Loading
Loading

Clan Lamont

NEITHER SPARE NOR SCORN


Clan Lamont are a Highland clan, alleged to have descended from the Irish prince Ánrothán Ua Néill. They ruled the Cowal peninsula in Argyll on the west coast of Scotland for several hundred years, although their defeat by clan Campbell in the Dunoon massacre was havy and resulted in many Lamonts moving to the Scottish Lowlands.

The Lamont clan motto is "Ne Parcas nec Spernas" (Neither spare nor despise) and the clan crest is a raised hand.

Scottish History

of Clan Lamont


Norse code

Mystery surrounds the source of the Lamont clan. The general consensus is that they are descended from the O’Neills, an Irish Royal family which ruled the kingdom of Dal Riata, on Scotland’s west coast.

Dal Riata (or Dalriada) consisted of what is now Argyll and Bute and Lochaber in Scotland along with County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It’s thought it was established in the sixth century.

It is believed Anrothan O’Neill settled in that part of Scotland in the eleventh century and became its ruler. Five clans claim descent from him. Along with the Lamonts they are MacEwen of Otter, Maclachlan, MacNeil of Barra, and the MacSweens.

The name Lamont originated from a chap called Lauman who lived in the Cowal Peninsula in the mid thirteenth century. Lauman is believed to be a descendant of O’Neill. But here’s the conundrum: Lauman is an old Norse name meaning lawman. So how did a relative of an Irish prince come to have a Scandinavian name?

One explanation is that the Norse invaders settled on the west coast of Scotland and married locals. So marriage between a female descendant of O’Neill, who by now were known as Scots, and a Viking was possible.

Prior to Lauman’s birth the clan was known as Mac’erachar (son of Fearchar), who was the grandfather of Lauman, who lived around 1200. He was an O’Neill and as such an Irish royal. At that time the whole of the west coast of Northern Britain was ruled by the Vikings. It is possible, therefore, that it was Fearchar who married into Norse nobility, which would explain why one of his descendants had a Norse name. However, Fearchar’s son, and therefore Lauman’s father, was called Malcolm. In addition, one historian suggests that Lauman’s mother was a daughter of Somerled, who was known as ri Innse Gall, or King of the Hebrides. This dual royal link could explain why Lauman became such a powerful figure, at some stage he was knighted, but it doesn’t explain his name.

What is clear is that the Lamonts can trace their existence back to him. It is also confirmed that he lived on the Cowal Peninsula in 1238.

The name Lauman is derived from the Norse word lagman which translates into lawman or judge. Significantly, Sir Lauman became a highly-respected judge and his descendants became known as Mac Laomainn.

The family were powerful landowners. At around 1238 Sir Lauman, along with his uncle Duncan, granted the monks of Paisley the Church of Kilfinan, land at Kilmun and land with a chapel at Kilmory in Loch Gilp. In return the monks were to pray for the souls of the Lamonts. These deeds were recorded in writing and survive to this day.

At that point the Lamonts were said to have owned the whole of Cowal and large parts of Argyll. Some historians suggest that they were the most powerful clan in the area. The measure of a clan’s wealth and power can be calculated by the amount of property and land they owned. And that put the early Lamonts right near the top of the Scottish tree. Their headquarters were at Toward Castle, opposite Rothesay Bay and their land stretched from the edge of Dunbartonshire to Loch Fyne. At one time or another they were masters of Ascog Castle, Toward Castle, Kilfinan Church and an estate at Invernyne. Of them, only the church at Kilfinan survives. It is still operating as the local parish kirk and many senior clansmen, including Sir Lauman’s son, Malcolm Lamont, are buried there. Malcolm, the second chief of Clan Lamont, who was born around 1250 in the Cowal Peninsula, became a crusader and died in 1294.

The deadly feud

In 1314, after the Battle of Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce had rid Scotland of English rule and became king. Among his many enemies during his eight-year struggle for Scottish independence were the Comyns, who vied with him for the throne. The MacDougalls, a powerful clan in Lorne, were kinsmen of the Comyns and the Lamonts supported them against Bruce.

When Bruce was crowned he took revenge against his foes and promoted his supporters.

