Clan Little is a
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 ...
of the
Borders. The clan does not currently have a
chief and is therefore considered an
armigerous clan. The Clan Little Society had a Guardian in place of a clan chief but, since his death in 2007, no suitable successor has appeared.
History
Origins of the clan
According to Black, Little is a descriptive name and was originally written in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
documents as ''parvus'' meaning little or small.
[George F. Black; The Surnames of Scotland; 1946 New York Library; 1999 Birlinn Limited, Edinburgh; pp. 432] Given that the name is descriptive it is impossible to find any clear origin of the Little name in Scotland.
In the 12th century,
David I King of Scots appointed
Walter fitz Alan, an Anglo-Norman from Shropshire, as High Steward of Scotland. In his capacity as Steward, Walter granted lands at Cairntable,
Ayrshire
Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
to Alan Little, a former neighbour on the Shropshire-Cheshire border. By 1300 the Littles had settled in
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...
where Nicol Little was recorded as Conservator of the Peace for Lochmabenston in the Scottish West March of the
Anglo-Scottish border
The Anglo-Scottish border runs for between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west, separating Scotland and England.
The Firth of Forth was the border between the Picto- Gaelic Kingdom of Alba and the Angli ...
.
Sometime before 1426, Simon Lytil was granted tenure of Meikledale, Sorbie and Kirktoun in Ewesdale, Dumfriesshire by the then regent,
Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany. The grant was confirmed in 1426 shortly after
James I returned from his captivity in England. Simon Little, 1st Laird of Meikledale, is therefore considered to be the first chief of the name.
In 1587 the Parliament of Scotland passed a statute: "For the quieting and keping in obiedince of the disorderit subjectis inhabitantis of the borders hielands and Ilis." Attached to the statute was a roll of surnames from both the Borders and Highlands. The Borders portion listed 17 "clannis" with a Chief and their associated Marches. Little was listed as a clan of the West March.
reat Britain III Acts of the Parliament of Scotland pp. 466–467
Wars of Scottish Independence
About the time of Alan Little's grant of land at Cairntable, Walter the Steward granted lands near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire to Richard le Waleys, also of Shropshire. This Richard was the great-great-grandfather of Sir
William Wallace, one of the main leaders in the early
Wars of Scottish Independence. Sir William's sister may have married a Little and had a son named Edward, who became a trusted lieutenant. We believe this because
Blind Harry the Minstrel mentioned such a person in his poem ''
The Wallace'': "And Edward Littil his sisters sone so der / Full wel graithit in till thar armour cler".
15th century
Members of the Little clan became established in Ewesdale, Eskdale and Wauchopedale. Following the
House of Douglas' forfeiture as tenants-in-chief, following the
Battle of Arkinholm in 1455, the Eskdale-Ewesdale lands passed to the
Maxwell clan. The exceptions were the homes of the Littles at Meikledale and the Elliots at Arkelton, which were not feudal property.
16th century
By the start of the 16th century,
Clan Armstrong had risen to power such that it was reputed in 1528 that they could muster 3,000 horsemen, Littles amongst them. Their leader,
Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie, posed a threat to
King James V, who arranged in 1530 to meet him at
Caerlanrig
Caerlanrig - also spelled 'Carlenrig' - ( Gaelic: ''Cathair Lannraig'') is a hamlet in the parish of Cavers, Borders, Scotland, lying on the River Teviot, 6 miles (10 km) north east of that river's source, and 10 miles (16 km) sout ...
. The Armstrong retinue was surprised by the king's men, and then 33 Armstrongs, Littles, Elliots and Irvings, including Johnnie, were hanged on the spot.
[G. McDonald Fraser (1986). ''The Steel Bonnets''.] In 1568 over 100 Littles rode with Batysons, Armstrongs, Glendinnings and Thompsons on
John Maxwell, 8th Lord Maxwell's raid on Stirling. Family tradition has it that the Littles returned with many more horses than they set out with. They were pardoned in 1585, while Maxwell was briefly serving as the Earl of Morton.
