Glen Coe Coire Gabhail (corrie of the "bounty", or "hollow of capture") refers to former times when the corrie was used by members of Clan Macdonald to hide cattle and other livestock, whether their own or stolen from others. The wide flat glen is well suited for this purpose since from Glen Coe it appears to be a normal v-shaped glen approached only by a steep narrow gorge. Summits in the Bidean nam Bian massif include Stob Coire Sgreamhach, Stob Coire nan Lochan and Aonach Dubh (the third "sister"). By contrast the north side of the glen is a stark wall of
Scottish clan to the Law of Arms, are considered an "indeterminate cadet". Scottish clanship contained two complementary but distinct concepts of heritage. These were firstly the collective heritage of the clan, known as their , which was their prescriptive right to settle in the territories in which the chiefs and leading gentry of the clan customarily provided protection. This concept was where all clansmen recognised the personal authority of the chiefs and leading gentry as trustees for their clan. The second concept was the wider acceptance of the granting of charters by the Crown and other powerful land owners to the chiefs,