Lachlan Bronneach Maclean

Lachlan Bronnach MacLean, was the 7th Chief of Clan MacLean.

Biography

Lachlan, seventh chief of MacLean, received the sobriquet of "Bronnach", or swag-bellied, on account of his corpulence. He was with his father on the fatal field of Harlaw, where he was made prisoner by Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar. During his captivity, he became acquainted with the earl's daughter, the Lady Margaret, whom he afterward married. According to some accounts his estates were managed by his uncle John Maclean during his captivity, while others state it was his brother, John Dubh Maclean. This confusion results from the names of the two being the same. It is not probable that he remained in confinement for any considerable length of time. He did not possess the same war-like character that distinguished his father. He appears neither to have sought, nor avoided war, but was ready for action when the time arrived. His name, however, does not come prominently forward until the year 1427, when a useless war was brought on through the treachery of King James I. This monarch summoned a parliament to meet him at Inverness, in 1427, at which the Highland chiefs were invited to attend. As the chiefs entered the hall in which parliament was assembled, each was immediately arrested and placed in irons in different parts of the building, not one being permitted to communicate with any of the others. Among the number was Alexander MacDonald, 3rd Lord of the Isles, and his mother, the Countess of Ross. Some of the chiefs were immediately beheaded, and the rest sent to various prisons, where after a time some were liberated, and the rest put to death. On his liberation, the young Lord of the Isles set about to avenge this unparalleled outrage, for he keenly felt the indignity of his imprisonment. In 1429, he summoned all his vassals in Ross and the Isles, and advanced against the town of Inverness, which he burnt to the ground, besides wasting the crown lands, in revenge for the treacherous treatment he had received there two years before from the king. King James I immediately placed himself at the head of a large army, and came upon Alexander unexpectedly. The Clan Cameron and Clan Chattan deserted the island lord, who was immediately attacked and defeated. Alexander was forced to surrender unconditionally, when he was imprisoned in Tantallon Castle, and his mother confined in Inchcolm, in the Firth of Forth. Along with him we find in prison Lachlan MacLean and other chieftains.^[1]

Marriage and children

Before marriage he had a child with the daughter of MacLean of Kingerloch:

• Donald Maclean, 1st Laird of Ardgour sometimes called Mac-Mhic-Eachainn Chinnghearloch. He was born out of wedlock and brought up among his mother's people.^[1]

By his first wife, Margaret, daughter of the Earl of Mar, possibly Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar, he had:

• Lachlan Og Maclean, his heir and successor as 8th Clan Chief.

By his second wife, Fionnaghal, daughter of William MacLeod of Harris, he had two sons:

• Neil Maclean of Ross
• John Garbh Maclean, 1st Laird of Coll

References

 This article incorporates text from A history of the clan Mac Lean from its first settlement at Duard Castle, in the Isle of Mull, to the present period: including a genealogical account of some of the principal families together with their heraldry, legends, superstitions, etc, by John Patterson MacLean, a publication from 1889 now in the public domain in the United States.