Erskine

Gaelic Name:Arascain

Clan Crest:On a chapeau, Gules, furred Ermine a hand holding up a skene in pale, Argent, hilted and pommelled, Or

Clan Motto: Je Pense Plus (I think more)

Origin of Name: Placename, Renfrewshire

Clan Badge: Red Rose

Lands: Alloa

Historic Seat: Alloa Tower was the main seat of the chief of Clan Erskine.

Clan Chief: James Thorne Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar and 16th Earl of Kellie

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Erskine Clan History

Erskine is a suburb of Glasgow located ten miles west of the River Clyde. The name is thought to be an abbreviation for 'green rising ground' in ancient British.

Henry of Erskine, owner of the Barony of Erskine, was the first man to take the name as his own in the early 13th century, during the reign of Alexander II. The family supported Robert the Bruce and were related to him through the marriage of John of Erskine's eldest daughter to King Robert's brother, Thomas Bruce. Erskine benefited from Bruce's success.

Sir Robert of Erskine was appointed Constable and Keeper of Stirling Castle by David II. The current clan chief still holds this royal office, and his duties include greeting the monarch at the castle gates.

Sir Robert Erskine claimed the title of Earl of Mar after Alexander, Earl of Mar, died in 1435. However, the King rescinded the earldom in 1457, stating that it could only be held by a royal Stewart. Sir Robert was created the first Lord Erskine after ten years.

The 4th Lord Erskine was close to James IV, and after they fell together at Flodden, his son became James V's guardian. The Erskines were entrusted with the care of young monarchs for five generations. Following the death of the 5th Lord Erskine, Mary, Queen of Scots demonstrated her value by restoring the earldom of Mar to his son, the 6th Lord Erskine.

Kildrummy Castle remains in Aberdeenshire. It was once the Earls of Mar's seat and was in the hands of the Erskines until 1716.

The Scottish nobility has a disgraceful track record of changing religions and political views for ignoble reasons. Even among such agile company, the 6th Earl of Mar earned the moniker "Bobbing John." He went to London in 1714, expecting to be appointed Secretary of State for Scotland, despite his initial support for the Union and the Hanovarians. When he was not offered the job, he became a Jacobite and raised an army of over 10,000 men for James VIII.

The force was underutilized, and after the inconclusive Battle of Sheriffmuir on November 13, 1715, Mar fled Scotland for Saint Germains, France, where he betrayed his Jacobite allies. His actions cost him the Earldom, which he did not regain until 1824.

Erskine Places & People

Erskine Clan People

John Erskine, 6th or 1st Earl of Mar (1510-72)

John Erskine, the 1st Earl, should have been the 6th Earl thanks to Mary, Queen of Scots' re-instatement of the peerage, but James II jealously removed it from his powerful ancestor. He was the keeper of Edinburgh Castle until the assassination of Queen Mary's husband Darnley.

His position was changed in exchange for the hereditary position of Captain of Stirling Castle. He was Regent to the young James VI for the last year of his life.

John Erskine, 7th or 2nd Earl of Mar (1562-1634)

Following his father's death, John was appointed Regent for James VI, and the two were educated together.

His participation in the Ruthven Raid in 1582 landed him in exile for three years. Nonetheless, in 1616, he was appointed Treasurer of Scotland.

John Erskine, 6th or 11th Earl of Mar (1675-1732)

Despite his significant contributions to the family estate through the development of various industrial and agricultural projects such as coal mining, 'Bobbing John' is remembered as the family's ruin due to his sycophantic behavior towards Charles I. His inept command led to defeat at Sherrifmuir, followed by the backstabbing disclosure of the identities of his Jacobite colleagues once in France.

His actions resulted in the forfeiture of the Erskine of Mar estates and titles.

Erskine, James (1679-1754).

James Erskine, the brother of 'Bobbing John,' became Lord Grange in 1710 when he was appointed Lord Justice Clerk. Erskine's treatment of his wife, Rachel Chiesley, is notable even for a politician.

Threats from her to declare him a Jacobite drove him to plot her assassination with Simon Fraser of Lovat in 1732. She was secretly taken to the country and locked in a room for six months. She was then relocated to the Monarch Isles for two years, followed by seven years in St Kilda.

St Kilda

Her last three years, during which time she had become insane, were spent in confinement on Skye. Meanwhile, two years after her kidnapping, Erskine had held a funeral for her in Edinburgh and gone on to become the MP for Stirlingshire and the Prince of Wales' secretary.

