The Hostarius (alternatively, Usher, Doorward or Durward) was an office in

medieval Scotland Scotland in the Middle Ages concerns the history of Scotland from the departure of the Romans to the adoption of major aspects of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. From the fifth century northern Britain was divided into a series ...

whose holders, eventually hereditary, had the theoretical responsibility of being warden of the king's door: protecting the king's property. This is a list of ''hostarii''. * Malcolm de

Molle MOLLE (pronounced ,, homophonic with the name Molly) is an acronym for Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. It is used to define the current generation of load-bearing equipment and backpacks used by a number of NATO armed forces, espe ...

, uncle of

Alan fitz Walter, 2nd High Steward of Scotland Alan fitz Walter (1140 – 1204) was hereditary High Steward of Scotland and a crusader. Life Alan was the son and heir of Walter fitz Alan, by his spouse Eschina, who was possibly a member of a family from the south of Scotland. From 1178, ...

Balfour Paul vol.I p. 11 * Jocelin, reign of

William the Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

* Thomas de Lundin (son of Máel Coluim son of

Gille Críst, Earl of Mar Gille Críst of Mar is the fourth-known Mormaer of Mar, from 1183 to 1203. His relationship to the previous Mormaer, Morggán, is not totally clear, but Gille Críst was not the son of Morggán, and so his succession could probably be explained ...

), d. 1231 *

Alan Durward Alan Hostarius (or Alan Durward) ( gd, Ailean Dorsair) (died after 1264, or in 1275) was the son of Thomas de Lundin, a grandson of Gille Críst, Mormaer of Mar. His mother's name is unknown, but she was almost certainly a daughter of Máel ...

(son of Thomas), d. 1275 The family of "Durward" (a later name for ''hostarius'') may have held the office hereditarily after Thomas of Lundie, and certainly kept the title as a surname (in

Norman French Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...

, ''l'Ussier'' ("the Usher"); in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, ''Durward'') The office was no longer hereditary by the second half of the 13th century, and indeed, by then, there were many ''hostarii''. Unlike many other hereditary royal office holders, the "Durward" family were not of

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...

or French origin but 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 ...

origin. It was a sept of the native comital dynasty of Mar.

References

Notes

Sources

* Balfour Paul, Sir James, ''Scots PeerageIX vols. Edinburgh 190

* Hammond, Matthew H., "The Durward family in the thirteenth century", in Steve Boardman and Alasdair Ross (eds.), ''The Exercise of Power in Medieval Scotland, c.1200–1500'', (Dublin/Portland, 2003). pp. 118–37

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