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Fyfe, from Fife From a Scottish place name which was formerly the name of a kingdom in Scotland. It is said to be named for the legendary Pictish hero Fib. Motto: Deus juvat - "God assists". Badge: A lion rampant, holding a dagger in its paw. Tartan: Since the clan MacDuff was not prominent in the later years of Scottish history, this tartan is similar to the royal Stewart without the white and yellow lines. There is a modern hunting tartan. Septs of the Clan: Duff, Fife, Fyfe, Fyffe, Hume, Kilgour, Spence, Spens, Weems, Wemyss. Badge: Lus nam braoileag (vaccineum vitis idea) red whortle berry. Pidroch: Cu ‘a Mhic Dhu. In north-east Fife near Newburgh there is the cross of MacDuff where, according to ancient tradition, sanctuary could be claimed by any kinsman of the MacDuffs. |
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History ANDRO of Wyntoun, in his famous chronicle, tells the story of the circumstances in which the early chief of this clan rose to note and power. It was in the middle of the eleventh century, when Macbeth, one of the greatest Scottish kings, (afterwards to be so sadly defamed by Shakespeare), was in the seventeenth year of his reign. Tradition says that the MacDuff who opposed Macbeth and assisted Malcolm to the throne of Scotland, was the 1st Earl of Fife. The MacDuffs enjoyed the privilege of crowning the King and of leading the Scottish army. Macbeth’s strictness of rule and justice of government made him many enemies among the nobles of his realm, who found themselves subject to law equally with the humblest peasant. In the end it was the king’s jnsistence on fair play which brought about his downfall. The chronicler tells how Macbeth was building his great new castle, of which the traces are still to be seen, on the little mount of Dunsinnan in the Sidlaws. As he watched the building, Macbeth one day saw one of the teams of oxen engaged in drawing timber fail at its work. On inquiry he was told that the inferior oxen had been furnished by Macduff, Thane of Fife, and with indignation he threatened to put the Thane’s Own neck into the yoke and make him draw. Macduff knew that the king was apt to be as good as his word, and he forthwith fled. He went first to his castle of Kennachy, then took boat across the Fifth of Forth from the spot still known from that circumstance as Earlsferry. At Kennachy his wife, kept the pursuing king in treaty till she saw Macduff’s boat safely reach the middle of the Firth. From this occurrence arose the rule down to a recent period that any fugitive taking boat at Earlsferry was protected from pursuit till he had made his way halfway across the Firth. Macduff fled to the court of Siward, Earl of Northumbria, where he represented to Macbeth’s cousins, (sons of the late Duncan, King of Scots), that the time was ripe for them to secure possession of their father’s throne. Duncan’s legitimate sons held back, knowing that they were Macbeth’s natural heirs, who must shortly succeed to the crown without effort. But an illegitimate prince, Malcolm, son of King Duncan and the miller’s daughter at Forteviot, saw his opportunity, and seized it. 
All the world knows how, helped by Siward and guided by Macduff, he invaded Scotland, drove Macbeth from Dunsinnan to Lumphanan on Deeside, and finally slew him there. Afterwards, Malcolm III. being firmly seated on his throne, Macduff asked, for his services, three special boons: (1) in all time coming his descendants should have the privilege at royal coronations of leading the king to the coronation chair (2) when the kings of Scots made war, the Thanes of Fife should have the honour of commanding the vanguard (3) if the Thane or his kindred to the ninth degree should slay a man he should be entitled to remission on payment of a fine, twenty-four merks for a gentleman and twelve for a yoeman, while if anyone slew a kinsman of the Thane he should be entitled to no such relief. A famous occasion on which the Boon of Macduff came into play was at the coronation of King Robert the Bruce. Duncan, (the Earl of Fife of that time), had married Mary de Monthermer, niece of Edward I of England, and was upon the English side, acting as Governor of Perth. His sister Isabella, however, who had married John Comyn, Earl of Buchan, was an ardent Scottish patriot, and at Scone in 1306 exercised the right of her house, and brought the sanction of ancient usage to the ceremony, by leading Bruce to the place of coronation. Both the Thane and his sister suffered from the contrasting parts they played. Falling into the hands of the English, the Countess of Buchan was imprisoned by Edward I in a cage on the walls of Berwick, while Earl Duncan and his wife were captured by Bruce and imprisoned in the castle of Kildrummie in Aberdeenshire, where the Earl died in 1336. Gilmichael, fourth Earl of Fife, who died in 1139, left two sons, of whom the elder, Duncan, carried on the line, while Hugo the younger, became ancestor of the house of Wemyss, which now probably represents the early thanes and earls of Fife. Duncan, twelfth Earl of Fife, who was killed in 1353, was the last of the direct line of these early thanes. His daughter Isabella, who died without issue, conveyed the property and title of the earldom to the third son of King Robert II., who afterwards became notorious in Scottish history as the first Duke of Albany. During the Duke’s lifetime the title of Earl of Fife was borne by his son Murdoch, and upon the execution and forfeiture of this Murdoch, Duke of Albany, by his cousin James I. in 1425, the earldom at last became extinct. The name Duff is believed to be the Celtic Dubh, which was given as a descriptive name to any Highlander who might be dark-complexioned, like Sir Walter Scott’s famous character, Roderick Dhu. The numerous families of Duff, therefore, who afterwards appeared as respectable burgesses of Aberdeen and Inverness, may not all have been descended from the original stock of the Thanes of Fife. The