Clan Crawford
Encyclopedia
Clan Crawford is a Scottish clan
recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon
, which is the heraldic authority of Scotland
. The clan does not a have a chief
recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms
, is considered an armigerous clan
. Clan Crawford is considered armigerous because Crawfords are matriculated with the Lyon Court as armigers. The last internally recognised chief was Hugh Ronald George Craufurd, who sold his land (Auchenames, Crosbie and other estates) and moved to Canada in 1904. He died in Calgary in 1942, leaving no male heirs.
in Lanarkshire
, Scotland. Because of this it has been claimed the clan is of Norman
descent, however it has also been asserted that the clan is of Anglo-Danish
descent. The most complete history of the House of Crawford was written by the historian George Crawfurd
in the early 18th century. In line with George Crawfurd account, the House acknowledges as its progenitor the Anglo-Danish chief Thorlongus
(Thor the tall) who is most closely identified with the Merse in Southern Scotland, a marshy area west of Berwick and north of the River Tweed. Thorlongus also held lands in Northumbria. He fled to Scotland in the winter of 1068–9 when William the Conqueror ravaged Northumbria. Thorlongus served under Malcom Cadmore during the Dano-Scottish war with William the Conqueror. He was granted lands in Ednam by King Edgar around 1107. Thorlongus is known in documents located in Durham Cathedral Archives as the Overlord of Crawford. Thorlongus' grandson Galfridus de Craufurd is the first to assume the surname.
The claims of a Reginald, supposedly a son of the Earl of Richmond
, to be a Norman knight
brought to Scotland by David I of Scotland
as progenitor of the Crawfords is untenable, since the Durham Cathedral documents date from the early 12th century, during the reign of King Edgar and clearly name Thorlongus as Overlord of Crawford. Furthermore, Reginald was born after Gregan, his reputed grandson. Gregan is the knight who saved King David I's life from the attack of a stag in 1127AD that led to the grateful monarch founding Holyrood Abbey. Reginald de Craufurd as son of Galfridus lived at an earlier time, being born around 1075-80AD.
Galfridus de Craufurd divided the Barony of Crawford between his two sons, Hugh and Reginald, Hugh receiving the Barony and the portion given to Reginald became known as Crawfordjohn after Reginald's son John. John de Craufurd witnessed a charter of Abbott Arnold to Theobald Flamaticus for Douglas Water
(date). Johannes de Crawford, great-great-grandson of Galfridus de Craufurd, through his eldest son Hugh (d. 1248), had two daughters – the youngest who married William Lindsay, ancestor of the Earls of Crawford. The eldest daughter Margaret married Archibald Douglas, progenitor of the Earls of Douglas. A later Reginald de Crawford, of the Crawfordjohn line, married James de Loudon's daughter and heir, Margaret. In 1196, during the reign of William I of Scotland
, Sir Reginald Crawford was appointed Sheriff of Ayr. He was succeeded by his son, Hugh Crawford of Loudon, Sheriff of Ayr.
From Sir Reginald of Loudoun descends the main branch of the Crawfords, named "of Auchinames." This branch of the clan received lands from Robert I of Scotland
in 1320. From a younger son of the Sheriff descend the Crawfords of Craufurdland. This man's claim to the property was confirmed by Robert III of Scotland
in 1391. The third branch of Crawfords are the Crawfords of Kilbirnie, who claim descent from Sir John of Crawfordjohn who lived c. 1255. The Crawfords of Kilbirnie acquired the Kilbirnie estates in 1499. A baronet
cy was conferred upon this branch of the family in 1781. Another important marriage of the Crawfords was that of Sir Reginald Crawford's sister Margaret and Sir Alan Wallace of Ellerslie
. In 1781 a baronetcy was conferred to this branch of the clan.
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Clan Crawford does not have a chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Because of this the clan is considered an armigerous clan. The clan is currently unrepresented at the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs
. Sir Robert Craufurd, Baronet of Kilbirnie is the most senior member of the House of Crawford and represents it on the The Scottish Council of Armigerous Clans and Families.
head erased Gules
, between the attires a cross crosslet fitchée Sable
. Encircling the crest on the crest badge is a strap and buckle engraved with the motto
: TUTUM TE ROBORE REDDAM which translates from Latin
as "I will give you safety through strength". The Crawford tartan is of relatively modern origin, and it is certain that there was no Crawford tartan in around 1739. The first record of a Crawford tartan is that of the "Crawfovrd" which appeared in the Vestiarium Scoticum
of 1842. This is the Crawford tartan used today. The Vestiarium was the work of the Sobieski Stuarts who claim their book was a reproduction of ancient manuscript about clan tartans. Modern research, however, has shown it to be a Victorian era
hoax. Even so, today many clan tartans are derived from the Vestiarium.
in the Parish of Kilbirnie
, Ayrshire.
