Freskin (died before 1171) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

nobleman who settled in

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 ...

during the reign of

King David I David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Malcol ...

, becoming the progenitor of the

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

and

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later c ...

families, and possibly others.

Origins

Freskin was said to have come to the Lowlands of Scotland from Flanders, and thence to

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland (council area), ...

in the north. From a charter granted to one of his sons by King William the Lion, it can be ascertained that Freskin held from King David the lands of Strathbrock in West Lothian, as well as

Duffus Duffus ( gd, Dubhais) is a village and parish in Moray, Scotland. The Duffus Village Inn, the local shop, Post Office and Duffus Village Hall provide a focal point for the community. Nearby are the remains of Duffus Castle, St. Peters' Kirk, a ...

Roseisle Roseisle, also known as Old Town, is a village in the parish of Duffus, near Elgin, Moray, in the Strathspey region of Scotland. History A charter was given to William, son of Freskin from King William I of Scotland, of the lands of Roseisle b ...

, Inchikel, Machir and Kintrae in Moray. The name Freskin is Flemish, and in the words of

Geoffrey Barrow Geoffrey Wallis Steuart Barrow (28 November 1924 – 14 December 2013) was a Scottish historian and academic. The son of Charles Embleton Barrow and Marjorie née Stuart, Geoffrey Barrow was born on 28 November 1924, at Headingley near Leeds. ...

"it is virtually certain that Freskin belonged to a large group of Flemish settlers who came to Scotland in the middle decades of the 12th century and were chiefly to be found in West Lothian and the valley of the Clyde". Freskin was one of several Flemings who had lands in Moray bestowed upon him; this seems to have been an attempt by the kings of Scotland to replace the native

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

nobility, who had resisted their rule and prevented them forming a cohesive kingdom, most notably in the 1130 uprising led by Angus, Earl of Moray.

Issue

Freskin probably had only one son,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. It is sometimes said that he had two others, Hugh and Andrew, but these may in fact have been sons of William. William inherited his father's lands and took the name ''de Moravia'', or "of Moray" in English. The Moray or Murray family became prolific in Scotland, and their chief now holds the title

Duke of Atholl Duke of Atholl, named for Atholl in Scotland, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland held by the head of Clan Murray. It was created by Queen Anne in 1703 for John Murray, 2nd Marquess of Atholl, with a special remainder to the heir male of ...

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

, one of William's sons, acquired a large tract of land in

. His son,

, took the surname Sutherland, and was created

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

of that region in the 1230s, a title which is still held by his descendants today. The connection between the Murrays and Sutherlands is shown by the similarity of their

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

: the Murrays bear ''azure, three stars argent'' and the Sutherlands bear ''gules, three stars or''.

The Douglas connection

It is also quite possible that the house of

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

descends from Freskin's family.

Bricius de Douglas Bricius (sometimes anglicized as Brice, died 1222) was prior of Lesmahagow and afterward bishop of Moray (Gaelic ''epscop Muireb''; Latin ''episcopus Moraviensis''). In this period, the name ''Bricius'' is more often a Latinization of the G ...

, son of William, Lord of Douglas, became

Bishop of Moray The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. If the foundation charter of the monastery at Scone is reliable, then the Bishopric of Moray ...

in 1203. A man named Freskin of Kerdal is found amongst the benefactors of Spynie Cathedral, and Bricius refers to him as his uncle. The parentage of Freskin of Kerdal is not known, but he was undoubtedly a descendant of the original Freskin. The connection is further supported by the similarity of the families' arms: both bear three silver stars on blue, in varying arrangements.A History of the House of Douglas Vol I, Herbert Maxwell. Freemantle & Co., London. 1902 Belief in the common descent of the Murrays and Douglases was certainly extant in the early 15th century: : : : : : : : : : :

Notes

References

* Barrow, G.W.S. (ed.), ''The Acts of Malcolm IV King of Scots 1153-1165, Together with Scottish Royal Acts Prior to 1153 not included in Sir Archibald Lawrie's "Early Scottish Charters"'', in ''Regesta Regum Scottorum'', Volume I, (Edinburgh, 1960) * Barrow, G.W.S. (ed.), ''The Acts of William I King of Scots 1165-1214'' in ''Regesta Regum Scottorum'', Volume II, (Edinburgh, 1971) * Barrow, G.W.S., "Badenoch and Strathspey, 1130-1312: 1. Secular and Political" in ''Northern Scotland'', 8 (1988), pp. 1–15 * Barrow, G.W.S. (ed.), "The Beginnings of Military Feudalism" in Barrow (ed.) The Kingdom of the Scots, 2nd Ed. (2003), p. 252-3 * Duncan, A.A.M., ''Scotland: The Making of the Kingdom'', (Edinburgh, 1975) * Oram, Richard, "David I and the Conquest of Moray", in ''Northern Scotland'', 19 (1999), pp. 1–19 * Toorians, L., "Twelfth-century Flemish Settlement in Scotland", in Grant G. Simpson (ed.), ''Scotland and the Low Countries, 1124-1994'', (East Linton, 1996), pp. 1–14.

Origins

Issue

The Douglas connection

Notes

References

See also