Irvine-Keith Peace Ceremony at
Keith’s Muir; Drumoak 4th August 2002
(Irvine is pronounced Irvin in Scotland)
This ceremony has
been devised as a symbolic way of reinforcing friendly relations between the
two families. However, hundreds of years ago, relations were far from friendly
between these two neighbouring families.
Both owe their North
East of Scotland origins and lands to King Robert the Bruce of Scotland. The
King used the grant of Royal lands to reward men who had given him loyal
service and support both during the wars of Independence, and in the more
settled years that followed the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
The Irvines, in the
person of Sir William de Irwin, were loyal members of the royal court, and were
rewarded in 1323 with the grant of the Tower of Drum, and a large area of
neighbouring land. The Tower, which was
built in the later part of the 13th century, was a royal hunting
lodge. The Tower also had a defensive
purpose in that it overlooked one of the few fordable places on the River Dee.
Hostile armies coming from the South, and threatening the City of Aberdeen,
would have had to cross the Dee at this point. In those days there were no
bridges across the river.
The Keiths, in the
person of Sir Robert de Keth, were granted lands from the King’s Lordship of
the Garioch in 1308. These are lands
that surround the present day Kintore and Inverurie. Subsequently, Sir Robert
took part in the Battle of Bannockburn as the King’s cavalry commander. The
Keiths built the Tower of Hall-Forest Castle, near Kintore, probably in the mid
1300’s. In a Charter from the King in 1324, the office of Marischal to the King
was granted as a hereditary honour to the Keith family.
In the later part of
the 14th century, Sir William, the Marischal, added great estates in
Buchan and Kincardine through his marriage to the heiress of the Lord
Chamberlain. The lands in Kincardine, on the south bank of the River Dee
brought the Keiths face to face with the Irvines, whose lands were on the north
side of the river.
Before long there
was skirmishing across the River Dee between the Keiths and the Irvines. This culminated in an affray at Keiths Muir,
Drumoak, whose actual date is unrecorded, but is assumed to be in the early 1400’s,
possibly 1403.
A contemporary account
survives and sets out the details:
“In the North-East of Scotland
from the mid 1300’s until the early 1400’s there was a fierce feud between the
Irvine’s of Drum and the neighbouring Keith family, the Earls of Marischal of
Scotland. Numerous acts of violence took place.”
To quote from a
later history of the East of Scotland:
“It was probably about this
period that the feud between the Keiths and the Irvines of Drum raged most
fiercely, or to use the words of an old manuscript – the old feud was cruel
betwixt the two families; as that Keith’s people burnt one of Drum’s children
in hot wort; and the Drum burnt Hall-Forest castle and wasted sundry lands of
Keith in revenge for that wrong – Tradition, confirmed by the names of places
in the neighbourhood of present day Drum, has preserved an account of the
termination of a foray by the Keiths upon the lands of the Irvines, who
overtook their enemies before they could secure their plunder by recrossing the
River Dee. The result was that such of the Keiths as escaped the weapons of
their pursuers in a place still called “Keiths’ Muir”, were drowned in a deep
reach of the river which still retains the name of “Keiths’ Pot”. In this pool,
a point of rock at some distance from the bank, occasionally projects above the
water. This is “Keiths’ Stone”, which it is said, their leader succeeded in
gaining, and where, although beyond the reach of hostile spears, he fell by the
arrows of the Irvines”.
Elizabeth’s husband
succeeded to Drum in 1410 and almost immediately, Sir Alexander 4th
of Drum, was killed at the battle of Harlaw in 1411. There were no children
from this brief marriage.
The following events
led up to Harlaw:
In the year 1411 the
Lord of the Isles, Donald MacDonald, came to the mainland to challenge the
Royal authority of James I. Having captured and razed Inverness, the
Highlanders army had their eyes on Aberdeen and the rich agricultural land in
that area. The Earl of Mar, the King’s representative in the North East raised
an army to defend the city, including many of the local landed families and
their supporters.
Sir Alexander Irvine
rode from Drum with his younger brother Robert to join the Earl of Mar’s army
near Inverurie. On the top of a hill from which they were still able to see the
tower of Drum, the two brothers sat on a large rock. Fearing the outcome of the
forthcoming battle, Sir Alexander is said to have told his brother that should
he fall in the battle, Robert was to marry Alexander’s wife.
In the ensuing
battle of Harlaw (13 July 1411) Sir Alexander engaged in mortal conflict with
Maclean of Durat. Both died fighting.
As a result of the battle, the Highlanders retreated and the city of Aberdeen
was saved from the fate that befell Inverness. Robert duly married Elizabeth
and on his accession to Drum, changed his name to Alexander, the traditional
Christian name of the Lairds of Drum. From this marriage stems the succession
of Irvine of Drum. Sir Alexander had four children and was succeeded by his
grandson, Alexander Irvine 5th of Drum.