Clan Scrymgeour

Last updated

Clan Scrymgeour
Clan member crest badge - Clan Scrymgeour.svg
Crest: A Lion's Paw erased in bend Or holding a Crooked Sword or Scimitar Argent
MottoDissipate (Disperse) [1]
Profile
Region Highlands and east of Scotland
District Fife
Plant badge Rowan [1]
Chief
Coat of Arms of the Earl of Dundee.svg
Alexander Scrymgeour
The Rt. Hon. The 12th Earl of Dundee (Mac Mhic Iain [2] )
Seat Birkhill north of Cupar in Fife
Historic seat Fincharn Castle
Dudhope Castle
Septs of Clan Scrymgeour
Scirmechour, Scrimgeour, Scrimger, Scrimiour, Scrymgeour, Scrymsour, Skrimagour, Skrimshire, Skymezour.

Clan Scrymgeour is a Highland Scottish clan. [2]

History

Origins of the clan

The name Scrymgeour is probably derived from skrymsher which is Old English for a swordsman. [2] The Scrymgeour family was well established in Fife long before their connection with Dundee. [2] The clan chiefs were later created constables, Earls of Dundee, and hereditary royal standard bearers. [2]

Contents

Iain Moncreiffe stated that the Scrymgeours were probably descended from the MacDuff Earls of Fife. [2] The Scrymgeours may have claimed their office as standard bearers from their early Celtic origins, as it was customary for Celtic armies to be accompanied by sacred holy relics that were borne by a hereditary keeper. [2] It is therefore possible that the Scrymgeours carried a relic such as a staff of St. Columba which was later replaced by a heraldic banner. [2]

Wars of Scottish Independence

During the Wars of Scottish Independence the Scrymgeours were confirmed as banner bearers by William Wallace and Parliament on 29 March 1298. [2] Scrymgeour was named as Alexander, son of Colyn, son of Cairn and he was the first person to declare for Robert the Bruce. [2] Scrymgeour obtained a charter from Bruce confirming the rights that had previously been granted to him by Wallace. [2] This is the only surviving contemporary document where Bruce and Wallace are named together. [2] However Sir Alexander Scrymgeour was later captured by the English and hanged at Newcastle upon the direct orders of Edward I of England in 1306. [2] He was succeeded by another Alexander Scrymgeour who in 1314 rode as the royal banner bearer at the Battle of Bannockburn. [2]

In 1370 large amounts of land in Argyll came to the Scrymgeour family when Alexander Scrymgeour married Agnes, heiress to Gilbert Glassary of that Ilk. [2]

15th and 16th centuries

In the 15th century the Clan Scrymgeour continued to prosper and the seventh constable of Dundee acquired the lands of Dudhope in 1495 that was near to the city. [2] There they later built Dudhope Castle which was the chief's seat until 1668. [2]

The Argyll estates were controlled from Fincharn Castle. [2] John Scrymgeour of Glassary marched from Fincharn in 1513, as the royal banner bearer, to the Battle of Flodden where he received a mortal wound. [2] The Scottish Gaelic name of Scrymgeour is Mac Mhic Iain and a local tradition is that Fincharn was burned down by an angry bridegroom when an early Mac Mhic Iain tried to steal his bride. [2]

In 1587 Sir James Scrymgeour received a new charter to his estates at Holyrood House. [2]

17th century and Civil War

Sir James Scrymgeour (d.1612) was one of the commissioners sent to Denmark to negotiate the marriage of James VI of Scotland to Princess Anne of Denmark. [2] He was also appointed as a commissioner to negotiate a political union with England in 1604. [2]

In 1617 Sir James's successor, John Scrymgeour entertained James VI at Dudhope Castle. [2] In 1641 he was raised to the peerage by King Charles I of England as Viscount of Dudhope and Baron Scrymgeour of Inverkeithing. [2]

During the Civil War the second Viscount of Dudhope was sent with the Scottish Covenanter forces to assist the Parliament of England against Charles I. [2] Scrymgeour received a fatal wound at the Battle of Marston Moor in July 1644. [2] He was succeeded by his son, another John Scrymgeour, who commanded a regiment of royalist cavalry under the Duke of Hamilton in 1648 and fought at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. [2] John escaped from the royal defeat and joined the army of General Middleton in the Scottish Highlands but was captured in 1654. [2] After the Restoration of 1660, John Scremgeour was rewarded with the earldom of Dundee. [2]

Disputed chiefship

John Scrymgeour died in 1668 without issue and his castles, estates and royal offices were seized upon a legal pretext by the Duke of Lauderdale. [2] The Duke had sent soldiers to carry off all of the Scrymgeour's papers and charters and then declared that there was no lawful heir and the estates were reverted to the Crown. [2] The Duke then gained from the king a grant to the titles and estates that he then gave to his own brother, Lord Chattan. [2] The estates later passed to John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee who was killed at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689. [2] The estates were then forfeited and passed to the Douglases. [2]

