Women of Moray ed by Susan Bennett et al sampler

women of moray
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an ongoing project to encourage people in Moray to tell more stories about
women connected with the area has grown up around the publication of
Women of Moray. Schools, organisations and individuals across Moray are
beginning to find out their own stories of women’s history. These stories will
be told through conferences, exhibitions, drama events, booklets and on the
website www.womenofmoray.org.uk. All royalties from the sale of this book
go to Moray Women’s Aid.
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women of moray
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Women of Moray
Editors
Susan Bennett, Mary Byatt, Jenny Main, Anne Oliver, Janet Trythall
With contributions by the editors and
Richard Bennett, Janet Carolan, Lorna Glendinning, Sheila McColl,
William (Bill) Smith and Eleanor Thom.
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The Women of Moray project is being part-financed by the Scottish Government and
the European Community Moray Leader 2007–2013 programme; sponsorship has
also been received from the Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation.
First published 2012
Reprinted 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023
isbn: 978-1-908373-16-8
The paper used in this book is recyclable. It is made from low chlorine pulps
produced in a low energy, low emission manner from renewable forests.
The authors’ right to be identified as author of this book under the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988 has been asserted.
Printed and bound by
Robertson Printers, Forfar
Typeset in 10.5 point Sabon
Map © Jim Lewis
© the contributors

To all the women of Moray – past, present and future
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Contents
Map of Modern Moray 6
Acknowledgements 11
Introduction 13
Editors’ Note 17
chapter 1 medieval women 19
Gruoch (Lady Macbeth) (mid 11th century) 22
Euphemia of Duffus (1210–post 1263) 25
Agnes Randolph (d c.1368) 26
Elizabeth Dunbar (1425–1495) 28
Janet Kennedy (1480–1547) 30
Agnes (Annas) Keith (1540–1588) 33
chapter 2 power and persecution 38
Isobel Gowdie (mid 17th century) 43
Mary Ker (1640–1708) 46
chapter 3 women of the enlightenment 50
Mary Sleigh (1704–1760) 52
Jane Maxwell (1749–1812) 58
chapter 4 following the drum 64
Marjory Anderson (d 1790) 67
Isabel Mackenzie (1731–post 1780) 69
Margaret Dawson (1770–1829) 71
Barbara Simpkin (1913–1995) 74
chapter 5 escaping poverty 78
Annie Ramsay (1843–1910) 82
Margaret Stephen (c.1847–1924) 87
Helen Leslie Mackenzie (1859–1945) 92
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women of moray
Helen Rose (1857–1922) 96
Ella Munro (1873–1945) 99
chapter 6 education and politics: finding a voice 105
Lavinia Malcolm (c.1847–1920) 109
Isabella Mitchell (1851–1931) 114
Alice Ker (1853–1943) 115
Ethel Bedford Fenwick (1858–1947) 119
Nora Mackay (1872–1952) 124
Nannie Katharin Wells (1875–1945) 128
Johanna Forbes (1879–1957) 131
Griselda Dow (1891–1936) 137
Beatrice Sellar (1898–1985) 141
Isobel (Sybil) Duncan (1910–1986) 145
chapter 7 two world wars 147
Amelia Culbard (1860–1942)
and Christina Culbard (1869–1947) 151
Isabella (Gugu) Grant (1875–1921) 153
Annabella Ralph (1884–1962) 158
Tibby Gordon (1885–1970) 160
Clara Main (1886–1975) 165
Olga Byatt (1891–1943) 169
Helen Cattanach (1920–1994) 176
chapter 8 across the world 179
Georgiana McCrae (1804–1890) 180
Penuel Hossack (1821–1921)
and Helen Findlay (1829–1879) 186
Eka Gordon Cumming (1837–1924) 190
Margaret Chrystie (1860–1941)
and Jean Chrystie (1874–1957) 196
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Elsie Watson (1870–1945) 198
Isabella Kerr (1875–1932) 202
Margaret Hasluck (1885–1948) 206
Sylvia Benton (1887–1985) 212
Anne Hardie (1888–1974) 217
Elma Napier (1892–1973) 220
chapter 9 running a business 225
Elizabeth Cumming (1827–1894) 226
Ethel Baxter (1883–1963) 229
Isobel Brown (1900–1985) 233
chapter 10 breaking into science 238
Eliza Gordon Cumming (c.1799–1842) 240
Grace Milne (1832–1899) 245
Anna Buchan (1897–1964) 249
Isabella Gordon (1901–1988) 253
Mary McCallum Webster (1906–1985) 259
Lesley Souter (1917–1981) 263
chapter 11 the creative life 267
Sophia Dunbar (1814–1909) 269
Mary Seton Watts (1849–1939) 274
Mary Symon (1863–1938) 278
Emma Black (c.1870–1945) 284
Isabel Cameron (1873–1957) 286
Dorothy Brown (1886–1964) 288
Margaret Winefride Simpson (1893–1972) 291
Kim Murray (1902–1985) 292
Elizabeth Macpherson (1906–1998) 294
John Aubrey (1909–1985) 297
Veronica Bruce (1911–2000) 301
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women of moray
Jessie Kesson (1916–1994) 303
chapter 12 sporting success 310
Margaret (Meg) Farquhar (1910–1988) 313
chapter 13 tradition and memory 316
Christina Munro (dates unknown) 318
Jean Carr (or Kerr) (c.1770–1830) 320
Lucky Jonson (mid 19th century) 321
Jeannie Shaw (mid 19th century) 322
Janet Levack (1842–1927) 323
Jessie Pozzi (1856–1943) 325
Christina Macdonald (Joyful) (c.1857–1927) 327
