Clan Moncreiffe

Date: 3 Aug 2018 [unknown]
Location: Worldwide
Surnames/tags: Moncreiffe Scottish_Clans

' Scotland Project > Scottish Clans > Clan Moncreiffe

Contents 1 Welcome to Clan Moncreiffe 2 Clan Team 2.1 Team Goals 2.2 Team To Do List 3 Septs 4 Clan History 5 Clan Branches 5.1 Other Names Associated with the Clan 6 Allied Clans 6.1 Rival Clans 7 Clan Research and Free Space Pages 7.1 Source Material 7.2 Image Credits and Acknowledgements 8 Clan Moncreiffe

Welcome to Clan Moncreiffe

Clan Moncreiffe Team
Team Leader
Team Members	Michael Thomas, Jared Olar

Clan Chief:

Crest:

Motto:

Slogan/War Cry:

Region:

Historic Seat:

Plant badge:

Pipe music:

Gaelic name:

Clan Team

Team Goals

The focus of this team's work is to identify, improve and maintain profiles associated with the Lairds and Clan Moncreiffe together with members bearing the name Moncreiffe, the related families and those recognised as septs of Clan Moncreiffe,.

Team To Do List

This list will be developed by the Team. If you are working on a specific task, please list it here:

• promoting the entries of those bearing the name Moncreiffe on Wikitree.
• ensuring entries appearing on Wikitree are as accurate as possible, correcting mistakes once spotted.
• encouraging interest in and study of Clan Moncreiffe.

Septs

Clan History

Clan Branches

Other Names Associated with the Clan

Allied Clans

Rival Clans

Clan Research and Free Space Pages

Source Material

Image Credits and Acknowledgements

Information below this line should be summarized and incorporated into this Team page. Detailed information should be moved to additional Clan pages.

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Clan Chief: Perigrine Moncreiffe of Easter Moncreiffe. Clan Chief of Clan Moncreiffe. Succeeded his cousin in 1998.

Crest: Issuing from a crest coronet Or, a demi-lion rampant Gules, armed and langued Azure

Motto: Sur Esperance (Upon hope)

Region: Highlands

District: Perthshire

Plant badge: Oak

Gaelic name: Monadh Craoibhe (Hill of the Sacred Bough)

Clan branches: Moncreiffe of Moncreiffe (chiefs); Moncreiff of Tulliebole (principal cadets); Moncreiff of Bandirran; Moncreiff of Kinmonth; Scot-Moncreiffs

Names associated with the clan: Monchryf, Moncref, Moncrefe, Moncreife, Moncreiff, Moncreiffe, Moncrief, Moncriefe, Moncrieff, Moncrieffe, Moncrif, Moncrife, Moncriffe, Monkreff, Monkreth, Montcreffe, Montcrief, Montcrif, Mouncref, Muncrefe, Muncreff, Muncreif, Muncreiffe, Muncreyfe, Muncrif, Muncrife, Munkrethe

Allied clans: Clan Ruthven

"Cousin clans": Clan Dundas, Clan Dunbar

Rival clans: Clan Charteris

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Clan Moncreiffe

Origins of the clan

The name Moncreiffe comes from the feudal barony of Moncreiffe in Perthshire. The lands of Moncreiffe take their name from the Monadh croibhe which is Scottish Gaelic for Hill of the sacred bough. The plant badge of the clan is the oak, which presumably comes from the sacred tree. Moncreiffe Hill dominates the southeast Perth valley and was a stronghold of the Pictish kings. This connects the clan with the lands of Atholl and Dundas, both of which were held by branches of the Picto-Scottish royal house.

Albany Herald and chief of the clan Iain Moncreiffe (1919–1985) asserted that the coat of arms with the red royal lion on a silver shield were the colors of the house of Maldred, Regent of Cumbria and brother of Duncan I of Scotland. Thus indicating that they were cadets of Maldred's line. Maldred himself was a descendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages, king of Ireland.

In 1248, Matthew Muncrephe received a charter from Alexander II of Scotland for lands in Perthshire. Sir John Moncref and William de Moncrefe were amongst the many Scottish nobles who pledged loyalty to Edward I of England.

15th and 16th Centuries

Malcolm Moncreiffe, the 6th Laird, was a member of James II of Scotland's council and received from him a charter incorporating his Highland and Lowland estates into the barony of Moncreiffe. He died in about 1465 and was succeeded by his son, the 7th Laird, who was James III of Scotland's chamberlain and shield bearer. The 7th Laird married Beatrix, daughter of James Dundas of that Ilk, but was murdered some time before 1475 by Flemish pirates.

