Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 14 on 2/5/2004.

This article is 52 months old and some information provided may be time sensitive. Please check all details of events, tours, opening times and other information before travelling or making arrangements.

Bravest hearts of them all? (The Campbells)

James Irvine Robertson continues his series on the great clans of Scotland. This issue:The Campbells

In 1822, the great Highland historian David Stewart of Garth wrote: “It is rather humiliating for those who have made politics their sole study to find that no less art, sagacity, address and courage has been displayed in the petty contests of illiterate mountaineers, than in their most refined schemes of policy and their most brilliant feats of arms. That they should be able, by intrigue and dexterity, to attach new allies and detach hostile tribes from their confederates, is a still more mortifying proof how nearly the unassisted powers of natural talent approach to the practices of the most profound politicians.”

To put it another way, the clan chiefs could have given Machiavelli a masterclass.

By 1745 it was clear that the outstanding victors of these centuries-long battles for power amongst the clans were the Campbells.

They had been pre-eminent in the Highlands for over a century. The ruthless genius of their leaders, the loyalty of their people and the ferocity of their warriors made the clan by far the richest and most powerful force in the Highlands and often in the whole of Scotland.

One part of the equation that has given the ancient Gaelic culture such resonance down the centuries is the theme of romantic loss. The Campbells were winners: losers, even after two and a half centuries, can sometimes find this hard to forgive or forget although such rivalry these days is tongue-in-cheek.

The progenitors of Clan Campbell – the name means crooked mouth – emerged fr.....

To read the rest of this article you can buy this issue or subscribe to Scotland Magazine to have every issue delivered direct to your door.

By James Irvine Robertson

Section : Scottish Clans

Page number : 40