Clan Sutherland
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Clan Sutherland is a Scottish clan whose traditional territory is located in the region of Sutherland in northern Scotland and was for a time one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The Clan seat is in Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland. In 1493 the Chieftenship of the Clan was given to the previous Chief's, daughter's husband Adam Gordon, therefore Clan Sutherland have close associations with Clan Gordon.
Contents
Origin of the Name
- Sutherland, Highlands, Scotland (Placename)
Clan Battles and Conflicts
- Battle of Dornoch 1150c; The Sutherland forbear was Freskin de Moravia, whose father was probably a Flemish noble named Ollec with lands in Morayshire and elsewhere ("de Moravia" being "of Moray"). He was given a commission by King David I to gather the Sutherland Gaels together and clear the Norsemen from the area, and he received Strabrock in West Lothian and Duffus in Moray from King David I. Some hold that he was therefore probably the hero of the clan legend about the killing of the last Norseman. The crucial battle took place near Dornoch where the Norse chief had gathered his men in a desperate attempt to stop the Scottish advance. The fight at first went the Norsemen's way when they penetrated the Scot's formation and the Sutherland chief was injured. As the chief lay wounded though, he spotted a Norse general coming up to support the attack. Finding a horseshoe at hand, he threw it with all of his might striking the Norseman squarely in the forehead, killing him, and turning the whole battle around. By the end of the day, all of the Norseman had been killed or captured.
- Battle of John o' Groats; Hugh Freskin Sutherland is said to have strengthened the family's royal favor by riding the north of a ferocious band of robbers lead by Harold Chisholm. Among the crimes, a number of Sutherland churchmen were tortured by nailing horseshoes to their feet and making them dance to entertain the followers before putting them savagely to death. On hearing of this outrage, King William the Lion ordered Hugh of Sutherland to pursue Chisolm to the death and a great fight ensued near John o' Groats. All of the robbers were either killed or captured. Harold Chisolm and the other leaders were given a punishment to fit the crime, horse shoeing and hanging. The rest were gelded to prevent any offspring from men who were so detestable. This seems to have been a frequent punishment of the time. In 1198 an entire sept of the Sinclairs were castrated for the killing of the Bishop of Caithness.
- Rebellion of the Sinclairs 1222; The trouble was over tithes imposed by the Bishop of Caithness whose seat was at Dornoch. The Clan Sinclair Earls of Caithness had long resented the fact that the bishopric was under Sutherland control and decided to exploit the discontent over tithes, to get rid of the bishop and have the seat moved. There was soon a riot, said to be incited by Sinclair gold. The unfortunate bishop was roasted alive and his cathedral was set on fire. The rioters then headed north to join up with their Sinclair allies. Once again the Lord of Sutherland was given responsibility by the crown for restoring law and order, and for punishing Sinclair for his instigation of the incident. The Sutherland Clan force was gathered and the far northeast was laid waste in a campaign of revenge and repression. Wick and Thorso were burned and the Sinclair stronghold razed to the ground. Eighty men were tried at a summer court session at Golspie and there was strict punishment for the rioters. Four of the ringleaders were roasted and then fed to the town dogs for good measure.
Scottish Wars of Independence
- The Clan Sutherland under William 3rd Earl of Sutherland fought at the Battle of Bannockburn (1314) during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
- Earl Kenneth Sutherland led the Clan at the Battle of Halidon Hill (1333), part of the Scotish wars of Independence.
Clan Battles (continued)
- William 5th Earl of Sutherland, whose wife was the daughter of Robert the Bruce and sister of King David II of Scotland, led the clan at Kilblene where he participated in the siege of Cupar Castle Fife. Along with the Earl of March took foray into England.
- Battle of Neville's Cross 1346; William arl of Sutherland accompanied King David II of Scotland into England where both were captured at the battle of Nevill's Cross by Durham. They remained in prison for over ten years before being released. John, the son of the Earl and Princess Margaret, was designated the heir to the Throne over Robert Stewart, who eventually became King Robert II in 1371
- Raid of Dornoch 1372; The habitual enemies of Clan Sutherland were the Clan Sinclair of Caithness, Clan Mackay and the Clan McLeod to the west of Sutherland. The long dispute with the MacKays first came to a head in 1372, when Nicholas Sutherland of Duffus, head of one of the junior branches, murdered Mackay and his heir in their beds at Dingwold Castle where they had met in an attempt to patch up the feud. Much bloodshed followed, including a retaliatory raid on Dornoch. The cathedral was once again set on fire and many Sutherland men were hanged in the town square. After this, the feud quieted down as both sides were called away to fight against the English.
- Battle of Strathnaver 1407; The Earlof Sutherland was a leader of the Scots invading into the west of England in 1388. He married Margaret Stewart, daughter of Alexander, Earl of Buchan, a younger son of King Robert II. During his long chief-ship, there was a temporary alliance with the Clan MacKay against the Clan McLeod who had invaded Strathnaver in 1407 on rumors that MacKay was mistreating his wife, a MacLeod heiress. Since both Sutherland and MacKay country were laid waste, the old rivals joined forces to pursue the MacLeods, catching them somewhere near Loch Shin where the invaders were killed except for the last man who escaped his pursuers by throwing away his sword and targe and out sprinting his pursuers over the hills. This day became known as "The Great Slaughter" and gave the Sutherlands the upper hand in dominating their local clan rivals.
