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LAND,
FEUDALISM AND CLAN MCCOWAN
A
Learning Resource for Celtic Studies and World History to the Sixteenth Century
Introduction
This paper was originally prepared in 1991 as an introduction to feudalism and
patterns of medieval land-holding based on some historical data connected with
the McCowan family of Cumnock, Ayrshire, in southwest lowland
Scotland
. Because the McCowan family was a humble one, directly-related data is
difficult to find. But historical connections with other and more influential
families can be interpreted and analyzed to draw certain reasonable conclusions
and theories regarding the McCowans – their early origins, place in society
and evolution in the context of their community.
The medieval period is the transition between the dark ages and modern history
– the dark ages characterized by legends handed down orally from one
generation to the next; modern history being supported by an ever-growing body
of written record. Various Celtic peoples populated much of
Scotland
when the Norman Kings began to extend their feudalism north from
England
over 900 years ago. When a Celtic Studies course was proposed at
Subway
One
Academy
(www.fletchersaga.net/LWCAD1.html),
this paper was modestly revised. I hope that this paper will achieve five goals:
1.
To
model methods of historical inquiry and communication, a strand within the grade
11 and 12 World History courses in
Ontario
Curriculum.
2.
To
provide a brief introduction to feudalism in a family history context, modestly
addressing the following fundamental concepts of the Canadian and World Studies
Curriculum in
Ontario
: Systems and Structures; Interactions and Interdependence; Change and
Continuity; Power and Governance.
3.
To
provide some additional vocabulary and narrative that illustrates the
perpetuation of aspects of Celtic culture in rural
Scotland
and, later, in
Canada
.
4.
To
inspire students to actively engage in, arguably, the most profoundly important
of Celtic traditions – the gathering of oral history before it is lost.
5.
To
underscore the notions that history is the all-important study of the evolution
of our values and that detailed family and local history within broader contexts
can add a profoundly important dimension to an understanding of ourselves within
society. Ultimately, the study of history is crucial to making the world a
better place.
Some
Additional Student Resources
·
www.celtscot.ed.ac.uk/EERC_home.htm:
Celtic and Scottish Studies,
University
of
Edinburgh
– European Ethnological Research Centre
·
www.beamccowan.com/oral.htm:
Oral History Interview Strategy
·
www.beamccowan.com/farmand.htm:
Oral History Interview Project: The Farm and the Environment
·
www.beamccowan.com/womenand.htm:
Oral History Interview Project: Women and the Family Farm
·
www.beamccowan.com/field,.htm:
Oral History Interview Project: Field, Food and Family
·
www.beamccowan.com/a1.htm:
A Methodology for Teaching Information Processing (A series of pages to help
students learn by engaging in research, analysis and writing.)
·
http://macewan.pbwiki.com/rstmacewen:
Macewans as Bard-Seanachies (This is from R.S.T. MacEwan, History of Clan Ewan, 1904, pg. 7-11)
·
www.beamccowan.com/glossary.htm:
Glossary of old Scots terms, many of which have gaelic origins.
·
www.beamccowan.com/lowland1.htm
(Selected bibliography regarding the lowland clearances primarily)
·
D.B.
McCowan, To Sustene the Personis: The
Agricultural Revolution (This booklet picks up
where our story below ends, addressing change in Cumnock’s agricultural
community between 1600 and 1800 and the impact on the McCowan family. There are
maps on pages 30 and 31.)
·
D.B.
McCowan, When the Ground Fails: An
Economic Watershed (Agricultural change in Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire,
1600-1815. This booklet sets the stage for James McCowan’s arrival as
Coalmaster at the Stockbriggs Coalworks in 1799.)
·
D.B.
McCowan, Fairs and Frolics: Scottish
Communities at Work and Play (Some celtic-based customs continued on in
rural Scotland, some of which were carried to Scarborough, Canada, by early
nineteenth century settlers.)
·
Hugh
Lorimer, A Corner of Old Strathclyde,
1952. (This book is an intense study of celtic placenames and folklore in the
Cumnock area of Ayrshire and, as such, may serve as a modest model for making
reasoned inferences respecting some remnants of local celtic culture. Dr. John
Strawhorn, renowned Ayrshire historian, felt that Mr. Lorimer perhaps relied a
little too much on the old placenames and their local patterns.)
·
W.F.H.
Nicolaisen, Scottish Placenames, Their
Study and Significance, 1976 (Many placenames are Gaelic – refer in
particular to those in Galloway in southwest
Scotland
)
·
http://members.tripod.com/bob_newcumnock/nchome/welcomex.html
(Some on-line history of the Cumnock area, the Parish of New Cumnock in
particular. Refer especially to the placenames pages.)
·
George
F. Black, The Surnames of
Scotland
: Their Origin, Meaning and History, 1946. (A close study of a subset of
Gaelic names such as those associated with McCowan could probably help with an
understanding of the Gaelic language.)
·
The
British Library holds a sizeable collection of very early charters and documents
relating to Cumnock. It is not known if these documents have been transcribed or
published in some form.
Suggestions
for the Teacher
I.
As
classroom practice for their own oral history interview project, invite one or
two long-time residents of
Toronto
as interview subjects. They will relate stories of a
Toronto
that will very soon be forgotten – the agricultural period up to 1950. This
is only a sub-topic of the much larger and fundamentally important problem of
“what is the future of the family farm in
Ontario
?” The questions on www.beamccowan.com/farmand.htm,
www.beamccowan.com/womenand.htm
and www.beamccowan.com/field,.htm
may be supplemented by additional questions written by students. Student
communication output could take several forms:
a.
Transcription
of the interview with explanatory notes in modest local context.
b.
Detailed
analysis of the interview data within a broader context, carefully quoting
selected interview passages
c.
Within
a celtic tradition form – for example, the student could perform the role of a
fictitious “Seamas MacOwan, seanachie (bard / genealogist) to Clan
Torontonian”.
II.
