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The Highlanders of Scotland - Clan Strachan Society

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CHAP. V] OF SCOTLAND 265<br />

<strong>The</strong> real descent <strong>of</strong> the family is indicated by their desig-<br />

nation, which was uniformly and exclusively de Atholia. It is<br />

scarcely possible to conceive, that the mere fact <strong>of</strong> a stranger<br />

possessing a considerable extent <strong>of</strong> territory in the earldom,<br />

should entitle him to use such a designation. Atholia was<br />

the name <strong>of</strong> a comitatus, and after the accession <strong>of</strong> David I<br />

the comitatus was as purely a Norman barony as any baronia<br />

or dominium in the country. It will not be denied that the<br />

name <strong>of</strong> the barony was exclusively used by its possessors and<br />

their descendants, and that the possession <strong>of</strong> a territorial name<br />

<strong>of</strong> barony as surely marks out a descent from some <strong>of</strong> the<br />

ancient barons, as if every step <strong>of</strong> the genealogy could be<br />

proved ; and if we turn to the other earldoms in <strong>Scotland</strong>,<br />

we find it to be invariably the case, that those families whose<br />

peculiar designation is the name <strong>of</strong> the earldom, are the male<br />

descendants <strong>of</strong> the ancient earls. Thus the Northern families<br />

<strong>of</strong> " De Ross" can all be traced to the earls <strong>of</strong> that district, and<br />

the case is the same with Sutherland, Mar, Angus, Strathern,<br />

Fife, Menteith, and Lenox. <strong>The</strong> only apparent exception to the<br />

rule is in the case <strong>of</strong> the earldom <strong>of</strong> Moray, and in that the<br />

origin <strong>of</strong> the family <strong>of</strong> De Moravia is altogether unknown, so<br />

that the probability is equally great that that family is descended<br />

from the former earls <strong>of</strong> Moray, as that they were foreigners.<br />

Further, although many families have at different times obtained<br />

extensive territories in several <strong>of</strong> the earldoms, even greater<br />

in proportion than those <strong>of</strong> the Robertsons, yet not a single<br />

instance can be found <strong>of</strong> any <strong>of</strong> these families assuming a<br />

designation from the earldom in which their territories were<br />

situated, nor is it possible to produce a single family not<br />

descended from the ancient earls who bear the name <strong>of</strong> the<br />

earldom. <strong>The</strong> designation De Atholia thus distinctly indicates<br />

a descent from the ancient earls <strong>of</strong> Atholl, but the history <strong>of</strong><br />

their lands points to the same result. <strong>The</strong> possessions <strong>of</strong><br />

Duncan de Atholia, who is considered the first <strong>of</strong> the Robert-<br />

sons <strong>of</strong> Struan, consisted, so far as can be ascertained, <strong>of</strong> three<br />

classes. ist. Those lands, afterwards erected into the barony<br />

<strong>of</strong> Struan, <strong>of</strong> which Glenerochie formed the principal part, and<br />

which were strictly a male fief 2d. <strong>The</strong> barony <strong>of</strong> Disher and<br />

Toyer, comprehending the greater part <strong>of</strong> the present disti'ict

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