Scottish clans. Highlanders of Scotland On the fronts of the world wars

On at the moment historical and cultural heritage in Scotland can be divided into two main subspecies, which in many respects do not overlap and are quite different from each other.

Who are the Highlanders of Scotland?

This is lowland Scotland, lowlands, villages, hills, where the emergence of the Scottish urban system began; Highland Scotland, where the main social life revolved around the clan system, it was in these highlands that the Highlanders of Scotland lived and fought.

Everyone is called highlanders ethnic groups population living in the mountainous regions of a country.

It is worth noting that thanks to the film of the same name, currently the Scottish highland clans are primarily associated with the highlanders. In the local dialect they were called "Highlander".

In the Highlands of Scotland social life was built according to a clan system (the Gaelic word “clann” means “family”), and each clan was based on a family, kinship connection. The head of each individual clan was at the same time the military leader of the clan, the main defender, and the arbiter of justice, and a peaceful ruler. Relations between the clans of the mountaineers often developed quite fiercely; local wars, bloody skirmishes, and blood feuds were common: on the borders of the territory one could find bones, as well as skulls of enemies and rivals of the clan.

The destruction of this system was associated with the defeat of the Scots in the war in 1746, after which, in order to avoid a repeat of the rebellion, the British banned the use of clan tartan colors, as well as the carrying of weapons and the playing of bagpipes. In the XVIII and 19th centuries In Scotland, a process is taking place, which in historiography has received the name “cleansing of the Scottish Highlands,” during which national highland traditions suffered greatly, the clan system was largely destroyed, and a significant number of people moved to the lowland areas of the country.

Highlanders of Scotland: modern traditions

After so many years, the difference between the lowland and mountain inhabitants of Scotland has been largely erased, and the wild and warlike highlanders of Scotland remained mainly in ancient legends and various cultural traditions, among which the most interesting and educational for tourists is a game called “Highland Games” or “ Games of the Highlanders".

Bagpipe masters and athletes take part in this cultural entertainment - and they compete in rather non-standard categories, including: stone throwing, log pushing, hammer throwing - which is a reflection of the ancient highland traditions, thus revived among the people of Scotland .

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Scotland gave the world one of the most remarkable poets of the 18th century - Robert Burns, who is read and admired all over the world. But the world fame of this poet pales before the glory that he receives in his native country - Scotland.

The Scottish nation hides many secrets. For example, few people know that it was the Scots, representatives of one of the most northern European nationalities, who for a long time were rightfully considered the highest nation in Europe.

Currently, there is no such thing as a “King of Scotland”, since in present moment Scotland is an administrative and political region of Great Britain, does not have its own monarchical government and is actually under the rule of Elizabeth II, of the Windsor dynasty, Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. However, of course, this situation was not always the case: Scotland was ruled by its own monarchical dynasty for 850 years. And in order to learn more about the Scottish monarchy, you need to understand how it began and how it ultimately ended.

“Ask any highlander about the Campbells, and he will spit before answering” - this is the most comprehensive description of the Campbell clan, which has been preserved in the memory of the Scots. Since ancient times, the largest families of the Highland Scots exterminated each other like the damned. So in the history of each there are a couple of extremely unsightly moments: betrayal, brutal murders, genocide and - even worse - collaboration with the British. But the Campbells took these sins of clan feuding to an unprecedented level. For example, once they burned 120 people in a church and hanged another 35 from one tree. So they tried to joke about the family tree.

Who are the Campbells?

The Campbells are one of the largest and most influential clans in the Highlands, that is, Highland Scotland. The family has lived in the west of this country since ancient times, its history stretches back to the 11th century, and its roots go even further, into the very depths of local history. It is believed that the surname "Campbell" is translated from Celtic as "Crooked". Their family coat of arms- the severed head of a boar, around which there is a belt with the inscription “Ne Obliviscaris” in Latin, which means “Don’t forget!”

During the most turbulent centuries of Scottish history, the Campbell clan followed the same strategy. And if you do something for five hundred years in a row without changing course, then someday you will come to success. They always tried to side with the strongest player in local politics, even if he had many enemies. Especially if he had many enemies! So the Campbells first supported the Scottish throne, and then, when things got really bad for that throne, the English one.

Now it seems that this is the most obvious and reasonable way out and there is nothing remarkable in it - help the strong and he will share part of his power with you. But then it didn’t seem like a clearly winning strategy. The position of the Scottish kings was in many ways very precarious and often extended to the Highlands of Scotland only nominally. In reality, all power lay with the local clans, who could slaughter each other for hundreds of years over claims to a barren rock or because of a dispute over a herd of goats that happened five generations ago.

The Campbells actively imposed themselves as friends on the legitimate ruler, and he, as a reward, made them agents of his will in the Highlands. Other clans did not care about the king and did not expect help or handouts from him. But the Campbells always tried to show themselves as loyal to the centralized government. For this they often received almost unlimited local power. Under the guise of a war with the rebels, this clan received the right to attacks, stealing livestock, arson, and even outright alienation of foreign territories. For the glory of the crown, of course!

Campbell Castle

This also gives rise to the answer to the question of why the neighbors didn’t get together and strangle every single Campbell right in the family nest. They took on the role of local police, and even their tartan, that is, the clan pattern, became the semi-official pattern of the local law enforcement forces loyal to the king.

But power, as we know, corrupts. All these powers that they achieved through serving the monarchs (while the rest of the Highlanders hated the kings) made the Campbells cruel, treacherous and vindictive. The Campbells knew that they were hated and were only waiting for the moment to stop their line, so they themselves launched preemptive strikes on their neighbors. They attacked peaceful villages, burned disobedient people right in churches, buried them alive and showed such miracles of meanness that even after hundreds of years they cannot get rid of the stain of shame.

Among all their atrocities, popular memory has preserved three of the most terrible. These are the events known as the "Maniverd Massacre", the "Dunoon Massacre" and the "Glencoe Massacre".

Maniverd massacre

To be fair, the Campbells alone cannot be blamed for this massacre; they were not the instigators, but, true to their eternal strategy, they joined the victors (when the outcome of the feud was already clearly clear) and took part in the brutal massacre.

There are two main parties of contention in this story - the Murray clan and the Drummond clan. But, besides them, as is usual in the Highlands, several other allied clans gladly took part in the conflict. The Murrays and Drummonds had been at enmity for a long time and bitterly, despite the fact that they were related and tried many times to seal the union with marriages. Shortly before 1490, there was another breakdown in their relationship: Lord Drummond usurped the Strathearn Valley from the leader of the Murray clan, William Murray.

Colleen Campbell

The Murrays, in turn, still had their own trump card in their hands: Abbot John Murray from their clan was the local abbot, and therefore the conductor of the power of the Catholic Church in these God-forsaken valleys. The Drummonds, knowing this, caused him all kinds of inconvenience and plotted political intrigues.

One day Abbot John's patience ran out. When the abbey lost all its money (largely due to the fault of the Drummonds), he, with the power given to him by the Roman Church, ordered the collection of church taxes from the village of Ochdertir, which belonged to the Drummonds. Of course, in this matter, he called on his relatives for help, and they “collected taxes” from old enemies with such passion that the Drummonds took it as a declaration of war.

Lord Drummond's son, David, gathered the clan's troops and immediately moved to smash and destroy the Murrays. In addition, three more clans joined him: the same Campbells, led by Duncan Campbell, as well as McRobbie and Faishni. However, the Murrays were warned about the raid and flocked from all over the area for the upcoming fun. However, all the forces of their clan were not enough and they had to flee to the north, where they fought a general battle in the town of Rottenreoch, but were completely defeated. Many Murrays died on the battlefield, and another part fled (allegedly, along with their families) towards the same ill-fated Ochdertir, from which it all began.

Warrior from the Drummond clan

It is not known exactly how many fugitives there were: a minimum of 20 men, a maximum of 120 Murrays, along with women and children. In any case, what happened to them was terrible and went down in history as the “Maniverd massacre.”

On October 21, 1490, those who fled from the wrath of the Drummonds and Campbells were overtaken in the town of Maniverd, where they took refuge and barricaded themselves in a church. At that time, this seemed an incredible success, because few would have dared to encroach on the stronghold of the Catholic faith: the laws of religion and clan enmity did not allow the thought of attacking the temple, even if the worst enemies had found refuge there.

