One
of them was John of Moidart himself, who, though severely wounded, recovered.
Although the Earl of Huntly pursued him to exact revenge for the devastating
July battle, John of Moidart survived that as well, and continued to lead
his clan for another thirty years.
The warrior forces of Clan Fraser were nearly annihilated at Blar na Leine,
but a legend arose from the tragedy. Clan tradition holds that eighty Fraser
women who were widowed that hot July day were left pregnant. Within months,
eighty healthy sons were born to them, bringing new life and new hope into
the depleted clan.
Eighteen years after Blar na Léine, the new Fraser chief, Lovat's seventeen-year-old
nephew, another Hugh, mustered his men--many of them his own age, if the legend
is true--to greet Queen Mary Stewart on her progression to Inverness. Young
Lovat, said to be good-looking and only a little younger than the queen herself,
earned Mary Stewart's favor, and in fact offered to lend his Frasers to the
queen's service.
Years later, this new Lovat and John of Moidart inexplicably became allies.
If so, that would reinforce Moidart's reputation among Clan Ranald as one
of its strongest and finest leaders, and also implies that the next Hugh Fraser
of Lovat understood the advantage of tolerance over vengeance. It is interesting
to speculate that, in the aftermath of the massacre, the influence of the
mothers and females left behind in the two great clans might have encouraged
diplomacy between the enemies.
By one means or another over the years, Clan Fraser was restored to strong
numbers. When Hugh Fraser of Lovat died in his early thirties, his clan, once
decimated on a hot, sunny afternoon, mustered nine hundred warriors to attend
his funeral.
The yew tree, long revered by Clan Fraser as their plant badge, became
a prophetic symbol for the clan on a summer day in 1544. Like the tree
that renews itself from within its own branches, Clan Fraser restored
itself after the tragedy at Blar na Léine, and grew stronger and larger
than ever before.
© Susan King 2003
