Sir Roderick MacLeod
Relics of Rory Mor including his drinking horn
Born1559, 1562 or 1573
Died1626
TitleThe 15th Chief of Clan MacLeod
PredecessorJohn (nephew)
SuccessorJohn MacLeod (son)
Children
MacLeod arms

Sir Roderick MacLeod of MacLeod (c1559–1626), also known as Rory MacLeod (Scots Gaelic: Ruairidh Mór, 'Rory the Great'), was the 15th Chief of Clan MacLeod and one of the most famed and notorious chiefs of that clan.[1][2]

Biography

Roderick MacLeod of MacLeod, also known as "Rory Mor" or "Ruairidh Mor", was born in Dunvegan, Scotland in 1573 and was the 15th chief of the Clan MacLeod. He was the second son of Norman MacLeod of MacLeod (c. 1516–1585) the 12th chief of the Clan MacLeod. He became chief upon the death of his young nephew in 1595. He married Elizabeth MacDonald, daughter of the 8th Chief of Clan MacDonald of Glengarry circa 1598. Together they had 11 children, 5 sons and 6 daughters including:

Death

Sir Roderick MacLeod of MacLeod died in 1626 and was buried at the Fortrose Abbey just north of Inverness, Scotland.

Upon his death, his oldest son John "Iain/Ian Mor Macleod of Macleod, 16th Chief (c. 1600–1649) became chief of the Clan MacLeod.

Notable Battles

Sir Roderick went to Ireland with 500 of his clan to assist Hugh Roe O'Donnell's war against the English. Upon his return he became involved in a feud with his brother-in-law Donald Gorm Og MacDonald, who was chief of the powerful Clan MacDonald of Sleat. The two clans had fought together in Ireland and had now become enemies when for some reason MacDonald rejected his wife, Sir Roderick's sister, and became very hostile towards his old allies. After a year of feuding, the two clans finally met in the Battle of Coire Na Creiche and the MacLeods were defeated. This was the last clan battle on the Isle of Skye.

In December 1597, an act of the Estates was passed that required that all the Chieftains and Landlords of the Highlands and the Western Isles to produce their title-deeds under pain of forfeiture. Sir Roderick ignored the act and a gift of his estates were given to a number of Fife gentlemen for the purpose of colonisation. After these attempts were dealt with, he was ultimately successful in getting a remission from King James VI of Scotland dated 4 May 1610 for his lands of Harris, Dunvegan, and Glenelg.

Rory Mor's Horn

One of the prize possessions of the Clan MacLeod is Sir Rory Mor's Horn. It is kept at Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Sir Rory Mor's Horn is a drinking horn, made of an ox's horn, tipped in silver. The rim around the mouth of the horn is thick and bears seven imprinted medallions. Three of the medallions depict beasts, three depict patterns, and the seventh and joining medallion shows both a pattern and a beast. R. C. MacLeod considered the work to be Norse, and declared the horn to date from the 10th century.

Notes

  1. ↑ (Macleod 1938, p. 23)
  2. ↑ (Ó Baoill 2004)
  3. ↑ Report of the annual meeting. Scottish History Society. 1900. To him succeeded Eachin Mor. He married Margaret eldest Daughter of Roderick Laird of Macleod, but had no issue.
  4. ↑ MacLean, John Patterson (1889). A History of the Clan MacLean from Its First Settlement at Duard Castle, in the Isle of Mull, to the Present Period: Including a Genealogical Account of Some of the Principal Families Together with Their Heraldry, Legends, Superstitions, Etc. R. Clarke & Company. p. 160. Sir Lachlan MacLean was married to Mary, second daughter of Sir Roderick MacLeod of MacLeod, by whom he had issue two sons and three daughters. Hector, his heir and successor, and Allan. His daughter Isabella married Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel; Mary married Lachlan MacKinnon, and the youngest daughter, Marian, died young and unmarried.
  5. ↑ (MacLeod 1927, p. 150)

References

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