The main image is of Thomas Alexander Erskine, 6th Earl of Kellie (1732-81).

In 1756, 'Fiddler Tam' returned from Mannheim, where he had studied violin with Stamitz, and established himself as one of Britain's major composers. Between 1761 and 1767, ten of his symphonies were published. Many of his wind instrument scores were written and used on the spot, rather than being collected and lost later.

Kellie enjoyed his drink and was the founder of the Capilliare Club in Edinburgh, where he enjoyed alcohol and music every Sunday. The Kilravock Partbooks are a collection of unpublished work by Kilravock.

Robert Erskine (1677-1718)

Robert, the sixth son of Sir Charles Erskine of Alva, was apprenticed to a surgeon-apothecary when he was 15 years old. He earned his MD in Utrecht in 1700 after studying chemistry, anatomy, surgery, and botany. By 1705, he was the Tsar of Russia's surgeon, and a year later, he was in charge of the entire country's medical administration.

He compiled an enormous library and opened St Petersburg's first Physic Garden with the Tsar's support before dying at the age of forty-one.

Clan Erskine Locations

Alloa Tower

Alloa Tower is an early 14th century tower house in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, central Scotland, that served as the medieval residence of the Erskine family, later Earls of Mar.

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The Braemar Castle

The current Braemar Castle was built in 1628 by John Erskine, 18th Earl of Mar, though there had previously been a castle on the estate. It is now the home of Clan Farquharson.

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The Corgarff Castle

According to some versions of early history, Thomas Erskine, Earl of Mar, built the castle in 1537 as a hunting lodge. Corgarff Castle was involved in all of the Jacobite uprisings.

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The Direlton Castle

Dirleton was important in the story of the "Gowrie Conspiracy" of 1600 because it has long been suspected that the castle was taken from the Ruthvens and given to Thomas Erskine as a reward for assisting James VI in the murder of Patrick Ruthven's sons, John, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, and his brother Alexander.

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The Dryburgh Abbey

In November 1539, Pope Paul III received King James V's recommendation of Thomas Erskine as the next commendator, but he was not confirmed until April 1541. Erskine was apprehended at Dover when the Scottish warship he was aboard capsized while en route to France, prompting Marie de Guise, James V's widow, to demand his release. Erskine was ransomed for £500, and Dryburgh would have been expected to contribute significantly to the settlement, and it is possible that it was due to the need for funds that he resigned his commendatorship to his brother John in July 1548.

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Castle of Dunimarle

The original castle is now a ruin, but next to it stands an 18th-century building that bears the Erskine family's name.

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The Dun House

The House of Dun is a National Trust for Scotland property located in the parish of Dun in Angus, west of Montrose. From 1375 to 1980, the Erskine (later Kennedy-Erskine) family lived on the Dun Estate. John Erskine of Dun played an important role in the Scottish Reformation.

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Castle Kellie

The Oliphants sold Kellie Castle to Sir Thomas Erskine. Sir Thomas had saved King James VI's life during the Gowrie Conspiracy by assassinating Sir Alexander Ruthven. During his only visit to Scotland after the Union of the Crowns, the King stayed at Kellie in 1617, and Erskine was appointed Earl of Kellie in 1619.

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Kildrummy Castle is a Scottish castle.

After the failure of the Jacobite rebellion in 1715, the castle passed from the Clan Elphinstone to the Clan Erskine before being abandoned in 1716.

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The Rosslyn Estate

In 1789, James Erskine inherited the Rosslyn and Dysart estates from his cousin James Paterson St Clair, after which he took the surname St Clair-Erskine. He inherited the title of Earl of Rosslyn (created in 1801 for Alexander Wedderburn) in 1805, and the Rosslyn estate has been in his possession since then.

Erskine Tartans

In 1842, the Erskine tartan was first recorded in the Vestiarium Scoticum.

Erskine Contemporary

Erskine Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Erskine Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

Gules, furred Ermine, a hand holding up a pale, Argent, hilted and pommelled skene, Or

Coat of Arms of Clan Erskine

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.

ERSKINE (simple)

Sable, Argent, and a pale

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Earl of Mar ERSKINE

Quarterly, first and fourth, Azure, a bend between six crosses fitchée, Or (for Earldom of Mar); second and third, Argent, a pale, Sable (for Erskine).

By ScotsTee

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Clan Erskine (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind