SHANE DHU MACNAUCHTAN
by Thomas R Holme
The story of Shane Dhu is a lost story – an oral tradition so old that over the course of five centuries it has almost entirely vanished. But there was a time when the story was a brave and true song carried in the hearts of our race. What I would like to do here is bring the story to life again. To do that we will start with an ancient poem.
MCNAUGHTAN (JOHNNY SCOT)
Johnny’s into England gane
Three quarters of a year:
Johnny’s into England gane
The King’s banner to bear.
He had na been in England lang
But and a little while
Untill the King [is ae] Daughter
To Johnny gaes wi’ child.
Word is to the Kitchen gane
And word is to the Ha’.
And word is to the King’s palace
Amang the nobles a’
Word’s gane to the King’s palace,
The palace where [he[ sat
That his ae Daughter gaes wi’ child
To Jock the little Scot.
If she be wi’ child, he says
As I trow well she be,
I’ll put her into strang prison
And hang her till she die.
But up and spak young Johnny,
And O he spak in time:
Is there never a bony Boy here
Will rin my errand soon.
That will gae to yon Castle
And look it round about?
And there he’ll see a fair lady
The window looking out.
Up then spak a bonny Boy,
And a bonny Boy was he:
I’ll run thy errand, Johnny, he said,
Untill the day I die.
Put on your gown of silk, Madam,
And on your hand a glove,
And gang into the good Green-wood
To Johnny your true love.
The fetters they are on my feet,
And O but they are cauld;
My bracelets they are sturdy steel
Instead of beaten gold.
But I will write a lang letter
And seal it tenderlie,
And I will send to my true love
Before that I do die.
The first look that Johnny look’d,
A loud laughter ga’e he;
But the next look that Johnny ga’e
The tear blinded his e’e.
He says, I’ll into England gae
Whatever may betide,
And a’ to seek a fair woman
That sud had been my bride.
But up and speaks his Father,
And O he spak in time:
If that ye into England gae
I’m feer’d ye ne’er come hame.
But up then speaks our gude Scotch King,
And a brisk young man was he:
He’s hae five huner o’ my life-guard
To bear him companie.
When Johnny was on saddle set
And seemly for to see,
There was not a married man
Into his companie.
When Johnny sat on Saddle-seat
And seemly to behold,
The hair that hang on Johnny’s head
Was like the threads o’ gold.
When he cam to [fair London]
He gar’d the Bells a’ ring,
Untill the King and a’ his Court
Did marvel at the thing.
Is this the brave Argyle, he said,
That’s landed and come hame?
Is this the brave Argyle, he said,
Or James, our Scottish King?
It’s no the brave Argyle, they said,
That’s landed and come hame;
But it is a brave young Scotch Knight,
McNaughtan is his name.
If McNaughtan be his name, he says,
As I trow weel it be,
The fairest Lady in a’ my Court
Gangs wi child to thee.
If that she be wi’ child, he says,
As I wat weel she be,
I’ll mak it Lord o’ a’ my land
And her my gay Lady.
I have a champion in my Court
Will fight you a’ by three;
But up then speaks a brisk young man,
And a brisk young man was he:
I will fight to my life’s end
Before poor Johnny die.
The King but and his Nobles a’
Went out into the plain,
The Quenn but and her maidens a’,
To see young Johnny slain.
The first wound that Johnny ga’e the Champion
Was a deep wound and [a] sair;
The next wound that he ga’e the Champion
He never spak mair.
A priest, a priest, young Johnny cries,
To wed me and my love;
A clerk, a clerk, the King he cries
To sign her tocher gude.
I’ll hae nane o’ your goud, he says,
I’ll hae nane o’ your gear,
Bu a’ I want is my true love
For I hae bought her dear.
He took out a little Goat-horn
And blew baith loud and shill;
The vic’try’s into Scotland gane,
Tho’ sair against their will.
***
EXPLANATION OF THE POEM
There actually was a time when a MacNachtan won the heart of the daughter of a King. I believe this poem speaks of that very real event, famous in its day -- the marriage of John MacNachtan, also known as Shane Dhu Macnaghten, to the daughter of Alexander Konnel, descendant of the Kings of the Isles, father of Sorley Boy MacDonnell, and mighty power in Antrim and Scotland. I believe that the poem was changed over the years, pieces added, for instance the words that make the drama take place in England instead of Antrim, Ireland. In this article I will attempt to put together all the pieces of the puzzle to give us for the first time a clear understanding of who exactly was Shane Dhu MacNauchtan.
