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Clan Douglas (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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Douglas

Gaelic Name: Dubhghlas

Clan Crest: On a chapeau, Gules, furred Ermine, a salamander, Vert, encircled with flames of fire, Proper

Clan Motto: Jamais Arriere (Never behind)

Origin of Name: Placename, Lanark (Black stream)

Lands: Lanarkshire, Galloway, Dumfriesshire, and Angus

Clan Chief: None, armigerous clan

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Douglas Clan History

Dubh means black in Gaelic, and glas means grey. These are the primary colors in the tartan. The earliest recorded Douglas appears to be William of Douglas, whose name appears as a witness to charters between 1175 and 1211 in Lanarkshire, but it is unknown from whom he descended.

Hermitage Castle, etched in 1814. The stone castle was built in the 14th century by the 1st Earl of Douglas and served as a Douglas stronghold until it was captured by the Crown in 1491.

The saying about the origins of this enormously powerful family is, 'Men have seen the stream, but what eye has ever beheld its source?'

Archibald Douglas, William's son, lived a prosperous life before disappearing in 1239. Sir Andrew Douglas established the senior cadet branch of the Douglas family, while his other son fathered 'the Good Sir James'. The Good Sir James was the greatest Captain under Robert the Bruce in the War of Independence and is regarded as the third greatest patriot in Scotland, trailing only Bruce and William Wallace.

During these times, the Douglas family's power and wealth had grown enormously. In 1330, he was killed by Spanish Moors while attempting to reach the Holy Lands, where his King, Robert, had requested on his deathbed that his heart be buried.

His son, as well as Sir Archibald, were killed in the battle of Halidon Hill in 1333 by the English. So Archibald's son William became the first Earl of Douglas in 1358, as well as Earl of Mar by marriage. When he was killed at Otterburn in 1388 (shown above), the Black Douglases' second proper line ended.

Sir James, on the other hand, had left an illegitimate son, Archibald the Grim, who succeeded his half-brother and became the 3rd Earl of Douglas. He was well-liked and died in 1400.

His son, the 4th Earl, died fighting with France's Charles VII against the English, and his young grandsons were duped and murdered in Edinburgh Castle by family enemies.

James, the 7th Earl, was a violent man who made many enemies, much to the chagrin of his sons. King James II stabbed the 8th Earl to death. Three years later, the King accused the family of treason, and the Black Douglases' earldom and estates were destroyed.

Clan Douglas Places & People

Clan Douglas Individuals

James Douglas (circa 1286-1330)

In 1298, the English executed James Douglas' father, William, at the Tower of London for his patriotic efforts alongside William Wallace. His son had already spent two years in Paris, safe but impoverished, when he died.

In 1306 he rode a stolen horse to battle alongside Robert the Bruce. He was a brilliant military strategist, leading a guerrilla campaign against the English in 1307 and 1308, relieving them of supplies and reclaiming his own Douglas Castle. In 1309, he avoided an ambush by John Lorne, and in 1314, he reclaimed the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh for Scotland.

He was knighted at Bannockburn. After continuing raids across the border, he was known as 'Black Douglas' by the English by 1327. It was Robert the Bruce's dying wish that his heart be buried in the Holy Lands, and it was the Good Sir James who worked hard to make this a reality in 1330, the year after his death.

He died, however, while fighting the Moors at Teba de Andales in Spain, and is known as 'El Grand Duglas' there.

5th Earl of Selkirk Thomas Douglas (1771-1820)

Recognizing the inevitability and possibly scale of the clearances, Selkirk devised plans to research and alleviate the difficulties that emigrants face in their new homes. In 1803, he led 800 emigrants to Prince Edward Island and established successful settlements.

The following year, he attempted another project at Baldoon on Lake St Clair, but it was unsuccessful. He purchased land and established the Red River colony of Winnipeg without the assistance of the government. Immigrants from Ireland, Sutherland, and Orkney arrived at Fort Douglas, much to the chagrin of the North West Company's trappers, who attacked the colonists in 1815 and 1816.

Selkirk lost a lot of money fighting the company in court, and he died soon after. The colony, on the other hand, persisted.

Douglas, David (1799-1834)

Douglas left school at the age of ten to become a gardener's apprentice at Scone Palace, and by 1820 he was working as an under gardener at Glasgow's Botanic Gardens. Through William Hooker's influence, he found himself on a plant-hunting expedition to China with the Horticultural Society of London. The trip was canceled, and Douglas instead found himself on the first of several trips across North America in 1821.

During his third expedition, he named the Douglas fir after himself. During a stopover in the Sandwich Islands of Hawaii in 1834, he fell into a cattle trap in the forest floor already occupied by a trapped bull and was gored and stamped to death.

Clan Douglas Locations

The following locations are historically or currently associated with Clan Douglas.

Earls of Morton held Aberdour Castle in Fife (partially preserved).

James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas, held Balvenie Castle in Moray (now ruined).

Berwick Castle is located in Northumberland. William "le Hardi" is in charge.(now a part of Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station)

Berwickshire's Bonkyll Castle (Bunkle).

South Lanarkshire's Bothwell Castle (ruins).

Selkirkshire's Bowhill House. The Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry's residence (preserved).

Cranshaws Castle is a castle in England.

Dalkeith Castle is located in Midlothian. (heavily modified)

Douglas Castle, South Lanarkshire (only a few ruins remain).

Drumlanrig Castle is located in Dumfries and Galloway. The Dukes of Buccleuch and Queensberry's 17th century mansion house (preserved).

Fife's Grangemuir House.

Midlothian's Hawthornden Castle.

Hermitage Castle in Roxburghshire, a 13th century Douglas stronghold (restored ruin) - shown at the top.

Berwickshire's Hume Castle. Douglas, Sir Alexander Douglas' home, has long had historical ties.

Kilspindie Castle is located in East Lothian. The Douglases of Kilspindie lived here (in scant ruins).

East Lothian's Lennoxlove House. The residence of the Duke of Hamilton (as well as the Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale, Earl of Angus, and others) (preserved).

Kinross' Loch Leven Castle. The Earl of Morton's first home (ruins).

Strathspey's Lochindorb Castle

Nithsdale, Morton Castle, Dumfries and Galloway. Former home of the Douglas Earls of Morton, now in ruins.

Selkirkshire's Newark Castle.

Peeblesshire's Neidpath Castle.

Black Isle's Ormond Castle.

Sir James Douglas captures Roxburgh Castle.

Sandilands Castle (ruins), Fife.

South Lanarkshire's Strathaven Castle

Fife's Strathendry Castle.

Tantallon Castle is located in East Lothian. Red Douglases' stronghold (partially destroyed).

Threave Castle (ruins), Dumfries and Galloway.

Roxburghshire's Timpendean Tower (ruins).

East Lothian's Whittingehame Tower.

Douglas Tartans

Douglas the Elder

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Douglas Contemporary

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Grey, Douglas

Clan Douglas Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Douglas Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

Gules a chapeau, furred Ermine, Vert a salamander encircled with fire flames, Proper

Coat of Arms of Clan Douglas

A word about Coats of Arms:

A coat of arms is granted to an individual under Scottish heraldic law (with the exception of civic or corporate arms). A 'family coat of arms' does not exist. With the exceptions noted above, the arms depicted below are personal arms. Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.

Earls of Douglas coat of arms

Gules a heart imperially crowned Argent Alternatively, three mullets of the first

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