Betsy Whyte (1879–1971) 327
Joanne McCulloch (c.1890–1960) 330
Ida McPherson (1910–1998) 331
appendices
‘The Glen’s Muster Roll’ by Mary Symon 337
Three Stories by Janet Levack 341
Lossiemouth Fisher Wedding Guests 342
Books Useful for General Background 343
Notes on Contributors 345
Chapter Notes and Main Sources 347
Index of Women’s Names 371
Index of Places in North-East Scotland 377
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Acknowledgements
The editors have many people to thank: Richard Bennett for the initial idea,
for his contributions, and for continuing support; Janet Carolan, Lorna
Glendinning, the late Sheila McColl, William (Bill) Smith and Eleanor Thom
for writing articles about the women of whom we had little knowledge; all the
relatives of the women featured, who gave so freely of their information and
photographs and whom we were so pleased to meet or contact; Dr Alison
Lumsden of the University of Aberdeen, who read our script and gave advice
and encouragement; the Moray Society, Heather Townsend, Museum Assistant
and volunteers at Elgin Museum; Alistair Campbell, Libraries and Museums
manager, Moray Council, for support; Professor Lynn Abrams, Rose Pipes, Dr
Karly Kehoe and other members of Women’s History Scotland, for support;
Councillor Pearl Paul and the Rothes group who supported the Women of
Moray Project; and Graeme Wilson and Sharon Slater, forever obliging, at the
Local Heritage Centre for Moray.
Thanks also to all the libraries, museums and other organisations where staff
were helpful with our research: Phil Astley, Ruaraidh Wishart, Carol Innes and
staff at Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives; Aberdeen University
Library; Neil Curtis of Marischal Museum of the University of Aberdeen; Sir
John Boardman and Dr Donna Kurtz of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford;
Buckie Heritage Centre; Charlie Finlayson and Mhairi Ross of Brodie Castle;
Cardhu Distillery; Brian Stanley at the Centre for the Study of World
Christianity, University of Edinburgh; Christie’s, Scotland; Liz Trevethick and
staff of Falconer Museum, Forres; Fochabers Heritage Centre; Ann Sinclair
and other islanders of the George Waterston Memorial Centre, Fair Isle; Kate
Perry at Girton College, Cambridge; Eleanor Rowe archivist at Moray Council;
the Trustees of the National Library of Scotland, Sally Harrower, Alison
Metcalfe and staff at the National Library of Scotland; Chantal Knowles at
National Museums Scotland; Ian Riches at the National Trust for Scotland;
John Hatton, Juliet McConnell and the staff of the Natural History Museum,
London; The Northern Scot for allowing us to use photographs from its
Christmas Numbers; Debby Cramer and the Presbyterian Ladies’ College,
Sydney; Fiona Bourne, queen’s nurse archivist, Royal College of Nursing,
Edinburgh; Steven Kerr, assistant librarian, Royal College of Surgeons,
Edinburgh; School of Oriental and African Studies, London; Lis Smith of the
University of St Andrews; the State Library of Victoria, Australia; the Vintage
Motor Cycle Club; Catherine Hilary at the Watts Gallery, Compton; the
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Women’s Library, London, with special thanks to the staff who took care of
one of the team who became ill when visiting the library. We are also grateful
to Gavin MacDougall and Kirsten Graham at Luath Press and to our editor,
Jennie Renton. Working with them has been a pleasure.
Conversations with many people have shaped this book and we thank them
all, especially: Doreen Aldridge; the late Daphne Agar; Gordon Baxter; Irene
Beanland; Eleanor Bodger; Dr Sandy Buchan; Hugh, Robin and David Byatt;
Dr John Caldwell; Diana Chadwick; Joanne Collie; Dr Rod Ewins; Peter
Dawson; Vicky Dawson; Sheila Dick; the late Alexander Dunbar; Sir Archibald
Dunbar; Professor Sir James Dunbar-Nasmith; Margaret Elphinstone;
Elizabeth Fitzgibbon; Ann Gollan; Jane Gordon-Cumming; Kay Griffin; Penny
Hartley; Patricia Honychurch; Professor Theo Hoppen; Rona Hossack;
General Sir Alistair and Lady Irwin; Jim Inglis; Andrew Johnson; the late Ian
Keillar; Marcelle Kennedy; Iona Kielhorn; Sandy MacAdam; the late Dr John
Macdonald; the late Dr John McConachie; Ronald J Macgregor; Samuel
McKibben and other members of the Apostolic Church; Jean McLatchey; Dr
Catherine Macleod; Bobby Macpherson; David McWilliam; David Marshall;
the twentieth and twenty-first Earls of Moray; Professor Isobel Murray; Lorna
Murray; Margaret Murray; John Mustard; William Mustard; Michael and
Josette Napier; Professor Richard Oram; Polly Patullo; Peter Rennie; Hugh
Roberston; Carol and Ian Robertson; Kris Sangster; Jennifer Shaw; the late Ian
Shepherd; Alexandra Shepherd; Karolyn Shindler; Stella Sievwright; Alexander
Simpkin; Michael Simpkin; William and Sara Sleigh; Sheila Stewart; Jean
Stocks; Elizabeth Sutherland; Ian Suttie; Dr Mike A Taylor; Barbara Templeton;
Farquhar Thompson; Mary Thorogood; Phyllis Titt; Clair Tombe; Marjorie
Whytock; Derek Wood; Margaret Woodward; Bridget Whyte; Jane Yeadon;
and Lesley Young.
