Mary, Queen of Scots, made a
progress in the area in August 1564, and, according to
Raphael Holinshed, she visited the Chanonry of Ross. In 1569, during the
Marian civil war between the deposed Queen Mary and
James VI of Scotland, a feud arose between the
Clan Mackenzie and
Clan Munro, who were among the most powerful clans in
Ross-shire. The trouble started when
John Leslie, Bishop of Ross granted to his cousin Leslie, the Laird of Balquhair, the right and title to the castle at Chanonry together with the castle lands. The Mackenzies regarded the Munros as wrongful possessors of their property which they had legally purchased from Leslie. On 31 October 1578, James VI gave the "castell, hous and place of the channonrie" to Henry Stewart, 3rd
Lord Methven. The Chanonry had been given to
Alexander Hepburn (d. 1578), the successor to John Lesley, Bishop of Ross, who shared Queen Mary's exile. Lord Methven would receive the income from the lands until such time as a new Bishop of Ross was appointed. In July 1589, James VI arrived at the Chanonry in person, where "he slew ane great hairt, and wes weill bancketted and ressavit by the barronis and gentilmen in the way." James was preoccupied with plans for his marriage and signed a warrant for
Robert Jousie and
Thomas Foulis to travel to London to buy goods for the wedding. His next stop was
Boyne Castle.
Historical accounts of the siege Calendar Writs of Munro of Foulis (1572) The
Calendar Writs of Munro of Foulis are series of contemporary legal documents concerning the Munro of Foulis family from the year 1299 to 1823 that were published in books by the
Scottish Record Society in the 1940s. One of these documents is a letter dated 1572 from Andrew Munro of Milntown to the
Regent of Scotland complaining that Colin Mackenzie of Kintail had "
slew thre servandis of myne and left thre deidlie woundit brunt and distroyit my cornis hous and barnis in the channorie...". The letter from Munro of Milntown goes on to say that "
the nowmer of thre thowsand men" (three thousand men), "
asseigit the said hous be a lang space fortefeit" (laid siege to the said house that had been a long time fortified) and that "
quhill at last thei seing the hous onrecoverabill" (at last they seeing the house unrecoverable) "
be thair force efter thai haid committit greit harshippis upoun the Laird of Foulis and his kin" (their force after had committed great hardships upon the Laird of Foulis). It also mentions that the Mackenzies along with the Mackintoshes had laid siege to the Chanonry with three thousand men: "
McKenze and Mcanetoische wes with thair haill hoistis to the nummer of thre thousand men or therby lying at the sege of the castell of the channory".
George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie (1669) George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie wrote an account of the feud in his
History of the Family of Mackenzie which was written in 1669. George Mackenzie says that the Mackenzies who occupied the steeple of the church made some attempts on the castle that was occupied by the Munros but to little purpose until June 1572 when it was heard that the Munros had gone out to fish on the
Ness which was one of the debatable possessions. It has therefore been suggested that they derive from a common source. However, while similar to the Earl of Cromartie's account, Mackenzie of Applecross states that twenty-six Munros were killed and not just three, but agrees with Cromartie that only two Mackenzies were wounded.
Alexander Mackenzie (1894/1898) Alexander Mackenzie wrote an account of the feud in his books
The History of the Mackenzies (1894) and
The History of the Munros of Fowlis (1898). contrary to the manuscripts which show that it was handed over. Alexander Mackenzie gives the number of Munros killed as twenty-six in accordance with John Mackenzie of Applecross's manuscript of 1669. He does however increase the number of Mackenzies wounded from two, to three or four, and adds that two Mackenzies were killed. ==17th and 18th century Civil Wars==