MacDONALD OF CLANRANALD

The figure dressed in the tartan of MacDonald of Clanranald illustrates the filleadh mór or belted-plaid, as it was worn at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and immediately prior to the general adoption of the filleadh beg or little kilt. The belted-plaid is a single piece of tartan, unsewn and fixed round the body with a belt. As can be seen, great nearness is displayed in arranging the pleats so as to show the sett of the tartan. The two feathers denote that the wearer is a person of consequence, and of close affinity to the chief of the clan. The coat is lachdan, the natural colour of the fleece. The brogues are cut from deer skin, worn with the hairy side outwards. The filleadh mór from behind can be seen in the figure of MacGillivray (Plate 3). Until the end of the fifteenth century, the Chief of Clan Donald maintained in royal state his independent lordship of the Isles. The clan is now divided into several distinct branches, recognised as individual clans, of which the best known are the MacDonalds of Sleate and the MaeDonalds of Glengarry.