Clan MacDuff | |||
---|---|---|---|
MacDhuibh [1] | |||
Motto | Deus juvat (Latin for 'God assists') [1] | ||
Profile | |||
Plant badge | Red whortleberry (lingonberry), [1] or boxwood [2] | ||
Pipe music | MacDuff's Lament [2] | ||
Clan MacDuff no longer has a chief, and is an armigerous clan | |||
Historic seat | Macduff's Castle [3] | ||
Last Chief | Alexander William George Duff of Braco, 1st Duke of Fife | ||
Died | 29 January 1912 | ||
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Clan MacDuff or Clan Duff is a Lowland Scottish clan. [5] The clan does not currently have a chief and is therefore considered an armigerous clan, which is registered with the Lyon Court. [5] [6] 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.
The Clan Duff claims descent from the original royal Scoto-Pictish line of which Queen Gruoch of Scotland, wife of Macbeth, King of Scotland, was the senior representative. [5] After the death of MacBeth, Malcolm III of Scotland seized the Crown and his son, Aedh, married the daughter of Queen Gruoch. [5] Aedh was created Earl of Fife and abbot of Abernethy. [5] The early chiefs of Clan MacDuff were the Earls of Fife. Sir Iain Moncreiffe wrote that the Clan MacDuff was the premier clan among the Scottish Gaels. [7] Today, the Earls of Wemyss are thought to be the descendants in the male line of Gille Míchéil, Earl of Fife, thought to be one of the first Clan MacDuff chiefs. [7] Gille-michael MacDuff was one of the witnesses to the great charter of David I of Scotland to Dunfermline Abbey. [5]
In 1306 during the Wars of Scottish Independence, Duncan MacDuff, Earl of Fife, was as a minor, held by Edward I of England at the coronation of Robert the Bruce as his ward while Duncan's sister, Isabella MacDuff, placed the golden circlet upon King Robert's head. [5] As a result, when she fell into the hands of King Edward's army, she was imprisoned in a cage which was suspended from the walls of Berwick Castle. [5] Duncan MacDuff later married Mary, the niece of King Edward, and threw in his lot against the Bruce. [5] However, he was captured and imprisoned in Kildrummy Castle where he died in 1336. [5] The Earldom later fell into the hands of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, however, although the MacDuff family lost their rank, they continued to prosper. [5] In 1384, the earl of Fife was described as capitalis legis de Clenmcduffe, meaning 'chief of the law of Clan MacDuff'. [8] In 1404, David Duff received a charter from Robert III of Scotland for lands in Banffshire. [5]
In 1626, John Duff sold the lands in Banffshire which his ancestor had acquired in 1404. [5] The title of The Fife returned with William Duff, 1st Earl Fife and Viscount Macduff, in 1759. [5] The 1st Earl Fife's cousin, Captain Robert Duff of the Royal Navy supported the British-Hanoverian Government during the Jacobite rising of 1745 and was involved in the Skirmish of Arisaig. [9] James Duff, 4th Earl Fife fought with distinction in the Peninsular War where he was wounded at the Battle of Talavera in 1809 and was later made a Knight of the Order of St Ferdinand of Spain. [5]
Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife, married Louise, Princess Royal, eldest daughter of Edward VII. [5] Alexander was advanced to the rank of Duke of Fife in July 1889. [5]
With the death of the 1st Duke of Fife, the Clan MacDuff had its last Chief.
Clan Macduff was the first Scottish clan to be recognized as a clan by the Scottish Parliament, by legislation dated November 1384. [10]
The Earl of Fife and the Abbot of Abernethy were both "Capitals of Law of the Clan MacDuff". [7] The law protected all murderers within ninth degree of kin to the Earl of Fife, as they could claim sanctuary at the Cross of MacDuff near Abernethy, and could find remission by paying compensation to the victim's family. [7]
The chiefs of the clan had the right to enthrone the King on the Stone of Scone. [7] When the Stone of Scone was taken to England by Edward I of England, Robert I of Scotland had himself crowned King of Scots a second time, in order to be crowned by a member of clan MacDuff, in that case the Earl of Fife's sister. [7]
In 1425, the last Earl of Fife, Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany, was beheaded. The Clan MacDuff's hereditary right of bearing the Crown of Scotland then passed to the Lord Abernethy. [7] The current Lord Abernethy, who is consequently bearer of the Scottish Crown, is Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 16th Duke of Hamilton.
There are several Clan MacDuff tartans. The most conventionally used is one recorded by the weavers William Wilson & Son of Bannockburn some time between c. 1780s and 1819 [11] (two variants exist, with blue [12] or green [13] thin "tram track" over-check lines in place of the black ones.) A variant on this, with the larger black stripe replaced by dark green and the proportions altered, was recorded by the Highland Society of London, c. 1815–20. [14] All of these are very similar to the royal Stewart tartan, but without its thin yellow and white over-checks. [15] A third and rather different one appeared in 1842 in the Vestiarium Scoticum , and was probably invented by the "Sobieski Stuarts". [16] There are various other tartans with names like dress MacDuff and hunting MacDuff. [17]
Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan became Earl of Argyll and later Duke of Argyll.
Duke of Fife is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that has been created twice, in both cases for Alexander Duff, 1st Earl of Fife. In 1889, Lord Fife married Princess Louise, the eldest daughter of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
Clan Robertson, is correctly known as Clan Donnachaidh is a Scottish clan. The principal surnames of the clan are Robertson, Reid and Duncan but there are also many other septs.
