Clan MacAulay, or the family of the MacAulays of Ardincaple, is first recorded within the lands of Dunbartonshire in the 1600’s, and was no longer active after the death of Aulay MacAulay in the mid eighteenth century. Clan MacAulay Association was re-born on April 25, 1998 when MacAulays originating in Ardincaple, Lochbroom, the Hebrides, and Northern Ireland were brought together in one democratic international association. Their aim is to celebration traditions and connect with their culture, heritage and history; to discover their Scottish and Irish MacAulay roots; and engage in the world-wide community of Clan MacAulay.
First of all to explain why there are so many tartans, way over 2000 in fact. There are an awful lot of Scottish clans to start with and on top of this each clan can have many different tartans and names associated with it.
Each tartan can have multiple variations, the most common of which are Ancient, Modern, Weathered, Hunting and Dress
About tartan variations
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans, mossy greens and sky blues, a more orangey red and some would say showing off the pattern to much greater effect as as the contrasts are much brighter than the Modern tartans. The pattern or sett remains the same across all variations of a single tartan, and only the shades or tones vary.
Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans. Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.
The Modern tartans are often the more subtle combinations such as the classic Black Watch Modern
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer, more earthy colours typical of the Weathered tartans, reminiscent of bolder colours subjected to wind, rain and sunshine producing beautiful faded tones, olive greens and browns, and very light blues with reds that are more pink than red.
Some mills refer to the Weathered tartans as Muted.
The Hunting Tartans are the camouflage tartans and some clans don't have these variations because they are already predominantly green or brown and don't need amendment to blend in with nature's colours. The Black Watch or Gunn tartans are examples of these, whereas a tartan such as the Fraser is predominantly red and would not provide much cover for men out hunting.
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.
The Dress Tartans were designed as the name suggests for celebrations and highland dance. The sett or pattern of the tartan remains the same and the main colour is changed to white, or extra white is added to the pattern to give it a brighter, more "fancy" appearance. The Scots do like to bend the rules and occasionally instead of white thread, yellow is used and this is where the rather wild MacLeod Dress Modern and Barclay Dress Modern came from.
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.
The historic seat of the Clan was in and around Ardincaple, including what is today the village of Rhu and the town of Helensburgh. Despite the fact that this land straddles the two distinct geographical regions of Scotland, the MacAulays have long been accepted as a Highland Clan.
Clan MacAulay is an armigerous clan which means that the clan, family, or name is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon, but does not currently have a chief recognised by the Lyon Court.
The last clan chief, Aulay MacAulay, died at what is now the village of Rhu without any land and without any heirs. It’s thought that he died in 1767. Although there have been attempts at reinstating a chief since then, the MacAuleys have been an armigerous clan since the 18th century.
Some people believe that the clan has Norse origins, stating that it’s derived from the Scottish Gaelic MacAmhlaibh or MacAmhlaidh which comes from the Old Norse personal names Áleifr and Olaf or Óláfr.
It’s generally accepted that Clan MacAulay - or, at least the MacAulays of Ardincaple - come from Dunbartonshire, where the land was controlled by the mormaers (earls) of Lennox. Some of the mormaers used the Gaelic first name Amhlaibh, which in turn became the Anglicised surname MacAulay. It’s said that one of these men named Amhlaibh was a son of Ailin II, the Earl of Lennox, and he and his sons became lords of Faslane and the land alongside Gare Loch. The family had a residence at Ardincaple and another at Faslane, where there was an oak tree at a place called “knoll of the cock”. Legend has it that when a cock stood below this oak tree and cried out, a member of the family was soon to meet their end - ominous! We have no record of how often the cockerel crowing actually resulted in the death of a clan member, but we assume it must have happened more than once for it to become lore…
Although this record of events seems to be the most widely accepted, the actual origins of the clan seem to be harder to pin down. The clan chiefs were certainly recorded as the lairds of Ardincaple and were referred to as the MacAulays of Ardincaple.
In the early 18th century, Alexander Nisbet claimed that the clan were descended from someone called Morice de Arncappel, who swore his allegiance to Edward I in the Ragman Rolls of 1296.
Towards the end of the 18th century, Walter MacFarlane, chief of Clan MacFarlane and an antiquarian, stated that the MacAulays of Ardincaple took their name from Aulay MacAulay of that Ilk, who was lived during the reign of James III who was king between 1440-1488.
George Fraser Black, a historian, and linguist has said that ‘Ardincaple’ didn’t become a name until the 15th century when there are several Ardincaples recorded. This includes an early laird of Ardincaple, Alexander de Ardincaple, who served on the inquest of the Earl of Menteith, and Aulay de Ardincaple, also a laird of the land. It’s believed by several historians that the first laird to take the name MacAulay was Alexander de Ardincaple, who was the son of Aulay de Ardincaple.
There are four common MacAulay tartans: Hunting Ancient, Hunting Modern, Red Ancient, and Red Modern. Featuring red and green tones, these tartans are deep and rich, evocative of the MacAulays’ fighting spirit and perseverance.
