Lachlan Cattanach Maclean
Encyclopedia
Lachlan Catanach Maclean (circa 1465 – 10 November 1523) was the 11th Clan Chief of Clan MacLean
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...

 from 1515 until his murder in 1523.

Biography

"Like several of his contemporaries he is a larger-than-life figure about whom several traditional stories, unusually unflattering caricatures, survive."

It is possible that Maclean was a legitimate son of Lachlan Maclean, 10th Clan Chief, or an illegitimate son of Hector Odhar Maclean. On the assumption that he was the son of Hector, he may have received the appellation Catanach from his mother's people, Clan Chattan, with whom he was fostered. However the word catanach not only means "one of the Clan Chattan," but also hairy, rough, shaggy; hence he was called Lachlan the Shaggy.

Maclean was clan chieftain of the Macleans of Duart and clan chief of the Macleans at a time when the Scottish Kings were asserting their kingship over the Scottish Isles. In 1493 John of Islay, Earl of Ross
John of Islay, Earl of Ross
John of Islay was a late medieval Scottish magnate. He was Earl of Ross and last Lord of the Isles as well as being Mac Domhnaill, chief of Clan Donald....

 forfeited his title and was to die in prison. So the Macleans who had risen to prominence as stewards of the Lords of the Isles and had been given lands in Mull, Morvern, Tiree, Islay, Jura, and Lochaber, now owed their position directly to James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

.

Maclean had royal support to become clan chief as is shown by the royal charter he received in 1496. However he resisted the efforts of James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

 to bring the Scottish Isles more firmly under his control. By the end of 1503 Maclean was in open revolt and after attacking and devastating Badenoch, and supporting Donald Dubh MacDonald, an illegitimate grandson of John of Islay, claim to be Lord 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...

. For these acts James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

 declared him a traitor and sent a fleet to the isles which captured Maclean's castle of Cairn-na-Burgh on the islet of Cairn na Burgh Mòr
Cairn na Burgh Mòr
Cairn na Burgh Mòr is one of the Treshnish Isles in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.Cairn na Burgh Mòr is the larger of the two "Carnburgs" at the northeastern end of the Treshnish Isles in the Inner Hebrides - the other being "Cairn na Burgh Beag". The larger of a pair guards the entrance to Loch...

 in the Treshnish Isles
Treshnish Isles
The Treshnish Isles is an archipelago of small islands and skerries, lying west of Mull, in Scotland. They are part of the Inner Hebrides. From north to south, the larger islands include:* Cairn na Burgh Beag* Cairn na Burgh Mòr* Fladda...

 west of Mull
Mull
-Places:*Isle of Mull, Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides*Sound of Mull, between the island and the rest of Scotland*Mull , Anglicisation of Gaelic Maol, hill or promontory**Mull of Galloway, Scotland**Mull of Kintyre, Scotland...

. James gave the castle to Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll
Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll
Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the son of Gillespic Campbell, Master of Campbell and Elizabeth Somerville. Elizabeth Somerville was the daughter of John Somerville, 3rd Lord Somerville and Helen Hepburn...

. After this defeat Maclean recognised the authority of the King and the charge of treason was dropped.

The death of Lachlan Maclean
Lachlan Maclean
Lachlan Maclean was the tenth Clan Chief of Clan MacLean, was killed at the Battle of Flodden .The following documents concern Lachlan Maclean:*There was an illegitimate son who had the property entailed to him...

 at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513 placed Lachlan Catanach as chief of the Maclean clan. In 1515 Maclean again rebelled, and the rebellion was also suppressed, after which he became a follower of the Earl of Argyll, a policy that his successors followed up until the start of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

Marriage and children

Maclean is said to have had at least six wives or mistresses. To cement his alliance, with the Argylls he married Katherine Campbell, daughter of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll
Gillespie Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman and politician.-Biography:Archibald was the eldest son of Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll and Isabel Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 2nd Lord Lorn. He was made Master of the Royal Household of James IV of Scotland on 24...

. Although politically convenient, the marriage was not a success, as she tried to poison him and he arranged to have her drowned by placing her on a rock in the sound of Mull. She was rescued just before the high tide drowned her.

His children include:
  • Eachann Mor Maclean, his heir and successor
  • Ailean Maclean
    Ailean Maclean
    Ailean Maclean was the second son of Lachlan Cattanach Maclean, but better known as Ailean nan Sop, or Allan o' the Wisp, because he set fire to buildings with straw, was a very noted character...

    , second son of Lachlan Catanach, but better known as Ailean nan Sop, or Allan o' the Wisp, because he set fire to buildings with straw, was a very noted character. Many legends have been told concerning him, some of which can not be true, although they may contain a grain of truth.

Death

Sir John Campbell of Cawdor
John Campbell of Cawdor
John Campbell of Cawdor , was a British politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Pembrokeshire, Inverness Burghs and Corfe Castle.He was also the Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury.-References:...

 arranged the murder of Lachlan Cattanach Maclean as revenge for the attempted drowning of his wife. Lachlan was killed in 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...

 on 10 November 1523.

