Clan MacMillan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Clan MacMillan is a Highland Scottish clan

Scottish clan

Scottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...

Origins of the clan

The MacMillans are one of a number of clans - including the MacKinnons, the MacQuarries, and the MacPhees - descended from Airbertach, a Hebridean prince of the old royal house of Moray who according to one account was the great-grandson of King Macbeth. The kin of Airbertach were closely associated with the Clann Somerhairle Ri Innse Gall ("Kings of the Hebrides"), the ancestors of the MacDougalls and the MacDonald "Lords of the Isles"; and like their allies their interests in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries ranged throughout the Hebrides and the western coastal regions of the Scottish mainland, and into Ireland. Though most of the clans certainly descended from Airbertach were associated with the Inner Hebrides (Tiree, Iona, Mull, Ulva and Colonsay) some others claiming the same descent were later settled inland along the strategic corridor that connects Lorn - the mainland region opposite those islands - to Dunkeld in Perthshire, where Airbertach's son Cormac was Bishop

Bishop of Dunkeld

The Bishop of Dunkeld is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunkeld, one of the largest and more important of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th century cleric named Cormac...

in the early twelfth century Celtic Church

Celtic Christianity

Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...

. Tradition connects the MacMillans with a number of different places in the areas associated with Airbertach's kindred: Glencannel on Mull; Craignish in Lorn, Leny and Loch Tayside in Perthshire.

Bishop Cormac's son Gilchrist or, in Gaelic, Gille Chrisosd, the prognenitor of the Clann an Mhaoil, was a religious man like his father; and it was because of this that he wore the tonsure which gave him the nickname Maolan or Gillemaol. As a Columban priest, his head would have been shaved over the front of his head in the style of St. John, rather than at the vertex of head (the dominant style in The Church of Rome). This distinctive tonsure is described in Gaelic as 'Mhaoillan'. The name MacMillan thus literally means, "son of the tonsure".

The church origins of the MacMillans are reflected in the connection of some of the earliest “children of Maolan” to two religiously based clan confederations: the Clann GhilleFhaolain (“Devotees of St. Fillan”) in Perthshire and Galloway; and the Clann GhilleChattain (“Devotees of St. Catan”) in Ulster, the Hebrides, and particularly Badenoch and Lochaber. Feuding with the Mackintoshes for the Captaincy of "Clan Chattan" - the devotees of St. Catan - involved the MacMillans in defeat at the Battle of the Clans at Perth in 1396; and finished with the chiefly family’s near-extermination at The Palm Sunday Massacre of 1430. A survivor of the massacre, Alexander mac Lachlan, fled to Knapdale, where some of the clan had probably been settled since the mid-13th century; and the famous cross that he later erected there may well be a memorial to the family and the lands he lost in Lochaber.

14th century

An early branch of the Clan MacMillan was to be found at Loch Arkaig in Lochaber

Lochaber

District of Lochaber 1975 to 1996Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of ScotlandLochaber is one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region...

. However, tradition states that the family moved from this area on the orders of King Malcolm IV of Scotland

Malcolm IV of Scotland

Malcolm IV , nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" , King of Scots, was the eldest son of Earl Henry and Ada de Warenne...

and moved to the crown lands of Loch Tay

Loch Tay

Loch Tay is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the district of Perthshire.It is a long narrow loch of around 14 miles long, and typically around 1 to 1½ miles wide, following the line of the valley from the south west to north east...

in Perthshire

Perthshire

Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

. It was at these lands that Robert the Bruce

Robert I of Scotland

Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...

was sheltered by the Clan MacMillan chief after he stabbed John Comyn the "red Comyn"

John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch

John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch and Lord of Lochaber or John "the Red", also known simply as the Red Comyn was a Scottish nobleman who was an important figure in the Wars of Scottish Independence, and was Guardian of Scotland during the Second Interregnum 1296-1306...

, chief of Clan Comyn. The Clan MacMillan again proved its loyalty to Bruce by fighting for him against the English at the Battle of Bannockburn

Battle of Bannockburn

The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...

in 1314 during the Wars of Scottish Independence

Wars of Scottish Independence

The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries....

. After the Battle of Bannockburn Robert the Bruce was so impressed with the ferocity of the MacMillan warriors that from that day forward they were entitled to wear the Red and Gold Tartan which Robert the Bruce war on that day.

Chief Malcolm Mor Macmillan received the lands of Knapdale from the Lord of the Isles

Lord of the Isles

The designation Lord of the Isles is today a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It emerged from a series of hybrid Viking/Gaelic rulers of the west coast and islands of Scotland in the Middle Ages, who wielded sea-power with fleets of...

in 1360. The charter is said to have been inscribed on a rock on the beach at the Point of Knap.

