John of_the_fair_hair MACLEOD (II of Waternish)

BIRTH: ABT 1473
DEATH: 1557

REFERENCE: WATERNISH

Father: John MACLEOD
Mother: [niece_of Roderick] MACLEOD

Family 1: Shiela or_Florence MACDONALD

                                                                                    _William Cleireach MACLEOD _
                                                          _John Iain_Borb MACLEOD _|_ MACLEAN __________________
                                _Norman MACLEOD _________|
                               |                         |                          _ DOUGLAS __________________
                               |                         |_Margaret DOUGLAS _______|____________________________
 _John MACLEOD ________________|
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|                              |_[daughter_of] CHISHOLM _|
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|
|--John of_the_fair_hair MACLEOD 
|
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|                              |                         |                          ____________________________
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|_[niece_of Roderick] MACLEOD _|
                               |                                                    ____________________________
                               |                          _________________________|____________________________
                               |_________________________|
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                                                         |_________________________|____________________________

INDEX

Notes

!MENTION: Rev. Dr. Donald MacKinnon and Alick Morrison, THE MACLEODS -- THE GENEALOGY OF A CLAN, Section III, "MacLeod Cadet Families", Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod Society, 1970, p. 16. In the TALISKER MANUSCRIPT John MacLeod (or to give him the name by which he is known in the traditions of the family -- Iain a'Chuil Bhain) [In the BANNATYNE MANUSCRIPT John MacLeod is named Iain a'Chuail Bhain, but the late Rev. Kenneth MacLeod, D.D., who was himself a descendant, told the compiler that in the traditions of the family he was always known as Iain a'Chil Bhain.] is described as a 'grandson' of Norman, son of Iain Borb, and not as a 'great-grandson' as in the BANNATYNE MANUSCRIPT, but the latter is unreliable. He is mentioned several times in official records, and dates show that he was a younger contemporary of Alasdair Crotach, 8th Chief. Iain a'Chuil Bhain was, without doubt, the most outstanding man of the Waternish family. Tall and handsome, his fair hair clubbed, a fashion not in vogue at that time among the gentlemen of the Isles, and a capable man of affairs, he was popular with his fellow-clansmen, and earned the respect and gratitude of his Chief, Alasdair Crotach, whom he supported in his quarrels and feuds with his neighbours. In 1533 he and Alasdair Crotach entered into a bond of mutual protection with Sir John Campbell of Cawdor. In the Crown Charter of 1542 Iain a'Chuil Bhain is named as next in the succession after Alasdair Crotach's sons: William, Donald and Norman, who were afterwards 9th, 11th and 12th Chiefs respectively. Chief William died in 1551, leaving an only child, Mary, and his two brothers, Donald and Norman, were away from the Isles, and the MacLeod clansmen knew not whether they were dead or alive. After William's funeral at Rodel, the customary Funeral Feast was held. The BANNATYNE MANUSCRIPT gives us a most interesting account of what took place thereafter. As was the custom, the family bard, Roderick Morrison, rehearsed the genealog the departed Chief, praised his achievements and lamented his loss. Having done this, he 'expressed the hope and expectations of the clan in the virtue and valour of the next chief, whose duty it was to stand in his place and demand his father's or predeccessor's sword which was always placed in his hand by the first man of the clan'. In the absence of the last Chief's two brothers, Iain a'Chuil Bhain was the nearest male relative present. When Roderick Morrison went on to address the clansmen, each head of a family drew his sword and held it naked before him. Then the bard recited Iain a'Chuil Bhain's descent, claiming that his grandfather, Norman, was the elder and not the second son of Chief Iain Borb. Even the BANNATYNE MANUSCRIPT, though highly biased in favour of the family of Waternish, says that the bard's statement took the assembled clansmen by surprise. As Islanders, they were born genealogists, and knew full well that Morrison's assertion was not true. The bard hailed Iain a'Chuil Bhain as Chief by right of blood, and when Norman, Iain a'Chuil Bhain's eldest son, stood up, holding Iain Borb's sword [Probably this is the sword which hangs in the Portrait Gallery in Dunvegan Castle, and known as Iain Borb's sword.] by the point, he offered it to his father, who, upstanding, amidst some commotion, accepted it. This colorful story of the inauguration of Iain a'Chuil Bhain as Chief of the Clan MacLeod is not given in any other known MacLeod manuscript. Iain a'Chuil Bhain knew very well that the chiefship was hereditary, not elective, and probably accepted the dignity to which he was elected by the majority of the clansmen at Rodel as being merely a pro-Tutorship of MacLeod or leadership [LYON COURT DECREE, MACLEOD OF GLENDALE, 19TH MAY 1958] of the clan until such time as one or other of the deceased Chief William's brothers would return to claim the MacLeod estates and chiefship. That this was his position seems to find support from his conduct after the return in 1557 of Donald, the younger brother of Chief William. Iain a'Chuil Bhain immediately denuded himself of the office in which he had been installed at Rodel six years previously and summoned the MacLeods of Siol tormoid and Siol Torcuil to a meeting to be held at Lynedale to discuss Donald's claim to the chiefship. The meeting of the clansmen was duly held in March 1557, and, althoug we do not knwo what exactly happened at the meeting, we can reasonably conclude from what took place afterwards that Donald's claim was recognised by the clansmen as it was based on right of blood. Iain a'Chuil Bhain's eldest surviving son, Iain Dubh (Norman was dead by this time and his son was a minor), was appointed to go to Kingsburgh where Donald was anxiously waiting to hear the result of the discussion at Lynedale. Iain Dubh undertook the mission to Kingsburgh with fatal results for Donald, who was treacherously murdured, either at Kingsburgh or Lyndale. It is very significant that for this foul deed Iain Dubh was outlawed by the Clan. In the circumstances Iain a'Chuil Bhain was re-invested in his pro-Tutorship or leadership, but he only survived the Lynedale meeting for a few months. He married Shiela (or Florence), daughter of Archibald MacDonald of Knock (son of Donald Gruamach, 4th Baron of Sleat), with issue, ten sons and four daughters. John MacLeod (Iain a'Chuil Bhain) passed away in 1557, and was succeeded in the representation of the MacLeods of Waternish by his grandson.

!SOURCE: THE MACLEODS OF ARNISDALE, compiled by Rev. Donald MacKinnon, Portree, Skye, Scotland, 1929, reprinted by The Clan MacLeod Society USA, Migration Project Publications Series, Number 1, 1984, p. 8. He was known as "Iain a Chuail Bhan" (John, of the Fair Hair). On the death of William, ninth Chief of Dunvegan, this John's family claimed the Chiefship, and their claim is said to have been acknowledged by the Clan on two distinct occasions. The history of the claim for the MacLeod Estates and Chiefship of the Clan is given in full in MacKenzie's "History of the MacLeods" (pp. 30, 202), and in Canon MacLeod's recent book on the MacLeod Chiefs (pp. 94-101). John of the Fair Hair married Sheila, daughter of Archibald MacDonald of Knock, Sleat, Skye, with issue, ten sons and four daughters. The fourth son was Alexander, who carried on the representation of the family.

Created by Sparrowhawk 1.0 (4/17/1996) on Mon Apr 2 10:50:30 2001