Hello and Welcome to all you new subscribers to this new list which was founded less than 48 hours ago! We already have over 150 subscribers, and I'm sure those numbers will be climbing as more people hear about the list. The goal of this list is to serve as a world-wide forum for the discussion of the history, culture and genealogy of historic Scottish clans and of clan organizations throughout the world today. To help get the ball rolling, I am posting an "Introduction to the History of Clan Chattan - Part I", which comes from my website "Clan Chattan / Mackintosh Cyber-Sennachie" (URL http://www.geocities.com/~brooms/chattan ). Corrections, additions and/or discussion are welcome. ****************************************************** Mackintosh History: An Introduction - Part I Early History The earliest authentic ancestry of the Clan Mackintosh has been traced to Shaw MacDuff, son of the third Earl of Fife, who was of the royal family. MacDuff took the name of Mackintosh, "Mac-an-toisich," which means Son of the Chief or Thane. In 1163, he came to the north with King Malcolm IV to suppress a rebellion of the men of Moray. As a reward for his services, he was made Keeper of the Royal Castle of Inverness and received the lands ot Petty and Beachley with the forest of Strathdearn in the valley of the Findhorn River. The early chiefs are said to have resided in Inverness Castle, but Petty was their early home, and there through the centuries the family burial-place has been situated and is still the resting place of the Mackintosh Chiefs. The clan did not come into possession of the area around Loch Moy until 1336. Clan Chattan Several events occurred in the late 1200's which altered the course of the history of Clan Mackintosh. The first was the marriage in 1291 of the Sixth Chief, Angus, to Eva, heir of the chief of Clan Chattan. This clan was an ancient confederation of families or clans which lived in Lochaber. By marrying the heir of this clan, Angus was made chief of the clan and inherited the lands of Glenloy and Loch Arkaig in Lochaber. Angus lived in this area for a time, but later moved back to his own family's lands near Inverness. Most of the Clan Chattan went with him. The second series of events to alter the course of the history of Clan Mackintosh were the Scottish Wars of Independence. Robert Bruce had recently been crowned King of Scotland in defiance of King Edward of England and in the face of his fierce rivals, the Comyns. The Comyns were also enemies of Angus Mackintosh and had wrested control of several important Mackintosh lands when Angus was yet a child. This Chief, leader now of not only the Mackintoshes but the entire Clan Chattan, led his men at the great Battle of Bannockburn and in subsequent fights with the English. In return for his loyal support, Angus was granted additional lands in Badenoch which were settled by members of Clan Chattan. Feuds With Comyns and Camerons In 1336, Angus obtained the lands of Moy and was confirmed in his rights to the old Clan Chattan lands of Glenloy and Loch Arkaig, which had been overrun by Camerons following the migration of Clan Chattan to the east. It was at this time that the centuries-long feud with Clan Cameron began. The feud was so hotly contested during the latter half of the 14th century that King Robert III intervened and arranged a trial by combat of champions of both clans on the North Inch at Perth in 1396. The Mackintoshes emerged victorious in this fight, but the Camerons nevertheless remained firmly in possession of Loch Arkaig and Glenloy. After a series of dramatic conflicts with the Comyns in the 1420's and '30's, the Mackintoshes ultimately vanquished their long-time foes. The Comyns had seized Meikle Geddes and Rait (near Nairn) during the minority of Angus in the late 1200's, and they were still in possession of these lands in 1424. After a sequence of increasingly violent contacts, the Comyns invaded Mackintosh territory but were turned back. The Comyns planned a treacherous revenge, but this, too, was foiled at Rait Castle in Nairnshire, resulting in their destruction by the Mackintoshes. (This is the subject of another story by the Cyber-Sennachie.) The feud with the Camerons took a little longer to settle. After two centuries of fighting, the feud with the Camerons was finally settled in 1665 when this clan agreed to pay the Mackintoshes for Loch Arkaig and Glenloy.