Scottish Clans

Sorry this was so long getting out.  I've moved and had to establish myself and get internet to my new apartment, but I'm up and running now.  Here's part 2 about the relationship between the Crawfords and the Earls of Crawford.  Hope this helps.  Available on Apple Podcasts, Podbean, and Spotify.

It's easy to get turned around when studying the Scottish clans and there is a clan name and an earldom with the same name.  Learning about one doesn't necessarily give us a formula for understanding the others.  In this episode, we untangle the Clan Ross from the Earldom of Ross.

Complimenting the last episode, I continue looking at the Jacobite risings.  I mapped out the clans on a Google map, marking which clans took which side using different colors.   Looking at the two maps (the 1715 and the 1745 risings) and noticing trends or lack of them, I compare and contrast them and see what value it gives us.  I hope this episode sparks some ideas of your own for a more in-dep...

50 Episodes!  My topic here is a more detailed look at the Jacobite rising of 1745.  Paintings of the Battle of Culloden, the final battle of the rising, make it appear that this whole effort was the Highland clans in support of the Stewart dynasty verses Lowlanders/Englishmen supporting the Hanoverians.  I did a project with Google Maps to dive into this deeper and here I share some of my observa...

Getting to hear your comments, thoughts, and questions and carrying the conversation further with you all is one of the most gratifying things about doing this podcast.  Doing these kind of episodes allows us to discuss the Scottish clans starting from where your thoughts and interests are.  I didn't get to everyone here so I'll be getting to more of you feedback in subsequent episodes.  Available...

The rest of the story and a little more depth regarding a major conflict between Clan Ranald and the Frasers of Lovat with the leadership of Clan Ranald at stake.  Available on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

A disagreement over the chiefly succession of Clan Ranald leads to a fight that included a few other clans and excluded certain pieces of clothing.  Join me for the story of Blar na Leine; the Battle of the Shirts.  Available on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.

The Grahams produced several capable leaders who took part in some of Scotland's hottest contentions, some of their names will be familiar to you.  We focus on what's probably not familiar to you, which what DNA tests tell us about the origin of the Grahams.  Thanks for joining me.  This is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

I can't believe we haven't covered this already!  What is a sept?  Is your family a sept of a larger, more powerful clan?  Which tartan should you buy a kilt in?  Let's talk about it.

Clan chiefs only live so long.  What happens when the clan needs a new leader?  In this episode, I discuss tanistry, the system used amongst the Gaels of Scotland for picking a new leader.

In response to listener feedback, here is a reading list for a study of the Scottish Clans.  I know it's not comprehensive.  We will add to it as we go.  There is an accompanying post on the Facebook page.  Feel free to add your own titles in the comments.  Also, a short note on the Roses of Kilravock.  Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Finally!  This is the content I started out with for the idea of an episode on the Campbells.  In this episode, I try to untangle the major branches of the Campbell clan, and by major, I mean these branches: MacArthur of Strachur, Craignish, Loudon, Auchenbreck, Glenorchy, and Cawdor.  I apologize if you have a particular branch that I didn't include but there are so many that if I tried to get to...

Fort part two on the Campbells, I continue the story and important points in the early days of this clan.   www.ccsna.org

Here you go, a special episode on the Campbells.  Actually, this is the beginning of at least two, possibly three episodes on the Campbells.  The last one will be a Clan Clusters episode where we discuss the many branches of this clan, especially those branches that became notable kindreds in their own right.  In this episode, I focus on Campbell origins but didn't get as far as I wanted so I'll s...

I'm back!  Once again, our topics are listener driven.  After having to buy a new mic, I'm finishing my responses to some of your comments.  Thank you so much for engaging with this podcast through Facebook, Podbean, and Apple Podcasts.

It's time to show some love for those of you who have taken the effort to submit comments, questions, food for thought, etc.  I'm so grateful for those of you who have done that and hope that today's episode will inspire more of you to comment, submit reviews and share this podcast with your friends.  Sit back and enjoy a conversation on the Scottish Clans that is generated by the thoughts of your...

I could have labeled this episode "Clan Alliances: the Scotts and the Armstrongs".  William Armstrong is wrongly imprisoned and Walter Scott is taking matters into his own hands.  Join me for one of the coolest stories in Scottish history.

Here's a look at Clan Donnchaidh, aka Robertson of Struan.  What are their origins?  Why do they have two names?  What were some of their defining features?  Join me for a short look at a powerful kindred from the central Highlands.

We're going to a place in Scotland that is often overshadowed by more popular regions.  I'm talking about Galloway, and the Gaelic clans that held sway there.  Some of these kindreds are easily identified as having Gaelic roots by their names.  Others may surprise you how Gaelic they were, despite their Norman names.  Thanks again for listening to the Scottish Clans podcast.

Two major clans of southeast Scotland descend from the same man, Gospatrick.  This man was a composite of three of the dominant ethnic groups of southern Scotland and northern England: the Scots of Alba, the Britons of Strathclyde, and the Angles of Northumbria.  He would become the Earl of Dunbar and from him descend two related clans of southeast Scotland: the Dunbars and the Homes.

The MacLeods of Lewis (Siol Thorcaill) were among the most powerful of the Hebridean clans, controlling most of the land around the North Minch, a body of water rich in its fisheries.  They were also unfailingly loyal to the MacDonalds, Lords of the Isles.  And then in the 1600's they ceased to function as a cohesive force.  Learn more of the story and questions to pursue on the subject in this ep...

I'm back!  I had a great adventure in Palau but I'm excited to get back in the saddle and ride into the world of the Scottish Clans.  In this episode I'm picking back up the subject of this group of seven clans that all claim descent from Alpin, father of Kenneth mac Alpin.

The Siol Alpin (seed, or descendants of Alpin) were a group of seven clans that all claimed descent from Alpin, who was the father of Kenneth Mac Alpin, the first king of the combined Scots and Picts.  Or was he?  And were they?  I discuss this idea and take a short look at the individual clans that made up this group: Grant, MacGregor, MacFie, MacQuarrie, MacNab, MacKinnon and MacAulay.

For a wild story about a fight between the MacNabs and MacNeishes as well as a brief discussion about the origins of the Grants, join me on this episode.  This will be a lead-in to a future episode about the Siol Alpin, or those clans claiming descend from Alpin, father of Kenneth, King of the Picts.

For a long time now, the Stewarts and their many branches have been tangled in my mind.  In this episode, I share what I have learned as I have sought to straighten out how these branches are related to each other, where they split off, and their individual character.  Thanks for listening!  Also, this is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.