THE THANAGES AND THEIR EXTINCTION.
[Sidenote: Review of the Thanages and their conversion into Baronies.]
Such being the process by which the ancient tribe in the eastern
districts passed into the thanage, the events which followed the death
of Alexander the Third produced a change which entirely altered this
position, so that the thanage in its original form may be said to have
ceased with the dynasty of kings of which he was the last. The war with
England which followed, the conflict between two families of Norman
descent for the succession to the crown, the numerous confiscations of
their respective partisans which accompanied it and led to their
possessions falling to the Crown and the final establishment of a Norman
dynasty of kings, naturally created a great revolution in the
land-tenure of Scotland; the extension of the feudal holding of ward and
relief became the established policy of the Crown, and the ancient
Celtic tenures gradually gave way before the advancing feudalism, and
eventually disappeared under its influence.
After the wars of independence and succession we find most of the
thanages had reverted to the Crown, and they were usually re-granted to
Norman barons on a feudal tenure for military service. This will be
illustrated by three charters of David the Second, all granted in the
same year. By the first he infefts his cousin, Walter de Lesly, knight,
heritably in the thanage of Aberkerdor and its pertinents in the county
of Banff, and in the thanages of Kyncardyn; and then follows this
instructive clause:—‘Yet because perchance the heirs of the thanes who
anciently held these thanages in feu-farm might recover these thanages
to be held in future as their predecessors held them, we grant to our
said cousin, that if these heirs, or any of them, recover these
thanages, or any of them, our said cousin and his heirs shall hold and
possess the services of the heirs or heir of the said thanes or thane,
and the feu-duties or feu-duty anciently due from the thanages or
thanage.’ This clause seems to have interposed no obstacle to the feudal
tenure of the thanages being completed, for it is followed by two
charters to Walter de Lesly,—one of the fee of the thanages of
Kyncardin, Aberluthnot, and Fettercairn, with their bondmen, bondages,
and followers, and erecting the same into a feudal barony, with the
usual jurisdiction, and under the obligation of rendering military
service; and another of the thanage of Aberkerdor, likewise erected into
a barony in similar terms.[313]
A review of the thanages still existing at this time, with such
information as the records afford us, will complete this view of their
position.
[Sidenote: Thanages in Moray and Ross.]
Beginning with the north, we find in the great province of Moray and
Ross but one thanage situated north of the Moray Firth, that of
Dingwall; but we have merely a mention of its name in 1382 and 1383,
when Euphame, lady of Ross, resigned the thanage and castle of Dingwall
in the hands of the king for a re-grant.[314] Of the mythic thanage of
Crumbachtyn or Cromarty, with which Wynton invests the usurper Macbeth,
we find no trace whatever. Proceeding to the southern shores of the
Moray Firth, we find a belt of thanages extending from the river Nairn
to the Spey. Between the river Nairn and the burn of Lethen, which falls
into the Findhorn near its junction with the sea, lay the four thanages
of Dyke, Brodie, Moyness, and Cawdor. In a charter by Alexander the
Second to the bishop of Moray, in the twenty-fourth year of his reign
(1238), he grants twenty-four marks of the feu-duty (_feodofirma_) of
Moythus or Moyness and sixteen marks of the feu-duty of Dike and
Brothyn, by the hands of his _feodifirmarii_ of these lands.[315] In an
Extent of the lands of Kylravoc and Estir Gedeys in 1295, William, thane
of Moythes, and Donald, thane of Kaledor or Caldor, are among the
jurors; and in 1311 Michael, son of Malcolm, thane of Dyke and Brodie,
is mentioned; but it is only with regard to the thanedom of Caldor that
we have any information beyond the mere mention of the name. There is
preserved at Caldor an original charter by Robert the First to William,
thane of Caldor, in which he grants to him in feu-farm (_ad
feodofirmam_) the whole thanage of Caldor, with its pertinents, for an
annual payment of twelve marks, as was wont to be paid in the time of
Alexander, king of Scotland, our predecessor last deceased, to be held
by him and his heirs of us and our heirs heritably in feu-farm,
rendering to us the service due and wont to be rendered in the time of
King Alexander.[316] This charter refers back to the time before the war
of independence, when the thanage-tenure was still preserved intact. The
thanage appears afterwards to have been held of the earls of Ross, but
in the forfeiture of the earl of Ross in 1475 it fell once more to the
Crown, and is confirmed by King James the Second to William, thane of
Caldor; and his whole lands are erected of new into a thanage, with the
privileges of a barony, and the feudal holding by ward and relief is
combined with the customary annual payment,—thus retaining the name of a
thanage while the character of the tenure is altered.[317] Among the
lands incorporated in the new thanage were lands in the parish of
Urquhart in the Black Isle, detached from the old thanage, and they
afford a curious instance of the retention of the old Celtic name by a
Gaelic-speaking population, for these lands became known by the term of
_Fearintosh_ or the _Toishach’s_ land. Between the Lethen Burn and the
Lossie lay the extensive thanage of Moravia or Moray, of which the
forest of Darnaway appears to have formed a part.[318] We find this
thanage mentioned in the Records, but have no particulars of its
history; but it is no doubt from it that the family of De Moravia took
its name, the earliest possession of this family having been Duffus,
which, if not a part of it, was at least adjacent to the thanage.
On both sides of the Lossie lay the thanage of Kilmalemnok, the greater
part of which forms the parish of St. Andrews; and a charter by
Archibald, Earl of Douglas, to James Douglas of Balvany, confirmed by
King James the First, includes ‘all his lands lying in the thaynedomes
in the lordship of Kilmalaman.’[319] The only other thanage in this
province of which any mention is preserved was that situated in the
interior of the country, as in 1367 Joannes de Dolais was thane of
Cromdale, a district on the river Spey, at some distance from its
mouth.[320] Besides the mention of these thanages, which are mainly to
be found in the more level districts adjacent to the sea, we are not
without indications that the different classes which, according to
Fordun, were connected with the thanages, likewise existed in the
interior districts of this province. Thus in an agreement between the
bishop of Moray and Walter Cumyn, between A.D. 1224 and 1233, regarding
lands in Badenoch, it is provided with regard to the native-men
(_nativi_), that the bishop shall have all the cleric and two lay
native-men—viz. Gyllemaluock Macnakeeigelle and Sythad mac Mallon, with
all their chattels and possessions, and with their children and all
their posterity, and the chattels of their children; and Walter Cumyn to
have all the other lay native-men of lands in Badenoch; and when, after
the war of independence, Robert the Bruce erected the whole lands
extending from the Spey to the Western Sea into an earldom of Moray in
favour of his nephew Thomas Randolph, the earldom was granted, with all
its manors, burgh townships, and thanages, and all the royal demesnes,
rents, and duties, and all barons and freeholders (_libere tenentes_) of
the said earldom, who hold of the Crown _in capite_, and their heirs
were to render their homages, fealties, attendance at courts, and all
other services, to Thomas Randolph and his heirs, and to hold their
baronies and tenements of him and his heirs, reserving to the barons and
freeholders the rights and liberties of their own courts according to
use and wont; and Thomas Randolph was to render to the king the Scottish
service and aid due as heretofore for each davach of land.[321]
[Sidenote: Thanages in Mar and Buchan.]
Crossing the Spey and entering the province of Mar and Buchan, a rental
of the crown lands in the reign of Alexander Third furnishes us with the
names of ten thanages, with their yearly values. These are Aberdeen,
Kyntor, Fermartyn, Obyne, Glendowachy, Aberkirdor, Conuath, Bugh,
Munbre, Natherdale.[322] Of these thanages we find a line extending from
the shore of the Moray Firth to the eastern sea at Aberdeen, and
separating the eastern portion of Buchan from the inland districts on
the west. The first of these thanages extends along the shore from
Cullen to Banff, and includes the parishes of Boyndie, Fordyce,
Deskford, and Ordiquhill, forming the greater part of the district of
Boyne, which, with that of Enzie, makes up the modern county of Banff.
