Clan Lennox is a Lowland Scottish clan.[3] The clan chiefs were the original Earls of Lennox, although this title went via an heiress to other noble families in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The chiefship of the clan then went to the Lennox of Woodehead branch.
The ancient earldom of Lennox once covered the whole of Dumbartonshire, as well large parts of Perthshire, Renfrewshire and Stirlingshire.[3] In Scottish Gaelic, Leven-ach means a smooth stream.[3] The ancient Celtic Mormaers of Levenax became the Earls of Lennox.[3] The origins of the earldom, that had been established by the twelfth century, are disputed.[3] One theory is that a Saxon baron named Arkyll received from Malcolm III of Scotland lands in Dumbartonshire and Stirlingshire.[3] Also that Arkyll married a Scottish heiress and had a son who was Ailín I, Earl of Lennox.[3] Other historians have said that the earldom of Lennox was conferred to David, Earl of Huntington from his older brother, William the Lion and that the Lennox family was not established until after the reign of William.[3]
Wars of Scottish Independence
By the end of the thirteenth century, the Earls of Lennox were amongst the most powerful nobles in Scotland.[3]Malcolm, 5th Earl of Lennox supported Robert the Bruce's claim to the Scottish Crown.[3] Malcolm led his Lennox men into England and besieged Carlisle in 1296.[3] Malcolm also swore fealty to Edward I of England, appearing on the Ragman Rolls, but he was later one of the mainstays of Robert the Bruce in the struggle for Scottish independence.[3]
15th and 16th centuries
Lennox Castle, historic seat of the Earls of Lennox and later the Lennoxes of Woodehead, chiefs of Clan Lennox.
Duncan, Earl of Lennox's daughter was Isabella, Countess of Lennox who married Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany.[3] When James I of Scotland returned from captivity in England, Lennox became a victim of king's hatred to all those connected with Albany's father who had murdered the king's brother and presided over Scotland into disorder.[3] The Earl of Lennox was beheaded aged eighty in May 1425.[3] The widowed Isabella of Lennox was imprisoned in Tantallon Castle along with her son, Walter de Levenax but he was later transferred to the Bass Rock.[3] Upon release, Isabella was allowed to return to her island residence of Inchmurrin on Loch Lomond.[3]
After this the succession to the title of Earl of Lennox was disputed and passed to several different noble families. Isabella, Countess of Lennox had two sisters, Margaret and Elizabeth, who both left descendants who claimed the vast estates.[3] From Margaret Lennox descend the Menteiths of Rusky and from Elizabeth Lennox descend the Stewarts of Darnley.[3] In 1488 John Stewart, Lord Darnley assumed the title of Earl of Lennox.[3] His son was Matthew Stewart, the second Stewart Earl of Lennox who was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.[3] The title remained with Stewarts of Darnley until Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots was murdered in 1567 and Mary herself was executed in 1587.[3] The Earl of Lennox title then went to the young James VI of Scotland, which he later granted to his uncle, Charles Stuart.[3] The title later passed to Esmé Stewart who was created Duke of Lennox in 1581.[3] It later passed to Charles II of England and from him to his illegitimate son, Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond.[3]
Lennoxes of Woodhead
Woodhead Castle, seat of the Lennox of Balcorrach and Woodhead branch of the clan.
A branch of the Clan Lennox, the Lennoxes of Woodhead, feuded with the Clan Kincaid in the 1570s.[4] The feud has been commented by some historians as remarkable because it was due to a marriage with the Lennox family that the Kincaid name was later re-established as an independent clan in the twentieth century.[4]
19th century and restored chiefship
In the 19th century the Lennox of Woodhead family who resided at Lennox Castle claimed the right to succeed to the title and honours of the ancient Earls of Lennox.[3] Although their claim to the earldom in the peerage was not established, they were officially recognised as chiefs of the family name of Lennox.[3] The Lennoxes of Woodhead sold Lennox Castle in 1927 to the city of Glasgow and their seat became Downton Castle, near Ludlow, England. This was sold to a Greek Owner in 1979. The Lennox family sold all of their ancestral lands in the mid 1980s.[3] They are the present chiefs of Clan Lennox.[3]
By constitution dated 31 May 2017, the Lennox clan chief organized his clan into a society known simply as "Clan Lennox," and he appointed officers and an international council of commissioners. The executive administrative officer of the clan is titled the Clan Chamberlain. The first chamberlain is Gordon Lennox, a solicitor from Glasgow, Scotland. The clan's website is https://clanlennox.org .
