Mackinnon's Revenge: Brutal Scottish Justice (Scottish Folklore)

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Although I love old Scottish customs and beliefs, I am happy to say that many of the crueller practices found in the feudal laws, which covered the highlands and islands have long since faded into the past. You see at that time; the great highland chiefs held the power of life and death over their subjects and vassals. This helped control the land, feed its people, and punish the wicked. But there were many times an unscrupulous man would become laird or landowner, within the chief’s realm and use the power of the chief to his own corrupt ends. Opposing such a law would be opposing the chief himself and would incur sever punishment and on many occasions’ death. Sure, there was national laws set forth by the king of Scotland, which would render this abuse of power illegal, but then, much like today, the political powers of Edinburgh and Glasgow, cared more for the prosperity of the central belt than the lives and deeds of the isolated highland clans.
This would result in unfair and unethical laws being put in place throughout the far reaches of Scotland. One in particular would be the claiming of the best horse on the farm, when a farmer dies. Let me explain a little more. When the tenant or Farmer, would pass away, this fact must be immediately related to the laird of the land or owner of the property. In many areas the timeframe was given as three days, after which a great penalty would be incurred. Once notified the laird would send a messenger to the widow, demanding the finest horse on the farm be delivered to the laird, whom recognised it as his legal property and payment as the owner of the land. This messenger would commonly arrive on the funeral day of the farmer and near universally hated by all farm widows rich and poor alike. If the demand was refused or the widow attempted to evade this taxation, by local law they would forfeit all their land, there house, there goods and their cattle to the laird.
On large farms where the owners had made a good living, the demand of the horse was only a temporary financial burden and most likely there were many other animals to take its place. But where we see the true cruelty of this law is in those smaller and poorer farms. It was frequently true that these farmers had only one horse, which they used to work the land, so the loss of this animal would condemn the farm, leaving the widow and children with no food, home or work, damning them to a life of poverty or even death at the hand of a cold Scottish winter.
But today we tell the story of one who fought against this injustice and changed Scotland forever.
MacKinnon’s Revenge
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References:
Bord, J. (1994) The Well of the Heads. Fortean Times- Issue: 95 Page: 41.
Eyre-Todd, G. (1923) The Highland Clans of Scotland Their History and Traditions. Volume 2, D. Appleton and Company, New York.
Mackenzie, A. (1878) Historical Tales and Legends of the Highlands. Inverness. A & W. Mackenzie, Celtic Magazine Office. Edinburgh, Maclachlan and Stewart.
Ross, A. (1962) “Severed Heads in Wells: an Aspect of the Well Cult”. Scottish Studies 6.
Ross, A. (1976) The folklore of the Scottish Highlands. Batsford. London. ISBN: 0713431628
Watson, W.J. 1926. The History of the Celtic Place-Names of Scotland. Edinburgh and London: Blackwood.