It consisted of two parts,—the thanage of Boyne properly so called,
containing the parish of Boyndie and parts of Fordyce and Banff, and the
forest of Boyne adjoining it in the south. Of the early history of this
thanage we have no information, till we find it converted into a feudal
barony by King David II., who grants a charter in 1368 to John de
Edmounstone of his whole lands of his thanage of Boyne, with an annual
rent of four pounds from the town of Banff, to be held as a barony, with
the tenandries and services and homages of the freeholders
(_liberetenentium_). The forest of Boyne appears to have remained in the
Crown.[323]
East of this thanage was that of Glendowachy, also called Doune, which,
in the Rental of Alexander the Third is valued at twenty pounds yearly.
It appears to have been granted by Robert the First to Hugh, earl of
Ross, but in 1382 Robert the Second grants to John Lyounn, knight, the
whole lands of the thanage of Glendowachy, which had fallen to him by
escheat from the late William, earl of Ross, who had alienated it
without the royal consent—to be held by him for the accustomed services.
Adjacent was the small thanage of Munbre, valued in the Rental at
thirty-four pounds eight shillings and eightpence.[324]
South of these thanages lay those of Aberkerdor and Natherdale,
co-extensive with the parish of Marnoch, and that of Conveth, with the
parish of Inverkeithnie. Of these thanages we have some information
prior to the war of independence. Between 1286 and 1289, Simon, thane of
Aberkerdor, founds the chapel of Saint Menimius on the banks of the
Dovern, and grants certain lands to it; and in an inquisition regarding
this foundation in 1369, it is found that Simon was thane of the two
thanages of Conveth and Aberkerdor, and owing to derelict against the
king he had seized both thanages, on which Simon made over six davachs
of Conveth to the earl of Buchan, in order that he might recover the
other thanage of Aberkerdor, and founded the chapel in consequence. He
appears to have had an only daughter and heiress, and the thanage of
Aberkerdor is found in the Crown in the reign of David II., who includes
it in the grant to Walter de Leslie formerly noticed,[325] in whose
favour it was erected into a barony.
From the thanage of Conveth, co-extensive with the parish of
Inverkeithnie, to the eastern seaboard between the Ythan and the Don,
lay the extensive thanage of Fermartyn, the principal seat of which was
Fyvie. Its annual value in the reign of Alexander the Third was 120
marks, and it appears to have been farmed by a tenant, as _Reginald
Firmarius de Fermartyn_ accounts in the Chamberlain Rolls of that reign
for its _firma_ or rent.[326] It consisted, like other large thanages,
of thanage and forest, and among the missing charters of Robert the
First is one to Sir John Broun of the thanage of Fermartyn, and another
to Patrick de Monteath of the office of forestership of Killanell and
Fermartyn, showing that the forest had become a royal forest; David the
Second, however, grants one-half of his thanage of Fermartyn to William,
earl of Sutherland, for his life, with its tenandries and services of
the freeholders (_liberetenencium_), and with its bondmen, and their
bondage services, native-men and their followers, to be held in free
barony, and his heirs to hold it in ward and relief. The other half of
the thanage was held, as appears by the Chamberlain Rolls, by Thomas
Isaak, but it appears to have again fallen to the Crown, and is finally
granted by King Robert the Third as a barony to Henry de Prestoune, with
the town and castle of Fyvie.[327] Adjacent to Fermartyn on the
sea-coast was the smaller thanage of Belhelvie. We know nothing of its
history as a thanage prior to the war of independence, but in 1323
Robert the Bruce confirms to Hugo de Barclay for his homage and service
the lordship of the thanage of Belhelvie, with the lands of Westerton,
Keer, and Egie, within the said thanage, with the office of sergand, and
the _Can_ of the church land of Belhelvie, extending to forty-pound land
and rent, to be held as a free barony, rendering the Scottish service
pertaining to a forty-pound land, and the lands to return to the king on
failure of heirs of the body.[328]
Between the rivers Dee and Don, which formed the old earldom of Mar,
were five thanages. The old town of Aberdeen, on the south bank of the
Don, near its junction with the sea, appears as a thanage in the reign
of Alexander the Third. It is included as such in the Rental of the
crown lands with the annual value of fifty merks, and in the Chamberlain
Rolls for 1264 the sheriff accounts for twelve pounds received from the
thane of Aberdeen; while in 1358 one-half of the thanage of Aberdeen
appears in the Crown, and the other half in the hands of John Herys by
concession of the king.[329] One of the missing charters of the reign of
Robert the First is one to the burgh of Aberdeen of the forest of
Stocket, which was no doubt the forest of the thanage. It merges after
this time in the town and town lands of Aberdeen.
One of the most important and instructive thanages between Don and Dee
was that of Kyntor, now Kintore. It appears in the Rental of the crown
lands in the reign of Alexander the Third, with the annual value of 101
merks, and in the Chamberlain Rolls of 1264 the sheriff receives £17 :
13 : 4 from the thane of Kintor. This thanage was of considerable
extent, and, with the exception of a small part on the north side of the
Don, extends along that river on its south side for about ten miles, and
approaches on the south-east to within a mile of the river Dee. In that
part of the thanage which is separated from the rest by the river Don is
the church of Kinkell, a name which signifies the chief _Cill_ or
church. This church had several chapels dependent upon it. Five of these
were the chapels of Kintore, Kemnay, Kinnellar, Skene, and Dyce, all now
erected into separate parishes, and this gives us the extent of the
ancient thanage. Part of the old parish of Kinkell lay on the south side
of the river Don, and this part formed the lands of Thaneston, or the
Thane’s town. South of it lay the forest of Kintore, with the ancient
keep of Hallforest. The name of the thanage, Kintore, contains the same
prefix of _Kin_ or _Ceann_, signifying chief, and the latter part of the
word is probably _Torr_, a mound or castle. These two names of Kinkell
and Kintore—the one the name of the principal church, the other that of
the thanage, or tribe territory which surrounded it—illustrate a passage
in the Book of Deer, where we find mention of the burdens that fall ‘on
the chief tribe residences of Scotland generally and on the chief
churches’ (_Ardmandaidib_, _Ardchellaib_). The charters which follow the
war of independence show very clearly the different classes by whom the
thanage was occupied. In 1324 Robert the First confirms to Robert de
Keith all the lands and tenements he held of the Crown _in capite_, and
these include the forest of Kintore;[330] but in the following reign it
appears to have been in the Crown, as David II. dates several of his
charters from his manor of the forest of Kyntor;[331] but in 1407
Robert, duke of Albany, confirms a charter by William de Keith to his
son Robert de Keith of the lands and barony of Aldene, and of the forest
of Kyntor, with the freeholders (_liberetenentibus_) of said lands and
their services.[332] The thanage itself forms the subject of other
grants. In 1375 Robert the Second grants to John de Dunbarre, earl of
Moray, all and whole our lands of the thanage of Kyntor, reserving,
however, the tenandries, freeholders (_liberetenentibus_), lands of the
freeholders, and the _Cans_, due to us from the said thanage, to be held
as a barony, with the bondmen, bond services, native-men and their
followers, for military service. This is followed by another charter in
1383, in which the lands of the thanage of Kyntor are granted, along
with the tenandries, freeholders, and lands of the freeholders, and
_Cans_ due from the thanage reserved in the previous charter, but still
reserving the tenandry of Thaynston. This tenandry appears, however, to
have passed likewise to the earl of Moray, and to have been held under
him by a family of the name of Gothynnis, and to have fallen to
co-heirs, for in 1450 Katerina de Gothynnis sells to Thomas Wardrop the
fourth part of the lands of Thaneston, in the thanage of Kyntor, and the
fourth part of the annual rent of Kynkell. In 1465 James III. confirms
to Thomas Wardrope of Gottinys the lands of Thaneston, with the annual
rent of ten shillings from the lands of Kynkell; and in 1467 Alexander
Wardrope sells the lands of Thaneston, and the annual rent of thirty
shillings from the lands of Kynkell, along with the township of
Foulartoun, adjacent to said lands of Thaneston, in the thanage of
Kyntor, and all _Cans_ of oats and cheese, and all money in name of
_Ferchane_ due to him and his heirs from the lands of Kynkell and Dyse,
within the said thanedom, rendering to our lord the king the usual and
customary services.[333] The word here used of _Ferchane_ is the Gaelic
equivalent of _manred_ or _manrent_, the homage and service due by a
bondman, which was by this time very generally commuted to a money
payment, as we see from a rental of the bishopric of Aberdeen, dated in
1511, where the rent of each holding paid in kind concludes with a sum
of money amounting to 3s. 4d. for each two ploughgates, _pro bondagio_,
in lieu of the services of the bondmen.[334]
On Deeside, at some distance from its mouth, were three thanages—those
of O’Neill, Birse, and Aboyne. The thanage of O’Neill is merely
mentioned in a list of the second tithes due to the bishop of Aberdeen,
who drew tithe from it, but as it is not contained in the rental of the
crown lands in the reign of Alexander the Third, and the lands of
O’Neill had fallen in that reign to the great nobleman Alan Durward, in
part of a succession derived from the earls of Mar, it is probable that
was a thanage held of these earls. The thanage of Birse lies on the
south side of the river Dee, and is separated from O’Neill by that
river, and of this thanage we have a very early notice, for King William
the Lion in 1170 grants to the bishop of Aberdeen his whole lands of
Brass, now Birse, consisting of sixteen townships under the kirkton or
church land, and likewise the royal forest of Brass, with all the
native-men of these lands, the thanes, however, being excepted. This
exception is somewhat similar to the grant of the thanage of Kyntor with
the exception of Thaneston, and as Thaneston was eventually conveyed by
the Crown, so by a subsequent charter in 1241 Alexander the Second
confers upon the bishops the right to hold the whole lands of Birse in
free forest without excepting the thane’s land, and thus terminated the
thanage.[335] Farther up the Dee was the thanage of Obeyn, now Aboyne,
from which likewise the bishop draws second tithes. In 1328 we find this
thanage mentioned in the Exchequer Rolls as being then in the hands of
Sir Alexander Fraser heritably. The _firma_ or rent of this thanage,
amounting to £100, belonged in 1348 to the queen.[336]
[Sidenote: Thanages in Angus and Mearns.]
