Clan Chattan ( or Clann Chatain) is a unique confederation of Highland clans. This distinctive allied community comprised at its greatest extent seventeen separate clans (currently twelve), who each had their own clan chief recognized under Scottish law, but were further united and bound to the superior chief of the Confederation for mutual solidarity, sustenance and protection in the Middle Ages and early modern period in the Great Glen and Cairngorms. A tribal coalition of this magnitude was a source of apprehension to both the Lord of the Isles and the Kings of Scots and records exist of machinations to "crying doon the Clan Chattan" by formenting internal dissension.

Origins and early history

There are multiple theories about the true origins of this clan: In the time of Malcolm II of Scotland the Clan Chattan possessed the lands of Glen Loy and Loch Arkaig. It was here that Tor Castle became the clan chief's seat. Not much is certain about the history of the clan until towards the end of the 13th century.

The merging of the Chattan and Mackintosh clans

Eva, (most probably incorrectly anglicized from Aife), daughter and heiress of Gilpatric or Dougal Dall, 6th chief of Clan Chattan in Lochaber, married Angus Mackintosh, 6th chief of Clan Mackintosh, in 1291. Thus Angus Mackintosh also became 7th chief of Clan Chattan. Some members of alternative male inheritance lines have however questioned the validity of this decision through a female line which would lead to occasional discord. Neither side of this dispute have questioned the historicity of Aoife, merely the inheritance line.

Migration out of Lochaber

The couple resided at Tor Castle before withdrawing to Rothiemurchus apparently due to the enmity of Aonghus Óg of Islay, chief of Clan Donald, the uncle of Angus Mackintosh. Tradition has it that he had intended to marry Eva off to one of his family members and in so doing acquire the Clan Chattan lands. As a result, the lands at Arkaig were occupied by Clan Cameron who claimed that they had been abandoned. This was the beginning of a long and bitter feud that was fought between the Clan Chattan and Clan Cameron until 1666. Another reason for the migration is explained in MacPherson clan traditions is that in 1309, Robert the Bruce offered the lands of Badenoch to them if they destroyed the Bruce's enemies, the Clan Comyn.

Earliest written documents

The earliest official document, the MS 1467 which recognises the Clan Chattan is dated 1467; but the chronicler Bower, writing about 1440, speaks of Clan Chattan in 1429. Bellenden, in his translation of Boece, about 1525, is the first who mentions this clan having been at the Inches in Perth in 1396, and this probably owing to a misprint in the original, of Clan Quhete for Quhele'. He referred to it as Quhattan.

From singular clan to Confederation

Prior to the 14th century, the Clan Chattan was a conventional clan. However it evolved into an alliance or confederation of at least seventeen clans which was made up of:

The Skene assumption

William Forbes Skene, however, gave a different version of how Clan Chattan was formed prior to the Mackintosh alliance. Clan Vuirich (Clan MacPherson) and Clan Day (Clan Davidson) were the original co-founders and referred to as old Clan Chattan. Added to these were six "stranger septs" who took protection from the clan. These were Clan Vic Ghillevray (Clan MacGillivray), the Clan Vean (Clan MacBean), the Clan Vic Govies, the Clan Tarrel, the Clan Cheanduy, and the Sliochd Gowchruim or Smiths. However, Skene's phrase about "stranger septs" and the names linked to them is not supported by any of the works of the respected Clan Chattan historians, and may therefore be a historical error by Skene, whose shortcomings have been noted by later writers – one of Skene's harshest critics was the Scottish philologist Alexander MacBain.

Sir Æneas Mackintosh/Charles-Fraser Mackintosh assumption

Noted historian of Clan Chattan, Charles Fraser-Mackintosh, in his 'An Account of the Confederation of Clan Chattan; its kith and kin' (the work known as 'Minor Septs of Clan Chattan') published a list of 16 associated tribes of Clan Chattan, along with an associated date reference, as written down by Sir Æneas Mackintosh. It begins with The Clan vic Gillivray, 1271. The second clan is The Clan Wurrich (Macpherson), 1291 and the third is The Clan Vean (Macbeans), 1292; then the fourth is The Clan Day (Davidsons), 1350. Others follow including (No.9) The Clan Tearlich (Macleans of the North), 1400, (No.10) The Clan Revan (Macqueens), 1400 and (No.14) The Clan Phail (Macphails), 1500. In his 'The Mackintoshes and Clan Chattan' (1903), A. M. Mackintosh arranges his chapters to provide a history of Clan Chattan, its chiefs and its Mackintosh branches, then in Chapter XV details the 'Tribes and Families of Clan Chattan other than the Mackintoshes of Inverness-shire'.

