Battlefields›Battle of Glendale

Tudor

Battle of Glendale

Q: When did Battle of Glendale take place?

Battle of Glendale took place in 1490, in Inverness-shire, Scotland. MacLeod victory at very heavy cost to both sides; described in the Bannatyne manuscript as 'the most tremendous battle in which the MacLeods were ever engaged', after which the clan never fully recovered from its losses.

Q: Who won Battle of Glendale?

Clan MacLeod (MacLeods of Harris, Dunvegan and Lewis) was victorious. The defeated side was MacDonalds of Sleat and MacDonalds of Clanranald. MacLeod victory at very heavy cost to both sides; described in the Bannatyne manuscript as 'the most tremendous battle in which the MacLeods were ever engaged', after which the clan never fully recovered from its losses.

1490

Inverness-shire, Scotland

Era

Tudor

Battle Type

Pitched Battle

Location

Inverness-shire, Scotland

Status

Unregistered

The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated

MacDonalds of Sleat and MacDonalds of Clanranald

Victor

Clan MacLeod (MacLeods of Harris, Dunvegan and Lewis)

Outcome

MacLeod victory at very heavy cost to both sides; described in the Bannatyne manuscript as 'the most tremendous battle in which the MacLeods were ever engaged', after which the clan never fully recovered from its losses.

The Battle

History & Significance

Battle of Glendale was a Tudor pitched battle between opposing field armies, fought in the area of Inverness-shire, Scotland in 1490. Clan MacLeod (MacLeods of Harris, Dunvegan and Lewis) prevailed over MacDonalds of Sleat and MacDonalds of Clanranald. MacLeod victory at very heavy cost to both sides; described in the Bannatyne manuscript as 'the most tremendous battle in which the MacLeods were ever engaged', after which the clan never fully recovered from its losses.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Glendale lies on Unnamed Extrusive Rocks, Palaeogene, bedrock that formed in the Paleogene. The rock here is mafic lava and mafic tuff.

Casualties & Losses

Described as high on both sides; no figures recorded in sources

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

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Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Glendale

This page covers Battle of Glendale. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:

Overview

An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.

Monuments

The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.

Battlefields

The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.

Roman Britain

The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.

Stat Accounts

The parish Statistical Accounts of the 1790s and 1830s, describing life, work and population here.

Civil War

The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.

Geology

The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.

Local Names

What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.

Historical Maps

Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.

Literature

The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.

Legal

The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.

Spotlight

A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.

Target Zones

For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.

Timeline

The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.

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Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Glendale

St Comgan's Chapel, tombstone, Glendale

Scheduled monument · ~0.1 mi

St Comgan's Chapel, tombstone, Glendale is a burial marker preserved within the landscape of Inverness-shire in the Scottish Highlands. The monument stands on bedrock of Palaeogene extrusive rocks, comprising ancient mafic lavas and tuffs laid down during the volcanic activity that shaped this re…

Dun Fiadhairt,broch

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~3.3 mi

Dun Fiadhairt is a broch located in Inverness-shire, Scotland, dating to the Iron Age. The monument represents one of the distinctive circular stone tower structures characteristic of northern Scotland during the first centuries BC and AD. Like other brochs of its period, it would have functioned…

Dun Osdale,broch 850m N of Osdale

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~4.4 mi

Dun Osdale is a broch situated 850 metres north of Osdale in Inverness-shire, Scotland. This Iron Age stone tower represents one of Scotland's most distinctive prehistoric monuments, a form unique to the far north and west of the country. The broch would have served as a defended residence, its h…

St Mary's Church and Burial Ground, Dunvegan

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~4.9 mi

St Mary's Church and Burial Ground, Dunvegan is a complex archaeological site in Inverness-shire that combines Iron Age settlement remains with later ecclesiastical and burial use. The monument sits upon bedrock of Palaeogene extrusive rocks—mafic lava and tuff formed during the volcanic activity…

Annait,monastic settlement on W bank of Bay River

Scheduled monument · ~6.2 mi

Annait is a monastic settlement on the western bank of the Bay River in Inverness-shire, Scotland. The site occupies ground underlain by Palaeogene extrusive rocks, mafic lavas and tuffs that form part of the ancient volcanic geology of the Scottish Highlands. This geological foundation, exposed…

Dun Hallin,broch,Hallin

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~7.7 mi

Dun Hallin is a broch situated on the Isle of Skye in Inverness-shire, Scotland, dating to the Iron Age. The structure represents the characteristic architectural form of Atlantic roundhouses, with a circular defensive tower constructed of dry stone masonry typical of broch construction in the Sc…

Abhainn Bhaile Mheadhonaich, broch and standing stone 145m SE of An Cairidh

Scheduled monument · Bronze Age · ~9.2 miles

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