Ancient ancestor of Scotland. Slavic people have lived in Scotland and Ireland since ancient times

In the heavy mounds, sitting on a horse,
Among the riches, as the grandfathers bequeathed,
Our formidable kings are sleeping: in their sleep
They dream of feasts, battles, victories.
(Bryusov V.)

Many of us, while studying history, were probably interested in where our ancestors went. To many of those who read this article, it may seem like nonsense, but... as they say, there is a lot BUT, and a lot proves once again that a people is strong with its history.

The name of Scotland sounds like Scotland in English. It consists of two words Scot + Land. The word Land is translated as COUNTRY. So Scon+Land means Cattle Country. There is nothing new in this. It is less known that in the old English chronicles the Scots are also called SCYTHIANS, namely SCITHI! For example, the manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. So, the old English chronicle states in plain text that the SCOTTs are the SCYTHIANS. In this case, it turns out that Scotland is the Country of the Scythians, that is, Scithi-Land.

In this regard, it is very interesting to turn to old maps of Scotland. This is probably a trace of the great = conquest, as a result of which Scotland was populated by immigrants from Rus'.

This circumstance again clearly identifies the medieval CATTLES with ROSAS, that is, with immigrants from Rus'. By the way, let's pay attention to the English word Kingdom. It means Kingdom and was previously written as two words King Dom. But the old indigenous Slavic word DOM has not changed at all and, in general, has retained its primary meaning in the languages ​​of Western Europe. Only Western Europeans began to write it down using Latin letters. The result is the word DOM.

The name ROS of this RUSSIAN region remained on maps of Scotland until at least the 18th century.

But especially remarkable from this point of view is the map of the British Isles, compiled by George Lily allegedly in 1546. We see here the same Scottish region, and it is called ROSSIA, that is, simply RUSSIA. Thus, on some maps of Britain in the 16th century, we see a large area in Scotland, directly called RUSSIAN - ROSSIA.

Today, of course, this name is no longer on the map of England. Apparently, during the Reformation of the 16th-17th centuries, all names were prudently removed. They carefully erased all kinds of memories from the memory of peoples.

On another map of Britain from 1754 we see that the RUSSIAN (ROSSIA) region of Scotland is named differently, namely ECOSSA. But this name practically coincides with the English word COSSAck, which still means Russian COSSACKS in English. Thus, the same large area of ​​Scotland was called ROSS on some old maps, that is, probably the RUSSIAN region, and on others - eCOSSA. That is, probably the COSSACK region or the region of the COSSACKS. Which, in principle, is the same thing, since the Russian conquest of the 14th century was carried out by troops, that is, COSSACK troops. Apparently these areas of Scotland were inhabited by a particularly large number of Cossacks who came here in the 14th-15th centuries and developed these lands.

Now another very interesting old name for Scotland, present on medieval maps, becomes clear. It turns out that Scotland was once called SCOCIA. Moreover, the Latin letter C is depicted here practically coinciding with the Latin letter q, that is, Q is small. Further, quite clearly and unequivocally, ALL OF SCOTLAND is completely called SCOCIA on an old map supposedly from 1493. As we are now beginning to understand, the name SCOCIA could well have come from the Slavic word RACE or SKOK (horses).

The Cossacks were equestrians, riders, and rode horses. The Russian-Horde troops included cavalry as the main shock and highly maneuverable military force. It is not surprising that names like RACE, HORSE, SKOK were naturally associated in the minds of people with the cavalry troops of Rus'-Horde. And they froze on the maps in those countries through which the “Mongol” conquest swept and where the Cossacks later settled, beginning the development of new lands.

The fact that SKOCIA in the XIV-XVI centuries was called both SCOTLAND and SCYTHIA follows absolutely unambiguously from ancient maps. So, summing up some results, we get the following. As it turned out, SCOTLAND on old maps was called by the following names: ROS (ROS), ROSS (ROSS), ROSSIA (ROSSIA), SCOTIA (SCOTIA or SCOTS), KOSSA (ECOSSA) - Cossacks, SCOCIA - gallop, horses, riders . That is, in fact, these words point to the same Cossacks.

