Loading
Loading

Clan Campbell

FORGET NOT


Clan Campbell were historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans, based in Argyll. Known as the race of Diarmid, the branches of Breadalbane and Cawdor are two of the most well known branches of this ancient clan.

Owing in part to the success of their chiefs, the Campbells took on a strong presence in the courts, and their influence in the British Empire established themselves as one of the powerful clans in the country. Many other clans swore fealty to the Campbells, and they held large amounts of land both in the Highlands and Lowlands. Shortly before 1745 the strength of Clan Campbell was put at a total of some five thousand men.

The Campbells are famous for having a long-standing and bitter feud with the MacDonalds, which famously led to the Glencoe Massacre in 1692. The feud is said to have stemmed from the Campbells support of the Crown in a time when the Lord of the Isles, who was part of the MacDonald clan, was the British monarchy's biggest rival. The support of the Campbells in removing the Lord of the Isles at the end of the fifteenth century created animosity between the two clans.

The Campbell clan motto is "Ne obliviscaris" (Forget Not) and the clan crest is a boar's head.

Scottish History

of Clan Campbell


A dynasty is born

The clan Campbell originated from the name O’Duibhne, one of whose chiefs in ancient times was know as Diarmid and the name Campbell was first used in the 1050s in the reign of Malcolm Canmore after a sporranbearer or purse-bearer to the king previously called Paul O’Duibhne was dubbed with his new surname.

Historians, after such obscure and even legendary times, have agreed that the clan name comes from the Gaelic ‘cam’ meaning crooked and ‘beul’, the mouth, when it was the fashion (as with Malcolm Canmore himself – his ‘Canmore’ defined in English as ‘large head’) to be surnamed from some unusual physical feature, in this instance by the characteristic curved or crooked mouth of the family of what is certainly one of the oldest clan names in the Highlands.

It was the Marquis who insisted that he was descended from a Scots family in Ireland who had crossed as emigrants to what was then mostly the land of the Picts to establish the first Scots colony in the district of Dalriada – a comparatively small part of what we know today as Argyll at the heart of what would in time become the kingdom of Scotland. It is marked by the fort at Dunadd, off the A816 a few miles north of Lochgilphead, set in the inlet called Loch Gilp off from Loch Fyne.

So the Campbells began a gradual dominance of the lands of Argyll – north to Loch Awe by the end of the 13th century and becoming allies of Robert the Bruce in his initial efforts to win an independence from the English domination of the southern extent of what had now become the land of the Scots.

Colin Campbell, one of the first of the family of whom we have any definite record, was killed in a fight with another rising clan – the Macdougalls in 1294. His burial place at Kilchrennan Kirk on the north-west shore of Loch Awe is marked by a memorial stone given by the 8th Duke of Argyll.

Colin’s son, Sir Neil Campbell of Lochawe, was the man who established the Campbells as a distinctive power in the land.

When the odds were against Robert Bruce, Sir Neil allied himself to that future king of Scots and when Bruce was forced in the early days of the fight for independence to temporarily vanish from the scene it was Neil who helped to arrange a sea crossing to a Western Isles refuge.

As his second wife, Sir Neil married Lady Mary, sister of the now crowned King Robert the Bruce. From his first marriage, Neil’s son Colin also fought for Bruce; and in the gradual process of winning back Scottish strongholds from the English invaders, the castle at Dunoon fell to Colin who was appointed its Constable and later succeeded his father as Sir Colin.

His grandson of the same name was the leader of this branch of the Campbells in Robert III’s reign and of his sons Duncan became the first Lord Campbell of Lochawe.

With Royal grants of lands the Campbell estates brought wealth to the family, enabling them to enrich the Church and Abbeys in Scotland. Travels abroad were made by Lord Campbell where he is said to have killed a wild boar in France – commemorated by the animal’s head heraldically portrayed on the Campbell arms and badge.

Duncan’s son Archibald – ‘a man of great spirit and a terror to his enemies’ – although said to have died in early manhood, had a son Colin who in time was created 1st Earl of Argyll.

