Eilean Donan (
Scottish Gaelic:
Eilean Donnain) is a small
tidal island where three lochs meet,
Loch Duich,
Loch Long and
Loch Alsh, in the western
Highlands of
Scotland; since the castle's restoration in the early 20th Century, a footbridge has connected the island to the mainland. A picturesque castle that frequently appears in photographs, film and television dominates the island, which lies about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the village of
Dornie.
Eilean Donan is part of the
Kintail National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland.
[2] In 2001, the island had a recorded population of just one person,
[3] but there were no "usual residents" at the time of the 2011 census.
[1]
Eilean Donan, which means simply "island of Donnán", is named after
Donnán of Eigg, a
Celtic saint martyred in 617. Donnán is said to have established a church on the island, though no trace of this remains.
[4]
The castle was founded in the thirteenth century, and became a stronghold of the
Clan Mackenzie and their allies the
Clan Macrae. In the early eighteenth century the Mackenzies' involvement in the
Jacobite rebellions led in 1719 to the castle's destruction by government ships. Lieutenant-Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap's twentieth-century reconstruction of the ruins produced the present buildings.
History[edit]
It is possible that an
early Christian monastic cell was founded on the island in the 6th or 7th century, dedicated to
Donnán of Eigg, an Irish saint who was martyred on
Eigg in April 617. No remains of any Christian buildings survive, though fragments of
vitrifiedstone, subjected to very high temperatures, have been discovered indicating the presence of an
Iron Age or early medieval fortification.
[5][6]
Origins of the castle
In the earlier thirteenth century, during the reign of
Alexander II (ruled 1214–1249), a large curtain-wall castle (wall of
enceinte) was constructed that enclosed much of the island.At this time the area was at the boundary of the Norse-Celtic
Lordship of the Isles and the
Earldom of Ross: Eilean Donan provided a strong defensive position against Norse expeditions.A founding legend relates that the son of a chief of the
Mathesons acquired the power of communicating with the birds. As a result, and after many adventures overseas, he gained wealth, power, and the respect of Alexander II, who asked him to build the castle to defend his realm.
At a later date the island became a stronghold of the
Mackenzies of Kintail, originally vassals of
Uilleam, Earl of Ross.
[4] At this early stage, the castle is said to have been garrisoned by Macraes and Maclennans, both clans that were later closely associated with the Mackenzies.
[9] Traditional Mackenzie clan histories relate that Earl William sought advantage from the
Treaty of Perth of 1266, by which King
Magnus VI of Norway ceded the
Hebrides to Scotland, and demanded that his kinsman Kenneth Mackenzie return the castle to allow his expansion into the islands; Mackenzie refused, and Earl William led an assault against Eilean Donan that the Mackenzies and their allies repulsed.
[10]
The Mackenzie clan histories also claim (with little, if any, supporting contemporary evidence), that
Robert the Bruce sheltered at Eilean Donan during the winter of 1306 to 1307; the castle escaped any other involvement in the
Wars of Scottish Independence. In 1331
Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, sent an officer to Eilean Donan to warn the occupants of his forthcoming visit. In preparation 50 wrongdoers were rounded up and executed, their heads being displayed on the castle walls to Moray's approval.
[10] By the middle of the 14th century the Mackenzies are said to have been on the losing side in the ongoing feuding with the Earls of Ross;
Earl Uilleam III granted Kintail to Raghnall
mac Ruaidhri, Lord of
Garmoran in 1342. With the assistance of
Leod Macgilleandrais, the Earl allegedly apprehended Kenneth Mackenzie, 3rd of Kintail, and had him executed in 1346 at Inverness. Through this period Eilean Donan is said to have been held by Duncan Macaulay for the Mackenzies, against the Earl and his allies.Kenneth's young son Murdo Mackenzie supposedly evaded the Earl's attempts to eliminate him, and on the return of
David II from exile Murdo Mackenzie was allegedly confirmed in the lands of Kintail and Eilean Donan by a charter of 1362 (of which, however, no trace survives to the present day). At some point in the earlier 14th century it is thought that the
Clan Macrae began to settle in Kintail as a body, having migrated from the
Beauly Firth, and there gained the trust of the Mackenzie lairds through possible kinship and an advantageous marriage. The Macraes began to act as Mackenzie's bodyguards, acquiring the soubriquet "Mackenzie's shirt of mail".