But the Murrays were wrong. For the time being, the Drummonds scoured the area and the fugitives went unnoticed. But one of the Murrays could not stand it and succumbed to the thirst for revenge: he shot an arrow at an unsuspecting enemy warrior and killed him. Thus, the highlander gave away himself and his hiding place, and the Drummond army rushed to the Maniverd church.

What remains of the church in Maniverd after destruction and reconstruction. What it was like before the massacre can only be roughly judged.

The attackers did not hold the siege and after short “peace negotiations”, which most likely looked like abuse and arrows flying from behind the walls of the shelter, they decided to act with brutal measures. They surrounded the church with brushwood and firewood and set it on fire. Everyone inside died in the fire and choking smoke. To drown out the screams of the dying, the Campbells and Drummonds ordered the bagpipers to play at full strength. What a humane gesture towards your troops!

Young warrior dressed as Clan Murray

Judging by the fact that no one ever got out of there, at least for the sake of battle, the church was indeed either almost entirely women and children, or the Drummonds and Campbells and did not plan to release the fugitives. It is possible that they themselves barricaded the doors from the outside so that all the Murrays would remain there forever. Although both options are not mutually exclusive.

Only one Murray survived the fire, who managed to slip out of the church window. The only reason he wasn't killed was because he turned out to be the cousin of the attackers' commander, Thomas Drummond. And we remember that both warring clans were related in many ways (which, however, did not stop one from burning the other alive). Thomas allowed his cousin to escape from the scene of the massacre and for this “misdemeanor” he was severely punished by exile from Scotland. For many years after this he lived in Ireland, and when he finally returned, he received an estate in Perthshire from the Murrays in gratitude.

But justice, in a sense, still triumphed. News of the Maniverd massacre quickly spread throughout Scotland. King James IV ordered an investigation and as a result, both ringleaders - David Drummond and Duncan Campbell - were arrested and hanged in the city of Stirling. As you can see, even loyalty and ingratiation to the royal court did not save Campbell from execution.

Dunoon massacre

Another episode of the Campbells' meanness remembered by the Scots occurred in 1646, when they almost completely exterminated the Lamont clan, along with their women and children. Moreover, they did it with incredible brutality.

By the middle of the 17th century, relations between the two clans reached the point of mutual hatred. The Campbells had views of the Lamonts' territory and dreamed of annexing them to their lands, and the Lamonts, in turn, desperately resisted. In 1645, this led to the major Battle of Inverlochy, in which the Campbells received a good thrashing, and the Lamonts, believing in their own strength, rushed into the enemy’s lands to plunder thoroughly.

Archibald Campbell, the organizer of the most merciless massacre in Scottish history.

The following year, the Campbells, led by their leader, Archibald, struck back and invaded the territory of the Lamonts, but not just for robbery, but with the aim of expanding their borders. Having fought their way to the Toward fortress (aka “Tall Aird” in Gaelic), the Campbells locked their opponents in their ancestral castle. The siege began, and luck was clearly not on the side of the Lamonts.

Eventually, the Lamont leader, James Lamont, decided to negotiate peace. As a result of an attempt at reconciliation, he managed to negotiate a surrender on acceptable terms. The Campbells assured the leader that they had calmed down, had taken revenge for last year's loss and, like good gentlemen, were ready to forget old sins. But this was just a mean trick.

The Campbells declared an end to the hostility and asked the Lamonts, who had already surrendered, to show generosity to the winner and let the exhausted warriors into the fortress for the night. Together with the losers, the Campbells celebrated the end of the glorious war at the same Toward Castle, and were allowed to stay. Now it looks wild, but then the laws of mountain hospitality told the Lamonts to do just that.

At night, the warriors of the Campbell clan stood up on command and carried out a monstrous massacre. They did not spare a single Lamont: along with the men, children, women and old people were stabbed to death in their beds. James Lamont again asked for mercy from the winner for those who had not yet been exterminated, and vowed to end the feud forever. But instead of stopping the massacre, the incensed Campbells only went into a frenzy.

The clan warriors threw the dead into the wells of the castle to poison the water, they buried 36 people here alive, and hung another 35 Lamonts together on one spreading tree. Apparently, the Campbells played on the “family tree” metaphor in a perverted way. During this attack, more than 200 people were killed - every single one, surrendering to the mercy of the victors.

Ruins of Lamont Castle Ruins of Lamont Castle

This brutal massacre went down in history as the “Dunoon Massacre”, after the nearby town. The ruins of Tovard Castle are still preserved. Of course, local residents consider Tall Aird to be cursed, and local legends abound with stories of two hundred ghosts of those who were brutally killed by the Campbells.

Retribution overtook Archibald Campbell only 16 years later, in 1661, when he was beheaded by order of the English king Charles II. But the cause was not the Dunoon massacre, but treason. However, the Campbells did not change their strategy and did not go against the government openly; it was just that during the Civil War, their intuition failed them and they bet on the wrong monarch.

Glencoe massacre

But most famous event The one that is associated with the Campbells was the Glencoe Massacre, during which they killed an entire branch of the MacDonald clan. It happened in 1692 and had many similarities with the Dunoon massacre, which only strengthened the Scottish highlanders’ dislike for the Campbells.

By the end of the 17th century, the so-called “Glorious Revolution” occurred in Britain, which, in general, was not a revolution. Instead of one monarch, James II, another came to power - William of Orange, who had previously ruled the Netherlands, but was married to the daughter of this king.

James II was expelled from the country and, according to the law of succession to the throne (and thanks to intrigue, of course), a king from the continent came to power. Naturally, many in Britain were unhappy. This is especially true for the Scots. Of course, some Dutch upstart Protestant will command the glorious Catholics in kilts! A new uprising broke out and Jacob's supporters, the Jacobites, tried to overthrow the incoming king. They failed to do this, and Wilhelm remained on the throne.

William of Orange

Together with William, the Campbells also remained in power, who quickly sensed where the wind was blowing and what it promised them. Once again they sided with the central government against their restless mountain neighbors. Moreover, the role of a policeman guarding order in a rebellious region gave the clan almost unlimited power. If everyone around was not loyal enough to the new king, then they could attack everyone without fear of getting hit back.

William of Orange decided to behave like a more or less enlightened monarch and showed ostentatious mercy towards the highlanders. He gave them assurances that no one would be subjected to pressure and would receive full civil rights if the clan leaders swore allegiance to the new king. A year was given for all this, but it turned out to be not enough. The leaders first waited for permission from the old king, James, who officially surrendered and dropped out of the race, and only then rushed to the administration to show loyalty to the new regime.

This situation was damn unpleasant for the Campbells. If all these yesterday's rebels become respectable citizens with one stroke of the pen, then how can they take away their lands and livestock and beat them with clubs?

Neighborhoods of Glencoe

The MacDonald clan was among those hesitant who were nevertheless ready to swear allegiance to the new government. Alistair Makian, head of the Macdonald branch from the large village of Glencoe, hastened to complete the paperwork and secure his clan. But he delayed this for too long. Moreover, being a highlander and a simple man, Alistair did not take into account the power of the most powerful and destructive element, that is, bureaucracy.

If you've ever completed a trivial document that took longer than two weeks, you can understand Chief MacDonald. Only in his case, hundreds of lives were at stake, including his own. Documents with the oath were thrown from office to office, and in many cases the Campbells, who, of course, tightly occupied official positions, did not allow the papers to move.

Eventually, the documents even reached the Secretary of State for Scotland, John Dalrymple. But he did not want to move forward with the matter and ignored the fact of the oath. Simply put, this official committed a state crime in order not to allow the mountaineers to easily receive an amnesty.

John Dalrymple

Dalrymple himself dreamed of gaining fame as a fighter against the rebels and faithful dog His Majesty. It was impossible to do this while doing clerical routine, so he took extreme measures. The power granted by the monarch allowed him to carry out repression against those clans that openly opposed William. Apparently, no one, to the great regret of the official, wanted to do this, so he arbitrarily appointed the MacDonalds as rioters and ordered an intimidation action against them.

In order for the action to be successful and, if possible, bloody, John Dalrymple recruited those who were best suited to be the organizers of the massacre. It is not surprising that they turned out to be the Campbells, who, moreover, had a special hatred for the MacDonalds.

