Clan Fleming

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Clan Fleming
Clan member crest badge - Clan Fleming.svg
Crest: A goat's head erased Argent, armed Or [1]
MottoLet The Deed Shaw [1]
Profile
Region Lanarkshire
Plant badge None
Earl of Wigton Fleming arms.svg
Clan Fleming no longer has a chief, and is an armigerous clan
Historic seat Cumbernauld Castle [2]
Last ChiefCharles Fleming, The 7th Earl of Wigtown
Died1747
Allied clans
Rival clans

Clan Fleming is a Lowland Scottish clan and is officially recognized as such by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. [3] However, as the clan does not currently have a chief that is recognized by the Lord Lyon King of Arms it is therefore considered an armigerous clan. [3]

Contents

History

Origins of the clan

The surname Fleming is derived from the French, le Fleming, which indicates that the family originated in Flanders. [3] [4] The once powerful medieval county of Flanders is now split between Belgium, the Netherlands and France. [3] During the latter part of the twelfth century the Flemish were enterprising merchants who traded with England, Scotland and Wales. [3] A distinguished Flemish leader named Baldwin settled with his followers in Biggar, South Lanarkshire under a grant of David I of Scotland. [3] Baldwin became Sheriff of Lanark under Malcolm IV of Scotland and William the Lion and this office appears to have been hereditary for some time. [3]

Wars of Scottish Independence

In 1296 nine Flemings signed the Ragman Rolls swearing fealty to Edward I of England. [3] However, one of the signatories was Sir Robert Fleming who was one of the first people to join Robert the Bruce after the death of the Comyn in 1306. [3]

In 1342 Sir Malcolm Fleming of Cumbernauld was created Earl of Wigtown by David II of Scotland for helping to keep him safe from Edward Balliol and the English. [3] In 1371 Sir Malcolm's grandson, Thomas Fleming, sold the earldom to Archibald Douglas, Lord of Galloway and this was confirmed by Robert II of Scotland. [3]

15th century

Sir Malcolm Fleming of Biggar and Cumbernauld was knighted by Robert III of Scotland. [3] In 1423 he was one of the hostages used for the release of James I of Scotland from the captivity of the English. [3] This Sir Malcolm Fleming was a counsellor and friend of William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas and was a member of the party that went to Edinburgh Castle with Douglas, on the invitation Governor Livingstone and Chancellor Crichton in November 1440, where Douglas, his brother David and Fleming were arrested, briefly tried and then beheaded. [3] As a result, his younger son, Sir Robert Fleming, forfeited the lands that had been returned to him by James II of Scotland because his father had died at the faith and peace of His Majesty. [3] Sir Robert Fleming was created a Lord of Parliament before 1460. [3]

16th century

Sir Robert's grandson, John Fleming, 2nd Lord Fleming, was appointed as a guardian to James V of Scotland during the king's infancy in July 1515. [3] In 1517 John became Chancellor of Scotland. [3] However while he was out hawking on 1 November 1524, he was assassinated by John Tweedie of Drummelzier (chief of Clan Tweedie) and others. [3] Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming was Great Chamberlain of Scotland and married Lady Janet Stewart, daughter of James IV of Scotland. [3] This Malcolm Fleming was killed at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547. [3]

In 1548 James Fleming, 4th Lord Fleming accompanied the young Mary, Queen of Scots to France where she married the heir to the throne. [3] He was Great Chamberlain of Scotland for life and was one of eight commissioners to the royal wedding in 1558. [3] However he died of suspected poisoning two weeks later in Paris. [3]

17th century

In 1606 John the sixth Lord Fleming was created Earl of Wigtown. [3]

18th century and Jacobite risings

The Clan Fleming were Jacobites and the 6th earl attended James II of England and VII of Scotland after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. [3] Fleming opposed the Treaty of Union and voted against every article in the Parliament of 1706. [3] During the Jacobite rising of 1715 he was arrested by the governor of Edinburgh Castle. [3] Charles Fleming had succeeded his brother as the earl but when he died in 1747 the title became dormant. [3]