***
Here is a splendid book on Clan Ian Mhoir written by R. Kirk McConnell and Rev. R.J.J. McConnell in the 1930's which has been placed on the internet:
http://www.dsolar.com/mcconnel/mcco1.html
And here is the specific chapter of the book that we need for this article:
http://www.dsolar.com/mcconnel/mcco5.html
from which I quote:
“Alexander Konnell [later called McConnell/MacDonnell] was born in 1480. At the end of the 15th century, the MacDonnells became the enemies of King James IV of Scotland and Alexander fled to Ireland to stay. He received a pardon from King James V in 1531 and grants of land in Kintyre, but Antrim Ireland was to remain the family's main base in the future. Note: the source for this paragraph is from a booklet on Dunluce Castle written by the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland. The paragraph about Colla McConnell below is from this same source.
At Glenan in the Tarolf on May 6, 1520, "Alexander Konnel of Dunoveg, with his hand on the pen, promised that he would be to Sir John Campbell of Calder a cuming man and servand hym self and all his branch of the Clan Donyl that he is cuming of."
This is the first record in history we have of the name Konnel, from which the present name McConnell is derived.
For his services Alexander Konnel received a lease for five years of 45 merklands in Isla, 15 merklands of Jura and the Island of Colonsay.
From 1528 to 1531 Alexander was in revolt and fought against the Campbells, but he was pardoned June 7, 1531. To guarantee he would keep the peace, his son James was left with the King as hostage. The young heir of Dunnyveg remained at court several years and by the King's express wishes received a liberal education under Dean Henderson at Holyrood, the effects of which were apparent in after years.
During this interval, the Earl of Argyle accused Alexander Konnell of many disturbances of the peace, which Alexander was able to refute to the satisfaction of the King. the Earl of Argyle was summoned and deprived of his offices which were conferred upon Alexander. From time to time, until his death, Alexander kept up a constant correspondence with the King. He received from his Majesty on more than one occasion presents of bows and arrows, doubtless in order to encourage archery among the Highlanders.
In 1532 Alexander Konnel raised 7,000 men with whom he crossed to Ireland and drove the English from Ulster.
Alexander Konnel married Catherine, daughter of John MacIain of Arnamurchan by whom he had eleven children surnamed McConnell. Prior to this time there was no appearance of a family name as we know it."
V.V. McNitt says it best in a couple of early paragraphs of chapter 9 of his book THE MACNAUCHTAN SAGA:
"THERE came a time about the year 1500 when the MacDonalds of the Isles (of the tribe of Somerled, who was part Gael and part Viking) found their rebelliousness against the Scottish government had made Scotland too hot for them. For centuries they had made forays into Antrim, and one of them — Angus Og Macdonnell — was host to the fugitive Robert Bruce on the island of Rathlin in 1306. As early as the sixth century this strong tribe had held the Lordship of the Isles as an independent principality, its domain including the islands of Islay, Jura, and Rathlin, and part or all of the peninsula of Kintyre. Alexander II moved early in the thirteenth century to quell the tribe of Somerled in the islands of Argyll, with the chief of the Clan MacNauchtan helping; the effort was momentarily successful, and the old Lordship was set up as a sheriffdom. The unruly men of the Isles were not conquered, however. Donnel or Donald, the chief from whom the clan took its name, was Lord of the Isles about 1250. By 1500 the Scottish Kings had so far reduced the power of the MacDonalds as to outlaw the title Lord of the Isles.
About that time Alexander or Alastar MacDonald, who had five or six sons, gave serious attention to strengthening his clan’s foothold in Antrim. Thereafter as Macdonnells, the sons proceeded to annex the lands of the MacQuillans — an Anglo-Norman family sometimes found using the surname MacWilliam — by the device of raiding and warring with their rough and roaring redshank clansmen.
The youngest of the Macdonnell brothers was Sorley Boy (1505-1586/90), whose name in English would be Charles. In 1558 he was established as Lord of the Route, and by the Route is meant a slab of Antrim extending inland from the sea between the rivers Bush and Bann. After anguishing imprisonment by enemies and harrowing conflicts, Sorley Boy was in position by 1580 to administer his domain.
