| Clan Brodie | |
|---|---|
| Brothaigh | |
 Crest: A right hand holding a bunch of arrows all Proper | |
| Motto | Unite |
| Profile | |
| District | Moray |
| Founder | uncertain |
| Plant badge | Periwinkle |
| Chief | |
 | |
| Alexander Brodie of Brodie | |
| The 27th Chief of Clan Brodie | |
| Historic seat | Brodie Castle |
Clan Brodie is aScottish clan whose origins are uncertain. The first known Brodiechiefs were theThanes ofBrodie and Dyke inMorayshire. The Brodies were present in several clan conflicts and, during thecivil war, were ardentcovenanters. They had indirect involvement in theJacobite uprising of 1715 but none with that of 1745. Some members of the family worked for theBritish East India Company in the 18th Century.
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Early references to Brodie were written asBrochy,Brothy,Brothie,Brothu, orBrode.[1][2]Various meanings to the name Brodie have been advanced, but given the Brodies' uncertain origin, and the varying ways Brodie has been pronounced/written, these remain but suppositions. Some of the suggestions that have been advanced as to the meaning of the name Brodie are:
The origins of the Brodie clan are mysterious. Much of the early Brodie records were destroyed whenLewis Gordon, 3rd Marquess of Huntly pillaged and burntBrodie Castle in 1645. It is known that the Brodies were always about since records began. From this it has been presumed that the Brodies are ancient, probably ofPict ancestry, referred to locally as the ancientMoravienses. The historian Dr. Ian Grimble suggested the Brodies were an importantPictish family and advanced the possibility of a link between the Brodies and the male line of thePictish Kings.[9][12][13]
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The lands of Brodie are betweenMorayshire andNairnshire, on the modern border that separates theScottish Highlands andMoray. In the time of thePicts, this location was at the heart of theKingdom of Moravia.[14] Early references show that the Brodie lands to be governed by aTòiseach, later to becomeThane.[15] Part of the Brodie lands were originallyTemple Lands, owned by the order of theKnights Templar.[16] It is uncertain if the Brodies took their name from the lands of Brodie, or that the lands were named after the clan.[17]
After the Tòiseachs, whose names are lost, we find a reference to MacBeth, Thane of Dyke in 1262; next, in 1311, aLatin reference toMichael, filius Malconi, Thanus de Brothie et Dyke. It is unclear if Macbeth, Thane of Dyke, is of the same line as Michael. Accordingly, the Brodie Chiefs claim descent from Michael's referred father, Malcome, as First Chief and Thane of Brodie.[1][18][19]
Michael Brodie of Brodie received a charter fromRobert the Bruce confirming his lands of Brodie.[20] The charter states that Brodie held his thanage of Brodie by the right of succession from his paternal ancestors.[20] The Brodie chiefs may have been descended from the royalPictish family ofBrude and there is so much evidence of Pictish settlement around Brodie that it has to be considered one reasonable explanation.[20]
Johne of Brode of that Ilk, the 7th chief of Clan Brodie, assistedClan Mackenzie in their victory in 1466 overClan MacDonald at theBattle of Blar-na-Pairc. He took a distinguished part in the fight and behaved "to the advantage of his friend and notable loss of his enemy," his conduct produced a friendship between Clan Mackenzie and Clan Brodie, which continued among their posterity, "and even yet remains betwixt them, being more sacredly observed than the ties of affinity and consanguinity amongst most others," and a bond ofmanrent was entered into between the families.[21][22]
Clan Brodie joined the royal army led by theEarl of Atholl against the rebel son of theLord of the Isles,Aonghas Óg. However, in 1481Aonghas Óg defeated them at Lagabraad, killing 517 of the royal army.[23]
Thomame Brodye de iodem, the 11th chief, was killed defending against the English invasion at theBattle of Pinkie Cleugh.[24]
