About Me
The Clan MacFarlane homeland is located in the Highlands at the heads of Loch Long and Loch Lomond. For over five hundred years this area, the feudal barony of Arrochar, was held by the chiefs of Clan MacFarlane and before them by their ancestors the barons of Arrochar. The family is Celtic in the male line and native to their beautiful Highland homeland of tall peaks and deep lochs just above the waist of Scotland.
A Saxon male line ancestry was first proposed for this family in Crawfurd’s Peerage nearly three hundred years ago, but that is incorrect. The best source is the Complete Peerage which follows the Scots Peerage which, in turn, follows Skene’s Celtic Scotland in giving the true Celtic descent of this family. All of these sources base their statements on the old Celtic genealogy of Duncan, eighth Earl of Lennox, who was executed in 1425, and the coming of age poem composed for Alwyn, last Mormaer and first Earl of Lennox in the twelfth century. This Alwyn was the son of Murdac (son of Maldouen son of Murdac) and his wife who was a daughter of Alwyn MacArkil (son of Arkil son of Ecgfrith in Northumbria). When the first earl died his children were still minors so the king warded the earldom to his own brother David, Earl of Huntingdon. By 1199 Alwyn, the second Earl of Lennox, had finally succeeded his father. The second earl may have had as many as ten sons. Among the youngest (maybe seventh) was Gilchrist who obtained a charter to the barony of Arrochar from his eldest brother Maldouen, third Earl of Lennox. Along with Clan Donnachaidh, the MacFarlanes are said to have been the earliest of the clans to hold their lands by feudal charter.
In short, the MacFarlanes are descended from Alwyn, Celtic Earl of Lennox, whose younger son, Gilchrist, received lands at Arrochar on the shores of Loch Long at the end of the 12th century. Gilchrist’s son, Malduin, befriended and aided Robert the Bruce during his fight for independence from the English. The MacFarlanes are reported to have fought at Bannockburn in 1314. The clan takes its name from Malduin’s son Parlan..
The name, Parlan, has been linked to Partholon, "Spirit of the Sea Waves", in Irish myths and legend. More usually, it is considered the Gaelic equvalent of Bartholomew. Gaelic grammar requires changes within a word to indicate possession. A "P" is softened to a "Ph", and an "i" is added to the last syllable. In this way, "son of Parlan" becomes Mac (son) Pharlain (of Parlan).
The lands of Arrochar were first given by charter to Gilchrist circa 1225. Iain MacPharlain received a royal confirmation to Arrochar in 1420. Duncan, the last Celtic Earl of Lennox was executed by James I.
Although the MacFarlanes had a valid claim to the earldom, the title was given by the Crown to John Stewart, Lord Darnley. The MacFarlanes sought to oppose the Stewarts, but they proved too powerful and Andrew MacFarlane the 10th Chief, married a younger daughter of Lord Darnley, forging a new alliance. Thereafter the MacFarlanes followed the new earls of Lennox in most of the major conflicts of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The 11th Chief and many of his clansmen fell at Flodden in 1513. The MacFarlanes later opposed the English at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547 where Duncan the 13th Chief and his uncle were killed along with many others. After the murder of Henry Darnley, Mary Queen of Scots’ second husband, the MacFarlanes opposed the Queen and were noted for their gallantry at the Battle of Langside in 1568.
Andrew, 14th Chief, is said to have captured no less than 3 of Mary’s standards. The valour of Andrew and his men was rewarded by the Regent, James, Earl of Moray, with the Clan’s original crest and motto. The crest and motto alludes to the defense of the Crown and Kingdom. Since Mary had abdicated previously in favour of her infant son, she was in rebellion against the Crown, Moray, and James VI during these times.
For much of their history, the MacFarlanes were a very turbulent lot. Their rallying cry, "Loch Sloy", signalled many a night raid to "collect" cattle from their richer neighbors to the south and east. Their march-piobaireachd " Thogail nam Bo theid sinn" (To Lift the Cows We Shall Go) gives ample notice of intent. They were so competent that the full moon was known as "MacFarlane’s Lantern".
In 1592, the clan was accused of slaying the Colquhoun of Luss and were outlawed. Later chiefs were quieter.They established homes on the islands of Inveruglas and Eilean a’ Bhuth (now called Island IVow). This last was burned out twice during the Cromwellian invasions in the 17th century.
Walter, the 20th Chief, (mid-18th Cent.) was a renowned scholar and antiquarian. At the site of his home now stands the Landmark Cobbler Hotel which contains an inscribed stone taken from the original house over the main doorway. The clan lands at Arrochar were sold off for debt after Walter’s death in 1767, and the direct male line of the chiefs failed in 1886.
At present, the Clan Chiefship is dormantMiller/Millar Sept:
This name is of universal origin derived from the trade of which it is descriptive, and it will thus be evident that Scottish origin should not be claimed on basis of name alone - unless a tradition of such descent is held within one’s family. The "..ar" suffix is more traditional in Scotland, but both are found elsewhere. The trade from which it derives was not limited to milling of cereals, but encompassed such products as flax, and in later times the finishing of cloth. It was earliest found in its descriptive form as ’Molindarius’ during the 13th century, and continued in that use in documents written in charter Latin until the 15th century, when a gradual change to the various phonetic forms of miller took place. Like many trade-names, when hereditary surnames became the vogue it was a name commonly adopted. It is to be remarked, however, that the ancient form is perpetuated in the ’Molindinar burn’, a small rivulet which still flows under the streets of modern Glasgow. Numerous distinct families evolved, and though many have achieved distinction in almost every field of endeavour, none has been recognised as the principal family of the Name. They are a ’motley crew’, and their achievements have spanned from the highest legal office in the land, through Hugh Millar, the Cromarty stone-mason, (pioneer geologist and author), to Betsy Miller, who captained the brig ’Clitus’ for 24 years. Perhaps the most endearing was William Miller (1810-1872) who wrote ’Wee Willie Winkie’ and other nursery rhymes. In the realms of clan lore, the Millars have traditional links with the Clan Macfarlane, but such would only be true if an ancestor resided in an area in which that clan held power. Given the widespread origin of the name, they might equally have association with almost any clan. The Millers do not have a specific tartan but their strong links lie with the MacFarlanes.
