Simon Fraser, 11. Lord Lovat, lebte mit der Aussicht im Exil, dass sein Clan und sein Land von einem Mackenzie übernommen wurden. Dieser war mit Lady Amelia Fraser of Lovat, Tochter des 9. Lord Lovat und zweite Cousine von Simon, verheiratet.

Nach dem Ausbruch des Jakobitenaufstandes von 1715 kehrte Simon Fraser, 11. Lord Lovat, nach Schottland zurück. Obwohl er Jacobite und ein standhafter Mann war, bot er seine Dienste John Campbell, dem zweiten Herzog von Argyll, an. Dieser hatte das Oberkommando über die britischen Streitkräfte in Schottland inne. Lord Lovat nutzte es dazu sich in Schottland wiederherzustellen. Dies wäre ein schwerer Schlag für die Jakobiter, so musste ihm Argyll eine Chance geben.

Lord Lovat und John Forbes von Culloden, die auch die Regierung unterstützten, trafen sich in Kilravock Castle mit Hugh Rose, dem Chef des Clan Rose. Rose war ein überzeugter Verfechter der hannoverschen Regierung.

Die Belagerung

Lovat, Forbes und Rose bildeten ihre vereinten Kräfte auf der Seite des Flusses Ness gegenüber dem Schloss Inverness. Der Inverness Burgh Council (der die Jakobiten unterstützte) schickte einen Boten, der den Chef des Clan MacDonald von Keppoch um Hilfe bat.
Die MacDonalds näherten sich den Frasern von hinten, aber Lovat schickte den Reverend Thomas Fraser von Stratherrick, um mit ihnen zu spielen. Da Keppoch MacDonald sich nicht den Weg nach Inverness erkämpfen wollte, ging er durch die Hügel nach Süden.

Sir John Mackenzie von Coul hatte auch eine Nachricht an den Clan Mackintosh. In der Nachricht bat er darum 500 Männer zu schicken, um die 300 Mackenzies in Inverness zu verstärken. Als Reaktion darauf befahl Lovat seinen Truppen, das Lager zu durchbrechen und südlich von Inverness aufzubrechen. Er drohte, das Land Mackintosh zu verwüsten. Die Mackintoshes zogen sich zurück und schworen, dass sie nur umzogen, um ihr Land gegen MacDonald von Keppoch zu verteidigen, und dass sie nicht an der Rebellion teilnehmen wollten.

Lovat hielt einen Rat unter seinen Männern mit den Whig-Lords, die eine Belagerung bevorzugten, um die Jakobiten auszuhungern. Er aber beschloss, stattdessen die Stadt anzugreifen. Bevor er jedoch einen Zug machen konnte, war Aurthur Rose, der jüngere Sohn von Rose of Kilravrock, zusammen mit seinem Bruder Robert und einer Handvoll Männern mit einem Boot nach Inverness aufgebrochen.

Rose von Kilravrock und Forbes von Culloden hatten die Stadt bereits von Südosten her blockiert. Als Sir John Mackenzie von dem bevorstehenden Angriff erfuhr, nahm er im Tolbooth, einem starken Gebäude im Zentrum der Stadt, Stellung. Arthur Rose hatte einen Wachmann mit seiner Pistole im Dunkeln überrascht und ihn benutzt, um die Tür des Wachhauses zu öffnen. Rose versuchte hereinzustürmen, aber die Wache gab Alarm. Da er ein Feind war, wurde Rose in der Tür zerquetscht und in dieser Position von den Mackenzies erschossen. Er war der einzige tote bei der Belagerung.

Am nächsten Tag stimmte Sir John Mackenzie von Coul zu, Inverness unter der Bedingung zu übergeben, dass er sich dem Earl of Mar, Führer der jakobitischen Armee, anschließen durfte. Sir John Mackenzie und seine Männer flohen sofort in ihren Booten vom Pier von Inverness. Sie ließen in Eile ihr ganzes Gepäck zurück, um den Kontakt mit den sich nähernden Frasers zu vermeiden.

Nachbereitung

Am 12. November 1715 besetzten die Hannoveraner Inverness. Simon Fraser, 11. Lord Lovat, marschierte in die Stadt ein, unterstützt von 800 Männern vom Clan Grant und 400 Männern vom Clan Munro. Lovat verließ Inverness am 15. November 1715, nachdem Sir Robert Munro, der 6. Baronet, zum Gouverneur der Stadt ernannt worden war.