It was reputed to have said:

"Còir MhicMhaolain air a' Chnap

Fhad 's a bhuaileas tonn ri creag"

Which is translated from Scots Gaelic as:

"MacMillan's right to Knap

As long as waves hits rock"

(This was later destroyed by Campbell

Clan Campbell

Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically one of the largest, most powerful and most successful of the Highland clans, their lands were in Argyll and the chief of the clan became the Earl and later Duke of Argyll.-Origins:...

of Calder in 1615). As vassals of the Lord of the Isles, the Macmillans were caught up in the aftermath of the forfeiture of the Lordship and lost control of Knap forever. They did however manage to keep the adjoining lands of Tireleacham. Even so they were still harassed by the Campbells who had supplanted them.
The Clan Mackintosh

Clan MacKintosh

Clan Mackintosh is a Scottish clan from Inverness with strong Jacobite ties. The Mackintoshes were also chiefs of the Chattan Confederation.-Origins:...

and Clan Cameron

Clan Cameron

Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands is the mountain Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The chief of the clan is customarily referred to as...

had long been at feud. The MacMillans supported the Clan Cameron and it is said that there were MacMillans among the 30 warriors representing the Clan Cameron who fought against 30 warriors from the Clan Mackintosh at a set battle known as the Battle of The Clans in 1396. It is said that four MacKintoshes survived the battle but were all mortally wounded and one of Cameron's survived by swimming across a river to escape.

15th century

The Clan MacMillan are also said to have been involved with the The Palm Sunday Massacre of 1430 between the Clan Mackintosh

Clan MacKintosh

Clan Mackintosh is a Scottish clan from Inverness with strong Jacobite ties. The Mackintoshes were also chiefs of the Chattan Confederation.-Origins:...

and the Clan Cameron

Clan Cameron

. Alexander MacMillan is remembered in Knapdale for the tower he built at Castle Sween

Castle Sween

Castle Sween is located on the eastern shore of Loch Sween, in Knapdale, on the west coast of Argyll, Scotland. Castle Sween is thought to be one of the earliest stone castles built in Scotland, having been built sometime in the late twelfth century...

which he held for MacDonald

Clan Donald

Clan Donald is one of the largest Scottish clans. There are numerous branches to the clan. Several of these have chiefs recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms; these are: Clan Macdonald of Sleat, Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, and Clan...

the Lord of the Isles

Lord of the Isles

in the 1470s.

16th century

Following the demise of the Macdonald's Lordship of the Isles at the beginning of the sixteenth century, the MacMillan's lordship of Knapdale was given by the crown to the Clan Campbell

Clan Campbell

, whose tenants the MacMillans thereafter became; and it was probably at this time that a son of the last MacMhaolain Mor a Chnap who remained loyal to the Lord of the Isles

Lord of the Isles

fled Kilchamaig in South Knap to re-establish a branch of the family in Lochaber

Lochaber

, who became the Macmillans of Murlagan. The chief of the Clan Cameron

Clan Cameron

who were the clan that had defeated the Chattan Confederation

Chattan Confederation

Clan Chattan or the Chattan Confederation is a confederation of 16 Scottish clans who joined for mutual defence or blood bonds. Its leader was the chief of Clan Mackintosh.-Origins:The origin of the name Chattan is disputed...

as the Lairds of Lochaber let Murlagan and the neighbouring farms on Loch Arkaigside to the MacMillans for sword-service, and Clann 'ic 'illemhaoil Abrach ("the Lochaber M'millans") were among Lochiel's most important and loyal followers from the time of the last risings in favour of the forfeited Lords of the Isles in the middle of the sixteenth century

17th century

Macmillan of Knap was considered chief of the clan and when the line became extinct in 1665, the title passed to the Dunmore branch, and from them to the Lagalgarve branch in which it is still vested.
There is however some confusion as to whether the Knapdale bloodline is actually extinct due to records of MacMillans being destroyed after the Jacobite Rising from 1685 to the end with The Battle of Culloden on April 16th 1746. There is a dark period of time in Scottish history where Jacobite Clans were banished from Scotland and their family records destroyed. Therefore it is unknown if The Old Dunmore Line is extinct or just dormant.

18th century & Jacobite Uprisings

The Clan MacMillan are not noted as being a Jacobite clan however tradition states that indeed, Clann 'ic 'illemhaoil Abrach formed a company of Lochiel's regiment in 1745 and fought as such at the battle of Culloden, and another tradition states that there were two MacMillans who carried the Chief of Clan Cameron of Lochiel from where he fell at the Battle of Culloden

Battle of Culloden

The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...