family of the name which was afterwards to attain most consequence had for its founder (Adam Duff), tenant in Cluny Beg. One of the two sons of the farmer, born about 1598, by his remarkable shrewdness and sagacity, laid the foundation of the future greatness of his house. In the wars of Montrose and the Covenanters, he took part on the Royalist side, and was fined in consequence; but he died between 1674 and 1677 in possession of considerable wealth. His eldest son, Alexander Duff, took advantage of the great depression which prevailed in the country just before the Union with England, and purchased the lands of many of the old lairds in Banffshire and Aberdeenshire. Among the lands which he obtained on wadset or mortgage, and which the proprietors were never able to redeem, was Keithmore, a possession of the Huntly family, from which he took his designation as Alexander Duff of Keithmore. He also further advanced the family fortunes by marrying Helen, daughter of Grant of Ballentomb, ancestor of the lairds of Monymusk. This lady’s prudence and industry, not less than her wealth, went far to raise the fortunes of the family. The eldest son of the pair, again, Alexander Duff of Braco, continued to add to the family estates, which now included Aberlour, Keith-Grange, and Mortlach. |
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At the time of the union he was Member of Parliament for Banffshire. He and his son, William Duff of Braco, were men of great importance in their district. Among other events in which they were concerned was the arrest in romantic circumstances of the cateran James MacPherson. William Duff, however, died without a son, and the family estates passed to his uncle, another of the same name. This individual had already acquired immense wealth as a merchant in Inverness. According to Cosmo Innes, in Sketches of Early Scottish History, "He was a man of very general dealings—large and small. He could take charge of a commission for groceries, or advance the price of a barony, on good security. He had formed extensive connections, and was the first man in the north who dealt in money on a large scale, and he laid the foundation of a very noble fortune." This highly successful merchant acquired large estates in Morayshire, including Dipple and Pluscardine, and was known as William Duff of Dipple. On the death of his nephew, William Duff of Braco, in 1718, the older family estates also, as already mentioned, came into his possession, and when he died himself in 1722 he left his eldest son the landed proprietor with the largest rent-roll in the north of Scotland £6,500 sterling all clear. As a result that son, still another William Duff " of Braco and Dipple," was M.P. for Banffshire from 1727 to 1734. In the following year he was made Baron Braco of Kilbride in the peerage of Ireland, and twenty-four years later was raised to be Viscount Macduff and Earl Fife in that same peerage. He continued the policy of his family by purchasing further large estates in the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, and Moray, and managed all his possessions with much care and ability. Two years after his father’s death he rebuilt the castle of Balveny, and between 1740 and 1745 he built the splendid mansion of Duff House at a cost of £70,000. During the Jacobite rebellion in 1745 he joined the Duke of Cumberland, and offered the Government his free services in any way that might be desired. By his first wife, a daughter of the Earl of Findlater and Seafield, he had no children, but he married again, a daughter of Grant of Grant, and two of his sons in succession inherited the earldom. James, the elder of these, was Member of Parliament Successively for Banff and Elgin, and was made a peer of the United Kingdom as Baron Fife in 1790. By careful purchase he nearly doubled the size of the family estates, and he changed the name of the town of Doune, where Duff House was situated, to Macduff, procuring for the place at the same time a royal charter as a burgh. He married the only child of the ninth Earl of Caithness, but died without a son, when his peerage of the United Kingdom of course expired. His brother Alexander, who succeeded as third Earl in 1809, married a daughter of Skene of Skene, and in consequence his son James, who became the fourth Earl, succeeded to the estates of Skene and Cariston in 1827. This Earl. distinguished himself during the Peninsular War. He volunteered his services, became a Major-General in the Spanish army fighting against Napoleon, and was twice wounded, at the battle of Talavera and at the storming of Fort Matagorda near Cadiz. In consequence, he was made a Knight of the Order of St. Ferdinand of Spain and of the Sword of Sweden. He was also made a Knight of the Thistle and G.C.H., and in 1827 was made a peer of the United Kingdom as Baron Fife. In private life he was notable as an art collector, and the towns of Elgin, Banff, and Macduff owed much to his generosity. He died, however, without a son, and was succeeded by James, son of his, brother, Sir Alexander Duff of Delgaty Castle, as fifth Earl. This Earl’s wife was a daughter of the seventeenth Earl of Errol and Lady Elizabeth Fitz Clarence, daughter of King William IV. He was Lord-Lieutenant of Banffshire, and was made a peer of the United Kingdom as Baron Skene in 1857 and a Knight of the Thistle in 1860. The only son of this peer, who succeeded him in 1879, was Alexander William George, sixth Earl Fife, who was to be the last male of the more modern line. Before succeeding to the peerage he became Lord-Lieutenant of Elginshire, and he was M.P. for Elgin and Nairn from 1874. He was also Captain of the Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, and was a highly popular peer. The climax of the fortunes of his family was reached when in 1889 he married Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise, eldest daughter of the Prince of Wales, afterwards the late King Edward. Already, in 1889, he had been created an Earl of the United