The Scottish Clans

Motto:
Origin of Tartan:

History
In the county of Angus in the North-East of Scotland appear to be where this family took its name. There are a few different ideas regarding the origin of the name. One rather unlikely suggestion was that it came from a Scottish king when a local fisherman ‘gut three’ fish to serve to him. A more plausible suggestion is that its from the Gaelic for ‘Windy Place’ ‘gaothairach’. This would certainly fit with the North East of Scotland.

Early Guthries were royal falconers and they purchased the lands of Guthrie from estates granted to the Abbey of Arbroath by King William the Lion in 1178.

After the disastrous Battle of Falkirk in 1298 William Wallace had fled to France to rally support. In 1299 the Laird of Guthrie traveled to France to persuade him to return. Wallace accepted and they landed at Montrose,

Guthries’ signatures appear on a charters in 1442, alas many earlier records have been lost. Kincaldrum near Forfar was acquired by Alexander Guthrie of Guthrie in 1446 and in 1461 Sir David Guthrie of Guthrie, armour bearer to the king was appointed Lord Treasurer of Scotland. Later in 1468 he began the construction of a castle at Guthrie and was elevated to Lord Chief Justice of Scotland in 1473. Sir David’s eldest son Sir Alexander was killed at the Battle of Flodden.

The Guthries were supporters of the young King James VI against his own mother Mary Queen of Scots who had been portrayed as a challenge to his authority as King. It was around this time that Alexander Guthrie was murdered following a feud with the neighboring Gardynes which continued until 1618.

In 1636, John Guthrie, became the eleventh chief. In 1621 he became minister of St Giles cathedral in Edinburgh. His rise continued when 2 Years later he was made Bishop of Moray. His views regarding religious reforms were not in line with the kings views and this led to the bishops home, Spynie castle being taken by force in 1640.

The bishops third son Andrew followed the campaign of the Marquis of Marquis of Montrose. He met a not dissimilar fate, after being taken at the Battle of Philiphaugh he was transported to Edinburgh and beheaded by Edinburgh infamous ‘Maiden’ A smaller version of the French guillotine. This macabre device is still on display in Edinburgh’s Museum of Antiquities.

James Guthrie was a minister, ordained minister of Lauder in 1638 he supported the Covenanters. When he moved to Stirling in 1649 he preached openly against the king’s religious views. The Church of Scotland stripped him of his office but he carried on unperturbed until his arrest in 1661, after a swift trial he was executed later that year.

Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Guthrie of Guthrie was the last chief to live at Guthrie Castle. Born in 1886 he became a distinguished soldier, commanding the 4th Battalion the Black Watch and was awarded the Military Cross.

The present chief lives in England and Guthrie Castle has since been sold.

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SCOTTISH Clan GORDON BROACH pin Silver Metal US $4.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 15:49:05 PST Bid on this Item   | Watch this Item

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Print SCOTTISH CLAN ARCHIBALD FRASER McDONALD MacDONALD US $9.99 (1 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 19:57:08 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

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Scottish Clan Buchanan Crest Badge T-Shirt Sizes M-XXXL US $18.00 (1 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 10:43:50 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

CLAN CAMPBELL SCOTTISH TARTAN JUMBO FRIDGE MAGNET US $1.29 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 12:16:45 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

Gaelic Name: Guinne
Motto: Aut pax aut bellum (Either peace or war)
Badge: Juniper
Lands: Caithness and Sutherland
Origin of Name: Norse, Gunn-arr
Pipe Music: The Gunn’s Salute

History
The Norse word gunnr means war. Living between Caithness and Sutherland, the Gunns were descended from the Norsemen, some think possibly from Olaf the Black himself, and their name foretold their destiny.

The ferocious Gunns were continually at enmity with neighbouring clans, especially the Keiths. Gunn lands were constantly being encroached upon from the North, South and West.

Helen, only daughter of Lachlan Gunn of Braemor, was celebrated for her great beauty and was due to marry her cousin Alexander. Dugald Keith, a retainer of Keith of Ackergill, had tried to woo her, been rejected, and responded jealously. On her wedding day, he paid a surprise visit to her father’s house, surrounding it with armed members of his own family, who then began slaying the unsuspecting Gunns.

Keith took Helen and imprisoned her in Ackergill. Eventually, to escape his sexual abuse, she went to the top of the tower and jumped to her death. The feud that ensued was very long and bloody, with continuing attacks upon each clan. One costly but indecisive battle was at Harpsdale, near Thurso, in 1426.

Eventually, in 1464, the war-weary chiefs of the two clans agreed to meet at the Chapel of St Tears to lay their grievances to rest. The chief of the Gunns was George. He held the important office of crowner, and wore the magnificent brooch of the post. He arrived at the chapel on horseback with eleven other riders, as agreed.