Let us now turn to the map of England, attributed today to the “ancient” Ptolemy, allegedly 2nd century AD. Above the word ALBION, placed in the center of the Ptolemaic map, we see the name ORDUICES PARISI. That is, probably, HORDA P-RUS or HORDA WHITE RUS = White-Rus. Perhaps the very name of the entire island - ALBION, that is, WHITE - comes from the name of the WHITE Horde, whose troops settled the British Isles during the invasion of the XIV-XV centuries. By the way, on Ptolemy’s map there is the old name of London in the form TRINOBANT (Trinoantes), that is, New Troy.

No less interesting is the map of Ireland from 1754. On it we see an area called ROSCOMMON and a city called ROSCOMMON. It is possible that ROS-COMMON once meant RUSSIAN COMMUNITY, RUSSIAN COMMON land or RUSSIAN PUBLIC land. Or this name comes from RUS-KOMONI, that is, RUSSIAN HORSEMEN, that is, again the same COSSACKS. Let us recall that in the old Russian language the word KOMONI was used to call KONEY, horses.

Thus, we see that on the maps of Britain until the 18th century there were still quite a lot of bright “Russian traces of the Ataman conquest of the 14th-15th centuries. Then they were gradually erased and replaced by other names.

In the chronicle of Nennius, in the chapter entitled “On what the Scots experienced or when they took possession of Ibernia,” Nennius reports: “If anyone wants to know when ... Ibernia was uninhabited and deserted, then the most knowledgeable of the SCOTTs told me the following. When the children of Israel walked along the Red Sea, the Egyptians who were chasing them, as Scripture says, were swallowed up by its waters. The Egyptians had a noble husband from SCYTHIA with numerous relatives and many servants, who, having been expelled from his kingdom, stayed in Egypt at a time when the Egyptians were swallowed up by the opening sea... The surviving Egyptians decided to expel him from Egypt so that he would not seize their country and did not subject her to his power.”

As a result, the Scythians were expelled, set sail and conquered Hibernia. Nennius considers this event to be the conquest of Ibernia by the Scots. Today it is believed that medieval Hibernia = Hibernia is Ireland. However, it is possible that the name Ibernia here means Spain = Iberia. Or some other country.

If in a certain historical era Scythia was also called Scotland, then the next question becomes especially interesting. We saw that the English chronicles called the Russian Tsar Yaroslav the Wise

Maleskold. Therefore, in calling his full title, they would have called him: King of Malescold of Scotland. But today we are well aware of at least several Scottish Malcolm kings in Scaligerian history. Isn't one of them Yaroslav the Wise, or his descendants, transferred to the “island Scottish soil” as a result of a chronological and geographical shift?

Important information is provided on the very first page of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. “On this island (that is, in Britain - Author) there were five languages:

English (ENGLISH),

British or Welsh (BRITISH or WELSH),

Irish (IRISH),

Pictish language (PICTISH),

Latin (LATIN).

... The Picts came from the south of Scythia on warships;

There were few of them, they landed first in northern Ireland and

We turned to the Scots to see if they could settle here...

The Picts asked the Scotts to give them wives... Some of the Scotts came to

Britain from Ireland."

In general, the term Vlachs or Volokhi is well known in medieval Europe. Starting supposedly from the 9th century AD. they lived on the territory of Romania and formed the state-principality of Wallachia. It is remarkable that the second name of Wallachia was Tsara Romyniaska, that is, the Romanian or Roman Country. Wallachia had the greatest influence on the destinies of the region in the 14th century. The history of Wallachia is closely connected with the history of Turkey.

“Wallachia (in the form Blakie) is a geographical term often used by Robert de Clary (and also by Geoffroy Villehardouin) to designate, it is believed, part of the territory of the Eastern Balkans. This territory was called Great Vlahia by Byzantine authors. In other words, Great Vlahia is part of modern Bulgaria (although this is a controversial issue, since we had some strained relations with Bulgaria).