A
trip to Robarts Library at U of T or the Toronto Reference Library is highly
recommended as these institutions hold many of the publications of the UK Public
Records Office, Scottish History Society, Scottish Record Society and other
“clubs” that transcribed and summarized early Scottish documents. The
University
of
Guelph Scottish Studies
department and library holds a very large collection of Scottish historical
material.
III.
Students
should be encouraged to view each exercise below as only a “broad guideline
for attack”. Students should think about how to best break down the exercise
topic into manageable sub-topics, all linked together. For example, the
“bailie” exercise involves consideration of both the land and the law. In
turn, the law addresses both fairness and strict rules of process.
IV.
The
exercises could be divided amongst the students in the class. Student pairs, for
example, could engage in the inquiry process as a collaborative team, student1
producing “version 1” on a particular sub-topic. His or her partner, as an
“expert” on a related aspect of the larger topic, could help with “version
2” of the sub-topic. Their roles would be reversed for the sub-topic belonging
to student2. Peer review is a crucial aspect of scholarly, academic and
technical publication.
Exercises
Note: Most of these exercises require some additional
research. Clearly identify all of your sources. Be certain to distinguish
between sources of a primary nature and sources of a secondary nature. Refer to
the additional resources and libraries above. Unless otherwise noted, answers
must be in well-structured paragraphs.
1)
Communities:
Characteristics, Development and Interaction
a)
Describe
the value and significance of the land in feudal lowland
Scotland
. Why was the land so important? Draw a diagram illustrating the
inter-relationships between groups of people who depended on the land. In the
diagram, illustrate one or two forces that were external to the local community.
2)
Change
and Continuity
a)
Make
a chronological “time-line” of the major events in this paper that appear to
be of national significance.
b)
Make
a chronological “time-line” of some significant events in this paper that
appear to be of local or family significance.
c)
Then
link at least one of the local / family events to at least one of the more
national events. Explain your interpretation – how you came to link these
events together. Then analyze and describe this connection of events. For
example, discuss any cause and effect. Describe how the larger, more national
structure affected the people. Explain how your own time-line construction helps
you understand the feudal period and its significance to us today.
3)
Social,
Economic and Political Structures
a)
Describe
the role of the bailie in the rural economy. Why was it so important that the
bailie be trusted and respected?
b)
Describe
the role and importance of the clan Seanachie (a bard of sorts or genealogist).
Find and interpret one poem written by a bard about early activities in
southwest
Scotland
such as during the Wars of Independence. You can start your search using
“Blind Harry” or “John Barbour”.
c)
Explain
why you think the names of women appear so infrequently in these early
historical records. Discuss this issue in terms of land-holding, politics and
one other area of your own interest.
4)
Methods
of Historical Inquiry and Communication
a)
Consider
the following statement: “One of the
standard-bearers of Robert the Bruce during the Wars of
Independence
was named McCowan.” By doing
additional research, attempt to prove the truth of this statement. Write a clear
well-organized argument and defend or criticize your sources. Include a
bibliography.
b)
Oral
history interview project: “Farming in
Toronto
, 1920-1950.”
i)
Contact
bmccowan@netrover.com to arrange
meetings with interviewees.
ii)
You
may start with the questions on www.beamccowan.com/farmand.htm,
www.beamccowan.com/womenand.htm
and www.beamccowan.com/field,.htm.
Add your own supplementary questions.
iii)
Communicate
the results of your interview in three distinct sections:
(1)
An
accurate transcription of the interview – both questions and responses
(2)
Your
interpretation and analysis of key portions of the interview
(3)
Your
application of key portions of the interview in the broader context of this
question “What is the future of the family farm in
Ontario
and what should we, as a society, do about it?” This is where you get to say
“here’s how we can all benefit from the study of history…”.
c)
Take
the (fictitious) role of Gilbert McGachan, local clan seanachie in say 1500.
Using the historical resources in this paper and others that you locate, compose
a reasonably accurate description of how the McCowans could have migrated to
Cumnock Parish from Nithsdale, say, a century earlier. You are weaving together
supposed legends and oral histories that have been passed down from earlier
generations. Hence, your paper will be historical fiction, a very useful and
entertaining genre for learning about our past.
d)
Similarly,
take the (fictitious) role of Malcolm McGachan, local clan seanachie in say
1460. Weave your tale of how a junior branch of the McGachan clan were placed in
the estate of Dalquhat in Nithsdale. You can start your tale back in the time of
Robert the Bruce or perhaps earlier.
e)
Contact
the descendants of John Alexander McCaughan of
Toronto
(start at www.electricscotland.com/webclans/m/maceachain2.htm). Ask permission
to review Mr. McCaughan’s original genealogical research materials. Write a
summary of any of his data that connects with the McGachans of Nithsdale.
Describe commonalities between his research and this paper on www.beamccowan.com.
Draw and describe your own conclusions.
f)
Take
the role of Cumnock historian Hugh Lorimer as he was researching his book in
1950, A Corner of Old Strathclyde.
Consider the possibilities that he had interviewed knowledgeable elderly
descendants of the McCowan family in Cumnock – people who had heard stories to
the effect, “McCowan is a family name of
distinction for hundreds of years in the Kirkconnel area. Bruce had a company of
McCowans in the upper Nith district, an honour of which Sanquhar is proud”.
Re-construct the conversations that Mr. Lorimer could have had that caused him
to draw his conclusions. What other research do you think he did that would tend
to confirm his theories?
5)
Citizenship
and Heritage
a)
Consider
the following scenario. James McCowan, tenant in Sanquhar, is pledged to support
his lord who has chosen to support Robert the Bruce in the fight for Scottish
independence. William McGachan is a tenant on nearby Dunbar lands and he has
just learned that his lord will take the English side in an imminent strike
against
Scotland
. James and William are related. Write the dialog of a dramatic scene addressing
a lively meeting between these two cousins. Be sure to have them discuss
political allegiance and a national identity, both in the context of the
progress of the individual in society.
