View source for Battle of Harlaw

{{Short description|1411 Scottish clan battle}}
{{Use Scottish English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Harlaw
| image             = Bennachie from the east.jpg
| caption           = [[Bennachie]] from the east; the battlefield is hidden by the fold of ground in the middle distance
| partof            = the feud between the Clan Donald and the Stewart royal family
| date              = 24 July 1411<ref name=UKBRC>{{cite web|title=Battle of Harlaw|url=http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/medieval/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=64|work=UK Battlefields Resource Centre|publisher=The Battlefields Trust|access-date=26 January 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101212164837/http://battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/medieval/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=64| archive-date= 12 December 2010 | url-status= live|mode=cs2}}</ref>
| place             = North of [[Inverurie]], Scotland
| coordinates       = {{gbmapping|NJ75182422}}<ref name="RCAHMS">{{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=PLA |num=18934 |num2=NJ72SE 6 |desc=Harlaw|mode=cs2 |access-date=2 July 2025}}</ref><br />{{coord|57|18|29|N|2|24|43|W|type:event_region:GB-ABD|display=title}}
| map_type          = Scotland
| map_relief        = 1
| result            = Tactical draw<br />
Both sides claim victory
| combatant1        = [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scottish Crown]] ([[Scottish Lowlands|Lowland]] clans loyal to the [[Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany|Duke of Albany]])
| combatant2        = [[Lordship of the Isles]] ([[Scottish Highlands|Highland]] clans)
| commander1        = [[Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar]]<br>[[Robert Davidson, Provost of Aberdeen|Provost of Aberdeen]]{{KIA}}<br>Sir James Scrymgeour, [[Bearer of the Royal Banner|Constable of Dundee]]{{KIA}}<br>Sir Alexander Ogilvie, [[Sheriff of Angus]]{{KIA}}
| commander2        = [[Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles]]<br>[[Red Hector of the Battles Maclean|Hector MacLean]]{{KIA}}<br>[[Malcolm Beg Mackintosh, 10th of Mackintosh|Callum Beg Macintosh]]<br>[[John Mór Tanister]]
| strength1         = Several thousand <!-- please do not change, these are the Battlefield Trust numbers per reference in text -->
| strength2         = Fewer than 10,000 <!--ditto -->
| casualties1       = 600 killed <!--ditto -->
| casualties2       = 900 killed <!--ditto -->
| notes             = {{Infobox designation list
|embed = yes
| designation1            = UK Registered Battlefields 
| designation1_date       = 21 March 2011
| designation1_number     = {{Historic Environment Scotland|num=BTL11|short=yes}}
}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Clan Donald and Stewart royal family wars}}

The '''Battle of Harlaw''' ({{langx|gd|Cath Gairbheach}}) was a [[Scottish clan]] battle fought on 24 July 1411 just north of [[Inverurie]] in [[Aberdeenshire (traditional)|Aberdeenshire]]. It was one of a series of battles fought during the [[Middle Ages]] between the [[baron]]s of northeast Scotland and those from the west coast.

The battle was part of a series of battles fought to resolve competing claims to the [[Earldom of Ross]], a large region of northern Scotland. [[Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany]], [[Regent]] of Scotland, had taken control of the earldom ostensibly as guardian of his granddaughter [[Euphemia II, Countess of Ross|Euphemia Leslie]], but in truth, though [[Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles]], had the superior claim, Albany wanted Ross for his younger son, John. Donald, Lord of the Isles, had married Euphemia's aunt [[Mariota, Countess of Ross|Mariota]]. Donald therefore invaded [[Ross, Scotland|Ross]] with the intention of seizing the earldom by force and preventing Albany from taking all of Scotland.

The nearest contemporary record of the battle is found in the Irish [[Annals of Connacht]], where under the year 1411, it is stated, "Mac Domnaill of Scotland won a great victory over the Galls of Scotland".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/59818159/Boardman_chapter.pdf |title=Commemorating the Battle of Harlaw (1411) in Fifteenth-Century Scotland |website=pure.ed.ac.uk |page=5 |access-date=October 12, 2024|mode=cs2}}</ref> The 2011 article by Iain G. MacDonald, "Donald of the Isles and the Earldom of Ross: West-Highland Perspectives on the Battle of Harlaw", also cites sources recording the victory.<ref>Iain G. MacDonald, [https://www.academia.edu/1690069/Donald_of_the_Isles_and_the_Earldom_of_Ross_West_Highland_Perspectives_on_the_Battle_of_Harlaw "Donald of the Isles and the Earldom of Ross: West-Highland Perspectives on the Battle of Harlaw"] {{registration required}}.</ref>

==Background==
During the [[Early Middle Ages]], the territory of what later became Scotland was divided between the Gaelic kingdoms of [[Dál Riata]] on the western seaboard and [[Alba]] in the south-east, and [[Pict]]ish kingdoms in the northeast of which [[Fortriu]] was the most important.<ref>Lynch (1992), pp. 39–40</ref> Besides these there were the [[Anglo-Saxon]] Kingdom of [[Bernicia]], later part of [[Northumbria]], and the Brythonic Kingdom of [[Cumbria]].<ref>Lynch (1992), p. 45</ref> [[Viking]] influence increased in the west, with the [[Norse-Gaels]] that became [[Lords of the Isles]] taking control of much of Dál Riata in 1156.<ref>Keay & Keay (1994) pp. 889–890</ref> The [[Gaels]] of Alba acquired [[Britons (historical)|Brythonic]] elements from the conquest of the [[Kingdom of Strathclyde]] in the 11th century and increasingly absorbed Norman-French and Anglo-Saxon culture, influences which also spread to the Pictish areas of the northeast.<ref>Lynch (1992), pp. 47–50</ref> The lands of Fortriu became part of the [[Province of Moray]], which [[Battle of Stracathro|was conquered by Alba in 1130]] and fragmented into territories that were semi-independent of the king in [[Edinburgh]].<ref>Lynch (1992), pp. 48, 58–68</ref>
 
