Clan Fleming is a Lowland Scottish clan and is officially recognized as
such by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. However, as the clan does not
currently have a chief that is recognized by the Lord Lyon King of Arms
it is therefore considered an armigerous clan.
The Flemings are
NOT an affiliated with the Douglases, but are included here as there are
innumerable links between them, not least their origin.
The
surname Fleming is derived from the French, le Fleming, which indicates
that the family originated in Flanders. The once powerful medieval
county of Flanders is now split between Belgium, the Netherlands and
France. During the latter part of the twelfth century the Flemish were
enterprising merchants who traded with England, Scotland and Wales. A
distinguished Flemish leader named Baldwin settled with his followers in
Biggar, South Lanarkshire under a grant of David I of Scotland. Baldwin
became Sheriff of Lanark under Malcolm IV of Scotland and William the
Lion and this office appears to have been hereditary for some time.
In 1296 nine Flemings signed the Ragman Rolls swearing fealty to
Edward I of England. However, one of the signatories was Sir Robert
Fleming who was one of the first people to join Robert the Bruce after
the death of the Comyn in 1306(1).
In 1342 Sir Malcolm Fleming of
Cumbernauld was created Earl of Wigtown by David II of Scotland for
helping to keep him safe from Edward Balliol and the English. In 1371
Sir Malcolm's grandson, Thomas Fleming, sold the earldom to
Archibald
Douglas, Lord of Galloway and this was confirmed by Robert II of
Scotland.
Sir Malcolm Fleming of Biggar and Cumbernauld was
knighted by Robert III of Scotland. In 1423 he was one of the hostages
used for the release of James I of Scotland from the captivity of the
English. This Sir Malcolm Fleming was a counsellor and friend of
William
Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas and was a member of the party that went to
Edinburgh Castle with Douglas, on the invitation Governor Livingstone
and Chancellor Crichton in November 1440, where Douglas, his brother
David and Fleming were arrested, briefly tried and then beheaded. As a
result, his younger son, Sir Robert Fleming, forfeited the lands that
had been returned to him by James II of Scotland because his father had
died at the faith and peace of His Majesty. Sir Robert Fleming was
created a Lord of Parliament before 1460.
Sir Robert's
grandson, John Fleming, 2nd Lord Fleming, was appointed as a guardian to
James V of Scotland during the king's infancy in July 1515. In 1517 John
became Chancellor of Scotland. However while he was out hawking on 1
November 1524, he was assassinated by John Tweedie of Drummelzier (chief
of Clan Tweedie) and others. Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming was Great
Chamberlain of Scotland and married Lady Janet Stewart, daughter of
James IV of Scotland. He thus became a brother-in-law to
James Douglas,
3rd Earl of Morton who married Catherine Stewart. This Malcolm Fleming was killed at the Battle of
Pinkie Cleugh in 1547(2).
In 1548 James Fleming, 4th Lord Fleming
accompanied the young Mary, Queen of Scots to France where she married
the heir to the throne. He was Great Chamberlain of Scotland for life
and was one of eight commissioners to the royal wedding in 1558. However
he died of suspected poisoning two weeks later in Paris.
In
1606 John the sixth Lord Fleming was created Earl of Wigtown.
The
Clan Fleming were Jacobites and the 6th earl attended James II of
England and VII of Scotland after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
Fleming opposed the Treaty of Union and voted against every article in
the Parliament of 1706. During the Jacobite rising of 1715 he was
arrested by the governor of Edinburgh Castle. Charles Fleming had
succeeded his brother as the earl but when he died in 1747 the title
became dormant.
Notes:
1. The Fleming holdings expanded significantly in the 14th century when Robert Fleming was granted the fiefdom of Cumbernauld in Dunbartonshire by Robert the Bruce. It was a reward for Fleming’s involvement in one of the era’s most notorious incidents: when Robert the Bruce stabbed John “Red” Comyn, his main competition for the throne of Scotland, to death in the church of the Greyfriars in Dumfries on February 10th, 1306. Fleming reputedly decapitated Red Comyn and presented the head to the Bruce telling him “Let the deid shaw,” meaning “Let the deed show.” That phrase became the Fleming family motto thereafter.
2. Amongst those killed
at Pinkie Cleugh was Robert Douglas of Lochleven.
See also:
•
A teapot, with
the motto 'Let the deed shaw'
• Douglas, Earl of
Wigton
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