*******************************
Overview
For me, the opening of the door which let me into the
old secrets of our corner of Strathclyde was the translation of the place name
of Bentycowan, one of the hills of the Southern Uplands. It is to be found in
New Cumnock parish. Heretofore Bentycowan consisted of two words Benty and
Cowan. When I divided it into three Gaelic words, Ben, Tigh, and Owen, to me it
was as the lifting of a latch and a step into the open air. Ben – a hill, Tigh
– a house, Owen – personal name of more than one Strathclyde king or ruler,
according to Skene’s “Celtic Scotland.
Hugh
Lorimer, F.S.A., From the Introduction to A
Corner of Old Strathclyde
What
values did James McCowan and other Scots bring to
Canada
and how were these values shaped? How can we view the evolution of these values
in the context of Celtic studies?
The values of Scottish immigrants include respect for and appreciation of:
freedom, individuality, security, material wealth, protection of the environment
and equality. The evolution of these values is profoundly linked with the
evolution of needs, wants and relationships through several centuries of life in
rural
Scotland
. Political, economic, and technological forces provoked change in Scottish
social structure and values. The capacity of the Scot to adapt to change is
perhaps most measurable in his evolving relationship with the land. So the
values mentioned above are closely linked to the land and the Scots’ sense of
place.
Of course, a reasonable analysis of the value system of ordinary Scottish
settlers like the McCowans of Scarborough is very complex. Picking a point to
start the investigation can be equally difficult. The Scarborough Scots were
almost all from the southern Scottish Lowlands. Elsewhere on this web site we
have investigated the profound impact of the agricultural revolution – a
period of intense socio-economic upheaval (1760-1830 approximately) when
thousands were suddenly removed from their plots of land where families had
lived on a subsistence basis for generations.
But our investigation of the evolution of these values with respect to land can
go back even farther, even back past the important sale of vast church
land-holdings in the sixteenth century. This chapter of our investigation looks
briefly at the land-holding relationships that were established in southern
Scotland
after the arrival of the
Normans
900 or so years ago. The
Normans
brought feudalism to most of southern
Scotland
, thereby eventually eliminating most of the old Celtic tribal land-holding
arrangements. But some of the Celtic rural and tribal-like traditions lived on
for quite some time.
In this paper, we’ll try to understand some aspects of the transition from
celtic tribalism to Norman feudalism by looking into and speculating on the very
early history of the McCowan family of
Scarborough
. The ancestors of the McCowans of Scarborough had lived in the Cumnock area of
Ayrshire from at least the early sixteenth century. But what about the preceding
three or four or five centuries…?
Lowland
Feudalism, Land, Kinship and Identity (To circa 1500)
Individuality is perhaps one of the more profound values in western society
today. The debate over civil rights of the individual has been slowly
transforming our law. In some respects in the years leading up to 9-11, the
needs of the community were losing ground to the wants of the individual. On the
other hand, the trend to "identity by number" should perhaps warn us
of a shift back to the nameless society of the early middle ages.
Eight hundred years ago, the notion of personal identity was largely reserved
for the privileged. The feudal lords were generally identified by the lands that
they held. When they were summoned by name before the King or superior, their
names were duly recorded in written land charters and agreements for service and
protection. The lords expended much of their energy protecting their land
holdings from aggressors and potential aggressors. The wants of the nobles were
built around their land: the greater their domain, the greater their power and
influence in the kingdom and the greater their future rewards from the king.
But of course, in a feudal state, all of the land was actually owned by the king
and the King had supreme authority. Feudalism was a relatively straightforward
socio-political order founded on the notion of delegating land (a
"fief") and authority from a higher personality (the "lord")
to a lower personality (the "vassal"). With the King at the apex and
the nameless peasants at the bottom of the pyramid, the system was intended to
operate on the basis of service to the lord by the vassal and protection of the
vassal by the lord. Apart from the security provided by his lord, the peasants'
only "right" was a permission to subsist by cultivating part of his
lord's land. In return, the peasant owed, to his lord, allegiance
("homage"), labour and agricultural produce. While the wants of many
lowland Scottish nobles could perhaps be generally “summed up” as a lust for
power, the peasant probably had no "wants" per se. His whole needs
were delivered by his dual relationship with the land and with his lord.
A unique personal identification for the illiterate feudal peasant was probably
a non-issue as his sphere of activity was so limited, his needs so basic and his
wants practically non-existent. Hence, the peasants did not have surnames eight
hundred years ago. The dozen or so "Johns" in the small community
differentiated themselves from one another by using descriptions such as
"little John", "John the tailor", "John at the weir
[dam]" and "John, the son of Owan". As the community grew and the
lowland society advanced, these men came to be called John Little, John Taylor,
John Weir and John McOwan or McCowan.
In reading the transcriptions and summaries of old records right up to the
nineteenth century, it is very important to remember that “John Smith of
Anytown” was effectively the owner, laird or landlord of the estate of Anytown.
In contrast “James Smith in Anyfield” was just a tenant or cottar on the
farm of Anyfield.
Feudalism had been the most important force in the transformation of the tribal
celtic society into one that more resembled European culture. These reforms were
introduced by the Norman kings beginning about nine hundred years ago. The other
principal mechanisms employed in the process were: the establishment of burghs;
the reform of the church; and personal control of government.
The Norman kings granted lands to their Norman, Breton and Fleming friends
throughout the accessible parts of
Scotland
, thus effectively displacing the Celtic aristocracy. However, the rugged
terrain of the western highlands and islands and of
Galloway
in the extreme southwest largely prevented such a direct feudalization of the
entire country. In these remote areas, the Celtic aristocrats retained their
status as tribal leaders (or "Clan Chiefs") but eventually themselves
gave in to a feudal relationship with the Scottish king.
Thus, the lowland folk integrated, into their culture, the values of the
Anglo-Normans, while the highland clansmen almost completely retained their
traditional Celtic tribal bond of kinship. This partly explains the origin of
the distinction between Lowlander and Highlander. But, at the same time,
intermarriage between the Celtic and Norman aristocratic families allowed the
notion of kinship to realize respect throughout the Scottish upper class.
