| Clan Macnab | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Crest: The head of a savage affrontée Proper | |||
| Motto | Timor Omnis Abesto (Let fear be far from all)
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| Profile | |||
| Plant badge | Stone bramble or common heath | ||
| Chief | |||
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| James William Archibald Macnab of Macnab[1][2] | |||
| 24th Chief of Clan Macnab.[1][2] | |||
| Historic seat | MacNab Castle | ||
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Clan Macnab is a HighlandScottish clan.
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The name Macnab is derived from theScottish GaelicMac An Aba, which meanschild of the abbot.[3] According to tradition the progenitor of the clan wasAbraruadh who was the Abbot ofGlen Dochart andStrathearn.[3] Abraruadh was allegedly a younger son ofKenneth MacAlpin, the first king of Scots.[3] (See:Siol Alpin). Abraruadh was also descended fromFergus, king ofDál Riata and a nephew ofSaint Fillan, who was the founder of the monastery in Glen Dochart in the seventh century.[3]
One of the earliest records of the Macnab family is on a charter of 1124.[3] Malcolm de Glendochart appears in theRagman Rolls of 1296 and submitted toEdward I of England.[3]
Angus Macnab was brother-in-law ofJohn III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch who was murdered byRobert the Bruce in 1306.[3] Macnab then joined forces with theClan MacDougall in their campaign against the Bruce when Bruce was nearly captured at theBattle of Dalrigh.[3] When the Bruce's power consolidated after his victory at theBattle of Bannockburn in 1314, the Macnab lands were forfeited and their charters were destroyed.[3]
The fortunes of the Clan Macnab were restored to some extent when Angus's grandson, Gilbert, received a charter fromDavid II of Scotland in 1336.[3] Gilbert was succeeded by his son, Sir Alexander Macnab, who died in about 1407.[3]
Many battles were fought between the Clan Macnab and the Clan Neish. The last battle between them was theBattle of Glenboultachan where the Macnabs were victorious.[4] The Neishes were killed almost to a man. However, some Neishes survived and continued to live on what they calledNeish Island. The Neishes continued to plunder the neighbourhood and feuds continued.[5]
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Chief Finlay Macnab was a man of peace but protected his lands against the foraging royalist forces ofJames Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose in the mid-1640s.[3] However Finlay's son, who was known asSmooth John, did not follow his father's peaceful ways and actually joined forces with Montrose, contributing to the royal victory at theBattle of Kilsyth in 1645.[3]Smooth John Macnab was appointed to garrison Montrose's ownKincardine Castle.[3] GeneralDavid Leslie, Lord Newark subsequently laid siege to the castle.[3] The castle's whole garrison however, managed break through theCovenanter lines and fought their way clear, but John Macnab was captured.[3] He was taken toEdinburgh and sentenced to death but escaped on the eve of his execution.[3] He went on to lead three hundred of his clansmen at theBattle of Worcester in 1651.[3]
On 13 July 1680 the Chief of Clan Macnab and his followers fought at theBattle of Altimarlach in support ofSir John Campbell of Glenorchy and againstGeorge Sinclair of Keiss, in a dispute over who had the right to the lands and title of theEarl of Caithness. Campbell won a decisive victory in the battle, but Sinclair later turned to the law and was awarded the title and the lands as Earl of Caithness.[6][7]
Robert Macnab, the fourteenth chief of Clan Macnab married a sister ofJohn Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland. This connection to the Clan Campbell constrained him from supporting the Jacobites in the rising of 1715, although many of his clansmen did take part.[3] The fifteenth chief was a major in the Hanoverian government army and was captured at theBattle of Prestonpans in 1745. He was then held prisoner inDoune Castle.[3]
The current chief is the 24th, James William Archibald Macnab of Macnab who succeeded his father,James Charles Macnab of Macnab, in 2013.[8]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.