Clan Murray
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Clan Murray is a Highland Scottish clan. The Murrays have played a major role in Scottish history, with lands and cadet houses throughout Scotland.
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[edit] History
[edit] Origins of the Clan
The Murrays (Mhoraidh in Scots Gaelic) are descended from the Flemish nobleman Freskin de Moravia (also progenitor of Clan Sutherland and possibly Clan Douglas). Flemish and Norman lords crossed the North Sea and established themselves in the Scottish realm at the invitation of the Kings of Scots from the early 12th century. Freskin and his son were granted extensive lands in Moray and intermarried with the old line of Celtic Mormaers from Moray. They took the name 'de Moravia', i.e. 'of Moray' in Latin. The descendants of Freskin's grandson William de Moravia became Lords of Bothwell. The name became more generally written simply as 'Moray' or variants, deriving from the great province of Moray, once a local kingdom, by the end of the 13th century. From him descend the principal houses of Murray: Tullibardine, Atholl, Abercairney and Polmaise. The name Murray is believed to derive from Pictish *Moritreb, meaning 'seaward settlement', referring to the ancient province, the Mormaerdom of Moray. Much larger than the present county of Moray, it ran along the coast of the Moray Firth, north of the Grampians. MacMurray, Moray, Murry, Morrow, and Morogh are all variants of the family name.
[edit] Wars of Scottish Independence
In the 14th century, during the Wars of Scottish Independence, Clan Murray was led by Andrew de Moray, co-leader of the Scots against the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, where the Scottish army was victorious. His son, Sir Andrew Murray, 4th Lord of Bothwell, third Regent of Scotland, married Christian Bruce, a sister of King Robert the Bruce. He was captured by the English at Roxburgh in 1333. He was released in time to relieve his wife who had been bravely holding out and defending Kildrummy Castle against the English and won the pivotal Battle of Culblean. In March 1337 a Scots army under Sir Andrew Murray recaptured Bothwell Castle from the English.
[edit] 15th century and Clan Conflicts
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In the Battle of Drumnacoub (1431), Angus Dubh Mackay, chief of Clan Mackay, defeated Angus Moray of the branch of Murrays who supported their relatives in Clan Sutherland near Tongue.[1] During the Battle of Skibo and Strathfleet (1480), John of Islay, Earl of Ross, chief of Clan Donald, invaded Sutherland and fought against men of that Clan and Clan Murray.[2] The Battle of Knockmary (1490) pitted Clan Murray against Clans Drummond and Campbell.[3]
[edit] 16th century and Clan Conflicts
The eldest of Murray of Tullibardine's seventeen sons, Sir William Murray of Tullibardine, had, with other issue, William, his successor, and Sir Andrew Murray, ancestor of the Viscounts Stormont. His great-grandson, Sir William Murray of Tullibardine, was a zealous promoter of the Reformation in Scotland. George Halley writes that "Sir William Murray of Tullibardine, having broke Argyll's face with the hilt of his sword, in King James the Sixth's presence, was obliged to leave the kingdom. Afterwards, the king's mails and slaughter cows were not paid, neither could any subject to the realm be able to compel those who were bound to pay them; upon which the king cried out – 'O, If I had Will Murray again, he would soon get my mails and slaughter cows'; to which one standing by replied – 'That if his Majesty would not take Sir William Murray's life, he might return shortly'. The king answered, 'He would be loath to take his life, for he had not another subject like him!'. Upon which promise Sir William Murray returned and got a commission for the king to go to the north, and lift up the mails and the cows, which he speedily did, to the great satisfaction of the king, so that immediately after he was made lord comptroller". This office he obtained in 1565.