Für einige Zeit wurde die Entwaffnung der Rebellen durch ein Munro-Kommando unter seinem jüngeren Bruder George Munro, 1. von Culcairn, unterstützt. Am 10. März 1716 unterzeichnete Georg I. von Großbritannien ein Dokument, das Simon Fraser, 11. Lord Lovat, zum ersten Mal seit zwanzig Jahren als freies, rechtmäßiges und britisches Subjekt bestätigte.

Eine interessante Geschichte, die den “Alten Fuchs” genau darstellt. Er windet sich hin und her um das beste für sich und seinen Clan heraus zu holen.

1645, in der Schlacht von Auldearn, in Nairnshire, widersetzte sich der Clan dem königlichen Führer James Graham, 1. Marquess of Montrose, und kämpfte unter einem Fraser of Struy (aus einem kleinen Dorf an der Mündung von Glen Strathfarrar). Die Schlacht brachte 87 Fraser-Witwen hervor. Ein Gedicht über die Schlacht lautet:

“Hier tötet Fraser Fraser, ein Browndoth tötet einen Browndoth.
ein Bold einen Bold einen Bold, und Lieth’s von Lieth wurde gestürzt.
Ein Forbes gegen ein Forbes und ihre Doeth stehen,
Und Drummonds kämpfen mit Drummonds Hand in Hand.
Dort verursacht der Dith Magill den Tod eines Magills,
und Gordon hat die Kraft von Gordon, es zu versuchen.
Oh! Schottland, waren sie doch verrückt? Abseits deiner eigenen einheimischen Schlucht.
So viel bis jetzt, dass du noch nie zuvor vergossen hast.”

1649 Die zweite Belagerung von Inverness

1649 griff der Clan Fraser of Lovat unter Oberst Hugh Fraser zum zweiten Mal das Schloss Inverness an, diesmal während eines royalistischen Aufstandes, zusammen mit John Munro von Lemlair, Thomas Urquhart und Thomas Mackenzie von Pluscardine. Sie alle waren gegen die Autorität des Parlaments, griffen die Stadt an und nahmen die Burg in der Belagerung von Inverness (1649) ein. Dann vertrieben sie die Garnison und errichteten die Befestigungen. Auf dem Weg der parlamentarischen Kräfte unter der Führung von General Leslie zogen sich die Clans jedoch zurück nach Rossshire.

Weitere Konflikte zwischen 1650 und 1689

Im Laufe des nächsten Jahres fanden mehrere Scharmützel zwischen diesen Parteien statt. Während der Belagerung von Inverness (1650) verteidigten die Covenanter Frasers of Lovat unter Sir James Fraser von Brea erfolgreich Inverness Castle gegen die Royalisten.

1650, in der Schlacht von Dunbar, kämpfte der Clan Fraser gegen die Truppen von Oliver Cromwell. Doch die Bündnispartner wurden besiegt.

1651 trat der Clan Fraser der Armee Karls II. in Stirling bei. Sie kämpften in der Schlacht von Worcester, wo die Armee des Königs von Oliver Cromwells New Model Army besiegt wurde.

1689 setzte die Glorreiche Revolution den römisch-katholischen König James VII. als Monarch von England ab und ersetzte den König durch seine protestantische Tochter Mary, ihrem Mann und Cousin William von Orange. Eilig daraufhin wurde im März in Edinburgh eine Konvention der Stände einberufen, die William & Mary als gemeinsame Monarchen von Schottland unterstützte. Doch zu weiten Teilen Schottlands, insbesondere in den Highlands, galt James immer noch als der rechtmäßige, legitime König.

Am 16. April 1689 hob John Graham von Claverhouse, Vicunt of Dundee, später bekannt als Bonnie Dundee, den königlichen Rang des kürzlich abgesetzten Königs James VII. auf der Anhöhe des Dundee Law an. Viele der Highland-Clans sammelten sich schnell an seiner Seite. Der Chief des Clan Fraser, Hugh Fraser, versuchte, die Mitglieder seines Clans davon abzuhalten, sich dem Aufstand anzuschließen, ohne Erfolg: Der Clan marschierte ohne ihn und kämpfte in der Schlacht von Killiecrankie.

1429 – Die Schlacht von Mamsha.