Scottish clan
Scottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...
recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon
Court of the Lord Lyon
The Court of the Lord Lyon, also known as the Lyon Court, is a standing court of law which regulates heraldry in Scotland. Like the College of Arms in England it maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, as well as records of...
, which is the heraldic authority of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The clan does not a have a chief
Scottish clan chief
The Scottish Gaelic word clann means children. In early times, and possibly even today, clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the Scottish clan. From its perceived founder a clan takes its name. The clan chief is the representative of this founder, and...
recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms
Lord Lyon King of Arms
The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, the oldest...
, is considered an armigerous clan
Armigerous clan
An armigerous clan is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognized as such by Lyon Court...
. Clan Crawford is considered armigerous because Crawfords are matriculated with the Lyon Court as armigers. The last internally recognised chief was Hugh Ronald George Craufurd, who sold his land (Auchenames, Crosbie and other estates) and moved to Canada in 1904. He died in Calgary in 1942, leaving no male heirs.
History
Clan Crawford derives its clan-name from the barony of CrawfordCrawford, South Lanarkshire
Crawford is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.Crawford is close to the source of the River Clyde and the M74 motorway, fifty miles south east of Glasgow and fifty-three miles north west of Carlisle...
in Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
, Scotland. Because of this it has been claimed the clan is of Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
descent, however it has also been asserted that the clan is of Anglo-Danish
Danelaw
The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
descent. The most complete history of the House of Crawford was written by the historian George Crawfurd
George Crawfurd
-Life:He was the third son of Thomas Crawfurd of Cartsburn. When Simon Fraser laid claim to the barony of Lovat, he employed Crawfurd to investigate the case, and to supply materials to support it...
in the early 18th century. In line with George Crawfurd account, the House acknowledges as its progenitor the Anglo-Danish chief Thorlongus
Thorlongus
Thor Longus or Thor the Long is an early 12th century Anglo-Saxon noble associated with Roxburghshire, a culturally English territory ruled by the Scottish king from the 11th-century onwards...
(Thor the tall) who is most closely identified with the Merse in Southern Scotland, a marshy area west of Berwick and north of the River Tweed. Thorlongus also held lands in Northumbria. He fled to Scotland in the winter of 1068–9 when William the Conqueror ravaged Northumbria. Thorlongus served under Malcom Cadmore during the Dano-Scottish war with William the Conqueror. He was granted lands in Ednam by King Edgar around 1107. Thorlongus is known in documents located in Durham Cathedral Archives as the Overlord of Crawford. Thorlongus' grandson Galfridus de Craufurd is the first to assume the surname.
The claims of a Reginald, supposedly a son of the Earl of Richmond
Earl of Richmond
The now-extinct title of Earl of Richmond was created many times in the Peerage of England. The earldom of Richmond was held by various Bretons, Normans, the royal families of Plantagenet, Capet, Savoy, Tudor and Stuart.-History:...
, to be a Norman knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
brought to Scotland by David I of Scotland
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
as progenitor of the Crawfords is untenable, since the Durham Cathedral documents date from the early 12th century, during the reign of King Edgar and clearly name Thorlongus as Overlord of Crawford. Furthermore, Reginald was born after Gregan, his reputed grandson. Gregan is the knight who saved King David I's life from the attack of a stag in 1127AD that led to the grateful monarch founding Holyrood Abbey. Reginald de Craufurd as son of Galfridus lived at an earlier time, being born around 1075-80AD.
Galfridus de Craufurd divided the Barony of Crawford between his two sons, Hugh and Reginald, Hugh receiving the Barony and the portion given to Reginald became known as Crawfordjohn after Reginald's son John. John de Craufurd witnessed a charter of Abbott Arnold to Theobald Flamaticus for Douglas Water
Douglas Water
The Douglas Water is a river in south-central Scotland, and is a tributary of the River Clyde. Its course is entirely within the South Lanarkshire council area. The river's name comes from the Gaelic dubh-glas, meaning black water....
