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Battle of Harlaw
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The Battle of Harlaw (Cath Ghairbhich in Gaelic) was fought near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on 24 July, 1411 between Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles (MacDonald) and an army commanded by Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar.
It was considered one of the bloodiest battles in Scottish History and resulted in the deaths of many lords and knights of the time such as Sir Robert Davidson the Lord Provost of Aberdeen ; Sir Alexander Ogilvy the Sheriff of Angus ; Sir James Scrymgeour Constable of Dundee ; the chiefs of the MacLean and Mackintosh Clans and many other great names.
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The Battle of Harlaw (Cath Ghairbhich in Gaelic) was fought near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on 24 July, 1411 between Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles (MacDonald) and an army commanded by Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar.
It was considered one of the bloodiest battles in Scottish History and resulted in the deaths of many lords and knights of the time such as Sir Robert Davidson the Lord Provost of Aberdeen ; Sir Alexander Ogilvy the Sheriff of Angus ; Sir James Scrymgeour Constable of Dundee ; the chiefs of the MacLean and Mackintosh Clans and many other great names. The fierceness of this battle attributes to its much used traditional designation "Red Harlaw".
Causes
The battle formed the culmination of a long-running dispute and rivalry between the Lord of the Isles and the Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany. At issue was the Earldom of Ross, which consisted of a vast territory within which was found Skye and Ross, to the south reaching Urquhart on Loch Ness, and to the east the country of Inverness, with superiority over the outlying lands of Nairn and Aberdeenshire. This territory had, in earlier times, formed one of the traditional Mormaerships of the Kingdom of Scots.
The regions concerned were passed through many lines in the centuries preceding Harlaw and the cause of the contested inheritance is found in the marriages and descendants of Euphemia, Countess of Ross, who inherited the Earldom following the death of her father William, who had no male heirs. Her first husband was Sir Walter Leslie, who died in 1382, and she was remarried to Alexander Stewart, the Earl of Buchan, who received the title in favour of Alexander Leslie, her heir by the first marriage. However, Leslie recovered the earldom in 1398 and further entangled relations by marrying Isabella Stewart, the daughter of Regent Albany, which was to provide one side of the coming battle with a vested interest; they were opposed by Clan Donald, as the current Lord of the Isles was married to Margaret Leslie, the sister of Alexander, and thus had his own claim to Ross.
The death of Alexander in 1402 saw the earldom pass to his only heir, his daughter Euphemia - a "sickly, hunchbacked child" who found herself taken into the custody of Albany. Whatever her wishes may have been, the rights to her Earldom of Ross were resigned to John, Albany's second son, and she herself was entered into a nunnery with all of her territories passing to the House of Stewart.
Donald wasted no time in objecting to this and put forward the argument that, if entering a nunnery, Euphemia could not legally dispose of her Earldom which should thus pass to his wife as the surviving heir of Alexander Leslie. Negotiations between Albany and Donald came to no fruition and degenerated into an antagonistic exchange which saw Albany taunt the Lord of the Isles to make good his threats. A hosting of the Clans under Donald ensued at Ardtornish which seemingly numbered some 10,000 men, of whom 6,600 were chosen to proceed against Inverness and bring the Regent to battle. This army sailed to Stroma and continued to draw clansmen until arriving at Dingwall to find a force of some 3,000 under Angus Dubh MacKay. This MacKay army was routed and Angus Dubh captured along with the Castle of Dingwall. As the army marched on to Inverness the lands, particularly those of the Frasers of Lovat were ravaged, and that town fell with little
resistance.
Battle
Raising his standard in the town, Donald sent out summonings to the northern clans and possibly increased his army to the region of 10,000 although 6,000 is the more traditional figure attributed to the army present at Harlaw. He was now in possession of Ross but seemed intent on forcing a battle with Albany, who was slow to muster his forces in the south, and marched through Moray spreading word of his intent to plunder Aberdeen. The alarm caused by the coming army provoked the men of Aberdeen to arm and put themselves under the command of Sir Robert Davidson, Lord Provost of Aberdeen, who joined Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar in defending the lowlands of Scotland against the highland clans. Stewart advanced and each army sighted the other in the region of Harlaw. While there has been much distortion of the battle and the numbers involved by later chroniclers we can conclude fairly confidently that Donald had a force of at least 6,000 consisting mostly of Highland footsoldiers armed and arrayed a traditional, perhaps antiquated, Gaelic style. The forces of the Lord of the Isles were treated to a battle-song by the bard Lachlan Mòr MacMhuirich which opened:
(Gaelic):
- A' Chlanna Chuinn cuimhnichibh
- Cruas an àm na h-iorghuill
(English):
- Sons of Conn remember
- Hardihood in times of strife...
