Campbell of Argyll
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This name appears to derive from the Gaelic Cam Beul meaning Wry Mouth,
while those who bear it are called Clan Diarmaid as the supposed descendants of the
handsome Ossianic hero with whom the wife of Fingal fell in love.
Such are the legendary origins of a clan that was already of
considerable consequence in the lands of the earliest Scottish kingdom of Dalriada by the
time these had evolved into Lorne and Argyll. The support which their chief Sir Colin
Campbell of Loch Awe and his two sons gave to Robert Bruce was rewarded by a marriage with
King Robert’s sister, and the Campbells began their rise to supremacy in the
Highlands by assisting in the downfall of Bruce’s opponents. From this time their
chiefs were named as the descendants of Sir Colin of Loch Awe, Mac Chailein Mor, Great Son
of Colin.
At this time their stronghold was a castle called Innis Chonaill. Its
ruins still stand under the peaks of Cruachan Beann, the Haunch of Hills that provided the
Campbells with their war-cry. But Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, moved his
headquarters to Inveraray which he founded in 1474. He was created Master of the Royal
Household and Lord Chancellor.
The 8th Earl (1598-1661) was created 1st Marquess of Argyll and raised
his name and clan to its highest pinnacle of power as leader of the Covenanters who
defended Calvinism. When Montrose arrived in Scotland in 1644 with the King’s
commission to retrieve the broken loyalist cause, the victims of the Campbells rallied
behind him, ravaging Argyll as far as Inveraray.
Fortune returned to the family in 1688 when the Catholic King James VII
lost his throne to William of Orange. The 10th Earl was raised to a dukedom and the family
estates were restored to him.
Archibald, 3rd Duke of Argyll (1682-1761), known as the King of
Scotland, built the new castle at Inveraray. The design by Roger Morris was based on a
plan sketched by Vangbrugh, while the classical interiors were the achievement of Robert
Mylne. The dormers and turret roofs were added in the 19th century. The castle was
seriously damaged by fire in 1976, later restored and opened to the public. |
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Clan
Tartans
