| Clan Leslie | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Crest: A demi griffin Proper, armed, beaked and winged Or | |||
| Motto | Grip fast[1] | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Lowlands | ||
| District | Aberdeenshire | ||
| Plant badge | Rue[1] | ||
| Chief | |||
 | |||
| Hon. Alexander Leslie | |||
| Seat | Wardhill Castle | ||
| Historic seat | Balquhain Castle | ||
| |||
| |||
Clan Leslie is aLowlandScottish clan. The progenitor of the clan,Bartolf, was a nobleman fromHungary, who came toScotland in 1067. He built acastle atLeslie, from which the clan name derives.
From 1457 the chief of Clan Leslie also held the position ofEarl of Rothes. The chief is currently the Hon. Alexander Leslie,[1][2] the brother of James Malcolm David Leslie, 22nd Earl of Rothes (born 1958).
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The first Leslie in Aberdeenshire was Alexander, who was appointed constable of theBass of Inverurie in 1080 on behalf of the king, his brother-in-law.[3]
The progenitor of the clan was Bartolf, a nobleman fromHungary who came toScotland in 1067.[4] Bartolf was in theretinue ofEdgar the Ætheling, brother ofMargaret, who was later the queen ofMalcolm III of Scotland.[4] Bartholf later married Malcolm III's sister, Princess Beatrix.[3]
Bartolf was said to be a man of intellect and bravery and as a result Malcolm III made him governor of the royalEdinburgh Castle and gave him estates inFife,Angus,the Mearns andAberdeenshire.[4] It is said that Bartolf helped the queen across a dangerous river on a horse and that Bartolf told her to "grip fast", which is where the family motto originates.[4]
Bartolf established himself in theGarioch district of Aberdeenshire, at a place then known as Lesselyn.[4] At Lesselyn he built a castle and it is from there that the name evolved into Leslie, and the various spelling variations.[4] Bartolf's son was named Malcolm and was made constable of the royal castle ofInverurie, which he held forDavid II of Scotland.[4] His great-grandson was Sir Norman Leslie, who acquired the lands of Fythkill in Fife, later calledLeslie after the family, in about 1282.[4]
The family sided withRobert the Bruce against firstly The Comyn in the Buchan and secondlyKing Edward I, and as a result were awarded further tracts of Aberdeenshire.[4] They fought at theBattle of Bannockburn in 1314. SirSir Andrew de Leslie was one of the signatories of theDeclaration of Arbroath, and was sent to the Pope in 1320 to assert Scotland's independence.[4] His grandson, Walter, died at theBattle of Harlaw in 1411, together with six of his cousins from Balquhain.[5]
The chiefly line of the Clan Leslie passed to a junior branch of the family, from whom the presentEarl of Rothes descends.[4] In 1391, Sir Norman Leslie believed that his only son, David, had been killed in theCrusades,[4] and therefore passed over his estates to his cousin, Sir George Leslie.[4] Then in 1398, after Sir George had taken possession of the castle and lands, David returned from the Crusades and claimed possession of his estate.[4] The family managed to resolve the matter peacefully,and in 1445 Sir George Leslie's grandson, also called George, was created aLord of Parliament as Lord Leslie of Leven, and all of his lands were united into the barony of Ballinbreich.[4] At some point before 1458, he was then advanced to the title of Earl of Rothes.[4]
The 2nd Earl of Rothes was killed along with his son at theBattle of Flodden in 1513.[6] The 3rd Earl, also George, carried out a private family vendetta on the life of David Beaton, cardinal Archbishop of St Andrews. At the trial he was acquitted.[4]
George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes, was one of the Scottish commissioners at the marriage ofMary, Queen of Scots, to theDauphin of France in 1558.[4] George, along with the Earl of Cassilis and two others, died in mysterious circumstances, believed to be poisoning, for refusing to allow the crown of Scotland to be settled on the Dauphin.[4]
Fetternear, which became the home of the Leslies of Balquhain, Wardes, andWarthill includes the remains of a 14th-century palace, the home of Bishop Alexander Kininmund, who, in 1320, drafted the Declaration of Arbroath, the letter sent to Pope John XXII in Avignon declaring that the Scots would never be subjected to English rule. It also incorporates the remains of even earlier palaces and sites of settlement dating back 4,000 years.[4]
John Leslie, Bishop of Ross, was born in 1526. He was the most loyal of Queen Mary's supporters during the turbulent times of 1562. It was John Leslie who wrote for her the famous History of Scotland.[4] He, the second baron of Wardes, was awarded extensive lands in the Garioch from James IV and was five times married. He is now represented in the Garioch by the Leslies of Warthill descended from his second son.[4]
During the 17th century, Leslies fought inGermany, France,Sweden and theBaltic as mercenaries.[4]Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, fought on the Continent and then returned to Scotland to command theCovenanter army.[4] His seat wasBalgonie Castle, which he improved and extended.[4] Alexander Leslie won a great victory over the English royalists at theBattle of Newburn in 1640.[7]
Commanding the CovenantersAlexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, and GeneralRobert Monro captured Edinburgh Castle with a thousand men.[4][unreliable source?]
