Clan Duncan
Encyclopedia
The personal name Duncan can be found in Scotland’s oldest records in its Gaelic
form Dunchad/Donchadh/Donachie/Donnchadh and other spelling variants.
around 1120 AD – and originates from the Dalriadan Celtic Celtic Scotii
(Scots) from Ireland
who colonised the south west of Scotland from about the 4th century AD. Dúnchad (Duncan mac Conaing
co-ruled Dalriada with Conall II
(c.650 - 654).
Other early accounts of the name include the 9 ft inscribed ‘Turpillian Stone’ of the 4th century AD at Crickhowell, Wales
, a particularly early mention of the name Duncan. Inscribed in Ogham
(an early form of Celtic writing) the stone also carried the Latin translation
“TURPILLI IC IACIT PUUERI TRILUNI DUNOCATI” which roughly translates as The Fort Warrior. Mention is also made of Dunchad (Duncan) the 11th Abbot of Iona, 707 – 717AD (later St. Dunchadh) and Dunchad (Duncan) the 39th Abbot in 989AD.
Records from this time are scant and it is not until after the unification by Kenneth MacAlpin around 843 AD of the Celtic Scots of Dál Riata (Dalriada)
and the aboriginal Picts
of northern Britain do we start to see the name significantly being used in other parts of Scotland. One of the earliest references to Dunchad/Donchad, is found in the margins of the 11th century 'Book of Deer
the oldest writings in Scots Gaelic known in Scotland today, These manuscript were written by the early Christian Monks of the Abbey of Deer in Aberdeenshire
.
When Duncan I
took the Scottish throne, Unlike the "King Duncan" of Shakespeare's Macbeth, the historical Duncan appears to have been a young man. He followed his grandfather Malcolm II
as king after the latter's death on 25 Nov. 1034, without apparent opposition. He may have been Malcolm's acknowledged successor or tánaise as the succession appears to have been uneventful. Duncan would have been wise to pacify his remaining family, especially his senior cousin Thorfinn the Mighty, Earl of Orkney; his uncle, MacBeth; and the person closest to his throne, Queen Gruoch
, MacBeth’s wife. By 1040, however, Duncan had been murdered and the crown was in the hands MacBeth.
Fifty-four years later, despite being the son of Malcolm Canmore, Duncan II
was also dead at the hands of his relatives. Although Duncan had left a son, the throne was seized by his younger half-brother, one of the children of English Queen Margaret
.
Ewyn (Ewan) fitz Duncan was one of the signatories on ‘The Ragman Rolls’
, the deed of homage draughted by Edward I of England
to bind the King and nobles of Scotland.
John Duncan was the owner of property in Berwick
in 1367. The mayor of this Border port is recorded as John Duncanson, in all likelihood the formers son.
According to one account, a Clan Donachie/Donnachadh had emerged in the early 14th century from the Earls of Athole
. The clan name is said to come from Donnachadh Reamhar -‘Stout Duncan’. Legend has it that this chief led the clan into Battle at Bannockburn
in 1314. Recent genealogical research however suggests that this is unlikely. Both the Duncans and the Robertsons descend from the 4th Donachie/Donnachadh Chief.
The predominant Duncans of the East of Scotland were the Duncans of Lundie
in Forfarshire
. Their extensive property included not only the barony of Lundie but also the estate of Gourdie. In 1764, George III’s
physician, Sir William Duncan was created a Baronet
. The 1st and last Baronet. By 1795, Adam Duncan of Lundie had become Commander of the Fleet in the North Sea
and Admiral of the Blue
. With a glorious career of victories he was created 1st Viscount Duncan of Camperdown in 1797 and his son was made the 2nd Earl of Camperdown in 1831. The title became extinct in 1933 with the death George Alexander Philips Haldane Haldane-Duncan, 4th Earl of Camperdown (1845–1933) in Boston, Massachusetts
. The Duncan name in Scotland is most prominent in Aberdeenshire, Dundee & Angus, and Fife.