Separated in part by the river Dee and in part by the great chain of the
Mounth, and extending south as far as the Firth of Tay, lay the great
province of Angus and Mearns. The latter earldom, which was much the
smaller of the two, seems from an early period to have fallen to the
Crown, and upwards of two-thirds of its territory was composed of
thanages. These form two groups. The first extended from the river Dee
to the Eastern Sea at Stonehaven, cutting off the north-east corner of
the earldom, and consisted of the two thanages of Durris and Colly or
Cowie. Both thanages were in the Crown as early as 1264, when we find
the sheriff of Kincardine charging the expense of repairing the houses
of Collyes and Durris, and both possessed forests which had become royal
forests, for we find John, earl of Buchan, _custos_ or keeper of these
forests in 1292.[337] The earl of Buchan was forfeited in 1305, and
twenty years after, in 1328, King Robert the First grants to Sir
Alexander Fraser and his son John, the king’s nephew, the forest of
Cragy, in the thanage of Cowie, afterwards called the forest of Cowie,
and in the same year there is the note of a missing charter to Sir
Alexander Fraser of the thanage of Cowie.[338] There is also a notice of
a missing charter of King David the Second to William Fraser and
Margaret Murray his spouse of the thanage of Durris and thanage of
Collie, which thanage of Collie was Alexander Fraser his father’s, with
the lands of Eskyltul, in Kincardine. In 1359 we find the bishop of St.
Andrews accused of having unjustly obtained the _Cans_ of the kirkton of
Durris, but the sheriff, William de Keth, charges himself with the
_firma_ of the thanages of Colly and Durris, but not the forest of
Colly, which is said to be in his hands by concession of the king.[339]
In 1369 King David II. grants to Alexander Fraser the lands of the
thanage of Durris, which is erected into a barony,[340] and the thanage
of Cowie shared the same fate, as, though no charter is extant,
Alexander Fraser, lord of the baronies of Colly and of Durris, grants in
1400 a charter in favour of his son of certain lands in the barony of
Durris, which is confirmed by the king.[341] Robert de Keith, son of
William de Keith and Margaret Fraser, gets a charter from Robert II. of
‘the forest of Colly, the forest called the forest of the Month, the
lands of Ferachy, Glastolach, Cragy, Clochnahull, whilk of old was of
the thanage of Colly and vicecom. Kincardin.’[342]
The other group of thanages forms the southern part of Mearns, and
extends from the Grampians to the sea. The most westerly are those
styled the thanages of Kyncarden, and consist of those of Kyncarden,
Fettercairn, and Aberbuthnot. These three thanages, with the park of
Kyncardyn, the castle and the _Cans_ of the same, appear in 1359 as in
the hands of the Earl of Sutherland by royal concession.[343] Kincardine
was from an early period a royal seat, and Robert the First confirms to
Alexander Fraser six arable acres in the tenement of Auchincarie
adjoining the royal manor of Kincardine. It embraces the greater part of
the parish of Fordun, and as we find in it the name of Kinkell, there
may probably have been a chief church corresponding to the name of
Kincardine, as the same term of Kinkell did to Kintore. The thanage of
Fettercairn is co-extensive with the parish of that name, and contained
in it lands called the Thanestone, that of Aberluthnot with the parish
of Marykirk. How these three thanages became converted into feudal
baronies has already been noticed. On the west side of Fettercairn was
the small thanage of Newdosk, which once formed a parish, now united to
Edzell. Among the notices of missing charters is one by David II. to
Ronald Chene of the thayndom of Newdoskis, and in 1365 he grants to Sir
Alexander de Lyndesay all his lands in the thanage of Newdosk, to be
held as a free barony.[344]
On the west side of Kincardine was the important thanage of Aberbuthnot,
now Arbuthnot. It contained twenty-three townships, beside the kirkton
or church land of Arbuthnot. This thanage appears originally to have
been co-extensive with the parish of Arbuthnot, and to have been broken
up by King William the Lion, who grants the lands of Altrethis, now
Allardyce, to the ancestor of that family, and the thanage itself to
Osbert Olifard the crusader, while the lands of Kair, consisting of four
townships, and those of Inchbreck, appear as separate possessions. The
entire parish appears to have contained fifty-four ploughgates of land,
giving an average of two ploughgates or a half davach to each township;
but in the eighteenth century the separate possessions consisted of
fourteen farms of two ploughgates each, twenty-two of one ploughgate,
five of half a ploughgate, and six of a quarter ploughgate or
husbandland.[345] This is probably a fair enough picture of how the land
had been occupied in older days by the different classes of its
possessors, and if the ploughgate in the main represents the Welsh
_Tref_ the entire thanage in its oldest state was the equivalent of the
Welsh _Cymwd_.
