Malcolm MacLeod (clan chief)
| Malcolm MacLeod | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1296 |
| Died | 1370 Castle of Stornoway, Lewis |
| Resting place | Iona |
| Predecessor | Tormod (father) |
| Successor | Iain Ciar (son) |
| Spouse(s) | possibly 2 |
| Children | 4 sons |
Malcolm MacLeod (Scottish Gaelic: Gille Caluim MacLeòid) (1296–1370) is considered to be the third chief of Clan MacLeod. He was the son of Tormod. Malcolm and his kinsman Torquil are the first MacLeod chiefs to appear in contemporary records. Clan tradition states he was the greatest hero of the clan and links him to the origin of the clan relic known as Sir Rory Mor's Horn. He is said to have become extremely overweight in his old age and was known as 'Good Fat Malcolm' or 'Malcolm the thick-legged'. According to tradition he was buried at Iona. Malcolm's son, Iain Ciar MacLeod, succeeded him as chief of the clan.
Malcolm has traditionally been said to have been the son of Tormod, second chief of Clan MacLeod. The traditional view was that Tormod was a grandson of Leod, founder of the clan; that Tormod's father, also named Tormod, died before Leod, and thus when Leod died the chiefship skipped his generation. The current view is that the 'middle' Tormod did not exist and that Malcolm was the son of Tormod, and thus the grandson of Leod. According to early 20th-century clan historian R.C. MacLeod, Malcolm was born in 1296 and succeeded his father in the year 1320. Malcolm and his kinsman Torquil are the first MacLeod chiefs to appear in contemporary records. Their names are recorded as "Malcolme, son to Tormode M'Cloyde", and that of "Torkyll M'Cloyd", in a royal charter dating to about 1343, during the reign of David II (r. 1329–1371).
The Bannatyne manuscript is the main authority for information on the early chiefs of Clan MacLeod. This traditional account of the clan is thought to date to about the 1830s. The document describes Malcolm as the greatest hero of all MacLeods and states that he married a daughter of Sir Neil Campbell of Lochow, ancestor of the Dukes of Argyll. According to 19th-century historian A. Mackenzie, Malcolm married Martha, daughter of the Earl of Mar. R.C. MacLeod speculated that this earl was "the seventh" and considered it not impossible that Malcolm could have married both women. MacLeod noted that both marriages would have had close links to the family of Robert the Bruce; both Sir Neil, and Lord Mar, had married sisters of Bruce (Mary Bruce and Christina Bruce).
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