Clans of the North-East: Bruce
February 2009
Lord Elgin’s coat of arms as it appears in the Thistle Chapel of the high kirk of St Giles, Edinburgh. (Tartan courtesy of Scottish Tartans Authority)
by Gordon Casely
The mighty clan Bruce once held sway through lands and properties that stretched from Kintore in Aberdeenshire to Tottenham in London. The motte at Kintore upon which the Bruce stronghold stood existed until the middle of the 19th century, when the directors of the nascent Great North of Scotland Railway – in a surge of philistinian capitalist expansion – bulldozed it out of existence to create a junction from which the Alford branch diverged from the main Aberdeen-Inverurie line.
The surname Bruce is inextricably linked with the history of our nation, most notably at Bannockburn – but the family was ancient long before that momentous affray. One Adam de Brus had a castle at Brix near Cherbourg in the 11th century, the ruins of which still remain. An early Robert de Brus became companion-in-arms to Prince David, afterwards David I of Scots (1124-53), following him north when David went to regain his kingdom in 1124.
The northward travels of these early Bruces has resulted in offshoots of the wider clan being settled for centuries in places as far apart as Dorset, Wales and Yorkshire, as well as across Scotland from Ayrshire to Aberdeenshire. Family fortunes in Scotland became assured following a grant of land in Annandale by King William the Lion (1165-1214), and Robert fourth lord of Annandale secured his lineage when he married into the Royal house. His descendant Robert Bruce (1274-1329) took our throne as King Robert I, and in the 15 years of his reign post-Bannockburn, he set about rebuilding our shattered nation. In 1270, the first Stewart monarch Robert II (1371-90) succeeded to the throne by right of descent through Marjory, Bruce’s daughter.
The chiefship today resides in Andrew, 11th earl of Elgin,15th earl of Kincardine and 37th of the name of Bruce, who remains at age 84 a prominent name in Scotland. A leading Freemason, he is a knight of the Order of the Thistle, former convenor of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, and a one-time Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. His ancestor the seventh earl is the diplomat who spent much of his fortune rescuing items from a marble frieze of the Parthenon, hence the nickname Elgin Marbles.
Custodians of story, legend and fact
The Elgin family take seriously their duties as custodians of the story, legends and fact of our great national hero King Robert Bruce. The present earl headed the celebrations marking the 700th anniversary of King Robert’s coronation in 2006, and has produced for public view the very sword once wielded by our hero king. Equally, Lord Bruce has promoted the interests of his wider family across the globe, and at the last great Clan Gathering in Edinburgh some three decades ago, he was a notable participant. At this year’s Gathering in July, it is expected that once again Bruces will play major roles.
In present-day heraldry, Bruces also play major roles. Lord Elgin’s second son Adam, an Edinburgh solicitor, occupies the office of Unicorn Pursuivant, one of the six heralds in the court of the Lord Lyon. Some years ago, he was installed in a colourful ceremony in Glencoe as Finlaggan Pursuivant, herald to the council of Clan Donald, the reviving of an ancient office last inaugurated some 500 years ago. Adam’s journalist cousin, Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, has the appointment of Fitzalan Pursuivant at the College of Arms in London, and appears every year at the State Opening of the Westminister Parliament.
The chiefly arms of Bruce are Or, a saltire and chief Gules, on a canton Argent, a lion rampant Azure armed and langued of the Second (on a gold shield lies a red saltire with red bar across the top, with the whole of the top left corner cut out to show a blue lion rampant and red tongue and claws). The motto is the single word Fuimus (We Have Been). The Bruce tartan is a simple design against the main hue of red.
Gordon Casely has no known connection with the House of Bruce, but occasionally dons a Bruce kilt now restored after being found languishing “somewhere up Deeside”.
This is an article from the February 2009 edition of Leopard Magazine. To read much more like this every month, see our subscription details.