A curious insight into the ancient state of this thanage is given us by
a document, the original of which is preserved at Arbuthnot House. It is
a decreet of the Synod of Perth in a cause betwixt William, bishop of
St. Andrews, and Duncan de Aberbuthenot, in the year 1202. The church of
Arbuthnot was in the diocese of St. Andrews, and the question related to
the respective rights of the bishops of St. Andrews and of the
Arbuthnots, who represented the old thanes, in the kirkton or church
lands of Arbuthnot, and it preserves the evidence of the witnesses who
were examined. The inquiry extends over a period of more than half a
century, and during the episcopate of four bishops. During the
episcopate of Richard, who became bishop in 1163, Osbertus Olifard
appears as lord of the land, and the kirkton is occupied by a multitude
of _Scolocs_. Then in the time of Bishop Hugo his successor Osbertus
Olifard goes on a crusade, and lets the land to Ysaac de Bonevin for six
years, who is termed _firmarius_, and the kirkton was then occupied by
eight holders called _personæ_, having under them people having houses
and pasturing beasts. Then, in the time of Bishop Roger, Walter Olifard,
the next lord, gave his land of Arbuthnot to Hugo Swintun for his
service, and his son Duncan was called De Aberbuthnot, removed the
_Scolocs_, also called the native-men, from the kirkton, and first
cultivated their land, that is, added it to his own demesne. These
lords, from Osbert Olifard to Duncan of Aberbuthnot, evidently
represented the old thanes, as it is said that no thane before Duncan
had ever cultivated this land, nor that any thane had put a plough in
that land before Duncan did so. Osbert Olifard, however, was, from his
name, a Norman intruder, who had obtained it from the Crown after the
thanages became crown land, and it seems to have passed in this way
through many hands, as one witness had seen thirteen thanes possessing
the land, but none of whom had vexed the men of the kirkton before
Duncan. The result of the inquiry was that the bishop was entitled to
_Conveth_ from the men of the kirkton, and to a rent of two cows, and
one-half of the _blodwits_ and _mercets_, but the thane received the
_Can_ and ten cheeses from each house in the kirkton, three men for
harvest from each house, and men for the _Expeditio_ or _Feacht_.[346]
This Duncan de Aberbuthnot was the ancestor of the noble family of
Arbuthnot, who afterwards held the thanage as a barony.
Next to Aberbuthnot was the small thanage of Morphie. It is mentioned in
1362 in the Exchequer Rolls, and among the missing charters by David II.
are two of annual rents furth of the thanage of Morphie.[347] It is
situated in the parish of St. Cyrus, formerly called Ecclesgreig, and
here we come in contact with another designation of land which we
noticed in a previous volume, viz., that of the _Abbacia_ or
_Abthanrie_.[348] This was land which had formerly belonged to an abbey
or monastery of the Columban Church, but had fallen to the Crown either
by the monastery falling into the hands of lay abbots or by its
extinction, and when they became crown lands we find them classed with
the thanages. These _Abthanries_ are in the main confined to the country
lying between the great mountain chain of the Mounth and the Firth of
Forth; and the first we meet with is that of Ecclesgreig, which was
granted by King William the Lion to the priory of St. Andrews. By his
charter the king conveys the church of Ecclesgreig, with the chapel of
St. Regulus, and with the half carucate or ploughland in which it is
situated, and with the land of the _abbacia_ of Ecclesgreig, according
to its ancient rights, and with its common pasture, canons, and men, and
with my thane and my men throughout the whole parish of Ecclesgreig. The
thane here mentioned seems to have been the thane of Morphie, as that
thanage was within the parish, the rest of the land forming the
_abbacia_ or _abthanrie_; and the thanage appears to have passed into
the hands of David, earl of Huntingdon, as King Alexander the Second
confirms the above grant with the exception of his thane and his men,
and Earl David grants to the priory of St. Andrews ‘the whole _Can_ and
_Conveth_ which the canons were due to him for the land of Ecclesgreig,
and the services which their men were bound to render to him, which is
confirmed by Earl John, his son.’[349]
When we enter the earldom of Angus, which forms the southern and larger
part of this province, we find that the thanages lie more apart, and
bear a less proportion in extent to the whole land of the earldom. This
arises from its greater importance, from its situation, its size, and
the character of the land as a part of the territory in the heart of the
kingdom, and the greater extent to which the land had been granted to
foreign barons as feudal holdings. The oldest mention of the thanages in
this earldom is in connection with the grants to the very ancient church
of Restennot, near Forfar. A charter by David the Second in 1344
narrates that the kings Malcolm (Ceannmor), Alexander (the First), and
David (the First), had granted to the prior and canons of Restennot,
besides other donations, the tithe of all the fruits of their thanages
and demesne lands, whether in money or in kind, within the sheriffdom of
Forfar, which he confirms; and King Robert Bruce, in a charter
confirming various rights and privileges to the prior and canons of
Roustinot in 1322, which they had possessed in the time of Alexander the
Third, includes the sum of twenty shillings and tenpence received
annually from the thanage of _Thanachayis_ or Tannadyce, and the second
tithes of the thanages of Old Monros, Duney, Glammes, Kingaltevy, and
_Aberlemenach_ or Aberlemno, and likewise of the three bondages or
servile lands of Forfar, viz., Trebog, Balmeshenor, and Esterforfar, six
merks from the barony of Ketnes, and forty shillings and a stone of wax
from the barony of Brechen; while a decreet of the deputies of the earl
of Ross, as Justiciary of Scotland north of the Forth in 1347, finds
that the prior was entitled to payment of the tithes of the thanages of
Monyfoth and Menmur, as well as the other thanages and and royal lands
within the shire of Forfar.[350]
The thanages within the earldom of Angus fall into two groups in the
northern and southern parts of the earldom respectively. Of the northern
group the beautiful valley of Clova, through which flow the upper waters
of the South Esk, forms the most westerly of the thanages, that of
Cloveth or Clova. In 1328 King Robert Bruce grants to Donald, earl of
Mar, his whole thanage of Cloveth, with two pendicles of land called
Petnocys, to be held in fee and heritage for payment of a _firma_ of
twenty pounds, and rendering the carriages and other small services due
and customary in the time of Alexander the Third;[351] and in 1359 the
sheriff of Forfar debits himself with nothing from the thanage of
Cloveth and the two Lethnottys, which return annually forty-two pounds,
because it is in the hands of the earl of Mar, but by what title he
knows not.[352] Here we find the pendicles of land termed Petnocys in
the charter are called Lethnottys in the rolls, which throws some light
on the meaning of Pit as a denomination of land. Leth means the half of
anything, and, as we have seen, was applied to the half of a penny land.
It here probably refers to the half of a ‘villa’ or township expressed
by ‘villula.’ Clova appears in the Record of Retours as a barony
containing the kirkton and other seven townships, and as having a
manor-place, mill, glens, and forests.[353]
Proceeding along the course of the South Esk, we find on its north bank
the thanages of Kingaltevy and Tannadyce, forming the parish of that
name. The thanage of Kingaltevy appears to have remained in the Crown as
late as the reign of Robert the Second, as that king grants in 1386 to
Sir Walter de Ogilvy for his service an annual rent of twenty-nine
pounds due and arising to him from the thanage of Kyngaltevy in the
sheriffdom of Forfar, but it appears in the retours as a barony.[354]
The thanage of Tannadyce, however, was granted by David the Second first
to Peter Prendergast, and afterwards to Sir John de Logy and the heirs
of his body, to be held blank for payment of a red falcon; and in
connection with this thanage we have a manumission by the same monarch,
the terms of which it will be interesting to preserve. It is termed a
charter of liberty, and is addressed to all good men to whom these
presents may come, and proceeds thus:—‘Be it known to you, that we have
made William the son of John bearer of these presents, who, as we are
told, was our serf and native man of our thanage of Tannadyce, within
the sheriffdom of Forfar, our free man, as well as all who proceed from
him, so that he and all proceeding from him, with all his progeny, shall
be free to dwell within our kingdom wherever he will; and we grant to
the said William and all proceeding from him that they shall be free and
quit of all native servitude in future.’[355] In the retours this
thanage too appears as a barony.[356]
Adjoining Tannadyce on the east, but on the south bank of the river, was
the thanage of _Aberlemenach_ or Aberlemno. Among the missing charters
of King Robert Bruce is one to William Dishington of Balgassie, in the
thanage of Aberlemnoche, and two to William Blunt, one termed ‘ane
bounding infeft’ of the thanage of Aberlemnoche, and the other ‘of the
mains of Aberlemnoche bounding;’[357] but in 1365 King David the Second
grants to Sir William de Dysschynton his lands of Balmany and mill of
Aberlemnache, and his lands of Tolyquonloch, and the annual rent of
Flemyngton, in the thanage of Aberlemnache, for military service.[358]
North of Aberlemno, and separated from it by the parish of Brechin lay
the thanage of Menmuir. This thanage appears in the reign of David the
Second as possessed by three persons, for he confirms a charter granted
to the prior and canons of Rostynot by Andrew Dempster, Finlay, son of
William, and John de Cullus, lords of the lands of Menmuir, regarding
the tithes of these lands,[359] and in the retours it appears as a
barony.