'Duncan Territorial Houses, Lairds and Barons'
but with no present Chief of the name Duncan. For the present, the Clan is being led by the armiger
ous Territorial House
of Duncan of Sketraw. Both Armorial Bearings
and Territorial Designation
are recorded in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland
. It is the aim of the Clan Duncan Society to have a Chief of the name Duncan or one of the various spelling variants officially recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms
either by a proven genealogical link to the last Chief around 1434 or more likely by the Derbfine
process laid down by The Lord Lyon to gain official recognition of a Clan Duncan Chief.
Duncan or Leslie of Wardis Clan/Family Tartan which is the oldest and dates from around 1880. Little is known why the tartan is co named Leslie of Wardis
an Aberdeenshire Family however, it has always been associated and known as the Clan Duncan Tartan.
Thread Count:
K/8 G42 W6 G42 B42 R/8
(Half Sett with Full Count at the Pivots.)
The Duncan of Sketraw
Clan/Family Tartan, designed in 2005 by Brian Wilton of Scottish Tartans Authority
.
Thread Count:
R/4 K12 G4 K4 G28 K2 Y4 K2 B10 R2 B10
K2 W4 K2 G28 K2 B/4
(Half Sett with Full Count at the Pivots.)
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
form Dunchad/Donchadh/Donachie/Donnchadh and other spelling variants.
Origins
(Dunchad) Duncan, originally a forename is without doubt one of the earliest names in Scotland – surnames being introduced by the NormansNormans
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...
around 1120 AD – and originates from the Dalriadan Celtic Celtic Scotii
Scotia
Scotia was originally a Roman name for Ireland, inhabited by the people they called Scoti or Scotii. Use of the name shifted in the Middle Ages to designate the part of the island of Great Britain lying north of the Firth of Forth, the Kingdom of Alba...
(Scots) from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
who colonised the south west of Scotland from about the 4th century AD. Dúnchad (Duncan mac Conaing
Dúnchad mac Conaing
Dúnchad mac Conaing was king of Dál Riata . He was joint ruler with Conall Crandomna until he was defeated and killed by Talorcan, king of the Picts, in the battle of Strath Ethairt...
co-ruled Dalriada with Conall II
Conall Crandomna
Conall Crandomna was king of Dál Riata from about 650 until 660.The Senchus fer n-Alban makes him a son of Eochaid Buide and thus a member of the Cenél nGabráin. The Duan Albanach has him succeed Ferchar mac Connaid of the Cenél Comgaill, which had not yet separated from the Cenél nGabráin...
(c.650 - 654).
Other early accounts of the name include the 9 ft inscribed ‘Turpillian Stone’ of the 4th century AD at Crickhowell, Wales
Crickhowell
Crickhowell is a small town in Powys, Mid Wales.-Location:The name Crickhowell is taken from that of the nearby Iron Age hill fort of Crug Hywel above the town, the Welsh language name being anglicised by map-makers and local English-speaking people...
, a particularly early mention of the name Duncan. Inscribed in Ogham
Ogham
Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the Old Irish language, and occasionally the Brythonic language. Ogham is sometimes called the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", based on a High Medieval Bríatharogam tradition ascribing names of trees to the individual letters.There are roughly...
(an early form of Celtic writing) the stone also carried the Latin translation
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...
“TURPILLI IC IACIT PUUERI TRILUNI DUNOCATI” which roughly translates as The Fort Warrior. Mention is also made of Dunchad (Duncan) the 11th Abbot of Iona, 707 – 717AD (later St. Dunchadh) and Dunchad (Duncan) the 39th Abbot in 989AD.