The wealth of images in this book has been made possible by financial support
from the Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation, while the scope of its outreach
has been enhanced by funding from Leader.
Every effort has been made to ascertain and acknowledge copyright of the
images used in Women of Moray.
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Introduction
The women who have been involved in writing and editing this book were
born mostly during, or just after, the Second World War. We were raised at
a time when, in comparison with our mothers, many more opportunities
– in education, employment, travel – were open to us, whatever our
background. The twentieth century was a time of growing emancipation
for women: the vote was achieved; improved education and the introduction
of antibiotics reduced infant mortality; contraception took away the
draining effect of repeated pregnancies, and, by the 1960s, the British
economy was thriving. People were full of optimism for the future, and
young women were making exciting choices about their lives. The passage
of time has brought us to different places than those envisaged in our
youth, but we recognise our good fortune and find satisfaction in retirement
– a time that offers new interests and further opportunities.
In uncovering the stories of women’s lives, we have seen misfortune,
prejudice and abuse; we have seen opportunities grasped and challenges
met; above all we have seen the changing attitudes to women over the
centuries. History has tended to tell stories of battles and wars, and of the
achievements of great men; it was usually the men who wrote the records.
Few women, other than the rich, left records from earlier times. The
women we have chosen reflect, in some ways, women’s situations, not only
in the North-East of Scotland, but across the world.
Moray is both highland and lowland. Its modern borders stretch from
the middle of the Cairngorm massif in the south to the Laigh of Moray, a
fertile area that borders the Moray Firth, in the north. Westwards it takes
in the lower reaches of the Findhorn and the remote Dava Moor; eastwards
it encompasses much of the old Banffshire; it looks both west to Inverness
and east to Aberdeen. In medieval times the Province of Moray was much
larger. It was a place where kings and queens came to feast in the castles
and to hunt in the great deer forests. The main town of Moray is Elgin. A
royal burgh from the twelfth century, Elgin was originally prosperous
because of the grain grown in the Laigh, the animals hunted for their hides
in the upland forests, and the salmon caught in the rivers Spey, Findhorn
and Lossie. Today the barley grown in the Laigh provides the grain for the
many distilleries that give Moray its tagline ‘Malt Whisky Country’.
We wanted to find out stories about the women who had lived in Moray
from early to modern times. It is about eighty years since Robert Douglas
wrote The Sons of Moray and it is long past time for a complementary
‘Daughters of Moray’. 1 Not all our women were born in Moray, but they
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did connect with Moray in some way for some time in their lives.
Finding the women was easy. We started with our own lists which grew
rapidly as others learnt about the project. Somebody’s friend’s late
husband’s grandmother was added to the list; a chance meeting on a train
in England introduced us to Elsie Watson; someone else had great
photographs; surprisingly, some of our own relatives were relevant.
Libindx has been invaluable in leading us to obituaries and other
information. This database, developed over many years by the Local
Heritage Centre, is now online and always a first port of call for Moray
researchers. Eventually we had more than enough candidates and trying to
fit everyone in became a problem. There were latecomers too: Annie
Maude Sellar, granddaughter of the infamous Patrick Sellar, caused
excitement. She became Vice-Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.
But her brush with Moray was only for a year or two. 2 Inevitably, some
women had to go; doubtless, there are many others whom we never
happened upon.
If finding the women was relatively easy, going a little deeper into their
histories was not. There were new subjects to learn about: the history of
China, of Albania, of Dominica, of Fair Isle; the battle of Copenhagen, the
Women’s Hospital Service, the feuing of Tomintoul, the Women’s Rural
Institute, amongst others. Sometimes the research involved travel to
archives and locations – Dominica even being visited by one of the team.
Women’s history is rarely recorded and some research went nowhere. Who
was Mona Milne, an aero engine designer? A brief biography in the
Banffshire Advertiser is the only reference we could find. 3
Distinguishing between the work of wife and husband has also been a
problem: Georgiana MacCrae travelled with her husband to Australia, but
made her mark in the 1850s and 1860s when they were separated. She had
been much inhibited by her husband. On the other hand, Margaret
Hasluck, herself a scholar, made her first trip to the Balkans with her
husband and benefited from his scholarship. Later as a widow she pursued
her own researches. Elma Napier, a member of the intrepid Gordon
Cumming family, was in Dominica because of her second husband’s health.
Isabella Kerr, called by God, travelled with her husband to India. Couples
such as Johanna and Forbes Tocher, and Helen and Leslie MacKenzie
worked together as a team, each bringing different strengths to the
partnership – the wives often disregarded in newspaper reports and official
records.