During the minority of this 1st Earl of Argyll-to-be he was tutored by his uncle Colin of Glenorchy who was the driving force behind the building of the town of Inveraray and the Castle of the same name. Inverarary Castle became the headquarters of the chief of the clan, as it remains today. It should be remembered, however, that as with other noted Highland families, there are often many branches of the family who rule over their particular domains – the Campbells of Balcardine for example.

Colin of Glenorchy would seem, along with his wife Margaret Stewart of Lorn, to have been very energetic improving his estates. And while he was on his travels abroad, Margaret caused the Castle of Kilchurn to rise, dramatically sited at the head of Loch Awe.

Colin, the first Earl, married Isabella Stewart of Lorn and the lands of Lorn became part of the Argyll estate; and from then on the heir to the Earldom was titled Lord Lorne, and later, Marquis of Lorne on future heirs.

The Argyll arms show the galley of Lorn. Also with the marriage the castle near Dollar had its name changed from Gloom Castle to Castle Campbell.

The 2nd Earl of Argyll, Archibald, was made Chancellor of Scotland and at the tragic Battle of Flodden he led the right wing and died alongside his king, James IV, who met a similar fate.

Colin, the 3rd Earl, was made a kind of Overlord of the Scottish Borders by James V and was titled Lieutenant of The Merse, Teviotdale and Lauderdale which entailed efforts to subdue the Douglases – the Borders family who were ever, in the lawless living style, a menace to Royal rule. One of Colin’s sisters married a Maclean of Duart who in time planned to get rid of her. Since Maclean chose that she be drowned, apparently since this method meant that he would not need to be present himself at such a foul deed, he employed his henchmen to abduct the lady and take her to a rocky shore where she could be tied to a rock to await the incoming tide.

To this day the act is commemorated at the Lady’s Rock off the Isle of Mull on the Firth of Lorne near Duart Castle. One version tells that her long tresses were tied to the tough strands of seaweed spread on the flat upper surface of the rock and she was left to drown. But this barbaric act was foiled for in the Campbells’ hunt for the vanished wife news spread that there had been an abduction. She was soon rescued by Campbell followers and returned to safety with the clan.

Evictions and murder

The Earl’s brother, Sir John Campbell, had married the heiress to the Thane of Cawdor. She had grown up with the Campbells for they had stolen her from her family as a baby. The reason is not given. However, Sir John is mentioned in connection with the Lady’s Rock incident for, the Campbells swearing reprisals for the abduction by the Macleans, had to ‘nurse their wrath to keep it warm’ until Sir John hadthe opportunity to murder Maclean as he lay on his bed during a stay in Edinburgh.

Naturally the Maclean clan in turn swore revenge and this was how one more feud was born between Highland families.

Archibald became the 4th Earl in 1529. He was one of the important members of the Scottish Kirk who inspired the Scottish Reformation.

This 7th Earl co-operated with the Government of the time to put down the unruly clans not loyal to the Crown – especially in the West Highlands. He did the job so thoroughly that it resulted in him having to dig deep into his funds. The Crown, by way of rewards, presented him with the lands of Kintyre – and asked him to build a new town on the Mull of Kintyre. Thus Campbelltown, named after the family, was duly built.

Colin Roy Campbell of the Red Hair (1708-1751) had, on his father’s death, been given the lands of Glenure. He was a farmer and cattle breeder and in 1744 was still unmarried, having not, as yet, as he wrote in a letter ‘dipped into love’.

With the Rising of the ‘45, he joined the Earl of Loudon’s regiment and continued in military service until the peace of 1748. As with his elder brother Ian Du, he was appointed a factor on some of the forfeited estates; some of the tenants had been, or were, for the Jacobite cause.

Meantime, Colin had ‘dipped into love’ and married young Janet Mackay, granddaughter of the 3rd chief of that clan.

