SUTHERLAND, Sir William b. 1138 Duffus, Morayshire, Scotland d. 1204 Duffus, Morayshire, Scotland

1138 - 1204 (66 years)

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Name	SUTHERLAND, William
Prefix	Sir
Birth	1138	Duffus, Morayshire, Scotland
Gender	Male
_TAG	Reviewed on FS
Death	1204	Duffus, Morayshire, Scotland
Burial	1204	Duffus, Morayshire, Scotland
Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
Person ID	I44095	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

Family ID F23437 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Family OLIFARD, Mary , b. 1139, Duffus, Moray, Alba, Scotland Duffus, Moray, Alba, Scotlandd. 1204, Duffus, Moray, Alba, Scotland (Age 65 years)

Marriage Abt 1168 Duffus, Morayshire, Scotland

Children 3 sons

+	1. SUTHERLAND, Lord Hugh , b. Abt 1169, Duffus, Morayshire, Scotland Duffus, Morayshire, Scotlandd. 22 Dec 1222, Duffus Castle, Duffus, Morayshire, Scotland (Age 53 years)
	2. MORAVIA, Lord William de , b. Abt 1171, Petty, Inverness, Scotland Petty, Inverness, Scotlandd. 5 Oct 1226, Petty, Perthshire, Scotland (Age 55 years)
	3. SUTHERLAND, Andrew , b. Abt 1173, Duffus, Morayshire, Scotland Duffus, Morayshire, Scotlandd. Abt 1221, Duffus, Morayshire, Scotland (Age 48 years)

Family ID F22969 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 24 Jan 2022

Photos At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

Notes

Freskin Moravia
Born: Circa 1100 In: Duffus, Moray, Scotland

Died: Before 1171

Info

Events

Timeline

Immediate family

Unknown Moravia
His wife

Hugo Sutherland I
His son

William Sutherland I
His son

Andrew de Moravia
His son

Unknown Moravia
His mother
Work
BARON of STRABROCK & DUFFUS
Biography
Clan Sutherland :
12th to 13th Century:

Battle of Dornoch 1150c; The Sutherland forbear was Freskin de Moravia, whose father was probably a Flemish noble named Ollec with lands in Morayshire and elsewhere ("de Moravia" being "of Moray"). He was given a commission by King David I to gather the Sutherland Gaels together and clear the Norsemen from the area, and he received Strabrock in West Lothian and Duffus in Moray from King David I. Some hold that he was therefore probably the hero of the clan legend about the killing of the last Norseman. The crucial battle took place near Dornoch where the Norse chief had gathered his men in a desperate attempt to stop the Scottish advance. The fight at first went the Norsemen's way when they penetrated the Scot's formation and the Sutherland chief was injured. As the chief lay wounded though, he spotted a Norse general coming up to support the attack. Finding a horseshoe at hand, he threw it with all of his might striking the Norseman squarely in the forehead, killing him, and turning the whole battle around. By the end of the day, all of the Norseman had been killed or captured. Battle of John o' Groats; Hugh Freskin Sutherland is said to have strengthened the family's royal favor by riding the north of a ferocious band of robbers lead by Harold Chisholm. Among the crimes, a number of Sutherland churchmen were tortured by nailing horseshoes to their feet and making them dance to entertain the followers before putting them savagely to death. On hearing of this outrage, King William the Lion ordered Hugh of Sutherland to pursue Chisolm to the death and a great fight ensued near John o' Groats. All of the robbers were either killed or captured. Harold Chisolm and the other leaders were given a punishment to fit the crime, horse shoeing and hanging. The rest were gelded to prevent any offspring from men who were so detestable. This seems to have been a frequent punishment of the time. In 1198 an entire sept of the Sinclairs were castrated for the killing of the Bishop of Caithness. Rebellion of the Sinclairs 1222; The trouble was over tithes imposed by the Bishop of Caithness whose seat was at Dornoch. The Clan Sinclair Earls of Caithness had long resented the fact that the bishopric was under Sutherland control and decided to exploit the discontent over tithes, to get rid of the bishop and have the seat moved. There was soon a riot, said to be incited by Sinclair gold. The unfortunate bishop was roasted alive and his cathedral was set on fire. The rioters then headed north to join up with their Sinclair allies. Once again the Lord of Sutherland was given responsibility by the crown for restoring law and order, and for punishing Sinclair for his instigation of the incident. The Clan Sutherland force was gathered and the far northeast was laid waste in a campaign of revenge and repression. Wick and Thorso were burned and the Sinclair stronghold razed to the ground. Eighty men were tried at a summer court session at Golspie and there was strict punishment for the rioters. Four of the ringleaders were roasted and then fed to the town dogs for good measure.