There is much helpful oral history about the more recent women, given
by friends and acquaintances, but such reminiscences are often about the
later years of a woman’s life. Sylvia Benton is remembered in Moray as
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introduction
Miss Benton, an old woman of spirit; similarly, in Botriphnie, Johanna
Forbes was Mrs Tocher, the minister’s wife, a good woman, an old woman.
Probably few of the people who met these women in their old age knew
much about their earlier adventures.
The chapters of the book are loosely chronological. A glance at the
themes chosen may suggest imbalance; there are ten women in Education
and Politics (Chapter Six), but only one in Sporting Success (Chapter
Twelve). But that is how it was. The time around the turn of the nineteenth
century was particularly productive of women with interesting stories;
sportswomen of note were few and far between. Similarly, there is
disproportionate comment on Australia, and nothing of the American
west, although there are bound to be stories that we missed. Some of those
women that we missed or did not have room for will, we hope, appear in
the legacy of the project that has grown up around the book.
The women whose lives we have recorded here do not fit into a seamless
story of emancipation; there is no such story because the history of women’s
rights is complex and open to many interpretations. But the lives of the
women we have chosen do tell, in some ways, of a woman’s place in the
world they inhabited, of how the world changed through the centuries
and, in many cases, of how they helped to change it.
And if, after the Second World War, women’s lives became easier, with
washing machines and ‘the pill’, they did not get simpler. The sixties were
not a straight road to equality of opportunity just because women were
better educated and could aspire to having a marriage, children and a
career. It was though, a fairer society, the one that we inherited. And
working on this book has made us appreciate that. To remember the past
and how we arrived in the twenty-first century has been a rewarding and
sometimes salutary experience.
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Editors’ Note
Because the shape of Moray has changed so often, we have used the
modern boundaries (see map on p6). Modern Moray includes much of the
old Banffshire.
Not all of the women selected were born in Moray, but all have spent part
of their lives in Moray. All died before or during 2000. We have done our
best to represent the women selected fairly and correctly. Any unintentional
misrepresentation is much regretted.
Please visit the website www.womenofmoray.org.uk to find out about the
Women of Moray Project that accompanies this book and promotes
women’s history in Moray.
Libindx is the Moray Heritage Centre reference system (online). Each
entry contains references such as publications, obituaries and newspaper
articles and is thus important for further sources. Abbreviations are usually
explained in the text. DNB refers to the Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography.
Individual authors’ initials are given at the end of each entry, as follows:
rb Richard Bennett
sb Susan Bennett
mb Mary Byatt
jc Janet Carolan
lg Lorna Glendinning
sm Sheila McColl
jm Jenny Main
ao Anne Oliver
ws William (Bill) Smith
et Eleanor Thom
jt Janet Trythall
Sadly Sheila McColl died just before this book went to press. It was Sheila
who brought Meg Farquhar to our notice. Her article marks her love of
Moray and its history.
‘Notes and Main Sources’ are to be found at the end of the book on pages
347–70.
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chapter one
Medieval Women
I once thought with others that learning was quite useless to the female sex. [Sir
Thomas] More has quite changed that opinion. Nothing so completely preserves
the modesty or so sensibly employs the thoughts of young girls as learning.
Erasmus 1527 1
on 17 june 1390, Alexander Stewart, the Wolf of Badenoch, emerged
from Lochindorb Castle with his ‘Wyld Wyked Heilandmen’ to burn the
burgh of Elgin and, the glory of the kingdom, Elgin Cathedral. Behind
those terrible acts of destruction lay the Wolf’s feelings for a woman. Eight
years earlier, Alexander Stewart had married Euphemia of Ross, thereby
increasing his territory and gaining the earldom of Ross. But his heart lay
with Mariota and it was Mariota, mother of his children, who had lived
with him in his remote castle of Lochindorb on the western fringe of
Moray. In November 1389, however, Alexander had been forced to agree
to return to his wife Euphemia and to treat her well. This settlement was
ordered by the bishops of Ross and of Moray. The Bishop of Moray,
Alexander Bur, and Alexander Stewart had long been at odds; their dispute
centred on the bishop’s refusal to accept the superior jurisdiction of
Alexander Stewart. The humiliating settlement regarding Euphemia was
an important factor in Alexander’s decision to burn the cathedral. Despite
the settlement of 1389, three years later Euphemia petitioned the pope for
a separation from Alexander. The separation was granted in light of the
‘wars, plundering, arson, murders’ that were a result of their union. What
of Mariota? Almost nothing is known of Mariota, sometimes known as
Mairead daughter of Eachann, but her name continues to inspire stories of
romance and mystery. 2
Similarly, little is known of any women who lived in Moray before the
Reformation of 1560. Most of the records that remain are of noblewomen
whose lives are sketched in marriage contracts, divorces and legal disputes,
interwoven with reports of the intrigues and violence of their fathers,
brothers, husbands and sons. Occasionally their deeds, like Agnes
Randolph’s defence of Dunbar Castle, are recorded independently.
