The Battle of Tarbat, 1480

The Battle of Tarbat was a violent clash between two Scottish clans, the Clan Ross and the Clan Mackay, that took place on the Tarbat peninsula in Easter Ross in the 1480s. The exact date of the battle is unknown, but it is believed to have occurred sometime in the 1480s, before the Battle of Aldy Charrish, which took place in 1487 or 1486.

The battle was likely the result of a longstanding feud between the two clans over disputed lands in the region. According to some accounts, the Clan Ross had made “predatory incursions” into Mackay territory, while others claim that the Mackays were the aggressors and had “often molested” the lands of the Rosses with raids and invasions. Whatever the case, tensions between the two clans were high, and it eventually led to open warfare.

The battle itself began when the Rosses encountered a raiding party of Mackays on the Tarbat peninsula. The Rosses “fiercely attacked” the Mackays and killed many of them. Some of the surviving Mackays sought refuge in the Tarbat church, but the Rosses set the church on fire, killing all inside. According to some accounts, Angus Roy MacKay, the leader of the Mackays, was among those killed in the battle.

The battle ended with a decisive victory for the Clan Ross, but it did not mark the end of the feud between the two clans. The Mackays took revenge for the outrage at Tarbat in the subsequent Battle of Aldy Charrish, which took place a year or two later. It is not clear who emerged victorious in this second battle, but it is likely that both sides suffered heavy losses.

The Battle of Tarbat was just one example of the violent and tumultuous history of clan warfare in Scotland during the Middle Ages. Such conflicts were common in this period, as clans struggled for power and territory in a largely lawless and anarchic society. The use of fire as a weapon in the battle, particularly the burning of the Tarbat church with the Mackays inside, was a particularly brutal and heinous act that would have been met with horror and outrage by contemporary observers.