Freskin Son of Ollec:

The Sutherlands (Sutherlarach) and Murrays (Moireach— Latin: de Moravia) descend from Freskin, son of Ollec, a Flemish knight with lands in what is now Pembroke in Wales. He was granted by David I, King of Scots, the lands of Strabrock in West Lothian and also Duffas in conquered Moray. Freskin or his son William intermarried with the Picto-Scottish Royal House of Moray, in whose defeat he was taking part, following the Norman custom of consolidation by intermarriage.

clan sutherland - a personal view
by Gordon Douglas Duffus
The origins of the people of the Great Clan Sutherland are obscured by time and legend. It has been said that the first inhabitants of what would later become known as Sutherlandshire were "The Catti", a fierce tribe from the deep dark forests of Germany. They supposedly shared the area with bands of ferocious Mountain Cats who kept the bens and glens free of rodents and other pests. The Clan fosters these legends today by the use of a Wildcat as the Clansmen’s capbadge and the Chief’s Gaelic desig- nation as "The Great One of the Cat". The Catti not-with-stand- ing, it is more probable that the original occupants of Suther- landshire were roving bands of hunters from the continent who may have built temporary shelters during their visits. The Picts, that race without a written history, settled the land and built their stone tombs, hill-forts, and brochs throughout their territory. Intermarriage with invading Norsemen and Celts eventually made up the stock from which most of the Sutherlands are descended. A further influx of people into Sutherland occurred during the twelfth century when the defeated adherents of the Royal House of MacAlpin were transported into the north from their homes in Moray.
Coincidentally, it was from these ill-fated rebellions that the Clan Sutherland was eventually to gain its initial line of chiefs. In 1150, King David the Saint marched north into the Province of Moray to put down what would prove to be the last in a long series of rebellions staged by the followers of the House of Alpin, the last truly Celtic Scottish Kings. In David’s army was an adventurer known variously as Freskin Ollec, Freskin son of Ollec, Freskin de Moravia, and/or Freskin of Strabrock.
Not only is Freskin’s name a mystery but his place of origin is also in some question; Lothian, Moray, and even Flanders have been put forward as possibilities. Although his early history cannot be stated with any certainty, it is certain that when the revolt had been crushed and the rebelling tribes had been destroyed or transported, Freskin became lord of a vast and far flung estate as a reward for his military support of the victorious David.
Freskin apparently married into the Duffus Branch of the Royal House of Moray and thereby furthered his territorial gains. He built defensive works at Duffus, just north of Elgin, and at Glen Fiddich in Banffshire. The Castle of Duffus was initially a wooden structure built upon a man-made hill which was placed upon a low ridge in the then substantial Loch of Spynie. Later additions, in stone and mortar, make up the present day ruin which occupies the original site.
The Castle of Gauldwell currently appears as a jumble of "massive fangs and fragments of masonry" and is perched above the steep ravine where Glen Fiddich meets the Altderne. Freskin continued his role as a warrior for the king and was sent north, into Sutherland, to turn back a Viking incursion. From this expedition we have been given "The Legend of the Last Viking". Freskin and his force succeeded in locating the raiders near Embo and the shield walls formed on both sides of the field. Within minutes, the air was filled with flying spears and arrows. The otherwise silent hills began to echo with the cries of the dead and dying and the clash of metal on metal. Charge and counter charge flowed across the field. Each success and failure being marked by the bodies of the fallen. A final Viking charge succeeded in breaking through the Scottish formation and a wild melee ensued. Viking axes and swords bit deeply into shields and helmets as the combat became individualized and personal. At the height of the madness, Freskin was knocked to the blood soaked ground and lost his weapons. While attempting to regain his feet, Freskin observed certain death approaching him in the form of a huge Viking Chieftain with upraised sword. In desperation, he grabbed onto the only object within his reach... a discarded horse shoe. With all of his might, Freskin hurled the shoe at the Norseman. The missile found its mark squarely between the Raider’s eyes and before his blood had a chance to flow freely, he fell to the trampled heather, dead! As word of their leader’s demise spread through the scattered groups of Vikings still fighting on the field, they began to retrace their steps back toward the beach and their waiting long ships.
The orderly withdrawal soon became a rout as the Scots perceived their advantage and increased their pressure. The Vikings, giving up all pretense of defense, broke out of their small groups and raced toward the beach and the safety of the sea, never to return again! Freskin recovered from his wounds and returned to his lands along the Moray Firth. Life was good for The Hero of Embo and Freskin had the satisfaction of seeing three grandsons born to his children. Two of these grandsons, Hugh and William, founded the great houses of Sutherland and Murray, respectively.

From: "gc-gateway@rootsweb.com"
Subject: Re: [LITTLEJOHN] Mungo Murray to Anne Murray to Oliver Littlejohn
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:48:02 -0000

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Author: wstormont1
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Freskin - also Friskin, Frysken, Freskin Ollec (son of Ollec), Freskin le Fleming, Freskin Flanderensis

I used to romanticise Freskin as a "noble savage" who was "normanised" by David I - I would love to say the Murrays were Pictish.

However I am sure now that Freskin was the son of a Knight from Friesland or Flanders - mostly likely he was indeed a Fleming from Flanders.

