Though the Flemish origin of the Douglases is not
undisputed, it is often claimed that he was descended from a Flemish
knight who was granted lands on the Douglas Water by the Abbot of Kelso,
who held the barony and lordship of Holydean. However this is disputed,
it has been claimed that the lands which were granted to this knight
were not the lands which the Douglas family came from.
Holydean (pronounced "Hollydeen," and also spelled "Halydean") is a
Scottish feudal Crown Barony and Lordship which lies in Roxburghshire in
the neighbourhood of Kelso, in the Borderlands of Scotland, along the
River Tweed. This area along the Tweed is home to the Scottish border
clans, including the Armstrongs, Elliots, Johnstones, Kers, Moffats, and
many others.
The first Lord Holydean was created by King David I
of Scotland when he erected the Barony and Lordship of Holydean in 1128.
The Abbot of Kelso from Kelso Abbey was the local lord, who ruled one of
the most powerful ecclesiastical burghs in all of Scotland. This burgh
was rivaled only by St. Andrews. David I brought the monks from Tiron in
Picardy, whom he transferred from Selkirk. The monks were part of the
peerage of Scotland until 1545 when the Earl of Hertford reduced the
abbey to ruins.
The next Lord of Holydean was made in 1602 when
the Barony and Lordship of Holydean was assigned to Sir Rober Ker of
Cessford, who was made 1st Earl of Roxburghe. One of his heirs became
the Duke of Roxburghe, and eventually the Lordship and Barony of
Holydean were assigned in the traditional Scottish manner to Clan Moffat,
another Scottish border clan.
The present holder of the Scottish
feudal titles Baron and Lord of Holydean is Taylor Moffitt of Holydean.
This would make Taylor Moffitt of Holydean the 15th Baron and Lord of
Holydean since secularization in 1602. The incumbent is Ewan Moffitt of
Holydean. After the abolition of feudal tenure, feudal nobles no longer
hold any automatic political authority, but are entitled to keep the
dignity of their titles. Holydean is a Feudal Lordship.
The
Barony and Lordship of Halydean (Holydean) is one of the oldest Norman
feudal baronies. |