Regarding the SAXES, historians write this. “The Saxons were Germanic tribes that lived in northern Europe, mainly in the territories adjacent to the North Sea. In the 5th-6th centuries, Britain was conquered by Germanic tribes... Most often, Geoffrey refers to the GERMAN CONQUERORS collectively as SAXES, although in some cases he also mentions ANGLES.”

N.M. Karamzin reports: “Herodotus writes that the SCYTHIANS, known to the Persians under the name SAKOV, called themselves Scolots (that is, CATTLES or Scots).” In addition, according to the same Karamzin, “Menander calls the TURKS SAKS, and Feofan MASSAGETES.”

Thus, it turns out that the old English chronicles do not speak about some supposedly relatively small peoples who originally inhabited the modern island of Britain, but about huge medieval states, kingdoms that played a decisive role in the history of Europe and Asia in the 11th-16th centuries. As a result, it shrank and turned into a local, local history, fitting into a relatively small area. But extended over time.

But, no matter how critical you and I are, according to previous data, there is another person - this is King Arthur, you tell me which side he is on, and here is the answer, and it’s up to you to decide:

The legendary English King Arthur, considered today one of the most prominent rulers of “ancient” England and supposedly dating back to approximately the 5th century AD, had relations with the KING OF Rus'. One of King Arthur’s comrades says: “And the King of Rus', the most severe of the knights...”. This fact is reported by Layamon, an author supposedly from the early 13th century, who wrote the poem Brutus, or the Chronicle of Britain. It is believed that under King Arthur, a queen or princess was kidnapped from Rus' to England.

At the same time, we can assume that the inscription begins with the Greek word NICIA, that is, NICEA or NIKA, which means WINNER in Greek. Further, it is extremely interesting to see how the name of King Arthur is represented in the inscription. We see that it is written like this: REX ARTU RIUS. That is, the TSAR OF THE RUS HORDE or the TSAR OF THE RUSSIAN HORDE. Please note that ARTU and RIUS are separated from each other, written as two separate words. By the way, if the authors of the old inscription wanted to write ARTU RIUS as a single word ARTURIUS, they could well have done this, but there would have been enough space for this on the line, so they had to move the second word RIUS to the next line.

Moreover, some modern philologists, citing Celtic mythology, point out that the name ARTHUR was originally written in the form of two words: ARDU + DU, where the word DU meant “black” in the Celtic language. But in this case, Arthur’s name simply meant THE BLACK HORDE. Let us recall that in Rus'-Horde there were several ORDs: White, Blue, Gold. Maybe Western Europeans called the entire Horde generically, in one word, Black. This is how the name Arthur came about.

Since the 17th-18th centuries, Arthur's personality has been regarded as largely legendary. For example, in the preface to the medieval work by Thomas Malory “Le Morte d’Arthur” the following is written: “If anyone says and thinks that there was no such KING ARTHUR IN THE WORLD, one can see in that person great unreason and blindness... And therefore... a person cannot , judging sensibly, deny that there was in this land a king named Arthur. For in all lands, Christian and pagan, he is glorified and included among the nine most worthy, and of the three Christian men he is revered as the first. AND HOWEVER, HE IS MORE REMEMBERED ABOUT THE SEA, MORE BOOKS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT HIS NOBLE ACTS THAN IN ENGLAND, and not only in French, but also in Dutch, Italian, Spanish and Greek... And therefore, having considered all the above, we have already We cannot deny that THERE WAS SUCH A NOBLE KING NAMED ARTHUR.”

This preface is believed to have been written for the edition of Le Morte d'Arthur, which allegedly appeared in 1485. In fact, this text, of course, was written no earlier than the 17th century.

Rus' often appears in English and other Western chronicles under the names Ruthenia or Rusiya. Matuzova writes:<<Интерес к Руси в Англии обусловлен и событием, глубоко потрясшим средневековую Европу, - вторжением татаро-монгольских кочевых орд… Это… сообщения о появлении какого-то неведомого народа, дикого и безбожного, самое название которого толковалось как «выходцы из Тартара»; оно навевало средневековым хронистам мысль о божественной каре за человеческие прегрешения>>. But it’s too beautiful, they overdid it. Naturally, the old titles were carefully and tendentiously edited.