There was a long history of conflicts between the Moray gentry and the clans of the West Coast, but some historians present Harlaw as a clash between the [[Scottish Highlands]] and [[Scottish Lowlands|Lowlands]], or between Celt and Teuton.<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=u4XSAAAAMAAJ|q=Teuton}} | page=49 | title=The Earldom of Mar: being a sequel to The Province of Mar 1943 | year=1949 | first=William | last= Douglas Simpson | publisher=Aberdeen University Press}}</ref> [[John Hill Burton]] (1809–1881) claimed that in Lowland Scotland Harlaw "was felt as a more memorable deliverance even than that of Bannockburn. What it was to be subject to England the country knew and disliked; to be subdued by their savage enemies of the mountains opened to them sources of terror of unknown character and extent".<ref name="HillBurton">{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=CK0uAAAAMAAJ|p=102}} | page=102 | title=The history of Scotland: from Agricola's invasion to the revolution of 1688 | first=John | last= Hill Burton | author-link=John Hill Burton | publisher =W. Blackwood | year=1867}}</ref> However Sir [[Robert Rait]] (1874–1936) detected no racial antipathy in the two contemporary accounts of the ''[[Scotichronicon]]'' and the Book of Pluscarden,<ref>Rait, p. 14 – all references to Rait refer to page numbers in [{{GBurl|id=uoahDiXRqOwC|p=14}} the Echo Library reprint] of 2007.</ref> and viewed Harlaw not as a conflict between races, but between two groups of Scots of which one spoke [[Scots language|Scots]] and the other Gaelic.<ref>Rait, pp. 20–21</ref> Rait mentions Buchanan's view that it was a raid for plunder.<ref>Rait, p. 24 citing [[George Buchanan]]'s ''Rerum Scoticarum Historia'' Lib. x.</ref>

[[File:Early Medieval Scotland areas.png|thumb|center|Map showing the approximate areas of the kingdom of [[Fortriu]] and neighbours c. 800, and the kingdom of [[Alba]] c. 900]]

==Claims on the Earldom of Ross==
The [[Earldom of Ross]] was a vast territory reaching from [[Skye]] to [[Ross, Scotland|Ross]] and [[Inverness-shire]], with superiority over the outlying lands of [[Nairn]] and [[Aberdeenshire]].<ref>Williams (1997) p. 186</ref> In 1370 [[Uilleam III, Earl of Ross|Uilleam (William), Earl of Ross]] received a charter from King [[David II of Scotland|David II]], confirming his right to the title and directing that in the absence of male heirs, the entirety of the earldom, titles and lands would fall to "the elder daughter always" without division.<ref>{{citation | title= The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 | last=Brown | publisher=St Andrews University | date=2007–2009 | id=1370/10/1 | access-date=30 April 2009 | url= http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1370/10/1|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Uilleam died in 1372 without a male heir, and the title passed to his daughter [[Euphemia I, Countess of Ross|Euphemia]].<ref name="Maidment">{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=gPsVAAAAYAAJ|p=198}} | pages=198–200 | title=Scottish Ballads and Songs, Historical and Traditionary | first=James | last=Maidment | publisher=W. Patterson | year=1868}}</ref> By her first husband Sir [[Walter Leslie]], Euphemia had two children – [[Alexander Leslie, Earl of Ross|Alexander Leslie]] and [[Mariota, Countess of Ross|Mariota]] (anglicised as Margaret or Mary).<ref>Tytler (1845), p. 27</ref> After Walter's death, Euphemia married [[Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan]] (the "Wolf of Badenoch") in 1382,<ref name="Roberts5">Roberts (1999) p. 5.</ref> giving the Stewarts control of the earldom. However, in 1392 the Pope annulled the marriage<ref>{{citation | title= The Early Stewart Kings: Robert II and Robert III, 1371–1406 (Stewart Dynasty in Scotland) | first=Stephen | last=Boardman | publisher=Tuckwell Press | location=East Linton | year=1996 | isbn=978-1-898410-43-0 | page=179}} reprinted by John Donald Short Run Press (2007, {{ISBN|978-1-904607-68-7}}).</ref> and Ross was returned to Euphemia as Countess of Ross. The Wolf of Badenoch had long been living with his mistress [[Mairead inghean Eachainn]] with whom he had a number of children, including [[Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar]].<ref>Barrow, G W S, (1981) ''The Sources for the History of the Highlands in the Middle Ages'' pp. 16–17 in ''The Middle Ages in the Highlands'' ed Lorraine McLean, Inverness Field Club {{ISBN|978-0-9502612-1-8}}</ref> Euphemia died in 1394 and her son Alexander Leslie inherited the title.<ref name="Roberts16">Roberts (1999) p. 16.</ref>

