| Clan Maitland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Motto | Consilio Et Animis (By wisdom and courage) [1] | ||
| Chief | |||
 | |||
| The Rt. Hon. Ian Maitland [1] | |||
| The 18th Earl of Lauderdale [1] | |||
| Seat | Thirlestane Castle | ||
| |||
| |||
| |||
Clan Maitland is a Lowland Scottish clan.
| Clan Maitland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| | |||
| Motto | Consilio Et Animis (By wisdom and courage) [1] | ||
| Chief | |||
| | |||
| The Rt. Hon. Ian Maitland [1] | |||
| The 18th Earl of Lauderdale [1] | |||
| Seat | Thirlestane Castle | ||
| |||
| |||
| |||
Clan Maitland is a Lowland Scottish clan.
The name Maitland is of Norman origin and was originally spelt Mautalent, Mautalen, Matulant or Matalan, it translates as "evil genius". [2] It is claimed that the Maitlands descend from one of the companions of William the Conqueror who later settled in Northumberland. [3] The name is found on numerous early charters as Matulant, Mautalant and Maltalant. [3] It has been suggested that it was a nickname meaning 'bad' or 'poor wit', however Alexander Nisbet gives Quasi mutilatus in bello which means As if mutilated in war. [3]
During the reign of Alexander III of Scotland, Sir Richard Matulant acquired the lands of Thirleston, Blyth and Hedderwick. [3] He became one of the most considerable barons in the Scottish Borders. [3] He had come into ownership of Thirlestane by his marriage to Avicia, heiress to Thomas de Thirlestane.
Sir William Mautlant de Thirlstane supported Robert the Bruce in the cause of Scottish independence and was present at the Scottish victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. [3] His son was Sir Robert Maitland who inherited his father's lands as well as receiving a charter for the lands of Letherington near Haddington, from Sir John Gifford in about 1345. [3] He was survived by three sons: John, William and Robert of Shivas. [3] Robert is the ancestor of the Aberdeenshire branch of the Clan Maitland, whose senior line lived at Balhargardy near Inverurie. [3] William's successors were styled as "of Letherington", while the eldest son John became involved in the conspiracies of George Dunbar I, Earl of March who was his kinsman. [3]
William's son, Robert Maitland, surrendered Dunbar Castle to the Earl of Douglas and as a result escaped from being involved in the ruin of his uncle, John. [3] The heir of Sir Robert Maitland was William Maitland of Letherington who received a charter confirming his lands of Blyth, Hedderwick and Tollus. [3]
William Maitland's great-grandson was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. [3] [4] The heir of the Maitland knight killed at Flodden was Sir Richard Maitland who was appointed a judge of the Court of Session and Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland. [3]
Sir Richard Maitland's eldest son was William Maitland who has passed into Scottish history as Secretary Letherington, confidante of Mary, Queen of Scots. [3] However he fell from favour for his involvement in the murder of David Rizzio who was Mary' secretary, although he was allowed to return to court a year later. [3] He supported Mary's marriage to James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, but later joined the nobles who opposed the queen at the Battle of Carberry Hill and also the Battle of Langside. [3] Maitland attended the coronation of the infant James VI of Scotland in 1567 but kept in secret communication with the queen during her escape from Loch Leven Castle. [3] As a result Maitland was declared a traitor by Parliament in June 1573 and as his son died without issue he was succeeded by his brother, John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane. [3] Sir John Maitland was created the 1st Lord of Thirlestane and married the heiress of Lord Fleming. He was Lord High Chamberlain of Scotland in the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, and his son was created the first Earl of Lauderdale. His sister, Anne married Robert, Lord Seton son of the 1st Earl of Winton. Through frequent marriages with the families of Fleming and Clan Seton the Clan Maitland became loyal adherents to Mary, Queen of Scots, even when her fortunes were at their lowest. [2]
The only son of John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane was created the first Earl of Lauderdale in 1616. [3] John Maitland, 1st Earl of Lauderdale was President of the Council and a Lord of Session. [3] His son was John Maitland, 2nd Earl of Lauderdale who was created Duke of Lauderdale in 1672. [3] The Duke had fought for Charles II of England at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 where he was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London for nine years. [3] After the Restoration he had risen to become the most powerful man in Scotland and was created a Duke in 1672. [3] However he was also the first and last Duke of Lauderdale. [3] The Duke employed Sir William Bruce to convert his Thirlestane Castle into a renaissance palace. [3]
During the Jacobite rising of 1745 the Jacobite leader, Charles Edward Stuart stayed at Thirlestane and his army camped in the parklands after their victory at the Battle of Prestonpans, however the Maitlands were not noted Jacobites and as a result escaped forfeiture. [3]
At the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, General Sir Peregrine Maitland commanded the Foot Guards. [3] Napoleon later surrendered to Captain Frederick Maitland of the Royal Navy. [3] In 1828 the Maitland Club was founded which was a text publication society named after Richard Maitland who was chief of the clan in the 16th century. [5]
After the death on 2 December 2008 of The Rt. Hon. Sir Patrick Francis Maitland, the chiefdom passed to his son Ian Maitland, Bt, The 18th Earl of Lauderdale, Viscount of Lauderdale, Viscount of Maitland, Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, Lord Thirlestane and Boltoun, 14th Baronet Maitland, Chief of Maitland. [6]
Ham House, Richmond, Surrey, property of the Countess of Dysart and Duchess of Lauderdale was largely furnished and decorated by the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale, but remained in the ownership of the Countess and subsequent Earls of Dysart.