Consequently Shane Dhu had employment when he came over from Scotland: he became land agent and managing assistant for Sorley Boy."
****************************************************
The Irish Beaches of Antrim are the farthest northeast in Ireland. Opposite them across about ten miles of sea is Kintyre Scotland. It was a pretty neat trick for a seagoing clan like the MacDonnells to have castles in both Antrim and Kintyre and upon the outer Islands as well. It would be like building a house with half of it in Canada and the other half in the United States. When authorities from one nation came knocking on your door you simply go to the other side of your house and are safe. Or so it was for centuries.
Now ----- we know Shane Dhu married Sorley Boy's sister. So the question is: Who was the father of this woman and her illustrious brother Sorley Boy?
Their father was Alexander Macian Cathanach MacDonald, more commonly known as Alexander Konnell. He was the fourth chief of Clan Ian Mor. He was the great-great-great-great grandson of King Robert II of Scotland. He was also the direct descendant of the first, second, and third Kings of the Isles. And very much thought of as a veritable King by many.
It was a great trouble for the King of Scotland to have another Kingdom on its western border. That is why the wars against Somerled happened back in the twelfth century. But strife had been ongoing and sporadic ever since which led to the final forfeiture of the King of the Isles in 1493. The father of Alexander Macian Cathanach MacDonald/Konnell, Sir John Mor, had evaded forfeiture in 1493. King James came and knighted him. But then, as the King left, he left behind armed soldiers in each of Sir John Mor’s castles. As soon as King James was out of sight Sir John Mor MacDonald stormed back into his castle at Dunaverty and got rid of the King’s lowlander soldiers and hung their governor. For this deed the King in turn hung Sir John and three of his sons. The youngest son was home in Ireland and so escaped: Alexander MacDonald, the father of the daughter who married Shane Dhu.
Argyll wanted McDonald lands in Kintyre. The Campbells were expanding in every direction and about the only people who ever had any luck in going head to head with them were the MacDonalds. When Alexander MacDonald was in his late forties he was heavily engaged with warfare against the Campbells. In 1531 he was pardoned and promised to keep peace. But he had to give his son James as hostage.
Argyle used every opportunity to accuse Alexander Konnell of breaking faith – but Alexander seemed to get along well with the King and Argyll’s devices came to naught. In fact the end result of that was that Argyll was the one to suffer loss of dignity and power, for he was stripped of his offices and they were given to Alexander MacDonald instead.
There was something the King of Scotland needed from Alexander MacDonald that Argyll could not give him. The King of Scotland needed a powerful person in Ireland who could help him drive out the English. Otherwise England would eventually raise a Protestant power in Northern Ireland, which he did not want to see happen. So --- and this may be of some interest to those of us who have been trying to figure out the poem – in 1532 the King of Scotland commissioned Alexander Konnell to raise 7000 men to cross over the sea to Ireland.
At this point I humbly need to correct an error which I believe I have found in the histories as put forth by VV McNitt and Angus Macnaghten. It seems quite vital to me.
Both McNitt and Macnaghten opine that Shane Dhu came to the service of Sorley Boy MacDonald about the year 1580. Lets look at the facts.
1. Alexander Konnell is born around 1480, a well attested fact. He is the father of Shane Dhu’s wife.
2. Sorley Boy is born around 1505, the youngest of Alexander Konnell's sons. Sorley Boy is the brother of Shane Dhu’s wife. This is clearly deduced from the inscription on the gravestone of John Macnaghten, Shane Dhu’s son.
3. From this, may we consider it probable that Shane Dhu’s wife was also born probably within ten years of 1505?
4. So if she was born in 1525 she would have been 55 years old when she met Shane Dhu in 1580… Or -- if she was born earlier, say around 1504, she would have been 66 years old when she met Shane Dhu in 1580! So we now have formed our first clue that MAYBE Shane Dhu got to know Sorley Boy at some point EARLIER than 1580.
