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Earldom of Atholl
Coronet of a British Earl
Atholl arms
Blazon Arms of Celtic earls of Atholl (1114–1314): Sable, three pallets or[1]
Creation date 12th century
Created by
Peerage Peerage of Scotland
First holder Dubdon of Atholl (Mormaerdom)
Present holder Bruce Murray, 12th Duke of Atholl
Remainder to

The Mormaer or Earl of Atholl was the title of the holder of a medieval comital lordship straddling the highland province of Atholl (Ath Fodhla), now in northern Perthshire. Atholl is a special Mormaerdom, because a King of Atholl is reported from the Pictish period. The only other two Pictish kingdoms to be known from contemporary sources are Fortriu and Circinn. Indeed, the early 13th century document known to modern scholars as the de Situ Albanie repeats the claim that Atholl was an ancient Pictish kingdom. In the 11th century, the famous Crínán of Dunkeld may have performed the role of Mormaer.

Royal connections continued with Máel Muire, who was the son of King Donnchad I, and the younger brother of Máel Coluim III mac Donnchada. Matad was perhaps the most famous of the Mormaers, fathering Harald Maddadsson, a notorious rebel of the Scottish King and perhaps the first Gael to rule Orkney as Earl of Orkney. The line of Máel Muire and Crínán came to an end when Forbhlaith, the daughter of Mormaer Henry married David de Hastings.

The latter marriage produced a daughter, Ada, who married into the Strathbogie family, a semi-Normanized Gaelic family with Fife origins. The Strathbogies ruled until the Wars of Independence, when the Campells took over. It finally passed to the Stewarts.

Early Mormaers/Earls of Atholl[]

  • Dubdon (fl. 960s)
  • Duncan II MacDonachadh 970s - 1010
  • Crínán? (d. 1045)
  • ?
  • Máel Muire (fl. 1130s)
  • Matad, Earl of Atholl (d. 1151x1161)
  • Máel Coluim, Earl of Atholl (d. 1190s)
  • Henry, Earl of Atholl (d. 1211)
  • Isabella, Countess of Atholl (d. ?)
    • m. Thomas of Galloway (d. 1232)
    • m. (?) Alan Durward
  • Padraig, Earl of Atholl (d. 1241)
  • Forbhlaith, Countess of Atholl (d. ?)
    • m. David de Hastings
  • Ada, Countess of Atholl (d. 1264) m. John de Strathbogie
  • David de Strathbogie, 8th Earl of Atholl (d. 1270)
  • John de Strathbogie, 9th Earl of Atholl (d. 1306)
  • David II Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl (d. 1326) (forfeited)

After David II, two of others of his name claimed the lordship, though neither exercised it:

    • David III Strathbogie, titular Earl of Atholl (d. 1335)
    • David IV Strathbogie, titular Earl of Atholl (d. 1369)

Earls of Atholl; Second creation (1320)[]

  • John Campbell, 1st Earl of Atholl (d. 1333) inherited the property confiscated from David II Strathbogie in about 1320, but died without issue

Earls of Atholl; Third creation (1341)[]

  • William Douglas, 1st Earl of Atholl (d. 1353) resigned his earldom upon or shortly after creation

Earls of Atholl; Fourth creation (1342)[]

Other titles: Earl of Strathearn (1358, abd. 1369, regained 1370)

Earls of Atholl; Fifth creation (1398)[]

Other titles: Duke of Rothesay (1398) and Earl of Carrick (c. 1390)

Earls of Atholl; Sixth creation (1403)[]

Other titles: Duke of Albany (1398), Earl of Fife (1371, res. 1372) and Earl of Buchan (1382, res. 1406)

Earls of Atholl; Seventh creation (1404)[]

Other titles: Earl of Caithness (1375, abd c 1428–1430), Earl of Strathearn (1427 for life), Earl of Caithness (1430) and Baron Cortachy (1409)
  • Walter Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl (d. 1437), sixth and youngest son of Robert II, was attainted (his honours forfeit) and executed for his part in the murder of James I

Earls of Atholl; Eighth creation (1457)[]

Other titles: Lord of Balveny (1460)

Earls of Atholl; Ninth creation (1596)[]

Other titles: Lord Innermeath (1469)
  • John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl (1566–1603) (only son of the 5th Lord Innermeath)
  • James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl (d. 1625) (only son of the 1st Earl, died without issue and both titles became extinct)

Earls of Atholl; Tenth creation (1629)[]

See also[]

  • Clan Murray
  • Atholl

References[]

  1. ^ Paul, James Balfour (1904). The Scots Peerage: Volume I. Edinburgh: D. Douglas. p. 433. https://archive.org/stream/scotspeeragefoun01paul#page/432/mode/2up/search/Atholl. Retrieved 1 October 2017. 
  • Anderson, Alan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500–1286, 2 Vols, (Edinburgh, 1922)
  • Roberts, John L., Lost Kingdoms: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages, (Edinburgh, 1997)

Template:Earls of Atholl


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Earl of Atholl. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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