Rupert MacKenzie

“	How was yer first time, Jamie? Did ye bleed?	”
	— Rupert, Outlander

Rupert MacKenzie was a tacksman of clan MacKenzie, and a cousin of Colum and Dougal. He was one among the group of men that Claire met soon after stepping through the stones.

Personal History

Rupert is Dougal and Colum's cousin; their fathers were brothers. Rupert fights on Dougal's right hand side as Ian Murray does for Jamie.

Events of the Novels

In 1743, Rupert agrees to accompany Claire and Murtagh when they try to rescue Jamie from Wentworth Prison.

In Wentworth town Rupert plays cards and drinks with the guards from the prison and extracts useful information from them regarding the habits of the prison governor.

While Claire and Murtagh visit the prison the next day, Rupert goes cattle lifting. He steals 25 cows belonging to MacRannoch and this gives Claire and Murtagh the leverage they need to persuade MacRannoch to help them rescue Jamie.

That night Rupert and the other four MacKenzie men take the cattle to the prison and drive them through the postern door that Claire escaped through and then ride as fast as they can back to the MacKenzie lands.

In 1745, Rupert is badly wounded in a skirmish prior to the Battle of Falkirk Muir with a punctured lung caused by a musket ball going through his chest. He makes it to the safety of the kirk where Claire is waiting out the battle.

When Rupert realizes he is dying and that the English are close to capturing the church, he asks Dougal to kill him as he does not want to die at the hand of strangers. Dougal is shocked but agrees to Rupert's wish and stabs him with his dirk.

Personality

Claire's first impression on meeting him is that he is a ruffian.^[1]

Physical Appearance

Rupert is described as a fat greasy man with a black beard.^[1]

Relationships

Name

Rupert is a Low German form of Robert,^[2] grom the Germanic name Hrodebert meaning "bright fame", derived from the Germanic elements hrod "fame" and beraht "bright".^[3]
MacKenzie is the anglicized form of MacCoinnich, a Gaelic patronymic name meaning "son of Coinneach". The personal name Coinneach means "handsome" or "comely".^[4]^[5]

Trivia

In the Outlander television adaptation episode Vengeance is Mine Rupert's story deviates from the novels. Instead of dying in the church from a punctured lung Rupert survives and only lost an eye.