With the Scots, Leven went into England in 1640 and defeated the King's soldiers at theBattle of Newburn. For this, he was created Earl of Lewis by King Charles I. General Alexander Leslie of Balgonie fought forGustavus Adolphus, the King of Sweden. He achieved great fame across Europe for his skills in war and returned to Scotland a Field Marshal.[4]
In 1642, Leven went to Ireland and held command alongside Robert Munro (d. 1680) of the Scottish Army. They were sent to put down a rebellion of Irishmen who had killed Scots in Ulster. In 1644, Leven commanded Scottish Covenanter forces to victory over English Royalists at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644. This battle was the largest battle of the English and Scottish Civil War, and one of the most decisive. It resulted in a Parliamentarian victory, which meant that the north of England was effectively lost to King Charles for the rest of the war.[4]
During the Civil War, GeneralDavid Leslie, Lord Newark, was victorious commanding his Scottish Covenanters force against a Scottish Royalist force at theBattle of Philiphaugh in 1645. The Royalist army ofJames Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, was destroyed by the Covenanter army of Sir David Leslie, restoring the power of the Committee of Estates.[4]
Dunaverty Castle was aMacDonald stronghold. During the Civil War, it was besieged in 1647 by Scottish supporters ofOliver Cromwell who were led by David Leslie, from Clan Leslie. The MacDonalds surrendered and then 300 of them were massacred. The castle is nothing more than a ruin now, known as Blood Rock.[4]
During the Civil War, David Leslie laid siege to theRoyalist garrison atKincardine Castle. The Castle was being held by the Chief ofClan MacNab. MacNab found that it would not be possible to maintain defense. During the night, sword in hand, at the head of 300 men, they cut their way through the besieging force. All made it through apart from the MacNab chief himself and one other man who were captured and sent to Edinburgh as prisoners of war. The chief was sentenced to death but he escaped and rejoined King Charles and continued to fight. Leslie's Scottish Covenanter force was defeated by the Scottish Parliamentarian forces who were at this point in time loyal to the Parliament of England and Oliver Cromwell at theBattle of Dunbar (1650).[4] Leslie successfully commanded the Scottish Argyll Government Royalist forces at theBattle of Carbisdale (1650) where he was victorious against Scottish Royalist forces commanded by James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose.[4]
Leslie's Royalist Forces were defeated at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Leslie, who was now commanding Royalist forces, had supported the plan of fighting in Scotland, where royal support was strongest. King Charles, however, insisted on making the war in England.[4]
Leslie was captured and imprisoned in theTower of London where he remained until therestoration of 1660.[4]
The career ofWalter Leslie was all in Europe, where in theThirty Years War he rose to prominence after leading the assassination of the Imperial generalissimoWallenstein and his coterie in 1634, becoming a field marshal and imperial count.[8]
Sir Alexander Leslie of Auchintool was a general in the Russian army and was Governor ofSmolensk.[4] The seventh Earl of Rothes was created Duke of Rothes byCharles II in 1680.[4]
John Hamilton-Leslie, 9th Earl of Rothes, wasVice Admiral of Scotland and governor of the royalStirling Castle.[4] During theJacobite rising of 1715, he supported the British government and commanded a regiment of cavalry at theBattle of Sheriffmuir.[4] He sold much of the clan estates but Leslie House near Fife remained the seat of the chiefly Earls until 1926.[4]