The MacAulay clan motto is "Dulce periculum" (Danger is sweet) and the clan crest features a spurred boot. Spurs were once an object denoting chivalric rank, so the inclusion of the spur might represent a high-ranking horsemen. Interestingly, this is supported by the MacAulay's connection to the medieval Gaelic given name, Amhlaíbh, of which MacAulay is an anglicized form. An Amhlaíbh was the subject of a medieval Gaelic poem that featured a place called Ard nan Each -- ard here means "high", while each means "horse".
Clan MacAulay's plant badge is Scots fir or Cranberry
In Dunbartonshire, which was home to the MacAulays, there were near-constant battles between the MacAulays and their neighbours, the MacFarlanes and the Colquhouns as they raided each other’s lands and stole their sheep and cattle. However, it wasn’t these two clans with which the MacAulays had their most fearsome and fatal feud.
In the 16th century, members of Clan MacAulay were engaged in a series of scuffles with Clans Buchanan and Galbraith. Walter MacAuley was killed in a clash with some of the Buchanans, led by Thomas Buchanan, who was the Sheriff Depute of Dunbarton, at the beginning of August 1590. As well as the murder of Walter, several other MacAuleys were seriously injured, including his brother Duncan who suffered a brain injury, along with John MacGregor who was wounded so deeply behind the shoulder blades that his lungs could be seen, and James Colquhoun, who received a severe injury to the stomach.
Several Buchanans appeared in court in October 1590 where they were formally charged with Walter’s murder, and ordered to appear again in court for sentencing in December. However, the defendants failed to appear in court, and in May of 1591, the Bond of Manrent was sworn between the MacAuleys of Ardincaple and MacGregors of Glenstrae.
The Bond of Manrent was a pledge between two clans where the weaker clan pledged to serve a stronger clan in return for protection. They were a “promise by one person to serve another such that he shall be friend to all his friends and foe to all his foes”.
Clan MacGregor fought Clan Colquhoun at the Battle of Glen Fruin in February 1603, where the MacGregors massacred their enemies. Following the battle, there was an outcry about the rebellious MacGregors, and it was made an offence in April 1603 to bear the name of MacGregor or to aid or give shelter to a MacGregor.
Despite their promise to assist the rebellious MacGregors at all times, the MacAuleys seem to have gotten away with this association unscathed. Although the Earl of Argyll tried to bring charges against the MacAulays of Ardincaple for aiding and abetting the MacGregors, they were saved when James VI wrote that Ardincaple was innocent of the alleged crimes.
At the start of the 18th century, a band of MacAulays moved up north to Caithness and Sutherland, which is where the biggest population of MacAulays can still be found today.
They may have been prompted to make the move due to the declining power of their clan in Ardincaple. They were forced by dwindling fortunes to sell pieces of their land and their once expansive land became just a few farms.
In 1614, Dunyvaig Castle was captured by Angus Oc MacDonald. The castle had previously been held by the Bishop of the Isles, and Aulay MacAulay of Ardincaple sided with the bishop, travelling to Islay to demand that the castle be surrendered back to the bishop.
Thomas Babington Macaulay is arguably one of the most famous members of Clan MacAulay, he was a British historian and politican, responsible for coining the term 'Macaulayism'. This term was used to refer to the act of introducing the English education system to British colonies, the largest country this was used in was India when he introduced English as the language of their higher education program. MacAulay Culkin was even named after him! Read more about Thomas, MacAulay and many more in our Famous Faces blog.
Although not a Castle, Rhu Parish Kirk is extremely important to the history of the MacAulays, as it was founded in 1649 by Aulay MacAulay, the last known Chief of Clan MacAulay. The Clan were adamant they would like a separate parish on the other side of Gare Loch, and so Aulay provided land for the Kirk to be built upon. Read about the other notable lands and castles of the MacAulays on the blog.
There are 4 tartan variants available for the MacAulay Clan, From Modern and Ancient to Hunting, with gorgeous green and red tartans, this Clan is truly spoilt for choice. But which is your favourite MacAulay Clan Tartan? Vote now!
From the Clan's historic seat in and around Ardincaple, to the fearsome battles with rival clans, join Anna and Monja as they explore all that clan MacAulay has to offer in this episode of On the Sofa. They will even be reading out a few key stories from members of the Clan!
How much do you think you know about Clan MacAulay? Enough to get all 12 questions correct? Test your MacAulay Clan Knowledge now!
Join Monja as we explore Clan MacAulay in a minute... learn how to spot a member of the clan and all about their history.
The Clan MacAulay Association exists to celebrate clan traditions and engage in the worldwide community of Clan MacAulay. Every two years the Association organizes an International Clan Gathering allowing Clan members worldwide to come together and connect with their culture, heritage, and history.
Ever wondered what being the Chief of a Clan Association involves? Emily is joined virtually from Canada by Joan MacAulay, Chief of the Clan MacAulay Association to find out about the role as well as her Scottish heritage. We first met Joan during a tour of Canadian Highland games back in 2019, the same year that Joan took on the role of Association Chief!
Clan Motto: Dulce Periculum (Danger is Sweet)