Norman Question

[Steve Barclay]

I believe that the original Barclay was a Norman compatriot of William The Conqueror, his name was Roger and was granted Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, England and so was known as Roger Of Berkeley (or "Roger De Berchelai" in Saxon). His son, John de Berchelai arrived in Scotland in the retinue of Margaret Atheling and was granted Towie Castle near Turiff, Aberdeenshire by Malcolm III by way of gratitude for accompanying Margaret, the Castle was subsequently (as still is) known as "Towie Barclay".

[L. Ramsay]

Ramsay has a connection back there. A connection in the form of a certain Sir Symon de Ramesie, who was granted quite a bit of land in Midlothian. But apparently there is also a Nordic origin as well, and the best guess is that the two met in the middle somewhere.

[ForresterModern]

Forrester/Forster/Foster clan originated from the flemish Forestierre. One by this name was the right hand man to William the Conqueror (and his brother in law) during the norman conquest, which stopped right around the Firth of Forth supposedly. This Forestierre was granted land and title to a sizable tract west of Edinburgh in the area known as Corstorphine, along with some other lands further west toward Sterling.

jeff

[ThistleDown]

Robert, many of the knights who came across the channel with William were mercenaries of Flemish origin and not Normans themselves. Among those were the progenitors of clans and families now bearing the names Balliol, Beaton, Brodie, Bruce, Cameron, Campbell, Comyn, Crawford, Douglas, Erskine, Fleming, Forester, Fraser, Graham, Hamilton, Hay, Innes, Leslie, Lindsay, Lyle, Murray, Oliphant, Seton, Stewart. Of course, as was pointed out earlier, bearing any of these names doesn't mean there's a drop of Flemish blood in the veins

For a better understanding there's "The Flemish Influence in Scotland" by Annette Hardie-Stoffeln.

Rex

[Old Hippie]

The Grants and the Comyns/Cummings are believed to have Norman roots, Robert.

Also see this article from the Clan Hay Society's web site:

http://www.clanhay.net/HISTORY/Normandy_Roots.php

Was just gonna post this and thought, "Better read the thread first..."

I'm a Hay, Penny has ties to Comyn.

Cheers, eh!

[Gryphon noir]

I have read that the Mathesons were originally Norman. I'm sure that mght be contentious because there are a number of traditions about their origins.

It would make sense in the context of my family's lore, since the Gordons were definitely Norman {"We've always been Gordons!"--attrib. William Stephen, 1832-1877} , and names like Stephen and Paul are a bit of a giveaway.
Apparently my great grandparents and their ilk were known as "tall people" in their native Aberdeen, [as opposed to all the wiry little Picts? ]. Not sure if it is still that way but it was remembered as recently as one generation ago.

[Bigkahuna]

It seems the Walkers were of Norman origin. Originally DeWalkere.

[Mike_Oettle]

Hi, Robert — a good many families are accounted Norman simply because they arrived in England with (or shortly after) William of Normandy.
I believe the Montgomery/Montgomerie family to be of Norman origin.
But there were also families represented in William’s army that were only temporarily resident in Normandy, since they had been hired by William to build and maintain castles there.
The Bruces (who were Flemings) are among that group.
And the Stewarts were a Breton family, believed to have originated in Cornwall or a nearby part of Britain, which settled, first in England, then in Scotland, following WIlliam’s succession to the English throne.
For centuries the ancestors of the Stewarts were stewards of Dol.
The Sinclairs certainly are of French origin, but whether they are Norman is unclear, since they were part of the group of Templar knights who settled in Scotland following the suppression of their Order in France.
Regards,
Mike

[kscaddo]

Russell

[KFCarter]

Not a clan, but a family name with Borders roots is Veitch (Veatch, Veetch) which was from La Vache and said to be of Norman origin.