| Clan Ruthven | |||
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| Motto | Deid schaw[1] | ||
| Chief | |||
.svg) | |||
| Brer Ruthven | |||
| The 3rdEarl of Gowrie | |||
| Historic seat | Huntingtower Castle | ||
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TheClan Ruthven (/ˈrɪvən/) is a LowlandScottish clan.[2]
The Ruthven lands inPerthshire,Scotland take their name from theScottish Gaelic,Ruadhainn which meansDun uplands.[2] The clan chief's family are ofNorse origin.[2] They first settled inEast Lothian but by the end of the twelfth century they were in Perthshire.[2]
Between 1188 and 1199, Swein is recorded as giving lands that includedTibbermore to the Monks of Scone.[2] Swein's grandson was Sir Walter Ruthven who was the first to adopt the name Ruthven.[2]
Sir Walter Ruthven swore fealty toEdward I of England in 1291 and 1296.[2] However, in 1297, he had led thirty men to helpWilliam Wallace at the siege of Perth.[2] Ruthven was also with Christopher Seaton whenJedburgh was reclaimed from the English.[2] In 1313, Perth was recaptured andRobert the Bruce appointed Sir William Ruthven to be sheriff of the royal burgh, which was then calledSt Johnston.[2]
A descendant of Sir William Ruthven, Sir William Ruthven of Balkernoch, spent three years as a hostage inEngland for the ransom ofJames I of Scotland.[2] This William Ruthven was a substantial nobleman.[2] His income was stated to be about four hundred merks annually, which was about £100 at the time.[2] In 1488, his great-grandson was created a Lord of Parliament with the title Lord Ruthven, byJames III of Scotland.[2] He married twice and his sons by his first wife were granted a letter of legitimization in 1480.[2] The eldest of the sons was William, Master of Ruthven, who was killed at theBattle of Flodden in 1513.[3][2]
The Charterises of Kinfauns are said to have received their lands as a reward for supporting Robert the Bruce against the English.[4] However they came into a feud with the Ruthvens who often disputed the authority of the Charterises.[4] The Ruthvens held considerable sway over Perth from theirHuntingtower Castle.[4] In 1544, Patrick, Lord Ruthven, was elected asProvost of Perth but at the intervention of Cardinal Beaton, Ruthven was deprived of the office and Charteris of Kinfauns was appointed instead.[4] The city refused to acknowledge Charteris and barred the gates against him.[4] Charteris along with Lord Gray and theClan Leslie then attacked the town. However, they were repulsed by the Ruthvens, who were assisted by theClan Moncreiffe.[4] As a result, Ruthven remained Provost of Perth until 1584, when William Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie was executed.[4] John Charteris had been killed by the earl's heir onEdinburgh High Street in 1552.[4]
In 1556,Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven, and his son, William, were among the co-conspirators ofLord Darnley whenMary, Queen of Scot's favoriteDavid Rizzio was killed in her presence atHolyrood Palace.[2] Both Ruthvens fled to England when abandoned by Darnley.[2] William returned and succeeded to the family title having received a royal pardon.[2] He was among the people who conducted the queen toLochleven Castle, where she was forced to abdicate.[2] Ruthven was also theTreasurer of Scotland during the king's minority and in 1581 was createdWilliam Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie.[2]
In 1582, Ruthven, now theEarl of Gowrie, abductedJames VI of Scotland in order to remove him from the influence of theEarl of Lennox andEarl of Arran.[2] This became known as the "Ruthven Raid" orRaid of Ruthven.[2] The king was detained for ten months and, when he was finally released, he appeared forgiving but Gowrie was later arrested in 1584 and beheaded for treason.[2]
In 1586, the Ruthven estates were restored to William's son,James Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie.[2] However, James Ruthven died just two years later aged thirteen and was succeeded by his brother,John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie.[2] It is alleged that John practicedBlack magic.[2] In 1600, he and his brother Alexander were murdered in their town house in Perth.[2] This became known as the "Gowrie Conspiracy".[2] The Ruthven brothers were declared by Parliament to be traitors although there is little evidence, if anything, of what they were planning.[2] The Ruthven name was decreed out of existence in Scotland, with all members of the family required to choose new surnames.[2]
In 1651, Sir Thomas Ruthven, who descended from the second Lord Ruthven, partly restored the family's reputation when he was raised in the peerage as Lord Ruthven of Freeland.[2]
Patrick Ruthven, 1st Earl of Brentford (c. 1573–1651), was a collateral descendant ofSir William Ruthven, 1st Lord Ruthven. He fought and negotiated on behalf ofGustavus Adolphus of Sweden, King ofSweden, during theThirty Years' War. In Germany, he fought alongside his nephews, Colonel Frances Ruthven andMajor General John Ruthven.[5]
Patrick Ruthven, 1st Earl of Brentford also fought on behalf of KingCharles I during theWars of the Three Kingdoms, bringing both Colonel Frances Ruthven and Major General John Ruthven into service with him.[6]Sir Thomas Ruthven, 1st Lord Ruthven of Freeland (d. 1673), on whomCharles II of England bestowed the title ofLord Ruthven of Freeland in 1651.[7] His son was David Ruthven, 2nd Lord Ruthven of Freeland.
Clan Chief: (Patrick Leo) Brer Hore-Ruthven, 3rdEarl of Gowrie,Viscount Ruthven of Canberra, andBaron Ruthven of Gowrie, andBaron Gowrie ofCanberra,Commonwealth of Australia, Chief of the Name and Arms of Ruthen, in succession toGrey Hore-Ruthven, who died 24 September 2021.[8][9]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ruthven".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 941.