17th century
The
Union of the Crowns in 1603 meant that
James I of England
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...
and VI of Scots no longer had a need for strong men in his 'Middle Shires'. The Border
reivers
Border Reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality.Hay, D. "E ...
had become a nuisance to the king, and efforts were made to disband them using fire, noose and sword. Many Borderers were transported to Ireland, and others fled into north-west
Cumberland.
At this time Simon Little of Meikledale was chief, followed by his son, Thomas, and grandson, David, chief in 1670.
18th century
David Little was the last Little to be Laird of Meikledale. Following the Pacification of the Border, the lairdship passed to Thomas Beattie, and David was given work as a groom at
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
. He had two sons: Simon Little of Nittyholm who had seven daughters, and Matthew (William?) Little who lived in Reading and 'went to sea' in 1745. Any descendants of Matthew have yet to be traced.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Littles migrated throughout the United Kingdom and to North America, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
Clan symbols
Arms
The
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
of the Lairds of Meikledale were: ''sable a saltire argent'',
[Scottish arms : being a collection of armorial bearings, A.D. 1370–1678](_blank)
by R. R. Stodart, 1881. pp. 243 also ''sable a saltire engrailed argent''.
[Burke, J. & Burke, B. (1844). ''Encyclopædia of Heraldry'':
or General armory of England, Scotland, and Ireland, comprising a registry of all armorial bearings from the earliest to the present time, including the late grants by the College of Arms.]
In 1997, the Clan Little Society (Scotland & Worldwide) secured a Grant of Arms from Lord Lyon King of Arms. The blazon is: ''sable a saltire argent in chief point a winged stirrup or on a chief or four chain links fesswise gules''.
Crest badge
The
Clan Crest badge is made up of the last chief, The Little of Meikledale's
heraldic crest and
motto:
* Meikledale's motto: ,
or .
* Meikledale's crest: ''A demi lion Sable powdered with saltires Argent, armed Gules, in dexter paw a cutlass Proper and in sinister a saltire Argent''.
Mottoes
– I yield to none.
["http://www.clanlittlesociety.org/"]
– Great in little.
– The cross is the test of truth.
Tartan
Members of the Clan Little Society may wear the Little of Morton Rigg tartan. This sett was designed by Dr James "Johnnie" Crawford Little of Morton Rigg, then clan guardian, in 1991. It incorporates elements of the Wallace tartan (alluding to the historical connection to Sir William Wallace claimed by "Blind Hary" in his epic poem) and the Shepherd tartan.
Photographs of Littles and other Borderers from the 19th century regularly show them in European clothing and
maud (plaid) of simple, black and white checked
Border tartan or, occasionally, European clothing with trousers made of Border tartan. In contrast to National
Scottish Dress conventions Border clansmen occasionally wear non-matching plaids. For example, it is acceptable to wear trews in the Little of Morton Rigg tartan and a maud in
Border tartan.
Livery colours
Black and white, taken from the Lairds of Meikledale's arms.
Clan plant
Heather.
Clan march
''The Reivers of Meikledale'', a 2/4 march written for the clan in 1993 by John Mason MBE. Music to The Reivers of Mikledale can be found in th
February 2013 edition of the Sprig of Heather - Clan Little Newsletter
See also
Little (surname)
Little is a surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Middle English ''littel'' and the Old English ''lȳtel'', which means "little". In some cases, the name was originally a nickname for a little man. In other cases, the name ...
References
External links
* Clan Little Society (Scotland and Worldwide): Defunct
* Clan Little Society (North America): http://ClanLittleSociety.org/
* Clan Little Society New Zealand & Australia http://www.littleclan.net
* The Scottish Register of Tartans: http://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/search.aspx
{{Scottish clans
Little, Clan
Little
Little