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Clan Macnab
Highland Scottish clan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Clan Macnab is a Highland Scottish clan.
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History
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Origins of the clan
Traditional origins
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The name Macnab is derived from the Scottish Gaelic Mac An Aba, which means child of the abbot.[3] According to tradition the progenitor of the clan was Abraruadh who was the Abbot of Glen Dochart and Strathearn.[3] Abraruadh was allegedly a younger son of Kenneth MacAlpin, the first king of Scots.[3] (See: Siol Alpin). Abraruadh was also descended from Fergus, king of Dál Riata and a nephew of Saint Fillan, who was the founder of the monastery in Glen Dochart in the seventh century.[3]
Recorded origins
One of the earliest records of the Macnab family is on a charter of 1124.[3] Malcolm de Glendochart appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296 and submitted to Edward I of England.[3]
14th century and Robert the Bruce
Angus Macnab was brother-in-law of John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch who was murdered by Robert the Bruce in 1306.[3] Macnab then joined forces with the Clan MacDougall in their campaign against the Bruce when Bruce was nearly captured at the Battle of Dalrigh.[3] When the Bruce's power consolidated after his victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the Macnab lands were forfeited and their charters were destroyed.[3]
The fortunes of the Clan Macnab were restored to some extent when Angus's grandson, Gilbert, received a charter from David II of Scotland in 1336.[3] Gilbert was succeeded by his son, Sir Alexander Macnab, who died in about 1407.[3]
16th century and clan conflicts
Many battles were fought between the Clan Macnab and the Clan Neish. The last battle between them was the Battle of Glenboultachan where the Macnabs were victorious.[4] The Neishes were killed almost to a man. However, some Neishes survived and continued to live on what they called Neish Island. The Neishes continued to plunder the neighbourhood and feuds continued.[5]
17th century and civil war
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Chief Finlay Macnab was a man of peace but protected his lands against the foraging royalist forces of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose in the mid-1640s.[3] However Finlay's son, who was known as Smooth John, did not follow his father's peaceful ways and actually joined forces with Montrose, contributing to the royal victory at the Battle of Kilsyth in 1645.[3] Smooth John Macnab was appointed to garrison Montrose's own Kincardine Castle.[3] General David Leslie, Lord Newark subsequently laid siege to the castle.[3] The castle's whole garrison however, managed break through the Covenanter lines and fought their way clear, but John Macnab was captured.[3] He was taken to Edinburgh and sentenced to death but escaped on the eve of his execution.[3] He went on to lead three hundred of his clansmen at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.[3]
On 13 July 1680 the Chief of Clan Macnab and his followers fought at the Battle of Altimarlach in support of Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy and against George Sinclair of Keiss, in a dispute over who had the right to the lands and title of the Earl of Caithness. Campbell won a decisive victory in the battle, but Sinclair later turned to the law and was awarded the title and the lands as Earl of Caithness.[6][7]
18th century and Jacobite risings
Robert Macnab, the fourteenth chief of Clan Macnab married a sister of John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland. This connection to the Clan Campbell constrained him from supporting the Jacobites in the rising of 1715, although many of his clansmen did take part.[3] The fifteenth chief was a major in the Hanoverian government army and was captured at the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745. He was then held prisoner in Doune Castle.[3]
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Clan Chief
The current chief is the 24th, James William Archibald Macnab of Macnab who succeeded his father, James Charles Macnab of Macnab, in 2013.[8]
Ancestry and Noble Connections
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Clan MacNab claims ancient royal lineage through its descent from the Cenél Loairn, a branch of the early Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata. This ancestral line is shared with other historically significant families such as the MacDougalls and the early House of Alpin, situating the MacNabs among the oldest noble bloodlines of Scotland.
In the early 16th century, Finlay MacNab of Bowaine married Katherine Campbell, daughter of Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, thereby aligning Clan MacNab with the powerful Clan Campbell, who later became Earls of Breadalbane. Katherine’s maternal line, however, reveals even more distinguished connections.
Katherine’s mother, Marjory Stewart, was a descendant of James Stewart of Lorn and Joan Beaufort, queen consort of James I of Scotland. Through this line, Clan MacNab descends from the House of Stewart, Scotland’s royal dynasty, and through Joan Beaufort, from the Beauforts and the House of Plantagenet.
•English and French Royal Descent•
Joan Beaufort’s father, John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, was the legitimized son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the third son of King Edward III of England and a direct male-line descendant of the Plantagenet dynasty. Edward III’s wife, Philippa of Hainault, descended from Philip III of France, making the MacNab line also one of Capetian royal blood. Additionally, Edward III’s mother, Isabella of France, was the daughter of Philip IV of France, giving a double line of descent from the Capetians.
•Norman and Angevin Lineage•
This lineage continues through William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and King of England, via:
-Richard I and II, Dukes of Normandy
-William the Conqueror → Henry I → Empress Matilda → Henry II → John → Henry III → Edward I and beyond
Through these lines, the MacNabs are descended from the Norman conquerors of England and the Angevin Kings, including Fulk V of Anjou, who became King of Jerusalem through marriage to Melisende of Jerusalem. This also incorporates links to the Counts of Anjou, House of Vermandois, and early Capetian-connected French nobility.
•Scottish Nobility and Norse-Gaelic Ties•
Parallel to their continental connections, Clan MacNab also descends from important Scottish houses, including:
-The Sinclairs, Earls of Orkney and Caithness, descended from Norman knights and Norse earls
-The Sutherlands, one of the oldest noble families in Scotland
-The Ruthvens, Drummonds, and Douglases, via later intermarriage
These connections solidify the MacNabs’ role as a Highland clan of significant standing, with deep links to the Gaelic Norse, and Norman traditions that shaped medieval Scotland.
Through documented marriages and ancestral lines, Clan MacNab can claim descent or kinship with:
-John of Gaunt and the House of Lancaster
-Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots
-The Capetian Kings of France: Philip III and Philip IV
-William the Conqueror and the Norman Dukes
-The Angevin Kings of England and the Counts of Anjou
-Fulk V of Anjou, King of Jerusalem
-The Scottish royal House of Stewart
-The Sinclairs, Sutherlands, and Ruthvens
While Clan MacNab never held a peerage, its bloodline runs through the royalty and aristocracy of both Britain and continental Europe, making it one of Scotland’s most richly connected noble clans.
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Notable Family Members
Archibald Macnab (d. 1790) Colonel of the 41st Regiment of Foot
Brigadier John Francis MacNab of Barravorich C.B.E. D.S.O.(1906‒1980) Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, the King’s African Rifles.
John MacNab Held a commission in the Black Watch during the Jacobite UprisingsJacobitism
Archibald MacNab Served in the Loudon Highlanders
John MacNab Major in the British Army during the jacobite uprisings
Sir Allan Napier MacNab, 1st Baronet of Dundurn C.B. Joint Premier of the Province of Canada
Iain Macnab of Barachastlain (1890–1967) Influential Scottish wood-engraver and painter, founder of Grosvenor School; served in both World Wars
Cliff McNabb (1935-1994) Founder of the Nanaimo Clippers
Larry McNabb (1939-2010) Professional Ice Hockey player City councillor
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See also
References
External links
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