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Lochindorb Castle 2003 (Mary Byatt)
These noblewomen came from the great castles of medieval Moray –
from Duffus, where an impressive motte and bailey castle arose from the
flat marshy fringes of Loch Spynie, and where another Euphemia would
come as a bride bringing wealth from Ross; from Lochindorb, ancient seat
of the earls of Moray until gifted to Alexander Stewart in 1371; and from
Ternway, or Darnaway, Castle, probably built by the earls of Moray to
replace the loss of Lochindorb. The medieval castle of Darnaway is gone,
although the magnificent oak roof of the great hall remains encased in an
early nineteenth century shell. Gone too is the royal forest of Darnaway
where kings and queens went hunting.
The earldom of Moray is an important part of the medieval story.
Thomas Randolph, the first earl, was granted the earldom by Robert the
Bruce. The territory was large, stretching from lands on the west coast to
the Spey, and south through Badenoch to Perthshire. The earldom, its area
reducing in size over time, passed through different families: the Randolphs,
the Dunbars, the Douglases and various Stewart lines.
The education of girls was a matter of chance. James iv’s education act
of 1496 related only to the first sons of the landed gentry. The great
Renaissance philosopher Erasmus, quoted at the head of this chapter, was
initially opposed to the education of women. Signatures on marriage
contracts and other legal documents tell that some women were literate in
the fifteenth century. By the middle of the sixteenth century, Agnes Keith
was able to keep up a regular correspondence with her family and employees.
There was not much in the way of a childhood for girls of high rank; by
twelve they might well be married. The church condoned early marriage
because it was a way of avoiding the sin of fornication. 3 Despite the
church’s attitude, illegitimacy was common among the aristocracy. The
legitimate line of succession, however, was of enormous importance. This
need for legitimate claims to property explains the profusion of marriage
contracts. Notaries were in high demand. The bride’s father paid a tocher,
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medieval women
or dowry, to the husband’s family, and the bride might receive life rents of
lands and property in return.
Girls did have some rights: marriage arrangements made before they
were twelve could be dissolved, and when the girls reached a marriageable
age they were consulted about their prospective husbands; they did not
have to accept a man they did not like. 4 It was the general practice for sons
to inherit titles and property, but if there were no sons, the daughters could
inherit. However, married women had no legal property rights and their
husbands took the titles and land that their wives had inherited, as is
evident in the cases of Agnes Randolph and Elizabeth Dunbar. In practice,
noblewomen were often quick to defend the rights of their children. Janet
Kennedy, Elizabeth Dunbar and Agnes Keith were well known in the
courts.
Marriage among the aristocracy in medieval times was about making
deals and acquiring land. If the couple were related, dispensation from the
pope was often necessary before the marriage could take place, but for
those with power gaining the dispensation was just a formality. The
importance of the land and its inheritance was crucial; love might or might
not have been a factor. Agnes Keith’s apparent love match was remarked
upon as unusual. Divorce was possible in medieval times, although not
recognised by the church. Amongst royalty and the aristocracy the notion
of marriage as a business transaction continued into the twentieth century.
One only has to visit Elgin Cathedral to understand the authority of
the church. The building itself speaks of wealth and power. Not even the
king was immune from the control of the church. James iv did penance all
his life for his involvement in his father’s death, wearing an iron belt and
going on long pilgrimages. The tension between church and monarch is
played out in Janet Kennedy’s life. When Janet donated money for a priest
to pray for Archibald Douglas, it might have been that she was thinking
partly of herself and trying to lessen her own time in purgatory as well as
his. The church, though unable to control the sexual urges of its flock,
remained an ever present influence on custom and practice.
Our perception of women from these early days will inevitably be
unbalanced because the records of women of lower rank are generally
missing, and single women are practically invisible. There is mention, by
James iv’s treasurer, of the ‘madinnis that dansit at Elgun’ (1504) and the
‘wemen that sang to the king’ (1506). 5 Of the lives of the maidens that
danced and the women that sang we know nothing. We do have a snapshot
of Cristen Varden who in June 1542 called Margarat Froster a common
whore and thief; Margarat then retaliated by attacking Cristen, and the
two ended up before the burgh court of Elgin:
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The assise deliuerit that Margarat Froster wrangit in the striking of
Cristen Varden with ane pan vpon the heid and draving the said
Cristenis hair to greit quantate out of hir heid. 6
Such squabbles amongst women are common in the burgh court records
which are about all that remain to inform us of the everyday life of the
women of Moray towards the end of the medieval period.
Inevitably, it is the noblewomen that appear in this chapter, and it is
their marriages and liaisons that give us some insight into their lives.
Marriage for women of high rank was a highly desirable legal arrangement
that enhanced the status of the woman and her family and accumulated
lands and income for the next generation. For some, happiness might have
ensued.
The noblewomen selected here may have been important players in the
unfolding history of Scotland, but their stories reside in that place where
history meets myth and where imagination sets the scene.
Gruoch (Lady Macbeth)
Gruoch, or Grwok, born early eleventh century; married 1) Gillacomgain;
2) Macbeth 1033; died post 1056.
Gruoch was the first queen of Scotland to be named in historical records.
Centuries after her death she was misrepresented as the scheming and
manipulative Lady Macbeth of Shakepeare’s tragedy.
