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MacFarlane
is from the Gaelic Mac Pharlain meaning 'Son of Parlan,' which comes
from the Old Irish name Partholon, often translated 'Bartholomew.' The
chiefs, and later the clan, took this from their ancestor Parlan, whose
great-grandfather Gilchrist of Arrochar was a younger son of Alwyn, Earl
of Lennox from 1180 to 1225. In 1230 Gilchrist's older brother, Mauldin,
gave him the lands of Arrochar on the western shore of Loch Lomond. In
1280 these same lands were confirmed to his son and successor Duncan
MacGilchrist. These ancient Celtic earls of the Lennox, the remote
forefathers of the MacFarlanes, were themselves Gaels in origin,
although they sometimes bore old Anglo-Saxon names because of their
descent from an heiress of the line of the great Northumbrian thegn
Arkil Ecgfrith's-sin, who fled to Scotland from William the Conqueror in
1070.
A famous scholar of Celtic myth suggests of the use of
the name Parlan by the Lennox family: 'that parlan or Partholon has
figured from time immemorial in the family legend of the Gaelic earls of
Lennox as a great ancestor, and possibly as a divine personage.' For the
ancient dynastic houses of the Gaels usually traced themselves back to
sacred Spirits whom they may have incarnated in pagan times, and Par-tholon
or 'Sea-Waves' appears in Irish mythology as the first to take
possession of Ireland after the Flood. According to the old Irish Gaelic
MS. genealogies, these mormaers or earls of the Lennox spring from the
ancient royal house of Munster (though several generations are omitted),
and this is certainly supported by the family's continued use of the
Munster royal family names Muireadhach, Maelduin and Corc as late as the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
The senior branches of the Lennox family came to a grisly
end in 1425, when eighty-year-old Duncan, Earl of Lennox, had his grey
head hacked off after being made to watch his own Stewart grandsons
being put to death first, all to slake James I's hatred of the old
nobleman's late son-in-law, the Regent of Albany. Thenceforward the
MacFarlane chiefs claimed to be chiefs of the whole Lennox clan, as
heirs male of the old earls. But the earldom of Lennox was later
regranted to the Stuarts of Darnley, descended from Earl Duncan's
youngest daughter; and we are told that MacFarlane opposition to them
was overcome by the marriage of then chief, Andrew MacFarlane of
Arrochar, to a daughter of the new earl.
Andrew's son, Sir Iain MacFarlane, who used the old-style
chiefly title of 'Captain of Clan Pharlane,' is said to have fallen
under English arrows at Flodden in 1513, leading his clansmen in the
rearguard commanded by the Earls of Lennox and Argyll. He was related to
both earls, and the MacFarlanes had acquired lands in 1395 through
Duncan MacFarlane of Arrochar's marriage to a sister of the 1st Lord
Campbell, the then Mac Chailein Mor. Ser Iain's son, known as Andrew the
Wizard, was father of Duncan MacFarlane of that Ilk, who was killed
fighting for Scotland at Pinkie in 1547. His clansmen were earlier
described as 'men of the head of Lennox, that spake the Irish and the
English-Scottish tongues, light footmen, well armed in shirts of mail,
with bows and two-handed swords'. Buchanan of Auchmar wrote: 'this
Duncan, laird of MacFarlane was one of the first, of any account, who
made open profession of the Christian religion in this kingdom' - but
the errata in later edition runs 'for Christian read protestant.' The
next chief brought three hundred MacFarlane clansmen to fight against
Mary Queen of Scots at the battle of Langside, since her assassinated
husband had been the heir of Lennox. Because of this service, the Clan
was awarded the crest, which was changed slightly by later chiefs.