Two companies of soldiers led by Robert Campbell were sent to Glencoe. They were stationed there, ostensibly to wait for a while and move on. Locals and, especially, Alistair Makian, the head of the village and the local branch of the MacDonalds, received the soldiers with cordiality. They were absolutely sure that the story of the oath had ended favorably, so that the clan was protected by the amnesty of the new king.

A detachment of Campbells and English soldiers stayed in Glencoe for more than two weeks. There they were provided with housing, received according to the laws of the mountains and treated as guests. Surely the MacDonalds believed that such gluttonous and arrogant guests were somewhat abusing their hospitality, but the hosts had nothing to do.

On February 12, Robert Campbell received the long-awaited order from John Dalrymple. The soldiers were ordered to destroy the traitors, killing everyone under 70 years of age, and put this village on fire. That evening, the future killers feasted with the MacDonalds, most likely knowing that the massacre would begin tomorrow. Robert once again allowed his fighters to dine and drink heavily at the expense of the Highlanders, and at five in the morning, he raised them on command and ordered them to kill as many Glencoe residents as possible.

Much to the chagrin of Robert Campbell, among his soldiers there were traitors who refused to kill children and women on the orders of the commander. Many of them even managed to inform the owners of the houses in which they lived about the threat. As a result, the valiant fighter against the turmoil was unable to fully carry out the orders of his superiors.

Only about forty people were killed on the spot. Among them was Alistair Makian, who until recently was confident that his oath gave him protection. Even more Glencoe residents managed to escape to the mountains, but their fate was also unenviable - forty of them froze to death there, fleeing the pursuit of soldiers.

News of the massacre reached London and caused outrage not only throughout the country, but also among William of Orange himself. He became even more furious when an investigation revealed that the residents of Glencoe were, in fact, full citizens who were killed due to petty clan feuds and the ambitions of the careerist Dalrymple.

In the new place, Wilhelm, who was a seasoned politician, tried to show himself as a peace-loving ruler, realizing that his position was very precarious. The massacre of infants was clearly not part of his plans. Dalrymple was blamed and the Glencoe massacre was classified as a murder. However, this did not prevent John Dalrymple, who left his post, to wait for the death of the king and rise even more than before. Under the new Queen Anne, he even received the title of count.

“Street vendors and Campbells are prohibited from entering.”

People from the Campbell family can no longer be called a clan of butchers and scoundrels - ordinary Scots, many of whom have dispersed all over the world. There is even Clan Campbell whiskey, and the angry descendants of the Murrays, MacDonalds and Lamonts are unlikely to try to burn down the manufacturers' warehouses. Although, they say, there are places in the Highlands where the Campbells will still never shake hands when they meet, and some pubs do not allow them to enter, according to the rule “No street vendors, dogs or Campbells allowed!”

In Russian you can find the concept "cleaning up the estates" Highland Scotland, which, in my opinion, has circumcision nowhere else. Therefore, I have taken the trouble to discuss from all sides the issue of land relations in Scotland, first of all, the Highlands, and I will try to briefly and clearly summarize.

Let's start with the so-called "cleaning up estates"(what an ugly sewer terminology!). On English it's called Clearances(Clearing or, in modern terms, Cleaning). Scottish Highlanders call this thing Fuadach nan Gàidheal(Exile of the Gaels) - they really have something to be offended by.

In general, in England, which, as you know, is located south of Scotland, agricultural restructuring began somewhere in the 16th century. Thanks to this, I even managed to somehow improve my unenviable school grades in history. When the teacher asked us what the name of the process was in agricultural England in the 16th and 17th centuries, which we had gone through a year before and had already successfully forgotten, I somehow miraculously remembered it magic word – fencing, raised his hand and received his five points for a glimpse of memory. As far as I remember, the essence of this process was briefly the division of communal land between members of the community, who then fenced off their plots. Over time, such plots became larger, which was beneficial due to improved production technologies, and due to natural reasons, large landowners, hired workers and extra labor appeared, which were precisely required for the emerging manufactories. That is, capitalist relations came to the English village. As you know, in the field of exploitation of both its own and others, England was ahead of the rest. But in wild Scotland everything was different and much later.

Closer to England economic development- and related and territorial - there was Low Scotland. And it was there that at the end of the 17th century, and especially after the Union of 1707, transformations began in the village. As land cultivation technologies improved and productivity increased, the cost of renting land increased accordingly. And now only large farms and landowners who could apply these new improvements could survive in the new conditions.

Small farmers, or, in their words, crofters, were forced to give up renting land plots that were now unaffordable for them. And in order not to die of hunger, they were hired as farm laborers by large landowners, or moved to industrial Glasgow, Edinburgh or the north of England in the hope, often in vain, of finding work there, or even went overseas in search of happiness. In general, typical capitalism has crossed the border, which is already quite conventional, and has finally reached the village of South Scotland.

Some zealous historians are trying to assign a name to this case Lowland Clearances(that is, the Clearing of the Low Countries), comparing it in importance with Highland Clearances(Clearing the Highlands). Which, in my opinion, is fundamentally wrong, since in their essence, not to mention the scale, tragedy, influence on the destinies of people and the whole nation, these processes differed like heaven and earth. What will be shown below.

Until the 17th century, the Scottish Highlands were still dominated by a patriarchal clan way of life. Which, according to all the laws of the economic genre, slowed down the growth of labor productivity and living standards of the population. Yes, to tell the truth, the Highlanders for the most part were poor and lived by crop production, as far as the harsh nature allowed, and by raising cattle for sale in the Lowlands and northern England. However, they lived cheerfully and happily, danced, played the bagpipes and sometimes, for fun, started wars between the clans.

Initially, their land was considered common, almost like under communism. All of them, according to centuries-old tradition, obeyed the leader of their clan or sept. He will lead them into battle and judge them, if anything happens. But the government settled in Edinburgh did not like such freedom of the highland clans. And then, at the beginning of the 17th century, the Scottish Stuarts sat on the English throne, which marked the beginning of the actual unification of England and Scotland. And, accordingly, economic relations characteristic of England begin to creep into Scotland. And so, to encourage the loyalty of the leaders of the highland clans, the Scottish government contributed to their gradual transformation into the owners of all the clan land. The leaders were, of course, only happy about this, and the ordinary members of the clan, like obedient children (in general, the Gaelic word clann and means children) were not accustomed to grumbling - especially since at first it changed little for them.

The clan system finally died out after the defeat in 1746 of the last Jacobite uprising led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart, nicknamed Handsome Charlie(Bonnie Prince Charlie). In London (for after the Union of 1707 Scotland was ruled from there) laws were passed that abolished all legal rights of clan leaders and transferred them to state sheriffs. In addition, legislation was also adopted that prohibited the highlanders from having heavy weapons - broadswords and guns, as well as light weapons in the form of tartans, kilts, bagpipes, obliging the highlanders to immediately surrender all unregistered weapons.

And so the clan leaders, having turned into owners of land that previously belonged to the entire clan, sooner or later forgot about their patriarchal responsibilities to their relatives. Well, of course! Since they were already deprived of the burdensome right to judge and pardon, in return they were endowed with such sweet rights of ownership. And therefore they simply turned into sybarites and tried to join the elite of society, or into businessmen for whom the main thing was profit. They either sold the land to moneybags from the south, and themselves moved to Edinburgh for permanent residence and put the money into circulation, or hired managers who were already experienced in extracting profit from the land. And some of the leaders, leading a large life, and then, having sold off their lands and paid off their accumulated debts, found themselves with an empty trough and were forced to seek happiness in distant lands.

Thus, land in the Highlands of Scotland became the private property of various types of owner-entrepreneurs. What do entrepreneurs do? They strive to get maximum profit from their assets! Right.

Of course, in this situation, ordinary highlanders lost all respect for the former leaders, on which the clan system had been based for centuries. Thus, it can be said that the old way of life of the Highland Celts was successfully destroyed effective managers from the south.

Well, off we go. The beginning of the Clearings is usually associated with the introduction of sheep farming to the Scottish Highlands, sometime around 1760. The business was incredibly profitable. One flock of sheep required 6 acres of hillside pasture for the summer and a large covered paddock in the valley for the winter. And just one shepherd! And the income was much higher than the pitiful payment from small farmers who were already barely making ends meet.