Lord Macduff, the Thane of Fife, is a character and the heroic main antagonist in William Shakespeare's Macbeth (c.1603–1607) that is loosely based on history. Macduff, a legendary hero, plays a pivotal role in the play: he suspects Macbeth of regicide and eventually kills Macbeth in the final act. He can be seen as the avenging hero who helps save Scotland from Macbeth's tyranny in the play.
Clan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan, whose chief is MacLeod of MacLeod, who are known in Gaelic as Sìol Tormoid ; the Clan MacLeod of Lewis and Raasay, whose chief is MacLeod of The Lewes, are known in Gaelic as Sìol Torcaill. Both branches claim descent from Leòd, a Norse-Gael who lived in the 13th century.
The Lord of Abernethy was from the 12th century to the 14th century the hereditary holder of the church and lands of the Scottish monastery at Abernethy. It gradually evolved alongside the title Abbot of Abernethy, displacing that term in extant sources by the end of the 13th century. It was held by the descendants of Gille Míchéil, Earl of Fife.
The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife was the ruler of the province of Fife in medieval Scotland, which encompassed the modern counties of Fife and Kinross. Due to their royal ancestry, the earls of Fife were the highest ranking nobles in the realm, and had the right to crown the king of Scots.
Macduff may refer to:
Clan Hay is a Scottish clan of the Grampian region of Scotland that has played an important part in the history and politics of the country. Members of the clan are to be found in most parts of Scotland and in many other parts of the world. However, the North East of Scotland, i.e. Aberdeenshire (historic), Banffshire, Morayshire and Nairnshire Nairn (boundaries), is the heart of Hay country with other significant concentrations of Hays being found in Perthshire, especially around Perth, in the Scottish Borders, and in Shetland.
Clan Menzies ; Scottish Gaelic: Clann Mèinnear; a member is a Mèinnearach) is a Highland Scottish clan.
Clan Scrymgeour is a Highland 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. Clan Stuart of Bute is the only one of the three clans at present which has a recognised chief.
Clan MacAulay, also spelt Macaulay or Macauley is a Scottish clan. The clan was historically centred on the lands of Ardincaple, which are today consumed by the little village of Rhu and burgh of Helensburgh in Argyll and Bute. The MacAulays of Ardincaple were located mainly in the traditional county of Dunbartonshire, which straddles the "Highland Line" between the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands. Clan MacAulay has been considered a "Highland clan" by writers and has been linked by various historians to the original Earls of Lennox and in later times to Clan Gregor. The MacAulays of Ardincaple, like Clan Gregor and several other clans, have traditionally been considered one of the seven clans which make up Siol Alpin. This group of clans were said to have claimed descent from Cináed mac Ailpín, King of the Picts, from whom later kings of Scotland traced their descent. The chiefs of Clan MacAulay were styled Laird of Ardincaple.
Clan Wemyss is a Lowland Scottish clan.
Clan Galbraith is a Scottish clan. The clan does not have a chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Because of this, the clan is considered an armigerous clan, and as such Clan Galbraith has no standing under Scots Law. The clan-name of Galbraith is of Gaelic origin, however its meaning denotes the bearer as of Brythonic origin, as opposed to Gaelic. The early Galbraiths were centred in the Lennox district, which spans the Highland and Lowland border of Scotland. The 17th chief of the clan brought ruin to the clan in the late 16th and early 17th century, and eventually lost his lands and fled Scotland for Ireland. His grandson, the 19th chief, was the last chief of Clan Galbraith.
MacDuff's Castle is a ruined castle near East Wemyss, in Fife, Scotland. The site is associated with the MacDuff Earls of Fife, the most powerful family in Fife in the middle ages, although nothing survives from this period. The present ruins are the remains of the home of the Wemyss family, who lived here from the 14th century, and their successors in the 16th century.
Clan Crawford is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands. The clan is of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon origin. There was in the early 18th century a mistaken belief that the clan had Norman origins. While historically recognised as a clan by the Court of the Lord Lyon, it is now an armigerous clan as it no longer has a chief. The last chief was Hugh Ronald George Craufurd, who sold his land and moved to Canada in 1904. He died in Calgary in 1942, leaving no male heirs.
Clan Ralston is a Scottish clan. The clan is recognized as such by the Court of the Lord Lyon, but as it does not currently have a chief recognized by the Lord Lyon King of Arms it is considered an Armigerous clan.
The Feudal Barony of MacDuff is a Scottish Feudal Barony in Macduff, Scotland, contained mostly within the boundaries of the Town of Macduff, in the Banff and Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Clan MacDuff traces origins to the historic, Lowland, Scottish Duff Clan. William Shakespeare's MacBeth has always played a role in the legend of Clan MacDuff, as few can determine the line between The Duff Family history and historical fiction. This ambiguity worked to the benefit of future MacDuff Barons, who were able to prove they were descended from the first Duff to receive a charter in Northeast Scotland. In 1404 David Duff received the charter, in Aberdeenshire, from Robert III of Scotland. In 1759, William Duff was granted the historic Celtic Title of “Fife”, further tying the Duffs of Northeast Scotland, with their ancient Lowland ancestors - the original Earls of Fife from the 11th century. William Duff had five sons - the eldest, James, would become the 2nd Earl Fife and the 1st Baron of MacDuff. James invested heavily in the village of Doune, or “Down”, across the River Deveron from Banff. He built a harbor there in 1760, which quickly became more successful than the harbor at neighboring Banff, which had been established much earlier. In 1783 a charter was granted by King George III, changing the name from Doune to Macduff in his favor and, although a lesser title than Earl, bestowing on him the dignity of the 1st Baron of Macduff.