The Statutes of Iona, passed in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
in 1609, required that
Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...
Scottish clan
A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure r ...
chiefs send their heirs to
Lowland Scotland
The Lowlands ( or , ; , ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland.
The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to the mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. This area includes ci ...
to be educated in English-speaking Protestant schools. As a result, some clans, such as the
MacDonalds of Sleat and the
MacLeods of Harris
Clan MacLeod ( ; ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the MacLeods of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Harris and Dunvegan, known in Gaelic as ' ("seed of Tormod") an ...
, adopted the new religion. Other clans, notably the
MacLeans of Morvern & Mull,
MacDonalds of Clanranald,
Keppoch,
Glengarry
The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...
, and
Glencoe, remained resolutely Roman Catholic.
Provisions
Among the provisions of the statutes were:
*The provision and support of Protestant ministers to Highland Parishes
*The establishment of inns "to be set up in convenient places in all the Islands for accommodation of travellers" and to end the custom of "sorning", the practice of extorting free quarters and provision
*The outlawing of beggars
*The prohibition of general import and sale of wine and whisky, except to chiefs and other gentlemen who were permitted to purchase wine and aquavitae from the Lowlands for household consumption
*The education of the children of any "gentleman or yeoman" in possession of more than sixty cattle in Lowland schools where they "may be found able sufficiently to speik, reid and wryte Englische"
*Prohibition from carrying hagbuts or pistols out of their own houses, or shooting at deer, hares, or fowls
*The outlawing of bards and other bearers of the traditional culture "pretending libertie to baird and flattir," and that all such persons should be apprehended, put in the stocks, and expelled from the Islands
*The prohibition on the protection of fugitives
In the view of some writers, these provisions were "the first of a succession of measures taken by the Scottish government specifically aimed at the extirpation of the Gaelic language, the destruction of its traditional culture and the suppression of its bearers"
[''Gaelic – A past and Future Prospect''. MacKinnon, Kenneth. The Saltire Society 1991, Edinburgh. P 46]
Further reading
* Cathcart, Alison. "The Statutes of Iona: The Archipelagic Context," ''Journal of British Studies'' Jan. 2010, Vol. 49, No. 1: 4–27.
References
External links
History of Scottish Gaelic
{{Gaels
Scots law
Education in Scotland
1609 in Scotland
1609 in law
Social history of Scotland