In 1550, Alexander"the rebel" Brodie of that Ilk, the 12th chief, with his clansmen, and the assistance of the Dunbars and Hays, attackedClan Cumming at Altyre, seeking to slay their chief, Alexander Cumming of Altyre. As a result, he wasput to the horn as a rebel for not appearing to a charge of waylaying, but was pardoned the year following.[25]
In 1562, the said Alexander"the rebel", joinedClan Gordon andGeorge Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly in his rebellion againstMary, Queen of Scots. They were defeated at theBattle of Corrichie. Huntley died, Brodie escaped but was denounced a rebel, and his estates declared forfeited. For four years the sentence of outlawry hung over his head, but in 1566, the Queen having forgiven Clan Gordon for their disloyalty, included Alexander Brodie in the royal warrant remitting the sentence against them, and restoring them their possessions.[25]
In 1645 Lord Lewis Gordon burnt downBrodie Castle, a Z-plan tower-house built in the mid-sixteenth century. The present building represents a restoration of that building, although the tower is believed to date back to 1430 and the newest parts were added 1820–30.[26] Nearby, on the Downie (Dounie) Hillock, there are the remains of an Iron Age fort.[27]
Alexander"the good" Lord Brodie of Brodie, the 15th chief, was acovenanter during theWars of the Three Kingdoms. An ardentpresbyterian, his faith led him to be responsible for acts of destruction toElgin Cathedral and its paintings. He was judge in trials ofwitchcraft, sentencing at least twowitches to death. He was commissioner for the apprehension ofJesuits and Catholic priests and the plantation ofKirks. He served on the committees: of war forElgin,Nairn,Forres, andInverness; of estates; of the protection of religion; and of excise. Lord Brodie was elected Commissary-General to the Army. Clan Brodie was part of thecovenanter army in 1645 that lost theBattle of Auldearn toMontrose. After the defeat of the covenanters,Clan Gordon sackedBrodie Castle and besieged Lethen House. The Brodies of Lethen held successfully for twelve weeks.[28]
Lord Brodie of Brodie went twice toThe Hague to seek the return of the exiled KingCharles II of Scotland, first in 1649, then, with a larger party in 1650, returned successfully with the King.Oliver Cromwell was eager to enrol Brodie into his regime. Tempted, Lord Brodie resistedOliver Cromwell's summons to discuss a union ofScotland and England, writing in his diary "Oh Lord he has met with the lion and the bear before, but this is the Goliath; the strongest and greatest temptation is last.". Lord Brodie was the target of an unsuccessfulroyalist plot for his capture in 1650. He was the author of a diary revealing a complicated, yet devoted mind, torn by temptation and doing what he believed to be right.[29][30][31][32]
Alexander Brodie of Lethen went south with a contingent of men. He commanded a troop with some credit at the disastrousBattle of Dunbar (1650).[33]
During theJacobite rising of 1715,James Brodie of Brodie, the 18th chief, refused to surrender his horse and arms to Lord Huntley. Lord Huntley threatened the "highest threats of military execution, as that of battering down his house, razing his tenants, burning their corns, and killing their persons." if Brodie did not comply. Clan Brodie continued to resist, holding fort in the now rebuiltBrodie Castle. Unable to secure enough cannon and gunpowder to proceed with an assault, Lord Huntley was forced to abandon his threats.[34]
During theJacobite rising of 1745, the Brodie chief wasAlexander Brodie of that Ilk, 19th chief of Brodie,Lord Lyon King of Arms.[35]
NavalCaptain David Brodie, of the Brodies of Muiresk branch[36] wasmaster and commander of theTerror and theMerlin (10guns), latercaptain ofHMS Canterbury (60guns), and HMSStrafford (60guns). He was credited with the capture of 21 French and Spanishcruisers orprivateers.[37]{Portrait of Cap David Brodie}[permanent dead link].