[[Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany]] had taken effective control of mainland Scotland towards the end of the reign of his father [[Robert II of Scotland|Robert II]]; his power increased during the reign (1390–1406) of his ineffective elder brother [[Robert III of Scotland|Robert III]]. Albany's daughter Isabel Stewart married Alexander Leslie before 1398 and their only child was a sickly daughter, also called Euphemia.<ref name="Roberts16" /> According to the Calendar of Fearn, Leslie died on 8 May 1402,<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=0V0BAAAAQAAJ|p=11}} | page=9 | title= Ane breve cronicle of the earlis of Ross: Including Notices of the Abbots of Fearn, and of the Family of Ross of Balnagown. | first1=Earls of | last1=Ross | first2=WR | last2=Baillie | year=1850}}</ref> whilst his daughter was still a minor.<ref name="Roberts16" /> Albany claimed wardship of Euphemia, and planned to take over Ross.<ref name="Roberts16" /> After the capture by the English of Robert III's heir James and Robert's death soon afterwards<ref name="Fritze">{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=INmdwCSkvIgC|p=492}} | page=492 | title=Historical dictionary of late medieval England, 1272–1485 | first1=Ronald H. | last1=Fritze | first2=William | last2=Baxter Robison | publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group | year=2002 | isbn=978-0-313-29124-1}}</ref> in April 1406, Albany was confirmed as regent;<ref name="Anderson">{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=bLQEAAAAIAAJ|p=37}} | pages=37–38 | title=The Scottish nation: or, The surnames, families, literature, honours, and biographical history of the people of Scotland | first=William | last=Anderson | publisher=Fullarton | year=1862}}</ref> Albany continued to govern Scotland until his death in September 1420.<ref name="Fritze" />

Meanwhile, [[Domhnall of Islay, Lord of the Isles|Donald (Domhnall), Lord of the Isles]] claimed the earldom of Ross through his marriage to Euphemia's aunt, Mariota, the oldest living female descendant of Uilleam.<ref name="Maidment" /> He also signed an alliance with [[Henry IV of England]] on 16 September 1405, which was renewed on 8 May 1408.<ref>{{citation | url=https://archive.org/stream/celticmagazinemo05inveuoft/celticmagazinemo05inveuoft_djvu.txt | page=169 | title=History of the Macdonalds and Lords of the Isles | journal=The Celtic Magazine | first=Alexander | last=Mackenzie  | publisher=A. and W. Mackenzie | location=Inverness | year=1880 |volume=V | issue=53}}</ref> 

According to [[William Forbes Skene|Skene]], Euphemia became a [[nun]] before the battle.<ref>{{cite book |last=Skene |first=William Forbes |author-link=William Forbes Skene |year=1837 |title=The Highlanders of Scotland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HZ3rzqel9GEC&q=became+a+nun |volume=2 |location=[[Albemarle Street]], London |publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]] |page=71 |access-date=October 11, 2024|mode=cs2}}</ref>

==Invasion and the preceding Battle of Dingwall==
It took Donald time to ready his assault, but in 1411 he assembled his forces at [[Ardtornish Castle]]<ref name="Lang">{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=3jo36IY_6EAC|p=52}} | pages=52–53 | title=Scotland | first=Andrew | last=Lang | publisher=Plain Label Books | isbn=978-1-60303-626-9}} Reprint</ref> on the Sound of Mull and invaded Ross.<ref>Sources differ on whether he marched across Ross or sailed in a fleet of [[galley]]s around the north of Scotland to Dingwall. The latter would have played to the islanders' strengths, possibly they did both.</ref> He met no opposition until "a severe conflict"<ref name="Mackay">{{citation | pages=53–54 | title=History of the house and clan of Mackay | last=Mackay | first=Robert | location = Edinburgh | publisher=Andrew Jack & Co | year=1829}} quoting ''A Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland from Its Origin to the Year 1630'' by [[Sir Robert Gordon, 1st Baronet|Sir Robert Gordon]]</ref> at [[Dingwall]], seat of the Earls of Ross, where, at the [[Battle of Dingwall]], he fought a large body of men of the Clan Mackay from "[[Strathnaver]]".<ref name="Mackay" /> Their leader [[Angus Du Mackay, 7th of Strathnaver]] was captured and his brother Rory-Gald was killed along with "the greater part of his men";<ref name="Tytler28">Tytler (1845), p. 28</ref> Donald then captured and garrisoned [[Dingwall Castle]].<ref name="Anderson" /> He imprisoned Mackay in a castle on the west coast and after the battle made peace with him, giving Angus his sister, Elizabeth, in marriage.<ref>The Book of Mackay by Angus Mackay, at p. 55.</ref><ref name="Mackay" /> 

