Scottish Clans

This one is the stuff best-selling novels, movies or series are made of!  We take a story I've told before here and, using a paper written by Prof. Steve Boardman, peel back the layers to reveal and even more compelling story than I originally ever imagines.  Loyalty, betrayal, feud, alliance, romance, infidelity, and action all come together to make this one of my all-time favorites.  I hope you enjoy it to.

University of Strathclyde Course on the Highland Clans

Scottish Clans YouTube Channel

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You won't agree with everything Dr. Pittock says but hopefully you've considered the possibility that some of your conceptions about Scottish clans are off.  What are some of the misconceptions that are widely held that Dr. Pittock corrects?  What ideas of your own did he challenge?  This episode is sure to stir the pot but I hope you enjoy it and that it is helpful.  Check out Dr. Pittock's books on Amazon (links below)!  They're pretty reasonably priced.  This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and a video version is on YouTube.

Books: 

Scotland: The Global History

Culloden: Great Battles

The Myth of the Jacobite Clans

Celtic Identity and the British Image

Jacobitism

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Scottish Clans Website

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During the Jacobite Rising of 1745, clans that were already at feud chose different sides and continued the conflict.  But with the failure of the rising and its disastrous conclusion at the Battle of Culloden, sometimes the fighting didn't stop.  Check out this story of conflict between the Stewarts of Appin and the Campbells.

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Online Course:  Origins of the Scottish Clans 101

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I hope you enjoyed the part of my discussion with Dr. Martin MacGregor.  Here is the rest of our conversation.  Now that we've established the origins of both clans, we get into their turbulent relationship with each other, which ended far away from where it began.  This is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.  Stay tuned for YouTube clips with visual aids.

Scottish Clans YouTube channel

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What a great experience it was to learn these two well-known clans, the Campbells and MacGregors, and their turbulent relationship from one of the most knowledgeable people on the subject!  I hope you enjoy this conversation I had with him.  This is only the first half of our discussion.  Stay tuned for part 2 as well as YouTube content complete with visual aids coming soon.

YouTube Channel for Scottish Clans

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I'm excited to share part 1 of the discussion that I had with Dr. Aonghas MacCoinnich!!!  He focuses on the Clans Mackenzie and MacLeod of Lewis.  You could not get a more knowledgeable person for these two clans.  This was truly a feast.  If you have any interest in either of these two clans, this and the next episode are for you.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Scottish Clans YouTube channel

Sponsor:  USA Kilts

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I'm excited to share this discussion that I had with Dr. Aonghas MacCoinnich!!!  He focuses on the Clans Mackenzie and MacLeod of Lewis.  You could not get a more knowledgeable person for these two clans.  This was truly a feast.  If you have any interest in either of these two clans, this and the next episode are for you.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Scottish Clans YouTube channel

Sponsor:  USA Kilts

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As promised during last episode, I share a couple more examples of earlier kindreds that begat clans that we are more familiar with today.  I also discuss why I feel this is an important thing to consider when understanding where clans come from and what they really are.  Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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Free Resources

Many of the clans we recognize today formed between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries.  What is less well-known is that many of these clans evolved from previous clans.  Some of these previous kindreds are well-documented.  Others remain obscure both regarding their history and their antiquity.  Here are some examples of clans that emerged from earlier clans, whether familiar or mysterious.

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The Highland charge was a devastating military tactic that scattered enemy forces on numerous occasions.  The big question is, "Which specific clans actually executed the Highland charge?"  Many people see Alasdair mac Colla MacDonnell as the author of this tactic and it was specifically the clans fighting under him that performed this feat of arms.  Yet not all the those who had this experience were Highlanders!  Join me as I examine which clans likely participated in this (this is in no way an exhaustive list).  

Source: Roberts, John L., Clan, King and Covenant: History of the Highland Clans from the Civil War to the Glencoe Massacre on Amazon here.

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