Battlefields›Battle of Morar
Tudor

Battle of Morar

1602
Scotland
Era
Tudor
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Clan MacDonell of Glengarry
VS
Victor
Clan Mackenzie (led by Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Lord Mackenzie of Kintail), supported by Clan Ross
Forces involved

Clan MacDonell of Glengarry versus Clan Mackenzie; supported by Clan Ross and Andrew Munro of Novar

Outcome
MacDonell defeat; peace agreement reached with Glengarry MacDonell renouncing the lands of Strome to Lord Mackenzie of Kintail; Strome Castle subsequently besieged, surrendered, and destroyed with gunpowder.
The Battle

History & Significance

The Battle of Morar was a Scottish clan battle fought in 1602, near Loch Morar, in the Scottish Highlands. It was fought between the Clan MacDonell of Glengarry against the Clan Mackenzie who were supported by men of the Clan Ross and Andrew Munro of Novar.

A feud took place between the Mackenzies, led by Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Lord Mackenzie of Kintail, and the Clan MacDonell of Glengarry. The Mackenzies wanted the MacDonell Laird of Glengarry to appear before the Justice court at Edinburgh for previous crimes against them. Meanwhile, two MacDonells were killed. Glengarry MacDonell did not appear in court on the arranged date but went about his own hand to revenge the slaughter of his clansmen. As he did not appear in court the Mackenzies wasted the MacDonell country of Morar.

The two sides met and a battle took place with (according to some accounts) great slaughter on both sides. According to historian Alexander Mackenzie the Clan Mackenzie were supported by the Clan Ross at the battle of Morar. This was due to Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Lord Mackenzie of Kintail, being married to Ann Ross daughter of George Ross of Balnagowan, chief of Clan Ross. After this they came to an agreement to obtain peace where Glengarry MacDonell was glad to requite and renounce to the Lord MacKenzie of Kintail, and give him the inheritance of the lands of Strome.

After the battle, Strome Castle was still in the hands of the Clan MacDonell of Glengarry. Mackenzie of Kintail therefore laid siege to it. During the siege on Mackenzie's side Andrew Munro of Novar was wounded along with two or three others. The MacDonells surrendered and Mackenzie blew up the castle with gunpowder.

The ground

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Morar lies on Morar Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is semipelite and pelite.

Buried history

In the aftermath of the battle, rather than accepting the peaceful transfer of the lands of Strome, the MacDonells retained possession of Strome Castle, prompting Mackenzie of Kintail to besiege it directly. Andrew Munro of Novar was wounded on Mackenzie's side during the siege, along with two or three others, before the MacDonells surrendered and Mackenzie demolished the castle by blowing it up with gunpowder.

Casualties & Losses
  • Great slaughter reported on both sides; Andrew Munro of Novar and two or three others wounded during the subsequent siege of Strome Castle
Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Morar

This page covers Battle of Morar. 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.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Battle of Morar report
Or see a real report first
Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Morar

Armadale Bay, cairn 30m E of Faoilinn Cottage
Armadale Bay, cairn 30m E of Faoilinn Cottage
Scheduled monument · ~7.5 mi

Armadale Bay, cairn 30m E of Faoilinn Cottage is a Bronze Age burial cairn situated on the Inverness-shire coast. The monument rests on bedrock of the Lewisian Complex, ancient gneiss formed during the Proterozoic, some of the oldest rock in Britain. This durable metamorphic foundation would have…

Loch na Eala,crannog
Scheduled monument · Iron Age–Medieval · ~4.3 miles
More from this era

Other Tudor Battles

Battle of Sauchieburn
1488
Scotland
Battle of Aldy Charrish
1487
Scotland
Skirmish at Newark
1487
Nottinghamshire, England
Simnel March into Yorkshire 1487
1487
Yorkshire, England
In the same landscape

Battles near Battle of Morar

MacColla western coast operations 1645
1645
~1.2 miles away
Skirmish of Arisaig
1746
~4.1 miles away
Skirmish of Loch nan Uamh, 1746
1746
~7.3 miles away
Battle of Bealach nam Broig
1452
~8.5 miles away
Aubrey Research

Explore the landscape around this battlefield

Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the UK — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.

Research a location near this battlefieldView a sample report
Sources
All Battlefields