There is only one answer, most of the European historians do not recognize that our ancestors were the people who lived on the territory of European countries, created their culture, roughly speaking, “raised” them, no matter how pretentious it sounds.

Of course, religious figures played an important role, who would want our ancestors to raise and develop culture, they are not religious “humanists” (of course, we know about their activities, and with what efforts all this was done, not from the positive side, but like the majority will say: “God is their judge...”).

When we say Scotland, we mean clans. We say clans - we mean tanks! Scotland. But it’s hard to name at least a dozen of the most famous?..

Top 10 clans of the Highlands of Scotland

1. Stuart (Stiùbhairt). “Royal clan”, since from it came the kings of Scotland, starting with Robert II, who also ruled England, Wales and Ireland in the 17th century. However, it was founded not by a Scot at all, but by a native of Brittany (or Normandy - data is scarce) Alan Fitz-Flood, who settled with the knights of Guillaume the Bastard in England. His son Walter Fitz-Alan moved to Scotland and became the first High Steward of Scotland. This position turned into the clan's surname. And the son of the 6th Steward-Stuart became King Robert II. In addition to the fact that the Stuarts owned the crown of Scotland and England, they laid claim to it for another hundred years (“Jacobites”). In general, since the 14th century, the history of the Stuarts is the history of Scotland...

2. MacDonald (MacDhòmhnaill). The largest fast food clan in the world is in Scotland. By origin - again not Scottish, but Scandinavian - the MacDonalds are descendants of the Vikings, who at one time captured the Hebrides, but were finally “oscottinized”. They held the title of first “King of the Isles”, then “Lord of the Isles”, and everything in the west of Scotland breathed and moved only with their permission. And until the Jacobite rebellion in 1745, the MacDoald leaders were involved in almost every scandal that shook the kingdom. This clan also holds the record for the number of septs, branches that have turned into semi-independent “mini-clans” (Beaton, Bowie, Hutchinson, Patton, etc.).

3. Campbell, Caim Beul. Most likely the second (or third) largest clan in the Highlands, and certainly the second most influential, the head of the Campbells, the Earl (later Marquis, and still later Duke) of Argyll was the "uncrowned king" of the Southern Highlands from the 17th century. As for their origin, “everything is unclear” - either the Normans, or the Irish, or “natural Scots”, and there is even a legend about a Scotsman who fled from the tyranny of MacBeth to Normandy, and then returned to the homeland of his ancestors... The Campbells went to the mountain after their leader Neil supported Robert the Bruce and married his sister. True, among the highlanders the Campbells have always enjoyed a reputation as evil, treacherous and treacherous people - for example, because of the “Glencoe massacre”.

4. Mackenzie (Mac Coinnich). MacDonalds in the West, Campbells in the South, MacKenzies in the North. A powerful clan, with a lot of branches and septs (for example, Cluny), kept the entire north of the Scottish Highlands “under supervision.” By origin they are either Scandinavians or Celts. People from this clan became especially famous as soldiers - three famous infantry regiments were recruited from them (Highlander Light, Seaforth Highlanders and Rossshire). And during the Jacobite uprisings, the MacKenzies very far-sightedly and prudently divided themselves into “ours and yours,” ensuring “relative survival” for themselves during the “Georgian Terror.”

5. Gordon (Gordanach). An “unconditionally Norman” clan that settled in Scotland quite late, under King David I. They settled in the north (closer to the northeast) and became “men of the crown,” a support against the dangerous and violent clans of the Highlands. The head of the clan bore the title of Earl (later Marquess) of Huntly (and later Duke of Gordon). The situation changed after the Reformation - the Huntly family remained Catholic, and therefore quickly turned into the main troublemakers and Jacobites in the north of the country. Well, yes - the poet George Gordon Byron was a descendant of this clan on his mother’s side.

6. Hamilton, aka Hamilton (Hamilton). Purebred "Sassenach occupiers" - the English who moved to Lowland in the 14th century (and therefore did not have a Gaelic version of the surname), "crept into the Highlanders" in the 16th century, when one of the Hamiltons, the son of the daughter of King James II, received the Earldom of Arran on the same name island. They became regents of the kingdom many times, and a couple of times they even tried to become kings. In the end, he had to be content with the title of Duke of Hamilton. What is characteristic is that the clan launched an equally influential branch in Sweden, where the Hamiltons became one of the highest aristocracy. But the Russian nobles Khomutov did not reach great heights...