Colin was a friend of the leading Stewart resident in the district under his factorship – ‘James Stewart of the Glen’ – until trouble rose regarding planned evictions of tenants from several farms. Colin had been accused of favouritism by James Stewart who journeyed to Edinburgh to plead the case of the evicted tenants arguing that they had always paid their rents.

Colin in turn went to Edinburgh where he received Government assurance that the evictions would be carried out. From then, Colin was a target for the opposition.

Enter the ‘evil genius’ of the whole affair – Allan Breck Stewart. He had been at Culloden and had escaped to France. On his return he stayed near Glenure House with a son of James Stewart and was also a rent collector where he took the opportunity of spreading scandal about Colin of Glenure, saying he had been brutal to the wounded Highlanders at Culloden when in reality Colin had been with his regiment in Aberdeen on other duties.

Colin by this time knew that there were men plotting against him and returning from business in Fort William remarked, as he reached the Ballachulish ferry, ‘I am safe, now that I am out of mother’s country.’ (She was a Cameron of Lochiel.)

The travellers crossed the ferry and in single file set out for Glenure in a road rising among a belt of trees. First the sheriff officer then Colin and his nephew Mungo, both on horses, and a servant with luggage bringing up the rear. Suddenly, a shot echoed across the slopes and Colin of Glenure fell from his mount and died soon afterwards. His nephew ran up the brae from where he guessed the shot had been fired and was just in time to see a man with a gun disappear from sight among the trees.

A few days after the murder, the nephew wrote, ‘My aunt has behaved like an angel, no woman ever behaved with greater prudence.’

Janet already had two babies and was pregnant with a third who when the girl was born, was named Colina, after her father.

Who fired the shot that killed Colin of Glenure? This has intrigued historians through the years – and one writer – Robert Louis Stevenson who brought the killing into his novel ‘Kidnapped’ where the culprit is named as Allan Breck.

The real Allan was suspected but had vanished abroad and Colin’s relatives led by Ian Du saw to it that a culprit must be found to avenge the murder. A Stewart? Historians consider that Donald Stewart of Ballachulish was the likeliest to have fired the shot but James Stewart – ‘James of the Glen’ – was arrested, convicted and hanged.

The trial had been held at Inveraray with William Grant of Prestongrange, the Lord Advocate, chief counsel for the prosecution. The Duke of Argyll, Lord Justice General, presided so the verdict was automatic.

Archibald, Lord Lorne, the 10th Earl, was made 1st Duke of Argyll by King William I.

The Duke raised a regiment to fight in the Flanders wars and his son was a Colonel at the age of 17. When he succeeded his father in 1703, he was one of the negotiators for the Union of the Parliaments in 1707.

The 3rd Duke together with Duncan Forbes of Culloden formed companies from local volunteers who were dressed in dark tartan and worked for the Government. Their duties included ‘containing’ the Highlands. These volunteers were nicknamed the Black Watch, a forerunner of the famous regiment.

The Duke died without male issue and was succeeded by Lieut. General John Campbell of Mamore.

The 5th Duke succeeded his father in 1770 and in time became a Field Marshall. He and his Duchess Elizabeth entertained Dr. Johnson and Boswell at Inveraray Castle in 1773.

Read more

Family History Mini Book


We hope you enjoyed reading this excerpt from this mini book on the Scottish history of the Campbell family.

You can buy the full book for only
$5.08

English History

of Clan Campbell


Ancient roots

Although a name particularly identified with Scotland, ‘Campbell’ is ranked 87th in some lists of the 100 most common surnames found in England today and at 47th in the United Kingdom as a whole.

A family name that boasts Scots-Gaelic roots, it derives from ‘cam’ and ‘beal’, indicating ‘crooked smile’, ‘crooked mouth’, or ‘wry-mouthed’, and was originally bestowed as a nickname on someone who either displayed these facial characteristics or who was known for a particularly ‘wry’, or acerbic turn of phrase.