On the shore in the north-east corner of Angus was the thanage of Old
Monros or Monrose, and like Morphie this thanage was connected with an
_abthanrie_, for King William the Lion, in his foundation charter of the
monastery of Aberbrothok, includes in his grant the church of St. Mary
of Old Monros, with the church land, which in Scotch is called _Abthen_;
and in a subsequent charter grants to Hugo de Robesburg, his cleric, the
lands of the abbacy of Munros, to be held of the monastery of
Arbroath.[360] Two thanages are mentioned in close vicinity to it. On
the south bank of the Esk was the thanage of Kynnaber, from which an
annual rent of seven merks was granted by King Robert I. in 1325 to
David de Grame; and on the south side of the water of Luan was the
thanage of Edevyn, now Idvies. Two thanes are mentioned, viz., Gilys
Thayn de Edevy in 1219, and Malys de Edevyn in 1254, but we have no
further information with regard to either.[361] On the shore farther
south was the thanage of Inverkeillor. This thanage appears as early as
the reign of William the Lion to have been held feudally by the family
of De Berkeley, for Walter de Berkeley grants to the church of Saint
Macconoc of Innerkeledur (Inverkeillor), and Master Henry, its parson,
the king’s cleric and mine, the _Grescane_, and every service which the
church land and the men dwelling theron were wont to render to the
Thanes of Inverkeillor, and afterwards to myself; and frees them from
the _Grescane_ and every cane and rent belonging to us or to any lay
person, with the right of common pasturage along with him and his men
throughout the whole territory of Inverkeillor. This grant is confirmed
by King William,[362] and presents an analogous case to that of
Arbuthnot, whose cane was payable by the kirkton or church land to the
thanes, and afterwards to the feudal lord.
Of the southern group of thanages the most westerly, situated in the
south-west corner of Angus, was the thanage of Kathenes or Kettins, the
only notice of which is the appearance in 1264 of Eugenius, thane of
Kathenes, as possessing a large grange;[363] but there appears to have
been in connection with it an _abthanrie_, as certain lands in the
parish are termed in the retours ‘the lands called Abden of Ketins,’
They form but a small part of the parish, the larger portion probably
forming the thanage. North-east of Kettins, and separated from it by the
parish of Newtyle, was the much more important thanage of Glammis, which
possesses a fictitious interest from its supposed connection with the
career of Macbeth. It too makes its first appearance in 1264, when we
find a payment of sixteen merks to the Thane of Glammis for the lands of
Clofer and Cossenys, subtracted from the thanage of Glammis; and in 1290
the sheriff of Forfar accounts for twenty-seven cows as the _Waytinga_
of one and a half nights of the thanage of Glammis during two
years.[364] After the war of independence this thanage appears to have
remained in the hands of the Crown till the reign of Robert the Second,
when in the second year of his reign he grants to John Lyon his whole
lands of the thanage of Glammis, erected into a barony, with the
bondmen, bondages, native-men and their followers, and with the
tenandries and services of the freeholders (_liberetenencium_).[365]
On the shore of the Firth of Tay we find the thanedom of Monifieth, of
which the only notice is a missing charter by King Robert Bruce to
Patrick, his principal physician, of the lands of Balugillachie, within
the thanage of Monifieth, but here we likewise meet with an _abthanrie_;
the distinction, however, between the two is here apparent, for during
the reign of Alexander the Second we find that the former was, like most
thanages, held of the Crown, while the latter belonged to the earls of
Angus. Thus King Alexander grants to the monastery of Arbroath ten merks
annually, paid each year from his _firma_ or rent of Monifieth; while
Malcolm, earl of Angus, in the same reign, grants to Nicholas, son of
Bricius, priest of Kerimure, and his heirs, in fee and heritage, the
whole lands of the _abthein_ of Munifeth.[366] Adjoining Monifieth, in
the adjacent parish of Monikie, was the last of the Forfarshire
thanages—viz., that of Duny or Downie. In 1359 the sheriff charges
himself with nothing from the thanage of Duny, because it was then in
the hands of the earl of Sutherland heritably through his marriage with
the king’s sister.[367] But, at the same time, when Robert the Second
erected Glammis into a barony in favour of John Lyon, he grants a
similar charter in favour of Sir Alexander de Lyndesay of all and whole
his lands of the thanage of Downy, erected into a barony, with the
bondmen, bondages, native-men and their followers, and with the services
of the freeholders (_liberetenencium_) of the said barony.[368] In
connection with this thanage we find the waste land termed the Moor of
Downie.[369]
[Sidenote: Thanages in Fife and Fothriff.]
Crossing the Firth of Tay and entering the province of Fife and
Fothriff, we find the thanages few in number and at some distance from
each other, and this arises from the land having been extensively
granted at an early period as feudal holdings to the Saxon and Norman
followers of the king. In Fife we find traces of three thanages, and in
Fothriff of two. Those of Fife are, first, Kinneir in the parish of
Kilmany. We have no early notice of Kinneir as a thanage, but it was
afterwards a barony; and among the lands belonging to the barony we find
mention of the thainis lands, viz., those of Straburne, Fordell, and
Fotheris. Not far from it was the thanage of Dervesin or Dairsy. In a
charter granted by Ernald, bishop of St. Andrews, to the church of St.
Andrews, of the church of Dervesin, with a carucate of land in that
township, in his demesne, among the witnesses is Hywan, son of
Malcothen, Thain de Dervesin; and in the retours it appears as the
barony and demesne lands of Dairsie.[370] In the parish of Cairnbee, not
far from the shore of the Firth of Forth, we find the thanage of Kelly.
When King David the First granted to the priory of May the lands of
Balugallin, they were perambulated among others by Malmure, Thain de
Chellin or Kelly, and among the missing charters of Robert the First is
one to William Seward of the barony of Kelly.[371] In Fothriff we find
in the interior the thanage of Falkland, mentioned at a very early
period; for among those who perambulated the marches between Kyrkness
and Lochore in the reign of Alexander the First was Macbeath, Thaynetus
de Falkland, and we find that it afterwards became a royal forest.[372]
The only other thanage was that of Kinross.[373] We find in 1264, I de
Kynross, sheriff of Kynross, accounting for the Waytinga of four nights
in the year, amounting to forty cows, besides pigs, cheese, and grain.
This burden indicates that it had been a thanage, and it appears as such
in the reign of Robert the First, when an inquisition was held at
Kinross, on the 23d September 1323, regarding the lands of the forest of
Kinross, and these lands were separated from the thanage of Kinross. It
afterwards appears as a barony, with the castle, lake, and fishings of
Lochleven.[374]
[Sidenote: Thanages in Stratherne.]
