Earl Marischal
Encyclopedia
The title of Earl Marischal was created in the peerage
of Scotland
for William Keith, the Great Marischal of Scotland.
The office of "Marischal of Scotland" (marascallus Scotie or marscallus Scotie) had been held heritably by the senior member of the Keith
family since Hervey (Herveus) de Keith
, who held the office of Marischal under Malcolm IV
and William I
. The descendant of Herveus, Sir Robert de Keith (d.1332), was confirmed in the office of "Great Marischal of Scotland" by Robert Bruce
around 1324.
Robert de Keith's great-grandson, William, was raised to the peerage as Earl Marischal by James II
in about 1458. The peerage died out when George Keith, the 10th earl, forfeited it by joining the Jacobite Rising of 1715
.
The role of the Marischal was to serve as custodian of the Royal Regalia of Scotland
, and to protect the king's person when attending parliament. The former duty was fulfilled by the 7th earl dring the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
, who hid them at Dunnottar Castle
. The role of regulation of heraldry carried out by the English Earl Marshal
is carried out in Scotland by the Lord Lyon King of Arms
.
The separate office of Knight Marischal
was first created for the Scottish coronation of Charles I in 1633. The office is not heritable, although it has been held by members of the Keith family.
Some sources use different numbering, so that the final earl was the 9th Earl Marischal and not the 10th.
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
for William Keith, the Great Marischal of Scotland.
The office of "Marischal of Scotland" (marascallus Scotie or marscallus Scotie) had been held heritably by the senior member of the Keith
Clan Keith
Clan Keith is a Scottish clan associated with Aberdeenshire and Caithness.-Origins:It is said that a Scottish warrior slew the Danish General Camus at the legendary Battle of Barrie in 1010. For this, King Máel Coluim II of Scotland dipped three fingers into the blood of the slain and drew them...
family since Hervey (Herveus) de Keith
Hervey de Keith
Hervey de Keith was a Scoto-Norman nobleman and first recorded Marischal of Scotland.-Life:Keith took his name from the Barony of Keith, in East Lothian, which he held the north eastern part; the south western part was held by SimonFraser...
, who held the office of Marischal under Malcolm IV
Malcolm IV of Scotland
Malcolm IV , nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" , King of Scots, was the eldest son of Earl Henry and Ada de Warenne...
and William I
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...
. The descendant of Herveus, Sir Robert de Keith (d.1332), was confirmed in the office of "Great Marischal of Scotland" by Robert Bruce
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...
around 1324.
Robert de Keith's great-grandson, William, was raised to the peerage as Earl Marischal by James II
James II of Scotland
James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...
in about 1458. The peerage died out when George Keith, the 10th earl, forfeited it by joining the Jacobite Rising of 1715
Jacobite Rising of 1715
The Jacobite rising of 1715, often referred to as The 'Fifteen, was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart.-Background:...
.
The role of the Marischal was to serve as custodian of the Royal Regalia of Scotland
Honours of Scotland
The Honours of Scotland, also known as the Scottish regalia and the Scottish Crown Jewels, dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, are the oldest set of crown jewels in the British Isles. The existing set were used for the coronation of Scottish monarchs from 1543 to 1651...
, and to protect the king's person when attending parliament. The former duty was fulfilled by the 7th earl dring the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...
, who hid them at Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle
Dunnottar Castle is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about two miles south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th–16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been an early fortress of the Dark Ages...
. The role of regulation of heraldry carried out by the English Earl Marshal
Earl Marshal
Earl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England...
is carried out in Scotland 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...
.
The separate office of Knight Marischal
Knight Marischal
The office of Knight Marischal was first created for the Scottish coronation of Charles I in 1633, at Scone. Unlike the separate office of Marischal, the office of Knight Marischal is not heritable, and has continued to be filled up to the death of the 11th Duke of Hamilton in 1863...
was first created for the Scottish coronation of Charles I in 1633. The office is not heritable, although it has been held by members of the Keith family.
Marischals and Great Marischals of Scotland
- Hervey de KeithHervey de KeithHervey de Keith was a Scoto-Norman nobleman and first recorded Marischal of Scotland.-Life:Keith took his name from the Barony of Keith, in East Lothian, which he held the north eastern part; the south western part was held by SimonFraser...
(d. c. 1196) - Philip de Keith (d. c. 1225)
- David de Keith (co-jointly with his brother above and nephew below.
- Hervey de Keith (d. c. 1250)
- John de Keith (d. c.1270)
- William de Keith (d. c. 1293)
- Robert Keith (d. 1332)
- Robert KeithRobert Keith (d. 1346)Sir Robert Keith was a Scottish nobleman and Marischal of Scotland.He was a grandson of the Robert Keith who commanded the Scottish cavalry at the Battle of Bannockburn....
(d. 1346) - Edward de Keith (d. c. 1351)
- Sir William de Keith (d. c. 1410)
- Robert de Keith (d.c. 1430)
Earls Marischal (c. 1458)
- William Keith, 1st Earl Marischal (d. 1463)
- William Keith, 2nd Earl Marischal (d. 1483)
- William Keith, 3rd Earl Marischal (d. 1530)
- William Keith, 4th Earl MarischalWilliam Keith, 4th Earl MarischalWilliam Keith, 4th Earl Marischal was a Scottish nobleman and politician.-Family background and career:Keith was born on 24 July 1506, the son of Robert Keith, Master of Marischal and Lady Elizabeth Douglas....
(d. 1581) - George Keith, 5th Earl MarischalGeorge Keith, 5th Earl MarischalGeorge Keith, 5th Earl Marischal was a Scottish nobleman and Earl Marischal. He succeeded as earl on 7 October 1581, upon the death of his grandfather, William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal....
(c. 1553 – 1623) - William Keith, 6th Earl MarischalWilliam Keith, 6th Earl MarischalWilliam Keith, 6th Earl Marischal was a Scottish lord, Earl Marischal and naval official.-Life:He was the eldest son of George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal and his wife, Margaret , daughter of Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home. He left for the continent in 1601, travelling for his education to Paris,...
(c. 1585 – 1635) - William Keith, 7th Earl MarischalWilliam Keith, 7th Earl MarischalWilliam Keith, 7th Earl Marischal was a Scottish nobleman and Covenanter. He was the eldest son of William Keith, 6th Earl Marischal...
(1614 – 1671) - George Keith, 8th Earl Marischal (d. 1694)
- William Keith, 9th Earl MarischalWilliam Keith, 9th Earl MarischalWilliam Keith, 9th Earl Marischal was a Jacobite politician and Earl Marischal of Scotland.-Life:His parents were the army officer George Keith, 8th Earl Marischal and the courtier Lady Mary Hay , third daughter of the 2nd Earl of Kinnoull...
(c. 1664 – 1712) - George Keith, 10th Earl MarischalGeorge Keith, 10th Earl MarischalGeorge Keith, 10th Earl Marischal was a Scottish and Prussian army officer and diplomat...
(c. 1693 – 1778) (forfeit 1715)
Some sources use different numbering, so that the final earl was the 9th Earl Marischal and not the 10th.