Records from this time are scant and it is not until after the unification by Kenneth MacAlpin around 843 AD of the Celtic Scots of Dál Riata (Dalriada)
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
and the aboriginal Picts
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
of northern Britain do we start to see the name significantly being used in other parts of Scotland. One of the earliest references to Dunchad/Donchad, is found in the margins of the 11th century 'Book of Deer
Book of Deer
The Book of Deer is a 10th-century Latin Gospel Book from Old Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with early 12th-century additions in Latin, Old Irish and Scottish Gaelic. It is most famous for containing the earliest surviving Gaelic literature from Scotland...
the oldest writings in Scots Gaelic known in Scotland today, These manuscript were written by the early Christian Monks of the Abbey of Deer in Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
.
When Duncan I
Duncan I of Scotland
Donnchad mac Crínáin was king of Scotland from 1034 to 1040...
took the Scottish throne, Unlike the "King Duncan" of Shakespeare's Macbeth, the historical Duncan appears to have been a young man. He followed his grandfather Malcolm II
Malcolm II of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Cináeda , was King of the Scots from 1005 until his death...
as king after the latter's death on 25 Nov. 1034, without apparent opposition. He may have been Malcolm's acknowledged successor or tánaise as the succession appears to have been uneventful. Duncan would have been wise to pacify his remaining family, especially his senior cousin Thorfinn the Mighty, Earl of Orkney; his uncle, MacBeth; and the person closest to his throne, Queen Gruoch
Gruoch of Scotland
Gruoch ingen Boite was the daughter of Boite mac Cináeda son of Cináed III. She is most famous for being the wife and queen of Mac Bethad mac Findlaích . The dates of her life are not certainly known....
, MacBeth’s wife. By 1040, however, Duncan had been murdered and the crown was in the hands MacBeth.
Duncan II of Scotland
Donnchad mac Maíl Coluim was king of Scots...
was also dead at the hands of his relatives. Although Duncan had left a son, the throne was seized by his younger half-brother, one of the children of English Queen Margaret
Margaret of England
Margaret of England was a medieval English princess who became Queen of Scots. A daughter of the Plantagenet king Henry III of England and his queen, Eleanor of Provence, she was Queen consort to Alexander III "the Glorious", King of the Scots.- Family :She was the second child of Henry III of...
.
Ewyn (Ewan) fitz Duncan was one of the signatories on ‘The Ragman Rolls’
Ragman Rolls
Ragman Rolls refers to the collection of instruments by which the nobility and gentry of Scotland subscribed allegiance to King Edward I of England, during the time between the Conference of Norham in May 1291 and the final award in favor of Baliol in November 1292; and again in 1296...
, the deed of homage draughted by Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
to bind the King and nobles of Scotland.
John Duncan was the owner of property in Berwick
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
in 1367. The mayor of this Border port is recorded as John Duncanson, in all likelihood the formers son.
According to one account, a Clan Donachie/Donnachadh had emerged in the early 14th century from the Earls of Athole
Athol
-Canada:*Atholville, New Brunswick*Blair Athol, New Brunswick*Athol, Nova Scotia*Athol Road, Nova Scotia*Athol Station, Nova Scotia*South Athol, Nova Scotia*Athol, Prince Edward County, Ontario*Athol, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry United Counties, Ontario...
. The clan name is said to come from Donnachadh Reamhar -‘Stout Duncan’. Legend has it that this chief led the clan into Battle at Bannockburn
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...
in 1314. Recent genealogical research however suggests that this is unlikely. Both the Duncans and the Robertsons descend from the 4th Donachie/Donnachadh Chief.
The predominant Duncans of the East of Scotland were the Duncans of Lundie
Earl of Camperdown
Earl of Camperdown, of Lundie in the County of Forfar and of Gleneagles in the County of Perth, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1831 for Robert Haldane-Duncan, 2nd Viscount Duncan...
in Forfarshire
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
. Their extensive property included not only the barony of Lundie but also the estate of Gourdie. In 1764, George III’s
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
physician, Sir William Duncan was created a Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
. The 1st and last Baronet. By 1795, Adam Duncan of Lundie had become Commander of the Fleet in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and Admiral of the Blue
Admiral (United Kingdom)
Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet...
