Gunn

Gaelic Name: Guinne

Clan Crest: A dexter hand wielding a sword in bend, Proper

Clan Motto: Aut Pax Aut Bellum (Either peace or war)

Origin of Name: Norse, Gunn-arr

Clan Badge: Juniper

Lands: Caithness and Sutherland

Clan Chief: Iain A Gunn

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Gunn Clan History

Gunnr is the Norse word for war. The Gunns, who lived between Caithness and Sutherland, were descended from the Norsemen, possibly from Olaf the Black himself, and their name foretold their fate.

The ferocious Gunns were constantly at odds with neighboring clans, particularly the Keiths. Gunn territory was constantly being encroached upon from the north, south, and west.

Helen, the only daughter of Braemor's Lachlan Gunn, was celebrated for her great beauty and was set to marry her cousin Alexander. Keith of Ackergill's retainer, Dugald Keith, had tried to woo her, been rejected, and responded jealously. On her wedding day, he paid a surprise visit to her father's house, encircling it with armed members of his own family, who then began murdering the unwitting Gunns.

Keith kidnapped and imprisoned Helen in Ackergill. To escape his sexual abuse, she eventually climbed to the top of the tower and jumped to her death. The ensuing feud was long and bloody, with attacks on each clan continuing. In 1426, a costly but indecisive battle took place near Thurso at Harpsdale.

In 1464, the war-weary chiefs of the two clans agreed to meet at the Chapel of St Tears to settle their differences. George was the Gunns' leader. He was crowner and wore the magnificent brooch that came with the position. As agreed, he arrived at the chapel on horseback with eleven other riders.

The Keiths also arrived on twelve horses, but this time with two men to a horse, and slaughtered the Gunns. The crowner's brooch was taken from the body of the deceased Gunn. A century later, George's grandson, William MacKames, avenged his kin by killing George Keith of Akergill, his son, and twelve others in a bloodbath at Drummoy in Sutherland.

At times, the clan was at odds with the MacKays and the Earls of Caithness and Sutherland. In 1585, despite being outnumbered, they successfully repelled a joint attack by the Earls, killing 140 enemies before darkness ended the slaughter.

Sutherland dealt the clan a crushing defeat at Lochbroom, but it was the Gordons' Highland clearances that finally drove the Gunns off their long-held lands.

Gunn Places & People

Clan Gunn People

Gunn, Neil Miller

Gunn, Neil Miller (1891-1973)

Neil M Gunn was born in Dunbeath, Caithness, and worked in London and Edinburgh before joining the Highlands Excise Department in 1911.

In 1922, he began writing seriously, and his first novel, "The Grey Coast," was published in 1926. In 1931, he released his most acclaimed work, "Morning Tide."

After the publication of "Highland River" in 1937, his writing income was sufficient to allow him to leave his civil service job, which was fortunate given his duplicitous nationalist activities.

His many interests included whisky, Zen, nationalism, and Highland folklore, all of which appear in his writing. Neil M Gunn's final novel, "The Other Landscape," was published in 1954. Reprints of his work began the same year he died.

Gunn Tartans

Gunn the Elder

Gunn Contemporary

Gunn had weathered

Gunn Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Gunn Crest

Crest Description: A dexter hand wielding a sword in a proper bend,

Coats of Arms of Gunn:

A word about Coats of Arms:

A coat of arms is granted to an individual under Scottish heraldic law (with the exception of civic or corporate arms). A 'family coat of arms' does not exist. With the exceptions noted above, the arms depicted below are personal arms. Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.