5. Both McNitt and Macnaghten say they do not know for certain who Shane Dhu’s parents might be. There is no actual record. There is, however, a record of Sir Alexander MacNauchtan (of the Flodden record) who died around 1513-1515 as having a son named John that very little is known about. Both McNitt and Macnaghten have striven so hard to make this parentage fit their date of 1580 that they have both devised an additional generation. They conclude that this John had another son named John: Shane Dhu. That makes the generations work out to 1580, and incidently makes it possible for a valiant young McNaughton lad to go to Ireland to marry a sixty year old lady and start a family. But more likely, our John was a typically normal lad, and he naturally preferred a girl his own age. So the only way to do this is to rid ourselves of that extra generations that McNitt and Macnaghten have imposed upon us. That makes Shane Dhu the son of Alexander of Flodden. Which makes additional sense in itself if you stop and think about it. I mean a valorous father might be inclined to have a valorous son.
6. So now we have a whole new set of dates to work with. If Alexander MacNauchtan of Flodden had a son, he might be born around 1510. That would make him 22 years old when King James commissioned Alexander Konnell to gather up 7000 men (from Argyll and Kintyre?) and take them to Ireland to fight the English. It is therefore possible to conceive now of a 22 year old McNaughton lad meeting the daughter of a veritable King. How old would she be in 1532? If she were born in 1510 she would be… 22. If she were born in 1515 she would be the ripe old age of… 17. Seventeen sounds about right…..
7. Angus Macnaghten was of the opinion that John McNauchtan/Shane Dhu was an educated cultured non-violent sort of person: “Having once secured his title to his estates by law, it was logical that Sorley Boy would have needed a competent land agent and administrator for his vast properties. Here then was a job for an educated man, for one who despised the rough brawlings and maraudings of the Highlands, and for one who, as being only a cousin of the chief and his family, had little to gain by staying at home.”
That makes no sense to me. Rather, Shane Dhu would have had to have been a full-fledged gall-oglach, full of spunk, and loyal to the hilt. -- a living Lochinvar.
Besides, anyone who knows the story of Sorley Boy knows he would only have blood and guts men around him. Imagine a MacNauchtan marrying the brother of the illustrious warrior Sorley Boy.... Would the fierce Alexander Konnell marry his precious daughter to a bookworm? Nah. Give some credit where credit is due. Anyone who would marry the sister of Sorley Boy MacDonnell is going to be a warrior among warriors. Flat out period. Face the facts. 600 of Sorley Boy's kindred, members of his own family, women and chilren, were massacred in one fell swoop by the English. Would Sorley Boy then allow his sister to marry anyone who wasn’t handy with sword and axe? Absolutely not. Shane Dhu MacNauchtan was the son of Alexander MacNauchtan who fell at Flodden if the ancient historians have any accuracy, though instead of dying at Flodden Alexander may have suffered for two years and died in 1515 rather than 1513. Shane Dhu was the son of a Champion, and proved himself worthy, and thereafter Alexander Konnel considered MacNachtan to be a fair match for his daughter. Shane Dhu MacNachtan was clearly one of the mighty gall-oglach of his day. And if we believe the song is about his exploits Konnell's champion challenged Shane Dhu -- and Shane Dhu dispatched him poste haste.
If you were there and you saw it happen -- would you have wanted to write a song about it? Certainly. And that is what happened.
And everything else falls neatly into place now. Look at it seriously. Take a pen and paper and some good Scottish/Irish history books and figure it out.
The song is a key to the door of history.
***
So the old ballad exagerates. McNauchtan didn't marry a Queen per se. But she was the daughter of the Great Chief Alexander Konnel. And he was a veritable King to the people of Antrim. He was the Great Chief that even got the better of Argyll. He was the Great Chief that King James respected and backed. He was the Great Chief who King James commissioned to take 7000 Scots into Ireland to drive the English out of Ulster. Shane Dhu married his daughter.
***
Do you come from the sort of family that would have a family picture puzzle laid out on the dining room table? The whole family would take turns trying to fit pieces together? One at a time, two at a time, sometimes three or four trying to figure it out? Sometimes the picture puzzle would stay there on the table for two weeks at a time, till the mom of the house threatened “You guys better finish putting that puzzle together today because I am getting tired of looking at it and we will need the table for Sunday dinner when our guests are here.” If your family memories are like mine those picture puzzle days were long ago. In my case, they took place in the nineteen fifties…. But they are still very much a part of my roots. Just like many things are. I hope your picture-puzzle-on-the-dinning-room-table-days are closer to the surface than mine are. But anyway, the way I see it, we McNaughtons and Macnaghtens are all family too. And we have a picture puzzle of two we might try to put together. Now there always seems to be one member of a family who does a great portion of the work. But it is here for all. This thing about Shane Dhu is a marvelous puzzle!!!!
