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Battle Of Dryfe Sands
The Battle of Dryfe Sands was a Scottish clan battle that took place on 6 December 1593, near Lockerbie, Scotland. It was fought between the Clan Maxwell and Clan Johnstone after a hundred years of feuding between them. The Johnstones won a decisive victory over the Maxwells. Background In 1585, John Maxwell, 8th Lord Maxwell, was declared a rebel for having quarreled with the Earl of Arran who was a favorite of James VI of Scotland. A commission was therefore given to Johnstone, Lord of Annandale, who was then the Warden of the West Marches. Because Maxwell had numerous vassals and friends, it was thought necessary to send two bands of mercenaries to support Johnstone. However, these two companies, that were commanded by captains Cranston and Lammie, were attacked at Crawfordmoor and cut to pieces by a party of Maxwells who were under the command of Robert Maxwell, natural brother to the chief. He followed up this advantage by burning Johnstone's Lochwood Castle. In a subse ...
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Scottish Clan
A Scottish clan (from Goidelic languages, Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon, which regulates Scottish heraldry and coats of arms. Most clans have their own tartan patterns, usually dating from the 19th century, which members may incorporate into kilts or other clothing. The modern image of clans, each with their own tartan and specific land, was promulgated by the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott after influence by others. Historically, tartan designs were associated with Lowland and Highland districts whose weavers tended to produce cloth patterns favoured in those districts. By process of social evolution, it followed that the clans/families prominent in a particular district would wear the tartan of that district, and it was but a short step for that community ...
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Clan Kirkpatrick
Clan Kirkpatrick is a Lowland armigerous Scottish clan. There are several variations of the Kirkpatrick name: Kilpatric, Kilpatrick, and Gilpatrick. The names Kirkpatrick and Kilpatrick may have been interchangeable at one time. The clan is recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon, however the clan does not currently have a chief so recognised. The surname Kirkpatrick is also a recognized sept of Clan Douglas and Clan Colquhoun. History Origins of the clan Traditional origins The clan takes its name from the church of Saint Patrick in the parish of Closeburn in Dumfriesshire, Scotland.Way, George and Squire, Romily. (1994). ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). pp. 411 - 412. Traditionally the Kirkpatrick family of Closeburn have held these lands since the ninth century. Recorded origins The family first appear on record in the twelfth century when Ivone de Kirk ...
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Homage (feudal)
Homage (from Medieval Latin , lit. "pertaining to a man") in the Middle Ages was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title to his new position (investiture). It was a symbolic acknowledgement to the lord that the vassal was, literally, his man (''homme''). The oath known as " fealty" implied lesser obligations than did "homage". Further, one could swear "fealty" to many different overlords with respect to different land holdings, but "homage" could only be performed to a single liege, as one could not be "his man" (i.e., committed to military service) to more than one "liege lord". There have been some conflicts about obligations of homage in history. For example, the Angevin monarchs of England were sovereign in England, i.e., they had no duty of homage regarding those holdings; but they were not sovereign regarding their French holdings. Henry II was king of England, but he wa ...
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Manrent
Manrent refers to a Scottish contract of the mid-15th century to the early 17th century, usually military in nature and involving Scottish clans. The bond of manrent was commonly an instrument in which a weaker man or clan pledged to serve, in return for protection, a stronger lord or clan—in effect becoming a vassal that renders service to a superior, often made in the form of a covenant. Manrents were a ''Promise by one person to serve another, uchthat he shall be friend to all his friends, and foe to all his foes''. Some bonds of manrent, described as ''bonds of friendship'', took place between men or clans of equal power, worded in the form of treaties of offensive and defensive alliance. These contracting parties bound themselves to assist each other. Manrents always acknowledged and prioritized the signatory's duty of allegiance to the King, in terms such as: "…always excepting duty to our lord the king". In the same manner, when men who were not chiefs of clans, b ...
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Sanquhar Castle
Sanquhar Castle, now a ruin, was built in the 13th century; the ruins are situated north east of Dumfries overlooking the River Nith. Situated on the southern approach to the former royal burgh of Sanquhar in Dumfries and Galloway, south west Scotland, it sits on the trail of the Southern Upland Way. The castle is a stronghold bounded on the west by the River Nith, to the north by a burn, and made strong by a deep ditch running the remainder of the boundary. History The castle was built by the Ross family in the 13th century and then passed to the Crichton family in the 14th century. In July 1617, James VI and I, visited the castle en route to Glasgow: the Crichtons welcomed him with a display so huge that it bankrupted them. Sanquhar Castle was sold by the Crichtons in the mid 17th century to Sir William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry, who established the fairytale pink sandstone Drumlanrig Castle ten miles south of Sanquhar near Thornhill. From then on the castle at Sanquhar b ...
