The Rise and Fall of the Shaws

Highland Clan Warfare and Tragedy

Long before the well-manicured paths of Rothiemurchus Forest echoed with the footfalls of tourists and hikers, they trembled under the boots of Highland warriors. One of the fiercest clans to leave its mark on this land was the Shaws—a branch of the larger Clan Chattan confederation. They ruled Rothiemurchus for generations, establishing themselves not just as landowners but as guardians, warriors, and, eventually, tragic figures of Highland history.

Their rise to power came through cunning and calculated violence. In a pivotal moment steeped in blood and betrayal, a Shaw known as “Buck Tooth” ambushed and killed the last of the Comyns of Badenoch—once a powerful family that controlled vast swaths of northern Scotland. This ambush near the loch of Pityoulish, aided by the eerie presence of a signal-giving crone on the hill of Calart, marked the end of Comyn dominance and secured the Shaws' position in Rothiemurchus.

The very land bears silent witness to these events. The Comyn graves, nestled in the hollow of Lag-nan-Cumineach, are pointed out to this day—mute markers of a lost legacy overwritten by Shaw ambition.