Clan Rollo
Encyclopedia
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...
.
Origins of the Clan
The Clan Rollo are of NormanNormans
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...
origin. However they can trace their roots to the feared Norsemen
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
who raided the coast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and 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...
in the seventh and eighth centuries. Sigurd Rollo was Jarl of Shetland and Orkney, and his son, Hrólfr Rögnvaldsson, was a renowned Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
who not only raided Scotland, but parts of his Norwegian homeland for good measure. He was harried by the Norwegian King Harald I of Norway
Harald I of Norway
Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair , , son of Halfdan the Black, was the first king of Norway.-Background:Little is known of the historical Harald...
, and eventually turned his attention to the northern coast of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. His descendants became established as Dukes of Normandy, and their spirit of conquest brought them to the shores of England in 1066. Erik Rollo accompanied his uncle, William the Conqueror, on the invasion, and it is believed that his son or grandson, Richard, followed King 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...
when he left the English court to reclaim his Scottish throne. The name first appears on record in a charter of around 1141 granted by Robert de Brus
Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale
Robert I de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale was an early 12th century Norman baron and knight, the first of the Bruce dynasty of Scotland and England...
. Black’s Surnames of Scotland lists numerous variants for the spelling of this name, and one Robert Rolloche obtained from King David II of Scotland
David II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
lands near Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
in 1369.
The fortunes of the chiefly family were established in February 1380, when John Rollok, secretary to David, Earl Palatine of Strathearn and brother of King Robert II of Scotland
Robert II of Scotland
Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...
, received a charter from the king of the lands of Duncrub. His son, Duncan Rollo of Duncrub, was Auditor of State Accounts until his death in 1419.
16th Century & Anglo-Scottish Wars
William Rollo of Duncrub received a charter on 26 August 1511, erecting his lands into a free barony. During the Anglo-Scottish WarsAnglo-Scottish Wars
The Anglo-Scottish Wars were a series of wars fought between England and Scotland during the sixteenth century.After the Wars of Scottish Independence, England and Scotland had fought several times during the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In most cases, one country had attempted to...
he is thought to have died leading the Clan Rollo at the Battle of Flodden Field
Battle of Flodden Field
The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field or occasionally Battle of Branxton was fought in the county of Northumberland in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey...
in 1513 along with his elder son, Robert. Andrew Rollo then inherited the estates, and consolidated his position by marrying his cousin, Marion, heir to David Rollo of Manmure. One of his younger sons, Peter, became Bishop of Dunkeld and a judge of the Court of Session. His grandson, Sir Andrew Rollo, was knighted by King James VI of Scotland.
In 1572 David Rattray of Craighall (d.1586), chief of the Clan Rattray
Clan Rattray
Clan Rattray is a Highland Scottish clan.-Origins of the clan:The name Rattray is derived from the barony of Rattray in Perthshire, Scotland. Legend has it that their land there was acquired from King Malcolm III of Scotland in the 11th century. Unfortunately there is no extant written record of...
killed two men in a fight with some Rollos, but was relieved of responsibility on payment of a fine of 500 merks.
17th Century & Civil War
The Clan Rollo were staunch royalist supporters of the king during the civil war. Their loyalty was rewarded when King Charles IICharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
created Sir Andrew Lord Rollo of Duncrub at Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
in January 1651. However, by 1654, Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
was firmly in control of Scotland, and Lord Rollo was fined £1,000 for his royal connections.
Lord Rollo’s fifth son, Sir William Rollo, was a gifted soldier and one of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, who initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed...
's lieutenants. Chief Sir William Rollo led the clan and commanded the left wing of the royal army at the Battle of Aberdeen
Battle of Aberdeen
The Battle of Aberdeen was an engagement in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms which took place between Royalist and Covenanter forces outside the city of Aberdeen on 13 September 1644....
in 1644, and followed the marquess on his famous forced march over mountainous terrain which surprised the forces of the Marquess of Argyll and led to the royalist victory at the Battle of Inverlochy (1645)
Battle of Inverlochy (1645)
The Battle of Inverlochy was a battle of the Scottish Civil War in which Montrose routed the pursuing forces of the Marquess of Argyll....
.