1429 belagerte Alexander von Islay (Graf von Ross, Chief des Clan Donald) Inverness Castle und brannte die Stadt Inverness bis auf den letzten Stein nieder. Hugh Fraser behinderte 1429 eine Passage durch sein Territorium und veranlasste Alexander von Islay einen Umweg zu nehmen.
Der “Herr der Inseln” war entschlossen, den Fraser Chief zu bestrafen. Er machte sich von Lochaber aus auf den Weg und hinterließ seine Krieger in Inverness. Diese sollten Vergeltungsmaßnahmen gegen Fraser und seine Gefolgschaft ausüben. Die Truppen wurden von Tag zu Tag mit neuen Ankömmlingen aus dem Westen verstärkt, bis er selbst hinzukam, um Fraser’s Burg zu belagern. Die Frasers waren jedoch zu viele und griffen die MacDonalds in der Nähe von Lovat an. Aufgrund der sich entgegenstellenden Übermacht der Frasers waren die MacDonalds gezwungen, die Belagerung aufzugeben und sich zurückzuziehen.
Während des Marsches der MacDonalds fanden mehrere Gefechte statt. Als sie das Moor von Caiplich (einige Meilen westlich von Inverness entfernt) erreichten, hielten sie an um der Bucht zu kämpfen. Die MacDonalds kämpften mit Mut und Entschlossenheit, aber ohne Erfolg und wurden von den Frasern besiegt. Sie wurden besiegt und komplett von den Frasern vertrieben.
Die Krieger des Clan MacDonald waren lange Zeit danach nicht bereit sich in den Frieden und die Ruhe des Fraser-Landes in Inverness-shire, das als The Aird bekannt war einzumischen.

1544 – Die Schlacht der Hemden (Blar-na-Léine | Battle of the Shirts)

Die Frasers unterstützten als Teil einer großen Koalition einen Sohn des fünften Chiefs, Ranald Gallda (der Fremde), den die MacDonalds für unannehmbar hielten.
Der Earl of Argyll intervenierte und weigerte sich, die beiden Streitkräfte eingreifen zu lassen. Aber auf ihrem Heimweg wurden 300 Frasers von 500 MacDonalds überfallen. Nur fünf Frasers und acht MacDonalds sollen die Schlacht überlebt haben. Sowohl der Clanchief Hugh Fraser, der dritte Lord Lovat, als auch sein Sohn gehörten zu den Toten und wurden im Priorat Beauly begraben.

Hier geht es zur kompletten Geschichte

1562 – Die erste Belagerung von Inverness

Bei der Belagerung von Inverness 1562 unterstützte der Clan Fraser of Lovat Lady Mary, die Königin der Schotten. Als sie von der Gefahr ihres Herrschers hörten, strömten eine große Anzahl der bedeutendsten Schotten um Lady Mary herum. Besonders die im nördlichen Teil Schottlands wohnenden Frasers und Munros, die als die tapfersten der Clans angesehen wurden. Diese beiden Clans nahmen Inverness Castle für die Königin ein.

It consisted of bribing poor parents with a “Boll o’ Meal” (bag or ladle full of grain). It was about replacing the own surname with the surname of the clan.
Accordingly, a person, or a whole clan, living in or near the territory of another clan declares that they are willing to accept the name of that clan in recognition and gratitude for their protection and support.

According to a popular saying around Beauly illustrates this as follows: “Frisealach am boll a mine”. The origin of the proverb indicates that some Bissets changed their name from Bisset to Fraser for this reason. There are other records that members of the Farquharsons, Forbeses and Gordons families also became Frasers through this species.

Today it is a great honour to have the last name of the clan in it’s own.

Many of Fraser’s escapades centred on his desire to attain the title of Lord Lovat. He saw that as rightfully his, being son of the 10th Lord. However, it wasn’t as simple as that. Simon’s father was only recognised as Lord Lovat posthumously, three years after the previous Lord, Simon’s cousin, died. The succession was complicated by Simon having a rival; the female heir of the 9th Lord. Indeed, that Amelia was herself later recognised for some time as the Baroness Lovat. Simon’s first cunning scheme was to elope with the young Amelia; an idea to which she seemed partial. That never happened and Simon instead turned his devious intentions to her mother, the elder Lady Amelia Lovat, whom he abducted. His desperate aim was to forcibly marry her and claim the title. A ceremony was carried out and the marriage reputedly consummated when Simon’s ghillies slit the Lady’s stays with their dirks, whilst his pipers drowned her screams.

