Freskin (died before 1171) [1] was a Flemish nobleman who settled in Scotland during the reign of King David I, becoming the progenitor of the Murray and Sutherland families, and possibly others.
Freskin (died before 1171) [1] was a Flemish nobleman who settled in Scotland during the reign of King David I, becoming the progenitor of the Murray and Sutherland families, and possibly others.
Freskin was said to have come to the Lowlands of Scotland from Flanders, and thence to Moray in the north. [2] From a charter granted to one of his sons by King William the Lion, it can be ascertained that Freskin held from King David the lands of Strathbrock in West Lothian, as well as Duffus, Roseisle, Inchikel, Machir and Kintrae in Moray. [3] The name Freskin is Flemish, [4] and in the words of Geoffrey Barrow "it is virtually certain that Freskin belonged to a large group of Flemish settlers who came to Scotland in the middle decades of the 12th century and were chiefly to be found in West Lothian and the valley of the Clyde". [5] Freskin was one of several Flemings who had lands in Moray bestowed upon him; this seems to have been an attempt by the kings of Scotland to replace the native Gaelic nobility, who had resisted their rule and prevented them forming a cohesive kingdom, most notably in the 1130 uprising led by Angus, Earl of Moray. [6]
Freskin probably had only one son, William. It is sometimes said that he had two others, Hugh and Andrew, but these may in fact have been sons of William. [2] William inherited his father's lands and took the name de Moravia, or "of Moray" in English. The Moray or Murray family became prolific in Scotland, and their chief now holds the title Duke of Atholl. Hugh, one of William's sons, acquired a large tract of land in Sutherland. His son, William, took the surname Sutherland, and was created Earl of that region in the 1230s, a title which is still held by his descendants today. [2]
The connection between the Murrays and Sutherlands is shown by the similarity of their arms: the Murrays bear azure, three stars argent and the Sutherlands bear gules, three stars or. [7]
It is also quite possible that the house of Douglas descends from Freskin's family. Bricius de Douglas, son of William, Lord of Douglas, became Bishop of Moray in 1203. A man named Freskin of Kerdal is found amongst the benefactors of Spynie Cathedral, and Bricius refers to him as his uncle. The parentage of Freskin of Kerdal is not known, but he was undoubtedly a descendant of the original Freskin. [8]
The connection is further supported by the similarity of the families' arms: both bear three silver stars on blue, in varying arrangements. [9] Belief in the common descent of the Murrays and Douglases was certainly extant in the early 15th century:
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This page is concerned with the holders of the forfeit title Earl of Douglas and the preceding feudal barons of Douglas, South Lanarkshire. The title was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1358 for William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, son of Sir Archibald Douglas, Guardian of Scotland. The Earldom was forfeited by James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, in 1455.
Geoffrey Wallis Steuart Barrow was an English historian and academic.
Jocelin was a twelfth-century Cistercian monk and cleric who became the fourth Abbot of Melrose before becoming Bishop of Glasgow, Scotland. He was probably born in the 1130s, and in his teenage years became a monk of Melrose Abbey. He rose in the service of Abbot Waltheof, and by the time of the short abbacy of Waltheof's successor Abbot William, Jocelin had become prior. Then in 1170 Jocelin himself became abbot, a position he held for four years. Jocelin was responsible for promoting the cult of the emerging Saint Waltheof, and in this had the support of Enguerrand, Bishop of Glasgow.
Duffus Castle, near Elgin, Moray, Scotland, was a motte-and-bailey castle and was in use from c. 1140 to 1705. During its occupation it underwent many alterations. The most fundamental was the destruction of the original wooden structure and its replacement with one of stone. At the time of its establishment, it was one of the most secure fortifications in Scotland. At the death of the 2nd Lord Duffus in 1705, the castle had become totally unsuitable as a dwelling and so was abandoned.