Although in Scotland the Campbells of today, as Clan Campbell, are identified with Argyll, in the Highlands, before they gained the rugged grandeur that comprises this territory they are thought to have been settled in south-eastern Scotland, which then formed part of a vast swathe of territory known as Bernicia.

Known in Old English as Bernice, or Beornice, Bernicia embraced not only what is now south-eastern Scotland but also what are now the modern-day English counties of Durham and Northumberland.

This may go some way towards explaining why some ‘English’ bearers of the Campbell name today are particularly identified with these counties.

Referred to in the ninth century Historia Brittonum, and described in Old Welsh as Yr Hen Ogledd – The Old North – Bernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom that had absorbed kingdoms previously held by ancient Britons such as the Votadini and who included some of those who in much later centuries would come to bear the Campbell name.

This means that flowing through the veins of the Campbells today is a rich and heady mix of bloodlines that include not only those of the Gaels, Celts and the ancient Britons but also that of those Germanic tribes who invaded and settled firstly in the south and east of the island of Britain from about the early fifth century.

Known as the Anglo-Saxons, they were composed of the Jutes, from the area of the Jutland Peninsula in modern Denmark, the Saxons from Lower Saxony, in modern Germany and the Angles from the Angeln area of Germany.

It was the Angles who gave the name ‘Engla land’, or ‘Aengla land’ – better known as ‘England.’

They held sway in what became England from approximately 550 to 1066, with the main kingdoms those of Sussex, Wessex, Northumbria, Mercia, Kent, East Anglia and Essex.

Whoever controlled the most powerful of these kingdoms was tacitly recognised as overall ‘king’ – one of the most noted being Alfred the Great, King of Wessex from 871 to 899.

It was during his reign that the famous Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was compiled – an invaluable source of Anglo-Saxon history – while Alfred was designated in early documents as Rex Anglorum Saxonum, King of the English Saxons.

Other important Anglo-Saxon works include the epic Beowulf and the seventh century Caedmon’s Hymn.

Through the Anglo-Saxons, the language known as Old English developed, later transforming from the eleventh century into Middle English – sources from which many popular English surnames of today derive.

The Anglo-Saxons, meanwhile, had usurped the power of the indigenous Britons such as those who would come to bear the Campbell name and who referred to them as ‘Saeson’ or ‘Saxones.’

It is from this that the Scottish-Gaelic term for ‘English people’ of ‘Sasannach’ derives, the Irish Gaelic ‘Sasanach’ and the Welsh ‘Saeson.’

We learn from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle how the religion of the early Anglo-Saxons was one that pre-dated the establishment of Christianity in the British Isles.

Known as a form of Germanic paganism, with roots in Old Norse religion, it shared much in common with the Druidic ‘nature-worshipping’ religion of the indigenous Britons such as the ancient forebears of the Campbells.

It was in the closing years of the sixth century that Christianity began to take a hold in Britain, while by approximately 690 it had become the ‘established’ religion of Anglo-Saxon England.

The first serious shock to Anglo-Saxon control came in 789 in the form of sinister black-sailed Viking ships that appeared over the horizon off the island monastery of Lindisfarne, in the northeast of the country.

Lindisfarne was sacked in an orgy of violence and plunder, setting the scene for what would be many more terrifying raids on the coastline of not only England, but also Ireland and Scotland.

But the Vikings, or ‘Northmen’, in common with the Anglo-Saxons of earlier times, were raiders who eventually stayed – establishing, for example, what became Jorvik, or York, and the trading port of Dublin, in Ireland. Through intermarriage, the bloodlines of the Anglo-Saxons also became infused with that of the Vikings.

But there would be another infusion of the blood of the ‘Northmen’ in the wake of the Norman Conquest of 1066 – a key event in English history that sounded the death knell of Anglo-Saxon supremacy.

By this date England had become a nation with several powerful competitors to the throne.

In what were extremely complex family, political and military machinations, the king was Harold II, who had succeeded to the throne following the death of Edward the Confessor.