The three main branches of the clan descend from the 8th Laird of Moncreiffe who died in about 1496. The Moncreiffes of Moncreiffe are the chiefly line of the clan. The principal cadets of the clan are the Baron Moncreiffs of Tulliebole. From the barons descend the Moncreiffs of Bandirran, from who the Moncreiffs of Kinmonth and the Scot-Moncreiffs descend.

During the 16th century, one branch of the Clan Moncreiffe joined the famous Scots Guard of Archers for the king of France and established at least three noble French families. However the Marquis de Moncrif was one of the French nobles who met his end on the guillotine during the French Revolution.

In 1513, Sir John Moncreiffe, the 9th Laird was killed at the Battle of Flodden, as was his cousin, John, Baron of Easter Moncreiffe. His son was William Moncreiffe, the 10th Laird, who supported the Douglas Earl of Angus and in 1532 was fined for refusing to attend the Court that condemned Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis, to be burned to death as a witch, when her only crime was that of being a Douglas by birth. William Moncreiffe was later captured at the Battle of Solway Moss in 1542 and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. When he was released he embraced the Protestant religion, and was one of the barons who subscribed to the Articles in the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1567.

In 1544,the Clan Moncreiffe supported Clan Ruthven in a clan battle against Clan Charteris. The Ruthvens held considerable sway over Perth from their Huntingtower Castle. In 1544, Patrick, Lord Ruthven, was elected Provost of Perth but, at the intervention of Cardinal Beaton, Ruthven was deprived of the office and Charteris of Kinfauns was appointed instead. The city refused to acknowledge Charteris and barred the gates against him. Charteris, along with Lord Gray and Clan Leslie, then attacked the town. They were repulsed by the Ruthvens, who were assisted by Clan Moncreiffe. As a result, Ruthven remained Provost of Perth until 1584 when William Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie, was executed.

17th Century and civil war

Sir John Moncreiffe, the 12th Laird and chief of Clan Moncreiffe, was made Baronet of Nova Scotia in April 1626. However, John was unable to support the king and signed the National Covenant in 1638. His son, also called John, personally raised a company of the King's Scots Guards by warrant of Charles II of England in 1674. This John was heavily in debt and, in 1667, a charter was secured for a family agreement whereby the Barony of Moncreiffe was sold to Thomas Moncreiffe, who was a direct descendant of the eighth Laird of Moncreiffe. However, the Baronetcy of Moncreiffe passed to John's brother.

In 1685, a second Moncreiffe baronetcy was created in which Thomas, now the 14th Laird, was himself created baronet by James VII of England and II of Scotland. Thomas later became Clerk of Exchequer in Scotland and baillie of the Regality of St Andrews. He commissioned a new seat at Moncreiffe, which was the first major country house to be completed by Sir William Bruce in 1679.

Clan chief and seat

A new seat was built for the Chief at Moncreiffe, the first major country house completed by Sir William Bruce, in 1679. It was the family seat until it was destroyed by fire in November 1957, claiming the life of Sir David Moncreiffe of that Ilk, 10th Baronet, the 23rd Laird. This tragedy led to the chiefship of the great Scottish herald and historian Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk, 11th Baronet.

Sir David’s sister, Miss Elizabeth Moncreiffe of Moncreiffe, was his heir, but declared that it was her wish that he be succeeded by her cousin, Sir Iain, the Baron of Easter Moncreiffe, while she retained the feudal barony of Moncreiffe. She built a modern country house on the site of the old seat which incorporates the doorway reclaimed from the ashes of the burned house. Sir Iain died in 1985 and the chiefship reverted to Miss Moncreiffe. On her death, the chiefship passed to Sir Iain’s younger son, the Hon. Peregrine Moncreiffe of Easter Moncreiffe — his elder brother Merlin having assumed the name and arms of Hay on succeeding their mother Diana as Earl of Erroll and Chief of Clan Hay.

[1] or [2]

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References

1. Clan Moncrieffe Profile scotclans.com. Retrieved 24 November 2013.

2. Way, George and Squire, Romily. Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pages 276 - 277.

3. Way, George and Squire, Romily. Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). Published in 1994. Pages 100 - 101.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.