The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife was the ruler of the province of Fife in medieval Scotland, which encompassed the modern counties of
Fife and
Kinross
Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire.
History
Kinross's origins are conn ...
. Due to their royal ancestry, the earls of Fife were the highest ranking nobles in the realm, and had the right to crown the
king of Scots
The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...
.
Held by the MacDuff family until it passed by resignation to the Stewarts, the earldom ended on the forfeiture and execution of
Murdoch Stewart in 1425. The earldom was revived in 1759 with the style of Earl Fife for
William Duff, a descendant of the MacDuffs. His great-great-grandson, the
6th Earl Fife, was made Earl of Fife in 1885 and
Duke of Fife in 1889.
Medieval earldom
Mormaer of Fife
The
mormaer
In early medieval Scotland, a mormaer was the Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a ''Toísech'' (chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English earls or Continental c ...
s of Fife, by the 12th century, had established themselves as the highest ranking
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
nobles in
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 ...
. They frequently held the office of
Justiciar of Scotia
The Justiciar of Scotia (in Norman-Latin, ''Justiciarus Scotie'') was the most senior legal office in the High Medieval Kingdom of Scotland. ''Scotia'' (meaning Scotland) in this context refers to Scotland to the north of the River Forth and Riv ...
- highest
brithem in the land - and enjoyed the right of crowning the
kings of the Scots
The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the sovereign state, state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thoug ...
. The Mormaer's function, as with other medieval Scottish lordships, was partly kin-based. Hence, in 1385, the Earl of Fife, seen as the successor of the same lordship, is called ''capitalis legis de Clenmcduffe'' (''Lord of the Law of the Children of Macduff'').
The first earl was
Alexander Scrymgeour (died 1306). Alexander served under
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence.
Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army ...
and
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 ...
. He was the official and hereditary banner bearer for the king and was awarded title of earl and the demesne of Fife for services rendered. The lordship existed in the Middle Ages until its last earl,
Murdoch (''Muireadhach''),
Duke of Albany
Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the younger sons in the Scottish and later the British royal family, particularly in the Houses of Stuart and Hanover.
History
The Dukedom of Albany was first granted ...
, was executed by
James I of Scotland
James I (late July 139421 February 1437) was King of Scots from 1406 until his assassination in 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III and Annabella Drummond. His older brother David, Duke of ...
.
Chief of Clan Macduff
The deputy or complementary position to mormaer or earl of Fife was leadership as Chief (''ceann'') of
Clan MacDuff
Clan MacDuff or Clan Duff is a Lowland Scottish clan.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. ...
(''clann meic Duibh''). There is little doubt that the style MacDuib, or ''Macduff'', derives from the name of King
Cináed III mac Duib, and ultimately from this man's father, King
Dub (d. 966). Compare, for instance, that
Domhnall, Lord of the Isles, signed a charter in 1408 as ''MacDomhnaill''. The descendants of Cináed III adopted the name in the same way that the descendants of
Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig called themselves ''Uí Briain'', although it does seem that at least initially ''MacDuff'' was a style reserved for the man who held the Mormaership of Fife.
The
chieftaincy
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...
of the
clan was not always held by the mormaer, especially after the mormaerdom became subject to the laws of feudal primogeniture in the reign of
Donnchadh I. For example, at the
Battle of Falkirk, it is the head of the clan who led the men of Fife, rather than the Mormaer.
End of Macduff line
The Macduff line continued without interruption until the time of
Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...
, the only child of
Donnchad (Duncan) IV, Earl of Fife, and his wife Mary de Monthermer. She succeeded her father as ''suo jure'' Countess of Fife on his death in 1358, making her one of the most eligible maidens in Scotland. She married four times, but all her husbands died within a few years of their marriage. In 1371 she was persuaded to name
Robert Stewart, Earl of Menteith (later Duke of Albany) as her heir, who was her brother-in-law by her second marriage to
Walter Stewart. He thus succeeded her as twelfth Earl of Fife on her death in 1389. Duke Robert was succeeded as Duke of Albany, Earl of Fife, etc. by his son
Murdoch in 1420. Duke Murdoch was forfeited and executed in 1425, due to his father's part in the death of Prince David, Duke of Rothesay. Thus the earldom of Fife came to an end.
Coat of arms
The arms of the earldom of Fife are ''or, a lion rampant gules'', that is, a red lion rampant on gold. These arms are testament to the earls' royal connection, as they differ from the king's arms only in the exclusion of the flowered border, or ''royal tressure''; in fact it is possible that the royal arms are actually a differenced version of those of the earl.
The device of a lion is attested for the first time on the seal of the tenth earl, but had probably been used for a long time before this, though some early seals show a different shield, bearing ''pallets'' or vertical stripes.
The arms of the earl of Fife are the basis for the arms of
Fife Council
Fife Council is the local authority for the Fife area of Scotland and is the third largest Scottish council, with 75 elected council members.
Councillors are generally elected every five years. At the 2012 election there were 78 councillors ele ...
, which show a knight on horseback in full armorial regalia, his shield, helm and the caparison of his horse bedecked with red lions.
[ The Fife lion also appears in the first quarter of the duke of Fife's arms.
]
Earls Fife (1759)
The earldom of Fife was resurrected in 1759 for William Duff, after he proved his descent from the original earls of Fife. This title was in the Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...
, notwithstanding that Fife is in Scotland; the "of" was also excluded, as was "not unfrequently" the case in the Irish Peerage.
Earls of Fife (1885)
The title of Earl of Fife in the Peerage of the United Kingdom was created in 1885 by Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
for Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife (1849–1912).
In 1889, Duff married Queen Victoria's granddaughter Princess Louise. Queen Victoria elevated him to the dignity of Duke of Fife in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In 1900, Queen Victoria created a second dukedom of Fife for him which could pass to his daughters and their heirs male
In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral l ...