Intermittently
during the period, 1286 to 1544,
Scotland
and
England
engaged in war. The lowland Scots participated in these wars partly to prevent
the English king from making the Scottish king his feudal vassal. The wars did
much to give the lowlanders a single identity. However, the many decades of
ineffective and child monarchs encouraged the lowland nobles to establish their
own little kingdoms -- generally at the expense of their neighbours. Political
networking was the norm and hundreds of agreements were signed by various nobles
and somewhat lesser families wishing to secure allies. Central control of the
country through the feudal principal of delegation of authority gave way, in
many areas, to total local control of the courts. It was not uncommon for the
greater lords to act as both judge and plaintiff in their respective baronies.
The tribal bond of kinship of the early middle ages had given way to a new kind
of kinship. This new kinship was not based solely on respect for a blood-related
leader but, rather, on a combination of blood and necessity. Certainly, the
local feudal lord would have some blood relatives in his following who,
logically, would take his surname. But there were many others who were not
blood-relatives who needed the protection of a strong and influential lord in
this era of regional lawlessness. Many of these folk would also take the lord's
surname and thus strengthen the feudal bond between them. Entire
"clans" could be assimilated into the feudal family of a stronger
superior and thus lose their former tribal identity. "The land" was
the principal driving force behind this reorganization of lowland society.
Tenants and peasants on the lord's land would provide the lord with financing
for his power struggles, labour for his defence works and food for his army and
household. Further, the more vassals on his lands, the larger his army and the
more likely that he could take land away from another. The peasant’s feudal
connection with the land (through his lord) was almost wholly one of security:
protection and subsistence.
In the study of the relationship between people and land in
Scotland
, it is important to note that, after the Black Death plagues of the late
fourteenth century, there were no serfs on the land. This legal freedom probably
gave the Scottish agricultural peasant some opportunity to develop a value
system different from such value systems in states where slavery was practised.
In the early seventeenth century, legislation effectively established serfdom in
Scottish coalmines, a condition that lasted nearly two hundred years.
The
Clan McCowan in Nithsdale
The
River Nith rises out of the hills in the Parish of New Cumnock, Ayrshire and
flows east and south through the Dumfriesshire parishes of Kirkconnel, Sanquhar
and Morton toward the Solway Firth. The evidence discovered to date seems to
indicate that the ancestors of James McCowan of Scarborough had been situated in
the upper Nith valley since their arrival in
Scotland
over a thousand years ago. An interesting observation of Mr. Hugh Lorimer, a
Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, serves as an introduction to
our investigation of James McCowan's ancestral origins:
McCowan
is a family name of distinction for hundreds of years in the Kirkconnel area.
[Robert the] Bruce had a company of McCowans in the upper Nith district, an
honour of which Sanquhar is proud.[1]
Mr. George F. Black, in his classic, The
Surnames of Scotland, notes that "In the reign of David II there was a
clan M'Gowan, probably located somewhere on the river Nith".[2]
We should be satisfied that Bruce’s company of McCowans was, in fact, the clan
McGowan identified by Mr. Black.
Mr. Black explains that a Gaelic origin for the name McGowan is "Mac
Ghobhainn" or "son of the smith". However, with respect to the
lowland clan McGowan on the River Nith, he specifically states that:
The
name here may indicate descent from Owen the Bald (the Eugenius Calvin of Simeon
of Durham), king of the Strathclyde Britons, who was killed in 1018.
The form "gowan" has often been taken to represent the Gaelic word for
smith. Mr. Lorimer has attempted an explanation for the connection between Owen
and gowan:
Owen
has been converted by this custom into Govan, which in 1518 was Gwuan, showing
that the original was a personal name and not as it is assumed the Gaelic word
Gobhan, which means a blacksmith.[3]
We
thus have one suggested ethnic origin for the surname McCowan in the
southwestern Scottish lowlands. The Britons were a Celtic people who, in the
dark ages, occupied the southwest part of
Scotland
, known as Strathclyde, and the extreme northwest of
England
, known as
Cumbria
. The medieval
Kingdom
of
Galloway
was in the extreme southwest of the Strathclyde area (generally the present
counties of Wigtownshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, southern Ayrshire and western
Dumfriesshire). Galloway had held its ground against the early Norman Kings: The
Normans finally seized part of Nithsdale (the valley of the River Nith) from
Galloway
at the end of the twelfth century.[4]
But it took several more centuries to reduce the influence of Celtic
culture – James Johnson, in The Scottish Macs, believes that southern
Galloway
“was almost purely Celtic down to the days of Queen Mary”.
During the dark ages, there were several local rulers named Owen in this
southwest part of modern
Scotland
.[5]
Through a study of Cumnock area place names and Welsh bardic poetry, Mr. Lorimer
attempts to connect these kings with his "corner of Old Strathclyde":
Owen
enters our place names in a good few instances, especially among the hills. Ben-tig-Owen
[Bentycowan] has been quoted. Owania is mentioned as a site of battle in 756.
There is a McOwen's Knowe among the New Cumnock hills. Another form of the same
word is found in the Euchan water, a tributary of the Nith, which rises in the
same range of hills. McCowan is a family name ...[6]
Certainly, we cannot expect that the McCowans / McGowans of Nithsdale were the
only family with a possible connection with these Strathclyde kings. Indeed,
their influence probably gave rise to many other
Galloway
families. That the name McCowan is relatively uncommon today is probably
largely due to local corruptions of the original "Mac Owen" that must
surely have been frequently used by the followers of Owen the Bald, Owen Galvas
and other powerful lords of the name. Indeed, the "corruption" of
McOwan to McCowan continued well into the nineteenth century.[7]
Many
other names originating from one source have changed in the course of time from
different ideas of spelling and other causes. One instance of this may suffice
... As an instance of the changes names have undergone, Owen may be given. The
first mention of the name in Galloway is that of Owen Galvus, in the beginning
of the 11th century, "and this name is perpetuated in Galloway in the
shapes of Owen, McEwen, McKean, McKeoune, McKeand, McKenna, McCowan, McGowan,
McConochie, McDonochie, all of which are substantially the same." --
Galloway
Register.[8]
The
list of names connecting McCowan with Owan includes some that seem to look more
like Ewan, the englished form of the gaelic Eoghann. George Black summarized
Eoghann:
The
name comes from the Old Irish eo, a yew-tree (Macneill, Oghams, p. 345), and
means “sprung from yew-tree”… In later Scots Gaelic and Latin documents,
the name appears as Eugein, Eugen, Eogain, Heochgain, Heoghan, Heodgen, Avin,
Oan and Ohan, and in Welsh is Owein and Ywein. In the north or northwest it is
correctly Englished Evan or Ewan… Like some other Gaelic names, it arose from
tree-worship among the early Gaels.[9]
Black links the surnames Maceachan and MacGeachan with the McGachans of Dalquat:
Alexander
McQuuichin of Dalquhat was outlawed in 1528… John McGauchane was burgess of
Edinburgh
, 1540… Roland MacGaghen of Wyggeton rendered homage 1296 (Bain II, p. 198).
