The Clan Buchanan

The Clan Buchanan, one of the oldest Highland clans, can date their start to 1016 on the banks of Loch Lomond. Their origin story says that they began with Anselan O Kyan of the Irish clan Ó Catháin, one of the sons of the King of Ulster, who was given lands to the east of Loch Lomond by Malcolm II as thanks for help with the Danes.

This Irish origin was challenged by the modern Council of the Clan Buchanan Society. DNA testing and other historical records disprove the Irish connection. DNA matches show the family tracing back to the Loch Lomond area to 1000CE and even earlier. There is no evidence for the existence of a prince Anselan O Kyan of Ulster. The DNA project showed a strong link to the Clan Gregor, with a possible common ancestor of the two clans c.400CE.

The Buchanans have another part of history to live down. Maurice Buchanan married the grand-daughter of Sir John of Menteith, a Scottish nobleman and sheriff of Dunbarton Castle who betrayed Sir William Wallace to King Edward I of England in 1305. King Robert I of Scotland imprisoned Sir John, but Maurice Buchanan was one of the people who convinced the king to release the traitor.

Clan Buchanan supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence, helping Robert escape in 1306. They also fought the English alongside the French at the Battle of Baugé in 1421, and again at the Battle of Verneuil in 1424.

What was the link between France and Scotland? I'll talk about that next time.

Loch Lomond

There is more to Loch Lomond than just being jealous of the notoriety of Loch Ness. In an 11th-century version of the Historia Brittonum, it is listed as the first of several marvels of Britain:

The first wonder is the lake Lumonoy. In there are sixty islands, and men dwell there, and sixty rocks encircle it, with an eagle's nest on each rock. There are also sixty rivers flowing into that place, and nothing goes out of there to the sea except one river, which is called Lenin.

Loch Lomond, which drains south via the River Leven, has more than 30 islands of various sizes, and they are not surrounded by 60 rocks.

Some of those islands were artificial. People arrived in the area 5000 years ago, during the Neolithic Era, and built up "islands" over the water for safer living. These are called crannogs, and could be a structure on stone pillars or built on wooden stakes (see illustration). A crannog in Lomon called "The Kitchen" was a meeting place for Clan Buchanan from 1225 onwards.

Defense was also the reason why the Romans in the 1st century CE built forts near and around Loch Lomond against the Highland tribes. The need for defense never faded: early Medieval Viking raids dragged their boats overland to put them in the Loch and attack and sack several of its islands.

The loch and its neighboring mountain, Ben Lomond, are part of an area called the Trossachs. The Trossachs were home to Robert the Bruce and William Wallace. The signet ring of Rob Roy Macgregor was a bloodstone from Loch Lomond.

A later legend of the area was that of Reverend Robert Kirk, who researched myths and legends and then wrote a book called The Secret Commonwealth of elves, fauns & fairies. He died before it was published, and sparked his very own legend that the fairies, angry that he revealed their secrets, whisked him away.

The Clan Buchanan, mentioned above, was one of the oldest Highland clans, and we're going to look at their origin tomorrow.