7. Cameron (Cam-shròn). A large and strong clan from the East of the Highlands, actively participating in all the "showdowns" of the Scottish highlanders, known for more than 300 years of enmity with the confederation of the clans of Hattan and MacIntosh (McIntosh). The most famous representative of the clan is the 17th century Protestant preacher Richard Cameron, the leader of the militant sect of the Cameronians, from which the famous Cameron Regiment was recruited - one of the first regular ones in Great Britain and the first in Scotland, which always remained loyal to the English government in rebellions and became famous in many wars . And yes, “Director-Terminator-Titanic-Avatar” - he’s also one of the Camerons.

8. Grant (Grannd). According to one theory, the ancestors of the Grants are the Normans who sailed with the Bastard, but the Grants themselves do not like it and insist that they descended from the MacGregors (who, in turn, from the MacAlpins, kings of Dal Riada and the Picts). In various rebellions since the 17th century, the Grants adhered to the “legal line” - they supported Montrose for King Charles I, and then were against the Jacobites for the Hanoverian dynasty. True, the most famous Grant turned out to be the one who was completely invented by the Frenchman Verne - Captain Grant, or rather, his children... Although one of the Grants' descendants, Ulysses Simpson Grant, became a famous American general and even the President of the United States.

9. Murray, aka Murray (Murray, Mhuirich). The ancestor of the Murrays was the brave knight Freskin - either a descendant of the Picts, or (more likely) a native of Flanders, who again sailed to Albion with Guillaume the Bastard. He inherited the old Pictish county of Moray (where the Mormares still ruled in “immemorial times”), with whose women the “McFreskins” became related and took their family surname, slightly distorted, but not immediately - the hero of the War of Scottish Independence, who won the Battle of Stirling- bridge (and not that Mel Gipson of yours! William Wallace), there was still Andrew Moray, but his son has already become Andrew Murray. Well, yes - the Jacobites at Culloden were commanded by George Murray...

10. MacGregor (MacGrioghair). The most "wild" and "bandit" clan in Scotland, and here's why. Claiming descent from Kenneth I McAlpin himself, the king of the Scots and Picts, by the beginning of the 17th century the MacGregors distinguished themselves by their violence and bloodthirstiness, rare even for the highlands, noting several massacres of prisoners, etc. things. So, “at the request of the neighbors,” King James VI (aka James I in England, but a little later) officially “destroyed” the MacGregor clan - they were forbidden to have a leader, coat of arms, and even a surname, and they themselves and their lands were divided between neighboring clans . Therefore, in fact, the most famous of the McGregors - Rob Roy ("Red") McGregor - was officially listed as Robin Campbell according to documents. Because of such “desperation,” there were especially many bandits and “noble robbers” among the MacGregors, and they ardently supported the Jacobites. The royal ban was lifted only in 1774.

Scientists believe that the first people appeared in Scotland approximately 8 thousand years ago. The first permanent settlements date back to 6 thousand years ago. The written history of Scotland begins with the Roman conquest of Britain, when the territories of modern England and Wales were occupied, received the status of Roman provinces and became known as Britain.