Gille Coluim the Marischal was an official of the Scottish crown in the second half of the 12th century. His name occurs in the witness lists of two extant charters, both issued by King William of Scotland at Perth, which indicates that he was probably a native of somewhere in southern Perthshire. He seems in fact to have been the lord of Madderty in Strathearn. In either 1172 or 1173 he witnessed King William's grant of Ardross to Merleswain mac Cholbaín, a relative of the mormaer of Fife.; and somewhere between 1178 and 1185 he witnessed the king's grant of lands in Inverness-shire to Gille Brigte, Mormaer of Strathearn. In both of these charters, the grants are to native Scots and Gille Coluim appears alongside other native Scots, such as Gille Críst mac ingine Samuel and Gille Míchéil mac Donnchada. Gille Coluim in both cases appears with the title "Marescal", meaning that he was the king's military commander. It appears to be in this role that Gille Coluim was given control of the castle at Auldearn ("Heryn") in Moray during a rebellion by the Meic Uilleim, a royal kindred who were claiming the throne of Scotland. A charter issued by King William at Linlithgow, between 1187 and 1189 grants Gille Brigte, mormaer of Strathearn, the land of Madderty and states that neither Gille Coluim nor his heirs have any right to the land after giving up Auldearn to the Meic Uilleim. In the charter, King William declares that Gille Coluim
"feloniously surrendered my castle of Heryn and then went over to my mortal enemies in the manner of a wicked traitor and stood with them against me to do as much harm as he could".
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The Davidian Revolution is a name given by many scholars to the changes which took place in the Kingdom of Scotland during the reign of David I (1124–1153). These included his foundation of burghs, implementation of the ideals of Gregorian Reform, foundation of monasteries, Normanisation of the Scottish government, and the introduction of feudalism through immigrant Norman and Anglo-Norman knights.
Gillemachoi was a serf quitclaimed by King William the Lion to Jocelin, Bishop of Glasgow. His name means "lad or servant of Saint Mungo". In a charter issued at Selkirk at some point between 1175 and 1190, King William acknowledges the full ownership of "Gillemachoi de Conglud" and all his relatives and dependents to the "church of St Kentigern of Glasgow". It is not clear why Jocelin sought confirmation of ownership, since the bishopric had possessed the land of "Conglud", that is, Kinclaith since the reign of King Malcolm IV.
William of Douglas was a medieval nobleman living in Clydesdale, an area under the control of the King of the Scots.
Ranulf de Soules was a Norman knight who came to Scotland with David I and served as his cupbearer.
Laurence is the first Bishop of Dunblane to be known by name. A document dating to 27 February 1155, had an M. de Dunblan, but no more is known of this man and it is unlikely that M. is a mistake for La..
Simon is the third known 12th century Bishop of Dunblane. Nothing is known of Simon's background as there are numerous Simons in Scotland in this period, both native and foreign. There is a Symon de Liberatione who witnessed a charter of King William the Lion and whom Watt and Murray suggested may have been the later Bishop of Dunblane, while there was in the same decade a local landholder and ecclesiastical patron in the diocese of Dunblane called Simón son of Mac Bethad.
Thor of Tranent, also known as Thor, son of Sveinn or Thor, son of Swain, Lord of Tranent and Sheriff of Lothian, was a landlord and chieftain active in Lothian in the reign of King David I of Scotland. He is attested in a large number of charters during King David's reign in Lothian, both as a charter witness on charters granted by other patrons and on charters he himself issued. His name appears either as Thor son of Sveinn or "Thor of Tranent", the latter appellation deriving from his ownership of the "barony" of Tranent, East Lothian, lands including a wide area around the modern town, including, for instance, Prestonpans.
Philip de Valognes, Lord of Ringwood, Benvie and Panmure was an Anglo-Norman Scottish noble. He was the Lord Chamberlain of Scotland between 1165–1171 and 1193–1214.
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Robert Avenel was a 12th-century Anglo-Norman magnate. He was ruler of the small former Northumbrian province of Eskdale in Dumfriesshire, as well as Abercorn in West Lothian. He was one of a small number of Anglo-Norman immigrants to have been given a provincial lordship in southern Scotland in the early-to-mid 12th century. For some period in the 1170s he served as Justiciar in Lothian. He also had some part of the township of Innerwick. He seems to have held this of Walter fitz Alan. He passed this on to his younger son Vincent. His nephew Glai or Glay may have held part of Innerwick too.
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Roseisle, formerly known as the College of Roseisle after a monks' college, is a village in the parish of Duffus, near Elgin, Moray, in the west of the Laich of Moray. Half a mile to the north are the former farms of Old Town.
William, son of Freskin, Lord of Duffus and Strathbrock, was a Scoto-Flemish noble.
Hugh de Moravia, Lord of Duffus, Strathbrock and Sutherland, was a Scottish noble.