In 1377 Morice McGaychin and others had a safe conduct at request of Archibald
Douglas, Lord of Galloway.[10]
Of this Roland MacGaghen, it has been found:
Roland
McCaughan, c A.D. 1255-1307, (sometimes spelled the name McGachan),
Del Counte de Wigtown and also of Barmagachan, Kirkcudbrightshire and Rathcachan
(Rath n Eac'ain) the 5th historical Head of his House, the 10th MacEachain Mor,
and the 5th Feudal Baron, in 1291 A.D., Roland and his eldest son, Hector, are
recorded by their official name of Askeloche (sic) when they served on the
Assize Jury at Berwick-On-Tweed. Roland is registered on the part of the Ragman
Roll compiled from Wigtownshire, when he swore fealty and rendered homage to
Edward lst, King of England, and evidently attended the Parliament of Berwick,
held from the 28th of August to September 16th 1296. Roland's seal of Arms as
appended to the Ragman Roll and still evident are..Or a dexter Hand apaumee and Erect Cules.. (cropped red, right hand
on Or, or white). In 1300 Roland and his wife, Katerina (Kathleen) granted a
Charter of some of their land at Barmagachan for the Parish of Borgue,
Kirkcudbrightshire. In this charter (still evident) Roland's family name and
again his official name of Askelaoches (sic) are both used. The many times the
To- name was used by members of these families establish beyond a doubt that
their forefathers were the Heads or Chief Officials in the Native or
Pictish
Church
in their domain. It is also intimated that in Roland's time, he also held
certain parts of his Mother's land near Allordale,
Cumberland
,
England
, and there was referred to as the lst Lord Baron of McCaughan. Because of his
active participation in the Scottish war for
Independence
on the side of Robert the Bruce, Roland's lands in Wigtownshire were forfeited
to the English Crown. He was killed during battle fighting alonside King Robert
1st. Roland and Lady Katerina McCaughan had with other issue, two sons, Hector
and Fergus…
Of an earlier generation, this same source states:
Roland
McCaughan, the younger, sometimes Roland McGauchan, or Roland de Mearns, by
which he was better known, was Laird Barone of a district in Renfrewshire, at
Paisley
,
Scotland
. His granddaughter, Lady Mary McGauchan, the heretrix of the Baroney of Mearns,
married Sir Aymer Maxwell and they were the ancestors to the Earls of Nithsdale
and all the House of Maxwell. Sir Aymer and his wife, Lady Mary, served on the
Council of Alexander 111 rd., King of Scotland 1249-1286, till September 1255
after which Sir Aymer was Chamberlain of Scotland 1258-1260 and Jucticiar of
Galloway 1264 A.D….[11]
Indeed, the spelling "McCowan" is rare in the Dumfriesshire vital
statistics records, 1700-1900[12]:
forms of McCun and McKune being much more common. Throughout
Scotland
, local pronunciations, dialects and other influences resulted in the adoption
of alternative spellings of surnames. In the case of the early MacOwen,
"McCowan" came to dominate among the spelling variations in Cumnock,
Ayrshire, while "McGowin" was a favoured form in Whithorn,
Wigtownshire, in
Galloway
[13].
Mr. James Brown, in his History of
Sanquhar, suggests a different ethnic origin for the Nithsdale clan McGowan:
To
his [Edgar's] grandson Donald, David II, who began to reign on the death of his
father Robert the Bruce in 1329, granted the captainship of the MacGowans, a
numerous clan of the Scoto-Irish then located in the [Nithsdale] district.[14]
The Scotti, another Celtic race, had invaded Galloway from
Ireland
about five centuries earlier. According to Mr. Brown's sources, Donald was
descended from Dunegal of Stranith, a Scoto-Irish chief who ruled Nithsdale from
Morton castle in the early twelfth century. Donald's father apparently adopted
the surname Edgar (after his own father) -- "one of the earliest recorded
instances of the adoption of a surname in Nithsdale" according to Mr.
Brown. Evidently, by the early fourteenth century, Richard Edgar owned Eliock
and only half of the barony of Sanquhar, the other half then in the possession
of William de Crichton. Although Donald Edgar was granted captainship of the
Clan McGowan in the mid fourteenth century, it may be doubtful that the alliance
had any longterm effect on the Clan for, about this time, the Crichton family
purchased the Edgar half of the barony of Sanquhar. Indeed, in his History of
Dumfries, William McDowall seems to suggest that the "Dunegal dynasty
was becoming less powerful" by about this time and "its influence
finally disappeared".[15]
We may be fairly certain that relatively few McCowans / McGowans changed their
name to Edgar as that relationship probably lasted only a short time.
The Crichtons dominated the local Sanquhar politics for well over two hundred
years until the removal of Lord Crichton to Cumnock in the early seventeenth
century. The details of the relationship between the McCowans and the new lords
Crichton of Sanquhar are not known to this writer. However, the two families
were to have a good relationship in Cumnock that was to last over three
centuries.[16]
Robert
Bain, Clans and Tartans of Scotland,
suspects that Clan MacGowan was in Nithsdale as early as the twelfth century.
