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The
information below has been kindly made available by
Richard
Oliphant
of That
Ilk.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME
The name Oliphant derived through variations of Holifard/Holifarth probably, from
the Norwegian name Olaf. Following the crusades, the name changed to take on that given to
the animal encountered in Palestine - an Oliphaunt. Mediaeval French termed the animal
thus but that name evolved later into Elephant. However, W. Maitland Thomson quotes
J.H. Round's Cal. Of Documents, France in stating that there is no record of the name in
Normandy prior to 1066 and concludes it was first assumed on English soil. This is
belied by evidence of the Oliphant progenitor in
Scotland long before that.
PROGENITOR IN SCOTLAND
The Oliphants in Scotland descend from Donald Olifard, a Norwegian nobleman
shipwecked on the East coast in the Ninth Century, at the time of Harold Haarfager
(Fair-haired) of Norway's invasions of Scotland, some 300 years before David Olifard (vide
The Baronage of Angus and the Mearns, p.269.)
By late 10th Century, Roger Oliphant was Hereditary Sherriff of the Mearns. By 1004,
Duncan Oliphant, the then Sherriff, married Helen Hassa, the last of that name, to become
Thane of Glenbervie, which included Aberbuthnoth, in Kincardineshire. Their son
Walter married Matilda Sinell, dau. of Thane of Angus and produced at least two sons,
David who moved to Lilford in Northants and Osbert, who married Aegidia, dau. of the Hay
of Arroll (sic). Osbert had a daughter who married James Melvil, an Hungarian Nobleman
(vide The Baronage of Angus and the Mearns, p.73-4.) The Aberbuthnoth lands passed
to Hugh de Swinton upon his marriage to their daughter Margaret, who took on the name
Arbuthnot (vide that Clan.)
OLIPHANT RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER CLANS
In general, arms which are 'pure' (undifferenced) as the Oliphant chief's are, are
a priori matriculations and are identifiable as such, e.g. on the Glenbervie old church
yard vault recording the genealogy hereabove. The Oliphants have never been a Sept of any
other Clan, (including the Sutherlands) but are a clan in our own sole right, as sources
at both the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs and at the Court of the Lord Lyon have
opined to us.
Of the Sutherland link, the first Lord Oliphant bought for his second son the hand in
marriage of a Sutherland heiress (an orphan who, due to her large estates, had been made a
ward of the Crown.) Her uncle had disputed her inheritance (on the grounds of her
legitimacy) in Rome and received a settlement thereby. Later, in the face of
pressure from the Sutherland family, who wanted the lands back (in Sutherland ownership,)
the lands were exchanged with the then Lord Oliphant. He was the only family member
powerful enough to defend the properties from the Sutherland attacks. In return for
these estates Lord Oliphant agreed to finding each of Andrew's three daughters (he had no
son) suitable husbands. Later, Lord Oliphant made a mutual bond (not a one-way bond
of manhrent) with the Sutherlands as both were much troubled by the Sinclairs but, never
ensepted his chiefly status to the Sutherlands thereby.
Oliphant's Leap at Wick Castle marks the spot where, pursued by Sinclairs, the Master of
Oliphant, not having time to sound his horn to have the drawbridge lowered, was obliged to
make his horse jump the chasm in order to elude his pursuers.
Of the Melville connection mentioned above, the current Earl of Leven & Melville
(chief of Clan Melville) in his own arms has what appears to be a differenced version of
the Oliphant arms as a quartering. Other clan chiefs such as Rattray and Rollo of Duncrub
gave bonds of manrent to Lord Oliphant (vide Gask Charter Chest) thereby theoretically
ensepting themselves but none are known as such today other than the Kinlochs, who wear
the Oliphant tartan and acknowledge themselves as a sept of the
Oliphants.
TARTAN
Keith Lumsden at the Tartan Society in Pitlochry advised that Vestiarum Scotticum
prepared by the Sobieski Stewart brothers by 1827 (but only published in 1842) shows the
tartan as Oliphant alone. Soon afterwards, it was combined as Oliphant/Melville in other
sources (Wilson's of Bannockburn (1847) Scott Adie's and the Macpherson Museum) which set
in motion the compounding of this blurring of identity.
OLIPHANTS AND DAVID I, ROBERT AND DAVID II
Prior to the 12th Century, the Oliphants had built up an affiliation with the
Scottish Royal family, who had the palace of Kincardine. As Jervais notes the Oliphant
family was not present in Normandy prior to (or after) 1066. The other evidence would
indicate that David I must have taken David Olifard's family to Northamptonshire with him
as part of his retinue upon his marriage to the Countess of Northamptonshire. Both
Douglas' Peerage of Scotland and Crawfurd's state David was David I's godson, which
reflects why David Oliphant had been given the King's first name at birth. Facing
David I's expulsion from his lands in Northamptonshire by defeat at the Battle of
Winchester his allegiance was logically to the Scottish king and not to Norman England
where he would have had difficulty surviving, (as is borne out by lack of later historic
evidence of those Oliphants who are recorded as having stayed.) Back in Scotland, David
Olifard was made Justiciary of the Lothians (lowlands) and had grants of Smailham and
Crailing, in Roxbrughshire followed by the great lordship of Bothwell. The location of
these early residences is not known, probably because fortifications then were built of
wood.
