| Clan Keith | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceiteach, Mac Shithich[1] | |||
 Crest: Out of a crest coronet Or, a roebuck's head Proper, attired Or. | |||
| Motto | Veritas vincit (Truth conquers) | ||
| Slogan | A Keith, Veritas Vincit (also Truth Prevails) | ||
| War cry | A Keith, Veritas Vincit | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Lowlands andHighlands | ||
| District | East Lothian,Aberdeenshire (lowlands), andCaithness (highlands) | ||
| Plant badge | White Rose | ||
| Animal | Badger | ||
| Chief | |||
 | |||
| Sir James William Falconer Keith of Urie, 14th Earl of Kintore | |||
| Earl of Kintore Lord Keith of Inverurie and Keith Hall Viscount Stonehaven Baron Stonehaven Baronet 6th of Ury | |||
| Seat | Keith Hall, Aberdeenshire | ||
| Historic seat | Keith Marischal House Dunnottar Castle Fetteresso Castle | ||
| Last Chief | Michael Keith, 13th Earl of Kintore | ||
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Clan Keith is aHighland andLowlandScottish clan, whose Chief historically held the hereditary title of Marischal, then Great Marischal, thenEarl Marischal ofScotland.[2]
The placename Keith comes from aCumbric form of theModern Welshcoed ("wood").[3]
A warrior of theChatti tribe is said to have killed theDanish General,Camus, at theBattle of Barrie in 1010.[2] For this valourMalcolm II of Scotland dipped three fingers into the blood of the dead and drew them down the warrior's shield.[2] The warrior was thereafter namedMarbhachair Chamuis which meant theCamus Slayer.[2] The chief of the Clan Keith has borne the same three lines on his shield ever since.[2] It can be found as early as 1316 on the seal ofSir Robert de Keith.[2]
King Malcolm's victory at theBattle of Carham in 1018 brought him into possession ofLothian, and the lands of Keith in Lothian were subsequently held by the Camus Slayer.[2] It is from these lands that his progeny took their name.[2]
ANorman adventurer namedHervey married the native heiress ofMarbhachair and in about 1150David I of Scotland granted her a charter for the lands ofKeith.[2] In a charter of 1176, their son was styled asMarischal of the King of Scots.[2] The Marischal was charged with the safety of the king's person within Parliament and was also custodian of the royal regalia.[2]
In 1308,Robert the Bruce granted the royal Halforest ofAberdeenshire to his friend,Robert de Keith.[2] Here the Marischal built his castle.[2] His nephew wasWilliam Keith of Galston who returned Bruce's heart toMelrose Abbey after the death of theSir James Douglas at theBattle of Teba inAndalucia.[2] Bruce confirmed to the family the hereditary office of marischal by a charter of 1324 and Sir Robert de Keith had commanded the Scottish cavalry at theBattle of Bannockburn.[2] The office was held upon the condition that they bore the ancient arms that they had inherited fromMarbhachair Chamuis.[2]
Sir Robert Keith, the Marishchal, escorted the youngDavid II of Scotland when he fled toFrance to escape the usurpationEdward Balliol.[2]
The Clan Keith were often at feud with the neighbouringClan Irvine and, in 1402, the Clan Irvine are said to have attacked and defeated an invading war party of the Clan Keith in what was known as theBattle of Drumoak.[4]
Sir William Keith the Marischal who died in 1407 married the heiress of Sir Alexander Fraser and in doing so added great estates inBuchan,Kincardine andLothian to his existing patrimony.[2] William's half-brother, John Keith, married the Cheyne heiress which brought the Keiths massive estates inInverugie as well asInverugie Castle, which later became the seat of the clan chiefs.[2] Three of Sir William Keith's children married children ofRobert II of Scotland, while another daughter married Sir Adam Gordon, ancestor of theEarls of Huntly.[2]
Circa 1458, the heir of the Marischal or Great Marischal was made 1stEarl Marischal and was the only peer to be styled by his office of state.[2]
A branch of the Clan Keith who inhabitedCaithness fought at theBattle of Tannach (probably 1464) where they assisted theClan Mackay against theClan Gunn.[5] They later fought another battle against the Gunns, known as theBattle of Champions (probably 1478). This battle was fought between twelve men of the Clan Gunn and twenty four men of the Clan Keith. Most the Gunns, including the chief of the clan, were killed. However, Keith of Ackergill was soon after killed by the Gunns in a revenge attack.[6][7]
William Keith, 3rd Earl Marischal, along with theEarl of Glencairn invitedJohn Knox the religious reformer back to Scotland in 1559.[2]William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal, founded theMarischal College inAberdeen.[2]George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal, undertook the embassy toDenmark which resulted in the marriage ofJames VI of Scotland toAnne of Denmark.[2]