. After his death in 1912, the dukedom of Fife created in 1900 passed to his eldest daughter, Princess Alexandra, while his other titles, including the 1885 earldom of Fife and the 1889 dukedom of Fife, became extinct.
List of holders
Mormaers of Fife
*? Giric mac Cináeda meic Duib
* ?
*Macduib (= Shakespeare's MacDuff) (''fl.'' 1057–1058)
* Causantín, Mormaer of Fife, (''fl''. 1095–1128)
** See Mormaer Beth
Mormaer Beth is a name of a Mormaer mentioned in an unreliable charter granted to Scone Priory, later Scone Abbey, by king Alexander I of Scotland.
The charter (Lawrie XXXVI) says, merely, ''Beth comes'' (i.e. ''Mormaer Beth''). This could be a m ...
and Ethelred of Scotland
Ethelred (died c. 1093 ''Edelret mac Maíl Coluim'' or ''Æthelred Margotsson'') was the son of King Malcolm III of Scotland (Gaelic Máel Coluim III) and his wife Margaret of Wessex, the third oldest of the latter and the probable sixth oldest o ...
for common confusion here
*Gille Míchéil, Mormaer of Fife
Mormaer Gille Míchéil (d. bef. July 1136) is the second man known for certain to have been Mormaer of Fife from 1130 to 1133, although it is unlikely he actually was the second. He had at least one son, called Aed (=Hugh). Aed would have succeed ...
(1130–1133)
* Donnchadh I, Earl of Fife (1133–1154)
*Donnchadh II, Earl of Fife
Donnchad II (died 1204), anglicized as Duncan II or Dunecan II, succeeded his father Duncan I as Earl of Fife in childhood. As a child of the previous mormaer, he was entitled to succeed his father through primogeniture, but not to lead his ...
(1154–1204)
* Maol Choluim I, Earl of Fife (1204–1228)
* Maol Choluim II, Earl of Fife (1228–1266)
* Colbán, Earl of Fife, (1266–1270/2)
* Donnchadh III, Earl of Fife (1270/2–1288)
* Donnchadh IV, Earl of Fife (1288–1353), considered by King David II
David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scots from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five, and was crowned at Scone in November 1331, becom ...
to have forfeited the earldom
* Sir William Ramsay of Colluthie, Earl of Fife (1358-c1360), created by King David II
* Isabella, Countess of Fife, (1361–1371), daughter of Donnchadh IV, was persuaded to resign the earldom to
* Robert Stewart, Earl of Fife (1371–1420)
*Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany
Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany ( gd, Muireadhach Stiubhart) (136224 May 1425) was a leading Scottish nobleman, the son of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, and the grandson of King Robert II of Scotland, who founded the Stewart dynasty. In 1389, h ...
, Earl of Fife (1420–1425)
Earls Fife
*William Duff, 1st Earl Fife
William Duff, 1st Earl Fife (1697 – 30 September 1763), of Braco, Banff, was a Scottish landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1727 to 1734.
Early life
Duff was the eldest surviving son of William Duff, merchant, of Dipp ...
(''c.'' 1696-1763)
*James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife
James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife (29 September 1729 – 1809) was a Scottish aristocrat and Member of Parliament.
Heritage
James Duff was second son of William Duff, 1st Earl Fife, and Jean Grant (daughter of Sir James Grant of Pluscardine, Baron ...
(1729-1809)
*Alexander Duff, 3rd Earl Fife
{{Infobox noble, type
, name = Alexander Duff
, title = 3rd Earl Fife
, image =
, caption =
, alt =
, CoA =
, more = no
, succession =
, ...
(1731-1811)
* James Duff, 4th Earl Fife (1776-1857)
* James Duff, 5th Earl Fife (1814-1879)
Dukes of Fife
* Alexander Duff, 6th Earl Fife, 1st Duke of Fife (1849-1912)
*Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife
Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife, (; 17 May 1891 – 26 February 1959), known as Princess Arthur of Connaught after her marriage, was the eldest surviving grandchild of King Edward VII. Alexandra and her younger sister, Maud, had the dist ...
(1891-1959)
*James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
(1929-2015)
*David Carnegie, 4th Duke of Fife
David Charles Carnegie, 4th Duke of Fife (born 3 March 1961) is a British peer and businessman. He is the only surviving son of the late James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife, and his former wife Caroline Dewar. He was styled Earl of Macduff until ...
(born 1961)
Notes
References
*Grant, Rev'd Alexander, "The Ancient Earls of Fife", in Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.
''The Scots Peerage''
Volume IV, (Edinburgh, 1907), pp. 1–15
* Bannerman, John, "MacDuff of Fife," in A. Grant & K.Stringer (eds.) ''Medieval Scotland: Crown, Lordship and Community, Essays Presented to G.W.S. Barrow'', (Edinburgh, 1993), pp. 20–38
* Barrow, G. W. S., ''Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland'', (Edinburgh, 1988)
* Barrow, G.W.S. ''Earl's of Fife in the 12th Century'', (Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1952–53), pp. 51–61.
* Lawrie, Sir Archibald C., ''Early Scottish Charters Prior to A.D. 1153'', (Glasgow, 1905), no. XXXVI, pp. 28–31, pp. 283–84
* Roberts, John L., ''Lost Kingdoms: Celtic Scotland and the Middle Ages'', (Edinburgh, 1997)
External links
Stirnet: "Fife1"
(via Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fife
Clan MacDuff
Forfeited earldoms in the Peerage of Scotland
Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Noble titles created in 1107
Noble titles created in 1120
Noble titles created in 1129
Noble titles created in 1885
Noble titles created for UK MPs