So many landowners and their managers tried by hook or by crook to drive tenants out of their lands and send hordes of sheep there in their place. Tens of thousands of people were evicted from their homes and lost their homes, which were often burned. And the expulsion of every family is, of course, a tragedy, tears, grief. A bundle in your hands and forward, into the unknown, and from behind they push you with a stick.

That is why people hated these cute animals, which, according to the mountaineers, deprived them of work and shelter. Thus, 1792 was named Year of the Sheep(Bliadhna nan Caorach in Gaelic). Nothing to do with the eastern calendar, according to which, as I remember now, it was the year of the Rat. So, on July 27, 1792, fueled by drink and wedding festivities, angry at the sheep crowding them, the highlanders in Ross-shire gathered a herd of these beautiful animals around the area - strangers, of course - and drove along the road in the direction of Inverness, thus protesting against the dominance of sheep. Along the way, mountaineers from other places joined them for company, and not empty-handed, and also rounded up the surrounding sheep. As a result, about 400 highlanders drove about 6,000 sheep to the town of Boath.

And there soldiers from the Black Watch regiment (Scottish regiments in the service of the government) were already waiting for them. 12 instigators were immediately arrested. 5 of them were soon tried and sentenced - some to imprisonment, some to deportation, some to hard labor (strangely, not to hanging). However, everything ended well, because the convicts eventually managed to escape and hide in the labyrinths of the Highlands of Scotland.

As a rule, the mountaineers were forced to move to completely infertile plots of land, which were not even suitable for sheep pastures and on which it was unimaginably difficult to feed themselves. It often happened that after such a farmer had raised virgin soil with sweat and blood, slightly cultivated the land, he was offered either to pay a higher rent - the land was now more fertile! - or move to another virgin plot that has never been cultivated. And when the farmer, sighing and groaning, moved away from the plot he had cultivated, the kind land lord let the sheep go there, onto the green fresh grass. And what can’t you do for these cute animals!

Plots of this infertile land, where the mountaineers were forced to move, were usually located closer to the sea coast, where, if desired, one could retrain as fishermen or engage in kelping(kelping). Not to be confused with camping. Kelping is the collection, preparation and processing of seaweed, from which iodine was extracted and used in the production of soap and glass. Initially, this fishery was practiced only in the Hebrides. But the war with France cut supplies from the continent, and clever landowners, sensing the smell of profit, began organizing kelping on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland and the islands.

About 10 thousand people were employed in this sector of the national economy. Businessmen sold a ton of seaweed for 20 pounds to Liverpool, about 2 pounds went to pay for the work of the highlanders. Now calculate the rate of profit! By 1820, the war on the continent was over, economic ties were restored, the need for seaweed fell and the Scottish highlanders were left with an empty trough as always.

But on the northern and eastern coasts there was much less algae and the mountaineers had to earn extra money exclusively by fishing, although they were only so-so fishermen. In fact, neither fish nor algae could feed such a crowd of people. And the patches of land, initially almost barren, began to be completely depleted. And the insatiable landowners kept raising and raising the rent for their worthless land. Many mountaineers eventually had to go to the cities in search of work.

To tell the truth, among the landowners there were also highly moral individuals who did not seek to expel tenants from their lands. However, this was not at all disinterested benevolence. For the land lords offered the mountaineers to become hired workers on their lands. Their labor was cheap, which means it promised the owners a O greater profit.

In addition, young highlanders could actually be sold! For landowners received money from the government if their peasants or hired workers enrolled in government regiments. And cannon fodder was so necessary for the Empire for wars in overseas colonies. Thus, one of the conditions for the return of confiscated estates to the Jacobite lords in the second half of the 18th century was the mandatory enlistment of the Highlanders from their lands into the British army. During the entire period of the Cleansing, about 48 thousand highlanders, according to these rules, joined the ranks of the Empire’s army. On the one hand, the Highland regiments were considered the most persistent, hardy and unpretentious in the British army, and on the other hand, the English commanders did not mind sending them into the most terrible meat grinder.

And of course, because of such a life, hordes of highlanders were forced to wave their hand to their native shores and emigrate to North America. Thus, from 1763 to 1803, about 70 thousand highlanders left for the ocean. And then there were another 20 thousand disadvantaged potential immigrants on the way.

But the Empire needed cannon fodder more than ever, a lot of meat. And many land lords actually benefited from people not leaving Scotland! Because the more free labor there is, the cheaper their cost. Elementary, Watson!

They then lobbied for Parliament to pass the Passenger Vessels Act in 1803. This law was supposedly supposed to show the Empire’s concern for emigrants and for improving the conditions of their transportation. Of course, more comfortable travel conditions come with a higher ticket price. Therefore, this humane law also increased the transfer fee for travel to America. And that was the most important thing! Now it was much more difficult for the impoverished mountaineers to leave. Have the conditions of transportation changed? Where there! Often, the mountaineers were transported in the same holds as the slaves a little earlier, and under the same unbearable conditions. It is not surprising that, having paid for travel in VIP class, some unfortunate people managed to die along the way from lack of water, air and a doctor and from excess dampness, stuffiness and harmful miasmas.

And here's another Walter our Scott, probably without realizing it, helped the process of colonization of the Highlands of Scotland. The great writer in his novels covered this country with the most attractive halo of romance, leaving behind the real problems and misfortunes of the mountaineers, which are uninteresting to the reader.

When His Majesty the paunchy George IV deigned to visit Edinburgh in 1822, our writer led the preparations for the entire event, and he convinced the king to put on a kilt - supposedly the one, i.e. George IV was from the Stuart dynasty, which means he was a real Scottish highlander. Well, well.

While many of the ex-clan chiefs and landowners invited to the ceremony were very enthusiastic about the eviction of the highlanders and the eradication of their culture. And in his welcoming pamphlet on the arrival of the king, Scott wrote in a servile manner: “We are The Clan and our King is The Chief!”, that is, “We are a Clan, and our leader is the King!” Wow! The empire even expropriated the culture of the highlanders.

Inspired by the novels of Walter Scott, many thousands of Englishmen who got rich in overseas colonies wanted to visit these “romantic” places. Catch fish there

or hunt deer.

And since there is demand, then, according to the laws of the market genre, supply must also appear. That is why the richer Englishmen bought estates in the Highlands of Scotland for their entertainment. And many local landowners set up parks and hunting grounds on their property, where they welcomed tourists from the south with great cordiality and where, of course, there was no place for ordinary mountaineer farmers, so that the goners would not be an eyesore to the respectable public.

After the end of the French War, kelping fell into decline, agricultural production began to decline, and soldiers began to return to their huts. The hardships of the mountaineers intensified. The Empire did its job, pumped out all the resources from Highland Scotland: it received mountains of cannon fodder, used pastures to raise its sheep, drove the highlanders to the most rocky, infertile lands, made them the cheapest labor force in Britain, tried to kill their culture as much as possible and traditions...

And the newly minted capitalists, Scottish landowners, sought to compete in material wealth and luxury with their English colleagues. And therefore they often got into huge debts. Which led to the transfer of land from Scottish landowners, descendants of clan leaders, to English moneybags, who had even less concern for the local population. Huge areas were allocated for parks and hunting grounds - all for the pleasure of the rich Pinocchios.

And then back in 1846 it began a series of lean years(in Ireland and Scotland), especially for potatoes, which didn’t want to grow and that’s it. They say nutritionists - diversify your diet! And among the mountaineers it consisted of 80% potatoes. It is not surprising that a real famine has set in.

The merciless cleansing of the Scottish Highlands continued almost until the end of the 19th century. A certain K. Marx wrote quite well, although one-sidedly, on this topic. For example, in this article he shares his impressions of visiting Highland Scotland and gives examples of the state’s ruthless attitude towards the Scottish highlanders.

British Empire treated the Highlands of Scotland, in fact, as his colony, from which you need to squeeze more juice. If in continental Europe and in England in agriculture advanced technologies were introduced to produce food for a growing population, the Highlands were used only as a source of profit. And she was not at all worried about the fate of her people. Everything is in the spirit of the Empire!

