Battle of the North Inch

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I am afraid, Rathdown, that there is no belief in the Davidsons as major participants in this battle, no matter the tales of the 19C and the arguments of a writer or two in the mid-20C.

Or indeed, those writers mentioned by your good self, who published in the early 1900s. I fear that the scholarship in this matter will always be somewhat partisan, but then such generally is the history of Scotland. Who actually took part in the Barrier Battle of Perth will probably be argued until Kingdom Come... with all contenders passionately citing their sources as irrefutable.

I agree that no one can say with certainty who the victor was on the 28th of September, 1396; I suspect that both sides fought until exhausted and then left the field. As was (and still is) the case in the Highlands, both sides probably returned home as victors-- Chiefly pride and dignity would have it no other way.

[Bugbear]

* On second thought, never mind.

[ThistleDown]

Or indeed, those writers mentioned by your good self, who published in the early 1900s. I fear that the scholarship in this matter will always be somewhat partisan, but then such generally is the history of Scotland. Who actually took part in the Barrier Battle of Perth will probably be argued until Kingdom Come... with all contenders passionately citing their sources as irrefutable.

I agree that no one can say with certainty who the victor was on the 28th of September, 1396; I suspect that both sides fought until exhausted and then left the field. As was (and still is) the case in the Highlands, both sides probably returned home as victors-- Chiefly pride and dignity would have it no other way.

Actually, the earliest resource we have where confusion does not reign is the writing in Latin of Lachlan Mackintosh of Kinrara in about 1670. As I said earlier, this will be published in English translation next year.

As for returning home and chiefly pride, some must have been bitterly swallowed because the Loch Loy and Loch Arkaig rents were apparently paid (or at least partial payment was made) during the remainder of Lachlan Mackintosh's life and for a few years into that of his son Farquhar. Peace existed between the Clan Chattan and the little clans of Lochaber for almost a generation!

[MacBean]

Some more references that may be of interest (but may also have differing opinions re. MacMillan)

The Perth Incident of 1396 from a Folk-Lore Point of View, Robert Craig Maclagan, M.D., 1905, William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London; http://tinyurl.com/ltrk8a

"The Rarest Decision Recorded in History....", Graeme Mackenzie, Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, Vol. LIX (1994-96), 420-487

"For Ever Unfortunate - The Original Clan Chattan", ....", Graeme Mackenzie, Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, Vol. LXI (1998-2001), 332-370. Graeme hopes to update these two papers and make them available as a boooklet.

[ThistleDown]

Thanks, Mark, for adding Graeme's writings. He is presenting in the 2009 winter season of the Gaelic Society of Inverness and again on the Clan Chattan, although not this time with a focus on the Perth Incident. Graeme is a highly respected historian and presently the ED of the Clan MacMillan Society.