Читать книгу The Chiefs of Colquhoun and their Country - Fraser William Alexander - Страница 12

Table of Contents

Umfridus de Kilpatrick obtained a charter from Maldouen, third Earl of Lennox, of the lands of Colquhoun, to be held for rendering to the Earl, his superior, the third-part of the service of one knight. The charter is undated, but it must have been granted before, or not later than, the year 1246, as the Earl’s father-in-law, Walter, the High Steward of Scotland, who was one of the witnesses to the charter, died in that year.^[1] This is the earliest charter extant bearing on the history of the family of Colquhoun, and it may be translated from the Latin as follows:—

To all his friends, and men present and to come, Maldouen Earl of Lennox, greeting: Let all men present and to come know, that I have given, granted, and by this present charter have confirmed to Umfridus de Kilpatrick the whole land of Colquhoun, by its right divisions, with all its just pertinents, to be held by him and his heirs of me and my heirs in feu and heritage, freely, quietly, fully and honourably, in wood and plain, in meadows and pastures, in pools and mills, in fishings, and in all other easements belonging to the foresaid lands; he and his heirs rendering therefrom to me and my heirs the third part of the service of one knight for every service and exaction; before these witnesses, Sir Walter, Steward of our Lord the King, Malcolm my son, Gillaspec Galbraith, Hamelyn, Malcolm, Duncan, my brothers, Malcolm Beg, Doven my chamberlain, Fergus Makcomyng, and many others.

It may be assumed, therefore, that Umfridus was born towards the close of the twelfth or in the beginning of the thirteenth century, that he flourished during part of the reign of King William the Lion and during the whole reign of Alexander the Second, and that he died in the early part of the reign of Alexander the Third. After obtaining this grant, Umfridus, according to a custom common at that time, dropped the surname of Kilpatrick and assumed that of Colquhoun from his lands of Colquhoun.

Umfridus de Kilpatrick was witness to a charter granted in the year 1250 by Maldouen Earl of Lennox, confirming to the monks of the monastery of Paisley some pasture land in Lennox.^[2]

The lands of Colquhoun acquired by Umfridus de Kilpatrick, at a period so early, formed a part of the parish of Kilpatrick, the charter probably conveying to him the whole country from the burn to the possessions of the Church of Kilpatrick. The lands of Colquhoun continued to be the property of his descendants for many generations, and the superiority of part of them still belongs to his lineal representative, the present Sir James Colquhoun of Colquhoun and Luss, Baronet. Some of the vassals pay a year’s rental for their entry, and in other cases merely a nominal sum, and in one case it is a pound of pepper.

[1]	Cartularium Comitatus de Levenax, p. 25; Crawfurd’s Officers of State, p. 318; Crawfurd’s General Description of the Shire of Renfrew, etc., Robertson’s edition, p. 437.

[2]	Registrum Monasterii de Passelet, p. 172.