When Montrose thrust south, the royalist forces were themselves trapped by an unexpected force of Covenanter cavalry at the Battle of Philiphaugh
Battle of Philiphaugh
The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on 13 September 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The Royalist army of the Marquess of Montrose was destroyed by the Covenanter army of Sir David Leslie, restoring the power of the Committee of Estates.-Prelude:When...
. Rollo was captured and beheaded at Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in October 1645. It is perhaps indicative of the complex politics of Scotland at this time that William’s brother, James, second Lord Rollo, was married first to the sister of the James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was a Scottish nobleman and soldier, who initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequently supported King Charles I as the English Civil War developed...
and then to the sister of his rival, the Marquess of Argyll.
Chief Andrew Rollo, the third Lord, supported the Revolution of 1688 that brought Queen Mary and her husband, Prince William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, to the throne.
18th Century, Jacobite Uprisings & War of the Austrian Succession
Jacobite UprisingsDespite Andrew Rollo's support for William of Orange, his son, the fourth Lord Rollo, was a staunch Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
who attended the great hunt at Aboyne in August 1715, which was in reality a secret council to plan the rising of that year. Here the Clan Rollo fought at the Battle of Sheriffmuir
Battle of Sheriffmuir
The Battle of Sheriffmuir was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rebellion in England and Scotland.-History:John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, standard-bearer for the Jacobite cause in Scotland, mustered Highland chiefs, and on 6 September declared James Francis Edward Stuart as King...
but surrendered, along with the Marquess of Huntly
Marquess of Huntly
Marquess of Huntly is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created on 17 April 1599 for George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly. It is the oldest existing marquessate in Scotland, and the second-oldest in the British Isles, only the English marquessate of Winchester being older...
, chief of Clan Gordon
Clan Gordon
Clan Gordon, also known as the House of Gordon, is a Scottish clan. The chief of the clan was the powerful Earl of Huntly, now also Marquess of Huntly.-Origins:...
, to General Grant of the Clan Grant
Clan Grant
-Origins:The Grants are one of the clans of Siol Alpin, and descend from the 9th century Kenneth MacAlpin, King of Scots; and also of Norse origin, from settlers who are the descents of Haakon inn Riki Sigurdarsson , Jarl of Hladr, Protector of Norway ,-Origins:The Grants are one of the clans of...
. He was imprisoned for a time, but pardoned in 1717. He had seven children, and died peacefully at Duncrub in March 1758.
War of the Austrian Succession
His eldest son, Andrew, fifth Lord Rollo and chief of Clan Rollo became a professional soldier, although he did not embark upon his career until the relatively late age of forty. During the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
he fought for the British at the Battle of Dettingen
Battle of Dettingen
The Battle of Dettingen took place on 27 June 1743 at Dettingen in Bavaria during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was the last time that a British monarch personally led his troops into battle...
in 1743, and by 1758 he commanded the British 22nd Regiment of Foot
Cheshire Regiment
The Cheshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division.The regiment was created in 1881 as part of the Childers reforms by the linking of the 22nd Regiment of Foot and the militia and rifle volunteers of Cheshire...
. He was sent to the Americas, where he fought under General Murray in the last campaign to secure Canada as a British possession. In 1759 he was sent to capture the French Caribbean island of Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
which, although heavily fortified, he took with a force of only two thousand five hundred men. In 1760 he was raised to the rank of brigadier general. He fought for two more years in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, during which time both Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
and Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
fell to the British. However, his health was severely affected by the climate, and he returned to England in 1762, dying at Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
in 1765.
Military service continued to draw the Rollos into the ranks, and the seventh Lord Rollo fought with distinction at the siege of Pondicherry in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, commanding a force of marines. John, eighth Lord Rollo, was an officer in the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards which is today the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
, and fought on the Continent between 1793 and 1795.
Clan Chief
The present Chief: David Eric Howard Rollo, The 14th Lord RolloLord Rollo
Lord Rollo, of Duncrub in the County of Perth, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1651 for Sir Andrew Rollo. His great-great-grandson, the fifth Lord, was a Brigadier-General in the Army and fought in North America during the Seven Years' War. He died without surviving male...
of Duncrub, Baron Dunning of Dunning
Dunning
Dunning is a small village in Perth and Kinross in Scotland with a population of about 1,000. The village is built around the 12th-13th century former parish church of St. Serf, where the Dupplin Cross is displayed . The building was used in the filming of the Scottish film Complicity...
and Pitcairns, Chief of the Name and Arms of Rollo.