Crossing the range of the Ochils and entering the ancient earldom of
Stratherne, we find one of the earliest residences of the old Scottish
kings appearing as a thanage. In the reign of Alexander the Third the
thane of Forteviot has to answer to the king for twenty merks, and we
find the sheriff of Perth subsequently accounting for the _firma_ or
rent-charge of the land of William of Forteviot;[375] while King Robert
the First grants in 1314 to the church and canons of Inchaffray his
lands of Cardnay and Dolcorachy in the thanage of Forteviot. It appears
in the retours as a barony.[376] In this earldom we meet for the first
time with a thanage held of the earl and not of the Crown. The
foundation-charter of the abbey of Inchaffray, granted by Gilbert, earl
of Stratherne, in the year 1200, is witnessed among others by Anechol
Theinus or thane of Dunine, now Dunning; and in a subsequent charter the
same earl terms him ‘Anechol, my thain of Dunyn.’ In 1247 a charter is
granted by Malise, earl of Stratherne, to the abbey of Inchaffray, of
twenty merks annually from the thanage of Dunyne and Peticarne, to be
received for all time in future from the hands of those who hold the
said lands for the time being; and in confirmation of this grant he
addresses a mandate to Bricius, thane of Dunin, to see twenty merks at
Dunin from the _firma_ due to the earl, paid to Inchaffray. The descent
of these thanes of Duning can, however, be ascertained from the
Chartulary. The most powerful family next to the earls was that of the
seneschals or stewards of Stratherne. They descend from Gilleness,
seneschal of Stratherne in the time of Earl Gilbert, who had two
sons—Malise, who appears as seneschal in 1220, and Anechol, who was
thane of Duning. From Malise proceeded a line of seneschals, the
succession to which was carried by a daughter to the Drummonds. Anechol
was succeeded as thane of Duning by Bricius, who likewise appears as
thane of Duning; but in the time of Robert, earl of Stratherne, the son
of Malise, the seneschalship had fallen to him likewise, and he
witnesses a charter of that earl as ‘Bricius de Dunin, his
seneschall.’[377] The lands of Duning and others were erected into the
barony of Duncrub in favour of Andrew Rollo of Duncrub in 1540; and
among the lands we find the thane lands also called Edindonyng.[378] One
of the charters by Earl Gilbert, which is witnessed by Anechol, thane of
Dunin, is likewise witnessed by Duncanus, Thanus de Struin. This is the
only notice of this thanage, but the name corresponds with that of the
parish of Strowan on the south bank of the Earn above Crieff. It is now
united with the parish of Monzievaird, from which it is divided by the
river. It was probably a thanage also held of the earl, and the old
family of the Toschachs of Monzievaird no doubt derived their name and
descent from its _Toschach_ or thane.[379]
[Sidenote: Thanages in Atholl.]
North of the earldom of Stratherne, and within the range of the
Grampians, lay the ancient earldom of Atholl. It is from this district
that the royal dynasty emerged which terminated with Alexander the
Third, the founder of the house having been lay abbot of Dunkeld, and
possessor of the _abthanrie_ of Dull,[380] and from his son Duncan
proceeded not only the kings of Scotland, but likewise the ancient earls
of Atholl. The _abthanrie_ of Dull was a very extensive district, and
embraced a large portion of the western part of the earldom, and may be
viewed as the original patrimony of the royal house. It contained within
it two thanages, viz., those of Dull and of Fothergill, now Fortingall.
Thus we find Alexander the Second issuing a mandate addressed to his
theyns and other good men of Dul and Forterkil, in which he grants to
the canons of Scon the right of taking materials from his thanages of
Dul and Forterkil for the work at their church of Scon.[381] In the
reign of Alexander the Third we find in 1264 Alan the Hostiary bound to
account for the _firma_ of Dull, and in 1289, Duncan, earl of Fife, is
_Firmarius_ or renter of the manor of Dull, the rent for two years being
five hundred pounds seven shillings and fourpence.[382] He is also
keeper of the prison of Dull, but while the _abthanrie_ with its two
thanages is thus in the Crown, the church of Dull, with its chapels of
Foss and Branboth in Glenlyon, belonged to the earls of Atholl, and was
granted by Malcolm, earl of Atholl, to the priory of St. Andrews after
the death of William his cleric. This grant is confirmed by the bishop
of Dunkeld, reserving a right to give the latter, to the extent of ten
merks, to a vicar, and an annual rent of twenty shillings due to him and
his clergy from the _Abthanrie_ of Dull.[383] By king David the Second
the bailiary of the _abthain_ of Dull was granted to John Drummond, and
in his reign the thanages began to be broken up, for he grants a charter
to John de Loorne, and Janet, his spouse, and our cousin, of the whole
lands of Glenlion; another to Donald M‘Nayre of the lands of
Estirfossach or Foss, in the abthanrie of Dull, which had been resigned
by Hugo de Barclay; and a third to Alexander Meinzies of the barony of
Fothergill, in the county of Perth.[384]
Besides these thanages held of the Crown, we find mention of two held of
the earl of Atholl, and two of the bishop of Dunkeld. On the north bank
of Loch Tay was the thanage of Cranach, but it no sooner appears in the
records than it vanishes as a thanage, for it passed into the Menzies
family, and among their writs is a charter by David de Strathbogie, earl
of Atholl and Constable of Scotland, to Sir Robert de Meygnes, knight,
son of Sir Alexander de Meygnes, for his homage and service, of the
whole thanage of Cranach, in the earldom of Atholl, with the lands of
Cranach, Achmore, Kynknoc, the two Ketherowes, and Achnechroish, as a
feudal holding for military service. The other thanage lay in the valley
of Glentilt, near Blair, and of it we have more particulars. The earldom
of Atholl had become vested in the person of Robert, Steward of
Scotland, and before he succeeded to the throne in 1371 he grants a
charter, as Lord of Atholl, which is undated, to Eugenius, thane of
Glentilt, brother of Reginald of the Isles, of the whole thanage of
Glentilt, being three davachs of land, for his faithful service, to be
held of him in fee and heritage for ever, for payment of eleven merks in
money, and the carriage of four horses once a year for hunting in the
forest of Bencromby if demanded. There is a provision that should the
yearly value of the thanage at any time not reach the sum of eleven
merks, he is to pay such sum as may be fixed by an assize of the
inhabitants of Strathguye and of those dwelling in the thanage. There is
then a retour at Logyraite in the court of the earl of Athole, by which,
on 29th July 1457, Andrew de Glentilt is served heir to his father John
le thane de Glentilt, in the lands of Petnacrefe in Strathguay; and a
charter of sale, in 1461, by Andrew, thane of Glentilt, to John Stewart
of Fothergill, of the lands of Achnamarkmore, to be held of himself; and
this is followed by a notarial instrument taken on the sale by Finlay
‘le thane de Glentilt,’ son and heir of the late Andrew le thane de
Glentilt, on 27th April 1647, of the right of reversion of these lands
for twenty pounds, payable in one day between sunrise and sunset. There
is then a precept of sasine by Findlay, thane of Glentilt, in favour of
Neill Stewart of Fothergill, as son and heir of Neill Stewart of
Fothergill, of the lands of Achnamarkmore, given at Glentilt on 4th June
1500, in presence of John, Thane, son and heir-apparent of Findlay, and
on 13th August 1501 a charter of sale by Finlay, thane of Glentilt, to
Elenore, countess of Atholl, of Kincraigy. We have then two charters of
even date, granted by John, earl of Atholl, and superior of All and
Whole the lands of the _Thanagium Abnathie_, or the thanedom of
Glentilt, to John Stewart, his son and heir, of the said lands _Thanagii
Abnathie_, or le thanedom of Glentilt, which formerly belonged to Finlay
Toschach, thane of Glentilt, and which he voluntarily resigned, as is
proved to us by his corporal oath sworn on the holy evangels of God. The
earl’s seal and the seal of Finlay Toschach are appended, at Dunkeld,
the last day of May 1502, and these charters are confirmed by a charter
under the Great Seal on 2d July 1502, of the thanage, with the bondmen,
bondages, native-men and their issue.[385] According to this charter the
thanage contained seventeen townships, including the two tenandries of
Achnamarkmore and Kincraigy, giving an average of about the sixth part
of a davach to each township; and we here see the family, which
originally descended from that of the Isles, adopting the name of
Toschach, from their designation of Thane. From them no doubt proceeded
the M‘Intoshes of Tiriny in Glentilt, which is included among the lands
of the thanage.[386] We find mention of two other thanages in Atholl,
but it is not very clear whether they were held under the earl, or under
the bishop of Dunkeld. King William the Lion confirms to the church and
canons of Scone a grant made to them by Malcolm, earl of Atholl, of the
church of Loginmahedd, now Logierait, with its chapels of Kilchemi,
Dunfolenthi, Kelkassin, and Kelmichelde Tulimath, and with all its other
lawful pertinents; but John, bishop of Dunkeld, grants and confirms to
the abbots and canons of Sconie the church of Logymahedd, in Atholl,
with the full tithes, benefices, and rights lawfully pertaining to said
church, viz., of Rath, which is the chief seat of the earldom (_caput
comitatus_), and of the whole thanage of Dulmonych, and of the whole
thanage of Fandufuith, and with these chapels, Kylkemy, Dunfoluntyn,
Kilcassyn, Kilmichell of Tulichmat, and all pertinents of said chapels,
and a toft in Logyn, with common pasture, as is contained in a charter
of Earl Henry.[387] The _Rath_ or fort is still visible on a height
between the two rivers at the junction of the Tay and the Tummel, and
the modern names of the places where the four chapels were situated are
Killichangie, Dunfallandy, Killichassy, and Tullimet, and they are all
within the parish of Logierait, but the two thanages seem not to have
been included in Earl Malcolm’s charter, and are situated within the
territory termed the bishopric of Dunkeld, now the parish of Little
Dunkeld, for Fandufuith is now Fandowie in Strathbraan, and Dalmonych is
probably Dalmarnoch, on the south bank of the Tay, in the same parish.
