Clan MacIver
Clan MacIver | |
---|---|
MacÌomhair | |
Motto | nunquam obliviscar ("I will never forget") |
Clan MacIver no longer has a chief, and is an armigerous clan |
Clan MacIver or Clan MacIvor, also known as Clan Iver, is a
Origin of the name
The surname MacIver is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic MacÌomhair "meaning son of Ìomhar". The Gaelic personal name Ìomhar is derived from the Old Norse Ivarr.[3] An early man bearing the surname MacIver was Malcolm McIuyr, whose appears on a list of men in the Sheriffdom of Argyll/Lorne in 1292.[4]
Origin, confusion and Campbells
According to
Campbell claimed that the MacIvers originated in Glenlyon, and settled in Argyll in 1222.[5] The Victorian illustrator R. R. McIan considered the MacIvers to have descended from Duncan, Lord of Lochow, making them descend from the same stock as the Campbells.[1] According to legend, a stronghold of the MacIvers was the ancient fort of Dun Mor (Dunmore)[1], located near Lochgilphead.[4]
According to Ane Accompt of the Genealogie of the Campbells, the eponymous Iver was one of two illegitimate sons of Colin Maol Math (the other illegitimate son being Tavish Coir, from whom the MacTavishes claim descent). According to Ane Accompt, Iver's mother was to have been a daughter of Suibhne, who was the founder of Castle Sween, and is thought to be a member of the kindred of Anrothan who held lands in Cowal, Glassary and Knapdale (Suibhne is claimed as the eponymous ancestor of the MacSweens).[4]
The MacIver-Campbells
The leading family of the MacIver Campbells were the MacIvers of Lergachonzie and Stronshira. A branch of the MacIvers were Captains of the Castle of Inveraray, where the standing stone in the grounds of the castle was said to have been the boundary between the lands of the MacIvers and the MacVicars. Other branches of MacIver Campbells include the MacIver Campbells of Ballochyle in Cowal, the Campbells of Kirnan in Glassary, the Campbells of Pennymore on Loch Fyne, south of Inveraray, and the Campbells of Ardlarach near Ardfern, Craignish.[4]
Principal Campbell himself belonged to the Campbells of Quoycrook in Caithness. They were claimed to have descended from MacIvers of Lergachonzie. Campbell also claimed that the related families to this branch were the Campbells of Duchernan, the Campbells of Thurso and Lochend, and the Iverachs of Wideford in Orkney. Campbell of Airds notes that both the arms of the Iverachs and the Campbells of Duchernan display the gyronny prevalent in Campbell heraldry.[1]
In June, 1564, at Dunoon, in an agreement between Iver MacIver of Lergachonzie, and Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll, the earl renounced all calps from those of the name MacIver, in return for a sum of money, though the Earl reserved the calp of Iver MacIver and his successors. According to Campbell of Airds, it would seem that dating from this agreement many MacIvers began using the name Campbell or MacIver-Campbell.[4]
In July, 1680, men of the Clan MacIver of Argyll who were a sept of the Clan Campbell apparently joined up with the MacIvers of Caithness in support of Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy and fought against the forces of George Sinclair of Keiss at the Battle of Altimarlach, in a dispute over who had the right to the title and lands of the Earl of Caithness. Campbell won the battle, but Sinclair later turned to the law and was awarded the lands and title as Earl of Caithness. Although the MacIvers only formed a small part of Glenorchy's force, they contributed their full share to its success and, according to tradition, the piper of the clan in Caithness, Finlay MacIver, composed the Great Highland bagpipe tune, Bodach-na-briogais, which was inspired by the battle.[6] According to Hugh Fraser Campbell and Walter Biggar Blaikie, Glenorchy's piper, Findlay MacIver, had composed at this time the well known piping tune, The Campbells Are Coming.[7][8]
Northern Macivers
Wester Ross
According to the traditions of the Mackenzies, a clan of Macivers were located in
The Wester Ross Macivers have also been connected to the
Lewis
The early 20th-century historian William C Mackenzie noted that The Highlands of Scotland in 1750 stated that "the most common inhabitants of Lewis are
As tenants of the
Modern clan symbolism
Modern Scottish clan members can show their allegiance to their clan and chief by wearing a
There is little evidence to account for the MacIver tartan, and it is thought to be of relatively recent origin.[14] The tartan is very similar to the Clan Macfie tartan.
Clan Castle
- Glendarroch is about two miles south-west of Lochgilphead in Argyll and is also known as the Robber's Den and Kilduskland.[17] The site is defended on two sides by gorges and also by a rock cut ditch.[17] There are also the remains of two buildings.[17] It is reputedly the refuge of bandits and is said to have been used by the MacIvers in the seventeenth century.[17]
See also
- Clan Campbell, closely related to the MacIver-Campbells
- Thomas Campbell, the poet, was of the MacIver-Campbells
- Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde, who was born Colin MacIver
References
- ^ a b c "Clan MacIver". Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
- ^ "McIver Name Meaning and History". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
- ^ a b c d e "Official List of Septs of Clan Campbell". ccsna.org. Retrieved 14 September 2008.
- ^ a b c Campbell of Airds 2000: pp. 46–47.
- ^ Campbell, Peter (1873). An Account of the Clan-Iver. Aberdeen: P.C. Campbell. p. 33.
- ^ Campbell, Hugh Fraser (1920). Caithness and Sutherland. Cambridge: University Press. p. 51.
- ^ Blaikie, Walter Biggar (1916). Origins of the 'forty-five : and other papers relating to that rising. Edinburgh: Printed at the University press by T. and A. Constable for the Scottish History Society. p. 71.
- ^ Thomas 1879–80: pp. 371–372.
- ^ a b Thomas 1879–80: p. 381.
- ^ "Bealach Nam Brog". CANMORE. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ "Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland". academicmicroforms.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ Mackenzie 1903: p. 64.
- ^ a b Stewart 1974: p. 77.
- ^ Mackenzie 1903: p. 397.
- ^ Way of Plean; Squire 2000: p. 196.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-899874-36-1.
Sources
- ISBN 1-902930-17-7.
- Mackenzie, William Cook (1903). History of the Outer Hebrides. Paisley: Alexander Gardiner.
- Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 14. Archived from the original(PDF) on 11 June 2007.
- Stewart, Donald Calder (1974). The Setts of the Scottish Tartans, with descriptive and historical notes (2nd revised ed.). London: Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers. ISBN 0-85683-011-9.
- ISBN 0-00-472501-8.