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Arbuthnott
Clan
Arbuthnott Crest: A peacock's head, couped,
proper, beaked, or.
Arbuthnott Clan Motto: Laus Deo (Praise to God).
Arbuthnott Clan History:
The surname of Arbuthnot(t) is of Celtic origin
and is unique in its description of a geographical location in the
Mearns district of the North-East of Scotland. The original spelling,
Aber-bothenoth, refers to the “Aber” or confluence of the smaller
stream, the Bothenoth, with those of the larger River Bervie. The site
for this place name is a narrow peninsula of land in the Bervie Valley,
three miles upstream from the sea, where the valley is joined on its
north side by the steep glen cut out by the smaller stream of the
Bothenoth (“Burn of Healing”).
The peninsula of Arbuthnott has a narrow neck no
more than 100 yards wide between the steep slope down to the stream bed
on its northern side, and the equally steep, but longer, slope down the
river valley to the south. Historically, this provided a brilliantly
defensive position and it is here that the castle and the home of the
Arbuthnott family has been situated for over 800 years.
Around 1175, Osbert Olifard ( a surname which
subsequently became Oliphant), was given these lands by William the
Lion. His successor, Walter de Olifard, went on a Crusade and
presumably died abroad. However, before doing so he made over his lands
to one Hugh of Swinton, from Berwickshire, who in all probability had
married into the family. It was Hugh's son Duncan who adopted the
surname of Arbuthnott, and it has been used by his successors ever
since.
In the first half of the fifteenth century, Hugh
Arbuthnott of that Ilk was implicated in the murder of John Melville of
Glenbervie, Sheriff of the Mearns, who had become unpopular with the
Duke of Albany, then Regent of Scotland. Summoned to meet
with the lairds of Arbuthnott, Halkerton and Pitarrow, the unsuspecting
Sheriff was tossed into a cauldron of boiling water to be transformed
into soup. The perpetrators of the crime were later pardoned.
The Arbuthnott title came from adherence to
Charles I, who created Sir Robert Arbuthnott of that Ilk a
Viscount in 1641. The family supported the Stuart Cause, and at
Arbuthnott House, an 18th century enlargement of a 17th century
dwelling, can be seen portraits of exiled Stuart family members,
probably gifted to the 5th Viscount for his loyalty. The garden of
Arbuthnott House is open to the public between April and August.
The 16th Viscount Arbuthnott, the present Chief, was Lord Lieutenant of
Kincardineshire from 1977 until 1999. He became a Knight of the Thistle
in 1996.
Alexander Arbuthnot (1538-83) was the first
post-Reformation Principal of King's College, Aberdeen and, in 1577,
was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland. John Arbuthnot (1667-1735), a physician, was born
in Kincardineshire and, settling in London, became a close
friend of the writers Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. In 1705, he
was appointed physician to Queen Anne. He wrote the History
of John Bull (1712).
Places of Interest: Arbuthnott House is situated eight miles south west
of Stonehaven in Kincardineshire and, until it was built on to in the
16th century consisted of a 13th century tower.
Click
here for Arbuthnot tartan.
Click
here for Arbuthnot Kilts and Highland Dress.
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