Did the Highlanders resist the Purge? Well, firstly, after the defeat of the Jacobite movement, they were prohibited from owning weapons under penalty of death. Secondly, in the event of a revolt, government troops stationed in Scotland were deployed against the Highlanders. And therefore, at first, the highlanders limited themselves to minor dirty tricks - they stole sheep, poached and made fools of them, which sometimes resulted in spontaneous riots like the Year of the Sheep, as mentioned above, and they started other troubles.

After 1880, farmers protested en masse against rent increases by non-payment of rent and holding unauthorized rallies.

In the early 1880s, the Highland Party (Highland Land League, Highland Land Law Reform Association or Crofters' Party) appeared and in 1885 they even got into parliament.

And then the British government suddenly deigned to see all the cruelties that accompanied the Clearing of the Highlands. Probably due to the fact that the sheep business has ceased to be extremely profitable, and due to certain political maneuvers Conservatives vs. Labour. In 1886, the British Parliament even passed the Crofters Holdings Act, which guaranteed small farmers inheritance rights to the plots of land they cultivated, or more precisely, the right to work there for a reasonable rent. But what's a poultice for a dead man? The train left a long time ago and, of course, no one returned from overseas. And most of the land was already tenaciously held in the hands of capitalist landowners. It is therefore not surprising that the mountaineer protests have resumed. However, the Moor did his job, and came to power in Yu.K. conservatives came who don’t like to babysit. Therefore, troops were sent to the Highlands of Scotland to suppress the protests. And the Crofters party assimilated with the Laborites - together it was somehow easier to stand against the bourgeoisie.

In 1909, the Highland Land League was again formed in Glasgow, which this time advocated not only for the protection of farmers' rights, but even for the autonomy of Scotland and the nationalization of all land. Well, the Bolsheviks are absolutely nothing. The government got a little cold feet and promised them a lot of things. But after the First World War, everyone forgot about everything. And the Farmers' Party, as before, disappeared into the orderly ranks of Labour. True, at the end of the 1920s, when sheep breeding became no longer a profitable business, a lot of land (about 800 thousand acres) was transferred to farms, mainly in the Hebrides, and on a somewhat smaller scale in northern Scotland and the Shetland Islands.

There were no further significant changes in land ownership in Scotland in the 20th century. Unless in 1976, at the numerous requests of workers, the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 1976 was adopted, which allowed Scottish farmers to buy the land they cultivate into their own property. Yes, perhaps, in 1994, when the ruling conservatives, defenders of the rich Pinocchio, introduced preferential taxation on land used NOT for generating income - for example, by growing agricultural plants on it - but for the entertainment of the land owner: hunting there, horseback riding or planting pleasing gardens and parks.

Alas, everything is just like Marx. Increased labor productivity reduces the need for more labor, which flows to where it is needed. So it turned out that economic progress, coupled with the pursuit of profit, drove out whole people from his native lands and sent him around the world, literally and figuratively. Today, this sad episode in the history of the clans of the Highlands of Scotland can easily be used for propaganda purposes if desired. For example, to raise the spirit of nationalism (the rich English - oh, scoundrels! - drove the highlanders out of their lands) or to fight financial and industrial magnates (moneybags bought up the lands of Highland Scotland to make profits and drove out their inhabitants). Or you can simply treat this as a cost of economic progress. And nothing personal...

Although, from my point of view, main reason The clearing of the Scottish Highlands marked the exorbitant expansion of the British Empire in all directions. And the Highlands were simply used as a colony, and the highlanders as cheap labor. All resources were siphoned off, culture and traditions were destroyed. Moreover, everything was framed with stunning hypocrisy, where England was presented as the beacon of civilization, and the ungrateful Scottish highlanders were lazy people and robbers who chose to leave their homeland and flee overseas for a better and freer life.

The good news is that Scotland achieved autonomy at the very end of the last century. And a few years ago, the SNP, the Scottish National Party, came to power in Scotland. Already in 2015, she plans to begin carrying out radical land reform. All benefits for “sports” estates will be cancelled. It is planned to transfer about 1 million acres of land to public use by 2020. And the most stubborn landowners will be forced to sell their land to communities and, moreover, it is still unknown at what price. Landowners are panicking and fearful - and rightly so! - that they will feel like foreigners in their own country.

The opponents, all sorts of Tories and Laborites, are known to be great lovers of demagoguery and therefore frighten the people that in this case agricultural production will decrease and food prices in stores will go up. But to be afraid of wolves, don’t go into the forest.

In short, big changes are coming to Scotland in the coming years.

Sir Hugh Tevor-Roper's article in the collection "The Invention of Tradition" edited by E. Hobsbawm produces an interesting impression: "I've already seen this somewhere. Here, recently." The ancient Scotland of the Highlanders, according to the author, turns out to be an illusion, a fairy tale created in several iterations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. And deconstructing this tale can be very useful for an inquisitive mind.

The "traditional image" of a Scotsman today is a kilt and bagpipes.

Part 1 - The Coming of the Kilt

So, highland Scotland, the homeland of an incredibly attractive type of stern Scotsman in a kilt in the colors of his native clan, who walks through the mountains with bagpipes. Until the 17th century (and partly until the 18th century), western Scotland was culturally a colony of Ireland, strange as it may sound to us. Moreover, the Scottish Highlanders represented an "overflow of Ireland", an excess of Ireland included in the Irish "cultural field" in the role of consumer. The creation of a separate cultural field, the creation of the myth of the Scottish Highlander, a myth polished in the Victorian period, began with three steps:
- from carrying out a kind of cultural revolution and inverting the “consumer-producer” relationship; - now highland Scotland was supposed to act as the cradle of “Celticity”, and not a cultural province;
- from the invention of the “ancient and authentic”; mountain traditions, primarily those that are most noticeable, i.e. external attributes of the “Scottish Highlanders”;
- and finally - with the spread of (from) acquired traditions of traditions to southern and eastern Scotland.

Hollywood creates an image of "good old Scotland" with 18th century kilts and 4th century blue faces.

Throughout the 18th century, a number of Scottish intellectuals developed the concept of the autochthony of the culture (and indeed) of the population of north-west Scotland. In 1738, David Malcolm's book "Dissertation on the Celtic Languages" was published, but the main action began in the 1760s, when namesakes John Macpherson (a priest on the Isle of Skye) and James Macpherson (translator of Ossian) began intensively altering Irish folklore, translating it into the soil of the Scottish highlands. James “found” Ossian’s ballads, John wrote a “Critical Dissertation” in support of the authenticity of the ballads, 10 years later James wrote out the ready-made concept of “Eternal Scotland” in his “Preface to the History of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland” - as a result, the people of Highland Scotland were presented to the reader , repelling the blows of the Romans and creating a great epic even when the Irish “walked under the table.” Even the cautious Gibbon was captivated by the thoughts of the two Macphersons, who admitted that they were landmarks for him in the history of Scotland. Thorough (and destructive) criticism of the works of both Macphersons began only at the end of the 19th century (when the myth had already taken root and it did not matter what scientists argued about as long as the people were fascinated by the image), although already in 1805 Walter Scott in his critical article about Ossian denied the authenticity of the Ossian ballads. However, in the process of criticism, Scott himself made a rather sensational statement - since ancient times, the highlanders of Scotland wore a kilt (philibeg) made of tartan fabric. Even the MacPhersons did not say this.

Checkered fabric has been known in Scotland since the 16th century, when it began to be brought to the mountains from Flanders through the Scottish valleys, but kilts only came into use after 1707 and were invented by an Englishman. Until the 18th century, the Scottish Highlanders were practically no different from their Irish neighbors - long shirts, short trousers, the richer ones wore plaids and long narrow trousers (trews) made of tartan. Since the 17th century, when cultural connections between the two related regions began to weaken, long shirts were replaced by costumes from the Scottish valleys - shirt, trousers and (for the rich) doublet.

However, checkered plaids not only did not disappear, but also began to be widely used by Scottish soldiers during the civil wars of the mid-17th century as cheap outerwear - the plaid was wrapped around the waist, the rest of the fabric was thrown over the shoulder, and in case of bad weather they were simply wrapped up to the neck. It was this way of wearing a plaid (wrapped around the waistband around the pants and thrown over the shoulder) that was originally called a “kilt.” It was only in the late 1720s that the kilt became a kilt - at the initiative of Thomas Rawlinson from Lancashire.