(date). Johannes de Crawford, great-great-grandson of Galfridus de Craufurd, through his eldest son Hugh (d. 1248), had two daughters – the youngest who married William Lindsay, ancestor of the Earls of Crawford. The eldest daughter Margaret married Archibald Douglas, progenitor of the Earls of Douglas. A later Reginald de Crawford, of the Crawfordjohn line, married James de Loudon's daughter and heir, Margaret. In 1196, during the reign of William I of Scotland
William I of Scotland
William the Lion , sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214...
, Sir Reginald Crawford was appointed Sheriff of Ayr. He was succeeded by his son, Hugh Crawford of Loudon, Sheriff of Ayr.
From Sir Reginald of Loudoun descends the main branch of the Crawfords, named "of Auchinames." This branch of the clan received lands from Robert I of Scotland
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
in 1320. From a younger son of the Sheriff descend the Crawfords of Craufurdland. This man's claim to the property was confirmed by Robert III of Scotland
Robert III of Scotland
Robert III was King of Scots from 1390 to his death. His given name was John Stewart, and he was known primarily as the Earl of Carrick before ascending the throne at age 53...
in 1391. The third branch of Crawfords are the Crawfords of Kilbirnie, who claim descent from Sir John of Crawfordjohn who lived c. 1255. The Crawfords of Kilbirnie acquired the Kilbirnie estates in 1499. A baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
cy was conferred upon this branch of the family in 1781. Another important marriage of the Crawfords was that of Sir Reginald Crawford's sister Margaret and Sir Alan Wallace of Ellerslie
Ellerslie
-Places:In Australia and New Zealand* Ellerslie, New Zealand, a suburb of Auckland* Ellerslie, Victoria, a town in the Western District of Victoria * Ellerslie Flower Show, in New ZealandIn Canada...
. In 1781 a baronetcy was conferred to this branch of the clan.
Modern Clan Crawford
Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs
The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs is the organisation of the Chiefs of many prominent Scottish Clans. The SCSC is the definitive and authoritative body for information on the Scottish Clan System.-History:...
. Sir Robert Craufurd, Baronet of Kilbirnie is the most senior member of the House of Crawford and represents it on the The Scottish Council of Armigerous Clans and Families.
Clan symbolism
The modern crest badge of a member of Clan Crawford contains the crest: a stag'sSTAG
STAG: A Test of Love is a reality TV show hosted by Tommy Habeeb. Each episode profiles an engaged couple a week or two before their wedding. The cameras then follow the groom on his bachelor party...
head erased Gules
Gules
In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....
, between the attires a cross crosslet fitchée Sable
Sable (heraldry)
In heraldry, sable is the tincture black, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures, called "colours". In engravings and line drawings, it is sometimes depicted as a region of crossed horizontal and vertical lines or else marked with sa. as an abbreviation.The name derives from the black fur of...
. Encircling the crest on the crest badge is a strap and buckle engraved with the motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
: TUTUM TE ROBORE REDDAM which translates from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
as "I will give you safety through strength". The Crawford tartan is of relatively modern origin, and it is certain that there was no Crawford tartan in around 1739. The first record of a Crawford tartan is that of the "Crawfovrd" which appeared in the Vestiarium Scoticum
Vestiarium Scoticum
The Vestiarium Scoticum was first published by William Tait of Edinburgh in a limited edition in 1842...
of 1842. This is the Crawford tartan used today. The Vestiarium was the work of the Sobieski Stuarts who claim their book was a reproduction of ancient manuscript about clan tartans. Modern research, however, has shown it to be a Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
hoax. Even so, today many clan tartans are derived from the Vestiarium.
An unusual death
John Craufurd of Craufurdland died in 1612, aged only 21, from an injury received at foot-ball. His widow married Sir David Barclay of LadylandBarony of Ladyland
The Barony of Ladyland was in the old feudal Baillerie of Cunninghame, near Kilbirnie in what is now North Ayrshire, Scotland.- The history of the Barony of Ladyland :...
in the Parish of Kilbirnie
Kilbirnie
Kilbirnie is a small town of 7280 inhabitants situated in North Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland...
, Ayrshire.
See also
- Crawford CastleCrawford CastleCrawford Castle, substantially in ruins, is located on the north bank of the River Clyde, around half a mile north of Crawford, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The ruins stand on an earlier motte and bailey earthwork. The castle was formerly known as Lindsay Tower, after its former owners, the Lindsay...
- Giffordland, AyrshireGiffordland, AyrshireGiffordland is in North Ayrshire, Parish of Dalry in the former Region of Strathclyde.- Introduction :Giffordland was only a small barony, however the families associated with it played an active part in the history of feudal Scotland....
A cadet branch of the Craufurds of Craufurdland