Clan Calder is a Highland

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure r ...

.Way, George and Squire, Romily. (1994). ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The

Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) is an organisation that represents many prominent Scottish clan chief, clan chiefs and Scottish clan chief#Chief of the Name and Arms, Chiefs of the Name and Arms in Scotland. It claims to be the pr ...

). pp. 369. The clan is recognised by the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officer of State, Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scotland, Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

but as it does not currently have a

clan chief The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard ci ...

it is therefore considered an

armigerous clan An armigerous clan (from armiger) is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognised as such by Lyon Court. Be ...

History

Origins of the Clan

The name 'Calder' is thought to come from the early

Common Brittonic Common Brittonic (; ; ), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, is a Celtic language historically spoken in Britain and Brittany from which evolved the later and modern Brittonic languages. It is a form of Insular Cel ...

, meaning 'hard or violent water' (the modern Welsh word for hard is "caled"), or possibly 'stony river'. It is found as a place name throughout Scotland. For example,

East Calder East Calder is a village located in West Lothian, Scotland, about a mile east of Mid Calder and a mile west of Wilkieston. It forms part of 'the Calders (together with Mid and West Calder), three small neighbouring communities situated wes ...

and

West Calder West Calder (, ) is a village in the council area of West Lothian, Scotland, located four miles west of Livingston. Historically it is within the County of Midlothian. The village was an important centre in the oil shale industry in the 19th a ...

that are both near

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, and also Calderwood near

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Historian

William Anderson William Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Anderson (artist) (1757–1837), painter of marine and historical paintings * William Anderson (theatre) (1868–1940), Australian stage entrepreneur * William Anderson (1911–1986 ...

asserted that the name came to prominence in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

through a French knight called Hugo de Cadella, who was created Thane of Calder, later known as Cawdor. The historian George Fraser Black lists Hugo de Kaledouer as a witness to a charter of land near Montrose in around 1178. However, the name arose around

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

where the Calders were great nobles with considerable lands from the fourteenth century onwards. The third Calder, Thane of Cawdor was however murdered by Sir Alexander Rait of nearby Rait Castle.

15th and 16th centuries

The substantial tower that stands at the heart of Cawdor Castle was built by the Calders in about 1454. The Calders inter-married with other local families such as the powerful chiefs of

Clan Rose Clan Rose () is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. History Origins of the clan The chiefs of the Clan Rose were a Normans, Norman family. They had no connection to the ancient Celts, Celtic family of Clan Ross. They derive from Ros, nea ...

, Barons of Kilravock. The Calder's ascendency however came to an end when

Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll Gillespie Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll ( – 9 September 1513) was a Scottish nobleman and politician who was killed at the Battle of Flodden. Biography Archibald was the eldest son of Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll and Isabel S ...

and chief of

Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...

was, along with Hugh Rose of Kilravock, appointed guardian to the infant Muriel Calder who was the female heir to the Calder family. Campbell was determined to remove the child to

Inveraray Inveraray ( or ; meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Located on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, Inveraray is a former royal burgh and known affectionately as "The Capital of Argyll." It is the ...

so that she could be educated as part of his family. However, he was opposed by Murial's uncles, Alexander and Hugh Calder, who pursued the child and her Campbell escort into

Strathnairn Strathnairn (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Srath Narann'') is an area of the Scottish Highlands approximately 8 miles southwest of Inverness, bordering the Monadhliath Mountains. The Strath's borders reach to the north where Clava cairn and the Cull ...

. The girl was safely delivered to Inverary but not without considerable loss of life: Campbell of Inverliver who led the kidnapping lost all six of his sons in the fighting as the Calders gave chase to recover the girl.Coventry, Martin. (2008). ''Castles of the Clans: The Strongholds and Seats of 750 Scottish Families and Clans''. pp. 72 - 73. . Murial was the last of the Calder chief's family in the direct line. She was brought up as a Campbell and married Sir John Campbell, son of the Earl of Argyll. Murial died in about 1575 but her descendant, John Campbell of Cawdor, was raised to the peerage as Lord Cawdor in 1796, and his son was created the first Earl Cawdor in 1827. The present Earl Cawdor still lives in Cawdor Castle, seat of his Calder ancestors. The name of Calder did not disappear and the Calders of Asswanly received lands near

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

in 1440. In 1686 this family obtained a baronetcy of Nova Scotia. The most notable member of this branch of the clan was

Robert Calder Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, (2 July 174531 August 1818) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career he w ...

who saw substantial service in the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

Modern history

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Sir James Calder was an advisor to the Ministry of Supply. Calders are still found around Inverness today, for example Douglas Calder was President of the

Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) is the professional body for architects in Scotland. History Previously the (lapsed) Architectural Institute of Scotland, it was re-founded in 1916 as the Incorporation of Architects in ...

and was also appointed director of planning for the newly created Highland Region in 1974.

Castles

* Cawdor Castle, five miles south-west of

Nairn Nairn (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland Council council areas of Scotland, area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nair ...

. Much of the present castle was built by the Calders, with a large keep of four storeys that dates from the fourteenth century, and a courtyard enclosing ranges of buildings. The castle is reached by a drawbridge across a ditch. * Nairn Castle dated from the twelfth century and was built by

William the Lion William the Lion (), sometimes styled William I (; ) and also known by the nickname ; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49 ...

. The keepers of the castle were the Calders as Thanes of Cawdor. The castle is another traditional place where Duncan was killed by

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

. * Asloun Castle, two miles south-west of

Alford, Aberdeenshire Alford (pronounced or , ) is a large village in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland, lying just south of the River Don. It lies within the Howe of Alford (also called the Vale of Alford) which occupies the middle reaches of the River Don. The ...

, was a Z-plan tower house of the sixteenth century but little remains. It was held by the Calders before passing to the

Clan Forbes Clan Forbes is a Highland Scottish clan from Aberdeenshire, Scotland. History Origins The name Forbes is most probably a location name assumed from the lands of Forbes in Aberdeenshire, in possession of this family reputedly since the time ...

. *Aswanley House, seven miles west of

Huntly Huntly ( or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlements include Keith ...

, was held by the Calders from 1440 and was sold in 1768 to the Duffs of Braco because of debt.

References

External links

Clan Calder at ScotClans.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calder Scottish clans Armigerous clans