But his right to the throne was contested by two powerful competitors – his brother-in-law King Harold Hardrada of Norway, in alliance with Tostig, Harold II’s brother, and Duke William II of Normandy.

In what has become known as The Year of Three Battles, Hardrada invaded England and gained victory over the English king on September 20 at the battle of Fulford, in Yorkshire.

Five days later, however, Harold II decisively defeated his brother-in-law and brother at the battle of Stamford Bridge.

But he had little time to celebrate his victory, having to immediately march south from Yorkshire to encounter a mighty invasion force led by Duke William of Normandy that had landed at Hastings, in East Sussex.

Harold’s battle-hardened but exhausted force confronted the Normans on October 14, drawing up a strong defensive position, at the top of Senlac Hill, building a shield wall to repel Duke William’s cavalry and infantry.

The Normans suffered heavy losses, but through a combination of the deadly skill of their archers and the ferocious determination of their cavalry they eventually won the day.

Morale had collapsed on the battlefield as word spread through the ranks that Harold, last of the Anglo-Saxon kings, had been killed

William was declared King of England on December 25, and the complete subjugation of his Anglo-Saxon subjects followed.

Those Normans who had fought on his behalf were rewarded with the lands of Anglo-Saxons, while within an astonishingly short space of time, Norman manners, customs and law were imposed on England – laying the basis for what subsequently became established ‘English’ custom and practice.

The Campbells, meanwhile, came to stamp an indelible mark on the historical record and bearers of the name today throughout the United Kingdom are entitled to share in the proud Scottish Clan Campbell’s motto of Forget Not and crest of a boar’s head.

The 26th chief of all the Campbells and 12th Duke of Argyll was Sir Ian Campbell, Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland and of the castles of Dunoon, Carrick, Dunstaffnage and Tarbert and also Admiral of the Western Coast.

Born in 1934, he died in 2001, and was succeeded as 13th Duke of Argyll by his son Torquhil Ian Campbell, born in 1968, and who in 2002 married Eleanor M. Cadbury, of the famous Cadbury multi-national confectionery company that was first established in Birmingham in 1824.

Honours and distinction

In the field of conflict, bearers of the Campbell name have been recipients of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of enemy action for British and Commonwealth forces.

Born in 1876, John Vaughan Campbell was an English-born recipient of the honour.

A son of the 2nd Earl of Cawdor, who was killed fighting as a British Army captain in the Zulu War of 1879, he had been a temporary lieutenant-colonel commanding the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, during the First World War when he performed the actions for which he was awarded the VC.

This was in September of 1916 at Givenchy, France, during the battle of the Somme, when he rallied his men to successfully attack an enemy machine-gun nest that had been wreaking havoc among their ranks.

Later promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, he died in 1944, while his VC is now on display at the Guards Regimental Headquarters (Coldstream Guards RHQ), in Wellington Barracks, London.

Born in Ayrshire in 1917, Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell was a posthumous recipient of the VC during the Second World War.

This was when, piloting a Bristol Beaufort aircraft over Brest harbour, France, with great precision he managed to launch a torpedo that caused extensive damage to the mighty German battlecruiser Gneisenau – damage that resulted in the cruiser being put out of action for six vital months.

Campbell and his three crew mates were killed when their aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed into the harbour while, in recognition of their daring and skilled attack, the Germans recovered their bodies and buried them with full military honours.

From warfare to the world of business, one particularly enterprising bearer of the Campbell name and one whose legacy survives to this day in the form of a popular range of foodstuffs, was Joseph Albert Campbell, the founder along with Abraham Anderson in 1869 of the Campbell’s Soup Company.

Born in 1817 in Bridgeton, New Jersey, he had been a fruit merchant when he formed what proved to be his highly successful partnership with Anderson, an icebox manufacturer.

Producing a range of soups, condiments, minced meats, jellies and canned vegetables, the company rapidly flourished and, after Anderson left the partnership in 1876, became the Joseph A. Campbell Preserve Company.

Joseph A. Campbell died in 1900, while the company now also produces a range of health beverages and snacks.