The members today

Today, the Clan Chattan Association, which is based in Scotland with members across the world, comprises the following twelve principal clans:

Chiefs

Old Chattan Chiefs

The following is a list of the traditional chiefs of the Clan Chattan before marriage between Aife/Eva, heiress of Clan Chattan, with the Chief of Clan Mackintosh, through whose marriage a new line of Mackintosh Captains (Chiefs) of Clan Chattan was created : Thereafter the Chiefs of Clan Mackintosh are also the Chiefs of Clan Chattan. See: Chiefs of Clan Mackintosh.

The Chattan Confederation Chiefs

Each Clan in the Confederation retained their chiefs, but acknowledged the Mackintosh chief as the overall Captain of the Confederation.

[Arms of all the Clan Chiefs in the Clan

Chattan Confederation | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Arms///of///all///the///Chiefs///of///the///Chattan///Federation.jpg]

The separation of titles

In 1942, the Lyon Court separated the leadership of Clan MacKintosh and Clan Chattan. The leadership of Clan Chattan passed to the Mackintosh of Torcastle line. The Chief of Clan Mackintosh had been at the same time Captain of Clan Chattan, until the death of Alfred Donald Mackintosh of Mackintosh CBE, who chose as his heir to the Mackintosh inheritance Rear-Admiral Lachlan Donald Makintosh CB DSO DSC. The omission of a stipulation in Alfred's will, concerning inheritance of the captaincy of Clan Chattan, led The Lord Lyon of the day to create the historic separation of the two titles. Lachlan became The Mackintosh of Mackintosh, and his cousin Duncan Alexander Eliott Mackintosh became Mackintosh of Mackintosh-Torcastle, and Head of the hail kin of Clan Chattan. At this juncture the chieftainship of Mackintosh and Clan Chattan split. The last few Clan Chattan Confederation chiefs therefore were: Clan Mackintosh therefore remains the principal clan of the Clan Chattan Confederation and the current and past Mackintosh of Mackintosh has been President of the Clan Chattan Association.

Battles, Skirmishes and Raids

Clan Chattan as a whole or as individual clans were involved in the following events:

Gathering the Confederation for Battle

No single gathering point is known to exist for the entire Confederation to have ever used, but several other gathering points have been identified:

Confederation Agreements

The list below shows some of the more important agreements of the Confederation in terms of Bands of union, friendship, maintenance and manrent.

1397 Band Of Union

The Chattan Confederation‟s first band may have been created in 1397 after the Battle of the North Inch, but it only lasted 14 years until 1411 when Clan MacPherson decided to take a different stand than the rest of the Chattan Confederation in regional politics.

1543 Band of Union

Signed at Inverness by most of the tribes of Clan Chattan in reaction mainly to threats on their lands in Rothiemurchus by Clan Grant. Lachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh wrote to the Chief of Clan Grant that he wanted to repurchase his "own native country of Rothiemurchus", but was ignored. Mackintosh then threatened to raise the tribes of Clan Chattan against him.

1609 Band of Union

After the death of Mackintosh of Dunnachten in 1606, the Mackintoshes made an effort to reunite the clan and bring to an end the "controversies, questions, debates and hosts, that has fallen furth betwixt the said haill kin of Clan Chattan these times bygone, whereupon there followed groat incanvanisnciss" The Chattan Confederation came together at Termit about five miles from Inverness in 1609 to sign a new Band.

1664 Band of Union

Renewal of the 1609 Band, signed at Kincairne, but with an additional clause of action against Ewan Cameron in response to a Royal Commission seeing the Camerons as rebels at that point.

