William
Guthrie
Clan History
Clan
Guthrie
The name almost certainly derives from the barony of the same name near
Forfar, but it has also been suggested that it is a corruption of Guthram, the
name of a Scandanavian prince. The first of the name on record in Scotland, one
Squire Guthrie, appears in 1299. He had been sent to France to request the
return of William Wallace, who had retired there having resigned the
guardianship of Scotland. Squire Guthrie was evidently successful as Wallace
did indeed return.
The Guthries of Guthrie received their estates by
charter from David II (1329-71). In 1457 Sir David Guthrie of Guthrie was
Armour- Bearer to King James III and the Sheriff of Forfar; he became Lord
Treasurer of Scotland in 1461 and continued in this office until 1467 when he
was appointed Comptroller of the Exchequer. In 1468 he obtained a warrant under
the Great Seal to build Guthrie Castle near
Friockheim in Angus, which remains standing to this day.
Although the
Guthries of Guthrie were the main line of the family many off-shoots existed,
some of them mentioned in an old rhyme: "Guthrie o' Guthrie And Guthrie o'
Gaigie Guthrie o' Taybank An' Guthrie o' Craigie" An old tale without substance
gives an alternative derivation for the name. One of the early Scottish Kings
had taken shelter, along with two attendants, in a fisherman's hut. The King,
knowing his attendants would be hungry, asked the fisherman to prepare two fish
for them, but the fisherman offered to feed the king as well and "gut three";
and so, the legend insists, the name stuck.
Thanks to James Pringle
Weavers for the following information
GUTHRIE: This name is considered to
be Scandinavian or Gaelic in origin, and was a territorial definition in Angus
by 1000 A.D. Known to have been in situ by the 13th century, the Guthries'
early status is uncertain but, by around 1380, a David de Guthrie held Royal
Charters granting Pitendriech, Guthrie, Kenie and Morloun. By this time, he and
others of the name held lands spanning Angus from Brechin, to Forfar and
Airlie. The Guthries of Kincaldrum, south of Forfar, became the progenitors of
the House of Guthrie of Guthrie of whom Sir David of that Ilk, built the tower
of Guthrie "with ane iron yett", under a Greal Seal warrant from James III in
1468. Under patronage of the Earl of Crawford he had served in James II's
bodyguard and was much esteemed at court. He was Master of the Rolls 1469-73,
and Lord Justice General 1473-77, after which he founded and endowed the
collegiate church of Guthrie, confirmed by Papal bull from Pope Sextus IV in
1479. His eldest son, Sir Alexander, with his heir, fell at Flodden in
1513.
When Sir David became Baron of Guthrie his brothers continued the
line of Kincaldrum, and later acquired Hiltoun and other lands, and to these
Houses at a later date the survival of the Guthrie line depended. In the
religiously troubled times of the 17th century the Guthries were true to their
reputation of 'holding a sword in one hand, a bible in the other', for members
of the various Houses frequently held opposing views. John, Bishop of Moray (of
the Hiltoun family) refused to obey the General Assembly and withstood a seige
in Spynie Castle until he was betrayed and taken prisoner to Edinburgh. After
release he bought Guthrie Castle from a kinsman and, as his son had been
executed for supporting Montrose, he was succeeded by his daughter who married
Guthrie of Gagie. The last male chief, Col. Ivan Guthrie of the Ilk, died in
1964 and was succeeded by his daughter Moyra,(d.1984), and her daughter
Rosanagh who, each in turn, forsook their married names and resumed Guthrie.
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