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

committee area Many large local government councils in the United Kingdom have a system of area committees or area boards, which involve local people and organisations in decisions affecting council spending within their area. They cover a geographical area suc ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...

, Scotland. This district extends north from the River Don to the River Ythan. It has a population of 36,478 (2001 Census). The committee area was formed in 1996 from part of the former

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

Banff and Buchan Banff and Buchan is a committee area of the Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. It has a population of 35,742 (2001 Census). Fishing and agriculture are important industries, together with associated processing and service activity. Banff and Bucha ...

. Formartine has experienced rapid population growth, particularly around Ellon and Oldmeldrum, 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 f ...

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

Formartine and Buchan Way The Formartine and Buchan Way is a long-distance trail in Scotland, extending from Dyce north to Peterhead and Fraserburgh in the Buchan and Formartine districts of Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It follows the track of a former railway line, the ...

History

Formartine is first documented as a

thanage The Thanage is a system of nobility, predating the modern Peerage in Scandinavia and the British Isles. The basic title in the Thanage is the Thane, who in the Peerage is called a Baron. Superior to the Thane is the Median-Thane, who in the Pe ...

in 1266, when

Reginald Cheyne Reginald le Chen or Cheyne (died 1293) was the Chamberlain of Scotland from 1267 to 1269. He was the Baron of Inverugie. Reginald was the son of Bernard le Chen of Inverugie and succeeded his father upon his father's death. His brother was Henr ...

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 o ...

as 2nd teinds payable to the

Diocese of Aberdeen Diocese of Aberdeen was one of the 13 (14, after 1633) dioceses of the Scottish church, before the abolition of the episcopacy in 1689. Early history A see was founded in 1063 at Mortlach by Blessed Beyn. The earliest mention of the See of ...

. This would have valued the thanage in 1266 at £96 13s 4d, though by the time of the Alexander III rental this had increased to £106 13s 4d. The thanage's origins probably lay as one of the shires within the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

Buchan Buchan is an area of north-east Scotland, historically one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by ...

that paid

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...

to the

King of Alba 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 ...

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 l ...

. The thanage had its main centre at

Fyvie Fyvie is a village in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Geography Fyvie lies alongside the River Ythan and is on the A947 road. Architecture What in 1990, at least, was a Clydesdale Bank was built in 1866 by James Matthews. The ...

, and it included a large

royal forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

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 l ...

: Ellon to the north east, which was the ''

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