The Keiths arrived on twelve horses also, but with two men to a horse, and slaughtered the Gunns. The brooch of the crowner was taken from dead Gunn’s body. A century later, William MacKames, George’s grandson, avenged his kinsmen with the life of George Keith of Akergill, his son and twelve others in a bloodbath at Drummoy in Sutherland.

In other times the clan found themselves in conflict with the MacKays and the Earls of Caithness and Sutherland. In 1585, although outnumbered, they successfully held off a joint attack by the Earls, taking 140 enemy lives before darkness stemmed the slaughter.

The clan took a heavy defeat at Lochbroom from Sutherland but it was the Highland clearances by the Gordons which finally moved the Gunns off their long-held lands.

Cigarette cards Scottish Clans, Tartans, Scotland 1927 US $18.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 14:38:48 PST Bid on this Item   | Watch this Item

SCOTTISH Clan GORDON BROACH pin Silver Metal US $4.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 15:49:05 PST Bid on this Item   | Watch this Item

Scottish Clans / Scottish Verse - 2 VHS Set US $8.99 Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 16:23:55 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

Print SCOTTISH CLAN ARCHIBALD FRASER McDONALD MacDONALD US $9.99 (1 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 19:57:08 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

Tuck Scottish Clans Postcards ~ Lot of 13 ~ Circa 1910 US $19.00 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 19:59:57 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

6 TUCKS Early Postcards SCOTTISH CLANS US $5.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 21:49:56 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

Stunning Big Scottish Clan Crest Plaid Brooch US $14.62 (1 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 7:10:24 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

Fantastic Big Scottish Clan Crest Plaid Brooch US $14.62 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 7:20:31 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

Scottish Clan Buchanan Crest Badge T-Shirt Sizes M-XXXL US $18.00 (1 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 10:43:50 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

CLAN CAMPBELL SCOTTISH TARTAN JUMBO FRIDGE MAGNET US $1.29 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday Jan-07-2009 12:16:45 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

Motto:
Origin of Tartan:

History
It was thought the the name Grierson was derived from Gregor, or MacGregor however no relationship has been found to support this. The family are first recorded to have settled on the lands of Lag around 1408. Gilbert Grierson was recorded as ‘armour bearer’ to the Earl of Douglas in 1420. He was related to the Douglas Clan through marriage. his wife Janet was great grand-daughter of the fourth Earl of Douglas and Princess Margaret.

Vedast Grierson of Lag who had built a strong defensive tower had a son Roger. He was killed at Sauchieburn in 1488. Subsequent lairds were also killed at Flodden. As well as the powerful Douglas clan the Griersons also had a close relationship with the Maxwell family. This alliance was neccesary when they both took on the Johnstones at the Battle of Dryfe Sands in 1593.

William Grierson of Lag was knighted by James VI around 1608. He had a son Robert who’s cousin (also Robert) followed in succession and became the first Baronet of Lag. Sir Robert was particulary dilligent in attempting to crush the Covenanters who worshipped illegally in south west Scotland. He was involved in a near massacre in Kirconnell and gained a fearsome reputation that almost cost him his life. Sir Robert married Lady Henrietta Douglas, sister of the Duke of Queensberry, strengthening the bonds between these two lowland families. He was arrested in 1689 and later accused of conspiracy to counterfeit money. Sir Robert’s life became the inspiration for Sir Walter Scott’s Red Gauntlet.

His eldest son, William, died without an heir, and his brother, Sir Gilbert, succeeded to the title.

Several Griersons had a distinguished military career, Thomas Grierson, fought at the siege of Delhi in 1857, the eighth Baronet, Sir Alexander Grierson of Lag, was an officer in the 78th Ross-shire Highlanders and the tenth Baronet, Sir Robert Grierson of Lag, served in the King’s Own Scottish Borderers during the Great War.

Sir George Abraham Grierson had a talent for languages. he became an expert in the languages and dialects of india and published a Linguistic Survey of India with information on around 364 of them. for his work he was knighted in 1912

Dr John Grierson was a pioneer of documentary film-making. Educated in Glasgow and Chicago he helped set up the National Film Board of Canada in 1939 and was also a director of UNESCO and later film controller for the British Central Office of Information until 1950.

Cigarette cards Scottish Clans, Tartans, Scotland 1927 US $18.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 14:38:48 PST Bid on this Item   | Watch this Item

SCOTTISH Clan GORDON BROACH pin Silver Metal US $4.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 15:49:05 PST Bid on this Item   | Watch this Item

Scottish Clans / Scottish Verse - 2 VHS Set US $8.99 Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 16:23:55 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

Print SCOTTISH CLAN ARCHIBALD FRASER McDONALD MacDONALD US $9.99 (1 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 19:57:08 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

Tuck Scottish Clans Postcards ~ Lot of 13 ~ Circa 1910 US $19.00 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 19:59:57 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item

6 TUCKS Early Postcards SCOTTISH CLANS US $5.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Jan-06-2009 21:49:56 PST Bid on this Item   | Buy this Item   | Watch this Item