Origins of the Clan Shaw

A clan map of Scotland during the time of Robert The Bruce:

Source: http://www.thebloodisstrong.com/maps/clan_map03.jpg

The Scotch-Irish Shaws of Niagara County, New York, claim descent from the Shaw clan of Scotland. Anyone who has read William Shakespeare's play MacBeth knows the clan's basic history, for the Shaws claim descent from Lady MacBeth, known historically as Queen Gruoch.

http://macbethfordummies.wikispaces.com/Lady+Macbeth?f=print

http://www.answers.com/topic/gruoch-of-scotland

Descent from Lady MacBeth

As you may recall, the play MacBeth involves a bloody feud between rivals for the throne of 11th-century Scotland. The story is retold beautifully by the author Dorothy Dunnett in her novel King Hereafter which may be found at her website here:

http://www.randomhouse.com/vintage/dunnett/king/

HRH Prince Michael of Albany gives an excellent explanation for why the clans were fighting in his book The Forgotten Monarchy of Scotland: The True Story of the Royal House of Stewart and the Hidden Lineage of the Kings and Queens of Scots (New York: Element Books, 2000).

Put simply, the House of Stewart is a "Grail Family" (claiming descent from the House of David), and it descends from the rulers of Scots Dalriada, who intermarried with local Pictish tribes.

Because the Pictish clans allowed inheritance through the mother's lineage, "it was necessary to devise a system of succession which would suit the Pictish nation as well as the Scots. It was decided that Pictish princesses would marry [the king's] sons and grandsons, with the proviso that new monarchs would be chosen from their various offspring during the lifetime of each reigning king." (p. 20)

The result was intense rivalry among the cousins of the royal family, and all hell broke loose when King Malcolm II tried to demolish the Tanist system by killing off his rivals. Gruoch, the heiress of Duff (Dubh), was a granddaughter to King Kenneth III, and had a very strong claim to the throne under the ancient laws of Tanist succession.

The story of MacBeth was therefore the story of a blood feud between rival princes over who would win Queen Gruoch's hand in marriage, and the throne of Scotland with it. MacBeth lost, and King Malcolm III won.

More importantly, the story of MacBeth was the story of an ongoing fight: A battle royale between the Celtic Church (which claims ancient apostolic succession) and the Church of Rome, which backed Malcolm III and the Anglo-Saxon tradition of patrilineal succession.

Surprisingly, Dunnett and many revisionist historians now view MacBeth as one of Scotland's better kings, and the rightful heir to the Celtic throne, not a villain. In terms of succession, his claim to the throne was strong indeed, and in the eyes of many, he fought an heroic battle to protect and defend an ancient Celtic tradition of choosing the king "democratically" from amongst the royal clan's best candidates.

Dunnett portrays MacBeth's relationship to Queen Gruoch as a tragic love story which ended in disaster, with King MacBeth's execution and Queen Gruoch's forced marriage to Malcolm III, who usurped succession to the throne to his own lineage in perpetuity.

For the Shaw clan, who are descendants of both Lady MacBeth and Malcolm III, the death of MacBeth was a mixed blessing.  Certainly it was a key event that launched their career in the annals of Scottish nobility.

Descent from King Malcolm III and the Thanes of Fife

The Shaw Clan claims descent from Aedh, the First Earl or Thane of Fife, eldest son of King Malcolm III and Queen Gruoch. Since the Royal House of Stewart descends through a parallel line (King Malcolm remarried to a Saxon princess), one could view the Shaws as a collateral branch of the House of Stewart. Certainly the Shaw lands were next to the lands of Clan Stewart, as seen on the Clan map above.

For an overview of the family trees involved, I would highly recommend The Mammoth Book of Kings and Queens by Mike Ashley (New York: Carol & Graf Publishers, 1998). See especially Chart 20 - Kings of the Scots: House of Dunkeld, and Chart 21 - Kings of the Scots: Malcolm III to Margaret, on pages 396 to 397.

For political reasons, Aedh or Aethelred does not always appear in the genealogies of Malcolm III, whose children by his second (Saxon) queen, Margaret, are much more clearly documented. Nevertheless, Aedh's pedigree may be found online. Perhaps the best historical summary is here:

http://www.theclanshaw.org/summary.html

Earls of Fife and the Culdee Church

As the author at the link above explains, Aedh or Aethelred MacMalcolm "was made hereditary Abbott of Dunkeld, and because of his important ecclesiastical position, was barred from the throne. (His younger brothers were Kings Alexander I and King David I.) In the Celtic "Culdee" Church (a gentle blend of Christian and Druidic tradition) priests were allowed to marry and to pass on their religious duties down through their family lines."

Aedh married the sister and heiress of Mael Snechta, the King of Moray and Chief of Clan Duff. By this wife he had two sons, Ghillemichael and Constantine MacDuff. After several uprisings and rebellions, Ghillemichael's son Duncan, the 5th Thane or Earl of Fife, became the regent of Scotland in 1153.

The Clan MacIntosh and Clan Shaw trace descent from Duncan's second son, Shaw MacDuff.

Origin of the Shaw Name: Mhic an Toiseach

The Shaw clan takes its name from Shaw MacDuff. Shaw was made keeper of the royal castle of Inverness and his heirs became known as the 'Mhic an Toiseach' (MacIntosh) or the 'sons of the Thane'. The gaelic word "Toiseach" sounds like "Shaw" - hence the claim that Shaws descend from the Clan MacIntosh, the 'sons of the Thane.'

http://www.scotclans.com/scottish_clans/clans/shaw/history.html


Early Lineage of the Highland Shaws

The lineage of the Clan Shaw spans many hundreds of years. Here's a brief overview:
http://www.theclanshaw.org/summary.html

For a map of Clan Shaw territory in 11th Century Scotland, follow this link: http://www.theclanshaw.org/maps.html

See also: http://www.scotclans.com/scottish_clans/clans/shaw/history.html

Note the claim that the Shaw name originates from the Gaelic word seaghdha ("Pitiful"). This is pure speculation. One might just as easily claim that the name Shaw derives from the gaelic word for "wolf" (sitheach). The present author prefers the explanation given above, which indicates the Shaws descend from the MacIntosh clan, the "sons of the Thane" (toisheach).


Lineage of the Lowland Shaws

An excellent source for Shaw Lineage may be found at this page: http://www.thepeerage.com/i1522.htm#s28873


The Shaws of Ireland

"The Shaws of Clan Eire typically consider themselves of Rothiemurchus stock," according to the editor of clanshaw.org. Burke's Peerage indicates the Shaws of Ireland may be divided into the following geographic groups:

The Shaws of Clonmel and Cork
The Shaws of Sandpits (including the family of George Bernard Shaw)
The Shaws of Dublin and the Baronetage of Bushy Park
http://www.thepeerage.com/p26088.htm#i260875