Clan MacDuff
| Clan MacDuff | |||
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| MacDhuibh. | |||
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| Motto | Deus juvat (Latin) (God assists). | ||
| Profile | |||
| Pipe music | MacDuff's Lament | ||
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| Clan MacDuff has no chief, and is an armigerous clan | |||
| Historic seat | Macduff's Castle | ||
| Last Chief | Alexander William George Duff of Braco, 1st Duke of Fife | ||
| Died | 29 January 1912 | ||
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Clan MacDuff or Clan Duff is a Lowland Scottish clan. The clan does not currently have a chief and is therefore considered an Armigerous clan, which is registered with the Lyon Court. The early chiefs of Clan MacDuff were the original Earls of Fife, although this title went to the Stewarts of Albany in the late fourteenth century. The title returned to the MacDuff chief when William Duff was made Earl Fife in 1759. His descendant Alexander Duff was made Duke of Fife in 1889.
The Clan Duff claims descent from the original Royal Scoto-Pictish line of which Queen Gruoch of Scotland, wife of Macbeth, King of Scotland was the senior representative. After the death of MacBeth, Malcolm III of Scotland seized the Crown and his son, Aedh, married the daughter of Queen Gruoch. Aedh was created Earl of Fife and abbot of Abernethy. The early chiefs of Clan MacDuff were the Earls of Fife. Sir Iain Moncreiffe wrote that the Clan MacDuff was the premier clan among the Scottish Gaels. Today, the Earls of Wemyss are thought to be the descendants in the male line of Gille Míchéil, Earl of Fife, thought to be one of the first Clan MacDuff chiefs. Gille-michael MacDuff was one of the witnesses to the great charter of David I of Scotland to Dunfermline Abbey.
In 1306 during the Wars of Scottish Independence, Duncan MacDuff, Earl of Fife was as a minor, held by Edward I of England at the coronation of Robert the Bruce as his ward while Duncan's sister, Isabella MacDuff, placed the golden circlet upon King Robert's head. As a result, when she fell into the hands of King Edward's army, she was imprisoned in a cage which was suspended from the walls of Berwick Castle. Duncan MacDuff later married Mary, the niece of King Edward, and threw in his lot against the Bruce. However, he was captured and imprisoned in Kildrummy Castle where he died in 1336. The Earldom later fell into the hands of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, however, although the MacDuff family lost, their rank they continued to prosper. In 1384, the earl of Fife was described as capitalis legis de Clenmcduffe, meaning chief of the law of Clan MacDuff. In 1404, David Duff received a charter from Robert III of Scotland for lands in Banffshire.
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