Donald assembled his army at [[Inverness]], and summoned all the fighting men in Boyne and Enzie (northern [[Banffshire]] between the Rivers [[Deveron]] and [[River Spey|Spey]]) to join his army.<ref name="Tytler28" /> He then swept through [[County of Moray|Moray]] meeting little or no resistance.<ref name="Tytler28" /> He then turned south-east, following roughly the route of the modern [[A96 road]] although the main road ran north of the River Urie,<ref name="BFT">{{citation | url=http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/media/603%2Epdf | title=Draft report on Harlaw prepared for Historic Scotland by The Battlefields Trust | publisher=Battlefields Trust | year=2006 | format=PDF}}</ref> not south as it does today. Donald's men committed "great excesses"<ref name="Anderson"/> in [[Huntly, Scotland|Strathbogie]] and the [[Garioch]], which belonged to [[Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar]].<ref name="Tytler29">Tytler (1845), p. 29</ref> Finally the Islesmen and their Highlander allies came to [[Bennachie]], the last hill of the Grampians before the coastal plain between [[Inverurie]] and [[Aberdeen]].<ref>Hill Burton (1867), pp. 100–101</ref> Donald was now within {{convert|20|mi|km|0}} of Aberdeen [[burgh]]. On 23 July 1411, he set up camp just north of Inverurie, on high ground 2&nbsp;km northwest of the bridge over the River Urie.<ref name="BFT" />

The Earl of Mar, who had made a pact with Albany to lead an army for him, had plenty of warning of their advance,<ref name="BFT" /> and had assembled a force from among the gentry of [[Buchan]], Angus and the Mearns ([[Kincardineshire]]).<ref name="MacLean" /> The [[Clan Irvine|Irvings]], [[Thomas Maule of Panmure|Maules]], [[Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar|Moray]], [[Clan Straiton|Straitons]], [[Clan Leslie|Lesleys]], [[Clan Stirling|Stirlings]] and Lovels<!-- Lovels of [[Ballumbie]]? --> were led by their respective [[clan chief]]s.<ref name="MacLean" /> Mar gathered his troops at Inverurie, a strategic town on the Inverness-Aberdeen road, and on the morning of 24 July marched northwest to meet Donald.<ref name="BFT" />

==Battle==
According to the ''Scotichronicon'', the two armies joined battle on the [[vigil|eve]] of the feast of [[James, son of Zebedee|St James]]<ref name="Scotichronicon">Rait (2007), p. 166 quoting the ''[[Scotichronicon]]''</ref> – 24 July 1411.<ref name="Skene">{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=xIULAAAAYAAJ|pg=RA1-PA74}} | pages=73–74 | title=The Highlanders of Scotland: Their Origin, History, and Antiquities | first=William Forbes | last=Skene | publisher=J. Murray | year=1837}}</ref><ref name="Tytler32">Tytler (1845), p. 32</ref> The same source and many others put Donald's army at 10,000 Islanders, Highland clans with marriage bloodlines as well as men of Ross,<ref name="Scotichronicon" /> They were armed with swords, bows and [[Lochaber axe|axes]], [[dirk|short knives]], and round [[targe]] shields.<ref name="MacLean">{{citation | url= {{GBurl|id=GZDRnxhDmUkC|p=41}} | pages=41–43 | title=A History of the Clan MacLean: From Its First Settlement at Duard Castle, in the Isle of Mull, to the Present Period | first=J. P. | last=MacLean | author-link = John Patterson MacLean | publisher=Heritage Books | year=1999 | isbn=978-0-7884-1316-2}} Description of the battle is almost word-for-word the same as Tytler p. 31, and draws heavily on the ''Scotichronicon''.</ref> 

[[File:Gilbert de Greenlaw tombstone.jpg|thumb|Tombstone of Gilbert de Greenlaw in Kinkell Church]]

Tradition has it that they faced a force numbering between 1,000 and 2,000 men;<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=AZJnAAAAMAAJ|q=cavalry force}} | page=196 | title=Lost Kingdoms: Celtic Scotland and the Middle Ages | first=John Lenox | last=Roberts | publisher=Edinburgh University Press | year=1997 | isbn=978-0-7486-0910-9}}</ref> with significant numbers of [[knight]]s.<ref name="BFT" /> As an example, one Sir Gilbert de Greenlaw died at Harlaw and his tombstone at Kinkell Church<ref name="Kinkell">{{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=PLA |num=18573 |num2=NJ71NE 18 |desc=Kinkell, St Michael's Church And Burial-Ground |mode=cs2 |access-date=2 July 2025 |fewer-links=yes}}, has a drawing of Sir Gilbert's tombstone that is clearer than a photo: ({{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=IMG|num=1092665|num2=SC 1092665|short=yes}}) Kinkell Church is south of Inverurie, at {{gbmapping|NJ78581906}}</ref> gives an idea of how Mar's knights were equipped. Sir Gilbert carried a [[Longsword|hand and a half sword]] and wore an open-faced [[bascinet]] helmet with a [[mail (armour)|mail]]-reinforced [[arming doublet]] beneath [[plate armour]].<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=_FOUxrZc3hoC|q=Greenlaw|p=37}} | page=37 | title=Border Fury: England and Scotland at War, 1296–1568 | first=John | last=Sadler | publisher=Pearson Education | year=2006 | isbn=978-1-4058-4022-4}}</ref> Mar's men also carried [[spear]]s, [[mace (bludgeon)|maces]], and [[battle axe]]s.<ref name="MacLean" /> Tradition has it that the black armour in the entrance hall of [[Aberdeen Town House]] belonged to [[Robert Davidson, Provost of Aberdeen]],<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=kITNjMyOSfsC|p=49}} | page=49 | title=Discovering battlefields of England and Scotland | first1=John | last1= Kinross | first2=Adrian | last2=Perry | publisher=Osprey Publishing | year=1998 | isbn=978-0-7478-0370-6}} p. 48 has a hand-drawn map of the battle that is very different from the Battlefields Trust map in the external links section.</ref> who died in the battle along with most of the [[Burgesses of Guild of Aberdeen|city's burgesses]].<ref name="MacLean" />