- The Battle of Skibdo and Strathfleet around 1480; MacDonald of the Isles, accompanied by about five or six hundred of his clan came into Sutherland and encamped hard by the Castle of Skibo, whereupon Neil Murray (son or grandson to Angus Murray, slain at Druimnacoub) was sent by John, Earl of Sutherland, to resist them, in case they did harm the inhabitants. Neil Murray beleiving that the MacDonalds would go about spoiling the country attacked the MacDonalds by Skibo, and killed one of their chieftains, called Donald Dow MacDonald along with fifty others. Macdonald, with the rest of his company, escaped back into their own country. Shortly thereafter another company of Macdonald's came to Strathfleet in Sutherland, and spoiled that part of the country, in revenge for the death of their chieften. However Robert Sutherland (John, Earl of Sutherland's brother), assembled an army and attacked them upon the sands of Strathfleet. After a sharp and cruel skirmish, Macdonald's men were defeated.
- 1517 - Battle of Torran Dubh; Clan Sutherland defeat Clan MacKay. The Clan Sutherland encounter John Mackay and his company at a place called Torran Dubh, beside Rogart, in Strathfleet, where there ensued a fierce and cruel conflict.
- 1542 - Chief Donald Mackay of Strathnaver decided to invade and molest the lands of Clan Sutherland. He burned the village of Knockartoll and stole many goods from Strathbrora. The Clan Sutherland and Clan Murray led by Hutcheon Murray of Abirscors with Gilbert Gordon of Garty decided to attack the MacKays. They attacked the MacKays at a place called Ailtan-Beath. After the battle the MacKays fled and much of the stolen booty was recoverd. Donald MacKay was captured and imprisoned in Foulis Castle, Ross-shire by commandment of the Queen Regent.
- Battle near Wick 1588; Earl of Sutherland Alexander Gordon divorced his obnoxious Sinclair wife in 1573. He waged all out war with her father and Clan Sinclair before gaining a decisive victory outside Wick in 1588, when more than a hundred Sinclair clansmen were killed in a pitched battle on the seashore. Earl Alexander later married the divorced wife of the Earl of Bothwell, third husband to Mary Queen of Scots.
- Battle of Carbisdale (1650); During the Civil War Clan Sutherland along with Clan Munro and Clan Ross joined forces with the Scottish Argyll Government who supported Cromwell to fight against the Marquess of Montrose and his Royalist Army of forieners. The Royalist Army led by Scotsman James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was mainly made up of soldiers from Denmark and Germany. The Royalists were defeated by the Scottish Argyll Government forces. The Marquess of Montrose escaped the battle but due to wounds and ill health gave himself in to Macleod of Assynt who in turn handed him in to the government. He was brought a prisoner to Edinburgh, and on 20 May sentenced to death by the parliament. He was hanged on the 21st, with Wishart's laudatory biography of him put round his neck. Shortly after Montroses death the Scottish Argyll Government switched sides and became Royalists too.
Joining with Clan Gordon
In 1493, John Sutherland the 9th chief, Earl of Sutherland, was taken with his father at a young age to King James IV. He succeeded his father as ward of the Crown in 1508, the Earldom being administered by Andrew Stewart, Bishop of Caithness. At Perth in 1514, the 9th Earl was pronounced legally incapable and confined as his father was. In the question of his successor, the Earl declared that his sister Elizabeth and her husband the Hon. Adam Gordon were his nearest heirs. His death a month later in 1514 marked the end of the Freskin line of Earls of Sutherland. The title was inherited by his sister Elizabeth Gordon who, after a protracted lawsuit and some bloodshed, became Countess of Sutherland in her own right. From that time until 1766, the Sutherland inheritance was held by the Gordon family who did not adopt the name of Sutherland until the early 18th century.
In Sir Robert Gordon's time during the 17th century the Clan Sutherland began to acquire the reputation for enthusiastic and pious Protestantism. This is probably what made the Earls begin to distance themselves from their Gordon cousins who were Catholics and later Jacobites. Sir Robert's nephew, for example, was known as the Covenanting Earl and the clan was involved with the troubles through the 17th and 18th centuries but was supportive of the British Crown.
Jacobite Uprisings
The main of Clan Sutherland supported the British during the Jacobite uprisings in 1745-1746 however the Clan Gordon fought as Jacobites.
Gaelic Name, Motto, Slogan,
- Gailic Names: Suithearlarach (Singular) & Na Suithearlaraichean (Collective)
- Motto: "Sans Peur" (French for "Without Fear")
- Slogan: "Ceann na Drochaide Bige!" (Gaelic for "The Head of the Little Bridge!")
Pipe Music, Crest, Plant Badge
- Pipe Music: "The Earl of Sutherland's March"
- Crest: A cat-a-mountain sejant rampant Proper
- Plant Badge: Cotton Sedge
Tartans
- Old Sutherland (Ancient)
- Old Sutherland (Dress)
- Old Sutherland (Modern)
- Old Sutherland (Muted)
- Old Sutherland (Weathered)
- Sutherland (Modern)
Animal Symbol & Arms
- Animal Symbol: Cat
- Arms: Gules, three mullets Or, on a bordure Or a Royal tressure Gul
Chief
- Elizabeth Millicent, Countess of Sutherland
Branches
- Sutherland of Forse
- Sutherland of Sutherland
Septs of Clan Sutherland
- Cheyne
- Chiene
- Clyne
- Duffes
- Duffus
- Federith
- Gray
- Grey
- Keith
- Mouat
- Mowat(t)
- Murray
- Norman
- Oliphant
- O'May
Allied Clans
- Clan Gordon
- Clan Murray
- Clan Oliphant
External links
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