Battle of Harlaw
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The Battle of Harlaw was fought near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire on 24 July, 1411. Donald, Lord of the Isles (Macdonald) and his invading Highlanders engaged an army of Lowlanders commanded by the Earl of Mar.
The battle had been the result of the attempts by the Lord of the Isles to pursue his claim to the Earldom of Ross. Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, then Regent and Governor of Scotland, had challenged Donald to fight for it. It was a fiercely fought and bloody encounter (hence its traditional designation, Red Harlaw). It was essentially a draw, though both sides thought they had lost, such were the losses (around 900 Highlanders and 500 Lowlanders). Later generations would claim victory for one side or the other, but the political consequences of the battle are undisputed.
Given also that the two opposing forces represented the two cultures which existed (exist) in Scotland, Highland (Gaelic, Celtic) and Lowland, the battle has often been viewed (cf. Walter Scott and others) as an expression of the mutual antipathy between the two cultures, and also as a struggle for supremacy. These may or may not be exaggerated views of the significance of the battle. Had Donald's forces won, Scotland's history would certainly have been different. In the event, however, it did represent a dramatic end to the possibility of Gaeldom's chances of expanding its influence beyond the Highlands.
Professor Child collected and published a ballad The Battle of Harlaw that remembers this event (Child Ballad 163).
See: W.C. Mackenzie, History of the Outer Hebrides (Paisley : Alexander Gardner, 1903 (or 1974 reprint)), p. 85-91
See also
William Mackay, Battle of Harlaw : its true place in history (Inverness : Northern Chronicle, 1922); Anon., Two old historical Scots poems, giving an account of the battles of Harlaw, and the Reid-Squair (Glasgow, 1748); Charles Dawson, Don poem, ... giving an account of the ancient families, castles, and curiosities on Don and its branches, with a full account of the battles of Harlaw, Brechin, Alford, &c (Aberdeen, 1797 and later eds.). N.B. These have not been viewed. The references are taken from the catalogue of the [National Library of Scotland (http://www.nls.uk)]. See also modern published histories of Scotland (and references therein) for accounts of the battle and its significance.External websites
- http://www.clandonald.org.uk/cdm08a09.htm
- http://www.clan-cameron.org/battles/1411.html
- http://www.royal-stuarts.org/harlaw.html which reproduces an account of the battle which appeared in vol. 2 of John Hill Burton's History of Scotland from Agricola's invasion to the Revolution of 1688 (Edinburgh, 1870)
- http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/leitrim/147/battles.html#harlaw
- http://www.gunnclan.net/midi/harlaw.htm