On spotting the Islesmen and their Highlander allies, Mar organised his force into battle array, with the main army behind a small advance guard of men-at-arms under Sir James Scrymgeour (Constable of Dundee, the hereditary [[Bearer of the Royal Banner|standard-bearer of Scotland]]) and Sir Alexander Ogilvie of Auchterhouse ([[Sheriff of Angus]]).<ref name="MacLean" /> He probably split the army into three, with the knights as a cavalry reserve (some say they led the battle) and the infantry arranged in [[schiltron]]s, close-packed arrays of spearmen.<ref name="BFT" /> There is no mention of significant numbers of archers.<ref name="BFT" /> The Islanders and their Highlander allies were arranged in the traditional [[:wikt:cuneiform|cuneiform]] or wedge shape, with [[Red Hector of the Battles Maclean|Hector MacLean]] commanding the right wing and [[Malcolm Beg Mackintosh, 10th of Mackintosh|Callum Beg Macintosh]], chief of the [[Clan Mackintosh]] and the confederation of [[Clan Chattan]], on the left.<ref name="MacLean" /> Donald, Lord of the Isles commanded the centre of the army himself, backed by the [[Clan MacLeod|MacLeods of Harris]] and [[Clan MacLeod of Lewis|MacLeods of Lewis]], and his younger brother, [[John Mór Tanister]], commanded the reserve, backed by the [[Clan Mackenzie|Mackenzies]] and [[Clan Cameron|Camerons]].<ref name="MacPhail">{{cite book |editor-last=MacPhail |editor-first=J.R.N. |year=1914 |title=Highland Papers |url=https://deriv.nls.uk/dcn23/7951/79514876.23.pdf |volume=1 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Printed by [[Thomas Constable (printer and publisher)|T and A Constable]] for the [[Scottish History Society]] |pages=29–30 |access-date=October 10, 2024|mode=cs2}}</ref> At first, the clansmen launched themselves at Scrymgeour's men, but failed to make much impression on the armoured column and many were slain.<ref name="MacLean" /> However, every wave that was repulsed, was replaced by fresh men. Mar led his knights into the main body of Donald's army and became cut off. They brought down the knights' [[warhorse|warhorses]] and then used their dirks to finish off the riders.<ref name="MacLean" />

By nightfall, the ballads claim that 600<ref name="BFT" /> of Mar's men were dead, including Ogilvie and his son, Scrymgeour, Sir Robert Maule, [[Pulrossie|Sir Thomas Morrow (Murray)]], William Abernethy, Alexander Straiton of Lauriston, James Lovel, Alexander Stirling, and Sir Alexander Irvine of [[Drum Castle|Drum]]; according to Maclean history the latter duelled with Hector Maclean until both were dead.<ref name="MacLean" /> Many families lost every male in their house; Lesley of Balquhain died with six of his sons.<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=-ChIAAAAMAAJ|q="lesley of balquhain" harlaw|p=151}} | page=151 | title=History of Scotland | first=Patrick Fraser | last=Tytler | publisher=William Tait, Prince's Street, Edinburgh | year=1841}}</ref> 

Donald lost 900 men,<ref name="BFT" /> a much smaller proportion of his total force (he still had 9100 men on the field), but including one of his commanders (Hector Maclean).<ref name="Tytler32" /><ref>The ''Scotichronicon'' also gives the figure of 900 deaths on Donald's side.</ref> In the history of the Mackintoshes, chiefs of the Chattan Federation, it is recorded that ''Mackintosh mourned the loss of so many of his friends and people, especially of Clan Vean'' ([[Clan MacBean]]).<ref>Lachlan Mackintosh of Kinrara: A Chronicle of the Family of Mackintosh to 1680 ('The Kinrara Manuscript) – edited by Dr Jean Munro, published by the Clan Chattan Association</ref><ref>Fraser-Mackintosh, Charles. (1898). Minor Septs of Clan Chattan, [https://archive.org/details/accountofconfede00mack/page/n63 p. 31].</ref> By contrast, a MacDonald [[Seanchaí]] stated that just "two or three gentlemen of the name [[Clan Munro|Munroe]]" were killed in the battle and that they were part of the Lord of the Isles' host.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fraser |first=C. I of Reelig |author-link=Charles Ian Fraser |year=1954 |title=The Clan Munro |location=Stirling |publisher=[[Johnston & Bacon]] |page=19 |isbn=0-7179-4535-9 |quote=MacDonald, Hugh (1914). ''Highland Papers''. Edinburgh: Printed by [[Thomas Constable (printer and publisher)|T and A Constable]] for the [[Scottish History Society]]. p. 30|mode=cs2}}</ref> The same 17th century manuscript states that the "[[Clan MacQuarrie|son of Macquarry of Ulva]]" and "two gentlemen of the name Cameron" were also killed on the side of Donald, Lord of the Isles.<ref name="MacPhail"/>

Wounded and too feeble to retreat, Mar and his surviving men camped on the battlefield,<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=k1sEAAAAQAAJ|p=116}} | page=116 | title=The history of Scotland | first=Thomas | last=Thomson | publisher=T. & T. Clark | year=1849}}</ref> expecting combat to resume in the morning.<ref name="Anderson"/> At dawn they found that Donald had withdrawn during the night, going first to Ross and then back to the Isles.<ref name="Anderson"/> Donald clearly had the victory but decided not to press further. The McKean Historical Notes relating to the MacIain MacDonalds of Ardnamurchan, compiled by Fred G. McKean, 1906, at p. 38, refers to the Annals of the Old Abbey of Inis-Macreen and mentions the "great victory" of the Macdonald of Scotland in 1411.

