In Somerled’s time Domlig or Cuduilig (the Hound of Leaves), an Abbot of Lismore circa 1150 was able to appanage his heirs in
Morvern. The first chief of the Clan MacLean, “Gilleathain na Tuagihe,” (circa 1210), was Domlig’s great great grandson
In Skene’s “Celtic Scotland,” Vol. III, p. 481, we have the genealogy of the MacLeans given from the MS. of 1467, supplemented from the MS. of 1540, as follows:
“Eachduinn (or Hector), son of Lachlan, son of John, son of Malcolm, son of Maoiliosa, son of Gill-eion, son of MacRath, son of Maol-sruthain, son of Neil, son of Cuiduilig (Abbot of Lismore, Argyll), son of Raingce, son of Old Dougall of Scone...Raingce had three sons, Cu-catha, Cu-sidhe, and Cu-duilig, from whom descends the Clan Conduilig, that is the Clan MacLean in the island of Mull.”
It is also likely that the salmon in the Maclean
Coat of Arms refers to Cuiduilig
In 1519 Duncan Stewart of Appin and Sorley MacColl, his
Gille-cas-fluich, were murdered by the Macleans whilst guests at Duart and
their bodies left hanging from the battlements. On hearing the news the Baron
of Bachull, who was a great friend of Appin, set out immediately, with his two
red-haired daughters, for Duart and managed to recover Appin’s body and buried
it in the cathedral church of Saint Moluag on Lismore.
A few years later in 1527 Duart abandoned his wife, The Duke
of Argyll's daughter Elizabeth and the subject of Campbell's poem of 'Glenara',
in chains on Lady’s Rock. She was
rescued by some fishermen who took her to Bachuil, who reunited her with her
father. Some days later Maclean arrived
to break the sad news of the death of his daughter to the Earl. He himself
appeared inconsolable at the loss of his wife until, suddenly, she was ushered
in to his presence to put an end to his hypocrisy. Duart's wife lived for many
a day after her escape from the Lady's Rock, but he paid for his cruelty with
his life.
