Scottish clan
Clan MacLeod
Gaelic name Clann MhicLeòid
A Hebridean clan whose chiefs have held Dunvegan Castle on Skye for centuries. The clan takes its name from Leod, a Norse-Gael of the thirteenth century, and divides into the Dunvegan and Harris line (Siol Tormod) and the Lewis line (Siol Torquil). The clan society treats only one of Leod's sons as certain, so the early generations are tradition.
No photograph is held for this record.
- Region
- Skye, Harris, Lewis
- Historic seat
- Dunvegan Castle
- Motto
- Hold fast
- Linked tartans
- 0
- Linked surnames
- 0
- Recorded septs
- 16
- Evidence level
- B
Overview
Clan MacLeod (Gaelic Clann MhicLeòid) is a Hebridean clan with its seat at Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye. The motto, as Wikipedia gives it, is "Hold fast" and the plant badge is juniper. The clan society names Hugh Magnus MacLeod of MacLeod as the thirtieth chief, in office since 2007.
The clan has two main lines: Siol Tormod, the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan, and Siol Torquil, the MacLeods of Lewis, from which the Raasay MacLeods later branched.
The Clan MacLeod Societies say the clan can be traced to Leod, born around 1200, a Norseman, and that the name means sons of Leod.
Origins
The society traces the clan to Leod, born around 1200, whom it calls a Norseman, and says the people of the clan are mainly descended from the Celtic inhabitants of the Hebrides with a strong Scandinavian mix. Wikipedia calls Leod a Norse-Gael of the thirteenth century and gives his death as about 1280.
The early generations are not firm. The society says Tormod is the one son of Leod it can be certain of, and Torquil is placed a generation or two later. Older tellings make Tormod and Torquil brothers, and Wikipedia notes that the claimed descent of the Lewis line from Olaf the Black is traditional and questioned in clan-magazine articles. Neither source cites a document for Leod himself.
Development
Wikipedia reports that the first MacLeod in contemporary record is Malcolm, in a charter of about 1343, and that the clan fought on the Lord of the Isles' side at Harlaw in 1411 and Bloody Bay in 1481. The sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries were taken up by feuding with Macdonald of Sleat, ending in the 1601 defeat at Coire na Creiche according to the same article.
In 1745 the chief, Norman MacLeod, supported the government, not the Jacobites, according to Wikipedia, while some Raasay MacLeods fought at Culloden. The society's own history jumps to the twentieth century, when Flora MacLeod, recognised as chief in 1935, helped found overseas clan societies and began the Gathering, called a Parliament, in 1956.
Tartans
No MacLeod tartan is held as a record on this site because the register threadcounts could not be read from an open primary source. Wikipedia names two patterns, a dress tartan first published in the Vestiarium Scoticum of 1842, which it calls a Victorian forgery, and a hunting tartan it traces to a Mackenzie pattern used in 1771 and adopted by the clan society in 1910. Those statements are Wikipedia's and the register entries were not checked.
Septs
The society's sept page lists names by branch. For Lewis: Allum, Lewis, MacAulay (only of Lewis), MacCabe, MacCorkindale, Malcolmson, Norrie and Tolmie. For Harris and Dunvegan: Beaton, Harold, MacAndie, MacAskill, MacCaig, MacCaskie, MacClure, MacCrimmon and MacWilliam. The society itself warns that sharing a sept name does not guarantee a historic link, that Norman is a long-standing error kept for historical reasons, that Black shows no evidence for MacCorkindale, and that several names also belong to other clans. Because of those caveats no sept is recorded as a verified link here. The sixteen names the society lists without a stated doubt are recorded as uncertain links, on the society's list alone. Norman, MacCorkindale, MacCorkill and the formerly listed Nicol are left out because the society itself questions them.
Check before repeating
Misconceptions
The clan's two lines are not one family tree from a single known son: the Lewis descent is traditional. The Fairy Flag, the Dunvegan Cup and Rory Mor's Horn are heirlooms of clan tradition; Wikipedia's account of them has no inline citations, so no claim about their age or powers is made here. A MacLeod on the clan society's list of sept names is not shown to be a MacLeod by descent.