Among those who helped Robert the Bruce and his grandson, Robert the High Steward, was Sir Colin Campbell of Lochow. When Robert the Steward became King Robert II in 1371, he made Campbell hereditary keeper of his royal castle in Dunoon. From that day the Campbells did everything they could, with Royal acquiescence, to take over the Cowal peninsula. The Lamonts lost much of their land to them, despite the fact there had been a fair amount of intermarriage between the two clans.

The feud continued for centuries and in the 17th century came the darkest moment in the history of Clan Lamont.

In 1644 clan chief, Sir James Lamont of that Ilk, pledged his support to the English Royalists in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1644 -1650). This was a major conflict which engulfed Scotland, England and Ireland. They included the Bishops Wars, the English Civil War and Irish Confederate Wars.

Charles I had given Sir James Lamont of that Ilk the job of crushing the rebels in his back yard. That brought him into confrontation with the Campbells.

Sir James Lamont of that Ilk joined forces with Alasdair MacColla’s Irish contingent to take on the Campbells. At Dunoon they viciously set about their enemies. And at the Tower of Kilmun after the defending Campbells surrendered with the promise of their lives being spared, the prisoners, 33 men, women and children, were savagely murdered.

Several months later in May 1646 the Campbells sought revenge. They besieged the Lamont castles at Ascog and Toward and forced the defenders to surrender. A written agreement guaranteeing their safety was signed by both parties.

However, the Campbells didn’t keep their word and shipped the Lamonts to Dunoon by boat.

The castles were looted and burned to the ground. Sir James and his closest kin were kept prisoners in the dungeon of Dunstaffnage Castle, near Oban, for the next five years. He was forced to sign away his estates. In the churchyard at Dunoon 250 Lamonts were executed. Thirty-six of the clan’s high-ranking gentlemen were hanged from a tree, cut down and then buried either dead or alive in a common grave with the rest of the victims of the massacre.

In 1651 Sir James Lamont and Alasdair MacColla were taken to Stirling Castle to be tried for their crimes against the Campbells in Argyll. Sir James never faced a trial but was kept prisoner at the castle until Oliver Cromwell overran Scotland that year.

It’s estimated that the damage caused by the Campbells to Lamont property and possessions was valued at £50,000. Today that would be worth more than £5 million. To add insult to injury Lamont was forced to pay for board and lodgings while incarcerated.

Many Lamonts, terrorised by the Campbells, fled their lands and changed their names to save their lives. To this day there are many Browns, Blacks and Whites to be found on the west coast of Scotland who were originally Lamont.

Sir James Lamont’s wife and children escaped in a boat to Ireland, but were forced to take the Macdonald name in order to survive and avoid persecution. The Lamont name was on the verge of dying out but Sir James Lamont’s son, who was unborn at the time of the massacre, was told his real name and he maintained the family line.

One of a small number of survivors from the massacre was Sir James Lamont’s sister who secreted the surrender document in her hair, thus preserving a record of the Campbells’ deceit. In 1662, the ringleader of the massacre, Sir Colin Campbell, stood trial for his crimes. The document formed part of the evidence against him. He was found guilty and executed.

The Lamont Memorial at Dunoon was erected in 1909 by the Clan Lamont Society (Scotland), to commemorate the massacre.

Read more

Family History Mini Book


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

You can buy the full book for only
$5.08

114 Clan Lamont

Tartan Products

The Crests

of Clan Lamont

Clan Lamont
Clan Lamont
Clan Lamont
Lamond family
Lamond family

69 Clan Lamont

Crest Products

Divisions

of Lamont

Black
Blake
Brown
Burdon
Gildowie
Lamb
Lamondson
Landers
Lucas
Luke
Lyon
MacCracken
MacGilledow
MacIlwhom
MacLamond
MacLucas
MacPatrick
MacPhorich
MacSorley
Meikleham
Munn
Patrick
Sorley
Toward
Turner
White
View more

Spellings

of Lamont

Lamon
Lemond
Limond
Limont
Lamonson
Lamond
Lemmont
Lawmondson

181 Clan Lamont

Products