General Notes

REFN: 3049AN
REFN: P3050
knighted 1270.
THE old district of Mar was very extensive. It com menced in the
neighbourhood of Aberdeen, and extended to the border of Badeno ch,
comprising nearly the whole of the valleys of the Dee and Don and the
t erritory lying between them. As mentioned in the Introduction, in Celtic
time s the Mormear was the ruler of the tribe of the land; and the old
Earls of Ma r were descended from the Celtic Mormears, and can be traced
from the tenth c entury onward.
In 1014 Donald, son of Emin, was Mormaer of Mar, and in that ye ar he
proceeded to Ireland to assist the Irish in repelling the attacks of th e
Danes, and he fought and fell in the battle of Clontarf. In the reign of
Alexander I. Ruadri was Mormaer of Mar, and he became the first Earl of
Mar. He was one of the Earls who gave consent to the foundation charter
of the Abb ey of Scone by Alexander I., in 1120. He was also a witness to
the important charter of David I. to the monks of Dumfermline, about 1126.
Ruadri was succee ded by Morgund, second Earl of Mar. Between the years
1165 and 1171 he grante d the church of Tarland to the canons of St
Andrews, with its tithes and obla tions, land and mill, and also the
second tithes of the Earl’s land, and timb er from his woods for building
purposes. This grant was confirmed by a charte r of William the Lion. Earl
Morgund and Agnes, his countess, also granted the church of Migvie to the
canons of St Andrews.
Morgund was succeeded by Gilc hrist, third Earl of Mar. It seems probable
that he built the Priory of Monym usk, and by charter he granted to it the
churches of St Marnan of Leochel, St . Wolock of Ruthven, St. Andrew of
Alford, and Invernochty in Strathdon. He c ontested the claims of the
patronage of the church of St Marnan, of Aberchird er, with William the
Lion and the Bishop of Moray, and granted it to the monk s of the
Monastery of Arbroath.
Gilchrist was succeeded by Gratney, fourth E arl of Mar, of whom little is
known. But he appeared, with his son Malcolm, a s a witness of charters,
under the title of Earl of Mar, and one at least of these charters was
confirmed by William the Lion. About the year 1224 he was succeeded by
Duncan, fifth Earl of Mar. Earl Duncan granted St Andrew’s Churc h, in
Braemar, to the Priory of Monymusk, with an acre of land on the other
siDe of the Water of Clunie. He also confirmed some of the grants made by
hi s father, Earl Morgund.
A dispute arose between the Earl of Mar and Thomas Dur ward touching the
legitimacy of Earl Morgund and his son Duncan. Durward asse rted that
Morgund and his son were illegitimate, and on that ground he claime d the
Earldom of Mar, in right of his mother, of whom little is known, except
that she was the wife of Malcolm Lundin, the King’s hereditary
door-keeper . it is pretty certain, however, that the King supported the
claim of his doo rkeeper, with the aim of breaking up this old Celtic
earldom. The dispute for a time was settled by a compromise under which
Thomas Durward obtained his g reat domains in Mar—stretching from
Invercanny, on the banks of the Dee, to A lford, on the Don, and from
Coull, on the West, to Skene, on the east. Yet th e Durwards were not
satisfied, and subsequently Thomas Durward’s son claimed the whole
Earldom of Mar, and made the utmost efforts to obtain possession of it.
This family took the name of Durward from their hereditary office of
d oorkeepers to the King, and for a time they rose rapidly to power and
influen ce.
This seems the proper place to touch briefly on the origin of the Earldom
of the Garioch, which afterwards became connected with the Earldom of
Mar. The Earldom of the Garioch was created by William the Lion, and
granted by hi m to his brother, David, Earl of Huntingdon. This new
earldom mainly consiste d of the territory surrounding the old fort of
Dunideer, and lying between th e Don and its tributary, the Water of Ury.
Earl