Dean Monro
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Donald Monro (or Munro) (
fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...
1526–1574) was a Scottish clergyman, who wrote an early and historically valuable description of the
Hebrides The Hebrides ( ; , ; ) are the largest archipelago in the United Kingdom, off the west coast of the Scotland, Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Ou ...
and other Scottish islands and enjoyed the honorific title of " Dean of the Isles".


Origins

Donald Monro was born early in the 16th century, the eldest of the six sons of Alexander Munro of Kiltearn, by Janet, daughter of Farquhar Maclean of Dochgarroch. His father was a grandson of George Munro, 10th Baron of Foulis (Chief of the Clan Munro)Alexander Ross, ''The Reverend Donald Munro, M.A., High Dean of the Isles'', in The Celtic Magazine (volume 9, 1884), at pages 142 to 144. and his maternal grandfather was Farquhar MacLean of Dochgarroch, (''Fearchar Mac Eachainn'')
Bishop of the Isles The Bishop of the Isles or Bishop of Sodor was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of the Isles (or Sodor), one of Scotland's thirteen medieval bishoprics. The bishopric, encompassing both the Hebrides and Mann, probably traces its origins as ...
from 1529 to 1544.MacLeod (2004) p. 23 On Farquhar's resignation the bishopric passed to his son, and Donald Monro's uncle, Roderick MacLean (''Ruaidhri Mac Gill-Eathain'').


Career

Monro became the vicar of Snizort and
Raasay Raasay (; ), sometimes the Isle of Raasay, is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound, Scotland, Inner Sound. It is famous fo ...
in 1526MacLeod (2004) p. 25 later noting that although the latter (and the adjacent island of Rona
pertained
to the
Bishop of the Isles The Bishop of the Isles or Bishop of Sodor was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of the Isles (or Sodor), one of Scotland's thirteen medieval bishoprics. The bishopric, encompassing both the Hebrides and Mann, probably traces its origins as ...
"by heritage" that in practice it was held by "M'Gyllychallan of Raarsay be the sword". These were troubled times in the
Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...
, with Domhnall Dubh's attempts to resurrect the
Lordship of the Isles Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( or ; ) is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title was h ...
only failing on his death in 1545. Partly as a result, the See of the Isles was one of the poorest in Scotland and although Monro lists fourteen islands as belonging to its Bishop, in practice rents were hard to collect. He was nominated to the Archdeaconry of the Isles in or shortly after 1549. Monro called himself "Sir Donald", a standard style at the time for a priest who lacked a university degree, and also referred to himself as "High Dean of the Isles". His position was one of considerable influence but the advancing
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
added further complication to the political landscape in which he was operating. He must initially have been a
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, but following the
Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church, and established the Protestant Church of Scotland. It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Fr ...
in 1560 he adhered to the
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. At some point between 1560 and 1563 he was appointed as parson of Kiltearn and he was also minister at
Alness Alness (, ; ) is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It lies near the mouth of the River Averon, near the Cromarty Firth, with the town of Invergordon to the east, and the village of Evanton to ...
and Lemlair. In 1563, he witnessed a charter, still styling himself "Archdeacon of the Isles". At
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in the same year he was appointed by the
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray, ...
to act as one of three special Commissioners of Ross under the
Bishop of Caithness The Bishop of Caithness was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Caithness, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. The first referenced bishop of Caithness was Aindréas, a Gael who appears in sources between 1146 and 1151 as bishop. Ai ...
responsible for creating new kirks. The duties were arduous but he retained his position for 12 years, occasional criticism by the General Assembly concerning his lack of ability in
Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...
notwithstanding. Traditionally, he is said to have lived at Castle Craig on the
Black Isle The Black Isle (, ) is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. It includes the towns of Cromarty and Fortrose, and the villages of Culbokie, Resolis, Jemimaville, Rosemarkie, Avoch, Munlochy, Tore, and North Kesso ...
and to have crossed the
Cromarty Firth The Cromarty Firth (; ; literally "kyles
traits Trait may refer to: * Phenotypic trait in biology, which involve genes and characteristics of organisms * Genotypic trait, sometimes but not always presenting as a phenotypic trait * Personality, traits that predict an individual's behavior. ** ...
of Cromarty") is an arm of the Moray Firth in Scotland. Geography The entrance to the Cromarty Firth is guarded by two precipitous headlands; the one on the north high and the one on the ...
to perform his duties at Kiltearn.Munro (1961) pp. 17–20 The period 1565–70 was one of further trouble for the Church. Monro may have been an "outlawed rebel" referred to in 1568 for his support of the cause of Queen Mary in preference to the young
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but by 1570 he was re-instated as a Commissioner. The last record of him is dated 1574 and it is assumed he had died by 1576 when new ministers were appointed for Kiltearn, Lemlair and Alness. He never married and no extant stone marks his burial at Kiltearn, "a little to the east of the burial ground of the family of Foulis" his written work being his sole monument.


Language skills

Matheson (1963) suggests that the kirk's critiques of Monro's ability in Gaelic may have been misplaced, stating that "it would be most surprising if the Gaelic of a sixteenth-century native of Kiltearn were not sufficiently adequate for his pastoral duties" and that Monro's explanations of Gaelic names are "usually accurate".Matheson (1963) p. 50 Matheson does however question Monro's command of spoken Scots, noting that "it is not unknown for Gaelic speakers to write English well but to speak it very inadequately."


''Description of the Western Isles of Scotland''

In 1563, the year he became Archdeacon, Monro visited most of the islands on the west coast of Scotland and wrote a manuscript account of them, a '' Description of the Western Isles of Scotland'' together with a brief genealogical account of various branches of
Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald or Clan McDonald ( ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs a ...
, which was not published in any form until 1582 and not made widely available to the public in its original form until 1774. Further editions were published in 1805, 1818 and (with scholarly apparatus and including some material missing from the 1774 edition) in 1961. Monro's ''Description'' is a valuable historical account and has re-appeared in part or in whole in numerous publications about the Western Isles.Munro (1961) p. 37


See also

*
Martin Martin Martin Martin (Scottish Gaelic: Màrtainn MacGilleMhàrtainn) (–9 October 1718) was a Scotland, Scottish writer best known for his work ''A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland (Martin), A Description of the Western Islands of Scotlan ...


Notes


References

* MacLeod, Norma (2004) ''Raasay: The Island and Its People''. Edinburgh. Birlinn * Matheson, Angus (April 1963)
Review of ''Monro's Western Isles of Scotland and Genealogies of the Clans, 1549'' by R. W. Munro"
''The Scottish Historical Review''. 42 No. 133, Part 1 pp. 48–51. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press/JSTOR. * Munro, R. W. (1961) ''Monro's Western Isles of Scotland and Genealogies of the Clans''. Edinburgh and London. Oliver and Boyd. *


External links


''Description of the Western Isles of Scotland''
(William Auld, Edinburgh, 1774) {{DEFAULTSORT:Monro, Donald 16th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 16th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Scottish genealogists 16th-century Scottish writers 16th-century Scottish male writers
Donald Donald is a Scottish masculine given name. It is derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinter ...
History of the Inner Hebrides History of the Outer Hebrides