Battle of Knock Mary
Who Fought
Clan Murray
Clan Drummond and Clan Campbell (including McRobbies from Balloch and Faichneys from Argyllshire, led by Duncan Campbell of Dunstaffnage)
History & Significance
The Battle of Knockmary (or Battle of Rottenreoch) was a Scottish clan battle fought in 1511, or 1490 between the Clan Murray against the Clan Drummond and Clan Campbell, north of Crieff, Scotland.
In 1511 (some sources say 1490), the Murrays of Ochtertyre took cattle from Drummond of Strathearn, the purpose of this was to pay a debt demanded by the Abbot of Inchaffray. In revenge for this William Drummond, the son of the 1st Lord Drummond attacked the Murrays.
The clans met initially at Knock Mary, a hill on the south bank of the River Earn between the river and Drummond Castle. At first the Murrays were winning, but the battle was turned by the arrival of Campbells from Dunstaffnage under Duncan Campbell, McRobbies from Balloch and Faichneys from Argyllshire. Campbell had come to Strathearn to avenge the Murrays' recent murder of his two brothers-in-law and father-in-law, Drummond of Menie. Traditionally the dead from this battle were believed to be buried in the cairn of Rottenreoch, just north of Knock Mary (grid reference NN84252063, but this appears to be a Neolithic long cairn.
Having fled the battlefield, the Murrays crossed the River Earn and took refuge in the Kirk of Monzievaird, about a mile north of the river. Drummond was happy to let them go, but as Campbell returned home, an arrow fired from the church killed one of his men. In revenge the church was burned to the ground, killing those inside. Reports on casualties vary between 120 and 160 Murrays. This became known as the Massacre of Monzievaird.
William Drummond was arrested and despite his protests that the Drummonds had nothing to do with the fire, he was executed at Stirling along with many of his friends.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Knock Mary lies on Arbuthnott-Garvock Group, bedrock that formed in the Pragian. The rock here is sandstone with subordinate conglomerate, siltstone and mudstone.
As Duncan Campbell's forces withdrew from the field at Knock Mary, an arrow loosed from the Kirk of Monzievaird killed one of his men; in swift and terrible reprisal, Campbell ordered the church burned to the ground, incinerating the Murray survivors sheltering within and producing what accounts record as between 120 and 160 deaths in what became known as the Massacre of Monzievaird.
- Between 120 and 160 Murrays killed, the majority in the burning of the Kirk of Monzievaird
Frequently Asked Questions
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- Battle of Knock Mary · Wikipedia
- 1510s in Scotland · Wikipedia