He was with his father on the fatal field of Harlaw, where he was made prisoner by Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar[note 1].
As the chiefs entered the hall in which parliament was assembled, each was immediately arrested and placed in irons in different parts of the building, not one being permitted to communicate with any of the others[note 2].
Joined by the Lord's other vassals, they advanced against the town of Inverness, which they burnt to the ground; they also laid waste to certain crown lands.
While some sources say that at that time he was imprisoned at Tantallon Castle with Alexander of Islay, Lord of the Isles, others say he fought with Donald Balloch, who led the battle for the Lordship.
Before marriage he had a child with the daughter of MacEarchorn MacLean of Kingerloch: By his first wife, Margaret, daughter of the Earl of Mar, Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar, he had: By his second wife, Fionnaghal, daughter of William MacLeod of Harris, he had two sons: This article incorporates text from A history of the clan Mac Lean from its first settlement at Duard Castle, in the Isle of Mull, to the present period: including a genealogical account of some of the principal families together with their heraldry, legends, superstitions, etc, by John Patterson MacLean, a publication from 1889, now in the public domain in the United States.