In 1542 the Battle of Alltan-Beath took place. Donald Mackay of Strathnaver, chief of Clan Mackay, invaded the lands of Clan Sutherland. He burned the village of Knockartoll and stole many goods from Strathbrora. Clans Sutherland and Murray, led by Hutcheon Murray of Abirscors, along with Gilbert Gordon of Garty, decided to attack the Mackays at Ailtan-Beath. The Mackays fled, and much of the booty was recovered. Donald MacKay was captured and imprisoned in Foulis Castle, Ross-shire by commandment of the Queen Regent.[4]
In 1562, at the Battle of Corrichie, Clan Murray supported Mary, Queen of Scots against George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly.[5]
In the Battle of Glenlivet (1594), the Murrays fought on the side of the Earl of Argyll, whose forces consisted of 10,000 Highlanders from Clans Campbell and Forbes and the Chattan Confederation. Their enemy was the Earl of Huntly whose forces consisted of 2,000 Highlanders from Clans Gordon, Cumming/Comyn and Cameron.
[edit] 17th century and Civil War
In the early 17th century a deadly feud broke out between the Murrays of Broughton and Clan Hannay, which resulted in the Hannays being outlawed.
Sir John Murray, the twelfth feudal baron of Tullibardine, was raised with King James VI, who in 1592 constituted him Master of Household. On 10 July 1606, he was created Earl of Tullibardine. He married Catherine, fourth daughter of David, second Lord Drummond, and died in 1609. Sir John Murray's eldest son, William, second Earl of Tullibardine, married Lady Dorothea Stewart, eldest daughter and heir of line of the fifth Earl of Atholl, of the Stewarts, who died in 1595 without male issue. In 1625, he petitioned King Charles I of England for the earldom of Atholl. The king received the petition, and gave his royal assent. The earl accordingly surrendered the title of Earl of Tullibardine to the king on 1 April 1626, and it was conferred on his brother, Sir Patrick Murray, as a separate dignity. However, before the patents could be issued, his lordship died. His son John obtained it in February 1629. The Earl of Atholl was a zealous royalist, and joined the association formed by the Earl of Montrose for the king at Cumbernauld, in January 1641. He died in June 1642.
Chief of Clan Murray, James Murray, was initially a strong supporter of King Charles I, receiving the Marquess of Montrose at Blair Castle in 1644. However, at the Battle of Tippermuir (1644), Murray led 1,800 men of his Clan in support of the Scottish Covenanters against the Royalists.[6][7]
[edit] 18th century and Jacobite Uprisings
- War in France
Clan Murray fought in the British cause at the Battle of Malplaquet (1709), a major conflict of the War of the Spanish Successionbetween France and a British-Dutch-Austrian alliance. In 1745, Lord John Murray's Highlanders fought for the British against the French at the Battle of Fontenoy.[8]
- Jacobite Rising of 1715
At the Battle of Glen Shiel(1719), men of Clan Murray fought under William Murray against the Government in support of the Jacobite cause. Their commander was wounded but escaped to France. On 25 July, 1745, he would land with the "Young Pretender", Prince Charles Edward Stuart, at Borodale, to launch the Second Jacobite Rebellion. Three sons of the 1st Duke of Atholl (Lord John Murray, 1660 - 1724), fought with the Jacobite Army under the Earl of Mar; The Marquess of Tullibardine, Lord William Murray, Lord Charles Murray, and Lord George Murray. Only the Duke's son James, stayed loyal to the government and succeeded his father as the 2nd Duke of Atholl in 1724.
- Jacobite Rising of 1745
The 1745 Jacobite Uprising saw the pardoned Lord George Murray, against his better judgement, offer his services to the 'Young Pretender', Prince Charles Edward Stuart. As a result, at the Battle of Prestonpans (1745), two Murray regiments, Murray's 46th and 42nd, under William Murray, met a Murray regiment in the Jacobite lines led by Lord George Murray, son of the Duke of Atholl, Chief of Murray. William would go on to lead the Jacobite charge at the Battle of Falkirk (1746)and the Battle of Culloden (1746). Another Murray, John Murray of Broughton served as secretary to Prince Charles Edward Stuart.
Lord George Murray was a ranking Jacobite commander at the Siege of Carlisle, which ended in the town's capitulation on 15 December. He also fought at the Clifton Moor Skirmish, 19 December, 1745. Meanwhile, as a Jacobite general, the 1st Duke of Atholl's son Lord George Murray was responsible for much of the initial Jacobite success during the rebellion.