Modern history

According to the Collins Scottish Clan and Family Encyclopedia, Alexander Fleming who discovered Penicillin is the most distinguished bearer of the name in recent times. [3]

Clan castles

The ruins of Boghall Castle The remains of Boghall Castle at Biggar - geograph.org.uk - 1805032.jpg
The ruins of Boghall Castle

Castles that have been owned by the Clan Fleming include amongst many others:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Wigtown</span> Two peerages of Scotland

The title of Earl of Wigtown was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation was in 1341 for Malcolm Fleming of Clan Fleming, and was surrendered in 1372, when the second Earl sold the Earldom and territory to Archibald the Grim, Lord of Galloway. The transfer was confirmed by Robert III later in the same year. The Douglas family, Earls of Douglas, held the Earldom of Wigtown for the next hundred years, until the attainder of the 9th Earl of Douglas in 1455.

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

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

Clan Drummond is a Highland Scottish clan. The surname is rendered "Druimeanach" in modern Scottish Gaelic.

Holders of the office of Lord Chamberlain of Scotland are known from about 1124. It was ranked by King Malcolm as the third great Officer of State, called Camerarius Domini Regis, and had a salary of £200 per annum allotted to him. He anciently collected the revenues of the Crown, at least before Scotland had a Treasurer, of which office there is no vestige until the restoration of King James I when he disbursed the money necessary for the maintenance of the King's Household.

Malcolm Fleming, Earl of Wigtown was the son of Robert Fleming of Clan Fleming, a Stewart vassal and holder of the lands of Fulwood and Cumbernauld, who died sometime before 1314. He was the "foster-father" of King David II of Scotland and became the first man to hold the title Earl of Wigtown.

Roberton is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming, was Lord Chamberlain of Scotland to King James V, from 1524.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Castle</span> Castle in Scottish Borders, Scotland, UK

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

Clan Forbes is a Highland Scottish clan from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumbernauld House</span> Country house in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire

Cumbernauld House is an 18th-century Vivido Scottish country house located in Cumbernauld, Scotland. It is located near in the Cumbernauld Glen, close to Cumbernauld Village, at grid reference NS772759. The house is situated on the site of (former) Cumbernauld Castle, which was besieged by General Monck in 1651. It was built in 1731, to designs by William Adam (1689–1748), for John Fleming, 6th Earl of Wigtown. In the later 20th century the house was used as offices, first by Cumbernauld Development Corporation, then North Lanarkshire Council, and latterly by DH Morris, who went into liquidation in March 2007. The building lay empty for a decade until it was developed into luxury apartments. Cumbernauld House is a category A listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumbernauld</span> Town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland

Cumbernauld is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated town in North Lanarkshire, positioned in the centre of Scotland's Central Belt. Geographically, Cumbernauld sits between east and west, being on the Scottish watershed between the Forth and the Clyde; however, it is culturally more weighted towards Glasgow and the New Town's planners aimed to fill 80% of its houses from Scotland's largest city to reduce housing pressure there.

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

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John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming, was a Scottish nobleman and a supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots.

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John Fleming, 6th or 7th Lord Fleming (1567–1619), Scottish aristocrat and diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biggar Castle</span> Castle in Biggar, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK

Biggar Castle was a 12th-century castle in Biggar, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It appears to have been abandoned by the 14th century.

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

Boghall Castle was a 14th-century castle to the south of Biggar, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Boghall became ruinous in the 19th century.

References

  1. 1 2 Clan Fleming Profile scotclans.com. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Coventry, Martin. (2008). Castles of the Clans: The Strongholds and Seats of 750 Scottish Families and Clans. pp. 198 - 199. ISBN   978-1-899874-36-1.
  3. 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 Way, George and Squire, Romily. (1994). Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). pp. 387 - 388.
  4. cf. F. Lawrence Fleming: Did the Flemings come from Flanders? , PDF, 2015