Anns gach gnìomh a nì duine ’s mór urram nan gàidheal: Donnchadh bàn Mac an t-Saoir as the Voice of the Gael’s Military Masculinity in the Eighteenth Century

Abstract

The eighteenth century witnessed the changed perception of the Highland male as he evolved from an unruly member of a warrior society to the ideal soldier, participating in the military activities of the British empire. This article explores firstly, how this transformation came about, from the celebration of the warrior society the Gàidhealtachd appeared to be, to the personal identification with the Gael's martial self. Secondly, this article establishes how and why the ordinary Highland man embraced this military identity. As the voice of the eighteenth-century Gael is rather difficult to trace, the life and oeuvre of Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir (Duncan Bàn MacIntyre) is used to represent his fellow Highlanders. Donnchadh Bàn spent his entire adult life carrying arms and was a life-long proponent of the military masculinity the Gael displayed. Especially his enlistment in the Breadalbane Fencibles provides a unique insight. When his fervour for the Gael's warrior masculinity is checked against the many letters from the tenants on the Breadalbane estate, it is not a picture of an innately warrior masculinity that emerges, but one of a man choosing a temporary military path to hunt down economic security and independence.