- Aftermath
After Culloden, on 27 April, 1746, William Murray, suffering from bad health and fatigue, surrendered to a Mr Buchannan of Drummakill. He was taken to the Tower of London, where he died on 9 July. Lord George Murray escaped to the continent in December 1746, and was received in Rome by the Prince's father, the "Old Pretender" James Francis Edward Stuart, who granted him a pension. Despite this, when Murray journeyed to Paris the following year, the Prince refused to meet with him. Murray lived in numerous places on the continent over the next years, and died in Medemblik, Holland, on 11 October, 1760, at the age of 66. The Prince's erstwhile secretary, John Murray of Broughton, earned the enmity of the Jacobites by turning king's evidence.
[edit] Castles
- Blair Castle , built in 1269, is still the seat of the chief of Clan Murray, the Duke of Atholl. The Castle is home each year to the Spring gathering of the Athollmen, overseen by his Grace, the Duke of Atholl. The Athollmen are the last private regiment in Great Britain, the 4th Duke of Atholl having received the colours from Queen Victoria in 1848.
- Balvaird Castle, built in 1500, for the Murrays of Tullibardine, Earls of Mansfield and Mansfield.
- Bothwell Castle was owned by Clan Murray until 1362, when it was passed by marriage to Clan Douglas.
The Murrays of Atholl also held the Castle of Huntingtower and were the keepers of Falkland Palace. John Murray, the 1st Duke of Atholl divided a great deal of his time between these two residences, especially whilst his parents were still living at the magnificent Dunkeld House (which no longer exists).
His son, the famous Jacobite General, Lord George Murray, resided at Huntingtower until his conscience determined him to support the last Jacobite Rising in 1745 for the 'Young Pretender', Prince Charles Edward Stuart (aka "Bonnie Prince Charlie").
[edit] Clan Chief
- Clan chief: His Grace John Murray, 11th Duke of Atholl, Marquess of Atholl, Marquess of Tullibardine, Earl of Atholl, Earl of Tullibardine, Earl of Strathtay and Strathardle, Viscount of Balquhidder, Viscount of Glenalmond, Lord Murray of Tullibardine.
[edit] Badges and Crest
The current Clan badge, (see above), depicts a demi-savage (the upper half of a wreathed, shirtless man) holding a sword in his right hand and a key in his left. The Clan motto reads "Furth, Fortune, and Fill the Fetters", meaning, roughly, "go forth against your enemies, have good fortune, and return with captives". The demi-savage badge was favoured by the late Duke of Atholl; the Clan continues to use it out of respect.
An older badge depicts a mermaid holding a mirror in one hand and a comb in the other, with the motto "Tout prêt", Old French for "Quite ready". This badge is found in many historical and heraldic sources, and remains a valid Murray device.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland". p.65 – 66, by Sir Robert Gordon (1580 -1656).
- ^ ’Conflicts of the Clans’ published in 1764 by the Foulis press, written from a manuscript wrote in the reign of James VI of Scotland. [1]
- ^ "www.electricscotland.com/webclans/m/murray2.html". http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/m/murray2.html.
- ^ History of the House and Clan of the Name MacKay" by Robert MacKay (1829). p.114 – 118: Quoting from "Genealogical history of the Earldom of Sutherland" by Sir Robert Gordon (1580 -1656).
- ^ "History of the House and Clan of the Name MacKay" (1829). p.131 – 133 by Robert MacKay: Quoting 'Scots Acts of Parliament'.
- ^ "Battle of Tippermuir 1644 – ScotWars". http://www.scotwars.com/html/battle_of_tippermuir.htm.
- ^ "Clan MURRAY". http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/m/murray2.html.
- ^ "Loudon's Highlanders". http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scotreg/louden.htm.
[edit] External links
- Clan Murray (North America)
- http://www.scotclans.com/clans/Murray/history.html
- http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/m/murray2.html
- http://www.abercairny.com/history.html
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