The Scottish Clans Podcast

139.Highland Clan Origin Legends: Macintyre and MacRae/MacRath

Highland clan origin legends were not intended to convey absolute truth to later generations about how the clan started.  Well, then what were they intended for?  For this episode, I share from a book by Michael Newton, The Everyday Life of the Clans of the Scottish Highlands.  We start by learning about some of the purposes of these legends generally, then read the origin legends of two clans: the Macintyres and MacRaes.  
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Here's the book I read from in this episode on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Life-Clans-Scottish-Highlands/dp/0971385823/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1688008630&sr=8-1 

138 DNA and the Scottish Clans Pt 2 w/ Ethan Hunt

In this episode, Ethan gets more specific with how the study of DNA helps us understand the history of specific clans, their origins (both in support and in denial of some legends), and their relationships to each other.  Among the clans we discussed were Clan Sorley (MacDonalds, MacRorys, and MacDougals), Sìol Ailpein (Grants, MacGregors, MacKinnons, MacAulays, Madfies, Macnabs, MacQuarries), MacNeils, Robertsons, Dunbars, Bruces, Stewarts, MacBeans, MacPhersons, Buchanans, and MacLarens.  I really hope you all love this as much as I did.  Check out the links below for more information.
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1. "The Genetic Structure of a Highland Clan" by Bryan Sykes and Jayne Nicholson: https://electricscotland.com/history/articles/geneticstructureofahighlandclan.pdf
2. Stewart S781 Article: https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/so-are-you-among-the-thousands-of-scots-with-royal-blood-1489854
3. MacNeil Article: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13197315.macneil-clan-shocked-dna-checks-force-rewrite-history/
 

137 DNA and the Scottish Clans Pt 1 w/ Ethan Hunt

I'm excited to share with you all a milestone in this podcast's history.  Ethan Hunt joins us to teach us how the DNA helps us understand the history of the Scottish clans.  This is the first interview that I have run (USA Kilts ran the only other interview I've done for this)!  Expect to see more of these in the future.  In this Part 1 episode, Ethan gives us a foundation in genetics.  Don't worry, we weaved in the topic of the clans throughout, so it's not JUST a discussion on DNA.  I hope you enjoy this.  I sure did.  For more information on some of the things we discussed, check out the links below!
 
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1. "The Genetic Structure of a Highland Clan" by Bryan Sykes and Jayne Nicholson: https://electricscotland.com/history/articles/geneticstructureofahighlandclan.pdf
2. Stewart S781 Article: https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/so-are-you-among-the-thousands-of-scots-with-royal-blood-1489854
3. MacNeil Article: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13197315.macneil-clan-shocked-dna-checks-force-rewrite-history/
 

136 The Battle of Summerdale: Sinclairs vs Sinclairs

Between last episode, setting the foundation, and this episode, this is the first time we've been to the Northern Isles (in this case Orkney) since I started this podcast!  It's always fun to try new things.  You know what's not fun, Sinclairs fighting Sinclairs and a mother accidentally killing her son.  In these respects, the Battle of Summerdale was truly a tragic event.
Source for this story: http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/summerdale.htm 
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135 The Sinclairs!

Let's get to know a little bit about the Sinclairs and lay the foundation for the story of the Battle of Summerdale.  The Sinclairs are a really interesting clan that controlled a large territory in the far north of Scotland as the Earls of Caithness.  They had other branches of the family.  How did these branches interact with each other?  Were they a cohesive unit, who all acknowledged the same chief?  
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Sinclair Pedigree starting with William, 3rd Earl of Orkney: https://www.maryqueenofscots.net/scottish-family-trees-in-the-16th-century/the-sinclairs-of-caithness-and-the-lords-sinclair/
Super deep dive into Sinclair origins: http://www.stclairresearch.com/content/Sinclair-Templar-Proof.html
The Saint-Clairs of the Isles: https://archive.org/details/saintclairsofisl00sain 
Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland: https://archive.org/details/genealogicalhist00gord 

134 The Kidnapping MacLeod Tacksman

This is the unbelievable backstory to a strong theory about why the MacLeod of Harris and Dunvegan and the MacDonalds of Sleat switched sides from being Jacobites in 1715 to raising troops for the British Government in 1745.
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133- 11 Clans that Switched Sides in the Jacobite Risings

Last time we looked at the Frasers of Lovat and examined their reasons for fighting on different sides during the Jacobite Risings of 1715 and 1745.  That made me curious about other clans that switched sides in the same conflicts.  Here I list eleven clans that found themselves on one side during the 1715 Rising and another during the 1745 Rising.  Not meant to be exhaustive or deep, rather, this episode is only starting the conversation.  What clans did I leave out?  What do you know that you could add to the discussion?
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132 Clan Fraser of Lovat and the Jacobite Rebellions: Switching Sides

The Clan Fraser of Lovat sided with the Hanoverians in the 1715 Jacobite Rising but then sided with the Stewarts in 1745.  In this episode I explore why I believe they switched.
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