Scottish clan gets new leader after long court battle

EDINBURGH, Scotland — In days of yore, clan chiefs ruled rugged swaths of Scotland as their fiefdoms, collecting taxes, calling men to arms, and deciding land disputes.

These days, clan chiefs get little more than a coat of arms, a motto, and a personal tartan for kilts — although the title does carry considerable prestige.

But that didn't stop Ranald MacDonald from waging a bitter two-decade-long court battle to be named chief of Clan MacDonald of Keppoch — a title that has been dormant since 1848 when the 21st chief died without a male heir.

Persistence paid off for the 75-year-old MacDonald: The Highland clan installed him as its leader on Wednesday.

"The record has been set straight," the retired hearing aid specialist told The Associated Press. "That is the point."

MacDonald's claim was contested by clansmen who claim that his ancestor, Alexander MacDonald, was born out of wedlock in 1832 and corrupted the bloodline. Rory MacDonald, a historian of the Keppoch clan that is a branch of the larger Clan Donald, said many clansman will continue to refuse to recognize MacDonald as their leader.

"You cannot become clan chief without the acceptance of your clan. We will not recognize this," he said.

But Hugh Peskett, an expert on Scottish heraldry and editor of the Scottish edition of Burke's Peerage, said the matter has been settled beyond any doubt.

While investigating MacDonald's claim, he looked at old papers at the New Register House in Edinburgh, which has public records dating to the 1550s. The genealogist was able to trace MacDonald as a direct descendant of Donald Gorm MacDonald of Inverroy, who was the fourth son of Alistair Buidhe, the 14th chief of the MacDonalds of Keppoch.

"This case is proven," Peskett said. "I do not think any chiefship has been so soundly tested in the courts for a long, long time. But there are people who do not like the decision by the court. This is just sour grapes by bad losers."

MacDonald's case rested on the concept of "sloinneadh" (pronounced SLO-ny-ug) — a Scottish Gaelic word referring to the genealogy of the male line handed down orally. Peskett said he tracked MacDonald's birthright through an old woman who had lived in clan territory all her life and had carried on the oral tradition of keeping local history alive.

The court case wasn't quite as simple, however.