Clan Chattan
The Confederation
Clan Chattan, Clann Chatain, the children of the cat, is not a single clan but the great confederation of the central Highlands, unique in Scotland for its scale and longevity. Its historic territory spans Badenoch, Strathspey, Strathnairn and Strathdearn, the country between Inverness and the Cairngorms. The confederation formed around a core of blood-related clans, including Mackintosh, MacPherson, MacBean and MacPhail, and grew by alliance to include clans of different stock seeking mutual protection, among them Farquharson, Shaw, MacGillivray, Davidson and MacQueen. Many of the member clans share the wildcat in their crests, and versions of the warning motto: touch not the cat.
Leadership came through marriage. In 1291 Eva, heiress of the old Chattan line, married Angus Mackintosh, 6th chief of Clan Mackintosh, and thereafter the Mackintosh chiefs led the confederation as Captains of Clan Chattan for nearly 650 years, a captaincy the MacPhersons long disputed. The confederation’s most famous single event was the staged battle on the North Inch of Perth in 1396, thirty champions of Clan Chattan against thirty of a rival clan before King Robert III. Bands of union signed by the member chiefs in 1609 and 1664 formalised the structure.
Clan Chattan regiments fought for the Jacobites in 1715 and 1745. At Culloden the Chattan battalion, led by MacGillivray of Dunmaglass, made one of the few charges to break the government line. In 1938 the Lord Lyon ruled that the chiefship of Clan Chattan was separate from that of Mackintosh, and since the 1940s it has followed the Mackintosh of Torcastle line.
Clan MacPherson
The MacPhersons, sons of the parson, from a 12th century hereditary church line, hold Badenoch around Newtonmore and Kingussie, with chiefs styled of Cluny. In the 1745 rising, Ewen MacPherson of Cluny led the clan for the prince, missed Culloden by hours, then hid for nine years in Cluny’s Cage on Ben Alder while the government hunted him. The clan’s treasures, including the Black Chanter and the green banner, are in the Clan Macpherson Museum at Newtonmore. The current chief is James Brodie Macpherson of Cluny, 28th Chief, since 2021. The MacPherson crest shows a seated wildcat with the motto Touch Not The Cat But A Glove (“but” is the authentic MacPherson spelling, distinct from the Mackintosh “bot”).
You can download the MacPherson crest as a 3D model file (£10 to £25) to print or CNC-carve yourself.
Clan Davidson
The Davidsons, Clan Dhai, were early members of the confederation, traditionally settled in Badenoch under Mackintosh protection. At the Battle of Invernahavon in 1370, a dispute over the place of honour in the battle line ended with the Davidsons taking the brunt of the Cameron attack and suffering losses that broke their early power. The name later flourished in the northeast, notably the Davidsons of Tulloch at Dingwall. The chiefship, dormant for centuries, was revived through a New Zealand line: the current chief is Grant Guthrie Davidson, 3rd of Davidston, inaugurated in Christchurch in 2015. The Davidson crest shows a stag’s head with the motto Sapienter Si Sincere: wisely if sincerely.
You can download the Davidson crest as a 3D model file (£10 to £25) to print or CNC-carve yourself.
Clan Chief
The chief of the confederation is Malcolm Mackintosh of Mackintosh-Torcastle and Clan Chattan, 33rd Chief. Clan Mackintosh itself is led separately by John Lachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh, 31st Chief.
Further reading
Clan Macpherson Association and the Clan Macpherson Museum at Newtonmore.
Clan Davidson Society of North America and Clan Davidson NZ.
See the Clan Chattan country, from Badenoch to Strathnairn, on our interactive clan map of Scotland.
