Origins of the Clan Maclean

4^th Century BCE — 13^th Century

The Clan Maclean is one of the oldest Gaelic¹ clans of Scotland, settling primarily in the inner Hebrides and the Western Highlands. The Clan Maclean takes its name from its first chief, Gilleain na Tuaighe.¹ when anglicized means “Gillean of the Battle-Axe.“ “Gilleain” means“the Servant of [St.] John.” The name “Maclean” literally means “Son of Gillean” or “Son of the Servant of [St.] John.”²

Genealogy

The direct lineage of the Maclean Chiefs can be traced with confidence as far back Gillean’s 5^th great-grandfather, Old Dugald of Scone.¹ Born around 1050, during the reign of Macbeth, Dugald of Scone served as a Judex (or Judge) and was believed to be a Councillor to David I, King of Scots.

Prior to Old Dugald, the genealogical records are somewhat uncertain, however there are some consistencies in the various genealogical accounts. Dr. John Beaton, the last official seneachie of the Clan Maclean,² Dr. Matthew Kennedy who wrote the definitive Dissertation on the Royal Line of Stewarts,³ and a manuscript recognized by the Lord of the Isles listing the pedigrees of the important clans⁴ all agree in recognizing Ferghuis Abhraruoidh (or Fergus Mór, a Dálriadic king) as the Gillean’s 16^th great-grandfather. Alexander Maclean Sinclair asserts that the books of Ballymote, Leccan, the Skene Manuscript, and MacFirbis’s Genealogies all trace the Maclean’s back to Loarn mac Erc,² a king of Dálriada who lived in the 6^th century and for whom the Lorn kindred was named. Beaton, Kennedy and the O’Clery, in his Book of Genealogies⁵ carry the genealogy further back to include Erc as Gillean’s 19^th great-grandfather. Beaton alone asserts a hereditary line back further naming Gillean’s 34^th great-grandfather as Àengus Turmhi-Temhrach,¹ a legendary High King of Dál Cuinn who is believed to have lived in 384 BCE.

Predecessors

Although the certainty of ancient origins from which the Clan Maclean descended are lost to history, the clan’s senachies, or historians, have maintained traditional claims of descent from the Dálriadic kindred of Lorn⁶ through Loarn mac Erc.²

The Lorn kindred, or Cenél Loairn, was likely the largest of the three kindreds of Dálriada, a kingdom which extended along the western coast of Scotland to the northern coast of Ireland.^7b Two carns on the high mountain separating the Isle of Mull, Carn Cul ri Allabyn and Carn Cul ri Erin,^9&10 noted in the year 503AD are believed to have established an ancient boundary between the Dálriadic Scots and the Cruithne of Alba.¹ Cenél Loairn was centered in Lorne and controlled the northern Argyll, including Mull and Morvern¹¹ by the sixth century.¹

Norse Vikings relentlessly invaded the northern territories⁸ of Dálriada beginning in 795AD and by 888AD Harald Harfagr briefly annexed the Isle of Mull to his Kingdom of Norway.¹ The Norsemen were driven out of Argyll and surrounding regions by 1156,¹ and ultimately out of Scotland at the Battle of Largs in 1263¹² which it is believed Malise mac Gilleain, the second Chief, participated in.¹ It has been speculated that the period of Norse control of Mull may have provided the origin of the Clan. While the potential for a Viking origin exists due to their fleeting control of Mull, the fact that Malise mac Gilleain helped drive out the Vikings at the Battle of Largs¹ not only lessens the likelihood of a Norse origin but further strengthens the Dálriadic claim of clan origin.