It is marvelous because it isn’t just about Shane Dhu. It is about making sense out of that entire era of Scottish history. Look! There is SOMETHING THERE. The faint tinge of a color on a piece of a puzzle that you just look at and look at and look at, saying to yourself that you just KNOW you have seen it before. It must fit somewhere.
Then there is the building of the MacNaughton’s Dunderave Castle on Loch Fyne. They built that castle in Anna MacLane’s lifetime. Also within Shane Dhu’s lifetime. In fact at the same time that Sorley Boy MacDonnell and his Catholic family were raring and tearing in Ireland. Is this anything we should be considering when we put together this puzzle?
What are some of the other pieces we have to work with? How about the visit of the very Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, to Dunderave in 1563? As brought forth on page 32 of Matthew Cock’s book DUNDERAVE CASTLE AND THE MACNACHTANS OF ARGYLL? Could that be a piece to the puzzle?
A question that is often asked is how it was that the McNaughtons got the money together to build Dunderave castle on Loch Fyne? The date above the mantel reads 1586 which has led some to suggest the castle was built that year. But there are records where McNaughtons signed their name “of Dunderarro” and various other spellings decades earlier. WH Murray says authoritatively that the castle was built around 1560. The mantlepiece was added later, perhaps during a refurbishing.
Building a castle takes a lot of money, back then same as today. All of a sudden the MacNauchtans had the money and the wherewithal to build a castle…. How did this happen?
Let’s return to the poem for a few minutes. A few things are bound to change in a poem over the space of four hundred years. One of the things that would not change would be the name “Johnny MacNachtan”. That is one of the unmovable rocks of the poem. The piper of the MacDonalds of Glencoe was a huge man of the Henderson clan. He was one of the first killed in the Glencoe massacre. They wouldn’t write a song about the event and then at some later date change his name to a different one. We mustn’t look at those old songs with our minds of today where all a song is is a way to publish and make money and it is all fiction and nothing of truth matters at all. Four hundred years ago songs were like newspapers and they had to be truthful. Soap operas today are fiction and people cry over them. The songs of yesteryear were worthy of tears because they were real. If a song about a highwayman became popular it wasn’t because some famous writer composed a fiction and the song spread far and wide. That is today, but not back then. It was because the song was based upon a real event, and the tale was told as accurately as possible. So we may rest assured that there actually WAS a Johnny MacNachtan. Not a Douglas whose name was later changed to Johnny MacNachtan to add color to the lyrics. Not a Campbell, whose name was changed later to Johnny MacNachtan to give it ethnic quality. No. Just a real Knight named John MacNachtan.
This particular John MacNachtan would pretty much have to be connected in some way with the chief’s family of the clan one would think. The cost of a suit of armour in those days was about like buying a Mercedes Benz today. So it is very likely he would show up in our McNaughton histories. We could make a list of all the John MacNauchtans in our history books. They would number less than ten. It is a process of elimination. The biggest eliminating factor is that we have to eliminate all the John MacNachtans who lived after there was no longer a King of Scotland, hence after 1603. That pretty much leaves us with the three John McNachtans who lived in the fifteen hundreds.
We know none of them married the daughter of any King of England. That means that part of the song is fallacious and was changed for some reason during the past four hundred years. But the sense of it would be true. It was a DIFFERENT king. Who?
So now we have to look to find a John MacNachtan who married the daughter of a kingly person in that century. There is one. Shane Dhu. So now we have to try to put this piece into the puzzle and see how it looks with the other pieces. It fits perfect.
The King has commissioned Alexander Konnell to gather 7000 men in Argyll and Kintyre and close-by areas, and take them over into Ulster to fight the English. Naturally Alexander Konnell goes to all the clan chiefs and that includes the MacNachtans. He sups with the nobles sons in his own home in Antrim. In his castle. The cream of his 7000 men are invited to his home. See the suits of armour, the fine horses being cared for by the servants, the velvet taperstries. Here the knight Johnny MacNachtan meets the daughter of his commander and they fall in love. Pretty story. Not Disney. Not romance novel. Not Hollywood. –Just Pure Truth.