Of royal descent,Gruoch was recorded as being the daughter of Bohde,
or Boite, who was a son of Kenneth ii, although some sources discount
Boite and claim that her father was Kenneth ii. With such a distance in time
and with difficulties of translation between Gaelic and Latin writers, and
later accounts of those times woven through with legends it is not surprising
that there is some confusion. Whatever the facts, she is generally
acknowledged to be of direct royal lineage and from the Cenél Gabrain
line. Her brother and her father, (and/or her grandfather, depending on
which version of her parentage is accepted) were slain during the struggle
for the throne of Scots.
The two main rivals in the north during this struggle were the houses of
the Cenél Loairn and the Cenél Gabrain. Gruoch grew up in the tumultuous
times when Malcolm ii, of the Gabrain, secured his throne by exterminating
all other claimants. Because Gruoch was a direct descendant of the royal
family, her children would continue the royal line, and consequently a
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gruoch (lady macbeth)
politically suitable marriage was required for her.
As a girl Gruoch was married to one of the many aspiring warlords of
the time, so uniting two rival families. The marriage produced a son,
Lulach. In the political struggle for supremacy, her husband, Gillacomgain
of the Cenél Loairn, slaughtered his own relative Findaleach, mormaer
(overlord) of Moray and father of Macbeth. In 1032 Gillacomgain was
burnt to death in revenge for this killing, but it is not clear who was
responsible for his murder. Gruoch was then a widow, but did not remain
one for long. Her royal blood and her connections made her a valuable
pawn in the very complex game of kings.
Gruoch married Macbeth, rightful mormaer of Moray, her late
husband’s cousin and, perhaps, his murderer. Although Macbeth already
had a valid claim to the kingship, his marriage to Gruoch, a direct
descendant of the royal line, helped add to his status and strengthen his
claim to the throne. In contrast to the turmoil of her earlier years, Gruoch’s
second marriage lasted for twenty-four years and appears to have been a
successful one. Some clans such as MacQuarries, MacKinnons and
MacMillans, claim their descent from Macbeth and Gruoch. However,
these unsubstantiated claims emerged many centuries later and any
verifiable facts are lost in the mists of time.
As a powerful mormaer, Macbeth would have travelled throughout his
domain with Gruoch, staying in the various hilltop forts within the area.
One of these residences could have been the hill fort on top of Cluny Hill
at Forres. The supposed connection with Cawdor has no historical basis.
In 1040, aged twenty-seven, King Duncan died at Bothgowan
(Pitgaveny), near Elgin, after initiating a battle with his cousin Macbeth.
Macbeth then became king of Alba and, as a descendant of the MacAlpin
dynasty, proved to be the last of the great Celtic kings. His lands were
under constant threat from Norse, Orcadian and English invaders, but
with Gruoch as his queen, he kept them safe, despite the violent upheavals
of the era, and created the first relatively peaceful governance over the
country during a reign renowned for prosperity and stability. Gruoch was
more than just the king’s consort; she was definitely acknowledged as a
queen and the couple are described as ‘Rex et Regina Scottorum’. The St
Andrews register records that, as king and queen, they supported the
Columban, or Culdee, church with ‘gifts of Kirkness, Portmoak and Bogie
to the Culdees of Lochleven’. This act may well have been partly political
in order to gain church support, but there is no evidence that Queen
Gruoch was anything like the scheming monster of Shakespeare’s play.
Kings in those times were answerable to the populace and credited with
the ability to affect harvest and famine. The prosperity of a good king
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women of moray
would be reflected in the well-being of his subjects as people protected
from the ravages of war would have time and opportunity to nurture good
harvests and successfully raise stock. A Latin poem composed within a
generation of his death praises Macbeth’s rule and states that – fertile
tempus erat – in his time there was great plenty. Another record of his reign
appears in the prophecy of St Berchan which says of Macbeth:
after the slaughter of the foreigners,
The liberal king will possess Scotland.
The strong one was fair, yellow haired and tall.
Very pleasant was that handsome youth to me.
Brimful of food was Scotland, east and west,
During the reign of the ruddy, brave king.
King Macbeth was killed in 1057 by his rival for the throne of Alba, the
heir of the Cenél Gabrain line, Malcolm Canmore. Macbeth’s chosen
successor from the bloodline of the Cenél Loairn was Gruoch’s son Lulach,
from her first marriage. Within a few months Lulach too was eliminated
by Malcolm – the line of the Cenél Loairn was thus effectively destroyed.
After the death of her husband and her son, Queen Gruoch disappeared
from history while chroniclers concentrated on recording the ensuing
power struggle in the land. There followed a deliberate campaign by the
conquering Canmore dynasty to blacken the name of Macbeth and his
queen. This was a propaganda technique to suppress any chance of revolt
or support for any possible heirs of the Macbeth dynasty. Facts were
manipulated and invented throughout the centuries until the sixteenth
century writer Holinshed gave a final twist to the reputation of Queen
Gruoch in his interpretation of Hector Boece’s history and created the
wicked Lady Macbeth.
William Shakespeare, using Holinshed’s version of history, composed his
great political play warning of the dangers of kingly corruption and tyranny.
King James vi and i, who reigned during Shakespeare’s later years, was a
descendant of the House of Canmore and needed to boost his own credibility.