Known now as the Campbell Soup Company, or Campbell’s, and headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, an iconic silkscreen image of a can of Campbell’s soup – Small Torn Campbell Soup Can (Pepper Pot) – executed by the late New York-based ‘pop’ artist Andy Warhol in 1962, fetched $11.8m at auction in 2006.

In the world of politics, Alastair Campbell, born in 1957 in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire, and the son of a Scottish veterinary surgeon, is the journalist, author and broadcaster who served from 1997 to 2003 as director of strategy and communications for British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

It was in his role of main political aide to Tony Blair that in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 he became embroiled in controversy over allegations that he had been involved in ‘sexing-up’, or distorting, intelligence information concerning weapons of mass destruction held by Iraq and to justify the invasion of the country.

Selected extracts from the voluminous diaries that he compiled during his years serving Blair were first published in 2007 as The Blair Years.

Not only a veteran British politician but also a former record-holding athlete, Sir Walter Menzies Campbell was born in Glasgow in 1941.

Better known as Ming Campbell, he served as leader of the Liberal Democrats from March of 2006 until October of 2007 while, as an athlete, it was from 1967 until 1974 that he held the British record for the 100-metres sprint.

Member of Parliament for North East Fife and a spokesperson for his party on foreign affairs, he was prominent in his opposition to the invasion of Iraq.

In Canadian politics, Avril Phaedra Douglas Campbell, better known as Kim Campbell, is the politician who, as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, served as 19th Prime Minister of Canada from June of 1993 until November of the same year.

Born in 1947 in Port Alberni, British Columbia, the politician, diplomat, writer and university professor is the first and, to date, the only female Prime Minister of Canada.

Having also served as a Justice Minister, it was during her tenure in this post that she was responsible for the passing of legislation known as the Rape Shield Law that protects an alleged victim’s sexual past from being exploited during a trial.

One of the most poignant tales concerning bearers of the Campbell name relates to Mary Campbell, fondly known as Highland Mary, and who was immortalised in verse by the great Scottish bard Robert Burns.

Born in 1763 at Dunoon, on the west coast of Scotland, it was while working as a young lass on a farm near Tarbolton, in Burns’ native Ayrshire, that Mary is first thought to have met the bard.

Burns penned the famous poems The Highland Lassie O, Highland Mary and, after her untimely death from typhoid at the age of 23, To Mary in Heaven.

It is thought that, shortly before her death and Burns’ later marriage to Jean Armour, the poet had hoped to emigrate from Scotland to Jamaica with Mary, after the couple had already plighted their undying ‘troth’ or love for one another in an old and informal Scottish marriage ceremony that involved exchanging Bibles over a river.

Read more

Family History Mini Book


We hope you enjoyed reading this excerpt from this mini book on the English history of the Campbell family.

You can buy the full book for only
$5.08

150 Clan Campbell

Tartan Products

The Crests

of Clan Campbell

Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell

69 Clan Campbell

Crest Products

Mottos

of Campbell

Forget not
Forget Not

Divisions

of Campbell

Bannatyne
Burnes
Burness
Calder
Campbell of Argyle
Campbell of Argyll
Campbell of Armaddie
Campbell of Braemar
Campbell of Breadalbane
Campbell of Cawdor
Campbell of Glenlyon
Campbell of Inveraray
Campbell of Lochawe
Campbell of Lochlane
Campbell of Loudon
Campbell of Possil
Cattell
Donachie
Fisher
Hawes
Haws
Hawson
Hurry
Isaac
Isaacs
Keller
Loudon
MacDermott
MacDiarmid
MacGibbon
MacIver
MacKellar
MacNicol
MacQuaker
MacTavish
MacVicar
Ochiltree
Orr
Pinkerton
View more

Spellings

of Campbell

Cambel
Cammell
Cambele
Cambale
Cambal
Cambell
Cambelle
Camble
Campbele
Campble
Campbill

217 Clan Campbell

Products