Ancestry

Lachlan Catanach Maclean (circa 1465 – 10 November 1523) was the 11th Clan Chief of Clan MacLean
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...

 from 1515 until his murder in 1523.

Biography

"Like several of his contemporaries he is a larger-than-life figure about whom several traditional stories, unusually unflattering caricatures, survive."

It is possible that Maclean was a legitimate son of Lachlan Maclean, 10th Clan Chief, or an illegitimate son of Hector Odhar Maclean. On the assumption that he was the son of Hector, he may have received the appellation Catanach from his mother's people, Clan Chattan, with whom he was fostered. However the word catanach not only means "one of the Clan Chattan," but also hairy, rough, shaggy; hence he was called Lachlan the Shaggy.

Maclean was clan chieftain of the Macleans of Duart and clan chief of the Macleans at a time when the Scottish Kings were asserting their kingship over the Scottish Isles. In 1493 John of Islay, Earl of Ross
John of Islay, Earl of Ross
John of Islay was a late medieval Scottish magnate. He was Earl of Ross and last Lord of the Isles as well as being Mac Domhnaill, chief of Clan Donald....

 forfeited his title and was to die in prison. So the Macleans who had risen to prominence as stewards of the Lords of the Isles and had been given lands in Mull, Morvern, Tiree, Islay, Jura, and Lochaber, now owed their position directly to James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

.

Maclean had royal support to become clan chief as is shown by the royal charter he received in 1496. However he resisted the efforts of James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

 to bring the Scottish Isles more firmly under his control. By the end of 1503 Maclean was in open revolt and after attacking and devastating Badenoch, and supporting Donald Dubh MacDonald, an illegitimate grandson of John of Islay, claim to be Lord 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...

. For these acts James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

 declared him a traitor and sent a fleet to the isles which captured Maclean's castle of Cairn-na-Burgh on the islet of Cairn na Burgh Mòr
Cairn na Burgh Mòr
Cairn na Burgh Mòr is one of the Treshnish Isles in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.Cairn na Burgh Mòr is the larger of the two "Carnburgs" at the northeastern end of the Treshnish Isles in the Inner Hebrides - the other being "Cairn na Burgh Beag". The larger of a pair guards the entrance to Loch...

 in the Treshnish Isles
Treshnish Isles
The Treshnish Isles is an archipelago of small islands and skerries, lying west of Mull, in Scotland. They are part of the Inner Hebrides. From north to south, the larger islands include:* Cairn na Burgh Beag* Cairn na Burgh Mòr* Fladda...

 west of Mull
Mull
-Places:*Isle of Mull, Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides*Sound of Mull, between the island and the rest of Scotland*Mull , Anglicisation of Gaelic Maol, hill or promontory**Mull of Galloway, Scotland**Mull of Kintyre, Scotland...

. James gave the castle to Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll
Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll
Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the son of Gillespic Campbell, Master of Campbell and Elizabeth Somerville. Elizabeth Somerville was the daughter of John Somerville, 3rd Lord Somerville and Helen Hepburn...

. After this defeat Maclean recognised the authority of the King and the charge of treason was dropped.

The death of Lachlan Maclean
Lachlan Maclean
Lachlan Maclean was the tenth Clan Chief of Clan MacLean, was killed at the Battle of Flodden .The following documents concern Lachlan Maclean:*There was an illegitimate son who had the property entailed to him...

 at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513 placed Lachlan Catanach as chief of the Maclean clan. In 1515 Maclean again rebelled, and the rebellion was also suppressed, after which he became a follower of the Earl of Argyll, a policy that his successors followed up until the start of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

Marriage and children

Maclean is said to have had at least six wives or mistresses. To cement his alliance, with the Argylls he married Katherine Campbell, daughter of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll
Gillespie Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman and politician.-Biography:Archibald was the eldest son of Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll and Isabel Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 2nd Lord Lorn. He was made Master of the Royal Household of James IV of Scotland on 24...

. Although politically convenient, the marriage was not a success, as she tried to poison him and he arranged to have her drowned by placing her on a rock in the sound of Mull. She was rescued just before the high tide drowned her.

His children include:
  • Eachann Mor Maclean, his heir and successor
  • Ailean Maclean
    Ailean Maclean
    Ailean Maclean was the second son of Lachlan Cattanach Maclean, but better known as Ailean nan Sop, or Allan o' the Wisp, because he set fire to buildings with straw, was a very noted character...

    , second son of Lachlan Catanach, but better known as Ailean nan Sop, or Allan o' the Wisp, because he set fire to buildings with straw, was a very noted character. Many legends have been told concerning him, some of which can not be true, although they may contain a grain of truth.

Death

Sir John Campbell of Cawdor
John Campbell of Cawdor
John Campbell of Cawdor , was a British politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Pembrokeshire, Inverness Burghs and Corfe Castle.He was also the Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury.-References:...

 arranged the murder of Lachlan Cattanach Maclean as revenge for the attempted drowning of his wife. Lachlan was killed in 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...

 on 10 November 1523.