King James did not get on with his own wife, Anne of Denmark, and the
creation of a wicked queen, the monstrous Lady Macbeth, suited his
prejudices. In life Macbeth and Gruoch were victims of the ambitious
Malcolm Canmore but in Shakespeare’s play, written to flatter the king, facts
gave way to fiction, and their reputations were destroyed for generations.
In an age of constant warfare and feuding, rulers who did not meet the
needs of their people were swiftly deposed. Despite having to quell the
uprisings common in a violent age, Macbeth retained respect, support and
24

euphemia of duffus
loyalty within his kingdom for seventeen years and was confident enough
of this support to leave Moray while he went on a pilgrimage to Rome.
King Macbeth was interred on Iona by his people in the traditional burial
place of the Scots kings. Gruoch’s fate is not recorded because with the
change of dynasty she had lost her power and status. Perhaps she was slain
by members of the new order, but we can hope that, since she was no longer
of childbearing age and thus presented no threat to Malcolm Canmore, she
was able to spend her final years in safety, sheltered by those who revered
the woman who had been their queen. (JM)
Euphemia of Duffus
Euphemia Mactaggart, born Applecross, Wester Ross, c.1210; married Walter of
Duffus, 1224; died post 1263.
Euphemia of Duffus must be one of the earliest female residents of Moray,
excepting Gruoch, to be recorded by name. By her marriage, she brought
together the families of a knight of Celtic origin and of one of the foreigners
granted land in Moray by David i.
Her father was Farquhar, or Ferchard, Mactaggart, second Earl of Ross
and lay abbot of Applecross, where she was born. There were four surviving
children – a younger sister, Christina, and two brothers, William and
Malcolm. When King William the Lion died in 1214, Farquhar fought for
the new king, Alexander ii, and was knighted and awarded lands in Easter
Ross at Delny and founded an abbey at Fearn.
In 1224 Euphemia was married to Walter de Moravia, great-grandson
of Freskin the Fleming. David i had annexed the lands of Moray in 1143
after an episode of insurgency, and the foreigner Freskin, who already had
lands in Linlithgow, was given Duffus. It was Freskin who probably built
the first motte and bailey castle at Duffus. David i stayed there when he
was in Moray founding the monastery at nearby Kinloss in about 1150.
The stone castle, the landmark ruin of today, was not built until the
fourteenth century.
Euphemia’s brother-in-law was Andrew de Moravia, formerly parson
of Duffus, who succeeded Bishop Brice de Douglas as bishop of Moray.
The church of Holy Trinity juxta Elgin was consecrated as the cathedral in
1224, so it can be imagined that the development of the cathedral would
have been a significant event in Euphemia’s married life. She had one
surviving son, Freskin ii. He married Joanna, heiress of Strathnaver in
1248 and they had two daughters. Euphemia’s husband, Walter, died in
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women of moray
Duffus Castle 2003 (Susan Bennett)
1262/3 and was buried ‘with his father the blessed Hugo… in the church
of Duffus near the altar of the blessed Kathrine.’ Freskin II died in 1269
and ‘is buried in the chapel of S. Laurence of the parochial church of
Duffus.’ There is no record of the death of Euphemia.
An undated charter may relate to her father’s arrangement for her
dowry of lands at Clyne in Easter Ross. In a charter signed and sealed by
Euphemia herself in 1263, she granted these lands to the diocese of Moray
for the maintenance of chaplains in the cathedral church of Elgin. Though
we know little of her life, Euphemia’s impact on Moray was important,
because her land, and the income it brought, was used to develop the
power and influence of Elgin Cathedral. (JT)
Agnes Randolph (Black Agnes)
Agnes Randolph, born pre 1320; married Patrick Dunbar, eight Earl of Dunbar
and second Earl of March, c1320; died 1369.
Agnes Randolph or Dunbar is famous for holding Dunbar Castle against
the English. Through her, and her sister, the earldom of Moray passed to
the Dunbar family.
Black Agnes, so called because of her swarthy complexion, was the
daughter of Thomas Randolph, the first Earl of Moray, and Isabel Stewart,
daughter of Sir John Stewart of Bunkle.
Nothing is known of Agnes’s early life. She was the eldest of four
siblings: she had one sister and two brothers. It is likely that she spent some
of her childhood at Lochindorb and, maybe, at a royal hunting lodge at
Darnaway.
By 1324 Agnes was married to Patrick Dunbar, eighth Earl of Dunbar
and second Earl of March. A dispensation from the pope was required
26

agnes randolph (black agnes)
because Agnes and Patrick were cousins. Patrick initially supported both
Edward ii and Edward iii of England in the Wars of Independence and was
made governor of Berwick Castle. He was allowed to refortify his castle of
Dunbar, about thirty miles to the north of Berwick, which was of crucial
strategic importance to the English. At this point, Patrick changed his
allegiance. The English, under the Earl of Salisbury, besieged Dunbar
Castle in 1338 in an attempt to regain it. Since Patrick was absent from
home at the time of the siege, Agnes commanded the defence of the castle
herself. When the English threatened to execute her brother John, Earl of
Moray, whom they held a prisoner, it is said that Agnes retorted that, if
that were to happen, she would become Countess of Moray. The castle
was not taken. Black Agnes won the day. The five-month siege was much
reported and Agnes’s role became a legend. Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie,
writing of her over two centuries later, commented that she was ‘of greater
spirit than it became a woman to be’. Walter Scott, in his Tales of
Grandfather, had her ladies dusting the battlements to goad the English.