Parts of southern Scotland were briefly brought under indirect Roman control. To the north lay lands free from Roman conquest - Caledonia, inhabited by Pictish and Gaelic tribes, the kingdoms of Dal Riada in the territory of Argyll. Pictia was part of Fortriu, but the history of the Scottish kingdom traditionally dates back to 843, when Kenneth MacAlpin became king of the united kingdom of the Scots and Picts. Over the following centuries, the territory of the Kingdom of Scotland expanded to an area roughly equivalent to that of modern Scotland. This period was marked by relatively good relations with the Wessex rulers of England, as well as strong fragmentation, which, however, did not interfere with the implementation of successful expansionist policies. Some time after the 945 invasion of Strathclyde by the English king Edmund I, the province was transferred to Malcolm I. During the reign of King Indulf (954-62), the Scots occupied the fortress later called Edinburgh, their first stronghold in Lothian. During the reign of Malcolm II, the unity of the Scottish lands was strengthened. The turning point may have been 1018, when Malcolm II defeated Northumbria at the Battle of Careme. The Norman conquest of England in 1066 set off a chain of events that caused Scotland to change its Gaelic cultural orientation. Malcolm III married Margaret, sister of Edgar Aethling, the deposed Anglo-Saxon pretender to the English throne, who later received support from Scotland. Margaret played an important role in reducing the influence of Celtic Christianity. Her son, David I, married and became an important Anglo-Norman ruler. He helped introduce feudalism into Scotland and encouraged an influx of people from the Netherlands into the "burghs" to strengthen trade links with continental Europe. By the end of the 13th century, many Norman and Anglo-Norman families received gifts of Scottish lands. After the death of Queen Margaret, the last direct heir of Alexander III, the Scottish aristocracy turned to the King of England with a request to judge the disputed claimants to the Scottish throne. Instead, Edward I attempted to establish a puppet monarchy and take complete control of Scotland, but the Scots held out, led first by William Wallace and Andrew de Moray, who supported John I Balliol, and then by Robert the Bruce. Bruce ascended the throne as King Robert I on 25 March 1306 and won a final victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. But after his death, the War of Scottish Independence broke out again (1332-1357), in which Edward Balliol unsuccessfully tried to wrest the throne from Bruce's heirs with the support of the English king. Ultimately, with the advent of the Stuart dynasty in the 1370s, the situation in Scotland began to stabilize. By the end of the Middle Ages, Scotland was divided into two cultural zones: the lowlands, whose inhabitants spoke Anglo-Scottish, and the Highlands, whose inhabitants spoke Gaelic. However, the Galloway Gaelic dialect survived perhaps until the 18th century in remote parts of the south-west of the country, part of the county of Galloway. Historically, Lowland Scotland was culturally closer to Europe. In the highlands of Scotland, one of the distinctive features of the region was formed - the Scottish clan system. Powerful clans retained their influence even after the Act of Union came into force in 1707. In 1603, King James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English throne and became King James I of England. Except during the Commonwealth, Scotland remained a separate state, but there were significant conflicts between the monarch and the Scottish Presbyterians over the form of church government. After the Glorious Revolution and the overthrow of the Catholic James VII by William III and Mary II, Scotland briefly threatened to elect its own Protestant monarch, but under the threat of England breaking trade and transport links, the Scottish Parliament, jointly with the English Parliament, passed the “Act of Union” in 1707. As a result of the unification, the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed. In 1715, two major Jacobite uprisings arose in the north of Scotland, but the Hanoverian dynasty survived. Jacobite claimants to the throne remained popular in the Highlands and north-east, especially among non-Presbyterians. Following the Act of Union, the Scottish Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, the country became a powerful European commercial, scientific and industrial centre. Scotland suffered a sharp decline in manufacturing after the Second World War, but in recent decades there has been a cultural and economic renaissance in the region, driven by financial, electronics and offshore oil and gas revenues from the North Sea. In 1999, elections were held to the Scottish Parliament, the establishment of which was enshrined in the Scotland Act in 1998.

A Scottish clan (from the Gaelic clann - clan, family) is a group of blood relatives descending from one common ancestor. Originally a family or tribe, the clan gradually became the main social and political unit of the Scottish Highlands until the abolition of the clan system in the 17th century.

The Scottish clan consisted mainly of two large groups of people - "relatives" and "outsiders".
“Relatives” were persons related to each other by blood through the male line. They also included all illegitimate children recognized by their fathers; adopted or fostered; children from a woman from the clan and a stranger and their descendants, as well as people who have rendered some service to the clan, and members of another (often related) dying clan accepted into the clan.
The “newcomers” included people from a diverse class of slaves (for example, captives) or vassals living in the clan’s territory, foreigners and their descendants.
As in any society, the Scottish clan had its own hierarchy. The division was as follows: at the head of the clan was the leader, then came the heir of the leader, the leaders of the branches of the clan or related clans and all other members of the clan.

