Clan Murray (
listen (help·info)) 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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Clan Murray ( listen (help·info)) 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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History[edit]
Origins of the Clan[edit]
The Murrays (Moireach in Scottish Gaelic) are descended from the Flemish nobleman Freskin de Moravia (also progenitor of Clan Sutherland[1][note 1] 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.[1] 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.
Wars of Scottish Independence[edit]
During the Wars of Scottish Independence, Clan Murray was led by Andrew Moray, co-leader of the Scots alongside William Wallace against the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.[1] The Scottish army was victorious but Andrew Moray died of his wounds received there.[1] His son, Sir Andrew Murray, 4th Lord of Bothwell, third Regent of Scotland, married Christian Bruce, a sister of king Robert the Bruce.[1] He was a prisoner of the English at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333.[1] However he was released in time to relieve his wife who had been holding out and defending Kildrummy Castle against the English.[1] In 1335 Sir Andrew Murray won the pivotal Battle of Culblean.
15th and 16th century and Clan Conflicts[edit]
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The Murray's feuds with their neighbors were not as numerous as those of many other clans.[1] However one incident of note, the Battle of Knockmary in 1490 pitted Murrays of Auchtertyre against the Clan Drummond.[1]
In 1562, at the Battle of Corrichie, Clan Murray supported Mary, Queen of Scots against George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly.[2]
In 1594 the Murrays fought on the side of Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell at the Battle of Glenlivet, whose forces consisted of 10,000 Highlanders from his own clan, Clan Forbes and the Chattan Confederation. Their enemy was George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly, chief of Clan Gordon whose forces consisted of 2,000 Highlanders of his own clan, with men of Clan Cumming and Clan Cameron.[3]
17th century and Civil War[edit]
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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.
The chief of Clan Murray, James Murray, 2nd Earl of Tullibardine, was initially a strong supporter of King Charles I, receiving the leader of the royalist army, James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose at Blair Castle in 1644, and he raised no fewer than eighteen hundred men to fight for the king.[1] It was this addition of men that won Montrose the Battle of Tippermuir in 1644.[1]
18th century and Jacobite Uprisings[edit]
- War in France
John Murray, Marquis of Tullibardine was killed fighting for 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.[1] In 1745, Lord John Murray's Highlanders fought for the British against the French at the Battle of Fontenoy.[4]
- 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.
Castles[edit]
- 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 Atholl Highlanders, overseen by the Duke of Atholl. The Atholl Highlanders are the only legal private regiment in Europe, the 6th Duke of Atholl having received the colours from Queen Victoria in 1844.
- Balvaird Castle, built in 1500, for the Murrays of Tullibardine, Earls of Mansfield and Mansfield.
- Bothwell Castle was owned by the Morays of Petty until 1362, when it passed by marriage to Archibald the Grim, 3rd Earl of Douglas.
- The Murrays of Atholl also held Huntingtower Castle 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").
Clan Chief[edit]
- Clan chief: Bruce Murray, 12th 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.
Badges and Crest[edit]
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.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Clan Murray History. electricscotland.com. Retrieved on Jan 12, 2013.
- ^ Mackay, Robert. "History of the House and Clan of the Name MacKay" (1829). p.131 – 133. Quoting: 'Scots Acts of Parliament'.
- ^ MacKinnon, Charles. Scottish Highlanders. Barnes and Noble Publishing. 1995.
- ^ Loudon's Highlanders History. electricscotland.com. Retrieved on Jan 12, 2013.
Notes[edit]
- ^ The chiefs of the Clan Sutherland and Clan Murray of Atholl shared a common ancestor in the direct male line. The surname of both families was originally "de Moravia" meaning "of Moray" or "of Murray" and as a result there were some people by the name of Murray who were septs of the Clan Sutherland in the far north. Most notably the Murrays or Morays of Aberscross who were the principal vassals of the Earl of Sutherland and were charged with the defense of the shire. Their name appears predominantly on the front line in the feuds with the Mackays and Sinclairs.
External links[edit]
- Clan Murray of North America
- Clan Murray at scotclans.com
- Clan Murray History at electricscotland.com
- Abercairny Castle
- Murray Clan Society of New South Wales, Australia
