Clan Wemyss

Clan Wemyss
Motto	Je pense (I think)
Chief
Michael Wemyss of that Ilk
Seat	Wemyss Castle

Clan Wemyss is a Lowland Scottish clan.

The surname Wemyss is derived from the Scottish Gaelic uaimh which means cave. It is believed to be taken from the caves of the Wemyss, Fife, by the Firth of Forth, where the Wemyss family made their home.Wemyss Castle in Fife has been the seat of the chiefs of Clan Wemyss since the twelfth century. The chiefs are one of the few noble families who are descended from the Celtic nobility through the Clan MacDuff Earls of Fife.

Sir Michael Wemyss along with his brother, Sir David, and also Scott of Balwearie were sent to Norway to bring back the infant Queen Margaret, the "Maid of Norway", in 1290.

Sir Michael Wemyss swore fealty to Edward I of England in 1296 but then changed his allegiance to Robert the Bruce. As a result, Wemyss Castle was sacked by the English. He also witnessed the Act of Settlement in 1315 of the Scottish Crown by Robert the Bruce. Michael's son, Sir David Wemyss, was amongst those who appended their seals to the famous Declaration of Arbroath in 1320. Sir David was also one of the guarantors for the release of David II of Scotland from English imprisonment and his son was one of the hostages sent for the king's ransom.

In 1513 Chief Sir David de Wemyss was killed leading the Clan Wemyss at the Battle of Flodden. His grandson was Sir John Wemyss who fought under the Earl of Arran at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547.

John was a great supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots, and it was at the newly enlarged Wemyss Castle that she first met her future husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Sir John was made lieutenant of Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan in 1559. He led his men in the queen’s army at the Battle of Langside in 1568. His great-grandson was another John Wemyss who was born in 1586 as second-born, but eldest-surviving son of Sir John Wemyss of that Ilk, by his second wife Mary Stewart.

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Wikipedia