Kingdom, and two days after his marriage he was made a Duke. In 1900, seeing he had no sons, he was further created Earl of Macduff and Duke of Fife, with special remainder to his first and other daughters by the Princess Louise, and their male issue, and in 1905 his wife received the title of the Princess Royal, while her daughters were ordained to bear the title of Princess and to rank immediately after all members of the Royal Family bearing the style of Royal Highness. A great sensation was caused, when in 1912, the vessel in which the Duke and his Duchess, with their two daughters, were sailing to the east, was shipwrecked in the Mediterranean. None of the family was drowned, but the Duke’s health gave way, and he died shortly afterwards. He was succeeded in the honours and estates of the dukedom by his elder daughter, Her Highness the Princess Alexandra Victoria Duff, who in the following year married H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught. The ancient line of the Duffs, therefore, has now merged in a branch of the reigning house of these realms. Clan MacDuff had been the premier clan of mediaeval Scotland, and the chieftains of their most prominent branch were hereditary Abbots or Lords of Abernethy. The chiefship is presently dormant the crest & mottoes given belong to Duff of Braco,the last identified chief. |
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What is a clan? A clan is a social group made up of a number of distinct branch-families that actually descended from, or accepted themselves as descendants of, a common ancestor. The word clan means simply children. The idea of the clan as a community is necessarily based around this idea of heredity and is most often ruled according to a patriarchal structure. For instance, the clan chief represented the hereditary "parent" of the entire clan. The most prominent example of this form of society is the Scottish Clan system. |
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MacDuff Castle / Tower 
A ruined 14c keep and courtyard. The oldest part is a gate-tower at one end of the main block. The keep was enclosed by a curtain wall with ranges of buildings, none of which remain. An outer courtyard with towers was added. We missed most of the lower parts of the castle -- we didn't know it was down there by the beach. There may have been a castle here for the Macduff Thanes or Earls of Fife in the 11th century. The existing castle was built by the Wemyss family in the 14th century, then it belonged to the Livingstones, who in 1530 exchanged it for other lands with the Colvilles of Ochiltree. In 1630, it returned to the Wemyss, but was unused, although apparently kept in good repair, for in 1666, the Countess of Sutherland stayed here with her her children during a plague in Edinburgh. The tower is cracking precariously, and to keep it from collapsing entirely, the upper parts of the keep were dismantled in 1967. The rubble buries quite a lot of the vaulted basements. The castle is reputed to be haunted by the ghost of a woman, a "Grey Lady", who walks the grounds at night. She is said to be the ghost of Mary Sibbald, who was found guilty of thievery and died from the resultant punishment. This was a very small castle, as you can see by the size of the remaining shell. The floor of the tower, which is over vaulted basements, is solid and was probably repaired fairly recently. The wall of the tower is cracked, and while you can rationalize that it probbaly isn't going to fall at this moment it's still hard to walk inside the shell of the tower. When the top of the castle was demolished in 1867, the rubble fell into the vaulted rooms below and they are mostly destroyed as well. 
Artist recreation of MacDuff Castle |
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The MacDuff Cross 
Specifics Category B listed granite cross incorporating small carved plaque at apex, inscribed narrow slabs as arms mounted on square tooled granite plinth. Carving on apex depicts a figure on horseback and bears the arms of the Earl of Fife. Dated 1783 but incorporating earlier fragments. The cross bears the inscription: Macduff Cross. Rebuilt at Macduff by the Earl of Fife, 1783 when the town was constituted a Royal Burgh by George III. May it flourish, increase in number and opulence, while it's inhabitants gain the blessing of life by industry, diligence and temperance." The words on the inscription are taken to refer to the fact that a stone was taken from the ancient Macduff Cross in Fife and built into the Macduff one, to form some sort of symbolic connection between the ancient and modern bearers of the name Macduff. At the beginning of the last century it was popular for youths to light fires at the foot of the cross. As a result the cross fell and is now shorter. |
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Thistles, the flower of Scotland 
As the story goes, a long time ago when Scotland was being ravaged by Viking invaders, prior to the Battle of Largs in 1263, a group of Scottish fighting men were resting overnight in a field. Unknown to them, a raiding party was preparing to attack this group of Scots, under cover of darkness. As the attacking Vikings approached the encamped Scots, they stood on a patch of Thistles with their bare feet and let out cries of pain as the thorns dug deep into their feet. The Scots, having been awakened by the noise were able to fight off the attackers and drive them back across the North Sea. Decisive in terms of ending the threat of the Norsemen, so from that day, the Thistle has been adopted as Scotland' s national symbol. One of the proudest orders of knighthood, called the "Order of the Thistle", or "Order of St. Andrew", was established in 1540 by King James V of Scotland. 
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The Flag of Scotland 
According to legend, the white St Andrew's cross in a blue sky was seen before an important battle in the 9th or 10th century. When the Scots won, the symbols became the national flag. |