Soon after, having roused the fury of Amelia’s family, Simon was forced to flee the country. Fraser spent the next six years on the Continent, travelling around and paying frequent visits to the Jacobite court. Never being one to pass up an opportunity to further his own schemes, Fraser took the opportunity to convert to Catholicism and ingratiated himself with those who supported the Stewart cause. He seems to have honed his talents for intrigue and double-dealing whilst at St. Germain, in France, even laying down plans for a possible rising in Scotland. It’s fair to say that Fraser rivalled the Master of Gray for the title of Scotland’s Machiavelli. Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon and the second wife of King Louis XIV of France, once described MacShimi as “un homme ravissant” (‘an entrancing man’) – yes, he was far more debonair in his thirties (he was born around 1667) than his latter day image portrays.

Fraser returned to Scotland, in 1703, with a plot to compromise the 1st Duke of Atholl, brother of his ‘bride’. He was still trying to gain the title he coveted, however, the marriage was by then annulled and Amelia had remarried. His Machiavellian plans to implicate Atholl as a Jacobite were thwarted and Simon slunk back to his estates to bide his time. If you get the picture, there he was, trying to stitch up Atholl and all the while continuing to correspond with his own exiled Jacobite cronies. His deviousness extended to asking the ‘King across the water’ to create him Duke of Fraser – the price of his loyalty – simultaneous with his attempts to ingratiate himself with the Hanoverians in London. All of which would have made Patrick, Master of Gray, look like a novice!

Come the Rising of 1715, Simon stayed out of the firing line and took advantage by helping himself to the sequestered lands of defeated Jacobites. Afterwards, during the Rising of 1719, his plotting continued, first promising the Earl of Seaforth that he would raise the Frasers for the King, then giving orders to the Clan to oppose the Rising. He was tipped off that he was betrayed and somehow managed to wheedle his way out of trouble once again and headed for sanctuary in London.

Finally, in 1730, aided by his cunning and the younger Amelia being forfeited as a Jacobite, he won a long drawn out legal battle and the title of 11th Lord Lovat. Amazingly, his incorrigible double dealing continued as he maintained connections and provided support for the Jacobites. Then along came the ’45, when he cannily hedged his bets, before belatedly joining the Rebel cause – a fatal mistake. At first, he wrote to the Lord Advocate of Scotland, referring to Charles Edward Stuart as, “That mad and unaccountable gentleman” and proffered his support for the government. Then, within days, he also wrote to Prince Charles in Edinburgh. Ultimately, he came out for the Prince, contributing a regiment of two battalions, around 500 men in total, under the command of his eldest son, the Master of Lovat.

When he heard of the defeat at Culloden, he was reputed to have said, “None but a mad fool would have fought that day.” The night after the defeat, Lovat and the Bonnie Prince met for the only time. As Charlie was scurrying away, seeking to evade capture, Lovat advised him to return to France; to try another day. Lovat himself fled to an island on Lake Morar, where a Captain Fergusson laid claim to his capture. If you can imagine the aged and infirm MacShimi, a grotesquely corpulent man, hiding inside a hollow tree, picture his bare legs sticking out like pale beacons against the bark. This wretched sight gave away the arch schemer. He was taken in a litter to the Tower of London, where he remained until his trial in Westminster Hall the following March.

During his trial, Lovat conducted himself with dignity, even sitting for the infamous portrait by Hogarth. He was beheaded on the 9th of April, 1747. In a final ironic twist, one of the wooden grandstands set up for Londoners to watch his execution collapsed, resulting in several deaths preceding his own.

Like many another so-called Scottish noble family, the Frasers were in fact Norman-French. They originated in Anjou and Normandy and appeared in Scotland for the first time around 1160, during the reign of Malcolm ‘the Maiden’.

Original from Ian Colville

Robert Low, in his excellent novel “The Lion at Bay”, has the battle take place on Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Presentation of our Lord Jesus, Sunday the 2nd of February 1304. Traditionally the 40th day of the Christmas-Epiphany season, Candlemas was an unfortunate day for a battle, but war is no respecter of Christian traditions. No doubt Low settled on the 2nd to fit in with the timeline of his narrative.

Most sources point to a later date, towards the end of the month. The Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland, II, no. 1432 [Edinburgh, 1881, ed. J. Bain] has it chronologically after the surrender of the Comyn and others at Perth, on the 9th of February. That places the battle later in the month, when Longshanks, then occupying Dunfermline, dispatched a mounted force under Sir John de Segrave, on a scouting mission cum raid into Selkirk Forest with the intention of rooting out and capturing Wallace, Sir Simon Fraser, and their fellow patriots.