Ancestry

Lachlan Catanach Maclean (circa 1465 – 10 November 1523) was the 11th Clan Chief of Clan MacLean
Clan MacLean
Clan Maclean is a Highland Scottish clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the Highlands and owned large tracts of land in Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides. Many early MacLeans became famous for their honour, strength and courage in battle. They were involved in many clan skirmishes with...

 from 1515 until his murder in 1523.

Biography

"Like several of his contemporaries he is a larger-than-life figure about whom several traditional stories, unusually unflattering caricatures, survive."

It is possible that Maclean was a legitimate son of Lachlan Maclean, 10th Clan Chief, or an illegitimate son of Hector Odhar Maclean. On the assumption that he was the son of Hector, he may have received the appellation Catanach from his mother's people, Clan Chattan, with whom he was fostered. However the word catanach not only means "one of the Clan Chattan," but also hairy, rough, shaggy; hence he was called Lachlan the Shaggy.

Maclean was clan chieftain of the Macleans of Duart and clan chief of the Macleans at a time when the Scottish Kings were asserting their kingship over the Scottish Isles. In 1493 John of Islay, Earl of Ross
John of Islay, Earl of Ross
John of Islay was a late medieval Scottish magnate. He was Earl of Ross and last Lord of the Isles as well as being Mac Domhnaill, chief of Clan Donald....

 forfeited his title and was to die in prison. So the Macleans who had risen to prominence as stewards of the Lords of the Isles and had been given lands in Mull, Morvern, Tiree, Islay, Jura, and Lochaber, now owed their position directly to James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

.

Maclean had royal support to become clan chief as is shown by the royal charter he received in 1496. However he resisted the efforts of James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

 to bring the Scottish Isles more firmly under his control. By the end of 1503 Maclean was in open revolt and after attacking and devastating Badenoch, and supporting Donald Dubh MacDonald, an illegitimate grandson of John of Islay, claim to be Lord 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...

. For these acts James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

 declared him a traitor and sent a fleet to the isles which captured Maclean's castle of Cairn-na-Burgh on the islet of Cairn na Burgh Mòr
Cairn na Burgh Mòr
Cairn na Burgh Mòr is one of the Treshnish Isles in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.Cairn na Burgh Mòr is the larger of the two "Carnburgs" at the northeastern end of the Treshnish Isles in the Inner Hebrides - the other being "Cairn na Burgh Beag". The larger of a pair guards the entrance to Loch...

 in the Treshnish Isles
Treshnish Isles
The Treshnish Isles is an archipelago of small islands and skerries, lying west of Mull, in Scotland. They are part of the Inner Hebrides. From north to south, the larger islands include:* Cairn na Burgh Beag* Cairn na Burgh Mòr* Fladda...

 west of Mull
Mull
-Places:*Isle of Mull, Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides*Sound of Mull, between the island and the rest of Scotland*Mull , Anglicisation of Gaelic Maol, hill or promontory**Mull of Galloway, Scotland**Mull of Kintyre, Scotland...

. James gave the castle to Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll
Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll
Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the son of Gillespic Campbell, Master of Campbell and Elizabeth Somerville. Elizabeth Somerville was the daughter of John Somerville, 3rd Lord Somerville and Helen Hepburn...

. After this defeat Maclean recognised the authority of the King and the charge of treason was dropped.

The death of Lachlan Maclean
Lachlan Maclean
Lachlan Maclean was the tenth Clan Chief of Clan MacLean, was killed at the Battle of Flodden .The following documents concern Lachlan Maclean:*There was an illegitimate son who had the property entailed to him...

 at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513 placed Lachlan Catanach as chief of the Maclean clan. In 1515 Maclean again rebelled, and the rebellion was also suppressed, after which he became a follower of the Earl of Argyll, a policy that his successors followed up until the start of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

Marriage and children

Maclean is said to have had at least six wives or mistresses. To cement his alliance, with the Argylls he married Katherine Campbell, daughter of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll
Gillespie Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman and politician.-Biography:Archibald was the eldest son of Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll and Isabel Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 2nd Lord Lorn. He was made Master of the Royal Household of James IV of Scotland on 24...

. Although politically convenient, the marriage was not a success, as she tried to poison him and he arranged to have her drowned by placing her on a rock in the sound of Mull. She was rescued just before the high tide drowned her.

His children include:
  • Eachann Mor Maclean, his heir and successor
  • Ailean Maclean
    Ailean Maclean
    Ailean Maclean was the second son of Lachlan Cattanach Maclean, but better known as Ailean nan Sop, or Allan o' the Wisp, because he set fire to buildings with straw, was a very noted character...

    , second son of Lachlan Catanach, but better known as Ailean nan Sop, or Allan o' the Wisp, because he set fire to buildings with straw, was a very noted character. Many legends have been told concerning him, some of which can not be true, although they may contain a grain of truth.

Death

Sir John Campbell of Cawdor
John Campbell of Cawdor
John Campbell of Cawdor , was a British politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Pembrokeshire, Inverness Burghs and Corfe Castle.He was also the Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury.-References:...

 arranged the murder of Lachlan Cattanach Maclean as revenge for the attempted drowning of his wife. Lachlan was killed in 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...

 on 10 November 1523.

Ancestry

 
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