Formartine ( gd, Fearann Mhàrtainn meaning "Martin's land") is a committee area in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, Scotland. This district extends north from the River Don to the

River Ythan The Ythan is a river in the north-east of Scotland rising at Wells of Ythan near the village of Ythanwells and flowing south-eastwards through the towns of Fyvie, Methlick and Ellon before flowing into the North Sea near Newburgh, in Formartine ...

. It has a population of 36,478 (2001 Census). The committee area was formed in 1996 from part of the former district of Banff and Buchan. Formartine has experienced rapid population growth, particularly around Ellon and

Oldmeldrum Oldmeldrum (commonly known as Meldrum) is a village and parish in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, not far from Inverurie in North East Scotland. With a population of around 2,187, Oldmeldrum falls within Scotland's top 300 centres of popu ...

, and in the south east where development has spread outwith the city of Aberdeen. By contrast, the area around

Turriff Turriff () is a town and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It lies on the River Deveron, about above sea level, and has a population of 5,708. In everyday speech it is often referred to by its Scots name ''Turra'', which is derived fr ...

retains strong dependency on the traditional agricultural economy. The area's coastline and rural environment offer recreation potential including the Formartine and Buchan Way.

History

Formartine is first documented as a thanage in 1266, when Reginald Cheyne is recorded holding it in feu-ferm and being liable for 14

merks The merk is a long-obsolete Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13 shillings 4 pence (exactly ...

as 2nd

teinds In Scotland a teind () was a tithe derived from the produce of the land for the maintenance of the clergy. It is also an old lowland term for a tribute due to be paid by the fairies to the devil every seven years. Found in the story of Tam Lin as ...

payable to the Diocese of Aberdeen. This would have valued the thanage in 1266 at £96 13s 4d, though by the time of the

Alexander III rental Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

this had increased to £106 13s 4d. The thanage's origins probably lay as one of the shires within the province of Buchan that paid tribute to the King of Alba rather than the

Mormaer of Buchan The Mormaer () or Earl of Buchan () was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male ...

. The thanage had its main centre at Fyvie, and it included a large royal forest for hunting. Formartine lay between two areas within the

Earldom of Buchan The Mormaer () or Earl of Buchan () was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male ...

: Ellon to the north east, which was the '' caput'' of the earldom, and the detached area of ''Bethelnie'' (now

) to the south west. Some time between 1292 and 1296 John de Balliol, then King of Scotland, alienated the thanage to

John Comyn, Earl of Buchan John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan (circa 1260 – 1308) was a chief opponent of Robert the Bruce in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence. He should not be confused with the better known John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch ...

, as compensation for Comyn's renunciation of his claim to part of the

Lordship of Galloway The lords of Galloway consisted of a dynasty of heirs who were lords (or kings) and ladies who ruled over Galloway in southwest Scotland, mainly during the High Middle Ages. Many regions of Scotland, including Galloway and Moray, periodically ...

, Balliol's ancestral lordship. This effectively extended the bounds of the Earldom southwards, though the

burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...

and castle of Fyvie remained in crown hands. The thanage must later have been escheated and returned to crown hands, as between 1341 and 1346 David II granted half of Formartine to his sister Margaret and her husband

William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland William de Moravia (also known as William Sutherland) (died 1370) was the 5th Earl of Sutherland and chief of the Clan Sutherland, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. William, 5th Earl of Sutherland was a loyal supporter of David II of Sco ...

, and the other half to another of his sisters Matilda and her husband Thomas Isaac. Formartine reverted again to the crown in 1373 on the death of the Earl of Sutherland, and was granted in 1377 to John, Earl of Carrick, the heir to the throne, and then in 1382 as a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

to James Lindsay, the son of David Lindsay of Crawford, with Carrick being compensated with a £100 per year annuity.The district has a long history. The early history of this locale is evidenced by the survival of a number of prehistoric features, including a number of tumuli.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{coord, 57, 23, 46, N, 2, 17, 13, W, region:GB_type:adm3rd, display=title Committee areas of Aberdeenshire Tumuli in Scotland