The turn of the century saw lawless times, and the 1587
Act of Parliament that sought to bring order among the clans included
'the laird of M'Farlane of Arrochar' among those lairds responsible for
the good conduct of their clansmen, for the "MFerlanis, Arroquhar'
Highland Cattleare listed among the 'clannis that hes capitanes,
cheiffis and chiftanes quhome on thay depend, of tymes aganis the willis
of thair landislordis.' In 1589, for instance, the MacFarlanes caught
Sir Humphrey Colquhoun of Luss having an affair with their then cheif's
wife, hunted to Bannachra, set fire to the castle, and brought home to
the poor lady an unspeakable portion of the Colquhoun cheif's corpse -
serving it up to her on a wooden dish with the obscene jest 'That is
your share. You will understand yourself what it is.' Again in 1624 many
MacFarlane clansmen were convicted of armed robbery. Hence the
well-known MacFarlane pipe-tune is appropriately called Thogail nam bo'
'Lifting the cattle' and the 'cattle-raiders' full moon became known as
'MacFarlane's Lantern.'
Walter MacFarlane of that Ilk was fined by the victorious
Covenanters for having fought under Montrose for Charles I: and when the
Cromwellian English invaded the still independent kingdom of Scotland,
he held out against them - his castle of Inveruglas in Loch Lomond being
destroyed bu the Roundheads. The other MacFarlane stronghold was Eilean-a-Vow
(some of which is still existent) in Loch Lomond, while the chief's
primitive house was at Arrochar on the shore of Loch Long.
By the eighteenth century, their Arrochar home had been replaced by a
comfortable house, the home of the celebrated antiquary Walter
MacFarlane of that Ilk, 20th chief, who died in 1767. He was succeeded
by his brother William, 21st chief, who lost all the clan lands to repay
debt in 1785. After that there were several landless cheifs. The direct
male line expired upon the death of William MacFarlane of that Ilk in
1866. The clan has been chiefless since then. |
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The Clan
MacFarlane is a branch of the ancient Earls of Lennox, taking the name
from Parlan, brother of the 3rd Earl, who inherited the "Lands of
Arrochar" first in 1225 on the northwestern shores of famed Loch Lomond.
Parlan is linked to Parthalon the Spirit "Sea Waves" of
Irish mythology. A "P" in Gaelic is soft, so Parlan, and son MacParlan
are the genesis of the Clan name.
3rd Chief Malduin befriended Robert the Bruce during his
struggle to free Scotland fighting with him as King Robert Bruce at
Bannockburn in 1314 to win independence from England. At Langside 1588,
fighting Mary Queen of Scots, Duke of Murray awarded 14th Chief Andrew
the Crest of Arrows and "This I'll Defend."
The MacFarlanes were a turbulent lot for much of their
history. Their Gathering Cry "Loch Sloy!" was a prelude for many a
midnight raid that cleared cattle from the richer lands of the
Colquohouns, their southern neighbors. Their plundering pibroch "Thogail
Nam Bo Theid Sinn" -- To Lift The Cattle We Go -- glorified the deeds.
The full moon became known as MacFarlane's Lantern.
But later Chiefs were more respectable, establishing
homes on Inveruglas and Elabui islands in Loch Lomond, both destroyed in
wars. The manor house of 20th Chief Walter is now part of the landmark
Hotel Cobbler in Arrochar. The lands of Arrochar were sold in 1785 to
pay debts, ending the Clan Homeland. |
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The
Armorial Bearings of the MacFarlanes are a saltire ingrailed between
four roses, gules. Supporters, the courtesy of Scotland allowing these
marks of nobility to all chiefs of clans, are two Highlanders dressed in
belted plaids of appropriate tartan, with drawn swords, bows, and
arrows, proper. Crest, a demi-savage grasping in his dexter hand a sheaf
of arrows, and pointing with the sinister to a crown. Originially
granted to Andrew, 14th chief, after the Battle of Langside, Andrew of
Ardess, 18th chief, had the Crest changed so that the demi-savage holds
a sword right hand. Mottos, on a compartment wavy, "Loch Sloidh," and
above the shield, "This I'll defend."
The
Suaicheantas, or Badge, is Muillieag, Cranberry bush, Ozycoccus
palustris.
The
cath-ghairm, war cry, or battle shout, is "Loch Sloidh," pronounced
Sloy, the lake of the host, the plain along its bank being the place of
rendezvous for the clan previous to an expedition. |
