Hector Mor Maclean, 12th Chief

Hector Mor Maclean, 12th Chief

Hector Mor Maclean, 12th Chief wax seal from 1545
12th Chief of Clan Maclean
8th Laird of Duart
In office
1523-1568 (45 years)
Preceded by Lachlan Cattanach Maclean, 11th Chief, father
Succeeded by Hector Og Maclean, 13th Chief, son
Personal details
Born 1497
Duart Castle
Died 1568

Eachuinn Mór Maclean (1497–1568) or Hector Mor Maclean, or Hector Maclean the Great, was the 12th Chief of Maclean. Mór or Mor translates as great when added to a name in Scottish Gaelic.[1] He was the 8th laird of Duart Castle.

Biography

Lachlan Cattanach Maclean, 11th Chief was succeeded as chieftain and Lord of Duart by his son Eachann, better known as Hector Mor Maclean, or Hector the Great, in 1527. He is described by the seanachaidhs as being good, kind, affectionate, and brave, an accomplished politician and an approved warrior; and that in him the clan realized all it desired in a noble chieftain. To most of his vassals he granted extended leases, by way of encouragement in the improvement of lands and the building of more comfortable dwellings. He lived altogether, while permitted to do so by his troublesome neighbors with which he was surrounded, more like a noble of modern times than a feudal baron. He made many improvements on the demesne of Duard; and was the founder of that noble addition to Duart Castle called the Great Tower. His alliance was courted by many of the powerful lords; and the king thought it of importance to secure his loyalty by calling him into his council. Hence, we find him taking his seat in parliament as one of the lords of the kingdom. In private life his character was above reproach, and in his warlike pursuits he acted upon that system which had legal sanction.[2]

Eachuinn Mor Maclean married Mary MacDonald of Islay and the Glens, daughter of Alexander MacDonald, 5th of Dunnyveg, by whom he had two sons and seven daughters:[2]

Hector Mor died about the year 1568.[2]

References

 This article incorporates text from A history of the clan Mac Lean from its first settlement at Duard Castle, in the Isle of Mull, to the present period: including a genealogical account of some of the principal families together with their heraldry, legends, superstitions, etc, by John Patterson MacLean, a publication from 1889 now in the public domain in the United States.

  1. ↑ "Mór". MacBain's Dictionary. Retrieved 2009-04-17. great, Irish mór, Old Irish mór, már, Welsh mawr, Old Welsh, Cornish maur, Breton meur, Gaulish -mârós; Greek @G-mwros, great, famed ( @Ge@'ghesí-mwros) in spear-throw; Gothic -mêrs, famed, mêrian, proclaim, Old High German mâri, famed, -mar in Germanic names German märchen, a tale, Norse m@oerr, famous; Slavonic -meru (Vladimir, etc.); Latin merus, English mere. A shorter form of the stem (*mâro-) appears in mò, greater (mâ), q.v.
  2. 1 2 3 MacLean, John Patterson (1889). A History of the Clan MacLean from Its First Settlement at Duard Castle, in the Isle of Mull, to the Present Period: Including a Genealogical Account of Some of the Principal Families Together with Their Heraldry, Legends, Superstitions, Etc. R. Clarke & Company. Hector Mor married Mary, daughter of Alexander MacDonald of Islay and the Glens, by whom he had two sons and seven daughters : Eachann Og, his heir and successor, and John Dubh, predecessor of the family of Kinlochaline ; Marian, married to Norman MacLeod of Harris; Mary, to Donald MacDonald of Sleat; Catherine, died unmarried; the second Catherine, first to Archibald Campbell, fourth Earl of Argyle, and secondly to John Stewart of Appin — Catherine was a high-spirited woman, and was distinguished for her beauty and culture; Julian, married first to Calvagh O'Donnell of Tirconnell, and secondly to the great O'Neill, in Ireland; Una, to Cameron of Lochiel; and Janet, to MacDonald of Keppoch. Hector Mor died about the year 1568.
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