Opposite the forces of Donald stood a force numbering some 2,000 under Mar. Although Mars army was inferior in point of numbers to that of the Lord of the Isles it was largely composed of Lowland Gentlemen, better armed and disciplined than the wild and disorderly hordes that followed Donald. Ranald Williams states that "there are no trustworthy accounts of the fight" but the battle was certainly fierce and continued until dusk. A charge by Mar had driven a wedge into Donald's line but its momentum failed and the cavalry were surrounded by the highland footsoldiers and as a result many of the lowland knights were unhorsed and forced to fight on foot. Despite their lack of numbers and poor tactical situation Mar's army continued to fight through the day and inflicted great losses upon the highlanders. The contest earned its traditional designation, Red Harlaw, as a result of the fierceness of the fighting.
As the battle drew to a close at the end of the day Donald had lost around 1,000 men, Mar himself losing near the same number. Due to the high percentage of gentlemen within Mars ranks this included a tremendous number of the notable lords and knights such as Sir Robert Davidson the Lord Provost of Aberdeen ; Sir Alexander Ogilvy the Sheriff of Angus ; Sir James Scrymgeour Constable of Dundee and many other great names. Indeed it is stated that "Hardly a leading family in Aberdeenshire but lost a laird or son, and the Irvings of Drum were wiped out" and the Lord Marischal was captured and died a prisoner. Conversely for Donalds Army, as well as numerous highlanders, the chiefs of the MacLean and Mackintosh were also slain.
Outcome
Donald withdrew during the night following the attack while the lowland army slept on the field of battle, expecting a renewal of hostilities the next morning. However by daybreak it became evident that Donald and the remains of his force had retired during the darkness, retreating first to Ross, and then to the Isles.
This withdrawal led to claims of victory by some historians - a fact which has led to a continuing general ambiguity over the outcome of the battle but most agree that due to the heavy losses on both sides it was a draw, but one which secured the halt of Donald's invading force and the safety of Aberdeen and the lowlands of Scotland.
As soon as the news of the disaster at Harlaw reached the ears of the Duke of Albany, then regent of Scotland, he set about collecting an army with which he personally marched north in the autumn, with a determination to bring the Lord of the Isles to obedience. Having taken possession of the castle of Dingwall, appointed a governor, and from thence proceeded to recover the whole of Ross. Donald retreated before him, and took up his winter quarters in the islands. Hostilities were renewed next summer, but the contest was not long or doubtful—notwithstanding some little vantages obtained by the King of the Isles. Donald was compelled to give up his claim to the earldom of Ross, to become a vassal to the Scottish crown, and to deliver hostages to secure his future good behaviour. A treaty to this effect was entered into at Pilgilbe or Pelgillip, the modern Loch Gilp, in Argyll.
The battle was commemorated in Child ballad number 163, "The Battle of Harlaw".
Casualties
16th century historian Sir Robert Gordon writes of the Battle of Harlaw: Donald marched through Inverness and Murray, threatening to destroy all before him, which issued in the well known Battle of Harlaw, fought in the year 1411; in which there were slain on Donald's part, MacLean and MacKintosh, and on the other side Sir Alexander Ogilvy, Sir James Scrimeor, Sir Alexander Irvine of Drum, Sir William Aberthy of Saltoun, Sir Robert Maule of Panmure, Sir Robert Davidson and diverse other gentlemen.
See also
External websites
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- which reproduces an account of the battle which appeared in vol. 2 of John Hill Burton's History of Scotland from Agricola's invasion to the Revolution of 1688 (Edinburgh, 1870)
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