Kermac Macmaghan

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Kermac Macmaghan
Refer to caption
Kermac's name as it appears on folio 121v of AM 45 fol (Codex Frisianus): "Kiarnakr son Makamals".[1]

Kermac Macmaghan (

clan. The latter may or may not be an ancestor of Clan Mackenzie
(Clann Choinnich).

Scottish vassal

Map of northern Britain
Locations relating to Kermac's life and times.

In the midpoint of the thirteenth century,

Scottish Crown.[2]

Alexander III depicting the armament of a contemporary mounted knight
.

In 1261, Alexander III sent an embassy to Norway attempting to negotiate the purchase of the Isles from the

vast provincial lordship.[8]

stained glass window commemorating the Battle of Largs.[9]

Thus provoked, Hákon assembled an enormous fleet to reassert Norwegian sovereignty along the north and west coasts of Scotland. In July 1263, this fleet disembarked from Norway, and by mid August, Hákon reaffirmed his overlordship in Shetland and Orkney, forced the submission of Caithness, and arrived in the Hebrides.

castles, oversaw raids into the surrounding mainland.[11] Unfortunately for the Norwegian king, stormy weather drove some of his ships ashore on the Ayrshire coast. A series of inconclusive skirmishes upon the shore near Largs, together with ever-worsening weather, discouraged the Norwegians and convinced them to turn for home. After redistributing portions of the region to certain faithful supporters, Hákon led his forces from the Hebrides and reached the Northern Isles, where he fell ill and died that December.[12]

A painting of a man fending off a stag which is in the midst of attacking another man
Alexander III of Scotland Rescued from the Fury of a Stag by the Intrepidity of Colin Fitzgerald, an eighteenth-century depiction of an unhistorical Mackenzie ancestor purported to have lived during Kermac's floruit.[13][note 1]

Although Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar declares that the Norwegian campaign was a triumph, in reality it was an utter failure.

Alan Hostarius.[20] Heavy fines were extracted from the northern reaches of the Scottish realm. Two hundred head of cattle were extracted from the Caithnessmen,[21] and one hundred eighty head of cattle from the Earl of Ross himself.[22] The severity of this latter fine could be evidence that the earl's actions during the Scoto-Norwegian conflict were deemed unacceptable by the Scottish Crown.[23] In fact, the aforesaid Alexander Comyn and Alan are known to have extracted twenty head of cattle from William's earldom and granted this sum to Kermac as compensation for services rendered.[24][note 2]

In 1266, almost three years after Hákon's abortive campaign, terms of peace were finally agreed upon between the Scottish and Norwegian Crowns. Specifically, with the conclusion of the

Magnús Hákonarson, King of Norway, formally resigned all rights to Mann and the islands on the western coast of Scotland. In so doing, the territorial dispute over Scotland's western maritime region was settled at last.[26]

Ancestral figure

Eilean Donan Castle was constructed by a chieftain from Kintail, a man who could be identical to Kermac.[27] The present structure dates to the early twentieth century,[28] and serves as an example of modern romanticism rather than a mediaeval fortress.[29]

Kermac appears to be identical to Coinneach mac Mathghamhna, a figure who appears in the pedigree of Clan Matheson (Clann Mhic Mhathain) preserved within the fifteenth-century MS 1467.[30] If correct, Kermac would be the clan's eponymous ancestor,[31] and the record of 1264 would be the earliest recorded instance of the Gaelic surname borne by the clan.[32][note 3] Another clan covered within MS 1467 is the neighbouring Clan Mackenzie (Clann Choinnich).[34] Although this Mackenzie genealogy can be interpreted as evidence of a line of descent from Coinneach as well,[35] an alternative interpretation of this source is that it is evidence that the clans share an earlier common ancestor.[36][note 4]

According to tradition that seems to refer to Coinneach, a young chieftain from

Louis IX, King of France,[42] some Scottish noblemen certainly did accompany the king on the campaign.[43]

Notes

  1. George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland.[15] The heroically-depicted Colin may have been a genealogical invention of George Mackenzie, Earl of Cromartie,[16] although there is evidence to suggest a Fitzgerald origin of the clan was claimed somewhat earlier in the seventeenth century.[17] The history of the Mackenzies cannot be securely traced before the fifteenth century. Surviving manuscript histories of the clan date to the seventeenth century, and much of the information preserved by these sources is unreliable in terms of the clan's early history. For instance, these histories assert that the Mackenzies descend from Colin, an otherwise unattested nobleman from Ireland who supposedly lived during the reign of Alexander III and fought for the king at Largs. The absence of names equating to Colin and Fitzgerald from the MS 1467, and the lack of contemporary evidence noting such a man, strongly suggest that this Fitzgerald origin of the Mackenzies is an unhistorical genealogical construction.[18]
  2. ^ The record of this particular transaction exists only in a seventeenth-century transcription.[25] Although Kermac's name is preserved as "Kermac Macmaghan" in this copy,[24] it is likely that the first name is actually a miscopy of "Kennac", an otherwise attested form of the Gaelic names Cainnech and Coinneach.[25]
  3. anglicised as Matheson on account of the similar sound of these names.[32]
    The names (Mac Mhathghamhuin and Matthew) are otherwise unrelated.
  4. Black Book of Clanranald is taken into account—a source that accords a son to Gille Eoin named Cristin—it could be reveal that the Cristin of the Matheson pedigree was a son of Gille Eoin na hAirde. If correct, the genealogical connection between the two clans would seem to date generations before Coinneach.[40] On the other hand, there is reason to suspect that the number of generations outlined in the Mackenzie pedigree may be inaccurate. If taken into account, this pedigree could instead indicate that the genealogical link between the clans exists in the person of Coinneach's son, Murchadh.[31]

