130 HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



vices."* The recipient of this grant was the famous John 

 Moidartach, Captain of Clan Ranald, the illegitimate son of 

 Alastair, second son of Allan MacRuari. John Moidartach's 

 father was the uncle of Dougall (son of Ranald MacAllan 

 who died, or was executed in 1513), whose cruelties so 

 alienated his clansmen that they put him to death, and 

 elected Alastair in his stead, to the exclusion of Ranald 

 Gallda, a son of Allan MacRuari by his second wife, a 

 daughter of Lord Lovat. The exclusion of Ranald Gallda 

 led to a bitter feud between the Clan Ranald and the 

 Frasers, which culminated, in 1 544, in the bloody fight of 

 Blar-na-leine,f at which the Frasers were almost decimated, 

 among the slain being Lord Lovat, his son and heir, and 

 Ranald Gallda himself. 



In 1539, Ruari Macleod of Lewis (son of Malcolm) who 

 succeeded John MacTorquil, joined the head of the Sleat 

 family in a second attempt to wrest Trotternish from 

 Macleod of Harris. Donald Gruamach had by this time 

 been gathered to his fathers, and his son Donald Gorm 

 succeeded him as chief of the Clan Huistein. Donald Gorm 

 hankered after the lands in Skye which his father had 

 seized, but had failed to hold. He found a ready and 

 powerful ally in Ruari Macleod, who had probably formed 

 with him an offensive and defensive alliance, in considera- 

 tion of Donald Gorm resigning his claims to the possession 

 of Lewis. For he had such a claim, and it was sufficiently 

 strong to merit compensation for its renunciation. He was 

 married to Margaret, the only child of John the predecessor 

 of Ruari, and was thus entitled through his wife to lay 

 claim to her father's possessions. As we shall see, this 

 claim, although allowed to remain inoperative during the 

 lifetime of Ruari, was covertly revived when the question 

 of his successor came to be considered. 



Passing over to the mainland from Trotternish, which 

 they ravaged, Donald Gorm and Ruari Macleod took 



* Reg. Mag. Sig. (1513-1546), No. 1,131. 



t The " Field of Shirts, "so-called from the combatants, owing to the sultry 

 state of the weather, having thrown off their coats and fought in their shirts. 