The Rawlinsons were a fairly well-known Quaker family in Lancashire, involved in the steelmaking industry. In the 1720s, experiencing difficulties in supplying coal to his smelters, Thomas Rawlinson turned his attention to Scotland, where, thanks to the country's resources, it was possible to establish smelting production. Therefore, in 1727, Rawlinson leased the forest lands of Ian MacDonald of Glengarry for 20 years, and set up steelmaking on the site, using raw materials from Lancashire (i.e., not coal went to the south, but ore to the north). The enterprise was not successful and was folded after 7 years. In any case, the idea for creating a kilt came to Rawlinson's head while visiting the smelting shops where Scots wrapped in blankets worked. Observing a rather awkward suit (for such a dress is quite uncomfortable in a hot workshop), Rawlinson decided to increase productivity by detaching part of the plaid and leaving it on the belt, but as a skirt - thus, upper part the torso was not shackled with a blanket. The experiment was a success - the local garrison sewed skirts from plaids (the tailor was probably quite surprised by such a strange order), which the workers liked. Thus, the legendary skirt was born from workwear for steelworkers, created by an Englishman to increase productivity, and quickly spread throughout Scotland. So quickly that after the Jacobite uprising of 1745, the kilt was among the items of clothing that were prohibited from being worn (thus the British government decided to humiliate the Highlanders). The ban on wearing kilts, tight pants, belt bags, tartan items, etc., hit the local culture so hard that 10 years after the ban, neither tartan nor a kilt, nothing, could be found anywhere. Kilts appeared in the life of Scotland as a local semi-holy symbol such as embroidery for two reasons.

The first reason was the fascination of the local intelligentsia with the concepts of “noble savages”, especially since the noble savage (highlander) was now tamed, moreover, he was threatening to disappear, which the local elites could not allow. We'll talk about this movement a little later.
The second reason was the use of kilts by the Scottish regiments of the British Army. After the suppression of the uprising of 1745 and the ban on wearing “highland” clothing, a special exception was made for soldiers of the Scottish regiments (primarily the 42nd and 43rd infantry regiments) - they, as loyal and brave highland soldiers, could wear Scottish clothing. The soldiers who initially wore plaids did not fail to take advantage of the idea of ​​​​wearing a kilt, and thus, during the time of general disappearance, the kilt was preserved and received a certain fame as a distinguishing feature in the glorious Scottish regiments.

Moreover, it is possible that the “tartan” system, i.e. identification of a particular clan by a special fabric pattern was born precisely in the Scottish regiments to allocate battalions. However, we will talk about tartans next time.

Part 2 - From kilt to tartan

In the mid-18th century, the kilt-skirt, banned soon after its introduction at historical cost, became a symbol of either the military or hidden Jacobites (or their relatives), while at the same time it did not take root in Scottish society, not only because the Highlanders in Scotland they made up a small (and also constantly decreasing) and not very respected part of the population, but also because for the highlanders themselves the kilt was an innovation. However, in the second half of the century the situation changed.

In 1778, the Highland Society was formed in London with the aim of preserving and promoting ancient Scottish traditions. Despite the fact that the society included large number Scottish aristocrats, led by Temple lawyer John Mackenzie. Both of the aforementioned Macphersons were members of the society, one of whom “discovered” the texts of Ossian in Gaelic, after which John Mackenzie handed over the texts for editing and publication (in 1807) to the historian John Sinclair. Thus, the society fought “for the revival of the ancient Gaelic language.”

The second area of ​​activity of the society was the struggle to lift the ban on wearing Highlander clothing in Scotland. For this purpose, members of society are completely legally(since they were in London, and not Scotland) they assembled: in such clothes as were famous for being the dress of their Celtic ancestors, and on such occasions they were to read ancient poetry and explore the interesting customs of their country. But even then, the kilt-skirt was not among the items of clothing that members of the society were obliged to wear - such items included only tight trousers and the belted blanket discussed earlier. In 1782, the society, through the Marquis of Graham, was able to lobby Parliament for the lifting of the ban on wearing “highland dress,” which the Scottish intelligentsia was extremely happy about. However, there were also cooler minds, for example, one of the greatest Scottish antiquaries, John Pinkerton, was skeptical about kilts - in his opinion, these were the most perfect innovations, along with tartans.

John Sinclair, the historian of the Highland Society, also did not become a supporter of the idea of ​​kilts - when in 1794 he organized the squads of Rothesay and Caithnes for service during the war with France, he, having tried to dress his charges as “Scotlandish” as possible, did not wear soldiers in kilts, but chose tight tartan trousers. The following year, Sinclair turned to Pinkerton for advice on what to wear. Pinkerton gave a number of arguments as to why plaid should not be worn, pointed out that tartans and kilts are generally a remake, and advised staying true to tight pants. True, Mr. Pinkerton especially noted about Sir Sinclair’s tartan - it’s very pretty, and that’s the main thing.

In 1804, the British War Office, apparently trying to unify the uniform, abolished the wearing of kilts as a uniform item, introducing instead the wearing of tight checkered trousers (i.e., without abandoning the Scottish flavor). This step aroused the indignation of some officers, who believed that military traditions should not be changed in such a way. Some, in the heat of the moment, provided a “historical basis” for their indignation - this is what David Stewart did, for example. This ardent opponent of the abolition of the kilt justified his opinion by citing public opinion that plaids and kilts were part of the " national costume» Scottish Highlanders for many, many years. True, Stewart's critics were ironic about his statements, asking how a man who, from the age of 16, had been in the army far from his home, and who had not seen Scotland for decades, could appeal to the opinion of the highlanders.

In any case, Colonel Stewart, apparently wanting to more thoroughly substantiate his position, after 1815 began to explore sources on the clothing of the highlanders - it was impossible to admit the idea that the kilt was invented by an Englishman. The result of his research was the book “Essays on the Manners, Character and Present Position of the Highlanders of Scotland,” published in 1822, which then became the main work for lovers of mountain clans for many years. The book, however, did not substantiate in any way the traditions of wearing kilts and tartans for clans.

At the same time, in 1820, Colonel Stewart founded the Edinburgh Celtic Society for Young People, whose task was to “promote the general use of ancient Highland dress in the Highlands.” Sir Walter Scott was elected president of the society, and things started to get going - young Scottish aristocrats and intellectuals joyfully held gatherings, drinking parties, processions, and all this in kilts. Walter Scott himself was not inspired by the idea, and continued to wear tight Scottish trousers during events.

The year of the kilt’s triumph can easily be called 1822, the year of the state visit of King George IV to Scotland, the first visit of the monarch of the Hanoverian dynasty. In order to meet the king with dignity, a committee was created to organize the celebrations, the head of which was Walter Scott. His assistant in some of the ceremonies was... Colonel Stewart. It is not surprising that to guard the king, conduct parades, ceremonies and other events, the organizers chose mainly kilt lovers, “dressed in proper costume.” Walter Scott himself appealed to local aristocrats to come to Edinburgh with something like a “retinue”, i.e. the visit turned into some kind of medieval event with carnival costumes and a fake entourage.

But it wasn’t just the kilts that became the “highlight” of the visit. In 1819, when discussions about a future visit began, talk began that “each clan will need to distinguish itself,” including with tartan (before this, clans did not have “their own” pattern; uniformity in any clan could achieve, for example, by purchasing a large batch of fabric for sewing clothes. In any case, the aristocrats valued more colorful fabric, regardless of the pattern; it happened that one person had clothes made from fabric with completely different patterns). Such talk was largely inspired by Scottish woolen manufacturers, who realized that with the visit and mass tailoring, they could earn extra pounds on "exclusivity". Thus, the Wilson and Son company from Bannockburn, the largest manufacturer of woolen fabric in Scotland, began a joint project with the London Highland Society - in 1819, the company sent a catalog of its fabrics to London, and the society distributed the fabrics among clans and confirmed that this or that pattern is the pattern of a specific clan. As soon as the visit was confirmed, the Scottish aristocracy was gripped by real hysteria - good fabrics with “their own patterns” were sold out so quickly that tartans began to be distributed without any system - just to fuel demand. Thus, the MacPherson clan (heirs of James MacPherson, mentioned above) received as a “clan tartan” a pattern that had previously been used in fabrics supplied to the West Indies for sewing clothing for slaves.

