| Clan MacFarlane | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Clann Phàrlain[1] | |||
| Motto | This I'll defend | ||
| War cry | Loch Slòigh ("The Loch of the Host") | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Highland | ||
| District | Argyll | ||
| Pipe music | The MacFarlane's Gathering, Thogail nam Bó | ||
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| Clan MacFarlane no longer has a chief, and is anarmigerous clan | |||
| Chief (Mac a' Bhàirling orMacPhàrlain[1]) | |||
| Historic seat | Arrochar | ||
| Last Chief | William MacFarlane, 20th Clan Chief | ||
| Died | 1866 | ||
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Clan MacFarlane (Scottish Gaelic: Clann Phàrlain[ˈkʰl̪ˠãũn̪ˠˈfaːrˠl̪ˠɛn]) is aHighlandScottish clan. Descended from the medievalEarls of Lennox, the MacFarlanes occupied the land forming the western shore ofLoch Lomond fromTarbet up-wards. FromLoch Sloy, a small sheet of water near the foot ofBen Vorlich, they took their war cry ofLoch Slòigh.
The clan was noted for the night time cattle raiding of neighbouring clan lands, (particularly those of Clan Colquhoun), and as such a full moon became known locally as "MacFarlane's Lantern". The ancestral lands of the clan were held by thechiefs until they were sold off for debts, in 1767. Since 1866 the chiefship has been dormant, no one having claimed or obtained rematriculation of the Chief Arms, making Clan MacFarlane a supposedarmigerous clan.[2]
Clan MacFarlane claims descent from the original Earls of Lennox, though the ultimate origin of these earls is murky and has been debated. The nineteenth-century ScottishantiquaryGeorge Chalmers, in hisCaledonia, quoting the twelfth centuryEnglish chroniclerSymeon of Durham, wrote that the original Earls of Lennox descended from an Anglo-Saxon –Arkil, son ofEgfrith. This Arkil, aNorthumbrian chief, was said to have fled to Scotland from the devastation caused by theHarrying of the North byWilliam the Conqueror, and later received control of theLennox district fromMalcolm III of Scotland,[3] though alternative theories state that the original Earls of Lennox may have been of Gaelic descent.[4][5] These two views are not mutually exclusive, as what is now southern Scotland and northern England had, in the post-Roman and early Mediaeval era, been a flux of Gaelic, Brittonic, Scandinavian and Germanic ethnicities.
Clan MacFarlane claims its descent from the original line of the Earls of Lennox, through Gille Chriosd, brother ofMaol Domhnaich, Earl of Lennox, who received in charter, "de terris de superiori Arrochar de Luss", the lands of Arrochar which the MacFarlanes held for centuries until the death of the last chief.[2] Gille Chriosd's son, Donnchadh, also obtained charters for his lands from the Earl of Lennox, and appears in theRagman Rolls as "Dunkan Makilcrift de Leuenaghes"[6] (Duncan son of Gilchrist of Lennox). Donnchadh's grandson was Parlan (or Bartholomew), from whom the clan takes its name from. There is no contemporary evidence of this Parlan or his elided father, only centuries-retrospective assertions that private documentation existed at the time of the Macfarlane attempt to claim the defunct earldom of Lennox. Maolchaluim Mac Pharlain, the son of Parlan, was confirmed the lands of Arrochar and others, and "hence Maolchaluim may be considered as the real founder of the clan".[7] Maolchaluim, in turn, was succeeded by his son, Donnchadh, who obtained by charter the lands of Arrochar, dated in 1395 atInchmurrin. Donnchadh seems to have married Christian, daughter of Sir Colin Campbell of Loch Awe,[8] as stated in a charter of confirmation byDonnchadh, Earl of Lennox, also dated in 1395.[2] Iain Mac Pharlain, in 1420, received confirmation to his lands of Arrochar.
