Clan Chattan

Clan Chattan (Scottish Gaelic: Na Catanaich or Clann Chatain), also sometimes referred to as "Clan Dhugaill" (Quehele) after its progenitor Dougall-Dall, is a unique confederation of Highland Scottish clans. This distinctive allied community comprised at its greatest extent seventeen separate clans (currently twelve), who each had their own clan chief recognized under Scottish law, but were further united and bound to the superior chief of the Confederation for mutual solidarity, sustenance and protection in the Middle Ages and early modern period in the Great Glen and Cairngorms. A tribal coalition of this magnitude was a source of apprehension to both the Lord of the Isles and the Kings of Scots and records exist of machinations to "crying doon the Clan Chattan" by fomenting internal dissension.