By 1774, the Brodieestate was in financial trouble and sold by judicial sale.James Brodie of Brodie, the 21st Chief, was married to Lady Margaret Duff, daughter ofWilliam Duff, 1st Earl of Fife. TheEarl of Fife came to the rescue, purchased the estate, returning half to The Brodie.[38]
In 1788,Deacon William Brodie was executed. Deacon Brodie was a descendant of the Milton branch of Clan Brodie.[39]
James Brodie of Brodie's younger brother, Alexander, left forIndia to seek his fortune. He returned fromMadras a very rich man and purchased the estates of Thunderton House inElgin, Arnhall inKincardineshire, and The Burn. He married a daughter ofJames Wemyss of Wemyss by Lady Elizabeth Sutherland, daughter of theWilliam Sutherland, 17th Earl of Sutherland and had an only child, a daughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Brodie was an heiress, and in 1813 married George Gordon,Marquess of Huntly who became, on his father's death in 1827, The5th Duke of Gordon. George and Elizabeth did not have any children, and on his death in 1836, the line of theDukes of Gordon became extinct, leaving Elizabeth the last Duchess of Gordon. After her husband's death, the Duchess joined theFree Church of Scotland, and was its most prominent benefactor. The Duchess was"much respected and beloved by the people of Huntly and the surrounding district." and lived"a remarkably unaffected, charitable, and Christian life".[40][41][42][43]
James Brodie of Brodie's son, James Brodie, younger of Brodie, went toIndia and worked for theEast India Company. He built a mansion inMadras, on the banks of theriver Adyar, and named it Brodie Castle (Madras){Photo}. This property still stands and has become the college ofCarnatic Music. James (the younger) died inIndia in a boating accident on theAdyar River in 1801/02.[44][45][46]
On the death of the Duchess of Gordon in 1864, The Brodies of Brodie became beneficiaries of the Gordon estate; inheriting much of the Gordonmoveable property.[47][48]
A rare pontifical document was discovered inBrodie Castle in 1972 and is now housed in theBritish Museum. The document is thought to date back to 1000 CE, and shows evidence of associations withDurham.[13]
(Montague) Ninian Alexander Brodie of Brodie,[49] the 25th Chief, sometime a stage actor, died in 2003, having bequeathed Brodie Castle to theNational Trust in 1978;[50] because his descendants were unhappy with this transfer, no Brodie now resides at the castle, the family wing being prepared for holiday letting.[51]
The 26th Chief, Ninian Brodie of Brodie's son, Alastair Ian Ninian, who also died in 2003 aged 61, lived in Cambridgeshire and worked in I.T., having dissociated himself from his position and family after his 1986 divorce from his first wife, Mary-Louise (née Johnson), an Australian socialite, who subsequently lived with their children in Paris;[52] his son is the present 27th Chief, Alexander Tristan Duff Brodie of Brodie.[53] Following the dissolution of her marriage, Mary-Louise Brodie – who had been displeased by the transferring of Brodie Castle to the National Trust – initiated legal proceedings against her father-in-law in order to secure a financial settlement she considered to be her children's birthright. Her former husband avoided any involvement in the situation, but their children also took their grandfather to court seeking financial contribution to their education and lifestyle; Alexander Brodie sought to have the transfer of Brodie Castle to the National Trust overturned, but met with no success.[51] The 26th Chief left the majority of his £300,000 estate to his second wife, with his successor, the 27th Chief, receiving £5,000.[54]
Tradition says acurse was pronounced against the Brodie Chiefs,"to the effect that no son born within theCastle of Brodie should ever become heir to the property." The legend of the source of this malediction was one of the early Brodie Chiefs"who induced an old woman to confess being guilty ofwitchcraft by offering her a new gown, and then, instead of fulfilling his promise, had her tied to astake and burnt".[55]
The "blasted heath" whereMacbeth is said to have met thethree witches, is located on the lands of Brodie. The event was popularized inShakespeare's playMacbeth. This location is referred to locally as Macbeth's Hillock.[56]
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 of Keithick |  of Idvies |  Milton Brodie |
| [57][58] |
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