Whether the McCowans of Cumnock are directly descended from Owen the Bald, King
of the Strathclyde Britons, or from Owen Galvus, will probably never be
determined. But Celts they were, nonetheless.
Moreover, we can be almost certain that the ancestors of James McCowan of
Scarborough
had never been a sept (or “sub-clan”) of the McDougall, McDonnell or
Colquhoun clans as the clan pocket books might have us believe. The Galloway and
Nithsdale McCowans seem to have had origins quite independent of those of the
McCowans farther north. Mr. Black suggests that, in the
Highlands
, Cowan and McCowan are anglicized forms of "MacIlchomhghain",
"son of the servant of St. Comgan". This could probably apply to the
large group of McCowans in Argyleshire associated with the McDougal clan, and
perhaps to the McCowans on Skye.
The McCowans of Perthshire seem to have links with the
Campbells
through the McEwans and McDougalls.[17]
With respect to a connection between Cowan (and McCowan) and the Colquhouns of
Loch Lomond, the clan pocket books are apparently relying on a source used by
Sir William Fraser in The Chiefs of
Colquhoun and Their Country (Vol. 2, p. 186): "According to Buchanan of
Auchmar, these descendants [Colquhoun of Corstoun and Colquhoun of Bohearty]
changed their name to Cowan". There was a group of MacEwens in
Dunbartonshire on the shores of
Loch Lomond
. Perhaps some of these changed their name to MacOwan or MacCowan giving rise to
the presumed association with Colquhoun. However, I have found little else in
the records to suggest a general connection between McCowan and the
Loch Lomond
clan Colquhoun.[18]
The development of surnames and the demographics of medieval
Scotland
were much more complex than are implied in the listings of the clan and tartan
pocket books.
Personal identity for the lower classes through the adoption of surnames gained
favour in lowland society as time fashioned the relationships between vassal and
land, vassal and landlord and vassal and the spoken and written word. The
lowland feudal variation of the former tribal kinship was another development
that arose out of the set of relationships and values peculiar to lowland
Scotland
. The actions of both vassal and lord were precipitated by the social, economic
and political values that they held. That lowland society was able to adapt to
both internal and external forces was a result of the resilience of the
personalities, the legal and social institutions and the economic and political
philosophies that then served the nation.
The
Lairds of Dalquhat and Barlanachan
That James McCowan's ancestors were of the Nithsdale McGowan / McCowan Clan
might perhaps be supported by the following observation that, on June 26, 1934,
Sir David McCowan, a grandson of William McCowan of Capon Acre, Cumnock, was
given the title, Baronet, of Dalwhat, County of Dumfries[19].
Indeed, on October 28, 1601, "McGahan
of Dalquhat", signed a bond with Douglas of Drumlanrig, one of the
principal Dumfriesshire lords.[20]
Bonds of this sort are discussed in the section, Politics, Feud, Local
Self-Regulation and Bonds”.
During this era of spelling variation, inconsistency and evolution, the McGowan
family of the Nith valley was apparently recorded as McGachane in 1505 when
Malcolm McGachane of Dallqhot was one of over a dozen Dumfriesshire parties
(predominantly landowners apparently) to a retour of special service[21].
There were numerous variations in the spelling of that old and numerous clan
Macgowan of Nithsdale.
In the early sixteenth century, George Makgathan was the owner or laird of the
lands and
mansion
of
Barlanathane
in Cumnock[22]
about twenty miles northwest of Dalquhat. Subject to verification, I strongly
suspect that George McGachane (as his name was also spelt) of Barlanathane (or
Barlanachan) was related in some way to the McGahans / McGachanes of Dalquhat in
Dumfriesshire. I also suspect that the McCowans of Cumnock have some family
connection with the laird (landlord) of Barlanathane.[23]
As discussed in To Sustene the Personis,
the McCowans of Cumnock generally occupied farms on the estate of Leifnoreis in
Cumnock from at least the beginning of the seventeenth century (when records
regarding the farming classes become somewhat more available). While we cannot
say exactly when the ancestors of James McCowan adopted the surname McCowan, we
do know that one William McCowane was "confusedly apprehended" and
"not lawfully arrested" in Cumnock in 1515[24].
Perhaps more fortunate were James McCowane and William McCowane who were among
several dozen Cumnock parishioners (including George McGathan of Barlunachan)
who chose Sir Thomas Crauford as the Parish Clerk in 1531[25].
If a connection with the estate of Barlanathane is indeed true, the McCowans had
probably arrived in Cumnock, Ayrshire, in very good circumstances – at least
one of them was a landlord. It is possible that the family leader in upper
Nithsdale set up a younger son with the Barlanathane estate in Cumnock, say, in
the fifteenth century. It is also possible that the Earl of March feued
(sub-granted in effect) Barlanathane to the family as early as the fourteenth
century when the Earl acquired the barony of Cumnock. Doubtless, the powerful
Earl of March played some role in a demographic adjustment of upper Nithsdale
society. In any event, the migration of the McCowans from the Kirkconnel side of
the county border into Cumnock is, to be sure, the story of an evolving
relationship between father and son, vassal and land and vassal and lord.
Three
miles farther up the River Nith from the Ayrshire / Dumfriesshire boundary stood
the
Castle
[26]
of
Cumnock
, the local baronial fortress of the Earls of March, the
Dunbar
family. A very powerful family in both southwest and southeast
Scotland
, the principal lands of the Earls of March were in the southeast. By the early
fourteenth century they had acquired possession of the barony of Cumnock and, in
1368, the family received a Crown grant of the barony of Mochrum in Wigtownshire[27].
By 1440 they had evidently feued out the estate of Leifnoreis to the Crawford
family.[28]
Leifnoreis was in the northwest corner of the barony of Cumnock beside the Lugar
Water while Barlanachan was at the east end of the parish. Through their
immediate laird, whether Crawford of Leifnorreis or McGachan of Barlanachan, the
McCowans of Cumnock owed their ultimate allegiance to the
Dunbars
in time of war.
