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Brodie Clan

Brodie Crest: A hand holding a bunch of arrows.

Brodie Clan Motto: Unite.

Brodie Clan History: There are several theories on the origins of the ancient Celtic surname of Brodie. One suggestion is that the Brodie’s were one of the original Pictish tribes of Moray, taking their name from the Pictish Royal family of ‘Brude’. The lands of Brodie are around twenty miles from the Inverness stronghold of the Pictish King Brude. Another interpretation is that the Brodie surname comes from the Gaelic 'Brothaigh', meaning a mire or ditch.

The Brodie’s are first recorded in 1311 when Michael de Brothie, son of Malcolm, Thane of Brodie, received a charter from Robert the Bruce, erecting the old Celtic thaneage of Brodie into a barony.

Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries the Brodie's are mentioned in many charters of Moray. Thomas de Brothy was a juror at a court held near Inverness in 1376. John de Brothie is recorded as attending on the Earl of Mar, Lieutenant of the North. In 1380 as John de Brothy he was witness to a matter between Alexander Bur, Bishop of Moray, and Alexander Stewart, the infamous “Wolf of Badenoch”.

John Brodie of Brodie is recorded as assisting the Clan Mackenzie at the battle of Blar na Pairc, where Alexander Macdonald of Lochalsh was defeated. Alexander Brodie, a local judge, was summoned to the Lords Council in Edinburgh, 1484, to explain the reason for one of the sentences he had given out.

Alexander Brodie, great grandson of John Brodie, along with John Hay of Park, and one hundred and twenty five other persons were, in 1550, denounced rebels, after an attack on Alexander Cumming of Altyre and his servants, one of whom was cruelly mutilated. The eldest son of Alexander, David, in a charter of 1597 had his lands made into a free Barony of Brodie. David’s second son, Alexander, bought the lands of Lethen near Elgin.

On New Years day, 1640, Alexander the 15th Laird of Brodie, a covenanter and firm supporter of the protestant cause, assisted Gilbert Ross, the minister of Elgin, in the destruction of the carved rood-screen with its painting of the crucifixion at Elgin Cathedral.

Less is written of the Brodie Clan than many of the other ancient families of Scotland. This is due to the fact that all of the Brodie charters and records were destroyed in 1645 when Lord Lewis Gordon the Catholic Marquis of Huntly, burned and plundered Brodie Castle, in revenge for Alexander’s signing of the national covenant.

Alexander was appointed a Lord of session as Lord Brodie in 1649. He was one of the commissioners, sent to The Hague in Holland, after the Death of Charles I, to negotiate the return to the country of the exiled Charles II. Lord Brodie was called to London in 1651 by Oliver Cromwell to negotiate a possible union between England and Scotland. In a diary entry Alexander wrote, “resolved and determined in the strength of the Lord, to eschew and avoid employment under Cromwell.” After the reformation he was fined heavily for his actions. He died in 1679.

Alexander’s son, James, married Mary Ker, daughter of William, 3rd Earl of Lothian. As James was to be appointed a privy councillor and commissioner of excise, Mary, writes in correspondence of her concern with financial problems, recollecting that her husband had been fined £24,000 Scots by the Privy Council in 1685 for holding conventicles in Brodie Castle. James and Mary had nine daughters but no son. James was succeeded by George Brodie, son of Joseph Brodie of Asliesk, younger brother of Lord Brodie.
 
George’s second son, Alexander Brodie of Brodie, was appointed Lord Lyon King of Arms in 1727 and continued in the role until 1754. He attended the Duke of Cumberland as he crushed the second Jacobite rebellion in Scotland. By supporting the Hanoverians the Brodie’s avoided the fate of so many of the Highland Clans.

Brodie Castle

Brodie Castle, near Forres, was the seat of Brodie of Brodie from time immemorial until the late 20th century. The castle, as it stands, was erected by Alexander Brodie of Brodie in 1609.

The original building was a fine example of a Scottish tower house built on a 'z' plan, two five storey high towers with ornately corbelled battlements lie at opposite corners of a rectangular central keep. This gave defenders a full field of fire along all four walls. In 1645, the castle was partially burnt by the Catholic Marquis of Huntly. An extension was built the 17th Century and a lavish eastern wing was added in the 19th century.

In 1980 the Castle was taken into the care of the National Trust for Scotland. Set in parkland with woodland walks, the house has a magnificent library containing over 6,000 books. The house also contains fine porcelain, French furniture, and a major collection of paintings including 17th-century Dutch, 18th and 19th-century English, and work of the Scottish colourists. Within the grounds lies an impressive class II Pictish stone. Known as Rodney’s stone, after the gravedigger, Rotteny, who found it in 1781 whilst digging the foundations of nearby Dyke church.

The front of the stone bears a Celtic cross carved in relief flanked by two intertwined serpents. On the reverse are two fish-monsters, a Pictish beast, and the double disc and Z-rod symbols.

Associated family names (Septs): Brodie, Brody, Brodey, Bryde, Brydie.

Click here to buy a unique personalised Clan Brodie certificate.

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