to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. The remaining Spanish troops were defeated on 10 June at the Battle of Glen Shiel
Battle of Glen Shiel
The Battle of Glen Shiel was a battle in Glen Shiel, in the West Highlands of Scotland on 10 June 1719, between British government troops and an alliance of Jacobites and Spaniards, resulting in a victory for the government forces. It was the last close engagement of British and foreign troops on...
.
Restoration
The castle was restored in the years between 1919 and 1932 by Lt. Col. John MacRae-Gilstrap. The restoration included the construction of an arched bridge to give easier access to the castle. In 1983 The Conchra Charitable Trust was formed by the Macrae family to care for the castle. A curious distinction is that it has one of only two left-handed spiral staircases in a castle in Great BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, as the reigning king at the time of building held a sword with his left hand. Another distinction of the castle today is the grey field gun
Field gun
A field gun is an artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march and when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances, as to opposed guns installed in a fort, or to siege cannon or mortars which...
from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, positioned outside the building by a war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
and fountain dedicated to the men of the Macrae clan who died in the war.
Media and the arts
The castle is one of the most photographed monuments in Scotland and a popular venue for weddings and film locations. It has appeared in such films as The Master of Ballantrae (1953), The Private Life of Sherlock HolmesThe Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is a 1970 film directed and produced by Billy Wilder; he also shared writing credit with his longtime collaborator I. A. L. Diamond. It starred Robert Stephens as Sherlock Holmes and Colin Blakely as Dr. Watson...
(1970), Highlander
Highlander (film)
Highlander is a 1986 fantasy action film directed by Russell Mulcahy and based on a story by Gregory Widen. It stars Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, and Roxanne Hart. The film depicts the climax of an ages-old battle between immortal warriors, depicted through interwoven past and...
(1986), Mio in the Land of Faraway
Mio in the Land of Faraway
Mio in the Land of Faraway is a 1987 fantasy film directed by Vladimir Grammatikov and starring Christopher Lee, Christian Bale, Nicholas Pickard, Timothy Bottoms and Susannah York...
(1987), Loch Ness
Loch Ness (film)
Loch Ness is a 1996 family drama film starring Ted Danson and Joely Richardson. It was written by John Fusco and directed by Jon Henderson.-Plot:...
(1996), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is a Hindi romantic comedy film, released in India and the United Kingdom on 16 October 1998. The film was written and directed by the debuting Karan Johar and stars the popular on-screen pair of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol in their fourth movie together...
(1998), Entrapment
Entrapment (film)
Entrapment is a 1999 American caper film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones.-Plot:Virginia "Gin" Baker is an investigator for Waverly Insurance. Robert "Mac" MacDougal is an international art thief. A priceless Rembrandt painting is stolen from an office one...
(1999), The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond film series, and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Michael Apted, with the original story and screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein. It...
(1999), Kandukondain Kandukondain
Kandukondain Kandukondain
Kandukondain Kandukondain is a 2000 Tamil musical and romantic film based on Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility. Directed and co-written by Rajiv Menon, the film features an ensemble cast of Ajith Kumar, Mammootty, Tabu, Aishwarya Rai and Abbas in the lead roles...
(2000), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Made of Honor
Made of Honor
Made of Honor is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Paul Weiland and story written by Adam Sztykiel . It was produced by Neal H. Moritz and was released by Columbia Pictures in North America on May 2, 2008...
(2007) and in the television series The New Avengers (1976) and Oliver's Travels
Oliver's Travels
Oliver's Travels is a five-part television miniseries written by Alan Plater and starring Alan Bates, Sinéad Cusack, Bill Paterson, and Miles Anderson. It first aired in the UK in 1995....
(1995).
It also appears on the cover of Secret Garden
Secret Garden (duo)
Secret Garden is an award-winning Irish-Norwegian duo playing New Instrumental Music, also sometimes erroneously known as Neo-classical music.Secret Garden features the Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry and the Norwegian composer/pianist Rolf Løvland...
's album Dreamcatcher (2000) and the Brandywine Celtic Harp Orchestra's CD, Celtic Journeys (2008).
The castle is also featured in several of BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's famous "Balloon" network ID clips.
Further reading
- Miket and Roberts, The Mediaeval Castles of Skye and Lochalsh (2nd edition, Birlinn Ltd, 2007)