Citations

  1. ^ Unger (1871) p. 569; AM 45 Fol (n.d.).
  2. ^ a b Oram (2011) chs. 13–14; Reid (2011).
  3. ^ Beuermann (2010); Brown (2004) p. 68.
  4. ^ Crawford (2013); Wærdahl (2011) p. 49; Brown (2004) p. 56; McDonald (2003a) p. 43; Alexander; Neighbour; Oram (2002) p. 18; McDonald (1997) pp. 105–106; Cowan (1990) pp. 117–118; Crawford or Hall (1971) p. 106; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) p. 212.
  5. ^ Cochran-Yu (2015) pp. 46–47; Munro; Munro (2008); Barrow (2006) p. 146; Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 256; McDonald (2003b) pp. 56, 132; McDonald (1997) p. 106; Cowan (1990) pp. 117–118, 130 n. 70; Crawford or Hall (1971) p. 106; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) p. 212; Matheson (1950) p. 196; Anderson (1922) p. 605; Dasent (1894) pp. 339–340; Vigfusson (1887) p. 327; Flateyjarbok (1868) p. 217.
  6. ^ Alexander; Neighbour; Oram (2002) p. 18.
  7. ^ Crawford (2013).
  8. ^ Brown (2004) p. 56.
  9. ^ Caldwell (1998) p. 28.
  10. ^ Alexander; Neighbour; Oram (2002) p. 18; McDonald (1997) pp. 107–108.
  11. ^ Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) pp. 257–258.
  12. ^ Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) pp. 258–261.
  13. ^ Alexander III of Scotland Rescued (2005).
  14. ^ McKichan (2014) p. 54; Macleod (2013) ch. 4.
  15. ^ Macleod (2013) ch. 4.
  16. ^ Sellar, WDH (1997–1998); Matheson (1950).
  17. ^ MacGregor (2002) pp. 234 n. 125, 221, 237 n. 185.
  18. ^ McKichan (2014) pp. 51–52; MacCoinnich (2003) pp. 176–179.
  19. ^ Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) pp. 260–261; McDonald (1997) p. 115; Cowan (1990) pp. 122–123.
  20. ^ McDonald (1997) pp. 115–116; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) pp. 213–214; Skene (1872) p. 296; Skene (1871) p. 301.
  21. ^ Carpenter (2013) p. 157 § 12; Crawford (2013); Crawford (2004) p. 38; Duncan (1996) p. 581; Crawford or Hall (1971) p. 109; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) p. 214; Fraser-Mackintosh (1875) p. 34; Thomson (1836) p. *31.
  22. ^ Carpenter (2013) p. 157 § 13; McDonald (2003a) p. 44 n. 81; Duncan (1996) p. 581; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) p. 214; Thomson (1836) p. 32*.
  23. ^ McDonald (2003a) p. 44 n. 81.
  24. ^ a b Carpenter (2013) p. 157 § 13; Barrow (2006) p. 146; Grant (2000) pp. 112, 112 n. 18, 113; McDonald (1997) p. 106 n. 11; Cowan (1990) p. 130 n. 70; Black (1971) p. 587; Duncan; Brown (1956–1957) pp. 212 n. 5; Matheson (1950) pp. 196–197; Fraser-Mackintosh (1875) p. 38; Thomson (1836) p. 31*.
  25. ^ a b Matheson (1950) p. 225 n. 12.
  26. ^ Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) p. 263; McDonald (1997) pp. 119–121.
  27. ^ a b Miket; Roberts (2007) pp. 84–87; Macquarrie, AD (1982) pp. 129–130; Matheson (1950) p. 221; Macrae (1910) pp. 293–295.
  28. ^ Archaeological Survey (2008) p. 1.
  29. ^ Archaeological Survey (2008) p. 12; Miket; Roberts (2007) pp. 110–111.
  30. ^ Black (1971) p. 587; Matheson (1950); Skene (1890) pp. 485–486, 486 n. 52; Black; Black (n.d.b).
  31. ^ a b Matheson (1950).
  32. ^ a b Black (1971) p. 587.
  33. ^ Hanks (2006).
  34. ^ Sellar, D (1981); Matheson (1950); Black; Black (n.d.a).
  35. ^ McDonald (1997) p. 106 n. 11; Cowan (1990) p. 130 n. 70; Sellar, D (1981) p. 111; Matheson (1950).
  36. ^ Sellar, D (1981) pp. 110–111, 114 tab. b.
  37. ^ Sellar, D (1981) p. 110.
  38. ^ Skene (1890) p. 485; Black; Black (n.d.a).
  39. ^ Skene (1890) pp. 485–486; Black; Black (n.d.b).
  40. ^ Sellar, D (1981) pp. 110–113, 114 tab. b; Macbain; Kennedy (1894) p. 300.
  41. ^ Duncan (1996) p. 478; Macquarrie, AD (1982) pp. 129–130; Jordan (1979) p. 70; Matheson (1950) pp. 222–223; Luard (1880) p. 93; Giles (1853) p. 323.
  42. ^ Matheson (1950) p. 223.
  43. ^ Macquarrie, A (2001); Matheson (1950) p. 223.

References

Primary sources

Secondary sources

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