MacGregor vs. Drummond

In 1589 John Drummond-Ernoch was a royal forester in the forest of Glenarty, Scotland.  He was responsible for policing the forest and as part of his occupation, he came in contact with a group of MacGregors known as the MacEagh, or “Children of the Mist”.  His various run ins with this group led to several hangings of the MacEagh’s due to infractions or crimes taking place in Glenarty Forest.  This small band of young MacGregors became fed up with John Drummond-Ernoch and ambushed him while he was attending to his duties.  They cut off his head, wrapped it in a plaid and carried it off as a trophy.  The group then made its way to the House of Ardvoirlich and demanded hospitality from the lady of the house, Margaret, who happened to be John Drummond-Ernoch’s pregnant sister.  Too afraid to refused she went to the kitchen to prepare a meal for the MacGregor men.  While she was gone they placed her brother’s head upon the table and filled the mouth with bread and in jest, encouraged it to eat.  When the lady of the house returned she shreaked in horror and fled to the woods.  Tradition states that she wandered the woods for several weeks as a raving maniac until her husband, Laird Alexander Stewart, was able to find  her and coax her home.  The band of MacGregor’s left Ardvoirlich House and took the head to the Old Church in Balquhidder where they presented it to the Chief and their Clansmen.  Each Clansmen took a turn approaching the head, putting their hands on it and swearing an oath to protect the men who had slain John Drummond-Ernoch.

In May of 1590, James the Sixth and his wife, Anne of Denmark, were scheduled to arrive in Scotland where she would be crowned Queen in Edinbourgh.  To prepare, the Scottish authorities decided it was important to crack down on lawless clans.  One of these targets was the MacGregor’s in Balquhidder.  Lord Drummond of Perth, who was seeking revenge for the murder of his cousin Eirnich, accepted a denunciation of fire and sword against the clan MacGregor from James and his council.  Drummond wasted no time in planning his attack against the MacGregors.  He was able to enlisted the help of Stewart of Ardvoirlich who was also eager to avenge the death of his brother-in-law and the distress of his wife.  The Drummonds descended upon the MacGregors with what one historian claims was an “insatiable thirst”, in one instance the Drummond’s butchered thirty seven defenseless MacGregor’s on one farm alone.  Any captured MacGregors were tried on the spot and executed.   This led to a series of events over the next hundred and fifty years that made the MacGregors the most hunted clan in Scottish history.

James Stewart, Margaret Stewart’s son and John Drummond-Ernoch’s nephew, grew up to become an extremely well connected nobleman within the Scottish Court.  James harboured a resentment against the MacGregor Clan and used his influence to ensure that the MacGregors remained outlawed in Scotland.  The hatred became so bitter that upon James Stewart’s death a band of MacGregors attempted to intercept his funeral procession to cut off his head.