As a result of such vigorous activity, “valley” Edinburgh met King George, dressed in the semi-fantastic clothes of the Highlanders, who, according to his son-in-law Walter Scott, were previously considered thieves and robbers by 9 out of 10 Scots. But the celebration of the king’s arrival was a success - George himself, who fell under the spell of Walter Scott, seemed to be spellbound by the way he, “practically a Stuart and heir to the legitimate rulers of Scotland,” was greeted in Edinburgh by the feudal squads. He dressed in a kilt specially tailored for the occasion with a special “royal Stuart” tartan (the kilt was sewn by the English, by the firm George Hunter and Co. in London, for the entire suit he had to pay more than 1,300 pounds at the prices of that time), and walked, accompanied everywhere by a whole retinue - from event to event, following the script of a huge play developed by Scott with the help of William Henry Murray, a local playwright from Scott's circle of friends. The culmination was a ball given by the Scottish nobility in honor of the king.

The organizers (Scott and co.) strongly recommended coming to the ball in “highlander dress” or uniform, since the king himself had to appear at the ball in a kilt. And so, Edinburgh gentlemen began to look for their Highland roots in order to choose a tartan and sew a kilt. The shortage of kilts was so great in those days that some had to borrow kilts from the military from the Scottish regiments stationed around Edinburgh. The king's visit sparked widespread interest in "ancient dress" and "clan tartans", and also began to create a single image of the Scots, without a real division into Highlanders and Lowlanders. A new mass national identity was emerging. It was now a matter of universal dissemination of the image of the “Scotsman”.

Part 3 - People Work

Despite the fact that Edinburgh was gripped by “tartan fever” in 1822, the true creators of the concept of “Scottish clan tartans” were the Allen brothers.

The grandchildren of British Admiral John Carter Allen, John and Charles, appeared out of nowhere in the tartan story, but they appeared at the right time - between 1819 and 1822. At that time, in anticipation of George IV's trip to Scotland, the firm of Wilson and Son was manufacturing clothes for greeters, and planned to publish a catalog of “clans tartans.” The brothers apparently grabbed the idea, but implemented it independently and many years later. Before that, they traveled around Europe dressed in extravagant “highlander dress”, which amazed continental residents, and at the same time changed their surnames - first to the “more Scottish” Allan, then to Hay Allan, and finally to Hay. At the same time, the brothers began to “confide” about their noble origins - they were descendants of the Hay family, Earls of Errol. In truth, this could be true, because some people associated their grandfather with this surname, but there was no evidence of the connection.

Returning to Scotland, the brothers were able to attract the attention of the local nobility - partly by their behavior, partly by hints of connections and origin. The patrons who were infatuated with them granted them the right to hunt and live on their estates, and to one of these patrons, Sir Thomas Lauder, the brothers confessed that they had in their possession an ancient document that had once belonged to John Leslie, Bishop of Ross, and which was subsequently transferred to to their father Charles Edward Stuart himself (the last of the Stuart claimants to the British throne). This document, Vestiarium Scoticum, contained descriptions of clan tartans. But not just highland clans, this document contained tartans of valley clans - absolutely incredible news! The original, however, is in London, the brothers immediately added, but they have a copy in their hands, which must be published in order to correct errors in the existing tartans.

Such news was simply stunning - especially for the valley aristocrats, some of whom could happily jump at the opportunity to “be inspired by the history of the glorious clan.” But still, the sensation needed confirmation - therefore, they turned to Walter Scott for help, who, however, turned out to be very, very skeptical, indicating that such a dubious document should be checked in London, by specialists from the British Museum. Sir Thomas agreed with this approach, but the brothers provided him with a letter “from their father”, with a complete refusal to provide the document, in the margins of which some private information was written that was not subject to publicity. In addition, it was written in the letter that Walter Scott is not an authority at all, there is no point in asking his permission. The idea did not gain momentum, because it clearly smacked of a scam, and the brothers hastily retired to the north of Scotland, under the wing of a new patron, Lord Lovat.

There the brothers converted to Catholicism and “threw off their masks”, calling themselves the Sobieski-Stuart brothers (Sobieski - after the surname of their great-great-great-grandmother, Stuart - after the surname of their great-great-grandfather), John and Charles. Having received a villa from Lord Lovat, the brothers created a small courtyard, called themselves princes, constantly hinted at “secret documents,” and at the same time worked on a new project.

In 1842, edited by the brothers, a richly illustrated publication, Vestiarium Scoticum, was published in a small edition. The document itself, which had changed significantly since the “original” was first found, was accompanied by a preface that proved that it was an authentic document - but all references to other copies of the document that “confirmed everything” usually ended with sighs at the fact that such copies simply disappeared – burned, were stolen or simply evaporated. Despite the fact that the publication did not gain much popularity (partly due to its meager circulation), the brothers continued to work. Two years later they published the tome “Costume of the Clans”, in which they continued the line of Vestiarium Scoticum. The new book contained not only rich illustrations, but also a theoretical part, in which the authors talked about how the clothes of the highlanders and their tartans were ancient attire, which at one time all of Europe wore. However, this time too, references to sources raised doubts about the scientific nature of the book - a long series of disappeared manuscripts, or documents that were only in the hands of the Sobieski-Stewart brothers, references to the Vestiarium Scoticum as an authentic document, etc. As a result, the new book did not even become an object of criticism. The brothers continued their work.

The new book caused a stormy reaction, but not the one the brothers expected. The volume of “History of the Century”, published by the brothers, became the reason for the rapid decline of the brothers’ popularity. In “Stories” the brothers decided to move away from the usual description of “ancient highland costumes” and wrote, in fact, a saga about themselves - the descendants of the Stuart dynasty. Considering that the brothers, out of habit, relied on “burnt manuscripts”, criticism left no stone unturned on the “History”, and besides, now it was about politics - contenders for the throne are not announced every day. One cannot even imagine how quickly the brothers became outcasts - in any case, all their patrons turned away from them, sources of funding disappeared, and staying in Scotland became extremely undesirable (a little later we will talk about how the Sobieski-Stewart adventures ended).

However, one thing remained after the brothers - the tartan designs contained in the Vestiarium Scoticum were borrowed unchanged by the London Highland Society. The basis for popularization “among the people” had been created; all that was left was to retell Vestiarium Scoticum so that they would “believe it.”

Part 4 - Securing the image

Despite the fact that Vestiarium Scoticum was never able to gain any value in the eyes of the scientific community, this book has not disappeared from the pages of history. On the contrary, events took a rather predictable turn - the book became the basis for the popularization of tartans among the general public. The London Highland Society began to popularize it, hiring another interesting couple to carry out the work - James Logan and Robert Macian.

James Logan, an Aberdeener, was a great lover of his homeland and its history, even in its mythologized form. In 1831, he published the book “The Scottish Gael”, in which he explained his point of view on what was happening. By analogy with today's lovers of talking about ancient times, Logan set out “the whole truth” about ancient kilts, tartans and other Scottish antiquities, promising readers to continue their research about tartans. For such work, he was elected president of the London Highland Society and began to work. At the same time, Logan was an agent for the Wilson and Son company, so his research took on a somewhat specific tone, taking into account the fact that this largest Scottish company for the production of woolen fabrics appeared wherever tartans were discussed. Logan worked on a work on tartans with his friend, Robert Ronald Makian, an artist.

The result of the work was the book “Clans of the Scottish Highlands”, published in 1843 (a year after the publication of Vestiarium Scoticum), decorated with 72 illustrations in which Makian tried, using his imagination, to show how to wear tartan. The fact that the book contained gratitude to the Sobieski-Stewart brothers “for their excellent work” indicated that Logan studied the brothers’ work, especially since he simply “borrowed” some of the tartan designs from Vestiarium Scoticum. It is also known that the company Wilson and Son, which “worked” with Sobieski-Stewart, “corrected” Logan while writing his book. Fortunately for Logan, the Sobieski-Stewart brothers were discredited, and his book remained the only published and undiscredited source of information about tartans in the eyes of the public.