It is most likely that he and the next generation and maybe another after that were married into the "royal" rulers of Moray called "Mormaers". Hence why it was only in the next generations that Freskins descendents took the "de Moravia" title.

Why am I convinced of this? Three reasons:

1. The coat of arms of Freskin depicts 3 mullets (stars) - this signified he was in heraldic terms a third son of the Flemish house of Boulogne.

2. David I had natural links with the Norman Flemish families in England after the 1066 invasion and hence their families in Flanders plus these weren't just minor Flemish families they were the elite families of Europe. The manner in which he ruled mimmicked William the Conquerors and later Kings use of continental knights as enforcers in Anglo Saxon England and Wales - in fact there are sporadic, unqualified evidence of his family having earlier held lands in Pembroke, Wales. This may have been granted to Freskin's father Ollec after his endeavours subduing unruly Welsh rebels. David I spent much of his childhood and adolescence at the court of Henry I. Thus he would have collected many "English" friends plus his marriage to Maud, Countess of Huntingdon - the richest woman in England. Maud's father was the last major Anglo-Saxon lord of England - Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria - who was executed. Maud's mother was Judith of Lens daughter of Count Lambert of Lens who himself!
married Adele sister of William the Conqueror. Lamber of Lens was the brother of Eustace II Count of Boulogne who led the left flank of The Conqueror's army at Hastings and was his largest ally - proof that a large number of Flems were part of the invasion in 1066. When Maud married David I in 1624 she brought north a large retinue of Flemish knights. David I's sisters Mary and Edith/Matilda married Eustace III Count of Boulogne and Henry I, King of England. During the Civil War which followed the death of his brother-in-law Henry a civil war broke out in England between David's niece (Henry I's daughter), the Empress Matilda and the husband of another niece, Stephen of Blois. David I backed his niece the Empress Matilda but was primarily acting for his own benefit - not specifically against Stephen of Blois. David I's connections with the Flemish are evident.

3. The first lands that Freskin had under his domain were in West Lothian, south of Edinburgh, at a place called Strathbrock. It would not make sense for David I to have granted an unruly native Pict ruler some of the best land in Scotland? This would have undermined David's efforts at consolidating his control of Scotland and empower one his most unruly native lords? Plus all of the lands around Strathbrock was granted to Flemish/Norman knights - it fits the pattern.

As of yet nobody has managed to pinpoint an exact lineage - it may be that he was illegitimate - the result of a relationship at court.

What is interesting is that their is another Freskin - who was supposedly a descendent of Freskin "de Moravia". The coat of arms plus historic folklore suggest that the Douglas family were a branch of the Morays. The first Douglad named in history, William de Douglas, had six sons - five of whom became religious clerics. His youngest son known as Freskin de Douglas became Dean of Moray.

We know for sure that the de Doulgas family were continental knights not picts. If the Flemish Dean of Moray was called/nicknamed Freskin de Douglas similarly to the origional Freskin - it suggests that the name may well be "Pictish" and popularised as a nickname in the Moray area - but also that it did not have to be bestowed upon a pict.

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William, son of Freskin, is a witness to a charter granted by Malcolm IV to Berowaldus Flandrensis of the lands of Innes, at Christmas 1160. Between 1165 and 1171 he obtained a charter from William the Lion of the lands of Strabrok, Duffus, Rosisle, Inchikel, Machir, and Kintrai, 'quas terras pater suus Friskin tenuit tempore regis David avi mei. This charter is now missing, but it was seen and copied by Nisbet. William witnessed several charters of King William between 1187 and 1199, and died about 1203, when his eldest son appears as Lord of Duffus. Mr Cosmo Innes, editor of the 'Chartulary of Moray,' founding for want of better authority, on a marginal note in the register relative to Gilbert, Archdeacon of Moary, afterwards Bishop of Caithness - 'Iste Gilbertus erat filius domini de Duffus' - remards that if the anonymous annotator be correct, Gilbert, along with John and Richard his brothers, must all apparently have been sons of William, son of Freskin, Lord of Duffus, and nephews of Hugh Freskin. But if Richard, brother of Gilbert, be identical with the Richard de Moravia to whom the Abbot of Dunfermline, about 1240, gives and confirms all his lands of Kildun, near Dingwall, in Ross, then the annotator must be wrong, because this Richard is distinctly called 'filius Murdaci filii Alexandri de Moravia.' [The Scots Peerage II:121-122]

William, son of Freskin, who under that designation appears on record first as a witness to a charter granted at Perth by King Malcolm IV in 1160 to Berowald the Fleming of the lands of Innes, in Morayshirer. Between 1166 and 1171 he had the grant, already cited, of his father's lands of Duffus, etc. He witnessed a number of royal charters, chiefly those granted at Elgin or elsewhere in his own neighbourhood, though he is also found further afield. He seems to have survived the year 1204, if he were the William Fresekyn who was Sheriff of Invernaryn in that year. [The Scots Peerage VIII:320]