⚔ Battlefields of Britain

Battle of Glendale 1513

Battle of Glendale: Head of Loch Pooltiel
Image: Richard Dorrell, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).

Key facts

Date (year)1513Wikidata P585 point in time
Century16th centuryderived
PeriodTudor & early Stuartderived
CountryScotlandderived

About the battle

The Battle of Glendale was fought on the Inner Hebridean Isle of Skye when the MacDonalds of Sleat and the MacDonalds of Clanranald clashed with the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan and the MacLeods of Lewis. According to MacLeod tradition preserved in the early 19th century, the battle was fought in about the year 1490, though more recent scholarship suggests that the battle more likely took place sometime after 1513. MacLeod tradition records that the battle was the 'most tremendous battle' that the clan ever fought—although the clan was victorious, it never fully recovered from its severe losses. MacLeod tradition also relates how the MacDonalds originally had the upper hand during the conflict, but when Clan MacLeod's sacred Fairy Flag was unfurled the MacLeods gained heart and won the battle.

Visiting the battlefield

Location

  • Approximate location: the point for Glendale, the place Wikidata gives as the battle’s location: 57.4476, -6.7108

Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.

Directions (Google Maps) OpenStreetMap

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Glendale (Skye) (revision 1372610225), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.

Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).

Nearby battlefields

Browse more: battles in Highland · battles in Scotland · Tudor & early Stuart · 16th century battles

Further reading