Land
and War
In his article on Anna MacGowan, Poetess
and Rhymster, A. Trotter explains her ancestry:
The
surname however is an old one, the clan McGowan having been one of those located
in Nithsdale in early times under the potent family of Edgar, and bore a Scotch
thistle as crest, with the Motto “Juncta arma decori” (arms united to
glory), a reference to the fighting propensities of the race.[29]
The poetry and other writings of the tribal bards -- the historians of the dark
and early middle ages -- are dominated by references to struggle. During this
period, the celtic aristocracy (the mormaers or earls) held certain values with
respect to land -- and a prominent expression and outcome of these values was
war.
On the surface, the control of territorial lands was the issue over which war
was generally waged. However, a need to redistribute or move a population (a
demographic issue) was probably very seldom an actual contributing cause
of war (except where invaders had previously pushed the people out of their
native territory and new lands were thus needed)[30].
Rather, a redistribution of people was generally a result of war: the
conquered were expelled (or enslaved) and the victorious moved in. Aristocratic
want or vanity -- as opposed to desirable demographics and tribal community
economic and social prosperity -- was, more often than not, the real cause of
war. Aristocrats and peasants alike perished in the process of securing stature
for the tribal leaders, for example:
Gillacomgan,
son of Maelbrigde, mormaer of Moray, and fifty of his men were burned to death,
1032.[31]
But
we must remember that the lower classes also held values with respect to land.
Foremost among these was the social requirement that the tribal leader must have
stature and power in order to protect those beneath him -- and to have stature,
he must have a domain. An end result of the value system that prevailed in the
dark and early middle ages was war.
Evidently, somewhat more than a thousand years ago, the powerful earls realized
that a
united kingdom
could more easily hold back the English and Norse aggressors. One of the last
of the independent rulers, Owen the Bald, King of Strathclyde, joined forces
with Malcolm II at the Battle of Carham in 1018. It was war that brought the
country together, war that maintained the unity and war that kept external
intervention out of the national politics. The notion of nationhood had crept
into the value system held by the Scots.
But why did the prevailing values with respect to land so often lead to war? Why
was war so frequently used to resolve disputes? Could the Celtic aristocrats not
have negotiated the boundaries of their lands? Was diplomacy not an alternative?
Were there no laws (other than local tribal laws)? As society was then just
rising out of relative barbarism, negotiation was largely foreign to the
political vocabulary. Nationhood was so new an idea that diplomacy was simply
not yet one of the tools of government. Laws cannot be developed until a
socio-political structure has been established, consolidated and nurtured.
Indeed, we need only survey the primitive state of communication technology to
understand why "diplomacy" could not generally be effective. The
political leaders then could not negotiate by telephone, fax, email or
"same-day" courier service. An absence of protocol would allow the
dagger of an over-ambitious aide to prematurely end a face-to-face meeting of
the opposing leaders. It was possibly just as quick and easy to send a small
army as it was to wait for foot-messengers to relay offers and counter-offers
back and forth across the country. Land and the resources of the land are still
very much the subject of struggle. Today, however, the communications mechanisms
by which war may be averted are readily available.
War upset the social, political and economic structure of society. The conquered
were forced into slavery. Smithies, houses and barns were looted and destroyed.
Cattle and horses were slaughtered. Crops were burned. Game was frightened away.
The physical devastation of the natural environment took decades to repair. The
aftertaste of defeat sometimes led to civil disobedience, insurrection and civil
war. Economic and social progress was very slow indeed because of the
disruptions caused by war.
Politics,
Feud, Local Self-Regulation and Bonds
Through fire and sword, the Norman rulers slowly established control over the
kingdom and implanted feudalism as the economic, social and political framework
of the lowlands. The tribal principles of territorial control based on blood
gave way to actual land ownership by the king and delegation of ownership to his
favourites. Surely this concept of seizing the traditional clan lands and giving
them to a foreigner was quite objectionable to the Highlander. On the other
hand, the
Normans
possibly could see little logic in land control based on such fuzzy and
outdated notions as "tradition" and "kinship". The opposing
philosophies clashed in the Scottish highlands for centuries. The objections of
the Highlanders to "foreign" intervention in their traditional way of
living on the land found some degree of expression in the uprisings of the early
eighteenth century (although these objections have generally been overshadowed
in the literature by imperial politics).[32]
Because the king had the power to grant both land and local authority, it was
vitally important to the feudal aristocrat to maintain a close connection with
the crown. Succession to the throne was often disputed by rival royal parties,
each asserting that his own claim was the more legitimate. The suitors to the
crown gathered their supporters and violence would often erupt. The aristocracy
had intermarried to such an extent that a particular noble might have to choose
between supporting the claims of his cousin and those of his brother-in-law.
Again, war had little directly to do with the needs of the lower classes. The
principles of feudalized-kinship had molded the values of the lowland lower
classes: the vassals willingly participated in war in defence of their lord's
political wants.
Even the Wars of Independence (which did much to forge a lowland Scottish
identity) were not without the royal politics. Rev. John Warrick of Old Cumnock
Parish describes the changing political priorities of Patrick Dunbar, Eighth
Earl of March, and his son during the Wars of Independence:
It
is melancholy, however, to relate that this great noble, who held the chief
fortress in our vicinity [Cumnock], was not in favour of Scotland's struggle for
freedom, and had actually taken service in the army of England ... Patrick's
successor in the Earldom of March at first followed in the steps of his father,
and allied himself with England ... His political sympathies were clearly shown
by the assistance he gave to Edward II after the battle of Bannockburn, for he
received the conquered king into his castle at Dunbar, and helped him to escape
by sea to his own country. Soon after, however, a change came over his views,
and he, with his forces, joined the army of Robert Bruce, taking part in the
siege of Berwick in 1318. Later on, he adhered to the cause of David II, the son
and successor of Bruce, but in 1332 he was not unjustly suspected of favouring
the claim of Edward Baliol to the Scottish Crown.[33]
In their pursuit of power and material wealth, the nobility often changed horses
in time with political expedience. One must wonder how the shallow and
pretentious loyalties of the great lords affected the lower classes. Did the
followers of the Earl of March then have any sense at all of an emerging Lowland
Scottish identity -- and if they did, how did that sense measure against their
obligations to their lord? Was their connection with their lord's land stronger
than their connection with the new "Land" – that is, the infant
national identity? Did any of the middle class families attempt a neutral stance
in political / military issues? And, of those that did, how many survived as a
family community? On the other hand, was it common for a lesser family to be
politically or economically motivated to switch allegiance from one lord to
another? And how did the particular political strategy of one nobleman affect
his peers? These uncertainties in the political climate prompted the making of
written "bonds".