==Aftermath==
[[File:King James I of Scotland.jpg|thumb|upright|[[James I of Scotland|James I]]]]

Many of those who died were buried at Kinkell Church<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=AWYDAAAAQAAJ|q=Kinkell|p=963}} | page=963 | title=A new gazetteer; or topographical dictionary of the British islands and narrow seas | first=James A. | last=Sharp | year=1852}}</ref> south of Inverurie.<ref name="Kinkell" />  The heirs of the slain Scots were exempt from death duties<ref name="Tytler33">Tytler (1845), p. 33</ref> in the same way as heirs of those who died fighting the English.<ref name="HillBurton" /> 

Suspecting that Donald had merely fallen back to rest and reinforce his troops, Albany collected an army and marched on Dingwall, seizing the castle and regaining control of Ross.<ref name="Tytler33" /> In mid-1412 he followed up with a three-pronged attack on Donald's possessions,<ref name="Anderson"/> forcing Donald to surrender his claim on Ross, become a vassal of the Scottish crown and give up hostages against his future good behaviour.<ref name="Tytler34">Tytler (1845), p. 34</ref> The treaty was signed at Polgilbe/Polgillip ([[Loch Gilp]]), an inlet of [[Loch Fyne]] in [[Argyll]].<ref name="Tytler34" />

After Harlaw, the Earl of Mar "ruled with acceptance nearly all the north of the country beyond the Mounth" according to the ''[[Scotichronicon]]''.<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=Y49nAAAAMAAJ|q=beyond the Mounth}} | title=Scotichronicon: Books XV and XVI | first1=Walter | last1= Bower | first2=D. E. R. | last2=Watt | publisher=Aberdeen University Press | year=1987 | isbn=978-0-08-034527-7}}</ref> He entered into an "uneasy alliance" with his uncle Albany, but the ruin of Albany's heirs left Mar in control of the north.<ref name="Roberts16" /> 

It was proposed on 3 June 1415 that Euphemia should marry Thomas Dunbar, 3rd (6th) [[Earl of Moray]]<ref name="BalfourPaul">{{citation |last=Balfour Paul |first=Sir James |year=1904 |title=The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland | url=https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun06pauluoft/scotspeeragefoun06pauluoft/page/302/mode/2up | location=Edinburgh | publisher=D. Douglas | page=[https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun06pauluoft/scotspeeragefoun06pauluoft/page/302/mode/2up 303]}}</ref> but the papal commission<!-- This must be available from somewhere? --> would not have arrived<ref name="BalfourPaul"/> before she surrendered her land and titles (possibly under compulsion<ref name="BalfourPaul" />) to Albany's son the [[John Stewart, Earl of Buchan|Earl of Buchan]] on 12 June 1415,<!-- Resigned some on 12 June and others on 15 June? --><ref>Maidment (1868) pp. 199 & 200, citing {{citation | title=The Additional Case of Elisabeth, Claiming the Title and Dignity of Countess of Sutherland, by Her Guardians | first=David | last=Dalrymple | author-link=David Dalrymple, Lord Hailes | year=1770}}</ref> after which she appears to have entered a [[nunnery]].<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=kohnAAAAMAAJ|q="12 june 1415"}} | page=235 | title=The Edinburgh history of Scotland | first=Gordon | last=Donaldson | publisher=Oliver & Boyd | year=1975| isbn=9780050020388 }}</ref> Buchan was killed at the [[Battle of Verneuil]] in 1424.<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=UZ-TEXN5cWUC|q=verneuil|p=304}} | page=304 | title=England in the later Middle Ages: a political history | first=Maurice Hugh | last=Keen | edition=2nd | publisher=Routledge | year=2003 | isbn=978-0-415-27293-3}}</ref> In 1424, when James I returned to Scotland from his imprisonment in England, he had all of Albany's heirs, the Albany Stewarts, executed.<ref>Thomson (1849), p. 122</ref> Mariota claimed the earldom of Ross and the [[Lord of the Isles|Lordship of the Isles]] once more, and James I awarded it to her in 1424.<ref name="Adam">{{citation |last=Adam |first=Frank |title=The Clans, Septs and Regiments of the Scottish Highlands |url={{GBurl|id=xHA6XMGp5EIC|p=68}} |page=68 |year=1934 |isbn=978-1-4179-8076-5}} republished in 2004 by Kessinger Publishing ({{ISBN|978-1-4179-8076-5}}) with a foreword by Thomas Innes</ref> The title remained with the family for much of the 15th century. [[Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross|Donald's son Alexander]] succeeded to the title upon Mariota's death in 1429.<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=LScAAAAAQAAJ|p=22}} | page=22 | title=The clans of the Highlands of Scotland | first=Thomas | last=Smibert | author-link = Thomas Smibert | year=1850}}</ref> He attempted an invasion of Ross in 1429 which led to his defeat and capture by Mar at the [[Battle of Lochaber]].<ref name="Barrell">{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=mFsBMT7tnxIC|p=217}} |page=217 | title=Medieval Scotland | first=Andrew D. M. | last=Barrell | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2000 | isbn=978-0-521-58602-3}}</ref> 

