In 367 A.D. Fergus
Mor, from Ireland, invaded Scotland and defeated the Romans, becoming
the first King of Dalriada, one of the four princedoms that eventually
formed into Scotland. In 1071, Scotland was
invaded by William the Conqueror; in the following year, King Malcolm
of Scotland capitulated. Due to gaps in the genealogical evidence,
direct lines of descent from these early days of Scotland's history
are often hard to determine with certainty.
During the 13th Century, the chief family of the
name was established. The Mures of Rowallan, prominent figures in
Scottish history, were seated near Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire.
Gilcrest Mure married the daughter of Sir Walter Cumyn, securing
the family seat at Rowallan Castle.
Elizabeth Mure, daughter of Sir Adam Mure of Rowallan and Jannet
Mure, was mistress to Robert Stewart (who later became Robert II
of Scotland in 1371). She married him on 22 November 1347, with Papal
dispensation to legitimize their previously born children. After
their legal marriage, Elizabeth Mure was styled Countess of Atholl,
and her surname became Stewart. Elizabeth died before 1355.
Following
the 1745 Jacobite Rising and the dismantling of the clan system,
many of the chiefly lines of clans and families were lost, and over
time some smaller clans were absorbed and became a sept of the larger
clan. While the smaller clan retained a clan crest, it owed allegiance
to the chief of the larger clan.
Clan Muir is currently one of
over 200 armigerous
Scottish clans, meaning that the clan at one point had a chief
with matriculated arms, but no longer has a chief recognized by the
Court of Lord Lyon, King of Arms. The Lord Lyon Court holds an official
registry of the formal structure of clans and their chiefs,
and controls heraldry and Coats of Arms.
The surnames Muir, Mure and
Moore can all be considered septs of Clan Campbell, historically
one of the largest and most powerful Highland Scottish clans. The
Clan Campbell motto is Ne obliviscaris ('Never
forget'). |
Clan Campbell territory in the Scottish Highlands
|