We have no other notice of these thanages.
[Sidenote: Thanages in Gowry.]
Between the earldom of Atholl and the province of Fife and Fothriff, and
separated from the latter by the Firth of Tay, lay the earldom of Gowry.
In the account of the seven provinces of Scotland prior to the Scottish
conquest, this earldom formed one province along with that of Atholl;
but after the Scottish dynasty was seated on the throne it was attached
to the province of Fife and Fothriff. It was the heart of the kingdom,
as within it was situated the royal seat of Scone, where, as Fordun
rightly tells us, ‘both the Scottish and Pictish kings had whilom
established the chief seat of government;’ and from an early period it
appears to have belonged to the royal family, as Bower makes the curious
statement that Alexander the First had received at his baptism, as a
donation from his father’s brother the earl of Gowry, the lands of Lyff
and Invergowry, where, after he became king, he began to build a palace,
and finally conferred them upon the abbey of Scone. These lands are in
fact contained in the foundation-charter of Scone by Alexander the
First, and that the earldom had been the appanage of Donald Bane, who
alone can be meant, is probably true enough.[388]
In the reign of Malcolm the Fourth, who confirms the foundation-charter
of Alexander the First, we find mention of the four royal manors of
Gouerin or Gowry paying _Can_ to the king, and these were Scon or Scone,
Cubert or Coupar-Angus, Forgrund or Longforgan and Stratherdel; and
these appear to have been likewise royal thanages. Thus Alexander the
Second grants to the canons of Scone, in exchange for tithes which they
exacted from the lands of Forgrund, one net of his fishings in the
thanage of Scone, two acres of land in the territory of Scone where the
Canon’s Well is situated, and a perpetual lease of his demesnes of Rath
and Kynfaunes in Gowry; and finally King Robert the First grants to the
abbot and canons of Scone the whole thanage of Scone, with all its
pertinents.[389] Strathardell, too, was a thanage, as we find a charter
granted in the reign of William the Lion by Laurence of Abernethy of the
church of Abernethy to the monks of Arbroath is witnessed by Macbeth,
sheriff of Scon, thane of Strathardel;[390] and though we have no notice
of the royal manors of Cupar and Forgrund being termed thanages, it is
probable that they were so.
North of Cupar, however, was the thanage of Alyth, in which was situated
the royal castle of Invercuych, as we find Robert the Second granting to
Sir James de Lyndesay All and Whole the lands of Aberbothry, as also the
place of the royal castle of Invercuyth and all the lands which belonged
to John de Welhame and John de Balcasky, in the thanage of Alyth, to be
held as a barony; and the same monarch includes the thanage of Alyth
with its pertinents in a subsequent charter to Sir James de Lyndesay of
the castle and barony of Crawford and other lands;[391] and in
connection with this thanage there appears to have been a forest, as in
two charters of King David the Second to the canons of Scone, Alyth is
mentioned among the royal forests.[392] As Alyth with its royal castle
was at the north-east extremity of Gowry, so we find at its north-west
boundary the thanage and royal castle of Kinclaven, on the west bank of
the Tay, near its junction with the river Isla. We find notices of the
repair of the castle in 1264, while the sheriff of Perth accounts for
its _firma_, and King Robert the Second grants to his illegitimate son,
John, his lands of Ballathys, Invernate, and Mukirsy in the thanage of
Kynclevin, with its tenandries and services of the freeholders, the
native-men, bondmen, and their bondages and followers.[393]
[Sidenote: Thanages south of the Forth.]
The thanages of which we have thus given shortly the history were all
situated north of the Firths of Forth and Clyde, and in those eastern
districts which formed originally the seat of the Pictish tribes, and
afterwards fell under the dominion of a dynasty of kings of Scottish
race. The Scots were thus a dominant race over a subject population, and
under the succeeding dynasty, who adopted Norman customs and assimilated
the laws and institutions of the country to those of a feudal monarchy,
these districts became the theatre of a Saxon colonisation and of a
gradually increasing settlement of Norman barons, who held the land on a
feudal tenure from the Crown; and thus the more ancient tenures
represented by the thanages were comparatively speaking few in number,
and scattered in isolated situations. But while the thanages in general
were thus situated, there was one thanage south of the Firth of Forth
which appears to belong to the same class. It was situated on the south
bank of the river Carron, and represented that small district,
distinguished in the Irish Annals by the name of _Calathros_, and in
Latin documents and chronicles as Calatria,—a name preserved in the more
modern Callender. The name of _Ecclesbreac_ by which the church was
known, and by which it is still called in the Highlands, indicates that
it was inhabited by a Gaelic-speaking people, and the term _Breac_ is
usually associated with those of Pictish race. They were probably the
remains of the old Pictish population which gave their name to the
Pentland Hills. Be this as it may, the notices of this thanage are in
entire harmony with those of the thanages north of the Forth. A charter
by King David the First to the canons of Stirling is witnessed by
Dufotir, sheriff of Stirling; and the same Dufotir witnesses a charter
of King David to the church of Glasgow, as Dufoter de Calatria. About
1190 appears Dominus Alwynus de Kalenter.[394] A charter by Herbert, son
of Herbert de Camera, of a half carucate of land in his territory of
Dumfries, consisting of four bovates or oxgangs near Louchbane, is
witnessed by Malcolm, thane of Kalentyr, and Alexander the Second grants
to the canons of Holyrood, in feu-farm, his whole lands of Kalentyr,
which had been in his hands since the day on which he assigned to
Malcolm, formerly thane of Kalentyr; forty pound lands in Kalentyr,
which lands are reserved to the said thane. Then we find the old thanage
converted into crown demesne, and the thane bought off with a feudal
holding. In the same reign a charter by Maldouen, earl of Lennox, is
witnessed by P., Thane of Kalentyr; and a missing charter of King David
the Second ‘to William Livingston of the lands of Callanter by
forfeiture of Patrick Calentyre,’ appears to terminate the line of the
thanes, and to indicate the conversion of the lands into a barony in
favour of the Livingston family.[395] A charter granted by David the
First before his succession to the throne, when the province of Lothian
and the ancient Cumbrian kingdom were under his rule, and addressed to
all his faithful _Tegns_ and _Drengs_ of Lothian and Teviotdale,[396]
shows that any thanes who appear in these districts where the population
was entirely Anglic, belong to the Saxon organisation, and have no
connection with the more northern thanages.
[Sidenote: _Toshachdor_ and _Toshachdera_.]