Two centuries on Walter, son of the Sir William Olifard who defended Stirling Castle
against Edward I's armies, was granted the lands in Perthshire (and Angus) not only of
Gask but also of Hatton, Kinpurney Newtyle, Balcraig etc., etc. upon marriage to the
Princess Elizabeth (youngest daughter of Robert the Bruce by his second wife.) All
the main Bruce Charters (Robert + David II) were entrusted by the 9th Lord Oliphant into
the Gask charter chest and are set out in the books below (Regesta Regum Scottorum has
transcripts in the Latin (nos. 27, 337 to 343 inclusive, 371, 422.) All these charters
from the Gask Charter Chest are now with National Library for Scotland although more than
one copy of each charter would have been prepared, some of which survive.
When Robert died and was succeeded by David II in 1364, in the usual feudal style the
lands were all ceded back to the Crown and then re-granted to Walter and his wife
Elizabeth, the king's sister. (David II was full brother to Elizabeth, by Robert's second
wife.)
CLAN SOCIETY
My younger brother Roderick started a Clan Society in Scotland at around the time
he restored Hatton Castle, Newtyle, Angus (near Perth) in the early 1980s. Hatton
was built by the 4th Lord Oliphant in around 1575, as aforerunner to building Kellie
Castle, in Fife. We held a number of gatherings attended by Oliphants from Canada, U.S.A.,
N.Z. and Australia. My brother wrote quarterly Clan Newsletters over a number of years,
which dealt with his research into some of the aspects addressed here. However, the castle
was lost to 'bills and interest rates' in June 1996 although the Clan Soc. goes on under
the guidance of some of the then members.
BADGE, CREST AND MOTTO
The Oliphant clan emblem, as traditionally pinned to the bonnet for identification,
is the Maple leaf. The Chiefly Crest was the Unicorn, as were Gask's. That of Condie
is a Falcon Volante Proper. The former two used the motto "A tout pouvoir,"
"Provide for all" or A Tout Pourvoir meaning Power for anything and Condie has
Altiora Peto - "I strive higher". Carolina Oliphant (the poetess who wrote
Charlie is My Darling, Land o' the Leal, etc.) was of the Gask line, Laurence Oliphant
(the mystic, traveller, writer, MP, spy etc.) was from the Condie line and Maragaret
Oliphant (authoress) was of the Kellie line. There were another dozen or so
armigerous Oliphant families, including Oliphant of Rossie who numbered a Postmaster
General for Scotland among them.
JACOBITE SUPPORT
The father and son listed in the addenda to the battle role at Culloden Visitor
Centre were Gask Oliphants who were both on horse and thus were able to get away. They
were attainted and had to flee to France. Ebenezer Oliphant (another Gask son) a goldsmith
and the then Oliphant of Condie later bought back and reinstated them at Gask. The Lord
Oliphant had lost his lands and was unable to support Prince Charlie.
SEATS
Ardblair Castle near Blairgowrie in Perthshire is a Blair seat and not Oliphant per
se but is where the preponderance of most Oliphant portraits and artefacts (and some of
Bonnie Prince Charlie's clothing and a lock of his hair) now are.
SOURCE MATERIAL:
The Peerage of Scotland - 1716 by George Crawfurd, Esq, printed for the author: sold by
George Stewart, recites that David O went to England with David I...
The Peerage of Scotland - 1813 by Sir George Douglas of Glenbervie, printed by George
Ramsay and Company for Archibald Constable and Company, Edinburgh: Longman, Hurst, Rees,
Orme, and Brown; White, Cochrane, and Co.: John Murray; and Richard Rees, London
.....recites that David was godson to David The Baronage of Angus and the Mearns - 1855 by
David Macgregor Peter
Jacobite Lairds of Gask - 1870 by T.L. Kington-Blair-Oliphant published for the Grampian
Club by Charles Griffin & Co, , Stationer's Hall Court, London
The Oliphants in Scotland - 1879 printed for T.L. Oliphant of Gask by Robert Anderson,
Glasgow ... gives a large selection of the Gask charters now in the National Library of
Scotland...
The Scots Peerage - 1886 by W. Maitland Thompson
Oliphants of Gask - 1910 by E. Maxtone Graham published in London by James Nisbet &
Co, 22 Berners Street and printed at Edinburgh Press, 9 and 11 Young Street
TL Kington-Blair-Oliphant began to write in 1870s just after the 30 year court case into
who should inherit Gask - it was left to the last laird's heir male before the heir
whomsoever Condie was not only an heir male - he had rebought Gask for that branch after
its confiscation following the Rising. Thus, TL's opinions on the relationship
between him and Condie may differ from ours......... but (the Norwegian vs. Norman origins
apart,) on more general matters, we agree.
(NB) The name Laurence used as a first name is spelt with a 'U', both in practice and from
reference to the documents. |