1756 Band of Union (Deed of Consent)

The MacBeans of Faillie ventured into land holdings but had developed a huge debt. As the MacBean's estate was not enough to pay off the debt, these lands fell under control of the court. The whole debt, with interests and costs, then fell onto the wider Clan Chattan. The burden, however, was still too heavy, and the estate was of little use to the MacBeans after 1744. By 1756 William MacBean consented to MacKintosh's reclaiming the Laggau lands, signing a deed of consent. This deed was also signed by other leaders of Clan Chattan, such as Alexander MacPhail of Inverernie, Robert MacKintosh, Tacksman of Termite, William MacKintosh of Aberarder, William MacKintosh of Holme and John MacKintosh of Calclachie. These heads of Clan Chattan signed this agreement at Gask, in Strathnairn, on 27 October 1756, in presence of Donald MacBean and Alexander Fraser, farmer in the Mains of Tordarroch. This document is peculiarly interesting in respect that it is dated several years after the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 came into effect, which abolished such agreements and the powers of clan chiefs.

2009 Band of Union

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the 1609 Clan Chattan Band of Union, a new Band of Union was signed in 2009 to renew the clans historic connection.

Other Agreements

Internal and external disputes that affected the unity of the Confederation

Internal disputes

It is not clear if the Confederation had a formal dispute resolution process for internal disputes. There is however a recorded agreement dated 4 June 1726, appointing Macgillivray of Dunmaglass arbiter between Lachlan, 20th chief of Mackintosh, and Lachlan Macpherson of Cluny, in any disputes that might arise in the carrying out of an agreement made between the two at Moy Hall on 15 September 1724.

External disputes

Throughout the 16th Century, the Clan Chattan Confederation was caught up in the machinations of the Earls of Mar, Moray and Huntly, particularly George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly, mainly to use parts of the clan in their respective earldoms in disputes between themselves. This led to external attempts to divide the various tribes of Clan Chattan by undermining known internal disputes. James Stuart, 3rd Earl of Moray tried to take back lands in Pettie and Strathern from Clan Chattan his father, James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray had gifted them for loyal support. This then resulted in an insurrection against the Earl. The Earl then issued at letter of intercommuning against the Clan Chattan, preventing anyone from assisting or harboring clan members under severe penalty. The matter was resolved after large fines were paid and several clan members executed. Details of this issue was recorded by John Spalding, a noted historian of the era.

Highland Clearances

The Badenoch Land clearances of 1797, affected the township of Biallid Beag, the location of a ancient Macpherson/Macintyre cemetery, St. Patricks.

From Confederation to Association

The activities of the Clan are carried on by the Clan Chattan Association, a descendant of the original association established in 1727 for the purpose of defending the interests of the clan "against all who would seek the injury of any of its subscribers". In the nineteenth century, many clan societies and associations emerged, with the aim of promoting social interaction between people linked by a common name, and interest in their clan's history. Among these was the second Clan Chattan Association, founded in Glasgow in 1893. Initial support for the association was strong with the meetings, lectures and dances described as "a brilliant success", but it faded out by about 1900. Even so, clan historians of that period produced several works which are still used today. In the summer of 1933, the third Clan Chattan Association was founded in London. Now based in Scotland, the association has worldwide membership. It organizes a number of activities, such as the annual events in early August at Moy Hall in conjunction with the Highland Field Sports Fair. Members are kept informed of events through the annual journal of the association.

Modern Council of Clan Chattan Association

The council of Clan Chattan Association comprises eight Chiefs, who represent all of the individual clans, as president and Vice Presidents: Of the remaining clans of the Chattan Confederation:

Clan Profile

In Folklore and Culture

"Syne he has gane far hynd attowre · Lord Chattan's land sae wyde That Lord a worthy wight was ay Quhen faes his courage seyd : Of Pictish race by mother's syde, Quhen Picts ruled Caledon, Lord Chattan claim'd the princely maid, Quhen he saift Pictish crown."

People who have had a huge influence on the Chattan Confederation

Castles and other structures associated with the Confederation

Published works