Beginning about the middle of the fifteenth century (and continuing for 150
years), bonds of service and bonds of protection bound the "grantor"
to certain obligations. Some written agreements at this time could be more
accurately described as bonds of political alliance and friendship. Nonetheless,
these bonds of "manrent", "maintenance" and friendship were
prompted, not by matters of property and material wealth, but out of concern for
more closely defining the relationship between lord and vassal and lord and
ally. McGahan of Dalquhat and Douglas of Drumlanrig signed such a bond in 1601.[34]
Some of these agreements were intended to promote a particular vision of
national political stability. For example, in 1543, Lord Crichton and some four
dozen other earls, lords, bishops and masters signed a:
Bond
promising mutual support; made because of the lack of policy and justice in the
country since the death of James V, the desire for private profit of those who
govern, and the danger that the country will be subdued by their old enemies of
England; and because the signatories are true and faithful subjects, having zeal
for justice and the liberty and honour of the realm[35]
Other bonds were formulated to strengthen a particular local, military, or
political position: in 1526 Ninian Crichton of Bellbocht granted to James
Douglas of Drumlanrig that he would not support Lord Crichton of Sanquhar
"if he wrongfully molests
Douglas
, but will counsel him to desist"[36].
Such agreements, as a general class, tended to both promote and discourage
disorder.
Some bonds were even ratified by Parliament with a view to enforcing family
peace in a particular locality. William Weir of Stonebyres, Lesmahagow,
Lanarkshire had evidently murdered the son of James Weir of Blackwood (in the
same Parish) sometime before 1587:
And
our said Sovereign Lord, considering that the foresaid bond of manrent is given
for a necessary and good cause, viz, for keeping and holding of the parties
therein named, being so near in blood, in perpetual quietness in all times
coming, Therefore his Majesty ... ratifies and approves ... the foresaid bond of
manrent of service[37]
We can only imagine that the Weir feud may have been founded in some disputed
division of the family lands.
A family feud over land in Cumnock (Corsincon evidently) seems to connect with
the McCowans through the marriage of Jonet McGachan to Patrick Dunbar. Jonet's
husband was probably the Patrick Dunbar who was attorney or notary for Patrick
Dunbar, son and heir of the late Patrick Dunbar of Corsincon who had been
murdered several months earlier (in 1512) while attending mass at Cumnock church[38].
In this other incident, apparently related to succession to Corsincon estate,
the first Patrick Dunbar was attempting to serve James Dunbar of Cumnock with
papers from the king. In so doing, he intended "no evil purpose" but
"there was display of a sword, knife and other war-like weapons". John
Reid, a servant of James Dunbar, testified that Patrick Dunbar "persecuted
the said James Dunbar under darkness of night, and that James was afraid of the
violent intrusion of Patrick".[39]
The question begs: how could there have been such a problem with the son and
heir of the deceased landowner acquiring title to his late father’s land.
Indeed, how did these personal bonds connect with the land -- the lifeblood of
the subsistence-based[40]
economy? Surely the land was still a very major factor in the relationship
between lord and vassal. Was an increasing personal connection between the great
lords and those who served them (as suggested by the making of bonds of
manrent,1450-1600) an attempt by the lords to make up for a diminishing personal
connection between themselves and their lands[41]?
It would seem that the lords felt that the bonds might minimize political
undermining of their own local authority -- the authority that had come with
their land through feudalism.
The making of these personal bonds was fundamentally aimed at strengthening (or
repairing) the ties of kinship. While those who served the lord were not
necessarily his blood kin, they certainly had a purpose in maintaining his
political status and local authority and, hence, were valued partners in the
feudal family. And it was the lord's land that was the catalyst in giving the
kinship connection the economic substance to survive. For without the land,
neither could the vassal eat and fight for the lord nor could the lord collect
rent and impress the more influential. But as the land took on more and more a
commercial value in the early seventeenth century and as the growing use of
firearms reduced the effect of the landlord's traditional methods of exerting
military control over his domain, the need for a local following diminished and
the lowland “feudal family” went into a steady decline.
Surely the political games and bloody feuds of the barons during the medieval
period were a drain on the energies of the nation. Scottish society was slowly
adapting to this very problem of just how to direct human energy toward
worthwhile social and economic purposes. Throughout the feudal period, the
development of a legal system, a reformed Church and the machinery of government
nurtured the concepts of morality, trust, negotiation, compromise, diplomacy and
social responsibility.
In following sections and in To Sustene
the Personis, we will discuss some of the changes in the lowlands and the
capacity of the rural lowlanders to adapt to change.
Land
and Migration
In the section, "The Lairds of Dalquhat and Barlanachan", we
speculated but briefly as to how the McCowans arrived in Cumnock, Ayrshire, from
the Sanquhar area. We also suggested that the Earl of March may have effected
some redistribution of people when he acquired the baronies of Cumnock and
Mochrum.[42]
Certainly, the
Dunbar
name was common in Cumnock by the sixteenth century and some relatively
powerful family leaders had indeed moved into the area. It is only reasonable to
expect that there was at least some immigration of people of lesser means as
well: both those of the name
Dunbar
, others that were trusted by the new baron such as perhaps a representative of
the McGachans of Dalquat, and a group of peasants to work the baron’s new
lands. | 
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