Upon the death of the earl, the estates should have gone to John Scrymgeour of Kirkton who was the great-grandson of the fifth constable of Dundee. [2] Scrymgeour of Kirkton's grandson was David Scrymgeour, sheriff of Inverness who married Catherine, daughter of Alexander Wedderburn of Wedderburn. [2] Their son assumed the surname Scrymgeour-Wedderburn and succeeded to the Wedderburn estates. [2] However the Wedderburns continued to assert their right to the ancient titles and honours of their Scrymgeour ancestors. [2] At the coronation of Edward VII, Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn carried the standard of Scotland. [2] His grandson, another Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn was recognized as eleventh Earl of Dundee by the House of Lords. [2] The eleventh earl's son is Alexander Scrymgeour, 12th Earl of Dundee, the present chief of Clan Scrymgeour. [2]

Clan Chief

The current chief of Clan Scrymgeour is Alexander Scrymgeour, 12th Earl of Dundee who has followed his father into politics in the House of Lords.

Clan Seat

The Scrymgeour family seat is still at Birkhill north of Cupar in Fife. [2]

Archives

The archives of the Scrimgeour Clan Association are held by the University of Dundee. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee</span> Scottish general

John Graham, 7th of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, a Tory and an Episcopalian. He was responsible for policing southwest Scotland during and after the religious unrest and rebellion of the late 17th century, and went on to lead the Jacobite rising of 1689.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Dundee</span>

Earl of Dundee is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1660 for John Scrymgeour, 3rd Viscount Dudhope. At his death in 1668, the Duke of Lauderdale declared that the first Earl had no heirs-male, and had the crown seize all of his lands. The earldom of Dundee became dormant and its holdings and offices were granted to Charles Maitland, 3rd Earl of Lauderdale, the Duke's younger brother. The title was revived in 1953, when it was determined that the first Earl did indeed have heirs-male, contrary to the assertion of the crown. The title was given to Henry James Scrymgeour-Wedderburn, who had previously served in the House of Commons and in the Cabinet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Scrymgeour, 12th Earl of Dundee</span> Scottish peer (born 1949)

Alexander Henry Scrymgeour, 12th Earl of Dundee,, is a Scottish peer, Conservative politician and Chief of the Clan Scrymgeour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan MacDuff</span> Lowland Scottish clan

Clan MacDuff or Clan Duff is a Lowland Scottish clan. The clan does not currently have a chief and is therefore considered an Armigerous clan, which is registered with the Lyon Court. The early chiefs of Clan MacDuff were the original Earls of Fife, although this title went to the Stewarts of Albany in the late fourteenth century. The title returned to the MacDuff chief when William Duff was made Earl Fife in 1759. His descendant Alexander Duff was made Duke of Fife in 1889.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bearer of the Royal Banner</span>

The Bearer of the Royal Banner is one of the Great Officers of the Royal Household in Scotland. The bearer participates in royal, state, and other ceremonial events when needed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn, 11th Earl of Dundee</span> British Conservative politician and journalist (1902–1983)

Henry James Scrymgeour-Wedderburn, 11th Earl of Dundee, was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Graham</span> Scottish clan

Clan Graham is a Scottish clan who had territories in both the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands, with one main branch Montrose, and various cadet branches. The chief of the clan rose to become the Marquess and later Duke of Montrose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Leslie</span> Lowland Scottish clan

Clan Leslie is a Lowland Scottish clan. The progenitor of the Clan, Bartolf, was a nobleman from Hungary, who came to Scotland in 1067. He built a castle at Lesselyn, from which the clan name derives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dudhope Castle</span>

Dudhope Castle is an extended late medieval tower house located on the southern face of Dundee Law in Dundee, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Wedderburn</span> Lowland Scottish clan

Clan Wedderburn is a Lowland Scottish clan.

Sir Dugald Campbell was a Scottish landowner.

Scrymgeour is a Scottish clan and may refer to:

John Scrymgeour, 3rd Viscount Dudhope and 1st Earl of Dundee was a member of the Scottish nobility and fought in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

John Scrymgeour or Scrimgeour, 1st Viscount of Dudhope was a Scottish politician.

John Lyon, 3rd Lord of Glamis was a Scottish nobleman.

Sir Alexander Scrymgeour was a Scottish knight who took part in the War of Scottish Independence, as a supporter of Robert de Brus. He was constable of Dundee and Scottish standard bearer who was captured and later executed by the English in 1306.

David Seton of Parbroath was a Scottish courtier and administrator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Scrimgeour</span> Scottish landowner (d. 1612)

James Scrimgeour Scottish landowner and Constable of Dundee.

John Scrimgeour or Scrymgeour may refer to:

References

  1. 1 2 Clan Scrymgeour Profile scotclans.com. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Way, George and Squire, Romily. Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pages 182 - 183.
  3. ↑ "MS 344 The Scrimgeour Clan Association Archive (Scrymgeour)". Archive Services Online Catalogue. University of Dundee. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.