- Chapter Thirty-Four -
After various conflicts the Stewarts were able to hold on to only part of Lorn,
namely Appin, and by I745 there was a clan chief and five major subchiefs each with
his own estate and known by the names of these; they were Ballachulish, Ardsheal,
Achnacone, Invernahyle and Fasnacloich. Indeed the Stewarts of Appin were appar-
ently the only branch of that powerful family that adopted the true highland clan
structure (Stewart of Achnacone I979) and learned to speak the Gaelic of their clans-
men. To emphasize the legality of his highland descent the chief was addressed as
'MacIain Stiubhart', that is 'son' (or 'descendant') 'of John Stewart'.
Each of these cadet families, as well as that of the chief, would have a number of
male relatives making up a fairly numerous Stewart gentry whose names appear as
officers in the Order Book of the Appin Regiment which was raised to fight for
Prince Charles Edward Stewart (Livingstone of Bachuil I984). The majority of the
clansmen had different names - like McColl, Black, Macinnes and so on - and were
descended from people who already lived in Appin when the Stewarts arrived to take
over or who joined them there; they appear as 'other ranks' in the Order Book.
The picture presented by this branch of the Stewart family matches well with that
inferred directly from the iron age archaeological evidence; it is of a clan gentry,
presumably members of a single family lineage, having dominion over a much larger
number of ordinary farmers and living in grander houses than the commoners. These
last had become tenant farmers by the eighteenth century but back in the Iron Age
they were doubtless true clansmen, paying tribute in kind and owing allegiance
and support in war in return for being looked after like clann. In late medieval times
the gentry with a few exceptions did no work - physical labour being thought
unworthy of a gentleman. In the Iron Age, however, we have a glimpse of a differ-
ent state of affairs at Leckie broch - of an elite family who were nevertheless engaged
in everyday farming and domestic activities. In those remote times the elements of
tribal society may have been closer together.
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