. However the Clan MacBain

Clan MacBain

-Origins of the clan:There are several possible Gaelic origins for this name but the most likely is ben or ban which means "higher ground" and to a lesser extent bheathain and the step form MacBain which means "life". This could also have been rendered as Mac ic Bheatha which means MacBeth, a name...

also claim to have carried Lochiel of the battlefield at Culloden. Prince Charles Edward Stewart made his last stand from the Clan MacMillan home in Arkaig.

After the defeat at Culloden, many Jacobite supporters were forced to flee Scotland or face the brutal treatment of the British. The aftermath of the battle and subsequent crackdown on Jacobitism was brutal, earning Cumberland the sobriquet "Butcher". Jacobite MacMillans branched off to many different continent's.

Somerled MacMillan relates that there is a family story about a James who was disinherited by the clan because he fought against the British during the American Revolutionary War. This James had first been thought to be the a grandson of Alexander MacMillan(4th of New Dunmor Line, 25th Chief of clan MacMillan) according to handed down tradition. But, upon investigation, Somerled is of the belief that the James in question is the grand-nephew, not son since Alexander had died in 1770, six years before the American Revolutionary war had officially started. It is believed that the James in question is James McMillen (b.1764) son of Neil McMillen who fled Scotland in 1746 after the battle of Culloden. At the age of 15, James McMillen enlisted in Captain John Schenck's Company, Colonel Asher Holmes' New Jersey Regiment 1779, re-enlisting to year 1783. Records tell us that James was out on scouting parties when The war came to an end. Tradition tells us that James McMillen and his family were disowned/disinherited by the Hierarchy of Clan MacMillan in Scotland.

Clan castles & memorials

The Castle Sween

Castle Sween

includes a tower which stands as a memorial to the MacMillans. The other MacMillan memorial is a cross which stands in the locked church at Kilmory. The cross is visible through the glass church windows. Other medieval grave slabs can also be seen. This cross is recognised as one of the finest surviving examples of Celtic art

Celtic art

Celtic art is the art associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and stylistic similarities with speakers of Celtic...

in Scotland, and shows a chief of the MacMillans hunting deer.

Clan Profile

Chief: George Gordon MacMillan of MacMillan & Knap MA
Master of Arts (Scotland)
A Master of Arts in Scotland can refer to an undergraduate academic degree in humanities and social sciences awarded by the ancient universities of Scotland – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, while the University of...

, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

.
Seat: Finlaystone House, Kilmacolm
Kilmacolm
Kilmacolm is a village and civil parish in the Inverclyde council area and the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the northern slope of the Gryffe Valley south-east of Greenock and around west of the city of Glasgow...

, Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire (historic)
Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a registration county, the Lieutenancy area of the Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire, and one of the counties of Scotland used for local government until 1975. Renfrewshire is located in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland, south of the River Clyde,...

.
Gaelic Name: MacGilleMhaolain.
Chief's heraldic motto: MISERIS SUCCURRERE DISCO (translated from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

: "I learn to succour the unfortunate").
Plant Badge: Holly.
Lands: Lochaber, Argyll and Galloway,Western Isles - Barra/South Uist
Origin of Name: Gaelic, MacMhaolain (Son of the bald or tonsured one).

Clan Septs

Septs

Sept (social)

A sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially a division of a clan. The word might have its origin from Latin saeptum "enclosure, fold", or it can be an alteration of sect.The term is found in both Ireland and Scotland...

of the Clan MacMillan include: http://www.clanmacmillan.org/Septs.htm

Baxter, Gibbon, Gibson, M'Ghille-Domhnuich, McMill, MacMill, McMull, MacMull, Bell, Beall, Lany, Lennie, Leny, Linholm, M'Ghille-Duinn M'Noccater, M'Nuccator, Bleu, Blew, MacBaxter, Baker, M'Ghille-Guirman, M’Vaxter, Blue, M'Bell, M'Ghille-ghuirm M'Veil, Brown, Broun, M’Callum, M'Hannanich, Mellan, Millan, Callum, M’Calman, M'Igeyll, M'Igheil, Mellanson, Melançon, Calman M'Can, M'Cannie, M'Ildonich, Millan, Can, Cane, M'Channanich, M'Ilduin, Millanson, Cannan, Channan, M'Colman, M'Colmin, M'Inville, M'Iveil, M'Iyell, Milliken, Millikin, Coleman, M'Geil, M'Geyll, M'Kan, M'Kane, Milligan, Mulligan, Colman, Colmin, M'Gibbon, M'Gibson, M'Kean, M'Kenn, Mullan, Mullen, Connon, M’Gill, M'Maoldonich, Walker.

External links

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