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Freskin was a minor nobleman active in the reign of King David I of
Scotland. His name appears only in a charter by King William to Freskin's
son, William, granting Strathbrock in West Lothian and Duffus, Kintrae,
and other lands in Moray, "which his father held in the time of King
David". The name Freskin is Flemish, and in the words of Geoffrey Barrow
"it is virtually certain that Freskin belonged to a large group of Flemish
settlers who came to Scotland in the middle decades of the 12th century
and were chiefly to be found in West Lothian and the valley of the Clyde".
Freskin's land acquisition does not appear to be unique, and may have been
part of a royal policy in the aftermath of the defeat of king Óengus of
Moray. For instance, on December 25, 1160, a charter was issued by King
Máel Coluim IV to Berowald the Fleming, who seems to have controlled
Bo'ness in West Lothian, granting him the lands of Innes and "Nether
Urquhart" in the "province of Elgin"; notably, one of the three witnesses
to the charter which granted "Berowald Flandrensis" these lands, was "Wilhelmus
filius Frisgin", William, Freskin's son. Freskin appears to be the
progenitor of the "de Moravia" or "Murray" family who were lords of Duffus
in the later 12th century and early 13th century and who rose to become
the earls of Sutherland (southern Caithness), although it was not until
the 13th century that we can be certain they took the surname "de
Moravia".
It is also quite possible that the House of Douglas arose
from the same stock. The first recorded Lord of Douglas, William de
Douglas, is attested to in various charters of William the Lion. Five of
his six sons became clerics, the eldest of which
Bricius de Douglas became Bishop of Moray
in 1203. Alexander, Henry and Hugh de Douglas all became Canons of Spynie.
It appears that the youngest, Freskin de Douglas, remained in Lanarkshire
as parson of the parish of Douglas, before being appointed Dean of Moray.
The similarity between the heraldry of the Morays and Douglases with the
use of "Argent, on a chief azure, three stars of the field" for Douglas,
and "Azure, three stars argent, two and one" for Moray, makes this
compelling. Belief in the common descent of the Morays and Douglases was
certainly extant in the early 1400s:
"Of Murrawe and the Douglas,
How that thare begynnyng was,
Syn syndry spekis syndryly
I can
put that in na story.
But in thare armeyis bath thai bere
The
sternys[stars] set in lyke manere;
Til mony men it is yhit sene
Apperand lyk that had bene
Of kyn be descens lyneale
Or be
branchys collaterele.
Source: Wikipedia
Freskin had brothers who held senior appointments in Moray:
-
Alexander (Canon of Spynie and Vicar of Elgin)
- Henry (Canon of Spynie and Clerk
of Bishop)
- Hugh (Archdeacon of Moray)
- Brice (Bishop of Moray)
The Douglas Archives also show Freskin as the son of Sir William de
Duglas, 3rd Lord of Douglas, citing the following sources:
- Right Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell, A History of
the House of Douglas from the earlist times down to the legislative
union of England and Scotland (Freemantle & Co.London, 1902, two
volumes)
- David Hume of Godscroft, History of the House
& Race of DOUGLAS and ANGUS (Edinburgh, 1743)
- William Frazer, C.B., LL.D., The Douglas Book
(Edinburg, 1885 in four volumes)
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