In turn Mar suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of Donald's nephew [[Donald Balloch MacDonald|Donald Balloch]], at the [[Battle of Inverlochy (1431)|Battle of Inverlochy]].<ref name="Roberts16" /> The resulting power vacuum allowed Alexander to occupy Inverness and perhaps consider himself Earl of Ross by 1437; the title was officially confirmed by the new regent, [[Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas|the Earl of Douglas]], after the death of James I that year.<ref name="Roberts16" />

==Commemoration and archaeology==
[[File:Harlaw Monument (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Harlaw Monument]]

The battle is remembered as "one of the hardest fought that ever took place on Scottish soil";<ref name="MacMillan">{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=LHXRfRRPVaYC|p=171}} | pages=171–2 | title=A Short History of the Scottish People | first=Donald | last=MacMillan | year=1911 | isbn=978-1-4086-9231-8 | publisher=Read Books (2008 reprint)}}</ref> the fighting was so fierce that the battle went down in history as "Red (Reid) Harlaw".<ref name="MacMillan" /> The battle is commemorated in a march, ''The Battle of Harlaw'',<ref name="Anderson"/> and in ballads such as [[Child ballad]] 163.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Child |editor-first=Francis James |year=1890 |chapter=163: The Battle of Harlaw |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/englishscottishp32chilrich#page/316/mode/2up |title=English and Scottish Popular Ballads |volume=III, Part 2 |location=Boston |publisher=Houghton Mifflin and Company |pages=316–320 |access-date=2017-12-26|mode=cs2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch163.htm|title=The Battle of Harlaw|work=The English and Scottish Popular Ballads|publisher=Sacred Text Archive|year=2011|access-date=2017-12-26|mode=cs2}}</ref> Maidment has a different ballad which apparently shares the same tune, but he is sceptical of its antiquity.<ref>Maidment (1868) pages 199–209 discusses the origin of his ballad and some of the tunes. On page 146 he describes it as "infinitely finer" than ''The Raid of the Reid-Squhair'', which may have been written by the same author.</ref> Sir [[Walter Scott]] mentions Harlaw in his 1816 novel ''[[The Antiquary]]'', particularly in Elspeth's ballad in Chapter 40.<ref>{{citation | chapter-url=http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/etexts/etexts/antiquary1.htm | first=Sir Walter | last=Scott | author-link=Walter Scott | title=The Antiquary | year=1816 | chapter=40}} "''And I will sing of Glenallan's Earl / That fought on the red Harlaw''"</ref>

Tradition has it that Mar founded Chapel of Garioch after the battle, to celebrate masses for the souls of the fallen.<ref>{{citation | url={{GBurl|id=hx8vAAAAMAAJ|p=324}} | page=324 | title=Annals of Aberdeen: from the reign of King William the Lion, to the end of the year 1818 | first=William | last=Kennedy | publisher=A. Brown & Co | location=Aberdeen| year=1818}}</ref> In 1911,<ref name="RCAHMS" /> Aberdeen Town Council erected the Harlaw Monument, located to the north of the town of Inverurie, to the memory of Provost Robert Davidson and the burgesses of Aberdeen who died in the battle.<ref name="RCAHMS" /> Designed by William Kelly and located to the south of Harlaw House, the granite monument is hexagonal and {{convert|40|ft|m|1}} tall.<ref name="Monument">{{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=PLA |num=131264 |num2=NJ72SE 6.1 |desc=Harlaw Monument |mode=cs2|access-date=2 July 2025 |fewer-links=yes}}. Monument is at {{gbmapping|NJ7514324074}}.</ref> There were once several cairns in the area that were traditionally associated with the battle, but little remains of them now – Drum's Cairn, Provost Davidson's Cairn, Donald's Tomb and the Liggars Stane.<ref name="BFT" /><ref name="Canmore">{{citation|url=http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/results/?sitename=Harlaw&county_code=01&submit=Search&show=all |title=Canmore Advanced Search – Harlaw |publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314035630/http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/results/?sitename=Harlaw&county_code=01&submit=Search&show=all |archive-date=14 March 2012 |df=dmy }} Lists all the archaeological evidence in the area</ref> Twelve human skeletons were uncovered northeast of Harlaw House in 1837.<ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=PLA |num=18760 |num2=NJ72NE 40 |desc=East Harlaw |mode=cs2 |access-date=2 July 2025 |fewer-links=yes}}. Skeletons were found at {{gbmapping|NJ75202504}}</ref> Although there have been several discoveries of prehistoric artefacts, such as stone axeheads and a flint core, no artefacts directly attributable to the battle have been recorded.<ref>RCAHMS Canmap for Harlaw</ref> The battlefield has been [[Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland|inventoried]] and protected by [[Historic Scotland]] under the Historic Environment (Amendment) Act 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/heritage/battlefields/battlefieldsunderconsideration.htm |title=Inventory battlefields |date=6 August 2007 |publisher=Historic Scotland |access-date=12 April 2012 |mode=cs2 |archive-date=15 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115040146/http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/heritage/battlefields/battlefieldsunderconsideration.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Battle of Lochaber]] – the final battle of a similar invasion by Donald's son in 1429
* [[History of Scotland]]
* [[Lord of the Isles]]
* [[Bonnie Rideout]]'s album ''Harlaw, Scotland 1411'' features music and commentary related to the Battle or Harlaw.

