_William Cleireach MACLEOD _
_John Iain_Borb MACLEOD _|_ MACLEAN __________________
_William Dubh MACLEOD _|
| | _ DOUGLAS __________________
| |_Margaret DOUGLAS _______|____________________________
_Alexander Alisdair_Crotach MACLEOD _|
| | ____________________________
| | _John MACLAINE __________|____________________________
| |_[Daughter] MACLAINE __|
| | ____________________________
| |_________________________|____________________________
|
|--Tormod [Norman] MACLEOD
|
| ____________________________
| _________________________|____________________________
| _______________________|
| | | ____________________________
| | |_________________________|____________________________
|_[youngest_dau] CAMERON _____________|
| ____________________________
| _________________________|____________________________
|_______________________|
| ____________________________
|_________________________|____________________________
!BIOGRAPHY: Rev. Dr. Donald MacKinnon, and Alick Morrison, MACLEOD CHIEFS OF HARRIS AND DUNVEGAN, Edinburgh, The Clan MacLeod Society, 1969, pp. 20-21. Alick Morrison, THE CHIEFS OF CLAN MACLEOD, East Kilbride, Scotland, 1986. Norman was born about 1509. Of his boyhood and early years nothing is known. At the age of thirty-one years, he was rendered by his father, Alasdair Crotach, 8th Chief, as a hostage to James V, during his expedition to the Western Isles. When his eldest brother, William, succeeded to the chiefship, as 9th Chief, in 1547, he showed himself so unkind to his younger brothers, Donald and Norman, that they were forced to leave home, and it is not very clear where they had gone. The BANNATYNE MANUSCRIPT states that Norman 'entered the French Service, where he got a distinguished command and continued to live abroad with his family for many years'. When the Earl of Argyll, after the murder of Donald, Norman's elder brother, began negotiations for the return of Norman to claim the chiefship, he found him a prisoner with the French, and obtained his release. According to a Bond of manrent, dated 1st March 1559, still preserved at Dunvegan, [BOOK OF DUNVEGAN, I, pp. 43-4. See the HISTORY OF THE MACLEODS, pp. 29-40.] between Argyll and Norman, the former is said to have 'redemit and obtenit ye said Tormod out of ye captivitie and enemies handis, quhairin he was with French men'. When Norman returned to Dunvegan in the course of 1559 or perhaps earlier, he found Iain Dubh (the murderer of his brother, Donald) in possession of the Castle, and difficult to dislodge, Norman was fortunate, however, in having a friend in the warden, Torquil MacSween, who opened the gate to him. Iain Dubh's foster-brothers were on the alert, and Iain Dubh was able to escape by their help, leaving Norman in possession. It is clear that Norman returned to Dunvegan and assumed the chiefship of the Clan MacLeod under the aegis of the Earl of Argyll. After the murder of Donald, the MacLeod estates reverted to Mary, the heiress, and it was of vital importance to Argyll to secure her wardship, which he did in 1566. But meantime he entered into a contract with Norman, dated 1st March 1560, in which he promised the latter to obtain a husband for Mary, get her infeft of all the MacLeod lands formerly held by her father (William, 9th Chief) with remainder to heirs general, maker her and her husband resign this estate, and cause it to be granted by the Crown to Norman himself. [HISTORY OF THE MACLEODS, pp. 39-40.] In return Norman was to resign his rights to the lands in possession of the MacDonalds of Sleat in Argyll's favour. Norman was also to give Mary a dowry of a £1,000 Scots. This was followed by a contract [HISTORY OF THE MACLEODS, p. 43] between Argyll and Donald Gorm MacDonald of Sleat, in which the former undertook to get the Chief of Sleat the heritable infeftment of his lands to be held of Argyll for the payment by MacDonald of the sum of 1,000 merks to himself, and 500 merks towards Mary's dowry. Only the contract with Norman of Dunvegan came into effect. These negotiations were protracted, and it was not until 15th July that James VI granted Mary a charter of the MacLeod lands, and in the following year she and her husband, Dugald Campbell, signed documents promising that she should be infeft and then would resign her rights in favour of her 'most dearest Tormidie McCloyd'. Evidently Norman was only able to pay £500 Scots of the £1,000 Scots dowry he had promised to Mary, and so in lieu of a monetary payment of the balance she was to have a life-rent of the lands of Caroy in Bracadale. At last in February 1580 Norman received a charter of confirmation from James VI, and was duly infeft in the family estate in July of the same year. As the subsequent history of Norman is fully given in the MacLeod clan and family histories, it need not be recounted here. [HISTORY OF THE MACLEODS, pp. 43-4. THE MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN, pp. 100-8.] It would appear that he married, about 1535, as his first wife, Julia, daughter of Hector Mor MacLean, 11th of Duart, with issue. [THE CLAN GILLEAN (p. 249), where her name is given as Marion, and not Julia, but in Burke's LANDED GENTRY (p. 1493) Norman is said to have married Julia, daughter of Hector Mor MacLean of Duart. In the MACLEODS OF DUNVEGAN , p. 98), Canon MacLeod gives her name as Julia.... Norman married, as his second wife, Janet, daughter of Archibald, 4th Earl of Argyll, and half-sister of Archibald, 5th Earl. She was the widow of Hector Og MacLean, 12th of Duart, with issue.... [CLAN GILLEAN, p. 251.] Chief Norman died in 1585, and was succeeded by his eldest son. [After Norman's death, his widow married, as her third husband, Roderick MacLeod, 9th of Lewis, with issue.]