Bartolf also known as Bartholomew was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

and Hungarian nobleman and the founder of the Leslie family, who currently serve as

Earls of Leven Earl of Leven (pronounced "''Lee''-ven") is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1641 for Alexander Leslie. He was succeeded by his grandson Alexander, who was in turn followed by his daughters Margaret and Catherine (who are usu ...

and Earls of Rothes and Lord Newark, all of which are situated in the historic kingdom of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He came over from Hungary in 1067 with Margaret later St Margaret of Scotland. Bartolf is known for being the first governor of Edinburgh Castle in the 11th century, he moved to

in 1067 and married king

Malcolm III Malcolm III ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Dhonnchaidh; died 13 November 1093) was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" ("ceann mòr", Gaelic, literally "big head" ...

's sister Beatrix (with whom he founded the Leslie family). He may have lived until the 12th century according to the Scottish Rampant Clan website.

Origin

A 16th century descendant would claim that Bardolf was a nobleman of Hungarian origin who accompanied the Hungarian-born English prince, Edgar Ætheling, and his sister

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

, later queen, to the

kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a la ...

in 1067 following the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

. He was supposedly very brave and that is why he was given the title of Governor of Edinburgh Castle. It is said that his father went by the name of Walter de Lesthlin.

Earl of Ross and Lord Lesley

He supposedly was given the title of

Earl of Ross The Earl or Mormaer of Ross was the ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland. Origins and transfers In the early Middle Ages, Ross was part of the vast earldom of Moray. It seems to have been made a separate earldom in the mid 12th ...

by king Malcolm Canmore and Lord Lesley which became Lord Leslie by 1445. This is according to a 19th century book on titles within

. His name in this book is the Latinised Bartholdus.

"Grip fast" legend

As the Queen's Chamberlain, it was Bartolf's duty to carry the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

on his own horse, with her riding pillion on a pad behind the

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...

with a belt round his waist for her to hold. Tradition has it that one day while riding in this fashion they were crossing a swollen stream when the horse stumbled and the Queen fearing she would fall off cried "Gin the buckle bide?" (Will the buckle hold?), Bartolf, urging his horse to the other side answered crying "Grip Fast!" and they reached the other side safely. This incident so alarmed Bartolf that he had two more buckles added to his belt, so three buckles on a belt became the Arms of the Leslies and "Grip Fast!" became the motto.

Death

According to the book "Historical records of the family of Leslie from 1067 to 1868-9 Vol.1" by Colonel Leslie KH of

Balquhain Balquhain, also known as Balquhain Stone Circle, is a recumbent stone circle from Inverurie in Scotland. It is a scheduled ancient monument. Description and measurements It is located in farmland at an altitude of c. on a terraced hillside lea ...

, he died in 1121 and passed the title of

and Lord Lessley to his son Malcolm. Malcolm was created constable of the royal castle at Inverurie which he held for David I, and his great-grandson, Sir Norman de Leslie, acquired the lands of Fythkill in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, afterwards called

Leslie Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

, around 1282.

References

{{S-end Hungarian nobility 11th-century Scottish people 1121 deaths 1120s deaths 11th-century births Clan Leslie 11th-century Hungarian people Scottish people of Hungarian descent