The same source has the English king, at Aberdour on the 3rd of March, applauding ‘their diligence in his affairs, and begs them to complete the business they have begun so well and to bring matters to a close before they leave the parts on that side [the Forth].’ As an insight into the character of Longshanks, the entry in the Royal Charters quotes him as urging them earnestly, “as the cloak is well made, also to make the hood.” You can deduce from that, the battle occurred sometime between the 9th of February and the 3rd of March. You can also deduce that de Segrave wasn’t entirely successful i.e., he captured neither Wallace nor Fraser.

The English led force did discover the guerilla band of Wallace and Fraser, and the Battle of Happrew took place. It resulted in a defeat for the Scots, but they weren’t routed, and the two principles on the Scottish side managed to steal away. There is no information about the course of the battle, who first attacked whom and what formations were employed on either side. History has drawn a blank on that detail, but Low has a great account of it in his book. I recommend you give it a read.

Andrew Fisher, in his biography entitled simply William Wallace, mentions the battle a couple of times, but with no detail other than that Wallace and Fraser were defeated, and escaped. Blind Harry makes no mention whatsoever of the battle. In William Wallace Braveheart, by James Mackay, the battle is described as ‘a bloody encounter’ and the English force as ‘large’. Mackay goes on to state that Happrew was William Wallace’s last battle. Revealing the treacherous underside of history, Mackay also states that, leading up to the battle, Wallace was tracked down by a fellow Scot, one John of Musselburgh, who was given ten shillings from Longshanks’ own hand as a reward.

Another Scot who had reason to be ashamed of himself that day was Sir Robert de Bruce, the future King. Sir Robert, despite his forthright claims of right to the throne in Scotland, was in the English led contingent under de Segrave. At that time, de Bruce had been active in Edward’s service for a couple of years. Indeed, he had been given the command of the garrison in the castle of Ayr. The Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland, in the reference to Edward applauding ‘their diligence’ as above, precedes that sentence with the damning introduction: ‘The K. to his loyal and faithful Robert de Bruce earl of Carrick, Sir John de Segrave, and their company’. The Bruce, of course, was biding his time.

For Sir John de Segrave, 2nd Baron Segrave, the Battle of Happrew was his second encounter with the Scottish resistance. A year earlier, at the Battle of Roslin, de Segrave was severely wounded and taken prisoner along with twenty other knights. He was captured by a group of patriots under the command of Sir Simon Fraser and Sir John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch. Notably, at that time, the Comyn was far more of a patriot than de Bruce, engaged in actual fighting against the English up until his surrender on the 9th of February.

Unluckily for Wallace, de Segrave was rescued at Roslin, and recovered enough to lead the search a year later. After Happrew, de Segrave was present at the siege of Stirling Castle, which surrendered on the 24th of July 1304. On the departure of Edward I, de Segrave was appointed Justice and Captain in Scotland south of the River Forth. After the betrayal and capture of William Wallace, de Segrave personally escorted him to London, and after Wallace’s death, de Segrave was the man who took the  quartered parts of his body back to Scotland.

The Battle of Happrew took place on Sir Simon Fraser’s home territory, in the vicinity of Stobo, near Peebles, by the Lyne Water, a tributary of the River Tweed, in the former county of Peeblesshire, now the district of Tweeddale. You’ll find Easter Happrew and Wester Happrew on Google Maps these days, near Hallyne on the A72 west of Peebles. However, the precise location of the skirmish isnae weel kent, although it’s not far from Sherrif Muir, the scene of another famous battle.

Wikipedia refers to the battle having involved “A chevauchée of English knights.” However, the same source describes a chevauchée as a raiding method of medieval warfare. In any event, the occupying invader’s force, led by Sir John de Segrave, is likely to have numbered in the hundreds, while Wallace and Fraser may have led as few as fifty men.