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{citation |last1=Keay |first1=John |last2=Keay |first2=Julia |title=Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland |date=1994 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-00-255082-6 |ref=none}}
* {{citation |last1=Lynch |first1=Michael |title=Scotland: A New History |date=1992 |publisher=Pimlico |isbn=0-7126-9893-0|ref=none}}
* {{citation | title=An Outline of the Relations Between England and Scotland (500–1707) | first=Robert S. | last=Rait | publisher=Blackie & Son | year=1901 | location=London }} – available online as the [{{GBurl|id=uoahDiXRqOwC|p=108|dq=harlaw}} at Google Books (2007 Echo Library reprint and others)], a [https://www.scribd.com/doc/2395515 Gutenberg e-book at Scribd] and a poorly [[Optical character recognition|OCR'd]] [https://archive.org/stream/outlineofrelatio00rait/outlineofrelatio00rait_djvu.txt text file at archive.org]. Appendix A (pp. 108–12 of the Echo version) helpfully collects together the descriptions of the battle (in Latin) from [[Walter Bower]] (''[[Scotichronicon]]'' Lib. xv, ch xxi), the Book of Pluscarden (''Liber Pluscardensis'' Bk. x, ch. xxii), [[John Major (philosopher)|John Major/Mair]] (''Historia Majoris Britanniae'' Bk. vi, ch. x), [[Hector Boece]] (''Scotorum Historiae'' Lib. xvi) and [[George Buchanan]] (''Rerum Scoticarum Historia'' Lib. x).
* {{citation | url={{GBurl|id=6ODOtIoisjIC|p=14}} | title=Feuds, Forays and Rebellions: History of the Highland Clans, 1475–1625 | first=John Leonard | last=Roberts | publisher=Edinburgh University Press | year=1999 | isbn=978-0-7486-6244-9}}
* {{citation |url={{GBurl|id=Nks6AgAAQBAJ|q=the captive crown nigel tranter|pg=PT3}} |title=The Captive Crown |first=Nigel |last=Tranter |author-link=Nigel Tranter |edition=1st |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |year=1977 |isbn=978-1-4447-6814-5}}
* {{citation | url={{GBurl|id=udJJAAAAMAAJ|p=27}} | title=History of Scotland: 1149–1603 | first=Patrick Fraser | last=Tytler | author-link = Patrick Fraser Tytler | edition=3rd | publisher= W. Tait | year=1845}}
* {{citation | last=Williams | first=Ronald | year=1997 |orig-year=1984 (Chatto & Windus) | title=The Lords of the Isles: The Clan Donald and the Early Kingdom of the Scots |edition=Reprint | location=Isle of Colonsay, UK |publisher=House of Lochar | isbn=978-1-899863-17-4}}

==Further reading==
* {{citation | last= Marren | first=Peter | year=1990 | title=Grampian Battlefields: The Historic Battles of North East Scotland from AD84 to 1745 | publisher=Aberdeen University Press | isbn=978-0-08-036598-5|ref=none}} The most modern account, Marren reviews primary and secondary sources.
* {{cite web|title=Battle of Harlaw|url=http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/medieval/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=64|work=UK Battlefields Resource Centre|publisher=The Battlefields Trust |mode=cs2|access-date=26 January 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101212164837/http://battlefieldstrust.com/resource-centre/medieval/battleview.asp?BattleFieldId=64| archive-date= 12 December 2010 | url-status= live}} Contains a comprehensive bibliography listed in the references.

==External links==
* {{Historic Environment Scotland|num=BTL11|desc=Battle of Harlaw|mode=cs2}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2020-09/The%20Battle%20of%20Harlaw.pdf |title=The Battle of Harlaw |website=aberdeencity.gov.uk |mode=cs2}}
* {{citation | url=http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/media/678%2Epdf | title=Harlaw battlefield OS Explorer map   | publisher=Battlefields Trust | year=2006 | format=PDF|ref=none}}. Shows approximate deployments based on the work of Marren (1990).
* {{citation | url=http://www.gunnclan.net/midi/harlaw.htm | title=Scottish Collection of Midi Tunes The Battle of Harlaw (2) | publisher=Topic Computer Consulting, Canada | year=1996 | access-date=25 May 2009 | archive-date=17 July 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717002814/http://www.gunnclan.net/midi/harlaw.htm | url-status=dead }} – [[MIDI]] version of Battle of Harlaw music
* Ross Cowan (2011), [https://www.academia.edu/99320116/Late_Medieval_Scottish_Swords "Late Medieval Scottish Swords"], ''Medieval Warfare'' 1.2. Short article about the types of swords used at Harlaw and other late medieval Scottish battles.

{{Scottish clan battles|state=collapsed}}
{{Francis James Child}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harlaw, Battle Of}}
[[Category:1411 in Scotland]]
[[Category:15th-century Scottish clan battles]]
[[Category:Battles involving Scotland]]
[[Category:Child Ballads|Battle of Harlaw]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1411]]
[[Category:History of Aberdeenshire]]
[[Category:History of the Scottish Highlands]]
[[Category:Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland]]
[[Category:Inverurie]]