Papers by Martin MacGregor
The Scottish Historical Review
Building work undertaken at Dunfermline abbey in 1818 unearthed a burial vault which included a s... more Building work undertaken at Dunfermline abbey in 1818 unearthed a burial vault which included a skeleton. The skull has been widely examined and has been believed to be that of King Robert I (Bruce). The present article re-examines the archaeological evidence and brings to bear the medieval historical sources on the discovery. The ailments of the king and of the body discovered in Dunfermline are discussed, as is the separate heart burial which may have been carried out upon this individual interred. A summary follows, setting the evidence for the location of the tomb uncovered in 1818 against the available historical and architectural evidence for royal burial at Dunfermline in the medieval era. The sex, age, physique, disease, heart burial, tomb location and manner of death of the body discovered are analysed to draw conclusions about the identity of the incumbent of the Dunfermline tomb.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Christianities in the Early Modern Celtic World, 2014
Scottish Historical Review, 1999
Innes Review, 2000
National Library of Scotland, Advocates' MS. 72.1.1, is the Gaelic manuscript, nine folios long, ... more National Library of Scotland, Advocates' MS. 72.1.1, is the Gaelic manuscript, nine folios long, generally known as MS 1467. Folio 1 contains genealogies. These fall into three obvious categories: those which relate to the kings of Scots,2 those which relate to Clann Shomhairle (the descendants of the famous Somhairle or Somerled, who died in 1164),3 and those which relate to other lineages or clans, all of them apparently domiciled in Scotland. Folios 2-9 contain religious material, and also provide evidence as to authorship and date and place of composition. At the top of folio 7 we are told that the account of Christ's Passion just completed was written down by Dubhghall Albanach mac mhic Cathail in the presence of Eilis Buitileir (Elizabeth Butler) in 1467, at a location recently identified as Bade Ui Bhuadhaigh, in southern Co. Tipperary.4 Folios 4-5 have drawn upon them the measurements of Christ's feet, and a note states that this was done for Dubhghall Albanach by Tanaidhe Ö Maoil Chonaire in the house of MacAodhagäin, britheamh (brehon) of Ormond. Thus we may be confident that, 'ff. 2-9 at least were written in the general area of the Butler territories of Ormond in 1467'.5 Ronald Black has argued that the way in which the pedigrees are crammed together, 'suggests that until now f.l had been left blank as a cover for the rest of the MS, and that it was hastily being employed as the only available material on which to write the text', which would place the writing of the pedigrees in or after 1467, conceivably, but not necessarily, following Dubhghall Albanach's return to Scotland.6 A modern critical edition of the texts of the genealogies in MS 1467 has yet to be published. The only attempts in this direction to date are those of W.F. Skene, first in Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis,1 and 1 Hereafter MS 1467. 2 See n. 92. 3 I use Clann Shomhairle in its fullest sense, ie. Clann Dubhghaill (the MacDougalls), Clann Domhnaill (the MacDonalds) and Clann Ruairi (the MacRuaries). 4 C. Ö Baoill, 'Scotticisms in a Manuscript of 1467', Scottish Gaelic Studies 15 (1988) 122, 124.
