Clan Galbraith

Clan Galbraith coat of arms Coat of arms : A silver bear's head penned in an azure blue muzzle Motto : From Obice Suavior portrait region Lowlands district Stirlingshire

Chief Clan Galbraith has no clan chief and is an armigerous clan Historic seat Culcreuch Castle

The Clan Galbraith is a Scottish clan . The clan does not have a chief recognized by the Lord Lyon King of Arms . Therefore the clan is considered to be the Armigerous Clan , and as such Clan Galbraith has no rank in Scottish law . The name Galbraith is of Gaelic origin, but its meaning denotes the wearer as being of British origin. The first Galbraiths lived in the Lennox district , which includes the Highland and Lowland borders of Scotland. The 17th Chief bankrupted the clan in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, eventually losing his land and fled Scotland to Ireland. His grandson was the 19th and last chief of Clan Galbraith.

Origin of the clan

Inchgalbraith , on the west side of Loch Lomond , was the stronghold of the first Galbraiths.

The surname Galbraith is of Gaelic origin. The name is derived from the partial elements gall ("stranger") and Breathnach ("Brite"). The elements used in the surnames demonstrated the differences between the Gael - who are believed to have started migrating to Scotland in the fifth century; and the native, northern Old and Middle Welsh ( Cumbrian ) speaking British , particularly those of the Kingdom of Strathclyde . The Strathclyder British remained an independent ethnic group of Highland -Gälen and Lowland - Fishing until the 14th century. The former capital of the Kingdom of Strathclyde was Dumbarton ("Fortress of the Britons"), in the Lennox .

In Scottish Gaelic, the Gailbraiths are called Breatanuich or Clann-a-Breatannuich , meaning “British” and “Children of the British.” The first Galbraiths held lands in the Lennox, in the Loch Lomond area , north of Dumbarton . The fortress of these early ones Galbraiths was on the island of Inchgalbraith , which lies on the west side of Loch Lomond about two miles south-east of Luss . The heraldist Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk speculated that the Galbraiths coat of arms - bearing three bear heads - might be in the British name Arthur who believes it means "bear" alludes to.

history

Culcreuch Castle , former seat of the chiefs of Clan Galbraith.

The man considered the first chief of Clan Galbraith was Gilchrist Bretnach, who married the granddaughter of the Earl of Lennox .

The fourth chief, Sir William Galbraith of Buthernock , married a sister " Black Comyns ", head of the strongest family in Scotland at the time. However, Sir William positioned himself against the Comyns when he was part of the rescue of the Infante Alexander III. was out of Comyn's control. Ultimately, Sir William rose to become one of Scotland's co-regents in 1255. Sir William's son, the fifth chief of the clan, Sir Arthur, supported Robert the Bruce , and married a daughter of Sir James Douglas '.

A branch of the Galbraiths held Culcreuch in Strathendrick in 1320, and held the command of the clan before the end of the century. In 1425, the ninth chief James Galbraith of Culcreuch joined the rebellion of James Mor Stewart against King James I of Scotland in support of the overthrown regent Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany . Up to 600 members of the clan were forced to flee after the failure of the revolt and were exiled to Kintyre and the Isle of Gigha , where they took the name MacBhreatneaich of M'Vretny ("Son of the British").

In 1489, the twelfth Chief Thomas Galbraith of Culcreuch was captured by Jacob IV and then hanged.

Fall of the clan

The Galbraith tartan .

The 17th Chief of Clan Galbraith, Robert Galbraith of Culcreuch, brought the clan to ruin. Sometime before 1593, Culcreuch's widowed mother, contrary to his wishes, married the chief of Clan MacAulay , Aulay MacAulay of Ardincaple . Culcreuch's hostility towards Ardincaple was so great that Culcreuch said " gevin vp kindnes, and denunceit his euill-will to him [Ardincaple] with solempne vowis of revenge ". In the spring of 1593, Galbraith recruited a commission of chief judges to pursue the Gregor clan and "their friends and supporters". Both the MacAulays and Colquhouns were suspicious of Galbraith's real intentions, and on May 3, 1593, the lords of the clans complained that Culcreuch had only recruited the commission under the advice of George Buchanan and that Culcreuch had actually tried to pursue the MacGregors. It looked as if the Galbraiths, allied with the Buchanans , were going to retaliate against the MacAulays and Colquhouns under the guise of hunting down Clan Gregor and driving them out of the Lennox. Ultimately, Robert Galbraith was taken away from the Commission's letter. In 1612, after pressure from above, Robert and his wife handed over the West Milligs to his mother, who was married to Ardincaple. Thus, West Milligs (which includes Ardincaple, what is now Helensburgh ), held by the Galbraiths of Culcreuch since at least the half of the 15th century, was lost to the MacAulays of Ardincaple.

In 1622, Robert Galbraith, Laird of Culcreuch, who was in debt to his brother-in-law (whom he attempted to assassinate), was denounced as a rebel and forced to give up Culcreuch Castle . Galbraith fled from Scotland to Ireland, where he died ten years later, with no heir for his son and grandson, the 19th chief of Clan Galbraith and the last of the line.

Endnotes

1. ↑ Galbraith . In: (celticstudio.com) . Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 22, 2008. 
2. ↑ Clan Galbraith . In: Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (clanchiefs.org) . Retrieved June 9, 2008.
3. ^ Galbraith Name Meaning and History . In: Ancestry.com (Ancestry.com) . Retrieved September 21, 2008.
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk: The Highland Clans. Barrie & Rocklif, London 1967, p. 84.
5. ^ The Scottish Nation. Galbraith. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Galbraith History. scotclans.com. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
7. ↑ Burke's Landed Gentry of Great Britain. Volume 1: The Kingdom in Scotland. 19th edition. Burke's Peerage and Gentry, Stokesley 2001, ISBN 0-9711966-0-5 , p. 482.
8. ^ Robert Pitcairn: Criminal Trials in Scotland, From ADMCCCC.LXXXVIII to ADMDC.XXIV, Embracing the Entire Reigns of James IV. And V., Mary Queen of Scots, and James VI. Volume 1, Part 2. Tait, Edinburgh 1833, p. 290 .
9. ^ ^{A b} Amelia Georgiana Murray MacGregor of Macgregor: History of The Clan Gregor. From Public Records and Private Collections. Volume 1. Compiled at the Request of the Clan Gregor Society. W. Brown, Edinburgh 1898, p. 234 .
10. ↑ ^{a b} Corrections To 200 Years Of Helensburgh ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. helensburgh-heritage.co.uk. Retrieved August 21, 2007