We have seen that the term Thane, in connection with that portion of the
crown land north of the Firths of Forth and Clyde called a thanage, and
considered as crown demesne, was the equivalent of the Gaelic _Toisech_
or _Toschach_, but we also find this word _Toschach_ used in Scotland in
combination with two other words nearly resembling each other, and thus
forming the two denominations of _Toschachdor_ and _Toschachdera_,
indicating in this form a person, and in the form of _Toschachdoracht_
and _Toschachderacht_, an office, just as the function of the Toisech is
expressed in the Irish system by _Toisecheacht_. Sir John Skene, in his
treatise _De Verborum Significatione_, gives under the word
_Toscheoderache_, several interpretations of it. He says that it was
‘ane office or jurisdiction, not unlike to a bailliarie, especially in
the Iles and Hielandes.’ ‘Some alleagis it to be ane office pertaining
to execution of summondis. Uthers understandis the same to be ane
crowner. Last, summe understandis it to be ane searchour and taker of
thieves and limmers.’ But it is obvious from his references that he
confounds the two offices together. The _Toschachdoracht_ was the office
like a bailiary, and the _Toschachdor_ was considered the equivalent of
the coroner, and this office was mainly confined to the Highlands and
Islands. The _Toschachdera_ he rightly explains, in his Notes to the Old
Laws, as a name given by the original Scots and Irish to the serjeand or
servitor of court who put the letters of citation in force, and that
this office was commonly called ‘ane Mair of Fee.’[397] We find the two
offices existed distinct from each other in the Isle of Man, and this
throws some light upon it. That island was divided into six sheadings,
and each sheading had two officers. The first was the coroner, and this
office, says Mr. Train, in his _History of the Isle of Man_, is of the
highest antiquity in the island. He is called in Manks _Toshiagh
Jioarey_, or chief man of the law. There is likewise, says Mr. Train, an
officer of unknown antiquity in every parish called a _Maor_, who
collects all escheats, deodands, waifs, and estrays.[398]
The _Toischeachdor_ derives his name from _Toisech_, and _Dior_, an old
word signifying ‘of or belonging to law,’ and is obviously the same as
the Manks _Toshiagh Jioarey_, and this office is not to be found in
those eastern districts where the thanages prevail, for the simple
reason that it is there represented by the _Toschech_ or Thane himself,
but the _Toiseachdera_ or Mair of Fee occurs repeatedly in connection
with them. Thus in the laws of King William the Lion, which gave the
form of citation, it is directed to be made by the serjeand or coroner
or _Tosordereh_ or other summoner;[399] and that the serjeand and
_Toshachdera_ are the same, will be evident on comparing a charter of
the thanage of Belhelvie, which mentions the office of smith and the
office of serjeand, with one of the demesne lands of Davochindore in
Kildrummy, where the same offices are called _Fabrisdera et
Toshachdera_.[400] We find in connection with the thanage of Moravia the
office of Mair of Fee,[401] and in 1476 the lord of Strathawin, in
Banffshire, grants to Alexander Crom Makalonen the lands of
Invercahomore, with the office of _Toshoderatus de Strathawin_.[402] We
can trace the appearance of this office too in connection with the
church lands in this part of Scotland. One of the earliest grants to the
bishop of Aberdeen was the schyra or parish of Rayne. It contained the
lands of Ledyntoschach, or the _Toschach’s_ half, and Rothmaise, in
which the word _Rath_ appears. These lands were held under the bishop by
a family of De Rane, and afterwards by a family called Tulidef, but in
1544 the bishop feus to Mr. Walter Stewart the lands of Invirquhaland,
Newmore, and two parts of Rothtmaise _cum ly Derachthowis_.[403] The
lands of Tarves, within the thanage of Fermartin, were conferred upon
the abbey of Arbroath by Alexander the Second, and in 1384 the abbot of
Arbroath confers the office of _Derethy of Terwas_ upon Thomas de
Lochane and the heirs of his body in perpetuity.[404] In the thanage of
Fettercairn we find, besides the thaneston, or mensal land of the thane,
another portion termed _Deray_ lands, or the possession of the
_Toschachdera_.[405] These notices will be sufficient to show the
existence of this office in connection with the thanages, to which a
portion of the land was assigned as official demesne.
[Sidenote: Result of survey of thanages.]
We have now completed our survey of the thanages which survived the war
of independence, and we thus see that there existed in the eastern
Lowlands isolated territories, scattered here and there among the feudal
holdings, still bearing the name of _Thanagium_, and preserving many of
the characteristics of the older Celtic tribe. These thanages during the
period of the rule of the kings of the race of David the First were
considered as forming part of the crown demesne, and were held of the
kings by persons called Thanes in feu-farm for payment of an annual
_firma_, rent or feu-duty, but their connection with the ancient tribe
lands is indicated by the fact that the feuar bearing the Saxon name of
Thane was likewise known by the Celtic name of _Toschach_, and therefore
represented the ancient _Toisech_ of the _Tuath_ or tribe, and that his
annual feu-duty was likewise known by the Celtic name of _Cain_, usually
amounting to about twelve merks, while the land was subject to another
burden termed _Conveth_, and afterwards _Waytinga_, which was no other
than the _Coinmhedha_ or _Coigny_ of the Irish tribes. These thanages
had therefore obviously replaced the more ancient _Tuath_, and what was
now regarded as crown land was the ancient tribe territory. It varied in
size, as did the Irish _Tuath_. Its principal measure of land bore the
Celtic name of Davach, a name also retained when the land had passed
into feudal holdings. Each davach contained four ploughgates, equivalent
to the Irish _Bally_ and the Welsh _Tref_, and the fourth part of the
ploughgate seems to have formed the smallest holding, and been known by
the Celtic term of _Rath_. The size of these thanages or tribe
territories held of the Crown varied from twelve to six davachs, and
those held of the earls seem in general not to have exceeded three. Part
of this territory was held by the thane or _Toschach_ in demesne, and
was known as the Thanestown or thane’s lands, and was cultivated by
bondmen or prædial serfs, of whom there were two kinds, the _bondus_, or
occupier of a servile tenement, amounting usually to the fourth part of
a ploughgate or township, and the native-man, who was servile by race.
Another part of the thanage consisted of tenandries, or free tenements,
held under the thane by a class of sub-vassals called _libere tenentes_,
or freeholders, for payment of a _Cain_ or feu-duty, and these were
likewise known by the Celtic name of _Octhigern_, the equivalent of the
Irish _Oclach_. They were in fact the lower of the two divisions of the
_Flaith_ or nobles of the Irish tribe, consisting of the _Aire ard_ and
the _Aire desa_, while from the upper division the _Ri Tuath_ or
_Toisech_, as the case might be, was chosen, and when we find the
territorial name of Dyce connected with some of the thanages, as Fordyce
in the thanage of the Boyne, Dyce in that of Kintore, Tannadyce in the
thanage of the same name, we can hardly avoid recognising the _Deis_, or
private property, which constituted the basis of the _Grad Flath_, or
territorial nobles of the tribe.
Between the class of freeholders and the servile class part of the land
was occupied by the _liberi firmarii_, or free farmers, who had a mere
usufruct of their possessions, which varied in size from the tenandry to
the small holding of two oxgangs, or the fourth part of a ploughgate.
These farmers usually held upon the system termed the Steelbow, when the
stock and implements belonged to the proprietor, and were handed over to
the tenant during his occupation of the land, who was bound to return an
equal value at the termination of his tenure, his rent being usually
paid in kind. This tenure closely resembled that of the _Saer_, or
_Ceile_, of the Irish tribe, while the _Daer_, or bond _Ceile_, were
represented by the _Bondi_, or occupiers of a servile holding in the
thanage.
Another portion of the thanage was the church land. When the church
consisted merely of the Cill, or parish church, it was known as the
_Terra ecclesiæ_, kirkton or Pettintaggart, and was cultivated by the
_Scolocs_, who paid _Cain_ to the thane, and _Conveth_ to the bishop in
whose diocese it was. It generally varied in size from a half davach to
a half ploughgate, but when a Columban monastery had been founded in the
thanage, it was of larger extent and fell into lay hands under the name
of _abbatie_, or _abthanrie_, paying, however, both _Cain_ and _Conveth_
to the church. This was in fact the _termon_ lands of the Irish tribe.
Lastly, what had originally been the waste land of the tribe became
known as the forest, and became dissociated from the cultivated land of
the thanage. It either formed the subject of a separate grant or was
retained as a royal forest.