Clan Stewart

The Stewarts who became monarchs of Scotland were descended from a family who were seneschals (stewards) of Dol in Brittany, France.[4] After the Norman conquest of England, the Stewarts acquired estates in England as the FitzAlan family, also Earls of Arundel.[4] Walter Flaad or Walter fitz Alan the steward came to Scotland when David I of Scotland claimed his throne.[4] It is from their office as stewards that the surname Stewart came.[5] Walter was created High Steward of Scotland and was granted large estates in Renfrewshire and East Lothian.[4] Walter was one of the commanders of the royal army which defeated Somerled of the Isles (ancestor of Clan Donald) at the Battle of Renfrew in 1164.[4] (See: Walter fitz Alan).

Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland, also known as Alexander of Dundonald Castle, commanded the Scottish army at the Battle of Largs in 1263 against Viking invaders.[6][7][8]

During the Wars of Scottish Independence, James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland swore fealty to Edward I of England.[4] However, he later sided with Robert the Bruce and William Wallace in the struggle for Scottish independence.[4]

Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland married Marjory, daughter of king Robert the Bruce.[4] When Robert's son, David II of Scotland died, he was succeeded by Walter Stewart's son, Robert II of Scotland.[4] King Robert II had many sons; the eldest, John, succeeded to the throne of Scotland as Robert III of Scotland.[4] The royal line of male Stewarts was uninterrupted until the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots.[4] As a family the Stewarts (Stuarts) held the throne of Scotland and later England until the death of Anne, Queen of Great Britain in 1714.[4]

The Dukedom of Albany is a peerage title that was bestowed on some younger sons in the Scottish and later the British royal family, particularly in the House of Stuart. Robert II's third son was Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, who was Regent of Scotland during part of the reigns of his father, brother, and nephew James I of Scotland.[4] Robert II's fourth son was Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, who was famed as the Wolf of Badenoch and was responsible for the destruction of Elgin Cathedral.[4]

undiffered arms of stewart Stewart of Stewart	Arms of Stuart of Albany Stuart of Albany	Arms of Stuart of Buchan Stuart, Earl of Buchan
Arms of Stewart of Barclye Stewart of Barclye	Arms of Stewart of Garlies Stewart of Garlies	Arms of Stewart of Minto Stewart of Minto
Arms of Stewart of Physgill Stewart of Physgill	Arms of Stewart of Bute Stewart of Bute	Arms of Stuart of Bute Stuart of Bute
Arms of Stewart of Moray Stuart, Earl of Moray	Arms of Stewart of Atholl Stewart of Atholl	Arms of Stewart of Rothesay Stewart of Rothesay
Arms of Stewart of Carrick Stewart, Earl of Carrick	Arms of Stewart of Ross Stewart, Duke of Ross	Arms of Stewart of Strathearn Stewart, Earl of Strathearn
Arms of Stewart of Galloway Stewart, Earl of Galloway	Arms of Stuart of Darnley Stuart of Darnley	Arms of Stuart, Earl of Lennox Stuart of Lennox
Arms of Stewart of Ardvorlich Stewart of Ardvorlich	Arms of Stewart of Avandale Stuart, Lord Avandale	Arms of Stuart, Lord Ochiltree Stuart, Lord Ochiltree

When James I of Scotland came of age, he curbed the power of his cousins, the Albany Stewarts.[4] He beheaded Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, eldest son of the former regent Robert Stewart.[4] Two of Murdoch's sons, Walter and Alexander (Alasdair), were both executed as well.[9][10]

The Stewarts of Appin descend from Sir John Stewart of Bonkyll, son of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland.[4] Sir John's younger son, James Stewart, was killed in 1333 at the Battle of Halidon Hill.[4] His grandson married the heiress of the Lord of Lorne (chief of Clan MacDougall).[4] He was the first Stewart Lord of Lorne.[4] The Stewarts of Appin supported the royalist cause during the Civil War of the 17th century and also supported the deposed Stuart monarchs during the Jacobite rising of 1715 and Jacobite rising of 1745.[4]

The Stewarts of Atholl are descended from a son of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, the "Wolf of Badenoch".[4] James Stewart built a strong castle at Garth where he settled at the end of the 14th century.[4] Queen Joanna, widow of James I of Scotland married the Black Knight of Lorne who was descended from the fourth High Steward.[4] Their son was John Stewart of Balveny who was granted the Earldom of Atholl by his half-brother, James II of Scotland.[4] He supported his brother, commanding the royal forces that opposed the rebellion by the Lord of the Isles.[4] The fifth Stewart Earl of Atholl died with no male issue and his daughter married William Murray, second Earl of Tullibardine, who succeeded as Earl of Atholl.[4] Many Stewarts continued to live in the Atholl area with many claiming descent from the Wolf of Badenoch.[4] They were mainly transferred by allegiance to the Murray Earls of Atholl and were known as Athollmen.[4] This is maintained today with the Atholl Highlanders, Europe's only legal private army.[4] General David Stewart of Garth, an Athollman, was an officer in the Black Watch regiment and his book, Sketches of the Highlanders and Highland Regiments, popularized his homeland in Victorian England.[4]

Stewarts came to Balqhidder in about 1490, when William Stewart, grandson of the only son of the Duke of Albany to escape the persecution of James I, was appointed ballie of the crown lands of Balquhidder.[4]

The chiefs of the Clan Stuart of Bute are descended from Sir John Stewart, illegitimate son of Robert Stewart who reigned as Robert II of Scotland by Moira Leitch (according to tradition).[12]