So, by the 1850s, ideas had developed about what the Scots should look like. In the 1850s, when the “Scottish theme” reached the royal court and gained a foothold there, works intended for the general reader began to be published - three works were published in 1850 alone. All of them were based on two sources - Logan’s book and Vestiarium Scoticum (which was used without mention, simply borrowing pictures and descriptions from there).

Today, tartans and kilts (as well as bagpipes and a Glengarry cap, the “traditionality” of which we will not describe) are the “calling card” of the Scots, perceived as the ancient traditional attire of the Scottish people. Gift shops in Scotland are filled with kilts and tartans, quite a lot of Scots continue to wear “ancestral clothes” and more more dresses in “the tartans of his clan” on holidays, and the number of tartans is constantly increasing with the emergence of new surnames, clans and groups. And, despite the fact that the history of these “clothing” traditions is not what they imagine it to be, people are happy, “and that’s the main thing.” The heirs to the Wilson & Son business, such as the Sikh Singh family, which runs 25 stores in Scotland selling traditional Scottish clothing, are especially happy.

With this, let me finish the story about the valiant Scots.

This series of notes is based on Sir Hugh Trevor Roper's article "The Invention of Tradition: The Highland Tradition of Scotland", in The Invention of Tradition, edited by Eric Hobsbawm, first published in 1989.

This version, however, has opponents (the Scots and their descendants in the USA, mainly) who argue that the kilt skirt appeared in the late 17th - early 18th centuries before Rawlinson's ideas. However, they provide no evidence for such assertions.

When we say Scotland, we mean clans. We say clans - we mean tanks! Scotland. But it’s hard to name at least a dozen of the most famous?..

Top 10 clans of the Highlands of Scotland

1. Stuart (Stiùbhairt). “Royal clan”, since from it came the kings of Scotland, starting with Robert II, who also ruled England, Wales and Ireland in the 17th century. However, it was founded not by a Scot at all, but by a native of Brittany (or Normandy - data is scarce) Alan Fitz-Flood, who settled with the knights of Guillaume the Bastard in England. His son Walter Fitz-Alan moved to Scotland and became the first High Steward of Scotland. This position turned into the clan's surname. And the son of the 6th Steward-Stuart became King Robert II. In addition to the fact that the Stuarts owned the crown of Scotland and England, they laid claim to it for another hundred years (“Jacobites”). In general, since the 14th century, the history of the Stuarts is the history of Scotland...

2. MacDonald (MacDhòmhnaill). The largest fast food clan in the world is in Scotland. By origin - again not Scottish, but Scandinavian - the MacDonalds are descendants of the Vikings, who at one time captured the Hebrides, but were finally “Oscottinized”. They held the title of first “King of the Isles”, then “Lord of the Isles”, and everything in the west of Scotland breathed and moved only with their permission. And until the Jacobite rebellion in 1745, the MacDoald leaders were involved in almost every scandal that shook the kingdom. This clan also holds the record for the number of septs, branches that have turned into semi-independent “mini-clans” (Beaton, Bowie, Hutchinson, Patton, etc.).

3. Campbell, Caim Beul. Most likely the second (or third) largest clan in the Highlands, and certainly the second most influential, the head of the Campbells, the Earl (later Marquess, and still later Duke) of Argyll was the "uncrowned king" of the Southern Highlands from the 17th century. As for their origin, “everything is unclear” - either the Normans, or the Irish, or “natural Scots”, and there is even a legend about a Scotsman who fled from the tyranny of MacBeth to Normandy, and then returned to the homeland of his ancestors... The Campbells went up the hill after their leader Neil supported Robert the Bruce and married his sister. True, among the highlanders the Campbells have always enjoyed a reputation as evil, treacherous and treacherous people - for example, because of the “Glencoe massacre”.

4. Mackenzie (Mac Coinnich). MacDonalds in the West, Campbells in the South, MacKenzies in the North. A powerful clan, with a lot of branches and septs (for example, Cluny), kept the entire north of the Scottish Highlands “under supervision.” By origin they are either Scandinavians or Celts. People from this clan became especially famous as soldiers - three famous infantry regiments were recruited from them (Highlander Light, Seaforth Highlanders and Rossshire). And during the Jacobite uprisings, the MacKenzies very far-sightedly and prudently divided themselves into “ours and yours,” ensuring “relative survival” for themselves during the “Georgian Terror.”

5. Gordon (Gordanach). An “unconditionally Norman” clan that settled in Scotland quite late, under King David I. They settled in the north (closer to the northeast) and became “men of the crown,” a support against the dangerous and violent clans of the Highlands. The head of the clan bore the title of Earl (later Marquess) of Huntly (and later Duke of Gordon). The situation changed after the Reformation - the Huntly family remained Catholic, and therefore quickly turned into the main troublemakers and Jacobites in the north of the country. Well, yes - the poet George Gordon Byron was a descendant of this clan on his mother’s side.

6. Hamilton, aka Hamilton (Hamilton). Purebred “Sassenach occupiers” are Englishmen who moved to Lowland in the 14th century (and therefore do not have a Gaelic version of the surname), “crept into the Highlanders” in the 16th century, when one of the Hamiltons, the son of the daughter of King James II, received the Earldom of Arran on the same name island. They became regents of the kingdom many times, and a couple of times they even tried to become kings. In the end, he had to be content with the title of Duke of Hamilton. What is characteristic is that the clan launched an equally influential branch in Sweden, where the Hamiltons became one of the highest aristocracy. But the Russian nobles Khomutov did not reach great heights...

7. Cameron (Cam-shròn). A large and strong clan from the East of the Highlands, actively involved in all the "showdowns" of the Scottish highlanders, known for more than 300 years of enmity with the confederation of the clans of Hattan and MacIntosh (McIntosh). The most famous representative of the clan is the 17th century Protestant preacher Richard Cameron, the leader of the militant sect of the Cameronians, from which the famous Cameron Regiment was recruited - one of the first regular ones in Great Britain and the first in Scotland, which always remained loyal to the English government in rebellions and became famous in many wars . And yes, “Director-Terminator-Titanic-Avatar” - he’s also one of the Camerons.

8. Grant (Grannd). According to one theory, the ancestors of the Grants are the Normans who sailed with the Bastard, but the Grants themselves do not like it and insist that they descended from the MacGregors (who, in turn, from the MacAlpins, kings of Dal Riada and the Picts). In various rebellions since the 17th century, the Grants adhered to the “legal line” - they supported Montrose for King Charles I, and then were against the Jacobites for the Hanoverian dynasty. True, the most famous Grant turned out to be the one who was completely invented by the Frenchman Verne - Captain Grant, or rather, his children... Although one of the Grants' descendants, Ulysses Simpson Grant, became a famous American general and even the President of the United States.

9. Murray, aka Murray (Murray, Mhuirich). The ancestor of the Murrays was the brave knight Freskin - either a descendant of the Picts, or (more likely) a native of Flanders, who again sailed to Albion with Guillaume the Bastard. He inherited the old Pictish county of Moray (where the Mormares still ruled in “immemorial times”), with whose women the “McFreskins” became related and took their family name, slightly distorted, but not immediately - the hero of the War of Scottish Independence, who won the Battle of Stirling- bridge (and not that Mel Gipson of yours! William Wallace), there was still Andrew Moray, but his son has already become Andrew Murray. Well, yes - the Jacobites at Culloden were commanded by George Murray...

10. MacGregor (MacGrioghair). The most "wild" and "bandit" clan in Scotland, and here's why. Claiming descent from Kenneth I McAlpin himself, the king of the Scots and Picts, by the beginning of the 17th century the MacGregors distinguished themselves by their violence and bloodthirstiness, rare even for the highlands, noting several massacres of prisoners, etc. things. So, “at the request of the neighbors,” King James VI (aka James I in England, but a little later) officially “destroyed” the MacGregor clan - they were forbidden to have a leader, coat of arms, and even a surname, and they themselves and their lands were divided between neighboring clans . Therefore, in fact, the most famous of the McGregors - Rob Roy ("Red") McGregor - was officially listed as Robin Campbell according to documents. Because of such “desperation,” there were especially many bandits and “noble robbers” among the MacGregors, and they ardently supported the Jacobites. The royal ban was lifted only in 1774.