| Clan MacLellan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac-a-ghille-dhiolan – (son of the bastard)[1] | |||
| Motto | Think On Sapit Qui Reputat Superba Frango | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Galloway | ||
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| Clan MacLellan no longer has a chief, and is anarmigerous clan | |||
| The 10thLord Kirkcudbright | |||
| Historic seat | MacLellan's Castle | ||
| Last Chief | The Rt. Hon. Camden Gray Maclellan | ||
| Died | 1832 | ||
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TheClan MacLellan is aScottish clan of theScottish Lowlands.[2][3][4] As the clan does not currently have a chief it is considered anArmigerous clan.[2]
The name MacLellan is derived fromMac-a-ghille-dhiolan[1] which meansson of the bastard, and appears originally in the 1273 charter forSweetheart Abbey asMcGillolane.[6] The leadership of the clan can be traced back to Cane McGillolane, a knight in the service ofJohn Balliol in the later 13th century. Cane was the son ofThomas of Galloway,[7][8] who was the illegitimate son ofAlan of Galloway. Cane's son, Donald Mac Cane (The Lord Donald) resided onThreave Island[9] until he was removed byEdward Bruce who then replaced him as the Lord of Galloway. Eventually theBlack Douglas, was made Lord of Galloway igniting a feud with MacLellans that lasted for well over a century. Threave Island was a residence for the priorLords of Galloway, includingFergus and Cane's grandfather, Alan.[10] Donald's son, Gillebertus MacLelan Galvediensis[11] was Captain of Clenconnan[12] and was Bishop ofSodor and Man.[3] Lord Gilbert's brother was Cuthbert of Galloway.[13][14]
During theWars of Scottish Independence, McGillolanes backed their cousin John Balliol. In 1305, Patrick M'Lolan was recorded capturing Dumfries Castle from The Bruce. After Balliol was deposed at the hands ofEdward I, MacLellans still opposed Bruce, helping to re-captureDumfries Castle following the murder of the rival claimantSir John Comyn.[15] With Balliol ascended to the throne of Scotland, M'Lolanes could take their rightful place as Lords of Galloway. UnderRobert the Bruce, that title would fall first to his brother Edward Bruce and eventually to the Black Douglas.
After maintaining forlorn support for the house of Baliol into the early-fourteenth century, the MacLellans were ushered back into service of the Scottish crown whenMaster Gilbert of Galloway became clerk to King Robert and was appointed asArchdeacon of Galloway.[16] Gilbert MacLelan would eventually become Bishop of Sodor and Mann. So successful was MacLellan's reintegration that during the early 15th century there were reputedly no fewer than fourteenknights in Galloway of the name MacLellan.[2] One of these, Sir Alexander MacLellan was cited by the 16th-century historian David Hume of Godscroft (drawing on the monastic Book of Pluscarden) as the Scotsman who slew the duke of Clarence while fighting in French service at theBattle of Baugé in 1421. In 1451,TheTutor of Bomby,[17] SirPatrick Maclellan, Sheriff of Galloway clashed repeatedly withWilliam Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas over outbreaks of lawlessness committed by the earl's retainers. These conflicts culminated when MacLellan rejected Douglas's appeal to join an aristocratic conspiracy against King James II. Douglas captured the sheriff and imprisoned him inThreave Castle. MacLellan's uncle, Sir Andrew Gray of Foulis held high royal office and sent his son, Sir Patrick Gray, into Galloway, with letters from the crown ordering Douglas to release his prisoner. However, Douglas had MacLellan murdered when presented with the royal warrant, whilst he entertained his guest at dinner.[2] Patrick Gray escaped from the castle, and his vow of revenge was realised in brutal form when he stood at the forefront of the loyalist nobles who assassinated the earl of Douglas in front of the king at Stirling in February 1452. Local tradition holds that the MacLellans themselves used the celebrated Scottish cannonMons Meg to batter down Threave Castle in retribution for the murder of their chief.[2] The MacLellan's use of the Mons Meg cannon against Douglas became symbolised in an additional crest with a mortar piece and the mottoSuperba frango which translates toI humble proud things.[18]
As the feud escalated n the following generation, the MacLellan estates were forfeited after repeated raids on the Kirkcudbrightshire lands of theClan Douglas.[2] However,James II restored the family to their lands whenSir William MacLellan, son of Sir Patrick captured theleader of a band of gypsies who had been terrorising the district.[2] William carried the head of the brigand to the king on the point of his sword.[2] The story is one explanation for the MacLellan clan crest; however, aMoor's head has also been considered as an allusion to theCrusades[2] or potentially connected to the similar, prior Lords of Bomby's crest, The Adairs. These events established the MacLellans as a bastion of support for the Stewart crown in a region prone to lawlessness and aristocratic powerplay. Their affiliation was confirmed in 1488 when Sir Thomas MacLellan supportedJames III against the rebellion that ended in the death of the king after theBattle of Sauchieburn. With most of the magnates of the south-west and the borders fighting in support of the insurrection, MacLellan's residence was burned to the ground after the monarch's defeat.[19]
The family suffered severely during theAnglo-Scottish Wars of the reigns ofJames IV andJames V of Scotland. Sir William Maclellan of Bombie was knighted by King James IV but was killed at theBattle of Flodden in 1513 fighting for the king.[2][20] William's son, Thomas, was killed in Edinburgh at the door ofSt Giles' Cathedral byGordon of Lochinvar in 1526.[2] Thomas's younger brother, William Maclellan of Nunton presided over the family as Tutor of Bombie while Thomas's son was in infancy, and mobilised the successful defence of Kirkcudbright against English besiegers in 1547. The younger Thomas Maclellan was killed in the same year at theBattle of Pinkie. In the following generation, Sir Thomas Maclellan of Bombie fought for Mary, Queen of Scots at theBattle of Langside, and prospered subsequently under her son James VI.[21] He served as Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the king, and as provost of Kirkcudbright, constructingMacLellan's Castle as a fashionable gentleman's residence overseeing the town.
Sir Robert MacLellan was a courtier both toJames VI andCharles I.[2] In 1633 he was raised to the peerage as Lord Kirkcudbright.[2] During theScottish Civil War the third Lord was such a zealous royalist that he incurred enormous debts in the king’s cause.[2] As a result, the estates were completely ruined.[2]
There were two claimants to the chief's title at the beginning of the 18th century and the dispute was finally settled by theHouse of Lords in 1761.[2] However, the title became dormant again when the tenth Lord died inBruges in 1832.[2]
MacLellan's Castle, found inKirkcudbright in south-west Scotland was the seat of the chief of Clan MacLellan. The castle's beginnings lie in theReformation of 1560 which led to the abandonment of theConvent of Greyfriars which had stood on the site since 1449. The materials used to build the castle were taken from Lochfergus in Bomby in 1582 from a castle previously owned by the Lords of Galloway and where John M'Lelan of Lochfergus is mentioned in 1448.[22]
There are concentrations of MacLellans found in theWestern Isles onUist. The surname borne by these MacLellans is represented by the GaelicMac Gille Fhialain, instead of the usual formMac Gille Fhaolain borne by other MacLellans.[23][note 1] The Uist MacLellans were once known collectively asNa Faolanaich. TheNorth Uist MacLellans are also known asClann Iain Mhóir, after Iain Mór (John Mor MacLellan), a 17th-century ancestor. It is possible that this family descends from theSouth Uist MacLellans who migrated to North Uist.[23]
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