| Clan Stirling | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Crest: Issuing out of an antique coronet Or a hart's head couped Azure | |||
| Motto | Gang Forward [1] | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Lowlands | ||
| District | East Dunbartonshire Stirlingshire Perthshire | ||
| Chief | |||
 | |||
| Francis Stirling of Cadder [1] | |||
| Chief of the Name and Arms of Stirling | |||
| Seat | Oakley Street, London SW3 | ||
| Historic seat | Cadder House | ||
| |||
| |||
Clan Stirling is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands. [2]
The Scottish town of Stirling and Stirling Castle lie at the crossroads of Scotland and this could account for the derivation of the name which means place of strife. [2]
Appearing in a charter of David I of Scotland in around 1147 is Thoraldus who held the lands of Cadder. [2] His descendant was Alexander de Strivelyn, fifth Laird of Cadder who died in 1304. [2]
During the Wars of Scottish Independence Alexander's heir, Sir John de Strivelyn, was killed at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333. [2]
The grandson of Sir John de Strivelyn was Sir William who had two sons. [2] The succession passed through his eldest son, also called William, for four generations. [2] After this it passed to a grandson of the second son, Sir John de Strivelyn, third Laird of Cragernard. [2] Sir John was the governor of the royal Dumbarton Castle and sheriff of Dumbartonshire. [2] James I of Scotland appointed him as Comptroller of the Royal Household and armour bearer. [2] He was knighted in 1430. [2] His son, William, acquired from the Earl of Lennox the lands of Glorat. [2] William also held Dumbarton Castle and this appointment passed to his son, George, who defended it for the Crown between 1534 and 1547. [2] George fought at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh and died of wounds received there. [2]
In 1581 Malcom Kincaid of Clan Kincaid was killed by a Stirling of Glovat (Glorat). [3]
George's great grandson was Sir Mungo Stirling of Glorat who was a staunch supporter of Charles I. [2] In recognition of his bravery Charles knighted Sir Mungo. [2] Sir Mungo's son was George Stirling who was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1666. [2]
The Stirlings of Keir had acquired the lands of Keir in Perthshire in the mid 15th century when Prince James, son of James II of Scotland rebelled against his father and Sir William Stirling of Keir was one of his supporters. [2] Sir William Stirling's descendant, Sir Archibald Stirling of Keir was a prominent lawyer who supported the king during the Scottish Civil War and on the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660. [2] The Stirling of Garden branch of the clan descend from this Sir Archibald Stirling. [2] He was also appointed to the Supreme Court with the title Lord Garden. [2] His third son, James Stirling (1692 – 1770), was a prominent mathematician.
During both the Jacobite rising of 1715 and the Jacobite rising of 1745 the Stirling Lairds of Keir fought for the Stuarts. [2] James Stirling of Keir was tried for high treason after the "Gathering of Brig o' Turk" in support of James Stuart's abortive invasion of 1708, but acquitted. [4] His estates were forfeited for his part in the rising of 1715 but they were later restored. [2]
Walter Stirling of Faskine served in the Royal Navy and was appointed commander-in-chief of the fleet by George III of Great Britain. [2] The Stirling of Faksine branch of the clan claimed descent from a nephew of William the Lion but they were in fact a collateral branch of the Stirlings of Cadder. [2]
James Stirling of Drumpellier fought in the war against America in 1812 and was later made Governor of Western Australia. [2]
The Stirling family's historic connection with Dumbarton Castle continued into the twentieth century when in 1927 Sir George Stirling of Glorat was appointed keeper of the castle. [2] Stirling of Garden was Lord Lieutenant of Stirling and Falkirk (until 2005). [2]
Sir David Stirling of the Stirling of Keir branch of the clan was the founder of the British special forces regiment, the Special Air Service during World War II, alongside his brother Bill Stirling of Kier. [5]
The current chief of Clan Stirling is Francis Stirling of Cadder, Chief of the Name and Arms of Stirling. [1]
Spelling variations [6] of the name Stirling include (among others):
Staereling, Stairline, Stairling, Starlin, Starling, Stairlink, Sterline, Sterling, Sterlink, Sterlline, Sterlling, Sterllink, Steuline, Steuling, Steulink, Stewline, Stewling, Stewlink, Stirine, Stiring, Stirink, Stirline, Stirling, Stirlink, Strifelan, Strifeland, Strifelane, Strifelant, Strifelen, Strifelend, Strifelent, Strifelind, Strifelint, Strifelyn, Strifelynd, Striffelan, Striffeland, Striffelane, Striffelant, Striffelen, Striffelend, Striffelent, Striffelind, Striffelint, Striffelyn, Striffelynd, Strivelan, Striveland, Strivelane, Strivelant, Strivelen, Strivelend, Strivelent, Strivelind, Strivelint, Strivelyn, Strivelynd, Sturline, Sturling, Sturlink, Styrline, Styrling, Styrlink.
Clan Anstruther is a Scottish clan.
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 Borthwick is a Scottish clan.
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 Broun, also known as Clan Brown, is a Scottish clan.
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 Charteris is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
Clan Darroch is a Scottish clan. The current Chief of the Name and Arms of Darroch as recognized by the Lord Lyon King of Arms is descended from the Darrochs of Jura.
Clan Lennox is a Lowland Scottish clan. 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.
Clan Haldane is a Lowland Scottish clan.
Clan Straiton, also called Straton or Stratton, is a Lowland Scottish clan. The clan does not currently have a chief therefore it is considered an Armigerous 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 Riddell is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
Clan Boswell is a Lowland Scottish clan and is recognized as such by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. However the clan does not currently have a chief and is therefore considered an Armigerous clan.
Clan Forbes is a Highland Scottish clan from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Clan Gardyne is a lowland Scottish clan from Angus
Tor Castle is a ruined castle, about 3 miles north east of Fort William, Highland, Scotland, west of the River Lochy and east of the Caledonian Canal, near Torlundy.
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.
Simon Fraser, 1st Laird of Lovat was the ancestor and first chief of the Clan Fraser of Lovat which is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. He was killed in 1333 at the Battle of Halidon Hill during the Second War of Scottish Independence.