He quotes a ballad, said to have told of her exploits:
She kept a stir in tower and trench,
That brawling boisterous Scottish wench;
Came I early, came I late,
I found Agnes at the gate.
Agnes was following in the tradition of her father, fighting for the
independence of Scotland. Her husband is reported to have changed his
allegiance more than once.
When Agnes’s brother John died fighting the English in 1346, Agnes
and her sister, Isabella, inherited his lands. Patrick and Agnes took the title
Dunbar Castle 2011 (Susan Bennett)
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women of moray
of Earl and Countess of Moray although the earldom was technically
vacant and had reverted to the Crown when John died. Patrick and Agnes
had no children, but Isabella, who married another Patrick Dunbar,
nephew of Agnes’s husband, had two sons, the younger of whom, John,
became Earl of Moray in 1372 by royal charter. Thus the title stayed in the
family. John, Agnes’s nephew, became known as the first Dunbar Earl of
Moray. (SB)
Elizabeth Dunbar
Elizabeth Dunbar, born c.1425; married 1) Archibald Douglas, c.1442; 2) Lord
George Gordon, 1455; 3) Sir John Colquhoun of Luss, c.1463; died c.1494.
It was in the early 1450s that Richard Holland, precentor of Elgin
Cathedral, dedicated his poem, ‘The Buke of the Howlat’, to Elizabeth
Dunbar, Countess of Moray – ‘Thus for ane dow of Dunbar drew I this
dyte’.
Elizabeth and Janet, her older sister, were the only legitimate children
of James Dunbar, the fourth Dunbar Earl of Moray, and his wife, Margaret
Seton. James’s illegitimate son, also James, founded the Dunbar of Westfield
line; a line which is still extant in Moray.
James Dunbar, the fourth earl, died when Elizabeth was about five years
old. Janet and Elizabeth must have received some sort of education because
they were able to sign legal documents in their own hand. The two girls
probably spent some of their early life at the seat of the Earl of Moray at
Darnaway. It was Elizabeth, the younger daughter, who inherited her
father’s estates. Sometime before 26 April 1442, she married Archibald
Douglas, third son of James, seventh Earl of Douglas. The couple became
known as the Earl and Countess of Moray. They had at least two children,
James and Janet. Richard Holland acted as Archibald’s secretary.
In mirthfull moneth of May,
In myddis Murraye,
Thus on a tyme by Ternway
Happinnit Holland.
[written in May, in Moray, in Darnaway, by Holland]
Thus ends the poem ‘The Buke of the Howlat’, written at a time when the
Douglases were at the height of their power. The poem, of 1,001 lines in
an ornate and complex style, is about an owl that complains to the pope of
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elizabeth dunbar
his ugly appearance. The owl is given feathers, by other birds, with which
to adorn himself, but, growing arrogant, the feathers are taken away as a
punishment. The poem is, in part, an elaborate tribute to the Douglases:
O Douglas, O Douglas
Tender and trewe…
To James, lord Dowglas thay the gre gaif.
To ga with the kingis hart tharwith he nocht growit
[James Douglas was given the foremost place and did not
shrink from going with the king’s heart]
In contrast to the tribute, the owl’s downfall is also a reminder about the
pitfalls of high office.
The heart referred to in the poem is that of Robert the Bruce, taken by
James Douglas, ‘The Good Sir James’ (c.1286–1330) to the crusades – an
act of unprecedented chivalry. James did not reach the Holy Land, but was
killed in Spain fighting the Moors. The Douglas clan made good use of
James’s daring deeds to promote themselves; they adopted the heart as
their emblem. They became the most powerful family in Scotland and as
James ii grew up he came to resent that power.
The power of the Douglases, however, was coming to an end. In 1455,
James ii met the Douglases in battle at Arkinholm, near Langholm, and
Elizabeth’s husband was killed.
On 20 May, nineteen days after she became a widow, Elizabeth signed
a marriage contract with George Gordon, Master of Huntly (c.1440–
1501). The contract, signed in Forres on 20 May 1455, stated that ‘he
[Huntly] sall not constrenzie the said lady to carnal copulation but of her
free will’. Because they were cousins, and there were many rules about
marrying relatives, the pope had to be approached ‘in gudely haste’ for
dispensation. There was to be no harm to James, Elizabeth’s son. Huntly
would not get the earldom of Moray automatically. ‘Richard Holande,
Chantour of Murrave is one of the many signatories. Elizabeth signed the
document ‘Elyzabeth Contas of Murray with my hand’. The surviving
document is a notarial copy. The marriage, however, did not last and by
1459 Elizabeth was divorced.
Elizabeth’s third marriage, in about 1463, was to Sir John Colquhoun
of Luss, Sheriff of Dumbarton and Comptroller of the Royal Household.
Moving west to Luss, by Loch Lomond, Elizabeth and John had a son, also
John. In 1479, Sir John Colquhoun was killed by a cannonball at one of
the many sieges of Dunbar Castle. Elizabeth spent much of her widowhood
fighting for her inheritance.
29

women of moray
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women of moray
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