All the offices that once belonged to Campbell of Argyll have been bestowed upon Alexander Konnell. For the time being Campbell is out and Konnell is in. (I needn’t tell any of you that these events pave the way for the interactions between the Irish MacDonalds and the Campbells that occur a century later. We needn’t get into that here.)
So, when the King’s eyes look at northern Loch Fyne what do they see? They see Campbells and Inverary. The King wants a force on Loch Fyne to counter the Campbells. The MacNachtans need a castle there. If the MacNachtans were to have a castle there the King would feel more secure.
The romance between Johnny MacNachtan and the daughter of “the King of Antrim” is national news, as far as popular songs go. King James has backed Johnny MacNachtan with 500 of his finest knights. He knows MacNachtan. The MacNachtan clan need a castle on Loch Fyne. Voila! A castle appears. Who financed the castle? We may never know exactly. But it looks to me like it was King James.
The marriage of Shane Dhu with Konnell’s daughter also paves the way for the marriage of his cousin, Chief John MacNachtan with Anna MacLane since Sorley Boy MacDonnell is Anna MacLane’s grandfather.
So we now have a much larger vision of the events of the sixteenth century as they pertain to our clan. From the looks of things, I would say our family picture puzzle is coming together nicely.
A McNaughton cousin has sent me chapter 2 of IN SEARCH OF TWO KINSMEN by Angus Macnaghten, a book I was unaware of. It turns out Macnaghten wrote several books other than THE CHIEFS OF CLAN MCNAUGHTON. I found this paragraph in it:
“My fellow-clansman, Duncan McNaughton, has kindly pointed out one possible pre-Ulster link between the chiefs and the MacDonnells: at the end of the 16th century the MacNachtan chiefs had a tack of lease or South Kintyre, which would have brought them into contact with the McDonalds of Largie and Dunaverty. The latter families were relations of the MacDonalds of Largie and Dunaverty. The latter families were relations of the MacDonnells of Antrim. There was an Ian Dhu MacNachtan in South Kintyre in about 1543.”
We see from this paragraph that both Angus Macnaghten and Duncan McNaughton were looking at the possibility of Shane Dhu existing half a century earlier than 1580. This Ian Dhu McNachtan who lived in South Kintyre in 1543.... Kintyre would be a rather logical place for Shane Dhu to live with his wife, the daughter of Alexander Konnell after their marriage, so close to Antrim, in the neighborhood of both MacDonnells and MacNachtans, and involved in the adventures of the times, and in a perfect position for Shane Dhu to become a powerful person, and personal administrator for Sorlie Boy MacDonnell in time.
***
Here is the last paragraph of chapter seven in Angus Macnaghten's book:
"According to the 1818 Grant of Arms to Edmond McNaghten, Shane Dhu joined Sorley Boy about 1580. We have no proof of their relationship, as the traditional story of his being a great grandson of Sorley Boy’s is based on the assumption that Shane Dhu was Anna MacLean’s son."
It isn't worth skimming that. It is too important. It tells us WHO created the precedent opinion that Shane Dhu joined Sorley Boy about 1580. Secondly: it tells us there was a "traditional story", that is to say an oral history, about Shane Dhu. Remember: the man writing this book, Angus Macnaghten, is a close cousin of the chief of Clan Macnaghten in 1951 when he published it. And thirdly: it tells us that the 400 delegates to chose the new chief in 1818 concensused that Shane Dhu was the son of John MacNachtan and Anna MacLean. And all modern MacNachtan historians now know that Shane Dhu WAS NOT the son of John MacNachtan and Anna MacLean. Therefore the 1580 date no longer exists. It only ever existed because the year carved on the mantlepiece at Dunderave is "1598". Therefore they all calculated roughly that if John and Anna built Dunderave in 1598 and if their son John ran with Sorley Boy who died in 1586, then John must have joined him no later than about 1580. If he was twenty years old at that time that would make Shane Dhu's birthyear about 1560. So Shane Dhu’s parents might have been born about 1540 making them around 58 years old in 1598. This is how they computed it. And it was all wrong. Because Shane Dhu WAS NOT the son of Chief John MacNachtan and Anna MacLean. THEREFORE, if Shane Dhu existed his father was a person who lived earlier in the century. Consequently McNitt and Macnaghten BOTH believe that Shane Dhu's line descends from Sir Alexander who died at Flodden.
