On January 20th 1604 Alastair MacGregor of Glenstrae, Chief of the outlawed Clan Gregor was executed at the Old Tolbooth, Edinburgh.
In 1589 John Drummond, the Kings forester, was murdered after hanging some MacGregor’s for poaching. The Chief, Alasdair MacGregor of Glenstrae, gave shelter to the killer. Such was the highland honour to do so, he took responsibility for the act and was condemned by the Privy Council.
King James VI, issued an edict proclaiming the name MacGregor “altogidder abolished,” meaning that those who bore the name must renounce it or suffer death.
This wasn’t helped by probably the most significant event in MacGregor history which was the Battle of Glen Fruin on Feb 7TH 1603. The Proscriptive Acts of Clan Gregor were enacted on the 3rd of April 1603. This draconian ruling authorized the capture of Alasdair MacGregor of Glenstrae and his leading kinsmen.
For almost a year Alistair MacGregor evaded capture but when he was finally captured, he sought protection from the Chief of the Campbells to go to London to beg clemency from James the VI, who had recently claimed the English throne. The Campbells gave him safe passage to the borders, but arranged in advance for soldiers to capture him on the English side, and returned him to Edinburgh to stand trial with eleven of his chieftains.
The jury included many of Alastair’s bitterest enemies. To mark his rank, the Chief was hung higher than his kinsmen.
Today, visitors to Edinburgh will often notice people spitting on the Heart. Although it is now said to be done for good luck, it was originally done as a sign of disdain for the former prison of which the entrance lay directly at the Heart's location. It is then probable, that the spitting custom may have been begun by the accused.
