This work is not a history of 'Clan MacLaren' (created by the Lyon Court in 1958), in fact it debunks much of their account, much to the chagrin of a handful of the clan chief's courtiers. Thus the poor review from one of them that I just happen to know. Full disclosure, I am not a professional writer, but a pretty good researcher. The history of the Scottish surname McLaren, McLaurin, McLerran, McLaurence and its many spelling and pronunciation variations The Digital Age has brought to the light of day 'Primary' sources that for centuries languished in library reading rooms and castle basements. What these records have revealed is a surname history very different and far more fascinating than the traditional stories in the modern Clan MacLaren narrative. The comments below by Scottish Gaidhlig and history scholars also perked my interest. "In ancient days, the bishops of Argyle made Lismore their fertile and peaceful abode, and there the forebears of Duncan McLaren lived for generations." "It is an ancient Argyll name!" Brigadier John MacFarlane. This book is based on records used in the past and present to identify people within a Kindred in Scotland with multiple surnames including McLaren, McVicar and McCallum by blood, McPatrick and MacRorie by geo-political association. This particular Kindred lived originally in Argyll primarily in a triangular shaped region called Lorn. In the 16th century many of the southern Lorn Kindred found themselves with the Campbell, Earl of Argyll or his uncle Campbell of Glenurchy as their superiors in Argyll. The Campbells ruled under the clan system at this time as opposed to the later feudal system of the Murray's of Atholl. As the Campbell sphere of influence increased into Perthshire with marriages into the Stewart families, they settled many of the Kindred into Perthshire. What Martin MacGregor Phd. describes as the "Central Zone". The initial McLaurences in Perthshire were primarily settled along the shores of Loch Tay in the late 1400s and in western Balquhidder in 1512. His name was Malcum Maklawryn, from whom many Balquhidder McLarens descend. In reality Balquhidder was not the "homeland of the McLarens", they were much more numerous in Breadalbane to the north and in Appin their original territory in Argyll.