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Not long after, the ancient line of the Earls of Lennox died with the execution of Donnchadh, Earl of Lennox, byJames I of Scotland in 1425. After the earl's death it seems that the MacFarlanes claimed the earldom as heirs male.[7] This claim, though, proved disastrous and the family of the chief were murdered, with the clan's fortunes reduced severely.[7] The destruction of the MacFarlanes would have been inevitable but for an Anndra MacFarlane, who married Barbara,[4] daughter ofJohn Stewart, Lord Darnley, who had been created Earl of Lennox in 1488.[7] Skene claimed that even though Anndra Mac Pharlain, through his marriage, had saved the clan from destruction, he still was refused the chiefship of the clan.[3] Skene also showed that even his son, Sir John MacFarlane, assumed the subordinate designation of "Capitaneus de Clan Pharlane" (Captain of the clan).[3] ThoughAlexander MacBain, in a later edition of Skene's work, pointed out thatCapitaneus was reallyLatin forChief.[3] From this period on the clan appears to have loyally supported the Stewart Earls of Lennox, and for several generations there is little history attributed to the clan.[7]
In the mid sixteenth century, Donnchadh Mac Pharlain of Mac Pharlain, appears to have been a steady supporter ofMatthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox.[7] In 1544, Mac Pharlain led three hundred of his men, andjoined Lennox andGlencairn at theBattle of Glasgow Muir, where they were narrowly defeated.[7] The Mac Pharlains were affected by the forfeitures that followed, though were saved by their very powerful friends, and the chief obtained a remission for his lands.[7] After the defeat, the Earl of Lennox was forced to flee toEngland, and married a niece ofHenry VIII, and afterward returned to Scotland with a huge force supplied by theEnglish king. For fear of further repercussions, the chief of the clan did not personally support Lennox, but instead sent a relative, Bhaltar MacFarlane ofTarbet, with four hundred men, in support of the Earl.[7] The MacFarlane clansmen are said to have acted as light troops, and as guides to the Earl's main force. The sixteenth century, Englishchronicler,Raphael Holinshed described this MacFarlane force as follows: "In these exploytes the Erle had with him Walter McFarlane of Tarbet, and sevenscore of men of the head of Lennox, that spoke bothIrishe and the EnglishScottish tongues very well, lightfootmen very well armed in theshirtes ofmayle, withbows andtwo-handed swords; and being joined with the Scottisharchers and shotte, did much avayleable service in thestreyghts,marishes, and mountayne countries".[9]
At Irwine in 1545, a bond ofmanrent was granted to Hugh, Master of Eglinton to Duncan, uncle of the Laird of MacFarlane.[10] Later in 1547 the clan suffered grievously at theBattle of Pinkie Cleugh, in which the chief, Duncan was slain along with many of his men.[7] The clan, led by Duncan's son, Andrew, fought under theRegentJames Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, against the forces ofMary, Queen of Scots, at theBattle of Langside in 1568.[7][10] The clan's part in the battle is related to by Holinshed: "In this battayle the vaiancie of an Hie-land gentle-man named M'Farlane, stood the Regent's part in great steede; for in the hottest brunte of the fight, he came in with three hundred of his friends and countrymen, and so manfully gave in upon the flanke of the queen's people, that there was great cause of the disordering of them".[9] After the battle, the clan also boasted of capturing threestandards of the Queen's army, which were preserved as trophies for a long time afterwards.[9] For his clan's aid, Andrew was awarded the crest of a "demi-savageproper, holding in his dexter hand a sheaf of arrows, and pointing with his sinister to an imperial crown,or, with the motto,This I'll defend", by theEarl.[7] The crest bestowed on the MacFarlane chief alludes to the defence of the Crown and Kingdom of Scotland, as Mary was seen as rebellion against the Crown.
Nothing is known of Andrew's son, though his grandson, Walter MacFarlane was a staunch supporter of the King.[7] In his time, he was twice besieged in his house, and his castle of Inveruglas was later burned down by English forces.[7]
The clan was denounced by the Government in 1594, to have committing theft, robbery, murder, and tyranny. Later, in 1624, after theBattle of Glen Fruin when the MacFarlanes and their friends the MacGregors killed about 80 members of Clan Colquhoun and their allies, several members of the clan were tried and convicted of such acts, with some being pardoned and others executed.[7] Many others were removed toAberdeenshire andStrathaven inBanffshire, where they assumed the namesM'Caudy,Greisock,M'James andM'Innes. Some to fled to Ireland, and with thefamine there, emigrated further to America where the surname would evolve to McFarland.
The last clan chief, in the direct male line, William Macfarlane, 20th Clan Chief, was born in 1813 and died without issue in 1866. The heir of line then passed to his sister, Jane Watt MacFarlane, who was born in 1817 and who married a Mr James Scott and settled in Sunderland, England. A successful draper, she died in 1887 leaving several children. A current clan chief could be found from one of their descendants.
Several of the clan left and settled inIreland, as part of the force of their superior the Earl of Lennox when he took up his 3000-acre landholding during the plantation (resettlement) of Ireland in the reign ofJames VI, and the leading representative of this branch, McFarland of Hunstown House, fromDublin, made claims (unsuccessful) to the chiefship of the clan.[7] Today the chiefship of the clan is dormant, and the clan can be considered an Armigerous clan.[11]
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The surnameMacFarlane, and other variations of the name, are Anglicisations of the Gaelic patronymicMac Pharlain, meaning "son of Parlan".[16] The Gaelic Parlan orParthalán is likely aGaelicisation of the LatinBartholomaeus.[16] In Moncreiffe's opinion the name was linked withPartholón ofIrish mythology, writing: "Par-tholon or 'Sea-Waves' appears in Irish mythology as the first to take possession of Ireland after theflood".[5]
The following names are considered, by the International Clan MacFarlane Society, to be associated with the clan.[17] Note that the prefixesMac,Mc, andM' are interchangeable. Many of the associated names listed are claimed by other clans.[17]