Now, the second part will deal with Alexander who it is said died at Flodden. This part is rather confusing because all the McNaughton authors have it a little bit different from each other. The one thing MacNitt and Macnaghten have in common is that they BOTH believe that Sir Alexander MacNachtan who fell at Flodden had a son named John -- and that this John had a son also named John who was Shane Dhu. So that genealogy goes like this: Alexander MacNachtan (Flodden) -- John -- Shane Dhu. 1 -2- 3. Father, son, grandson.
But in fact Shane Dhu was more likely the son of Alexander who died at Flodden. All the records that were formerly attributed to "John" the son of Alexander and father of Shane Dhu should be attributed instead to "Shane Dhu" -- because the Irish knew him as Shane Dhu but his family knew him simply as John MacNachtan. If we do that, we will have Shane Dhu at the exact age necessary to be amongst Alexander Konnell's 7000 Scots when they gather in Ireland to drive the English out. And Shane Dhu could meet Alexander's daughter and marry her. My way is the only way these dates fit well.
Now concerning Alexander who died at Flodden. I will quote from page 21 of Duncan MacNaughton's history of the clan :
"Gilbert had a son, Alexander, whom earlier writers assumed to have succeeded his father. They also state that he was knighted though this is doubtful unless, as was the custom, he was knighted by James IV on the eve of Flodden when he accompanied his superior, the Earl of Argyll, to the hosting. It was surmised by earlier writers that he fell at that battle, but he appears to have been more fortunate than the Earl for he is undoubtedly the Alexander McNachtan of Dunderaffe whose death is noted in December 1515 in the Chronicle of Fortingall (THE BLACK BOOK OF TAYMOUTH). His father was still alive at the time so he could never have succeeded to the chiefship. It is possible that he died of wounds received in the disaster."
Now if we skip forward two paragraphs in Duncan McNaughton's book we come to this paragraph:
"Alexander may have been married twice, first to Helen Scrimgeor, daughter of Scrimgeor of Glastrie, and secondly to Mariotta Campbell, daughter of Sir Iain Campbell of Ardkinglas. He had six sons of whom only two are known by name. The elder, also an Alexander, succeeded to Dunderawe by 1527, but little is known of him. The other, Iain Makalexander, acted as one of the curators for his nephew when Alexander died. More interestingly, he had a son, Iain Dow, whom the Argyll Pedigree suggests could have been Shane Dhu who went to Ireland and founded the Irish Branch of the family. This is not the place to go into the mystery of Shane Dhu as Angus Macnaghten has dealt exhaustively with the question elsewhere, but the suggestion is worth considering."
Alexander Konnell had many sons and daughters. Sorley Boy MacDonnell was HIS YOUNGEST SON, born in 1505. HIS YOUNGEST SON. So if Shane Dhu married one of his daughters -- AS ALL THE GREAT AUTHORITIES SAY HAPPENED -- we might guess she was born around around 1505. Certainly no later than 1525. So according to Duncan McNaughton, V.V. McNitt, and Angus Macnaghten the grandson of Alexander who died in 1515 of wounds sustained at Flodden -- THE GRANDSON -- was probably Shane Dhu. Average reckoning would place Shane Dhu's birth year therefore at somewhere around 1540. Maybe 1550.
That means he will be quite a bit older than Alexander Konnell's daughter. Maybe even fifty years older. It is still possible that it happened that way. Old codgers, especially old McNaughton codgers, are fond of young women. But I don't think Shane Dhu was fifty years older than his wife. Or even forty. I think they were nearer the same age. The only way that would be possible would be if Shane Dhu were the son of Alexander who died at Flodden. If so, the age of Shane Dhu and the age of Alexander Konnell's daughter would jibe.
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--excerpted from THE SAGA, chapter four, second paragraph: "Until 1351 it may be presumed that the MacNachtans held most of their lands as Crown vassals... After 1473 we find MacNauchtans receiving charters to their lands from the Campbells as "superiors".
Whenever you read that does it make you want to grind your teeth? I bet it made the MacNauchtans of that day feel the same way only much moreso. The descendants of King Nechtan regarding the Campbells as their "Superiors". Argghh.
Or how about when Duncan McNaughton writes about Sir Alexander MacNachtan of the Flodden battle, that "he accompanied his superior, the earl of Argyll, to the hosting"? Does it wrankle you? There doesn't seem to be any doubt that it wrankled the MacNauchtans in that day too.
