Origins Traditional origins The traditional origin of the Clan Gunn is that the progenitor of the clan was one
Gunni who came to
Caithness at the end of the 12th century when his wife, Ragnhild, inherited the estates from her brother,
Harald Maddadsson who was the
Earl of Orkney. His wife descended from
St Ragnvald, who was the founder of the
St Magnus Cathedral in
Kirkwall, Orkney. Further information on the Norse origins of Clan Gunn can be found in an article written by Michael James Gunn, quoting
Sir Robert Gordon's
A Genealogical History of The Earldom of Sutherland from the 17th century: "Sir Robert Gordon, in researching genealogies for his work interviewed many of the heads of families in Sutherland, among them Alexander Gun of Kilearnan and Navidale, 4th Mackeamish, who died in 1655. From him he learned that Mackeamish's family
are called Clan-Gun from one called Gun, whom they allege to have been the king of Denmarke his sone, and came many dayes agoe from Denmark, and settled himself in Catteynes. The significance of this statement is made clear when it is remembered that, in Sir Robert Gordon's time, the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway were united under the Danish crown. However, the ancient Gaelic
sennachies described the Gunns as Lochlannaich, or Norwegians, not Danes, because at the time of their forebear's arrival in Orkney and Caithness, Norway was a separate kingdom and not united with Denmark until the Union of Kalmar in 1391.
Recorded origins The first 'chief' of the Clan Gunn to appear in historical records definitively was George Gunn, who was the
crouner or
coroner of Caithness during the 15th century. The Gunn's traditional enemies were the
Clan Keith, who from their Ackergill Castle, challenged the Gunn chiefs for both political needs and for land. Alistair Gunn, son of John Robson Gunn, had become a man of much note and power in the North. He had married the daughter of
John Gordon, 11th Earl of Sutherland and for this reason "he felt entitled to hold his head high amongst the best in Scotland". His pride, or perhaps his loyalty to the Earl of Sutherland, led to his undoing when in 1562, he led Gordon's retinue and encountered
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, and his followers on the High Street of
Aberdeen. The Earl of Moray was the bastard half-brother of
Mary, Queen of Scots, as well as the son-in-law of
William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal, chief of Clan Keith. It was the custom at the time to yield thoroughfares to the personage of greater rank, and in refusing to yield the middle of the street to Stewart and his train, Alistair publicly insulted the Earl. Stewart soon afterward had him pursued to a place called Delvines, near Nairn. There he was captured by
Andrew Munro of Milntown and taken to Inverness, and following a mock trial, he was executed. In the late 16th century the Gunns were involved in a number of feuds against the
Earl of Sutherland and
Earl of Caithness.
17th century and Civil War During the 17th century the Clan Gunn strengthened their links with the
Clan Mackay when Gunn of Kilearnan married Mary Mackay, sister of
Lord Reay, chief of Clan Mackay. Gunns did independently fight for the Bonnie Prince and a list can be found in the publication No Quarter Given, the muster roll of Prince Charles Edward Stuart's Army 1745–46. Gunns were heavily drawn upon for the 79th
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders regiment during the French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. ==Chieftainship==