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Nithsdale
Nithsdale (''Srath Nid'' in Scottish Gaelic), also known as Strathnith, Stranith or Stranit, is the strath or dale of the River Nith in southern Scotland. Nithsdale was one of the medieval provinces of Scotland. The provinces gradually lost their administrative importance to the shires created from the twelfth century, with Nithsdale forming part of Dumfriesshire. A Nithsdale district covering a similar area to the medieval province was created in 1975, based in the area's main town of Dumfries. The district was abolished in 1996, since when the area has been directly administered by Dumfries and Galloway Council. History The name ''Strath Nid'' may represent the Cumbric ''Ystrad Nidd''; Cumbric (a variety of Common Brittonic) was the dominant language in this area from before Roman times until the 11th or 12th century, whereas Gaelic influence here was late and transient. The River Nith flows north to south through the Southern Uplands in south-west Scotland, separating the L ...
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Lochwood Tower
Lochwood Tower, also known as Lochwood Castle, is a ruined 16th-century L-plan tower house situated in Annandale (Valley of the River Annan) about south of the town of Moffat in the modern county of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.Coventry, Martin (1997) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Goblinshead. p.246 It was the seat of the Clan Johnstone. History The Johnstones held the property from the 14th century, and it was their main stronghold. In 1643, the family were created Earls of Hartfell, and in 1660, Earls of Annandale. The second Earl of Annandale and Hartfell, was created Marquess of Annandale in 1701. The English captured the tower in 1547, during the Rough Wooing, and held it until 1550. They described it as 'a fair large tower, able to lodge all our company safely, with a barmkin, hall, kitchen and stables, all within the barmkin…'. Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, the English commander, wrote, We came there about half an hour before daybreak and the greater par ...
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Mercenary
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather than for political interests. Beginning in the 20th century, mercenaries have increasingly come to be seen as less entitled to protections by rules of war than non-mercenaries. The Geneva Conventions declare that mercenaries are not recognized as legitimate combatants and do not have to be granted the same legal protections as captured service personnel of the armed forces. In practice, whether or not a person is a mercenary may be a matter of degree, as financial and political interests may overlap. Modern mercenary organizations are generally referred to as private military companies or PMCs. Laws of war Protocol Additional GC 1977 (APGC77) is a 1 ...
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Vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. While the rights and obligations of a vassal are called vassalage, and the rights and obligations of a suzerain are called suzerainty. The obligations of a vassal often included military support by knights in exchange for certain privileges, usually including land held as a tenant or fief. The term is also applied to similar arrangements in other feudal societies. In contrast, fealty (''fidelitas'') was sworn, unconditional loyalty to a monarch. European vassalage In fully developed vassalage, the lord and the vassal would take part in a commendation ceremony composed of two parts, the homage and the fealty, including the use of Christian sacraments to show its sacred importance. According to Eginhard's brief description, the ''commenda ...
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Warden Of The West Marches
The Lord Warden of the Marches was an office in the governments of Scotland and England. The holders were responsible for the security of the border between the two nations, and often took part in military action. They were also responsible, along with 'Conservators of the truce', for administering the special type of border law known as March law. The Marches on both sides of the border were traditionally split into West, Middle and East, each with their own warden answerable to the Lord Warden-general. The English Western March was based on Carlisle and the Eastern March on Berwick-upon-Tweed. The offices became unnecessary after the union of the crowns of England and Scotland under King James in 1603. For England Warden of the Marches * Robert de Clifford (1297–) (died 1314) *John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey (1327–) *Henry de Percy, 2nd Baron Percy (1328–) *Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby and Henry de Percy, 2nd Baron Percy (1334–) (jointly) * Gilbert ...
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Commission (document)
A commission is a formal document issued to appoint a named person to high office or as a commissioned officer in a territory's armed forces. A commission constitutes documentary authority that the person named is vested with the powers of that office and is empowered to execute official acts. A commission often takes the form of letters patent. Commissions are typically issued in the name of or signed by the head of state. In Commonwealth realms, the documentation is referred to a King's Commission or Queen's Commission (depending on the gender of the reigning monarch). However, in Commonwealth realms other than the United Kingdom, they may be signed by the governor-general, the representative of the monarch of that realm. Terminology Because the word "commission" can also refer generally to an individual's duty, the more specific terms commissioning parchment or commissioning scroll are often used to specify the commissioning document. However the document is not usually i ...
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