Laurence Bruce of Cultmalindie (20 January 1547 – August 1617) was the son of John Bruce of Cultmalindie and Eupheme Elphinstone. Easter Cultmalindie is a small hamlet or "

fermtoun A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

" in Tibbermore parish, Perthshire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Laurence Bruce features in a number of traditional stories of Shetland.

Background

The Bruces of Cultmalindie were a minor branch of the Bruce family in Scotland, and were descendants of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

, King of Scotland (1306-1329). Laurence Bruce was the half brother of

Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney and Lord of Zetland (Shetland) (spring of 1533 – 4 February 1593) was a recognised illegitimate son of James V, King of Scotland, and his mistress Eupheme Elphinstone. Robert Stewart was half-brother to Ma ...

. Earl Robert was the recognized

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

son of James V, King of Scotland, and Eupheme Elphinstone.

Shetland and Muness

About 1571 Laurence Bruce was appointed sheriff (the anglicised equivalent to the actual Norn-Scottish title of Foud or "faud", coming from the Norse term 'fogde', meaning approximately bailiff) of the Shetland Islands by Earl Robert. Accompanied by his nephew William Bruce of

Crail Crail (); gd, Cathair Aile) is a former royal burgh, parish and community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018). Etymology The name ''C ...

(son of his full-brother Robert Bruce: although he may have been a son of Laurence) and other officials and armed men, Laurence Bruce moved to his new domain and set up his seat on the island of

Unst Unst (; sco, Unst; nrn, Ønst) is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of . Unst ...

. Once there he rapidly became unpopular due to his oppressive and corrupt rule. For example, it was alleged that he took bribes and that he had altered the official weights and measures to enhance the revenues of Earl Robert. His armed men felt free to seize control of ships and to billet themselves in the homes of the local people. Muness Castle - geograph

Evidently Laurence Bruce helped himself to the local women, and is believed to have fathered approximately twenty-four illegitimate children beyond his ten legitimate children by his wives Helen Kennedy, daughter of

Hugh Kennedy of Girvanmains Hugh or Huw Kennedy of Girvanmains was a Scottish courtier, soldier, and landowner. He was the son of Alexander Kennedy of Girvanmains in Ayrshire. The family lived at Dalquharran Castle. He was a supporter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angu ...

and Janet Stewart, and Elizabeth Gray, daughter of Patrick, Lord Gray and Marion Ogilvy.W. Bruce Armstrong, 'Bruce', ''Genealogist'', vol. 6 (London, 1882), pp. 163-4. Escalating conflict with the local Shetland Islanders resulted in a petition being sent to the royal court in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. In response, a royal commission, the 'Mudy commission', travelled to Shetland and in February 1577 took evidence from 700 male Shetlanders. As a result, Laurence Bruce was removed from office. But by June of the following year, he had returned to the islands as "sheriff-depute". Laurence Bruce is best known as the builder of

Muness Castle Muness Castle is located on Unst, which is one of the Shetland Islands of Scotland. The castle is east of the village of Uyeasound. Unst is Scotland's most northerly inhabited island, and Muness is the most northerly fortalice in the British Is ...

, which was completed around 1598. Muness Castle, now a ruin, is the most northerly castle in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. It was built at the southeast end of

, just east of the town of

Uyeasound Uyeasound is a village on the Isle of Unst, the northernmost island of the Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands an ...

(which was the harbour for the castle), after Earl Robert was succeeded by his son

Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney, Lord of Zetland (c. 1566 – 6 February 1615) was a Scottish nobleman, the son of Robert, Earl of Orkney, a bastard son of King James V. Infamous for his godless nature and tyrannical rule over the Scottish arc ...

in 1593. Later events proved that Laurence Bruce had good reason to fear the aggression of Earl Patrick. In 1608 Earl Patrick sent a force to besiege the castle, but the attackers abandoned their assault. In 1610 Laurence Bruce testified against Earl Patrick before the Privy Council in Edinburgh. Following a rebellion in Orkney, in August 1614 the Privy Council appointed Laurence Bruce a Commissioner and charged him with apprehending any rebels who might seek shelter in Shetland. Laurence Bruce died at Muness castle in August 1617 and was buried inside the old church at nearby Sandwick. Ownership of the castle passed to his second eldest son Andrew Bruce of Muness, a quieter and more popular man than his father. Laurence Bruce's eldest son, Alexander Bruce of Cultmalindie, returned to the mainland of Scotland to run the family's property in Perthshire. Illegitimate sons include Scipio Bruce of Meikleure. William Bruce of Symbister, his nephew or son, married Marjorie Stewart, a daughter of John Stewart (an illegitimate son of James V) and Jean Hepburn.

References

*Clark, John, ''Genealogy, Records and Intermarriages of the Fordyce, Bruce & Clark Families at Uyeasound, Unst, Shetland, 2nd ed.'' (Falkirk, 1902). *Ballantyne, John H. and Smith, Brian (eds.), ''Shetland Documents 1195 - 1579'' (Lerwick, 1999). *Ballantyne, John H. and Smith, Brian (eds.), ''Shetland Documents 1580 - 1611'' (Lerwick, 1994). {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Laurence 1547 births 1617 deaths Laurence Bruce People associated with Shetland 16th-century Scottish people 17th-century Scottish people