Original from Ian Colville

The Battle of the Shirts was fought in the summer of 1544 between the protagonists, John of Moidart (Iain Moydertach), Chief of Clan Ranald, supported by the Macdonalds and Camerons, and Hugh, 3rd Lord Lovat, the MacShimi Chief of Clan Fraser of Lovat. The Frasers, together with their allies, the Grants, were returning home along the Great Glen after assisting the Gordon, Earl of Huntly, whose army had penetrated as far as Inverlochy in an abortive campaign against the Highlanders. Reputedly the largest and most bloody inter-clan battle ever fought, close to one thousand men fought in hand-to-hand combat before the Fraser force was almost completely wiped out. The battle was fought on ground now underwater at the head of Loch Lochy and was so called, because it took place on a hot day in July and the two sides threw off their plaids and kilts to fight in just their shirts! After the death of James V and during the minority of the infant Mary, Queen of Scots, a period of turbulence and oppression ensued in the Highlands, accompanied by scenes of ferocity and lawlessness. Clan Ranald was particularly active in these unruly activities and its long standing mutual enmity with the Frasers was further fuelled by the usurpation of Lord Lovat’s brother in law, Ranald mac Allan of Moidart (known as Ranald Gallda, ‘the Stranger’), by his cousin, John mac Ranald of Moidart. Internecine warfare amongst the clans was rife and it normally didn’t need too much of an excuse for a conflict to start. Ranald Gallda had claimed the Chieftainship of Clan Ranald, but after the episode when he became known to the Macdonalds as ‘Ranald of the Hens’, he was dismissed. In 1531, John of Moidart had become legitimate leader of Clan Ranald after the death (some say killing) of the sixth Chief, Alasdair. After a period during which John was imprisoned and escaped, and Ranald of the Hens was laughed out of Moidart, John reasserted his authority, in 1542. Two years later, in extending their territorial claims, John of Moidart and his cronies, Ewen Mlenson and Ronald M’Coneilglas, had caused the whole country of Urquhart and Glenmorriston, which belonged to the Laird of Grant, and the MacShimi country of Abertarf and Strathglass, to be wasted and plundered. As a consequence, the Earl of Arran, acting as Regent, made the Earl of Huntly and the Earl of Argyll Lieutenant-General of all the Highlands and Lieutenant of Argyle and the Isles, respectively, in order to restore peace to the region. The Earl of Huntly raised a large army, comprised of Macintoshes, Grants, and Frasers and in May, 1544, marched against Clan Ranald and Clan Cameron. Meanwhile, the Earl of Argyll had been successful in persuading many of the invading Macdonalds and their allies to retire from the conquered lands in Badenoch and return to their own western territories. This kind of took the wind out of Huntly’s sails and he withdrew, leaving the Frasers and Grants to return to their own lands.
However, on his way back, Lord Lovat arrived at Letterfinlay and was told that Clan Ranald was on the march to intercept him. As soon as he reached the north end of Loch Lochy, he perceived the Macdonalds, about five hundred strong, descending from the west and sweeping across the burn that cuts the brae at the foot of Ben Tigh. Lovat had no choice; he could neither refuse nor avoid battle.

As a prelude to the slaughter, a sort of skirmish took place with bows and arrows, until both sides had expended their stock of shafts. The combatants then drew their swords and, in time honoured Highland fashion, charged upon each other with deadly intent. It is said that Cameron archers charged headlong into the fray, recovered their spent arrows and fired again at the Frasers, this time with deadly, point-blank accuracy. The carnage was terrible and few escaped on either side as only the darkness of night put an end to the fighting. Lord Lovat was left dead on the field and his eldest son was mortally wounded. He died three days later, having been taken prisoner. According to tradition handed down in clan records, only four of the Frasers and ten of Clan Ranald remained alive. It seems certain that the Frasers came off the worst as almost the entire able male population was lost. Legend has it that eighty of the deceased Fraser men left pregnant wives at home, each of whom delivered a baby boy and in such fashion saved the clan from extinction. As soon as news of the battle was brought to the Earl of Huntly, he returned to Lochaber with an army and apprehended many of the leading men of the hostile tribes, including Ewen Cameron, who was executed, in 1547. However, John of Moidart not only survived the battle, he escaped retribution by fleeing to the Isles. Later, during the absence of the Earl of Huntly in France, John returned and recommenced his disorderly deeds. Some people would have you believe that ‘Blar na Léine’ is merely a corruption of ‘Blar na Leana’, which means the ‘Field of the Swampy Meadow’. My belief is that the battle was fought at a site, which was indeed known as the ‘Swampy Meadow’, but after the battle, in reference to the manner of fighting, it became commemorated as ‘Blar na Léine’ or the ‘Field of the Shirts’. In a sense, though, many battles fought by Highlanders could have been so called as the habit of casting off their distinctive, but cumbersome, garments was entirely practical. In the 16th Century, fighting men wore armour, including lined helmets, hammered steel breastplates with quilted gambesons beneath, and heavy jacks of iron-studded, quilted canvas. Not surprising then, that in the sweltering heat and in a battle of such ferocity and duration, the men disposed of their outer garments; right down to their shirts.

Original from Ian Colville