Читать книгу The Chiefs of Colquhoun and their Country - Fraser William Alexander - Страница 11
ОглавлениеORIGIN OF COLQUHOUN.
In tracing the history of the family of Colquhoun of Colquhoun and Luss, the origin and remote ancestry of two distinct families—Colquhoun of Colquhoun and Luss of Luss—require to be investigated. Both these families are of high antiquity, and they merged into one in the reign of King David the Second, by the intermarriage of Sir Robert Colquhoun, who was the fifth Laird of Colquhoun, with the daughter of Godfrey of Luss, the sixth Laird of Luss. That lady was heiress of the estate of Luss, and she was commonly called “the Fair Maid of Luss.”
The earliest surname under which the family of Colquhoun is traced is that of Kilpatrick. In the reign of King Alexander the Second, which was from the year 1214 to 1249, Umfridus de Kilpatrick obtained from Maldouen third Earl of Lennox a charter of the lands of Colquhoun, situated in the parish of Old or West Kilpatrick, within the earldom of Lennox and shire of Dumbarton. On acquiring the lands of Colquhoun, Umfridus dropped his original surname of Kilpatrick, and adopted that of Colquhoun. The adoption of surnames from lands successively acquired was a common practice in the time of King Alexander the Second, when surnames were less fixed than they came to be in later times. Umfridus is thus the earliest ancestor of the Colquhoun family who is vouched by the testimony of an authentic charter.
Not content, however, with such a satisfactory foundation, several writers on the family of Colquhoun have attempted to find their origin in the younger son of Conoch, a king of Ireland, who, it is said, came to Scotland in the reign of Gregory the Great, King of Scotland, that is, between the years 882 and 893, and obtained from King Gregory a grant of lands in the shire of Dumbarton, to which he gave the name of Conochan; a name which gradually became corrupted into Cochon, which afterwards became Colquhoun.[1] But it is easy to show that such a theory is utterly fabulous. It has often been the mischance of ancient families to have their early history perversely shrouded in fable and romance, and the story which represents the younger son of the Irish King Conoch as the founder of the family of Colquhoun is a fair specimen of the straining after similarities of names, in the absence of authentic memorials, to account for the origin of families. The inventors of this theory overlook the fact that the earliest surname of the Colquhouns was Kilpatrick, which has no similarity to Conoch or Conochan. To prove its probability they would require to show that the progenitors of Umfridus de Kilpatrick were Conochs or Conochans or Colquhouns; but of this there is not the slightest evidence.
The origin of the family of Colquhoun is traced by another theory to a younger son of one of the ancient earls of Lennox.[2] The only evidence on which this theory rests is the similarity of the armorial ensigns borne by the family of Colquhoun to those of the earls of Lennox, the saltier being charged upon the shields of both families. But this heraldic evidence, standing alone, is insufficient to establish the descent of the Colquhoun family from that of Lennox. In early times it was common for families who held lands from powerful earls to adopt the principal armorial ensigns of their lord superior. This was the practice in the earldom of Lennox, as well as in other earldoms. In Moray, the holders of lands under the earls of that name adopted their well-known cognizance of the stars. In Strathearn, the cheverons of the earls of Strathearn were frequently adopted by the families holding lands under them, while in Annandale the families who held lands under the Bruces, as lords of Annandale, very generally adopted their armorial bearings, and these are adopted at the present day by the families of Maxwell, Johnstone, Jardine, and others, all of whom have, with some variations, the well-known saltier of the Bruce. Armorial bearings thus adopted were called arms of patronage. Although the similarity of arms shows in many cases a common descent in families from remote times, such as the Angus lion, which is borne by the family of Ogilvy, in virtue of their descent from the ancient earls of Angus, who carried that cognizance, yet mere heraldic evidence requires corroboration.
The terms of the charter by Maldouen Earl of Lennox to Umfridus de Kilpatrick do not indicate any relationship between them. Had any relationship existed, the probability is that it would have been stated in the charter by the Earl styling Umfridus as his cousin or other relative. The absence of any acknowledgment of relationship between them in the charter leads to the inference that none existed. This negative evidence seems to outweigh any positive testimony that might be afforded by the similarity of charges on their shields.
The great apostle of Ireland, St. Patrick, was closely connected with the parish of Kilpatrick in the Lennox, which is appropriately named after him, because, according to tradition, he was born at Kilpatrick. But the fame of the great saint was far from being local. Other churches and other districts of lands were named after him in different forms. In the stewartry of Kirkcudbright there are the churches of Kirkpatrick-Durham and Kirkpatrick-Irongray, and in Annandale there are the parishes of Kirkpatrick-Juxta and Kirkpatrick-Fleming, and the lands of Rampatrick and Kirkpatrick. These lands of Kirkpatrick can be traced under that name as early as the twelfth century. They appear also to have given a surname to a family of considerable note—the Kirkpatricks of Closeburn in Nithsdale. They are better known by that designation than as Kirkpatricks of Kirkpatrick. Although the lands of Kirkpatrick furnished them with a surname, they appear to have retained them but for a short period, and to have acquired the lands of Closeburn, which became their territorial designation. That family obtained from Robert de Bruce, Lord of Annandale, grants of various lands and fishings in that district. By a charter without date, Robert de Bruis granted to Ivo and his heirs the fishing of Blawad and of Hesther, to be held of the granter, for payment to him annually of one pound of pepper or six pennies.[3]
Ivo, the grantee in this charter, was the progenitor of the family of Kirkpatrick. He was then without a surname, as he apparently had not yet acquired the lands of Kirkpatrick. The charter, although undated, must have been granted between the year 1124, soon after which Robert of Bruce acquired the Lordship of Annandale, and the year 1141 when he died. The grant of the lands of Kirkpatrick to Ivo or his successors has not been discovered. But it must have been made before the end of the same century, as in another charter by Robert of Bruce to Roger Crispin of the lands of Cnoculeran, one of the witnesses is Roger of Kirkepatric.[4] No connection can be traced between Ivo, the progenitor of the Kirkpatrick family, and Umfridus de Kilpatrick or Colquhoun.
| [1] | Nisbet’s Heraldry, edition of 1804, vol. i. p. 133. Buchanan of Auchmar’s Scottish Surnames, Glasgow, 1723, p. 90. Baronage of Scotland, by Sir Robert Douglas, 1764, p. 23. Also Histories of the Families of Colquhoun and Luss, in MS. at Rossdhu. |
| [2] | Sir George Mackenzie’s Heraldry, MS. |
| [3] | Original Charter at Drumlanrig. |
| [4] | Original Charter, ibid. |