. With a glorious career of victories he was created 1st Viscount Duncan of Camperdown in 1797 and his son was made the 2nd Earl of Camperdown in 1831. The title became extinct in 1933 with the death George Alexander Philips Haldane Haldane-Duncan, 4th Earl of Camperdown (1845–1933) in Boston, Massachusetts
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. The Duncan name in Scotland is most prominent in Aberdeenshire, Dundee & Angus, and Fife.
Branches
- Duncan of Seaside & Lundie (Camperdown)
- Duncan of JordanstoneDuncan of Jordanstone College of Art and DesignDuncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design is an integral part of the University of Dundee in Dundee, Scotland. It is ranked as one of the top schools of art and design in the United Kingdom and has an outstanding reputation in both practice and research.-History:Attempts were made to...
- Duncan of Ardownie
- Duncan of Sketraw
- Duncan of Mott
- Duncan of Parkhill
- Beveridge-Duncan of Damside
- Gomme-Duncan of DunbarneyAlan Gomme-DuncanColonel Sir Alan Gomme Gomme-Duncan MC, originally Alan Gomme Duncan was a British army officer who served in both World Wars; he was recalled to the army at the age of 45 in advance of World War II. In a brief break in his career he was Inspector of Prisons for Scotland...
Clan Position
Clan Duncan is an Armigerous clanArmigerous 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...
but with no present Chief of the name Duncan. For the present, the Clan is being led by the armiger
Armiger
In heraldry, an armiger is a person entitled to use a coat of arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous.-Etymology:The Latin word armiger literally means "armour-bearer". In high and late medieval England, the word referred to an esquire attendant upon a knight, but bearing his own unique...
ous Territorial House
Territorial designation
A territorial designation follows modern peerage titles, linking them to a specific place or places. It is also an integral part of all baronetcies...
of Duncan of Sketraw. Both Armorial Bearings
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
and Territorial Designation
Territorial designation
A territorial designation follows modern peerage titles, linking them to a specific place or places. It is also an integral part of all baronetcies...
are recorded in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland
Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland
The Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland was established by Act of the Scottish Parliament in 1672. The register is held at the Court of the Lord Lyon and contains every grant of arms since that date. Bearings that are not matriculated in the Register may not be used in Scotland...
. It is the aim of the Clan Duncan Society to have a Chief of the name Duncan or one of the various spelling variants officially 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...
either by a proven genealogical link to the last Chief around 1434 or more likely by the Derbfine
Derbfine
The derbfine was an Irish agnatic kinship group and power structure as defined in the law tracts of the eighth century. Its principal purpose was as an institution of property inheritance, with property redistributed on the death of a member to those remaining members of the derbfine...
process laid down by The Lord Lyon to gain official recognition of a Clan Duncan Chief.
Clan Tartans
There are two Tartans associated with Clan DuncanDuncan or Leslie of Wardis Clan/Family Tartan which is the oldest and dates from around 1880. Little is known why the tartan is co named Leslie of Wardis
Leslie Baronets
There have been four Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Leslie, one in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia, one in the Baronetage of Ireland, one in the Baronetage of Great Britain and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...
an Aberdeenshire Family however, it has always been associated and known as the Clan Duncan Tartan.
Thread Count:
K/8 G42 W6 G42 B42 R/8
(Half Sett with Full Count at the Pivots.)
The Duncan of Sketraw
Clan/Family Tartan, designed in 2005 by Brian Wilton of Scottish Tartans Authority
Scottish Tartans Authority
The Scottish Tartans Authority is a Scottish based organisation dedicated to promoting the knowledge of Scottish tartans. It was first formed in 1995 by former members of the Scottish Tartans Society. The Scottish Tartans Authority maintains a database, called the International Tartan Index, with...
.
Thread Count:
R/4 K12 G4 K4 G28 K2 Y4 K2 B10 R2 B10
K2 W4 K2 G28 K2 B/4
(Half Sett with Full Count at the Pivots.)