AD 1400–1411
NOT ALL DISAGREEMENTS were between the Scots and the English. One of the bloodiest battles was fought in 1411 at Harlaw, north west of Aberdeen. Here, local nobles, lairds (landowners), the Provost of Aberdeen and many of the town’s most important citizens joined the Earl of Mar to defend the area against an aggressive invasion by Donald, Lord of the Isles. So much blood was spilled that rivers ran red and the battle became known as Reid (or Red) Harlaw.
Until Alexander III finally defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Largs in 1263, the north west of Scotland had effectively been a separate kingdom. By the early 1400s, although nominally part of Scotland, the Hebrides and the area known today as Argyll were ruled by the Lord of the Isles, Donald MacDonald. An Oxford-educated nobleman of both Norse and Gaelic descent, Donald married the sister of the Earl of Ross and aimed to expand his kingdom to include the Earldom of Ross and Skye. This was a vast area which included lands in Aberdeenshire, at that time under the charge of the Earl of Mar.
The rest of Scotland had been ruled somewhat ineffectively by the first of the Stewart kings, Robert II, who made no attempt to control either the MacDonalds in the north west or the Douglases in the Borders. Ultimately his eldest son became Guardian of the Realm, or Regent, although a disabling kick from a horse resulted in this son being ruled unfit to govern even before he took the throne as Robert III. This left the way clear for his ambitious and ruthless brother the Earl of Fife, later Duke of Albany, to become Regent – king in all but name. Another brother was Alexander, Earl of Buchan, the notorious ‘Wolf of Badenoch’, remembered today for having burned Elgin Cathedral.
Ineffectual rule continued and lawlessness escalated. The gap widened between the civilised and prosperous Lowlands and the Highlands, perceived as barbaric by Lowlanders. The Regent‘s nephew, Alexander, illegitimate son of the Wolf of Badenoch, took the title of Earl of Mar in 1404. This he did by seizing and killing the existing Earl and besieging his castle at Kildrummy, threatening to burn it down if his widow refused to marry him – the countess had no choice but to agree. Four years later she, too, was dead and Albany was implicated in two suspicious deaths. Robert III’s eldest son, David, was imprisoned and starved to death on Albany’s orders; the king sent his surviving son, James, to France for safety. But he was captured by pirates and handed over to Henry IV of England, who imprisoned the young prince in the Tower of London.
Coats of Arms, Harlaw Monument: (left to right) MacLean of Duart; Donald, Lord of the Isles; Earl of Mar. (Author’s collection)
The Earl of Ross, Alexander Leslie, also died in suspicious circumstances at Albany’s castle in Falkland. Donald, Lord of the Isles claimed the Earldom of Ross and Skye on behalf of his wife, the sister of the late Earl. Albany claimed it on behalf of his infant granddaughter, the late Earl’s daughter, whom he made his Ward, and declared himself Lord of the Ward of Ross. Donald and his kinsmen, a force said to be 6,000 strong, marched through Ross to Inverness where they burned the bridge and the castle. Other Highland clans joined them, including the MacLeods, MacLeans, MacIntoshes and Camerons.
The Earl of Mar and his friends, Sir Alexander Forbes, Sir Alexander Irvine of Drum, Sir Alexander Keith of Grandholme and Sir John Menzies of Pitfodels were frequent visitors to a tavern near Aberdeen Harbour, kept by Robert Davidson, Provost of Aberdeen. The Earl was therefore able to call on their support when he realised his own land and claim to the Earldom of Ross were threatened by the Lord of the Isles. He called them to a meeting at Kildrummy Castle, where they were joined by Sir Alexander Ogilvy, the Sheriff of Angus; Sir James Scrymgeour, the Constable of Dundee; and other landowners – Frasers, Gordons, Leslies and Skenes. Rumours of the band of approaching Highlanders, their number now around 10,000, spread to Aberdeen, resulting in support from a large number of influential and important citizens.
Coats of Arms, Harlaw Monument: (left to right) Irvine of Drum; Aberdeen; Provost Davidson. (Author’s collection)
THE LEGEND OF HOSIE
One young local man by the name of Hosie was due to be married on 24 July 1411. Instead, he found himself fighting for his life against the wild caterans and, following the battle, was captured by them and taken to the Isles. Some time later, he escaped and returned to Harlaw, only to find his beloved married to another man. It is said he climbed the slopes of Bennachie, where he and his love had so often met, and there he lay down and died of a broken heart. He was buried where he lay and later a spring bubbled up nearby – a spring which is said to flow not with water but with Hosie’s tears!
It was reported that Donald intended to sack and plunder the royal town of Aberdeen and enforce his authority on the country as far as the River Tay. Donald’s men were described as ‘occupying the district in such large and savage numbers like locusts, all those … who saw them were alarmed, and every man was afraid … ’ By July 1411 Donald and his Highlanders were camped less than 20 miles from Aberdeen, close to the farm or fermtoun of Harlaw, almost in the shadow of Bennachie. This was a good defensive position on a plateau close to the confluence of the River Urie and Lochter Burn and was bounded by both.
Many local men marched to Harlaw, under the leadership of Provost Robert Davidson, to join the Earl of Mar in the fight against the Highland caterans. They camped lower down the River Urie, on the spit of land where it joins the River Don, close to a motte and bailey castle, stronghold of the Earls of the Garioch.
On the morning of 24 July 1411, Mar and his supporters struck camp and crossed the Urie to reach the Highlanders’ position. Mar split his men into two divisions, with Ogilvy and Scrimgeour leading the first attack and his own division assembling schiltron, close formations of spearsmen. The Gaelic Harlaw battle song tells that Donald’s forces were in three divisions with Hector Roy Maclean of Duart, ‘Red Hector of the Battles’ at the head of his clan, leading the right wing in the place of honour. Chief of Clan MacIntosh, Callum Beg, led on the left, while Donald himself commanded the central force.
Donald’s three divisions forced back Mar’s attack and it is believed that Provost Davidson was killed during this initial push back. Each side fought hard in hand-to-hand combat. All fighting would have been on foot, although the nobles and lairds would have arrived on horseback. Only they would have worn armour of any sort, most likely plate armour for Mar’s men and chain mail for the clan chiefs. The main fighting force would have been totally unprotected – any sort of weighty armour would have slowed them down. Warfare was still primitive, with bravery and battle experience counting for much against novices, their nerve shattered by the shock of close combat. They fought with swords, axes, spears, lances and perhaps even their bare fists. Man fought man, among them Alexander Irvine, Laird of Drum, against Red Hector of the Battles, chief of the Macleans. After their very personal battle, both lay dead.
Harlaw Monument and Bennachie, near Inverurie. (Author’s collection)
Donald lost 900 men that day, while Mar lost 600 – a larger proportion of his force. Both sides claimed victory. However, Donald retreated to the Hebrides, his claim to the Earldom of Ross unsuccessful. Mar’s losses included a long list of nobles, lairds, citizens and the war-like Provost of Aberdeen. One history of the battle, based on contemporary writing, states: ‘The whole plateau is red with blood; from the higher points to the lower blood flows in streams … ’
Today, a monument stands near to the site, commissioned by Aberdeen City Council on the 500th anniversary of the battle. Six panels were added for the 600th anniversary, with brightly painted shields of the main protagonists of both sides who fought and died on that blood-soaked plateau. These include not only Donald, Lord of the Isles and the Earl of Mar, but also the Provost of Aberdeen. In 2011, a simple cross was erected and unveiled in nearby Chapel of Garioch kirkyard as a memorial to all the Leslies who died in the battle.