Clan Anstruther

Clan Anstruther
Crest: Two arms in armour holding a pole-axe with both hands gauntleted Proper
Motto	Periissem ni periissem (I would have perished had I not persisted)
Profile
Region	Lowlands
District	Fife
Chief
Tobias Alexander Anstruther of that Ilk
Chief of the Name and Arms of Anstruther
Seat	Balcaskie House.

Clan Anstruther is a Scottish clan.

From the town of Anstruther, which was adopted as a familial name.

Alexander I of Scotland granted the lands of Anstruther to William de Candela in the early 12th century. There are a number of suggested origins for William but research points to the Normans in Italy. It is known that William I of England sought assistance from William, Count of Candela, who sent his son. It is likely that this son was William de Candela, who received the grant of land from Alexander.

William de Candela's son, also William, was a benefactor to the monks of Balmerino Abbey. The site now occupied by the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther was a gift from William. The next generation of the family, Henry, no longer styled himself, de Candela, being described as 'Henricus de Aynstrother dominus ejusdem' in a charter confirming grants of land to Balmerino Abbey.

Henry Anstruther accompanied Louis IX of France to the crusades and swore fealty to King Edward I of England in 1292 and again in 1296.

In 1483, Andrew Anstruther of Anstruther confirmed the right to a barony and fought against the English at the Battle of Flodden in 1513 during the Anglo-Scottish Wars. Andrew Anstruther married Christina Sandilands who was descended from Princess Jean or Joanna, daughter of Robert II of Scotland. His second son, David, fought at the Battle of Pavia in 1520 in the service of Francis I of France in the French Scots Regiment. This line ended with the death of the last Baron d'Anstrude in 1928.

Andrew's great-great-grandson, Sir James Anstruther was chosen as a companion to the young James VI of Scotland, who appointed him Hereditary Grand Carver, a title still held by the head of the family today. In 1595 he became Master of the Household.