Textual Cultures, 2012
The Campbells have the potential to offer much to the theme of literature and borders, given that... more The Campbells have the potential to offer much to the theme of literature and borders, given that the kindred's astonishing political success in the late medieval and early modern period depended heavily upon the ability to negotiate multiple frontiers: between Highlands and Lowlands; between Gaelic Scotland and Ireland, and, especially after the Reformation, with England and the matter of Britain. This paper will explore the literary dimension to Campbell expansionism, from the Book of the Dean of Lismore in the earlier sixteenth century, to poetry addressed to dukes of Argyll in the earlier eighteenth century. Particular attention will be paid to the literary proclivities of the household of the Campbells of Glenorchy on either side of what appears to be a major watershed in 1550; and to the agenda of the Campbell protégé John Carswell, first post-Reformation bishop of the Isles, and author of the first printed book in Gaelic in either Scotland or Ireland, Foirm na n-Urrnuidheadh ('The Form of Prayers'), published at Edinburgh in 1567. That the Campbells have so much to offer the theme of literature and borders within late medieval and early modern Britain and Ireland is no surprise given that the most distinctive characteristic of their staggering political success in that era was the ability to operate across frontiers. Regional domination in Argyll was the foundation of the achievement of national high office, and the plantation of branches of the kindred across Scotland (Dawson 1999: 215). In addition to movement from Highlands to Lowlands, Campbell expansion reactivated an older and highly porous internal frontier between Argyll and the Isles, heartland of MacDonald lordship, and gave it an ideological charge. Blind Harry's Wallace may be the earliest literary portrayal of Campbells and MacDonalds locked in dialectical opposition on the grounds of civility, ethnicity, and loyalty to the realm (Boardman 2006: 211-13). The full-blown Gaelic version of the topos took far longer to emerge, reflecting a relationship initially evolving in 2 tandem rather than confrontation (Gillies 1976-8: 264-71). By the mid-sixteenth century Campbell literati could legitimately challenge the MacDonald right to supremacy over Gaelic Scotland embodied in the title ceannas nan Gàidheal, 'headship of the Gaels' (MacGregor forthcoming (a)). Involvement in Gaelic Ireland was a natural for both kindreds. Finally, the Scottish Reformation of 1560 and the death of the third duke of Argyll in 1761 demarcated two centuries of profound Campbell engagement with British state formation. Confronted with this phenomenon, it is no surprise to find that some of the scholarly descriptors applied to the Campbells-a 'semi-Lowland family', or 'Gaeldom's Trojan Horse'suggest a degree of perplexity (Donaldson 1990: 3-4; Lynch 1991: 242). The fact that their very genealogy allowed them to don British, Norman or Gaelic faces as audience, occasion and timeframe demanded, only enhances their claim to the title of Scottish history's ultimate
Both chronicles largely consist of what we might call local sections, which record the deaths of ... more Both chronicles largely consist of what we might call local sections, which record the deaths of prominent men and women, principally from the central and western Highlands, between 1390 and 1542 in the case of Chron. BDL, and 1390 and 1579 in the case of Chron. Fortingall. Between 1390 and 1542, the local section of Chron. BDL contains 82 entries, that of Chron. Fortingall 27. Watson, Scottish Verse, xv. 28. HMC vii, pt. ii Atholl Charters), 706, no. 19. 29. Infra, pp. 37-8. 21 Campbell pedigree Dubhghall names two individuals as Ailean. One of them occurs at the place where we would expect to find Cailean Mor, from whom the style of the Campbell chiefs derived. These look like dictation errors: 34 Dubhghall has e heard "mhic Ailýin" for the phonetically very similar "mhic Chailin". Dictation might help to explain the omission of Eoin Dubh from the MacGregor pedigree, for Dubhghall could easily have made the two successive "Eoins" into one.
Both chronicles largely consist of what we might call local sections, which record the deaths of ... more Both chronicles largely consist of what we might call local sections, which record the deaths of prominent men and women, principally from the central and western Highlands, between 1390 and 1542 in the case of Chron. BDL, and 1390 and 1579 in the case of Chron. Fortingall. Between 1390 and 1542, the local section of Chron. BDL contains 82 entries, that of Chron. Fortingall 27. Watson, Scottish Verse, xv. 28. HMC vii, pt. ii Atholl Charters), 706, no. 19. 29. Infra, pp. 37-8. 21 Campbell pedigree Dubhghall names two individuals as Ailean. One of them occurs at the place where we would expect to find Cailean Mor, from whom the style of the Campbell chiefs derived. These look like dictation errors: 34 Dubhghall has e heard "mhic Ailýin" for the phonetically very similar "mhic Chailin". Dictation might help to explain the omission of Eoin Dubh from the MacGregor pedigree, for Dubhghall could easily have made the two successive "Eoins" into one.
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Papers by Martin MacGregor