Clan Napier
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
The Napier clan is a Scottish clan originally from the Loch Lomond area , but also present in Stirlingshire , Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire .
history
Origins of the clan
There is a lively discussion about the origin of the name Napier . One theory is that a " Naperer " is "a person in charge of table linen in a royal or mansion" and that the original Napiers were "Naperers" from England or France. The other theory is that the name Napier is a derived spelling of "Nae Peer". In 1625, Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston , the first Lord Napier , presented an affidavit to the College of Heralds describing the origin of the name Napier granted to him by the King (probably Alexander II ). He notes:
" This battle went hard with the Scots, for the enemy, pressing furiously upon them, forced them to lose ground, until at last they fell to flat running away, which being perceived by Donald, he pulled his father's standard from the bearer thereof, and valiantly encountering the foe, being well followed by the Earl of Lenox's men, he repulsed the enemy, and changed the fortune of the day, whereby a great victory was got. After the battle as the manor is everyone advancing and setting forth his own acts the King said unto them "Ye have all done well but there is one amongst you who hath Na peer," and calling Donald into his presence he commanded him in regard of his worthy service and in augmentation of his honor to change his name from Lenox to Napier, and gave him the lands of Gosford and lands in Fife and made him his own servant, which discourse is confirmed by sundry of my old evidencies and testimonies wherein we are called Lenox alias Napier. "
Scottish Wars of Independence
The first evidence of Napiers in Scotland is in the charter of Malcolm, Earl of Lennox , granting land in Kilmahew, Dunbartonshire to John de Naper, circa 1290. During the Scottish Wars of Independence , that John Napier was probably one of the defenders of Stirling Castle during the siege of Stirling Castle , which in 1304 were forced to surrender to the English led by Edward I.
15th century
Another branch of the clan settled in Merchiston , near Edinburgh . The first Laird of Merchiston, Alexander Napier, received a charter for the lands around Merchiston in 1436. The Napiers of Merchiston produced provosts of Edinburgh , numerous admirals and generals, as well as John Napier, 8th Laird of Merchiston , an inventor of logarithms . Merchiston Castle in Edinburgh still stands today as the centerpiece of Napier University's Merchiston campus.
John Napier von Rusky , 3rd Laird of Merchiston, fell in the service of the king, leading the Napier clan in the battle of Sauchieburn on June 11, 1488.
16th century and the Anglo-Scottish Wars
During the Anglo-Scottish Wars , Sir Alexander Napier, the fifth Laird of Merchiston, led the clan to the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513 , in which they were slain.
Alexander Napier, the sixth Laird of Merchiston, died when the Napier clan fought against the English in the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547.
17th century and civil war
During the Civil War, Archibald Napier, 9th Laird of Merchiston, fought in the Battle of Philiphaugh in 1645 at the age of over 70 .
The Kilmahew Napiers were the ancestors of most of the Napiers in the United States. When at some point between 1650 and 1655 a Patrick Napier, who in 1649 was an apprentice to Dr. Alexander Pennycuik, surgeon-general of the Scottish Army at the Battle of Dunbar (1650) , who emigrated to America. After the Civil War, Archibald Napier, 2nd Lord Napier, supported the Glencairn revolt .
The Napier held the lands around Kilmahew for 18 generations. The property was sold in 1820.
Castles
- Kilmahew Castle , Cardross, Dunbartonshire, is the ancestral home of the Napiers of Kilmahew and is now in ruins.
- Merchiston Castle , Edinburgh, is the ancestral home of the Napiers of Merchiston. It is the center of Napier University's Merchiston campus.
- Other castles built or purchased by the clan include: Culcreuch Castle (Fintry, Stirlingshire) and Lauriston Castle (Edinburgh).
Noteworthy Napiers
- John Napier, 8th Laird of Merchiston - inventor of logarithms
- Sir Robert Napier , an eminent judge, was constituted by Queen Elizabeth .
- James Dutton, 1st Baron Sherborne , Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire 1780–1784, son of James Lenox Naper of Ireland.
- General Charles Napier - A statue of him still stands in Trafalgar Square today .
- Admiral Charles Napier - or "Black Charlie", served during the Napoleonic Wars .
- Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala - received a hereditary title of nobility for his efforts to rescue British diplomats from Abyssinia .
- Robert Napier - Navy officer, often referred to as the "father of Clyde Shipbuilding".
- David Napier , founder of the engineering workshop that gave birth to Napier & Son , a British manufacturer of cars and aircraft engines
- Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier - presided over the Napier Commission in 1883.
Clan chief
The current chief of the clan since 2012 has been Francis Napier, 15th Lord Napier .
Trivia
The Western Australia Police Pipe Band , a bagpipe band from Perth , bears the tartan of the Clan since 1966th
The University of Queensland Pipe Band from Emmanuel College in Brisbane has been wearing the Napier tartan since 1998.