General Notes

REFN: 7554AN
William, son of Freskin, is a witness to a charter granted by Malco
lm IV to Berowaldus Flandrensis of the lands of Innes, at Christmas 116
0. Between 1165 and 1171 he obtained a charter from William the Lion of t
he lands of Strabrok, Duffus, Rosisle, Inchikel, Machir, and Kintrai, 'qu
as terras pater suus Friskin tenuit tempore regis David avi mei. This char
ter is now missing, but it was seen and copied by Nisbet. William witness
ed several charters of King William between 1187 and 1199, and died abo
ut 1203, when his eldest son appears as Lord of Duffus. Mr Cosmo Innes, ed
itor of the 'Chartulary of Moray,' founding for want of better authorit
y, on a marginal note in the register relative to Gilbert, Archdeacon of M
oary, afterwards Bishop of Caithness - 'Iste Gilbertus erat filius domi
ni de Duffus' - remards that if the anonymous annotator be correct, Gilber
t, along with John and Richard his brothers, must all apparently have be
en sons of William, son of Freskin, Lord of Duffus, and nephews of Hugh Fr
eskin. But if Richard, brother of Gilbert, be identical with the Richa
rd de Moravia to whom the Abbot of Dunfermline, about 1240, gives and conf
irms all his lands of Kildun, near Dingwall, in Ross, then the annotator m
ust be wrong, because this Richard is distinctly called 'filius Murdaci fi
lii Alexandri de Moravia.' [The Scots Peerage II:121-122]
William, son of Freskin, who under that designation appears on record fir
st as a witness to a charter granted at Perth by King Malcolm IV in 11
60 to Berowald the Fleming of the lands of Innes, in Morayshirer. Betwe
en 1166 and 1171 he had the grant, already cited, of his father's lan
ds of Duffus, etc. He witnessed a number of royal charters, chiefly tho
se granted at Elgin or elsewhere in his own neighbourhood, though he is al
so found further afield. He seems to have survived the year 1204, if he we
re the William Fresekyn who was Sheriff of Invernaryn in that year. [The S
cots Peerage VIII:320]