Chief
The head of any Scottish clan was the chief. In times of peace, he governed the clan's territory, established laws and administered justice, and in times of war, he led the clan. Members of the clan were obliged to follow him on campaigns, provide hospitality and pay tribute.
When he was elected, the leader stood on a stone, where he took an oath to inviolably observe all the ancient laws, customs and traditions of the clan. After this, he was given a sword and a white cane. The clan bard told the leader's genealogy, listed the exploits of his ancestors and wished the leader to continue this tradition.

Chieftain's heir (tanist)
Supreme power was, in principle, inherited, i.e. the eldest son or brother was supposed to take the place of the father. However, the order of transition did not depend as strictly on the right of primogeniture as in the feudal system of other European countries. In the history of Scottish clans there were examples of deposition, abdication and election of the head of the clan. So, for example, Lachlan MacLean’s heir was not his two eldest sons, but their brother (and half-brother) Lachlan Og; At the MacDonalds, the clansmen rebelled and killed the chief of the clan, Ranald Dougal, because he was crazy, appointing his uncle Alexander as head, and John MacDonald of Keppoch was overthrown for helping the people of the Hattan clan.
The appointment of the head of the clan usually took place within the same family. The chosen one had to be the most experienced, noble, rich, and enjoy the greatest favor with the rest of the clan members. In addition, he should not have any physical or mental disabilities and be suitable in age for the role of leader.

Chieftains of the clan branches
Very often, a clan had several related branches (sept). They were formed from the descendants (children or grandchildren) or close relatives (brothers, sons-in-law, etc.) of the leader and, accordingly, each new branch had its own leader. Such branches did not always bear the name of the main family, often changing or modifying it (for example, MacDonald - MacDonnell), but recognized its supremacy. Individual branches or families within a clan also had the right of hereditary land ownership by virtue of their membership in it.
During wars or campaigns, the eldest of the branches held the most honorable positions, and in the absence of the leader of the main clan, its head could lead the entire clan. VII-VIII centuries tribal union Dal Riada, formed back in the end. V century in the county of Argyll on the west coast of Scotland, experienced a period of decline and fragmentation. The collapse of the union was accompanied by numerous and bloody civil strife, but it is believed that it was this collapse that marked the beginning of the formation and development of the clan system in Scotland. There, from the powerful rulers of Argyll and the islands, many powerful clans of Scotland arose, such as Campbell, MacDonald, etc. Later, the formation and spread of clans began to occur in the rest of Scotland. The mormaers, regional rulers who from time immemorial controlled most of the counties of the kingdom, became the founders of many famous Celtic and Pictish families and dynasties. Until the 13th century, the counties of Caithness, Ross, Mar, Atholl, Strathern, Lennox, Fife, Carrick and March were in their possession and only later passed to other houses through marriages.

Many Scottish clans are of foreign origin.
So, in 1066, along with William the Conqueror, who invaded English soil with a huge army of Normans, came many knights who later settled in Scotland, intermarried with noble families of Celtic origin. As a result, they became the ancestors of many famous Scottish families that played a large role in the history of this country. These are the Bruces, and the Balliols, and the Barclays, and the Boyles.
Of French origin are such Scottish families and clans as Montgomery, Beaton (or Bethune), Hay; Flemish - Leslie, Murray and Sutherland (the last two descend from one common ancestor, the Flemish Freskin); Scandinavian - Ruthven; Welsh - Stuarts and Hamiltons; Irish - McLellan, McLachlan, McNeill.

Many Scottish surnames come from the geographical names of those areas in which the clan or clan lived for a long time. Initially, members of the clan who owned these lands or lived on them for a significant long time were called “so-and-so from this area.” Later this name began to be used as a clan surname. This is how the families of Colquhoun (descended from the land of the same name in Dunbartonshire), Drummond (descended from the lands of Drummond or Dryman in Stirlingshire), Crawford (from the barony of Crawford, later these lands passed to the Lindsays, who took the title of Earls of Crawford) and many others arose . etc.