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.
Earl of Lauderdale is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The current holder of the title is Ian Maitland, 18th Earl of Lauderdale.
Earl of Dundee is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1660 for John Scrymgeour, 3rd Viscount Dudhope. At his death in 1668, the Duke of Lauderdale declared that the first Earl had no heirs-male, and had the crown seize all of his lands. The earldom of Dundee became dormant and its holdings and offices were granted to Charles Maitland, 3rd Earl of Lauderdale, the Duke's younger brother. The title was revived in 1953, when it was determined that the first Earl did indeed have heirs-male, contrary to the assertion of the crown. The title was given to Henry James Scrymgeour-Wedderburn, who had previously served in the House of Commons and in the Cabinet.
Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition", or it may be a locational reference to Mautalant, a place in Pontorson, France. The Brittany connection is less likely than that with Les Moitiers-d'Allonne, near Carteret in the Cotentin. Mautalents continue to live in and near Les Moitiers-d'Allonne, and the early medieval charters link the Maltalents of England and Scotland with the Morville family – originating from Morville, near Valonges, and Roger de Mowbray, whose family came from Aubigny, also nearby. The name gradually mutated to Mautalent and then Maitland, with the latter spelling appearing around 1250 and becoming settled in the late 14th century.
Clan Scott is a Scottish clan and is recognised as such by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Historically the clan was based in the Scottish Borders.
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.
William Maitland of Lethington was a Scottish politician and reformer, and the eldest son of poet Richard Maitland.
Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley of the Leader Water. The land has been in the ownership of the Maitland family since 1587, and Thirlestane served as the seat of the Earls of Lauderdale. The castle was substantially extended in the 1670s by the first and only Duke of Lauderdale. Further additions were made in the 19th century. The castle is now cared for by a charitable trust, and is open to the public.
Clan Murray is a Highland Scottish clan. The chief of the Clan Murray holds the title of Duke of Atholl. Their ancestors were the Morays of Bothwell who established the family in Scotland in the 12th century. In the 16th century, descendants of the Morays of Bothwell, the Murrays of Tullibardine, secured the chiefship of the clan and were created Earls of Tullibardine in 1606. The first Earl of Tullibardine married the heiress to the Stewart earldom of Atholl and Atholl therefore became a Murray earldom in 1626. The Murray Earl of Atholl was created Marquess of Atholl in 1676 and in 1703 it became a dukedom. The marquess of Tullibardine title has continued as a subsidiary title, being bestowed on elder sons of the chief until they succeed him as Duke of Atholl.
Clan Drummond is a Highland Scottish clan. The surname is rendered "Druimeanach" in modern Scottish Gaelic.
Clan Carnegie is a Lowland Scottish clan.
Clan Cathcart is a Lowland Scottish clan.
Clan Cochrane is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
Clan Sempill is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
Clan Haldane is a Lowland Scottish clan.
John Scougal (1645–1730) was a Scottish painter.
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 Forbes is a Highland Scottish clan from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Clan Munro is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically the clan was based in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional origins of the clan give its founder as Donald Munro who came from the north of Ireland and settled in Scotland in the eleventh century, though its true founder may have lived much later. It is also a strong tradition that the Munro chiefs supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The first proven clan chief on record however is Robert de Munro who died in 1369; his father is mentioned but not named in a number of charters. The clan chiefs originally held land principally at Findon on the Black Isle but exchanged it in 1350 for Estirfowlys. Robert's son Hugh who died in 1425 was the first of the family to be styled "of Foulis", despite which clan genealogies describe him as 9th baron.
The Barony of Stobo is a Scottish feudal barony which takes its name from Stobo in the Scottish Borders.