Who can wear
The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs says there are no strict rules on who may wear a tartan and that wearing a clan tartan signals allegiance to the chief. The clan society says it welcomes anyone interested in joining, whether or not their surname is on its list.
Not established
What the record does not show
No document for Leod or for the descent of Tormod and Torquil was seen. The Dunvegan Castle website and the Associated Clan MacLeod Societies' own pages on the heirlooms were not available to read. The MacLeod tartans, their first records and their register entries were not read. The relation of the sept names to the clan is a society list with its own stated doubts.
Surnames and septs
No MacLeod surname page is published on this site yet; the surname would need an independently sourced account of the name's origin, spellings and distribution before it can pass the indexability gate. The sept names above are the society's list, recorded as uncertain and carrying its caveats. A person named MacLeod is not shown by these sources to descend from the chiefly line.
Historical notes
The Clan MacLeod Societies say the clan can be traced to Leod, born around 1200, a Norseman, and that the name means sons of Leod. They say Tormod (Norman) is the one son of Leod of whom they can be certain, and that Torquil, the ancestor of the Lewis line, was Leod's great-grandson.
Evidence level B. Sources: [1]
Wikipedia describes Leod as a Norse-Gael of the thirteenth century and gives his death as around 1280 with burial on Iona. It reports the older tradition that Tormod and Torquil were both his sons, then notes that Torquil is better described as Tormod's grandson, and that the Lewis line's claimed descent from Olaf the Black is traditional and disputed in clan magazine articles.
Evidence level D. Sources: [2]
The society says Tormod was the ancestor of the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan (Siol Tormod), that the Lewis line (Siol Torquil) descends from Torquil, and that the Raasay MacLeods later branched from the Lewis line.
Evidence level B. Sources: [1]
Wikipedia says the first clan member in contemporary record is Malcolm, in a royal charter of about 1343 under David II, and that the MacLeods fought for the Lord of the Isles at Harlaw in 1411 and at Bloody Bay in 1481, where the chief William Dubh was killed. It records feuding with Macdonald of Sleat, the defeat at Coire na Creiche in 1601, and a bond of manrent in 1588 to the Captain of Clan Chattan.
Evidence level D. Sources: [2]
Wikipedia says that in 1745 chief Norman MacLeod did not join the Jacobites and raised Independent Highland Companies for the government, and that Raasay MacLeods fought at Culloden. It gives different manpower figures in different passages (500 and 700), which may count different things.
Evidence level D. Sources: [2]
The society says Dunvegan has been the clan seat since Leod's time and is built on a natural rock. Wikipedia says the castle dates from the fourteenth century and calls it the seat of the chiefs for over 700 years; the Wikipedia statement and the society's differ on how early the clan held it.
The society says Flora MacLeod was recognised as 28th chief in 1935, started the first Gathering, called a Parliament, in 1956, and died in 1976; her grandson John, the 29th chief, died in 2007 and was followed by his son Hugh Magnus MacLeod of MacLeod, born 1973, the 30th chief.
Dates named in the notes
Each line is the opening sentence of a historical note above that names a single year. The year is the one the source gives; it has not been checked independently here.
The Clan MacLeod Societies say the clan can be traced to Leod, born around 1200, a Norseman, and that the name means sons of Leod.
Evidence level B. Sources: [1]
Wikipedia describes Leod as a Norse-Gael of the thirteenth century and gives his death as around 1280 with burial on Iona.
Evidence level D. Sources: [2]
Wikipedia says that in 1745 chief Norman MacLeod did not join the Jacobites and raised Independent Highland Companies for the government, and that Raasay MacLeods fought at Culloden.
Evidence level D. Sources: [2]
Septs and associated names
Sept lists differ between clan societies and older sources. Each name below carries the confidence this site can support.
- Allum
- Lewis
- MacAulay
- MacCabe
- Malcolmson
- Norrie
- Tolmie
- Beaton
- Harold
- MacAndie
- MacAskill
- MacCaig
- MacCaskie
- MacClure
- MacCrimmon
- MacWilliam
- Uncertain
- Reported, but the sources are weak or disagree.