Scotland is filled with magnificent views of misty landscapes. Sometimes called the last wilderness of Europe. Nowhere is this more pertinent in Glencoe
In the autumn of 1691 all highland clans were offered a pardon for their participation in the latest Jacobite uprising against the new English king, William of Orange. The pardon was conditional of the chiefs taking an oath of allegiance in front of a magistrate before the 31.12.1691. Unfortunately the chief of the McDonalds from Glencoe took his time. When he finally came to Fort William, the local governor demurred and instructed Maclain to proceed to Inveraray. Covered by a letter of protection he arrived there albeit five days late. Nevertheless his oath was accepted and Chief Maclain returned turned to Glencoe.
The Massacre
In London, however, animosity against the clans was running high and a process was set in motion whereby the Maclains were pointed out to be victims of a punitive expedition. It was for a long time believed that the neighbouring Campbells were part of this plan.
In januar 1692 Captain Robert Campbell with a contingent of 130 English Redcoats were ordered to billet themselves in the home of the Maclains in Glencoe. After having spent an otherwise amicable 10 days they were ordered to fall fell upon the Maclains in their home and in the morning so that “that these miscreants be cutt off root and branch”. More precisely everyone under the age of 70 was to be put to the sword. In the morning of the 12th of January 38 defenceless men were murdered, while other members of the clan fled to find refuge on the barren and cold mountainside further up in the glen. During the next days 40 of these – amongst them women and children – fell victims to the foul weather.
Initially he massacre was covered up. However little by little news of the treachery reached the public in London and abroad, causing a bitter uproar. The fact, that the horrors had been visited by guests on the friendly hosts, made it nearly unthinkable. However, an official enquiry into the events petered out as the perpetrators of the massacre had been clever enough to secure an order from the king by misrepresenting the Clan MacDonalds as nothing but a thieving bunch. Nobody wanted to let the scandal touch the public esteem of the king
For a long time it was stated by historians that the massacre was not to be understood as an aftermath of the Jacobite revolution staged by belligerent lowlanders in the service of the English king, but rather the result of the machinations of the neighbouring clan of the Campbells. Today, however, the belief is rather that it was a conspiracy crafted by English collaborators in the Scottish administration, who had hoped to be able to root out the clans.
Butcher’s Apron
In the 19th century the Glencoe massacre became a set-piece in the romantic rediscovery of Scotland and in 1883 a memorial was erected in the Glen. In 1930 this was followed by a yearly ceremony on the 13th of February where wreaths a laid to commemorate the victims. This commemoration is organised by the MacDonalds. However, each year and around the same time, the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement organizes the Glencore rally, where the Union Jack (repeatedly called the Butcher’s Apron) is burned. The SRSM is widely regarded as too radical to be accepted in the ranks of other nationalist parties in Scotland.
Sacralised Landscape
Glencoe, however, is so much more than a scene for the rallying of nationalists of divers ilk. Foremost it offers a number of spectacular walks. Whether taking the easy routes at the bottom of the glen or braving the mountains on your own or together with a local guide it is nevertheless difficult to escape the feeling of moving through the sacred landscape of the massacre. Even in the summer on a rainy day, you are enticed to “see” the glen through the eyes of the hounded men, women and children from 1692. History simply hangs heavily over this glen, as the audio-visual presentation tells you, when visiting the visitor-centre erected by the National Trust for Scotland, which owns the glen.
According to an anthropological study of visitors to the glen, people more often than not find the place haunting, frightening and menacing. Part of this feeling is obviously created by the film in the visitor-centre, which tells the story of the massacre in gory details. However, the story is also underlined by the guides (both written and living), who tell you the hill-walking routes in Glencoe are not only difficult, but dangerous. A quote from the website demonstrates this:
The creepy feeling is also perpetuated by the general framing of the tourists visiting the glen. Searching for Glencoe and Mist in Google results in 27.4 mill hits, while searching for Glencoe on its own only results in 3.4 mill hits.
No wonder that while 90% in a social survey in 1999 claimed that they were proud of being Scottish, 97% claimed they were proud of the Scottish Landscape.
Nowhere is this more evocative and haunting of the Scottish past than in Glencoe.
Wish to read more about Scotland the Brand and its medieval icons? Please follow the links below
Names, Sprigs, Feathers, Tartans and Kilts
SOURCE:
READ MORE:
The Sacralised Landscapes of Glencoe: from Massacre to Mass Tourism and Back again.
By Dan Knox., School of Arts, Media and Culture, University of Sunderland.
In: Tourism Research, 2006, Vol 8, pp. 185 – 197
Glencoe. The Infamous Massacre
By John Sadler, Newcastle University
Amberley Publishing 2009
ISBN-10: 1848685157
ISBN-13: 978-1848685154