(Dunchad) Duncan, originally a forename, is without doubt one of the earliest names in Scotland – surnames being introduced by the Normans around 1120 AD – and originates from the Dalriadan Celtic Scotii (Scots) from Ireland who colonized the south west of Scotland from about the 4th century AD.
One of the earliest accounts is that of the Scots Gaelic writings of the 11th c. in the ‘Book of Deer’, the oldest Scots Gaelic writings known in Scotland today, written by the early Christian Monks of the Abbey of Deer in Aberdeenshire.
The first mentions of Dunchad, Donnachadh (Duncan) as a Clan was from the early part of the 14th century and the Scottish Wars of Independence which ended with Robert the Bruce’s victory over the English at Bannockburn.
The Donachad, Dunchad (Duncans) descends from King Malcolm II who reigned from 1005 to 1034 and was the last king in the direct male line to descend from Kenneth MacAlpine, who united the Scots and Picts in 843 A.D. and is considered the founder of Scotland.
After Malcolm II's murder by his nobles at Glamis, Duncan killed his opponents and seized the throne as King Duncan I. His first cousins, Macbeth (of Shakespearean fame) and Thorfinn the Raven Feeder, Norwegian Earl of Orkney, united to advance MacBeth's claim to the throne through his mother, another daughter of Malcolm II. Duncan reigned from 1034 until he was defeated in battle by their combined armies and killed by Macbeth in August 1040 at Elgin. Scotland was then ruled by Thorfinn in the northern districts and Macbeth in the southern districts.
Malcolm, Duncan's eldest son, rebelled twice against MacBeth in an effort to gain the throne. Malcolm, after one failed attempt, at the head of an English Saxon army defeated and killed MacBeth while his Norwegian allies were engaged elsewhere and Malcolm ascended the throne in 1057 as King Malcolm III Ceann Mor (Canmore).
In 1068, Malcolm took as his second wife, Margaret, later known and revered as St. Margaret of Scotland. During his 37 year reign, the first events now known as Highland Games were held on the Braes of Mar to choose the best available men to serve as his servants and soldiers. His death in battle in December 1093 and the death of his wife, several days later brought on a turbulent time which saw Malcolm's eldest son, King Duncan II murdered by Malcolm's brother Donald Bane, Lord of the Isles, in order to become king. Another son, Edgar, finally secured the throne in 1097 with the help of another English army of Saxons and Normans led by his mother's brother, Edgar Aetheling. King Malcolm III's hereditary possessions devolved on his youngest brother, Maelmare, the first celtic Earl of Atholl and on his death, the earldom passed to Malcolm III's namesake, the second son of his first marriage. This Malcolm, the younger brother of the slain King Duncan II is the recognized progenitor of the Clan.
The Clan's first recognised Chief was Donnachadh Reamhair, or "Stout Duncan", who led the clan and supported Bruce during the wars of Scottish independence which culminated in Bruce's famous victory at Bannockburn on June 24, 1314 over Edward II's army. The most precious clan relic, the celebrated rock crystal charm stone of the clan, the "Clach na Brataich" or "ensign stone", was unearthed when the chief's standard pole was pulled from the ground while on the march to Bannockburn. It has been carried by all chiefs since then when leading the clan to battle.
Stout Duncan had four sons. The three younger sons: Patrick, Thomas and Gibbon, were outlawed by King Robert III for their part in leading the daring "Raid of Angus" in 1392 which garnered 3,000 head of fat Angus cattle, laid waste the district of Angus and resulted in the death of the Sheriff of Angus and a host of his followers who had pursued the clan back to Atholl. The eldest son, Robert, became the second Chief in 1355 and died sometime after 1392. Duncan, his eldest son and third Chief, spend some time as a hostage in England for the ransom of King James I and died sometime before 1432. He was known as the Lord of Rannoch, as all the other lands in Rannoch were in the hands of the Crown.
His eldest son, Robert Ruabh Duncanson, fourth Chief, was a strong supporter of King James I and was incensed by his murder. He tracked down and captured the regicides, Sir Robert Graham and the Master of Atholl hiding in a small glen and turned them over to the Crown. They were drawn and quartered at Sterling Castle.
The Robertson crest badge of a right hand holding an imperial crown was awarded by King James II to the fourth Chief, on August 15, 1451 as a reward for capturing the assassins of King James I in 1437. It is from this Chief that his descendants and many of his clan folk took the name "Robert's sons" or Robertson.
Not all clans folk followed their then chief and changed their name, as did he, to that of Robertson; as evidenced today by the number of individuals and families around the world who retain the name of Duncan and the various spellings thereof.
Robertson of Struan at present is (according to Burke’s Landed Gentry of Scotland) the 24th Chief of Clan Robertson and the 28th Chief of Clan Donnachaidh and there can be no doubt that his genealogy links him to both but, to be Chief of Robertson’s is one thing, to be Chief over the name ‘Duncan’, a name he and his immediate family abandoned over 450 years ago is quite another. To expect those who today retain the name of ‘Duncan’ to wear the Crest Belt and Buckle of the Robertson Clan is, to some quite unpalatable.
[This blog was originally posted to jdduncanlaw.com on December 29, 2009.]
JD
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