Okay. Consider this timeline:
1473. MacNauchtans acknowledge Campbells as Superiors....
1513, Sir Alexander MacNachtan falls at Flodden, dies in 1515.
1531, the big "argument" between Alexander MacKonnell and the Earl of Argyll, where Argyll keeps telling the King that Konnell is a bad guy and should be punished -- and the King instead sides with Konnell and strips Campbell of his offices and gives them to Konnell.
I ask you, what does John MacNachtan do in this moment when the King has squashed down Campbell and raised up Konnell? If my theory is correct, and Shane Dhu was the son of Alexander MacNachtan of Flodden, he goes with Konnell and ends up marrying his daughter. How is that for a new ally? A few decades later another John McNauchtan marries the daughter of MacLean of Lochbuie, Anna. The MacNachtans are butressing up their strength with the Campbell's enemies. Sounds to me like they didn't much like the heavy weight of the Campbells on their backs and were trying to shake them off. Which only figures.
Add one more ingredient. King's support. Let's say I am right and the poem is based on Shane Dhu and Alexander Konnell's daughter. Therefore let us go so far as to say the incidents mentioned in the poem did also happen. That the King of Scotland sent 500 men with John MacNauchtan to Ireland. This puts a lot of King-power behind the MacNauchtans in that moment instead of the Campbells. This is a step in the right direction if the MacNauchtans want their lands restored to them in the ancient way with the King as their superior, not the Campbells. The next logical step would be for the MacNachtans to use the opportunity to ask the King to help them build Dunderave, which would have happened about 1560. The visit of Mary Queen of Scots to Dunderave in 1563 may have been as a result of the song Johnny Scott. She loved to dance and sing. Very much! It is well recorded in history. She would have heard the song. It would have been very popular. She would have wanted to meet the MacNachtans.
Another reason Mary may have wanted to visit Dunderave in 1563 was because she was very Catholic and she was by rights supposed to be visiting and staying with Argyll who was very Protestant. Perhaps the MacNachtans had continued to resist John Knox and the Earl of Argyll and had remained Catholic and Mary wanted to commune with people of her own sensibilities and reassure them of her support.
What strikes me is the curious international situations conjoining in 1532. Think about it. King James commissions Alexander Konnell to take 7000 Scots into Ireland to rid Ireland of the English. John MacNachtan, otherwise known as "Shane Dhu", meets and marries the daughter of Alexander Konnell at just about this time. Catholic priests would be very much involved in all the politics going on in Ireland. At this exact same time Henry VIII is separating England from the Catholic church and confiscating the property of the Catholic church. This began when Henry VIII sought an annulment from the pope when Catherine of Aragon could not produce an heir and the pope denied Henry. Henry needed the annulment so he could marry Ann Boleyn. So he rewrote the laws of England to make the King the head of the church of England. This effectively opened all the dikes for the Reformation to sweep Catholicism out of England. By 1536 the break was total with all English public officials required to take an oath of loyalty and to approve of the break with the Catholic religion.
So it stands to reason that the Pope must have feared Ireland and Scotland might fall away next and consequently have been the force behind King James commissioning Alexander Konnell to take 7000 Scots into Ireland to drive out the English in 1532. There would have been plenty of Catholic priests traveling with the army, especially since the priests would need to be present to deal with the English who were obeying the Protestant edicts of Henry VIII, to excommunicate them, punish them, and especially to replace them with Catholic religious authorities. There would also be necessary a resurgence of Catholic pride in those areas, Catholic spirit. And maybe some new songs to spin Ireland back to the mother church...
King James did send the troops to Ireland in 1532. No doubt arrangements were made for a great many of them to remain there and the work to go on. King James died in 1542. The incidents of the poem could have happened at any time in those ten years. Or even afterward. But the bride's father, Alexander Konnell, died in 1538 in Sterling. So, for the words of the poem to be accurate to that point, the incident would have had to happen between 1532 and 1538.
Many people will still have their doubts as to whether or not the old poem originated from the historical incident of Shane Dhu McNachtan marrying the daughter of Alexander Konnel of Antrim. I believe I have set the story as straight as possible taking everything into consideration. If you have any thoughts or comments be sure and drop me a line.