The founder of the clan, according to legend, was a Thorkil (
Torcadal) who was a member of the Scots army under
Kenneth MacAlpin. The legendary story states that
Alpin, father of Kenneth MacAlpin, was killed in battle, and his head was carried off by enemy
Picts. Alpin's head was then displayed in the Pictish town of
Camelon. The story goes on to state that the claimed ancestor of the McCorquodales, Thorkil, recovered Alpin's head. For this deed, Thorkil was said to have been rewarded with lands on Loch Awe side. Be that as it may, the earliest record of the clan occurs in the 15th century. The Barons McCorquodale are recorded at this time, as holding sway over lands in Argyll, west of Loch Awe. They were centred at Phantelane (Anglicised from the
Scottish Gaelic:
Fionnt Eilean), By 1612, Duncan was dead and his younger sons, Iain and Lachlan, were declared by the
Privy Council as "notorious thieves and the supporters of
Clan Gregour". Duncan McCorquodale of Phantelane was one of the Justices of the peace for Argyllshire, appointed in 1656 by
Oliver Cromwell. In the 18th century, the last Baron McCorquodale to hold the clan lands around Loch Tromlee died, leaving the clan without a chief to this day. By the end of the 18th century there were McCorquodales living on Loch Aweside, who claimed to be descended from the legendary founder of the clan. ==Clan profile==