Clan castles
Castles that have belonged to the Clan Lennox have included amongst others:
Antermony Castle, near Milton of Campsie, is the site of a castle that was originally held by the Flemmings but later passed to the Lennox family.[5]
Balloch Castle, in Dumbartonshire, was held by the original Earls of Lennox until 1425 when it passed to the Stewarts of Darnley who were made Earls of Lennox.[5]
Woodhead Castle, near Milngavie, Dunbartonshire, was held by the Lennox of Balcorrach branch of the clan in 1572.[5] Woodhead Castle was left a ruin when nearby Lennox Castle was built in 1840.[5] The latter was sold to the city of Glasgow in 1927 and the family moved to England.[5]
Tartan
Tartan image
Notes
Lennox tartan or Lennox District tartan: reproduced from a lost sixteenth century portrait of the Countess of Lennox. The Lennox District tartan was reproduced from two known copies of a lost portrait dating from the sixteenth century, which was claimed to be of the Countess of Lennox (mother of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley who married Mary, Queen of Scots).[6] The tartan was reproduced by D. W. Stewart in his book Old and Rare Scottish Tartans published in 1893.[6]Scottish Tartans World Register #935
1 2 3 4 5 6 Coventry, Martin (2008). Castles of the Clans: The Strongholds and Seats of 750 Scottish Families and Clans. Musselburgh: Goblinshead. pp.327–328. ISBN978-1-899874-36-1.
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley was King of Scotland as the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, from 29 July 1565 until his murder in 1567. Lord Darnley had one child with Mary, the future James VI of Scotland and I of England. Through his parents, he had claims to both the Scottish and English thrones. Less than a year after the birth of his son, Darnley was murdered at Kirk o' Field in 1567. Many contemporary narratives describing his life and death refer to him as simply Lord Darnley, his title as heir apparent to the Earldom of Lennox.
The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty.
Clan Gordon is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The Gordon lands once spanned a large territory across the Highlands. Presently, Gordon is seated at Aboyne Castle, Aberdeenshire. The Chief of the clan is the Earl of Huntly, later the Marquess of Huntly.
Clan Sutherland also known as House of Sutherland is a Highland Scottish clan whose traditional territory is the shire of Sutherland in the far north of Scotland. The chief of the clan was also the powerful Earl of Sutherland; however, in the early 16th century, this title passed through marriage to a younger son of the chief of Clan Gordon. The current chief is Alistair Sutherland, who holds the title Earl of Sutherland.
Donnchadh of Lennox was the Mormaer of Lennox from 1385 to 1425. He was a son of Baltar mac Amlaimh and Margaret, daughter of Domhnall, Earl of Lennox.
Clan Boyd is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands and is recognized as such by the Lord Lyon King of Arms.
Clan Boyle is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
Clan Bruce is a Lowlands Scottish clan. It was a royal house in the 14th century, producing two kings of Scotland, and a disputed High King of Ireland, Edward Bruce.
Clan Buchan is a Scottish clan of the Lowlands. The clan are sometimes considered a branch of the Clan Comyn. The Buchan are of no relation to the Clan Buchanan despite their similar name.
Clan Carmichael is a Scottish clan and is also considered a sept of the Clan Douglas, Clan MacDougall, Stewart of Appin, and Stewart of Galloway.
Clan Carnegie is a Lowland Scottish clan.
Clan Cunningham is a Scottish clan. The traditional origins of the clan are placed in the 12th century. However, the first contemporary record of the clan chiefs is in the thirteenth century. The chiefs of the Clan Cunningham supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Clan Cunningham feuded with the Clan Montgomery. Historically, the chief of Clan Cunningham held the title of Earl of Glencairn. However, in modern times the chief of the clan is Cunningham of Corsehill. On 18 December 2013, Sir John Christopher Foggo Montgomery Cunninghame, Baronet of Corsehill, was recognized by Lord Lyon as Clan Chief after the chiefship had been vacant for over 200 years.
Clan Lindsay is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
Clan Stirling is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
Clan Haldane is a Lowland Scottish clan.
Clan Stewart is a Scottish Highland and Lowland clan. The clan is recognised by Court of the Lord Lyon; however, it does not have a clan chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Because the clan has no chief it can be considered an armigerous clan; however, the Earls of Galloway are now considered to be the principal branch of this clan, and the crest and motto of The Earls of Galloway's arms are used in the Clan Stewart crest badge. The Court of the Lord Lyon recognises two other Stewart/Stuart clans, Clan Stuart of Bute and Clan Stewart of Appin. Stuart of Bute is the only one of the three clans at present which has a recognised chief.
Clan Wedderburn is a Lowland Scottish clan.
John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox was a Scottish earl. He was known as Lord Darnley and later as the Earl of Lennox.
Clan Cumming, historically known as Clan Comyn, is a Scottish clan from the central Highlands that played a major role in the history of 13th-century Scotland and in the Wars of Scottish Independence. The Clan Comyn was once the most powerful family in 13th-century Scotland, until they were defeated in civil war by their rival to the Scottish throne, Robert the Bruce.
The Battle of Torran-Roy was a Scottish clan battle that took place in the year 1570 in the county of Sutherland, Scotland. It was fought between the forces of Alexander Gordon, 12th Earl of Sutherland and the forces of George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness. The Earl of Sutherland's force consisted primarily of the Murrays of Aberscross who despite their name were not part of the Clan Murray in Atholl, but who were a sept of the Clan Sutherland, and who as the principal vassals of the Earl of Sutherland, were charged with the defense of the shire. The Earl of Caithness's forces consisted primarily of followers of Alexander Sutherland, 8th of Duffus who was a descendant of the old Sutherland Earls of Sutherland who had been ousted and replaced by the Gordons as earls in the early 16th-century.
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