A clansmen,William Keith of Delny (died 1599), was a Scottish courtier and Master of the Royal Wardrobe.[8] He also served as ambassador for James VI to various countries.[9][10] He was an important intermediary between George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal and the king, the king and courtiers, and the king and foreign governments.[11]
AfterCharles II of England was crowned in 1651,William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, was captured and imprisoned in theTower of London.[2] He remained there until theRestoration when the king appointed him a Privy Councillor and later Lord Privy Seal as recompense for what he and his family had suffered in the royal cause.[2] After Charles's coronation the Scottish crown jewels had been hidden on the Keith lands and as a result Marischal's brother,John Keith, was created Knight Marischal andEarl of Kintore.[2]
George Keith, 8th Earl Marischal, was appointed a Knight of theMost Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle byJames Francis Edward Stuart (theOld Pretender).[2] During theJacobite rising of 1715, the Clan Keith supported the Jacobite cause.[2] As a result,George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal, along with his brother,James Francis Edward Keith, forfeited their lands, castles and titles.[2] However the two Keith brothers played a part in Continental affairs during the 18th century with the earl being one of the very fewJacobite Knights of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.[2] He also received the highest order inPrussia, theOrder of the Black Eagle,[2] while his brother was givenRussia'sOrder of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called.[2]
In 1801,the Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms recognised Keith of Ravelston and Dunnotter as representer of the Marischal Keiths and his nephew was dubbed Knight Marischal in 1822 forGeorge IV's visit toEdinburgh that year.[2]
Algernon Hawkins Thomond Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore and 9th Lord Keith Inverurie and Keith Hall, was flamboyant and decimated the Kintore estates.[2] However,Sir James Ian Baird of Urie then Keith of Urie, 12th Earl of Kintore, 12th Lord Keith of Inverurie and Keith Hall, 2nd Viscount Stonehaven, 2nd Baron Stonehaven and 3rd Baronet, promoted the clan internationally and appointed aSeanchaí to preserve their history and traditions.[2]
In 1978, the Chief of Clan Keith and the Commander of Clan Gunn signed a peace treaty at the site of theChapel of St. Tayrs, ending the feud between the two clans which began in 1478.[12]
In 2002, the 13thEarl of Kintore, who was the previous Chief of Clan Keith, entered into a peace treaty the previous Chief of Clan Irvine, with at an elaborate ceremony on the banks of theRiver Dee to end their 600-year feud.[13]
The currentChief of Clan Keith is Sir James William Falconer Keith of Urie, 14thEarl of Kintore, 14th Lord Keith of Inverurie and Keith Hall, 4thViscount Stonehaven, 4th Baron Stonehaven, 5th Baronet, 6th of Ury (b. 15 April 1976).
The Keith clantartan is registered with theScottish Register of Tartans with a date of 1 January 1838. TheScottish Tartans Authority (STA) andScottish Tartans World Register (STWR) reference numbers are both 253. The designer is not specified and the tartan was registered prior to the establishment of the Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT).
Registration notes:
Jack Dalgety notes of June 1963 state: 'This sett is the same as Falconer, Austin and Marshall and derives from Lord Falconer who took over the entailed lands of the Keith,Earl Marischal in the early 1800's. There is a family Keith-Falconer who wear this tartan' The earliest known date from a list compiled by D.C. Stewart from Wilsons ofBannockburn letters is 1838. Also recorded in Wilson's of Bannockburn, 1819 pattern book as No. 75 or Austin. D.W. Stewart writes in 'Old and Rare..'in 1893, "that it is included in every early collection." The Keiths were a powerful Celtic family, who held the hereditary office ofGreat Marischal of Scotland. They are associated withDunottar Castle, nearStonehaven'. Wilsons of Bannockburn a weaving firm founded c1770 nearStirling. The Pattern books are in theNational Museum of Antiquities, Edinburgh. Copys of the Pattern books and letters in theScottish Tartans Society archive[14]
The clan crest is a roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) also known as the roe, western roe deer or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck.[15] The Keith Clan Motto: Veritas Vincit is translated as Truth Conquers.
Written from a manuscript wrote in the reign of James VI of Scotland
