This famous Scottish warrior was knighted by Robert The Bruce in 1280 and his son, Neil, was given lands in Loch Awe, and Argyll. The legendary and edifying history of Cailean Mór has resulted in each successive chief of the Campbell Clan taking this name and styling himself MacCailean Mór, (to mean ‘a son of’ Cailean Mór). This turn of events led to the Scottish Wars of Independence as Robert the Bruce fought to win back his crown. Cailean Mór was allegedly a cousin of Robert the Bruce and took part in The Great Cause, a scuffle for the throne of Scotland between the Bruce and John Balliol which had the unfortunate consequence of providing leverage for Edward I of England (the Hammer of the Scots) to assume over lordship of Scotland.
The Campbell name rose to prominence towards the end of the 1200s, when Cailean Mór Caimbeul, famous warrior, was active. Before this nickname stuck, Clan Campbell was known as Clan Dairmid. This may be due to an ancestor having a physical abnormality. The Campbell name, it is said, was derived from the Gaelic for ‘wry mouth’ or even ‘crooked mouth’. As with all the clans of Scotland, it was often the chosen allegiance to Kings and their religious leanings that made or broke its fortune, as we shall see. However, even they struck hard times due to political and religious regime change. The Campbells of Argyll represent one of the most successful arms of the Clan. With that, it has not survived the turning of time’s wheel without a share of its own dark days and disasters.
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